January 24, 2010

340 years ago
1670

Born on this date
William Congreve. English playwright. Mr. Congreve wrote five comedies of manners from 1693-1700, the most successful of which were The Old Bachelor (1693); Love for Love (1695); and The Way of the World (1700). He made enough money from his plays to retire, except for the occasional poem or translation. Mr. Congreve suffered from gout and cataracts in both eyes in later years, and was injured in a carriage accident in September 1728, from which he never recovered. He died on January 19, 1829, five days before his 59th birthday.

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Theodosius Dobzhansky. Ukrainian-born U.S. geneticist and biologist. Dr. Dobzhansky was an evolutionary biologist who was known for promoting the idea of evolution through genetic mutation. His best-known book was Genetics and the Origin of Species (1937). Dr. Dobzhansky died on December 18, 1975 at the age of 75.

War
Boer forces stopped a British attempt to break the Siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Spion Kop.

90 years ago
1920

Died on this date
Amedeo Modigliani, 35. Italian-born French artist. Mr. Modigliani was a painter and sculptor who moved to Paris in 1906. He was known for portraits and nudes showing elongated faces and necks. Mr. Modigliani's works achieved greater appreciation after his death than during his lifetime, which ended because of tubercular meningitis, exacerbated by drink and drugs.

70 years ago
1940

At the movies
The Grapes of Wrath, directed by John Ford, and starring Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, and John Carradine, received its premiere screening in New York City.



Diplomacy
The British Ministry of Economic Warfare said that about 17,000 of the 25,000 packages of mail coming from the U.S. to Europe that had been intercepted and examined by British authorities contained contraband.

Politics and government
United Mine Workers of America President John L. Lewis urged his followers not to endorse Franklin D. Roosevelt for a third term as President of the United States in 1940.

U.S. Senator Gerald Nye (Republican--North Dakota) was named to fill the vacancy on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that had been created by the death of James Borah (Republican--Idaho) on January 19.

Economics and finance
The January 1940 issue of the League of Nations bulletin pointed to an increase in world economic activity, owing primarily to the war situation.

60 years ago
1950

On the radio
Philo Vance, starring Jackson Beck
Tonight’s episode: The Music Box Murder Case

On television tonight
Suspense, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Horizontal Man, starring Mildred Natwick

Died on this date
Bull Montana, 62. Italian-born U.S. wrestler and actor. Lewis Montana, born Luigi Montagna, moved to the United States as a child. He wrestled professionally as Bull Montana, and became an actor, usually playing villains, in movies from 1917-1937.

Politics and government
The British Conservative Party issued its platform, promising that a new Tory government would reduce public spending; banish socialism in favour of free enterprise; repeal iron and steel nationalization; and revamp the national coal and railroad administrations.

West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer promised to cooperate with Western Allies and put down "all nationalism of any kind which shows itself" in the Federal Republic.

Science
In Physical Review, physicist Hideki Yukawa propounded a new theory of the nature of nuclear particles. It was the first concept to explain actions of these particles by the quantum and relativity theories.

Business
The United Services Organization (USO) announced plans to terminate operations because of lack of funds; it would continue to exist as a legal corporation so that it could be revived quickly if needed.

Labour
3,000 telephone and electrical workers in Chile began a strike, which the government blamed on "foreign agitators." The government placed its army in a state of alert in Santiago.

A new minimum wage law went into effect in the United States, raising minimum hourly pay from 40c to 75c. U.S. President Harry Truman lauded the increase as "a measure dictated by social justice."

Boxing
Joey Maxim (69-16-4) scored a technical knockout of defending champion Freddie Mills (77-18-6) in the 10th round to win the world light heavyweight title at Earls Court Empress Hall, Kensington, London. It was Mr. Mills' last fight.



50 years ago
1960

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Cure, starring Nehemiah Persoff, Mark Richman, and Cara Williams

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Diana Ganske!

Died on this date
Edwin Fischer, 73. Swiss musician. Mr. Fischer was a classical pianist and conductor who was a prominent interpreter of the works of J.S. Bach and W.A. Mozart.

War
Some units of European volunteers in Algiers staged an insurrection known as the "barricades week", during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police.

40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): Abbey Road (LP)--The Beatles (5th week at #1)

#1 single in France: Venus--The Shocking Blue (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Ma chi se ne importa--Gianni Morandi

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Dein schönstes Geschenk--Roy Black (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Two Little Boys--Rolf Harris (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Two Little Boys--Rolf Harris (6th week at #1)

Australia's Top 10 (Go-Set)
1 Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head--Johnny Farnham
2 Penny Arcade--Roy Orbison
3 Suspicious Minds--Elvis Presley
4 Something/Come Together--The Beatles
5 Picking Up Pebbles--Matt Flinders
6 And When I Die--Blood, Sweat & Tears
7 Take a Letter Maria--R.B. Greaves
8 Down on the Corner/Fortunate Son--Creedence Clearwater Revival
9 Holly Holy--Neil Diamond
10 Arkansas Grass--Axiom

Singles entering the chart were Without Love (There is Nothing) by Tom Jones (#34); Jingle Jangle by the Archies (#37); and Arizona by Mark Lindsay (#38).

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Mighty Joe--Shocking Blue
2 Marian--The Cats
3 Thanks--J. Vincent Edward
4 Whole Lotta Love--Led Zeppelin
5 Tonight Today--DBM & T
6 Jin-Go-La-Ba--Santana
7 Het Zal Je Kind Maar Wezen--Adèle Bloemendaal, Leen Jongewaard, Piet Römer en koor
8 Marie Jolie--Aphrodite's Child
9 Mijn Gebed--D.C. Lewis
10 Another 45 Miles--The Golden Earring

Singles entering the chart were Pruimenpap by Johnny Jordaan (#22); Italian Concerto by Ekseption (#32); One Thing Can Lead to Another by Peppermint Circus (#35); Thanks for the Love by George Cash (#38); and Don't Cry Daddy by Elvis Presley (#40).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas (4th week at #1)
2 Venus--The Shocking Blue
3 I Want You Back--The Jackson 5
4 Someday We'll Be Together--Diana Ross and the Supremes
5 Whole Lotta Love--Led Zeppelin
6 Leaving on a Jet Plane--Peter, Paul and Mary
7 Don't Cry Daddy/Rubberneckin'--Elvis Presley
8 Without Love (There is Nothing)--Tom Jones
9 Jam Up Jelly Tight--Tommy Roe
10 I'll Never Fall in Love Again--Dionne Warwick

Singles entering the chart were Evil Ways by Santana (#71); If I were a Carpenter by Johnny Cash and June Carter (#80); Oh What a Day by the Dells (#82); Ma Belle Amie by the Tee Set (#83); It's Just a Matter of Time by Sonny James (#94); Then She's a Lover by Roy Clark (#95); Always Something There to Remind Me by R.B. Greaves (#97); Got to See If I Can't Get Mommy (To Come Back Home) by Jerry Butler (#98); You Got Me Hummin' by Cold Blood (#99); and I've Gotta Make You Love Me by Steam (#100).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I Want You Back--The Jackson 5
2 Venus--The Shocking Blue
3 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas
4 Whole Lotta Love--Led Zeppelin
5 Someday We'll Be Together--Diana Ross and the Supremes
6 Don't Cry Daddy--Elvis Presley
7 Jam Up Jelly Tight--Tommy Roe
8 Jingle Jangle--The Archies
9 Without Love (There is Nothing)--Tom Jones
10 I'll Never Fall in Love Again--Dionne Warwick

Singles entering the chart were Travelin' Band (#45)/Who'll Stop the Rain (#57) by Creedence Clearwater Revival; Always Something There to Remind Me by R.B. Greaves (#64); The Rapper by the Jaggerz (#66); I've Gotta Make You Love Me by Steam (#67); New World Coming by Mama Cass Elliot (#70); Why Should I Cry by the Gentrys (#72); Shades of Green by the Flaming Ember (#73); Give Me Just a Little More Time by the Chairmen of the Board (#74); A Friend in the City by Andy Kim (#82); Dig the Way I Feel by Mary Wells (#87); I'm Just a Prisoner (Of Your Good Lovin’) by Candi Staton (#88); Superstar by Murray Head with the Trinidad Singers (#89); She Lets Her Hair Down (Early in the Morning) by Gene Pitney (#92); House of the Rising Sun by Frijid Pink (#93); Back to Dreamin' Again by Pat Shannon (#95); How Can I Tell My Mom and Dad by the Lovelites (#98); and Take it Off Him and Put it on Me by Clarence Carter (#99).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 Venus--The Shocking Blue
2 I Want You Back--The Jackson 5
3 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas
4 Jam Up Jelly Tight--Tommy Roe
5 Don't Cry Daddy/Rubberneckin'--Elvis Presley
6 Jingle Jangle--The Archies
7 Whole Lotta Love--Led Zeppelin
8 Without Love (There is Nothing)--Tom Jones
9 Early in the Morning--Vanity Fare
10 Someday We'll Be Together--Diana Ross and the Supremes

Singles entering the chart were Psychedelic Shack by the Temptations (#53); If I were a Carpenter by Johnny Cash and June Carter (#69); Save the Country by Thelma Houston (#74); The Rapper by the Jaggerz (#76); Give Me Just a Little More Time by the Chairmen of the Board (#84); I've Gotta Make You Love Me by Steam (#88); Always Something There to Remind Me by R.B. Greaves (#89); Evil Ways by Santana (#90); Why Should I Cry by the Gentrys (#91); God Only Knows by the Vogues (#93); Answer Me, My Love by the Happenings (#96); and To Be Young, Gifted and Black by Nina Simone (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Jingle Jangle--The Archies
2 Whole Lotta Love--Led Zeppelin
3 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas
4 Venus--The Shocking Blue
5 I Want You Back--The Jackson 5
6 One Tin Soldier--The Original Caste
7 La La La (If I Had You)--Bobby Sherman
8 Don't Cry Daddy/Rubberneckin'--Elvis Presley
9 Jam Up Jelly Tight--Tommy Roe
10 Without Love (There is Nothing)--Tom Jones

Singles entering the chart were Psychedelic Shack by the Temptations (#62); Let a Man Come In and Do the Popcorn by James Brown (#66); Bold Soul Sister by Ike and Tina Turner (#72); My Honey and Me by Luther Ingram (#74); The Rainmaker by Tom Northcott (#83); Life is a Song by Gainsborough Gallery (#86); Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin) by Sly & the Family Stone (#87); Rainy Night in Georgia by Brook Benton (#88); If Walls Could Talk by Little Milton (#89); If I Never Knew Your Name by Vic Dana (#90); Ma Belle Amie by the Tee Set (#91); Barbara, I Love You by the New Colony Six (#92); The Touch of You by Brenda and the Tabulations (#94); Freight Train by Duane Eddy (#95); Compared to What by Les McCann and Eddie Harris (#98); Save the Country by Thelma Houston (#99); and Answer Me, My Love by the Happenings (#100).

Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas
2 Don't Cry Daddy--Elvis Presley
3 That's Where I Went Wrong--The Poppy Family
4 Cold Turkey--Plastic Ono Band
5 No Time--The Guess Who
6 La La La (If I Had You)--Bobby Sherman
7 Venus--The Shocking Blue
8 Jam Up Jelly Tight--Tommy Roe
9 I Want You Back--The Jackson 5
10 Fancy--Bobbie Gentry
Pick hit of the week: Sunday Mornin'--Oliver

Died on this date
James "Shep" Sheppard, 34. U.S. singer and songwriter. Mr. Sheppard was the lead singer of the doo-wop group The Heartbeats, who released a number of singles in the 1950s, the most successful of which was A Thousand Miles Away, which reached #5 on the Billboard rhythm and blues chart in 1956, #53 on the Top 100 pop chart in 1957. The group disbanded in 1959, and two years later, Mr. Sheppard founded Shep and the Limelites, who recorded a sequel to A Thousand Miles Away: Daddy’s Home hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the spring of 1961. The group’s only other major chart success came with Our Anniversary, which went to #7 on the r&b chart (#59 pop) in 1962. Shep and the Limelites disbanded in 1966, but reunited in early 1970 to perform on the oldies circuit. The reunion ended when Mr. Sheppard was found shot to death in his car on the Long Island Expressway.

World events
Reports indicated that incidents of pillaging, brutality, and indiscipline among Nigerian troops in the southern portion of the former Biafran enclave had reached such proportions that they were becoming a serious problem to the Nigerian government, which was using savage punishments against the rampaging troops.

Abominations
The U.S. Defense Department disclosed that another soldier was under investigation for the March 16, 1968 My Lai massacre in South Vietnam. There were now 33 men facing charges or under investigation--an increase of seven since November 1969--in the incident. Besides the four already charged, ten were still in the service and 19 had become civilians.

Diplomacy
Although they were theoretically still at war, it was announced that Greece and Albania agreed to re-establish trade relations that had been broken 30 years earlier. Details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Disasters
The explosion of an army truck carrying munitions in the Israeli port of Elath killed 18 Israeli soldiers and injured 42 others. Army authorities said that nothing had been discovered so far to indicate sabotage.

30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
Edmonton’s Top 20 (CHED)
1 I Don’t Like Mondays--The Boomtown Rats
2 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
3 Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles
4 Jane--Jefferson Starship
5 Do That to Me One More Time--Captain & Tennille
6 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
7 Don’t Do Me Like That--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
8 The Long Run--Eagles
9 Chiquitita--Abba
10 Yes I’m Ready--Teri DeSario with K.C.
11 Rock With You--Michael Jackson
12 Babe--Styx
13 Tiny Thing--Jenson Interceptor
14 Message in a Bottle--The Police
15 Why Me--Styx
16 Please Don’t Go--K.C. and the Sunshine Band
17 Say Hello--April Wine
18 This is It--Kenny Loggins
19 Find Your Way--Surrender
20 A Night to Remember--Prism

Jenson Interceptor was a group from Edmonton.

Defense
In a major policy change linked to the recent Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the United States announced that it was willing to sell military equipment to China for the first time.

Business
The heirs of Joan Whitney Payson, who had owned the New York Mets since the National League team’s creation in 1962, sold the franchise to Nelson Doubleday of the book publishing family and Fred Wilpon, a Long Island real estate developer, for a reported $21.1 million, the most ever paid for a major league baseball franchise at the time.

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Madge Bellamy, 90. U.S. actress. Miss Bellamy, born Margaret Derden Philpott, starred in such movie as Love Never Dies (1921); Lorna Doone (1922); The Iron Horse (1924); and White Zombie (1932).

Space
Japan launched Hiten, the country's first lunar probe. It was the first robotic lunar probe since the U.S.S.R.'s Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States.

Protest
The Romanian government outlawed unauthorized demonstrations.

Abominations
The Canadian federal government introduced its Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the House of Commons. The GST, which would replace the existing 13.5% manufacturing sales tax with a 9% tax on most goods and services, had been widely criticized since Finance Minister Michael Wilson had announced it as part of the previous year’s budget. Both the Liberal and New Democratic opposition parties vowed to fight the GST, which the governing Progressive Conservatives said would take effect on January 1, 1991.

10 years ago
2000

Terrorism
Thai security forces stormed a hospital and killed 10 heavily-armed insurgents from a Myanmarese rebel group who had taken 700 patients, visitors, and staff hostage.

Politics and government
The 2000 U.S. presidential race got under way with the Iowa caucuses in both the Republican and Democratic Parties. Texas Governor George W. Bush won the Republican caucus with 41% of the vote, followed by publisher Steve Forbes (30%); former ambassador Alan Keyes (14%); conservative activist Gary Bauer (9%); U.S. Senator John McCain, who did not campaign in the state (5%); and Sen. Orrin Hatch (1%). Vice-President Al Gore won the Democratic caucus with 63% of the vote to 35% for Sen. Bill Bradley.

The first round of elections for the presidency of Croatia took place. Stjepan Mesic, executive vice president of the Croatian People’s Party, led over Drazen Budisa. The election was necessitated by the death of President Franjo Tudjman on December 10, 1999.

Crime
James Kopp, an American Roman Catholic anti-abortion terrorist, was named in a Canada-wide warrant charging him with the attempted murder in 1995 of Hugh Short, an abortionist from the Hamilton, Ontario area. Mr. Kopp, a fugitive, was already wanted in the U.S.A. for the 1998 murder of Barnett Slepian, an abortionist who practiced in Buffalo, New York.