January 25, 2010

1,260 years ago
750

War
Forces of the Abbasid Caliphate commanded by Abdallah ibn Ali defeated forces of the Umayyad Caliphate led by Marwan II in the Battle of the Zab in what is now Iraq.

120 years ago
1890

Adventure
Nellie Bly, a reporter for the New York World, bested Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days by completing her circumnavigation in 72 days.

Labour
The United Mine Workers of America was founded in Columbus, Ohio.

70 years ago
1940

War
German planes bombed the Shetland Islands.

Politics and government
Canadian Governor General Lord Tweedsmuir granted Prime Minister Mackenzie King's request for a dissolution of Parliament.

Protest
Indian activist Mohandas Gandhi began a 24-hour fast in Bombay to draw attention to demands for Indian independence from Britain.

Economics and finance
The United States government banned shipments of packages to belligerent countries without an affidavit that the material was being transferred to foreign ownership.

60 years ago
1950

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Ben Wright and Eric Snowden, on ABC
Tonight’s episode: The Case of the Interrupted Voyage

The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Jackson Beck, on ABC

Crime
Four days after being convicted of two counts of perjury, U.S. diplomat and accused Soviet spy Alger Hiss was sentenced to five years in prison.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): La Montaña--Lucho Gatica

#1 single in France (IFOP): Le marchand de bonheur--Les Compagnons de la chanson (11th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Running Bear--Johnny Preston (2nd week at #1)
2 El Paso--Marty Robbins
3 Why--Frankie Avalon
4 Teen Angel--Mark Dinning
5 Way Down Yonder in New Orleans--Freddie Cannon
6 The Big Hurt--Miss Toni Fisher
7 The Village of St. Bernadette--Andy Williams
8 Go, Jimmy, Go--Jimmy Clanton
9 Pretty Blue Eyes--Steve Lawrence
10 Where or When--Dion and the Belmonts

Singles entering the chart were Midnite Special by Paul Evans (#70); Forever by the Little Dippers (#77); Baby (You've Got What it Takes) by Dinah Washington & Brook Benton (#79); On the Beach by Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra (#84); Harbor Lights by the Platters (#86); My Little Marine by Jamie Horton (#89); I Can't Say Goodbye by the Fireflies featuring Ritchie Adams (#90); I was Such a Fool (To Fall in Love with You) by the Flamingos (#94); Mediterranean Moon by the Rays (#95); I'll Take Care of You by Bobby Bland (#96); Livin' Dangerously by the McGuire Sisters (#97); and Secret of Love by Elton Anderson with the Sid Lawrence Combo (#100). On the Beach was a version of the title theme of the movie.

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKWX)
1 Running Bear--Johnny Preston
2 El Paso--Marty Robbins
3 Hound Dog Man/This Friendly World--Fabian
4 Pretty Blue Eyes--Steve Lawrence
5 First Name Initial--Annette with the Afterbeats
6 Not One Minute More/You're My Love--Della Reese
7 Way Down Yonder in New Orleans--Freddie Cannon
8 The Big Hurt--Miss Toni Fisher
9 Heartaches by the Number--Guy Mitchell
10 Why--Frankie Avalon

Singles entering the chart were Beyond the Sea by Bobby Darin (#32); Harlem Nocturne by the Viscounts (#35); Sweet Nothin's by Brenda Lee (#38); Bulldog by the Fireballs (#39); My Little Marine by Jamie Horton (#49); Forever by the Little Dippers (#54); Why Do I Love You So by Johnny Tillotson (#57); and Country Boy by Fats Domino (#59).

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Zlata Antunovich!

40 years ago
1970

At the movies
MASH, directed by Robert Altman, and starring Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, and Robert Duvall, received its premiere screening in New York City.





Died on this date
Eiji Tsuburaya, 68. Japanese film director and producer. Mr. Tsuburaya was a special effects director for about 250 movies in a career spanning 50 years. He was perhaps best known for directing special effects for movies featuring Godzilla and other monsters in the 1950s and '60s. Mr. Tsuburaya died of a heart attack.

Politics and government
Former Czechoslovakian Premier Alexander Dubcek, whose "Prague Spring" reform movement had been crushed by an invasion of Soviet tanks in August 1968, left the country to take up his new position as Ambassador to Turkey.

Disasters
25 people were killed when a bus plunged into a ravine near San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

A plane carrying Mexican reporters crashed near Poza Rica, killing 19 of 20 aboard.

30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): No More Tears (Enough is Enough)--Donna Summer/Barbra Streisand

#1 single in France (IFOP): Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles (11th week at #1)

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough--Michael Jackson (3rd week at #1)
2 The Part of Me that Needs You Most--Exile
3 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
4 She's in Love with You--Suzi Quatro
5 Rise--Herb Alpert
6 If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body (Would You Hold it Against Me)--Bellamy Brothers
7 Half the Way--Crystal Gayle
8 Caravan Song--Barbara Dickson
9 Breakfast in America--Supertramp
10 Friday on My Mind--Chilly

Singles entering the chart were Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles (#13); and Ain't Gonna Stop (Till I Get to the Top) by Joy (#17).

World events
Two days after dissident Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov had been sent into exile, the Soviet news agency Tass reported that, "for humane considerations and taking Sakharov’s previous services into account," he would not be put on trial.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose 13.3% in 1979, the largest annual increase in 33 years. Since the beginning of such record-keeping in 1912, only 1917-1919 and 1946 had shown greater rises. The December increase in the Consumer Price Index was 1.2%, the highest in nearly a year. Large increases in the cost of energy and housing led the increases for both the month and the year. It was reported that the purchasing power of workers for the year had declined by 5.3%.

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Letkautus--Lättykettu & Tehosekoittajat (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor

Died on this date
Ava Gardner, 67. U.S. actress. Miss Gardner was one of Hollywood's most noted beauties, starring in such movies as The Killers (1946); The Hucksters (1947); The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952); Mogambo (1953); The Barefoot Contessa (1954); Bhowani Junction (1956); On the Beach (1959); Seven Days in May (1964); and The Night of the Iguana (1964).

Diplomacy
U.S. President George Bush announced his support for a $1 billion package of cash, loans, and other types of aid to help rebuild the devastated economy of Panama.

Disasters
A Colombian jetliner apparently ran out of fuel over Long Island in New York and crashed into a wooded area in the community of Cove Neck. 73 of the 161 people aboard were killed and the rest injured. The plane, en route from Bogota via Medellin, was to have landed at Kennedy International Airport. The landing was delayed for more than an hour because of bad weather. About 50 minutes before the crash, the pilot told the air traffic controllers that he needed a priority landing because of low fuel.

Hurricane-force winds caused the deaths of at least 39 people in England and Wales and at least 21 people elsewhere in Europe.

10 years ago
2000

Crime
Shannon Murrin, who had spent five years in prison awaiting trial, was found not guilty in Vancouver, British Columbia of murdering 8-year-old Mindy Tran of Kelowna, B.C. in 1994.