January 4, 2010

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Angela Ieriti, Agness Nyambe, and Aydee Ramirez!

300 years ago
1710

Born on this date
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. Italian composer. Mr. Pergolesi, born Giovanni Battista Draghi, was a violinist and organist who wrote orchestral, keyboard, and chamber works, as well as operas and sacred music. He died from tuberculosis on March 16 or 17, 1736 at the age of 26.

290 years ago
1720

Born on this date
Johann Friedrich Agricola. German composer. Mr. Agricola was an organist who wrote keyboard works, operas, and church music, but was better known for his theoretical and critical writings on music. He died on December 2, 1774 at the age of 54.

125 years ago
1885

Medicine
Dr. William W. Grant of Davenport, Iowa, performed what is thought to be the first appendectomy.

120 years ago
1890

Born on this date
Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. U.S. publisher. Mr. Wheeler-Nicholson was a writer for pulp magazines who founded National Allied Publications and created the comic book New Fun in 1935, pioneering the publication of comic books that contained all original material rather than reprints of comic strips from newspapers. In 1937 NAP published the first issue of Detective Comics, which eventually became the new name of the company. Mr. Wheeler-Nicholson was soon forced out of his position with Detective Comics, Inc. because of financial difficulties, and returned to writing, spending his later years writing on military-related topics. He died in 1965 at the age of 75.

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
James Bond. U.S. ornithologist. Mr. Bond was curator of ornithology at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. He was expert on Caribbean birds, and wrote the book Birds of the West Indies (1936). British writer Ian Fleming was a birdwatcher, and came across Mr. Bond's book while working in Jamaica. He obtained Mr. Bond's approval to use his name for the main character of Mr. Fleming's spy novels. Mr. Bond won several awards in ornithology before his death on February 14, 1989 at the age of 89.

100 years ago
1910

Hockey
CHA
Montreal Shamrocks 6 @ All-Montreal 3

90 years ago
1920

Died on this date
Benito Pérez Galdós, 76. Spanish author. Mr. Pérez Galdós was a realist novelist who wrote 31 novels, 46 Episodios Nacionales (National Episodes), 23 plays, and the equivalent of 20 volumes of shorter fiction, journalism and other writings. The Episodios Nacionales were novels about famous episodes in Spanish history. In Spain, Mr. Pérez Galdós is regarded as he equal of Charles Dickens and Leo Tolstoy.

80 years ago
1930

At the movies
Peacock Alley, directed by Marcel de Sano, and starring Mae Murray, George Barraud, and Jason Robards, Sr., received its premiere screening. It was a sound remake of the 1922 silent film of the same name, which also starred Miss Murray.



70 years ago
1940

Died on this date
Flora Finch, 72. U.K.-born U.S. actress. Miss Finch was born into a theatrical family in England and moved to the United States as a child. She worked in theatre and vaudeville, but made her mark in cinema, appearing in more than 300 silent films, including more than 200 with Vitagraph Studios. Miss Finch teamed up with John Bunny to star in 160 short comedy films from 1910-1915, and they became the first popular comedy team in movie history. Mr. Bunny died in 1915, and Miss Finch was never able to recapture her former popularity. She died of blood poisoning, after accidentally cutting her arm.

Diplomacy
British Ambassador to the United States Lord Lothian said in Chicago that a federation of European states must follow the war if peace were to be maintained.

Brazil protested French seizure of Brazilian mail addressed to Germany.

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed James Cromwell as Minister to Canada; George Messersmith as Ambassador to Cuba; John Cudahy as Ambassador to Belgium; and Henry Norweb as Ambassador to Peru.

Politics and government
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated Solicitor General Robert H. Jackson to be Attorney General.

Law
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated Attorney General Frank Murphy as an associate justice of the Supreme Court.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to approve a budget of $8.424 billion for fiscal 1941 and to legislate $460 million in new taxes.

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 Unholy Three

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

Journalism
The New York World-Telegram merged with the New York Sun to form the New York World-Telegram and The Sun.

Literature
The God that Failed by Richard Crossman, a study of six prominent writers who had lost their faith in Communism, was published in New York by Harper.

Died on this date
George P. Putnam, 61. U.S. publisher and promoter. Mr. Putnam was the grandson of George Palmer Putnam, the founder of the publishing firm that became G.P. Putnam's Sons. The younger Putnam was Mayor of Bend, Oregon (1912-1913) and publisher and editor of the Bend Bulletin before entering the family business in New York City, where he achieved success with the publication of We (1927), Charles Lindbergh's autobiography. Mr. Putnam left the firm after a merger in 1930, and married aviatrix Amelia Earhart in 1931, two years after his divorce from his first wife. He publicized Ms. Earhart's exploits until her disappearance in 1937 while attempting to circumnavigate the globe. Mr. Putnam founded the publishing firm George Palmer Putnam Inc. in 1938. He died shortly after falling ill with kidney failure.

War
The United Kingdom reinforced its garrison in Eritrea to prevent clashes between rival bands favouring Italian rule and union with Ethiopia.

U.S.S.R. representative Kuzma Derevyanko walked out of the Allied Far Eastern Council in Tokyo for the second time in two weeks to avoid discussing U.S. charges that many missing Japanese soldiers were in Soviet hands.

Diplomacy
Pakistan recognized the People's Republic of China.

Politics and government
U.S. President Harry Truman delivered his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, calling for the passage of his Fair Deal legislative program and a "moderate increase" in federal tax revenue. The speech was interrupted by boos from Republicans, the first instance of such behaviour in congressional history.



Law
Observers in Prague reported a purge of non-Communist lawyers from professional organizations. 50 purged lawyers were reported to have been sent to labour camps.

Economics and finance
The U.S.A. requested all recipients of Marshall Plan aid except Greece to cut their third-year aid requests by 25%.

Labour
The U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission ordered a 25% reduction in passenger service on coal-burning railroads, due to the shortened coal miners' work week ordered by United Mine Workers of America President John L. Lewis.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Lonely Boy--Paul Anka

#1 single in France (IFOP): Le marchand de bonheur--Les Compagnons de la chanson (8th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 El Paso--Marty Robbins
2 Why--Frankie Avalon
3 The Big Hurt--Miss Toni Fisher
4 Running Bear--Johnny Preston
5 Way Down Yonder in New Orleans--Freddie Cannon
6 Heartaches by the Number--Guy Mitchell
7 It's Time to Cry--Paul Anka
8 Among My Souvenirs--Connie Francis
9 Pretty Blue Eyes--Steve Lawrence
10 Go, Jimmy, Go--Jimmy Clanton

Singles entering the chart were Crazy Arms by Bob Beckham (#68); Skokiaan (South African Song) by Bill Haley and his Comets (#78); Rockin' Little Angel by Ray Smith (#82); Tracy's Theme by Spencer Ross (#84); Riverboat by Faron Young (#87); Little Coco Palm by Jerry Wallace (#95); One Mint Julep by Chet Atkins (#97); and Smokie (Part 2) by Bill Doggett (#99).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Music Vendor)
1 El Paso--Marty Robbins
2 Why--Frankie Avalon
3 The Big Hurt--Miss Toni Fisher
4 Running Bear--Johnny Preston
5 Way Down Yonder in New Orleans--Freddie Cannon
6 Heartaches by the Number--Guy Mitchell
7 Among My Souvenirs--Connie Francis
8 It's Time to Cry--Paul Anka
9 The Village of St. Bernadette--Andy Williams
10 Pretty Blue Eyes--Steve Lawrence

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKWX)
1 El Paso--Marty Robbins (3rd week at #1)
2 The Big Hurt--Miss Toni Fisher
3 Hound Dog Man/This Friendly World--Fabian
4 Heartaches by the Number--Guy Mitchell
5 Marina--Willy Alberti
--Rocco Granata and the International Quintet
6 Pretty Blue Eyes--Steve Lawrence
7 Living Doll--Cliff Richard and the Drifters
--David Hill
8 In the Mood--Ernie Fields Orchestra
9 Way Down Yonder in New Orleans--Freddie Cannon
10 Among My Souvenirs/God Bless America--Connie Francis

Singles entering the chart were You're My Love by Della Reese (#15, charting with its A-side, Not One Minute More); A Year Ago Tonight by the Crests (#30); No Love Have I by Webb Pierce (#50); Swinging on a Rainbow by Frankie Avalon (#51); Living Dangerously by the McGuire Sisters (#58); The Happy Muleteer by Ivo Robic (#59); and Hear Them Bells by Bobby Darin (#60).

Died on this date
Dudley Nichols, 64. U.S. screenwriter. Mr. Nichols was at his peak in the 1930s and '40s, winning an Academy Award for The Informer (1935), and receiving Oscar nominations for The Long Voyage Home (1940); Air Force (1943); and The Tin Star (1957). He died of cancer.

Albert Camus, 46. Algerian-born French author and philosopher. Mr. Camus, born to French parents, grew up in Algeria, moving to Paris just before World War II. He joined the French Communist Party in 1935 and the Algerian Communist Party in 1936, but eventually opposed Soviet totalitarianism. Mr. Camus was unsuccessful in attempting to flee France when German forces invaded in 1940, but participated in the French Resistance during the war. He was frequently regarded as an existentialist, but rejected the term, and was regarded as a major contributor to the philosophy known as absurdism. Mr. Camus expressed his views in books such as L'Étranger (The Stranger) (1942); Le Mythe de Sisyphe (The Myth of Sisyphus) (1942); and La Peste (The Plague) (1947), which resulted in him receiving the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was killed in an accident, when a car in which he was a passenger struck a tree.

40 years ago
1970

War
The second investigation in four months into charges of censorship on the military radio and television network in Vietnam was begun by the American command after an Army broadcaster unexpectedly ended a news report with the statement that he and his colleagues were "not free to tell the truth." Specialist Robert Lawrence, 27, of Atlanta and Marine Corporal Thomas Sinkovitz, 21, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania both claimed that they had been ordered not to discuss the case publicly until the investigation was completed.

Violent clashes erupted between Protestants and Roman Catholics in Northern Ireland, notably in the Bogside district of Londonderry.

Disasters
Fire swept through a house in St. Roche de L’Achigan, Quebec, killing 13 at a family reunion.

A driver blinded by a snowstorm in Vercelli, Italy plowed into a funeral procession, killing 5 and injuring 17.

Football
NFL
Championship @ Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington
Cleveland 7 @ Minnesota 27

The Vikings used the 8 degree F. cold to their advantage, scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions, and coasting to an easy victory before 46,503 fans for their first NFL title. Joe Kapp rushed 7 yards for the first Minnesota touchdown 3:48 into the game. Just 3 minutes and 19 seconds later Mr. Kapp completed a 75-yard touchdown bomb to Gene Washington. Fred Cox converted both scores and added a 30-yard field goal 1:07 into the second quarter to make the score 17-0. Dave Osborn, who rushed 18 times for 108 yards, ran 20 yards for a touchdown, converted by Mr. Cox, at 10:15 to give the Vikings a 24-0 halftime lead. Mr. Cox added a 32-yard field goal at 11:18 of the third quarter to make the score 27-0. The Browns finally scored on a 3-yard pass from Bill Nelsen to Gary Collins at 1:24 of the fourth quarter. Don Cockroft’s convert made the final score 27-7. The Vikings rushed 45 times for 222 yards. Mr. Kapp rushed 8 times for 57 yards, while completing 7 of 13 passes for 169 yards. Bo Scott picked up just 17 yards on 6 carries for the Browns, but caught 5 passes for 56 and returned 4 kickoffs for 60. His teammate Leroy Kelly carried 15 times for 80 yards, caught 2 passes for 17, and returned 2 punts for 10. Mr. Nelsen completed 17 of 33 passes for just 181 yards and 2 interceptions.





AFL
Championship @ Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Kansas City 17 @ Oakland 7

Charlie Smith rushed 3 yards for a touchdown, converted by George Blanda, with 46 seconds remaining in the first quarter to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead, but they were unable to generate much offense after that (see video). Kansas City quarterback Len Dawson threw 7 straight incomplete passes in the first half, but late in the second quarter he completed a 41-yard bomb to Frank Pitts to the Oakland 1-yard line. Wendell Hayes carried from there for the touchdown at 13:10 of the second quarter; Jan Stenerud’s convert made the score 7-7 at halftime. Oakland quarterback Daryle Lamonica hurt his passing hand early in the third quarter when he banged it against the helmet of Chiefs’ defensive end Aaron Brown and had to leave the game. Mr. Blanda, who had thrown only 13 passes during the regular season and 5 in the previous week’s playoff victory over the Houston Oilers, completed just 2 of 6 passes and gave up an interception in the Chiefs’ end zone before Mr. Lamonica, the AFL’s Most Valuable Player, re-entered the game. Mr. Blanda also missed 3 field goals, which didn’t help the Raiders’ cause. Mr. Blanda’s interception was returned by Emmitt Thomas to the Chiefs’ 6-yard line, from where Mr. Dawson moved the team downfield. Robert Holmes finished the 94-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run at 11:17 of the third quarter; Mr. Stenerud’s convert made the score 14-7. Mr. Lamonica, unable to throw effectively because of his injury, gave up 3 interceptions in the fourth quarter. Mr. Stenerud kicked a 22-yard field goal with 4:48 remaining in the game to make the score 17-7. 53,564 were in attendance at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum to see the Raiders suffer just their second loss of the season in the final game of the 10-year existence of the American Football League. In a game that featured little offense, Mr. Holmes rushed 18 times for just 14 yards. He added 16 yards on 2 pass receptions and returned 1 kickoff for 28. Mr. Hayes carried 8 times for 35 yards and picked up 17 yards after taking a lateral from Dave Hill on a kickoff return. Otis Taylor led the Chiefs in receiving with 3 receptions for 62 yards. Mr. Dawson completed 7 of 17 passes for 129 yards. Mr. Thomas made 2 of the Chiefs’ 4 interceptions and picked up 69 yards in returns. Mr. Smith led the Raiders with 86 yards on 8 pass receptions and 31 yards on 12 rushes. Hewritt Dixon carried 12 times for 36 yards. Warren Wells, who had led the AFL with 1,260 yards receiving and 14 touchdown receptions during the regular season, was held to 1 reception for 24 yards. George Atkinson of the Raiders returned 3 kickoffs for 95 yards, but lost 1 yard on 2 punt returns. Mr. Lamonica completed just 15 of 39 passes for 167 yards. Both punters had excellent games: Oakland’s Mike Eischeid punted 6 times for a 48.5-yard average, while Kansas City’s Jerrel Wilson punted 8 times for a 42.9-yard average.

30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Oh! Susie--Secret Service (12th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles (8th week at #1)

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 She's in Love with You--Suzi Quatro (7th week at #1)
2 Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough--Michael Jackson
3 The Part of Me that Needs You Most--Exile
4 Half the Way--Crystal Gayle
5 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
6 I Have a Dream--ABBA
7 Boy Oh Boy--Racey
8 If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body (Would You Hold it Against Me)--Bellamy Brothers
9 We Don't Talk Anymore--Cliff Richard
10 Breakfast in America--Supertramp

The only single entering the chart was Where Have All the Flowers Gone by Roy Bulkin (#20).

Diplomacy
U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced a cutoff of high technology sales to the U.S.S.R.; a limitation of fishing privileges; a grain embargo; and a deferral of any new cultural and economic exchanges between the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R.

Hockey
NHL-U.S.S.R.
Exhibition
Super Series ‘80
Moscow Dynamo 4 @ Edmonton 1



25 years ago
1985

Crime
Scotland Yard began investigating a surrogate mother in London following reports she was to receive £6,500 for her baby from a childless couple.

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Ryyd-joulu--Bat & Ryyd (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Do They Know It's Christmas?--Band Aid II (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Harold Eugene Edgerton, 86. U.S. engineer. Dr. Edgerton, a professor of electrical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was credited with transforming the stroboscope from an obscure laboratory instrument into a common device. He was also involved with the development of sonar and deep-sea photography, devising equipment that was used by oceanographer Jacques Cousteau. Dr. Edgerton died of a heart attack while having lunch at the MIT Faculty Club.

Henry Bolte, 81. Australian politician. Sir Henry, a Liberal, represented Hampden in the Victorian Parliament from 1947-1972 and was Governor of Victoria from 1955-1972.

Chuck Stuart, 30. U.S. murder suspect. Mr. Stuart jumped to his death from a bridge in Boston Harbor after learning he had become the prime suspect in the murder of his wife. In October 1989, Mr. Stuart called from a phone in his car to report that his pregnant wife Carol had been shot and that he had been shot. The tapes of his pleas for help were played on radio and television stations, and attracted widespread sympathy. Mr. Stuart recovered from a serious wound but Carol died in hospital. Her baby, delivered prematurely, also died. Mr. Stuart said that a Negro man was their assailant; the Stuarts were white. On January 3, Mr. Stuart’s brother Matthew told investigators that he had driven to the neighbourhood where the shooting occurred and that Charles had given him his wife’s bag and a gun, which Matthew threw into the Pines River. Matthew said he had decided to come forward after his brother had identified a Negro man in a police lineup as resembling the gunman. Based on Matthew’s information, police divers recovered both the handbag and a .38 calibre revolver from the river. It was reported that Charles Stuart had taken out large insurance policies on his wife. Some Negro leaders objected to the intensity with which police had conducted investigations in Negro neighbourhoods when it was believed that a Negro was the culprit.

Abominations
A rebel radio broadcast in Sudan reported that a pro-government Arab militia had killed 2,000 Negro villagers at the end of December 1989. Reportedly, two members of the Shilok tribe killed their Muslim employer in a dispute, and local militiamen armed with machine guns then destroyed the entire village. Western diplomats and relief officials put the death toll at 300-1,500. The Muslim central government of Sudan was in a sustained war against Negro Christians and animists.

Disasters
A passenger train crashed into a stopped freight train in Sangi, Pakistan, killing 307 people and injuring 700 others.

Hockey
World Junior Championships
Final
Canada 2 Czechoslovakia 1

10 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Spyros Markezinis, 90. Prime Minister of Greece, 1973. Mr. Markezinis was first elected to Parliament in 1946 as a member of the United Nationalist Party, but he soon left and founded the New Party, and later founded several other parties. He held several cabinet posts in the 1950s, and was praised for his economic reforms. Mr. Markezinis served as Prime Minister from September-November 1973 during an attempt to democratize the military dictatorship that was then governing Greece, but the government was overthrown. Mr. Markezinis was involved in the negotiations that saw the return of democratic government to Greece in 1974.

Tom Fears, 77. U.S. football player and coach. Mr. Fears was a star receiver with the Los Angeles Rams from 1948-1956. His 77 receptions in 1949 and 84 in 1950 were NFL records at the time, and his 18 receptions in one game on November 12, 1950 still stands as a record. His 73-yard touchdown on a pass from Norm Van Brocklin midway through the fourth quarter gave the Rams a 24-17 win over the Cleveland Browns in the 1951 NFL championship game. He spent several years as an assistant coach under Vince Lombardi with the Green Bay Packers, and became the first head coach of the New Orleans Saints in 1967. Mr. Fears was fired midway through the 1970 season, leaving with a record of 13-34-2. He was head coach of the Southern California Sun in the World Football League in 1974-1975. Mr. Fears was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1970 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1976. He died after a six-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Crime
Larry Fisher was sentenced to life in prison for the Canadian 1969 sex-slaying of Gail Miller, a crime for which David Milgaard had been wrongly convicted and for which he had served more than 20 years in prison.

Adventure
The first British women to walk across Antarctica to the South Pole arrived safely, more than two months after starting their record-breaking journey.

Economics and finance
Alan Greenspan was nominated by U.S. President Bill Clinton for a fourth term as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.

Diplomacy
Israeli Prime Minister and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara, meeting in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, agreed to simultaneous consideration of the securing of Israel’s borders and the return of the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967, to Syria.

Football
NCAA
Sugar Bowl
Florida State 46 Virginia Tech 29

The teams, both unbeaten going into the game, was for the championship of the Bowl Championship Series. Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke passed for 329 yards and 4 touchdowns. Peer Warrick of the Seminoles caught touchdown passes of 64 and 43 yards and returned a punt 59 yards for another touchdown. Georgia Tech quarterback Michael Vick passed for 229 yards and rushed for 97. The Hokies trailed 28-7 at one point before rallying to take a 29-28 lead. For Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden, it was the first undefeated season in his 34 years as a head coach.