January 7, 2010

400 years ago
1610

Space
Through his telescope, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei made the first observation of Jupiter's Galilean moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, although he was not able to distinguish the first two until the following night.

210 years ago
1800

Born on this date
Millard Fillmore. 13th President of the United States of America, 1850-1853; Vice President of the United States of America, 1849-1850. Mr. Fillmore, a lawyer from western New York, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1833-1835 and 1837-1843. He was elected Vice President of the United States in 1848 and succeeded Zachary Taylor as President upon Mr. Taylor's death on July 9, 1850. Mr. Fillmore supported slavery, which made him unpopular in the northern states, and he failed in his attempt to be nominated by the Whig party as its presidential candidate in 1852. The Whig party broke up before the next presidential election, and Mr. Fillmore ran for president as the nominee of the American Party--better known as the "Know Nothings"--which represented anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic views. Mr. Fillmore finished third behind Democratic party candidate James Buchanan and Republican party nominee John C. Fremont, winning only the state of Maryland. Mr. Fillmore left active politics after that election; he supported the Union cause in the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865), but was critical of the policies of President Abraham Lincoln. He died on March 8, 1874 at the age of 74.

180 years ago
1830

Born on this date
Albert Bierstadt. German-born U.S. artist. Mr. Bierstadt moved to the United States as an infant with his family. He became part of the Hudson River School, and many of his 500 paintings were of landscapes showing America's westward expansion. Mr. Bierstadt died on February 18, 1902 at the age of 72.

150 years ago
1860

Born on this date
Emanuil Manolov. Bulgarian composer. Mr. Manolov wrote Siromahkinia, the first Bulgarian opera. Other works of his included Workers' March and Teachers' March, as well as numerous songs for children and schools. Mr. Manolov died on February 2, 1902, 26 days after his 72nd birthday.

140 years ago
1870

Born on this date
Gordon Hewart, 1st Viscount Hewart. Lord Chief Justice of England, 1922-1940. Viscount Hewart, a Liberal, was Solicitor General for England (1916-1919) and Attorney General for England before being appointed Lord Chief Justice. He has been credited with originating the saying, "Not only must Justice be done; it must also be seen to be done." Viscount Hewart died on May 5, 1943 at the age of 73.

100 years ago
1910

Hockey
Stanley Cup challenge
Game 2 (2-game, total goals series)
Galt (OPHL) 1 @ Ottawa (CHA) 3 (Ottawa won series 15-4)

Bruce Stuart, Fred Lake, and Bruce Ridpath scored for the Ottawa Hockey Club, formerly of the Eastern Canada Hockey Association and now playing as a founding member of the new professional league known as the Canadian Hockey Association, as they retained the Stanley Cup with their second straight win at The Arena over Galt, champions of the Ontario Professional Hockey League. Mr. Charlton scored for Galt.

90 years ago
1920

Died on this date
Edmund Barton, 70. Prime Minister of Australia, 1901-1903. Sir Edmund, an independent before joining the Protectionist Party in 1887, was first elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1879. He was Speaker of the Assembly before serving two terms as Attorney General. Sir Edmund was an early proponent of Australian federation, and became the country's first Prime Minister when federation took effect on January 1, 1901. He resigned as Prime Minister to become one of the first Justices on the High Court of Australia, serving from October 5, 1903 until his death, 11 days before his 71st birthday.

Politics and government
The New York State Assembly refused to seat five duly elected Socialist assemblymen.

70 years ago
1940

Movies
The New York Film Critics Circle announced its awards for 1939: Best Picture--Wuthering Heights; Best Director--John Ford (Stagecoach); Best Actor--James Stewart (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington); Best Actress--Vivien Leigh (Gone with the Wind).

War
The Finnish 9th Division stopped and completely destroyed the overwhelming Soviet forces on the Raate-Suomussalmi road.

Diplomacy
The U.S.A. and Australia announced establishment of diplomatic relations on the ambassadorial level. Clarence Gauss was appointed U.S. Minister to Australia.

Reports from India indicated that efforts to solve the nation's Hindu-Muslim rift had broken down.

Politics and government
276 members of the Japanese Diet signed a declaration of non-confidence in the administration of Prime Minister Noboyuki Abe.

A Gallup Poll indicated that 60% of registered Republicans favoured New York Governor Thomas Dewey as their party's nominee for President of the United States in the November 1940 election.

Former Republican U.S. Congressman John O'Connor hinted that a third party, the Andrew Jackson Party, might be formed should Franklin D. Roosevelt seek an unprecedented third term as President of the United States in 1940.

Health
Drs. Raymond Pearl and Edwin Moffett of Johns Hopkins University reported that the length of a person's life was probably linked to the heartbeat rate.

60 years ago
1950

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly)--Burl Ives; Dinah Shore (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer--Gene Autry and the Pinafores (Best Seller--1st week at #1); I Can Dream, Can't I?--The Andrews Sisters with Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra (Disc Jockey); Mule Train--Frankie Laine and the Muleskinners (Jukebox)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I Can Dream, Can't I?--The Andrews Sisters
2 Mule Train--Frankie Laine and the Muleskinners
--Bing Crosby
--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
--Tennessee Ernie
3 Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer--Gene Autry and the Pinafores
4 Slipping Around--Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely
5 Don't Cry, Joe--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra
6 The Old Master Painter--Dick Haymes
--Richard Hayes
--Phil Harris and his Orchestra
7 A Dreamer's Holiday--Perry Como
--Buddy Clark with the Girl Friends
8 Dear Hearts and Gentle People--Bing Crosby
--Dinah Shore
9 There's No Tomorrow--Tony Martin
10 Jealous Heart--Al Morgan

The only single entering the chart was Sorry, with versions by Frank Sinatra and the Modernaires; and Margaret Whiting (#40).

Radio
Billboard's annual survey of radio stations named Jack Benny the U.S.A.'s most popular comedian; Bing Crosby the most popular male singer; Dinah Shore the most popular female singer; and Edward R. Murrow the best news commentator.

Died on this date
Monty Banks, 52. Italian-born actor and director. Mr. Banks, born Mario Bianchi, was a comic actor in silent films in the U.K. and U.S.A. He increasingly turned to directing in the 1930s, and married English entertainer Gracie Fields in 1935. The couple were forced to move from Britain to the United States during World War II, since as an Italian, he would have been regarded as an enemy alien in the U.K. Mr. Banks was a passenger on the Orient Express when he suffered a fatal heart attack.

War
Chinese Communists threatened to invade Tibet in the near future.

Politics and government
King Paul of Greece swore in John Theolokis as head of a non-partisan "caretaker" cabinet. Mr. Theolokis dissolved Parliament and called for new elections in seven weeks.

Economics and finance
Yugoslavia announced the conclusion of trade pacts with Turkey and Uruguay.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?--Emile Ford and the Checkmates (3rd week at #1)

On television tonight
The Untouchables, starring Robert Stack, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Syndicate Sanctuary, with guest stars Anthony Caruso, Robert F. Simon, and Gail Kobe

Died on this date
Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers, 81. U.K. tennis player. Mrs. Lambert Chambers won the women's singles title at Wimbledon seven times from 1903-1914, and won a gold medal in the women's singles competition at the 1908 Olympic Games in London. She competed until the late 1920s, and then became a coach. Mrs. Lambert Chambers was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981.

Music
Bill Haley and his Comets were at Bell Sound Studios in New York, where they recorded Tamiami and Candy Kisses, their first two songs for Warner Brothers Records after years with Decca Records.

Politics and government
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his State of the Union address to Congress.



40 years ago
1970

Space
On the third day of a conference on lunar science in Houston, Dr. Harold C. Urey of the University of California admitted that scientists had learned a great deal from studying moon rocks brought back by Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 that upset the theories they held to before man went to the moon: "All of us will admit that we have been wrong." Dr. Urey said that he no longer believed that the lunar "mare"--seas--were necessarily lava flows or the beds of dried-up oceans: "These smooth dust plains have apprently not been made by any process we see on earth." The theory that lunar material was jarred from the moon's surface by meteors and landed on Earth in the form of tektites--rounded, marble-like stones--was shaken when Dr. Elbert King of the University of Houston said that studies that he and others conducted on Apollo 11 samples "make it seem impossible that tektites come from the moon."

War
Israel launched a steady jet barrage against military targets deep inside Egypt to ease the pressure along the Suez Canal, according to Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan. Prime Minister Golda Meir declared the purpose was to demonstrate to Egyptian President Gamal Nasser "that either it’s quiet on both sides or there’s bombing on both sides." The better-trained pilots, dubbed "Moshe’s Marauders," hit close to Cairo.

Defense
France announced a commercial agreement and arms deal with Libya, extending French influence in north Africa. It was reported that Mirage jet fighters were among the weapons to be provided the new Libyan regime.

Politics and government
Major General Emile Bustani, commander-in-chief of the Lebanese armed forces, who had been under criticism since Israeli raiders had captured 22 Lebanese the previous week, was removed from the cabinet and replaced by Major General Jean Njaim, who had a reputation for toughness.

Crime
FBI tapes made between 1961 and 1965 were released in the conspiracy-extortion trial in Newark of reputed Mafia boss Angelo "Gyp" De Carlo and three others. The electronic ears had picked up conversations between mobsters in which they boasted that their shadow government had virtually run New Jersey, dominating almost every facet of business, political and social life. Mr. De Carlo and his name-dropping associates bragged about their power to corrupt political figures and law enforcement officers on all levels, from petty local officials to powerful Trenton legislative leaders. Despite jealous local "family" controls, the mobsters alleged that their influence had even reached to New York. The illegally-obtained recordings affected scores of others not indicted, and since their names were made public as part of an unsworn record, many offered denials.

Religion
A representative assembly of the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands voted to allow priests to marry and for the admission of women to the priesthood, thus moving the Dutch church closer to a confrontation with the Vatican. The eight Dutch bishops, who held the power of decision at the assembly, abstained on the issue of allowing priests to marry. On admission of women to the priesthood, the votes were one in favour and four against, with three abstentions.

30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Ihōjin--Sayuri Kume (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Sin Amor (Dghingis Khan)--Iván (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Maybe--Thom Pace (8th week at #1)

Died on this date
Larry Williams, 44. U.S. musician. Mr. Williams was a rock and roll singer-songwriter, whose single Just Because reached #11 on the Billboard Rhythm and Blues chart in the spring of 1957. Short Fat Fannie hit #1 on the R&B chart and #5 on the Billboard pop chart that summer; the B-side, High School Dance, was the first composition of Sonny Bono to be released on record. The follow-up single, Bony Maronie, reached #14 late in the year. He was a close associate of Little Richard, and the Beatles recorded several of Mr. Williams’ compositions, including Dizzy Miss Lizzie; Bad Boy; and Slow Down. In the 1960s and ‘70s, Mr. Williams descended into a lifestyle of drug use and drug dealing. He died in Los Angeles of a gunshot wound to the head; it was ruled a suicide, but there was much speculation otherwise.

World events
A confrontation in Zimbabwe was averted when 450 of Patriotic Front leader Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) guerrillas were persuaded to surrender and report to assembly points. It was reported that 20,000 guerrillas had gathered at 16 assembly points in the bush where they were to be monitored by a Commonwealth force during the election campaign. At least 2,000 guerrillas were thought to be still at large, most of them thought to be followers of Mr. Mugabe.

Diplomacy
The United Nations Security Council voted 13-2 to condemn the U.S.S.R. for its invasion of Afghanistan and demanded that it withdraw its forces immediately.

UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim told the Security Council that Iran’s student militants "make their decisions independently" and were a power centre independent of the Revolutionary Council.

Economics and finance
In order to prevent the dumping of large quantities of grain on the market at disastrous prices, the U.S. federal government announced that it would buy the contracts for an estimated 14.5 million tons of wheat, corn, and soybeans that had been embargoed on January 4 from delivery to the U.S.S.R. The government’s purchase of $2.5 billion-3 billion worth of grain would be made with Commodity Credit Corporation funds. Due to the possible market disruption resulting from the grain embargo, trading in grains for future delivery was suspended on January 7 and 8.

Politics and government
U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy charged President Jimmy Carter with "lurching" from crisis to crisis in domestic and foreign policy.

Business
U.S. President Carter authorized legislation giving $1.5 billion in loans to bail out the Chrysler Corporation.

Hockey
NHL
Edmonton 3 @ Montreal 4

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Escaping--Margaret Urlich (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Girl I'm Gonna Miss You--Milli Vanilli (6th week at #1)

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 All Around the World--Lisa Stansfield
2 Girl I'm Gonna Miss You--Milli Vanilli
3 Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins
4 Listen to Your Heart--Roxette
5 Pump Up the Jam--Technotronic featuring Felly
6 The Road to Hell (Part 2)--Chris Rea
7 Lambada--Kaoma
8 Leave a Light On--Belinda Carlisle
9 That's What I Like--Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers
10 We Didn't Start the Fire--Billy Joel

Singles entering the chart were Leave a Light On; Street Tuff by Double Trouble & Rebel MC (#13); Steamy Windows by Tina Turner (#18); I Feel the Earth Move by Martika (#19); Bakerman by Laid Back (#22); Don't Know Much by Linda Ronstadt featuring Aaron Neville (#23); and Higher Ground by Jennifer Rush (#27).

Died on this date
Horace Stoneham, 86. U.S. baseball executive. Mr. Stoneham inherited the New York Giants from his father Charles in 1936, in time to see the team win National League pennants in each of his first two seasons as owner. The Giants were usually a pennant contender during Mr. Stoneham's four decades as owner, but won subsequent NL pennants only in 1951, 1954, and 1962, and a National League West Division pennant in 1971. Their only World Series win during the era came in 1954; just over three years later, Mr. Stoneham, faced with declining attendance and revenue, moved the Giants to San Francisco, at the same time that the rival Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. Mr. Stoneham was one of the last major league owners for whom the baseball club was his only business, and when attendance declined in the mid-1970s, he sold the team prior to the 1976 season.

Bronko Nagurski, 81. Canadian-born U.S. football player and wrestler. Mr. Nagurski, a native of Rainy River, Ontario, moved with his family to International Falls, Minnesota at the age of 5. He played fullback and defensive tackle with the University of Minnesota from 1927-1929 and the Chicago Bears from 1930-1937, helping the Bears win National Football League championships in 1932 and 1933. Mr. Nagurski wrestled professionally in his off-seasons, holding the National Wrestling Association world heavyweight title from 1939-1940. In 1943, Mr. Nagurski came out of retirement to play tackle with the Bears; in the last quarter of the last game of the season, he was moved to fullback, and rushed 16 times for 84 yards and a touchdown. He rushed for another touchdown a week later as the Bears beat the Washington Redskins 41-21 to win the NFL championship in his final game. Mr. Nagurski was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1963 as a charter member; his son Bronko, Jr. was an offensive tackle with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League from 1959-1966.

Abominations
President Alfredo Cristiani of El Salvador said that the military had been involved in the murder of six Jesuit priests and two other people in San Salvador in November. The Jesuits had criticized human rights abuses by the government and had supported a negotiated settlement of the civil war with Communist guerrillas.

Protest
Thousands of Romanians demonstrated nationwide against the prominence of Communists in the provisional regime.

Italiana
The Leaning Tower of Pisa was closed to the public for the first time in its history amid safety fears.

Football
NFL
NFC Divisional Playoff
Los Angeles Rams 19 @ New York Giants 13 (OT)

Jim Everett's 30-yard touchdown pass to Willie "Flipper" Anderson in the 1st overtime period gave the Rams their win over the Giants before 76,325 fans at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

See video.

AFC Divisional Playoff
Pittsburgh 23 @ Denver 24



10 years ago
2000

War
Slowed by bad weather and choosing to give residents of Grozny a chance to escape, the Russian army suspended its advance on the capital of the breakaway republic of Chechnya.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Bill Clinton, who attended some of the talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara at Shepherdstown, West Virginia, presented a paper that sought to define the positions of both sides.

Lazaro Gonzalez, great-uncle of Elian Gonzalez, the six-year-old boy who had been ordered by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service to be returned from Florida to his father in Cuba, filed a court petition in Miami asking for temporary custody and a delay in the boy’s return to Cuba. Congressman Dan Burton (Republican--Indiana) subpoenaed Elian to testify before a House of Representatives Committee.

Scandal
Former British Cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken, chief secretary to the Treasury in the Conservative government of Prime Minister John Major, was released from jail after serving less than half of his 18-month sentence. Mr. Aitken, 57, was convicted of perjury and perverting the course of justice in June 1999 after the collapse of his libel action against The Guardian newspaper and Granada television in 1997.