February 2, 2010

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Simon O’Byrne and Sandy Ting!

1,130 years ago
880

Died on this date
Bruno, 40-50 (?). Duke of Saxony, 866-880. Bruno, a member of the Ottonian dynasty, succeeded his father as Duke of Saxony. He was killed fighting against Norse warriors in the Battle of Lüneburg Heath.

War
The Norse Great Heathen Army defeated forces of King Louis III of France in a snowstorm in the Battle of Lüneburg Heath in Saxony.

760 years ago
1250

Died on this date
Erik XI, 33 or 34. King of Sweden, 1222-1229, 1234-1250. Erik XI, nicknamed "The Lisp" and "The Lame," was born after the death of his father Erik X, who was succeeded by Johan I from the rival house of Sverkersson. King Johan I died in 1222 without an heir, enabling Erik XI to accede to the throne. He was overthrown by Knut II in 1229 after the Battle of Olustra, but regained the throne after the death of King Knut. King Erik I achieved eastward expansion of Sweden's territory, but had to deal with internal feuding in the later years of his reign. King Erik died without an heir, and was succeeded by Valdemar of the house of Birgersson.

360 years ago
1650

Born on this date
Nell Gwyn. English actress. Miss Gwyn was one of the first actresses of the English stage, and was regarded as an embodiment of the spirit of England during the Restoration. She was the mistress of King Charles II from 1668 until his death in 1685. Miss Gwyn died on November 14, 1687 at the age of 37 after suffering several strokes.

310 years ago
1700

Born on this date
Johann Christoph Gottsched. German scholar. Professor Gottsched taught poetry, logic, and metaphysics at the University of Leipzig, but was better known as a literary critic for about 30 years. Prof. Gottsched's constant criticism of the works of prominent writers eventually led him to be ignored, and by the time of his death on December 12, 1766 at the age of 66, his name had become a byword for foolish pedantism.

160 years ago
1850

War
Mormon Church President Brigham Young declared war on the Timpanogo Indians, beginning the Battle at Fort Utah.

150 years ago
1860

Born on this date
Curtis Guild, Jr. U.S. politician and diplomat. Mr. Guild, a Republican, was publisher of the Boston Commercial Bulletin before entering politics. He was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1881); Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (1903-1906); and Governor of Massachusetts (1906-1909). Mr. Guild enacted various reforms, especially in labour and business. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Russia (1911-1913), and died, after a brief illness, on April 6, 1915 at the age of 55.

140 years ago
1870

Scandal
The Cardiff Giant, a 10-foot-tall petrified man discovered on the Cardiff, New York farm of William Newell in 1869, was revealed to be a hoax. The giant was a block of gypsum carved into the likeness of a man, artificially aged, and buried on Mr. Newell’s farm, where it was "discovered" by workmen. The giant was purported to be an example of those mentioned in the sixth chapter of Genesis, and Mr. Newell’s neighbour George Hull, who had concocted the scheme, charged visitors 25c each to see it. P.T. Barnum attempted to buy the giant, and when he was rebuffed, he had his own version made, and declared Mr. Hull’s giant to be phony. It was at this point that Mr. Hull confessed to the hoax. One of Mr. Hull’s partners, David Hannum, said that the incident proved that "there’s a sucker born every minute." Mr. Barnum then appropriated the phrase and made it his own.

120 years ago
1890

Born on this date
Charles Correll. U.S. actor. Mr. Correll co-starred with Freeman Gosden in the radio comedy series Sam 'n' Henry 1926-1928 and played Andy Brown in that series' successor, Amos 'n' Andy (1928-1960). Mr. Correll died on September 26, 1972 at the age of 82.

Music
Antonin Dvorak's 8th Symphony received its premiere performance in Prague, with the composer conducting the orchestra.



110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Willie Kamm. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Kamm was a third baseman with the Chicago White Sox (1923-1931) and Cleveland Indians (1931-1935), batting .281 with 29 home runs and 826 runs batted in in 1,693 games. He was regarded as the best defensive third baseman in the American League for most of his career, leading the AL in fielding percentage eight times. After the White Sox traded Mr. Kamm, they had difficulty finding a good third baseman for most of the next 60 years. He died on December 21, 1988 at the age of 88.

90 years ago
1920

War
The Treaty of Tartu was signed between Estonia and Russia, ending the Estonian War of Independence (1918-1920).

World events
French troops occupied Memel Territory, which had been severed from Germany as a result of the Treaty of Versailles.

75 years ago
1935

Died on this date
Marau, 74. Queen consort of Tahiti, 1877-1880. Marau, the daughter of Jewish English merchant Alexander Salmon and Princesss Oehau, married future King Pōmare V in 1875, and became queen consort when he acceded to the throne upon the death of his mother, Queen Pōmare IV. King Pōmare V gave Tahiti to France and abdicated the throne in 1880; he and Queen Marau were divorced in 1887.

Technology
Leonarde Keeler tested the first polygraph machine on two criminals in Portage, Wisconsin.

70 years ago
1940

War
Former U.S. President Herbert Hoover urged the United States to stay out of the European war. Japanese military sources reported the capture of Pinyang, a strategic city in the Chinese province of Kwangsi.

Civil disorders in the northeast Indian frontier area were reported.

Diplomacy
Foreign ministers of the Balkan Entente countries--Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia--met in Belgrade.

The Japanese Foreign Office explained that its adherence to the Anti-Comintern Pact "involves no question of antagonizing" the U.S.S.R.

Politics and government
U.S. Vice President John Nance "Cactus Jack" Garner announced that he would enter the Georgia Democratic primary, if one was held, to challenge the New Deal economic policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Economics and finance
The U.S. House of Representatives voted a $66.9-million cut in the Agriculture Department bill despite pressure from farmers and President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

A New York Stock Exchange seat was sold for $48,000, the lowest price since 1918.

Medicine
Dr. J.B. Collip of McGill University reported the discovery of an oral substance to be used in combating diabetes.

Chess
Isaac Kashdan won the international tournament in Havana.

60 years ago
1950

On television tonight
Escape, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Old Castle, starring Sarah Fussell, Jabez Grey, Hanna Landy, and Bruno Wick

What's My Line?, hosted by John Daly, on CBS

This was the first broadcast of the long-running quiz show.



Died on this date
Katherine Devereux Blake, 91. U.S. educator and activist. Miss Blake was principal of Public School No. 6 in New York City from 1894-1928, and founded the city's first evening high school for women in 1897. She supported the usual worthless causes such as women's suffrage.

Diplomacy
French President Vincent Aurol signed accords completing French recognition of Bao Dai's conservative Vietnamese government. Czechoslovakia recognized Ho Chi Minh's Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Politics and government
El Salvador's military junta announced that elections for a new president and Constitutional Congress would be held on March 26, with women participating for the first time.

Labour
U.S. President Harry Truman's proposal for a truce in the soft-coal dispute was accepted by all major mine operators, but United Mine Workers of America President John L. Lewis withheld his answer.

50 years ago
1960

On television tonight
Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, hosted by John Newland, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Who are You?, starring Philip Bourneuf, Anna Lee, and Reba Waters



Weather
Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania groundhog, failed to see his shadow for the first time.

40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head--Johnny Farnham (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Kuroneko no Tango--Osamu Minagawa (16th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Himno a la Alegría--Miguel Ríos

On the radio
The Challenge of Space, on Springbok Radio
Tonight’s episode: The New Colonisers

Died on this date
Bertrand Russell, 97. U.K. philosopher. Professor Russell was one of the founders of analytic philosophy, and was regarded as one of the 20th century's foremost logicians. His most famous book, written with Alfred North Whitehead, was the three-volume Principia Mathematica (1910-1913). Prof. Russell was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1950 "in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought." Prof. Russell was known for campaigning against nuclear arms, but it was less well-known that for several years in the late 1940s he advocated a pre-emptive nuclear strike by the U.S.A. against the U.S.S.R. Prof. Russell died of influenza. Rabi Maharaj, in his autobiography Death of a Guru (1977, p. 129) offered the following comment on one of Prof. Russell’s best-known books: "Why I am Not a Christian had turned out to be a disappointment...Russell’s arguments were weak and contrived, and the more I read of why he had not become a Christian, the more convinced I became that I must become one--the evidence demanded it." Malcolm Muggeridge said of Prof. Russell: "He had no heart at all." Paul Johnson included a chapter on Prof. Russell in his book Intellectuals (1988), which I recommend.

Crime
Pre-trial hearings of 13 Black Panthers charged in April 1969 with having conspired to bomb police stations, department stores, and other structures; possession of illegal weapons; attempted murder; and attempted arson began in New York City with several disruptions by the defendants--who called the judge "pig," gave the clenched fist salute, shouted "all power to the people"--and their supporters. State Supreme Court Justice John Murtagh frequently warned that such behaviour may bring disciplinary measures, and twice ordered the courtroom cleared.

Religion
The head of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Los Angeles announced that most of the sisters in the order would abandon formal religious life and become a secular community. The group, believed to be the largest to leave the Roman Catholic Church en masse, would continue to devote its efforts to teaching and social concerns.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Richard Nixon submitted a $200.8-billion budget for fiscal 1971 to Congress, with a blueprint for a $1.3-billion surplus he said would combat inflation while beginning the necessary process of "reordering our national priorities." In his surplus plan, Mr. Nixon combined a series of spending cuts, particularly a $6.3-billion slash in space and defense outlays, with a speedup in collection of excise and corporate withholding taxes. He also appealed to Congress to enact revenue and postal reforms sent to it in 1969.

30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Disco Bambina--Heather Parisi (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): I Have a Dream--ABBA (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland: Brass in Pocket--Pretenders (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): My Girl--Madness

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Too Much Too Young (EP)--The Special A.K.A. featuring Rico (The Specials)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Rapper's Delight--Sugarhill Gang
2 I Have a Dream--ABBA
3 Rap-O Clap-O--Joe Bataan
4 Nederland, Die Heeft De Bal--André Van Duin & Het Nederlands Elftal
5 Fly Too High--Janis Ian
6 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd
7 What's a Matter Baby--Ellen Foley
8 It Will Come in Time--Billy Preston and Syreeta
9 David's Song (Who'll Come with Me)--Kelly Family
10 On My Radio--The Selecter

Singles entering the chart were Hot Shot by Herman Brood and his Wild Romance (#23); Aa'me Hoelala/Laat De Russen Maar Komen by Vader Abraham (#25); Moonlight and Muzak by M (#28); Escape (The Piña Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes (#31); An Englishman in New York by Godley & Creme (#32); and Rain, Snow and Ice by Snoopy (#36).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Rock with You--Michael Jackson (3rd week at #1)
2 Do That to Me One More Time--Captain & Tennille
3 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
4 Cruisin'--Smokey Robinson
5 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
6 Escape (The Pina Colada Song)--Rupert Holmes
7 Sara--Fleetwood Mac
8 The Long Run--Eagles
9 Yes, I'm Ready--Teri DeSario with K.C.
10 Don't Do Me Like That--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Singles entering the chart were How Do I Make You by Linda Ronstadt (#68); Rockin' Into the Night by 38 Special (#80); Come Back by the J. Geils Band (#82); Years by Wayne Newton (#84); Us and Love (We Go Together) by Kenny Nolan (#87); The Hardest Part by Blondie (#88); Peanut Butter by Twennynine featuring Lenny White (#90); I Don't Like Mondays by the Boomtown Rats (#91); and Computer Game "Theme from the Circus" by Yellow Magic Orchestra (#92).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Do That to Me One More Time--Captain & Tennille
2 Rock With You--Michael Jackson
3 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
4 Cruisin'--Smokey Robinson
5 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
6 Escape (The Pina Colada Song)--Rupert Holmes
7 Don't Do Me Like That--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
8 Sara--Fleetwood Mac
9 This is It--Kenny Loggins
10 The Long Run--Eagles

Singles entering the chart were How Do I Make You by Linda Ronstadt (#55); Come Back by the J. Geils Band (#82); And the Beat Goes On by the Whispers (#84); Us and Love (We Go Together) by Kenny Nolan (#89); and I Pledge My Love by Peaches & Herb (#97).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
2 Do That to Me One More Time--Captain & Tennille
3 Rock With You--Michael Jackson
4 The Long Run--Eagles
5 Cruisin'--Smokey Robinson
6 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
7 Yes, I'm Ready--Teri DeSario with K.C.
8 Don't Do Me Like That--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
9 Sara--Fleetwood Mac
10 Escape (The Pina Colada Song)--Rupert Holmes

Singles entering the chart were How Do I Make You by Linda Ronstadt (#47); And the Beat Goes On by the Whispers (#86); I Pledge My Love by Peaches & Herb (#87); Us and Love (We Go Together) by Kenny Nolan (#89); Come Back by the J. Geils Band (#90); The Walk by the Inmates (#95); Shooting Star by Dollar (#99); and I Shoulda Loved Ya by Narada Michael Walden (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Rapper's Delight--Sugarhill Gang (2nd week at #1)
2 Message in a Bottle--The Police
3 Please Don't Go--KC & the Sunshine Band
4 Don't Do Me Like That--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
5 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
6 We Don't Talk Anymore--Cliff Richard
7 Babe--Styx
8 Escape (The Pina Colada Song)--Rupert Holmes
9 The Long Run--Eagles
10 I Don't Like Mondays--The Boomtown Rats

Singles entering the chart were Longer by Dan Fogelberg (#88); I Wanna Rock You by Giorgio Moroder (#89); You are the Light by Harlequin (#91); Lonely Eyes by Robert John (#95); Kiss Me in the Rain by Barbra Streisand (#97); Desire by Andy Gibb (#98); and Let Me Go, Love by Nicolette Larson (#100).

Died on this date
William Howard Stein, 68. U.S. biochemist. Dr. Stein shared the 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Stanford Moore "for their contribution to the understanding of the connection between chemical structure and catalytic activity of the active centre of the ribonuclease molecule."

Scandal
It was reported that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation had been conducting a two-year undercover operation called Operation Abscam (for Arab Scam), where undercover agents posing as businessmen and Arab sheiks had met with various public officials and offered bribes for political favours. The meetings were surreptitiously videotaped. The 31 officeholders under investigation included U.S. Senator Harrison Williams (Democrat--New Jersey) and Congressmen John Murphy (D.--New York); Frank Thompson, Jr. (D.--New Jersey); Michael Myers (D.--Pennsylvania); John Murtha (D.--Pennsylvania); Raymond Lederer (D.--Pennsylvania); John Jenrette (D.--South Carolina); and Richard Kelly (Republican--Florida). Sen. Larry Pressler (R.--South Dakota) had met with FBI agents posing as Arab businessmen, but had spurned the bribe offer. When he heard of the investigation, he said, "I’m a little upset because I’m clean. My campaign records are kept perfectly. Why would they want to test me out?"

Crime
During the night, two inmates at New Mexico State Penitentiary in Santa Fe overpowered a guard who had discovered them drinking homemade whiskey. 400 inmates then took over the five wings of the main building, and rioters turned on their fellow inmates. The riot and hostage taking went on for 36 hours.

Hockey
NHL
Chicago 5 @ Toronto 4

25 years ago
1985

Hit parade
U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I Want to Know What Love Is--Foreigner
2 Like a Virgin--Madonna
3 Easy Lover--Philip Bailey with Phil Collins
4 You're the Inspiration--Chicago
5 Careless Whisper--Wham!
6 All I Need--Jack Wagner
7 Run to You--Bryan Adams
8 The Boys of Summer--Don Henley
9 Loverboy--Billy Ocean
10 I Would Die 4 U--Prince and the Revolution

20 years ago
1990

World events
South African President F.W. de Klerk lifted the 30-year ban on the African National Congress and announced that convicted terrorist Nelson Mandela would soon be freed from prison.

The U.S. Justice Department announced that deposed Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega and one of his co-defendants would be treated as prisoners of war. The department noted, however, that the Geneva Convention provides that "prisoners of war may be prosecuted in the civilian courts of the detaining country."

A military court in Romania convicted four former top aides to deposed President Nicolae Ceausescu of complicity to commit genocide. Those convicted included Emil Bobu, third-ranking figure in the government. The men were sentenced to life in prison.

Politics and government
Alexander Lilov was elected as leader of the Bulgarian Communist Party, succeeding Petar Mladenov. Mr. Lilov was seen as a compromise candidate, who was not identified with the ousted hard-line regime of President Todor Zhivkov, and who could better lead the party in upcoming elections.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate had fallen to 5.2% in January.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 2 @ Detroit 5
Pittsburgh 6 @ Edmonton 3

10 years ago
2000

Movies
The first digital cinema projection in Europe was realized in Paris by Philippe Binant with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments.

Crime
The trial of four New York City policemen accused of murder in the February 1999 death of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed native of Guinea, began in Albany. The original charges were two counts of second-degree murder: intentional killing and depraved indifference to human life. Mr. Diallo had been struck by 19 of 41 shots fired at him in the vestibule of his Bronx apartment building. As the policemen approached him, Mr. Diallo had begun to remove a wallet from his pocket; police said they thought it was a gun.

Protest
More than 1,500 students demonstrated on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to protest the lack of money for university students in Canada and the high debt load they faced.

Disasters
The cockpit voice recorder from Alaska Airlines Flight 261, the jet that had crashed off the California coast two days earlier with the deaths of all 88 people aboard, was recovered.