November 5, 2010

640 years ago
1370

Died on this date
Casimir III, 60. King of Poland, 1333-1370. Casimir "the Great" was the last king of the Piast dynasty, and acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Władysław I. King Casimir initiated military and legal reforms, doubled the size of the kingdom, founded the University of Kraków, and confirmed protections given to Jews. He died from an injury received while hunting, and was succeeded by his nephew Louis I.

230 years ago
1780

Died on this date
Augustin de La Balme, 47. French military officer. Mr. La Balme, born Augustin Mottin, served with the Gendarmerie de France during the Seven Years' War. He went to America to assist in the American Revolution and was appointed as the Colonial Army's Inspector General of Cavalry, but resigned in October 1777 when he learned he would no longer be in command of all cavalry. Mr. La Balme led French Colonial militia in an attempt to capture Fort Detroit from British forces, but he was killed and his forces defeated by Miami Indians led by Chief Little Turtle.

170 years ago
1850

Born on this date
Ella Wheeler Wilcox. U.S. poet. Miss Wilcox was best known for her poem Solitude, which includes the lines: "Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone." She was an occultist who subscribed to the teachings of Theosophy and New Thought, and died of cancer on October 30, 1919, six days before her 69th birthday.

140 years ago
1870

Born on this date
Chittaranjan Das. Indian politician. Mr. Das, popularly known as "Deshbandhu (Friend of the Nation)," was a lawyer and independence activist who was a leader in Bengal during the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1919–1922 and initiated the ban on British clothes. He founded the newspaper Forward--later retitled Liberty--and resigned the presidency of the Indian National Congress, founding the Swaraj Party in 1923, promoting Hindu-Muslim unity and non-violent and constitutional methods of freeing India from British rule. Mr. Das died from overwork on June 16, 1925 at the age of 54.

125 years ago
1885

Born on this date
Will Durant. U.S. historian and philosopher. Dr. Durant, whose doctorate was in philosophy, was best known for the 11-volume The Story of Civilization (1935-1975), co-written with his wife Ariel. He was earlier known for The Story of Philosophy (1926). Dr. Durant attempted in both philosophy and history to unify the body of knowledge, which he thought had become too specialized, and to write for a general audience. The Durants were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968 for The Story of Civilization X. Rousseau and Revolution (1967) and were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977. Dr. Durant died on November 7, 1981, two days after his 96th birthday and 13 days after the death of Ariel, who had stopped eating when he entered the hospital.

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Martin Dies, Jr.. U.S. politician. Mr. Dies, a Democrat, represented Texas' 2nd District (1931-1945) and At-large District (1953-1959) in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was the first chairman of the Special Committee to Investigate Un-American Activities (1937-1944); his work served as the basis for his book The Trojan Horse in America (1940). Mr. Dies was accused of using his position as committee chairman to attack President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal economic program. He was defeated in special elections to fill U.S. Senate vacancies in 1941 and 1957, and died of an apparent heart attack on November 14, 1972, nine days after his 72nd birthday.

Natalie Schafer. U.S. actress. Miss Schafer was a character actress in various plays and films, but was best known for playing "Lovey" Howell in the television comedy series Gilligan's Island (1964-1967). She died on April 10, 1991 at the age of 90.

100 years ago
1910

Born on this date
John Hackett, 86. Australian-born U.K. military officer and author. Sir John moved to England as a young man and joined the British Army after graduating from the University of Oxford. He held numerous command positions, but was best known for service in the Middle East. Sir John wrote 15 books, mainly works of military history, but his best-known books were the speculative novels The Third World War 1985 (1978) and The Third World War: The Untold Story (1982). He died on September 9, 1997 at the age of 86.

Football
CRU
IRFU
Toronto (2-3) 20 @ Ottawa (2-3) 23
Montreal (2-3) 6 @ Hamilton (4-1) 23

ORFU
Dundas (4-1) 12 @ St. Michael’s College (2-3) 6
Toronto Amateur Athletic Club (3-1) 22 @ (Toronto) Parkdale Canoe Club (0-4) 6

Canadian university
Ottawa (0-5) 0 @ McGill (2-3) 20
Queen’s (3-2) 9 @ Toronto (5-0) 25
Western Canada College 2 @ Alberta 17

80 years ago
1930

Died on this date
Christiaan Eijkman, 72. Dutch physician and pathologist. Dr. Eijkman was sent to the Dutch East Indies in the late 1890s to study the nerve disease beriberi, and discovered that it was caused by poor diet; his discovery led to the discovery of antineuritic vitamins (thiamine). He was awarded a share of the 1929 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his discovery of the antineuritic vitamin." Dr. Eijkman died after a long illness.

Luigi Facta, 68. Prime Minister of Italy, 1922. Mr. Facta was a journalist before entering politics; he was a member of the Historical Right when he was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1892 representing Pinerolo, a seat he held for 30 years. Mr. Facta was a member of the Liberal Union Party when he held various offices, including Minister of Finance (1910-1914, 1920-1921), and was a Liberal when he was appointed Prime Minister in February 1922. The Fascist movement, led by Benito Mussolini, was threatening to take over Italy, and Mr. Facta wanted to invoke martial law and use the army to stop the Fasists, but he required the approval of King Vittorio Emmanuel III. The king refused to give his permission, and Mr. Facta's government resigned on October 27 in protest against the royal decision. King Vittorio Emmanuel then asked Mr. Mussolini to come to Rome to form a government. King Vittorio Emmanuel III named Mr. Facta a Senator in 1924, an office he held until his death, 11 days before his 69th birthday.

Football
NFL
New York (9-1) 19 @ Portsmouth (4-4-1) 6

70 years ago
1940

Politics and government
Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term as President of the United States when he defeated Republican Party challenger Wendell Willkie by a margin of 499 electoral votes to 82. Mr. Roosevelt, representing the Democratic Party, took more than 27.2 million votes (54.8%) to 22.3 million (44.8%) for Mr. Willkie. Mr. Roosevelt’s share of the popular vote was 6% less than in his 1936 win over Alf Landon. In Congressional elections, the Democrats lost four seats in the Senate, but gained eight seats in the House of Representatives.

War
Greek forces claimed to have taken the Albanian town of Koritza and to have surrounded an Italian division that was being supplied with food dropped from Italian planes. The British armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay, is sunk by the German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer 755 nautical miles southwest of Reykjavik. 68 of Jervis Bay's 254-man crew survived. According to a United Press dispatch, highly reliable sources reported that Axis powers had lined up Bulgaria on their side with the promise of a corridor to the Aegean Sea and other territorial concessions.

Diplomacy
Japan decided to back Thailand's claims on French territory in Indochina on condition that Thailand cooperate with Japan in the creation of a New Order in East Asia.

Defense
The United States Navy allotted $23 million in contracts for construction of naval and air bases in the United States, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Alaska, and the Philippines.

Economics and finance
The Japanese government outlined a 10-year program to make Japan self-sufficient.

Crime
Indian politician Jawaharlal Nehru was sentenced in Gorakhpur to "four years of rigorous imprisonment" under the Defense of India Act for making speeches intended to hinder prosecution of the war.

60 years ago
1950

War
In the Battle of Pakchon, British and Australian forces from the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade successfully halted the advancing Chinese 117th Division.

Football
CRU
ORFU
Finals
Sarnia 11 @ Toronto 17 (1st game of 2-game total points series)

1,000 attended the game at Maple Leaf Stadium.

NFL
Washington (1-6) 21 @ New York Giants (5-2) 24
Pittsburgh (3-5) 9 @ Philadelphia (5-2) 7
Green Bay (2-5) 21 @ Baltimore (1-6) 41
Chicago Bears (5-2) 35 @ Detroit (3-5) 21
Cleveland (6-2) 10 @ Chicago Cardinals (3-4) 7
San Francisco (2-6) 21 @ Los Angeles (6-2) 28

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): It’s Now or Never--Elvis Presley (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Il cielo in una stanza--Mina (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Ein Schiff wird kommen--Lale Andersen (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): It’s Now or Never--Elvis Presley

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Save the Last Dance for Me--The Drifters (4th week at #1)
2 I Want to Be Wanted--Brenda Lee
3 Georgia on My Mind--Ray Charles
4 You Talk Too Much--Joe Jones
5 Let's Think About Living--Bob Luman
6 Chain Gang--Sam Cooke
7 Don't Be Cruel--Bill Black's Combo
8 My Heart Has a Mind of its Own--Connie Francis
9 Devil or Angel--Bobby Vee
10 Poetry in Motion--Johnny Tillotson

Singles entering the chart were My Girl Josephine (#71)/Natural Born Lover (#75) by Fats Domino; Ruby Duby Du, with versions by Tobin Matthews & Co.; and Charles Wolcott (#90); Dear John by Pat Boone (#91); Report to the Nation - Parts I and II by Winkly & Nutly (Jim Stag and Bob Mitchell) (#94); Isn't it Amazing by the Crests (#95); Like Strangers by the Everly Brothers (#96); Kissin' and Twistin' by Fabian (#97); That's How Much by Brian Hyland (#98); Sway by Bobby Rydell (#99); Serenata by Sarah Vaughan (#100); and Have Mercy Baby by the Bobbettes (also #100). Report to the Nation - Parts I and II was a "break-in" record, a comedy record featuring excerpts from recent hits.

Vancouver's Top 10 (CFUN)
1 A Thousand Stars--Kathy Young with the Innocents
2 China Doll--Bobby Swanson
3 Poetry in Motion--Johnny Tillotson
4 And the Heavens Cried--Ronnie Savoy
5 Sailor (Your Home is the Sea)--Lolita
6 Stay--Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs
7 Tonights the Night--The Shirelles
8 Hushaby Little Guitar--Paul Evans
9 New Orleans--U.S. Bonds
10 Peter Gunn--Duane Eddy and the Rebels

Singles entering the chart were Perfidia by the Ventures (#38); Things I Didn't Say by the Jordan Brothers (#40); Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart by the Kalin Twins (#41); Charming Billy by Johnny Preston (#42); Little Tear by Gary Stites (#43); Many Tears Ago by Connie Francis (#46); The Sock by the Valentines (#47); Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes by Ray Smith (#48); Sweet Dreams by Don Gibson (#49); and Night Theme by the Mark II (#50).

On television tonight
The Roaring 20's, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Vendetta on Bleecker Street

Died on this date
Mack Sennett, 80. Canadian-born U.S. movie director and producer. Mr. Sennett, born Michael Sinnott in Richmond, Quebec, moved to Connecticut when he was 17 and eventually made his way to New York, where he began his film career with the Biograph Company, acting, directing, and performing other functions. Mr. Sennett then moved to Edendale, California, where he founded Keystone Studios in 1912. Mr. Sennett soon became famous for his silent comedy short films, with much slapstick involving the Keystone Kops and the Sennett Bathing Beauties. In 1917, Mr. Sennett left Keystone Studios and founded the Mack Sennett Comedies Corporation in 1917, moving to Pathé Exchange distribution in the mid-1920s. He made the transition to sound films in the late 1920s, and won an Academy Award in the category of Best Short Subject, Novelty for Wrestling Swordfish (1931). Mr. Sennett's studio went bankrupt in November 1933, and he went into retirement soon after. He was awarded an honorary Academy Award in 1938.

August Gailit, 69. Estonian author. Mr. Gailit was a war correspondent during the Estonian War of Independence (1918-1920) and wrote more than 20 novels, the best known of which was Toomas Nipernaadi (1928). When Soviet forces occupied Estonia in 1944, Mr. Gailit and his family fled to Sweden, where he spent the rest of his life.

Ward Bond, 57. U.S. actor. Mr. Bond was a well-known supporting actor in movies, especially those directed by John Ford and starring his old University of Southern California football teammate John Wayne. One of his few starring roles was in the propaganda "classic" Hitler--Dead or Alive (1942). Mr. Bond starred in the ABC television series Wagon Train from 1957 until his death. He had gone to Dallas to attend a football game when he died of a heart attack.

Johnny Horton, 35. U.S. musician. Mr. Horton was a country singer and songwriter who began having chart success in 1956, but he achieved greater success with songs that crossed over into the pop charts. Mr. Horton’s version of The Battle of New Orleans had spent 6 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1959, making it one of the year’s biggest hits. In the spring of 1960 he followed with Sink the Bismarck, which hit #3. His latest single, the title song from the movie North to Alaska, currently stood at #33 on the Cash Box chart and eventually reached #4 on the Billboard chart. He was killed in an auto accident near Milano, Texas while on the way to Shreveport, Louisiana, when the Cadillac he was driving was hit head-on by a drunk driver.

Football
CFL
EFC
Semi-Final
Montreal 14 @ Ottawa 30

Montreal quarterback Sam Etcheverry, who had injured his arm a few weeks earlier, didn’t throw a pass in the 1st half, and by the time he tried passing in the 2nd half, the game was out of reach. 17,987 fans at Lansdowne Park saw Mr. Etcheverry play his final game in Canada, while star receiver Hal Patterson played his last game as an Alouette.

WIFU
Semi-Finals
Edmonton 40 @ Calgary 21 (Edmonton won 2-game total points series 70-28)

Jackie Parker, Jim Letcavits, Joe-Bob Smith, Cowboy Woodruff, and Jim Shipka scored touchdowns for the Eskimos as they advanced to the Western finals for the 11th straight year. Tommy-Joe Coffey kicked 5 converts, a field goal, and a single, and Vic Chapman punted for a single to complete the Edmonton scoring. Mr. Woodruff's score was his third touchdown of the playoffs. 20,000 fans attended the first playoff game ever played at McMahon Stadium.



ORFU
Finals
London 23 @ Port Huron-Detroit 24 (First game of 2-game total points series)

Don Horn scored 2 touchdowns for the Raiders, and Mr. Wilson scored another. Bill Bennett kicked 3 converts and a field goal. Boris Kotoff and Bob Fiveash scored touchdowns for the Lords, while Lamar Lee kicked 2 converts, a field goal, and 4 singles. London head coach Al Bruno suffered a leg injury that put him out of action for the second game.

Canadian university
Alberta (4-0) 39 @ Saskatchewan (0-4) 1

Ted Frechette scored 3 touchdowns, with Garry Smith, Ken Nielsen, and Ross Christensen each scoring 1 for the Golden Bears as they routed the Huskies at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon. Mike Regush's missed field goal for a single in the last minute of the 1st quarter was the only point scored by the Huskies all season.

40 years ago
1970

Adventure
A four-man crew led by Professor Vital Alzar of Spain, who had financed the trip, ended a 159-day, 7,000-mile raft voyage across the Pacific Ocean in Mooloolaba, Australia. The men had begun their trip from Guayaquil, Ecuador, with the purpose of proving that South American Indians could have sailed to Australia centuries ago. The other men were Marco Modena of France; Norman Tetrenault of Canada; and Gabriel Salas of Chile. The raft was made of 12 balsa wood logs. The four men also took a cat with them, who also survived the voyage.

War
The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam reported the lowest weekly American soldier death toll in five years: 24.

Politics and government
Julius Nyerere was inaugurated into his second five-year term as President of Tanzania.

30 years ago
1980

Journalism
The Winnipeg Sun began publication, just over two months after the Winnipeg Tribune had folded.

25 years ago
1985

Diplomacy
U.S.S.R. President Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz concluded two days of talks in Moscow, with no apparent progress on issues dividing the countries.

U.S. State Department officials interviewed Soviet defector-turned undefector Vitaly Yurchenko, and concluded that he wished to leave the United States of his own free will.

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Ihminen ei voi elää vetämättä--MC Nikke T

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): I've Been Thinking About You--Londonbeat (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Meir Kahane, 58. U.S.-born Israeli religious and political leader. Rabbi Kahane, founder of the Jewish Defense League, moved to Israel in 1971 and was elected to the Knesset in 1984, where he advocated expulsion of Arabs from Israel and the occupied territories. He was shot dead in a Manhattan hotel after making a speech. The gunman, identified as El Sayyid A. Nossair, a Muslim Egyptian-born U.S. citizen, wounded a bystander and a policeman before being shot and wounded himself. He was indicted on November 20 on charges of second-degree murder and other charges.

10 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Jimmie Davis, 101. U.S. musician and politician. Mr. Davis was a country and gospel singer and songwriter who was best known for his 1940 recording of You are My Sunshine, but had six other singles that reached the top ten in the Billboard country chart. A Democrat, he served two terms as Governor of Louisiana (1944-1948, 1960-1964), promoting racial segregation and public works.

World events
A coffin containing the body of Ethiopia's late Emperor Haile Selassie was laid to rest in Addis Ababa, 25 years after his death and 26 years after he was deposed.

Football
CFL
Toronto (7-10-1) 17 @ Montreal (12-6) 11
Calgary (12-5-1) 22 @ Hamilton (9-9-0-2) 24

Michael Jenkins rushed 28 times for 178 yards and caught 4 passes for 41 to lead the Argonauts’ offense. Tony Burse rushed 1 yard for a Toronto touchdown in the 2nd quarter, and Kerwin Bell completed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Tyrone Brown in the 3rd quarter. Jacob Marini converted both and added a 22-yard field goal in the 4th quarter. Anthony Calvillo and Stanley Jackson split the quarterbacking for the Alouettes, but failed to produce a touchdown. The only Montreal major score came in the 2nd quarter on a 53-yard interception return by Davis Sanchez. Terry Baker converted and added a field goal and a single. The Argonauts’ defense held the Alouettes off the scoreboard in the second half. The usual sellout crowd of 19,461 was in attendance at Molson Stadium.

Paul Osbaldiston’s 15-yard field goal on the last play of the game gave the Tiger-Cats their win over the Stampeders before an Ivor Wynne Stadium crowd of 20,795. The kick came 2 minutes and 26 seconds after Mark McLoughlin had kicked a 50-yard field goal to give Calgary a 22-21 lead in a game in which all the touchdowns were scored in the first half. Rock Preston of the Stampeders rushed 5 yards for the game’s first touchdown in the 1st quarter, and backup quarterback Mike Cawley passed 36 yards to Marc Boerigter for the other Calgary touchdown in the 2nd quarter. Mr. McLoughlin kicked 2 converts, 2 field goals, and a single, while punter Tony Martino also booted a single. Ronald Williams scored the first Hamilton touchdown on a 51-yard pass from Danny McManus in the 1st quarter, and Tony Akins returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter. Mr. Osbaldiston converted both and added 3 field goals and a single. Dave Dickenson started at quarterback for the Stampeders, but was relieved by Mr. Cawley and later, Ben Sankey. Mr. McManus started at quarterback for the Tiger-Cats before giving way to backup Cody Ledbetter, who drove the team downfield for the winning field goal. Mr. Williams rushed 17 times for 93 yards and added 69 yards on 3 pass receptions. Mr. Boerigter led all receivers with 123 yards on 3 receptions.