December 3, 2010

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Jamie Brown!

210 years ago
1800

War
French troops commanded by General Jean Moreau decisively defeated the forces of Archduke John of Austria in the Battle of Hohenlinden near Munich. Coupled with First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte's earlier victory at Marengo, this forced the Austrians to sign an armistice and end the War of the Second Coalition.

Politics and government
The Electoral College cast its votes for President and Vice President of the United States that resulted in a tie between Democratic-Republicans Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr with 73 electoral votes. Incumbent President John Adams, running for the Federalist Party, received 65 electoral votes, and Federalist candidate Charles Pinckney was next with 64, with 1 for Federalist John Jay.

160 years ago
1850

Born on this date
Richard Butler. U.K.-born Australian politician. Sir Richard moved to Australia with his parents at the age of 3, and was a farmer and justice of the peace before entering politics. A Conservative, he represented Yatala (1890-1902) and Barossa (1902-1924) in the South Australia House fo Assembly. Sir Richard held various cabinet posts, and was Premier from March 1-July 26, 1905; his government was defeated in the state election, and he was Leader of the Opposition until 1909. Sir Richard was dismissed by the Executive Council from the ministry of Premier Archibald Peake in 1919 after he refused to resign over allegations involving the Wheat Scheme. He was cleared off wrongdoing by a royal commission, and was Speaker of the House from 1921 until he lost his seat in the 1924 state election. Sir Richard was on a visit to England when he died on April 28, 1925 at the age of 74. His son Richard Layton Butler served two terms as Premier of South Australia.

150 years ago
1860

Politics and government
U.S. President James Buchanan delivered his annual State of the Union message to Congress.

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Richard Kuhn. Austrian-born German biochemist. Dr. Kuhn was awarded the 1938 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his work on carotenoids and vitamins." He died on August 1, 1967 at the age of 66.

Albert Hawke. Australian politician. Mr. Hawke, a member of the Labour Party, represented Burra Burra in the South Australia House of Assembly (1924-1927) and Northam in the Western Australia Legislative Assembly (1933-1968). He held several cabinet posts in Western Australia, and succeeded Frank Wise as party leader in 1951. Mr. Hawke led the Labour Party to victory in the 1953 state election, and served as Premier of Western Australia until 1959, instituting various social reforms. Mr. Hawke's government was defeated in the 1959 state election, but he remained as Leader of the Opposition until 1966. Mr. Hawke died on February 14, 1986 at the age of 85. His nephew Bob Hawke was Prime Minister of Australia (1983-1991).

Politics and government
U.S. President William McKinley delivered his annual State of the Union message to Congress.

100 years ago
1910

Died on this date
Mary Baker Eddy, 89. U.S. religious leader. Mrs. Eddy suffered physical pain and illness for years before absorbing much of the mind-over-matter "New Thought" teaching of Phineas Quimby, a healer and mesmerist from Maine. She later rejected many of Mr. Quimby’s ideas and created her own doctrine, which she called "Christian Science." Mrs. Eddy’s magnum opus, Science and Health--later retitled Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures--was first published in 1875, although she said she had founded the religion in 1866. Among the publications she founded was the newspaper The Christian Science Monitor (in 1908). Christian Science doctrine includes a belief that God and His creation are entirely good and spiritual, and that all that God makes is spiritual and not material. Evil is unreal and an illusion. Christian Science, and not the Holy Spirit, is the Comforter mentioned in John 16:7-14. Christian Science rejects the Christian doctrine of substitutionary atonement (i.e., Jesus died on the cross in our place as punishment for our sins) and rejects the existence of a literal hell. Christian Science distinguishes between Jesus the man and Christ as a manifestation of God. In Christian Science, "Christ" is completely spiritual, and not material. Jesus, having a body, was not the totality of Christ; he was the Son of God, but not God, and not part of the Trinity, as understood by Christians. In Christian Science, Jesus was just the "Way-shower," not the Way. Christian Science teaches that sickness is the result of wrong thinking, such as fear or ignorance, and can be healed by correct belief. A quick antidote to the false teachings of Christian Science can be obtained by reading the first epistle of John.

Technology
Modern neon lighting was first demonstrated, by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show.

90 years ago
1920

War
The Turkish-dictated Treaty of Alexandropol was signed by Armenian Foreign Minister Alexander Khatisyan, ending the three-month Turkish–Armenian War, pending ratification.

70 years ago
1940

War
Pope Pius XII issued an appeal to warring nations to keep a Christmas truce "so that the clash of arms may not drown the angelic concert of peace." Assured of Nazi support, the Romanian Army ordered the seizure of arms from "irresponsible persons' and clamped down on the fascist Iron Guard.

Defense
The United Kingdom announced that it had placed a "first order" with American shipbuilders for 60 new freighters. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, Commerce Secretary Jesse Jones, War Secretary Henry Stimson, and Navy Secretary Frank Knox held an inter-departmental conference in Washington to discuss the defense program and aid to Britain. The U.S. War Department disclosed that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had allotted $25 million of emergency funds for Army garrisons at the eight naval and air bases acquired from the U.K. King George II of Greece asked U.S. President Roosevelt to provide a loan for the purchase of munitions and planes.

Health
Officials in California estimated that there were 50,000 cases of influenza in an epidemic sweeping the state.

Economics and finance
The Japanese newspaper Miyako said that the new U.S. loan to China brought Japan and the U.S.A. "closer to the final test."

60 years ago
1950

Politics and government
Libya's National Constituent Assembly selected Sayed Mohammed Idris el Senussi, leader of the pro-British Senussi tribe and King of Cyrenaica, to rule as Emir of Libya.

Said Pasha Mufti resigned as Prime Minister of Jordan because of ill health.

Municipal elections in West Berlin, boycotted by the Communists, resulted in a continued plurality for the Social Democrats, who received 44.6% of the vote.

Medicine
Dr. Charles Bailey of Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia reported the development of a mechanical heart-lung device that may restoe life to some "clinically dead" patients and make possible many hitherto unfeasible operations on diseased hearts.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Save the Last Dance for Me--The Drifters (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Il cielo in una stanza--Mina (8th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Ein Schiff wird kommen--Lale Andersen (7th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): It’s Now or Never--Elvis Presley (5th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Are You Lonesome To-night?--Elvis Presley (2nd week at #1)
2 Poetry in Motion--Johnny Tillotson
3 Last Date--Floyd Cramer
4 Stay--Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs
5 He Will Break Your Heart--Jerry Butler
6 A Thousand Stars--Kathy Young with the Innocents
7 New Orleans--U.S. Bonds
8 Georgia on My Mind--Ray Charles
9 You Talk Too Much--Joe Jones
10 North to Alaska--Johnny Horton

Singles entering the chart were Ruby by Ray Charles (#67); Sad Mood by Sam Cooke (#69); Gee Whiz, with versions by the Innocents; and Bobby Day (#77); Blue Tango by Bill Black's Combo (#84); Make Someone Happy by Perry Como (#87); Corinna, Corinna by Ray Peterson (#89); Today I Sing the Blues by Aretha Franklin (#92); The Magnificent Seven by Al Caiola and his Orchestra (#93); Child of God by Bobby Darin (#95); You Don't Want My Love, with versions by Andy Williams; and Roger Miller (#96); Will You Love Me Tomorrow by the Shirelles (#97); Happy Days by Marv Johnson (#99); Push Push by Austin Taylor (#100); and Look Out by Ted Taylor (also #100).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CFUN)
1 Are You Lonesome To-night?--Elvis Presley (2nd week at #1)
2 The Hucklebuck--Chubby Checker
3 Doll House--Donnie Brooks
4 The Sock--The Valentines
5 A Thousand Stars--Kathy Young with the Innocents
6 Billy, Billy Went a Walking--The Beau Marks
7 Perfidia--The Ventures
8 Last Date--Floyd Cramer
9 And the Heavens Cried--Ronnie Savoy
10 Lovey Dovey--Buddy Knox

Singles entering the chart were A Perfect Love by Frankie Avalon (#38); Oh, Lonesome Me by Bob Luman (#40); First Taste of Love by Ben E. King (#43); Little Lover by Joel Hill (#44); You are the Only One by Ricky Nelson (#45); Goodnight My Love by Johnny and the Cupids (#47); She Cried on My Shoulder by Mark Dinning (#48); Gloria's Theme by Adam Wade (#49); and Sing (And Tell the Blues "So Long") by Al Kasha (#50).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKWX)
1 Are You Lonesome To-night?--Elvis Presley (3rd week at #1)
2 North to Alaska--Johnny Horton
3 Wonderland by Night--Louis Prima
--Bert Kaempfert and his Orchestra
--Anita Bryant
4 You're Sixteen--Johnny Burnette
5 Dear John--Pat Boone
6 Exodus--Ferrante and Teicher
7 A Thousand Stars--Kathy Young with the Innocents
8 And the Heavens Cried--Ronnie Savoy
9 Lovey Dovey--Buddy Knox
10 Perfidia--The Ventures

Singles entering the chart were Flamingo Express by the Royaltones (#22); You are the Only One by Ricky Nelson (#34); Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White by Jerry Murad's Harmonicats (#35); Ruby by Ray Charles (#36); There She Goes by Jerry Wallace (#37); A Perfect Love by Frankie Avalon (#39); and Church Key by the Revels (#40).

On television tonight
The Roaring 20's, on ABC
Tonight's episode: White Carnation

Theatre
An edited version of Camelot, a musical with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics and book by Alan J. Lerner, directed by Moss Hart, and starring Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, and Robert Goulet, opened at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway in New York.

Canadiana
Annette Toft, 16, arrived at Québec City from Denmark as Canada's 2,000,000th immigrant since 1945.

40 years ago
1970

Terrorism
The Front de Liberation du Quebec terrorists who had been holding British Trade Commissioner James Cross hostage since kidnapping him from his Montreal residence on October 5 released him. In exchange, a Canadian military plane flew Mr. Cross’s three kidnappers and four of their relatives to Cuba. This blogger was in grade 4 at the time, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio news feed was piped through the public address system into the classrooms of Yellowknife Public School, where this blogger was in grade 4. This was the only time in all my years of school that I can remember a radio broadcast being played over the public address system.

World events
The court-martial of 16 members--including two women and two priests--of the Basque separatist organization ETA began in Burgos, Spain and sparked large protests in Spain and other countries. The ETA continued to hold West German businessman Eugen Beihl hostage two days after kidnapping him in reaction to the court-martial.

Diplomacy
A U.S. proposal that North and South Vietnam open their prisoner-of-war camps for inspection by an impartial group such as the Red Cross was rejected by the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong at the resumption of the Paris peace talks. They repeated their stand that the issue could be settled only by the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam by June 30, 1971.

Defense
At a ministerial meeting in Brussels, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization voted to strengthen conventional forces in Europe to counter Soviet military power hikes. At the same time, U.S. President Richard Nixon assured the alliance that unless the Soviets were to reduce their forces, U.S. combat readiness would not be cut back.

Religion
Pope Paul VI began the day in Sydney, Australia, where he ordained the first Roman Catholic Bishop born in New Guinea. He then flew to Djakarta, Indonesia, where he conducted an outdoor mass.

Boxing
Billy Backus (30-10-4) won the world welterweight title with a technical knockout of defending champion Jose Napoles (65-5) at 55 seconds of the 4th round at War Memorial Auditorium in Syracuse, New York. The fight was stopped because of a bad cut over Mr. Napoles' left eye.



30 years ago
1980

Died on this date
Oswald Mosley, 84. U.K. politician. Sir Oswald was a Conservative and then an independent when he represented Harrow in the House of Commons (1918-1924). He then joined the Labour Party, representing Smithwick in the House of Commons (1926-1931), and serving as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1929-1931). Sir Oswald resigned from the Labour Party on February 28, 1931, and founded the New Party the next day; it became the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in 1932. The BUF was banned in 1940, and Sir Oswald was imprisoned from 1940-1943. He was unsuccessful in later attempts at getting elected, and moved to France in 1951, and spent most of the rest of his life there. Sir Oswald died 17 days after his 84th birthday, after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.

Diplomacy
Jordan rejected Syria’s demands of the previous day, including recognition of the Palestinian Liberation Organization as the sole representative of the Palestinian people.

Terrorism
Bernardine Dohrn, the alleged leader of the radical terrorist group Weather Underground surrendered to Chicago authorities after 10 years in hiding. She had been arrested in 1970 and indicted for her part in the Weather Underground’s "Days of Rage" anti-war demonstrations in Chicago in 1969. Miss Dohrn then was freed on bail and did not appear in court after the indictment. At the reopening of her case, she pleaded not guilty to charges of mob action, flight to avoid persecution, and assaulting two policemen. She was released on bail.

Scandal
U.S. Representatives Frank Thompson, Jr. (Democrat--New Jersey) and John Murphy (Democrat--New York) were found guilty of charges stemming from the government’s Abscam investigation, where Federal Bureau of Investigation agents disguised themselves as Arab sheiks and offered bribes to various politicians. Mr. Thompson was found guilty of bribery and conspiracy, and Mr. Murphy was found guilty of conspiracy, conflict of interest, and receiving an unlawful gratuity.

Environment
The United States House of Representatives approved a bill passed by the Senate to create a $1.6-billion fund that would enable the government to deal with dangerous toxic waste dumps and chemical spills. No provision was made, however, to deal with oil spills or to provide compensation for damage to health or property for the victims of hazardous wastes. The House also passed a bill that set a timetable for developing permanent underground storage places for highly radioactive nuclear waste.

Hockey
NHL
Pittsburgh 4 @ Toronto 4





25 years ago
1985

Politics and government
The Philippine National Assembly set February 7, 1986 as the date for the country’s presidential election. Corazon Aquino then announced her candidacy.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the index of leading economic indicators had risen 0.3% in October.

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): I've Been Thinking About You--Londonbeat

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Sadeness Part I--Enigma (4th week at #1)

World events
Several hundred army troops in Argentina staged a rebellion and were able to seize the army headquarters in Buenos Aires as well as a barracks. Forces loyal to President Carlos Menem moved swiftly to quash the revolt, recapturing the two sites and bombing advancing tanks. The unsuccessful coup attempt resulted in 21 deaths.

Disasters
Two Northwest Airlines planes collided on a runway at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Michigan, killing seven passengers and one crew member.

10 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Hoyt Curtin, 78. U.S. composer and music producer. Mr. Curtin was chief music producer and producer with Hanna-Barbera animation studios from 1957-1986, composing the theme songs for most of the cartoons, including The Flintstones (1960-1966). He composed the score for Mesa of Lost Women (1953), which was reused in Jail Bait (1954), and gets this blogger's vote as the worst film score ever.

Tennis
Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil defeated Andre Agassi of the U.S.A. 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to win the Tennis Masters Cup, which gave him the top spot in the Association of Tennis Professionals year-end men’s ranking for 2000.