January 1, 2011

1,010 years ago
1001

Europeana
Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary was named the first King of Hungary by Pope Sylvester II.

360 years ago
1651

Britannica
Charles II was crowned King of England at Scone.

230 years ago
1781

War
In the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny of 1781, 1,500 soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment under General Anthony Wayne's command rebelled against the Continental Army's winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey.

210 years ago
1801

Britannica
The legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland was completed, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was proclaimed.

160 years ago
1851

World events
Liberal forces supporting Benito Juárez entered Mexico City.

Journalism
In Windsor, Canada West, Henry Walton Bibb, the son of a white father and Negro mother, published the first issue of Voice of the Fugitive, a journal for escaped American slaves.

Law
The Canadian government abolished primogeniture, where eldest son received the greater part of his deceased father's property; all property was divided equally among all children if there was no will.

130 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Charles Bickford. U.S. actor. Mr. Bickford was a character actor in plays, movies, and television programs in a career spanning 56 years. He was nominated for Academy Awards for his supporting performances in The Song of Bernadette (1943); The Farmer's Daughter (1947); and Johnny Belinda (1948). Mr. Bickford died of pneumonia and a blood infection on November 9, 1967 at the age of 76.

110 years ago
1901

Australiana
The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia federated as the Commonwealth of Australia, with Edmund Barton appointed as the first Prime Minister.

Africana
The Southern Nigeria Protectorate was established within the British Empire.

100 years ago
1911

Born on this date
Basil Dearden. U.K. movie director and screenwriter. Mr. Dearden, born Basil Dear, wrote several screenplays before directing more than 40 movies and television programs from 1939-1974. His directing credits included Dead of Night (1945); The Captive Heart (1946); Sapphire (1959); Victim (1961); and Khartoum (1966). Mr. Dearden died on March 23, 1971 at the age of 60, after being seriously injured in a car accident.

Hank Greenberg. U.S. baseball player and executive. Mr. Greenberg was a first baseman and outfielder with the Detroit Tigers (1930, 1933-1941, 1945-1946) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1947), batting .313 with 331 home runs and 1,274 runs batted in in 1,394 games. He led the American League in home runs four times and in runs batted in four times. Mr. Greenberg is probably best remembered for hitting 58 home runs in 1938, falling two short of the major league record for a single season set by Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees in 1927. Mr. Greenberg helped the Tigers win the World Series in 1935 and the AL pennant in 1940, but entered the United States Army in May 1941 and wasn't discharged until midway through the 1945 season, when he helped the Tigers win another World Series. Mr. Greenberg was the general manager of the Cleveland Indians from 1949-1957 and the Chicago White Sox from 1959-1961. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1956. Mr. Greenberg was the first popular Jewish star in American team sports, and was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1979; Jewish American Hall of Fame in 1991; and National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. He died on September 4, 1986 at the age of 75.

90 years ago
1921

Died on this date
Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, 64. Chancellor of the German Empire, 1909-1917. Mr. Bethmann-Hollweg, who wasn't affiliated with any party, held several cabinet posts before tking office as Chancellor in July 1909. He pursued a policy of détente with Britain, but was unsuccessful, and in his support for Austro-Hungarian action against Serbia in 1914, he tampered with the text of a message from Britain, and was upset by the U.K.'s declaration of war following Germany's violation of Belgium's neutrality. Mr. Bethmann-Hollweg gradually lost power and was forced to resign in July 1917. In 1919 he asked the Allies to place him on trial insead of Kaiser Wilhelm II if anyone should be held responsible for the origin of the war. Mr. Bethmann-Hollweg caught a cold shortly after Christmas 1920, which developed into pneumonia.

70 years ago
1941

Radio
The news division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Radio-Canada was founded, headed by Dan McArthur, with Lorne Greene appointed as the first announcer in the new national news service.

War
The British Royal Air Force bombed Bremen for 3½ hours. South African Prime Minister Jan Christaan Smuts predicted that the United States would enter the European war in order to save Britain from defeat. U.S. Senator Arthur Vandenberg (Republican--Michigan) was quoted as saying that he would back President Franklin D. Roosevel't policies, "even though I know it is bound to lead us into war," if the United States first exhausted all avenues of peace.

Defense
The National Herrerista Party withdrew its opposition to construction of Pan-American defense bases in Uruguay.

Economics and finance
The French government in Vichy announced a provisional budget of approximately 40 billion francs for the next four months.

The U.S. Federal Reserve presented Congress with a monetary plan to forestall inflation and improve monetary organization.

Americana
The U.S. Census Bureau announced that the population of the United States in 1940 was 131,669,275, a gain of nearly 9 million since 1930.

Football
NCAA
Cotton Bowl
Texas A&M 13 Fordham 12

Orange Bowl
Mississippi State 14 Georgetown 7

Rose Bowl
Stanford 21 Nebraska 13

Sugar Bowl
Boston College 19 Tennessee 13

60 years ago
1951

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Haunted Skyscraper, starring Don Dickinson and Virginia Gilmore

War
Communist Chinese and North Korean forces began a major drive on Seoul, breaking through South Korean lines on the right flank of the U.S. 8th Army.

Politics and government
The Legislative Council, the appointed Upper House of the New Zealand Parliament, ceased to exist.

France granted independence to the Saar, but maintained its economic union with the coal-mining and steel-manufacturing district.

Haiti announced a ban on the pro-Communist Peasants and Workers Movement and the Popular Socialist Party.

Popular culture
The Israeli government upheld a ban on the use of the German language in concerts and other public performances.

Football
NCAA
Cotton Bowl @ Dallas
Tennessee 20 Texas 14

Rose Bowl @ Pasadena
Michigan 14 California 6

Orange Bowl @ Miami
Clemson 15 Miami (Florida) 14

Sugar Bowl @ New Orleans
Kentucky 13 Oklahoma 7

50 years ago
1961

Television
CJCH-TV, owned by a group of Nova Scotians headed by Finlay Macdonald, began broadcasting on Channel 5 in Halifax. It was an independent station, and became one of CTV's original stations when that network began broadcasting on October 1, 1961.

Transportation
The Canadian Pacific Railway created the Soo Line Railroad Company by amalgamating the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad Company, the Wisconsin Central Railroad Company, and the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railroad Company.

Energy
The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority was created to absorb all the power companies in British Columbia except for the CPR-owned West Kootenay Power and Light Company.

Economics and finance
A provincial hospital insurance plan went into effect in Quebec.

Football
AFL
Championship
Los Angeles 16 @ Houston 24

George Blanda completed 16 of 31 passes for 301 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Oilers to the first American Football League championship over the Chargers before 32,183 fans at Jeppesen Stadium. Ben Agajanian kicked field goals of 38 and 22 yards to give the Chargers a 6-0 lead after the 1st quarter, but Mr. Blanda threw 17 yards to Dave Smith for the game’s 1st touchdown at 3:51 of the 2nd quarter. Mr. Blanda converted and added an 18-yard field goal almost 5 minutes later to give the Oilers a 10-6 lead. Mr. Agajanian kicked a 27-yard field goal with 5 seconds left to cut Houston’s lead at halftime to 10-9. Mr. Blanda connected with Bill Groman on a 7-yard touchdown pass, which Mr. Blanda converted, to give the Oilers a 17-9 lead. The Chargers struck back with a long drive culminating in a 2-yard touchdown rush by Paul Lowe, converted by Mr. Agajanian, to make the score 17-16 in favour of Houston after 3 quarters. The Oilers scored the only points of the 4th quarter on an 88-yard touchdown pass from Mr. Blanda to Billy Cannon, converted by Mr. Blanda. The deepest penetration after that by the Los Angeles offense was to the Houston 22-yard line, but the Chargers lost the ball on downs. Mr. Cannon rushed 18 times for 50 yards and led all receivers with 128 yards on 3 receptions. Mr. Lowe led all rushers with 21 carries for 165 yards. Los Angeles quarterback Jack Kemp completed 21 of 41 passes for just 171 yards and 2 interceptions. It was the Chargers’ last game representing Los Angeles; they moved to San Diego in the off-season.



40 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): A Song of Joy--Miguel Rios (12th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): If Those Lips Could Only Speak--Dermot Henry

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Looky Looky--Giorgio (3rd week at #1)
2 Zanzibar--Wanda Arletti
3 Cracklin' Rosie--Neil Diamond
4 Look Out Here Comes Tomorrow--The Dealians
5 Indiana Wants Me--R. Dean Taylor
6 You Can Get it if You Really Want--Desmond Dekker
7 I Think I Love You--The Partridge Family
8 Woodstock--Matthews Southern Comfort
9 I Hear You Knocking--Dave Edmunds
10 Paranoid--Black Sabbath

Singles entering the chart were Mango Mango by Tidal Wave (#19); and The Witch by the Rattles (#20).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 My Sweet Lord/Isn't it a Pity--George Harrison (4th week at #1)
2 Knock Three Times--Dawn
3 Immigrant Song--Led Zeppelin
4 One Less Bell to Answer--The 5th Dimension
5 Black Magic Woman--Santana
6 No Matter What--Badfinger
7 Lonely Days-- Bee Gees
8 Stoned Love--The Supremes
9 Stoney End--Barbra Streisand
10 Does Anybody Really Know What Time it Is?--Chicago

Singles entering the chart were I Really Don't Want to Know/There Goes My Everything by Elvis Presley (#28); Rose Garden by Lynn Anderson (#29); and If I were Your Woman by Gladys Knight & the Pips (#30).

On television tonight
The Interns, on CBS
Tonight’s episode: Changes

Died on this date
Luis Aparicio, Sr., 58. Venezuelan baseball player, coach, and manager. Mr. Aparicio was a shortstop with seven different clubs in the National Baseball Series in 11 years from 1931-1945, and played in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League with Navegantes del Magallanes (1946); Sabios de Vargas (1947-1952); and Gavilanes (1953). He was the first batter in VPBL history, singling and scoring the first run on January 12, 1946. Mr. Aparicio coached with Gavilanes after his playing career ended, founded the Rapiños de Occidente club in 1957, and managed Águilas del Zulia in their inaugural season in 1969-70. Mr. Aparicio died of a heart attack, and was inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005. His son Luis, Jr. played shortstop in the American League from 1956-1973, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.

War
A three-day cease-fire in Vietnam ended amid reports that sporadic fighting had continued throughout the period.

Football
NCAA
Cotton Bowl @ Dallas
Notre Dame 24 Texas 11

Rose Bowl @ Pasadena
Stanford 27 Ohio State 17

Orange Bowl @ Miami
Nebraska 17 Louisiana State 12

Sugar Bowl @ New Orleans
Tennessee 34 Air Force 13

30 years ago
1981

Hit Parade
Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Woman in Love--Barbra Streisand
2 Angel of Mine--Frank Duval & Orchestra
3 Super Trouper--ABBA
4 Santa Maria--Oliver Onions
5 Some Broken Hearts Never Mend--Telly Savalas
6 What You're Proposing--Status Quo
7 The Tide is High--Blondie
8 Another One Bites the Dust--Queen
9 Santa Maria--Roland Kaiser
10 Johnny and Mary--Robert Palmer

Singles entering the chart were When You Ask About Love by Matchbox (#16); Passion by Rod Stewart (#18); and Arrival by Mike Oldfield (#19).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 (Just Like) Starting Over--John Lennon (4th week at #1)
2 Hungry Heart--Bruce Springsteen
3 Passion--Rod Stewart
4 The Tide is High--Blondie
5 I Got You--Split Enz
6 Wasn't That a Party--The Rovers
7 Looking for Clues--Robert Palmer
8 De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da--The Police
9 Every Woman in the World--Air Supply
10 More than I Can Say--Leo Sayer

Singles entering the chart were Time is Time by Andy Gibb (#18); and 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton (#20).

Literature
Obasan by Joy Kogawa, the first novel to trace the internment and dispersal of 20,000 Japanese Canadians from the West Coast during World War II, was published.

World events
The absence of Chinese Communist Party Chairman Hua Guofeng from a New Year’s reception stirred rumours that he had been forced to resign his post. Because the reception, given by the Central Committee, was unusual in that such affairs were usually sponsored by the government, it was believed that the celebration was held purposely without Chairman Hua as a signal to the Chinese people that he had been ousted.

Economics and finance
Greece was admitted into the European Economic Community as its 10th member.

Gasoline in Canada was first sold by the litre rather than the gallon.

Disasters
A fire in a recreation club killed 48 New Year's Eve celebrants in the northern Québec mining town of Chapais.

Football
NCAA
Cotton Bowl @ Dallas
Alabama 30 Baylor 2

Rose Bowl @ Pasadena
Michigan 23 Washington 6

Orange Bowl @ Miami
Oklahoma 18 Florida State 17

Sugar Bowl @ New Orleans
Georgia 17 Notre Dame 10

25 years ago
1986

Diplomacy
U.S. President Ronald Reagan and U.S.S.R. leader Mikhail Gorbachev exchanged New Year’s greetings in televised addresses. Mr. Reagan noted the "good beginning" toward better relations in the November 1985 summit, and he said that the American system was "founded on the belief in the sanctity of human life and the rights of the individual." Mr. Gorbachev said that the Soviet people cherished the idea of peace, having suffered so badly during World War II. He said that both nations had a "duty to all mankind" to create a climate conducive to the preservation of peace, and proposed that all nuclear weapons be banned by 2000.

Terrorism
Libyan leader Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi warned that any U.S. or Israeli attempt to retaliate for the December 27 raids on airports in Roe and Vienna would bring war to the Mediterranean Sea region.

Weather
It was a beautiful, sunny day in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Football
NCAA
Cotton Bowl @ Dallas
Texas A&M 36 Auburn 16

Rose Bowl @ Pasadena
UCLA 45 Iowa 28

Orange Bowl @ Miami
Oklahoma 25 Pennsylvania State 10

Sugar Bowl @ New Orleans
Tennessee 35 Miami (Florida) 7

20 years ago
1991

Abominations
The 7% Goods and Services Tax went into effect in Canada.

Canadiana
Oliver, British Columbia was incorporated as a town.

Hockey
NHL-U.S.S.R. exhibition
Moscow Dynamo 4 @ Toronto 7

This was the first appearance of a Soviet team at Maple Leaf Gardens. Harold Ballard, who had died the previous spring, had always refused to permit any team from the Soviet Union to play there as long as he owned the Maple Leafs.



Football
NCAA
Cotton Bowl @ Dallas
Miami (Florida) 46 Texas 3

Rose Bowl @ Pasadena
Washington 46 Iowa 34

Orange Bowl @ Miami
Colorado 10 Notre Dame 9

Sugar Bowl @ New Orleans
Tennessee 23 Virginia 22

10 years ago
2001

Died on this date
Ray Walston, 86. U.S. actor. Mr. Walston was best known as the star of the television comedy series My Favorite Martian (1963-1966) and as a member of the cast of the dramatic series Picket Fences (1992-1996).

Canadiana
The Ontario cities of Hamilton and Sudbury officially merged with their suburban municipalities to create new megacities. Sudbury, now Greater Sudbury, was the only one to change its name.

Diplomacy
The Palestinian National Authority expressed concerns about Middle East peace plan principles set forth by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 23 and already accepted by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. The plan provided for Palestinian control over the Gaza Strip; Arab neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem; and 95% of the West Bank, with partial control of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. The PNA feared these principles would not produce a viable state; objected to provisions allowing for annexation of Israeli settlements in the West Bank; and protested that the plan would forego the right of return for Palestinians who had become refugees following the formation of the nation of Israel in 1948 and subsequent wars.

Law
Despite a January 1 deadline, hundreds of thousands of Canadians didn’t register guns in their possession, and now possessed the weapons illegally, making it impossible to legally purchase ammunition.

Business
Air Canada and Canadian Airlines International Limited officially merged.