January 23, 2011

1,040 years ago
971

War
Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeaedt a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao.

440 years ago
1571

Economics and finance
The Royal Exchange opened in London.

110 years ago
1901

Disasters
A fire that broke out at the commercial tailor Saxe & Sons ravaged Montreal, doing over $2.5 million in property damage. The fire destroyed over 30 buildings in Old Montreal and took 5 hours to control and 7 hours to put out due to frozen water mains.

90 years ago
1921

Died on this date
Mykola Leontovych, 43. Ukrainian composer. Mr. Leontovych specialized in a cappella choral music; his works included Shchedryk (known in English as Carol of the Bells). Mr. Leontovych supported the Ukrainian independence movement, which may have motivated his murder by Afanasy Grishchenko, an agent of the Soviet state security force Cheka.

80 years ago
1931

Died on this date
Anna Pavlova, 49. Russian-born U.K. ballerina. Miss Pavlova joined the Imperial Russian Ballet and performed with them and Ballet Russes before forming her own company. She was best known for perfroming The Dying Swan. Miss Pavlova moved to London in 1912, and toured the world until her death from pneumonia, 20 days before her 50th birthday, after suddenly taking ill while travelling from Paris to The Hague.

70 years ago
1941

Theatre
Lady in the Dark, a musical written by Kurt Weill, Ira Gershwin, and Moss Hart, starring Gertrude Lawrence, Danny Kaye, Bert Lytell, Victor Mature, and Macdonald Carey, opened at the Alvin Theatre on Broadway in New York.

War
Franz von Werra, a German prisoner of war at Prescott, Ontario, escaped from a train, and eventually made it back to Germany, only to die in action a year later. He was the only German POW to make a successful escape in Canada. The German battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gniesenau departed Kiel.

Diplomacy
The Vichy regime announced that France had accepted Japan's offer to mediate the conflict between Indochina and Thailand.

Defense
U.S. Army Colonel Charles Lindbergh testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee; he said that the United States did not require a British victory in the European war; opposed the Lend-Lease bill; predicted a British defeat; and recommended that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler. Judge William Bondy of the U.S. District Court in New York ruled that the 1940 Draft Act was constitutional.

Politics and government
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated Dean Acheson as assistant Secretary of State.

60 years ago
1951

On television tonight
Suspense, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Dead Fall, starring Barry Nelson, Signe Hasso, and Robert Emhardt



Politics and government
U.S. President Harry Truman created a nine-member Commission on Internal Security and Individual Rights, headed by retired Admiral Chester Nimitz, to consider how to protect the United States against espionage without endangering the freedom of its citizens.

Crime
The U.S. Senate cited eight gamblers for contempt for refusing to answer questions before the Senate Crime Investigating Committee.

Stiffer penalties for narcotics law violators were demanded in New York and Washington, following a week in which 77 dope peddlers were arrested.

50 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Greenfields--The Brothers Four (5th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Non, je ne regrette rien--Édith Piaf (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Wonderland by Night--Bert Kaempfert and his Orchestra (3rd week at #1)
2 Exodus--Ferrante and Teicher
3 Calcutta--Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra
4 Will You Love Me Tomorrow--The Shirelles
5 Angel Baby--Rosie and the Originals
6 Are You Lonesome To-night?--Elvis Presley
7 Shop Around--The Miracles
8 Calendar Girl--Neil Sedaka
9 Rubber Ball--Bobby Vee
10 Corinna, Corinna--Ray Peterson

Singles entering the chart were Pony Time by Chubby Checker (#49); Good Time Baby by Bobby Rydell (#53); The Tear of the Year by Jackie Wilson (#60); What a Price (#78)/Ain't that Just Like a Woman (#83) by Fats Domino; Pony Time by the Goodtimers (#87); Dedicated to the One I Love by the "5" Royales (#88); The Exodus Song by Pat Boone (#90); Trouble in Mind by Nina Simone (#92); Ram-Bunk-Shush by the Ventures (#93); Apache by Jorgen Ingmann and his Guitar (#94); Ginnie Bell by Paul Dino (#98); and Charlena by the Sevilles (#100). The version of Pony Time by the Goodtimers was credited on some copies to Don Covay and the Goodtimers. Dedicated to the One I Love had orginally been been released in 1957, and reached #13 on the Rhythm and Blues chart in 1958.

Space
The mission of Discoverer 19, a U.S. satellite launched on December 20, 1960 to study atmospheric phenomena and infrared radiation, ended, when it decayed and reentered the atmosphere.

Politics and government
Following a five-day meeting of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee in Peiping presided over by Chairman Mao Tse-tung, a communiqué was issued acknowledging that agricultural production in China had lagged seriously behind goals for the previous two years. While drought and floods were blamed for poor yields--which caused severe food shortages--the communiqué said that some of the difficulties were the result of sabotage by "bad elements" in the party. It ordered an immediate purge of these "bad elements," which the statement said had "infiltrated the party and government departments."

Labour
A two-week strike of 664 ferry and tugboat crewmen employed by 11 railroads in New York ended. The strike had shut down ferry service on which 30,000 commuters depended daily.

Disasters
Fire aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier Saratoga, in the Ionian Sea, killed four U.S. Navy officers and three enlisted men, and injured 23.

Boxing
Pete Rademacher (11-3-1) won a 10-round unanimous decision over Donnie Fleeman (35-11-1) in a heavyweight bout at Civic Ice Arena in Seattle.

40 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): Yo Yo--Chris Andrews (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Vent'anni--Massimo Ranieri (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): If Those Lips Could Only Speak--Dermot Henry (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Grandad--Clive Dunn (8th week at #1)

Australia's Top 10 (Go-Set)
1 I Think I Love You--The Partridge Family (4th week at #1)
2 My Sweet Lord--George Harrison
3 The Pushbike Song--The Mixtures
4 A Song of Joy--Miguel Rios
5 Look What They've Done to My Song Ma--The New Seekers
6 Fire and Rain--James Taylor
7 We've Only Just Begun--Carpenters
8 You Don't Have To Say You Love Me/Patch it Up--Elvis Presley
9 Eleanor Rigby--Zoot
10 Lola--The Kinks

Singles entering the chart were Gypsy Woman by Brian Hyland (#32); Knock Three Times by Dawn (#35); I Hear You Knocking by Dave Edmunds (#37); We were Lovers Then by Don Lane (#46); I'll Be Gone by Spectrum (#50); Cheryl Moana Marie by John Rowles (#56); and Question by the Moody Blues (#59).

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 My Sweet Lord--George Harrison (4th week at #1)
2 Peace Planet (Badinerie from suite no. 2 - J.S.Bach)--Ekseption
3 Yesterday, When I was Young--Charles Aznavour
4 I Hear You Knocking--Dave Edmunds
5 Nothing Rhymed--Gilbert O'Sullivan
6 She Likes Weeds--Tee-Set
7 Both Sides Now--Euson
8 Knock Three Times--Dawn
9 Rose Garden--Lynn Anderson
10 Wang Dang Doodle--Livin' Blues

Singles entering the chart were House of the King by Focus (#23); Maggie by Redbone (#28); A Ha, Dat is Marie by De Wama's (#33); River Deep - Mountain High by the Supremes & Four Tops (#34); and Mag Ik Effe Ademhalen by Paul Rollman (#39).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Knock Three Times--Dawn
2 My Sweet Lord/Isn't it a Pity--George Harrison
3 One Less Bell to Answer--The 5th Dimension
4 Lonely Days--Bee Gees
5 Black Magic Woman--Santana
6 Stoney End--Barbra Streisand
7 Groove Me--King Floyd
8 Your Song--Elton John
9 Rose Garden--Lynn Anderson
10 It's Impossible--Perry Como

Singles entering the chart were Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life) by the Four Tops (#79); I Dig Everything About You by the Mob (#83); Whole Lotta Love by King Curtis and the Kingpins (#87); I Love You for All Seasons by the Fuzz (#88); Ride a White Swan by Tyrannosaurus Rex (#89); (She's a) Very Lovely Woman/The Long Way Around by Linda Ronstadt (#90); You're the One by the Three Degrees (#93); Freedom by the Isley Brothers (#94); Solution for Pollution by Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band (#96); I Need You by the Friends of Distinction (#97); We'll Have it Made by the Spinners (#98); and I'll Be Home by Vikki Carr (#99).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Knock Three Times--Dawn (2nd week at #1)
2 My Sweet Lord--George Harrison
3 One Less Bell to Answer--The 5th Dimension
4 Groove Me--King Floyd
5 Lonely Days--Bee Gees
6 Rose Garden--Lynn Anderson
7 If I were Your Woman--Gladys Knight & the Pips
8 Your Song--Elton John
9 Immigrant Song--Led Zeppelin
10 Pay to the Piper--The Chairmen of the Board

Singles entering the chart were Mama's Pearl by the Jackson 5 (#38); Make Me Happy by Bobby Bloom (#85); Everything is Good About You by the Lettermen (#89); Help Me Make it Through the Night by Sammi Smith (#93); Theme from Love Story by Francis Lai and his Orchestra (#94); Bed of Rose's by the Statler Brothers (#95); Do Me Right by the Detroit Emeralds (#96); Angel Baby by Dusk (#99); and One Night Stand by the Magic Lanterns (#100). Theme from "Love Story" and its B-side, Skating in Central Park, were from the movie.

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 Knock Three Times--Dawn (3rd week at #1)
2 My Sweet Lord/Isn't it a Pity--George Harrison
3 One Less Bell to Answer--The 5th Dimension
4 Groove Me--King Floyd
5 Lonely Days--Bee Gees
6 Stoned Love--The Supremes
7 Pay to the Piper--The Chairmen of the Board
8 It's Impossible--Perry Como
9 Your Song--Elton John
10 If I were Your Woman--Gladys Knight & the Pips

Singles entering the chart included You're the One by the Three Degrees (#83); Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life) by the Four Tops (#86); I Love You for All Seasons by the Fuzz (#91); Jody Got Your Girl and Gone by Johnnie Taylor (#92); Triangle of Love (Hey Diddle Diddle) by the Presidents (#94); Because it's Time by McKendree Spring (#97); and Mixed Up Guy by Joey Scarbury (#98).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Knock Three Times--Dawn
2 Isn't it a Pity--George Harrison
3 Your Song--Elton John
4 Immigrant Song--Led Zeppelin
5 Lonely Days--Bee Gees
6 One Man Band--Three Dog Night
7 Black Magic Woman--Santana
8 Love the One You're With--Stephen Stills
9 Does Anybody Really Know What Time it Is?--Chicago
10 Stoned Love--The Supremes

Singles entering the chart were Beautiful People by the New Seekers (#77); The Long Way Around by Linda Ronstadt (#80); Ride a White Swan by Tyrannosaurus Rex (#81); Oh, Lonesome Me by Neil Young (#83); Put Your Hand in the Hand by Ocean (#88); Carry Me by the Stampeders (#89); Ç'est Toujours Comme ça la Première Fois by Pierre Lalonde (#91); Rocking Chair Ride by Christopher Kearney #92); Un Nouveau Jour va se Lever by Macques Michel (#98); and Je Chante by Les Sinners (#99).

Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 My Sweet Lord--George Harrison (5th week at #1)
2 Knock Three Times--Dawn
3 Lonely Days--Bee Gees
4 Sing High, Sing Low--Anne Murray
5 Sweet Mary--Wadsworth Mansion
6 Stoned Love--The Supremes
7 No Matter What--Badfinger
8 Share the Land--The Guess Who
9 If You Could Read My Mind--Gordon Lightfoot
10 I Hear You Knocking--Dave Edmunds
Pick hit of the week: Born to Wander--Rare Earth

On the radio
Sherlock Holmes, starring Georg Arlin and Gosta Pruzelius, on Radioteatern (Sweden)
Tonight's episode: The Hound of the Baskervilles, Part 3

Diplomacy
The Commonwealth Conference in Singapore ended with a compromise over the wording of the Declaration of Commonwealth Principles. The main issue under discussion was the U.K.’s proposal to sell arms to South Africa despite a voluntary United Nations embargo on arms sales to that country.

30 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): När vi två blir en--Gyllene Tider (7th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Couleur menthe a l'eau--Eddy Mitchell (2nd week at #1)

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Love on the Rocks--Neil Diamond
2 Woman in Love--Barbra Streisand
3 Can You Feel It--The Jacksons
4 Man on the Moon--Ballyhoo
5 (Just Like) Starting Over--John Lennon
6 Passion--Rod Stewart
7 The Tide is High--Blondie
8 Give Me the Night--George Benson
9 Another One Bites the Dust--Queen
10 Don't Stand So Close to Me--The Police

Singles entering the chart were Lady by Kenny Rogers (#15); and All Out of Love by Air Supply (#20).

Died on this date
Samuel Barber, 70. U.S. composer. Mr. Barber was one of the most acclaimed American composers in history, writing numerous orchestral, vocal, piano, and chamber works, as well as several ballets and operas. He won Pulitzer Prizes for his opera Vanessa (1958) and Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1962). Mr. Barber's other notable works included Adagio for Strings (1936); Violin Concerto (1941); and Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (1947). He died of cancer.

Terry Pue, 15. U.S. crime victom. Mr. Pue was the 14th boy between the ages of 7 and 15 to have been found murdered in Atlanta, Georgia in the previous 18 months. Two more had disappeared and had not yet been found.

25 years ago
1986

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CITV
Tonight’s episode: Monsters! (starring Ralph Bellamy and Oliver Robins); A Small Talent for War (starring John Glover); A Matter of Minutes (starring Adam Arkin and Karen Austin)

War
The 10,000-man National Resistance Army force led by Yoweri Museveni, originally based in southwestern Uganda, reached the outskirts of the capital city of Kampala. The NRA had reached a peace agreement with the government on December 17, 1985, but had abandoned the agreement in January.

Oil
On the London spot market, the price of Brent Light Crude, a North Sea oil, fell to US$17.25 per barrel before recovering to $18.40, still down by $10 per barrel since November 1985. The world glut of oil was attributed to a warm winter and to increased production by countries that were not members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Saudi oil minister Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani urged Britain--a non-member of OPEC--to cut production to avert "adverse and dangerous consequences for the whole world economy." The Saudis had doubled their own output since August 1985.

20 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Sadeness Part I--Enigma (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight’s episode: Heartbreak

Died on this date
Northrop Frye, 78. Canadian literary critic. Professor Frye, a native of Sherbrooke, Quebec, was one of the most influential literary critics of the 20th century. His books included Fearful Symmetry (1947); Anatomy of Criticism (1957); and The Great Code: The Bible and Literature (1982).

War
U.S. General Colin Powell said that Allied forces had gained air superiority over Iraq after 12,000 sorties; that Iraq’s two operating nuclear plants were "finished;" and that chemical and biological warfare facilities had been badly damaged. Of 22 Scud missiles fired by Iraq at Saudi Arabia, 18 had been downed by U.S. patriot missiles, and none had caused damage.

Soviet troops seized the main paper warehouse in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius; no one attempted to stop the takeover.

Economics and finance
U.S. Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan concluded two days of reporting to Congress by saying that the nation’s money supply was growing too slowly and that the board might cut interest rates again.

Hockey
NHL
Montreal 7 Toronto 3

10 years ago
2001

Protest
Five people attempted to set themselves on fire in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, an act that many people later claimed was staged by the Communist Party of China to frame the religious movement Falun Gong and thus escalate their persecution.

Politics and government
The United States Senate voted its approval to two more of President George W. Bush’s cabinet nominees: Mel Martinez--Secretary of Housing; and Anthony Principi--Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Québec Premier Bernard Landry refused a federal offer of $18 million in renovation funding for a Quebec City zoo on condition that it include English signs and the Canadian flag; he called the Canadian flag "a piece of red rag."

Education
U.S. President Bush proposed an education plan that included an increased role for the federal government. The proposal included vouchers for parents to help them remove children from failing schools and pay tuition for private or religious schools. A key objective of Mr. Bush’s plan was to demand accountability from schools receiving federal money, with standardized tests for students in grades 3 through 8.