January 27, 2011

700 years ago
1311

Died on this date
Külüg Khan (Wuzong), 29. Khagan of the Mongol Empire; Emperor of China, 1307-1311. Külüg Khan, known as Emperor Wuzong of the Yuan dynasty in China, was born Khayishan, and acceded to the throne following the death of his uncle Temür Khan, who left no heir. Külüg Khan's title as Great Khan was only nominal because of the division of the Mongol Empire at the time. He died suddenly, and was succeeded by his younger brother Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan.

440 years ago
1571

Born on this date
Abbas I. Shah of Persia, 1588-1629. Abbas "the Great" acceded to the throne when his father Mohammad Khodabanda was deposed. Abbas I was the fifth Shah of the Safavid dynasty, and is regarded as one of Persia's greatest rulers. He incorporated foreign slave-soldiers into the military and civil service, which helped him to record military victories over Ottoman and Uzbek forces, regaining provinces that had been lost in wars. Shah Abbas moved the Persian capital from Qazvin to Isfahan. He was generally tolerant of Christianity, and initiated diplomatic contacts with Europe in order to help defeat the Ottomans. Shah Abbas eventually became suspicious of his three surviving sons, and had them either executed or blinded. After a brief illness, Shah Abbas I died on January 19, 1629, eight days before his 58th birthday, and was succeeded by his grandson Safi.

160 years ago
1851

Died on this date
John James Audubon, 65. Haitian-born U.S. naturalist and artist. Mr. Audubon, born Jean-Jacques Rabin, was raised in France, and emigrated to the United States in 1803, anglicizing his name. He became famous for his paintings and drawings of North American birds, which were published in series as The Birds of America (1827-1838). Mr. Audubon co-authored the influential book Ornithological Biographies (1827-1839). Mr. Audubon's final work dealt with mammals; he co-authored The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845–1849). He died after suffering from what may have been Alzheimer's disease. Mr. Audubon has been accused of plagiarism and fraud, and recent research has tended to support the accusations. The National Audubon Society was founded in 1905 after several similar organizations had been named after Mr. Audubon; the NAS is devoted to conservation, although Mr. Audubon wasn't a conservationist, but shot and posed the birds that he painted.

110 years ago
1901

Born on this date
Willy Fritsch. German actor. Mr. Fritsch was a leading man and character actor in more than 120 movies from 1921-1964. He mainly appeared in comic roles, but also appeared in dramas such as Spione (Spies) (1928) and Frau im Mond (Woman in the Moon) (1929). Mr. Fritsch died of a heart attack on July 13, 1973 at the age of 72.

Art Rooney. U.S. football executive. Mr. Rooney played minor league baseball in the 1920s and founded the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National Football League in 1933, renaming them the Steelers in 1941. It took Mr. Rooney's team more than four decades to win a championship, but they won four Super Bowls in six years from 1975-1980. Mr. Rooney was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1964, and died on August 25, 1988 at the age of 87.

Died on this date
Giuseppe Verdi, 87. Italian composer. Mr. Verdi, whose name translates into English as "Joe Green," was one of the most prominent opera composers in the 19th century. His operas included Rigoletto (1851); La Traviata (1853); Aida (1871); Otello (1887); and Falstaff (1893).

90 years ago
1921

Died on this date
Maurice Buckley, 29. Australian soldier. Sergeant Buckley was a private when he served with the Imperial Australian Army in Egypt in 1915, but he contracted a venereal disease and was sent home. He escaped from a medical detention facility, and was declared a deserter. Using the name Gerald Sexton, he re-enlisted and was sent to France early in 1917. Sgt. Buckley, still using his assumed name, earned the Victoria Cross for his actions on Septembe 18, 1918, when, facing machine-gun fire, he rushed enemy posts, captured enemy guns, and took 30 German prisoners. He disclosed his true identity before receiving the VC from King George V in May 1919, and was discharged that December. Sgt. Buckley died 12 days after suffering severe injuries in a riding accident, when he tried to jump his horse over a railway gate.

70 years ago
1941

War
Japanese Prime Minister Prince Fuminaro Konoye told the Diet that there was no sign of a solution to the conflict in China.

Politics and government
Vichy French Prime Minister Marshal Philippe Petain promulgated a new law requiring all Vichy ministers and high officials to personally swear allegiance to him in his presence.

A communique from Rome reported that Italian Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano had returned to active military service.

The United States Senate confirmed the appointment of Frank Walker as Postmaster General.

Diplomacy
Wendell Willkie, 1940 Republican Party candidate for President of the United States, visited British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in London.

A regional conference on the River Plate opened in Montevideo.

Defense
The United States Senate passed without dissent a House of Representatives-approved $300-million appropriation to modernize Navy ships against air attack.

Science
Dr. Alex Hardlisha of the Smithsonian Institution claimed that larger and broader skulls, lower cheekbones, and dark hair were the physical characteristics that distinguished the nation's "best minds."

Business
U.S. Attorney General William F. Smith filed a civil antitrust action in Trenton, New Jersey against General Electric, Westinghouse Electric, and 10 other concerns on charges of monopolizing the electric light bulb industry.

60 years ago
1951

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Bewitched--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra; Doris Day

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): The Tennessee Waltz--Patti Page (Best Seller--5th week at #1; Disc Jockey--4th week at #1; Jukebox--4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Tennessee Waltz--Patti Page (5th week at #1)
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
--Les Paul and Mary Ford
--Jo Stafford
2 My Heart Cries for You--Guy Mitchell
--Dinah Shore
--Vic Damone
--Jimmy Wakely
3 The Thing--Phil Harris
4 A Bushel and a Peck--Perry Como and Betty Hutton
--Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely
5 Harbor Lights--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
--Ray Anthony and his Orchestra
--Bing Crosby
6 Thinking of You--Don Cherry
--Eddie Fisher
7 Nevertheless (I’m in Love with You)--Paul Weston and his Orchestra
--The Mills Brothers
--Ralph Flanagan and his Orchestra
--Ray Anthony and his Orchestra
8 Oh, Babe!--Kay Starr
--Louis Prima and Keely Smith
9 All My Love (Bolero)--Patti Page
--Percy Faith and his Orchestra
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
--Bing Crosby
10 You’re Just in Love--Perry Como

Singles entering the chart were Zing Zing - Zoom Zoom by Perry Como (#27); Tell Me Tonight by Tony Martin (#32); Get Out Those Old Records by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians (#33); Hot Rod Race, with versions by Tiny Hill and his Orchestra; and Red Foley (#37); and The One Rose by Eddy Howard (#40). Zing Zing--Zoom Zoom was the B-side of If, charting at #14. The One Rose was the B-side of To Think You've Chosen Me, charting at #13.

Died on this date
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, 83. State Regent of Finland, 1918-1919; President of Finland, 1944-1946. Baron Mannerheim was a career officer in the Imperial Russian Army, rising to the rank of lieutenant general, but after Finland declared her independence following the Bolshevik revolution in 1917, he commanded the anti-Bolshevik Whites against the pro-Bolshevik Reds in the Finnish Civil War (1918), and served as Regent until a constitution went into effect. Baron Mannerheim was Commander-in-Chief of Finnish Defense Forces from 1939-1945, leading his country against the U.S.S.R. in the Winter War (1939-1940) and Continuation War (1941-1944). He then served as President of Finland until resigning because of ill health, which continued until his death in Lausanne, Switzerland from a bowel obstruction. Baron Mannerheim was regarded as the father of modern Finland, and a poll in 2004 named him the greatest Finn.

Diplomacy
East Germany and Poland signed a boundary treaty in Frankfurt-on-the-Oder confirming the transfer of the Oder-Neisse territory to Poland.

Defense
The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission began Operation Ranger, setting off the first in a series of atomic explosions at an Air Force testing range in Nevada.

Crime
U.S. federal agents in New York, Boston, and Miami arrested five suspects as key figures in a huge international diamond and gold smuggling ring.

Communications
Canada's Post Office Department announced that, commencing April 1, 1951, home mail deliveries would be reduced to once per day.

Economics and finance
New York Stock Exchange prices soared in reaction to the wage-price freeze, but futures trading in cotton, wool, and other commodities was suspended pending clarification of the freeze order.

The U.S. National Production Authority issued orders designed to cut non-defense use of tin by one-third.

50 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Are You Lonesome To-night?--Elvis Presley

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CBS
Tonight’s episode: The Invaders, starring Agnes Moorehead

Jerry Goldsmith’s score for this episode was released in 1983 on the album The Twilight Zone: The Original Television Scores, Volume I. This episode of The Twilight Zone bore no relation to the later series of the same name.

Terrorism
The United States Navy assured Hector Galvao, leader of a band of pirates who were holding almost 1,000 people hostage aboard the Portuguese cruise ship Santa Maria in the Atlantic Ocean, that it would take no action against him and his men if they debarked the ship’s passengers.

Transportation
Montréal started to build Le Métro subway, at an estimated cost of $300 million; the government of Québec agreed to help with financing.

Disasters
The Soviet submarine S-80 sank when its snorkel malfunctioned, flooding the sub. All 68 men aboard perished, but their fate remained unknown until 1968, when the wreckage was discovered by a salvage ship.

40 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): My Sweet Lord--George Harrison

Died on this date
Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán, 57. President of Guatemala, 1951-1954. Mr. Árbenz was Guatemala's Defense Minister from 1944-1951 before being elected President. His Marxist views and agrarian reforms threatened the finaincial interests of the United Fruit Company, and the U.S. government and Central Intelligence Agency engineered a coup that toppled Mr. Árbenz and replaced him with a military junta led by Colonel Carlos Castillo. Mr. Árbenz died in his bathtub in exile in Mexico.

30 years ago
1981

Diplomacy
Delegates to a 37-nation conference of Islamic countries at Taif, Saudi Arabia approved a resolution calling for immediate withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.

Disasters
An Indonesian passenger ship caught fire in a storm and sank in the Java Sea; 87 were killed, and little hope was held out for the rescue of the 287 people listed as missing.

25 years ago
1986

War
The day after capturing the Ugandan capital of Kampala, the National Resistance Army captured Jinja, the nation’s second largest city, in their civil war against government troops. General Tito Okello, who had unseated Milton Obote as President in August 1985, fled to Sudan.

20 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Do the Bartman--The Simpsons

#1 single in Switzerland: Sadeness Part I--Enigma (7th week at #1)

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Sadeness Part I--Enigma (8th week at #1)
2 Keep on Running--Milli Vanilli
3 Unchained Melody--The Righteous Brothers
4 Ice Ice Baby--Vanilla Ice
5 Fantasy--Black Box
6 I'll Be Your Baby Tonight--Robert Palmer and UB40
7 To Love Somebody--Jimmy Somerville
8 Hello Afrika--Dr. Alban featuring Leila K.
9 Crazy for You--David Hasselhoff
10 The Joker--Steve Miller Band

Singles entering the chart were How I Miss You So by P.M. Sampson (#26); and Let's Swing Again by Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers (#27).

Died on this date
Dale Long, 64. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Long was a first baseman with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1951, 1955-1957); St. Louis Browns (1951); Chicago Cubs (1957-1959); San Francisco Giants (1960); New York Yankees (1960, 1962-1963); and Washington Senators (1961-1962), batting .267 with 132 home runs and 467 runs batted in in 1,013 games. His best season was 1956, when he hit .263 with 27 homers and 91 RBIs. From May 19-28, 1956, Mr. Long homered in 8 straight games, setting a major league record, tied by Don Mattingly of the New York Yankees in 1987 and Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Seattle Mariners in 1993. Mr. Long was with the Yankees when they won the World Series in 1962.

War
In an attempt to stop the flow of oil in to the Persian Gulf, the United States bombed installations that controlled the flow of oil from storage facilities.

Football
NFL
Super Bowl XXV @ Tampa Stadium
New York Giants 20 Buffalo 19

Buffalo’s Scott Norwood missed a 47-yard field goal attempt with 4 seconds remaining in regulation time that would have given the Bills their first Super Bowl win.



10 years ago
2001

Died on this date
Pedro Carrasco, 57. Spanish boxer. Mr. Carrasco was a lightweight who compiled a record of 105-3-2 in a professional career from 1962-1972. He won the World Boxing Council world lightweight title from Mando Ramos in November 1971 when he was knocked down by a blow to the head, and referee Samuel Obudate ruled the blow illegal and disqualified Mr. Ramos. Mr. Ramos regained the title in a split decision three months later, and won another split decision over Mr. Carrasco four months after that. Mr. Carrasco won two fights later in 1972 before retiring. He died of a heart attack.

Catherine MacLean. Canadian crime victim. Ms. MacLean was walking along a sidewalk in Ottawa when she was struck by a car driven by Russian diplomat Andrey Knyazev, who was drunk. Mr. Knyazev claimed diplomatic immunity, but returned to Moscow, where the Russians said he would face charges under their legal system.

Abominations
A 17-year-old girl was given 180 lashes for having premarital sex, even though she testified that her father had forced her to have sex with three of his friends. She had given birth to a girl three weeks before the flogging. She had married in an attempt to avoid the punishment, but a judge ruled that her current marital status was immaterial.

Politics and government
Lorne Calvert was elected leader of the provincial New Democratic Party in Saskatchewan, meaning that he would also become Premier, succeeding the retiring Roy Romanow.