January 6, 2011

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Sherlock Holmes, Sheila Hellevang, and Johanna Wegner!

370 years ago
1641

War
The first Parliament of Quillín took place, putting a temporary hold on hostilities between Mapuches and Spanish in Chile.

350 years ago
1661

World events
The Fifth Monarchists, an extreme Puritan sect, unsuccessfully attempted to seize control of London in the name of "King Jesus." The revolt was suppressed after a few days.

290 years ago
1721

Scandal
The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble published its findings, revealing details of fraud among company directors and corrupt politicians. The South Sea Company had been created in 1711 as a public-private partnership to consolidate and reduce the cost of the British national debt.

230 years ago
1781

Died on this date
Francis Peirson, 24. U.K. military officer. Major Peirson joined the British Army in 1772; he was killed commanding British forces in the Battle of Jersey.

War
British forces defeated French troops in the Battle of Jersey, the last attempt by France to invade Jersey in the Channel Islands. French commander General Philippe de Rullecourt was mortally wounded, and died the next day.

200 years ago
1811

Born on this date
Charles Sumner. U.S. politician. Mr. Sumner was a member of several political parties during a career of several decades as a radical opponent of slavery. He represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate (1851-1874), and is best remembered for suffering a savage beating in the Senate by Representative Preston Brooks (Democrat) on May 22, 1856. Sen. Sumner had delivered a lengthy speech on May 19-20 calling for the admisson of Kansas to the Union as a free state, and using highly provocative language in criticizing Sens. Stephen A. Douglas (Democrat--Illinois) and Andrew Butler (Democrat--South Carolina), authors of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Rep. Brooks,a relative of Sen. Butler, beat Sen. Sumner with his cane so severely that Sen. Sumner was unable to return to work on a regular basis for three years. He was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (1861-1871), but eventually opposed the policies of President U.S. Grant, and President Grant engineered Sen. Sumner's ouster. Mr. Sumner was still a Senator when he died of a heart attack on March 11, 1874 at the age of 63.

170 years ago
1841

Diplomacy
The Report of American Commissioners was released, concerning the boundary line between New Brunswick and the State of Maine.

90 years ago
1921

War
The First Battle of İnönü, the first battle of the Greco-Turkish War, began near Eskişehir in Anatolia.

70 years ago
1941

Died on this date
Charley O'Leary, 65. U.S. baseball player. Mr. O'Leary was a shortstop with the Detroit Tigers (1904-1912); St. Louis Cardinals (1913); and St. Louis Browns (1934), batting .226 with 3 home runs and 213 runs batted in in 955 games. When he came out of retirement to pinch hit for the Browns on September 30, 1934, he singled and scored, becoming the oldest major league player to both hit safely and score; only Satchel Paige, who pitched in 1 game with the Kansas City Athletics in 1965 at the age of 59, played in a major league game at an older age.

Politics and government
In his State of the Union address to Congress, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his Four Freedoms speech--freedom of speech and worship, and freedom from want and fear. Senator Burton K. Wheeler (Democrat--Montana) denounced the speech as an attempt to frighten Americans into a "war-time dictatorship."



Diplomacy
Chile and Argentina agreed to confer on territorial rights in Antarctic regions.

Economics and finance
The Japanese-controlled Chinese government in Nanking opened the Central Reserve Bank and declared that its notes must be used for customs duties in central China.

Business
Charles E. Wilson was elected president of General Motors.

60 years ago
1951

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Goodnight Irene--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra and the Weavers (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): The Tennessee Waltz--Patti Page (Best Seller--2nd week at #1; Disc Jockey--1st week at #1; Jukebox--1st week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Tennessee Waltz--Patti Page (2nd week at #1)
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
--Les Paul and Mary Ford
--Jo Stafford
2 The Thing--Phil Harris
3 Harbor Lights--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
--Ray Anthony and his Orchestra
--Bing Crosby
4 My Heart Cries for You--Guy Mitchell
--Dinah Shore
--Vic Damone
--Jimmy Wakely
5 A Bushel and a Peck--Perry Como and Betty Hutton
--Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely
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 All My Love (Bolero)--Patti Page
--Percy Faith and his Orchestra
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
--Bing Crosby
9 To Think You’ve Chosen Me--Eddy Howard
10 Oh, Babe!--Kay Starr
--Louis Prima and Keely Smith

Singles entering the chart were Nobody’s Chasing Me by Dinah Shore (#23); I’m Gonna Live Till I Die (#25), with versions by Frankie Laine; and Danny Scholl; Music by the Angels by Vic Damone (#37); and I Am Loved (#38), with versions by Evelyn Knight; Gordon MacRae; and Frank Sinatra.

War
South Korean forces began the massacre of 212-1,300 unarmed civilians in Ganghwa county; the victims were collaborators with the Korean People's Army during North Korean rule.

Defense
The New York Times reported that the United States had quietly started sending arms to Taiwan on the request of Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Command General Douglas MacArthur.

The U.S. Navy revealed that it was developing a submarine which could stay submerged indefinitely and travel at 26 knots under water, compared to 12-13 knots for existing snorkel-equipped subs.

50 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Poetry in Motion--Johnny Tillotson

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CBS
Tonight’s episode: Dust, starring Vladimir Sokoloff and Thomas Gomez

Politics and government
U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon presided over the Senate for the last time, and announced John F. Kennedy as the winner of the 1960 presidential election, in a narrow victory over Mr. Nixon.



Disasters
A fire in the five-storey Thomas Hotel in San Francisco took 20 lives.

40 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Grandad--Clive Dunn (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, on NBC
Tonight’s episode: Make Me Laugh, starring Godfrey Cambridge, Jackie Vernon, and Tom Bosley; Clean Kills and Other Trophies, starring Raymond Massey

Died on this date
Andy Hershock, 43. U.S. basketball official. Mr. Hershock worked in the American Basketball Association from its beginning in the 1967-68 season. Late in the 1st quarter of a game between the Memphis Pros and New York Nets at Island Garden in West Hempstead, New York, Mr. Hershock went to the Memphis bench during a timeout, complaining of dizziness. When he attempted to get up, he collapsed, and was pronounced dead in the Nets' dressing room 20 minutes later, the victim of an apparent heart attack.

Crime
The U.S. Army, citing "insufficient evidence," dropped charges of a coverup against four officers--Lieutenant Colonel David Gavin; Lt. Col. William Quinn; Major Charles Calhoun; and Maj. Frederic Watke--concerning the March 16, 1968 massacre of South Vietnamese civilians at My Lai, bringing to 11 the number of officers cleared out of the 14 originally accused of dereliction of duty and other offenses.

Medicine
Two biochemists at the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco succeeded in synthesizing the hormone responsible for growth in the human body.

Disasters
At least 32 people were killed, countless injured, and 100,000 left homeless from monsoon storm floods in western Malaysia.

Basketball
ABA
Memphis 101 @ New York 110

Rick Barry scored 40 points to lead the Nets over the Pros before 3,727 fans at Island Garden in West Hempstead in the game marred by the death of referee Andy Hershock. Jimmy Jones led Memphis with 28 points.

30 years ago
1981

Died on this date
A. J. Cronin, 84. U.K. physician and author. Dr. Archibald Joseph Cronin, a native of Scotland, practiced medicine in the Royal Navy, in South Wales, and on Harley Street in London. His experiences served as the basis for novels and novellas such as Country Doctor (1935); The Stars Look Down (1935); and The Citadel (1937), the latter of which has been credited with helping to inspire the creation of the National Health Service. Dr. Cronin wrote novels on other subjects, including The Keys of the Kingdom (1941); The Green Years (1944); and The Spanish Gardener (1950). He spent the last 25 years of his life in Switzerland.

World events
It was announced by the U.S. embassy in El Salvador that American journalist John J. Sullivan was missing and was presumed to be the victim of political violence.

Protest
Workers and farmers in southeastern Poland staged a one-day strike to protest government harassment.

Science
Scientists in Switzerland reported that they had achieved the first cloning of a mammal, having produced three mice. The nuclei used in this research came from embryonic mice cell nuclei which were then placed in fertilized eggs from another mouse. The original nuclear material from those eggs was then extracted, leaving only the inserted nucleus. After culturing the eggs for four days, they were placed in the wombs of other mice, which then gave birth to the offspring. I have no idea if the three resulting mice were blind.

25 years ago
1986

Personal
This blogger began a four-month job as an assistant at the University of Alberta Archives.

20 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Ice Ice Baby--Vanilla Ice (6th week at #1)

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

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Sadeness Part I--Enigma (5th week at #1)
2 Unchained Melody--The Righteous Brothers
3 Keep on Running--Milli Vanilli
4 Crazy for You--David Hasselhoff
5 Ice Ice Baby--Vanilla Ice
6 I've Been Thinking About You--Londonbeat
7 The Joker--Steve Miller Band
8 I'm Your Baby Tonight--Whitney Houston
9 I'll Be Your Baby Tonight--Robert Palmer and UB40
10 Mary Had a Little Boy--Snap!

Singles entering the chart were Fantasy by Black Box (#11); Pray by MC Hammer (#19); and Impulsive by Wilson Phillips (#30).

World events
Roger Lafontant, a former leader of the Tonton Macoutes--the private militia of Haitian Presidents "Papa Doc" and "Baby Doc" Duvalier--and armed supporters seized the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince in a bloodless coup and forced the resignation of provisional President Ertha Pascal Trouillot. Mr. Lafontant was seeking to prevent President-elect Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who had won a landslide win in the presidential election in December 1990, from taking office in February.

Politics and government
The Citizens' Forum on Canada's Future, chaired by Keith Spicer, opened its first public hearing in Saint John, New Brunswick. The panel heard from a select group of high school seniors, most of whom voiced support for a strong federal government and a single national identity.

Economics and finance
U.S. federal regulators took control of the Bank of New England Corporation and declared three subsidiaries insolvent. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said it would insure deposits in full--not just those up to $100,000. The cost of the bailout was put at $2.3 billion.

Hockey
NHL-USSR exhibition
Central Red Army 2 @ Edmonton 4

Football
NFL
AFC Wild Card Playoff
Houston 14 @ Cincinnati 41



NFC Wild Card Playoff
New Orleans 6 @ Chicago 16



10 years ago
2001

Politics and government
A joint session of the United States Congress certified the results of the 2000 presidential election, with Republican Party candidate George W. Bush receiving 271 electoral votes to 266 for Vice President and Democratic Party candidate Al Gore. Democrats from the House of Representatives in the Congressional Black Caucus had attempted to block the 25 votes from Florida for Mr. Bush, arguing that many Negro voters had been disenfranchised. However, not one Senator supported the challenge, as required by law, and the challenge died. Mr. Gore was presiding over the Senate as the results were certified.