February 25, 2011

360 years ago
1651

Politics and government
Charles de Saint-Étienne de La Tour regained his position as Governor of Acadia.

170 years ago
1841

Born on this date
Pierre Auguste Renoir. French painter and sculptor. Initially known as an Impressionist, Mr. Renoir achieved great fame for his paintings of women, children, and summer landscapes. Among his most celebrated paintings are Luncheon of the Boating Party (1881); Dance at Bougival (1883); and Bather (1917–18). Mr. Renoir died on December 3, 1919 at the age of 78.

Died on this date
Philip Pendleton Barbour, 57. U.S. politician. Mr. Barbour, a member of the Democratic-Republican and Democratic Parties, represented Virginia's 11th District in the United States House of Representatives from 1814-1825 and 1827-1830, and served as Speaker of the House from 1821-1823. He was an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1836 until his death, which occurred from a coronary thrombosis during arguments presented by former U.S. President John Quincy Adams in the case of the slave ship Amistad. Justice Barbour advocated for a strict reading of the Constitution and limitations on federal government power.

150 years ago
1861

Scandal
James Tibbits, with support from Albert J. Smith, introduced a motion in the New Brunswick House of Assembly to establish a committee to investigate the Crown Lands Office. Charles Fisher was blamed for the resulting scandal and removed from council.

130 years ago
1881

Born on this date
Alexei Rykov. U.S.S.R. politician. Mr. Rykov joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1898; after it split into the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks, he joined the Bolsheviks, and participated in the 1905 revolution. He was one of the more moderate members of the Bolsheviks who seized power in 1917, and held various offices in the regime, most notably Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (Premier) of Russia (1924-1929) and the Soviet Union (1924-1930). Mr. Rykov served as People's Commissar of Communications on the Council of People's Commissars (1931-1937), but fell afoul of Josef Stalin, and was executed on March 15, 1938, 18 days after his 57th birthday, and two days after being convicted of treason in a show trial.

William Z. Foster. U.S. labour leader and politician. Mr. Foster, born William Edward Foster, joined the Socialist Party of America in 1901; he worked with the Industrial Workers of the World and was a union organizer in the national steel strike of 1919, joining the Communist Party USA during the 1920s. Mr. Foster was General Secretary of the party (1929-1932), resigning after suffering a heart attack. He returned as Chairman of the Communist Party USA (1945-1957), faithfully parroting the party line coming from the U.S.S.R. Mr. Foster was indicted for subversive activity under the Smith Act in 1948, but wasn't tried because he was in poor health. He died in Moscow on September 1, 1961 at the age of 80.

110 years ago
1901

Born on this date
Zeppo Marx. U.S. comedian, actor, and inventor. Herbert Marx was the youngest of the Marx Brothers comedy team. He joined their stage act in 1918, replacing Gummo, who was drafted into the U.S. Army and preferred a role behind the scenes in show business. Zeppo was reportedly as funny as any of the other brothers when required to replace one, but otherwise played the role of a bland romantic lead and comic foil. He appeared in their first five films, but left after Duck Soup (1933), and, like Gummo, became a theatrical agent. Zeppo also invented several devices, including a wristwatch that monitored the pulse rate of cardiac patients and gave off an alarm if the heartbeat became irregular. He was the last surviving Marx brother, and died of lung cancer on November 30, 1979 at the age of 78.

Vince Gair. Australian politician. Mr. Gair was a member of the Labour Party when he represented South Brisbane in the Queensland Parliament (1932-1960), holding several offices and serving as Premier (1952-1957). Conflict with labour unions led to the defeat of Mr. Gair's government and expulsion from the Labour Party, so he and two dozen defectors formed the Queensland Labour Party, which he led until it merged with the Democratic Labour Party in 1962. Mr. Gair went into federal politicsm and represented Queensland in the Senate (1965-1974), where he was known for his strong anti-Communist stand. In 1974, Mr. Gair accepted an appointment as Australian Ambassador to Ireland in an attempt by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam to gain a majority of seats for the Labour Party in the upcoming federal election. Mr. Whitlam's plan was foiled by Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen. Mr. Gair proved unfit for diplomacy, and was recalled on January 21, 1976; he died on November 11, 1980 at the age of 79.

Business
J.P. Morgan incorporated U.S. Steel Corporation, the first billion-dollar corporation in the world.

90 years ago
1921

Abominations
The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, with a Moscow-directed Communist government led by Georgian Bolshevik Filipp Makharadze, was established when the Red Army entered the capital city of Tbilisi after the Georgian army had been defeated and had fled the country. On July 21, 2010, the Georgian government declared February 25 to be Soviet Occupation Day to recall the event.

70 years ago
1941

War
British forces in Italian Somaliland captured Mogadishu. U.S. Senator Burton K. Wheeler (Democrat--Montana) declared that the United Kingdom expected the United States to get into the European war between April and June 1941 through the "back door" of the Orient.

Diplomacy
Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King announced that Leighton McCarthy had been appointed as Canada's Ambassador to the United States.

U.K. Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and General Sir John Dill arrived in Turkey for discussions on a possible German attack on Greece.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka said he believed that the white race must cede Oceania to the Asiatics.

Defense
The Supreme Soviet voted a 26% increase in Russia's military budget, and doubled the peasants' income tax to pay for arms production and defense measures.

Protest
In occupied Amsterdam, a general strike was declared in response to increasing anti-Jewish measures instituted by the Nazis.

Law
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said that the pending Hobbs bill to permit wiretapping by federal officials in felony cases "goes entirely too far."

Religion
The U.S. Protestant Digest Associates awarded citations for combating racial and religious intolerance to U.S. Interior Secretary Harold Ickes; Ralph Ingersoll; Dr. Ruth Benedict; Rev. Samuel Howie; and Lester Granger.

Hockey
NHL
New York Rangers 2 @ Boston 0

The Rangers' shutout of the Bruins at Boston Garden ended the Bruins' league record unbeaten streak at 23 games.

60 years ago
1951

Diplomacy
A five-day World Peace Council congress in East Berlin, attended by delegates from 40 nations, ended with a demand that the U.S.A., U.S.S.R., U.K., France, and Communist China begin peace negotiations to allay "the growing danger of a third world war."

Defense
Press reports said that Western Allied officials were "deeply concerned" that the Communist campaign for the unification and "neutralization" of Germany was gaining considerable support among West Germans.

Sport
The first Pan American Games were officially opened in Buenos Aires by Argentine President Juan Perón and his wife Eva.

Golf
Marty Furgol shot a 3-under-par 69 in the final round to win the Houston Open with an 11-under-par total score of 277, 1 stroke ahead of Jack Burke, Jr. It was Mr. Furgol's first Professional Golfers' Association win.

50 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Rubber Ball--Bobby Vee

#1 single in Italy: 24.000 baci--Adriano Celentano (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Ramona--Blue Diamonds (9th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (Dutch Top 40): Wooden Heart--Elvis Presley

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Walk Right Back--The Everly Brothers

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Calcutta--Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra (3rd week at #1)
2 Shop Around--The Miracles
3 Will You Love Me Tomorrow--The Shirelles
4 Calendar Girl--Neil Sedaka
5 Exodus--Ferrante and Teicher
--[Mantovani & his Orchestra]
6 Wheels--The String-A-Longs
--[Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra]
7 Pony Time--Chubby Checker
8 There’s a Moon Out Tonight--The Capris
9 Where the Boys Are--Connie Francis
10 Emotions--Brenda Lee

Singles entering the chart were Surrender by Elvis Presley (#37); Once Upon a Time by Rochell and the Candles (#72); All of Everything by Frankie Avalon (#85); Let’s Go Again (Where We Went Last Night) by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters (#86); Theme From Tunes of Glory, with versions by Cambridge Strings and Singers and Mitch Miller and his Orchestra (#88); Little Miss Stuck-Up by the Playmates (#93); Top Forty, News, Weather and Sports by Mark Dinning (#94); The Second Time Around by Frank Sinatra (#99); Model Girl by Johnny Maestro (#100); Banned in Boston by Merv Griffin (also #100); and Sparklin’ Eyes by Dean Martin (also #100).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CFUN)
1 Surrender--Elvis Presley
2 Ebony Eyes--The Everly Brothers
3 Where the Boys Are--Connie Francis
4 Three Wheels on My Wagon--Dick Van Dyke
5 A Scottish Soldier (Green Hills of Tyrol)--Andy Stewart
6 Little Miss Stuck-Up--The Playmates
7 Model Girl--Johnny Maestro
8 Apache--Jorgen Ingmann and his Guitar
9 Wheels--The String-A-Longs
10 Top Forty, News, Weather and Sports--Mark Dinning

Singles entering the chart were The Touchables by Dickie Goodman (#34); Memphis by Donnie Brooks (#36); Green Grass of Texas by the Texans (#40); Searching for Love by the DeVilles (#41); Walk Right Back by the Everly Brothers (#44); Star-Crossed Lovers by Eddy and Teddy (#45); Mother-in-Law by Ernie K-Doe (#47); Ling-Ting-Tong by Buddy Knox (#48); Wild One by the Renowns (#49); and Orange Blossom Special by Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra (#50).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKWX)
1 A Scottish Soldier (Green Hills of Tyrol)--Andy Stewart
2 Surrender--Elvis Presley
3 Ebony Eyes--The Everly Brothers
4 Where the Boys Are--Connie Francis
5 The Touchables--Dickie Goodman
6 Apache--Jorgen Ingmann and his Guitar
7 Three Wheels on My Wagon--Dick Van Dyke
8 Wheels--The String-A-Longs
9 Good Time Baby--Bobby Rydell
10 Two--Del Erickson

Singles entering the chart were "D" in Love by Cliff Richard and the Shadows (#30); Stayin' In/More than I Can Say by Bobby Vee (#35); Honky Tonk (Part 2) by Bill Doggett (#36); Little Miss Stuck-Up by the Playmates (#37); The World is Waiting for the Sunrise by Don Gibson (#39); and Memphis by Donnie Brooks (#40).

On television tonight
The Roaring 20's, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Pie in the Sky

Space
The mission of the Soviet satellite Sputnik 8, which had been launched on February 12 in order to launch the probe Venera 1 toward Venus, ended when it burned up in Earth's atmosphere.

War
Congolese Premier Joseph Ileo demanded immediate United Nations action to halt the advance of the troops of Antoine Gizenga, who was recognized by more than 20 Communist and neutral nations as the leader of the "legitimate" government of the Congo. Mr. Gizenga’s troops had penetrated nearly 50% of the Congo. Sporadic clashes between troops of the central Congolese government and UN forces were reported.

Boxing
Gaspar Ortega (58-21-2) won a 10-round unanimous decision over Benny "Kid" Paret (34-9-3) in a middleweight bout at Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.

40 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in France (IFOP): My Sweet Lord--George Harrison (7th week at #1)

Diplomacy
600 delegates from Jewish groups from many nations, gathered in Brussels to "affirm solidarity with our Jewish brothers in the Soviet Union," urged Soviet leaders to permit Jewish citizens to leave for Israel or allow them to practice their religion freely in the U.S.S.R.

Crime
Chapin Scott Paterson, an American citizen, hijacked a US Boeing 747 en route to Vancouver, British Columbia; he was turned over to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation the same day.

Hockey
NHL
Vancouver 3 @ Boston 8

Boston left wing Johnny Bucyk, centre Ed Westfall, and defenceman Ted Green scored 3 goals in 20 seconds in their win over the Canucks at Boston Garden, beating the National Hockey League record of 3 goals in 21 seconds by Billy Mosienko of the Chicago Black Hawks against the New York Rangers in 1952. The Bruins' record still stands as a team record for the fastest 3 goals, while Mr. Mosienko still holds the individual record.



30 years ago
1981

Hit parade
Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Woman--John Lennon
2 9 to 5--Dolly Parton
3 Celebration--Kool & The Gang
4 A Little in Love--Cliff Richard
5 Turn Me Loose--Loverboy
6 The Tide is High--Blondie
7 Keep on Loving You--REO Speedwagon
8 (Just Like) Starting Over--John Lennon
9 The Winner Takes it All--ABBA
10 The Best of Times--Styx

Singles entering the chart were Crying by Don McLean (#11); Hello Again by Neil Diamond (#14); and (Ghost) Riders in the Sky by the Outlaws (#20).

Music
The Grammy Awards for 1980 were presented at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Christopher Cross became the first artist to win all four general-field awards: Record of the Year and Song of the Year (Sailing); Album of the Year (Christopher Cross); and Best New Artist.



Religion
Pope John Paul II became the first world leader to visit the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki since they had been struck by atomic bombs in August 1945. While in Nagasaki, the pontiff asked that Vatican aides examine the possibilities of opening diplomatic relations with and resuming pastoral work in China.

Environment
An international meeting of conservationists and animal traders began in New Delhi, to discuss restrictions on the international traffic in endangered animals and plants. The discussion centred on revision of the lists of those species whose exports were controlled. The discussion especially centred on parrots and whales. Naturalists favoured putting all parrots, rather than just a few species, on one list or the other; they also wanted to end all commercial whaling.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 0.7% in January.

Disasters
15 people were killed and 53 injured when a series of earthquakes hit Athens and the surrounding area.

Hockey
NHL
Philadelphia 2 @ Edmonton 6
New York Islanders 4 @ Calgary 11

25 years ago
1986

World events
Corazon Aquino was sworn in as President of the Philippines, while embattled incumbent Ferdinand Marcos held his own inauguration ceremony while preparing to flee the country.

Politics and government
The 27th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party opened in Moscow with 5,000 Soviet delegates and thousands of visitors from 113 countries in attendance. U.S.S.R. leader Mikhail Gorbachev opened the congress with a 5½-hour speech.

Diplomacy
During his address to the Soviet Communist Party Congress, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev found some encouragement in U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s arms control plan, but complained that it was swamped with various links and conditions that would prevent disarmament solutions. Mr. Gorbachev hinted that he would not attend another summit conference with Mr. Reagan unless there was some progress on arms control issues.

Economics and finance
Without mentioning former Sovier leader Leonid Brezhnev by name, Mr. Gorbachev, in his address to the Communist party congress in Moscow, charged that extreme economic difficulties had begun to build up under the previous leadership during the 1970s. While declaring that there would be no retreat from the basic tenets of Communism, Mr. Gorbachev called for "radical reform" of economic management, including more autonomy for local farm and plant managers and less interference from central planners.

The United States Labor Department reported that the consumer price index had risen 0.3% in January.

Disasters
Engineers with rocket parts manufacturer Morton Thiokol Inc. testified before the presidential commission investigating the January 28 explosion of the U.S. space shuttle Challenger that NASA officials had pressured them to present a positive launch recommendation despite their opposition to a launch. One engineer, Brian Russell, said that "we were in the position of having to prove it was unsafe, instead of the other way around."

20 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Oh! Yeah!/Love Story wa Totsuzen ni--Kazumasa Oda (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): 3 A.M. Eternal--The KLF (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Beinhart--Torfrock (5th week at #1)

War
28 soldiers--including three women--were killed and 90 injured when a Scud missile struck a U.S. barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Hours later, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein ordered his forces to withdraw from Kuwait. Roads leading to Basra were jammed with retreating Iraqi forces. U.S. Marines bombed the road north of Kuwait City.

Terrorism
U.K. Director of Public Prosecution Alan Green announced that the Birmingham Six, convicted in 1975 in connection with Irish Republican Army bombings of two pubs in Birmingham in November 1974 that had killed 21 people, could be free within weeks because their convictions could no longer be considered safe and satisfactory.

Football
CFL
Harry Ornest sold the Toronto Argos to American rare coin speculator Bruce McNall, hockey star Wayne Gretzky, and entertainer John Candy.

10 years ago
2001

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell met with King Abdullah of Jordan in Amman, and then met separately with Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Messrs. Sharon and Arafat were adamant that violence must end before peace talks could take place.