February 9, 2011

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Heather Blacklock!

390 years ago
1621

Religion
Alessandro Cardinal Ludovisi was acclaimed as Pope Gregory XV, succeeding Paul V. The shortest conclave in Roman Catholic Church history concluded the day after it opened. Gregory XV was the last Pope elected by acclamation.

270 years ago
1741

Born on this date
Henri-Joseph Rigel. German-born composer. Mr. Rigel moved to Paris in 1767, and spent the rest of his life there. He wrote 14 operas, plus oratorios, harpsichord pieces, string quartets, symphonies and concertos. Mr. Rigel died on May 2, 1799 at the age of 58.

230 years ago
1781

Born on this date
Johann Baptist von Spix. German zoologist and explorer. Dr. Spix was a physician before becoming a zoologist. He and botanist Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius went with Austrian naturalists to Brazil in 1817, and returned to Munich in 1820 with specimens of thousands of plants and animals, ethnographic objects, and two native children. Dr. Spix died on May 13, 1826 at the age of 45, possibly from a tropical disease.

150 years ago
1861

Politics and government
Jefferson Davis was elected the Provisional President of the Confederate States of America by the Confederate convention at Montgomery, Alabama.

130 years ago
1881

Died on this date
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 59. Russian author. Mr. Dostoyevsky (or Dostoevsky) wrote 12 novels, four novellas, 16 short stories, and numerous other works, and is regarded as one of the world's greatest psychological novelists, exploring philosophical and religious themes in novels such as Crime and Punishment (1866); The Idiot (1869); The Devils (1872); and The Brothers Karamazov (1880). He died 15 days after suffering a pulmonary hemorrhage.

120 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Ronald Colman. U.K.-born U.S. actor. Mr. Colman was a popular leading man in films such as Bulldog Drummond (1929); A Tale of Two Cities (1935); Lost Horizon (1937); The Prisoner of Zenda (1937); and Random Harvest (1942). He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for A Double Life (1947). Mr. Colman died on May 19, 1958 at the age of 67.

Opera
The Canadian Pacific Railway opened its $200,000 Vancouver Opera House on Granville Street with the Emma Juch English Opera's performance of Lohengrin by Richard Wagner.

110 years ago
1901

Born on this date
James Murray. U.S. actor. Mr. Murray appeared more than 30 films--often in bit parts or as an extra--but was best known for his starring performance in The Crowd (1928). Heavy drinking destroyed his career and life, and probably contributed to his death by drowning after falling from the North River pier in New York City on July 11, 1936 at the age of 35.

Brian Donlevy. U.S. actor. Mr. Donlevy achieved success on stage in the 1920s and '30s before moving to Hollywood, where he appeared in movies, radio, and television programs through the 1960s, often in "tough guy" roles. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his supporting performance in Beau Geste (1939), and starred as the title character in The Great McGinty (1940). Mr. Donlevy appeared in films noir such as Impact (1949) and The Big Combo (1955), and played Professor Bernard Quatermass in The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) and Quatermass 2 (1957). He starred in the radio (1949, 1950-1953) and television (1951-1952) series Dangerous Assignment. Mr. Donlevy died of throat cancer on April 6, 1972 at the age of 71.

Canadiana
Mrs. Nicholas Flood Davin organized the Regina chapter of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire, for the purpose of erecting a monument of the late Queen Victoria.

100 years ago
1911

William O. Darby. U.S. military officer. Brigadier General Darby joined the United States Army in 1933, and commanded the 1st Ranger Battalion in World War II, most notably in Italy. The battalion became famous as "Darby's Rangers," conspicuous for their heroism. Brig. Gen. Darby, whose ultimate rank was conferred posthumously, was 34 when he was killed with one of his sergeants on April 30, 1945, when an artillery shell burst in the middle of the assembled officers and NCOs as he was giving orders for the attack on Trento to cut off a German retreat.

80 years ago
1931

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Richard Gordon and Leigh Lovell, on NBC
Tonight’s episode: The Mazarin Stone

Politics and government
Vere Brabazan Ponsonby, Earl of Bessborough was appointed Governor General of Canada, succeeding the Earl of Willingdon. He took office on April 4, 1931.

70 years ago
1941

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on NBC
Tonight’s episode: The Hound of the Baskervilles, Part 5

Literature
The Book of the Month Club critics' poll selected the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway as the outstanding book of 1940.

War
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said in a broadcast from London that the United Kingdom didn't need American armies: "Give us the tools, and we will finish the job." The Canadian Army converted the Vancouver-based Fifth Canadian Motorcycle Regiment, CASF, redesignating it as the British Columbia Dragoons. The American Youth Congress denounced the European war as an "imperialist exploitation of the masses."

Politics and government
The Vichy French regime appointed Admiral Jean Darian as Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister.

60 years ago
1951

On the radio
Hear it Now, hosted by Edward R. Murrow, on CBS

Tonight's program included news about the recent fatal wreck of the commuter train The Broker in New Jersey.

Died on this date
Eddy Duchin, 41. U.S. musician. Mr. Duchin was a jazz pianist who performed with Leo Reisman's band before leading a band of his own, achieving commercial success in the 1930s and '40s as a "sweet" band. He served with the U.S. Navy during World War II, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, but was unable to regain his musical popularity after the war. Mr. Duchin died of leukemia.

Abominations
Two days after massacring 705 unarmed civilians in the counties of Sancheong and Hamyang, South Gyeongsang Province, the South Korean Army's 11th Division, commanded by General Choe Deok-sin, began the three-day massacre of 719 unarmed civilians--including 385 children--in the county of Geochang, South Gyeongsang.

War
Former U.S. President Herbert Hoover criticized the "hurry, rush [and] anxiety" in U.S. preparations for full-scale war, claiming that air and sea power could protect the United States from Soviet attack without commitment of U.S. troops abroad.

Defense
The U.S. State Department reported that Cuban industrial and labour leaders had offered to give the United States direct use of Cuban industry and manpower for defense production.

Diplomacy
In protests to the United States, Czechoslovakia charged that Air Force planes from Germany had made 60 unauthorized flights over Czech territory.

Economics and finance
U.S. Price Stabilization Office Director Michael DiSalle put livestock slaughtering under license and quota controls in order to avert development of black markets in meat.

Boxing
Rex Layne (28-1-2) won a 10-round split decision over Cesar Brion (29-5) in a heavyweight bout at Madison Square Garden in New York.



50 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade): Are You Lonesome To-night?--Elvis Presley

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Are You Lonesome To-night?--Elvis Presley (3rd week at #1)

On television tonight
The Untouchables, starring Robert Stack, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Augie "The Banker" Ciamino

World events
A French jet fighter plane patrolling the Algerian coast fired warning shots across the path of a Soviet jet airliner carrying Soviet Chief of State Leonid Brezhnev on a state visit to Guinea via Morocco. The Soviet plane, a four-engine Ilyushin propeller jet, was unharmed, but the Soviet government accused the French of "international banditry." France expressed "sincere regrets" over the incident, but said the Soviet plane had drifted off the course specified in its original flight plan into "the zone of French responsibility." France promised a further investigation.

Society
U.S. President John F. Kennedy, in a special message to Congress, proposed a federal health insurance program, to be financed by increased Social Security contributions, to provide medical care for old people.

Academia
The Université de Sherbrooke's faculty of medicine was founded, with Dr. Gérard-Ludger Larouche as its first dean.

40 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Kvällstoppen): My Sweet Lord--George Harrison

#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): My Sweet Lord--George Harrison (4th week at #1)

Space
Nine days after liftoff, the command module Kitty Hawk, carrying the Apollo 14 crew of Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell splashed down on target in the South Pacific Ocean to conclude the first successful lunar landing mission in more than a year. The astronauts brought back 96 pounds of rocks believed to date back to the birth of the solar system.





War
U.S. Defense Secretary Melvin Laird and Secretary of State William Rogers told Congressional committees that Operation Dewey Canyon II--the U.S.-backed South Vietnamese offensive into Laos that had begun the previous day--would be limited in time and area, and that the attack was aimed at shortening the war, not widening it.

Diplomacy
Israel rejected Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s proposal of a one-way pullout by Israel from the Suez Canal, but left the door open for further discussion.

Protest
Six days of riots in Northern Ireland concluded with 11 deaths as Irish Republican Army factions fought each other, and Roman Catholics clashed with Protestants. The riots had been precipitated by a search for weapons by British troops in the Catholic district of Clonard. The district, never previously entered by British troops, was described as a refuge for leaders of the IRA "provisionals" faction, which had split with the IRA’s "leftist officials," and sought forceful unification of Ulster and Eyre.

Disasters
An earthquake centred in the San Gabriel Mountains smashed parts of Los Angeles. At least 64 people were killed--most of them residents of a veterans’ hospital--and more than 1,000 injured.

Baseball
Satchel Paige was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, becoming the first player to inhabit a section devoted to those whose careers took place mainly or entirely in the Negro Leagues.

30 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): (Just Like) Starting Over--John Lennon (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Cherry Blossom--Seiko Matsuda

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): (Just Like) Starting Over--John Lennon (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Angel of Mine--Frank Duval & Orchestra (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Bill Haley, 55. U.S. musician. Often thought of as a one-hit wonder, Mr. Haley was a key figure in the early years of rock and roll. Based in Chester, Pennsylvania, he began his recording career in 1948 as the leader of a country band called Bill Haley and the Four Aces of Western Swing, changing their name to Bill Haley and the Saddlemen in 1949. In 1951 they recorded a version of Rocket 88--often called the first rock and roll song--which had recently been a major hit on the rhythm and blues chart for Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats (a band assembled by Ike Turner). The recording by Mr. Haley and the Saddlemen became a regional hit in the northeastern United States. Their 1952 cover of Jimmy Preston’s 1949 R&B hit Rock the Joint was a hit in Chicago. Later in 1952, the band changed its name yet again, becoming Bill Haley and his Comets.
In 1953, Mr. Haley and Comets’ bassist Marshall Lytle wrote Crazy Man, Crazy, which became the first rock and roll single to achieve widespread commercial success, reaching #12 on the Billboard singles chart and #11 on the Cash Box chart. (We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock, which Mr. Haley and his Comets had been performing live to enthusiastic response for almost a year, was recorded and released in 1954 as the B-side of Thirteen Women (And Only One Man in Town), and reached #30 on the Billboard chart. A cover of Joe Turner’s Shake, Rattle and Roll (with bowdlerized lyrics) reached #10 on the Billboard pop chart in the summer of 1954--becoming the first rock and roll single to reach the top 10--and #1 on the rhythm and blues chart. Dim, Dim the Lights reached #11 on the Billboard charts in late 1954-early 1955, followed by Mambo Rock (#17), backed with Birth of the Boogie (#26). When (We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock was included in the movie Blackboard Jungle as the song over the opening titles, the record was re-released, spending 8 weeks at #1 on the Billboard charts and 5 weeks at #1 in the U.K.
The next single, Razzle-Dazzle, peaked at #15, and Burn That Candle hit #9 near the end of 1955. Several personnel changes had taken place with the Comets by that time, most notably the addition of saxophonist Rudy Pompilli, who added greatly to the band’s sound and stage performance. A cover of Bobby Charles’ R&B hit See You Later, Alligator reached #6 on the Billboard charts in early 1956, but that turned out to be the band’s last top 10 hit in the U.S.A., as they were swept aside by the sudden success of Elvis Presley. Mr. Haley and the Comets were busy touring in 1956 as well as starring in Rock Around the Clock and Don’t Knock the Rock, two of the earliest rock and roll movies. In February 1957 the band became the first American rock and roll act to visit the U.K.; they were given a huge and enthusiastic welcome, and remained popular in Britain thereafter. Upon returning to the United States, Mr. Haley and his Comets recorded material of variable quality, and major chart success eluded them. Their last top 40 hit in their homeland was Skinny Minnie, which hit #22 on the Billboard charts in the spring of 1958. The instrumental Joey’s Song just failed to reach the top 40 in Billboard in 1959, but was a top 30 hit in Canada, and was #1 in Australia for several weeks at the end of the year. His last single to make the Billboard Hot 100 was the instrumental Skokiaan in early 1960; another instrumental, Tamiami, made the Cash Box chart shortly after.
Mr. Haley and his Comets moved to Mexico to perform and record in the early 1960s; in 1961 Florida Twist became the biggest-selling single in Mexican history to that time.
The Comets broke up soon after, and several years of relative inactivity followed for Mr. Haley. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mr. Haley and a new band of Comets (often including Mr. Pompilli) achieved success on the rock and roll revival performance circuit, an example of which can be seen in the 1973 concert film Let the Good Times Roll. Domestic problems and drinking plagued Mr. Haley’s later years, and his later recordings, made for the Sweden-based Sonet label, sold poorly--in fact, few people were aware that he was still occasionally making new records. Mr. Haley’s last highlight occurred in November 1979, when he returned to England and performed (We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock in front of Queen Elizabeth II. He eventually settled in Harlingen, Texas, where he lived a lonely and troubled life before dying of a heart attack at his home. A strong case can be made that Bill Haley’s pioneering contribution has seldom or never been properly acknowledged. The reader can hear and see many performances by Mr. Haley and his various bands by searching YouTube.

War
Pakistani Foreign Minister Agha Shahi said that he had received a favourable reaction from Iran to a proposal to a visit to both Iran and Iraq by the leaders of eight Islamic nations and organizations in an attempt to end the war between Iran and Iraq.

25 years ago
1986

Politics and government
Haiti’s new governing council dissolved the National Assembly, which had supported dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, who had fled the country two days earlier.

Two days after the Philippines presidential election, 30 employees of the government’s Commission on Elections walked out, charging that the tally was being falsified.

Hockey
NHL
Buffalo 4 Edmonton 2

20 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): I Touch Myself--Divinyls (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Sadeness Part I--Enigma (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Sadeness Part I--Enigma (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Alle Børnene--2 X Kaj (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Ice Ice Baby--Vanilla Ice (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Sadeness Part I--Enigma (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (CIN): 3 A.M. Eternal--The KLF featuring the Children of the Revolution (2nd week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Knockin' Boots--Candyman
2 Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C&C Music Factory
3 Crazy--Seal
4 Ice Ice Baby--Vanilla Ice
5 Innuendo--Queen
6 Go for It! (Heart and Fire)--Joey B. Ellis and Tynetta Hare
7 All Together Now--The Farm
8 Wicked Game--Chris Isaak
9 To Love Somebody--Jimmy Somerville
10 Maar Vanavond Heb Ik Hoofdpijn--Hanny

Singles entering the chart were 3 A.M. Eternal (Live at the S.S.L.) by the KLF (#28); Because I Love You (The Postman Song) by Stevie B. (#30); Moneytalks by AC/DC (#32); Bring Your Daughter...to the Slaughter by Iron Maiden (#33); Can I Kick It? by A Tribe Called Quest (#34); All True Man by Alexander O'Neal (#35); and Mercy Mercy Me/I Want You by Robert Palmer (#37).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams
2 The First Time--Surface
3 All the Man that I Need--Whitney Houston
4 Play That Funky Music--Vanilla Ice
5 Love Will Never Do (Without You)--Janet Jackson
6 After the Rain--Nelson
7 Sensitivity--Ralph Tresvant
8 I'm Not in Love--Will to Power
9 One More Try--Timmy -T-
10 I'll Give All My Love to You--Keith Sweat

Singles entering the chart were I’ve Been Thinking About You by Londonbeat (#52); You're in Love by Wilson Phillips (#64); Easy Come Easy Go by Winger (#84); Just the Way it is, Baby by the Rembrandts (#89); Give it Up by ZZ Top (#90); What's it Gonna Be by Jellybean featuring Niki Haris (#91); Sadeness Part 1 by Enigma (#93); and Funk Boutique by the Cover Girls (#98).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams
2 The First Time--Surface
3 Sensitivity--Ralph Tresvant
4 All the Man that I Need--Whitney Houston
5 Play That Funky Music--Vanilla Ice
6 Love Will Never Do (Without You)--Janet Jackson
7 Where Does My Heart Beat Now--Celine Dion
8 Disappear--INXS
9 After the Rain--Nelson
10 Just Another Dream--Cathy Dennis

Singles entering the chart were I’ve Been Thinking About You by Londonbeat (#76); Just the Way it is, Baby by the Rembrandts (#78); Easy Come Easy Go by Winger (#79); You're in Love by Wilson Phillips (#80); and Iesha by Another Bad Creation (#83).

Canada’s Top 10 (RPM)
1 Love Will Never Do (Without You)--Janet Jackson
2 Disappear--INXS
3 Til I Am Myself Again--Blue Rodeo
4 You Gotta Love Someone--Elton John
5 Justify My Love--Madonna
6 After the Rain--Nelson
7 I’m Not in Love--Will to Power
8 Wicked Game--Chris Isaak
9 Show Me the Way--Styx
10 All the Man that I Need--Whitney Houston

Singles entering the chart were Who Said I Would by Phil Collins (#68); Inside Out by the Traveling Wilburys (#69); My Side of the Bed by Susanna Hoffs (#77); Willy by Astley Cleveland (#78); Never Gonna Change My Mind by Acosta Russell (#84); Rocket O’Love by the Knack (#88); Tomorrow Wendy by Concrete Blonde (#93); Fallen Angel by Zahalan (#94); Give Peace a Chance by Sean Lennon (#95); Night and Day by Bette Midler (#97); and Let Go by Andy Curran (#98).

Died on this date
James Cleveland, 59. U.S. singer. Rev. Cleveland was known as the "King of Gospel Music" during a career in which he won four Grammy Awards.

World events
In a non-binding referendum, Lithuanians voted overwhelmingly in favour of secession from the Soviet Union. Lithuania was the first of the Baltic republics to hold such a vote. In an attempt to avoid antagonizing the Kremlin, Lithuania’s leaders called the vote an unofficial "public opinion poll" on Lithuania’s March 1990 declaration of independence. Nearly 85% of eligible voters to answer the only question on the ballot: "Do you want a democratic, independent Lithuania?" The results, released the next day, showed approximately 90% of the votes in favour of independence.

Politics and government
Donald Cameron defeated Roland Thornhill by 143 votes on the third ballot to become leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia. He took office as Premier of Nova Scotia on February 26, 1991, replacing interim Premier Roger Bacon, who had replaced the retired John Buchanan.

10 years ago
2001

Died on this date
Herbert A. Simon, 84. U.S. political scientist and economist. Dr. Simon was a pioneer in the fields of artificial intelligence, information processing, decision-making, problem-solving, organization theory, complex systems, and computer simulation of scientific discovery. He was awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences "for his pioneering research into the decision-making process within economic organizations."

Politics and government
Incoming Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in an effort to form a coalition government, asked his defeated rival, Ehud Barak, to become Defense Minister, and former Prime Minister Shimon Peres to serve as Foreign Minister.

Disasters
Nine people were killed when the U.S. nuclear submarine USS Greeneville collided with a Japanese fishing boat nine miles from Pearl Harbor. The sub was on routine patrol when it surfaced rapidly under the Ehime Maru, which sank within minutes. Two teachers and 13 high school students from a fisheries school, as well as 20 crew members, were on the boat. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued 26 people, but the two teachers, four students, and three crew members were killed.