October 25, 2011

220 years ago
1791

Politics and government
U.S. President George Washington delivered his third annual State of the Union address to Congress. Subjects included the Bank of the United States.

190 years ago
1821

Born on this date
Antonio Ciseri. Swiss-born Italian artist. Mr. Ciseri moved to Florence in 1833. He was a painter of religious subjects; his works included The Transport of Christ to the Sepulcher (1864-1870) and Ecce Homo (1871). Mr. Ciseri died on March 8, 1891 at the age of 69.

150 years ago
1861

Economics and finance
Herbert Mortimer, the first President of the Toronto Stock Exchange Association, opened the TSE's first trading floor; 13 companies were listed.

130 years ago
1881

Born on this date
Pablo Picasso. Spanish artist. Mr. Picasso was one of the most famous artists of the 20th century. He co-founded the Cubist movement in painting, invented constructed sculpture, and co-invented collage. His works included Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) and Guernica (1937). Mr. Picasso died on April 8, 1973 at the age of 91.

120 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Charles Coughlin. Canadian-born U.S. clergyman and broadcaster. Father Coughlin, a native of Hamilton, Ontario, was the priest at the Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan from 1926-1966, but was best known for his radio broadcasts, which began in 1926 on the Detroit station WJR, and were picked up by the Columbia Broadcasting System in 1930. Fr. Coughlin began injecting political content into his broadcasts, and initially supported U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but from 1934 on, increasingly opposed the Roosevelt administration's New Deal economic policies. Fr. Coughlin helped to found the Union Party, but its 1936 U.S. presidential candidate, William Lemke, failed to attract much support. Fr. Coughlin's broadcasts became more anti-Jewish and pro-Fascist, and the Roosevelt administration imposed regulations that had the effect of forcing Fr. Coughlin off the air in 1940. Fr. Coughlin published the weekly newsletter Social Justice from 1936-1942, but ceased its publication on orders of Roman Catholic authorities, under pressure from the Roosevelt administration. Fr. Coughlin ended his public career, and continued as priest of the Shrine of the Little Flower, retreating into obscurity. He died on October 27, 1979, two days after his 88th birthday.

Football
ORFU
Round 1
Royal Military College 17 @ Queen's College 25 (Queen's University won 2-game total points series 53-24)

100 years ago
1911

Died on this date
Feng-shan. Chinese military officer. General Feng-shan was a Qing officer who was assassinated by the Chinese Assassination Corps, as the Xinhai Revolution spread to Guangzhou.

Baseball
World Series
Philadelphia Athletics 3 @ New York Giants 4 (Philadelphia led best-of-seven series 3-2)

Rube Oldring's 3-run home run after an error by the Giants' Larry Doyle gave the Athletics 3 unearned runs in the top of the 3rd inning, but the Giants scored a run in the 7th to reduce the Athletics' lead to 3-1. With 2 out in the bottom of the 9th and Art Fletcher on third base, New York pitcher Doc Crandall, who had entered the game as a pinch hitter in the 7th, doubled off Philadelphia ace Jack Coombs to drive in Mr. Fletcher, and Josh Devore singled him home with the tying run. Eddie Plank came in to pitch in the bottom of the 10th, and gave up a leadoff double to Mr. Doyle. Fred Snodgrass was safe on a fielder's choice on a bunt, with Mr. Doyle going to third. Fred Merkle then hit a sacrifice fly to right field, and Mr. Doyle beat Danny Murphy's throw to home plate for the winning run, sending 33,228 fans home happy from the Polo Grounds. Umpire Bill Klem later said that Mr. Doyle had missed the plate with his slide, but nobody with the Athletics noticed, and they didn't appeal the play, so the run stood.

90 years ago
1921

Died on this date
Bat Masterson, 67. Canadian-born U.S. gambler and lawman. Bartholomew Masterson, a native of Henryville, Canada East, moved to the United States with his family as a child, and went to the Great Plains with his brothers in the 1870s to hunt buffalo and gamble. He was a U.S. Army scout in the mid-1870s, and settled in Dodge City, Kansas, where he was elected Ford County Sheriff in November 1877, and was involved in several incidents over the next few years. Mr. Masterson was appointed city marshal in Trinidad, Colorado in 1882, moved to Denver, and finally settled in New York City in 1902. He became a sportswriter and boxing timekeeper, and wrote tales of his adventures. Mr. Masterson died of a heart attack at his newsroom desk, shortly after finishing a column for the New York Morning Telegraph.

80 years ago
1931

Football
NFL
Portsmouth (7-0) 20 @ Staten Island (1-3) 7
Providence (1-3-1) 20 @ Green Bay (7-0) 48
Brooklyn (2-6) 0 @ New York (3-3) 27
Frankford (1-4-1) 13 @ Chicago Bears (3-2) 12

70 years ago
1941

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Piano Concerto in B Flat--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra (4th week at #1)

At the movies
The Tell-Tale Heart, a short film directed by Jules Dassin, and starring Joseph Schildkraut and Roman Bohnen, opened in theatres.



Died on this date
Franz von Werra, 27. Swiss-born German military aviator. Hauptmann (Captain) Werra was raised by relatives in Germany, and joined the Luftwaffe in 1938. He became an air ace in World War II, scoring four combat victories in France in May 1940, and nine in Britain in August. Hauptmann Werra was shot down in England and captured in September 1940; he made several attempts to escape from prisoner of war camps, but was always recaptured and finally sent to Canada in January 1941. Hauptmann Werra was in a group of prisoners who were to be taken to a camp on the north shore of Lake Superior in Ontario. On January 21, 1941, he escaped from a prison train after its departure from Montreal, crossed the frozen St. Lawrence River near Smiths Falls, Ontario, and turned himself over to police in Ogdensburg, New York, at a time when the United States was still a neutral country. While the U.S.A. and Canada were discussing his extradition, Hauptmann Werra was aided by the German vice consul to cross the border into Mexico, and passed through Rio de Janeiro, Barcelona, and Rome before arriving in Germany on April 18, being greeted as a hero, reportedly the only German prisoner of war to escape Canadian custody and return to Germany. He returned to service in the Luftwaffe, and was deployed to the Russian front, scoring 13 more victories before being killed on a practice flight when his plane suffered engine failure and crashed into the sea north of the Dutch city of Vlissingen. Hauptmann Werra's story was made into the movie The One that Got Away (1957), starring Hardy Krüger.

Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art curator Henri Marceau announced that an 18 X 30-inch painting titled Crucifixion that for two centuries had been attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn was in fact spurious.

Diplomacy
German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler conferred with Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano at the German headquarters in Russia.

The government of Costa Rica announced that foreigners who attacked friendly nations or democratic principles would be expelled.

Defense
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 12-11 in favour of permitting U.S. merchant ships to arm themselves and enter war zones.

Politics and government
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Office of Facts and Figures, with Archibald MacLeish as unpaid director.

Labour
Transportation and newspaper employees in La Paz, Bolivia ended their five-day strike after being granted a 20% wage increase.

Football
CRU
ERFU
Toronto Argonauts (4-1) 6 @ Ottawa (4-1) 24
Montreal (0-5) 0 @ Toronto Balmy Beach (2-3) 9

Murray Griffin, Johnny Fripp, and Stan O'Neil scored touchdowns for the Rough Riders in their win over the Argonauts at Lansdowne Park, while George Fraser added 3 converts and 2 field goals. Red Storey scored the Argonauts' touchdown, converted by Earl Selkirk.

Hugh Cuddie scored Balmy Beach's touchdown, while Bobby Reid converted and added a field goal.

70 years ago
1951

War
U.S. and Communist negotiators resuemd Korean truce talks in Panmunjom after a 63-day lapse.

Politics and government
The Conservative Party, led by former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, won a narrow majority in the House of Commons in the British general election, winning 321 of 625 seats, an increase of 22 from before the election. The governing Labour Party of Prime Minister Clement Attlee, who had been in power since 1945, dropped from 315 seats to 295, while the Liberals, led by Clement Davies, dropped from 9 seats to 6. Labour actually received more votes than the Conservatives, but had some lopsided wins in safe seats.





General Conrad Snow, Republican Party member of the U.S. State Department's Loyalty Review Board, said in a speech in Washington that Senator Joe McCarthy's (Republican--Wisconsin) charges against the department were "baseless accusations" made for "political advancement."

Crime
A U.S. federal grand jury in New York reindicted former U.S. government economist William Remington on perjury charges, accusing him of falsely claiming at his trial that he had never passed government secrets to a Soviet agent and never attended Communist Party meetings.

Montrealana
According to the 1951 Canadian census, Montreal was the first Canadian city to reach a population of more than one million people.

Economics and finance
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced plans to negotiate a trade agreement with the U.S.S.R.

50 years ago
1961

Space
The United States Air Force announced that it had been unable to contact by radar the package of 350 million copper wires released from the satellite MIDAS 4, launched four days earlier, and that indications were that the needles, expected to form a band 5 miles wide around the Earth, had not been dispersed as planned. The purpose of the plan, named Project West Ford, had been to test the efficiency of a metallic space belt to relay radio communications. Scientists throughout the world had condemned the experiment as one that would "befoul" space.

40 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Banks of the Ohio--Olivia Newton-John

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Ame no Ballad--Masayuki Yuhara (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Mammy Blue--Pop-Tops

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Tatyana!

Died on this date
Mikhail Yangel, 59. U.S.S.R. engineer. Mr. Yangel was an associate of chief rocket designer Sergei Korolev, and was the Soviet Union's leading fighter plane and missile designer from the 1940s until his death from his fifth heart attack, 13 days before his 60th birthday. He took rocket technology in a new direction, based on the use of high-boiling propellants and an autonomous control system, which significantly increased the combat readiness of strategic missiles.

Abominations
The United Nations General Assembly voted 76-35, with 17 abstentions, to admit the People's Republic of China as a member and to expel Taiwan.

Transportation
The Christchurch–Dunedin overnight express, headed by a JA-class locomotive, ran the last scheduled steam-hauled service on New Zealand Railways (NZR), bringing to an end 108 years of regular steam rail operations in this country.

Football
NFL
Baltimore (4-2) 3 @ Minnesota (5-1) 10



30 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Theme from "Greatest American Hero" (Believe it or Not)--Joey Scarbury (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Japanese Boy--Aneka

Died on this date
Ariel Durant, 83. Ukrainian-born U.S. historian. Mrs. Durant, born Chaya Kaufman, emigrated to the United States with her family in 1901. She was a student of Will Durant and married him in 1913, when she was 15 and he was a few days short of 28. The Durants worked together, and were best known for the 11-volume The Story of Civilization (1935-1975). They attempted to unify the body of knowledge, which they thought had become too specialized, and to write for a general audience. The Durants were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968 for The Story of Civilization X. Rousseau and Revolution (1967) and were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977. Will entered the hospital in the fall of 1981, and Ariel stopped eating, which led to her death. Will Durant died just 13 days later, two days after his 96th birthday.

Football
CFL
British Columbia (9-6) 34 @ Hamilton (10-4-1) 7
Saskatchewan (9-6) 24 @ Calgary (6-9) 11

The Stampeders' loss to the Roughriders at McMahon Sadium eliminated them from contention for the playoffs.

Baseball
World Series
New York Yankees 1 @ Los Angeles Dodgers 2 (Los Angeles led best-of-seven series 3-2)

The Yankees were leading 1-0 in the 7th inning, but consecutive home runs by Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager off New York ace Ron Guidry (1-1) provided the winning margin as Los Angeles starter Jerry Reuss (1-1) won the pitchers' duel before 56,115 fans at Dodger Stadium. After the game, Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner emerged with a fat lip and a broken hand, claiming to have scuffled with fans in a hotel elevator.



Nippon Series
Nippon-Ham Fighters 3 @ Yomiuri Giants 6 (Yomiuri won best-of-seven series 4-2)

25 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Holiday Rap--M.C. Miker G & D.J. Sven

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): The Final Countdown--Europe (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Take My Breath Away--Berlin

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): All I Ask of You--Cliff Richard and Sarah Brightman

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Every Loser Wins--Nick Berry

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): True Colors--Cyndi Lauper

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Typical Male--Tina Turner
2 True Colors--Cyndi Lauper
3 When I Think of You--Janet Jackson
4 Heartbeat--Don Johnson
5 I Didn't Mean to Turn You On--Robert Palmer
6 Throwing it All Away--Genesis
7 Two of Hearts--Stacey Q
8 Amanda--Boston
9 Human--Human League
10 All Cried Out--Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam with Full Force

Singles entering the chart were Is This Love by Survivor (#71); Don't Stand so Close to Me '86 by the Police (#75); Love is Forever by Billy Ocean (#79); More than Physical by Bananarama (#80); The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades by Timbuk 3 (#81); Nail it to the Wall by Stacy Lattisaw (#86); You Be Illin' by Run-D.M.C. (#89); and Like Flames by Berlin (#90).

Canada’s Top 10 (RPM)
1 The Lady in Red--Chris de Burgh
2 Spirit in the Sky--Doctor and the Medics
3 Rumors--Timex Social Club
4 True Colors--Cyndi Lauper
5 Friends and Lovers--Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson
6 Walk This Way--Run-D.M.C.
7 Stuck with You--Huey Lewis and the News
8 When I Think of You--Janet Jackson
9 Take My Breath Away--Berlin
10 Heartbeat--Don Johnson

Singles entering the chart were Heartache All Over the World by Elton John (#74); Hip to Be Square by Huey Lewis and the News (#80); Don't Stand so Close to Me '86 by the Police (#86); (Sing) Our Own Song by UB40 (#89); Where Did Your Heart Go? by Wham! (#94); and Where's the Fire by Tim Feehan (#97).

Died on this date
Forrest Tucker, 67. U.S. actor. Mr. Tucker appeared in numerous movies--often Westerns and war movies--and television programs. He played Harold Hill in the national production of The Music Man in the 1950s, but was perhaps best known for playing Sergeant Morgan O'Rourke in the television comedy series F Troop (1965-1967). Mr. Tucker died of throat cancer.

Football
CFL
Edmonton (12-4) 20 @ Winnipeg (11-5) 42

John Hufnagel passed for 420 yards and the Blue Bombers amassed 551 yards in total offense before 32,946 fans at Winnipeg Stadium to end the Eskimos' 7-game winning streak. The Eskimos had won the first game between the teams 33-5 at Commonwealth Stadium on August 15, and the Blue Bombers wanted to make up the deficit, since points for and against each other would be used to decide which team finished ahead in the standings in case they should finish the season with the same record. Winnipeg very nearly accomplished what had appeared nearly impossible, but were stopped late in the game on the Eskimos' 3-yard line. Had the Blue Bombers scored a converted touchdown and not permitted any further Edmonton scoring, they would have won the total points battle.

CIAU
Alberta (1-6) 25 @ Calgary (5-3) 31

The Dinosaurs came back from an early 9-0 deficit to defeat the Golden Bears at McMahon Stadium.

Baseball
World Series
Boston Red Sox 5 @ New York Mets 6 (10 innings) (Best-of-seven series tied 3-3)

The Red Sox broke a 3-3 tie with 2 runs in the top of the 10th inning, and Boston relief pitcher Calvin Schiraldi retired the first 2 batters in the bottom of the 10th, and had 2 strikes on Gary Carter. However, Mr. Carter singled, and advanced to second base on a single by pinch hitter Kevin Mitchell. Ray Knight, the next batter, singled on a no balls-2 strikes count to drive in Mr. Carter and advance Mr. Mitchell to third base. Bob Stanley then came on to pitch for the Red Sox and threw a wild pitch that allowed Mr. Mitchell to score the tying run, with Mr. Knight advancing to second. The next batter, Mookie Wilson, worked Mr. Stanley for 10 pitches before hitting a slow ground ball to Boston first baseman Bill Buckner. The ball went between Mr. Buckner's legs, and the error allowed Mr. Knight to score the winning run before 55,078 fans at Yankee Stadium. Rick Aguilera (1-0) was the winning pitcher, while Mr. Schiraldi (0-1) was charged with the loss.



20 years ago
1991

Died on this date
Bill Graham, 60. German-born U.S. concert promoter. Mr. Graham, born Wulf Wolodia Grajonca, was sent to France in 1939 and later to the United States in order to escape the Nazi regime in Germany. He was known for promoting concerts in San Francisco at the Fillmore Auditorium (1965-1968) and Fillmore West (1968-1971), and in New York at the Fillmore East (1968-1971). Mr. Graham was killed, with girlfriend Melissa Goold, and pilot Steve Kahn, in a helicopter crash west of Vallejo, California.

Margo Sylvia, 55. U.S. singer-songwriter. Mrs. Sylvia and her husband John were original members of the vocal group the Tune Weavers, and she co-wrote their only major hit, Happy, Happy Birthday Baby (1957), which reached #5 on the Billboard pop singles chart and #4 on the Rhythm and Blues chart. The group broke up in 1964, and occasionally reunited in later years. Mrs. Sylvia was performing as a solo artist, and wa just about to begin a concert tour, when she died of a heart attack and stroke.

10 years ago
2001

Technology
Microsoft released the Windows XP operating system.

Crime
The British Crime Survey revealed that the chances of being a victim of crime were at their lowest since 1981.

Baseball
Nippon Series
Yakult Swallows 4 @ Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes 2 (Yakult won best-of-seven series 4-1)