November 7, 2011

1,090 years ago
921

Diplomacy
Frankish Kings Charles the Simple and Henry the Fowler signed the Treaty of Bonn, a peace treaty or "pact of friendship" (amicitia) to recognize their borders along the Rhine River.

200 years ago
1811

War
William Henry Harrison led U.S. troops in an attack on Tecumseh's growing American Indian Confederation in the Battle of Tippecanoe, or Prophetstown in present-day Indiana.

190 years ago
1821

Born on this date
Andrea Debono. Maltese trader and explorer. Mr. Debono moved with his family as a young man to Alexandria, and then to Cairo, and finally Khartoum in 1848. In 1851, he adopted the name Latif Effendi and began representing Rustum Pasha Jarkas, Governor-General of Sudan when it was under Egyptian control. Mr. Debono made significant profits in the ivory trade and began exploring the Nile River in the early-mid 1850s, becoming the first European to explore the Sobat River tributary of the White Nile. He was British Consular Agent in Khartoum (1855-1856), but was accused by British Consul John Petherick of involvement in slave trading. All charges were later dropped, but Mr. Debono's reputation was ruined. He returned to Cairo, where he died of a heart attack on October 29, 1871, nine days before his 50th birthday.

160 years ago
1851

Born on this date
Chris von der Ahe. Prussian-born U.S. baseball executive. Mr. von der Ahe, a St. Louis saloonkeeper and pleasure resort owner, owned the St. Louis Browns of the American Association from 1882-1891 before joining the National League in 1892. The Browns won four straight AA pennants from 1885-1888, but won only one World Series, defeating the NL champion Chicago White Stockings in 1886. Mr. von der Ahe attracted large crowds to Sportsman's Park by limiting the price of tickets to 25c (the NL charged 50c for its games), selling beer at the games, and playing on Sundays. He liked to lead the parade of players into the ballpark, and had a life-size statue of himself erected outside Sportsman's Park. Mr. von der Ahe was also majority owner of the AA's Cincinnati Porkers, who operated in 1891, the American Association's last season. Mr. von der Ahe took his team into the National League the following year, where he attempted to increase attendance by installing an amusement park surrounding the ballpark. After years of financial problems and personal scandals, Mr. von der Ahe was forced to sell his team after the 1898 season. His fortune disappeared, and he ended up drinking himself to death on June 5, 1913 at the age of 61. The Browns became the Perfectos in 1899, and the Cardinals in 1900.

150 years ago
1861

Born on this date
Jeff Milton. U.S. police officer. Mr. Milton served with the Texas Rangers (1880-1884); U.S. Marshals Service (1884-1887); and the U.S. Customs Service (1887-1889). He participated in the capture of several members of the Jack Taylor Gang in 1887, and after becoming Chief of Police in El Paso, Texas, aided in the killing of Texas outlaws Martin M'Rose in 1895 and "Bronco Bill" Walters in 1898. Mr. Milton was working with the Southern Pacific Railroad when he was seriously wounded in a shootout while trying to prevent a train robbery in 1900. He joined the U.S. Bureau of Immigration in 1904 as a Mounted Chinese Inspector charged with enforcement of the Chinese Exclusion Act, and in 1924 became the first officer appointed to the U.S. Immigration Service Border Patrol, working in that office until his forced retirement at the age of 70 in 1932. Mr. Milton was commissioned as lifetime military aide to the Governor of Arizona in 1937, and died on May 7, 1947 at the age of 85.

War
Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant overran a Confederate camp but were forced to retreat when Confederate reinforcements arrived in the Battle of Belmont in Missouri.

Horse racing
Archer, with John Cutts up, won the first Melbourne Cup, at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne. Mormon placed second, 6 lengths behind Archer, and Prince was third in the 17-horse field. Three horses fell, and Despatch and Medora had to be destroyed.

130 years ago
1881

War
Mapuche rebels destroyed the Chilean settlement of Nueva Imperial after defenders fled to the hills.

120 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Genrikh Yagoda. U.S.S.R. bureaucrat. Mr. Yagoda, born Yenokh Gershevich Iyeguda, was a Bolshevik official who moved up through the ranks of the Soviet secret police organization Cheka, and was director of the NKVD (1934-1936). He supervised arrests, show trials, and executions of the Old Bolsheviks Lev Kamenev and Grigory Zinoviev, and also supervised construction of the White Sea–Baltic Canal with Naftaly Frenkel, using slave labor from the GULAG system, during which 12,000–25,000 laborers died. Soviet dictator Josef Stalin became disenchanted with Mr. Yagoda, and in September 1936 demoted him to People's Commissar for Posts and Telegraphs. In April 1937, Mr. Yagoda was removed from that post, and ultimately fell victim to the very system he used against others. He was a defendant in the Trial of the Twenty-One, the last of the major Soviet show trials of the 1930s. Mr. Yagoda confessed under torture, and after his conviction, was summarily shot on March 15, 1938 at the age of 46. He was the only defendant not to be posthumously rehabilitated.

100 years ago
1911

Born on this date
Mikhail Yangel. 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 on October 25, 1971 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.

Science
Marie Curie became the first multiple Nobel Prize winner when she was given the award for chemistry eight years after garnering the physics prize with her late husband, Pierre. She was awarded the prize "[for] the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, by the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element." Madame Curie remains the only woman with multiple Nobels and the only person to receive the award in two science categories.

90 years ago
1921

Football
CRU
ORFU
Ottawa St. Brigid's (1-2) 4 @ Parkdale Canoe Club (4-0) 32

80 years ago
1931

Chinatica
The Chinese Soviet Republic was proclaimed on the anniversary of the October Revolution.

Football
CRU
IRFU
Toronto (2-3) 1 @ Montreal (5-0) 4
Ottawa (0-5) 7 @ Hamilton (3-2) 14

75 years ago
1936

Football
CRU
IRFU
Ottawa (3-3) 4 @ Montreal (2-4) 3
Hamilton (3-3) 6 @ Toronto (4-2) 10

ORFU
Sarnia (3-1) 43 Hamilton (0-3) 1

Canadian university
McGill (1-4) 7 @ Western Ontario (3-2) 18
Toronto (3-2) 1 @ Queen's (3-2) 6
Hardy Cup
Saskatchewan 10 @ British Columbia 7

Mr. Weaver kicked a field goal with less than 3 minutes remaining in the game to break a 7-7 tie as the Huskies edged the Thunderbirds before 5,000 fans at Varsity Stadium in Vancouver.

70 years ago
1941

Movies
Actress Bette Davis became the first woman to be elected President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood, California.

War
Helsinki radio rejected U.S. and U.K. demands that Finland end her invasion of Russia. The Soviet hospital ship Armenia was sunk by German planes while evacuating refugees and wounded military and staff of several Crimean hospitals, killing a total estimated at 5,000-7,000 people.

Defense
The United States Senate voted 50-37 to amend the Neutrality Act and permit American merchant ships to arm themselves and enter belligerent ports. U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Cuban Ambassador Aurelio Concheso signed a Lend-Lease agreement for an unspecified amount of defense materials.

Scandal
Lackawanna, New York Mayor John Aszkler and four councilmen resigned before they received one-year suspended prison sentences in Buffalo for conspiracy to defraud the city by padding Works Project Administration payrolls.

Labour
Executives of the "Big Five" operating brotherhoods with 350,000 members annunced that they had rejected the recommendations of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's fact-finding board for a temporary 7 1/2% wage increase, and would call a railway strike on December 7. Mr. Roosevelt named a fact-finding board to investigate the dispute in Detroit between the Teamsters and the Railway Clerks over jurisdiction in the Railway Express Agency. The United States Navy informed striking American Federation of Labor workers at the San Diego base that if they did not return to work, contractors would be permitted to hire other workers and, if necessary, the government "will take over the entire work."

Cuban President Fulgencio Batista signed decrees granting workers a general wage increase of 10%-25%.

60 years ago
1951

Married on this date
U.S. singer and actor Frank Sinatra and actress Ava Gardner were married in Germantown, Pennsylvania.

Diplomacy
The U.S.S.R. protested alleged violation of Soviet air space near Vladivostok by a U.S. Navy Neptune patrol bomber.

A Soviet-Iranian commission in Tehran settled an old dispute over the location of Iran's border with Soviet Turkestan.

Defense
U.S. President Harry Truman, in an international broadcast from Washington, proposed a world arms census and partial disarmament program, which he called a "real, down-to-earth approach" to arms control.

World events
Malaysian security forces arrested all inhabitants of Tras Pahang and destroyed the village, charging that it harboured the assassins of British High Commissioner Henry Gurney.

Politics and government
Citizens' Committee candidate William Hawrelak was elected Mayor of Edmonton, taking 26,858 votes to 8,537 for incumbent mayor Sid Parsons and 5,909 for independent candidate George Gleave. All of the Citizens' Committee candidates who ran for city council were elected.

Economics and finance
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer R.A. Butler called for a 10% reduction in imports over the next year to conserve foreign exchange.

Labour
The new management of the National Theater in Washington, D.C. eliminated the theatre's policy of racial segregation in order to end the Actors Equity boycott which had kept the institution closed for the past 2½ years.

Football
CRU
IRFU
Semi-Finals (First game of 2-game total points series)
Hamilton 24 @ Toronto 7

A snowfall the previous day and heavy rain on game night kept the crowd down to 12,200 at Varsity Stadium. The punting exchange between Joe Krol of the Argonauts and Tom Worthington of the Tiger-Cats went in favour of Mr. Krol until Hamilton coach Carl Voyles substituted rookie Cam Fraser for Mr. Worthington in the 2nd half. Hal Waggoner rushed 72 yards for one touchdown and 22 for another. Eddie Bevan and Bernie Custis also scored Hamilton touchdowns, the first three of which were converted by Tip Logan, who added a single. Art Scullion scored the lone Toronto touchdown late in the 2nd quarter on a 5-yard return of a snap fumbled by Mr. Worthington, who was in punt formation. Mr. Krol added 2 singles. The Tiger-Cats rushed for 273 yards, while Mr. Custis, the quarterback, threw just 4 passes, completing 1. Toronto quarterback Nobby Wirkowski completed 2 of 6 passes.

50 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Michael--The Highwaymen (4th week at #1)

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Keep Me Company, starring Anne Francis, Jack Ging, and Edmund Hashim

Politics and government
Three days after nationwide riots in protest against his economic policies had begun and the day after his cabinet had resigned, Ecuadorean President Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra was forced to resign his office.

Provincial Treasurer Woodrow Lloyd was sworn in as Premier of Saskatchewan, succeeding Tommy Douglas as leader of the province's New Democratic Party-Co-operative Commonwealth Federation government. Mr. Douglas had resigned to assume the leadership of the federal NDP.

40 years ago
1971

Radio
Radio Canada International inaugurated two new 250-kilowatt transmitters, which were five times more powerful than the existing units; this significantly improved RCI's broadcast signal quality in Europe and Africa.

Diplomacy
Yugoslavian President Marshal Josip Broz Tito arrived in Ottawa to begin his first visit to Canada.

Football
CFL
Eastern Semi-Final
Ottawa 4 @ Hamilton 23

Wally Gabler, who had been released by the Tiger-Cats in mid-season, returned to quarterback the team to victory, as starter Joe Zuger had suffered a season-ending shoulder separation in the final game of the regular season. Mr. Gabler completed 7 of 15 passes before a crowd of 26,741 on a windy day at Ivor Wynne Stadium, including touchdowns of 14 and 43 yards to Dave Buchanan. Tommy-Joe Coffey converted both touchdowns and added 2 field goals and a single, while Paul McKay, who had assumed Mr. Zuger's punting duties, added 2 singles. Gerry Organ kicked a field goal for the Rough Riders and Marcel de Leeuw, playing his last game, punted for a single to complete the Ottawa scoring. Dick Wesolowski led the Tiger-Cats' rushing attack with 63 yards on 12 carries, while Max Anderson carried 16 times for 61 yards. Mr. Buchanan was the leading Hamilton receiver with 4 receptions for 102 yards. Ottawa quarterback Rick Cassata completed 13 of 29 passes for 149 yards and led the Ottawa ground game with 10 carries for 75. Mr. McKay punted 12 times for a 38.8-yard average, while Mr. de Leeuw punted 9 timed for an average of 37.3 yards per punt.



NFL
Buffalo (0-8) 0 @ Miami (6-1-1) 34
Philadelphia (2-5-1) 7 @ Washington (6-1-1) 7
Atlanta (4-3-1) 9 @ Cincinnati (1-7) 6
San Diego (3-5) 17 @ New York Giants (3-5) 35
Dallas (5-3) 16 @ St. Louis (3-5) 13
San Francisco (6-2) 13 @ Minnesota (6-2) 9
Oakland (5-1-2) 21 @ New Orleans (2-4-2) 21
Cleveland (4-4) 9 @ Pittsburgh (4-4) 26
Detroit (5-2-1) 24 @ Denver (2-5-1) 20
Kansas City (5-2-1) 10 @ New York Jets (3-5) 13
Houston (1-6-1) 20 @ New England (3-5) 28
Green Bay (3-4-1) 17 @ Chicago (5-3) 14

30 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Out Here on My Own--Nikka Costa (13th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Why Tell Me, Why--Anita Meyer (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland: It's My Party--Dave Stewart with Barbara Gaskin (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Happy Birthday--Altered Images

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): It's My Party--Dave Stewart with Barbara Gaskin (4th week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Every Little Thing She Does is Magic--The Police
2 Super Freak--Rick James
3 Why Tell Me, Why--Anita Meyer
4 Hurt (Nieuwe Versie)/Hurt (Oude Versie)--Timi Yuro
5 Tainted Love--Soft Cell
6 Pretend--Alvin Stardust
7 Physical--Olivia Newton-John
8 Meer Nederlandse Sterre (Holland Olé)--Rubberen Robbie
9 R.R. Express--Rose Royce
10 Ain't No Mountain High Enough/Remember Me--Boys Town Gang

Singles entering the chart were Love Games by Level 42 (#26); Under Your Thumb by Godley & Creme (#34); It's Raining by Shakin' Stevens (#35); I Got the Fire in Me by Guys 'n Dolls (#38); Souvenir by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (#39); and Dead Ringer for Love by Meat Loaf (#40).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Private Eyes--Daryl Hall & John Oates
2 Start Me Up--Rolling Stones
3 Arthur's Theme (Best that You Can Do)--Christopher Cross
4 For Your Eyes Only--Sheena Easton
5 Tryin' to Live My Life Without You--Bob Seger
6 The Night Owls--Little River Band
7 Hard to Say--Dan Fogelberg
8 I've Done Everything for You--Rick Springfield
9 Here I Am (Just When I Thought I was Over You)--Air Supply
10 Waiting for a Girl Like You--Foreigner

Singles entering the chart were Yesterday's Songs by Neil Diamond (#51); Centerfold by J. Geils Band (#70); Wrack My Brain by Ringo Starr (#79); Under Pressure by Queen & David Bowie (#80); Cool Night by Paul Davis (#83); Living Eyes by the Bee Gees (#84); Talking Out of Turn by the Moody Blues (#88); and I Heard it Through the Grapevine (Part 1) by Roger (#91).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Arthur's Theme (Best that You Can Do)--Christopher Cross (4th week at #1)
2 Private Eyes--Daryl Hall & John Oates
3 Endless Love--Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
4 For Your Eyes Only--Sheena Easton
5 Start Me Up--Rolling Stones
6 Step by Step--Eddie Rabbitt
7 Hard to Say--Dan Fogelberg
8 The Night Owls--Little River Band
9 Tryin' to Live My Life Without You--Bob Seger
10 I've Done Everything for You--Rick Springfield

Singles entering the chart were Yesterday's Songs by Neil Diamond (#48); Centerfold by J. Geils Band (#75); Wrack My Brain by Ringo Starr (#76); Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie (#82); Living Eyes by the Bee Gees (#83); Cool Night by Paul Davis (#87); Talking Out of Turn by the Moody Blues (#88); and Key Largo by Bertie Higgins (#98).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 Private Eyes--Daryl Hall & John Oates
2 Arthur's Theme (Best that You Can Do)--Christopher Cross
3 For Your Eyes Only--Sheena Easton
4 Endless Love--Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
5 Start Me Up--Rolling Stones
6 I've Done Everything for You--Rick Springfield
7 Tryin' to Live My Life Without You--Bob Seger
8 The Night Owls--Little River Band
9 Here I Am (Just When I Thought I was Over You)--Air Supply
10 Hard to Say--Dan Fogelberg

Singles entering the chart were Yesterday's Songs by Neil Diamond (#48); Centerfold by J. Geils Band (#69); Wrack My Brain by Ringo Starr (#73); Under Pressure by Queen & David Bowie (#82); Hooked on Classics by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (#84); Cool Night by Paul Davis (#88); and Living Eyes by the Bee Gees (#89).

Canada’s Top 10 (RPM)
1 Every Little Thing She Does is Magic--The Police
2 The Friends of Mr. Cairo--Jon and Vangelis
3 Endless Love--Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
4 Arthur's Theme (Best that You Can Do)--Christopher Cross
5 Start Me Up--Rolling Stones
6 Private Eyes--Daryl Hall & John Oates
7 No Reply at All--Genesis
8 For Your Eyes Only--Sheena Easton
9 Hold on Tight--Electric Light Orchestra
10 Who's Crying Now--Journey

Singles entering the chart were Young Turks by Rod Stewart (#41); Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie (#42); and Destroyer by the Kinks (#44).

Died on this date
Will Durant, 96. U.S. historian and philosopher. Dr. Durant, whose doctorate was in philosophy, was best known for the 11-volume The Story of Civilization (1935-1975), co-written with his wife Ariel. He was earlier known for The Story of Philosophy (1926). Dr. Durant attempted in both philosophy and history to unify the body of knowledge, which he 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. Dr. Durant died two days after his 96th birthday and 13 days after the death of Ariel, who had stopped eating when he entered the hospital.

Politics and government
James Lee won the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island, succeeding retiring Premier Angus MacLean.

25 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Coming Home (Jeanny Part II)--Falco

On television tonight
Shaka Zulu, on SABC Tonight's episode: Episode 3



Football
CFL
Ottawa (3-14-1) 19 @ Hamilton (9-8-1) 20

Paul Osbaldiston kicked a 36-yard field goal with 16 seconds remaining in regulation time to give the Tiger-Cats temporary possession of first place in the East Division, a point ahead of the Toronto Argonauts, who were playing the Alouettes in Montreal two days hence. 14,101 fans at Ivor Wynne Stadium saw the final game for Tom Dimitroff as head coach of the Ottawa Rough Riders; he compiled a record of 0-3-1 after replacing the fired Joe Moss.

CIAU
Hardy Trophy
Calgary 3 @ Britsh Columbia 49
Terry Cochrane rushed 19 times for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns, and caught a 22-yard pass from Jordan Gagner for another TD, to help the Thunderbirds rout the defending national champion Dinosaurs before 3,000 fans at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver. UBC quarterback Jordan Gagner completed 14 of 25 passes fo 281 yards and 2 touchdowns.

20 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): The Fly--U2 (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Carter Cornelius, 43. U.S. singer. Mr. Cornelius, his brother Edward, and sisters Billie Jo and Rose, comprised the trio Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose, who had several hit singles in the early 1970s. Treat Her Like a Lady reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart in 1971, and Too Late to Turn Back Now reached #2 in 1972, and #1 on the RPM chart in Canada. In 1976, Mr. Cornelius joined the Miami-based Nation of Yahweh sect and became known as Prince Gideon Israel; he worked on the sect's music and videos, and was reportedly working on a comeback song when he died of a heart attack.

Law
The Canadian House of Commons passed Justice Minister Kim Campbell's gun control law by a vote of 189-14. The law banned the importation of military assault guns; raised the age of ownership from 16 to 18; and also contained provisions for a waiting period and storage regulations.

Basketball
Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers announced that he was retiring from basketball because he had HIV.

10 years ago
2001

Died on this date
Anthony Shaffer, 75. U.K. author, playwright, and screenwriter. Mr. Shaffer, the twin brother of author, playwright, and screenwriter Peter Shaffer, was best known for the play (1970) and screenplay (1972) Sleuth. His other screenplays included Frenzy (1972) and The Wicker Man (1973).

Nida Blanca, 65. Filipina actress. Miss Blanca, whose real name was Dorothy Guinto Jones, appeared in more than 160 movies and 14 television programs in a career spanning 50 years. She was frequently paired on screen with Nestor de Villa. Miss Blanca worked for the Philippine Movie and Television Review and Classification Board in later years. She was found murdered; beaten and stabbed 13 times in the back seat of her car in the parking lot of Atlanta Centre in Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila; Philip Medel confessed to the crime, saying that he had been hired by Miss Blanca's estranged husband Rod Strunk, who acted under the name Rod Lauren. Several days later, Mr. Medel recanted his confession. Mr. Strunk left the Philippines for the United States in January 2002 and was charged with murder in 2003, but successfully resisted extradition efforts; he committed suicide in 2007. Mr. Medel remained a suspect, and was held in jail until his death in 2010.