December 14, 2011

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Wendy Welt!

700 years ago
1311

Died on this date
Margaret of Brabant, 35. Queen consort of Germany, 1308-1311. Margaret, the daughter of John I, Duke of Brabant and Margaret of Flanders, married Henry, Count of Luxembourg in 1292, and became Queen consort when he acceded to the throne in 1308. The couple had 3 children. Queen Margaret accompanied her husband on his Italian campaign, and died several months after falling ill during the siege of Brescia.

420 years ago
1591

Died on this date
John of the Cross, 49. Spanish mystic. John of the Cross, born Juan de Yepes y Álvarez, was a Roman Catholic priest and prior in the Carmelite Order who, with Teresa of Ávila, helped to found the movement eventually known as Discalced (barefoot) Carmelites. He died of erysipelas, and was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726 as St. John of the Cross.

260 years ago
1751

Defense
The Theresian Military Academy was founded in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.

160 years ago
1851

Born on this date
Mary Tappan Wright. U.S. authoress. Mrs. Wright, the wife of classical scholar John Henry Wright and the mother of legal scholar Austin Tappan Wright and geographer John Kirtland Wright, wrote novels and short stories about academic life. She died on August 25, 1916 at the age of 64.

Politics and government
Toronto Globe publisher George Brown was first elected to the Province of Canada Assembly as an independent Reformer for the county of Kent, in southwestern Canada West, with the support of future Canadian Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie.

150 years ago
1861

Died on this date
Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, 42. U.K. Prince Consort, 1840-1861. Prince Albert was the husband of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1840 until his death. He was formally granted the title Prince Consort in 1857. The cause of Prince Albert's death was reported as typhoid fever, although he had been in declining health for several years.

140 years ago
1871

Politics and government
Marc-Amable Girard was sworn in as the first Premier of Manitoba of French Canadian ancestry, leading a Conservative Party government.

130 years ago
1881

Born on this date
Katherine MacDonald. U.S. actress. Miss MacDonald was a leading lady in silent movies from 1918-1926, and produced nine films from 1919-1921, becoming one of Hollywood's first female producers. She died on June 4, 1956 at the age of 65.

125 years ago
1886

Born on this date
Henry G. Bennett. U.S. academic. Dr. Bennett was president of Southeastern Oklahoma State University (1919-1928) and Oklahoma A&M College (1928-1951). While still holding the latter office, he was appointed by U.S. President Harry Truman in November 1950 as the first director of the Point Four Program, a technical assistance program for backward nations. While on a visit to Iran to discuss U.S. technical aid with Iranian officials, Dr. Bennett was killed on December 22, 1951, eight days after his 65th birthday, along with his wife and 20 members of his staff, in a plane crash near Tehran.

110 years ago
1901

Born on this date
Paul. King of the Hellenes, 1947-1964. Paul succeeded his brother George II as King of Greece during the Greek Civil War. He died of stomach cancer on March 6, 1964 at the age of 62, and was succeeded by his son Constantine II. King Paul was a first cousin of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

Henri Cochet. French tennis player. Mr. Cochet was one of the "Four Musketeers" who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He won 22 major tournaments, including seven Grand Slam singles, five doubles and three mixed doubles, as well as silver medals in the men's singles and doubles events at the 1924 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. Mr. Cochet was ranked as the world's number one player from 1928-1931. He turned professional in 1933 and had less success, but regained his amateur standing in December 1941, playing until 1956, while also coaching and running a sporting goods store. Mr. Cochet and the other Musketeers--Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon, and René Lacoste--were inducted together into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1976. Mr. Cochet died on April 1, 1987 at the age of 85.

100 years ago
1911

Born on this date
Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz. Polish-born Greek athlete and saboteur. Mr. Iwanow-Szajnowicz, a native of Warsaw, moved to Greece with his mother and stepfather in 1926. He was a swimmer who won the national championship in the 100-metre freestyle competition, but moved back to Warsaw, becoming a Polish citizen in 1935 and the top player on the Polish national water polo team. Mr. Iwanow-Szajnowicz aided Polish and Greek resistance fighters in World War II, and was effective in sabotaging German aircraft and U-boats. He was eventually betrayed, captured, escaped, recaptured, and executed by a firing squad in Athens on January 4, 1943 at the age of 31.

Spike Jones. U.S. musician. Lindley Armstrong Jones was a drummer and bandleader who was popular in the 1940s and '50s as leader of Spike Jones and his City Slickers. The band was known for satirizing popular tunes, usually using bizarre sound effects. Their best-known hit was Der Fuehrer's Face (1942). Mr. Jones was a heavy smoker who died of emphysema on May 1, 1965 at the age of 53.

Hans von Ohain. German-born U.S. physicist and engineer. Dr. Ohain designed the first operational jet engine in1937, and a leter development powered the world's first flyable all-jet aircraft, the prototype of the Heinkel He 178 (He 178 V1), in 1939. None of his engine designs entered widespread production or operational use, as other German designs eclipsed his. Dr. Ohain was brought to the United States in 1947 as part of Operation Paperclip, and worked for the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. In 1956, he was made the Director of the Air Force Aeronautical Research Laboratory, and by 1975 he was the Chief Scientist of the Aero Propulsion Laboratory there. Dr. Ohain retired from Wright-Patterson in 1979, and taught at the University of Dayton. He held the Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History at the National Air and Space Museum in 1984-85. Dr. Ohain died on March 13, 1998 at the age of 86.

Exploration
Roald Amundsen of Norway became the first man to arrive at the South Pole.

80 years ago
1931

Died on this date
Paul Émile Lavigne, 24. Canadian crime victim. "Punch" Lavigne died two days after being shot and robbed while working at the Domestic Service Station on Sussex Street in downtown Ottawa. Billy Seabrooke was convicted of the crime, and was executed on January 10, 1933.

75 years ago
1936

Boxing
Joe Louis (27-1) took just 26 seconds to score a technical knockout over Eddie Simms (23-22-3) in a heavyweight bout at Public Hall in Cleveland. Referee Arthur Donovan stopped the fight because "another blow might have resulted fatally." It was the first time Mr. Simms had ever been knocked out.

70 years ago
1941

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Dark Gentleman

Theatre
Robert E. Sherwood ordered his Pulitzer Prize-winning play There Shall Be No Night to close in Rochester, Minnesota. The play was based on the Soviet invasion of Finland in 1939 and expressed an anti-Soviet viewpoint which now seemed inappropriate, with the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. having become allies within the past few days.

War
Ireland and Turkey announced their neutrality. Japan signed a treaty of alliance with Thailand. Japanese troops began a general land and air offensive against Hong Kong at dawn after their ultimatum for surrender was rejected.

Academia
The University of Cincinnati estimated, on the basis of a nationwide survey, that there had been a 9.16% decrease in college and university enrollment in the United States over the previous year.

Football
NFL
West Division playoff
Green Bay 14 @ Chicago Bears 33

The Packers and Bears had finished the regular season with records of 10-1, with each beating the other once, thus forcing a playoff game. The Bears played at home against the East Division champion New York Giants a week later for the NFL championship.

60 years ago
1951

On television tonight
Tales of Tomorrow, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Invader, starring William Eythe, Eva Gabor, Salem Ludwig, and Edgar Stehli



At the movies
Awaara, produced and directed by, and co-starring Raj Kapoor, opened in theatres in India.



War
Indonesia reported that 1,000 Army troops, rebels, and civilians had been killed in recent fighting between loyal troops and Army deserters near Semarang in central Java.

Diplomacy
The Charter of San Salvador, signed two months earlier to create the Organization of Central American States, took effect following ratification by Honduras.

Germanica
The West German Bundestag passed a measure integrating West Berlin into the country's financial system and increasing the number of West Berlin representatives in the Bundestag.

Scandal
Psychologist Louis Gellermann was convicted in Seattle of using sexual intercourse in an attempt to shock three of his female patients out of their "guilt complexes."

U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means subcommittee Chairman Cecil King (Democrat--California) crticized Charles Oliphant, former chief counsel of the Internal Revenue Bureau, for accepting gifts, free trips, entertainment, and other favours from clients interested in tax fraud cases.

Economics and finance
Canada lifted all foreign exchange controls, becoming the first country to do so since World War II.

50 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade): Walkin' Back to Happiness--Helen Shapiro (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Tower of Strength--Frankie Vaughan (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
The Untouchables, starring Robert Stack, on ABC
Tonight's episode: City Without a Name

Politics and government
Liberal Party candidate Claire Kirkland-Casgrain won a Quebec provincial by-election in the riding of Jacques-Cartier, making her the first woman member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec. The by-election was made necessary following the death of the current MLA, Charles-Aimé Kirkland (Liberal), the current candidate's father. She won by more than 50,000 votes, a Quebec record.

Disasters
20 children were killed when a passenger train hit a school bus at a crossing near Greeley, Colorado.

40 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Kvällstoppen): Mamy Blue--Pop-Tops (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Mamy Blue--Pop-Tops (10th week at #1)

At the movies
Diamonds are Forever, directed by Guy Hamilton, and starring Sean Connery, Jill St. John, and Charles Gray, opened in theatres in Munich. It was Mr. Connery's last appearance as James Bond until Never Say Never Again (1983).



Abominations
Over 200 of East Pakistan's intellectuals were executed by the Pakistani Army and their local allies. The date is commemorated in Bangladesh as Martyred Intellectuals Day.

Society
The Quebec National Assembly unanimously passed Bill 66, reducing the age of majority in Quebec from 21 to 18. Individuals still had to be at least 21 to be a company director or to serve as a juror.

30 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Physical--Olivia Newton-John (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Akujo--Miyuki Nakajima (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Ma Quale Idea--Pino D'Angio (12th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Polonäse Blankenese--Gottlieb Wendehals (a.k.a. Werner Böhm) (2nd week at #1)

Personal
This blogger finished his first term at Grant MacEwan Community College in Edmonton by writing three exams, making for an extended and enjoyable Christmas and New Year's break.

World events
The Knesset passed the Golan Heights Law, extending Israeli "laws, jurisdiction and administration" to the Golan Heights, effectively annexing the territory internationally recognized as part of Syria.

20 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Black or White--Michael Jackson (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Black or White--Michael Jackson (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Black or White--Michael Jackson (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Black or White--Michael Jackson (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Black or White--Michael Jackson

#1 single in France (SNEP): Qui a le droit...--Patrick Bruel (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (CIN): Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me--George Michael/Elton John (2nd week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Kon Ik Maar Even Bij Je Zijn--Gordon (3rd week at #1)
2 Roodkapje--Pater Moeskroen
3 Black or White--Michael Jackson
4 I Love Your Smile--Shanice
5 Let's Talk About Sex!--Salt-N-Pepa
6 Over and Over Again--Robby Valentine
7 Smells Like Teen Spirit--Nirvana
8 Go--Moby
9 Obsession--Army of Lovers
10 Ring My Bell--DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince

Singles entering the chart were Justified & Ancient by the KLF (#24); Olee Olee Sinterklaas is Here to Stay!!!/Het is Weer Kerstfeest Dit Jaar by Ole Henk (#25); Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me by George Michael/Elton John (#29); Live and Let Die by Guns N' Roses (#34); Stars by Simply Red (#35); This House by Alison Moyet (#36); and Tu by Mecano (#38).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Black or White--Michael Jackson (2nd week at #1)
2 It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday--Boyz II Men
3 Set Adrift on Memory Bliss--P.M. Dawn
4 When a Man Loves a Woman--Michael Bolton
5 All 4 Love--Color Me Badd
6 Blowing Kisses in the Wind--Paula Abdul
7 Can't Let Go--Mariah Carey
8 Finally--CeCe Peniston
9 That's What Love is For--Amy Grant
10 Wildside--Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch

Singles entering the chart were All Through the Night by Tone-Loc (#83); Uhh Ahh by Boyz II Men (#88); Everybody Move by Cathy Dennis (#90); Insatiable by Prince & the New Power Generation (#92); Right Down to It by Damian Dame (#93); and Move Any Mountain by the Shamen (#100).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday--Boyz II Men
2 Black or White--Michael Jackson
3 Blowing Kisses in the Wind--Paula Abdul
4 Set Adrift on Memory Bliss--P.M. Dawn
5 Can't Let Go--Mariah Carey
6 All 4 Love--Color Me Badd
7 Keep Coming Back--Richard Marx
8 No Son of Mine--Genesis
9 Street of Dreams--Nia Peeples
10 When a Man Loves a Woman--Michael Bolton

Singles entering the chart were To Be with You by Mr. Big (#78) and Addams Groove by MC Hammer (#79).

Canada’s Top 10 (RPM)
1 No Son of Mine--Genesis
2 Broken Arrow--Rod Stewart
3 Life is a Highway--Tom Cochrane
4 When a Man Loves a Woman--Michael Bolton
5 Keep Coming Back--Richard Marx
6 What About Now--Robbie Robertson
7 That's What Love is For--Amy Grant
8 Cream--Prince and the New Power Generation
9 Blowing Kisses in the Wind--Paula Abdul
10 Black or White--Michael Jackson

Singles entering the chart were Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana (#69); Someday by Aldo Nova (#72); If She Could Sing by Art Bergmann (#75); Go Back to Your Woods by Robbie Robertson (#82); Martika's Kitchen by Martika (#88); King's Highway by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (#90); and Finally by Ce Ce Peniston (#95).

Died on this date
Robert Eddison, 83. Japanese-born U.K. actor. Mr. Eddison was a character actor on stage, screen, and television for more than 60 years, known for his mellifluously resonant, baritone voice. He played Grail Knight in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).

Married on this date
Happy Anniversary, Eileen and Leo Sasakamoose!

10 years ago
2001

Died on this date
John Guedel, 88. U.S. radio and television producer. Mr. Guedel created The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and co-created and produced House Party, People Are Funny, and You Bet Your Life. It was said in 1956 that he was producing as many as 25 half-hour radio and television shows per week.

Politics and government
Koloa Talake took office as Prime Minister of Tuvalu.