December 22, 2011

1,610 years ago
401

Religion
Innocent I was elected Roman Catholic Pope, three days after the death of his father Pope Anastasius I. Innocent I remains the only man to succeed his father as Bishop of Rome.

370 years ago
1641

Died on this date
Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully, 81. Chief Minister of France, 1589-1611. The Duke of Sully served in the Protestant army as a teenager during the religious wars in the 1570s. As Chief Minister, Superintendent of Finances, and adviser to King Henri IV, he built a strong centralized administrative system in France using coercion and highly effective new administrative techniques, but was unpopular, and his power was weakened after the assassination of King Henri in 1610. The Duke of Sully resigned in 1611, and died nine days after his 81st birthday.

160 years ago
1851

Transportation
India's first freight train was operated in Roorkee to transport material for the construction of the Ganges Canal.

120 years ago
1891

Died on this date
Paul de Lagarde, 64. German orientalist. Professor Lagarde, born Paul Bötticher, taught oriental languages at the University of Göttingen. He was the most renowned scholar of the Septuagint in the 19th century, but he rejected the Bible as the Word of God, and opposed Christianity and Jews, advocating a German folkish religion, racial Darwinism, and German imperialism within Europe. Prof. Lagarde's ideas influenced Nazi ideology, especially that of theorist Alfred Rosenberg.

Space
Asteroid 323 Brucia became the first asteroid to be discovered using photography.

110 years ago
1901

Born on this date
Andre Kostelanetz. Russian-born orchestra conductor. Mr. Kostelanetz moved to the United States in 1922, and began conducting orchestras on radio. He had his own program, Andre Kostelanetz Presents, in the 1930s, but was best known for the many albums of "easy listening" music that he conducted from the 1940s until his death on January 13, 1980, 22 days after his 78th birthday, which resulted from pneumonia contracted while on vacation in Haiti, 13 days after conducting a New Year's Eve concert in San Francisco.

90 years ago
1921

Academia
Visva-Bharati College, now Visva Bharati University, opened in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India.

80 years ago
1931

Television
The first experimental broadcast from a transmitter atop the Empire State Building in New York City took place. The transmitter was put up by NBC on October 30, 1931.

70 years ago
1941

Died on this date
Karel Hašler, 62. Czech entertainer. Mr. Hašler was an actor, director, singer, and songwriter who acted in plays and operated various cabarets in a career that began in the late 1890s. He appeared in silent and sound films from 1914-1941. Mr. Hašler's patriotic songs led to his arrest by the Gestapo in September 1941; he was taken to Malthausen concentration camp in Germany, where he was tortured to death.

War
Japanese troops captured Wake Island--2,000 miles west of Honolulu--after two weeks of attacks; the island had been garrisoned by fewer than 400 U.S. Marines. 80,000-100,000 Japanese troops attempted to land around Lingayen on the Philippine island of Luzon at dawn under strong naval air escort. Marshal Klementy Voroshilov was named commander of Soviet troops in the Far East. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the amended Selective Service bill under which men aged 20-44 would be subject to military service. The U.S. War Department reported that 273 fifth columnists had been arrested among the 35,000 Japanese aliens in Hawaii.

Diplomacy
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrived in Washington with an 86-man delegation to discuss with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt all questions relevant to the concerted war effort.

Labour
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-0 that an employer had the right to express his views on labour unions so long as he did not attempt to coerce his employees.

U.S. troops were withdrawn from strike duty in San Francisco. About 495 of 3,000 welders on the day shift continued picketing.

60 years ago
1951

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Sweet Violets--Dinah Shore; Jane Turzy

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): (It's No) Sin--Eddy Howard (Best Seller--2nd week at #1, Disc Jockey--6th week at #1); Cold, Cold Heart--Tony Bennett (Jukebox--3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 (It's No) Sin--The Four Aces (7th week at #1)
--Eddy Howard
2 Down Yonder--Del Wood
--Joe "Fingers" Carr
--Champ Butler
3 Cold, Cold Heart--Tony Bennett
4 Undecided--The Ames Brothers and Les Brown and his Band of Renown
5 Because of You--Tony Bennett
--Les Baxter and his Orchestra
6 Jealousy (Jalousie)--Frankie Laine
7 Slow Poke--Pee Wee King and his Golden West Cowboys
8 Charmaine--Mantovani and his Orchestra
9 Shrimp Boats--Jo Stafford
10 Cry--Johnnie Ray and the Four Lads

Singles entering the chart were Any Time by Eddie Fisher (#20) and If Wishes were Kisses by Perry Como (#32).

Died on this date
Henry G. Bennett, 65. 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, eight days after his 65th birthday, along with his wife and 20 members of his staff, in a plane crash near Tehran.

War
U.S. negotiators at Panmunjom told the Communists that 37,000 South Koreans found among Communist prisoners of war would not be returned to North Korea in a prisoner exchange.

Politics and government
The Greek Parliament approved a constitutional amendment permitting suspension of the rights of assembly and association by the King with parliamentary approval.

Oil
Following British rejection of the 10-day limit for ordering Iranian oil, Iran concluded an oil supply agreement with Czechoslovakia.

Labour
U.S. President Truman referred the steel industry dispute to the Wage Stabilization Board, urging the United Steel Workers of America not to disrupt production.

50 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Tower of Strength--Frankie Vaughan (4th week at #1)

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Five Characters in Search of an Exit, starring William Windom, Murray Matheson, Susan Harrison, Kelton Garwood, and Clark Allen

Died on this date
Dick Elliott, 75. U.S. actor. Mr. Elliott was a character actor who appeared in more than 240 films, often as blustery characters, in a career spanning almost 30 years. He played Mayor Pike in 11 episodes of the first season of The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1961). Mr. Elliott died of cardiovacular disease on December 22, 1961.

40 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)--Benny Hill (4th week at #1)

At the movies
Eagle in a Cage, directed by Fielder Cook, and starring Kenneth Haigh, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, and Billie Whitelaw, opened in theatres in Los Angeles.



Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Elena!

25 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Funkytown--Pseudo Echo

20 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Black or White--Michael Jackson (5th week at #1)

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

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Let's Talk About Sex!--Salt-N-Pepa (6th week at #1)
2 Black or White--Michael Jackson
3 Do the Limbo Dance--David Hasselhoff
4 Any Dream Will Do--Jason Donovan
5 Always Look on the Bright Side of Life--Monty Python
6 (Everything I Do) I Do it for You--Bryan Adams
7 Jambo--Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung
8 Love to Hate You--Erasure
9 Something Got Me Started--Simply Red
10 I'm Too Sexy--Right Said Fred

Singles entering the chart were Bitterblue by Bonnie Tyler (#22); Way of the World by Tina Turner (#27); and You by Ten Sharp (#29).

World events
Armed opposition groups launched a military coup against Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia.

10 years ago
2001

Politics and government
Burhanuddin Rabbani, political leader of the Northern Alliance, handed over power in Islamic State of Afghanistan to the interim government headed by President Hamid Karzai.

Terrorism
American Airlines Flight 63, a Boeing 767-300ER en route from Paris to Miami with 197 passengers and crew aboard, made an emergency landing in Boston after passengers subdued passenger Richard Reid, who was attempting to ignite the soles of his shoes, which were filled with explosives.