December 25, 2011

550 years ago
1461

Born on this date
Christina of Saxony. Queen consort of Denmark (1481-1513); Norway (1483-1513); and Sweden (1497-1501). Christina married the future King Hans in 1478, and became Queen consort when he acceded to the Danish throne upon the death of his father. Hans was subsequently elected King of Norway and conquered Sweden. Queen Christina accompanied her husband to Sweden, but he began an adulterous affair in 1501, and was removed as king, while Queen Christina was taken into custody, and wasn't permitted to return to Denmark until 1503, where she lived separately from King Hans until her death on December 8, 1521, 17 days before her 60th birthday.

300 years ago
1711

Born on this date
Jean-Joseph de Mondonville. French musician and composer. Mr. Mondonville was a classical violinist who was associated with the Chapelle royale and chamber, performing 100 concerts. He wrote grands motets, light operas, oratorios, and works for violin. Mr. Mondonville died on October 8, 1772 at the age of 60.

190 years ago
1821

Born on this date
Clara Barton. U.S. nurse. Miss Barton was a schoolteacher and self-taught nurse who aided Union Army soldiers in the American Civil War and ran the Office of Missing Soldiers after the war, identifying soldiers killed or missing in action. She founded the American Red Cross in 1881 and was its president until her retirement in 1904. Miss Barton died on April 12, 1912 at the age of 90.

180 years ago
1831

Protest
Baptist preacher Samuel Sharpe began the 11-day Great Jamaican Slave Revolt; up to 20% of Jamaica's slaves mobilized in an ultimately unsuccessful fight for freedom.

150 years ago
1861

Born on this date
Madan Mohan Malaviya. Indian educator, journalist, and politician. Mahamana Malaviya, a lawyer by profession, co-founded Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1916, and was its vice chancellor from 1919-1938. He founded the English-language newspaper The Leader in 1909, and was chairman of the Hindustan Times (1924-1936). Mahamana Malaviya was a member of the Imperial Legislative Council/Central Legislative Assembly (1912-1926) while being a moderate advocate of Indian independence, and served three terms as president of the Indian National Congress. He was one of the founders of the Bharat Scouts and Guides, and died on November 12, 1946 at the age of 84.

120 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Kenneth Anderson. Indian-born U.K. military officer and politician. General Sir Kenneth served in both world wars, and was best known for commanding the British First Army during Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa and the subsequent Tunisian Campaign. He served as Governor of Gibraltar from 1947-1952. General Sir Kenneth died of pneumonia on April 29, 1959 at the age of 67.

110 years ago
1901

Born on this date
Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. U.K. royal family member. Princess Alice was the daughter of the Duke of Buccleuch, Scotland's largest landowner, and married Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V, in 1935. She served with the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF)/Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF), and held official positions with a dozen British Army regiments. The Duchess of Gloucester carried out public functions until she was 98, and died on October 29, 2004 at the age of 102.

90 years ago
1921

Died on this date
Hans Huber, 69. Swiss composer. Mr. Huber wrote eight symphonies, five operas, four piano concertos, and other orchestral, chamber, and choral works.

Vladimir Korolenko, 68. Russian journalist and author. Mr. Korolenko wrote fiction and non-fiction expressing criticism of Russia's czarist regime; his best-known work was the short novel The Blind Musician (1886). Mr. Korolenko suffered from progressive heart disease in later years, and died of pneumonia.

80 years ago
1931

Radio
The shortwave station HCJB, "The Voice of the Andes," began broadcasting from Quito, Ecuador.

70 years ago
1941

Died on this date
Richard S. Aldrich, 57. U.S. politician. Mr. Aldrich, a son of U.S. Senator Nelson Aldrich and a cousin of the Rockefellers, was a Republican, and a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives (1914-1916) and Senate (1916-1918). He represented Rhode Island's 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives (1923-1933).

War
British forces surrendered Hong Kong to invading Japanese forces; 290 members of the Royal Rifles of Canada (a Quebec unit) and the Winnipeg Grenadiers were dead, and 493 wounded. Major John Crawford and 1,975 Canadian soldiers were captured and incarcerated at the Sham Shui Po prison camp at Kowloon for 44 months. Japanese soldiers continued their destruction of St. Stephen's College hospital in Hong Kong, killing over 100 British, Canadian and Indian wounded soldiers, as well as a number of doctors and nurses. Manila and Tokyo dispatches reported that Japanese troops had advanced at three points on the Phillipine island of Luzon despite strong resistance. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii to assume command of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

World events
Reuters reported from Bhagalpur, India that 320 Hindu leaders, including Dr. Syamprosad Mookerjee, finance minister of the Bengal government, had been arrested for trying to attend a conference that had been banned.

Communications
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Australian Prime Minister John Curtin formally opened a 7,420-mile direct radio-telegraph communications system between the two countries.

Politics and government
The male population of Saint Pierre voted by more than 98% for association with Free French forces, as opposed to collaboration with the Axis.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Jesse Jones announced the creation of a Small Business Unit in the Commece Department under William Shepardson.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Congressional-Executive Joint Committee on Non-Essential Expenditures, headed by Senator Harry F. Byrd (Democrat--Virginia), recommended total savings of $1.7 billion in non-defense expenditures.

Labour
Representatives of Air Associates, Inc. and the Congress of Industrial Organizations United Auto Workers of America reached an agreement in Bendix, New Jersey on a one-years contract, providing wage increases and a modified union shop.

60 years ago
1951

On television tonight
Suspense, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Lonely Place, starring Judith Evelyn, Boris Karloff, and Robin Morgan

Died on this date
Harry T. Moore, 46. U.S. civil rights leader. Mr. Moore was a schoolteacher who founded, in 1934, the first branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Brevard County, Florida, and was president of the state chapter of the NAACP. His activities included registration of Negro voters in Florida and and working for equal pay for Negro teachers in public schools. Mr. Moore and his wife Harriette, 49, were at their home in Mims, Florida on Christmas night when a bomb planted under the bedroom floor exploded. The local hospital in Titusville refused to treat Negroes, and Mr. Moore died while being transported by ambulance to the closest one where he could receive treatment. Mrs. Moore was seriously injured, and died nine days later, on January 3, 1952. The murders were investigated in 1951-1952, but no one was prosecuted then or in later decades when subsequent investigations took place. A state investigation in 2005-2006 named four Ku Klux Klan members, by then long dead, as the likely murderers.

Diplomacy
Cuba and the Dominican Republic signed in Washington a declaration of peaceful intentions, as D.R. President Rafael Trujillo pardoned five Cuban sailors of plotting to overthrow the Dominican government.

Crime
The Stone of Destiny, a British royal family heirloom, was stolen from Westminster Abbey in London.

Oil
Iran nationalized the Khanaquin and Rafidian oil companies, subsidiaries of the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.

50 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Moliendo Café--Lucho Gatica (6th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): L'Auto-circulation--Henri Tisot (8th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 The Lion Sleeps Tonight--The Tokens (2nd week at #1)
2 Run to Him--Bobby Vee
3 The Twist--Chubby Checker
4 Goodbye Cruel World--James Darren
5 Walk on By--Leroy Van Dyke
6 Peppermint Twist - Part I--Joey Dee & the Starliters
7 Please Mr. Postman--The Marvelettes
8 Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen--Neil Sedaka
9 Let There Be Drums--Sandy Nelson
10 Can't Help Falling in Love--Elvis Presley

Singles entering the chart were She's Everything (I Wanted You to Be) by Ral Donner (#76); Please Come Home for Christmas by Charles Brown (#85); Go on Home by Patti Page (#91); Tuff by Ace Cannon (#92); I Told the Brook by Marty Robbins (#94); Smoky Places by the Corsairs featuring the voice of Jay "Bird" Uzzell (#95); Tears from an Angel by Troy Shondell (#96); Free Me by Johnny Preston (#97); I Need Some One by the Belmonts (#98); Santa & the Touchables by Dickie Goodman (#99); and Ev'rybody's Cryin' by Jimmie Beaumont (#100). Santa & the Touchables was a "break-in" record, a comedy record featuring excerpts from recent hits, and was Mr. Goodman's third such single in 1961, after The Touchables and The Touchables in Brooklyn.

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Carleton Hobbs and Norman Shelley, on BBC
Tonight's episode: The Blue Carbuncle

On television tonight
Thriller, hosted by Boris Karloff, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Portrait Without a Face, starring Jane Greer, Robert Webber, and George Mitchell



Died on this date
Otto Loewi, 88. German-born pharmacologist. Dr. Loewi shared the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Sir Henry Dale "for their discoveries relating to chemical transmission of nerve impulses." He emigrated to Austria in 1903 and became an Austro-Hungarian citizen two years later, but spent three months in custody after the German Anschluss of Austria in 1938. Dr. Loewi was released on condition that he relinquish all his possessions, including his research, to the Nazis. He went to Britain, Belgium, and eventually the United States in 1940, becoming an American citizen in 1946.

Owen Brewster, 73. U.S. politician. Mr. Brewster was Governor of Maine (1925-1929); member of the United States House of Representatives from Maine (1935-1941); and United States Senator from Maine (1941-1952). As chairman of a special Senate committee investigating defense procurement during World War II, Mr. Brewster attacked the commercial interests of Howard Hughes, but his reputation suffered when Mr. Hughes responded with accusations of his own.

40 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Pensiero--Pooh (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)--Benny Hill (3rd week at #1)

Australia's Top 10 (Go-Set)
1 Maggie May/Reason to Believe--Rod Stewart (3rd week at #1)
2 Banks of the Ohio--Olivia Newton-John
3 Peace Train--Cat Stevens
4 Mammy Blue--Joel Dayde
5 Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves--Cher
6 Imagine--John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
7 Love is a Beautiful Song--Dave Mills
8 Speak to the Sky--Ricky Springfield
9 Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey--Paul & Linda McCartney
10 Freedom Come, Freedom Go--The Fortunes

Singles entering the chart were Hi Honey Ho by Daddy Cool (#26); Captain Zero by the Mixtures (#31); Walking the Floor on My Hands by Johnny Farnham (#33); and Superstar by the Carpenters (#37).

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 How Do You Do--Mouth & MacNeal (2nd week at #1)
2 Non, Non, Rien N'a Changé--Poppys
3 Pappie Loop Toch Niet Zo Snel--Herman Van Keeken
4 I Will Return--Springwater
5 Coz I Luv You--Slade
6 Out of Sight, Out of Mind--Shocking Blue
7 Schön ist es auf der Welt zu sein--Roy Black + Anita
8 Without a Worry in the World--Rod McKuen
9 Soley Soley--The Middle of the Road
10 Des Chansons Pop--Poppys

Singles entering the chart were Hoog Daar Aan de Hemel by Corry en de Rekels (#15); Tightrope Ride by the Doors (#31); Family Affair by Sly & the Family Stone (#33); and Lovin' and Hurtin' by Jojo (#34).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Brand New Key--Melanie
2 Family Affair--Sly & the Family Stone
3 American Pie - Parts I and II--Don McLean
4 An Old Fashioned Love Song--Three Dog Night
5 Got to Be There--Michael Jackson
6 Have You Seen Her--Chi-Lites
7 All I Ever Need is You--Sonny & Cher
8 Scorpio--Dennis Coffey and the Detroit Guitar Band
9 Cherish--David Cassidy
10 Hey Girl/I Knew You When--Donny Osmond

Singles entering the chart were Black Dog by Led Zeppelin (#67); Fire and Water by Wilson Pickett (#79); Never Been to Spain by Three Dog Night (#81); What am I Living For by Ray Charles (#87); Under My Wheels by Alice Cooper (#88); Son of Shaft by the Bar-Kays (#92); Love Gonna Pack Up (And Walk Out) by the Persuaders (#96); Do the Funky Penguin Part II by Rufus Thomas (#97); and Pain (Part 1) by the Ohio Players (#99).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Brand New Key-Melanie
2 Got to Be There--Michael Jackson
3 Family Affair--Sly & the Family Stone
4 An Old Fashioned Love Song--Three Dog Night
5 Cherish--David Cassidy
6 American Pie - Parts I and II--Don McLean
7 All I Ever Need is You--Sonny & Cher
8 Scorpio--Dennis Coffey and the Detroit Guitar Band
9 Have You Seen Her--Chi-Lites
10 Respect Yourself--Staples Singers

Singles entering the chart were Never Been to Spain by Three Dog Night (#60); Together Let's Find Love by the 5th Dimension (#75); Fire and Water by Wilson Pickett (#76); Slippin' Into Darkness by War (#83); Ain't Understanding Mellow by Jerry Butler and Brenda Lee Eager (#85); What am I Living For by Ray Charles (#86); Son of Shaft by the Bar-Kays (#87); Those were the Days by Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton (as the Bunkers) (#89); Ajax Airlines by Hudson and Landry (#90); The Lion Sleeps Tonight by Robert John (#93); Come on Over to My House by Layng Martine (#96); Love Potion Number Nine by the Coasters (#97); and Jungle Fever by Chakachas (#99).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 Brand New Key-Melanie
2 Family Affair--Sly and the Family Stone
3 American Pie--Don McLean
4 An Old Fashioned Love Song--Three Dog Night
5 Have You Seen Her--Chi-Lites
6 Got to Be There--Michael Jackson
7 Cherish--David Cassidy
8 All I Ever Need is You--Sonny & Cher
9 Respect Yourself--The Staple Singers
10 Stones--Neil Diamond

Singles entering the chart were Never Been to Spain by Three Dog Night (#66); Tupelo Honey by Van Morrison (#77); That's the Way I Feel About Cha by Bobby Womack and Peace (#79); Stay with Me by Faces (#82); Keep on Keeping On by N.F. Porter (#83); Footstompin' Music by Grand Funk Railroad (#85); Joy by Apollo 100 (#87); What am I Living For by Ray Charles (#89); Open the Door by Judy Collins (#92); If I Could See the Light by the 8th Day (#95); Keep Playin' that Rock 'n' Roll by Edgar Winter's White Trash (#96); Long Time to Be Alone by the New Colony Six (#98); Precious and Few by Climax (#99); and What's Going On by Quincy Jones (#100).

Canada’s Top 10 (RPM)
1 Family Affair--Sly & the Family Stone (2nd week at #1)
2 An Old Fashioned Love Song--Three Dog Night
3 Got to Be There--Michael Jackson
4 The Desiderata--Les Crane
5 Theme from Shaft--Isaac Hayes
6 Brand New Key--Melanie
7 Cherish--David Cassidy
8 Devil You--Stampeders
9 Lonesome Mary--Chilliwack
10 All I Ever Need is You--Sonny & Cher

Singles entering the chart were Happy Xmas (War is Over) by by John Lennon/Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir (#75); Don't Say You Don't Remember by Beverly Bremers (#92); Me and Bobby McGee by Jerry Lee Lewis (#93); Keep on Movin' by Aaron Space (#95); Footstompin' Music by Grand Funk Railroad (#96); Never Been to Spain by Three Dog Night (#97); Drowning in the Sea of Love by Joe Simon (#98); Mexican Lady by Steel River (#99); and Let's Stay Together by Al Green (#100).

Born on this date
Justin Trudeau. Canadian politician. Elected to the House of Commons in 2011 as a Liberal candidate in the Quebec riding of Papineau, Mr. Trudeau was the firstborn child of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and his wife Margaret.

Football
NFL
NFC Divisional Playoff
Dallas 20 @ Minnesota 12

The Cowboys led 6-3 at halftime on 2 field goals by Mike Clark to 1 by Fred Cox of the Vikings, and took a 20-3 lead after 3 quarters on a 13-yard touchdown rush by Duane Thomas and a 9-yard touchdown pass from Roger Staubach to Bob Hayes, both converted by Mr. Clark. Alan Page tackled Mr. Staubach in his own end zone for a Minnesota safety touch in the 4th quarter, and the Vikings closed the scoring on a 6-yard pass from quarterback Gary Cuozzo to Stu Voigt, converted by Mr. Cox. 47,307 were in attendance at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington.



AFC Divisional Playoff
Miami 27 @ Kansas City 24 (2 OT)

Garo Yepremian's 37-yard field goal at 7:40 of the 2nd overtime period ended the longest game in professional football history to date (see video).

30 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Ooa Hela Natten--Attack (6th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Je chante avec toi, liberté--Nana Mouskouri

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Going Back to My Roots--Odyssey
2 It's You, It's You, It's You--Joe Dolan
3 Endless Love--Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
4 It's My Party--Dave Stewart with Barbara Gaskin
5 Urgent--Foreigner
6 Prince Charming--Adam & the Ants
7 Dancing on the Floor (Hooked on Love)--Third World
8 Under Pressure--Queen & David Bowie
9 Arthur's Theme (Best that You Can Do)--Christopher Cross
10 Start Me Up--Rolling Stones

Singles entering the chart were Action Man by the Village People (#18); and Abacab by Genesis (#19).

Football
NCAA
Blue-Gray Game @ Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Alabama
Blue 21 Gray 9

25 years ago
1986

Football
NCAA
Blue-Gray Game @ Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Alabama
Blue 31 Gray 7

20 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Black or White--Michael Jackson (6th week at #1)

Died on this date
Wilbur Snyder, 62. U.S. football player and wrestler. Mr. Snyder was a tackle and kicker who joined the Edmonton Eskimos of the Western Interprovincial Football Union during the 1952 season. He scored just 3 points in the regular season, but scored 29 points in 5 playoff games; with the Eskimos facing elimination in the best-of-three WIFU finals, Mr. Snyder scored 13 points on a touchdown, 2 converts, and 2 field goals to help the Eskimos to an 18-12 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and added 7 points in a 22-11 win in the third game as the Eskimos advanced to the Grey Cup. Mr. Snyder kicked a convert for the Eskimos in their 22-11 loss to the Toronto Argonauts in the 1952 Grey Cup, and began wrestling professionally in the off-season in western Canada. Mr. Snyder scored 51 points in the 1953 regular season and 15 points in 3 playoff games as the Eskimos lost the WIFU finals to the Blue Bombers. He retired from football to wrestle full-time, holding various regional championship belts in National Wrestling Alliance territories until his retirement in 1984. Mr. Snyder was often referred to as "The World's Most Scientific Wrestler," and was particularly known for pioneering the abdominal stretch.

Diplomacy
Canada recognized the independent statehood of 11 member republics of the former U.S.S.R.; Canada had recognized Ukraine on December 2.

Politics and government
As the U.S.S.R. was dissolving, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev announced his resignation.

Football
NCAA
Blue-Gray Game @ Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Alabama
Gray 20 Blue 12

10 years ago
2001

Baseball
Outfielder Hideki Matsui became the highest-paid player in Japanese baseball when he signed a contract with the Yomiuri Giants for the equivalent of U.S.$4.7 million.

Football
NCAA
Blue-Gray Game @ Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Alabama
Blue 28 Gray 10