February 24, 2012

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Kavis Reed!

430 years ago
1582

World events
Pope Gregory XII issued a bull introducing the Gregorian calendar.

140 years ago
1872

Born on this date
Gustave Sandras. French gymnast. Mr. Sandras won the combined men's gymnasics competition at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris. He died on June 21, 1951 at the age of 79.

80 years ago
1932

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Richard Gordon and Leigh Lovell, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Hound of the Baskervilles, Part 5

50 years ago
1962

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: Let's Twist Again--Peppino de Capri

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Let's Twist Again--Chubby Checker

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Rock-A-Hula Baby/Can't Help Falling in Love--Elvis Presley

In North America, Rock-A-Hula Baby was released as the B-side of the record.

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Duke of Earl--Gene Chandler (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Duke of Earl--Gene Chandler (4th week at #1)
2 The Twist--Chubby Checker
3 The Wanderer--Dion
4 Hey! Baby--Bruce Channel
5 Peppermint Twist - Part I--Joey Dee & the Starliters
6 Break it to Me Gently--Brenda Lee
7 Midnight in Moscow--Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen
8 Crying in the Rain--The Everly Brothers
9 Norman--Sue Thompson
10 She's Everything (I Wanted You to Be)--Ral Donner

Singles entering the chart were Please Don't Ask About Barbara (#89)/I Can't Say Goodbye (#97) by Bobby Vee (#89); Sweet Thursday by Johnny Mathis (#91); The White Rose of Athens by David Carroll and his Orchestra (#94); You Win Again by Fats Domino (#96); Nut Rocker by B. Bumble and the Stingers (#98); Patti Ann by Johnny Crawford (#99); Roly Poly by Joey Dee and the Starliters (#100); Love Me Warm and Tender by Paul Anka (also #100); and Lover Please by Clyde McPhatter (also #100). Roly Poly was the B-side of Hey, Let's Twist, which charted at #57.

30 years ago
1982

Personal
This blogger won a prize on the 11 to 2 show on CJCA radio in Edmonton.

Hockey
NHL
Edmonton 6 @ Buffalo 3
Wayne Gretzky of the Oilers broke a 3-3 tie with 3 straight goals in the last 7 minutes of the game to win the game for the Oilers. The goals were his 77th, 78th, and 79th of the season, breaking the single-season record of 76 set by Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins in 1970-71. Mr. Esposito accomplished his feat in a 78-game season, while Mr. Gretzky broke the record in his 64th game of the 1981-82 season.

25 years ago
1987

Space
Ian Shelton, an astronomer working at a University of Toronto observatory in Chile, identified a supernova at a distance of 163,000 light years, the closest supernova since 1604. It was estimated that the object had the brilliance of a billion suns, and that it was expanding at the rate of 9,300 miles per second. The exploding star appeared in the Great Magellanic Cloud, one of several small galaxies regarded as satellites of the Milky Way. It was later determined that the supernova had a companion object of 1/10 the brightness of the supernova and apparently related to it in some way.

20 years ago
1992

Music
This blogger attended a concert by the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra at the National Arts Centre.

10 years ago
2002

Olympics
Men's hockey
Final
Canada 5 U.S.A. 2