February 8, 2012

425 years ago
1587

Died on this date
Mary, Queen of Scots, 44. Queen of Scots, 1542-1567; Queen Consort of France, 1559-1560. Mary, a Roman Catholic, had been forced to abdicate the Scottish throne in favour of her 1-year-old son, King James I, and had fled to England to seek the protection of her cousin, once removed, Queen Elizabeth I. However, Queen Elizabeth, a Protestant, regarded Mary as a threat, and after more than 18 years of imprisonment, Mary was beheaded at Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire.

70 years ago
1942

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

Died on this date
Fritz Todt, 50. German engineer and politician. Mr. Todt was a civil engineer who joined the Nazi Party in 1922 and the SA in 1931, achieving the rank of SA-Obergruppenführer in 1938. He was appointed Inspector General of German Roadways in July 1933, a position he held for the rest of his life, directing the construction of the German autobahns. Mr. Todt was appointed as General Plenipotentiary for Regulation of the Construction Industry in 1938; Reichsminister for Armaments and Munitions in 1940; and Inspector General for Water and Energy in 1941. In May 1938, he initiated Organisation Todt, a military-engineering company that supplied industry with forced labour and administered construction of Nazi concentration camps. Mr. Todt was killed in a plane crash after departing the "Wolf's Lair," Fuehrer Adolf Hitler's residence in Rastenburg, East Prussia. Mr. Todt had recently inspected the Eastern Front and concluded that Germany couldn't win the war there. He had visited Mr. Hitler to recommend that he sue for peace with the U.S.S.R. Mr. Hitler rejected his proposal, leading to suspicion that the plane crash was an assassination ordered by Mr. Hitler; that has never been confirmed. Mr. Todt was succeeded as Reichsminister for Armaments and Munitions by Albert Speer.

War
Japanese forces invaded Singapore. The Dutch Colonial Army General Destruction Unit (AVC, Algemene Vernielings Corps) burned Banjarmasin, South Borneo to avoid Japanese capture.

60 years ago
1952

On television tonight
Tales of Tomorrow, on ABC
Tonight's episode: What You Need, starring William Redfield and Edgar Stehli



Britannica
Elizabeth II formally proclaimed herself Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, and Defender of the Faith.

50 years ago
1962

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): The Young Ones--Cliff Richard and the Shadows (5th week at #1)

On television tonight
The Untouchables, starring Robert Stack, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Whitey Steele Story

Space
The U.S.A. launched the weather satellite TIROS 4.

Protest
8 people were killed and 240 injured--half of them police officers--in demonstrations against recent bomb attacks in Paris.

40 years ago
1972

World events
Bolivian President Hugo Banzer Suarez announced that no elections would be held until his military-civilian regime had eradicated an “inheritance of anarchy.” Gen. Banzer, whose National Popular Front government had deposed the leftist regime of Gen. Juan Jose Torres several months earlier after several days of fighting, also announced that universities would remain closed indefinitely.

Hockey
NHL
Philadelphia 3 @ Vancouver 1

Bruce Gamble played an outstandng game in goal for the Flyers at Pacific Coliseum, losing the shutout with less than 2 minutes remaining. Late in the game, Mr. Gamble fell down without anyone touching him; he got back up and finished the game, but an examination revealed that he'd suffered a heart attack, and he immediately retired as a player.

30 years ago
1982

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Trouble--Lindsey Buckingham (2nd week at #1)

25 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in France: T'en va pas--Elsa (6th week at #1)

20 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): Let's Talk About Sex--Salt-n-Pepa (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me--George Michael/Elton John (4th week at #1)

#1 single in France: Song of Ocarina--Jean-Philippe Audet and Diego Modena (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): I'm Too Sexy--Right Said Fred

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Diamonds and Pearls--Prince and the New Power Generation
2 Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me--George Michael/Elton John
3 Mysterious Ways--U2
4 I Love Your Smile--Shanice
5 The Way I Feel About You--Karyn White
6 Smells Like Teen Spirit--Nirvana
7 Can't Let Go--Mariah Carey
8 I Can't Make You Love Me--Bonnie Raitt
9 To Be with You--Mr. Big
10 There Will Never Be Another Tonight--Bryan Adams

Singles entering the chart were Save the Best for Last by Vanessa Williams (#80); Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton (#83); Hazard by Richard Marx (#85); and Mama, I'm Coming Home by Ozzy Osbourne (#86). Tears in Heaven was from the movie Rush (1991).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Mysterious Ways--U2 (2nd week at #1)
2 Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me-George Michael/Elton John
3 There Will Never Be Another Tonight--Bryan Adams
4 No Regrets--Tom Cochrane
5 Can't Let Go--Mariah Carey
6 Black or White--Michael Jackson
7 Diamonds and Pearls--Prince and the New Power Generation
8 Rescued (By the Arms of Love)--Glass Tiger
9 Go Back to Your Woods--Robbie Robertson
10 Change--Lisa Stansfield

Singles entering the chart included Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton (#58); Peace of Mind (Love Goes On) by One 2 One (#61); Missing You Now by Michael Bolton (#63); The Bug by Dire Straits (#64); Every Road Leads Back to You by Bette Midler (#82); She Takes my Breath Away by Eddie Money (#90); and What Becomes of the Brokenhearted by Paul Young (#97).