October 29, 2012

330 years ago
1682

Americana
William Penn arrived in Pennsylvania.

225 years ago
1787

Opera
Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart received its premiere performance in Prague.

175 years ago
1837

Born on this date
Harriet Powers. U.S. artist. Ms. Powers, a Negro native of rural Georgia, was known throughout the United States for her quilts.

125 years ago
1887

Football
ORFU
Final
Ottawa College 15 @ Hamilton 0

120 years ago
1892

Football
ORFU
Round 3
Hamilton 5 @ Toronto 1
Ottawa 29 @ Queen’s University 9

80 years ago
1932

Football
IRFU
Montreal (3-1) 0 @ Hamilton (3-1) 4
Ottawa (0-4) 2 @ Toronto (2-2) 15

70 years ago
1942

Protest
Leading British clergymen and politicians held a public meeting to protest the treatment of Jews in Germany by the Nazi regime.

60 years ago
1952

On the radio
I Was a Communist for the FBI, starring Dana Andrews
Tonight’s episode: The Unwelcome Hosts

On television tonight
The Unexpected, hosted by Herbert Marshall, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Confidentially Yours, starring Alan Mowbray

40 years ago
1972

On television tonight
Rod Serling's Night Gallery, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Spectre in Tap-Shoes, starring Sandra Dee and Dane Clark

Music
Uriah Heep, Savoy Brown, and the Miller Anderson Group performed at the Kinsmen Field House in Edmonton. Tickets cost $4.50 in advance and $5.50 at the door. For Savoy Brown, the second of the three acts to perform, it was their second appearance at the Kinsmen Field House in less than eight months.

Terrorism
Two Arab terrorists armed with grenades hijacked a Lufthansa jetliner with 20 aboard over Turkey and, with threats to blow up the plane in midair, forced the Bavarian state government to release the three Black September guerrillas accused in the killings of 11 Israeli athletes and a German policeman during the Olympic games in Munich in September. The freed guerrillas were flown from Munich to Zagreb, Yugoslavia, where they boarded the hijacked plane, and were then flown to Libya, where everyone on board was released. Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban, in a meeting the next day with West Germany’s ambassador to Israel, denounced the release of the guerrillas as a “surrender” which “constitutes a weakening of the international stand against terror.” A West German official defended the action, saying that the release of the terrorists had been approved to save the lives of everyone aboard the plane.

Football
CFL
Edmonton (9-6) 24 @ Winnipeg (10-5) 38
Montreal (4-10) 3 @ Saskatchewan (8-7) 29

Don Jonas completed 22 of 30 passes for 332 yards and 4 touchdowns as the Blue Bombers clinched first place in the Western Football Conference for the first time in 10 years, preventing the Eskimos from doing the same for the first time in 15 years. Jim Thorpe caught 2 of Mr. Jonas’ TD passes, with the others going to Paul Williams and Bob LaRose. Mack Herron rushed 19 times for 119 yards and the other Winnipeg touchdown. Edmonton quarterback Tom Wilkinson threw 3 touchdown passes; two went to Don Warrington—the first touchdowns of Mr. Warrington’s CFL career—and the third went to Bobby Taylor. A sellout crowd of 25,210 saw the game at Winnipeg Stadium.

30 years ago
1982

Crime
Lindy Chamberlain was sentenced in Melbourne to life in prison with hard labour for the murder of her nine-week-old daughter after the jury rejected her claim that the baby had been taken and killed by a dingo. Mrs. Chamberlain was freed in 1986 on the basis of new evidence and acquitted in 1988. In June 2012, an Australian coroner made a final ruling that Azaria Chamberlain had been killed by a dingo.

John Delorean, chairman of the Delorean Motor Company, was indicted in Los Angeles on charges of drug trafficking and racketeering, 10 days after being arrested and charged with possession of more than 59 pounds of cocaine. He was also accused of being the brains behind a scheme to sell 220 pounds of cocaine, estimated to be worth about $24 million, to shore up his automobile company, which was experiencing financial difficulties. The British government had recently announced that it would close his operations in Northern Ireland.

25 years ago
1987

War
Nicaraguan Sandanista leaders reaffirmed their commitment not to discuss a cease-fire with leaders of the opposition Contras.

Law
Six days after the nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court of the United States had been rejected by the Senate, U.S. President Ronald Reagan announced Judge Douglas Ginsburg of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. Mr. Reagan described Judge Ginsburg, 41, as a law-and-order judge who believed in judicial restraint.

10 years ago
2002

Politics and government
U.S. President George W. Bush signed a bill that would give $3.9 billion to the states to fix shortcomings in the electoral process. The money would be used to replace antiquated voting machines, train poll workers, and create accurate lists of registered voters.