December 21, 2012

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Juliette Richard!

180 years ago
1832

War
Egyptian forces defeated Ottoman troops at the Battle of Konya in Turkey.

100 years ago
1912

Hockey
NHA
Arena Gardens in Toronto hosted its first professional game, an exhibition between the Montreal Canadiens and Montreal Wanderers. Sprague Cleghorn of the Wanderers assaulted Newsy Lalonde of the Canadiens and drew a $65 fine and a four-week suspension from the NHA.

80 years ago
1932

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Richard Gordon and Leigh Lovell, on NBC
Tonight’s episode: The Blue Carbuncle

75 years ago
1937

At the movies
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated colour movie, received its premiere screening at the Cathay Circle Theatre in Hollywood.

Died on this date
Frank B. Kellogg, 80. U.S. politician. Mr. Kellogg, a Republican, represented Minnesota in the United States Senate from 1917-1923. He was appointed by President Calvin Coolidge as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, serving from 1924-1925. Mr. Kellogg then served in the Coolidge administration as Secretary of State from 1925-1929. He and French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand authored the Pact of Paris (Kellogg-Briand Pact), which outlawed war as a means of resolving disputes among the signatories, and remains in effect. Mr. Kellogg was awarded the 1929 Nobel Peace Prize "[F]or the Kellogg-Briand pact, whose signatories agreed to settle all conflicts by peaceful means and renounced war as an instrument of national policy." He served as an associate judge on the Permanent Court of International Justice from 1930-1935, and died of pneumonia the day before his 81st birthday.

Ted Healy, 41. U.S. comedian and actor. Mr. Healy, born Ernest Lea Nash, performed in vaudeville and later in movies, and was best known for forming the Three Stooges in the 1920s as his supporting act. The Stooges split from Mr. Healy and rejoined him in 1932, making several movies with him before permanently separating from him in 1934. Mr. Healy appeared in several movies on his own before dying under suspicious circumstances. He was at the Trocadero nightclub in Los Angeles, reportedly celebrating the birth of his son, and reports differ as to whether he died of a heart attack or as the result of a beating.

60 years ago
1952

Died on this date
Robert H. Best, 56. U.S. journalist. Mr. Best was a Vienna-based foreign correpsondent for United Press from 1923-1941, covering events in Central Europe. He fell under Nazi influence following the Anschluss of Austria in March 1938, and was fired by UP three years later for "non-performance." Mr. Best went to Berlin in 1942 and made propaganda broadcasts for Radio Berlin as "Mr. Guess Who," titled Berlin's Best Broadcast. His broadcasts, heard by Allied forces in Europe and transmitted by shortwave to the United States, generally blamed U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and the Jews for World War II. Mr. Best was indicted in absentia by a U.S. federal grand jury in the District of Columbia in 1943 on charges of treason, and was returned to the United States after being arrested by British forces in Austria in January 1946. He was tried in Boston and convicted in April 1948 of 12 counts of treason. Mr. Best's appeal was unsuccessful, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of $10,000. He died in prison of a brain hemorrhage.

50 years ago
1962

At the movies
The Trial, directed by Orson Welles and starring Mr. Welles with Anthony Perkins, Jeanne Moreau, and Akim Tamiroff, received its world premiere screening in Paris.

Defense
U.S. President John F. Kennedy and U.K. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan announced the formation of a multilateral NATO force. As a result, the U.S.A. would sell Polaris missiles to the U.K.

40 years ago
1972

Died on this date
Jimmy Wallington, 65. U.S. radio announcer. Mr. Wallington was the announcer for several radio and television programs in the 1940s and 1950s, including Texaco Star Theater, Screen Director's Playhouse, and The Life of Riley.

War
The U.S. Defense Department announced that eight B-52 bombers and several fighter-bombers had been lost, and at least 43 U.S. flyers captured or killed since the commencement three days earlier of Operation Linebacker II, better known as the "Christmas bombing" of Vietnam.

30 years ago
1982

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Heartbreaker--Dionne Warwick

Died on this date
James Kilgallen, 94. U.S. journalist. Mr. Kilgallen worked for the Hearst newspaper chain's international news service for 38 years, covering 11 executions and many other top stories. He was the father of columnist Dorothy Kilgallen.

25 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Never Gonna Give You Up--Rick Astley (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Ralph Nelson, 71. U.S. film and television director. Mr. Nelson won an Emmy Award for Best Direction--One Hour or More for the drama Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956) and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for Lilies of the Field (1963). Other movies of his included Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962); Soldier in the Rain (1963); Father Goose (1964); Duel at Diablo (1966); and Charly (1968).

20 years ago
1992

Disasters
56 people were killed in the crash of a Dutch DC-10 at Faro Airport in Portugal.