January 11, 2013

930 years ago
1083

Died on this date
Otto of Nordheim, 62 (?). Duke of Bavaria, 1061-1070. Otto was one of the leaders of the Saxon revolt against Emperor Henry IV.

320 years ago
1693

Disasters
Parts of Sicily and Malta were destroyed by an earthquake as Mount Etna erupted.

170 years ago
1843

Died on this date
Francis Scott Key, 63. U.S, lawyer and poet. Mr. Key is best remembered for writing the words to The Star-Spangled Banner (1814).

150 years ago
1863

War
In the U.S. Civil War, the Battle of Fort Hindman in Arkansas ended in a victory for Union forces under Major General John McClernand over Confederate forces commanded by Brigadier General Thomas Churchill.

The CSS Alabama encountered and sank the USS Hatteras off Galveston Lighthouse in Texas.

120 years ago
1893

Died on this date
Benjamin Butler, 74. U.S. politician. Mr. Butler, a Democrat, then a Republican, then a member of the Greenback Party, represented the 5th, 6th, and 7th Massachusetts Districts in the U.S. House of Representatives in sequence from 1867-1879, and was Governor of Massachusetts from 1883-1884. He was a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and was one of the managers of the impeachment of U.S. President Andrew Johnson in 1868. Mr. Butler died of complications from a bronchial infection, the day after arguing a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

90 years ago
1923

Died on this date
Constantine I, 54. King of the Hellenes, 1913-1917, 1920-1922. Constantine I, the eldest son of King George I, was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the Greco-Turkish War in 1897 and during the Balkan Wars in 1912-1913. He acceded to the throne upon the assassination of his father, but abdicated and fled to Switzerland in 1917 and was replaced by his son Alexander I. When Alexander suddenly died in 1920, Constantine I regained the throne, but abdicated again in 1922, and died of heart failure.

World events
Troops from France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr area in an attempt to force Germany to make its Great War reparation payments under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

80 years ago
1933

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

70 years ago
1943

Died on this date
Carlo Tresca, 63. U.S. journalist and labour organizer. Mr. Tresca, a member of Industrial Workers of the World in the 1910s, was an opponent of the Mafia. He was shot dead by a handgun fired from a passing car.

World events
The U.S.A. and U.K. gave up territorial rights in China.

60 years ago
1953

Died on this date
Noe Zhordania, 85. Prime Minister of Georgia, 1918-1921. Mr. Zhordania, a Menshevik, led the government of Georgia until he was forced into exile in France by the Bolshevik invasion of Georgia.

50 years ago
1963

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland: The Next Time/Bachelor Boy--Cliff Richard and the Shadows

Edmonton's top 10 (CJCA)
1 The Night has a Thousand Eyes--Bobby Vee
2 From a Jack to a King--Ned Miller
3 Bobby's Girl--Marcie Blane
4 Return to Sender--Elvis Presley
5 My Dad--Paul Petersen
6 I Saw Linda Yesterday--Dickey Lee
7 Doggie Heaven--Johnny Frye
8 Acapulco 1922--The Tijuana Brass
9 Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry)--Marion Worth
10 It's Up to You--Rick Nelson

Acapulco 1922 was the B-side of The Lonely Bull, which had charted at #10 the previous week.

On television tonight
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, on CBS
Tonight's episode: What Really Happened, starring Anne Francis, Ruth Roman, and Gladys Cooper

40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland: Whiskey in the Jar--Thin Lizzy (3rd week at #1)

Abominations
Major league baseball owners allowed the American League to institute a designated hitter to bat for the pitcher without requiring the pitcher to leave the game. The National League declined to institute the DH, and still doesn't use it.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Do You Really Want to Hurt Me--Culture Club

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Never Gonna Give You Up--Rick Astley (7th week at #1)

Died on this date
Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, 75. U.S. military figure. Mr. Boyington was a fighter ace with the United States Marine Corps during World War II and commanded the "Black Sheep Squadron." He won the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross.

Personal
This blogger began his third and final term at the University of Western Ontario's School of Library and Information Science.

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): More and More--Captain Hollywood Project (4th week at #1)

Scandal
British Airways apologized for a "dirty tricks" campaign against competitor Virgin Atlantic and agreed to pay damages to Virgin Atlantic and Virgin boss Richard Branson.

10 years ago
2003

Law
Illinois Governor George Ryan commuted the death sentences of 167 prisoners' on the state's death row as a result of allegations that Chicago Police Department detective Joe Burge had used torture to force confessions from criminal suspects between 1972 and 1991.

Football
AFC Divisional playoff
Pittsburgh 31 @ Tennessee 34 (OT)

NFC Divisional playoff
Atlanta 6 @ Philadelphia 20

Joe Nedney missed a 48-yard field goal on the final play of regulation time, but kicked a 26-yard field goal at 2:15 of overtime to give the Titans their win over the Steelers before 68,809 fans at The Coliseum in Nashville.

Donovan McNabb copmpleted 20 of 30 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown as the Eagles defeated the Falcons before 66,452 fans at Veterans Stadium.