January 13, 2013

1,310 years ago
703

Died on this date
Jito, 57. Empress of Japan, 686-697. Jito abdicated in favour of her grandson Karu-no-o, who became Emperor Mommu.

1,125 years ago
888

Died on this date
Charles the Fat, 48. Carolingian Emperor, 881-888. Charles, a great-grandson of Charlemagne and the last Carolingian Emperor to rule over a united empire, died less than two months after being deposed.

280 years ago
1733

Americana
James Oglethorpe and 130 colonists arrived in Charleston, South Carolina.

220 years ago
1793

Died on this date
Nicolas Jean Hugon de Basseville, 49. French journalist and diplomat. Mr. de Basseville, a representative of the French revolutionary regime to Rome, was dragged from his carriage in Rome and lynched by a mob who regarded him as having "insulted" Pope Pius VI.

180 years ago
1833

Law
U.S. President Andrew Jackson wrote Vice-President Martin Van Buren to express his opposition to South Carolina's defiance of federal authority. The "Nullification Crisis" had resulted in the resignation of Mr. Van Buren's predecessor, John C. Calhoun, who believed that states--in particular, his own state of South Carolina--had the right to nullify federal laws.

175 years ago
1838

Died on this date
Ferdinand Ries, 48. German composer. Mr. Ries composed seven symphonies and nine concertos for piano and orchestra.

120 years ago
1893

War
The USS Boston, filed with United States Marines, landed at Honolulu to prevent Queen Liliuokalani from abrogating the 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii, popularly known as the "Bayonet Constitution" because of the threat of force used to intimidate King Kalākaua into signing it.

Politics and government
The Independent Labour Party of the United Kingdom held its first meeting.

90 years ago
1923

Died on this date
Alexandre Ribot, 80. Prime Minister of France, 1892-1893; 1895; 1914; 1917. Mr. Ribot was active in politics for four decades. His laster term as Prime Minister lasted six months, and was marred by French military failures during the Great War.

60 years ago
1953

On television tonight
Suspense, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Mr. Matches, starring Warren Stevens, Henry Jones, and Eleanor Wilson



40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K.: Long Haired Lover from Liverpool--Little Jimmy Osmond (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Australia (Go-Set): Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me--Mac Davis (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): You're So Vain--Carly Simon (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 You're So Vain--Carly Simon (2nd week at #1)
2 Superstition--Stevie Wonder
3 Me and Mrs. Jones--Billy Paul
4 Clair--Gilbert O'Sullivan
5 Rockin' Pneumonia-Boogie Woogie Flu--Johnny Rivers
6 Superfly--Curtis Mayfield
7 Your Mama Don't Dance--Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina
8 Why Can't We Live Together--Timmy Thomas
9 Crocodile Rock--Elton John
10 Keeper of the Casstle--Four Tops

Singles entering the chart were Love Train by the O'Jays (#70); Don't Leave Me Starvin' for Your Love (Part 1) by Holland-Dozier (#82); Soul Song by Joe Stampley (#85); Love Music by the Raiders (#94); Gypsy by Van Morrison (#95); Boogie Woogie Man by Paul Davis (#96); Slow Motion (Part 1) by Johnny Williams (#98); Think it Over by the Delfonics (#99); and If it's All Right with You by Dottie West (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Clair--Gilbert O'Sullivan
2 It Never Rains in Southern California--Albert Hammond
3 I Am Woman--Helen Reddy
4 Rockin' Pneumonia-Boogie Woogie Flu--Johnny Rivers
5 Daytime Night Time--Keith Hampshire
6 Sweet Surrender--Bread
7 Something's Wrong with Me--Austin Roberts
8 Walk on Water--Neil Diamond
9 Sunny Days--Lighthouse
10 Ventura Highway--America

Singles entering the chart were Jambalaya (On the Bayou) by the Blue Ridge Rangers (#81); You Girl by Lighthouse (#87); Jesus is Just Alright by the Doobie Brothers (#92); Don't Expect Me to Be Your Friend by Lobo (#94); I'm Never Gonna Be Alone Anymore by Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose (#95); and Anthem by Wayne Newton (#99). You Are What I Am (the B-side) was now listed before That Same Old Obsession (the A-side) at #25.

Calgary’s top 10
1 Last Song--Edward Bear (2nd week at #1)
2 Me and Mrs. Jones--Billy Paul
3 You're So Vain--Carly Simon
4 Crocodile Rock--Elton John
5 Keeper of the Castle--Four Tops
6 Pieces of April--Three Dog Night
7 Africa--Thundermug
8 It Never Rains in Southern California--Albert Hammond
9 I'm Stone in Love with You--The Stylistics
10 Clair--Gilbert O'Sullivan
Pick hit of the week: Hi, Hi, Hi--Wings

30 years ago
1983

Diplomacy
Israel and Lebanon agreed to an agenda for negotiations, with Israel seeking an overall normalization of relations, and Lebanon seeking to rid the country of all foreign troops, including the Israeli army.

Crime
In Memphis, Tennessee, eight members of a religious cult were killed in a showdown with police, one day after the group had taken a policeman hostage (the cop had gone to investigate a minor theft. The group, all of whose members were black, were led by a former mental patient, and apparently believed that the world would soon end, and that police were agents of Satan. After other policemen surrounded the house, the captive officer was beaten to death. In the siege that followed, the cultists were all shot in the head.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Tänd ett ljus--Triad (2nd week at #1)

Diplomacy
Japanese Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita, on his first visit to Washington, met with President Ronald Reagan, but the two leaders were unable to make much progress on the issue of the imbalance of trade between the countries. Japan's surplus was about $52 million U.S. in 1987.

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): I Will Always Love You--Whitney Houston

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Alice in Autoland

Died on this date
René Pleven, 91. Prime Minister of France, 1950-1951, 1951-1952. Mr. Pleven was a member of the Free French during World War II and in 1946 helped found the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (UDSR), a political party that was meant to be a successor to the wartime Resistance movement. He held several cabinet posts, most notably Defense Minister (1949-1950, 1952-1954). Mr. Pleven was a believer in European integration, and introduced the Pleven Plan, which called for a European Defense Community of France, Italy, West Germany, and the Benelux countries. He turned down an offer from President René Coty to become Prime Minister again, but served as Foreign Minister in 1958.

M. Camargo Guarnieri, 85. Brazilian composer. Mr. Guarnieri, whose first name was Mozart, numbered six symphonies and six piano concertos among his compositions.

Space
The U.S. space shuttle Endeavour, with a five-person crew commanded by John Casper, lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission, STS-54, was the third for Endeavour.

War
U.S., U.K., and French fighter jets carried out bombing raids over southern Iraq in reaction to Iraq's violation of a "no-fly" zone that had been established after the Gulf War in 1991.

10 years ago
2003

Died on this date
Norman Panama, 88. U.S. screenwriter. Mr. Panama, with his partner Melvin Frank, was known for comedy screenplays, particularly for movies starring Bob Hope or Danny Kaye. He and Mr. Frank were nominated for Academy Awards for Road to Utopia (1946); Knock on Wood (1954); and The Facts of Life (1960).