January 19, 2013

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Inese!

225 years ago
1788

Australiana
The second group of ships of the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay.

200 years ago
1813

Born on this date
Henry Bessemer. U.K. engineer and inventor. Sir Henry was known for devising the process of using oxygen in air blown through molten pig iron to burn off impurities and create steel; this became known as the Bessemer process. He died on March 15, 1898 at the age of 85.

160 years ago
1853

Opera
Il Trovatore by Guiseppe Verdi received its premiere performance in Rome.

130 years ago
1883

Technology
The first electric lighting system using overhead wires, designed by Thomas Edison, began operating in Roselle, New Jersey.

Disasters
The Hamburg-Amerika steamer Cimbria and Hull and Hamburg Line steamer Sultan collided in heavy fog in the North Sea, killing 357 people.

120 years ago
1893

Theatre
The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen received its premiere performance in Berlin.

100 years ago
1913

Born on this date
Andy Pilney. U.S. football coach and baseball player. Mr. Pilney was head coach at Tulane University from 1954-1961, compiling a record of 25-49-6. He played football and baseball at the University of Notre Dame and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 1936 National Football Leage draft, but chose to pursue a professional baseball career. Mr. Pilney played in the minor leagues from 1936-1939, and played in 3 games with the Boston Bees in 1936, batting 0 for 2. He died on September 15, 1996 at the age of 83.

60 years ago
1953

On television tonight
I Love Lucy, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Lucy Goes to the Hospital

71.7% of television sets in the U.S.A. were tuned in to this episode, in which Lucy Ricardo gave birth to her son Ricky. The episode attracted more viewers than the following day's inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower as President of the United States.

50 years ago
1963

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Return to Sender--Elvis Presley (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France: L'idole des Jeunes--Johnny Hallyday (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Speedy Gonzales--Peppino di Capri (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Junge, komm bald wieder--Freddy Quinn (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Dance On!--The Shadows (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Go Away Little Girl--Steve Lawrence (2nd week at #1)

U.S. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Go Away Little Girl--Steve Lawrence
2 Telstar--The Tornados
3 Limbo Rock--Chubby Checker
4 The Night Has a Thousand Eyes--Bobby Vee
5 Tell Him--The Exciters
6 My Dad--Paul Petersen
7 Hotel Happiness--Brook Benton
8 Walk Right In--The Rooftop Singers
9 Up on the Roof--The Drifters
10 Two Lovers--Mary Wells

Singles entering the chart were Ruby Baby by Dion (#66); Your Used to Be by Brenda Lee (#68); Walk Like a Man by the 4 Seasons (#69); Send Me Some Lovin' by Sam Cooke (#71); You're the Reason I'm Living by Bobby Darin (#77); Love (Makes the World Go Round) by Paul Anka (#80); The End of the World by Skeeter Davis (#81); I Wanna Be Around (#83)/I Will Live My Life for You (#90) by Tony Bennett; Blame it on the Bossa Nova by Eydie Gorme (#84); Oo-La-La Limbo by Danny and the Juniors (#88); I'd Rather Be Here in Your Arms by the Duprees (#94); Who Stole the Keeshka? by the Matys Brothers (#98); That's the Way Love Is by Bobby Bland (#99); and Willie Can by Sue Thompson (#100). That's the Way Love Is was the B-side of Call on Me, which charted at #75.

40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Ich wünsch' mir 'ne kleine Miezekatze--Wums Gesang (5th week at #1)

Diplomacy
The British super tug Statesman was sent to protect British trawlers who were involved ina dispute with Iceland over cod fishing rights in Icelandic waters.

30 years ago
1983

Died on this date
Don Costa, 57. U.S. musician. Mr. Costa was a conductor and arranger for many hit recordings of Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and others. He also had his own record label, DCP.

Ham, 26. Cameroon-born U.S. astrochimp. Ham, originally named Chang, was renamed as an acronym for Holloman Aerospace Medical Center in New Mexico. He became the first chimpanzee and first American to go into space, making a 16-minute, 39-second flight aboard Mercury-Redstone 2 on January 31, 1961.

World events
Klaus Barbie, the Nazi Gestapo leader in Lyons, France during German occupation in World War II, was arrested in Bolivia for crimes against humanity.

25 years ago
1988

Literature
Christopher Nolan of Dublin, who typed with the aid of a stick strapped to his head because of cerebral palsy, won the Whitbread Book of the Year award for his autobiography Under the Clock.

10 years ago
2003

Football
NFL
NFC Championship
Tampa Bay 27 @ Philadelphia 10

AFC Championship
Tennessee 24 @ Oakland 41

The Tampa Bay defense recovered 2 fumbles by Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb, and defensive back Ronde Barber intercepted one of Mr. McNabb's passes and returned it 92 yards for a touchdown with 1:02 remaining in the 3rd quarter to close the scoring as the Buccaneers won a playoff game on the road for the first time in their 27-year history, upsetting the heavily-favoured Eagles before 66,713 fans in the last football game ever played at Veterans Stadium.

Rich Gannon passed for 286 yards and 3 touchdowns and rushed 8 times for 41 yards and a touchdown to lead the Raiders over the Titans before 62,544 fans at Network Associates Coliseum.