February 11, 2013

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Maria Nastas!

300 years ago
1713

Died on this date
Jahandar Shah, 48. Emperor of India, 1712-1713. Jahandar Shah was the 8th Mughal Emperor of India, having won a battle of succession with his brother Azim-ush-Shan. Azim-ush-Shan's second son Farrukhsiyar defeated Jahandar Shah in battle at Agra on January 10, 1713, and Jahandar Shah was imprisoned and then strangled to death.

150 years ago
1863

Born on this date
John F. Fitzgerald. U.S. politician. "Honey Fitz," a Democrat, was a member of Boston Common Council (1891-1892) and Mayor of Boston (1906-1908, 1910-1914). He represented the 3rd Suffolk District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1892-1894), and represented Massachusetts' 9th (1895-1901) and 10th (March-October 1919) in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was removed from his last office when Democratic Party challenger Peter Tague successfully challenged the primary results. Mr. Fitzgerald unsuccessfully campaigned for Governor of Massachusetts (1922) and the U.S. Senate (1916, 1942), and died on October 2, 1950 at the age of 87. His daughter Rose married Joseph P. Kennedy, and "Honey Fitz" was thus the grandfather of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and U.S. Senators Robert F. and Ted Kennedy.

140 years ago
1873

World events
King Amadeus I of Spain, who had reigned since November 16, 1870, abdicated the throne because of political instability. Spain was proclaimed a republic that night.

110 years ago
1903

Music
Anton Bruckner's Ninth Symphony received its premiere performance in Vienna.

75 years ago
1938

On television tonight
R.U.R., on BBC

This adaptation of the play by Carel Čapek, which introduced the term "robot," was the first science fiction story to be broadcast on television.

70 years ago
1943

War
U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower was chosen to command the Allied armies in Europe for the remainder of World War II.

60 years ago
1953

On the radio
I Was a Communist for the FBI, starring Dana Andrews
Tonight’s episode: Against the Middle

Crime
U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower refused an appeal for clemency to convicted Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

50 years ago
1963

Died on this date
Sylvia Plath, 30. U.S. author and poet. Miss Plath was known for her novel The Bell Jar (1963), published shortly before her death. She won a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1982 for The Collected Poems (1981). Miss Plath committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning.

40 years ago
1973

Golf
Arnold Palmer defeated Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller by 2 strokes to win the Bob Hope Desert Classic in Palm Springs, California. The win was Mr. Palmer's 60th on the PGA tour--and his last win in a PGA event. It was the fifth time that he had won the Bob Hope Desert Classic.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Sexual Healing--Marvin Gaye (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Major Tom (Völlig Losgelöst)--Peter Schilling (3rd week at #1)

Crime
Dennis Andrew Nilsen, 37, was charged with the murder of Stephen Sinclair, 20, after human remains had been found in drains in London. Mr. Nilsen was suspected of several other murders.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Always on My Mind--Pet Shop Boys

Crime
Testifying before a U.S. Senate subcommittee, accountant Ramon Milan Rodriguez said that he had laundered $11 billion from the Medellin drug cartel through Panamanian banks, with the help of dictator Gen. Manuel Noriega. Mr. Rodriguez said that some of the money went to the Contras in Nicaragua.

Hockey
NHL
Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers scored a goal and 2 assists in a game at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton to reached the 100-point mark in a season for a record ninth time.

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): No Limit--2 Unlimited (2nd week at #1)