February 22, 2013

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Laura Pereverzoff Ong!

610 years ago
1403

Born on this date
Charles VII. King of France, 1422-1461. Charles "the Victorious" was the 11th child and fifth son of King Charles VI, but was the oldest son to live long enough to succeed his father. He presided over the military victory at Orléans in 1529, recovered Paris in 1536, and reconquered Normandy in the 1540s. King Charles VII's last years were marked by conflict with his son, who succeeded him as King Louis XI. Charles VII took ill in 1458, and his health declined until he finally starved to death on July 22, 1461 at the age of 58.

225 years ago
1788

Born on this date
Arthur Schopenhauer. German philosopher. Mr. Schopenhauer believed that the world was driven by a will continually seeking satisfaction. His best-known book was Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung (The World as Will and Representation) (1819). Those influenced by Mr. Schopenhauer included Friedrich Nietzsche, Richard Wagner, Thomas Mann, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Leo Tolstoy, and Joseph Campbell. Mr. Schopenhauer died on September 21, 1860 at the age of 72.

160 years ago
1853

Academia
Washington University in St. Louis was founded as Eliot Seminary.

125 years ago
1888

Born on this date
Owen Brewster. U.S. politician. Mr. Brewster was Governor of Maine (1925-1929); member of the United States House of Representatives from Maine (1935-1941); and United States Senator from Maine (1941-1952). As chairman of a special Senate committee investigating defense procurement during World War II, Mr. Brewster attacked the commercial interests of Howard Hughes, but his reputation suffered when Mr. Hughes responded with accusations of his own. Mr. Brewster died on December 25, 1961 at the age of 73.

110 years ago
1903

Died on this date
Hugo Wolf, 42. Austrian composer. Mr. Wolf was known for his lieder (art songs). He died of syphilis after years of insanity.

100 years ago
1913

Born on this date
Buddy Tate. U.S. musician. Mr. Tate was a saxophonist and clarinetist who performed with Count Basie's orchestra from 1939-1948 before leading his own band. He died on February 10, 2001 at the age of 87.

90 years ago
1923

On the radio
The Winnipeg Falcons defeated Port Arthur 4-1 in a hockey game that was broadcast live on CJCG. This is credited with being the first broadcast of a complete hockey game.

Died on this date
John Jenkins, 71. U.S.-born Australian politician. Mr. Jenkins, a native of Pennsylvania, went to Australia as a representative of a publishing company, and remained there. He represented East Adelaide (1886-1887) and Sturt (1887-1901) in the South Australia House of Assembly, serving as Commissioner for Public Works for much of the 1890s. Mr. Jenkins was Premier of South Australia (1901-1905), resigning in March 1905 to take up the post of Agent-General for South Australia in London. He served in that capacity until 1908, and remained in London, where he was often referred to as "Australia's Unofficial High Commissioner." Mr. Jenkins ran unsuccessfully for the British House of Commons in 1918 as a candidate of the National Party. He died in London.

80 years ago
1933

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Richard Gordon and Leigh Lovell, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Her Majesty's Wine Cellar

70 years ago
1943

Died on this date
Christoph Probst, 24; Hans Scholl, 24; Sophie Scholl, 21. German resistance leaders. Leaders of the White Rose youth resistance movement, the Scholls--brother and sister--and Mr. Probst were convicted of high treason and executed by guillotine in Munich, four days after being arrested for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets on the campus of the University of Munich.

50 years ago
1963

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland: Diamonds--Jet Harris and Tony Meehan

Edmonton's top 10 (CJCA)
1 Rhythm of the Rain--The Cascades (2nd week at #1)
2 Hey Paula--Paul and Paula
3 Wild Weekend--The Rebels
4 Walk Like a Man--The 4 Seasons
5 One Broken Heart for Sale--Elvis Presley
6 From a Jack to a King--Ned Miller
7 Molly--Bobby Goldsboro
8 Not in Your Dreams--Vik Armen
9 Walk Right In--The Rooftop Singers
10 Alice in Wonderland--Neil Sedaka

Vik Armen was an Edmonton artist who, in later years, performed and recorded under his real name, Brian Fustukian.

40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland: Block Buster--The Sweet (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Katina Paxinou, 72. Greek-born U.S. actress. Miss Paxinou won the Academy Award for her supporting performance in For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943).

Jean-Jacques Bertrand, 56. Canadian politician. Mr. Bertrand, a member of the Union Nationale, was elected to the Quebec National Assembly in 1948, and represented Missisquoi until his death. After Premier Daniel Johnson died in 1968, Mr. Bertrand succeeded him, and remained in office until the UN lost power to the Liberals in the provincial election in the spring of 1970.

War
The cease-fire between the government of Laos and the Communist-led Pathet Lao guerrilla movement that had been signed the previous day went into effect at noon Vientiane time.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan referred to the previous day's downing of a Libyan airliner that had strayed over Israeli-occupied Egyptian territory, with the loss of 108 lives, as a "tragedy," but placed the blame on the Libyan pilot. The Cairo airport produced a tape indicating that the pilot, having lost his way due to instrument failure, had believed he was over Egyptian territory, was being pursued by Egyptian MiGs, and was unaware of instructions to land until he was being shot down.

Diplomacy
The U.S.A. and the People's Republic of China announced that they would soon set up liaison offices in each other's capitals. It was also announced that two U.S. military prisoners in China would shortly be released and that the case of John Downey, a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency representative shot down in China in 1952, would be reviewed in the latter half of 1973.

Disasters
200 people were feared dead when a ferry collided with a Japanese freighter in the Rangoon River in Burma.

Hockey
WHA
Danny Lawson of the Philadelphia Blazers scored his 50th goal of the season in a game against the Ottawa Nationals at Ottawa Civic Centre, becoming the first World Hockey Association player to reach the milestone.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Our House--Madness (3rd week at #1)

Theatre
Moose Murders, a play written by someone named Arthur Bicknell, opened and closed at the Eugene O’Neill Theater in New York City, and quickly became notorious as one of the biggest flops in Broadway history. Frank Rich, whose original review in The New York Times can be found here, still considers Moose Murders to be the worst play he’s ever seen. The reader can have fun doing a Google search on this one.

Died on this date
Adrian Boult, 93. U.K. orchestra conductor. Sir Adrian was chief conductor of the City of Birmingham Orchestra from 1924-1930, returning to that position in 1959-1960. He became Director of Music for the British Broadcastng Corporation in 1930, and became chief conductor when the BBC decided to form a symphony orchestra. After being forced into retirement by the BBC in 1949, Mr. Boult moved on to the London Philharmonic Orchestra, which he led until 1957. Mr. Boult was known for his association with the works of Ralph Vaughan Williams; he conducted recordings of all of Mr. Vaughan Williams’ symphonies, all of which are still available. Mr. Boult also conducted performances of other English composers such as Gustav Holst and Edward Elgar. His final recording, of music by Hubert Parry, was completed in December 1978. Mr. Boult was knighted in 1937, and made a Companion of Honour in 1969.

Diplomacy
Sudanese President Mohammed Gaafar el-Nimeiry charged that Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar el-Gaddafi had moved his military forces in a way that was threatening to Sudan, and that he had planned to strike on February 18, but had then postponed the attack. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, speaking at a joint news conference in Khartoum with Mr. Nimiery, said that two Libyan planes had violated Egyptian air space. Libya criticized the United States for sending four Airborne Warning and Control System surveillance planes (AWACS) to Egypt and for moving the aircraft carrier Nimitz to waters off Libya.

Politics and government
U.S. Congressman Harold Washington defeated incumbent Jane Byrne to win the Democratic party nomination for mayor of Chicago in the election to be held later in the year. The Republicans nominated former state legislator Bernard Epton.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): (I've Had) The Time of My Life--Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes (4th week at #1)

Scandal
Leaders of the Family Worship Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana barred Rev. Jimmy Swaggart from the pulpit for three months and imposed a two-year period of rehabilitation after seeing photographic evidence that the Assemblies of God pastor had been less than faithful in living up to his marriage vows. The announcement was made the day after Mr. Swaggart had publicly asked his congregation for forgiveness for an unspecified sin.

Politics and government
U.S. Secretary of the Navy James Webb resigned after less than a year in office. Mr. Webb wrote to President Ronald Reagan and complained about Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci's decision to retire 16 small ships as an economic move.

Olympics
Bonnie Blair of the United States set a world record of 39.10 seconds to win the gold medal in the women's 500-metre speed skating event in Calgary. Karen Percy of Banff, Alberta won her second bronze medal of the games, in the women's super giant slalom ski event in her hometown. Canada and Sweden tied 2-2 in men's hockey at the Olympic Saddledome in Calgary.

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): I Will Always Love You--Whitney Houston (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Jean Lecanuet, 72. French politician. Mr. Lecanuet was a member of three different centrist parties during a political career lasting almost 50 years, and held several cabinet posts, including Minister of Justice (1974-1976). He served three terms in the Senate (1959-1973, 1977-1986, 1986-1993); ran unsuccessfully for President in 1965; and was a Deputy in the European Parliament (1979-1988), while serving as Mayor of Rouen from 1968 until his death from cancer, 10 days before his 73rd birthday.

10 years ago
2003

Died on this date
Daniel Taradash, 90. U.S. screenwriter. Mr. Taradash won the Academy Award for his screenplay adaptation of From Here to Eternity (1953).

Diplomacy
United Nations Chief Inspector Hans Blix told Iraq to dismantle its al-Samoud 2 missiles. In a draft resolution submitted to the UN Security Council, the U.S.A., U.K., and Spain stated that "Iraq has failed to take the final opportunity" to disarm, and that it was time to authorize the use of military force against Iraq.