February 23, 2013

1,710 years ago
303

Abominations
Roman Emperor Diocletian ordered the destruction of the Christian church in the Turkish city of Nicomedia, beginning an eight-year period of persecution of Christians.

130 years ago
1883

Born on this date
Karl Jaspers. German-born Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher. Dr. Jaspers practiced as a psychiatrist before turning to philosophy in 1921, remaining in Germany--often under threat from arrest by the Nazis--until moving to Switzerland in 1948. He wrote the book General Psychopathology (1913), advocating the diagnosis of symptoms of mental illness by their form rather than by their content. As a philosopher, Dr. Jaspers was associated with existentialism, although he rejected the label. He drew on the work of Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche, and wrote on themes of individual freedom, arguing that as individuals question reality, they reach a point that the scientific method cannot transcend, and therefore make a leap of faith toward transcendence, experiencing authentic "Existenz." Dr. Jaspers died on February 26, 1969, three days after his 86th birthday.

Business
Alabama became the first state in the U.S.A. to enact an antitrust law.

110 years ago
1903

Diplomacy
Cuba leased Guantanamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity."

75 years ago
1938

Boxing
Joe Louis (34-1) successfully defended his world heavyweight title, knocking Nathan Mann (40-5-3) down 3 times before knocking him out at 1:56 of the 3rd round at Madison Square Garden in New York.



70 years ago
1943

Disasters
36 children and an adult died in a fire at St. Joseph's Orphanage in County Cavan, Ireland.

50 years ago
1963

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Walk Right In--The Rooftop Singers

#1 single in France: Tous les Garçons et les Filles--Françoise Hardy (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: La partita di pallone--Rita Pavone (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Junge, komm bald wieder--Freddy Quinn (8th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Please Please Me--The Beatles; The Wayward Wind--Frank Ifield

This was the first time the Beatles reached #1 on any national singles chart.

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Hey Paula--Paul and Paula (3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Hey Paula--Paul and Paula (3rd week at #1)
2 Walk Like a Man--The 4 Seasons
3 Ruby Baby--Dion
4 Rhythm of the Rain--The Cascades
5 Walk Right In--The Rooftop Singers
6 From a Jack to a King--Ned Miller
7 You've Really Got a Hold on Me--The Miracles
8 You're the Reason I'm Living--Bobby Darin
9 Wild Weekend--The Rebels
10 Blame it on the Bossa Nova--Eydie Gorme

Singles entering the chart were Days of Wine and Roses (#49, charting with the version by Henry Mancini, his Orchestra and Chorus)/Can't Get Used to Losing You (#97) by Andy Williams; That's All (#72)/I'm in Love Again (#88) by Rick Nelson; Laughing Boy by Mary Wells (#75); Don't Set Me Free by Ray Charles (#76); Do the Bird by Dee Dee Sharp (#87); He's So Fine by the Chiffons (#89); Don't Be Cruel by Barbara Lynn (#91); Boss by the Rumblers (#93); Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo by Richard Chamberlain (#94); The Dog by Rufus Thomas (#95); They Remind Me Too Much of You by Elvis Presley (#96); Yakety Sax by Boots Randolph and his Combo (#98); and My Foolish Heart by the Demensions (#100). They Remind Me Too Much of You, from the movie It Happened at the World's Fair, was the B-side of One Broken Heart for Sale, which charted at #18.

Technology
A British farmer named Peter Hicks was stopped by police, who were trying to decide what, if anything, to charge him with after finding that his car contained an electronic device to ward off traffic wardens.

40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: You're So Vain--Carly Simon

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Block Buster--The Sweet

Died on this date
Dickinson Richards, 77. U.S. physician. Dr. Richards shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1956 with Andre Cournand and Werner Forssmann for the development of cardiac catheterization and the characterization of a number of cardiac diseases.

War
At the request of the Royal Laotian Army, U.S. B-52 bombers made raids on Communists in Laos. The raids occurred within 24 hours of a cease-fire between the Laotian government and Communist-led Pathet Lao guerrillas going into effect.

30 years ago
1983

Died on this date
Herbert Howells, 90. U.K. composer. Mr. Howells was known for his large output of Anglican church music.

Football
USFL
The New Jersey Generals, the United States Football League franchise owned by Donald Trump, signed University of Georgia running back Herschel Walker, a junior, for a reported $1.5 million per year, making him the highest-paid player in football at the time.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
Canada's Top 10 (The Record)
1 Pump Up the Volume--M/A/R/R/S
2 Could've Been--Tiffany
3 What Have I Done to Deserve This?--Pet Shop Boys (with Dusty Springfield)
4 Tell it to My Heart--Taylor Dayne
5 Pop Goes the World--Men Without Hats
6 The Way You Make Me Feel--Michael Jackson
7 Got My Mind Set on You--George Harrison
8 Faith--George Michael
9 Hungry Eyes--Eric Carmen
10 Hazy Shade of Winter--Bangles

Politics and government
Representative Dick Gephardt (Missouri) won the South Dakota primary in the contest for the 1988 Democratic party nomination for President of the United States, while Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis won the Minnesota caucuses. U.S. Senator Bob Dole (Kansas) won the Republican contests in both states.

Disasters
275 people were reported to have died in Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil after a week of heavy rainstorms.

20 years ago
1993

World events
Iraqis aimed guns at two helicopters carrying United Nations inspectors who were seeking Scud missiles.

Law
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that adding to the prison terms of criminals because they had given false testimony in court did not violate their constitutional rights.

10 years ago
2003

Died on this date
Robert K. Merton, 92. U.S. sociologist. Dr. Merton was known as the founder of the sociology of science. He developed and popularized terms such as "role model," "self-fulfilling prophecy," "reference group," and "unintended consequences."

Howie Epstein, 47. U.S. musician. Mr. Epstein played bass guitar with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1982 until his death, which was reportedly due to the results of drug use.

Defense
The X-47A Pegasus, a U.S. Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV), made its first flight at U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center at China Lake, California.