December 12, 2013

360 years ago
1653

Politics and government
The English Commonwealth assembly known as "Barebone's Parliament" was dissolved by its members after a little over five months of existence. Oliver Cromwell was named Lord Protector of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland four days later.

230 years ago
1783

Journalism
William Lewis and John Ryan published the first newspaper in New Brunswick, the Royal Saint John Gazette and Nova Scotian Intelligencer.

170 years ago
1843

Died on this date
Willem I, 71. King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg, 1815-1840. Willem I ruled two principalities before being forced into exile in 1795 after the Batavian Revolution. He returned and declared himself King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg in 1815. King Willem I opposed a Belgian uprising in 1830, but was unsuccessful in preventing an independent state of Belgium from being proclaimed. Constitutional changes were initiated in 1840 that King Willem wasn't willing to live with, so he abdicated in favour of his son Willem II. King Willem I died in Berlin.

Canadiana
James Douglas renamed Fort Camosun, British Columbia, naming it Fort Victoria.

Politics and government
William Draper and Denis-Benjamin Viger form Draper-Viger Ministry to govern the United Province of Canada with Dominick Daly, the only member of previous ministry not to resign.

130 years ago
1883

Energy
Canadian Pacific Railway crews digging for water struck natural gas at Langevin, Northwest Territories, west of Medicine Hat in present-day Alberta.

120 years ago
1893

Born on this date
Edward G. Robinson. Romanian-born U.S. actor. Born Emmanuel Goldenberg in Bucharest, Mr. Robinson became one of the best-known actors in Hollywood history, starring in such movies as Little Caesar (1931); Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939); Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940); The Sea Wolf (1941); Double Indemnity (1944); The Woman in the Window (1944); Scarlet Street (1945); The Stranger (1946); The Red House (1947); Key Largo (1948); Mackenna's Gold (1969); and Soylent Green (1973). He never won an Academy Award for any particular performance, but he died on January 26, 1973 at the age of 79, just before he was about to be awarded an Oscar for lifetime achievement.

100 years ago
1913

Art
Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa was recovered in Florence after having been stolen from the Louvre in Paris in August 1911.

80 years ago
1933

Hockey
NHL
Irvine "Ace" Bailey of the Toronto Maple Leafs suffered a career-ending and near-fatal fractured skull when he was hit by Boston Bruins' defenceman Eddie Shore in a game at Maple Leaf Gardens. Mr. Bailey had won the Art Ross Trophy in 1928-29 as the league's leading scorer. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975.

75 years ago
1938

Died on this date
James McNeill, 69. Governor-General of the Irish Free State, 1928-1932. Mr. McNeill served in the Provisional Government under Michael Collins, and helped to draft the Constitution of the Irish Free State. He resigned as Governor-General a month before his intended retirement after clashing with Executive Council President Éamon de Valera, and died in London.

Politics and government
Camilien Houde was re-elected Mayor of Montréal.

Religion
Al Rashid Mosque, the first mosque in western Canada, opened in Edmonton.

70 years ago
1943

War
Soviet troops forced the first real German withdrawal in the area west of Kiev since the beginning of the German offensive a month earlier. Chinese troops captured Niupitan, a strategic point east of Changteh, seizing another 10 villages north of the city. An "advance reconnaissance party" of the Brazilian expeditionary force arrived in North Africa.

Diplomacy
The U.S.S.R. and Czechoslovakia signed a 20-year friendship agreement in Moscow, pledging postwar collaboration and mutual assistance in the war against Germany.

Politics and government
Representative Eduardo Chibas of the Cuban Revolutionary Party introduced a motion in Congress to try President Fulgencio Batista for disbursing funds capriciously and usurping congressional power.

Football
NFL
New York (6-3-1) 31 @ Washington (6-3-1)

After beating the Redskins in New York a week earlier, the Giants beat them at Griffith Stadium to finish in a tie for the Eastern Conference lead, necessitating a sudden-death playoff in New York a week later.

60 years ago
1953

Hit Parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus--Jimmy Boyd

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Rags to Riches--Tony Bennett (Best Seller--4th week at #1; Disc Jockey--3rd week at #1; Jukebox--2nd week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Rags to Riches--Tony Bennett (4th week at #1)
2 Ricochet (Rick-O-Shay)--Teresa Brewer
3 That's Amore--Dean Martin
4 Ebb Tide--Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra
5 Eh, Cumpari--Julius LaRosa
6 You, You, You--The Ames Brothers
7 Stranger in Paradise--Tony Bennett
--The Four Aces
8 Changing Partners--Patti Page
--[Kay Starr]
9 Oh, Mein Papa (Oh! My Pa-Pa)--Eddie Calvert
--Eddie Fisher
10 Vaya Con Dios (May God Be with You)--Les Paul and Mary Ford

Singles entering the chart were Stranger in Paradise by the Four Aces; Golden Violins by Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra (#25); Christmas Dragnet (Parts 1 and 2) by Stan Freberg (#26); Native Dancer by Rusty Draper (#31); Robe of Calvary by Jill Corey (#32); Woman by Johnny Desmond (#34); The Jones Boy, with versions by the Mills Brothers and Bobby Wayne (#37); Fini, with versions by Eydie Gorme and Lu Ann Sims (#39); Coney Island Watchboard by Pee Wee Hunt and his Orchestra (#40); and Under Paris Skies by Mitch Miller and his Orchestra (#50). The Four Aces' version of Stranger in Paradise was the B-side (or maybe the A-side) of Istanbul (Not Constantinople), which charted at #17. Robe of Calvary was inspired by the movie The Robe (1953).

Art
Canadian Governor-General Vincent Massey opened the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario.

50 years ago
1963

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): I Want to Hold Your Hand--The Beatles

World events
Kenya gained its independence from Great Britain.

40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland: I'd Love You to Want Me--Lobo (4th week at #1)

Politics and government
Venezuelan President-elect Carlos Perez promised to meet "international commitments" on oil delivery during his administration, but said he felt no obligation to increase oil production. While stressing that Latin America had a right to resent U.S. President Richard Nixon's Latin American policy, Mr. Perez said that Venezuela would not take part in a "generalized stategic hatred" of the United States government.

Scandal
Wilbur Mills (Democrat--Arkansas), chairman of the U.S. Congressional Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation, announced that the committee had decided to investigate all aspects of President Richard Nixon's tax returns from his first four years (1969-1972) as President.

William Saxbe, President Richard Nixon's nominee for U.S. Attorney General, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he would "vigorously support" the special Watergate prosecutor in his investigation of whether "high crimes and misdemaeanors" had been committed by the White House. The prosecutor was investigating the June 1972 break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. and the subsequent cover-up.

Energy
Newly-appointed U.S. energy czar William Simon outlined broad fuel allocation plans "to insure equitable distribution at the wholesale level" during the winter months. According to the plan, scheduled to go into effect December 27, priority for the rights to gasoline was given to the Defense Department; essential community services such as firefighting and health care; farming; manufacturing; passenger and freight transportation; mail delivery; and energy production, especially fuel for electric utilities.

Economics and finance
The Royal Canadian Mint started selling commemorative coins to help finance the 1976 Summer Olympic games in Montreal.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Islands in the Stream--Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton

Terrorism
Six bombings in Kuwait killed 7 people and injured more than 60.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Don't Worry Be Happy--Bobby McFerrin (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You--Glenn Medeiros (4th week at #1)

Business
The Canadian Football League approved the sale of the Toronto Argonauts from Carling O'Keefe breweries to Harry Ornest. The CFL extended its television broadcasting agreement with the Canadian Football Network through 1990.

Disasters
35 people were killed and 100 injured in the collision of three trains at Clapham Junction, south London.

Football
CFL
Roy McMurtry was appointed Chairman-Chief Executive Officer and Bill Baker President-Chief Operating Officer of the Canadian Football League. CFL game rosters were to consist of 20 non-imports, 14 imports and 2 quarterbacks.

NCAA
Army 20 Navy 15 @ Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: It Keeps Rainin' (Tears from My Eyes)--Bitty McLean (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)--Meat Loaf (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)--Meat Loaf (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Stay (Faraway, So Close!)--U2 (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
József Antall, 61. Prime Minister of Hungary, 1990-1993. Mr. Antall was a librarian and historian who became leader of the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) in 1989, and led his party to victory in the 1990 general election, becoming the first Hungarian Prime Minister after the fall of Communism. The country was beset by socioeconomic difficulties in adjusting from Communism, and Mr. Antall was criticized, but he didn't live to contest the next election, dying in office of cancer. He was succeeded as Prime Minister by Interior Minister Péter Boross, and as MDF leader by Lajos Für.

Movies
The Genie Awards for 1993, recognizing achievements in Canadian cinema, were presented at Société Radio-Canada Studio 42 in Montreal. Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould won four Genies, including the awards for picture and direction (François Girard).

Politics and government
In the Russian general election, the Liberal Democratic Party, led by nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, captured 64 seats and 23% of the party preference vote for the 450-seat State Duma, the lower house of the new Parliament. Russia's Choice, the reform party led by President Boris Yeltsin, won 64 seats and about 15.5% of the vote, and the Communists 42 seats and about 12.4%. Half the seats were to be distributed on the basis of party preference, and half to the winners of single-constituency contests. Voters also approved, by about a 4-3 margin, the new draft constitution supported by President Yeltsin.

Diplomacy
Talks in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on the future of Somalia broke up without any agreement among the 15 factions represented.

10 years ago
2003

Died on this date
Keiko, 27. European-born killer whale. Keiko, who was born near Iceland, was the star of the movie Free Willy (1993). He died in a Norwegian fjord.

Politics and government
Former Finance Minister Paul Martin, Jr. formally replaced the retiring Jean Chretien as Prime Minister of Canada. Only 16 of the 38 members of Mr. Martin's cabinet had served in the cabinet of Mr. Chretien, who had taken office as Prime Minister in November 1993 after leading his Liberal Party to victory in the federal election, had led the Liberals to subsequent majorities in the House of Commons in the elections of 1997 and 2000.