December 17, 2013

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Ken Thiessen!

475 years ago
1538

Religion
Pope Paul III excommunicated King Henry VIII of England.

120 years ago
1893

Born on this date
Erwin Piscator. German theatre director and producer. Mr. Piscator was known for his innovative use of still photographs and cinematic projections as well as complex scaffold stages to present plays which hit audiences over the head with a figurative sledge hammer of Communist propaganda. He died on March 30, 1966 at the age of 72.

Charles C. Banks. U.K. military aviator. Captain Banks was a flying ace with the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, recording 13 combat victories, and earned the Military Cross for helping to shoot down a German bomber in 1918. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for a successful engagement with five enemy planes n October 30, 1918. Capt. Banks died on December 21, 1971, four days after his 78th birthday.

110 years ago
1903

Aviation
Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first flight in a heavier-than-air plane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

100 years ago
1913

Baseball
The New York Giants and Chicago White Sox continued their post-season exhibition tour, arriving in Manila aboard SS St. Albans. The White Sox defeated the Giants 2-1.

80 years ago
1933

Football
NFL
Championship
New York 21 @ Chicago Bears 23

Bronko Nagurski completed a pass to Bill Hewitt, who took a few steps and lateralled to Bill Karr, who then ran 25 yards to complete the 36-yard play for the winning touchdown with less than 3 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter as the Bears edged the Giants before 26,000 fans at Wrigley Field in the first official NFL championship game. Jack Manders converted and kicked 2 field goals and converted the Bears' earlier touchdown, also scored by Mr. Karr, on an 8-yard pass from Mr. Nagurski in the third quarter. Harry Newman threw two touchdown passes for the Giants: 29 yards to Red Badgro in the second quarter, and 8 yards to Ken Strong on the first play of the fourth quarter. Max Krause rushed 1 yard in the third quarter for the other Giant major, all of which were converted by Mr. Strong.

75 years ago
1938

Exploration
The third German Antarctic Expedition, led by Kriegsmarine Captain Alfred Ritscher, left Hamburg for Antarctica aboard the MS Schwabenland. There were 33 members in the secret expedition, plus the ship's crew of 24.

Energy
Otto Hahn discovered the nuclear fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy.

60 years ago
1953

Television
Vancouver's first television station, CBUT, went on the air. It was the third television station in Canada, and the first outside Montreal and Toronto.

50 years ago
1963

On television tonight
The Fugitive, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Terror at High Point, with guest stars Jack Klugman, Elizabeth Allen, James Best, and Buck Taylor

40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Angie--Rolling Stones (5th week at #1)

#1 single in France: Noël interdit--Johnny Hallyday (3rd week at #1)

At the movies
Sleeper, starring Woody Allen and Diane Keaton, opened in theatres.

Died on this date
Wally Butts, 68. U.S. football coach. Mr. Butts was head coach of the University of Georgia Bulldogs from 1939-1960, compiling a record of 140-86-9, and winning national championships in 1942 and 1946. In 1967 he and University of Alabama head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant sued The Saturday Evening Post for $10 million each after an article in the magazine accused them of fixing a game between the teams several years earlier. The case dragged on in the courts until 1967, when the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, ordering The Saturday Evening Post to pay Mr. Butts $3.06 million. The amoun was reduced on appeal to $460,000, and Mr. Bryant settled for $300,000, but the suit was blamed for the demise of The Saturday Evening Post two years later.

Terrorism
Five armed Palestinian guerrillas hurled incendiary bombs at a Pan Am jetliner at Rome's international airport, killing 20 people aboard. Two others were killed as the gunmen hijcked a Lufthansa jetliner, taking hostages with them. After being refused permission to land in Beirut, the plane made brief stopovers in Athens and Damascus. One report said that while in radio communication with Greek authorities at the Athens airport, the guerrillas had demanded the release of two Arab terrorists held since an attack at an Athens airport in August 1973. To force their demands, the terrorists killed a hostage and dumped his body before leaving Athens.

Economics and finance
The British government of Prime Minister Edward Heath abandoned its goal of economic growth for a policy geared toward economic survival. The new policy centred on the largest budget cut in British history, restrictions on consumer credit, and additional taxes on high-income earners and some real estate developers.

Politics and government
The United States Senate voted 75-10 to confirm Senator William Saxbe (Republican--Ohio) as U.S. Attorney General. Elliott Richardson had resigned on October 20, 1973, and Robert Bork had been acting Attorney General since then.

Sport
Karen Magnussen, winner of the 1973 world women's figure skating championship, was named Canada's top female athlete of 1973.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Le Rita!--Claude Barzotti

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): (Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew--The Rock Steady Crew (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Only You--The Flying Pickets

#1 single in the U.K.: Only You--The Flying Pickets (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Say Say Say--Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Say Say Say--Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson (2nd week at #1)
2 All Night Long (All Night)--Lionel Richie
3 Union of the Snake--Duran Duran
4 Love is a Battlefield--Pat Benatar
5 Say it Isn't So--Daryl Hall-John Oates
6 Uptown Girl--Billy Joel
7 Cum On Feel the Noize--Quiet Riot
8 Crumblin' Down--John Cougar Mellencamp
9 Owner of a Lonely Heart--Yes
10 Church of the Poison Mind--Culture Club

Singles entering the chart were An Innocent Man by Billy Joel (#69); Middle of the Road by the Pretenders (#73); Nightbird by Stevie Nicks (with Sandy Stewart) (#80); Yah Mo B There by James Ingram (with Michael McDonald) (#83); Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper (#86); Tell Me if You Still Care by S.O.S. Band (#88); and Let's Pretend We're Married by Prince (#90).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Say Say Say--Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
2 All Night Long (All Night)--Lionel Richie
3 Islands in the Stream--Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton
4 Tonight I Celebrate My Love--Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack
5 Uptown Girl--Billy Joel
6 Love is a Battlefield--Pat Benatar
7 Church of the Poison Mind--Culture Club
8 Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)--Sheena Easton
9 Crumblin' Down--John Cougar Mellencamp
10 Union of the Snake--Duran Duran

Singles entering the chart were Scatterlings of Africa by Jaluka (#42); Talking in Your Sleep by the Romantics (#46); and The Curly Shuffle by the Knuckleheads (#49).

Terrorism
3 police officers and 3 civilians were killed and 90 others injured when a car bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army exploded near Harrods department store in the Knightsbridge area of London.

Weather
A severe cold wave, lasting two weeks, began sweeping across the United States.

Disasters
A fire in a Madrid discotheque killed 83 people, most of them teenagers.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): C'è da spostare una macchina--Francesco Salvi

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Orinoco Flow--Enya

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Orinoco Flow--Enya (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Pourvu qu'elles soient douces--Mylène Farmer (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Mistletoe and Wine--Cliff Richard (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: Mistletoe and Wine--Cliff Richard (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Look Away--Chicago (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Look Away--Chicago (2nd week at #1)
2 Giving You the Best That I Got--Anita Baker
3 Every Rose Has its Thorn--Poison
4 I Don't Want Your Love--Duran Duran
5 My Prerogative--Bobby Brown
6 Waiting for a Star to Fall--Boy Meets Girl
7 Walk on Water--Eddie Money
8 Two Hearts--Phil Collins
9 Welcome to the Jungle--Guns N' Roses
10 In Your Room--Bangles

Singles entering the chart were Angel of Harlem by U2 (#70); She Wants to Dance with Me by Rick Astley (#71); Anchorage by Michelle Shocked (#80); Way Cool Jr. by Ratt (#86); The Love You Take by Dan Hartman and Denise Lopez (#88); Wild Again by Starship (#90); and I Wanna Be Loved by House of Lords (#91).

Hockey
NHL
Bryan Murray of the Washington Capitals became the 17th coach to win 300 regular season games.

20 years ago
1993

Economics and finance
Russian President Boris Yeltsin authorized $120 million in cheap subsidized loans to farmers and announced new controls on immigration and employment of non-Russians. The government approved a scaled-back program for privatizing state-owned enterprises.

10 years ago
2003

Died on this date
Otto Graham, 82. U.S. football player and coach. Mr. Graham played quarterback at Northwestern University (1941-1943) and the North Carolina Pre-Flight Cloudbusters (1944), while also playing basketball and baseball. He began his professional athletic career with the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League (1945-46), helping them win the NBL title. Mr. Graham signed a contract with the Cleveland Browns of the new All-America Football Conference in 1945, but the AAFC didn't begin play until 1946. He led the Browns to four straight AAFC championships (1946-1949), and continued his success when the Browns joined the National Football League in 1950. Mr. Graham helped the Browns win NFL championships in 1950, 1954, and 1955, retiring after the 1955 championship game. He retired after a 10-year professional career, leading the Browns to the league championship game every year, winning seven times. Mr. Graham was head coach of the Coast Guard Bears (1959-1965, 1974-1975), compiling a record of 44-32-1; his best season was 1963, when they were 8-1, finishing first in the New England Football Conference and playing in the Tangerine Bowl. He also coached the College All-Stars in 10 annual games against the defending NFL champions. Mr. Graham was head coach of the Washington Redskins (1966-1968), but had considerably less success, being fired after compiling a record of 17-22-3. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1956 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965. Mr. Graham died of a heart aneurysm, 11 days after his 82nd birthday, after suffering from various health problems for several years.

War
The government of South Korea announced that it would send 3,000 troops to Iraq.

Society
French President Jacques Chirac announced plans to ban Muslim headscarves and other "ostentatious" religious symbols in schools and other public buildings, as recommended by an independent government commission on secularism.

Crime
Former school caretaker Ian Huntley was convicted of the August 4, 2002 murders of 10-year-old English schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.