December 19, 2013

200 years ago
1813

Died on this date
James McGill, 69. Scottish-born Canadian businessman. Mr. McGill was a fur trader who was a member of Lower Canada's ruling Chateau Clique. His most notable legacy was the founding of McGill University in Montreal.

170 years ago
1843

Literature
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was published in Great Britain.

110 years ago
1903

Born on this date
George Snell. U.S. geneticist and immunologist. Dr. Snell shared the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Baruj Benacerraf and Jean Dausset "for their discoveries concerning genetically determined structures on the cell surface that regulate immunological reactions." He died on June 6, 1996 at the age of 92.

Americana
The Williamsburg Bridge, spanning the East River in New York City between Manhattan and the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, opened.

100 years ago
1913

Boxing
In the first heavyweight title fight between two Negroes, champion Jack Johnson (39-5-8) defended his title at Élysée Montmartre in Paris against Battling Jim Johnson (17-6-3). The fight, which ended in a 10-round draw, was, by all reports a poor one, with the fans demanding their money back, claiming that the combatants didn't seem interested in fighting. Jack Johnson claimed to have injured his left arm in the 3rd round, but ringsiders said that the injury most likely took place when both fighters fell to the mat in the 10th round. A post-fight examination revealed a slight fracture in the radial bone of the champion's left arm.

70 years ago
1943

War
A Soviet offensive in northern White Russia drove a wedge almost 19 miles deep and 50 miles wide into the German line guarding the Baltic states. Allied Commander of Southeast Asia Lord Louis Mountbatten merged the American and British air forces under Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Pierse.

Literature
The Doubleday, Doran publishing firm announced the establishment of the George Washington Carver Memorial Award of $2,500 to be given for any book dealing with American Negroes "which seems to be worthy of this special recognition."

Football
NFL
East Division playoff
Washington 28 @ New York 0

The Redskins blanked the Giants at the Polo Grounds in a playoff for the Eastern Division title that was necessary because the teams had finished with identical regular season records of 6-3-1. The Redskins advanced to the NFL championship game against the Western Division champion Chicago Bears. Because of the East Division playoff, the championship game at Wrigley Field in Chicago was postponed by a week to its latest date ever, December 26.

60 years ago
1953

Hit Parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus--Jimmy Boyd (2nd week at #1)

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Rags to Riches--Tony Bennett (Best Seller--5th week at #1; Disc Jockey--4th week at #1; Jukebox--3rd week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Rags to Riches--Tony Bennett (5th week at #1)
2 Oh, Mein Papa (Oh! My Pa-Pa)--Eddie Fisher
--Eddie Calvert
3 Stranger in Paradise--Tony Bennett
--The Four Aces
4 That's Amore--Dean Martin
5 Ricochet (Rick-O-Shay)--Teresa Brewer
6 Ebb Tide--Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra
7 Changing Partners--Patti Page
--[Kay Starr]
8 The Gang that Sang "Heart of My Heart"--The Four Aces
--Don Cornell, Alan Dale, and Johnny Desmond
9 Eh, Cumpari--Julius LaRosa
10 You, You, You--The Ames Brothers

Singles entering the chart were Mama-Papa Polka by the Gaylords (#29); She was Five and He was Ten by the Mills Brothers (#33); and Nina-Non by Joni James (#35). She was Five and He was Ten was the B-side (or maybe the A-side) of The Jones Boy, which charted at #45.

50 years ago
1963

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): I Want to Hold Your Hand--The Beatles (2nd week at #1)

Space
The U.S.S.R. launched the satellite Cosmos 24.

The U.S.A. launched the satellite Explorer 19, whose mission was the study of stmospheric activity.

40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland: I'd Love You to Want Me--Lobo (5th week at #1)

Scandal
U.S. District Court Judge John Sirica ruled that U.S. President Richard Nixon's claims of executive privilege on parts of tapes of three White House conversations sought by the special prosecutor 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 were, with minor exceptions, valid. Judge Sirica stated that, after listening to the tapes, he had determined that the parts under contention were not relevant to the Watergate case. The ruling covered portions of Mr. Nixon's June 20, 1973 conversation with advisers John Ehrlichman and Bob Haldeman which came after an 18 1/2-minute gap in the tape, and part of Mr. Nixon's September 15, 1973 conversation with former White House counsel John Dean. As Judge Sirica handed down his decision, lawyers for the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Campaign Activities served the White House with subpoenas covering nearly 500 presidential tape recordings and documents.

Energy
U.S. President Richard Nixon announced that he would allow increases in the price of oil and gasoline. The Cost of Living Council authorized a price increase of $1 per barrel for crude oil and estimated that the increase would cause the cost of gasoline and heating oil to rise 2.3c per gallon, bringing the average gasoline price to 44.6c per gallon and the average heating oil price to 30.7c per gallon. Mr. Nixon also submitted a proposal for a "windfall profits" tax on oil producers; it was to be an excise-type levy to be placed on crude oil prices that rose above a certain base, and would not apply to the refining and marketing phases of the oil business.

Terrorism
The government of Kuwait said it had no plans "at the moment" to try the five Palestinian guerrillas who had hijacked a Lufthansa jetliner from Rome's international airport on December 17 to Kuwait via Athens and Damascus, with the murder of one hostage.

Hockey
OHA
Toronto Marlboros' defenceman Greg Neeld underwent surgery to remove his left eye, 12 days after being high-sticked by Kitchener Rangers' defenceman Dave Maloney.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): All Night Long (All Night)--Lionel Richie

Politics and government
Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party, which had captured 250 of 511 seats in the lower house of the Diet in the previous day's general election, was able to form a majority when 8 independent members of the lower house agreed to join its ranks. Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone said that he would remain in office.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Don't Worry Be Happy--Bobby McFerrin (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You--Glenn Medeiros (5th week at #1)

Politics and government
Israel's Likud and Labour parties, neither of which had been able to win a majority in the Knesset in the November 1 general election, approved the December 19 agreement on a coalition that would see Likud leader Yitzhak Shamir serve as Prime Minister for four years, with Labour Party leader Shimon Peres shifting from Foreign Minister to Finance Minister. The agreement shut out the small religious parties, who had appeared to hold the balance of power after the election, and whose demands had angered many Jews, especially those in the U.S.A.

Premier Gary Filmon withdrew his resolution to ratify the Meech Lake constitutional accord from the Manitoba legislature to protest Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa's passage of Bill 178 mandating the use of only French on outside signs, but permitting bilingual signs indoors.

U.S. Vice President and President-elect George Bush named former Representative Jack Kemp (Republican--New York) as his nominee for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in his forthcoming administration.

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: It Keeps Rainin' (Tears from My Eyes)--Bitty McLean (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)--Meat Loaf (6th week at #1)

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

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Babe--Take That

#1 single in the U.K. (Chart Information Network): Mr Blobby--Mr Blobby

Died on this date
Michael Clarke, 47. U.S. musician. Mr. Clarke was the drummer with the Byrds (1964-1967); the Flying Burrito Brothers (1969-1971); and Firefall (1974-1981). He died of liver failure after three decades of heavy drinking.

10 years ago
2003

Diplomacy
U.S. President George W. Bush and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi had agreed to give up his country's nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons programs.