December 28, 2013

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Heather Pick!

1,120 years ago
893

Disasters
An earthquake destroyed the Armenian city of Dvin.

250 years ago
1763

Born on this date
John Molson. Canadian brewer. In 1786, Mr. Molson used a legacy to buy the brewery that bears his family name to this day. He died on January 11, 1836 at the age of 72.

125 years ago
1888

Born on this date
F. W. Murnau. German film director. Mr. Murnau was one of the major directors of the silent era, and was known for such German films as Nosferatu (1922); Der letzte Mann (The Last Laugh) (1924); and Faust (1926). He moved to Hollywood and directed such movies as Sunrise (1927) and 4 Devils (1928). Mr. Murnau died on March 11, 1931 at the age of 42, the day after being seriously injured in a car accident, and a week before the premiere of his last movie, Tabu.

100 years ago
1913

Born on this date
Lou Jacobi. Canadian-born actor and comedian. Mr. Jacobi, born Louis Jacobovitch in Toronto, began his career as an actor and standup comic in the 1920s, eventually becoming a character actor, usually playing stereotypical Jewish characters in numerous plays, films, and television programs through the 1990s. He was a regular cast member of the Wayne & Shuster television specials on CBC in the 1970s and '80s. Mr. Jacobi died on October 23, 2009 at the age of 95.

75 years ago
1938

Died on this date
Florence Lawrence, 52. Canadian-born U.S. actress. Miss Lawrence, born Florence Bridgwood in Hamilton, Ontario, moved to Buffalo, New York at the age of 12. She appeared in almost 300 movies--mostly from 1906-1915--and became known as the "first movie star." Miss Lawrence was known as "The Biograph Girl" for her work in most of that studio's films in 1908-1909, and became the first actor to be identified by name on screen in 1910. Her career rapidly declined after she suffered serious injuries on a set in 1915, and she suffered financial losses and bad marriages. Miss Lawrence was diagnosed in 1937 with a rare incurable bone disease, and suffered from chronic pain and depression, but attempted to keep working. She was to report to a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer set on December 28, 1938, but phoned in sick, and then committed suicide by poison.

70 years ago
1943

Died on this date
Steve Evans, 58. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Evans played right field with the New York Giants (1908); St. Louis Cardinals (1909-1913); Brooklyn Tip-Tops (1914-1915); and Baltimore Terrapins (1915), batting .287 with 32 home runs and 466 runs batted in in 978 games. His best season was 1914, when he led the Federal League in triples (15) and slugging (.556), while finishing second in batting (.348), doubles (41), homers (12), and RBIs (96). Mr. Evans excelled at being hit by a pitch, leading the National League in that category from 1910-1912; he was hit 31 times in 1910, a major league record that stood for 61 years until Ron Hunt of the Montreal Expos was hit 50 times in 1971. He also set a record by being hit three times in one game. Mr. Evans played at least 4 seasons in the minor leagues (1907-1908, 1916-1917), batting .288 in 466 games.

Movies
The New York Film Critics Circle announced their awards for the best achievements of 1943: Picture--Watch on the Rhine; Director--George Stevens (The More the Merrier); Actor--Paul Lukas (Watch on the Rhine); Actress--Ida Lupino (The Hard Way).

War
After eight days of brutal house-to-house fighting, the Battle of Ortona concluded with the victory of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division over the German 1st Parachute Division and the capture of the Italian town of Ortona. French Moroccan troops made short advances west of Castel San Vincenzo in the Italian mountains in the centre of the trans-peninsular front. U.S.S.R. forces continued their drive west of Kiev, advancing on a 65-mile front and reaching Behji, five miles northeast of Korosten.

Labour
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 300 strikes in November involving 500,000 workers, costing 2,285,000 man-days of idleness, amounting to one-third of 1% of available working time.

50 years ago
1963

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): I Want to Hold Your Hand--The Beatles

#1 single in France: Si J'avais un Marteau--Claude François

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Sabato triste--Adriano Celentano (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Rote Lippen soll man küssen--Cliff Richard and the Shadows (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): I Want to Hold Your Hand--The Beatles (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Dominique--The Singing Nun (4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Dominique--The Singing Nun (5th week at #1)
2 Louie Louie--The Kingsmen
--[Paul Revere and the Raiders]
3 There! I've Said it Again--Bobby Vinton
4 Since I Fell for You--Lenny Welch
5 Drip Drop--Dion Di Muci
6 You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry--The Caravelles
7 Popsicles and Icicles--The Murmaids
8 Talk Back Trembling Lips--Johnny Tillotson
9 Forget Him--Bobby Rydell
10 I'm Leaving it Up to You--Dale & Grace

Singles entering the chart were For You by Rick Nelson (#71); In the Summer of His Years by Connie Francis (#80, with a version by Millicent Martin mentioned but not charted); The Little Boy by Tony Bennett (#82); The Greasy Spoon by Hank Marr (#85); If Somebody Told You by Anna King (#90); Harlem Shuffle by Bob and Earl (#91); Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um by Major Lance (#92); The Twelve Gifts of Christmas by Allan Sherman (#93); What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am) by the Tams (#94); and You Don't Own Me by Lesley Gore (#98).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Music Reporter)
1 There! I've Said it Again--Bobby Vinton
2 You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry--The Caravelles
3 Dominique--The Singing Nun
4 Be True to Your School--The Beach Boys
5 Since I Fell for You--Lenny Welch
6 Popsicles and Icicles--The Murmaids
7 Drip Drop--Dion Di Muci
8 Talk Back Trembling Lips--Johnny Tillotson
--Ernest Ashworth
9 Louie Louie--The Kingsmen
--Paul Revere and the Raiders
10 The Nitty Gritty--Shirley Ellis

Singles entering the chart were Somewhere by the Tymes (#42); I Gotta Dance to Keep from Crying by the Miracles (#44); Pretty Paper by Roy Orbison (#45); When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes by the Supremes (#47); Hey Little Cobra by the Rip Chords (#53); For You by Rick Nelson (#56); Hooka Tooka by Chubby Checker (#59); Please by Frank Ifield (#60); Baby's Gone by Gene Thomas (#61); Anyone Who Had a Heart by Dionne Warwick (#62); You Don't Own Me by Lesley Gore (#69); The Little Boy by Tony Bennett (#95); Uncle Willie Time by Bobby Miller (#97); Java by Al Hirt (#98); Big Feet by the Tikis (#99); and I Can't Stop Singing by Bobby Bland (#100).

On the radio
Sherlock Holmes, starring Fridtjof Hansen Mjoen and Arne Bang-Hansen, on Norsk Rikskringkasting (Norwegian State Broadcasting Corporation)
Tonight's episode: Smaragd-kronen (The Beryl Coronet)

Died on this date
Paul Hindemith, 68. German-born U.S. composer. Mr. Hindemith achieved renown as a violinist and an avant-garde composer, but fell out of favour with the Nazi regime in Germany, and emigrated first to Switzerland and then the United States. His works included the song cycle Das Marienleben (1923) and the opera Mathis der Maler (1938).

Space
The mission of the Soviet satellite Cosmos 24 ended, nine days after launch.

Football
AFL
Eastern Division playoff
Boston 26 @ Buffalo 8

The Patriots defeated the Bills at War Memorial Stadium to advance to the championship game in San Diego against the Western Division champion Chargers (see video). The playoff was necessitated by the Bills and Patriots finishing in a tie for the division lead with final regular season records of 7-6-1.

40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Photograph--Ringo Starr (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): I'd Love You to Want Me--Lobo (8th week at #1)

Space
Comet Kohoutek, touted as the "comet of the century," reached perihelion at 13 million miles from the sun. It fell far short of expectations for lighting up the sky, and I'm still waiting to see it.

Politics and government
Spanish dictator Generalissimo Francisco Franco named Interior Minister Carlos Arias Navarro as the country's new Prime Minister, succeeding Luis Carrero Blanco, who had been assassinated eight days earlier. Meanwhile, four alleged members of the Basque terrorist group ETA denied that the six members who had been named were responsible for the assassination and told French newsmen that the commando unit responsible for the car bombing that had killed Mr. Carrero Blanco was "in a safe place" and ready to strike again against Fascist power.

Law
The Endangered Species Act was passed in the United States.

Literature
The first volume of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's novel The Gulag Archipelago, an expose of the Soviet prison system, was published in Russian by the French publisher Éditions du Seuil.

30 years ago
1983

Died on this date
William Demarest, 91. U.S. actor. Mr. Demarest was a character actor in many movies in the 1930s and '40s, usually playing gruff characters with a "heart of gold." He was best known as Uncle Charley in the television comedy series My Three Sons (1965-1972).

Jimmy Demaret, 73. U.S. golfer. Mr. Demaret won 31 PGA tournaments from 1935-1957. He won the Masters in 1940, 1947, and 1950, becoming the first man to win the event three times.

Dennis Wilson, 39. U.S. musician. Mr. Wilson, the middle (between older Brian and younger Carl) of the Wilson brothers of the Beach Boys, was the group's drummer and the only member of the rock group who actually surfed. He was the group's main "sex symbol" in their early days; his husky voice added to the Beach Boys' harmonies, although the only hit single on which he sang lead was Do You Wanna Dance (1965). In the late 1960s, Mr. Wilson began to show talent as a songwriter, and taught himself to play piano. The ballad Forever, from the album Sunflower (1970), is often regarded as Mr. Wilson's best song. Mr. Wilson released the solo album Pacific Ocean Blue in 1977, which was well-received. He then began recording another album, Bambu, but the project was abandoned and not released until 2008. A dissolute lifestyle eventually took its toll on Mr. Wilson; his voice went from husky to raspy, and he was kicked out of the Beach Boys briefly toward the end of 1979. In the final weeks of 1983 Mr. Wilson was homeless, and years of heavy drinking contributed to his death by accidental drowning as he was diving near his yacht.

Religion
Evangelist Billy Graham was the keynote evening speaker at the Campus Crusade for Christ student conference "KC '83" at Bartle Hall in Kansas City, Missouri. Dallas Theological Seminary professor Howard Hendricks delivered his first of four keynote morning addresses.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Vingar--Mikael Rickfors

Terrorism
British investigators said that a powerful plastic explosive had destroyed the Boeing 747 that had exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland a week earlier, killing 270 people. "Conclusive evidence" of an explosive device had been found in a metal luggage holder in the wreckage.

20 years ago
1993

Died on this date
William L. Shirer, 89. U.S. journalist. Mr. Shirer was a reporter, first for wire services and then for the Columbia Broadcasting System, who covered events in Germany from 1934-1940. His best-known books were Berlin Diary (1941); Midcentury Journey (1952); and The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1960).

Howard Caine, 67. U.S. actor. Mr. Caine, born Howard Cohen, played Nazi Major Hochstetter in the television comedy series Hogan's Heroes (1965-1971).

Politics and government
In single-constituency elections in Russia, results showed the Liberal Democrats, led by nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, with 64 seats, followed by Russia's Choice--led by President Boris Yeltsin--with 58. Next in order were Communists--48; Agrarian Party--33; Women of Russia--23; and Yabloko ("Apple") bloc--22. Other parties held many seats, and 130 deputies claimed no party affiliation.

Crime
Six bombs--four of which exploded--sent by courier or through the mail killed five people and wounded two in western New York state. All the bombs were delivered to relatives of the girlfriend of one of the two suspects who were arrested the next day.

British customs officials seized £70 million of Colombian cocaine which was thought to be directly linked to the Mafia.

Abominations
The United States Energy Department said that 800 people had been exposed to radiation in government experiments from the 1940s to the 1960s.

10 years ago
2003

Politics and government
Former Guatemala City Mayor Óscar Berger, a conservative businessman running as candidate of the Grand National Alliance, was elected President of Guatemala, taking 54.13% of the vote in the second round of voting. National Unity of Hope candidate Álvaro Colom received 45.87% of the vote.

Crime
British customs officials seized £70 million of Colombian cocaine which was thought to be directly linked to the Mafia.

Terrorism
The British government announced that sky marshals would be placed on some British passenger planes in the United States.

Scandal
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers stormed the offices of two British Columbia cabinet ministers, and seized files as part of a 20-month investigation into marijuana smuggling and money laudering. No arrests were made. The raids were focused on two high-ranking ministerial aides, who had been heavily involved in Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin's campaign for the leadership of the Liberal Party.