January 13, 2014

220 years ago
1794

Americana
President George Washington approved a measure adding two stars and two stripes to the American flag, following the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the union.

150 years ago
1864

Born on this date
Wilhelm Wien. German physicist. Dr. Wien was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1911 "for his discoveries regarding the laws governing the radiation of heat." He died on August 30, 1928 at the age of 64.

Died on this date
Stephen Foster, 37. U.S. songwriter. Mr. Foster wrote over 200 songs, including such standards as Oh! Susanna; My Old Kentucky Home; Old Folks at Home; and Beautiful Dreamer. He fell on hard times and ended up in the Bowery area of Manhattan in New York City, and died three days after being found unconscious after falling against a sink and badly cutting his head.

125 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Mike Konnick. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Konnick, born Michael Aloysius Kozicky, was a catcher and shortstop with the Cincinnati Reds (1909-1910) who batted .250 with no home runs and 1 run batted in in 3 games. He played 1,573 games in 17 seasons in the minor leagues (1909-1929), managed in the minors (1925-1929), and scouted with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1961 until his death on July 9, 1971 at the age of 82.

Died on this date
Solomon Bundy, 65. U.S. politician. Mr. Bundy, a Republican, represented New York's 21st District in the United States House of Representatives from 1877-1879.

75 years ago
1939

Disasters
The Black Friday bushfires burned 20,000 square kilometres of land in Australia, claiming the lives of 71 people.

70 years ago
1944

War
U.S. troops in Italy moved beyond Cerfaro to threaten the northern edge of Mount Trocchio, three miles from Cassino. Allied troops pressing toward Borgen Bay, east of Cape Gloucester, New Britain, counted another 500 Japanese dead, bringing the total to 2,975.

Diplomacy
U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill and French Prime Minister Charles de Gaulle completed two days of military and political talks in Marrakesh.

Politics and government
U.S. Representative Al Gore (Democrat--Tennessee) said that he would resign from the Army to resume his seat in Congress.

Journalism
A final judgment was filed in a U.S. federal court in New York enjoining the Associated Press from rejecting membership applications on the ground of competition between the applicant and members.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt presented Congress with a budget of $99,769 billion outlining the requirements for victory in World War II and a demobilization plan.

The U.S. Foreign Economic Administration notified exporters that it would pass on all applications for exports to Bolivia.

Business
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted against barring newspapers from acquiring radio stations.

Labour
U.S. Attorney General Francis Biddle ordered an investigation of a charge that the $750,000 Congress of Industrial Organizations political fund violated the Connally-Smith anti-strike law provisions forbidding political contributions by labour organizations.

New Jersey Attorney General David Wilentz ruled that the state and its political subdivisions had no legal authority to enter into bargaining agreements with trade unions.

60 years ago
1954

Boxing
Former world heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles (85-10-1) knocked out Bob Satterfield (32-15-2) exactly 1 minute into the 2nd round of a bout at Chicago Stadium.



50 years ago
1964

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Pregheró (Stand by Me)--Adriano Celentano

On television tonight
The Outer Limits, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Controlled Experiment, starring Barry Morse, Carroll O'Connor, and Grace Lee Whitney

Music
Bob Dylan's album The Times They Are A-Changin' was released on Columbia Records.

World events
Rioting between Hindus and Muslims broke out in Calcutta, resulting in more than 100 deaths.

Religion
Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, was appointed Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kraków, Poland.

40 years ago
1974

Golf
Johnny Miller won the Phoenix Open, his second PGA win in as many weeks. First prize money was $30,000.

Football
NFL
Super Bowl VIII @ Rice Stadium, Houston
Miami 24 Minnesota 7

Larry Csonka rushed 33 times for 145 yards and touchdowns of 5 yards in the 1st quarter and 2 yards in the 3rd quarter as the Dolphins easily beat the Vikings before 71,882 fans for their second straight Super Bowl championship. Mr. Csonka opened the scoring at 9:33 of the 1st quarter, and Jim Kiick, who hadn't scored a touchdown all season, rushed 1 yard for the second Miami touchdown 4:05 later. Garo Yepremian converted both scores and added a 28-yard field goal in the 2nd quarter to give the Dolphins a 17-0 halftime lead. They made it 24-0 on Mr. Csonka's second touchdown, converted by Mr. Yepremian at 6:16 of the 3rd quarter. The Vikings broke the shutout when quarterback Fran Tarkenton rushed 4 yards for a touchdown, converted by Fred Cox at 1:35 of the 4th quarter. The Miami offense did such a good job controlling the ball on the ground that quarterback Bob Griese threw just 7 passes, completing 6 for 73 yards. Mr. Tarkenton was 18 for 28 for 182 yards and an interception. The Miami defense held Minnesota to 72 yards rushing on 24 carries. Head linesman Leo Miles, brother of former Edmonton Eskimos' great Rollie Miles, became the first Negro to officiate in a Super Bowl.





30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Uptown Girl--Billy Joel (6th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Jenseits von Eden--Nino de Angelo (3rd week at #1)

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that prices paid by producers for finished goods had risen just 0.6% in 1983. A sharp decline in energy prices had helped to produce the smallest increase since 1964. The U.S. Federal Reserve Board reported that industrial production averaged 6.5% higher in 1983 than in 1982.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)--The Proclaimers

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): First Time--Robin Beck

Died on this date
Ray Morehart, 89. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Morehart was a shortstop and second baseman with the Chicago White Sox (1924, 1926) and New York Yankees (1927), batting .269 with 1 home run and 49 runs batted in in 177 games. On August 31, 1926, he set a major league record, since tied, with 9 hits in a doubleheader. Mr. Morehart was with the Yankee team that's regarded as the greatest team in major league history; he didn't play in their four-game World Series sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates, but was on their active roster. He batted .287 with 32 homers in 1,192 games in 10 seasons in the minor leagues from 1922-1933. Mr. Morehart died in his rocking chair of an apparent heart attack.

Scandal
Judge Gerhard Gesell dismissed two of the counts against former U.S. National Security Council staff member Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North in connection with the Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages scandal, saying the court was "totally powerless" to pursue them. Lt. Col. North had contended that he needed thousands of pages of government documents to defend himself against charges that he had conspired to defraud the U.S. government and had stolen government property, but the administration of President Ronald Reagan had refused to provide some of the secret documents, citing national security. Prosecutor Lawrence Walsh had moved on January 5 to dismiss the two charges.

Crime
Bernhard H. Goetz, who in 1984 had shot four youths whom he said were about to rob him on a New York City subway train, was sentenced to one year in prison for possessing an unlicensed gun that he used in the incident.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that prices paid by producers for finished goods had risen 4% for all of 1988.

Hockey
NHL
Washington 5 Edmonton 3

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): All for Love--Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, and Sting

Diplomacy
U.S. President Bill Clinton met in Moscow with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. U.S. officials described Mr. Yeltsin as still pro-reform despite political setbacks.

War
The republic of Georgia and its secessionist region of Abkhazia agreed to the deployment ot United Nations peacekeeping troops who would police a cease-fire agreement.

Crime
The murder trial of Erik Menendez in Los Angeles Superior Court ended in a mistrial after six months when the jury was unable to reach a verdict. Erik, 23, and his brother Lyle, 26, had shot and killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills, California home on August 20, 1989. Prosecutors argued that the brothers, who were being tried separately, had killed their parents in order to inherit their $14 million estate. The brothers claimed they had suffered years of sexual and emotional abuse from their parents.

The Portland, Oregon Sheriff's Department arrested Shawn Eckhardt, bodyguard to figure skater Tonya Harding, in connection with the January 6 attack on defending U.S. women's figure skating champion Nancy Kerrigan, Ms. Harding's chief rival for the title. Miss Kerrigan had been clubbed on the leg after finishing a practice session prior to the national championships in Detroit. A second man, Derrick Smith, was also arrested.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had increased only 2.7% in 1993, the smallest increase for any year since 1986.

10 years ago
2004

Died on this date
Harold Shipman, 57. U.K. murderer. Dr. Shipman was a physician who murdered as many as 250 people, most of them women. He was convicted of 15 murders in 2000 and sentenced to life in prison at Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire, England, where he hanged himself in his cell the day before his 58th birthday.

Diplomacy
At a summit in Mexico, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin won agreement from U.S. President George W. Bush for Canadian companies to bid on a second round of contracts to rebuild Iraq. Mr. Bush also promised not to deport Canadian citizens to other countries--as had happened with terrorist suspect Maher Arar--without first consulting the government of Canada.