January 19, 2014

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Inese!

1,375 years ago
639

Died on this date
Dagobert I, 35 or 36. King of Austrasia, 623-629; King of the Franks, 629-634; King of Neustria and Burgundy, 634-639. Dagobert I succeeded his father Chlothar II as King of Austrasia and then as King of the Franks, and was the last Merovingian monarch to wield any real power. He became King of Neustria and Burgundy after the partitioning of Gaul, and was succeeded by his 4-year-old son Clovis II.

470 years ago
1544

Born on this date
François II. King of France, 1559-1560. François II was King consort of Scots as a result of his marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, and acceded to the French throne upon the accidental death of his father Henri II. Although he was legally of age, François II delegated governing to François, Duke of Guise, and Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine, his uncles from the House of Guise. François II's reign was dominated by religious crisis; François was a Roman Catholic, and his opposition to Protestants led to the Amboise conspiracy, an attempted Huguenot coup in 1560 agains the King and the House of Guise. King François was plagued by ill health, and died of an ear condition on December 5, 1560 at the age of 16. He left no children, and was succeeded on the throne by his 10-year-old brother Charles IX.

250 years ago
1764

Politics and government
John Wilkes, who had already fled to Paris, was expelled from the British House of Commons for seditious libel and declared an outlaw for attacks in his weekly radical publication The North Briton on King George III's speech endorsing the Paris Peace Treaty in 1763.

175 years ago
1839

Born on this date
Paul Cézanne. French painter. Mr. Cézanne was a leading figure in the Post-Impressionist movement who influenced artists such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. He died on October 22, 1906 at the age of 67.

War
The British East India Company captured Aden.

75 years ago
1939

Exploration
The German Antarctic Expedition led by Kriegsmarine Captain Alfred Ritscher arrived at Princess Martha Coast aboard the freighter MS Schwabenland, 33 days after leaving Hamburg and began charting the region, which had recently been claimed by Norway as Dronning Maud Land. The Germans renamed the area Neu-Schwabenland (New Swabia) after the ship, which in turn was named after the German region of Swabia.

70 years ago
1944

War
Soviet troops occupied new positions in the Novosokolniki area opposite Latvia and captured Goshcha, 17 miles east of Rovno, in fighting along the Polish frontier. U.K. forces along the Tyrrhenian coast drove into the outskirts of Minturno after capturing Sujo, Tufo, and Argento. Chinese-based U.S. planes bombed the dock area at Campha and barracks at Moncay in French Indochina.

Diplomacy
Venezuelan President General Isaias Medina was received by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House.

World events
A spokesman for the Inter-American Emergency Committee for the Political Defense of the Continent disclosed in Montevideo that Bolivian revolutionaries had been in touch with German agents in Argentina prior to the Bolivian coup on December 20, 1943.

Politics and government
Mayors of 250 American and 19 Canadian cities met in Chicago to discuss postwar public works programs.

Music
Leopold Stokowski accepted an invitation to organize and conduct a 30-piece orchestra for the New York City Center of Music and Drama, to be known as the New York City Symphony.

60 years ago
1954

On television tonight
Suspense, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Haunted, starring John Archer, Augusta Dabney, and Helmut Dantine

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): Dirty Ol' Man--The Three Degrees

#1 single in the U.K.: You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me--The New Seekers featuring Lyn Paul

Australia's top 10 (Go-Set)
1 The Ballroom Blitz--The Sweet
2 Angie--Rolling Stones
3 48 Crash--Suzi Quatro
4 He Did with Me--Vicki Lawrence
5 Photograph--Ringo Starr
6 Dancing on a Saturday Night--Barry Blue
7 Knockin' on Heaven's Door--Bob Dylan
8 Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)--Helen Reddy
9 Rubber Bullets--10 C.C.
10 Paper Roses--Marie Osmond

The only single entering the chart was I Love You Love Me Love by Gary Glitter (#40).

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Show and Tell--Al Wilson

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Joker--Steve Miller Band
2 Show and Tell--Al Wilson
3 Smokin' in the Boy's Room--Brownsville Station
4 You're Sixteen--Ringo Starr
5 Time in a Bottle--Jim Croce
6 Living for the City--Stevie Wonder
7 I've Got to Use My Imagination--Gladys Knight and the Pips
8 Americans--Byron MacGregor
9 Love's Theme--The Love Unlimited Orchestra
10 The Way We Were--Barbra Streisand

Singles entering the chart were Mighty Love (Part 1) by the Spinners (#83); Sunshine on My Shoulders by John Denver (#84); In the Mood by Bette Midler (#85); I Just Can't Get You Out of My Mind by the Four Tops (#86); Must Be Love by the James Gang (#89); Stop to Start by Blue Magic (#95); There's Got to Be Rain in Your Life (To Appreciate the Sunshine) by Dorothy Norwood (#97); Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo by Rick Derringer (#98); Reach Out I'll Be There by the New Seekers (#99); and Bicycle Morning by Billy Sans (#100).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Time in a Bottle--Jim Croce (2nd week at #1)
2 Seasons in the Sun--Terry Jacks
3 The Joker--Steve Miller Band
4 Helen Wheels--Paul McCartney and Wings
5 Big Time Operator--Keith Hampshire
6 The Most Beautiful Girl--Charlie Rich
7 Painted Ladies--Ian Thomas
8 Smokin' in the Boy's Room--Brownsville Station
9 Hurricane of Change--Murray McLauchlan
10 Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)--Helen Reddy

Singles entering the chart were My Sweet Lady by Cliff De Young (#87); The Americans (A Canadian's Opinion) by Gordon Sinclair (#88); Joy by Isaac Hayes (#89); You're So Unique by Billy Preston (#91); I Can't Stand the Rain by Ann Peebles (#92); WOLD by Harry Chapin (#93); Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) by the Rolling Stones (#94); Flashback by the 5th Dimension (#95); Dark Lady by Cher (#96); Daddy What If by Bobby Bare (#97); Boogie Down by Eddie Kendricks (#98); and Life is a Song Worth Singing by Johnny Mathis (#100).

Calgary's Top 10
1 The Joker--Steve Miller Band
2 Seasons in the Sun--Terry Jacks
3 Spiders & Snakes--Jim Stafford
4 Let Me Be There--Olivia Newton-John
5 I Thought of You Again--Susan Jacks
6 The Most Beautiful Girl--Charlie Rich
7 Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)--Helen Reddy
8 Smokin' in the Boy's Room--Brownsville Station
9 Time in a Bottle--Jim Croce
10 Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up--Barry White
Pick hit of the week: Goddess of Nature--Abraham's Children

War
A Chinese force of 600 men overwhelmed South Vietnamese forces in the Paracel Islands, a desolate archipelago believed to contain oil deposits.

Diplomacy
China expelled five Soviet citizens, including three members of the Soviet embassy and two of their wives, on charges of espionage. A Chinese foreign ministry note, published by the official Chinese press agency Hsinhua, stated that the Soviets had been caught on the outskirts of Peking in the act of making contact with Chinese agents for the purpose of a mutual transfer of espionage and counter-revolutionary documents and equipment.

Economics and finance
French Finance Minister Valery Giscard d'Estaing announced that France would float the franc for six months, thereby undertaking a de facto devaluation. The decision broke up the European Economic Community's agreement of March 1973, which had set narrow limitations on exchange rate variations among EEC countries. Mr. Giscard d'Estaing said the move was necessary to protect French gold reserves, threatened by escalating petroleum prices, and because "there is no chance that the international monetary system will be reformed in 1974 or 1975."

Basketball
NCAA
California at Los Angeles 70 @ Notre Dame 71

The Fighting Irish came back from an 11-point deficit with 3:32 remaining to defeat the Bruins and end UCLA's winning streak at 88 games, a record that still stands.

Hockey
NHL
Boston 8 @ Montreal 0

The Bruins' rout of the Canadiens at the Montreal Forum, telecast nationally on Hockey Night in Canada, was an indication that the Canadiens were not likely to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.

30 years ago
1984

Died on this date
Max Bentley, 63. Canadian hockey player. Mr. Bentley was a centre with the Chicago Black Hawks (1940-43; 1945-47); Toronto Maple Leafs (1947-53); and New York Rangers (1953-54), scoring 245 goals and 299 assists in 645 regular season games. In 51 playoff games he scored 27 goals and 18 assists. Mr. Bentley won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer (1945-46; 1946-47); the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the most gentlemanly player (1942-43); and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player (1945-46). Mr. Bentley had starred on a line with his brother Doug (another brother, Reg, briefly joined the line in 1942-43), but Max was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs early in the 1947-48 season for five players in the biggest deal of its era. Mr. Bentley helped the Maple Leafs win Stanley Cups in 1947-48 and 1948-49 and again in 1950-1951. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966, long after he had retired to his family farm near Delisle, Saskatchewan. He died in Saskatoon.

Diplomacy
The Organization of the Islamic Conference voted to readmit Egypt to membership. Egypt's membership had been suspended after signing the Camp David Accords with Israel in 1979.

U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz reported "absolutely no movement" toward resuming nuclear arms reduction talks with the U.S.S.R.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that real personal income, adjusted for inflation, had risen 3.2% in 1983

In its annual report, State of Black America, the National Urban League stated that the economic circumstances of Negro Americans had declined in 1983. The report said that Negro unemployment was more than twice as much as white unemployment; that 42% of Negro households were headed by single mothers; and 1/3 of all Negroes were living in poverty.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Finnish Singles Chart): Back to the Stone Age--Stone (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Especially for You--Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan (3rd week at #1)

Abominations
Heather Erxleben became the first female combat soldier in Canada, after completing her training at the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Battle School, Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, Alberta.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 4.4% in 1988, matching the 1987 increase and much higher than the 1.1% increase in 1986.

Business
Canadian Airlines International acquired Wardair, Canada's third largest carrier, for $250 million.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): All for Love--Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting (5th week at #1)

Politics and government
Bloc Quebecois leader Lucien Bouchard delivered his maiden speech as Opposition leader in Canada's House of Commons.

Crime
Jeff Gillooly, former husband of U.S. figure skater Tonya Harding, was arrested in connection with the January 6 attack on Nancy Kerrigan, defending U.S. women's champion and Ms. Harding's chief rival for the championship.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the merchandise trade deficit had narrowed slightly to $10.17 billion in November 1993.

Hockey
NHL
Boston 3 Montreal 3
Toronto 3 Hartford 3

10 years ago
2004

Politics and government
U.S. Senator John Kerry (Massachusetts) won the Iowa caucuses for the 2004 Democratic party nomination for President of the United States. U.S. Senator John Edwards (North Carolina) finished second, and Vermont Governor Howard Dean finished third.