January 20, 2014

375 years ago
1639

Died on this date
Mustafa I, 47. Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, 1617-1618, 1622-1623. Sultan Mustafa I, a son of Sultan Mehmed III, acceded to the throne upon the death of his older brother Ahmed I in November 1617, but was deposed after just three months in favour of Ahmed I's son Osman II. Mustafa I was restored to the throne in May 1622 upon the deposition and assassination of his nephew, but was mentally unstable, and was deposed in September 1623 in favour of Ahmed I's 11-year-old son Murad IV. He was either executed on the orders of his nephew, or died from epilepsy caused by spending most of his life in confinement.

175 years ago
1839

War
Chilean forces commanded by General in Chief Manuel Bulnes and Peruvians opposed to Bolivian Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz defeated the Confederate Army of Peru and Bolivia, led by marshal Santa Cruz, in the Battle of Yungay in Peru.

125 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Allan Lockheed. U.S. aviation engineer. Mr. Lockheed, born Allan Loughead, flew and designed planes, and with his brother Malcolm founded Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company in 1912. The company folded in 1921, but Allan co-founded Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in 1926. He died of liver cancer at the age of 80 on May 26, 1969.

80 years ago
1934

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A.: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra (Vocal by Bob Lawrence)

Business
The photographic and electronics company Fujifilm was founded in Tokyo.

60 years ago
1954

At the movies
Front Page Story, directed by Gordon Parry, and starring Jack Hawkins, Elizabeth Allan, and Eva Bartok, received its premiere screening in London.



Radio
The National Negro Network was established by Chicago advertiser W. Leonard Evans, Jr. with 40 charter member stations through the United States.

Boxing
Charley Norkus (22-11) scored a technical knockout of Danny Nardico (48-11-4) at 2:15 of the 9th round of a heavyweight bout at Miami Beach Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida. The fight featured 8 knockdowns.



50 years ago
1964

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Cuore--Rita Pavone

On television tonight
The Outer Limits, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Don't Open Till Doomsday, starring Miriam Hopkins, Buck Taylor, Melinda Plowman, and John Hoyt

Music
The album Meet the Beatles! was released on Capitol Records in the United States.

The Beach Boys were at Western Recording Studios in Hollywood to record Pom Pom Play Girl, soon to appear as a track on the album Shut Down Volume 2. It was the first song to feature a lead vocal by Carl Wilson.

40 years ago
1974

War
Two days of fighting between Chinese and South Vietnamese troops concluded with China taking complete control of the Paracel Islands, a desolate archipelago believed to contain oil deposits. One American and 150 South Vietnamese were either killed or captured as a result of the hostilities.

Golf
Johnny Miller won the Dean Martin-San Diego Open, his third PGA win in as many weeks. First prize money was $30,000.

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Uptown Girl--Billy Joel (7th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Jenseits von Eden--Nino de Angelo (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Johnny Weissmuller, 79. Austro-Hungarian born U.S. swimmer and actor. Mr. Weissmuller, who moved to the United States with his parents as an infant, won three gold medals and a bronze medal in the 1924 Summer Olympic games in Paris and two more gold medals in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. He began appearing in movies as himself in 1929, and achieved fame as Tarzan of the Apes in a series of movies from 1932-1948. After leaving the role of Tarzan, Mr. Weissmuller played Jungle Jim in a series of movies and a television series from 1948-1956.

Charles Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick, 72. U.K. actor. Mr. Greville, the nephew of Prime Minister Anthony Eden, inherited his earldom in 1928; he became the first British aristocrat to be offered a Hollywood contract, and was known as the "Duke of Hollywood." His only notable film was The Dawn Patrol (1938), in which he acted under the name Michael Brooke. The Earl of Warwick was a Conservative member of the House of Lords, and supported his uncle. He eventually moved to Rome to avoid British taxes, and died there.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that real gross national product had risen at an annual rate of 4.5% during the fourth quarter of 1983.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): First Time--Robin Beck (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Beatrice Lillie, 94. Canadian-born U.K. actress. Born Constance Sylvia Gladys Munston in Toronto, Miss Lillie was often called the funniest woman in the world. She appeared in such films as Around the World in 80 Days (1956) and Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967).

Józef Cyrankiewicz, 77. Prime Minister of Poland, 1947-1952, 1954-1970. Mr. Cyrankiewicz joined the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) in the 1930s and led the Polish resistance organization Związek Walki Zbrojnej from 1939 until he was captured by the Gestapo in 1941 and interned for the balance of World War II. He supported the union of the PPS with the Communist Polish Workers' Party (PPR) in 1948 to become the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR), while he continued as Prime Minister. Mr. Cyrankiewicz resigned as Prime Minister in 1952 in favour of party boss Bolesław Bierut, and served as deputy Prime Minister under him until returning as Prime Minister in 1954. He resigned in 1970, and served as Chairman of the Council of State from 1970-1972. Mr. Cyrankiewicz was posthumously charged in 2003 with complicity in the 1948 murder of World War II resistance hero Witold Pilecki.

Politics and government
George H.W. Bush was inaugurated as the 41st President of the United States of America. Dan Quayle was inaugurated as Vice-President. In his inaugural address, Mr. Bush urged Americans to rise above materialism and "to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world." He noted that problems, including crime and poverty, faced the nation, but that the federal government acting alone could not achieve solutions. Addressing illegal drug abuse, Mr. Bush said, "This scourge will stop." Nine inaugural balls were held in Washington; the cost of the week's events, mostly covered by private donations, was $30 million, by far the greatest for any inauguration. Lee Atwater, who had managed Mr. Bush's election campaign, played a starring role on inauguration night as he performed the song Hi Heel Sneakers on stage. A fascinating documentary movie called Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story was released in 2008.





World events
The U.S.S.R. began airlifting food and fuel to the Afghan capital of Kabul to keep the city supplied while the Soviet army withdrew from the country.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): All for Love--Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, and Sting (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Matt Busby, 84. U.K. soccer player and manager. Sir Matt played for Manchester City from 1928-1936 and Liverpool from 1936-1941, but was best known as manager of Manchester United from 1945-1969 and 1970-1971.

Politics and government
Russian Premier Viktor Chernomyrdin said that his government would seek to "correct the course of reforms." Another reformer, Finance Minister Boris Fyodorov, resigned after blaming the central bank for the rising rate of inflation.

Scandal
U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno appointed Robert Fiske, a former U.S. attorney from New York City, to head the inquiry into the involvement of President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton with Whitewater Development Company, a failed real estate venture in Arkansas.

Communications
Telesat Canada's Anik E-1 communications satellite spun out of control, leaving newspapers, radio and television broadcasters scrambling to get news feeds.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that housing starts had increased 7.1% in 1993 to their highest level since 1989.

10 years ago
2004

Politics and government
U.S. President George W. Bush delivered his State of the Union speech, in which he said he may introduce a constitutional amendment to ban sodomite marriage.



Religion
The Salvation Army announced that it had received a gift of $1.5 billion, the largest ever given to any charity.

Disasters
At least 23 people were killed and 74 injured in an explosion at Algeria's largest gas refinery. Foul play was not suspected.