January 6, 2014

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Sheila Hellevang and Johanna Wegner!

175 years ago
1839

Disasters
The Night of the Big Wind, the most damaging storm in 300 years, swept across Ireland, damaging or destroying more than 20% of the houses in Dublin.

160 years ago
1854

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Sherlock Holmes!

75 years ago
1939

Died on this date
Gustavs Zemgals, 67. 2nd President of Latvia, 1927-1930. Mr. Zemgals, a member of the Democratic Centre Party, was an army captain and journalist before entering politics. He chaired the meeting on November 18, 1918 that declared the independence of Latvia. As President, Mr. Zemgals used his office to grant amnesties to 648 people. He was Latvia's Finance Minister from 1931-1932.

70 years ago
1944

Died on this date
Ida Tarbell, 86. U.S. writer. Miss Tarbell was a pioneering "muckraker" in the early 20th century; her book The History of the Standard Oil Company (1904), originally published as a series of articles in McClure's Magazine (1902-1904), led to the dissolution of the company's monopoly. She also write biographies, with her subjects including Napoleon Bonaparte (1895) and Abraham Lincoln (1900). Miss Tarbell developed Parkinson's disease in 1918, but continued working until her death from pneumonia.

War
The 1st Ukrainian Army captured Rakitno, 10 miles inside the prewar Polish border. American forces in Italy, on their drive to Cassino, took the village of San Vittore after a desperate house-to-house stand by German forces. U.S. bombers raided the Japanese bases at Wotje and Taroa in the Marshall Islands.

Diplomacy
The Union of Polish Patriots announced n Moscow a proposal to cede sections of eastern Poland to the U.S.S.R. and extend Poland's westward borders into Germany as compensation.

Defense
U.S. Navy Secretary James Forrestal announced that 65 aircraft carriers had been completed in 1943.

The U.S. Army disclosed the development of a propellerless fighter plane capable of flying at a speed of 500-600 miles per hour powered by jet propulsion.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt reported that Lend-Lease aid to American allies totalled $18.6 billion through December 1, 1943.

Business
The U.S. Justice Department filed suit in a U.S. federal court in New York, charging four corporations with conducting an international cartel in the chemical industry.

60 years ago
1954

Died on this date
Rabbit Maranville, 62. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Maranville was a shortstop with the Boston Braves (1912-1920, 1929-1935); Pittsburgh Pirates (1921-1924); Chicago Cubs (1925); Brooklyn Robins (1926); and St. Louis Cardinals (1927-1928), batting .258 with 28 home run and 884 runs batted in in 2,670 games, and was the Braves' shortstop when they won the World Series in 1914. He was one of the most colourful characters in baseball history, inspiring too many anecdotes to be mentioned here. Mr. Maranville was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954, several months after his death.

50 years ago
1964

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Dile (Tell Him)--Luis Aguilé (6th week at #1)

On television tonight
The Outer Limits, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Mice, starring Henry Silva and Diana Sands

40 years ago
1974

On the radio
CBS Radio Mystery Theater, hosted by E.G. Marshall
Tonight's episode: The Old Ones are Hard to Kill, starring Agnes Moorehead, Roger DeKoven, and Leon Janney

This was the first episode of the series, which broadcast 1,399 episodes through the end of its run in December 1982.

Television
The Global network began broadcasting in southern Ontario.

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Uptown Girl--Billy Joel (5th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Jenseits von Eden--Nino de Angelo (2nd week at #1)

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate had declined to 8.1% in December 1983.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Don't Worry Be Happy--Bobby McFerrin (10th week at #1)

Died on this date
Kehar Singh, 53; Satwant Singh, 26. Indian assassins. Messrs. Kehar Singh and Satwant Singh were executed by hanging in Tihar Jail the day they were convicted of conspiracy in the October 31, 1984 assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The two were bodyguards of Mrs. Gandhi when they shot her to death on October 31, 1984; a third conspirator, Beant Singh, was gunned down by Border Police officers at the scene.

Personal
This blogger, with other members of the CPR Stockholders of Edmonton, attended the Blue Carbuncle/Sherlock Holmes birthday party at the Sherlock Holmes pub at West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, and won the quiz that was a regular part of such gatherings.

Scandal
Hazeltine Corporation and three men--two former executives and a Teledyne Industries lobbyist--pled guilty to various conspiracy charges related to the U.S. Defense Department procurement scandal, and agreed to cooperate with the investigation, which had come to light in June 1988. Teledyne Industries and six individuals were indicted by a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia. The men indicted included a U.S. Navy procurement specialist, two private consultants, and three employees of Teledyne. Charges filed against one or more of them included bribery conspiracy, racketeering, theft of government property, making false statements, and conspiracy to defraud the United States government. Teledyne was indicted for allegedly paying $160,000 for confidential government information.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that unemployment stood at 5.3% at the end of 1988, a 14-year low.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): The Sign--Ace of Base (5th week at #1)

Crime
Nancy Kerrigan, favoured to successfully defend her U.S. women's figure skating championship two days later, was clubbed on the leg with a blunt instrument after finishing a practice session in Detroit, resulting in an injury that prevented her from competing in the championships.



Politics and government
600 delegates met in Laval to form a new provincial party in Quebec: l'Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ).

Economics and finance
The United States warned China that it would reduce by $1 billion its quota of textile imports from China unless a new agreement was negotiated.

10 years ago
2004

Diplomacy
The government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Army agreed on a formula for sharing the country's oil wealth. The deal represented a major step toward a formal peace agreement to end a long civil war. A separate civil war continued in the western region of Darfur.

Health
Officials from both Canada and the United States announced that DNA tests had confirmed that a cow that had tested positive for mad cow disease in Washington state had come from Alberta.