January 7, 2014

1,125 years ago
889

Born on this date
Li Bian. Emperor of Southern Tang, 937-943. Li Bian founded the Empire of Southern Tang, one of the Ten Kingdoms in Southern China created following the Tang dynasty. Li Bian died on March 30, 943 at the age of 54 after taking alchemists' medicines that he believed would lengthen his life, but instead, made him ill. He was succeeded on the throne by his son Li Jing.

175 years ago
1839

Died on this date
Hiram Lynn; Daniel Bedford; Albert Clark; Cornelius Cunningham; Joshua Doan; A. Perley. Canadian rebels. The six participants in the Upper Canada rebellion were executed in London, Upper Canada.

150 years ago
1864

Died on this date
Caleb Blood Smith, 55. U.S. politician. Mr. Smith was U.S. Secretary of the Interior under President Abraham Lincoln, serving from March 5, 1861-December 31, 1862, when he resigned because of disagreement with the Emancipation Proclamation.

125 years ago
1889

Football
U.S. college
Yale coach Walter Camp named his first All-America football team, creating a tradition that has lasted for more than a century. Original All-Americans included two Yale players: end Amos Alonzo Stagg, later a famous coach, and guard William "Pudge" Heffelfinger, the first professional player.

120 years ago
1894

Technology
William Kennedy Dickson received a patent for motion picture film.

110 years ago
1904

Communications
The distress signal "CQD" was established, to be replaced two years later by "SOS".

100 years ago
1914

Baseball
The New York Giants and Chicago White Sox continued their post-season exhibition tour, with the Giants defeating the White Sox 12-8, and the Giants defeating Victoria 18-0 in Melbourne.

75 years ago
1939

Science
Marguerite Perey discovered Francium, the last element first discovered in nature, rather than by synthesis.

70 years ago
1944

Died on this date
Lou Henry Hoover, 69. U.S. First Lady, 1929-1933. Mrs. Hoover was the wife of Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States of America. She was the first First Lady to make regular radio broadcasts, and was fluent in Chinese.

War
U.S. Army Air Forces chief General Hap Arnold said that three-quarters of Berlin had already been destroyed. The 2nd Ukrainian Army encircled the important base at Kirovograd in the upper part of the Dnieper bend. The Allies claimed that through January 4, 600 Japanese had been killed in teh U.S. Marines' offensive toward Bogen Bay on New Britain Island.

Defense
The U.S. War Production Board announced that American factories had produced 85,946 planes in 1943, an increase of 80% over 1942.

Crime
Fritz Schroeder, Hans P. Koenig, and Carl C. Kranz, all German-born naturalized U.S. citizens, were given eight-year prison sentences for violation of the U.S. Espionage Act of 1917.

Economics and finance
The American Iron and Steel Institute reported that steel production for 1943 had reached an all-time high of 88,872,598 net tons.

Business
The U.S. Justice Department issued subpoenas for the records of 85 more distillers, vintners, processors, and wholesalers of liquor in connection with a federal grand jury investigation of the industry.

60 years ago
1954

Technology
The Georgetown-IBM experiment--the first public demonstration of a machine translation system--was held in New York at the head office of International Business Machines.

50 years ago
1964

On television tonight
The Fugitive, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Home is the Hunted, with guest stars Andrew Prine, Jacqueline Scott, Robert Keith, Billy Mumy, and Clint Howard

Music
The Beach Boys were in Western Recording Studios in Hollywood to record Why Do Fools Fall in Love, soon to appear as the B-side of the single Fun, Fun, Fun and as a track on the album Shut Down Volume 2.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)--Helen Reddy (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Algo Más--Camilo Sesto (7th week at #1)

Law
Bora Laskin was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, succeeding Joseph-Honoré-Gérald Fauteux. A western judge, Ronald Martland, was in line to succeed Mr. Fauteux, but Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau intervened and appointed Mr. Laskin instead. To add insult to injury, Mr. Martland was the judge called on to swear in Mr. Laskin.

Politics and government
Brian Faulkner resigned as leader of the Unionists, Northern Ireland's largest Protestant party, three days after the party's ruling council had voted 454-374 against the creation of a Council of Ireland, a consultative body that would provide links with the Republic of Ireland. Mr. Faulkner maintained that he would continue as head of the new Protestant-Roman Catholic coalition that had assumed power on January 1 in accord with the recent Sunningdale Agreement.

Diplomacy
Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka began a five-nation, 10-day tour of southeast Asia.

Golf
Johnny Miller won the first PGA event of the year, the Bing Crosby Tournament at Pebble Beach, California, taking the first prize money of $27,500.

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): La Donna Cannone--Francesco De Gregori

#1 single in Flanders (VRT Top 30): Happy Station--Fun Fun

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): You Are--Dolly Parton (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Only You--The Flying Pickets (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: Only You--The Flying Pickets (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Say Say Say--Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Cash Box): Union of the Snake--Duran Duran (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Canada (RPM): Say Say Say--Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Alfred Kastler, 81. French physicist. Dr. Kastler won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1966 "for the discovery and development of optical methods for studying Hertzian resonances in atoms."

World events
Brunei became the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): C'è da spostare una macchina--Francesco Salvi (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Orinoco Flow--Enya (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): First Time--Robin Beck

#1 single in France (SNEP): High--David Hallyday

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Especially for You--Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Every Rose Has its Thorn--Poison (3rd week at #1)
2 My Prerogative--Bobby Brown
3 Two Hearts--Phil Collins
4 Giving You the Best That I Got--Anita Baker
5 In Your Room--Bangles
6 Don't Rush Me--Taylor Dayne
7 Waiting for a Star to Fall--Boy Meets Girl
8 Look Away--Chicago
9 Armageddon It--Def Leppard
10 Smooth Criminal--Michael Jackson

Singles entering the chart were The Living Years by Mike + the Mechanics (#79); Girl You Know it's True by Milli Vanilli (#83); Roni by Bobby Brown (#92); Way Cool Jr. by Ratt (#96); I Wanna Be Loved by House of Lords (#97); and Dreamin' by Vanessa Williams (#98).

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Cash Box): Every Rose Has its Thorn--Poison (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Hirohito, 87. Emperor of Japan, 1926-1989. Hirohito, now referred to in Japan as Emperor Shōwa, was named Regent of Japan on November 29, 1921 in place of his ailing father Emperor Taishō, and acceded to the throne upon his father's death on December 25, 1926. He was worshipped as a god by the Japanese people at the time he succeeded to the throne, and this worship helped to inspire Japanese aggression in World War II. When Japan surrendered to the Allies, Hirohito was forced to abandon his status as a deity, ruling as a constitutional monarch for the rest of his life, while avoiding prosecution as a war criminal. Hirohito was succeeded as Emperor by his son Akihito.

Hockey
NHL
Boston 1 @ Montreal 3
Edmonton 2 @ Calgary 7

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Babe--Take That (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Llewellyn Rees, 92. U.K. actor. Mr. Rees appeared in plays, films, and television programs. He appeared in movies such as Cromwell (1970); The Dresser (1983); and A Fish Called Wanda (1988), and appeared in television programs such as Doctor Who and Coronation Street.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate had declined 0.1% in December 1993 to 6.4%.

Football
CFL
The expansion Las Vegas Posse named former New England Patriots' head coach Ron Meyer as their head coach.

10 years ago
2004

Died on this date
Ingrid Thulin, 77. Swedish actress. Miss Thulin was best known for acting in movies directed by Ingmar Bergman, such as Wild Strawberries (1957); Winter Light (1962); The Silence (1963); Hour of the Wolf (1968); and Cries and Whispers (1972). She died 19 days before her 78th birthday.

Scandal
Six members of a disgraced and disbanded drug squad--five active and one retired Toronto police officers--were charged with 40 counts of corruption, extortion, theft, and obstruction of justice as part of a two-year investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.