February 19, 2014

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Lee Morrow!

340 years ago
1674

War
England and the Netherlands signed the Treaty of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. A provision of the agreement transferred the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to England; the colony's name was soon changed to New York.

225 years ago
1789

Died on this date
Nicholas Van Dyke, 50. U.S. politician. Mr. Van Dyke served as Continental Congressman from Delaware from 1777-1782 and President (Governor) of Delaware from 1783-1786.

125 years ago
1889

War
Saskatchewan Métis leader Gabriel Dumont was pardoned by the Crown for role in the 1885 North West rebellion. Mr. Dumont was Louis Riel's adjutant-general, and had fled to the United States when he heard that Mr. Riel had surrendered. In 1886, on hearing of Mr. Riel's execution, Mr. Dumont had joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show as a crack marksman, returning to Canada in 1888 after the amnesty for rebels.

100 years ago
1914

Baseball
The New York Giants and Chicago White Sox continued their post-season exhibition tour, but their game scheduled to be played in Paris was rained out for the second straight day.

70 years ago
1944

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): My Heart Tells Me (Should I Believe My Heart?)--Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra with Eugenie Baird (Best Seller--4th week at #1); Shoo-Shoo Baby--The Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and his Orchestra (Jukebox--6th week at #1)

War
The three-pronged Soviet drive on Pskov resulted in the occupation of 130 communities. Reinforcements reaching Allied forces in Italy enabled new progress to be made against the Germans on the Cassino line. U.S. Marines captured the Japanese air base at the northern end of Engebi Island in the Marshall Islands.

Track and field
Gil Dodds won the Baxter mile at the New York Athletic Club games in 4:08.

60 years ago
1954

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Oh, Mein Papa (Oh! My Pa-Pa)--Eddie Calvert (7th week at #1)

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Titi à la neige--Tweety & Sylvester (3rd week at #1)

Scandal
The United States Senate Special Committee on Campaign Activities, which was investigating the June 1972 break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., decided to continue the remainder of its investigation behind closed doors in order not to interfere with the process of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, which was investigating the possibility of impeaching President Richard Nixon. The Senate committee also did not want to interfere with criminal cases initiated by special prosecutor Leon Jaworski or his predecessor, Archibald Cox.

Politics and government
Democratic Party candidate Richard VanderVeen defeated Republican Party candidate Robert VanderLaan in a by-election to fill the vacancy in Michigan's 5th District in the United States House of Representatives that had been created when Gerald Ford, a Republican, resigned several months earlier to accept the position of Vice-President of the United States. Mr. Ford said that he was "very disappointed by the results." Mr. VanderVeen had tried to turn his campaign into a referendum on whether President Richard Nixon should resign.

Oil
U.S. Federal Energy Office Administrator William Simon ordered emergency allocations of 84 million gallons of gasoline to 20 states.

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Thriller--Michael Jackson (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Jenseits von Eden--Nino de Angelo (4th week at #1)

War
U.S. Marines began withdrawing from Beirut.

Olympics
Phil and Steve Mahre, twins from Yakima, Washington representing the United States, won the gold and silver medals, respectively, in the men's slalom skiing competition on the final day of the Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Angel of Harlem--U2 (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Bring Me Edelweiss--Edelweiss (5th week at #1)

World events
Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who on February 14 had issued a fatwa--a legal judgment--against British author Salman Rushdie because his novel The Satanic Verses (1988) was considered disrespectful toward the prophet Muhammad, rejected the previous day's apology from Mr. Rushdie, who had said, "I profoundly regret the distress that publication has occasioned to sincere followers of Islam." Many Western nations began withdrawing their ambassadors from Iran in protest.

Auto racing
NASCAR
Darrell Waltrip won the Daytona 500 in his 16th attempt, running on fumes after opting not to make a pit stop for fuel with three laps remaining. Ken Schrader and Dale Earnhardt finished second and third, respectively, and they did pit with three laps remaining.

Hockey
NHL
Boston 4 Edmonton 2
Montreal 4 Chicago 4

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): Give It Up--Cut 'N' Move (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: The Rhythm of the Night--Corona (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Right in the Night--Jam & Spoon

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): All for Love--Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT): La solitudine--Laura Pausini (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Happy Nation--Ace of Base

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Ik wil niet dat je liegt/Waarheen waarvoor--Paul de Leeuw (6th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Without You--Mariah Carey

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 The Power of Love--Celine Dion (2nd week at #1)
2 All for Love--Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting
3 The Sign--Ace of Base
4 Breathe Again--Toni Braxton
5 Whatta Man--Salt-N-Pepa with En Vogue
6 Hero--Mariah Carey
7 Without You/Never Forget You--Mariah Carey
8 Understanding--Xscape
9 Getto Jam--Domino
10 So Much in Love--All-4-One

Singles entering the chart were Streets of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen (#65); Hey D.J. by Lighter Shade of Brown (#81); Family Affair by Shabba Ranks featuring Patra and Terri & Monica (#84); God by Tori Amos (#89); and Money in the Ghetto by Too $hort (#92). Streets of Philadelphia was from the movie Philadelphia (1993). Hey D.J. was from the movie Mi Vida Loca (1993). Family Affair was from the movie Addams Family Values (1993).

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Cash Box): All for Love--Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, and Sting (5th week at #1)

Theatre
This blogger and other members of the C.P.R. Stockholders of Edmonton went to Calgary, where we got together with members of the Baker's Dozen, Calgary's Sherlock Holmes society, to attend a performance of the Sherlock Holmes pastiche play Postmortem at the Pleiades Theatre. The two Sherlockian societies gathered afterward for a meal at the Elephant & Castle, and a good time was had by all.

Died on this date
Derek Jarman, 52. U.K. film director. Mr. Jarman was a raging atheist and sodomite whose movies included The Last of England (1987) and Edward II (1991). He died of AIDS, 19 days after his 52nd birthday.

Olympics
Aleksei Urmanov of Russia won the gold medal in the men's figure skating competition at the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. Bonnie Blair of the United States won her fourth career gold medal in speed skating, winning the women's 500-metre race.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 3 Edmonton 2

10 years ago
2004

Scandal
Former Enron Corporation chief executive Jeffrey Skilling was charged with fraud, insider trading, and other crimes in connection with the energy trading firm's collapse in 2001.