February 26, 2014

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Fats Domino!

1,650 years ago
364

Politics and government
Valentinian I was proclaimed Roman Emperor, succeeding Jovian, who had died nine days earlier.

220 years ago
1794

Disasters
The first Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, the Danish royal residence, burned down.

150 years ago
1864

Died on this date
Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, 56. Canadian politician and judge. Mr. Lafontaine was Premier of Canada East from 1842-1843 and 1848-1851, serving in an equal capacity with Robert Baldwin, Premier of Canada West, in the United Province of Canada. He served as Chief Justice of Canada East from 1853-1864. Mr. Lafontaine, a moderate reformer, is regarded as a father of responsible government in Canada.

125 years ago
1889

Died on this date
Karl Davydov, 50. Russian musician and composer. Mr. Davydov was nicknamed the "czar of cellists" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and composed several dozen works, mainly for cello. He died 17 days before his 51st birthday.

100 years ago
1914

Born on this date
Robert Alda. U.S. actor. Born Alphonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo, Mr. Alda was a successful stage actor, starring in the Broadway production of Guys and Dolls (1950), and winning a Tony Award for What Makes Sammy Run? (1964). He made an impressive movie debut playing George Gershwin in Rhapsody in Blue (1945), but his film career after that never fulfilled its apparent promise. Mr. Alda died on May 3, 1986 at the age of 72. He's best known today as the father of actor Alan Alda.

Transportation
HMHS Britannic, sister to RMS Titanic, was launched at Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast.

Baseball
The New York Giants and Chicago White Sox played the last game of their post-season exhibition tour, with the White Sox winning 5-4 in 11 innings at Chelsea Football Stadium on the Stamford Bridge Grounds in London. Estimates of the crowd ranged from 20,000-35,000, but one who was definitely in attendance was King George V, who met all the players and said that he "enjoyed the game enormously." The game was tied 2-2 after 9 innings, and each team scored twice in the 10th. The White Sox scored the winning run when rookie backup catcher Tom Daly hit a solo home run--the game's third homer--to the deepest part of the stadium. Jim Scott pitched the first 6 innings for the White Sox, and Joe Benz pitched the final 5 innings and was credited with the win. Red Faber, normally a starting pitcher with the White Sox, pitched a complete game for the Giants in taking the loss. For Mr. Daly, a native of Saint John, New Brunswick and thus the only royal subject on either team, hitting the game-winning home run in front of the king was probably the highlight of his career.

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--5th week at #1); Shoo-Shoo Baby--The Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and his Orchestra (Jukebox--7th week at #1)

War
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the War Manpower Commission and Selective Service Commission to review the draft deferments of five million registrants.

Diplomacy
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's son Randolph was reported to be in Yugoslavia meeting with Yugoslavian leader Marshal Tito in an attempt to further British efforts to effect closer cooperation between Marshal Tito and Yugoslavia's King Peter II in exile.

London diplomatic quarters reported that Spanish dictator Generalissimo Francisco Franco had assured Allied governments that Spain would follow a course of "honourable neutrality."

Labour
Congress of Industrial Oganizations-United Auto Workers President R.J. Thomas announced that local unions responsible for unatuthorized work stoppages would be disciplined.

Track and field
Gid Dodds won the mile in a time of 4:07.4 in the Amateur Athletic Union meet at Madison Square Garden in New York. The New York Athletic Club won the team title, with the University of Michigan finishing second and Dartmouth College third.

60 years ago
1954

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Oh, Mein Papa (Oh! My Pa-Pa)--Eddie Calvert (8th week at #1)

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Titi à la neige--Tweety & Sylvester (4th week at #1)

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Street Dance--Break Machine

#1 single in Switzerland: Jenseits von Eden--Nino de Angelo (5th week at #1)

War
The withdrawal of U.S. Marines from Beirut was completed, and the enemy bunkers were occupied by Lebanese units opposed to Lebanese President Amin Gemayel.

Scandal
Rev. Jesse Jackson, a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States in the November 1984 election, apologized to Jewish voters for having referred earlier to Jews as "Hymies" and to New York City as "Hymietown."

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Kiss--The Art of Noise featuring Tom Jones

#1 single in Switzerland: First Time--Robin Beck (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Roy Eldridge, 78. U.S. musician. Mr. Eldridge was a jazz trumpeter and occasional singer with a number of bands, including those led by Fletcher Henderson, Gene Krupa, and Artie Shaw. Dizzy Gillespie was one of the musicians who cited Mr. Eldridge as a musical influence.

Diplomacy
Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini told Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze that the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan cleared the way for closer Soviet-Iranian ties.

U.S. President George Bush met with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in Beijing.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): Give It Up--Cut 'N' Move (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: The Rhythm of the Night--Corona (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Right in the Night--Jam & Spoon (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): All for Love--Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT): La solitudine--Laura Pausini (4th week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Happy Nation--Ace of Base (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Ik wil niet dat je liegt/Waarheen waarvoor--Paul de Leeuw (7th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Without You--Mariah Carey (2nd week at #1)

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

Singles entering the chart were I'm Outstanding by Shaquille O'Neal (#66); Baby I Love Your Way by Big Mountain (#78); Sweet Lullaby by Deep Forest (#85); Player's Ball by OutKast (#86); You Don't Love Me (No, No, No) by Dawn Penn (#87); Tryin' to Get Over You by Vince Gill (#88); Ain't Seen Love Like That by Mr. Big (#91); Come to My Window by Melissa Etheridge (#92); and My Love by Little Texas (#95). Baby I Love Your Way was from the movie Reality Bites (1994).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Power of Love--Celine Dion
2 The Sign--Ace of Base
3 All for Love--Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, and Sting
4 Without You--Mariah Carey
5 Shoop--Salt-N-Pepa
6 Breathe Again--Toni Braxton
7 Understanding--Xscape
8 Hero--Mariah Carey
9 Because the Night--10,000 Maniacs
10 Whatta Man--Salt-N-Pepa with En Vogue

Singles entering the chart were Without You; Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through by Meat Loaf (#17); Gin and Juice by Snoop Doggy Dogg (#23); Bump n' Grind by R. Kelly (#26); Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm by Crash Test Dummies (#32); It's All Good by Hammer (#36); Everyday by Phil Collins (#41); I Swear by John Michael Montgomery (#43); Streets of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen (#51); Loser by Beck (#62); and God by Tori Amos (#77).

Crime
11 members of the Branch Davidian cult who had survived attacks on their Waco, Texas compound by U.S. federal agents in 1993 were acquitted of murder and conspiracy charges arising from the initial attack in February 1993 that had resulted in the deaths of four U.S. federal agents. Five of the 11 defendants found guilty of aiding and abetting the voluntary manslaughter of federal officials, and two were found guilty of weapons charges. The final attack on the compound had taken place on April 19, 1993, resulting in the deaths of about 80 members of the cult, including women and children, as well as cult leader David Koresh.

Olympics
Vreni Schneider of Switzerland won the women's slalom at the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway; with her two gold medals in 1988, she became the first woman to win three gold medals in alpine skiing.

10 years ago
2004

Died on this date
Shankarrao Chavan, 83. Indian politician. Mr. Chavan, a member of the Indian National Congress Party, sat in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (1960-1980), serving as Chief Minister (1975-1977, 1986-1988). In federal politics, he was a member of the Lok Sabha (1980-1984, 1985-1986) and Rajya Sabha (1988-2002), serving as Minister of Home Affairs (1984-1986, 1991-1996) and Minister of Finance (1988-1989).

Boris Trajkovski, 47. 2nd President of Macedonia, 1999-2004. Mr. Trajkovski, a member of the VMRO-DPMNE party, was elected President in November 1999, but didn't take office until a month later, replacing Kiro Gligorov, because of a dispute over the election results. He was killed in a plane crash in southern Herzegovina while en route to an economic conference in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mr. Trajkovski was succeeded as President by Branko Crvenkovski.