June 25, 2014

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Gail McGonigal!

150 years ago
1864

Born on this date
Walther Nernst. German chemist, physicist, and inventor. Mr. Nernst won the 1920 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in thermochemistry, in particular the Third Law of Thermodynamics (describing the behaviour of matter as temperatures approach absolute zero). His inventions included an electric lamp that was a precursor to the modern incandescent lamp and an electric piano. Mr. Nernst, whose opposition to the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler ruined his career, died on November 18, 1941 at the age of 77.

120 years ago
1894

Born on this date
Hermann Oberth. Austro-Hungarian-born German physicist and engineer. Professor Oberth was known as the "Father of German rocketry," through his rejected, but prophetic doctoral thesis Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen (The Rocket into Planetary Space) (1923), expanded and revised as Wege zur Raumschiffahrt (Ways to Spaceflight) (1929). He was an advisor for the film Frau im Mond (Woman in the Moon) (1929). He taught Wernher von Braun, and later worked for his former student in the United States. Prof. Oberth died on December 28,1989 at the age of 95. A lunar crater and an asteroid are named in his honour.

Died on this date
Marie François Sadi Carnot, 56. 5th President of France, 1887-1894. Mr. Carnot, a moderate Republican, was first elected to the French National Assembly in 1871. He held several cabinet posts before serving as President. President Carnot died several hours after being stabbed by Italian anarchist Sante Geronimo Caserio, and was succeeded as President by Jean Casimir-Perier.

75 years ago
1939

Died on this date
Dick Seaman, 26. U.K. auto racing driver. Mr. Seaman, one of Adolf Hitler's favourite drivers, drove for Mercedes-Benz and won the German Grand Prix in 1938, finishing second in that year's Swiss Grand Prix. He was leading the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps when he crashed into a tree on lap 22, and died from burns several hours later.

Auto racing
German drivers Hermann Lang, Rudolf Hasse, and Manfred von Brauchitsch finished first, second, and third, respectively, in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, in a race marred by the death of Dick Seaman.

70 years ago
1944

Died on this date
Dénes Berinkey, 72. Prime Minister of Hungary, 1919. Mr. Berinkey was Prime Minister of Hungary from January 11-March 21, 1919, just prior to the Communist accession to power and the creation of the Hungarian Soviet Republic.

Lucha Reyes, 38. Mexican singer. Miss Reyes, born María de la Luz Flores Aceves, was known as the "Mother of ranchera music," achieving popularity in the 1930s and '40s. She died of "acute intoxication" caused by an "unknown substance," which was believed to be barbiturates.

Popular culture
The final page of the comic strip Krazy Kat was published, exactly two months after the death of its author, George Herriman. The strip was first published in the New York Evening Journal on October 28, 1913.

War
The Battle of Tali-Ihantala between Soviet and Finnish forces--the largest battle fought in the Nordic countries during World War II--began in Finland's Karelian Peninsula. Soviet forces in the eastern front closed the Vitebsk trap and pushed into the city, where street fighting erupted. In France, United States Navy and Royal Navy ships bombarded Cherbourg to support U.S. Army units engaged in the Battle of Cherbourg, and German forces conceded the loss of the port later in the day. U.S. Army units in Italy took Follonica and moved further northward and inland, nearing the highway centre of Massa.

Protest
With stores and theatres closed, police used smoke bombs to disperse student demonstrations against the suspension of civil rights in Guatemala City.

Track and field
Gunder Haegg broke his own two-year-old record for 2 miles, covering the distance in 8:46.4 in Ostersund, Sweden.

60 years ago
1954

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Secret Love--Doris Day (9th week at #1)

50 years ago
1964

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: My Guy--Mary Wells

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): It's Over--Roy Orbison

Music
The Beatles continued the New Zealand portion of their Far Eastern tour, arriving in Auckland and performing two concerts. The three opening acts included Johnny Devlin.

The Beach Boys were at Western Recorders in Hollywood, California, where they recorded the songs The Man with All the Toys; Santa's Beard; Merry Christmas, Baby; Christmas Day; and Auld Lang Syne, all of which appeared on The Beach Boys' Christmas Album, released several months later.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Pot pour rire Mr le Président--Patrick Green & Olivier Lejeune (4th week at #1)

Diplomacy
The United States recalled its ambassador to Sudan and issued a strongly-worded protest over the previous day's decision by Sudanese President Gaafar al-Nimeiry to turn over to the Palestine Liberation Organization--essentially freeing--eight Arab guerrillas who had killed two American diplomats and a Belgian in a March 1973 attack on the Saudi Arabian embassy in Khartoum.

Terrorism
Al Fatah, the largest and most "moderate" Palestinian terrorist organization, took responsibility for for the previous day's attack by three guerrillas on a small apartment house in the northern Israeli resort town of Nahariya, in which the terrorists had killed three civilians and an Israeli soldier before the guerrillas had been killed in the ensuing gunfight with Israeli soldiers.

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): It's Just Not Cricket--The Twelfth Man

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Lobo-Hombre en París--La Unión (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Michel Foucault, 57. French philosopher. Dr. Foucault emphasized the role played by power in social discourse. His books included Madness and Insanity: History of Madness in the Classical Age (1961); Birth of the Clinic: An Archaeology of Medical Perception (1963); and The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences (1966). Dr. Foucault, who was heavily influenced by the 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, was a heavy user and promiscuous sodomite who admitted that his intellectual pursuits were greatly influenced by his homosexual desires. He died of AIDS.

Defense
The United States Senate voted 88-1 to delete $21 million in additional military aid for Contra rebels seeking to overthrow the Sandanista regime in Nicaragua.

Economics and finance
Major banks in the United States raised their prime interest rate from 12.5%-13%, the highest level since October 1982. U.S. President Ronald Reagan said he could see "no excuse" for the increase.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): If You Don't Know Me by Now--Simply Red (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: The Look--Roxette (5th week at #1)

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Winnipeg (0-1) 7 @ Saskatchewan (1-0) 37

The Roughriders routed the Blue Bombers in the first Canadian Football League game to be played at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm--Crash Test Dummies (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Il Cielo--Fiorello & Caterina (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Baby, I Love Your Way--Big Mountain (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Come On You Reds--Manchester United F.C. with Status Quo (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT): I Like to Move It--Reel 2 Real featuring the Mad Stuntman (4th week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): I Can See Clearly Now--Jimmy Cliff (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): The Real Thing--2 Unlimited (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Love is All Around--Wet Wet Wet (4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 I Swear--All-4-One (6th week at #1)
2 Any Time, Any Place/And On and On--Janet Jackson
3 Regulate--Warren G & Nate Dogg
4 Don't Turn Around--Ace of Base
5 I'll Remember--Madonna
6 Back and Forth--Aaliyah
7 You Mean the World to Me--Toni Braxton
8 The Sign--Ace of Base
9 Baby I Love Your Way--Big Mountain
10 Stay (I Missed You)--Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories

Singles entering the chart were Always in My Heart by Tevin Campbell (#79); Girls & Boys by Blur (#88); Booti Call by BLACKstreet (#94); and It's Over Now by Cause and Effect (#97).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I Swear--All-4-One (5th week at #1)
2 Don't Turn Around--Ace of Base
3 I'll Remember--Madonna
4 Any Time, Any Place/And On and On--Janet Jackson
5 You Mean the World to Me--Toni Braxton
6 If You Go--Jon Secada
7 The Most Beautiful Girl in the World--The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Love Symbol)
8 Baby, I Love Your Way--Big Mountain
9 Misled--Celine Dion
10 Anytime You Need a Friend--Mariah Carey

Singles entering the chart were Ain't Got Nothing If You Ain't Got Love by Michael Bolton (#63); Sleeping in My Car by Roxette (#83); Hard Luck Woman by Garth Brooks (#84); Booti Call by BLACKStreet (#87); Selling the Drama by Live (#88); and Funkdafied by Da Brat (#89). Ain't Got Nothing If You Ain't Got Love was actually an album track, which, for some reason, was listed on the singles chart.

Died on this date
James Hagerstrom, 73. U.S. military aviator. Colonel Hagerstrom was a fighter ace with the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II and U.S. Air Force in the Korean War, recording 14.5 combat victories, becoming one of seven American pilots to achieve ace status in both wars. He also flew 30 missions in the Vietnam War, and died of stomach cancer.

10 years ago
2004

Football
CFL
Winnipeg (0-2) 22 @ Hamilton (2-0) 32