November 15, 2014

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Ken Powless!

420 years ago
1594

Died on this date
Martin Frobisher, 55-59. English explorer and privateer. Sir Martin made three voyages to the New World (1574-1578) searching for the Northwest Passage, and succeeded in discovering Frobisher Bay and landing on Baffin Island in what is now the Canadian Arctic. He and his crew celebrated the first Thanksgiving in North America in 1578. Sir Martin was knighted for his service in repelling the Spanish Armada in 1588. He died after receiving a gunshot wound to the thigh during the Siege of St. Crozon, a Spanish-held fortress in France.

220 years ago
1794

Died on this date
John Witherspoon, 71. U.K.-born American clergyman. Rev. Witherspoon was a Presbyterian minister in his native Scotland before emigrating to New Jersey in 1768 to become President of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). He was a delegate from New Jersey to the Second Continental Congress (1775-1781), and became the only active clergymen and only college president to sign the Declaration of Independence. Rev. Witherspoon signed the Articles of Confederation (1777) and supported the ratification of the United States Constitution a decade later. He was the convening moderator of the First General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (1789). Rev. Witherspoon was an advocate of Scottish common sense realism, holding that public morality required a religious component, which could be found in natural law. His lectures on checks and balances in government influenced one of his students, future U.S. President James Madison, who incorporated Rev. Witherspoon's ideas into the Constitution of the United States.

150 years ago
1864

War
In the U.S. Civil War, Union troops under General William Tecumseh Sherman burned Atlanta, and began Sherman's March to the Sea.

125 years ago
1889

Died on this date
Ambrose Dudley Mann, 88. U.S. and C.S. diplomat. Mr. Mann held several posts in Europe before serving as the first United States Assistant Secretary of State (1853-1855). He sided with the Confederacy during the American Civil War; he was one of the first three Confederate commissioners to Europe in 1861, eventually serving as Commissioner of the Confederate States of America for Belgium and the Vatican. Mr. Mann spent his later years in France, where he died.

World events
Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca led a military coup that deposed Brazilian Emperor Pedro II, and declared Brazil a republic.

100 years ago
1914

Died on this date
Harry Turner. U.S. football player. Mr. Turner was a center with various professional teams in Canton, Ohio, including the Professionals (1911-1914) in the Ohio League, precursor to the National Football League. In a 6-0 win over the Akron Indians, Mr. Turner was fatally injured when he broke his back and severed his spinal cord while tackling Akron's Joe Collins. Mr. Turner became the first player in the Ohio League to die from game-related injuries.

90 years ago
1924

Football
CRU
WCRFU
Final
Calgary 9 @ Winnipeg 11

Messrs. Van Vliet and Clarke scored touchdowns in the 1st and 2nd quarters, respectively, as the Victorias held on to defeat the 50th Battalion before just 1,200 fans at River Park. Winnipeg led 11-0 at halftime, but Calgary scored a safety touch in the 3rd quarter and a touchdown and 2 singles in the 4th. George McTeer scored the Calgary touchdown and added a single. Mr. Hanna of the 50th Battalion suffered a broken leg.

75 years ago
1939

Americana
The cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington was laid by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

70 years ago
1944

War
Soviet troops in Hungary captured Jaszbereny, 31 miles east of Budapest.

Defense
Germany issued a new decree whereby all German officers and non-commissioned officers who were members of the Nazi party must "educate their men in the Nazi philosophy" both on duty and off duty, "to from a closer link between the armed forces and the party."

Diplomacy
General Charles de Gaulle, leader of France's provisional government, announced his acceptance of an invitation to visit Moscow at an undisclosed date.

Scandal
U.S. Attorney General Francis Biddle announced that 18 steel companies and six of their officers had been indicted in Trenton, New Jersey on charges of being engaged in a conspiracy to fix prices.

Economics and finance
U.S. War Food Administrator Marvin Jones said that the 1945 food production program should equal that of 1944.

Labour
Striking supervisory employees of Wright Aircraft in Paterson, New Jersey voted to return to work.

Hockey
NHL
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings scored 5 goals in the span of 1 minute, 39 seconds in a game at Maple Leaf Gardens.

60 years ago
1954

On television tonight
Sherlock Holmes, starring Ronald Howard and H. Marion Crawford
Tonight's episode: The Case of the Belligerent Ghost



Studio One, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Let Me Go, Lover, starring Joe Maross, Cliff Norton, Anthony Ross, and Connie Sawyer

The title song for this episode was sung by Joan Weber, and quickly became a hit single for her.

Died on this date
Lionel Barrymore, 76. U.S. actor and director. Mr. Barrymore, a member of a famous acting family, had a lengthy career on stage and screen. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for A Free Soul (1931), but is probably best remembered as Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Mr. Barrymore was nominated for an Oscar for Best Director for Madame X (1929).

Aviation
The Scandinavian Air Service plane Royal Viking made its first regularly scheduled commercial flight between Los Angeles and Europe; it was the first commercial flight over the Canadian Arctic and the North Pole. Among those aboard were actors Jean Hersholt and Walter Pidgeon. The plane was christened by actress Cyd Charisse before takeoff from Los Angeles.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Out on the Street--Space Waltz (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Kung Fu Fighting--Carl Douglas (2nd week at #1)

At the movies
Earthquake, starring Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, and many others, opened in theatres. What set Earthquake apart from the other disaster movies of the time was the use of the sound effect Sensurround, meant to give theatregoers the feeling of actually experiencing an earthquake.

Politics and government
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau signed James Bay Agreement with Cree and Inuit residents, whereby the natives would receive a $150-million grant for land lost to power dams.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 5 @ California 3

Bill Flett scored 3 goals to lead the Maple Leafs as they came back from a 3-1 deficit after the 1st period to defeat the Golden Seals at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena in Oakland. Pierre Hamel played his first National Hockey League game in goal for Toronto, making 23 saves to get the win over Gilles Meloche.

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
Edmonton's Top 30 (CHED)
1 All Through the Night--Cyndi Lauper
2 Out of Touch--Daryl Hall John Oates
3 Better Be Good to Me--Tina Turner
4 Had a Dream (Sleeping with the Enemy)--Roger Hodgson
5 Lucky Star--Madonna
6 Wake Me Up Before You Go Go--Wham
7 The War Song--Culture Club
8 On the Dark Side--John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band
9 No More Lonely Nights--Paul McCartney
10 Purple Rain--Prince and the Revolution
11 The Wild Boys--Duran Duran
12 What About Me--Kenny Rogers, Kim Carnes and James Ingram
13 Penny Lover--Lionel Richie
14 Sea of Love--The Honeydrippers
15 Strut--Sheena Easton
16 I Just Called to Say I Love You--Stevie Wonder
17 Get it While You Can--Gary O
18 Alphabet Town--Gerry Cott
19 Desert Moon--Dennis DeYoung
20 I Can't Hold Back--Survivor
21 We Belong--Pat Benatar
22 Run to You--Bryan Adams
23 Blue Jean--David Bowie
24 Girls with Guns--Tommy Shaw
25 Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)--Billy Ocean
26 Teacher Teacher--.38 Special
27 Tears--John Waite
28 I Do Wanna Know--REO Speedwagon
29 Stranger in Town--Toto
30 Valotte--Julian Lennon

Died on this date
Baby Fae, 1 month. U.S. medical patient. Stephanie Fae Beauclair was born with a heart defect, and had the heart of a baboon transplanted into her at the age of 11 days. The operation was successful, but her body rejected the transplant, and she died 21 days after the operation.

Football
CFL
The Schenley Awards were presented in Edmonton to the CFL's outstanding players of 1984. The winners were Willard Reaves, Winnipeg (Outstanding Player); Nick Arakgi, Montreal (Canadian); James Parker, British Columbia (Defensive Player); John Bonk, Winnipeg (Offensive Lineman); Dwaine Wilson, Montreal (Rookie).

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Lambada--Kaoma (5th week at #1)

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Lambada--Kaoma (5th week at #1)
2 Girl I'm Gonna Miss You--Milli Vanilli
3 Pump Up the Jam--Technotronic featuring Felly
4 If Only I Could--Sydney Youngblood
5 The Best--Tina Turner
6 Swing the Mood--Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers
7 French Kiss--Lil Louis
8 This One--Paul McCartney
9 Ride on Time--Black Fox
10 That's What I Like--Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers

Singles entering the chart were That's What I Like; Trag meine Liebe wie einen Mantel by Boris Bukowski (#13); If I Could Turn Back Time by Cher (#24); and Crossroads by Tracy Chapman (#30).

World events
The East German government had issued 7.7 million travel visas for those wishing to go to West Germany.

War
FMLN rebels in El Salvador had been driven from some of their strongholds in San Salvador.

Scandal
Hazen Argue (Liberal--Saskatchewan) became the first Canadian Senator to face criminal charges when he was charged by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with fraud and misuse of Senate funds. The charges were dropped in 1991 when it became apparent that Sen. Argue was terminally ill with cancer.

Disasters
18 people were killed and 500 injured when a tornado cut through downtown Huntsville, Alabama.

20 years ago
1994

Died on this date
Elizabeth George Speare, 85. U.S. authoress. Mrs. Speare wrote children's novels, specializing in American history. She won the Newbery Medal for The Witch of Blackbird Pond (1958) and The Bronze Bow (1961), and was awarded the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal in 1989 for her contributions to children's literature. Mrs. Speare died of an aortic aneurysm, six days before her 86th birthday.

Politics and government
The German Bundestag approved a fourth term as Chancellor for Helmut Kohl. Mr. Kohl's ruling coalition had won a 10-seat majority in the 672-seat lower house of parliament in the October elections, but the defection of three coalition members in the secret ballot vote for Chancellor left Mr. Kohl with 338 votes, just one more than the majority needed.

War
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization said that its arms embargo against parties fighting in Bosnia would continue without U.S. participation.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Federal Reserve Board raised the federal funds rate--the rate banks charged one another on overnight loans--0.75% to 5.5%, and raised the discount rate--the rate charged by the Federal Reserve Board on loans to commercial banks--0.75% to 4.75%. Both rates were at their highest levels in three years. Large banks responded by raising their prime rate from 7.75% to 8.5%.

10 years ago
2004

Died on this date
Elmer L. Andersen, 95. U.S. politician. Mr. Andersen, a Republican, was Governor of Minnesota from 1961-1963. In his bid for re-election in 1962, Mr. Andersen lost to Lieutenant-Governor Karl Rolvaag by 91 votes, but he didn't leave office until the results of a recount became official.