December 16, 2014

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Heather Austin!

325 years ago
1689

Law
An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown--better known as the Bill of Rights--was passed by England's Convention Parliament.

150 years ago
1864

Born on this date
William S. Hart. U.S. actor. Mr. Hart had a successful career on stage, but achieved fame as the foremost star of Western movies from 1914--when he starred in The Bargain--through 1925, when he starred in his last film, Tumbleweeds. He died on June 23, 1946 at the age of 81.

War
In the U.S. Civil War, Major General George Thomas's Union forces completed their rout of Lieutenant General John Bell Hood's Confederate Army of Tennessee in the Battle of Nashville.

100 years ago
1914

War
German battleships under Franz von Hipper bombarded the English ports of Hartlepool and Scarborough.

80 years ago
1934

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Louis Hector and Leigh Lovell, on NBC
Today’s episode: The Case of the Walking Corpse

70 years ago
1944

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): I'm Making Believe--The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald (Best seller--2nd week at #1); Don't Fence Me In--Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and His Orchestra (Juke Box--1st week at #1)

Died on this date
Betsie ten Boom, 59. Dutch Holocaust victim. Miss ten Boom was the sister of Corrie ten Boom, author of The Hiding Place (1971). The family hid Jews from the Nazis during World War II. Betsie, who suffered from congenital pernicious anemia, died in Ravensbruck Concentration Camp in Germany.

War
The Battle of the Bulge began at 5:30 A.M. with a German counter-offensive against U.S. forces. German artillery fire pounded American pounded American positions near Bastogne. The Germans attacked with three armies (some 19 divisions), and five in reserve. By nightfall, the American VII Corps line (1st Army) on the south flank had been broken. With the new German offensive, fighting ended in the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, resulting in a German defensive victory. New Zealand troops captured Faenza, Italy. Soviet troops drove from three sides on the important railway centre of Kosice, seized by Hungary from Czechoslovakia. U.S. troops on Mindoro Island in the Philippines occupied San Jose and the adjacent airfield 5 miles in from the coast.

Diplomacy
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Mackenzie King appointed Lester Pearson as Canada's Ambassador to the United States.

Society
Boston police announced proceedings against a bookseller for selling Erskine Caldwell's latest novel, Tragic Ground, to an agent of the Watch and Ward Society, which previously had noted 20 allegedly obscene pages in the book.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill freezing Social Security taxes for 1945 at the current level of 1%.

50 years ago
1964

Music
The Beach Boys were at Western Recording Studios in Hollywood, California, where they began recording the song Kiss Me, Baby.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Kung Fu Fighting--Carl Douglas

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): ¿Quieres Ser Mi Amante?--Camilo Sesto

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in France (SNEP): Besoin de rien, envie de toi--Peter and Sloane (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: When the Rain Begins to Fall--Jermaine Jackson and Pia Zadora (4th week at #1)

Diplomacy
Mikhail Gorbachev, widely believed to be the next leader of the Soviet Union, spent five hours in "very friendly" talks with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Chequers, Mrs. Thatcher’s country estate.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Lambada--Kaoma (12th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Girl I'm Gonna Miss You--Milli Vanilli (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Lily was Here--David A. Stewart and Candy Dulfer (4th week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Hélène--Roch Voisine (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Let's Party--Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 We Didn't Start the Fire--Billy Joel (2nd week at #1)
2 Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins
3 Don't Know Much--Linda Ronstadt (featuring Aaron Neville)
4 Back to Life--Soul II Soul
5 With Every Beat of My Heart--Taylor Dayne
6 Blame it on the Rain--Milli Vanilli
7 Pump Up the Jam--Technotronic featuring Felly
8 Rhythm Nation--Janet Jackson
9 Living in Sin--Bon Jovi
10 Just Like Jesse James--Cher

Singles entering the chart were Dangerous by Roxette (#65); Here We Are by Gloria Estefan (#68); Opposites Attract by Paula Abdul (Duet with the Wild Pair) (#72); I Will Survive by SaFire (#80); Foolish Heart by Sharon Bryant (#90); C'mon and Get My Love by D-Mob introducing Cathy Dennis (#91); and Never 2 Much of You by Dino (#96).

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins
2 We Didn't Start the Fire--Billy Joel
3 Back to Life--Soul II Soul
4 Don't Know Much--Linda Ronstadt (featuring Aaron Neville)
5 Rhythm Nation--Janet Jackson
6 With Every Beat of My Heart--Taylor Dayne
7 (It's Just) The Way that You Love Me--Paula Abdul
8 Angelia--Richard Marx
9 Don't Close Your Eyes--Kix
10 Just Like Jesse James--Cher

Singles entering the chart were Dangerous by Roxette (#66); Here We Are by Gloria Estefan (#82); Heart by Neneh Cherry (#86); Electric Boogie by Marcia Griffiths (#90); Sometimes She Cries by Warrant (#93); and Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode (#95).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins
2 We Didn't Start the Fire--Billy Joel
3 Blame it on the Rain--Milli Vanilli
4 Angelia--Richard Marx
5 Love Shack--The B-52's
6 When I See You Smile--Bad English
7 Just Between You and Me--Lou Gramm
8 Hey Men--Men Without Hats
9 (It's Just) The Way that You Love Me--Paula Abdul
10 Don't Know Much--Linda Ronstadt (featuring Aaron Neville)

Singles entering the chart were Peace in Our Time by Eddie Money (#75); Angel by Euruthmics (#77); Nothin' to Hide by Paco (#79); Hélène by Roch Voisine (#83); Everything by Jody Watley (#85); Human Cannonball by Webb Wilder (#88); Too Much by Bros. (#90); I Remember You by Skid Row (#92); and We'll Reach for the Sky Tonight by Rita MacNeil (#94).

Died on this date
Aileen Pringle, 94. U.S. actress. Mrs. Pringle, born Aileen Bisbee, was a star during the era of silent films, appearing in such movies as Stolen Moments (1920); Three Weeks (1924); Dream of Love (1928); and Wall Street (1929).

Lee Van Cleef, 64. U.S. actor. Mr. Van Cleef, who was once quoted as saying that being born with a beady-eyed sneer was the best thing that ever happened to him, played villains in movies such as Kansas City Confidential (1952) and High Noon (1952), and starred in numerous "spaghetti Westerns" in the 1960s and '70s, such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966).

Silvana Mangano, 59. Italian actress. Miss Mangano was known for her starring roles in Italian films such as Risa Amaro (Bitter Rice) (1949) and Anna (1951). She was married to producer Dino De Laurentiis.

Robert S. Vance, 58. U.S. judge. Mr. Vance, a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, was killed instantly at his home in Mountain Brook, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, when he opened a mail package containing a pipe bomb. Mr. Vance was the third U.S. federal judge in the 20th Century to be assassinated as a result of his judicial service. After an intensive investigation, Walter Moody, who had previously served four years in prison for possession of a bomb that had exploded in his house, was charged with the murders of Mr. Vance and Georgia civil rights attorney Robert E. Robinson, who had been killed in a separate blast. Mr. Moody was also charged with mailing bombs that had been defused at the Eleventh Circuit's headquarters and at the Jacksonville, Florida office of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Prosecutors speculated that Mr. Moody’s motive was revenge against the 11th Circuit Court for refusal to expunge his conviction, although Mr. Vance had not been on the panel that had considered the earlier case. Mr. Moody was sentenced to death for the murder of Judge Vance, and is currently on death row in Alabama.

War
Four off-duty U.S. servicemen in Panama were confronted at a roadblock by civilians and Panamanian troops, and one of the Americans was killed when they attempted to leave.

Protest
The previous day’s protest in Timisoara, Transylvania, Romania over the arrest and deportation of a Protestant minister evolved into a pro-democracy demonstration, and army and Securitate (internal security) troops moved in.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Old Pop in an Oak--Rednex (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Stay Another Day--East 17

Married on this date
Canadian pop singer Céline Dion married her longtime manager René Angélil in Montreal.

Politics and government
Bloc Québécois and Parti Québécois organizations joined forces to fight in the Quebec independence referendum campaign for 1995.

Transportation
The last direct Via passenger train between Montreal and Halifax arrived in Halifax.

10 years ago
2004

Died on this date
Ted Abernathy, 71. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Abernathy played with eight major league teams from 1955-1972, compiling a record of 63-69 with 148 saves and an earned run average of 3.46 in 681 games. He was known for his sidearm and "submarine" delivery, and led the National League in saves with 31 in 1965 while with the Chicago Cubs, and with 28 in 1967 while with the Cincinnati Reds. Mr. Abernathy died of Alzheimer's disease.