December 26, 2014

820 years ago
1194

Born on this date
Frederick II. Holy Roman Emperor, 1220-1250. Frederick II was the son of Emperor Henry VI, and succeeded his father as King of Sicily at the age of 3 in 1198. He became King of Italy and King of Germany in 1212, but didn't become Holy Roman Emperor until 1220, succeeding Otto IV, whom he had defeated in battle. The Holy Roman Empire expanded, and acquired control of Jerusalem as a result of the Fifth and Sixth Crusades. Frederick II was King of Jerusalem from 12251228. He has been described as the first modern ruler and the first modern European, promoting literature, arts, and sciences, while enacting legal reforms such as formally outlawing trial by ordeal. Emperor Frederick had frequent conflicts with the papacy; he was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church four times, and Pope Gregory IX called him an "antichrist." Frederick II died after a long illness on December 13, 1250, 13 days before his 56th birthday; he was succeeded as Holy Roman Emperor by Henry VII.

525 years ago
1489

War
The forces of the Roman Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella took control of Almería from the Nasrid ruler of Granada, Muhammad XIII.

100 years ago
1914

Born on this date
Richard Widmark. U.S. actor. Mr. Widmark acted on radio and stage in the 1930s and '40s before making his movie debut as a psychotic killer in Kiss of Death (1947), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. He was capable of playing villains or heroes, and often played cowboys, military officers, or detectives in movies too numerous to name here. Mr. Widmark died on March 24, 2008 at the age of 93.

70 years ago
1944

Theatre
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams received its premiere performance at the Civic Theatre in Chicago.

Music
William Grant Still, a Negro, won the prize of a $1,000 war bond offered for his Festive Overture, celebrating the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's 50th anniversary.



War
Canadian troops in Italy captured Rosetta. U.S. Office of War Mobilization Director James F. Byrnes ordered that the re-examination of professional athletes who had been classified 4-F be extended to college athletes with the same classification. The U.S. 1st Army halted the German westward drive short of the Meuse River. The U.S. 7th Army siezed Grandmeuil. The U.S. 3rd Army, commanded by General George Patton, broke through to Bastogne. Soviet forces in Hungary completed their encirclement of Budapest and broke into the city streets. A Japanese task force including a battleship in the Philippines attacked the American positions on Mindoro Island, resulting in minor damage to the Americans.

Diplomacy
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who was in Athens with Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden in an attempt to settle the Greek civil war, met with Greek leaders, including those of ELAS, in an effort to unify the Greek government.

Economics and finance
Up to 35% of New York City's retail meat stores remained closed today as many butchers carried out their plan not to open until a ceiling was put on livestock prices so they could operate legally at a profit.

60 years ago
1954

On the radio
The Shadow, starring Bret Morrison and Gertrude Warner, broadcast its last new episode on MBS, ending the series' run after 17 years. Unfortunately, no recording of the final episode is known to exist.

Football
NFL
Championship @ Municipal Stadium, Cleveland
Detroit 10 @ Cleveland 56

Otto Graham passed for 3 touchdowns and rushed for 3 more as the Browns routed the Lions before 43,827 fans to end Detroit's two-year reign as National Football League champions.





50 years ago
1964

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): I Feel Fine/She's a Woman--The Beatles (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France: Sacré Charlemagne--France Gall (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Non son degno di te--Gianni Morandi (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Pretty Woman--Roy Orbison (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): I Feel Fine--The Beatles (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): I Feel Fine--The Beatles

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Come See About Me--The Supremes
2 I Feel Fine--The Beatles
3 Mr. Lonely--Bobby Vinton
4 She's Not There--The Zombies
5 Goin' Out of My Head--Little Anthony and the Imperials
6 Ringo--Lorne Greene
7 The Jerk--The Larks
8 Amen--The Impressions
9 Any Way You Want It--Dave Clark Five
10 Mountain of Love--Johnny Rivers

Singles entering the chart were Give Him a Great Big Kiss by the Shangri-Las (#72); Let's Lock the Door (And Throw Away the Key) by Jay and the Americans (#75); Somewhere in Your Heart by Frank Sinatra (#78); Look of Love by Lesley Gore (#80); Blind Man, with versions by Bobby Bland and Little Milton (#81); Bucket "T" by Ronny and the Daytonas (#83); Ode to the Little Brown Shack Out Back by Billy Edd Wheeler (#85); Voice Your Choice by the Radiants (#91); Live it Up (#92)/Guess Who? (#98) by Dusty Springfield; Do What You Do Do Well by Ned Miller (#93); Paper Tiger by Sue Thompson (#94); Little Bell by the Dixie Cups (#97); and Big Brother by Dickey Lee (#100).

On television tonight
The Outer Limits, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Counterweight, starring Michael Constantine and Jacqueline Scott

Football
AFL
Championship @ War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo
San Diego 7 @ Buffalo 20

Cookie Gilchrist rushed 16 times for 122 yards and Wray Carlton rushed 18 times for 70 yards and a touchdown as the Bills defeated the Chargers before 40,242 fans to win their first American Football League championship and end the Chargers' reign as AFL champions. The Chargers opened the scoring in the 1st quarter on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Tobin Rote to Dave Kocourek, converted by Keith Lincoln. However, on the next San Diego drive, Mr. Lincoln, who had already rushed for 47 yards on 3 carries, caught a pass for 11 yards, but lost a fumble and was put out of the game with broken ribs on a punishing tackle by Buffalo linebacker Mike Stratton. The Chargers were never able to move the ball effectively again. Pete Gogolak kicked 2 field goals and converted Mr. Carlton's 4-yard touchdown run to give the Bills a 13-7 halftime lead, and Buffalo quarterback Jack Kemp put the game away when he completed a pass to Glenn Bass for a 48-yard gain to the San Diego 1-yard line and then rushed 1 yard for a touchdown, converted by Mr. Gogolak.



40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Oh Yes! You're Beautiful--Gary Glitter (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Jack Benny, 80. U.S. comedian. Mr. Benny, born Benjamin Kubelsky, was one of the most popular comedians of the 20th century, first in vaudeville, and especially on radio (1932-1955), and later, television (1950-1965). He starred in several movies, the best of which was probably To Be or Not to Be (1942). Mr. Benny was famous for playing himself as a cheapskate who played the violin badly, and was always claiming his age as 39. He died after a brief bout with cancer.

Space
The U.S.S.R. launched the space station Salyut 4 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

30 years ago
1984

Died on this date
Sheila Andrews, 31. U.S. singer. Miss Andrews was a country singer who had minor chart success in the late 1970s and early '80s. Her most successful single was It Don't Get Better than This, which reached #42 on the Billboard country chart in 1980.

25 years ago
1989

Died on this date
Lennox Berkeley, 86. U.K. composer. Sir Lennox composed choral, chamber, instrumental, and choral works, including several operas and four symphonies.

Doug Harvey, 65. Canadian hockey player. Mr. Harvey was a defenceman with the Montreal Canadiens (1947-61); New York Rangers (1961-64); Detroit Red Wings (1967); and St. Louis Blues (1968-69), scoring 88 goals and 452 assists in 1,113 regular season games and 8 goals and 64 assists in 137 playoff games. He won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the National Hockey League's best defenceman seven times, played on six Stanley Cup championship teams, and was unanimously elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973. Mr. Harvey was also a halfback with the Montreal Hornets of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union in 1945, scoring 1 point in a 6-game season. As well, Mr. Harvey played baseball in the Boston Braves' organization with the Class C Ottawa Senators and Nationals of the Border League from 1947-1950, batting .344 with 18 home runs in 238 games. He drank himself to death a week after his 65th birthday.

World events
U.S.S.R. President Mikhail Gorbachev used the word "illegitimate" to describe the Lithuanian Communist Party’s declaration of its independence from the Soviet party on December 20, and ruled out secession by any of the U.S.S.R.’s 15 republics.

Politics and government
The day after the execution of Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena, Ion Iliescu, a former party official, was named interim President.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Cotton Eye Joe--Rednex (12th week at #1)

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Cotton Eye Joe--Rednex (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Canada (RPM): Always--Bon Jovi (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Sylva Koscina, 61. Yugoslavian-born Italian actress. Miss Koscina moved to Italy during World War II, and worked as a model before appearing in Italian movies such as Il Ferroviere (The Railroad Man) (1956); Le fatiche di Ercole (Hercules) (1958); and Ercole e la regina di Lidia (Hercules Unchained) (1959). She appeared in Hollywood movies such as The Secret War of Harry Frigg (1968) and A Lovely Way to Die (1968), but failed to achieve stardom outside Italy. Miss Koscina died of breast cancer.

Terrorism
Two days after four Armed Islamic Group hijackers had seized control of Air France Flight 8969 at Houari Boumediene Airport in Algiers, the plane landed at Marseille, where a French Gendarmerie assault team boarded the aircraft and killed the hijackers.

10 years ago
2004

Died on this date
Reggie White, 43. U.S. football player. Mr. White was a defensive end with the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League from 1984-1985 before going to the National Football League, where he played with the Philadelphia Eagles (1985-1992); Green Bay Packers (1993-1998); and Carolina Panthers (2000). He was a 10-time All-Pro First team selection, and a 3-time All-Pro second team selection, as well as making the all-USFL team in 1985. Mr. White played with one Super Bowl Championship team, the Packers of 1996-1997. He was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 2006. Mr. White was also an ordained Baptist minister, and his fearless statements of biblical truth about homosexuality cost him a position as a pregame analyst on CBS telecasts of NFL games. He died of a sudden cardiac arrhythmia, one week after his 43rd birthday.

Disasters
The world's most powerful earthquake in 40 years, measuring 9.3 on the Richter scale, erupted underwater off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, creating a tsunami that sent walls of water barrelling thousands of miles, killing more than 200,000 people in half a dozen countries across South and Southeast Asia.

Football
NFL
San Diego (11-4) 31 @ Indianapolis (12-3) 34 (OT)

Peyton Manning of the Colts broke Dan Marino's single-season touchdown pass record when he threw his 48th and 49th of the season in their victory over the Chargers.