January 17, 2015

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Tanya Sokolova!

1,620 years ago
395

Died on this date
Theodosius I, 48. Roman Emperor, 379-395. Theodosius "the Great" was a military commander who filled a leadership vacancy and became Emperor of the Eastern Empire in 379. He fought two successful civil wars and ended up ruling both the Eastern and Western Empire in 392, but at great cost to the Empire. Empire Theodosius I persecuted Christians in the early years of his reign, but later made Nicene Christianity the official state religion, and abolished pagan Roman practices. He died, six days after his 48th birthday, from a disease involving severe edema. His sons Arcadius and Honorius succeeded him as Emperors in the East and West, respectively, and the Roman Empire was never again united.

975 years ago
1040

Died on this date
Mas'ud I, 41 or 42. Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, 1030-1040. Mas'ud I acceded to the throne of the Ghaznavid Empire by seizing power from his younger twin Mohammad, who had been nominated by their father Sultan Mahmud 50 days earlier. Mas'ud I had Mohammad blinded and imprisoned. Mas'ud I suffered military reversals in the western part of the Empire, which resulted in Muhammad being restored to power. Mas'ud I was imprisoned and killed on the orders of either Muhammad or Muhammad's son Ahmed.

420 years ago
1595

War
During the French Wars of Religion, King Henry IV of France declared war on Spain.

150 years ago
1865

Born on this date
Charles Fergusson. U.K. military officer. Sir Charles rose to the rank of General, serving in Sudan, Egypt, and Ireland before commanding troops in France in World War I. He was Governor General of New Zealand from 1924-1930. Sir Charles died on February 20, 1951 at the age of 86.

130 years ago
1885

War
A British force commanded by Major General Sir Herbert Stewart defeated a large Dervish army led by Mohammed Ahmed ("The Madhi") at the Battle of Abu Klea in Sudan.

75 years ago
1940

Literature
Abraham Lincoln: The War Years by Carl Sandburg and The Revolution of Nihilism by Herman Rauschning were chosen by Current History as the best non-fiction books of 1939.

War
Intense cold (-54 F. in Viborg and -49 F. in Moscow) paralyzed war moves on land in Finland and the U.S.S.R.

Weather
The coldest temperatures in 20 years gripped Scandinavia, the Baltic states, and Russia.

Defense
Costa Rica granted the United States Navy permission to protect its territorial waters.

Diplomacy
The United States protested British interference with mail from the U.S. intended for Europe.

Economics and finance
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Henry Grady told the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee that the influx of the world's gold supply to the United States would continue until other nations were able to pay for American purchases.

Politics and government
U.S. Senator Vic Donahey (Ohio) filed a declaration of his candidacy for the 1940 Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States.

70 years ago
1945

War
In a letter to House of Representatives Military Affairs Committee Chairman Andrew May, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appealed for quick enactment of "work or fight" legislation for men aged 18-45. In new gains in the Maeseyck sector of the Netherlands, British forces took Dieteren. U.S. forces in Belgium captured Petit Thier and Vielsalm. 5 years, 3 months, and 20 days after Nazi forces had marched into Warsaw, the White Russian Army, commanded by Marshal Grigori Zhukov, along with Polish forces from Lublin, captured the Polish capital, sweeping around the city on both flanks and penetrating west almost to Lodz. The Nazis began the evacuation of the Auschwitz death camp in Poland as Soviet forces closed in. Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, famous for rescuing tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust, was taken into Soviet custody in Budapest, and was never publicly seen again.

Economics and finance
A French decree nationalized the Renault automobile works, which would be under "national management," with the workers participating through an "enterprise committee."

Disasters
Almost 1,500 people died in a sudden flood of the Mosna River in Peru.

60 years ago
1955

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



Boxing
Floyd Patterson (20-1) scored a technical knockout of Don Grant (15-2) at 1:13 of the 5th round of a heavyweight bout at Eastern Parkway Arena in Brooklyn, New York.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Lovely Lady--John Hanlon

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Tränen Lügen Nicht--Michael Holm (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: I'm Leaving It (All) Up to You--Donny and Marie Osmond (11th week at #1)

Ottawa's Top 30 (CFGO)
1 Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds--Elton John
2 Kung Fu Fighting--Carl Douglas
3 Cat's in the Cradle--Harry Chapin
4 When Will I See You Again--The Three Degrees
5 Angie Baby--Helen Reddy
6 You're the First, the Last, My Everything--Barry White
7 One Man Woman/One Woman Man--Paul Anka with Odia Coates
8 Only You--Ringo Starr
9 Never Can Say Goodbye--Gloria Gaynor
10 Mandy--Barry Manilow
11 Please Mr. Postman--Carpenters
12 If--Telly Savalas
13 Linda Put the Coffee On--Ray Materick
14 Morning Side of the Mountain--Donny and Marie Osmond
15 Ride 'Em Cowboy--Paul Davis
16 Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy)--Al Green
17 Dancin' Fool--The Guess Who
18 Doctor's Orders--Carol Douglas
19 I Can Help--Billy Swan
20 Bungle in the Jungle--Jethro Tull
21 Changes--David Bowie
22 I've Got the Music in Me--Kiki Dee Band
23 Ramona--Stampeders
24 (Make Me Do) Anything You Want--A Foot in Coldwater
25 Boogie On Reggae Woman--Stevie Wonder
26 Get Dancin'--Disco Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes
27 You're No Good--Linda Ronstadt
28 I Wouldn't Want to Lose Your Love--April Wine
29 Best of My Love--The Eagles
30 Some Kind of Wonderful--Grand Funk

Died on this date
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, 74. 19th President of Colombia, 1953-1957. General Rojas was Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, and came to power in a military coup that toppled President Laureano Gómez Castro. He imposed martial law and a dictatorship, while giving women the right to vote, and modernizing the country's technology and infrastructure. Gen. Rojas resigned in the face of widespread public opposition, and conducted unsuccessful campaigns for President in democratic elections in 1962 and 1970; his narrow defeat in 1970 amid accusations of fraud led to the formation of the 19th of April Movement, a guerrilla movement that subsequently became a political party. Gen. Rojas died of a heart attack.

Politics and government
The National People's Congress in China concluded with the re-election of Premier Chou En-lai and revisions to the 1954 Constitution.

Defense
The Canadian Armed Forces set up a separate Air Command.

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
B.B. Gabor, 41. Canadian musician. Born Gabor Hegedus in Hungary, Mr. Gabor fled to England and then to Canada after the 1956 Soviet invasion of his homeland. His self-titled debut album appeared in 1980, and the single Soviet Jewellery (Nyet Nyet Soviet) reached #1 in Calgary in June of that year. Subsequent singles were unsuccessful, although Little Thing, which sounds as though it were by Bryan Adams, received some airplay in February 1982. Attempts to revive his career failed, and Mr. Gabor was found in his Toronto apartment, his death ruled a suicide.

Politics and government
The Romanian government lifted the ban on the Communist Party that had been announced five days earlier, and cancelled a referendum that was to decide the party’s fate.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the merchandise trade deficit for November was $10.5 billion, the largest for any month in 1989.

20 years ago
1995

Disasters
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake occurred near Kobe, Japan, causing extensive property damage and killing 6,434 people, injuring 26,500 others, destroying or damaging more than 100,000 buildings, and leaving 300,000 people homeless.

Politics and government
Former Italian Treasury Minister Lamberto Dini, asked four days earlier by President Oscar Scalfaro to form a new cabinet, announced a cabinet that was politically neutral.

Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo and the leaders of Mexico's four largest political parties signed an agreement providing for a broad-based overhaul of election laws, including those relating to fund-raising and spending. Government and opposition leaders also agreed to hold new elections in the states of Chiapas and Tabasco, where widespread fraud had been alleged in 1994.

Economics and finance
The Canadian dollar dropped to 70.49c U.S., its lowest level in nine years.

10 years ago
2005

Died on this date
Zhao Ziyang, 85. 3rd Premier of the People's Republic of China, 1980-1987; General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, 1987-1989. Mr. Zhao succeeded Deng Xiaoping as Premier of the State Council, and was the first to hold the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party. He implemented some free-market economic reforms and fought political corruption, but fell out of favour and was purged when he expressed sympathy with student demonstrators in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989. Mr. Zhao spent the last 15 years of his life under house arrest.

Virginia Mayo, 84. U.S. actress. Miss Mayo, born Virginia Jones, was one of the biggest box office stars of the 1940s for such movies as The Princess and the Pirate (1944); The Best Years of Our Lives (1946); and White Heat (1949). She appeared in several movies with Danny Kaye, such as Up in Arms (1944); Wonder Man (1945); The Kid from Brooklyn (1946); The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947); and A Song is Born (1948). Miss Mayo died of pneumonia and complications of congestive heart failure.