January 30, 2015

200 years ago
1815

Americana
President James Madison approved an act of Congress appropriating $23,950 to purchase former President Thomas Jefferson's library of 6,487 volumes.

180 years ago
1835

Crime
In the first assassination attempt against a President of the United States, Richard Lawrence attempted to shoot president Andrew Jackson outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, but failed and was subdued by a crowd, including several congressmen.

100 years ago
1915

Born on this date
John Profumo. U.K. politician. Mr. Profumo was Secretary of State for War in the government of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan from 1960-1963. During this time, he had an affair with Christine Keeler, a call girl who had also had sexual relations with Soviet naval attache Yevgeni Ivanov. The implications of the scandal for national security forced Mr. Profumo to resign, followed by Mr. Macmillan. Mr. Profumo spent his later years cleaning toilets as a volunteer at Toynbee Hall, a charity in the east end of London. He died on March 9, 2006 at the age of 91.

90 years ago
1925

Religion
The Turkish government of President Mustafa Kemal exiled Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Constantine VI to Greece. Constantine VI had held his position for only 43 days, succeeding Gregory VII.

75 years ago
1940

Died on this date
Bronislaw Dembjnski. Polish historian. Professor Dembjnski was murdered by the Gestapo in Poland.

War
German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler proclaimed in Berlin that the second phase of the European war, carrying it to the West, was beginning.

12 more people were killed in Hindu-Muslim riots in Rangoon.

Diplomacy
Russo-Japanese negotiations in Tokyo to adjust the Outer Mongolia-Manchukuo border broke down.

Defense
U.S. Army General George Marshall told Congress that the Army would need $40 million to give the nation an air raid warning system.

Politics and government
The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee cut $154 million from the Agriculture Department's appropriation bill.

Business
An Associated Press report indicated a 67% increase in profits for 1939 over 1938 in the top 100 U.S. corporations.

70 years ago
1945

At the movies
Kolberg, the most expensive German film made during World War II, premiered at two theatres in Berlin and at the German naval base in La Rochelle, France.



War
In what turned out to be his last radio broadcast, German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler told the German people that there was still hope for victory by maintaining unity. A strong American push into Germany developed on a broad front directed at the Siegfried Line. The Soviet drive on Berlin went unchecked with a gain of 21 miles. 126 American Rangers and Filipino resistance fighters liberated 513 Allied prisoners from the Japanese-controlled Cabanatuan prisoner of war camp near Cabu. The Japanese advance on the Hankow-Canton railroad reduced the line to a 20-mile section in the Chinese province of Hunan.

Disasters
The German passenger ship MV Wilhelm Gustloff, overfilled with German refugees evacuating from Courland, East Prussia, sank in the Baltic Sea after being torpedoed by a Soviet submarine, killing approximately 9,500 people--including 5,000 children--in the deadliest known maritime disaster.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met at Malta for talks prior to the conference with Soviet dictator Josef Stalin at Yalta in the Crimea several days hence.

Medicine
Medical Press and Circular announced in London the discovery of a drug called hypholin, which was made from penicillin notatum. It had been successfully used in cases of meningitis, osteomyelitis, pneumonia, impetigo, and staphylococcale.

Football
NCAA
William Alexander announced his resignation after 25 seasons as head coach at Georgia Institute of Technology. He compiled a record of 134-95-15, leading the Yellow Jackets to the national championship in 1928. Assistant coach Bobby Dodd was named to succeed Mr. Alexander.

50 years ago
1965

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): I Feel Fine/She's a Woman--The Beatles (8th week at #1)

#1 single in France: Sacré Charlemagne--France Gall (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Non son degno di te--Gianni Morandi (7th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Das ist die Frage aller Fragen--Cliff Richard

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): I Feel Fine--The Beatles (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Go Now!--The Moody Blues (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Downtown--Petula Clark (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Downtown--Petula Clark (2nd week at #1)
2 You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'--The Righteous Brothers
3 Love Potion No. 9--The Searchers
4 The Name Game--Shirley Ellis
5 This Diamond Ring--Gary Lewis and the Playboys
6 Hold What You've Got--Joe Tex
7 Come See About Me--The Supremes
8 Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow the Sun)--Del Shannon
9 How Sweet it Is (To Be Loved by You)--Marvin Gaye
10 All Day and All of the Night--The Kinks

Singles entering the chart were What Have They Done to the Rain by the Searchers (#72); King of the Road by Roger Miller (#75); At the Club by the Drifters (#76); Little Things by Bobby Goldsboro (#77); Somewhere by P.J. Proby (#81); I'm Over You by Jan Bradley (#82); A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke (#83); Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey (#90, with versions by Billy Strange and Jack LaForge and his Orschestra mentioned but not charted); Let Her Love Me by Otis Leavill (#94); I Wonder by the Butterflys (#95); Suddenly I'm All Alone by Walter Jackson (#97); That's How Strong My Love Is by Otis Redding (#98); Real Live Girl by Steve Alaimo (#99); and Six Boys by J. Frank Wilson (#100). A Change is Gonna Come was the B-side of Shake, charting at #11. Goldfinger was the title song of the movie.

Vancouver's Top 50 (CFUN)
1 Downtown--Petula Clark
2 You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'--The Righteous Brothers
3 All Day and All of the Night--The Kinks
4 The Name Game--Shirley Ellis
5 The "In" Crowd--Dobie Gray
6 Give Him a Great Big Kiss--The Shangri-Las
7 Laugh, Laugh--The Beau Brummels
8 Love Potion No. 9--The Searchers
9 Boom Boom--The Animals
10 I Feel Fine/She's a Woman--The Beatles
11 Heart of Stone--The Rolling Stones
12 I'll Be There--Gerry and the Pacemakers
13 Break Away (From That Boy)--The Newbeats
14 Come See About Me--The Supremes
15 Let's Lock the Door (And Throw Away the Key)--Jay and the Americans
16 I Go to Pieces--Peter and Gordon
17 This Diamond Ring--Gary Lewis and the Playboys
18 No Arms Can Ever Hold You--The Bachelors
19 Tell Her No--The Zombies
20 Shakin' All Over--Chad Allan and the Expressions (Guess Who?)
21 Look of Love--Lesley Gore
22 Somewhere--P.J. Proby
23 Willow Weep for Me--Chad & Jeremy
24 Bye, Bye Baby (Baby Goodbye)--The 4 Seasons
25 Hold What You've Got--Joe Tex
26 That Weepin' Willow Tree--Ray Griff
27 Say it Again--Terry Black
28 Big Brother--Dickey Lee
29 Smile--Betty Everett & Jerry Butler
30 Wild One--Martha and the Vandellas
31 You'll Always Be the One I Love/You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You--Dean Martin
32 Have You Looked Into Your Heart--Jerry Vale
33 Come On Do the Jerk--The Miracles
34 What Have They Done to the Rain--The Searchers
35 It's About Time--Bobby Curtola
36 Is it Because--The Honeycombs
37 It's Alright--Adam Faith
38 Shaggy Dog--Mickey Lee Lane
39 Thanks a Lot--Brenda Lee
40 The Jolly Green Giant--The Kingsmen
41 Saturday Night at the Movies--The Drifters
42 My Girl--The Temptations
43 Shake/A Change is Gonna Come--Sam Cooke
44 It's Gotta Last Forever--Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas
45 Somewhere in Your Heart--Frank Sinatra
46 Lovin' Place--Gale Garnett
47 Promised Land--Chuck Berry
48 Cry Tomorrow--Tom Northcott
49 Goldfinger--Shirley Bassey
50 Cupid--Johnny Rivers
Pick hits of the week: 1 Ferry Cross the Mersey--Gerry & the Pacemakers
2 Goodnight--Roy Orbison

Space
The U.S.S.R. launched the satellite Cosmos 53.

Britannica
An estimated one million people lined the streets of London for the funeral of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who had died on January 24 at the age of 90.

Diplomacy
Burundi severed diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and ordered the Chinese ambassador to leave Bujumbura.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Ms Grace--The Tymes

Abominations
The Ontario government of Premier William Davis started the Wintario lottery to raise money for recreation and cultural activities and facilities.

Americana
The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, 16 nautical miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, was established as the first United States National Marine Sanctuary.

Baseball
The Detroit Tigers sold catcher Gerry Moses to the New York Mets. In 74 games with the Tigers in 1974, Mr. Moses had batted .237 with 4 home runs and 19 runs batted in. The Mets were his sixth major league team in as many seasons.

30 years ago
1985

Law
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney stated that metric measurement would continue to be mandatory, but retailers could use the imperial system at the same time.

25 years ago
1990

Abominations
The 7% Goods and Services Tax bill passed first reading in the Canadian House of Commons.

Diplomacy
After meeting with East German Premier Hans Modrow, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev indicated that German reunification was to be expected, adding, "No one casts any doubt upon it."

20 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: All I Need is Love--Indiana (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Zombie--Ororo (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Cotton Eye Joe--Rednex (17th week at #1)

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Tears Don't Lie--Mark 'Oh (3rd week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Insensitive--Jann Arden
2 On Bended Knee--Boyz II Men
3 You Don't Know How it Feels--Tom Petty
4 Take a Bow--Madonna
5 Bang and Blame--R.E.M.
6 The Sweetest Days--Vanessa Williams
7 When I Come Around--Green Day
8 Greasy Jungle--The Tragically Hip
9 House of Love--Amy Grant and Vince Gill
10 Nothing Behind Us--Richard Marx

Singles entering the chart were She's a River by Simple Minds (#61); Truth Untold by Odds (#74); Thank You by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (#75); The Love in Your Eyes by Dan Hartman (#79); Over You by Anne Murray (#85); L.U.V. by John Mellencamp (#86); Today I Hate Everyone by the Killjoys (#91); Hip Today by Extreme (#92); and Walk on Water by Aerosmith (#93).

Died on this date
Gerald Durrell, 70. Indian-born U.K. zookeeper. Mr. Durrell believed that the main purpose of zoos should be to act as a reserve of critically endangered species which need captive breeding in order to survive--a belief that was in contrast to the prevailing policy of the time. In 1958, Mr. Durrell founded Jersey Zoological Park, now Durrell Wildlife Park. He helped to finance his work with the proceeds of numerous books, most of them autobiographical, such as The Overloaded Ark (1953) and My Family and Other Animals (1956).

Terrorism
42 people were killed and 300 injured when a car bomb exploded in Algiers. Muslim fundamentalists were attempting to overthrow Algeria's military-led government of Prime Minister Mokdad Sifi.

War
Rebel Serbs in Croatia refused to accept a proposal, drafted by international mediators, that would give them limited autonomy.

Defense
The United Nations Security Council authorized deployment of 6,000 peacekeepers to train Haiti's police and military and to help prepare for elections. They would take over from U.S. troops at the end of March and remain in Haiti until February 1996.

Medicine
Workers with the U.S. National Institutes of Health announced the success of clinical trials testing the first preventive treatment for sickle-cell disease.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 2 Dallas 1

10 years ago
2005

Politics and government
Elections for the 275-member National Assembly of Iraq produced a slight majority for the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), led by Ibrahim al-Jaafari. The UIA won 140 seats to 75 for the Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan (DPAK), led by Jalal Talabani, and 40 for the Iraqi List, led by Iyad Allawi.