February 13, 2015

90 years ago
1925

Died on this date
Floyd Collins, 37. U.S. accident victim. Mr. Collins was a farmer in central Kentucky who liked to explore the caves near his home. On January 30, 1925, he became trapped in one of them, with a large rock on his foot preventing him from moving. William Burke "Skeets" Miller of the Louisville Courier-Journal reported on the rescue efforts from the scene. Mr. Miller's reports attracted national and international attention, resulting in a Pulitzer Prize for Mr. Miller. Mr. Collins' plight and the rescue effort was one of the first stories to be widely reported on radio. Rescuers reached Mr. Collins on February 17, but he had died from exposure an estimated four days earlier. Mr. Collins' remains were removed from the cave on April 23, 1925 and buried on the family farm.

80 years ago
1935

Crime
A jury in Flemington, New Jersey found Bruno Richard Hauptmann guilty of the 1932 kidnapping and murder of 1-year-old Charles Lindbergh, Jr.

75 years ago
1940

Theatre
The Unconquered, an adaptation by Ayn Rand of her novel We the Living (1936), opened at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway in New York. It was produced and directed by George Abbott, and starred Helen Craig, John Emery, and Dean Jagger.

Literature
The American Booksellers Association announced its awards for 1939: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck--favourite fiction; Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo--most original book; Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de St. Exupery, favourite non-fiction.

War
Soviet forces claimed taking a total of 84 forts along the Mannheim Line in Finland, breaking through at Summa.

Diplomacy
Japan announced the abrogation of her arbitration treaty with the Netherlands.

Defense
The United States House of Representatives began debate on a record $966,722,878 Navy supply bill.

Law
The United States Supreme Court saved four transient Negro men in Florida from execution, ruling unanimously in Chambers v. Florida that their 1933 confessions and guilty pleas on murder and robbery charges had been obtained by violations of their constitutional rights. Future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall had argued the case for the accused.

70 years ago
1945

War
British Royal Air Force bombers were dispatched to Dresden, Germany to attack the city with a massive aerial bombardment. U.S. troops in Germany created a 10-mile bridgehead across the Our and Sauer Rivers near Echternach, with a depth of up to 2 miles. Soviet forces completed the conquest of Budapest after a 50-day siege which cost the Axis 159,000 troops, the largest single loss since Stalingrad in 1943. U.S. forces in the Philippines occupied Nichols Airfield and the Cavite Naval Base in the outskirts of Manila.

Diplomacy
The Polish government-in-exile in London rejected the Yalta proposals on Poland, claiming they provided for the fifth partition of the country, and that they violated the principles of the Atlantic Charter.

Defense
The French cabinet announced that it would create a large military base at Dakar, French West Africa to guarantee the communications of the French Empire and contribute to collective security.

Art
The U.S. National Institute of Arts and Letters awarded the 1945 gold medal to sculptor Paul Manship for his achievements.

60 years ago
1955

At the movies
The Big Combo, starring Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Brian Donlevy, and Jean Wallace, opened in theatres.



Archaeology
Israel obtained four of the seven Dead Sea scrolls.

50 years ago
1965

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Downtown--Petula Clark

#1 single in France: Sacré Charlemagne--France Gall (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Le colline sono in fiore--The New Christy Minstrels

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Das ist die Frage aller Fragen--Cliff Richard (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): The French Song (Quand le soleil dit bonjour aux montagnes)--Lucille Starr (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Tired of Waiting for You--The Kinks

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'--The Righteous Brothers (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'--The Righteous Brothers (2nd week at #1)
2 Downtown--Petula Clark
3 This Diamond Ring--Gary Lewis and the Playboys
4 The Name Game--Shirley Ellis
5 My Girl--The Temptations
6 All Day and All of the Night--The Kinks
7 Shake--Sam Cooke
8 Love Potion No. 9--The Searchers
9 I Go to Pieces--Peter and Gordon
10 Let's Lock the Door (And Throw Away the Key)--Jay and the Americans

Singles entering the chart were Goldfinger, with versions by Billy Strange; Jack LaForge and his Orchestra; and John Barry and his Orchestra (#50, charting with the version by Shirley Bassey); Goodnight by Roy Orbison (#58); Midnight Special (#69)/Cupid (#82) by Johnny Rivers; Come Home by the Dave Clark Five (#70); New York's a Lonely Town by the Trade Winds (#72); Yeh, Yeh by Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames (#73); Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood by the Animals (#77); Angel by Johnny Tillotson (#78); People Get Ready by the Impressions (#80); Born to Be Together by the Ronettes (#83); You're Next by Jimmy Witherspoon (#84); Cry by Ray Charles (#90); Red Roses for a Blue Lady by Vic Dana (#91); Does He Really Care for Me by Ruby and the Romantics (#92); Mr. Pitiful by Otis Redding (#93); and Go Now! by the Moody Blues (#98). Wayne Newton's version of Red Roses for a Blue Lady was mentioned with the version by Vic Dana, but was not charted.

Died on this date
William Heard Kilpatrick, 93. U.S. pedagogue. Dr. Kilpatrick was a major figure in progressive education, a colleague of and successor to John Dewey. Dr. Kilpatrick was a student (1907-1909) and professor (1909-1937) at Columbia University. He developed the Project Method for early childhood education, and believed that the role of a teacher should be that of a "guide" as opposed to an authoritarian figure, and that children should direct their own learning according to their interests and should be allowed to explore their environment, experiencing their learning through the natural senses.

Protest
Following U.S. air attacks on North Vietnam, five days of violent anti-American demonstrations began in the capitals of Hungary, Bulgaria, Uganda, Venezuela, Malaysia, and in Medan, Indonesia.

Politics and government
Nicholas Katzenbach, former acting head of the Department of Justice, was named Attorney General in the cabinet of U.S. President Lyndon Johnson. He replaced Robert F. Kennedy, who had resigned and been elected to the Senate in November 1964.

Labour
Quebec Liquor Board employees ended a 70-day strike.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): January--Pilot (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Arthur Laing, 70. Canadian politician. Mr. Laing, a Liberal, represented Vancouver South in the House of Commons from 1949-1953 and 1962-1972. He served in the cabinet of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau as Minister of Public Works from 1968-1972 and Minister of Veterans Affairs from January-November 1972. A bridge linking Vancouver to Sea Island is named in his honour, as is a major office building in downtown Yellowknife.

World events
Turkish Cypriots declared a separate state in the northern 40% of Cyprus.

Politics and government
Anker Henrik Jorgensen, leader of the Social Democratic Party, took office as Prime Minister of Denmark, six days after the Progress Party had withdrawn its support from a four-party minority coalition headed by Prime Minister Poul Hartling.

Carla Anderson Hills, a lawyer from Los Angeles, was named Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the cabinet of U.S. President Gerald Ford.

Diplomacy
The Organization of African Unity began an eight-day meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Labour
The U.K. National Union of Mineworkers agreed to the coal board's offer of a pay increase of up to 35%.

30 years ago
1985

Edmontonia
Jan Bailey was chosen Miss Teen Edmonton 1985.

Crime
Denis Lortie was found guilty of first-degree murder of three Quebec National Assembly workers in his machine gun attack of May, 1984. The Canadian Armed Forces corporal had sprayed the chamber with bullets before being calmed.

25 years ago
1990

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre

Diplomacy
At the first-ever meeting of NATO and Warsaw Pact ministers in Ottawa, a formula for German reunification talks was established. East and West Germany would discuss internal and domestic issues relating to reunification. External issues, such as "security of the neighbouring states," would be expanded to include the "Big Four" allies of World War II: The U.S.A.; U.S.S.R.; U.K.; and France. In another tentative breakthrough, the Soviets agreed to limit their troops in Europe to 195,000 and to a large limit--225,000--for U.S. troops in Europe.

West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and East German Premier Hans Modrow met in Bonn, and agreed to talks on uniting their two monetary systems under the West German deutschmark.

World events
Two days after being freed from prison, South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was welcomed home to Soweto by a crowd of 100,000.

Abominations
At its meeting in Los Angeles, the American Bar Association voted 238-106 to support a constitutional right to abortion. The resolution opposed legislation or other governmental action "that interferes with the confidential relationship between a pregnant woman and her physician or with the decision to terminate the pregnancy at any time before the fetus is capable if independent life."

The Soviet secret police force KGB admitted that 786,098 people had been shot to death as enemies of the state under the rule of Josef Stalin.

Health
Canadian Health Minister Perrin Beatty announced $75-100,000 in compensation for each victim of the drug thalidomide born n Canada from 1959-1961.

Transportation
Bombardier proposed a $5.3-billion high speed rail link between Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, based on the French TGF (Très Grande Vitesse) train.

Business
Drexel Burnham Lambert Group Inc., a Wall Street firm which had become profitable in the 1980s through the use of junk bonds--securities that paid high interest rates and had high risk--filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The firm’s slide began in 1988 when it agreed to pay the U.S. government $650 million to settle insider-trading charges; subsequently, the value of junk bonds declined, and the firm’s leading junk bond trader, Michael Milken, was indicted on a number of charges. Company officials said that the bankruptcy filing would lead to DBLG’s liquidation.

20 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: Round and Around--Ti.Pi.Cal.

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): No More "I Love You's"--Annie Lennox

#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Cotton Eye Joe--Rednex (19th week at #1)

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Conquest of Paradise--Vangelis

Conquest of Paradise was the theme from the movie 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Insensitive--Jann Arden (3rd week at #1)
2 Bang and Blame--R.E.M.
3 On Bended Knee--Boyz II Men
4 Take a Bow--Madonna
5 You Don't Know How it Feels--Tom Petty
6 When I Come Around--Green Day
7 Mishale--Andru Donalds
8 Strong Enough--Sheryl Crow
9 The Sweetest Days--Vanessa Williams
10 You Wreck Me--Tom Petty

Singles entering the chart were If I Wanted To by Melissa Etheridge (#81); Someday, I'll Be Saturday Night by Bon Jovi (#82); Everlasting Love by Gloria Estefan (#86); Under the Gun by Foreigner (#91); Blue by the Jayhawks (#93); Mahk Johi by Robbie Robertson (#94); and Whiney Whiney by Willi One Blood (#95).

Abominations
A war crimes tribunal in Geneva indicted 21 Serbs for crimes against humanity, for actions they had taken in the war in Bosnia. Only one of those charged was in custody. One of the accused, Zeljko Meakic, former commander of a concentration camp, was also accused of genocide in the mass killing of Muslims and Croats, marking the first time that an international tribunal had charged an individual with genocide.

Politics and government
In Canadian federal by-elections, Lucienne Robillard was elected for the Liberals as they won all three, keeping two seats in Ottawa and Montreal, and winning one from the Bloc Quebecois. The new standings in the House of Commons were: Liberal 177; BQ 53; Reform 52; New Democratic Party 9; Progressive Conservative 2; Independent 2.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 4 Chicago 2

Baseball
The Los Angeles Dodgers signed pitcher Hideo Nomo, a five-time all-star in the Japanese leagues. Mr. Nomo became the first Japanese player in the major leagues since Masanori Murakami, who pitched with the San Francisco Giants in 1964-1965.

10 years ago
2005

Died on this date
Maurice Trintignant, 87. French auto racing driver. Mr. Trintignant competed on the Formula One circuit from 1950-1964, winning the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix and the 1964 Italian Grand Prix.

Nelson Briles, 61. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Briles played with the St. Louis Cardinals (1965-1970); Pittsburgh Pirates (1971-1973); Kansas City Royals (1974-1975); Texas Rangers (1976-1977); and Baltimore Orioles (1977-1978), compiling a record of 129-112 with an earned run average of 3.44. His best season was 1967, when he was 14-5 with an ERA of 2.43 as the Cardinals won the World Series. The Cardinals won the National League pennant again in 1968, and Mr. Briles was with the Pirates when they won the World Series in 1971. He pitched one of the best games in World Series history, a 2-hit shutout as the Pirates blanked the Baltimore Orioles 4-0 to take a 3-2 lead in the Series. Mr. Briles collapsed and died of a heart attack while playing in the Pirates' alumni golf tournament in Orlando, Florida.

Music
Ray Charles, who had died on June 10, 2004, won eight posthumous Grammy awards for his final album, Genius Loves Company, which had been released on August 31, 2004.

Football
NFL
Pro Bowl @ Aloha Stadium, Honolulu
AFC 38 NFC 27

Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts threw 3 touchdown passes and was named the game's most valuable player as the American Football Conference defeated the National Football Conference before 50,225 fans.