October 29, 2015

625 years ago
1390

Society
Paris hosted its first trial for witchcraft, leading to the deaths of three people.

350 years ago
1665

Died on this date
António I. King of Kongo, 1661-1665. António I succeeded Garcia II as king; he was captured and decapitated by Portuguese forces at the Battle of Mbwila. He died with no heir apparent and was succeeded on the throne by Afonso II.

War
Portuguese forces defeated the forces of the Kingdom of Kongo--in what is now Angola--in the Battle of Mbwila.

275 years ago
1740

Born on this date
James Boswell. U.K. author. Mr. Boswell, a native of Edinburgh, was a lawyer who was best known for his biography The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (1791), which has been called the greatest biography ever written. Venereal disease and heavy drinking contributed to Mr. Boswell's death at the age of 54 on May 19, 1795.

200 years ago
1815

Born on this date
Dan Emmett. U.S. entertainer. Mr. Emmett founded the first troupe of blackface minstrel show performers, and has been widely credited with writing the song Dixie. He died on June 28, 1904 at the age of 88, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

75 years ago
1940

War
Rome radio reported that the Italian army had moved 40 miles inside the Greek border, while other claimed that Greek troops were offering stubborn resistance. The Australian War Council was sworn in in Melbourne.

Defense
The United States began its first peacetime military draft when Secretary of War Henry Stimson drew numbers at the War Department auditorium.

Mexican President Lázaro Cárdenas del Río said that any accord with the United States would provide for naval and air bases in Mexico.

Olympics
The American Olympic Committee officially disbanded with over $110,000 in unspent funds.

70 years ago
1945

Hit parade
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Till the End of Time--Perry Como (6th week at #1)
--Dick Haymes
--Les Brown and his Orchestra
2 On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe--Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers
--Bing Crosby
--Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra
--Judy Garland and the Merry Macs
3 I'll Buy that Dream--Helen Forrest and Dick Haymes
--Harry James and his Orchestra
--Hal McIntyre and his Orchestra
4 If I Loved You--Perry Como
--Bing Crosby
--Frank Sinatra
5 Chopin's Polonaise--Carmen Cavallaro and his Orchestra
6 It's Only a Paper Moon--Benny Goodman and his Orchestra
--Ella Fitzgerald and the Delta Rhythm Boys
7 Tampico--Stan Kenton and his Orchestra
8 It's Been a Long Long Time--Harry James and his Orchestra
--Bing Crosby with Les Paul and his Trio
--Charlie Spivak and his Orchestra
9 I'm Gonna Love that Gal (Like She’s Never Been Loved Before)--Perry Como
10 Gotta Be This or That--Benny Goodman and his Orchestra
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were Surprise Party by Johnny Mercer (#21); Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well by Lucky Millinder and his Orchestra (#22); You Came Along (From Out of Nowhere) by Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra (#31); Waitin' for the Train to Come In by Johnny Long and His Orchestra and Dick Robertson (#40); Leap Frog by Les Brown and his Orchestra (#41); At Mail Call Today by Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra with Red Foley (#42); and What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For by Betty Hutton (#43). You Came Along (From Out of Nowhere) was the B-side of Hong Kong Blues, charting at #12. At Mail Call Today was the B-side of Shame on You, charting at #34.

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on MBS
Tonight's episode: Murder by Moonlight

World events
The war crimes trial of Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita opened in Manila.

War
Communist troops were reported entrenched in Manchuria along rail lines and near three ports where U.S. warships were scheduled to land Chinese government troops.

Politics and government
Getúlio Vargas resigned as President of Brazil, turning the office over to Supreme Court Chief Justice Jose Linhares until a new president was elected.

Defense
U.S. Army General George Marshall warned that if the United Nations were to have any chance of success, the United States must remain strong, and demobilization must not become military "disintegration."

The Association of Manhattan District Scientists, whose members worked on the atomic bomb, criticized the May-Johnson bill because it aimed to maintain an American monopoly on the bomb.

Health
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that maternal and infant mortality deaths were 6,139 and 111,127 respectively in 1944, the lowest on record.

Economics and finance
U.S. Office of Price Administration chief Chester Bowles and War Production Board Chairman Julius Krug announced the end of automobile rationing.

Labour
U.S. Secretary of Labor Lewis Schwellenbach told a Senate committee that the payment of "uniformly lower wages" to women "depresses the whole wage structure," and urged legislation banning wage differentials because of sex.

60 years ago
1955

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Unchained Melody--Al Hibbler; Les Baxter and his Orchestra (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White--Perez Prado and his Orchestra (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): The Man from Laramie--Jimmy Young (4th week at #1)

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Autumn Leaves--Roger Williams (Best Seller--1st week at #1); Love is a Many-Splendored Thing--The Four Aces (Disc Jockey--3rd week at #1); The Yellow Rose of Texas--Mitch Miller and his Orchestra (Jukebox--5th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Autumn Leaves--Roger Williams
2 Love is a Many-Splendored Thing--The Four Aces
--[Don Cornell]
3 The Yellow Rose of Texas--Mitch Miller and his Orchestra
--Johnny Desmond
--Stan Freberg
4 Moments to Remember--The Four Lads
5 He--Al Hibbler
--The McGuire Sisters
6 The Shifting Whispering Sands--Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra
--Rusty Draper
7 Only You (And You Alone)--The Platters
--The Hilltoppers
8 The Bible Tells Me So--Don Cornell
--Nick Noble
9 Suddenly There's a Valley--Gogi Grant
--Julius LaRosa
--Jo Stafford
10 Black Denim Trousers--The Cheers
--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were Only You (And You Alone) by the Hilltoppers; Croce di Oro (Cross of Gold) by Joan Regan (#22, charting with the version by Patti Page); The Bonnie Blue Gal by Lawrence Welk and his Champagne Music (#32, charting with the version by Mitch Miller and his Orchestra); Thirty Days (To Come Back Home) by Chuck Berry (#42); Learning to Love by Peggy King (#47); Are You Havin' Any Fun by the Crew-Cuts (#49); and It's Almost Tomorrow by the Dream Weavers (#50).

On television tonight
The Honeymooners, on CBS
Tonight's episode: A Matter of Life and Death

Disasters
The Soviet battleship Novorossiysk, formerly the Italian battleship Giulio Cesare, struck a leftover German mine in the harbour at Sevastopol and sank with the loss of 608 men, including those who had come from other vessels to help.

Football
IRFU
Hamilton (7-4) 16 @ Montreal (9-2) 41
Ottawa (2-9) 13 @ Toronto (4-7) 29

WIFU
Saskatchewan (10-6) 31 @ Winnipeg (7-9) 13
Calgary (4-12) 5 @ Edmonton (14-2) 30

The Alouettes erupted for 4 touchdowns in the 4th quarter to put away the Tiger-Cats at Molson Stadium, clinching first place in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union for the third straight season. Pat Abbruzzi and Joey Pal scored 2 touchdowns each for the Alouettes, with Hal Patterson and Tom Moran scoring the other Montreal touchdowns. Bud Korchak added 6 converts, a field goal, and a single. Ron Howell scored the first Hamilton touchdown when he took a lateral from Johnny Fedosoff and returned a punt 90 yards, an IRFU record for the longest punt return. Lou Kusserow scored the other Hamilton touchdown on a 12-yard fumble return. Montreal quarterback Sam Etcheverry completed 23 of 40 passes for 372 yards. Former Winnipeg Blue Bomber quarterback Joe Zaleski, dressing for his first game in a Montreal uniform, relieved Mr. Etcheverry in the 4th quarter and completed 2 of 4 passes for 40 yards and a touchdown. Hamilton quarterback Nobby Wirkowski completed just 5 of 17 passes, as the Tiger-Cats failed to score an offensive touchdown. Hamilton's Hal Waggoner set an IRFU single-game record with 161 yards on kickoff returns.

Corky Tharp set an IRFU record for a single game with 202 yards rushing as the Argonauts defeated the Rough Riders at Varsity Stadium to clinch the third and final playoff spot in the Big Four. Toronto quarterback Tom Dublinski completed 15 of 27 passes for 259 yards and 3 touchdowns. Al Pfeifer was on the receiving end of all of Mr. Dublinski's touchdown passes, and kicked 4 converts. Mr. Tharp and Nayland Moll rushed for the other Toronto touchdowns. Jack Scarbath completed a 24-yard pass to Bob Simpson for the first Ottawa touchdown, and Don Pinhey rushed 1 yard for the Rough Riders' other TD.

Ken Carpenter, Bobby Marlow, Stan Williams, Harry Lunn, and Tom Donnelly scored touchdowns for the Roughriders as they defeated the Blue Bombers before 14,464 fans at Winnipeg Stadium. Mr. Carpenter finished the season as the Western Interprovincial Football Union scoring leader with 90 points on 18 touchdowns, winning the Dave Dryburgh Memorial Trophy. Joe Aguirre converted 3 of the touchdowns and added a field goal. Gerry James, who was battling Edmonton Eskimos' fullback Normie Kwong for the WIFU rushing title (and single-season yardage record), rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown, finishing the season with 1,205 yards rushing. Quarterback Buddy Leake scored the other Winnipeg touchdown and added 2 converts and a single.

Normie Kwong rushed for 192 yards on 30 carries and Don Getty and Jackie Parker each threw 2 touchdown passes as the Eskimos routed the Stampeders at Clarke Stadium. Mr. Kwong finished the season with 1,250 yards rushing, 45 more than Winnipeg's Gerry James, and a single-season record for Canadian football, although Montreal fullback Pat Abbruzzi still had one more game coming up in 1955 in which to try to break the record. Mr. Kwong thus clinched the Eddie James Memorial Trophy, awarded every year to the WIFU's leader in yards rushing. Ironically, the trophy was named after Gerry James' father, a star with Winnipeg in the 1930s. Mr. Kwong's 192 yards stood as a team record for a single game until Sean Millington rushed for 225 yards against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on October 30, 1999. Bob Heydenfeldt caught one touchdown pass each from Mr. Getty and Mr. Parker, and also punted for a single. Mr. Getty connected with Rupe Andrews for his other touchdown pass, and Mr. Parker's other TD pass went to Con Kelly. Bob Dean added 4 converts. Moselle scored a touchdown for the Stampeders in the 4th quarter.

Canadian university
McGill 35 Western Ontario 17
Toronto 10 @ Queen's 11

Neil Desborough returned kickoffs 95 and 90 yards for touchdowns for the Mustangs, but it wasn't nearly enough as they lost to the Redmen.

Jocko Thompson's field goal with 23 seconds remaining in the game gave the Golden Gaels their win over the Varsity Blues at Richardson Stadium in Kingston.

50 years ago
1965

Hit parade
Edmonton's top 10 (CJCA)
1 A Lover's Concerto--The Toys
2 Get Off My Cloud--The Rolling Stones
3 Keep on Dancing--The Gentrys
4 Yesterday--The Beatles
5 Not the Lovin' Kind--Dino, Desi and Billy
6 Taste of Honey--Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
7 Liar, Liar--The Castaways
8 You're the One--The Vogues
9 Everybody Loves a Clown--Gary Lewis and the Playboys
10 Just a Little Bit Better--Herman's Hermits
Pick hit of the week: Windmill in Old Amsterdam--Freddie and the Dreamers
New this week: Over and Over--The Dave Clark Five
England Swings--Roger Miller
Let Me Show You Where it's At--Freddy Cannon
Make the World Go Away--Eddy Arnold
May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose--"Little" Jimmy Dickens

Music
The Beatles were at EMI Studios in London, where they finished recording the song We Can Work it Out.

40 years ago
1975

Died on this date
Chet Miksza, 44. Canadian football player. Mr. Miksza was a tackle and centre with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1952-1965, 1968) and Montreal Alouettes (1966). He was a member of Grey Cup championship teams in 1953, 1957, 1963, and 1965, and made the Eastern Football Conference and Canadian Football League All-Star teams at centre in 1964. Mr. Miksza died after a long illness.

Politics and government
Prince Carlos heir-designate since 1969, was named Spain's provisional head of state, as Generalissimo Francisco Franco was hospitalized and slipped into a coma the next day.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Gerald Ford said that he would veto any federal baiout of New York City.

30 years ago
1985

Politics and government
Major General Samuel K. Doe was announced as the winner of the first multi-party presidential election in Liberia.

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): So Hard--Pet Shop Boys (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): I've Been Thinking About You--Londonbeat

War
The United Nations Security Council voted 13-0 with 2 abstentions to pass a resolution warning Iraq that "further measures" might be taken under the UN Charter--by implication, including military action. In separate statements, U.S. President George Bush and U.S. Secretary of State James Baker warned that in light of barbarous acts by the Iraqis in Kuwait, the use of force remained a possibility.

20 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Gangsta's Paradise--Coolio featuring L.V.

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Knockin'--Double Vision

#1 single in Switzerland: Waterfalls--TLC (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Terry Southern, 71. U.S. author. Mr. Southern was best known for the comic novels Candy (1958--co-written with Mason Hoffenberg) and The Magic Christian (1959). Heavy drinking and drug use contributed to his literary and physical decline in later years.

Football
CFL
Hamilton (8-10) 17 @ Baltimore (15-3) 24
Ottawa (3-15) 33 @ Winnipeg (7-11) 36
Birmingham (10-8) 42 @ San Antonio (12-6) 48

Louis Fite rushed 1 yard for his first CFL touchdown, Tracy Ham completed a 13-yard TD pass to Gerald Alphin, and Carlos Huerta added 2 converts, 3 field goals, and a single as the Stallions defeated the Tiger-Cats before 29,310 fans at Memorial Stadium. Mike Kerrigan relieved Anthony Calvillo at quarterback for Hamilton and threw touchdown passes of 5 and 7 yards to Earl Winfield in the 4th quarter.

Troy Westwood's 12-yard field goal with 25 seconds remaining in regulation time climaxed a 19-point 4th quarter as the Blue Bombers came back from a 33-17 deficit to defeat the Rough Riders before 27,022 fans at Winnipeg Stadium and capture the fifth and last playoff spot in the North Division, eliminating the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Former Winnipeg backup quarterback Sammy Garza threw touchdown passes to Odessa Turner and Ray Alexander, and Emanuel Martin scored the other Ottawa touchdown on a 33-yard punt return. Wayne Lammle added 3 converts and 4 field goals. Winnipeg quarterback Reggie Slack threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Milt Stegall in the 2nd quarter and rushed 16 yards for a touchdown of his own in the 3rd quarter. In the 4th quarter, Mr. Slack rushed 1 yard for his second touchdown of the game, with an unsuccessful 2-point convert attempt leaving the Blue Bombers trailing 33-23. Mr. Westwood kicked a 32-yard field goal with 5:06 remaining to pull Winnipeg within a converted touchdown, and the Blue Bombers tied the game on a 9-yard pass from Mr. Slack to Tim Daniel, converted by Mr. Westwood.

David Archer completed touchdown passes to Mark Stock and Billy Hess, handed off to Heath Sherman for a TD, and rushed for another touchdown himself as the Texans defeated the Barracudas before 19,025 fans at the Alamodome to clinch second place in the South Division, with the semi-final to take place a week later in the same place between the same teams. Marcus Gates scored the other San Antonio touchdown on a 93-yard kickoff return in the 4th quarter. With Matt Dunigan out with injury, Kelvin Simmons played quarterback for Birmingham and had the best game of his career, rushing for 3 touchdowns and completing touchdown passes to Marcus Grant and Eddie Britton, and a 2-point convert pass to Mr. Grant. The Barracudas outscored the Texans 25-17 in the 4th quarter. It was the last regular season Canadian Football League game to be played in the United States.

10 years ago
2005

Died on this date
Lloyd Bochner, 81. Canadian-born U.S. actor. Mr. Bochner, a native of Toronto, appeared in numerous television programs and movies in a career spanning half a century. He co-starred with Rod Taylor in the television series Hong Kong (1960-1961).

Terrorism
Bombings in Delhi, believed by authorities to be the work of the Kashmir separatist/Islamic terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, killed 62 people and injured at least 210 others.

Football
CFL
Montreal (10-7) 43 @ Ottawa (6-11) 23

CIS
British Columbia 23 @ Alberta (7-1) 26