December 28, 2015

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Heather Pick!

950 years ago
1065

Britannica
Westminster Abbey in London was consecrated.

220 years ago
1795

Torontonia
Construction of Yonge Street began in York, Upper Canada (present-day Toronto).

180 years ago
1835

War
Osceola led his Seminole warriors in Florida into the Second Seminole War against the United States Army.

130 years ago
1885

Politics and government
The Indian National Congress party was founded in Bombay Presidency, British India.

125 years ago
1890

War
A band of Sioux Indians led by Big Foot, who had fled to the badlands, were captured by the U.S. 7th Cavalry and brought to Wounded Knee creek in South Dakota.

120 years ago
1895

At the movies
The Lumière brothers put on a first movie screening for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines in Paris, marking the debut of the cinema.

Born on this date
Carol Ryrie Brink. U.S. authoress. Mrs. Brink wrote more than 30 novels for children and adults. Her novel Caddie Woodlawn won the 1936 Newbery Medal. Mrs. Brink died of heart failure on August 15, 1981 at the age of 85.

Science
Wilhelm Röntgen published the paper Über eine neue Art von Strahlen (On a New Kind of Rays), detailing his discovery on November 8, 1895 of what became known as X-rays.

110 years ago
1905

Sport
The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States, forerunner of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, was founded in New York City.

80 years ago
1935

Died on this date
Clarence Day, 61. U.S. author. Mr. Day was best known for his memoir Life with Father (1935), which was published shortly before his death from pneumonia.

75 years ago
1940

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Frenesi--Artie Shaw and His Orchestra (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Christian Deetjan, 77. U.S. physician. Dr. Deetjan, a pioneer in X-ray treatment who had lost fingers and a forearm in 1930 as a result of his work, died in Baltimore from burns received during research.

War
It was reported that Germany had massed more than a division of troops in Romania within 13 miles of the Yugoslavian border. The Japanese government denied that one of its ships had shelled Nauru; Australian sources speculated that the ship concerned was a disguised German raider. A vote of confidence in the cabinet of Prime Minister Hussein Sirri Pasha by the Egyptian parliament barred the way to Egypt's active participation in the European war.

Defense
According to a preliminary audit by the United States Treasury, the United Kingdom would have no cash left to pay for U.S. arms and munitions by the early autumn of 1941. A Gallup Poll reported that 60% of American voters now favoured aiding Britain even at the risk of war, as compared with 36% in May 1940.

Edward Stettinius of the U.S. National Defense Advisory Commission reported that there were no serious shortages in aluminum supplies.

Universal military training was established in Ecuador, beginning in January 1941 with pre-military instruction in all schools, colleges, and universities.

World events
The Guatemalan government of President Jorge Ubico announced that 12 people who had tried to start a rebellion on December 24 at Fort Metamoros had been executed this day by firing squads.

Law
The American Student Union in New York accused the U.S. administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt with attempting to sabotage progressive legislation and civil liberties under the guise of national defense.

Labour
A U.S. House of Representatives committee which had spent 17 months investigating the National Labor Relations Board urged its complete reorganization to eliminate those employees who had shown bias and a partisan attitude as well as those who had indicated opposition to "the American system of government."

Science
University of California professors Joseph Kaplan and Dr. S.M. Ruben described a new device called a "cosmic Jacob's ladder" which provided them with evidence that the upper atmosphere contains helium.

Football
NCAA
Blue-Gray Game @ Montgomery, Alabama
North 14 South 12

70 years ago
1945

At the movies
Scarlet Street, starring Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, and Dan Duryea, opened in theatres.



Died on this date
Theodore Dreiser, 74. U.S. author. Mr. Dreiser was best known for his novels Sister Carrie (1900) and An American Tragedy (1925). In his later years he wrote non-fiction works praising the Soviet Union, and joined the Communist Party four months before his death.

Paul Joseph Hoffmann. German war criminal. Mr. Hoffmann was convicted for ordering the deaths of two million prisoners while he was commandant of the Majdanek concentration camp in Poland during World War II. He was hanged outside the camp crematorium.

War
More than 10,000 holdout Japanese troops surrendered to Chinese General Li Yen-nien in the Shantung area of China. A Canadian military court in Aurich, Germany found German SS Major-General and Hitler Youth Division Commander Kurt Meyer guilty of war crimes for the assassination of Canadian prisoners of war in Normandy after the D-Day invasion of June 6, 1944.

Diplomacy
A United Nations interim committee narrowed the choice for the UN's permanent headquarters to Boston or New York.

A British-Dutch Conference on Indonesia ended in London with a statement that the situation there should be settled, but there was no agreement on how this should be done.

Lebanese Prime Minister Sami Soih said that the United Nations would be pressed to ask that British and French troops be removed from the country.

Americana
Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance.

Law
U.S. President Harry Truman signed the liberalized GI Bill of Rights.

Economics and finance
The Panamanian Constitutional Congress voted a budget of more than $30 million, the highest in the country's history to date.

The U.S. Office of Price Administration raised the retail price ceiling 10c per ton on coal, coke, and other solid fuels as of January 2, 1946.

Business
A U.S. federal district court in Chicago enjoining further monopoly restraint of competition and rate-fixing by Allied Van Lines.

Labour
General Motors officials walked out of U.S. President Truman's fact-finding board hearing, objecting to union demands that wages be related to prices and company profits.

U.S. Office of Price Administration Administrator Chester Bowles protested to the White House for a second time that certain officers in federal agencies discriminated against Negroes seeking employment.

60 years ago
1955

Hit parade
#1 single in France (IFOP): L'Homme et l'Enfant--Eddie & Tania Constantine (4th week at #1)

Aviation
A BOAC Comet III flew from London, England to Montreal in a record time of 6 hours and 18 minutes.

50 years ago
1965

On television tonight
The Fugitive, starring David Janssen, on ABC
Tonight's episode: When the Wind Blows, with guest stars Harry Townes, Georgann Johnson, and Johnny Jensen

40 years ago
1975

Hockey
NHL
Super Series '76
U.S.S.R. Central Red Army (1-0) 7 @ New York Rangers 3

Vladimir Petrov scored 2 goals and 2 assists and Valery Kharlamov added a goal and 3 assists as the Central Red Army scored 7 straight goals to beat the Rangers before 17,500 fans at Madison Square Garden in the first game ever played between a Soviet club team and a National Hockey League club. Steve Vickers of the Rangers opened the scoring just 21 seconds into the game, but New York didn't score again until Rod Gilbert and Phil Esposito scored in the last 4 1/2 minutes of the game. CRA goalie Vladislav Tretiak made 38 saves, while New York goalie John Davidson stopped only 22 of the 29 shots he faced.



Football
NFL
NFC Divisional Playoff
Dallas 17 @ Minnesota 14

Dallas quarterback Roger Staubach said a "Hail Mary" immediately before completing a 50-yard touchdown bomb to Drew Pearson with 24 seconds remaining in regulation time to give the Cowboys the win over the Vikings before 48,050 shocked fans at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. Mr. Pearson pushed off on Minnesota defensive back Nate Wright on the play and should have been penalized for offensive pass interference, but field judge Armen Terzian refused to call the penalty. The outrage from the Vikings and their fans was to no avail, and one fan made a better throw than Mr. Staubach, throwing a whiskey bottle from the stands that hit Mr. Terzian in the back of the head and knocked him out. Mr. Terzian left the field with a large bandage around his head.



AFC Divisional Playoff
Cincinnati 28 @ Oakland 31

Ken Stabler completed 17 of 23 passes for 199 yards and touchdowns to Mike Siani, Bob Moore, and Dave Casper to lead the Raiders over the Bengals before 53,030 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Oakland led 31-14 in the 4th quarter before Cincinnati quarterback Ken Anderson rallied the Bengals with touchdown passes to Charlie Joiner and Isaac Curtis. The Bengals recovered a Raider fumble on the Oakland 38-yard line with just over 2 minutes remaining, but the Oakland defense forced a turnover on downs, and the offense ran out the clock. It was the final game for Cincinnati head coach Paul Brown, who had coached the Cleveland Browns from 1946-1962 before becoming the Bengals' first head coach in 1968.



30 years ago
1985

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Election Day--Arcadia (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Nikita--Elton John (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Nikita--Elton John (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Thank You Very Much Mr Eastwood--Dermot Morgan

#1 single in the U.K.: Merry Christmas Everyone--Shakin' Stevens

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Say You, Say Me--Lionel Richie (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Say You, Say Me--Lionel Richie (2nd week at #1)
2 Party All the Time--Eddie Murphy
3 Alive and Kicking--Simple Minds
4 Broken Wings--Mr. Mister
5 That’s What Friends are For--Dionne and Friends (with Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder)
6 Small Town--John Cougar Mellencamp
7 Election Day--Arcadia
8 Separate Lives--Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin
9 Talk to Me--Stevie Nicks
10 Perfect Way--Scritti Politti

Singles entering the chart were Sara by Starship (#59); Own the Night by Chaka Khan (#78); Secret Lovers by Atlantic Starr (#85); Don't Say No Tonight by Eugene Wild (#89); and Baby Talk by Alisha (#90).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Say You, Say Me--Lionel Richie (2nd week at #1)
2 Everything in My Heart--Corey Hart
3 Broken Wings--Mr. Mister
4 Separate Lives--Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin
5 We Built This City--Starship
6 Tarzan Boy--Baltimora
7 That’s What Friends are For--Dionne and Friends (with Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder)
8 Live is Life--Opus
9 Election Day--Arcadia
10 Sun City--Artists United Against Apartheid

Singles entering the chart were Kyrie by Mr. Mister (#75); Conga by Miami Sound Machine (#87); If I Was by Midge Ure (#89); Somebody Somewhere by Platinum Blonde (#91); He'll Never Love You (Like I Do) by Freddie Jackson (#92); and Didn't You Kill My Brother? by Alexei Sayle (#95).

Defense
The United States tested an X-ray laser, a component of the Strategic Defense Initiative anti-missile defense system, by detonating a hydrogen bomb under the Nevada desert. An X-ray laser would convert the energy released by a nuclear explosion into a burst of X-rays.

Transportation
The SkyTrain light rail transit system began operating in the metro Vancouver, British Columbia area.

Football
NFL
AFC Wild Card Playoff
New England 26 @ New York Jets 14



25 years ago
1990

Died on this date
Kiel Martin, 46. U.S. actor. Mr. Martin, born Kiel Mueller, was best known for playing Detective J.D. LaRue in the television series Hill Street Blues (1981-1987). This blogger remembers him from The Edge of Night in the late 1970s. Mr. Martin died of lung cancer.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department said that the index of leading economic indicators had declined 1.2% in November. The index had now dropped for five consecutive months, with a decline of three straight months generally regarded as indicating a recession.

20 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Gangsta's Paradise--Coolio featuring L.V. (9th week at #1)

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Gangsta's Paradise--Coolio featuring L.V. (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Gangsta's Paradise--Coolio featuring L.V. (3rd week at #1)

Politics and government
Clyde Wells, Premier of Newfoundland since May 1989, announced his resignation as soon as a successor could be chosen.

Sport
Speedskater Susan Auch was named Canada's female Athlete of the Year by Canadian Press.

10 years ago
2005

Scandal
Former top Enron Corporation accountant Richard Causey pled guilty to securities fraud, and agreed to help pursue convictions against Enron founder Kenneth Lay and former Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling.