December 5, 2015

420 years ago
1595

Born on this date
Henry Lawes. English composer. Mr. Lawes was the leading English songwriter of the mid-17th century, writing more than 430, in addition to sacred music. He was also a countertenor, and was employed by as one of the musicians of King Charles I. Mr. Lawes' younger brother William, also a composer, was killed fighting for the king in the civil war in 1645; Henry lost his position, but was eventually restored to his previous positions when the monarchy was restored under King Charls II in 1660. William Lawes died on October 21, 1662 at the age of 65.

240 years ago
1775

War
American forces led by Richard Montgomery, with the aid of Benedict Arnold, began the siege of Quebec in an attempt to capture the fortress before the onset of winter. At Fort Ticonderoga, New York, Continental Army Colonel Henry Knox began his transport of artillery to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

200 years ago
1815

South Americana
The Brazilian city of Maceió was founded.

175 years ago
1840

Politics and government
U.S. President Martin Van Buren delivered his annual State of the Union message to Congress.

150 years ago
1865

War
Peru formally allied with Chile against Spain in the Chincha Islands War.

125 years ago
1890

Born on this date
Fritz Lang. Austro-Hungarian-born U.S. film director. Mr. Lang, a native of Vienna, began his career in Germany, but fled shortly after the Nazis came to power, going to Paris, and eventually Hollywood, where he spent the remainder of his career. His movies included Metropolis (1927); M (1931); The Woman in the Window (1944); Scarlet Street (1945); and The Big Heat (1953). Mr. Lang died on August 2, 1976 at the age of 85.

Sport
Québec strongman Louis Cyr lifted 490 pounds with one finger while working with the P.T. Barnum circus.

120 years ago
1895

Born on this date
Mamerto Urriolagoitía. President of Bolivia, 1949-1951; Vice President of Bolivia, 1947-1949. Mr. Urriolagoitía was a diplomat who was elected Vice President to Dr. Enrique Hertzog in 1947, and served as Foreign Minister from March-May 1947. He took office as President after Dr. Hertzog was forced to resign, and moved to suppress revolutionary movements. Mr. Urriolagoitía lost the 1951 presidential election to opposition candidate Víctor Paz Estenssoro, but refused to hand power over to him, instead installing General Hugo Ballivián Rojas, head of the Bolivian military, as President in May 1951. The move precipitated the Bolivian Revolution of 1952, but Mr. Urriolagoitía had already left the country. He returned in later years, and died on June 4, 1974 at the age of 78.

110 years ago
1905

Exploration
Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen telegraphed from Eagle City, Alaska that he had successfully navigated the Northwest Passage on his ship Gjoa. They had cleared Canada's Arctic Archipelago and passed into the Beaufort Sea on August 17, but had to stop for the winter at King Point on the northern coast of the Yukon Territory. He had travelled 800 kilometres by dogsled to announce his feat.

90 years ago
1925

Died on this date
Władysław Reymont, 58. Polish author. Mr. Reymont, a novelist, was awarded the 1924 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his great national epic, The Peasants." Chlopi (The Peasants) was published in four volumes from 1904-1909. Mr. Reymont died of a heart illness.

Football
CRU
Grey Cup @ Lansdowne Park, Ottawa
Ottawa 24 Winnipeg Tammany Tigers 1

Charlie Connell scored 2 touchdowns and Edgar Mulroney and Don Young also scored TDs as the Senators routed the Tammany Tigers before 6,900 fans. Mr. Connell opened the scoring 5 minuted into the game when Charlie Lynch, with a strong favouring wind, kicked the ball towards the Winnipeg end zone, and before his opponents could react, leaped into the air and touched the ball. This made any Ottawa teammate eligible to recover the ball, and Mr. Connell pounced on it for a touchdown. Edgar Mulroney scored the second major of the game in the second quarter on a 20-yard rush around right end. The Senators went on to add two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter. A Winnipeg player lost control of the ball on his own five-yard line, which a teammate recovered. Officials ruled that the ball had been illegally passed forward, turning over the ball to Ottawa. The Senators capitalized when Mr. Connell ran around the end for his second major, following three lateral passes. Ottawa then scored on another turnover when Don Young fell on a dribbled ball in the end zone. Mr. Lynch kicked 4 singles to complete the Ottawa scoring, while Eddie Grant singled for the lone Winnipeg point. It was the first Grey Cup appearance for a team from Winnipeg.

75 years ago
1940

Died on this date
Jan Kubelík, 60. Czech musician and composer. Mr. Kubelik was a popular concert violinist from the late 1890s until his death, and was one of the major artists in the early years of recordings. His compositions included six violin concertos.

War
The first Royal Canadian Navy corvettes joined the Battle of the Atlantic. The torpedoed Canadian destroyer HMCS Saguenay limped into a British port after taking a hit from a German torpedo; it was the first Canadian warship to be torpedoed. Dissatisfied with the Soviet refusal to join the Tripartite Pact, German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler instructed his generals to prepare for an invasion of the U.S.S.R. in the spring. The British House of Commons voted against any criticism of King George VI's speech from the throne, in which he precluded peace talks with Germany.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said in a statement read to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Conference that he would seek U.S. Senate approval for a treaty with Canada to complete the seaway project.

Soviet Ambassador to Japan Constantin Smetanin advised Japan that the U.S.S.R. had not changed her policy with regard to China, despite Japan's recognition of the Japanese-sponsored Chinese regime in Nanking led by Wang Ching-wei.

Politics and government
U.S. Representative J.E. Rankin (Democrat--Mississippi) introduced a bill to prevent the loss of seats by eight states under the 1942 reapportionment by increasing membership of the House of Representatives to 450.

Religion
The Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office, the Roman Catholic Church's highest organ on faith and morals, condemned euthanasia--execution practiced for reasons of race improvement or for economic reasons--as "contrary to natural and positive divine law."

Health
The influenza epidemic spread from California to Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Arizona, and Idaho.

Economics and finance
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau announced that a $50-million loan would be made to Argentina from the Treasury's gold stabilization fund to stabilize her currency.

Baseball
The Pittsburgh Pirates released right fielder Paul Waner, 37, who had been with the team since 1926. Mr. Waner, the National League batting champion in 1927, 1934, and 1936, had batted .290 with 1 home run and 32 runs batted in in 89 games in 1940.

70 years ago
1945

Died on this date
Cosmo Lang, 81. U.K. clergyman. Lord Lang, an Anglican, was Archbishop of York from 1908-1928 and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1928-1942. He supported appeasement of hostile foreign countries in the 1930s, and was critical of King Edward VIII during the abdication crisis on 1936.

Politics and government
U.S. Secretary of State James Byrnes said that the United States may urge the U.S., U.S.S.R., and U.K. to centralize administration in their zones of Germany without the French if France continued to insist on a permanent separation of the Ruhr, Saar, and Rhineland as a precondition to German reunification.

The French Constituent Assembly's constitution commission voted 22-18 for a single-house legislature for the Fourth Republic.

Diplomacy
Eight days after resigning as U.S. Ambassador to China, General Patrick J. Hurley appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and accused the U.S. State Department's "China hands" of "sabotaging" his work with the Chinese Nationalist government.

The Pan American Union elected Brazilian Ambassador Carlos Pereira de Souza as chairman of its governing board.

The U.S. State Department disclosed that representations had been made to Argentina on its failure to deport to the United States 71 Nazi agents as promised.

U.K. Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin was cheered in the House of Commons when he said "We detest the regime" of Generalissimo Francisco Franco in Spain.

Transportation
A U.S.-U.K. agreement was reported on a $375 one-way plane fare between New York and London. Pan American Airways had already cut its fare from $572 to $275.

Economics and finance
The United States Treasury lifted curbs on financial transactions with all foreign countries except enemy states and six former neutrals.

U.S. Office of Price Administration chief Chester Bowles predicted inflation "followed by a shattering smash-up" if price controls were not maintained and extended to 1947.

Labour
U.S. National Association of Manufacturers president Ira Mosher supported, with reservations, U.S. President Harry Truman's new labour policy.

Disasters
Flight 19, a United States Navy navigation training flight of five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers was lost near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with the loss of all 14 airmen involved in the flight and another 13 aboard a PBM Mariner flying boat that apparently exploded in midair while searching for the missing planes. The incident was one of the first to be connected to the legend of the Bermuda Triangle.

60 years ago
1955

Died on this date
Glenn L. Martin, 69. U.S. aviation executive. Mr. Martin was a pilot and founder of his own aircraft company in 1912, which was eventually amalgamated into the Lockheed Martin company.

Labour
The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged and form the AFL–CIO. AFL President George Meany was elected president of the new federation.

Protest
E. D. Nixon and Rosa Parks led the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

50 years ago
1965

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): The Carnival is Over--The Seekers

Died on this date
Joseph Erlanger, 91. U.S. physiologist. Dr. Erlanger and Herbert Spencer Gasser were awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine"for their discoveries relating to the highly differentiated functions of single nerve fibres."

Politics and government
In France's first popular presidential election, President Charles de Gaulle received 44% of the vote to 32% for Francois Mitterand, 16% for Senator Jean Lecanuet, and a combined total of 8% for Senator Pierre Marcilhacy, Paul Antier, and Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour. The result was unexpected, as President de Gaulle was expected to receive a majority of the votes. The result necessitated a run-off election between President de Gaulle and Mr. Mitterand on December 19. Prior to the introduction of a constitutional amendment in 1962, the President of France had been chosen by an electoral college consisting of members of the national assembly and Senate.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Wasted Days and Wasted Nights--Freddy Fender (10th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): I'm on Fire--5000 Volts

#1 single in Switzerland: Dolannes-Melodie--Jean-Claude Borelly (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Paloma Blanca--George Baker Selection (4th week at #1)

Diplomacy
U.S. President Gerald Ford concluded a state visit to China.

30 years ago
1985

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CITV
Tonight’s episode: The Beacon, starring Charles Martin Smith; One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty, starring Peter Riegert

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): No Coke--Dr. Alban (3rd week at #1)

Economics and finance
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation President Gerard Veilleux announced that in April 1991 budget cuts would take effect that would cut 1,110 jobs--about 10% of CBC’s work force. He added that the CBC would close three of its flagship stations and abandon all local programming services to concentrate on national and regional programming. Federal government support for CBC had increased by about 2% per year since the Progressive Conservative government had taken power in 1984, but was below the rate of inflation. This was combined with a decline in advertising revenue of $50 million in 1990. Opposition members of parliament criticized the government for failing to provide adequate support for CBC, accusing the government of not restructuring CBC, but dismembering it.

Baseball
The Toronto Blue Jays traded first baseman Fred McGriff and shortstop Tony Fernandez to the San Diego Padres for second baseman Roberto Alomar and right fielder Joe Carter. Mr. McGriff batted .300 with 35 home runs and 85 runs batted in in 1990, while Mr. Fernandez batted .276 with 4 homers and 66 RBIs. Mr. Carter, who had been acquired by the Padres from the Cleveland Indians after the 1989 season, batted .232 with 24 homers and 115 RBIs in 1990, while Mr. Alomar hit .287 with 6 home runs and 60 RBIs. Messrs. Fernandez and Alomar were primarily known for their defensive skills.

20 years ago
1995

Died on this date
Clair Patterson, 73. U.S. geochemist. Dr. Patterson taught at California Institute of Technology from 1952 until his death from an asthma attack. He and George Tilton developed the uranium–lead dating method into lead–lead dating, and estimated the age of Earth at 4.55 billion years. Dr. Patterson's experience with lead contamination led him to conduct successful campaigns against leaded gasoline and the use of lead solder in food cans.

War
In the Sri Lankan Civil War, the Sri Lankan government announced the conquest of the Tamil stronghold of Jaffna after a 49-day operation.

Canadiana
The House of Commons passed a resolution by MP Jean Augustine (Liberal--Etobicoke—Lakeshore) to declare February Black History Month in Canada. Promoted by Rosemary Sadlier, president of the Ontario Black History Society, the first Black History Month in Canada was declared on February 1, 1996.

10 years ago
2005

Disasters
The Lake Tanganyika earthquake caused significant damage, mostly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.