January 15, 2016

475 years ago
1541

Canadiana
King François I of France named Jean-François de la Rocque, Sieur de Roberval, Lieutenant-general of New France, and commissioned him to begin a colony in Canada and provide for the spread of the "Holy Catholic faith."

175 years ago
1841

Born on this date
Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby. U.K. politician. Mr. Stanley, a Conservative, held various cabinet posts before being appointed to the House of Lords, where as Lord Stanley of Preston he served as Governor General of Canada from 1888-1893 and donated the Stanley Cup for the championship of amateur hockey in Canada. He died on June 14, 1908 at the age of 67.

150 years ago
1866

Born on this date
Nathan Söderblom. Swedish clergyman. Mr. Söderblom was the Church of Sweden Archbishop of Uppsala from 1914-1931. He led the ecumenical Christian "Life and Work" movement in the 1920s, and was awarded the 1930 Nobel Peace Prize "[F]or his efforts to involve the churches not only in work for ecumenical unity, but also for world peace." He died on July 12, 1931 at the age of 65.

140 years ago
1876

Journalism
The first newspaper in Afrikaans, Die Afrikaanse Patriot, was published in Paarl, Transvaal.

130 years ago
1886

Journalism
Vancouver, British Columbia's first weekly newspaper, the Vancouver Weekly Herald and North Pacific News, published its first issue.

125 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Ray Chapman. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Chapman was a shortstop with the Cleveland Naps and Indians from 1912-1920, batting .278 with 17 home runs and 364 runs batted in in 1,051 games. He led the American League in 1918 with 84 runs and 84 bases on balls. Mr. Chapman died on August 17, 1920 at the age of 29, the day after being hit in the head by a pitch thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees, and is generally recognized as the only major league player to die directly from an on-field injury (Philadelphia Athletics' catcher Mike "Doc" Powers died of post-surgery complications after running into a wall in Shibe Park in 1909, but it's uncertain if his death was directly related to his injury).

120 years ago
1896

Born on this date
Marjorie Bennett. Australian-born U.S. actress. Miss Bennett, the sister of actresses Enid and Catherine Bennett, moved to thee United States by 1917, and appeared in several silent films, but was inactive in movies from 1918-1946. She then appeared in small, often uncredited, roles in numerous films and television programs through 1980. Miss Bennett appeared in Charlie Chaplin's films Monseiur Verdoux (1947) and Limelight (1952), and played Blossom Kenney in 10 episodes of the television comedy series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959-1961). She died on June 14, 1982 at the age of 86.

Died on this date
Mathew Brady, 73. U.S. photographer. Mr. Brady studied under Samuel Morse, and opened his own photographic studio in 1844, making a name for himself with portraits of famous Americans. He became famous for his photographs of the American Civil War from the perspective of the Union Army. Mr. Brady took a staff of assistants with him, and although they took many of the photos, they worked under his direction. Mr. Brady had paid his own way to the battlefields, and after the war, his business declined badly, and his eyesight deteriorated. He died in poverty from complications following a streetcar accident.

80 years ago
1936

Died on this date
Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster, 69. U.K. politician. Lord Forster was a Conservative member of the House of Commons from 1892-1919, and served as Governor-General of Australia from 1920-1925. He died 16 days before his 70th birthday.

Americana
The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, was completed in Toledo, Ohio.

75 years ago
1941

Literature
Current History and Forum named New England: Indian Summer, 1865-1915 by Van Wyck Brooks as the most important non-fiction book published in 1940.

Diplomacy
Speaking in Tokyo, Japanese Foreign Minister Kosuke Matsuoka stressed the unity in friendship of Japan and Germany.

Economics and finance
U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Secretary of the Tresury Henry Morgenthau defended Lend-Lease as necessary for national defense, and urged quick congressional action. New York District Attorney Thomas Dewey said that Lend-Lease aid to the United Kingdom would end free government in the United States.

Protest
American Negro union leader A. Philip Randolph called for 10,000 Negroes to march on Washington to demand an end to discrimination in defense employment.

Labour
U.S. federal mediator James Dewey announced that the Congress of Industrial Organizations-United Auto Workers strike against Eaton Manufacturing Company had been settled.

70 years ago
1946

Died on this date
Karl Nabersberg, 37. Mr. Nabersberg joined the Nazi Party in 1925, and was a Hitler Youth leader in the 1930s. He died shortly after being fined RM6,000 by the Berlin Denazification Tribunal.

War
At the trial in Manila of accused Japanese war criminal General Masaharu Homma, witnesses described Japanese brutality at Camp O'Donnell, where about 30,500 inmates died. At the hearings of the United States Senate committee on the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, U.S. Navy Admiral Husband Kimmel, head of U.S. naval operations at Pearl Harbor at the time of the invasion, told the committee that the U.S. government had withheld information from him and had led him to believe that the Japanese would attack elsewhere.

Defense
Norman Makin of Australia, named the first chairman of the United Nations Security Council, said that the atomic bomb should be placed at the UN's disposal to maintain peace. German physicist Wilhelm Westphall said that rwo groups of German scientists had been settled by the Soviets on the Black Sea to work on military applications of electronics and atomic energy.

A U.S.-Canadian joint defense conference was held at the Chateau Frontenac in Québec.

U.S. President Harry Truman said that the United States would insist upon retention of Pacific islands considered essential for national defense, but would turn others over to the United Nations for trusteeship.

Allied Supreme Commander in Europe General Dwight Eisenhower announced that by April 30, 1946 all enlisted U.S. Army men with 45 points or 30 months service would be released.

Politics and government
Communist members of the Chinese Political Consultative Committee agreed on retaining President Chiang Kai-shek as head of the proposed all-party government.

The Argentine Labour Party elected Juan Peron as its presidential candidate.

The British government named Gordon MacDonald Governor of Newfoundland, succeeding Sir Humphrey Walwyn.

South Carolina's House of Representatives voted against a bill to abolish the poll tax.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Agriculture Department re-established wartime control over distribution of protein feed for livestock and poultry in order to correct the growing shortage in some areas and oversupply in others.

Labour
Westinghouse, General Electric, and General Motors electrical plants in 16 American states were closed as 200,000 members of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers went on strike for a $2 daily wage increase.

The Congress of Industrial Organizations United Packing House Workers and American Federation of Labor Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen called a strike of 125,000 meat industry workers after negotiations broke down.

Sport
Doc Blanchard, fullback with the United States Military Academy football team, was awarded the James E. Sullivan Trophy as the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States for 1945.

60 years ago
1956

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: You Got to Have Luck, starring John Cassavetes, Marisa Pavan, and Lamont Johnson

Football
NFL
Pro Bowl @ Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
East 31 West 30

The East outscored the West 10-7 in the 4th quarter before 37,867 fans. Chicago Cardinals' running back Ollie Matson was named the most valuable player.

50 years ago
1966

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): We Can Work it Out/Day Tripper--The Beatles

#1 single in France: La Bohème--Charles Aznavour

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): La festa--Adriano Celentano (5th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Get Off My Cloud--The Rolling Stones (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): We Can Work it Out/Day Tripper--The Beatles (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Keep on Running--The Spencer Davis Group

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): We Can Work It Out--The Beatles (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 We Can Work It Out--The Beatles (3rd week at #1)
2 The Sounds of Silence--Simon & Garfunkel
3 As Tears Go By--The Rolling Stones
4 Five O'Clock World--The Vogues
5 She's Just My Style--Gary Lewis and the Playboys
6 A Must to Avoid--Herman's Hermits
7 Ebb Tide--The Righteous Brothers
8 Flowers on the Wall--The Statler Brothers
9 The Men in My Little Girl's Life--Mike Douglas
10 I Got You (I Feel Good)--James Brown and the Famous Flames

Singles entering the chart were My World is Empty Without You by the Supremes (#62); Michelle by David & Jonathan (#83); (You're Gonna) Hurt Yourself by Frankie Valli (#84); Michelle by Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra (#86); Bye Bye Blues by Bert Kaempfert and his Orchestra (#87); Night Time by the Strangeloves (#88); The Loop by Johnny Lytle (#89); I Can't Believe You Love Me by Tammi Terrell (#93); Andrea by the Sunrays (#95); Something I Want to Tell You by Johnny and the Expressions (#98); and Baby Come on Home by Solomon Burke (#100).

World events
The First Nigerian Republic, led by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, was overthrown in a military coup d'état led by Kaduna Nzeogwu.

Football
AFL
All-Star Game @ Rice Stadium, Houston
All-Stars 30 Buffalo 19

New York Jets' quarterback Joe Namath was named the offensive star of the game and San Diego Chargers' linebacker Frank Buncom was the defensive star as the All-Stars defeated the champion Bills before 35,572 fans in the only American Football League All-Star game to pit the league champions against the All-Stars.

40 years ago
1976

At the movies
Supervivientes de los Andes (Survive!), written, directed, and co-produced by René Cardona, opened in theatres in Mexico. The film was based on Clay Blair, Jr.'s book from 1973 about the 1972 crash in the Andes of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571. Piers Paul Read's book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors (1974) served as the basis for the movie Alive (1993).

Crime
Sara Jane Moore was sentenced to life in prison for her September 22, 1975 assassination attempt against U.S. President Gerald Ford.

Labour
The Ontario Legislature voted to end the two-month strike by 8,800 Toronto secondary school teachers.

Hockey
WHA
The Houston Aeros defeated the Ottawa Civics in overtime before a sellout crowd of 9,355 at Ottawa Civic Centre in the Civics' sixth game since moving from Denver--where they had been known as the Spurs--and their 41st and last game as a franchise.

30 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Say You, Say Me--Lionel Richie (2nd week at #1)

Defense
U.S.S.R. leader Mikhail Gorbachev announced a three-month extension of the Soviet moratorium on nuclear tests, and he proposed a worldwide ban on nuclear weapons within 15 years. The offer was tied to a requirement that the United States end development of anti-satellite weapons and the Strategic Defense Initiative anti-missile defense system. The reduction of nuclear arms would take place in stages.

Hockey
NHL
Montreal Canadiens' goaltender Patrick Roy earned his first NHL shutout.

25 years ago
1991

War
"Black Beret" troops from the interior ministry seized a police academy in Latvia.

Australiana
Queen Elizabeth II signed letters patent instituting the Victoria Cross for Australia; the country became the first Commonwealth realm with a separate Victoria Cross award in its honours system.

Politics and government
The Supreme Soviet confirmed Aleksandr Bessmertnykh as the U.S.S.R.’s new foreign minister.

20 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Jesus to a Child--George Michael

#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Jesus to a Child--George Michael

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Earth Song--Michael Jackson (6th week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Exhale (Shoop Shoop)--Whitney Houston (2nd week at #1)
2 You'll See--Madonna
3 Hand in My Pocket--Alanis Morissette
4 Breakfast at Tiffany's--Deep Blue Something
5 Name--Goo Goo Dolls
6 Your Little Secret--Melissa Etheridge
7 Blessed--Elton John
8 Good Intentions--Toad the Wet Sprocket
9 Good Mother--Jann Arden
10 I Wish You Well--Tom Cochrane

Singles entering the chart were I Want to Come Over by Melissa Etheridge (#88); Jesus to a Child by George Michael (#89); Waiting for Tonight by Tom Petty (#93); A Love So Beautiful by Michael Bolton (#96); The World I Know by Collective Soul (#97); Get Together by Big Mountain (#98); and Don't Cry by Seal (#99).

Died on this date
Les Baxter, 73. U.S. musician and composer. Mr. Baxter was a pianist who was best known as a bandleader and arranger, and a pioneer in the genre of "exotica" in the 1950s. His hit singles included Unchained Melody (1955) and The Poor People of Paris (1956), both of which reached #1 on the Billboard singles charts. Mr. Baxter was accused by fellow arranger Nelson Riddle of constantly taking credit for work done by others.

Moshoeshoe II, 57. King of Lesotho, 1966-1990, 1995-1996. Moshoeshoe II, born Constantine Bereng Seeiso, succeeded paramount chief Seeiso, and became King when Lesotho gained her independence from Britain in 1966. He was deposed in 1990 and replaced by his son Letsie III, but returned from exile in the United Kingdom to resume the throne in 1995. King Moshoeshoe II was killed in a car accident, and was once again succeeded by Letsie III.

War
Russian forces launched a three-day offensive against Chechnya.

Politics and government
Lucien Bouchard resigned his seat in the Canadian House of Commons to take the leadership of the Parti Quebecois.

Scandal
The bribery trial of former South Korean President Roh Tae Woo resumed; Mr. Roh refused to be questioned, and offered to accept his punishment. Some of the bribe money was still tucked away in a number of secret bank accounts.

Canadiana
The Palladium, home of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League, opened with a concert by Bryan Adams.

Business
David Walsh announced in Calgary that his Bre-X mining company's Busang, Indonesia, holdings contained 30 million ounces of gold; this was later proven to be a fraud.

10 years ago
2006

Died on this date
Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 79. Emir of Kuwait, 1977-2006. Sheikh Jaber served as Prime Minister of Kuwait from 1965-1978, succeeding Sabah III as Emir on December 31, 1977. He was in exile in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War early in 1991, but returned to Kuwait in March 1991. Sheikh Jaber was succeeded as Emir by Saad I.

War
A suicide car bomb in southern Afghanistan hit a Canadian military convoy, killing three civilians, including a Canadian diplomat.

Football
NFL
AFC Divisional Playoff
Pittsburgh 21 @ Indianapolis 18

Ben Roethlisberger completed touchdown passes to Antwaan Randle El and Heath Miller in the 1st quarter to give the Steelers a 14-0 lead over the Colts before 57,449 fans at RCA Dome, but they barely withstood a 15-point Indianapolis rally in the 4th quarter. Indianapolis kicker Mike Vanderjagt had a chance to tie the game with 17 seconds left in regulation time, but he was wide on a 46-yard field goal attempt.



NFC Divisional Playoff
Carolina 29 @ Chicago 21

Jake Delhomme passed for 319 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Panthers over the Bears before 62,209 fans at Soldier Field. Steve Smith caught 12 of Mr. Delhomme's passes for 218 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 58-yard score just 55 seconds into the game.