January 18, 2016

175 years ago
1841

Born on this date
Emmanuel Chabrier. French composer. Mr. Chabrier was known mainly for his orchestral works España and Joyeuse marche. He died on September 13, 1894 at the age of 53 after a long battle with syphilis.

130 years ago
1886

Sport
Modern field hockey was born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England.

120 years ago
1896

Born on this date
C. M. Eddy, Jr. U.S. author. Clifford Martin Eddy, Jr. had a lifelong fascination with the supernatural, and wrote numerous horror, fantasy, and supernatural short stories for pulp magazines, especially Weird Tales. He was close friends with fellow horror author H.P. Lovecraft. Mr. Eddy also worked as a theatrical booking agent and proofreader; he died on November 21, 1967 at the age of 71.

Ville Ritola. Finnish-born runner. Mr. Ritola, a long-distance runner, was one of the "Flying Finns" who became famous in the 1920s. He emigrated to the United States in 1913, but represented Finland in the Summer Olympic Games, winning four gold medals and two silver medals at the 1924 Olympics in Paris and a gold and silver medal at the 1928 Olympics in Paris. After spending much of his life in the U.S. and becoming an American citizen, Mr. Ritola eventually returned to Finland, where he died on April 24, 1982 at the age of 86.

Technology
An X-ray generating machine was exhibited for the first time by H. L. Smith.

100 years ago
1916

Space
A 611-gram chondrite type meteorite struck a house near the village of Baxter in Stone County, Missouri.

80 years ago
1936

Died on this date
Rudyard Kipling, 70. U.K. author and poet. A native of Bombay, Mr. Kipling's best-known works included the collection of stories in The Jungle Book (1894) the novel Kim (1901); the short story The Man Who Would Be King (1888); the poems Mandalay (1890); Gunga Din (1890); White Man's Burden (1899); and If (1910); and the hymn Recessional (1897). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907, becoming the first English-language writer to win the prize. He remains the prize's youngest winner.

75 years ago
1941

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Frenesi--Artie Shaw and His Orchestra (5th week at #1)

War
British troops launched a general counter-offensive against Italian East Africa.

Defense
Mexican Foreign Minister Ezequiel Padilla said that the Mexican government would not lease any property to any foreign country in connection with any bases built on Mexican soil with U.S. aid. Retiring U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Joseph P. Kennedy declared that Britain was not fighting America's battle in Eurpope, and opposed the U.S. Lend-Lease bill. U.S. Office of Production Management Director William Knudsen testified in favour of Lend-Lease even if money was never repaid, for by helping the U.K. the U.S. was helping herself.

Aviation
Russian balloonists claimed a world record for their ascent in an open gondola to 36,300 feet.

Politics and government
French Prime Minister Marshal Philippe Petain and former Prime Minister Pierre Laval met and reportedly resolved their differences on the Vichy regime's policies.

Two former Spanish Republican Premiers, Francisco Largo Caballero and Diego Martinez Barrio, were stripped of their Spanish citizenship.

Labour
The U.S. National Labor Relations Board charged Ford Motor Company with discrimination against 1,021 union workers, and ordered their reinstatement at Ford's plant in Kansas City.

Football
NFL
The Professional Football Writers Association of America named Brooklyn Dodgers' quarterback Ace Parker as the National Football League's Most Valuable Player for 1940. Mr. Parker completed 49 of 111 passes for 817 yards and 10 touchdowns; rushed 89 times for 306 yards and 3 touchdowns; caught 3 passes for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns; punted 49 times for a 38-yard average; and was successful on 19 of 22 extra point attempts in leading the Dodgers to a record of 8-3, second in the East Division behind the Washington Redskins.

70 years ago
1946

Radio
Hooper U.S. network ratings listed the most popular programs as The Bob Hope Show; Fibber McGee and Molly; Radio Theater; and Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.

War
Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan General Douglas MacArthur ordered the arrest of 100 Japanese, including seven generals, as war criminals. The United States Senate committee on the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii rejected demands that former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill be called as a witness on U.K. policy toward Japan in 1941.

Politics and government
The Mexican Revolutionary Party (PRM) voted its own dissolution and reorganized under the name Party of Revolutionary Institutions (PRI).

The U.S. military government in Munich provisionally licensed the Communist Party of Bavaria in a step toward the destruction of German National Socialism.

Scandal
Boston Mayor James Curley, Donald Smith, and James Fuller were convicted by a district court in Washington, D.C. of using the mails to defraud.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Civilian Production Administration ordered distributors to set aside 60-70% of their bathtubs, cast iron radiators, and cast iron soil pipes to maintain adequate stocks for the government's reconversion program.

Labour
U.S. President Harry Truman announced United Steel Workers' acceptance--and the steel industry's rejection--of his 18.5c per hour wage increase proposal.

Southern Democrats in the United States Senate started a filibuster to delay Fair Employment Practices Commission action.

Disasters
All 17 people aboard an Eastern Air Lines plane were killed when it caught fire in midair and crashed near Cheshire, Connecticut.

60 years ago
1956

Died on this date
Konstantin Päts, 81. 1st President of Estonia, 1938-1940. Mr. Päts, who wasa member of several different parties during his career, was State Elder of Estonia five times between 1921-1934 and Prime Minister from 1934-1937. After the Soviet takeover of Estonia in 1940, Mr. Päts was deported to Russia, and died there.

50 years ago
1966

On television tonight
The Fugitive, starring David Janssen, on ABC
Tonight's episode: This'll Kill You, with guest stars Mickey Rooney, Nita Talbot, and Philip Pine



Died on this date
Kathleen Norris, 85. U.S. authoress. Mrs. Norris wrote 93 novels, short stories, and newspaper columns, using her fiction to promote family and moralistic values, such as the sanctity of marriage, the nobility of motherhood, and the importance of service to others.

Economics and finance
Canadian Agriculture Minister Joe Greene was appointed chairman of the pledging committee of the United Nations World Food Program; Canada contributed $27,500,000.

40 years ago
1976

War
Lebanese Christian militias overran the predominantly Muslim slum area of Karantina in East Beirut, killing at least 1,000.

Football
NFL
Super Bowl X @ Orange Bowl, Miami
Pittsburgh 21 Dallas 17

Lynn Swann caught 4 passes for 161 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown reception from Terry Bradshaw in the 4th quarter, as the Steelers held off a late rally to defeat the Cowboys before 80,187 fans to win their second straight Super Bowl championship (see video). Mr. Bradshaw also completed a 7-yard touchdown pass to Randy Grossman in the 1st quarter, after Dallas had opened the scoring on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Roger Staubach to Drew Pearson. Roy Gerela converted Mr. Grossman's touchdown and added 2 field goals in the 4th quarter, while the Steelers added a safety touch in the 4th quarter when Reggie Harrison blocked Mitch Hoopes' punt through the Dallas end zone. Mr. Staubach connected with Percy Howard for a 34-yard touchdown late in the game; for Mr. Howard, it was the only reception of his NFL career. Toni Fritsch converted both Dallas touchdowns and added a 36-yard field goal in the 2nd quarter that gave the Cowboys a 10-7 lead heading into the 4th quarter. The Pittsburgh defense sacked Mr. Staubach 7 times and made 3 interceptions, the last coming from Glenn Edwards on the last play of the game. There were only 2 penalties, both against Dallas.

30 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Take on Me--A-Ha (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Nikita--Elton John (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Nikita--Elton John (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): The Sun Always Shines on T.V.--A-Ha

#1 single in the U.K.: West End Girls--Pet Shop Boys (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): That’s What Friends are For--Dionne and Friends (with Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder)

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

Singles entering the chart were King for a Day by Thompson Twins (#46); These Dreams by Heart (#50); Stages by ZZ Top (#58); Russians by Sting (#61); Nikita by Elton John (#67); Another Night by Aretha Franklin (#75); Night Moves by Marilyn Martin (#79); (How to Be A) Millionaire by ABC (#82); This Could Be the Night by Loverboy (#83); Let's Go All the Way by Sly Fox (#87); What You Need by INXS (#89); and Strength by the Alarm (#90).

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

Singles entering the chart were Sara by Starship (#72); King for a Day by Thompson Twins (#78); Now and Forever (You and Me) by Anne Murray (#81); Russians by Sting (#85); A Love Bizarre by Sheila E. (#89); Silent Running by Mike + the Mechanics (#91); Sidewalk Talk by Jellybean (#92); and Footsteps by Nick Gilder (#95).

Died on this date
Edmundo Rivero, 74. Argentine musician. Mr. Rivero was a tango singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose career spanned 50 years and whose popularity extended to Japan.

Music
The first 10 members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were inducted in a ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The inductees were Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam Cooke, James Brown, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Ray Charles, and Fats Domino. Billy Joel introduced Mr. Domino, thanking him for making the piano a rock and roll instrument.

Space
The U.S. space shuttle Columbia returned to Earth at the conclusion of the successful six-day mission STS-61-C. The landing was postponed twice because of bad weather and finally shifted from Cape Canaveral, Florida to Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Disasters
A jetliner carrying tourists to Mayan ruins crashed in a jungle in northern Guatemala, killing all 93 people aboard.

Hockey
NHL
New York Rangers 5 @ Edmonton 4

25 years ago
1991

Died on this date
Hamilton Fish III, 102. U.S. politician. Mr. Fish, aka Hamilton Fish, Jr., the son of U.S. Representative Hamilton Fish II and grandson of Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, played football at Harvard University as a tackle, where he was a two-time All-American, earning induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954. As a Progressive, he sat in the New York State Assembly from 1914-1916, before serving in the United States Army during World War I. As a Republican, Mr. Fish represented New York's 26th District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1920-1945. He was a staunch anti-Communist and isolationist, and was a prominent opponent of the policies of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Mr. Fish's riding was gerrymandered in 1944, and he was defeated when he ran for election in New York's 29th District.

War
A second front in the Gulf War opened when the first air strikes from Turkish territory were launched at Iraq. Iraq struck Tel Aviv and Haifa with Scud missiles in an attempt to draw Israel into the war, but Israel refrained.


Europeana
Harald V became King of Norway, the day after the death of King Olav V.

Business
Eastern Air Lines stopped flying and gave up a two-year effort to escape bankruptcy. An increase in jet fuel prices during the Persian Gulf crisis was the final blow for the airline.

20 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Jesus to a Child--George Michael (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Gangsta's Paradise--Coolio featuring L.V. (11th week at #1)

Died on this date
N. T. Rama Rao, 72. Indian actor and politician. Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, popularly known as NTR, was one of the most renowned actors in the history of Indian cinema, appearing in almost 300 movies in a career spanning more than 40 years, winning numerous awards. He founded the regional Telugu Desam Party in 1982 in opposition to the Indian National Congress Party, and served three terms as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (1983-1984, 1989-1989, 1994-1995). Mr. Rao was instrumental in the formation of the National Front, which governed India from 1989-1990. He died of a heart attack.

Politics and government
Lucien Bouchard officially resigned as leader of the Bloc Québecois (BQ) to become leader of the Parti Québecois and take office as Premier of Québec.

Protest
Six major environmental organizations added their support to the growing traffic anti-bypass campaign in Newbury, Berkshire, England.