January 2, 2016

1,650 years ago
366

War
Alemanni forces crossed the frozen Rhine River in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire.

225 years ago
1791

War
Lenape and Wyandot warriors massacred 14 white settlers in Ohio, marking the beginning of the Northwest Indian War.

190 years ago
1826

Law
The Supreme Court of Newfoundland was founded.

120 years ago
1896

Born on this date
Dziga Vertov. U.S.S.R. film director. Mr. Vertov, born David Abelevich Kaufman in what is now part of Poland, directed documentaries and newsreels, and influenced the cinéma vérité style of documentary filmmaking. His best-known work was the silent documentary Man with a Movie Camera (1929). Mr. Vertov died of cancer on February 12, 1954 at the age of 58.

Politics and government
Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie Bowell tried to void the Manitoba Schools Act that abolished French as an official language in the province and removed funding for Catholic schools. The Privy Council upheld the act, but left the federal government with the option to declare it void; Sir Mackenzie, former head of the protestant Orange Order, chose to uphold the terms under which Manitoba had entered Confederation in 1870, and issued an Order-in-Council in support of the Catholics. Seven of his cabinet ministers resigned on January 4.

75 years ago
1941

Died on this date
Mischa Levitzki, 42. Ukrainian-born U.S. musician and composer. Mr. Levitzki, born to naturalized Americans who were visiting their homeland when it was still part of the Russian Empire, was a concert pianist who was a child prodigy and performed throughout the world. He wrote several pieces for piano, and died of a heart attack.

War
German bombing severely damaged Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff.

Defense
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced a program to build 200 standardized 7,500-ton freighters for the war effort. A Gallup Poll reported that 85% of American voters believed that Britain would lose the war if U.S. shipments stopped.

Journalist William Allen White announced his resignation as chairman of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies, complaining that the group was controlled by a pro-war faction.

Diplomacy
Panamanian President Arnulfo Arias Madrid said that Panama could not accept U.S. sovereignty or jurisdiction over any segment of his country, but was ready to cooperate with U.S. military forces.

The Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia agreed to double its tribute to Germany as "guarantor of the Protectorate's security and sovereignty."

Crime
The last 17 Christian Front members charged with conspiracy to overthrow the United States government were freed in Brooklyn as the prosecution dropped the case.

Labour
U.S. Wage and Price Administrator Philip Fleming ordered an increase in minimum wages for railroad employees.

70 years ago
1946

War
At the Nazi war crimes trial in Nuremberg, Gestapo leader Ernst Kaltenbrunner was charged with witnessing gas executions at Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in Austria, and ordering the slaughter of camp inmates in the path of advancing Allied armies. 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 Harold Stark testified that he thought that the command in Hawaii had adequate warning to prepare for war.

Nationalist Chinese troops entered the province of Jehoi in northeastern China to take it over from the Communists, who announced that they would resist such efforts.

World events
Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Morgan, United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation chief in Germany, declared that he was unimpressed "by all the talk about pogroms in Poland," and claimed that Polish Jews were entering the American sector with a "well-organized, positive plan" to leave Europe. Meanwhile, Chief Secretary of the Palestine Administration J.V.W. Shaw disclosed that all 75,000 immigration permits issued under the 1939 White Paper had been issued, and no more were available.

Defense
The U.S. State Department proposed an Inter-American defense treaty conference, to be held in Brazil in March 1946.

Politics and government
U.S.S.R. Ambassador to the United States Andrei Gromyko was appointed as Soviet representative on the Far Eastern Commission in Japan. The U.S. War Department released Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan General Douglas MacArthur's occupation report, which said that the Communist Party was coming to life in Japan, and younger Japanese were beginning to question whether the country's future lay in Communism or democracy.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a suit brought by John Green to oust Carter Glass (Democrat--Virginia) from the United States Senate. Mr. Glass, who turned 88 on January 4, 1946, had been absent from the Senate for more than three years because of illness.

Japanica
Japanese people were astonished by the publication of two photographs of Emperor Hirohito and his family, one showing him in civilian dress for the first time.

Religion
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that Mormon fundamentalists William Chatwin, Charles Zitting, and Edna Christensen were not guilty of breaking the Lindbergh kidnapping law in taking Dorothy Wyler to Mexico to become Mr. Chatwin's second wife, since the girl was not forced into the marriage.

Protest
40 people were killed and 300 wounded in rioting during the inauguration of Ignacio Quiroz as Mayor of Leon, Mexico.

Commercial life in Damascus, Aleppo, and Beirut was paralyzed by a strike protesting continued British and French occupation.

Labour
3,000 Congrtess of Industrial Organizations-American Communications Association members employed by Western Union voted in New York to strike on January 8 against a National War Labor Board decision reducing wage increases.

60 years ago
1956

Football
NCAA
Rose Bowl @ Pasadena
Michigan State 17 California @ Los Angeles 14

Dave Kaiser kicked the first field goal of his collegiate career, a 41-yard field goal with 7 seconds remaining in the game, to give the Spartans their victory over the Bruins before 100,809 fans.



50 years ago
1966

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Kathy Fincham!

Football
NFL
Championship
Cleveland 12 @ Green Bay 23

Paul Hornung rushed 18 times for 105 yards and Jim Taylor carried 27 times for 96 yards as the Packers defeated the Browns before 50,777 fans in snow and mud at Lambeau Field (see video). Mr. Hornung's 13-yard touchdown sweep in the 3rd quarter was the decisive play, with Don Chandler's convert making the score 20-12. The Packers opened the scoring in the 1st quarter on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Bart Starr to Carroll Dale, converted by Mr. Chandler. The Browns responded with a 17-yard TD pass from Frank Ryan to Gary Collins; Lou Groza missed the convert, but kicked a 24-yard field goal to give Cleveland a 10-9 lead after the 1st quarter. Mr. Chandler kicked field goals of 15 and 23 yards in the 2nd quarter to give Green Bay the lead, but Mr. Groza replied with a 28-yard FG to make the halftime score 13-12. Mr. Chandler's 29-yard field goal was the only scoring of the 4th quarter. The Green Bay defense limited Mr. Ryan to 8 completions in 18 passes for 115 yards and 2 interceptions, while restricting Jim Brown to 50 yards on 12 carries and 44 yards on 3 pass receptions in the last game of his 9-year Hall of Fame career. It was the Packers' third National Football League championship in the previous five years, and the last NFL championship before the era of Super Bowls.

40 years ago
1976

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Dolannes-Melodie--Jean-Claude Borelly (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Dolannes-Melodie--Jean-Claude Borelly (12th week at #1)

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Paloma Blanca--George Baker Selection (8th week at #1)

On television tonight
Viewpoint, the brief editorial segment hosted by former Canadian Broadcasting Corporation news anchorman Earl Cameron that followed The National newscast, was broadcast for the last time.

Politics and government
A judicial recount in the December 8, 1975 Yellowknife mayoral election gave former mayor Fred Henne a 12-vote win over incumbent Bob Findlay. The vote count on December 8 had Mr. Henne ahead 843-836. Mr. Justice W.G. Morrow of the Territorial Court of the Northwest Territories conducted the recount.

Disasters
The Gale of January 1976 began, resulting in coastal flooding around the southern North Sea coasts, resulting in at least 82 deaths and U.S.$1.3 billion in damage.

Hockey
WHA
The Denver Spurs, with a record of 13-21-1, moved to Ottawa to become the Civics. The team was on the road at the time, and the players didn't find out about the move until they lined up for the national anthem at their game against the Cincinnati Stingers at Riverfront Coliseum and O Canada was played. The Spurs were in the Western Division, but were moved to the Canadian Division when the franchise was transferred to Ottawa. The Stingers won the game.

30 years ago
1986

Hit parade
Canada’s Top 21
1 Say You, Say Me--Lionel Richie
2 Everything in My Heart--Corey Hart
3 Separate Lives--Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin
4 Sleeping Bag--ZZ Top
5 Small Town--John Cougar Mellencamp
6 Alive and Kicking--Simple Minds
7 Tonight She Comes--The Cars
8 Election Day--Arcadia
9 Girls are More Fun--Ray Parker, Jr.
10 Broken Wings--Mr. Mister
11 Situation Critical--Platinum Blonde
12 Spies Like Us--Paul McCartney
13 It’s Only Love--Bryan Adams and Tina Turner
14 That’s What Friends are For--Dionne and Friends (with Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder)
15 So Far Away--Dire Straits
16 Who’s Zoomin’ Who--Aretha Franklin
17 Wrap Her Up--Elton John
18 Love is the Seventh Wave--Sting
19 I Miss You--Klimaxx
20 Burning Heart--Survivor
21 Talk to Me--Stevie Nicks

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CITV
Tonight’s episode: Still Life, starring Robert Carradine; The Little People of Killany Woods, starring Hamilton Camp; The Misfortune, starring Elliott Gould

Died on this date
Una Merkel, 82. U.S. actress. Miss Merkel was known for her appearances in movies such as Abraham Lincoln (1930); The Maltese Falcon (1931); 42nd Street (1933); Destry Rides Again (1939); and The Bank Dick (1940).

Diplomacy
U.S. President Ronald Reagan accused the U.S.S.R. and Cuba of sponsoring terrorism and drug trafficking in Latin America.

Hockey
NHL
New York Islanders' right wing Mike Bossy scored his 500th career goal into an empty net in a 7-5 win over the Boston Bruins at Boston Garden, becoming the 11th player to reach the milestone; he did it in fewer games (647) than any other player in NHL history to that point.

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Lassie--Ainbusk (3rd week at #1)

War
Soviet interior ministry troops seized several buildings, including the central printing plant in the Latvian capital of Riga, and the Communist Party headquarters in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. It was unclear whether Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev had ordered the takeovers, which prompted 10,000 people to protest outside Communist party headquarters in Latvia.

Politics and government
Sharon Pratt Dixon was sworn in as Mayor of Washington, D.C., becoming the first Negro woman to head a city of that size and prominence.

Economics and finance
Most major U.S. banks lowered their prime lending rate, the interest charged on loans to preferred customers, from 10% to 9.5%.

Hockey
NHL
Montreal 3 @ Edmonton 0

Andre "Red Light" Racicot recorded his first National Hockey League shutout in goal for the Canadiens as they blanked the Oilers at Edmonton Coliseum.



20 years ago
1996

War
The first convoy of American combat troops arrived in northern Bosnia to try to keep the peace between Bosnian Serbs and Muslims.

Politics and government
Hundreds of Ontario municipalities received letters announcing a $657-million cut in funding from the provincial government over the next two years. The Manitoba government announced major health care cuts, while the government of Saskatchewan suggested a slower approach to the same end.

Economics and finance
Mexico announced the imposition of anti-dumping duties on Canadian steel imports.

Disasters
Snow and cold weather in western Mexico killed up to 35% of the monarch butterfly population wintering there after migrating from Canada and the northern United States.

10 years ago
2006

Died on this date
Osa Massen, 91. Danish-born U.S. actress. Miss Massen, born Aase Madsen Iversen, was known for appearing in movies such as You'll Never Get Rich (1941); A Woman's Face (1941); Deadline at Dawn (1946); and Rocketship X-M (1950). She died 11 days before her 92nd birthday.

Disasters
An explosion of methane gas in a coal mine in Sago, West Virginia killed 12 miners, while leaving one miner in critical condition after being trapped for 40 hours.