Instead of Moving Mountains, They Moved a Building
-
Did you know that between October and November 1930, architects and
engineers rotated a building in downtown Indianapolis without disrupting
business ins...
Steve Cichon’s Professional Highlights
-
An educator and author with experience in communications, broadcasting,
journalism, Franciscan theology, non-profit management and mental health.
Educatio...
The Short Creative Life of Archibald Lampman
-
10 February 1899 Even the most ardent lover of verse would admit that as a
literary form poetry does not attract a wide audience. To make an analogy,
poetr...
Record Labels
-
The top 10 most successful record labels in terms of hit count were: Pos
Label No Of Hits 1 RCA Victor 223 2 CBS 217 3 EMI 104 4 Pye 71 5 Warner
Bros. 70 6...
Windsor House
-
Windsor House, located on Water Street in St. Andrews, was constructed in
1797 for United Empire Loyalist Captain David Mowat. Captain Mowat, a
celebrate...
The History Guy In Person Event
-
If you are near the Williamsburg, Virginia area – this is your chance to
meet The History Guy! When: Thursday, August 26thTime: 5:00 pm to
6:30pmLocation...
Chet’s Summer Road Trip, 1857
-
In the summer of 1857, Chet Arthur and his pal and putative law partner,
Henry Gardiner, set their sights on making their fortune out west and made
an impr...
Connie Mack and the Early Days of Baseball
-
Stumbled across this old article from Connie Mack and thought it was kind
of cool. When I first began to play for the Washington club, a batter was
allowed...
Boston's (Original) South End
-
On the 28th of July, 1888, the Boston Globe ran an article titled South
End, 60 Years Ago, with the typical subtitles: *Time and People Erase Its
Former Be...
September 22, 1911: 511 Wins For Cy Young
-
On September 22, 1911, the fans cheered "Old" Cy Young in Pittsburgh
as they watched him lead his Boston Rustlers to a 1-0 victory over their
hometown...
Favourite Foote Photos: David Larsen
-
As an avid cyclist I am drawn to “bicycle race c. 1912” [page 42]. I cannot
help but notice, as well, other bikes in other Foote photos…
The bicycle has b...
General
-
--The cost of mailing a letter in Canada was 6c.
--A chocolate bar, a bag of potato chips, a phone call, and a newspaper
each cost a dime.
--Comic books c...
Diplomacy
The Jay Treaty, negotiated November 19, 1794, came into force, defining the boundary in North America between Loyalist and American territories. Both parties had free use of the Great Lakes.
Morarji Desai. Prime Minister of India, 1977-1979. Mr. Desai was affiliated with several parties and held several positions before leading the Janata Party to victory and becoming India's first Prime Minister from a party other than the Congress Party. He died on April 10, 1995 at the age of 99.
100 years ago
1916
Born on this date
Dinah Shore. U.S. singer. Miss Shore was the biggest-selling female solo vocalist of the 1940s, and continued her popularity as a recording artist into the early 1950s. When sales of her records started to slow down, she achieved popularity on television, hosting several variety and talk shows through the 1970s. Miss Shore died on February 24, 1994 at the age of 77.
Britannica
The Tokelau Islands, in the South Pacific Ocean, were annexed by the United Kingdom.
Labour
In South Carolina, the minimum working age for factory, mill, and mine workers was raised from 12 to 14 years.
80 years ago
1936
On the radio The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Louis Hector and Harry West, on MBS
Tonight’s episode: The Reigate Puzzle
World events
The February 26 Incident in Tokyo ended with the defeat of rebel officers of the Imperial Japanese Army by forces loyal to the government.
60 years ago
1956
Died on this date
Elpidio Quirino, 65. 6th President of the Philippines, 1948-1953. Mr. Quirino, a member of the Liberal Party, held various positions before serving as Vice President from 1946-1948, becoming President upon the death of Manuel Roxas. Mr. Quirino was defeated in his bid for re-election in 1953; he retired from politics and died of a heart attack.
World events
An Islamic Republic was proclaimed in Pakistan.
Diplomacy
British Foreign Secretary John Selwyn Lloyd, left London for a tour of the Middle East and Asia.
Politics and government
In a nationally broadcast speech, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced he would seek a second term. Mr. Eisenhower had suffered a heart attack several months earlier.
40 years ago
1976
Died on this date
Florence P. Dwyer, 73. U.S. politician. Mrs. Dwyer, born Florence Price, represented New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives from 1957-1973, and was the first woman to be elected to the House as a Republican. She supported women's rights, and co-sponsored the Equal Pay Act, which was passed in 1963.
20 years ago
1996
Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Spaceman--Babylon Zoo (5th week at #1)
#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Spaceman--Babylon Zoo (5th week at #1)
Died on this date
Sinclair Ross, 88. Canadian author. Mr. Ross, a native of Shellbrook, Saskatchewan, was known for The Lamp at Noon and Other Stories (1968), and the novels As For Me and My House (1941); The Well (1958); Whir of Gold (1970); and Sawbones Memorial (1974).
Ralph Rowe, 71. U.S. baseball player and coach. Mr. Rowe was an outfielder in various minor leagues from 1942-1961, batting .296 with 89 home runs. He made it as high as the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League (1949) and the Springfield Cubs of the International Leauge (1952). Mr. Rowe managed in the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins organization from 1959-1971, winning four league championships. He served as the Twins' third base coach from 1972-1975 and as the batting coach with the Baltimore Orioles from 1981-1984; he was with the Orioles when they won the World Series in 1983.
Wes Farrell, 56. U.S. songwriter and record producer. Mr. Farrell was one of the most prolific songwriters in pop music in the 1960s and early '70s, co-writing such songs as Boys and Hang On Sloopy, and numerous songs for the Partridge Family. He died of cancer.
War
The siege of Sarajevo officially ended, four years to the day since Bosnian Muslims and Croats had voted in a referendum to break away from Yugoslavia.
World events
A Greek warship and a Turkish naval vessel collided in Greek waters. The countries were in a dispute over an island in the Aegean Sea, and Turkey had recalled her ambassador from Greece a week earlier. Greece had rejected an offer from the United States to mediate the dispute.
Defense
The United Nations extended the mandate of its mission in Haiti, although the United States indicated that it would pull out as scheduled. Canada took command of the mission.
Economics and finance
The Venezuelan government of President Rafael Caldera Rodriguez suspended talks with the International Monetary Fund, following demonstrations by students, professors, and civil servants protesting IMF-enforced changes. The suspension delayed the release of a $7.5-billion rescue package.
Disasters Faucett Flight 251, a Boeing 737-200 jet, crashed on approach to Rodríguez Ballón International Airport at Arequipa, Peru while making its first stop on a flight from Lima to Tacna. All 123 passengers and crew were killed.
War
The siege of Jaén ended in the context of the Spanish Reconquista, resulting in the Castilian takeover of the city from the Taifa of Jaen.
125 years ago
1891
Died on this date
George Hearst, 70. U.S. magnate and politician. Mr. Hearst became wealthy through mining activities in the western United States, especially with silver in Utah. A Democrat, he represented California in the United States Senate from March-August 1886 and 1887 until his death. Mr. Hearst was the son of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst.
120 years ago
1896
Born on this date
Philip Showalter Hench. U.S. physician. Dr. Hench was the head of the Department of Rheumatic Diseases at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He shared the 1950 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology with Mayo Clinic colleague Calvin Kendall and Swiss chemist Tadeus Reichstein "for their discoveries relating to the hormones of the adrenal cortex, their structure and biological effects." In particular, they won for the discovery of the hormone cortisone. Dr. Hench died of pneumonia while on vacation in Jamaica on March 30, 1965 at the age of 69.
110 years ago
1906
Hockey
Stanley Cup challenge
Queen's University 7 @ Ottawa Silver Seven 12 (Ottawa won 2-game, total goals series 28-14)
The Silver Seven were the defending champions.
100 years ago
1916
Died on this date
Henry James, 72. U.S.-born U.K. author. Mr. James, who spent most of his time in Britain, was known for novels such as The Portrait of a Lady (1880-1881) and The Turn of the Screw (1898). He was the brother of psychologist William James.
80 years ago
1936
Died on this date
Charles Nicolle, 69. French bacteriologist. Dr. Nicolle was awarded the 1928 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his identification of lice as the transmitter of epidemic typhus.
Protest
Charges against the five leaders of the 1935 On to Ottawa Trek were dropped.
75 years ago
1941
Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): The Woodpecker Song--Kate Smith; Glenn Miller and his Orchestra (4th month at #1)
Died on this date
Alfonso XIII, 54. King of Spain, 1886-1941. Alfonso XIII was King from birth, his father Alfonso XII having died the previous year. Alfonso XIII's mother Maria Christina of Austria served as regent until Alfonso XIII's 16th birthday in 1902. King Alfonso XIII supported the government of dictator Le Marqués de Estella from 1923-1930, but fled the country in 1931 when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. Living in exile in Rome,Alfonso XIII maintained his claim to the throne until six weeks before his death, when abdicated in favour of his third son Juan.
War
A Japanese spokesman said that France must accept Japan's mediation proposal in the Thailand-Indochina dispute today or face the consequences.
Diplomacy
U.S. consulates in the Italian cities of Naples and Palermo were closed on the Italian government's request, and their staffs were transferred to the consulate general in Rome.
Defense
A U.S. federal grand jury in Honolulu indicted 80 people, most of them Japanese, for conspiring to violate laws on registration of sampans, which were frequently seen in the area when the U.S. fleet was maneuvering.
Weather
A blizzard resulting in 12-foot snowdrifts swept the eastern U.S. seaboard from Maine to Virginia.
Economics and finance
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission member Gerhard Gesell and commissioner Sumner Pike recommended to the Temporary National Economic Committee (TNEC) that a federal insurance advisory council be created.
Labour
U.S. Office of Production Management Director William Knudsen submitted a three-point plan to curb strikes in defense industries, providing for federal mediation; a 60% strike vote; and a 40-day delay for OPM to investigate and report.
Boxing
World lightweight champion Lew Jenkins (48-16-5) scored a technical knockout of former champion Lou Ambers (91-8-7) at 2:26 of the 7th round of a non-title fight at Madison Square Garden in New York. Mr. Jenkins knocked Mr. Ambers down twice in the 7th round. Mr. Jenkins had scored a 3rd-round TKO on May 10, 1940 to win the championship from Mr. Ambers. This was Mr. Ambers' last professional fight.
70 years ago
1946
Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Rum and Coca-Cola--The Andrews Sisters (1st month at #1)
Died on this date
Béla Imrédy, 54. Prime Minister of Hungary, 1938-1939. Mr. Imrédy, a member of the Unity Party, originally had a pro-British foreign policy, but turned increasingly pro-German and pro-Italian. He founded the Party of Hungarian Renewal in 1940, and was executed by a firing squad after being convicted by a People's Tribunal in 1945 of war crimes and collaboration with the Nazis.
War
At the trial in Nuremberg of accused Nazi war criminals, chief U.S. prosecutor Robert H. Jackson demanded that 2,040,155 members of six Nazi orgnizations be found guilty of war crimes. Former Governor of Bessarabia General Constantin Voiculescu and 10 Romanian officers were sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against Jews.
Diplomacy
The French government accepted the U.S. proposal to condemn the Spanish regime of Generalissimo Francisco Franco for the execution of 10 Spanish veterans of the French resistance movement, but revealed that it had asked for U.S.-U.K.-U.S.S.R. support of its plan to submit the Spanish issue to the United Nations Security Council on March 21.
France signed a treaty with the Chinese government in Chungking ending French extraterritorial rights in Peking, Amoy, Shanghai, Tientsin, Hankow, and Canton.
U.S. Secretary of State James Byrnes told the Overseas Press Club that the United States wanted friendship with the U.S.S.R., but warned that it "cannot show aggression to be accomplished by coercion or pressure or by subterfuge."
Defense
The U.S. Army Air Forces revealed that they had been experimenting with radar detection of captured German V-2 bombs to find a defense against atomic bomb raids.
Transportation
United Air Lines revealed that it had ordered a jet plane for commercial use.
Labour
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that 1.4 million workers were on strike in January, a record high for any single month.
60 years ago
1956
Society
A restaurant in Chatham, Ontario was fined $50 for refusing to serve two Negro students.
50 years ago
1966
Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Capri c'est fini--Hervé Vilard (3rd week at #1)
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Come Back to Stay--Dickie Rock
Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Michelle--David & Jonathan
2 At the Scene--Dave Clark Five
3 California Dreamin'--The Mamas and the Papas
4 Little Boy (In Grown Up Clothes)--The 4 Seasons
5 Breakin' Up is Breakin' My Heart--Roy Orbison
6 While I'm Away--Bobby Curtola
7 What Now My Love--Sonny & Cher
8 When Liking Turns to Loving--Ronnie Dove
9 These Boots are Made for Walkin'--Nancy Sinatra
10 Batman Theme--The Marketts
Singles entering the chart were Superman by Dino, Desi and Billy (#31); Why Can't You Bring Me Home by Jay & the Americans (#32); Magic Town by the Vogues (#33); Woman by Peter & Gordon (#34); Take Me to Your Heart Again by Vince Hill (#35); Stop Me from Falling by Beau Hannon (#36); Juanita Banana by the Peels (#37); My Baby Loves Me by Martha and the Vandellas (#38); Elusive Butterfly by Bob Lind (#39); and It Won't Be Wrong by the Byrds (#40).
Died on this date
Elliot See, 38; Charles Bassett, 34. U.S. astronauts. Mr. See was a civilian pilot with General Electric who was chosen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for the second group of astronauts in 1962. Captain Bassett, a test pilot with the United States Air Force, was chosen for the third group of astronauts in 1963. They were the prime crew for the Gemini 9 mission, with Mr. See as Command Pilot and Capt. Bassett as pilot. They were killed when their T-38 trainer jet, piloted by Mr. See, crashed into the McDonnell Aircraft Building 101, known as the McDonnell Space Center, located 1,000 feet from Lambert Field airport in St. Louis. Mr. See was coming out of a cloud in bad weather and attempted a visual landing, while the Gemini 9 backup crew of Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan, following in another T-38, waited to try an instrumental landing, and landed safely. Building 101 was where the Gemini spacecraft was built, and they were going there to train for two weeks in a simulator. The crash occurred just 500 feet from the Gemini 9 spacecraft, and several workers in the building were injured by falling debris. See other items here; here; here; and here.
Space
The United States launched Essa 2, second of the satellites of the Tiros Operational Satellite (TOS) system, from Cape Kennedy, Florida.
40 years ago
1976
Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Sandokan--Oliver Onions (3rd week at #1)
#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): Love Hurts--Nazareth (2nd week at #1)
#1 single in the U.K.: December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)--The Four Seasons (2nd week at #1)
Rhodesia's Top 10 (Lyons Maid)
1 Tears on My Pillow--Johnny Nash (3rd week at #1)
2 Morning Sky--George Baker Selection
3 Hold Me Close--David Essex
4 The Last Farewell--Roger Whittaker
5 The Warrior--4 Jacks and a Jill
6 I'm on Fire--5000 Volts
7 Good, Bad But Beautiful--Shirley Bassey
8 Darling--David Cassidy
9 Who Loves You--The Four Seasons
10 Kiss Me, Kiss Your Baby--Geoff St. John
The only single entering the chart was Jock of the Bushveld by John Edmond (#20).
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Theme from S.W.A.T.--Rhythm Heritage
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Theme from S.W.A.T.--Rhythm Heritage
2 Love Machine (Part 1)--The Miracles
3 All by Myself--Eric Carmen
4 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover--Paul Simon
5 Take it to the Limit--The Eagles
6 Love to Love You Baby--Donna Summer
7 Lonely Night (Angel Face)--Captain and Tennille
8 Dream Weaver--Gary Wright
9 Grow Some Funk of Your Own--Elton John
10 Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)--Bee Gees
Singles entering the chart were Looking for Space by John Denver (#71); There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World) by the Carpenters (#74); Show Me the Way by Peter Frampton (#75); Fopp by Ohio Players (#82); Colorado Call by Shad O’Shea and the 18 Wheelers (#87); The Call by Anne Murray (#94); She's a Disco Queen by Oliver Sain (#96); Eh! Cumpari by Gaylord and Holiday (#99); and You are Beautiful by the Stylistics (#100). Show Me the Way was a live version--from the album Frampton Comes Alive!--of the song that had been released as a single in 1975.
Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Love Hurts--Nazareth
2 Love to Love You Baby--Donna Summer
3 Squeeze Box--The Who
4 Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)--Bee Gees
5 You Sexy Thing--Hot Chocolate
6 Loving You Baby--Wednesday
7 All by Myself--Eric Carmen
8 Love Rollercoaster--Ohio Players
9 Breaking Up is Hard to Do--Neil Sedaka
10 Evil Woman--Electric Light Orchestra
Singles entering the chart were Action by Sweet (#82); Anyway You Want by Charity Brown (#83); I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do by ABBA (#89); Happy to Be on an Island in the Sun by Demis Roussos (#96); Doesn't it Seem Like a Miracle by Suzanne Stevens (#97); Mondo Disco by El Coco (#98); Yes I Can by Valdy (#99); and Song for Wendy by Cliff Edwards (#100).
Hockey
NHL
Atlanta 2 @ Montreal 3
WHA
The Minnesota Fighting Saints, one of the founding clubs of the World Hockey Association, folded. The team had a record of 30-24-5 in 1975-76, good enough for second place in the West Division, but the team was short of money, and the players had been paid just once in the last two months. The decision to fold the franchise was made in the lobby of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport as the team was preparing to fly to Cincinnati for a game that night against the Stingers.
30 years ago
1986
Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Jeanny--Falco (8th week at #1)
Died on this date
Laura Z. Hobson, 85. U.S. author. Mrs. Hobson, born Laura Kean Zametkin, was known for her novel Gentleman's Agreement (1947), which was made into an Academy Award-winning film, also in 1947.
Olof Palme, 59. Prime Minister of Sweden, 1969-1976; 1982-1986. Mr. Palme became leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party in 1969, succeeding Tage Erlander as party leader and Prime Minister. The Social Democrats lost the 1976 and 1979 elections, but were restored to power in 1982. Mr. Palme was known for his foreign policy of non-alignment and his support for Third World "liberation" movements. He was shot twice in the stomach and his wife was shot in the back as they left a movie theatre in Stockholm at 11:30 P.M. She survived.
Weather
It was such a nice day in Edmonton that this blogger wore shorts outside.
Business
Westar Mining Limited (formerly the British Columbia Coal Division of the British Columbia Resources Investment Corporation) closed the Balmer North mine at Michel, B.C.
Scandal
Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth issued one-year suspensions or fines amounting to 10% of their income against Keith Hernandez, Dave Parker, and five other major league players for using cocaine. 21 players in all were penalized in the largest drug-abuse scandal in major league history.
25 years ago
1991
Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Do the Bartman--The Simpsons (6th week at #1)
War
Just before the Gulf War cease-fire went into effect, 800 U.S. tanks clashed with 300 Iraqi tanks north of Kuwait. Iraq reportedly lost 200 tanks and the U.S. lost none. According to a U.K. white paper issued in July 1991, allied combat deaths in the war were as follows: U.S.A., 147; Saudi Arabia, 33; U.K., 24; Egypt, 10; United Arab Emirates, 6; France, 2; Kuwait, 1, for a total of 223. A U.S. Defense Department spokesman said on July 17 that the U.S. had suffered 148 combat deaths and 120 non-combatant deaths during the war, and another 13 after the cease-fire. U.S. personnel wounded in combat totalled 458. 11 U.S. women were killed in combat and 4 in non-combat situations, according to the spokesman.
20 years ago
1996
Music
At the 38th annual Grammy Awards presentation in Los Angeles, Ottawa native Alanis Morissette won four Grammys: best rock song and best female rock vocal for You Oughta Know, and album of the year and rock album of the year for Jagged Little Pill. Canadians picked up a total of 11 Grammys, including two by Joni Mitchell for her album Turbulent Indigo.
Law
The Supreme Court of Canada restored former Alberta teacher Jim Keegstra's conviction for promoting anti-Semitism.
10 years ago
2006
Died on this date
Owen Chamberlain, 85. U.S. physicist. Dr. Chamberlain and Emilio Gino Segrè were awarded the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physics "for their discovery of the antiproton," a subatomic particle. Dr. Chamberlain died of Parkinson's disease.
Born on this date
Edward Cave. English publisher and editor. Mr. Cave founded The Gentleman's Magazine, the first general interest magazine, which was published in London from 1731-1922. He died on January 10, 1754 at the age of 62.
Born on this date
Hugo Black. Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1937-1971. Justice Black, a Democrat, represented Alabama in the U.S. Senate (1927-1937), serving as Secretary of rhe Senate Democratic Conference (1927-1937) and Chairman of the Senate Education Committee from January 1937 until he was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in August. He had a reputation as a reformer in the Senate, and supported Mr. Roosevelt's New Deal economic program. On the Supreme Court, Justice Black was known as a strict constructionist, believing in the "plain meaning" of the Constitution. He wrote the majority opinion in Korematsu v. United States (1944), which upheld the internment of Japanese Americans. Justice Black generally sided with the liberal wing of the Court, but occasionally differed. He died on September 25, 1971 at the age of 85, eight days after retiring from the Supreme Court and six days after suffering a stroke.
125 years ago
1891
Born on this date
David Sarnoff. Belarusian-born U.S. broadcasting executive. Mr. Sarnoff founded Radio Corporation of America in 1919, and led RCA until his retirement in 1970. He was a major figure in the development of radio and television. Mr. Sarnoff died on December 12, 1971 at the age of 80.
110 years ago
1906
Died on this date
John Peltz, 44. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Peltz was an outfielder with the Indianapolis Hoosiers (1884); Baltimore Orioles (1888); Brooklyn Gladiators (1890); Syracuse Stars (1890); and Toledo Maumees (1890), batting .224 with 4 home runs in 230 games. He played more than 550 games in 9 seasons in the minor leagues (1885-1893).
Hockey
Stanley Cup challenge
Queen's University 7 @ Ottawa Silver Seven 16 (1st game of 2-game, total goals series)
The Silver Seven were the defending champions.
80 years ago
1936
Died on this date
Ivan Pavlov, 86. Russian physiologist. Dr. Pavlov became the first Russian Nobel laureate, winning the 1904 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "in recognition of his work on the physiology of digestion, through which knowledge on vital aspects of the subject has been transformed and enlarged." Dr. Pavlov was best known for his pioneering work in classical conditioning.
Joshua W. Alexander, 84. U.S. politician. Mr. Alexander, a Democrat, represented Missouri's 3rd District in the United States House of Representatives from 1907-1919, resigning to take the position of Secretary of Commerce in the administration of President Woodrow Wilson from 1919-1921.
75 years ago
1941
Died on this date
William D. Byron, 45. U.S. politician. Mr. Byron, a Democrat, served in local and state politics in Maryland before representing Maryland's 6th District in the United States House of Representatives from 1939 until his death as one of the passengers of Eastern Air Lines Flight 21 when the Douglas DC-3 crashed while preparing to land in Atlanta.
Movies
The Academy Awards for 1940 were presented at the Biltmore Bowl at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. The winners included: Best Picture--Rebecca; Best Director--John Ford (The Grapes of Wrath); Best Actor--James Stewart (The Philadelphia Story); Best Actress--Ginger Rogers (Kitty Foyle); Best Supporting Actor--Walter Brennan (The Westerner); Best Supporting Actress--Jane Darwell (The Grapes of Wrath).
Politics and government
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill challenged his opponents in the House of Commons, demanding a vote of confidence and receiving unanimous support.
Thomas Miller was installed as Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan.
Defense
U.S. Senator Robert Taft (Republican--Ohio) accused President Franklin D. Roosevelt of "deliberately holding back aid to England in order to put pressure on Congress" to pass Lend-Lease. William Bullitt, former U.S. Ambassador to France and the U.S.S.R., told the Overseas Press Club in New York that a national emergency should be proclaimed, if necessary, to speed up defense preparations.
Diplomacy
A German businessman in Bulgaria filed legal charges against U.S. Minister to Bulgaria George Earle, claiming that Mr. Earle had hit him with a bottle.
World events
Venezuelan police raided a secret Communist radio station near Caracas.
Crime
A U.S. grand jury in Pittsburgh indicted 71 people under the postal law on charges of operating a lottery ring in eight eastern states with a total income of millions of dollars.
Economics and finance
The U.S. Reconstruction Finance Corporation bought $136,330,557 worth of state of Arkansas tax-exempt highway refunding bonds, because the 3½% interest rate demanded by a bank syndicate was considered too high.
Disasters
8 of 16 people aboard Eastern Air Lines Flight 21, a Douglas DC-3 flying from New York to Atlanta via Washington, were killed when the plane crashed while preparing to land at Candler Field in Atlanta. U.S. Representative William D. Byron (Democrat--Maryland) was among the dead, and Eastern Air Lines President Eddie Rickenbacker was seriously injured.
70 years ago
1946
At the movies Road to Utopia, starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour, opened in theatres.
Theatre Truckline Cafe, written by Maxwell Anderson, directed by Harold Clurman, and co-produced by Mr. Clurman and Elia Kazan, opened at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway in New York City. The cast included Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Kevin McCarthy, and Virginia Gilmore.
War
U.S. authorities in Frankfurt announced the arrest of Friedrich Flick, 62, head of a $400-million armaments combine called the "greatest single power behind the Nazi war machine."
Diplomacy
Spain closed part of the Franco-Spanish border and sent up a contingent of Moorish troops in response to the previous day's decision by the French cabinet to close the border and virtually suspend commercial relations with Spain in protest against the execution by the regime of Generalissimo Francisco Franco of 10 Spanish veterans of the French resistance movement. The United States sent a note to the United Kingdom and France calling for cooperation in ousting Generalissimo Francisco Franco from power in Spain.
Defense
The U.S.S.R. and Mongolia signed a military alliance in Moscow.
Abominations
The University of Texas barred Negroes from its law school.
Energy
Manhattan Project Director U.S. Army General Leslie Groves told the U.S. Senate Atomic Energy Committee that he favoured a federal nuclear control commission of nine members, including several assigned by the military.
Economics and finance
The U.S. Senate reduced Office of Price Administration funds for the next four months to $927,000, and voted to cut Civilain Production Administration funds to $750,000.
60 years ago
1956
Died on this date
Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar, 67. Indian politician. Mr. Mavalankar, popularly known as Dadasaheb, was an advocate of Indian independence and a member of the Indian National Congress party. He had a lengthy career in politics, and was president of the Central Legislative Assembly from 1946-1947, when the Assembly was dissolved upon India's independence. Mr. Mavalankar was named Speaker of the Lok Sabha--the lower house of Parliament--in 1952, and resigned the position after suffering a heart attack in January 1956. A second heart attack proved fatal.
50 years ago
1966
Space
The U.S.S.R. probe Venera 2, launched November 12, 1965, came within 15,000 miles (24,000 kilometres) of Venus. Radio contact with the spacecraft was suspended while the probes instruments were activated, and Soviet scientists were unable to re-establish contact.
40 years ago
1976
Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Convoy--C.W. McCall (4th week at #1)
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Moviestar--Harpo (4th week at #1)
#1 single in Switzerland: Moviestar--Harpo (2nd week at #1)
Agriculture
The Canadian Wheat Board sold China 963,989 tonnes of wheat.
30 years ago
1986
Died on this date
Jacques Plante, 57. Canadian hockey goaltender. Mr. Plante played with the Montreal Canadiens (1953-63); New York Rangers (1963-65); St. Louis Blues (1968-70); Toronto Maple Leafs (1970-73); Boston Bruins (1973); and Edmonton Oilers (1974-75). He joined the Canadiens late in the 1952-53 season and helped them win the Stanley Cup that year, and was their regular goaltender during their record run of five straight Stanley Cup championships from 1955-60. Mr. Plante was the first goalie to regularly leave his crease to play the puck, and, starting in November 1959, was the first to regularly wear a mask. He won the Vezina Trophy--then awarded to the team allowing the fewest goals during the regular season--seven times, and won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the National Hockey League's Most Valuable Player in 1961-62. In 837 regular season NHL games, Mr. Plante posted a record of 434-247-146, with a 2.38 goals against average and 82 shutouts. He had a record of 71-37 in 112 playoff games, with a 2.16 GAA and a record 14 shutouts. With the Oilers in the World Hockey Association, Mr. Plante was 15-14-1 with a 3.32 GAA and 1 shutout in 31 games. He came to Edmonton from the Quebec Nordiques, whom he had coached to a 38-36-4 record in 1973-74, missing the playoffs. Mr. Plante was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978. He moved to Switzerland in his later years, and died there of stomach cancer.
Politics and government
Jean Chretien, who had been a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in Canada since 1963 and had served in various ministries as a cabinet minister under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, resigned his seat in the House of Commons, saying that he wanted to enter private life and spend more time with his family. His resignation came less than three weeks after a feud with Liberal leader John Turner over the election of a party president in Quebec.
The United States Senate allowed its debates to be televised on a trial basis.
Disasters
The presidential commission investigating the January 28 explosion of the U.S. space shuttle Challenger, which had killed all seven astronauts aboard, continued hearing testimony. Robert Claysher, a vice-president of Rockwell International, manufacturer of the shuttle, testified that he had notified NASA, "Rockwell can not assure that it is safe to fly." Rockwell had been concerned that ice on the launch pad and other structures would fall off during liftoff and damage the shuttle. Arnold Aldrich, director of the shuttle program at the Kennedy Space Center, testified that NASA engineers had concluded that ice would not damage the shuttle on launch. Commission chairman William Rogers said that NASA had abandoned "good judgement and common sense" in dealing with safety problems.
25 years ago
1991
Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Crazy--Seal (3rd week at #1)
War
The first U.S. military convoy entered Kuwait City. Iraq agreed to a cease-fire in the Gulf War, and agreed to almost all of the allies’ terms. U.S. President George Bush announced at 9 P.M. Eastern Standard Time that, "Kuwait is liberated, Iraq’s army defeated. Our military objectives are met," and that the allies would cease fire at midnight EST. Iraq informed the United Nations that it would accept the 12 Security Council resolutions against it, which included payment of reparations. The cease-fire took effect only 100 hours after the beginning of the ground war. Total allied combat fatalities were listed at 141. Estimates of Iraqis killed and injured numbered as high as 100,000, and the allies held 175,000 prisoners. It was the first war that Canada fought in without incurring a single fatality.
Scandal
The U.S. Senate Ethics Committee reported on its investigation of the so-called "Keating Five,"--U.S. Senators Alan Cranston (Democrat--California); Dennis DeConcini (Democrat--Arizona); Donald Riegle (Democrat--Michigan); John Glenn (Democrat--Ohio); and John McCain (Republican--Arizona)--who were suspected of improper activities on behalf of Charles Keating, chairman of the failed Lincoln Savings and Loan Association in California, the 1989 collapse of which had cost the U.S. government $2 billion. The report found "substantial credible evidence" of misconduct by Sen. Cranston. The committee said that Sen. Cranston or his staff members had on at least four occasions contacted regulators on Mr. Keating’s behalf in close juxtaposition to receiving or soliciting money from Mr. Keating. Sen. Cranston faced the possibility of disciplinary action by the Senate, but the committee issued only mild reprimands to the other four Senators.
Hockey
NHL
Edmonton 2 @ Calgary 4
20 years ago
1996
War
UNITAS rebels in Angola were accused of downing a commercial plane bringing food into the country.
Diplomacy
The United Nations Security Council lifted sanctions against the Bosnian Serbs.
Popular culture
The multimedia franchise Pokémon was launched with the release of the video games Pocket Monsters: Red and Green.
Hockey
NHL
The Los Angeles Kings traded centre Wayne Gretzky to the St. Louis Blues for centre Patrice Tardif; centre Roman Vopat; left wing Craig Johnson; and two draft choices (Peter Hogan and left wing Matt Zultek). Mr. Gretzky, holder of every important leaague scoring record, was in his eighth season with the Kings after 10 seasons with the Edmonton Oilers. In 62 games with Los Angeles in 1995-96, Mr. Gretzky scored 81 points on 15 goals and 66 assists. Mr. Tardif scored 3 goals and no assists in 23 games with St. Louis, while Mr. Vopat had 2 goals and 3 assists in 25 games and Mr. Johnson had 8 goals and 7 assists in 49 games with the Blues in 1995-96.
War
An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou, defeated a combined German and Sicilian force led by Manfred, King of Sicily in the Battle of Benevento. Manfred, 34 (?) , was killed in the battle, and Pope Clement IV invested Charles as king of Sicily and Naples.
400 years ago
1616
Religion
The Roman Catholic Church, led by Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, prohibited Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei from teaching or defending heliocentrism--the view that the Earth orbits the Sun.
150 years ago
1866
Born on this date
Herbert Henry Dow. Canadian-born U.S. chemist and businessman. Mr. Dow, a native of Belleville, Ontario, moved with his American parents back to the United States shortly after his birth. He founded the Midland Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan in 1890 and the Dow Chemical Company in 1897. Mr. Dow died of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 64 on October 15, 1930.
140 years ago
1876
Diplomacy
Japan and Korea signed a treaty granting Japanese citizens extraterritoriality rights; opening three ports to Japanese trade; and ending Korea's status as a tributary state of Qing dynasty China.
100 years ago
1916
Born on this date
Jackie Gleason. U.S. actor and musician. Mr. Gleason, nicknamed "The Great One," was best known as host and star of the television variety program originally titled Cavalcade of Stars (1950-1952), and renamed The Jackie Gleason Show, which aired in various forms from 1952-1970. Mr. Gleason created several comic characters, the most memorable being Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden, who with his wife Alice (played by several actresses over the years, most notably Audrey Meadows), were known as the Honeymooners. Mr. Gleason stopped doing his variety show for the 1955-56 season in order to do The Honeymooners as a separate series. He appeared in numerous films, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his supporting performance in The Hustler (1961), while achieving popularity in later years for playing Buford T. Justice in Smokey and the Bandit (1977) and two sequels. Mr. Gleason was also a bandleader, lending his name to best-selling albums in the 1950s with titles such as Music for Lovers Only (1952); Music to Make You Misty (1953); Music, Martinis, and Memories (1954); and Music to Change Her Mind (1956). Mr. Gleason died on June 24, 1987 at the age of 71.
Society
Bills were introduced in the Alberta Legislature to enact prohibition and to give women the right to vote.
90 years ago
1926
Politics and government Charles Avery Dunning resigned as Premier of Saskatchewan to become Minister of Railways in the federal Liberal Party government of Prime Minister Mackenzie King. He was succeeded as Premier by Jimmy Gardiner.
80 years ago
1936
Died on this date
Takahashi Korekiyo, 81. Prime Minister of Japan, 1921-1922, 1932. Viscount Korekiyo was Japan's finance minister during the Depression of the early 1930s, and his policy of reducing military expenditures made him a target for disgruntled officers. He was assassinated during the February 26 Incident.
Saitō Makoto, 77. Prime Minister of Japan, 1932-1934. Admiral Makoto, a career officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy, was Governor-General of Korea three times from 1919-1931. He became Prime Minister upon the assassination of Inukai Tsuyoshi, and served until resigning with his cabinet because of the Teijin Incident bribery scandal. Admiral Makoto was assassinated during the February 26 Incident.
World events
In the February 26 Incident, young Japanese military officers attempted to stage a coup against the government.
75 years ago
1941
War
The United Kingdom announced the first clash between British and German motorized patrols in Libya. Japan presented a "final mediation plan" for settlement of the border dispute between Thailand and French Indochina. U.S. Senator Burton K. Wheeler (Democrat--Montana) challenged the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to let the American people vote on the issue of American entry into the European war.
Society
The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano reported that the Congregation of the Holy Office had placed the German book Race, Culture and Christianity by P. Koltz on the list of forbidden works for advocating compulsory sterilization and euthanasia for the unfit.
Scandal
U.S. Justice Department official Maurice Milligan reported that the special Washington grand jury investigating alleged violations of federal election laws during the 1940 campaign returned no indictments.
Business
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission officials Gerhard Gesell and Ernest Howe reported that the tremendous assets of the insurance companies were available only for big business.
70 years ago
1946
Diplomacy
The French cabinet ordered the Franco-Spanish border closed and commercial relations virtually suspended in protest against the execution by the regime of Generalissimo Francisco Franco of 10 Spanish veterans of the French resistance movement.
Terrorism
British troops in Palestine seized 5,000 Jews in a search for terrorists who had wrecked 22 Royal Air Force planes at Quastina, Petah Tikvah, and Lydda the previous night.
Politics and government
With the U.S.S.R. represented for the first time, the Allied Far Eastern Commission met in Washington, D.C. at its permanent headquarters in the Japanese embassy.
U.S. President Harry Truman nominated Julius Krug as Secretary of the Interior.
The United States Congress passed a $100-million national school lunch bill and a $250-million emergency housing bill for military veterans.
Defense
The U.S. War and Navy Departments asked Congress for a 20% pay increase for all men in the armed services to meet higher living costs and provide recruitment incentive. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the ships sale bill, giving U.S. shipping lines priority in the purchase or leasing of 50 million tons of shipping built during World War II.
Protest
Indian independence activist Jawaharlal Nehru told a rally in Bombay that every Indian in the armed forces should refuse to shoot or harm fellow Indians on British orders.
Crime
State militia seized 300 weapons in a house-to-house search in Columbia, Tennessee after 10 people were injured in race riots.
Oddities
Finnish observers reported the first of many thousands of sightings of ghost rockets.
Economics and finance
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Mackenzie King named Finance Minister J.L. Ilsley as its representative in the International Monetary Fund and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The U.S. Office of Price Administration approved a 1.5% retail price increase for meat after March 11, 1946.
Labour
Ford and Congress of Industrial Organizations United Auto Workers signed an agreement calling for an 18c hourly wage increase and stringent action against workers who began wildcat strikes.
The U.S. Wage Stabilization Board orderd a 16c hourly wage increase for packing house workers.
Mediation efforts by Congress of Industrial Organizations President Philip Murray and RCA chief David Sarnoff averted a strike by transport workers in New York City.
60 years ago
1956
On television tonight Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Place of Shadows, starring Everett Sloane and Sean McClory
50 years ago
1966
Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): We Can Work it Out/Day Tripper--The Beatles (7th week at #1)
#1 single in France: Une Mèche de Cheveux--Salvatore Adamo
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Nessuno mi può giudicare--Caterina Caselli (3rd week at #1)
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Yesterday Man--Chris Andrews (4th week at #1)
#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Michelle--The Beatles; The Overlanders (3rd week at #1)
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): 19th Nervous Breakdown--The Rolling Stones (2nd week at #1)
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): These Boots are Made for Walkin'--Nancy Sinatra
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 These Boots are Made for Walkin'--Nancy Sinatra
2 The Ballad of the Green Berets--SSgt Barry Sadler
3 Lightnin' Strikes--Lou Christie
4 Uptight (Everything's Alright)--Stevie Wonder
5 My World is Empty Without You--The Supremes
6 My Love--Petula Clark
7 Listen People--Herman's Hermits
8 California Dreamin'--The Mamas and the Papas
9 Don't Mess with Bill--The Marvelettes
10 Working My Way Back to You--The 4 Seasons
Singles entering the chart were 19th Nervous Breakdown by the Rolling Stones (#24); Daydream by the Lovin' Spoonful (#58); Get Ready by the Temptations (#61); Stop Her on Sight (S.O.S.) by Edwin Starr (#73); Shake Hands (And Come Out Crying) by the Newbeats (#78); Time Won't Let Me by the Outsiders (#79); Inside - Looking Out by the Animals (#86); Your P-E-R-S-O-N-A-L-I-T-Y by Jackie Lee (#87); The Dedication Song by Freddy Cannon (#89); Keep on Running by the Spencer Davis Group (#92); It's a Funny Situation by Dee Dee Sharp (#96); Superman by Dino, Desi and Billy (#98); Five Card Stud by Lorne Greene (#99); Walkin' My Cat Named Dog by Norma Tanega (#100); Rags to Riches by Lenny Welch (also #100); and Lullaby of Love by the Poppies (also #100).
Space
The United States launched AS-201 from Cape Kennedy, Florida, marking the first test flight of the Saturn IB rocket.
Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Say You, Say Me--Lionel Richie (8th week at #1)
At the movies
Fellow bad-movie buff Michael Martin and I went to see Revolution, one of the biggest turkeys of the 1980s. The film played in just one theatre in Edmonton for one week. We were two of eight people at the screening we attended. John Dodd went on opening night to review it for the Edmonton Journal, and he was the only person there. So few people went to see Revolution during its Edmonton run that the staff weren’t bothering to clean the theatre afterward. I don’t think more than 50 people saw Revolution during that week (and in its one-weekend second run many months later).
World events
Having accepted U.S. President Ronald Reagan's offer of exile, former Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, along with his family and supporters--90 people in all--travelled to Clark Air Force Base and then to Guam, before flying on to Hawaii. Incoming Philippines President Corazon Aquino named a 17-member cabinet. Salvador Laurel, who had been named Premier the previous day, had the foreign ministry added to his duties.
Defense
In an address to the nation, U.S. President Ronald Reagan said that his military buildup was threatened "by those who would quit before the job is done." In response, House of Representatives Majority Leader Jim Wright (Democrat--Texas) said that Democrats had always favoured a strong defense, but that they disagreed over "the amount of debt that we are willing to place upon the backs of our children."
Literature
Robert Penn Warren was named the first official poet laureate of the United States. Congress had created the honour in 1985, essentially equating it with the former position of poetry consultant to the Library of Congress. Mr. Warren was the only writer to win Pulitzer Prizes for both poetry (1958--Promises: Poems 1954-1956) and fiction (1947--All the King’s Men). He was selected for the position of poet laureate by Daniel Boorstin, the Librarian of Congress.
Economics and finance
Canadian Finance Minister Michael Wilson tabled a budget for 1986-1987 that raised taxes and reduced government spending in an effort to trim the nation’s deficit.
Disasters
Four NASA managers testified before the presidential commission investigating the January 28 explosion of the U.S. space shuttle Challenger that they had not pressured engineers from rocket parts manufacturer Morton Thiokol Inc. to present a positive launch recommendation, and said they had not considered the assessment by the engineers to be valid.
25 years ago
1991
War Kuwait City was liberated by the allies after 208 days of Iraqi occupation. American forces scored a decisive victory over Iraqi forces in the Battle of Al Busayyah. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein announced on Baghdad radio that he had ordered his forces to withdraw from Kuwait.
Politics and government
Republican Party candidate J. Fife Symington III defeated Democratic Party candidate Terry Goddard 52%-48% in a runoff election to become Governor of Arizona. Neither candidate had obtained the required majority of votes necessary to win in the November 1990 election.
Economics and finance
Canadian Finance Minister Michael Wilson tabled the budget for 1991-1992 to the House of Commons, describing it as "the most difficult" of the seven budgets he had presented. Though total government spending was increased by 5.1% from the previous year, the budget would restrain public servant wages; raise cigarette taxes; increase unemployment insurance premiums; and squeeze federal payments to the provinces. Mr. Wilson projected that the federal budget deficit would be limited to $30.5 billion, the same as the previous fiscal year.
20 years ago
1996
Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Children--Robert Miles (2nd week at #1)
#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Spaceman--Babylon Zoo (6th week at #1)
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Lemon Tree--Fools Garden
Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Missing--Everything But the Girl (2nd week at #1)
2 Time--Hootie & the Blowfish
3 One Sweet Day--Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
4 One of Us--Joan Osborne
5 The World I Know--Collective Soul
6 I Want to Come Over--Melissa Etheridge
7 Wonderwall--Oasis
8 Wildest Dreams--Tom Cochrane
9 You'll See--Madonna
10 1979--Smashing Pumpkins
Singles entering the chart were Faithfully by Peter Cetera (#77); You're O.K. by k.d. lang (#78); Right Hand Man by Joan Osborne (#79); I Cry by Bass is Base (#82); A Common Disaster by Cowboy Junkies (#84); Lucky Love by Ace of Base (#87); Aeroplane by Red Hot Chili Peppers (#92); Oh Virgins by Blessid Union of Souls (#94); Glycerine by Bush (#95); and Real Love by the Beatles (#96).
Space
A U.S.-Italian satellite system failed when a 20-kilometre cable snapped and a ½-tonne ($443 million) satellite was lost in space.
Law
Outrage over the February 24 downing by Cuba of two American civilian aircraft prompted U.S. President Bill Clinton to support the Helms-Burton law, without the clause allowing lawsuits against citizens of other countries. The Cuban government claimed that the American planes had violated Cuban air space.
Labour
Provincial civil servants in Ontario walked off the job to protest the handling of proposed spending cuts by the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Mike Harris.
10 years ago
2006
Olympics
Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan accepted the Olympic Flag from International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge at the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. Vancouver, British Columbia was the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Technology Samuel Colt was granted a United States patent for the Colt revolver.
175 years ago
1841
Born on this date
Pierre Auguste Renoir. French painter and sculptor. Initially known as an Impressionist, Mr. Renoir achieved great fame for his paintings of women, children, and summer landscapes. Among his most celebrated paintings are Luncheon of the Boating Party (1881); Dance at Bougival (1883); and Bather (1917–18). Mr. Renoir died on December 3, 1919 at the age of 78.
Died on this date
Philip Pendleton Barbour, 57. U.S. politician. Mr. Barbour, a member of the Democratic-Republican and Democratic parties, represented Virginia's 11th District in the United States House of Representatives from 1814-1825 and 1827-1830, and served as Speaker of the House from 1821-1823. He was an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1836 until his death, which occurred from a coronary thrombosis during arguments presented by former U.S. President John Quincy Adams in the case of the slave ship Amistad. Justice Barbour advocated for a strict reading of the Constitution and limitations on federal government power.
160 years ago
1856
War
The peace conference known as the Congress of Paris opened, after the Crimean War.
150 years ago
1866
Archaeology
Miners in Calaveras County, California, discovered what is now called the Calaveras Skull--human remains that supposedly indicated that man, mastodons, and elephants had co-existed. Miners later claimed to have planted the skull as a hoax.
110 years ago
1906
Died on this date
Anton Arensky, 44. Russian composer. Mr. Arensky wrote two symphonies and other orchestral and piano works, but is best known for his chamber music. He died of tuberculosis, perhaps exacerbated by heavy drinking.
100 years ago
1916
War
German forces captured Fort Douaumont during the Battle of Verdun.
75 years ago
1941
War
British forces in Italian Somaliland captured Mogadishu. U.S. Senator Burton K. Wheeler (Democrat--Montana) declared that the United Kingdom expected the United States to get into the European war between April and June 1941 through the "back door" of the Orient.
Diplomacy
Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King announced that Leighton McCarthy had been appointed as Canada's Ambassador to the United States.
U.K. Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and General Sir John Dill arrived in Turkey for discussions on a possible German attack on Greece.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka said he believed that the white race must cede Oceania to the Asiatics.
Defense
The Supreme Soviet voted a 26% increase in Russia's military budget, and doubled the peasants' income tax to pay for arms production and defense measures.
Protest
In occupied Amsterdam, a general strike was declared in response to increasing anti-Jewish measures instituted by the Nazis.
Law
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said that the pending Hobbs bill to permit wiretapping by federal officials in felony cases "goes entirely too far."
Religion
The U.S. Protestant Digest Associates awarded citations for combating racial and religious intolerance to U.S. Interior Secretary Harold Ickes; Ralph Ingersoll; Dr. Ruth Benedict; Rev. Samuel Howie; and Lester Granger.
Hockey
NHL
New York Rangers 2 @ Boston 0
The Rangers' shutout of the Bruins at Boston Garden ended the Bruins' league record unbeaten streak at 23 games.
70 years ago
1946
Hit parade
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Symphony--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra with Clyde Rogers (6th week at #1)
--Bing Crosby
--Jo Stafford
--Benny Goodman and his Orchestra
2 Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra with Vaughn Monroe and the Norton Sisters
--Woody Herman and his Orchestra
3 I Can't Begin to Tell You--Bing Crosby with Carmen Cavallaro
--Harry James and his Orchestra
--Andy Russell
4 Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief--Betty Hutton
--Les Brown and his Orchestra
5 Personality--Johnny Mercer
6 It Might as Well Be Spring--Dick Haymes
--Paul Weston and his Orchestra with Margaret Whiting
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
7 Oh! What it Seemed to Be--Dick Haymes
--Paul Weston and his Orchestra with Margaret Whiting
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
8 I'm Always Chasing Rainbows--Perry Como
--Dick Haymes and Helen Forrest
9 Dig You Later (A Hubba-Hubba-Hubba)--Perry Como and the Satisfyers
10 You Won't Be Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart)--Les Brown and his Orchestra
--Perry Como
There were no new singles entering the chart.
On the radio The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Terrifying Cats
Nigel Bruce was ill and unable to perform in this episode, so Eric Snowden took his place. Mr. Snowden went on to play Dr. Watson during the 1949-50 season of the series, with Ben Wright as Sherlock Holmes.
Died on this date
René Le Grevès, 35. French cyclist. Mr. Le Grevès won a silver medal in the team pursuit at the 1932 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and competed professionally from 1933-1939. He died after a skiing accident.
War
Pope Pius XII told diplomats and Roman Catholic Church officials that he had refrained from approving the Axis war against the U.S.S.R. in 1941 in the hope that it could be stopped.
Defense
A long-debated agreement to unify the Communist and Nationalist Chinese armies was signed in Chungking.
Iranian Prime Minister Ahmad Gavam Saltaneh was told in Moscow that Soviet troops would remain in northwestern Iran "until the situation has been elucidated."
Politics and government
The Japanese cabinet postponed Diet elections to April 10 to enable closer screening of the 2,850 candidates.
Law
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that military courts set up under martial law in Hawaii had no power to try civilians.
Music
Dr. Wilhelm Furtwaengler's invitation to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra was withdrawn by an Austrian investigating committee on the grounds of possible Nazi affiliation.
Economics and finance
U.S. President Harry Truman issued a directive re-establishing the Office of Economic Stabilization with former Office of Price Administration director Chester Bowles as its head.
60 years ago
1956
Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Sixteen Tons--"Tennessee" Ernie Ford; Frankie Laine (2nd week at #1)
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Eventuell, eventuell--Peter Alexander & Caterina Valente (3rd week at #1)
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Zambesi--Lou Busch (2nd week at #1)
#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Lisbon Antigua--Nelson Riddle and his Orchestra (Best Seller--1st week at #1); The Great Pretender--The Platters (Disc Jockey--2nd week at #1; Jukebox--1st week at #1; Top 100--2nd week at #1)
On the Billboard Country and Western Best Seller chart, I Forgot to Remember to Forget by Elvis Presley was #1 for the first of two weeks.
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Rock and Roll Waltz--Kay Starr
2 The Great Pretender--The Platters
3 Lisbon Antigua--Nelson Riddle and his Orchestra
4 Memories are Made of This--Dean Martin
5 No, Not Much!--The Four Lads
6 See You Later, Alligator--Bill Haley and his Comets
7 The Poor People of Paris--Les Baxter, his Chorus and Orchestra
8 Band of Gold--Don Cherry
9 Moritat (A Theme from “The Three Penny Opera”)--Dick Hyman Trio
--Richard Hayman and Jan August
10 Tutti Frutti--Pat Boone
--Little Richard
Singles entering the chart were the version of Moritat (A Theme from “The Three Penny Opera”) by Richard Hayman and Jan August; Mr. Wonderful by Teddi King (#31, charting with the version by Sarah Vaughan); A Tear Fell (#33)/Bo Weevil (#36) by Teresa Brewer; Bo Weevil by Fats Domino (#36, charting with the version by Teresa Brewer); Valley Valparaiso by Percy Faith and his Orchestra (#39); Flowers Mean Forgiveness by Frank Sinatra (#41); Innamorata (Sweetheart) with versions by Jerry Vale; and Dean Martin (#46); and Forever Darling by the Ames Brothers (#48).
World events
In his speech On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences, U.S.S.R. leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced the cult of personality of former Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.
The "Secret Speech" was delivered to a closed session of Communist Party delegates, the day after the conclusion of public sessions of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
50 years ago
1966
Hit parade
Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 These Boots are Made for Walkin'--Nancy Sinatra (2nd week at #1)
2 My Love--Petula Clark
3 Just Like Me--Paul Revere and the Raiders
4 Listen People--Herman's Hermits
5 Barbara Ann--The Beach Boys
6 Nowhere Man--The Beatles
7 At the Scene--Dave Clark Five
8 Elusive Butterfly--Bob Lind
9 Batman Theme--The Marketts
10 Michelle--David & Jonathan
Pick hit of the week: Why Can't You Bring Me Home--Jay & the Americans
New this week: Lovely Kravezit--The Everly Brothers
Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)--Cher
California Dreamin'--The Mamas and the Papas
Tears--Bobby Vinton
Caroline, No--Brian Wilson
Died on this date
James D. Norris, 59. U.S. sports executive. Mr. Norris was the son of James E. Norris, who owned the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. James D. Norris was a vice-president of the Red Wings, while also co-owning the Chicago Black Hawks. Mr. Norris was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1962. James D. was president of the International Boxing Club of New York from 1949-1958, which controlled boxing in the United States in the 1950s until it was dissolved after being ruled by a court to be an illegal monopoly. Mr. Norris was involved with gangsters and fixed fights. He died of a heart attack, leaving a reported net worth of $250 million.
World events
The coup d'etat in Syria ended with Nur al-Din al-Atasi being named Chief of State and Yusuf Zuayn as Prime Minister.
Transportation
Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson cut a ribbon opening the 13-kilometre $200-million east-west Toronto subway.
40 years ago
1976
Hockey
WHA
San Diego 2 @ Minnesota 1 (OT)
The Mariners' win before 6,011 fans at St. Paul Civic Center was the last game for the Fighting Saints; although they were second in the West Division with a 30-24-5 record, the team was short of money, and folded three days later.
30 years ago
1986
World events
Corazon Aquino was sworn in as President of the Philippines, while embattled incumbent Ferdinand Marcos held his own inauguration ceremony while preparing to flee the country.
Politics and government
The 27th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party opened in Moscow with 5,000 Soviet delegates and thousands of visitors from 113 countries in attendance. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev opened the congress with a 5½-hour speech.
Diplomacy
During his address to the Soviet Communist Party Congress, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev found some encouragement in U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s arms control plan, but complained that it was swamped with various links and conditions that would prevent disarmament solutions. Mr. Gorbachev hinted that he would not attend another summit conference with Mr. Reagan unless there was some progress on arms control issues.
Economics and finance
Without mentioning former Sovier leader Leonid Brezhnev by name, Mr. Gorbachev, in his address to the Communist party congress in Moscow, charged that extreme economic difficulties had begun to build up under the previous leadership during the 1970s. While declaring that there would be no retreat from the basic tenets of Communism, Mr. Gorbachev called for "radical reform" of economic management, including more autonomy for local farm and plant managers and less interference from central planners.
The United States Labor Department reported that the consumer price index had risen 0.3% in January.
Disasters
Engineers with rocket parts manufacturer Morton Thiokol Inc. testified before the presidential commission investigating the January 28 explosion of the U.S. space shuttle Challenger that NASA officials had pressured them to present a positive launch recommendation despite their opposition to a launch. One engineer, Brian Russell, said that "we were in the position of having to prove it was unsafe, instead of the other way around."
25 years ago
1991
Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Oh! Yeah!/Love Story wa Totsuzen ni--Kazumasa Oda (2nd week at #1)
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): 3 A.M. Eternal--The KLF (2nd week at #1)
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Beinhart--Torfrock (5th week at #1)
War
28 soldiers--including three women--were killed and 90 injured when a Scud missile struck a U.S. barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Hours later, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein ordered his forces to withdraw from Kuwait. Roads leading to Basra were jammed with retreating Iraqi forces. U.S. Marines bombed the road north of Kuwait City.
Terrorism
U.K. Director of Public Prosecution Alan Green announced that the Birmingham Six, convicted in 1975 in connection with Irish Republican Army bombings of two pubs in Birmingham in November 1974 that had killed 21 people, could be free within weeks because their convictions could no longer be considered safe and satisfactory.
Football
CFL
Harry Ornest sold the Toronto Argos to American rare coin speculator Bruce McNall, hockey star Wayne Gretzky, and entertainer John Candy.
20 years ago
1996
Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Let's Groove--CDB (2nd week at #1)
#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Spaceman--Babylon Zoo (2nd week at #1)
#1 single in Switzerland: Children--Robert Miles (2nd week at #1)
#1 single in Scotland (OCC): Don't Look Back in Anger--Oasis
Died on this date
Haing S. Ngor, 55. Cambodian-born U.S. physician and actor. Dr. Ngor was a gynecologist and surgeon who was imprisoned in a concentration camp after the Khmer Rouge took over the country in 1975. When the regime fell, he made his way to Thailand, and eventually the United States. Dr. Ngor was unable to resume his medical practice, but was cast as Dith Pran in the movie The Killing Fields (1984), for which he won the Academy Award for his supporting performance. Dr. Ngor was shot to death outside his home in Chinatown in Los Angeles by members of a street gang.
Terrorism
Suicide bomb attacks in Jerusalem and Ashkelon killed 23 Israelis, 2 American civilians, and 2 Palestinian bombers, and wounded 90 people. Confusion over responsibility for the attacks heightened divisions within the Palestinian community.
10 years ago
2006
Died on this date
Darren McGavin, 83. U.S. actor. Mr. McGavin, born William Richardson, was known for his many television appearances, including starring roles in the series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (1958-1960); Riverboat (1959-1961); and Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974-1975). He's probably best known for playing the father in the movie A Christmas Story (1983).
Olympics
At the Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, Clara Hughes of Canada won the gold medal in the women's 5,000-metre speed skating event, while fellow Canadian Cindy Klassen won the bronze, giving her a total of 5 medals in Turin. Combined with her 2002 bronze from Salt Lake City, Miss Klassen’s six career medals made her Canada’s most decorated Olympian to date. François-Louis Tremblay of Canada won the silver medal in the men's 500-metre short track speed skating event, and also won a silver medal as part of the men's 5,000-metre relay event.
Died on this date
Æthelbert, 55 or 56. King of Kent, 589-616. Æthelbert succeeded his father Eormenric. Æthelbert was the third king to hold imperium over other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, and was the first to convert to Roman Catholicism. He was succeeded by his son Eadbald.
230 years ago
1786
Born on this date
Wilhelm Grimm. German author. Mr. Grimm and his older brother Jacob wrote Grimms' Fairy Tales, first published in 1812. Wilhelm Grimm died on December 16, 1859 at the age of 73.
Born on this date
Hubert Van Innis. Belgian archer. Mr. Van Innis won two gold medals and a silver medal at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, and won four gold and two silver medals at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, when he was 54. He won the World Championship in 1933 at the age of 67, and died on November 25, 1961 at the age of 95.
140 years ago
1876
Died on this date
Joseph Jenkins Roberts, 66. 1st President of Liberia, 1848-1856; 7th President of Liberia, 1872-1876. Mr. Roberts, born a free Negro in Norfolk, Virginia, emigrated to Liberia in 1829, and won the first presidential election as the Republican Party candidate after Liberia obtained her independence in 1847. He won three more elections before being defeated in 1855. After years as a military officer and diplomat, Mr. Roberts returned to the presidency, and died less than two months after the expiration of his second term.
120 years ago
1896
Born on this date
Richard Thorpe. U.S. movie director. Mr. Thorpe, born Rollo Thorpe, directed more than 180 movies in a career running from the early 1920s through 1967. His films included Night Must Fall (1937); The Thin Man Goes Home (1945); and Jailhouse Rock (1957). Mr. Thorpe died on May 1, 1991 at the age of 95.
100 years ago
1916
Health
Governor-General of Korea General Count Terauchi Masatake established a clinic called Jahyewon in Sorokdo to segregate Hansen's disease (leprosy) patients.
75 years ago
1941
War
German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler warned of a gigantic spring offensive against British shipping with newly-trained crews and new submarines. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill reportedly had rejected Japanese mediation in the European war. The Thailand-Indochina armistice was extended for 10 days at Japan's request, since no agreement could be reached within the original time limit, expiring February 25, 1941.
Defense
U.S. administration leaders in the Senate abandoned plans to limit debate to speed passage of Lend-Lease after isolationists threatened a filibuster. The U.S. Office of Production Management invoked mandatory priorities for the first time in placing aluminum and machine tools on the priority list in order to ensure an adequate supply for the defense program.
Politics and government
Earl Browder announced that Robert Minor would become general secretary of the Communist Party USA.
Scandal
U.S. financial operator Robert Boltz received a 20-40 year prison term, six days after pleading guilty in Philadelphia to embezzlement and fraud.
Music
Violinist Efrem Zimbalist was named the new director of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
70 years ago
1946
Literature
The New York Herald Tribune reported the best-selling books as The King's General by Daphne du Maurier (fiction) and The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald (non-fiction).
War
Chinese Communists opened a seven-pronged drive in Manchuria to cut the Nationalists' communications between Sinmin and Mukden.
Politics and government
Colonel Juan Perón, founder of the political movement that became known as Peronism, was elected to his first term as President of Argentina, taking 52.84% of the vote to 42.87% for centrist-liberal candidate Jose Tamborini. The election took place without major incidents.
Herbert Brownell told U.S. Republican Party leaders that he would resign as the party's national chairman because the party's success in the November 1946 congressional elections was assured.
Religion
The Provisional Committee of the World Council of Churches concluded its four-day conference in Geneva by establishing the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) to stimulate a "vigorous expression" of Christian demands for justice and world order. The conference was attended by representatives of nearly 100 Protestant and Orthodox church organizations from 32 countries.
Health
A committee of U.S., U.K., and French experts reported in Frankfurt, on the basis of a 10-day survey, that German workers were showing evidence of physical deterioration from lack of enough food.
Economics and finance
Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan General Douglas MacArthur limited Japan's 1946 exports to 25% of the 1934-1939 average.
Labour
The U.S. Labor Department named five representatives each from the Congress of Industrial Organizations and American Federation of Labor to a Labor Education Advisory Committee to help plan a long-range program for industrial peace.
60 years ago
1956
Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Memories are Made of This--Dean Martin (2nd week at #1)
Canadiana
Queen Elizabeth II authorized the coats-of-arms of the Yukon and Northwest Territories.
Boxing
Ingemar Johansson (13-0) won an 8-round decision over Joe Bygraves (30-8) in a heavyweight bout at Masshallen in Gothenburg, Sweden.
50 years ago
1966
Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): These Boots are Made for Walkin'--Nancy Sinatra (2nd week at #1)
World events
Kwame Nkrumah, who had been President of Ghana since the country's independence from Britain in 1957, was deposed while in Asia on a Vietnam peace mission. Colonel Emmanuel Kotoka led an attack by army and police units on the main government buildings in Accra, with the only resistance coming from President Nkrumah's special guard and other security forces. Col. Kotoka announced on the government radio station that the rebels had suspended the constitution; dismissed Mr. Nkrumah and all his ministers; dissolved parliament; and abolished Mr. Nkrumah's dominant Convention People's Party. Col. Kotoka contended that Pres. Nkrumah's dictatorial reign had brought Ghana close to economic disaster. Major General J.A. Ankrah became commander of the army and head of the National Liberation Council, and pledged a future return to civilian rule.
Diplomacy
British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and Soviet Premier Aleksei Kosygin concluded three days of talks in Moscow about Vietnam and other issues.
40 years ago
1976
Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger concluded his eight day tour of Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Guatemala to discuss trade and other matters.
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau tabled new criminal legislation, including abolition of capital punishment; increased minimum sentences for murder; stricter gun control; and greater wire-tapping power for police.
30 years ago
1986
Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): A Good Heart--Feargal Sharkey (2nd week at #1)
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Say You, Say Me--Lionel Richie
Died on this date
Tommy Douglas, 81. U.K.-born Canadian politician. Mr. Douglas, a Baptist minister, led the Saskatchewan Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, and formed the first officially socialist government in Canada when he led the CCF to victory in the 1944 provincial election. Mr. Douglas's most notable achievement as Premier was the introduction of North America's first socialized health care plan. Mr. Douglas served as Premier until 1961, when he entered federal politics, winning the leadership of the newly-formed New Democratic Party. The NDP had limited success in four federal elections under Mr. Douglas's leadership before he retired as leader in 1971.
World events
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos declared a state of emergency, while Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, who, along with armed forces chief of staff Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos, had seized control of the defense ministry headquarters two days earlier, formed a provisional government led by Corazon Aquino, who had challenged Mr. Marcos in the disputed February 7 presidential election.
Diplomacy
U.S. negotiators at the Geneva arms talks presented U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s proposal to eliminate U.S. and Soviet medium-range missiles within three years. Mr. Reagan tied the total elimination of nuclear weapons to a reduction in Warsaw Pact conventional forces; full Soviet compliance with treaties; and the peaceful resolution of regional conflicts.
25 years ago
1991
Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Unchained Melody--The Righteous Brothers
#1 single in Switzerland: Sadeness Part I--Enigma (11th week at #1)
Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Unchained Melody--The Righteous Brothers (4th week at #1)
2 Hello Afrika--Dr. Alban featuring Leila K.
3 Keep on Running--Milli Vanilli
4 Fantasy--Black Box
5 Sadeness Part I--Enigma
6 Kränk di net--Jazz Gitti & her Disco Killers
7 To Love Somebody--Jimmy Somerville
8 Ice Ice Baby--Vanilla Ice
9 I'll Be Your Baby Tonight--Robert Palmer and UB40
10 Don't Worry--Kim Appleby
Singles entering the chart were In the Ghetto by Midwork (#28); and Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) by C&C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams (#30).
Died on this date
John Daly, 77. S.A.-born U.S. broadcaster. Mr. Daly, a native of Johannesburg who moved to Boston with his mother after his father died, was a news correspndent for NBC and CBS radio before moving to television, where he hosted the quiz show What's My Line? from 1950-1967. Mr. Daly died of cardiac arrest four days after his 77th birthday.
George Gobel, 71. U.S. actor and comedian. Mr. Gobel starred in the television program The George Gobel Show (1954-1960), where his homespun style of humour made him an instant star. He made many guest appearances in television programs in later years.
Webb Pierce, 69. U.S. musician. Mr. Pierce was a guitarist, singer, and songwriter who was one of the major figures of the "honky-tonk" style of country music from 1951 to the mid-1960s. He had 51 singles that reached the top 10 of the Billboard country chart, reaching #1 13 times. Mr. Pierce's biggest hit was In the Jailhouse Now, which spent 21 weeks at number one. He became known in later years for his lavish lifestyle, which reportedly included heavy drinking. Mr. Pierce died of pancreatic cancer, 10 years before his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
War
200,000 allied troops participated in the ground offensive against Iraq, which began at about dawn. The attacks began across a 300-mile area west from the Persian Gulf. U.S. Marines and Army airborne and armoured units were joined by units from the U.K., France, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab countries. Some allied forces struck directly into Kuwait, but others crossed from Saudi Arabia into Iraq far to the west, beyond the Iraqi defensive lines. U.S. and U.K. armoured units moved first north, then northeast, and outflanked elite Iraqi Republican Guard forces dug in north of Kuwait. U.S. Marines and Arab forces striking directly into Kuwait achieved a quick breakthrough, and were joined in Kuwait by allied armoured forces entering from the west. Meanwhile, Canadian warplanes saw their first bombing missions since World War II.
Hockey
NHL
Quebec 3 @ Edmonton 6
This blogger was in attendance at Edmonton Coliseum to see Guy Lafleur play with the Nordiques.
20 years ago
1996
Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): Boombastic--Shaggy (3rd week at #1)
#1 single in Flanders (VRT): Spaceman--Babylon Zoo (2nd week at #1)
#1 single in Wallonia (Ultratop 40): Gangsta's Paradise--Coolio featuring L.V. (13th week at #1)
#1 single in France (SNEP): Dieu m'a donné la foi--Ophélie Winter
#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): 15 miljoen mensen--Fluitsma & Van Tijn (2nd week at #1)
#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Spaceman--Babylon Zoo (5th week at #1)
U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 One Sweet Day--Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men (13th week at #1)
2 Not Gon' Cry--Mary J. Blige
3 Missing--Everything But the Girl
4 Nobody Knows--The Tony Rich Project
5 Sittin' Up in My Room--Brandy
6 Be My Lover--La Bouche
7 Jesus to a Child--George Michael
8 Exhale (Shoop Shoop)--Whitney Houston
9 One of Us--Joan Osborne
10 Hey Lover--LL Cool J
Singles entering the chart were Jesus to a Child; Lucky Love by Ace of Base (#66); and Take a Look by J'Son (#94).
U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Missing--Everything But the Girl
2 One Sweet Day--Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
3 Not Gon' Cry--Mary J. Blige
4 Sittin' Up in My Room--Brandy
5 Be My Lover--La Bouche
6 Nobody Knows--The Tony Rich Project
7 Exhale (Shoop Shoop)--Whitney Houston
8 Til I Hear it from You/Follow You Down--Gin Blossoms
9 Wonderwall--Oasis
10 Tonite's Tha Night--Kris Kross
Singles entering the chart were Lady by D'Angelo (#40); Can't Be Wasting My Time by Mona Lisa featuring Lost Boyz (#60); Down Low (Nobody Has to Know) by R. Kelly (featuring Ronald Isley and Ernie Isley) (#61); Only Love (The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty) by Sophie B. Hawkins (#62); Microphone Master by Das EFX featuring Mobb Deep (#84); and Insensitive by Jann Arden (#89).
War
Two Cuban fighter planes shot down two civilian aircraft from the United States, claiming that they had violated Cuban air space.
Protest
An indefinite nationwide strike began in Bangladesh in an attempt to oust Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and her unpopular Bangladesh Nationalist Party government.
10 years ago
2006
Died on this date
Dennis Weaver, 81. U.S. actor. Mr. Weaver was best known for playing deputy marshal Chester Goode on the television Western series Gunsmoke (1955-1964) and starring as the title character in the police series McCloud (1970-1977). He won an Emmy Award in 1959. Mr. Weaver was president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1973-1975.
Don Knotts, 81. U.S. actor. Mr. Knotts was best known for playing Barney Fyfe, deputy sheriff of Mayberry in The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1965), winning five Emmy Awards.
World events
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared Proclamation 1017, placing the country in a state of emergency in attempt to subdue a possible military coup.
Law
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper nominated Marshall Rothstein to the Supreme Court of Canada; Mr. Rothstein would be the first Supreme Court nominee to face an all-party committee hearing in Parliament before his appointment was confirmed.
Society
South Dakota lawmakers approved a ban on nearly all abortions.
