February 20, 2016

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Mandy Sellars!

200 years ago
1816

Opera
The Barber of Seville, by Gioachino, premiered at the Teatro Argentina in Rome.

170 years ago
1846

Protest
Polish insurgents in the Free City of Kraków led an uprising to incite a fight for national independence, which was put down by the Austrian Empire nine days later.

100 years ago
1916

Born on this date
Bob Horn. U.S. broadcaster. Mr. Horn, born Donald Loyd Horn, was a disk jockey at several radio stations before going to WFIL in Philadelphia, where he hosted a program called Bob Horn's Bandstand. WFIL-TV decided to create a television version of the show, which began airing in September 1952, with a format of showing short musical films. On October 7, 1952,, the format changed to a live broadcast of people dancing to records, greatly increasing the program's popularity. Mr. Horn hosted the program until he was fired in July 1956 after being arrested for drunk driving, while the station was conducting a public campaign against drunk driving. On July 9, 1956, Dick Clark replaced Mr. Horn as the host of Bandstand, which became known as American Bandstand when it began airing on the nationwide ABC network on August 5, 1957. Mr. Horn returned to Houston, where he had worked in the 1940s, moving from broadcasting into advertising; he died on July 31, 1966 at the age of 50, when he had a heart attack brought on by heat stroke.

Died on this date
Klas Pontus Arnoldson, 71. Swedish journalist. Mr. Arnoldson was awarded a share of the 1908 Nobel Peace Prize "[For his work as] founder of the Swedish Peace and Arbitration League."

80 years ago
1936

Died on this date
Max Schreck, 56. German actor. Mr. Schreck was best known for his starring role in the movie Nosferatu (1922). He died of a heart attack the day after performing in the play Don Carlos.

75 years ago
1941

At the movies
Tobacco Road, directed by John Ford, and starring Charley Grapewin, Marjorie Rambeau, Gene Tierney, and William Tracy, received its premiere screening in New York City.



War
Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka denied that Japan had made a formal offer to mediate the European war, as announced the previous day in London. Meanwhile, a Tokyo newspaper said that Japan had warned Britain that a continutation of military activity in Southeast Asia may compel Japan to take counter-measures.

Diplomacy
U.K. Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and General Sir John Dill arrived in Cairo to plan the next steps involving the Near East military and political situation.

Defense
Washington sources reported that U.S. Army General George Marshall had told a secret meeting of a Senate committee that new planes were being rushed to reinforce the air force in the Pacific. U.S. Senator Robert Reynolds (Democrat--North Carolina) denounced Lend-Lease as a step toward war. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau said that he planned to issue about $2 billion in new taxable federal securities within the next two months to finance the defense program.

Labour
U.S. Office of Production Management Associate Director Sidney Hillman told the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee that anti-strike legislation in defense industries was unwise and may be harmful.

Politics and government
The Missouri General Assembly declared Forrest C. Donnell, a Republican, as Governor of Missouri, the day after the Missouri Supreme Court had ordered the Democratic-controlled legislature to seat him.

70 years ago
1946

At the movies
Tomorrow is Forever, directed by Irving Pichel, and starring Claudette Colbert, Orsoon Welles, George Brent, and Natalie Wood, opened in theatres.



Music
The Daughters of the American Revolution barred Eddie Condon's jazz band from DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. "because of the type of audience" that would attend the concert.

Religion
The World Council of Churches Provisional Committee conference opened in Geneva, with representatives of nearly 100 Protestant and Orthodox churches from 32 countries present to draft plans for a permanent world organization.

War
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, concluded after accumulating nearly 15,000 pages of testimony. The committee promised to report to Congress by June 1, 1946.

Defense
The U.S.S.R. admitted gaining atomic information from Canadian citizens, but said that the information had been insignificant.

Terrorism
Zionist terrorists attacked police headquarters in Haifa and Tel Aviv and blew up a British Royal Air Force radar station at Mount Carmel.

Politics and government
Spokesmen in Lisbon for Spanish pretender to the throne Don Juan said that negotiations for Spanish dictator Generalissimo Francisco Franco' surrender of power had ended in failure.

World events
Austrian Chancellor Leopold Figl promised Austrian Jews full citizenship rights and restitution of their property stolen by the Nazis.

Law
The Allied Control Council in Germany drafted a new marriage law, repealing the Nazi law that banned "interracial" marriages and permitted political divorces.

Labour
The U.S. Employment Service began a nationwide canvass to find jobs for more than six million World War II veterans and others expected to seek employment through June 1946. U.S. Stabilization Director John C. Collet issued an order permitting wage increases without government approval until March 15, 1946, after which they would have to be submitted to the National Wage Stabilization Board.

60 years ago
1956

Defense
The United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York became a permanent Service Academy.

50 years ago
1966

Died on this date
Chester Nimitz, 80. U.S. military officer. Fleet Admiral Nimitz was Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet (CinCPac), for U.S. naval forces and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas (CinCPOA), for U.S. and Allied air, land, and sea forces during World War II. He was the leading American authority on submarines. Fleet Admiral Nimitz died four days before his 81st birthday, shortly after suffering a stroke.

Music
Bob Dylan performed at Place des Arts in Montreal, the second Canadian concert of his 1966 world tour.

40 years ago
1976

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Convoy--C.W. McCall (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Moviestar--Harpo (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Moviestar--Harpo

Died on this date
René Cassin, 88. French jurist. Mr. Cassin helped to prepare the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, and was awarded the 1948 Nobel Peace Prize as President of the European Court for Human Rights.

Kathryn Kuhlman, 68. U.S. faith healer. Miss Kuhlman was one of the most famous "faith healers" of the 20th century, conducting crusades in a career that ran from the 1930s until her death. As is so often the case, Miss Kuhlman led an immoral life. She met a married revivalist named Burroughs Waltrip, who divorced his wife and married Miss Kuhlman in 1938. The marriage was reportedly a disaster from the start, and the two divorced in 1948 after several years of separation. Miss Kuhlman travelled through the United States before settling in Los Angeles in 1970, where she continued her healing crusades. She was accused of financial impropriety in a case that was settled out of court, and the healings claimed from her crusades were disputed by physicians such as William Nolen. Miss Kuhlman suffered a minor heart problem in the summer of 1975, suffered a relapse in November, and died after open-heart surgery, apparently unable to heal herself.

Defense
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) met in Manila and agreed to disband. The dissolution took effect on June 30, 1977.

Politics and government
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada continued its leadership convention at Ottawa Civic Centre. Robert Stanfield, who had led the party since 1967, delivered his farewell speech as leader. Mr. Stanfield had led the PCs through federal election campaigns in 1968, 1972, and 1974, but the party had failed to win enough seats to form a government.

Boxing
Muhammad Ali (50-2) retained his world heavyweight title with a knockout of Jean-Pierre Coopman (24-4) at 2:46 of the 5th round at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico.



30 years ago
1986

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CITV
Tonight’s episode: The Leprechaun-Artist, starring Bradley Gregg, Danny Nucci, Joey Green, and Cork Hubbert; Dead Run, starring Steve Railsback

Space
The U.S.S.R. launched the space station Mir.



Diplomacy
A U.S. House of Representatives committee voted 9-0 to end direct aid to the Philippines until a "legitimate government" was formed. Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos was trying to hold on to power amidst allegations that his February 7 re-election had been fraudulent.

Defense
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Tip O’Neill warned that approval of more aid for the Contra rebels in Nicaragua could lead to the dispatch of more U.S. troops to Nicaragua.

Disasters
NASA released a copy of rocket parts manufacturer Morton Thiokol, Inc.’s final recommendation to launch the U.S. space shuttle Challenger on January 28. The recommendation warned that the O-rings used to seal joints connecting the four segments of the rockets would harden in the cold and would take longer to seal properly, but concluded that the launch would not be significantly different from a flight in January 1985.

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Crazy--Seal (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
John Fetzer, 89. U.S. communications and baseball executive. Mr. Fetzer founded and operated various radio stations in Michigan and the midwestern United States in the 1920s and '30s, and achieved influence in Washington, D.C., leading to his service as radio censor with the U.S. Office of Censorship during World War II. He shut down his office at the end of the war and returned to his broadcasting career. Mr. Fetzer purchased Lincoln, Nebraska television staton KOLN in 1953, and began reaching rural markets with television service. He bought partial interest in the Detroit Tigers in 1956 and became full owner in 1961, selling the team to Tom Monaghan after the 1983 season. Mr. Fetzer founded the Fetzer Institute in 1962 to support work “designed to discover and enhance the integral relationships of the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of experience which foster human growth, action, and responsible improvement of the human and cosmic condition.” The Fetzer Institute promoted New Age propagandist Benjamin Creme in the 1980s, and continues to promote anti-Christian views and activities today. Mr. Fetzer died from pneumonia, 33 days before his 90th birthday. He had a fortune of several hundred million dollars, much of which was bequeathed to the Fetzer Institute.

World events
The parliament of Slovenia approved amendments to its constitution that would invalidate all Yugoslav federal law in Slovenia. Slovenian President Milan Kucan said that Yugoslavia had "ceased to exist," and proposed immediate negotiations on the dissolution of the country.

Protest
A mob in Tirana brought down a gigantic statue of Albania's longtime dictator Enver Hoxha. Mr. Hoxha had ruled the country as Leader of the Party of Labour (i.e., Communist) from 1941 until his death on April 11, 1985 at the age of 76.

Energy
U.S. President George Bush announced a comprehensive national energy plan with the objectives of increasing domestic production and encouraging conservation while ensuring continued economic growth. He proposed to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and some otehr areas in Alaska to oil exploration, and to explore the outer continental shelf off California and in the Gulf of Mexico. The plan also emphasized nuclear power, increased spending on transportation technology, and efficiency standards for electric lights. Congressional critics said the plan did not focus enough on conservation or the use of renewable fuels.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 0.4% in January.

20 years ago
1996

Died on this date
Audrey Munson, 104. U.S. model. Miss Munson is today regarded as "America's first supermodel;" she was the model for at least a dozen statues in New York City in the 1910s and most of the sculptures at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915. She appeared in four movies from 1915-1921, but her career ended after her landlord, Dr. Walter Wilkins, fell in love with her and murdered his wife. Miss Munson an her mother fled New York but were found in Toronto, where they were questioned. Miss Munson denied having anything to do with the murder, and was never charged with anything; however, her career was ruined. She attempted suicide in 1922, and in 1931 was committed by her mother to the St. Lawrence State Hospital for the Insane in Ogdensburg, New York, where she was treated for depression and schizophrenia for the next 65 years until her death, several years after suffering a stroke. She received no visitors at the asylum until a half-niece discovered her there in 1984.



Solomon Asch, 88. U.S. psychologist. Dr. Asch practiced in the field of social psychology, and was best known for his conformity experiments, in which he demonstrated the influence of group pressure on opinions.

Toru Takemitsu, 65. Japanese composer. Mr. Takemitsu composed several hundred works, including 90 film scores.

World events
The two sons-in-law of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who had defected in August 1995 with their families, returned to Iraq after being promised pardons. The were shot to death, allegedly by family members intent on restoring their tribe's honour.

Crime
The annual Carnival celebrations in Rio de Janeiro ended with a record 219 murders during the festival.

10 years ago
2006

Died on this date
Curt Gowdy, 86. U.S. sportscaster. Mr. Gowdy was a radio broadcaster of New York Yankees (1949-1950) and Boston Red Sox (1951-1965) games before moving to the National Broadcasting Company, where he broadcast baseball, football, and numerous other sports on television and radio through the 1970s. He was often lent to ABC to cover the Olympic games, and was with CBS in the early 1980s.

Politics and government
In South Korea, the United Liberal Democrats--the three top political parties--merged into the Grand National Party.

Olympics
The Canadian women's hockey team successfully defended its Winter Olympic title, defeating Sweden 4-1 in the gold medal game in Turin, Italy.