December 9, 2016

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Natalia, Mary-Ann Murphy, and Maria Mercedes Forero Hernandez!

130 years ago
1886

Politics and government
Premier John Norquay led an alliance of Conservatives and Liberal-Conservatives to another victory in the Manitoba provincial election, winning about 21 seats to 14 for the Liberals, led by Thomas Greenway.

125 years ago
1891

Politics and government
U.S. President Benjamin Harrison delivered his third annual State of the Union message to Congress. Subjects included foreign relations and relations with American Indians.

120 years ago
1896

Politics and government
Abner Reid McClelan took office as Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, succeeding John James Fraser.

100 years ago
1916

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Kirk Douglas! The U.S. actor and producer was born Issur Danielovitch in Amsterdam, New York.

75 years ago
1941

War
China, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa declared war on Japan, while China also declared war on Germany and Italy. The Cuban Senate and House of Representatives voted for a declaration of war against Japan, while Guatemala, and the Philippine Commonwealth declared war on Germany and, Japan. In the Battle of Hong Kong, Japanese ground forces attacked across the frontier of the New Territories and captured the key position of Shing Mun Redoubt; D Company of the Winnipeg Grenadiers was dispatched to the mainland to strengthen this sector. Japanese troops supported by warships and planes landed on the northern and western coast of Luzon, main island of the Philippines. The American 19th Bombardment Group attacked Japanese ships off the coast of Vigan, Luzon. Japan landed reinforcements in the Kota Bharu area of northeastern Malaya and in the Singora-Patani area of Thailand. Russian forces recaptured Tikhvin, near Leningrad. As fear of Japanese invasion spread on the west coast of Canada, the federal government ordered blackouts, and closed Japanese-Canadian newspapers and schools in British Columbia. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt invoked "enemy alien" regulations and ordered federal agents to round up dangerous German, Italian, and Japanese nationals. New York, Boston, and other East Coast American cities held their first air raid alarms.

Defense
Argentina and Chile announced that they would grant non-belligerent status to the United States as an act of solidarity.

World events
The Vichy French regime disclosed that 1,850 Communists had been arrested in unoccupied France during the past three days, bringing the total arrested in the past six weeks to 12,850.

Politics and government
John Hart was sworn in as Premier of British Columbia, replacing Duff Patullo, who had been in power since November 15, 1933. Mr. Hart headed the province's first coalition government, composed of Liberals and Conservatives, in an effort to prevent the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation from coming to power.

Robert F. Rockwell (Republican) defeated Frank Delaney (Democrat) in a special U.S. congressional election in Denver to fill the seat of the late Rep. Edward Taylor (Democrat).

Baseball
Cleveland Indians' ace pitcher Bob Feller, 25, became the first major league player to volunteer for active military service since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor two days earlier. Mr. Feller had posted a 25-13 record with an earned run average of 3.15 in 1941, leading the American League in wins; games (44); starts (40); innings pitched (343); hits allowed (284); bases on balls (194); strikeouts (260); and shutouts (6).

70 years ago
1946

Hit parade
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Rumors are Flying--Frankie Carle and his Orchestra (7th week at #1)
--The Andrews Sisters with Les Paul
--Betty Rhodes
--Tony Martin
2 Ole Buttermilk Sky--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra
--Helen Carroll and the Satisfiers
--Paul Weston and his Orchestra with Matt Dennis
--Hoagy Carmichael
3 Five Minutes More--Frank Sinatra
--Tex Beneke and the Glenn Miller Orchestra
--The Three Suns
4 (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons--King Cole Trio
--Eddy Howard and his Orchestra
5 The Old Lamp-Lighter--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra
--Hal Derwin
6 This is Always--Harry James and his Orchestra
--Jo Stafford
7 To Each His Own--Eddy Howard and his Orchestra with Eddy Howard and Trio
--The Ink Spots
--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra with Stuart Wade
--Tony Martin
--The Modernaires with Paula Kelly
8 South America, Take it Away--Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters
--Xavier Cugat and the Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra
9 The Things We Did Last Summer--Frank Sinatra
--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
10 The Coffee Song (They’ve Got an Awful Lot of Coffee in Brazil)--Frank Sinatra

Singles entering the chart were Huggin' and Chalkin', with versions by Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny Mercer, and Kay Kyser and his Orchestra (#19); The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You) by the King Cole Trio (#20); and Ain't That Just Like a Woman (They’ll Do it Every Time) by Louis Jordan and the Tympany Five (#36).

On the radio
The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Elliott Lewis and Howard McNear, on MBS
Tonight`s episode: The Jade Tree

War
The "Subsequent Nuremberg trials" began with the "Doctors' trial," prosecuting physicians and officers alleged to be involved in Nazi human experimentation and mass murder under the guise of euthanasia.

Diplomacy
The United Kingdom sent Albania a note protesting the laying of mines in the Corfu channel as a "deliberately hostile act."

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in New York elected U.S. State Department Alger Hiss as its president.

The World Zionist Congress convened in Basel, Switzerland and heard its president, Chaim Weizmann, reiterate his demand for a Jewish state in Palestine.

Politics and government
King Farouk of Egypt named Mahmoud Fahmy Pasha of the Saasist Party as Prime Minister after Ismail Sidky Pasha resigned because of ill health.

Despite the Muslim League boycott, the Constituent Assembly of India met in New Delhi for the first time to write the Constitution of India.

Law
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the 1928 murder conviction of Leroy Carter of Illinois, despite evidence that Mr. Carter had had no lawyer at his trial.

Football
AAFC
New York (10-3-1) 31 @ Miami (2-11) 0

60 years ago
1956

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Better Bargain, starring Robert Middleton and Henry Silva

Diplomacy
People's Republic of China Premier Chou En-lai indicated in Calcutta that the United States should make the next move if she wanted American prisoners in China freed and if she desired a general Far East settlement.

U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles began two days of talks in Paris with foreign ministers of NATO member states.

Terrorism
Irish nationalists staged a dynamite attack on a British customs post in Killea, Northern Ireland.

Protest
Charging that the Hungarian Communist regime of Premier Janos Kadar had refused to halt the arrest of anti-Communists and was incapable of ending the Hungarian crisis, the Budapest Central Workers Council ordered a 48-hour general strike for the next day.

Politics and government
Syria's reputed strongman Colonel Abdel Hamid Serraj denied that he was the country's de facto ruler, asserting he was "just one of a number of officers under the command of the Chief of Staff."

The Communist Party USA National Committee approved further "democratization" of the party's constitution.

Disasters
All 59 passengers and 3 crew members aboard Trans-Canada Airlines Flight 810, a DC-4 North Star en route from Vancouver to Calgary, were killed when the aircraft crashed into Mount Slesse, near Hope, British Columbia. The victims included Winslow Hamilton, an accountant and former alderman from Edmonton; recently-elected Calgary alderman Walter Rowan; and football players Mel Becket, Mario DeMarco, Gordon Sturtridge, Ray Syrnyk, and Calvin Jones. Mr. Jones was a tackle with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, while the other four players were members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders; all were returning from the Shrine Game between all-stars from the Western Interprovincial Football Union and Interprovincial Rugby Football Union that had been played in Vancouver the day before. Others who were originally scheduled to be on the flight included Jackie Parker and Normie Kwong of the Edmonton Eskimos; Bud Grant and Bob McNamara of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers; and Hamilton Tiger-Cats' head coach Jim Trimble, who had coached the East (IRFU) team. Mr. Trimble was sitting in the bus outside the hotel waiting to go to the airport when he realized he'd left his overcoat behind. He went back to get it, and on his way into the hotel, ran into Mr. DeMarco and gave him his plane ticket.

50 years ago
1966

Hit parade
Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Good Vibrations--The Beach Boys (2nd week at #1)
2 Mellow Yellow--Donovan
3 Sugar Town--Nancy Sinatra
4 Stop Stop Stop--The Hollies
5 Winchester Cathedral--The New Vaudeville Band
6 Walk Away Renee--The Left Banke
7 A Hazy Shade of Winter--Simon and Garfunkel
8 Coming on Strong--Brenda Lee
9 Communication Breakdown--Roy Orbison
10 Lady Godiva--Peter and Gordon
Pick hit of the week: Armful of Teddy Bears--Barry Allen
New this week: Walkin' Happy--Peggy Lee
Look What You've Done--The Pozo-Seco Singers
Bad Misunderstanding--The Critters
Pushin' Too Hard--The Seeds
Have You Ever Loved Somebody--The Seekers

At the movies
You're a Big Boy Now, written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and starring Peter Kastner and Elizabeth Hartman, opened in theatres.

Diplomacy
Barbados was admitted to the United Nations as its 122nd member.

40 years ago
1976

Defense
U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger warned North Atlantic Treaty Organization foreign ministers to reject a Soviet proposal that NATO and the Warsaw Pact members pledge never to be the first to use nuclear weapons.

Politics and government
Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Ahmad-al-Huss named a cabinet composed mainly of non-politicians to lead the war-torn country's reconstruction.

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Piece of My Wish--Miki Imai

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Laatikoita--Sielun Veljet

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Let's Talk About Sex--Salt-N-Pepa (4th week at #1)

20 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Macarena Christmas--Los del Rio

#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): I Can't Help Myself (I Love You, I Want You)--The Kelly Family (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Verpiss' dich--Tic Tac Toe

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Head Over Feet--Alanis Morissette (4th week at #1)
2 Black Cloud Rain--Corey Hart
3 Mouth--Merril Bainbridge
4 When You Love a Woman--Journey
5 How Bizarre--OMC
6 He Liked to Feel It--Crash Test Dummies
7 Dance Into the Light--Phil Collins
8 Leave it Alone--Moist
9 If it Makes You Happy--Sheryl Crow
10 Bittersweet Me--R.E.M.

Singles entering the chart were Through Your Hands by Don Henley (#81); Kissing Rain by Roch Voisine (#84); Love is the Power by Michael Bolton (#85); Watching the World Go By by Maxi Priest (#91); Crossing a Canyon by 54-40 (#92); Look Like Me by the Killjoys (#93); and Bad Time to Be Poor by Rheostatics (#95).

Died on this date
Alain Poher, 87. President of France, 1969, 1974. Mr. Poher was a centrist politician who was affiliated with several parties. He represented Val-de-Marne in the Senate from 1946-1995, and was President of the Senate from 1968-1992, serving briefly as interim President of France from April-June 1969 and April-May 1974.

Mary Leakey, 83. U.K. paleontologist. Mrs. Leakey and her husband Louis spent decades in Africa searchng for specimens of man's supposed ancestors. Mrs. Leakey discovered the first skull of Procunsul, and the skull of Zinjanthropus at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. The Leakeys' son Richard has continued their work.

Patty Donahue, 40. U.S. singer. Miss Donahue was the lead singer with the Waitresses, a New Wave group that achieved success in the early 1980s. She was a heavy smoker, and died of lung cancer.

Crime
Horrett Campbell, 33, was found guilty of attempted murder for attacking three children and four women with a machete at a teddy bears' picnic at St. Luke's infants school in Blakenhall, Wolverhampton, England on July 8, 1996.

10 years ago
2006

Died on this date
Georgia Gibbs, 87. U.S. singer. Miss Gibbs, born Frieda Lipschitz, sang with several big bands in the 1940s before achieving success on her own through the 1950s with hits such as Kiss of Fire (1952); Tweedle Dee (1955); and Dance with Me Henry (Wallflower) (1955).

Politics and government
Five Vancouver Island First Nations signed a treaty worth almost $500 million that included more than 24,000 hectares of land, some bordering Pacific Rim Park near Tofino.