December 23, 2016

140 years ago
1876

Diplomacy
The Constantinople Conference of the Great Powers to discuss the Balkans began.

120 years ago
1896

Born on this date
Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. Italian nobleman and author. Don Giuseppe Tomasi, the last Prince of Lampedusa, served with the Italian Army in World War I, and was an Austro-Hungarian prisoner of war; he inherited his title upon the death of his father in 1934. Don Giuseppe Tomasi died of lung cancer on July 23, 1957 at the age of 60, but didn't become widely known until the posthumous publication of his novel Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) (1958), which was made into a movie in 1963.

100 years ago
1916

War
U.K., N.Z., and Australian forces defeated Ottoman forces in the Battle of Magdhaba in the Sinai Peninsula.

80 years ago
1936

Law
Colombia became a signatory to the Buenos Aires Convention on copyright.

75 years ago
1941

War
At a joint press conference in Washington with U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced that their meetings were being devoted to the immediate question of achieving complete unanimity of action in the Pacific. The first meeting of the U.S.-U.K. War Council was held in the White House. The U.S. oil tanker SS Montebello was sunk by Japanese submarine I-21 off the coast of California; 33 survivors were rescued. After 15 days of fighting, the Imperial Japanese Army occupied Wake Island. Japanese planes carried out a heavy raid on Rangoon. The Battle of Lingayen continued "with increasing intensity" on Luzon. The British command announced that Imperial forces in Libya reached the coastal plain of the Gulf of Sidra south of Bengazi the previous day.

Politics and government
Chinese Prime Minister Chiang Kai-shek appointed T.V. Soong as Foreign Minister.

Crime
A U.S. federal grand jury in Washington indicted aviatrix Laura Ingalls on a charge of failing to register as a German agent.

Religion
Pope Pius XII authorized Roman Catholic bishops throughout the world to permit Catholics in their dioceses to eat meat on Fridays and omit certain fast days for the duration of World War II.

Labour
U.S. President Roosevelt accepted a three-point war labour peace plan agreed upon by the 24-man labour-industry conference board in Washington. The plan called for "no strikes or lockouts;" settlement of all disputes "by peaceful means;" and establishment of "a proper War Labor Board to handle these disputes."

70 years ago
1946

Hit parade
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Ole Buttermilk Sky--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra (vocal chorus by Michael Douglas and the Campus Kids) (2nd week at #1)
--Hoagy Carmichael
--Helen Carroll and the Satisfiers
--Paul Weston and his Orchestra with Matt Dennis
2 Rumors are Flying--Frankie Carle and his Orchestra
--The Andrews Sisters with Les Paul
--Betty Rhodes
--Tony Martin
3 The Old Lamp-Lighter--Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye (Vocal refrain by Billy Williams and Choir)
--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra
--Hal Derwin
4 (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons--King Cole Trio
--Eddy Howard and his Orchestra
5 The Whole World is Singing My Song--Les Brown and his Orchestra
6 This is Always--Harry James and his Orchestra
--Jo Stafford
7 The Things We Did Last Summer--Frank Sinatra
--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
8 Five Minutes More--Frank Sinatra
--Tex Beneke and the Glenn Miller Orchestra
--The Three Suns
9 Huggin' and Chalkin'--Hoagy Carmichael
--Johnny Mercer
--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra
10 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

Singles entering the chart were Years and Years Ago by Les Brown and his Orchestra (#26) and Hoodle-Addle by the Ray McKinley Quartet (#28).

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

Diplomacy
The United Kingdom rejected a Soviet request for a "further exchange of views" on control of the Dardanelles.

Defense
U.S. President Harry Truman set up a three-man board to review the cases of draft violators and make recommendations for executive clemency.

Politics and government
French Prime Minister Leon Blum reiterated France's recognition of Vietnam's independence within the French Union, but insisted that order be restored before negotiations could begin on the composition of the Vietnamese government.

Crime
Three men were indicted in Atlanta for arson in the December 7, 1946 fire at the Winecoff Hotel, in which 119 people perished.

Law
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a suit on the constitutionality of Tennessee's poll tax on the grounds that Congress had jurisdiction in such matters.

Religion
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered new trials for two Jehovah's Witnesses sentenced to five years in prison as conscientious objectors, stating that they were not allowed to challenge draft classifications which barred their deferment as ministers.

Health
The U.S. Office of Temporary Controls dropped distribution control of penicillin.

Agriculture
The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization reported that a food crisis still confronted the world, with food production still below pre-World War II levels.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that collection of federal social security taxes from bankrupt companies had priority over state taxes.

General Lucius Clay, deputy U.S. military governor in Germany, protested a French decision to set up a customs barrier between the Saar and the rest of Germany.

The U.K. announced that it would send a Treasury delegation to India to negotiate the settlement of India's wartime debt of $5.2 billion.

Sport
An Associated Press poll of sportswriters named Babe Didrikson Zaharias as the outstanding female athlete of 1946 in the United States.

60 years ago
1956

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Mr. Blanchard's Secret, starring Robert Horton, Meg Mundy, and Mary Scott

This episode was directed by Mr. Hitchcock.

50 years ago
1966

Hit Parade
Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 I'm a Believer/(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone--The Monkees
2 Sugar Town--Nancy Sinatra
3 Single Girl--Sandy Posey
4 Good Vibrations--The Beach Boys
5 Mellow Yellow--Donovan
6 That's Life-Frank Sinatra
7 Snoopy vs. the Red Baron--The Royal Guardsmen
8 Cry Baby--Lennie Richards and the Nomads
9 Winchester Cathedral--The New Vaudeville Band
10 Communication Breakdown--Roy Orbison
Pick hit of the week: Look What You've Done--The Pozo-Seco Singers
New this week: Pushin' Too Hard--The Seeds
Tell it to the Rain--The 4 Seasons
Gallant Men--Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye--Jane Morgan
It's Only Love--Tommy James and the Shondells

At the movies
The Vulture, Written, produced, and directed by Lawrence Huntington, and starring Robert Hutton, Akim Tamiroff, Broderick Crawford, and Diane Clare, received its premiere screening in Deming, New Mexico.





Football
AFL
Boston Patriots' fullback Jim Nance was named the American Football League's Most Valuable Player for 1966. He rushed 299 times for a league-record 1,458 yards and 17 touchdowns as he helped the Patriots to a second-place finish in the Eastern Division with a record of 8-4-2.

40 years ago
1976

Hockey
NHL
Billy Reay, the dean of National Hockey League coaches, was fired by the Chicago Black Hawks, whom he had been coaching since 1963. The Black Hawks were third in the Smythe Division with a record of 10-19-5 when Mr. Reay was fired, 34 games into his 14th season with Chicago. Mr. Reay, who coached the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1957-1958, compiled a regular season record of 516-335-161 with the Black Hawks, and led the team to the Stanley Cup finals in 1965, 1971, and 1973, albeit without ever winning the championship. He found out about his dismissal by means of a note shoved under his apartment door; he was replaced as coach by recently-retired defenceman Bill White. Mr. Reay never coached again; his combined record between Toronto and Chicago was 542-385-175.

30 years ago
1986

World events
Dissident Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov and his wife Yelena Bonner returned to Moscow after seven years of internal exile.

Aviation
Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, piloting the experimental aircraft Voyager, landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, completing the first non-stop, around-the-world flight without refueling.

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Piece of My Wish--Miki Imai (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Live and Let Die--Guns N' Roses

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Let's Talk About Sex--Salt-N-Pepa (6th week at #1)

Politics and government
A Gallup Poll reported that support for sovereignty-association in Québec has dropped to 47% from 61% in May 1990.

Business
Toronto-based Grafton-Fraser announced its intention to close 221 Jack Fraser, George Richards, Grafton & Co, Madison, and Bimini stores, eliminating 1,700 full-time and part-time jobs.

20 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Child--Mark Owen (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Don't Speak--No Doubt

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Time to Say Goodbye--Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Canada (RPM): Head Over Feet--Alanis Morissette (6th week at #1)

10 years ago
2006

Died on this date
Charlie Drake, 81. U.K. comedian. Mr. Drake, born Charles Springall, was known for the catchphrase, "Hello, my darlings!," which he used in television programs such as Drake's Progress (1957-1958); The Charlie Drake Show (1960-1961); and The Worker (1965-1970). He also had several hit records, including the politically incorrect My Boomerang Won't Come Back (1961). Mr. Drake died after a series of strokes.