January 18, 2017

175 years ago
1842

Born on this date
A.A. Ames. U.S. politician. Surgeon Major Albert Alonzo Ames, the son of a physician, received his medical degree in 1862, and served with the Union Army in the American Civil War. He was a Democrat until 1900 and a Republican thereafter, and represented the 5th District in the Minnesota House of Representatives (1867-1868) and then served four terms as Mayor of Minneapolis (1876-1877, 1882-1884, 1886-1889, 1901-1902), which were increasingly characterized by accusations of corruption. Dr. Ames and the Minneapolis police department ran the municipal government as a criminal operation until he resigned and fled the state in 1902 after being indicted for corruption. He was arrested in New Hampshire in 1903 and extradited to Minneapolis, where a conviction, resulting in a prison sentence, was overturned on appeal, and two subsequent trials resulted in mistrials. Dr. Ames practiced medicine in Minneapolis until his sudden death on November 16, 1911 at the age of 69.

125 years ago
1892

Born on this date
Oliver Hardy. U.S. actor. The fat half of the Laurel and Hardy comedy team was born in Harlem, Georgia. He died on August 7, 1957 at the age of 65 after a heart attack and a series of strokes.

100 years ago
1917

Born on this date
Vasily Mishin. U.S.S.R. rocket engineer. Mr. Mishin was the deputy to legendary Chief Designer Sergey Korolev in the 1950s and '60s, and succeeded him upon Mr. Korolev's death in 1966. The Soviet space program experienced several major failures in the years following Mr. Korolev's death, including the failure to reach the moon, the failure to achieve a successful launch of the N-1 rocket, and the deaths of the three-man crew of the Soyuz 11 mission in 1971. Mr. Mishin was given much of the blame; he was regarded as a poor administrator, and criticized for his drunkenness. While in hospital in May 1974, Mr. Mishin was replaced by Chief Engine Designer Valentin Glushko. Mr. Mishin died on October 10, 2001 at the age of 84.

75 years ago
1942

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Three Garridebs

70 years ago
1947

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): The Old Lamp-Lighter--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra (5th week at #1)

60 years ago
1957

Hit parade
#1 single in France (IFOP): Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Será, Será)--Doris Day (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Singing the Blues--Guy Mitchell (2nd week at #1)

50 years ago
1967

Hit parade
Australia's Top 10 (Go-Set):
1 Ooh La La--Normie Rowe (4th week at #1)
2 Green, Green Grass of Home--Tom Jones
3 Friday on My Mind--The Easybeats
4 Good Vibrations--The Beach Boys
5 It's Not Easy--Normie Rowe
6 Let it Be Me (EP)--Johnny Young
7 No Milk Today--Herman's Hermits
8 Mellow Yellow--Donovan
9 Single Girl--Sandy Posey
10 Sorry--The Easybeats

Singles entering the chart were I'm a Believer by the Monkees (#18); Coalman by Ronnie Burns (#21); What am I Doing Here with You? by Bev Harrell (#23); You Got Soul by the Twilights (#26); Help Me Girl by Eric Burdon & the Animals (#29); When Will I Be Loved?/Kiss Me Now by Johnny Young (#32); Auntie Maggie's Remedy by the Fourmost (#33); Your Ever Changin' Mind by Crispian St. Peters (#34); Spinout by Elvis Presley (#35); and Lookin' for a Better Day by Tony Barber (#39).

At the movies
Warning Shot, produced and directed by Buzz Kulik and starring David Janssen, Ed Begley, and Keenan Wynn, opened in theatres.

Come Spy with Me, starring Troy Donahue, Andrea Dromm, and Albert Dekker, opened in theatres.

Died on this date
Goose Tatum, 45. U.S. baseball and basketball player. Reece Tatum played first base in the Negro American League from 1941-1948, but was best known as a star basketball player with the Harlem Globetrotters from 1941-1955. He was credited with creating the hook shot, and was one of the game's first great showmen. Mr. Tatum's son Reece, Jr. was killed in a car accident in 1966, and Mr. Tatum reportedly began drinking heavily, but his death was stated to be from natural causes. Mr. Tatum was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.

Space
The United States launched eight military communications satellites from a Titan-3C rocket at Cape Kennedy, Florida.

Yellowknifiana
The government of Canada announced that Yellowknife would be the capital of the Northwest Territories. The announcement came as a shock to residents of Fort Smith, who were so sure that their town would be chosen that they were selling souvenirs advertising Fort Smith as the capital.

Politics and government
Jeremy Thorpe, Member of the House of Commons for North Devon, was elected leader of the British Liberal Party, replacing Jo Grimond, who had led the party since 1956. In the most recent general election, on March 31, 1966, the Liberals had taken 9 seats, far behind 317 for the governing Labour Party and 304 for the opposition Conservatives.

Crime
Albert DeSalvo, the "Boston Strangler" who claimed to have murdered 13 women in the Boston area from 1962-1964, was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of armed robbery and assault against four women in Connecticut.

40 years ago
1977

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Daddy Cool--Boney M. (8th week at #1)

On television tonight
Family, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Return Engagement

Died on this date
Džemal Bijedić, 59. Prime Minister of Yugoslavia, 1971-1977. Mr. Bijedić, a career Communist, was killed with his wife his wife Razija and six others when their Learjet 25 crashed on the Inač mountain near Kreševo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, while en route from Belgrade to Sarajevo. He was succeeded in office by Veselin Đuranović.

Politics and government
The Indian government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi relaxed its 21-month state of emergency and scheduled parliamentary elections for March 16-20.

Abominations
Indiana became the 35th U.S. state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution; 38 states were required to ratify an amendment before it could become law. Fortunately, the ERA ended up falling short by three states.

Health
Scientists identified a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires' disease, which had first come to light after numerous members of the American Legion who had attended their annual convention in Philadelphia in 1976 had taken ill and died weeks after returning home.

Disasters
84 people were killed and 210 injured in the crash of a commuter train in Granville, a suburb of Sydney; it remains Australia's worst rail disaster.

Hockey
WHA
All-Star Game @ Hartford Civic Center
East 4 West 2

Quebec Nordiques J.-C. Tremblay and Marc Tardif scored in the 1st period, and Real Cloutier scored at 7:57 of the 3rd period to give the East it win before 10,337 fans. George Lyle of the hometown New England Whalers scored the insurance goal 38 seconds after Mr. Cloutier's goal. Paul Shmyr of the San Diego Mariners scored for the West at 11:58 of the 1st period--41 seconds after Mr. Trembly had opened the scoring--and Willy Lindstrom of the Winnipeg Jets scored at 4:02 of the 3rd period to tie the game 2-2.

30 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But the Rent--Gwen Guthrie

#1 single in Switzerland: Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend)--Mel & Kim (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France: T'en va pas--Elsa (3rd week at #1)

25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): Black or White--Michael Jackson (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Sore ga daiji--MAN Brothers Band (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Black or White--Michael Jackson (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Black or White--Michael Jackson (10th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Smells Like Teen Spirit--Nirvana

#1 single in France (SNEP): Song of Ocarina--Jean-Philippe Audin & Diego Modena

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me--George Michael/Elton John (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Chart Information Network): Bohemian Rhapsody/These Are the Days of Our Lives--Queen (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Black or White--Michael Jackson (7th week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Black or White--Michael Jackson (4th week at #1)
2 Can't Let Go--Mariah Carey
3 All 4 Love--Color Me Badd
4 It's so Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday--Boyz II Men
5 Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me--George Michael/Elton John
6 No Son of Mine--Genesis
7 Set Adrift on Memory Bliss--PM Dawn
8 Blowing Kisses in the Wind--Paula Abdul
9 Mysterious Ways--U2
10 Keep Coming Back--Richard Marx

Singles entering the chart were Vibeology by Paula Abdul (#54); Good for Me by Amy Grant (#55); Until Your Love Comes Back Around by RTZ (#73); and All Together Now by the Farm (#87).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Black or White--Michael Jackson
2 Mysterious Ways--U2
3 Keep Coming Back--Richard Marx
4 No Son of Mine--Genesis
5 When a Man Loves a Woman--Michael Bolton
6 Broken Arrow--Rod Stewart
7 Blowing Kisses in the Wind--Paula Abdul
8 Can't Let Go--Mariah Carey
9 Set Adrift on Memory Bliss--P.M. Dawn
10 All 4 Love--Color Me Badd

Singles entering the chart were I'm Too Sexy by Right Said Fred (#64); Addams Groove by Hammer (#71); and It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday by Boyz II Men (#77).

20 years ago
1997

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): One and One--Robert Miles and Maria Nayler (9th week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Freed from Desire--Gala (13th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Don't Cry for Me Argentina--Madonna

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Freed from Desire--Gala (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Wallonia (Ultratop 40): Freed from Desire--Gala (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): 2 Become 1--Spice Girls (6th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Chart Information Network): Professional Widow (Armand's Star Trunk Funkin' Mix)--Tori Amos

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Un-Break My Heart--Toni Braxton (7th week at #1)

Died on this date
Adriana Caselotti, 80. U.S. actress. Miss Caselotti was best known for providing the voice of Snow White in the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).

Paul Tsongas, 55. U.S. politician. Mr. Tsongas, a Democrat, represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives from 1975-1979 and in the Senate from 1979-1985. He ran for the 1992 Democratic Party U.S. presidential nomination, and won seven primaries before losing the campaign to eventual President Bill Clinton. Mr. Tsongas died after a long battle with cancer.

10 years ago
2007

Disasters
Kyrill, the strongest windstorm to hit Britain in 17 years, killed 14 people in the United Kingdom and 13 in Germany.