January 20, 2017

450 years ago
1567

War
Portuguese forces commanded by Estácio de Sá defeated French forces in the Battle of Rio de Janeiro. Mr. Sá was hit in the eye by an arrow, and died a month later.

140 years ago
1877

Diplomacy
The last day of the Constantinople Conference resulted in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.

130 years ago
1887

Defense
The United States Senate allowed the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor, Hawaii as a naval base.

125 years ago
1892

Basketball
The first official game of basketball was played on a YMCA court in Springfield, Massachusetts. There were nine players to a side, and peach baskets hung at each end of the court.

80 years ago
1937

Politics and government
Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated into his second term as 32nd President of the United States of America, becoming the first U.S. president to be inaugurated on January 20. Inaugurations previously took place on March 4, but with the long "lame duck" period between President Herbert Hoover's loss to Mr. Roosevelt in the election of November 1932 and the March 4, 1933 inauguration, it was thought expedient to move the date forward to speed the transition to a new administration. John Nance Garner was inaugurated into his second term as U.S. Vice-President.



75 years ago
1942

Abominations
At the Wannsee Conference, the Nazis formulated their "final solution" regarding Jews in Germany.

70 years ago
1947

Hit parade
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Old Lamp-Lighter--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra (4th week at #1)
--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra
--Hal Derwin
2 Ole Buttermilk Sky--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra
--Hoagy Carmichael
--Helen Carroll and the Satisfiers
--Paul Weston and his Orchestra with Matt Dennis
3 (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons--King Cole Trio
--Eddy Howard and his Orchestra
--Charlie Spivak and his Orchestra
--Dinah Shore
4 Huggin' and Chalkin'--Hoagy Carmichael
--Johnny Mercer
--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra
5 A Gal in Calico--Tex Beneke with the Glenn Miller Orchestra
--Bing Crosby with the Calico Kids
--Johnny Mercer
6 Rumors are Flying--Frankie Carle and his Orchestra
--The Andrews Sisters with Les Paul
--Betty Rhodes
--Tony Martin
7 Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers
8 The Whole World is Singing My Song--Les Brown and his Orchestra
9 Sonata--Perry Como
--Jo Stafford
10 The Things We Did Last Summer--Frank Sinatra
--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra

The only single entering the chart was Guilty by Margaret Whiting (#22).

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Tom Conway and Nigel Bruce, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Unfortunate Brides

The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Elliott Lewis and Howard McNear, on MBS
Tonight`s episode: Fogbound

Died on this date
Andrew Volstead, 86. U.S. politician. Mr. Volstead, a Republican, was Mayor of Granite Falls, Minnesota (1900-1902) before representing Minnesota's 7th District in the U.S. House of Representatives (1903-1923). He was chairman of the House Judiciary Committee (1919-1923), and sponsored the bill that became the National Prohibition Act of 1919--usually called the Volstead Act--which was the legislation enabling the enforcement of the prohibition of the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol, which went into effect in 1920. Mr. Volstead was defeated in his bid for re-election in 1922, and returned to the practice of law.

Josh Gibson, 35. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Gibson was a catcher in the Negro Leagues with the Homestead Grays (1930-1931, 1937-1939, 1942-1946) and Pittsburgh Crawfords (1932-1936), as well as the Dragones de Ciudad Trujillo (1937) in the Dominican League, and Azules de Veracruz (1940-1941) in the Mexican League. He has been credited with approximately 800 career home runs, although Negro League statistics are difficult to quantify. Whatever his official statistics, Mr. Gibson was one of the best power hitters--if not the best--in baseball history. He was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 1943, and died of a stroke, 31 days after his 35th birthday. Baseball lore has it that Mr. Gibson died of a broken heart because he was passed over in favour of Jackie Robinson when the major leagues finally decided to abandon the prohibition on signing Negro players. Mr. Gibson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972; he and Buck Leonard were the second and third Negro League players so honoured, one year after the induction of pitcher Satchel Paige.

60 years ago
1957

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: My Brother, Richard, starring Royal Dano, Inger Stevens, and Harry Townes

Politics and government
Dwight D. Eisenhower took the oath of office to begin his second term as 34th President of the United States of America, with Richard Nixon beginning his second term as Vice President. Because it was a Sunday, the public ceremonies took place the following day.

50 years ago
1967

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Stop Stop Stop--The Hollies (6th week at #1)

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Snoopy vs. the Red Baron--The Royal Guardsmen
2 I'm a Believer/(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone--The Monkees
3 Armful of Teddy Bears--Barry Allen
4 Cry Baby--Lennie Richards and the Nomads
5 Good Thing--Paul Revere and the Raiders
6 Georgy Girl--The Seekers
7 Knight in Rusty Armour--Peter and Gordon
8 Talk Talk--The Music Machine
9 Color My World--Petula Clark
10 Go Go Round--Gordon Lightfoot
Pick hit of the week: She--Del Shannon
New this week: No Fair at All--The Association
Go Where You Wanna Go--The 5th Dimension
Grizzly Bear--The Youngbloods
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy--"Cannonball" Adderley Quintet
You Tell Her, I Stutter--The New Happiness

At the movies
Die Hölle von Macao (The Corrupt Ones), directed by James Hill, and starring Elke Sommer, Robert Stack, Nancy Kwan, and Christian Marquand, opened in theatres in Belgium and West Germany.



Protest
Two days of rioting in Aden, South Arabia, instigated by the National Liberation Front, concluded. British High Commissioner Sir Richard Turnbull deployed British troops to crush the riots after police in Aden lost control.

40 years ago
1977

On television tonight
Classics Dark and Dangerous, on CBC
Tonight's episode: Silver Blaze, starring Christopher Plummer and Thorley Walters

This was the first episode of a six-part series co-produced by TVOntario and Harlech Television in the United Kingdom, but first broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It was Mr. Plummer's first performance as Sherlock Holmes, and the only Holmes story adapted for this series.



Died on this date
Dimitrios Kiousopoulos, 84 or 85. Prime Minister of Greece, October 11-November 19, 1952. Mr. Kiousopoulos was a public prosecutor before succeeding Nikolaos Plastiras as a caretaker Prime Minister, before General Alexander Papagos led the Greek Rally to a major victory in the election.

Politics and government
Jimmy Carter was inaugurated as 39th President of the United States of America; Walter Mondale was inaugurated as Vice President.



Hockey
WHA
The new Minnesota Fighting Saints, who had played as the Cleveland Crusaders from 1972-76, folded, after Cleveland-based owner Nick Mileti had failed to sell the team to local buyers. The Fighting Saints had a record of 30-25-4, and defeated the Indianapolis Racers 9-5 at St. Paul Civic Center on January 14 in their final game.

30 years ago
1987

Terrorism
Church of England envoy Terry Waite disappeared in Beirut while attempting to negotiate the release of Western hostages.

Crime
Police in England carried out raids and made 26 arrests in connection with soccer hooliganism.

25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Justified & Ancient--The KLF

Disasters
Air Inter Flight 148, an Airbus A320-111, crashed into a mountain near Strasbourg, France, killing 87 of the 96 people on board.

20 years ago
1997

Hit parade
Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 How Bizarre--OMC
2 Mouth--Merril Bainbridge
3 Fly Like an Eagle--Seal
4 Just Another Day--John Mellencamp
5 When You Love a Woman--Journey
6 Just Between You and Me--dc talk
7 Head Over Feet--Alanis Morissette
8 Don't Speak--No Doubt
9 God Made Me--Chantal Kreviazuk
10 He Liked to Feel It--Crash Test Dummies

Singles entering the chart were Discotheque by U2 (#66); Flamenco by the Tragically Hip (#86); Resurrection by Moist (#87); Off He Goes by Pearl Jam (#88); High Hopes by Bruce Springsteen (#89); Breathe a Sigh by Def Leppard (#91); and Abuse Me by Silverchair (#100).

Politics and government
Bill Clinton was inaugurated into his second term as 42nd President of the United States of America. Al Gore was inaugurated into his second term as U.S. Vice-President.



10 years ago
2007

Adventure
The four-man Team N2i, using only skis and kites, completed a 1,093-mile (1,759-kilometre) trek to reach the Antarctic pole of inaccessibility for the first time since 1965 and for the first time ever without mechanical assistance.