January 28, 2017

470 years ago
1547

Died on this date
Henry VIII, 55. King of England, 1509-1547; Lord of Ireland, 1509-1542; King of Ireland, 1542-1547. Henry VIII, the son of Henry VII, was the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty. He was known for his six marriages; his attempt to obtain an annulment of his first marriage, to Catherine of Aragon, led to a dispute with Pope Clement VII, and ultimately led to the founding of the Church of England as a body separate from the Roman Catholic Church. King Henry VIII was a man of letters, and a talented musician. He has been credited--perhaps erroneously--as the composer of the folk ballad Greensleeves, but did not write the music hall song I'm Henry VIII, I Am. King Henry was athletic in his younger years, but a wound suffered in a jousting match led to further health problems, perhaps including the gross obesity that characterized him in his later years. King Henry VIII was succeeded on the throne by his son Edward VI.

300 years ago
1717

Born on this date
Mustafa III. Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, 1757-1774. Mustafa III, a son of Ahmed II, succeeded Osman III. He died on January 21, 1774, a week before his 57th birthday, and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I.

80 years ago
1937

Hockey
NHL
Boston 1 @ New York Rangers 1
Chicago 5 @ Montreal Canadiens 6

George Mantha scored 4 goals and added an assist as the Canadiens jumped to a 4-1 lead and held on to defeat the Black Hawks at the Montreal Forum. The Canadiens were badly shaken when Howie Morenz, who had rejoined the team before the start of the season and returned to the form that had made him one of the game's all-time greats during his first tour of duty in Montreal (1923-1934), caught the tip of his skate in the boards early in the first period and broke his leg in two places when he was hit by Chicago defenseman Earl Siebert, who was unable to avoid the collision. Mr. Morenz was taken from the ice on a stretcher and transported to St. Luke's Hospital.

60 years ago
1957

Boxing
World middleweight champion Gene Fullmer (39-3) won a 10-round unanimous decision over Wilf Greaves (11-5-1) in a non-title bout at Fairgrounds Coliseum in Salt Lake City.

50 years ago
1967

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Green, Green Grass of Home--Tom Jones (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France: Inch Allah--Salvatore Adamo

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): C'era un ragazzo che come me amava i Beatles e i Rolling Stones--Gianni Morandi (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Good Night My Love--Roy Black (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): I'm a Believer--The Monkees (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): I'm a Believer--The Monkees (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): I'm a Believer--The Monkees (5th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I'm a Believer--The Monkees (6th week at #1)
2 Snoopy vs. the Red Baron--The Royal Guardsmen
3 Tell it Like it Is--Aaron Neville
4 Georgy Girl--The Seekers
5 Good Thing--Paul Revere and the Raiders
6 Words of Love--The Mamas and the Papas
7 Standing in the Shadows of Love--Four Tops
8 Kind of a Drag--The Buckinghams
9 (We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet--The Blues Magoos
10 Nashville Cats--The Lovin' Spoonful

Singles entering the chart were Love is Here and Now You're Gone by the Supremes (#38); So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star by the Byrds (#71); The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game by the Marvelettes (#75); Wish You Didn't Have to Go by James and Bobby Purify (#77); I've Been Lonely Too Long by the Young Rascals (#78); Sit Down, I Think I Love You by the Mojo Men (#84); Daddy's Little Girl by Al Martino (#85); You Got to Me by Neil Diamond (#86); Sunrise, Sunset by Roger Williams (#88); Love You So Much by the New Colony Six (#89); Keep a Light in the Window Till I Come Home by Solomon Burke (#90); I Dig You Baby by Jerry Butler (#99); Girls are Out to Get You by the Fascinations (#100); and Grits 'n Corn Bread by the Soul Runners (also #100).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Snoopy vs. the Red Baron--The Royal Guardsmen (3rd week at #1)
2 I'm a Believer--The Monkees
3 Good Thing--Paul Revere and the Raiders
4 Words of Love--The Mamas and the Papas
5 Georgy Girl--The Seekers
6 Nashville Cats--The Lovin' Spoonful
7 Tell it to the Rain--The 4 Seasons
8 I've Passed This Way Before--Jimmy Ruffin
9 Where Will the Words Come From--Gary Lewis and the Playboys
10 (We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet--The Blues Magoos

Singles entering the chart were Go Go Round by Gordon Lightfoot (#85); The Beat Goes On by Sonny and Cher (#86); His Girl by the Guess Who? (#88); Danger! She's a Stranger by the Five Stairsteps (#91); There's a Pain in My Heart by the Poppies (#92); Niki Hoeky by P.J. Proby (#95); Little Black Egg by the Nightcrawlers (#96); Let's Spend the Night Together by the Rolling Stones (#97); Great Name Dropper by the Legion of Super Heroes (#99); and People Like You by Eddie Fisher (#100).

Died on this date
Ruut Tarmo, 70. Estonian actor. Mr. Tarmo, born Harald Rudolf Klein, appeared in plays and films for three decades until the Soviets invaded and occupied Estonia during World War II; he was imprisoned and, after his release, was banned from performing until after the death of U.S.S.R. dictator Josef Stalin. Mr. Tarmo returned to acting in the mid-1950s, and continued his career until his death.

40 years ago
1977

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Sunny--Boney M. (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France: Voici les clefs--Gérard Lenorman (4th week at #1)

On television tonight
Roots, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Part VI

Weather
The first day of the Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977 dumped 10 feet (3.0 metres) of snow in one day in upstate New York, with Buffalo, Syracuse, Watertown, and surrounding areas most affected.

Horse racing
This blogger was treated by his godmother to an evening at the harness races at Stampede Park in Calgary. After losing money betting on Antique Woody in the second race, I won $12.70 betting on Sea Link to win in the third, and decided to quit while I was ahead.

30 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): One Love to Give--Stéphanie (3rd week at #1)

10 years ago
2007

Died on this date
Robert Drinan, 86. U.S. politician. Rev. Drinan, a Democrat, was a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives from 1971-1981. When Pope John Paul II issued an order in 1980 that all clergy withdraw from electoral politics, Rev. Drinan complied, and declined to run for re-election.