February 25, 2017

220 years ago
1797

War
Colonel William Tate and his force of 1,000–1,500 soldiers surrendered to French forces after the Battle of Fishguard in Wales--the last invasion of Britain.

175 years ago
1842

Born on this date
Karl May. German author. Mr. May wrote numerous non-fiction travel books, but was best known for his novels set in the American West, featuring the characters Winnetou and Old Shatterhand. He died on March 30, 1912 at the age of 70, eight days after delivering a speech in Vienna advocating international peace. No cause of death was specified, but it was suspected that Mr. May had been gradually poisoned by long-time exposure to lead in water.

120 years ago
1897

Hockey
Exhibition
Montreal Victorias 3 @ Halifax Wanderers 4

The game was tied 3-3 at halftime, but the Wanderers scored in the 2nd half to defeat the Victorias, who had defeated the Winnipeg Victorias on December 30, 1896 to win the Stanley Cup.

100 years ago
1917

Born on this date
Anthony Burgess. U.K. author and composer. John Anthony Burgess Wilson wrote more than 30 novels, the best-known of which was A Clockwork Orange (1962). He composed over 250 musical works, including several symphonies and numerous pieces for recorder. Mr. Burgess died on November 22, 1993 at the age of 76.

70 years ago
1947

Germanica
The formal abolition of Prussia was proclaimed by the Allied Control Council. The Prussian government had already been abolished in 1934 by the Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich.

60 years ago
1957

Died on this date
Bugs Moran, 63. U.S. gangster. George Moran, born Adelard Cunin, was a rival of Al Capone in Chicago during the era of Prohibition in the 1920s; seven members of Mr. Moran's gang were gunned down in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre on February 14, 1929. Mr. Moran was in and out of prison during his life, and died in prison of lung cancer shortly after receiving a 10-year sentence for robbery.

50 years ago
1967

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Snoopy vs. the Red Baron--The Royal Guardsmen (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France: Inch Allah--Salvatore Adamo (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Cuore matto--Little Tony (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): I'm a Believer--The Monkees (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Het Land van Maas en Waal--Boudewijn de Groot (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): This is My Song--Petula Clark (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Kind of a Drag--The Buckinghams (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Ruby Tuesday--The Rolling Stones
2 Georgy Girl--The Seekers
3 Love is Here and Now You're Gone--The Supremes
4 Kind of a Drag--The Buckinghams
5 I'm a Believer--The Monkees
6 Gimme Some Lovin'--The Spencer Davis Group
7 (We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet--The Blues Magoos
8 The Beat Goes On--Sonny and Cher
9 Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye--The Casinos
10 Green, Green Grass of Home--Tom Jones

Singles entering the chart were Strawberry Fields Forever (#37)/Penny Lane (#50) by the Beatles; Dedicated to the One I Love by the Mamas and the Papas (#42); The Return of the Red Baron by the Royal Guardsmen (#62); Jimmy Mack by Martha and the Vandellas (#62); The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) by Harpers Bizarre (#81); Mairzy Doats by Innocence (#92); Tommy Jones by Johnny Tillotson (#94); Show Me by Joe Tex (#96); Who Do You Love by the Woolies (#97); Peek-A-Boo by the New Vaudeville Band (#100); That Acapulco Gold by Rainy Daze (also #100); and With this Ring by the Platters (also #100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Kind of a Drag--The Buckinghams (2nd week at #1)
2 Gimme Some Lovin'--The Spencer Davis Group
3 Knight in Rusty Armour--Peter and Gordon
4 Georgy Girl--The Seekers
5 I'm a Believer--The Monkees
6 98.6--Keith
5 (We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet--The Blues Magoos
7 Ruby Tuesday--The Rolling Stones
8 Love is Here and Now You're Gone--The Supremes
9 Green, Green Grass of Home--Tom Jones
10 The Beat Goes On--Sonny and Cher

Singles entering the chart were Penny Lane by the Beatles (#50); I Think We're Alone Now by Tommy James and the Shondells (#72); Peek-A-Boo by the New Vaudeville Band (#77); Sock it to Me--Baby! by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels (#79); Pucker Up Buttercup by Jr. Walker & the All-Stars (#89); The People in Me by the Music Machine (#91); Ups and Downs by Paul Revere and the Raiders (#93); Morningtown Ride by the Seekers (#94); Low Man by Don Norman (#95); Hung Up in Your Eyes by Brian Hyland (#97); The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) by Harpers Bizarre (#98); When Something is Wrong with My Baby by Sam and Dave (#99); and One, Two, Three by Ramsey Lewis (#100).

Died on this date
Fats Pichon, 60. U.S. musician. Walter Pichon was a jazz pianist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader who was born in New Orleans, but played with various bands in New York City, New Jersey, and Boston in the early-mid-1920s before returning to his birthplace. He led his own band in the 1930s, and spent many years as the house pianist at The Old Absinthe House on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Mr. Pichon recorded several singles from 1929-1956, and an album in 1956.

40 years ago
1977

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Shenandoah--Jan Lindblad

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Living Next Door to Alice--Smokie (4th week at #1)

#1 single in France: À toi--Joe Dassin (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Billy Coutu, 84. Canadian hockey player. Mr. Coutu, a native of North Bay, Ontario, was a defenceman with the Montreal Canadiens (1916-20, 1921-26); Hamilton Tigers (1920-21); and Boston Bruins (1926-27), scoring 54 points on 33 goals and 21 assists in 244 regular season games and 2 goals and 2 assists in 36 playoff games. He as a member of Stanley Cup championship team in 1924. At the end of the fourth and final game of the Stanley Cup finals in 1927, Mr. Coutu--with the apparent encouragement of coach Art Ross--began a bench-clearing brawl by attacking referee Jerry LaFlamme and linesman Billy Bell. National Hockey League President Frank Calder suspended Mr. Coutu from the league for life, but the suspension was lifted in 1929 in order to let Mr. Coutu play in minor professional leagues. His NHL suspension was lifted in 1932, but he never played another NHL game. Mr. Coutu died four days before his 85th birthday.

30 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Caravan of Love--The Housemartins (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
James Coco, 56. U.S. actor. Mr. Coco was a rotund and balding character actor who appeared in numerous plays, movies, and television programs from the 1950s until his death from a heart attack. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his supporting performance in Only When I Laugh (1981).

Scandal
The National Collegiate Athletic Association cancelled the 1987 football season for Southern Methodist University as partial punishment for violation of NCAA rules. The NCAA found that SMU officials had given illegal payments totalling $61,000 to 13 football players while the school was already on probation for other rules violations. The money apparently came from a wealthy booster. SMU’s football season for 1988 was limited to 7 games instead of the usual 11, and was barred from television and post-season bowl games until 1990.

25 years ago
1992

Died on this date
Dick Rice, 92. Canadian broadcasting executive. Dr. Rice was the founder of CFRN radio and television in Edmonton. He secured the license for Edmonton’s first television station in 1948, which was six years before the station went on the air.

Abominations
About 613 civilians were massacred by Armenian armed forces at Khojaly during the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

20 years ago
1997

Died on this date
Cal Abrams, 72. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Abrams was an outfielder with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1949-1952); Cincinnati Reds (1952); Pittsburgh Pirates (1953-1954); Baltimore Orioles (1954-1955); and Chicago White Sox (1956), batting .269 with 32 home runs and 138 runs batted in in 567 games. He finished in the top ten in the American League in on-base percentage in 1954 and 1955. Mr. Abrams died of a heart attack, five days before his 73rd birthday.

Yi Han-yong. North Korean defector. Yi Han-yong, born Ri Il-nam, was a nephew of North Korean dictator Kim Il-sung. While studying at a language school in Switzerland in 1982, Yi defected to South Korea. He was shot to death by unidentified assailants near his home in Bundang, South Korea; his killers were suspected of being members of the Korean People's Army's Special Force, i.e. North Korean assassins.

10 years ago
2007

Movies
The Academy Awards for 2006 were presented at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The winners included: Picture--The Departed; Director--Martin Scorcese (The Departed); Actor--Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland); Actress--Helen Mirren (The Queen); Supporting Actor--Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine); Supporting Actress--Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls); Foreign Language Film--The Lives of Others.