November 12, 2017

200 years ago
1817

Born on this date
Bahá'u'lláh. Persian religious leader. Bahá'u'lláh, born Mírzá Ḥusayn-`Alí Núrí, founded the Bahá'í Faith--a religion teaching the essential worth of all religions, and the unity and equality of all people--in 1863. He died on May 29, 1892 at the age of 74.

175 years ago
1842

Born on this date
John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh. U.K. physicist. Lord Rayleigh was awarded the 1904 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his investigations of the densities of the most important gases and for his discovery of argon in connection with these studies." He wrote the two-volume acoustics textbook The Theory of Sound (1877/1878), and was also interested in the study of psychic phenomena. Lord Rayleigh died on June 30, 1919 at the age of 76.

150 years ago
1867

Disasters
A severe earthquake struck Jamaica.

125 years ago
1892

Football
William "Pudge" Heffelfinger was paid $500 by Pittsburgh's Allegheny Athletic Association to play as a "ringer" against arch-rival Pittsburgh Athletic Club and thereby became the first professional football player. He scored the game-winning touchdown on a fumble recovery.

110 years ago
1907

Diplomacy
King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of Great Britain hosted Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany at a banquet at Windsor Castle.

100 years ago
1917

Born on this date
Jo Stafford. U.S. singer. Miss Stafford was the lead singer of the Pied Pipers in the late 1930s, accompanying Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra. The group split with Mr. Dorsey in 1942, and Miss Stafford began a solo career as a recording artist with Capitol Records in 1944. She had great success through the mid-1950s, with her biggest hit, You Belong to Me, reaching #1 on singles charts in the U.S.A. and U.K. Miss Stafford also showed a flair for comedy, recording in a hillbilly style under the name Cinderella G. Stump in the late 1940s, and in the 1950s and beyond, with her husband, bandleader and arranger Paul Weston, as Jonathan and Darlene Edwards. Miss Stafford died on July 16, 2008 at the age of 90.

90 years ago
1927

Diplomacy
Canada was admitted to the League of Nations.

Politics and government
Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Soviet Communist Party, leaving Josef Stalin in undisputed control of the Soviet Union.

Football
CRU
IRFU
Hamilton (5-1) 1 @ Toronto (2-3-1) 13

ORFU
Camp Borden (2-4) 15 @ Toronto Balmy Beach (5-1) 11
University of Toronto II (3-3) 14 @ Hamilton (2-4) 6

Canadian university
McGill (2-2) 5 @ Queens's (3-1) 11

Mr. Foster scored a touchdown and Mr. Munroe kicked a field goal and 5 singles for the Argonauts as they beat the Tigers at Varsity Stadium.

George Reid came off the bench to score 2 touchdowns for the University of Toronto "Orfuns" as they beat the Tiger Cubs at the Hamilton Amateur Athletic Association Grounds.

Cliff Howard scored 2 touchdowns for the Tricolor as they beat McGill at Richardson Stadium in Kingston to clinch their fifth intercollegiate championship in the past six years.

75 years ago
1942

War
The United States Congress voted to lower the minimum draft age to 18 and raise the maximum draft age to 37. Negroes were exempted from the draft. The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal between American and Japanese forces began in the Solomon Islands. During a 10-hour naval bombardment of Japanese positions on Guadalcanal, Japanese planes attempting to interrupt the U.S. attack sustained heavy losses. Three German panzer divisions occupied the French Mediterranean coast, while anti-aircraft units took over all airfields in southern France. A U.S.-U.K. force landed at Bone Algeria, 60 miles west of Tunisia, where Axis forces were trying to build up their strength at Tunis and Bizerte airfields. Australian forces reported trapping the remaining Japanese forces in the Owen Stanley Mountains of New Guinea. Joseph H. Smyth, Walker Matheson, and Irvine Williams were each sentenced to seven years in prison by Judge Marcus Campbell for acting as unregistered Japanese agents.

Defense
The Argentine government began censorship of all telegraphic and telephone communications and declared that all ports were military zones.

Oil
U.S. Petroleum Coordinator Harold Ickes asked the War Production Board to reduce crude oil allotments to 17 eastern states by 11% to compensate for the demands of Allied forces in North Africa.

Labour
The special U.S. Senate Investigating Committee headed by Sen. Harry Truman (Democrat--Missouri) recommended a basic 48-hour work week with appropriate overtime pay for war industries.

70 years ago
1947

Died on this date
Emma Orczy, 82. Hungarian-born U.K. authoress. Baroness Orczy moved to London with her family in 1880. She was best known for the play (1903) and novel (1905) The Scarlet Pimpernel and various sequels.

Literature
The Cold War by Walter Lippmann, a study of U.S. foreign policy, was published in New York.

Space
A total solar eclipse passed over the Pacific Ocean, Aleutian Islands, and the northern tip of South America, while a partial eclipse was visible along the west coast of the United States.

Protest
Trade unions in Marseilles called a general strike to protest a rise in public transit fares, while crowds stormed the city hall and Palace of Justice.

Economics and finance
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Hugh Dalton introduced an interim budget in the House of Commons aimed at checking inflation and raising $832 million in additional revenue over the following year by sharply raising sales taxes and doubling taxes on profits.

Basketball
PBLA
Chicago (8-0) 65 @ Louisville (2-4) 56
St. Paul (6-3) 34 @ Tulsa (7-3) 39
Kansas City (1-5) 55 @ Birmingham (5-2) 59 (OT)
Atlanta (7-1) 46 @ Chattanooga (3-3) 48

These were the last games played in the Professional Basketball League of America; the league disbanded the next day.

60 years ago
1957

Aviation
U.S. Air Force deputy chief of staff General Curtis LeMay flew a KC-135 Stratotanker a record 6,325 miles from Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts to Buenos Aires, without refuelling, in 13 hours 2 minutes.

Politics and government
Carlos Garcia, representing the Nationalist Party, was re-elected President of the Philippines, while his running mate, House of Representatives Speaker Jose Laurel, Jr., was defeated by Liberal Party candidate Diosdado Macapagal for the vice presidency.

The French National Assembly voted to renew special government powers designed to combat rebel terrorism in Algeria and halt its spread to metropolitan France.

Iranian Shah Mohammed Riza Pahlevi instructed his government to prepare a bill asserting Iranian sovereignty over Bahrein Island, and independent oil-producing sheikhdom off Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf.

Labour
U.S. Senate Select Committee on Improper Labor-Management Activities Chairman John McClellan charged that Vincent Squilante, an associate of recently-murdered organized crime leader Albert Anastasia, had established "a stranglehold" on New York carting trade associations.

50 years ago
1967

Football
CFL
Eastern Semi-Final
Toronto 22 @ Ottawa 38

Russ Jackson threw 4 touchdown passes to lead the Rough Riders over the Argonauts before 20,627 fans at Lansdowne Park; Don Sutherin added 4 converts, 3 field goals, and a single. Wally Gabler started at quarterback for Toronto, but with Ottawa ahead 20-0 late in the 2nd quarter, Toronto head coach Leo Cahill replaced Mr. Gabler with rookie Tom Wilkinson, seeing his first action since September. Mr. Wilkinson produced 3 touchdowns, the first of his CFL career, with his first CFL touchdown pass going to Bill Symons.



NFL
Baltimore (7-0-2) 49 @ Atlanta (1-7-1) 7
Cleveland (5-4) 7 @ Green Bay (6-2-1) 55
Dallas (7-2) 27 @ New Orleans (1-8) 10
Detroit (3-4-2) 10 @ Minnesota (2-5-2) 10
Pittsburgh (2-6-1) 14 @ St. Louis (5-3-1) 14
San Francisco (5-4) 28 @ Washington (3-4-2) 31
New York (4-5) 7 @ Chicago (4-5) 34
Philadelphia (4-5) 17 @ Los Angeles (6-1-2) 33



AFL
Buffalo (3-6) 10 @ New York (6-1-1) 20
Miami (1-7) 0 @ San Diego (6-1-1) 24
Houston (5-3-1) 20 @ Denver (1-8) 18
Kansas City (6-3) 33 @ Boston (3-6-1) 10

40 years ago
1977

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood--Santa Esmeralda (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Ballade pour Adeline--Richard Clayderman (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): 't Smurfenlied--Vader Abraham (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland: Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft--Carpenters

#1 single in the U.K (BMRB): The Name of the Game--ABBA (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): You Light Up My Life--Debby Boone (5th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 You Light Up My Life--Debby Boone (6th week at #1)
2 Nobody Does it Better--Carly Simon
3 Boogie Nights--Heatwave
4 I Feel Love--Donna Summer
5 Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue--Crystal Gayle
6 Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band--Meco
7 Brick House--Commodores
8 It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me--Barry White
9 Heaven on the 7th Floor--Paul Nicholas
10 Just Remember I Love You--Firefall

Singles entering the chart were My Way by Elvis Presley (#64); Short People by Randy Newman (#68); Hey Deanie by Shaun Cassidy (#73); Emotion by Samantha Sang (#74); Kick it Out by Heart (#75); Just the Way You Are by Billy Joel (#76); Bloat On (Featuring the Bloaters) by Cheech & Chong (#82); Native New Yorker by Odyssey (#87); Sad Eyes by Brooklyn Dreams (#89); Don't Ask My Neighbors by the Emotions (#99); and As by Stevie Wonder (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 You Light Up My Life--Debby Boone (2nd week at #1)
2 Nobody Does it Better--Carly Simon
3 Boogie Nights--Heatwave
4 I Feel Love--Donna Summer
5 Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band--Meco
6 Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue--Crystal Gayle
7 It was Almost Like a Song--Ronnie Milsap
8 That's Rock 'n' Roll--Shaun Cassidy
9 Baby, What a Big Surprise--Chicago
10 Cold as Ice--Foreigner

Singles entering the chart were Getting Ready for Love by Diana Ross (#85); Wonder What You're Doing by the Foreman Young Band (#88); The Morning After Baby Let Me Down by Carroll Baker (#93); Ten to Eight by David Castle (#95); Falling by LeBlanc & Carr (#97); Can't it All Be Love by Randy Edelman (#99); and I Go Crazy by Paul Davis (#100).

Politics and government
Ernest Morial was elected Mayor of New Orleans, becoming the city's first Negro to be elected to the office.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 0 @ Montreal 5

Football
CFL
Western Semi-Final
Winnipeg 32 @ British Columbia 33

Jerry Tagge completed a touchdown pass to Leon Bright in the 4th quarter to put the Lions ahead, and late in the game, B.C. defensive back Joe Fourqurean deflected away a pass from Winnipeg quarterback Dieter Brock that appeared to be headed for the hands of wide receiver Mike Holmes, preserving the victory as the Lions edged the Blue Bombers on a rainy Saturday afternoon in the first playoff game at Empire Stadium since 1964, and the last playoff game ever played there. It was the last game in the 14-year CFL career of Winnipeg centre Bob Swift, who had been a rookie fullback with the Lions in 1964. It was also the last game for Bud Riley as head coach of the Blue Bombers; he led the team into the playoffs in the last three of his four seasons, but couldn't get them past the semi-final.

CIAU
Forest City Bowl @ London
Calgary 22 @ Western Ontario 24

Questionable officiating aided the Mustangs in their narrow victory over the Dinosaurs at J.W. Little Memorial Stadium in London in a game that was televised nationally on CBC.

30 years ago
1987

Politics and government
Dennis Patterson took office as Government Leader of the Northwest Territories, replacing Nick Sibbeston.

Health
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it had cleared Genentech Inc. to begin marketing tissue plasminogen activator (TPA), a genetically-engineered blood clot dissolver, that would be used to treat heart attack patients. It had been found effective in dissolving blood clots and reducing the incidence of congestive heart failure after an attack. Its most serious side effect was bleeding.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit in September had declined to $14.08 billion from $15.71 billion in August. The news sparked an immediate 61-point increase in the Dow Jones industrial average.

25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): End of the Road--Boyz II Men

Abominations
A referendum endorsing the creation of Nunavut was successful in the Northwest Territories, as polling results showed that 69% of 9,648 eligible Inuit voted Yes to accept a $580-million federal land claim settlement and creation of a third semi-autonomous northern territory, Nunavut, to come into being April 1, 1999. The Inuit were to get clear title to land, hunting and fishing rights.

20 years ago
1997

Terrorism
Ramzi Yousef was found guilty of masterminding the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York on February 26, 1993.

Crime
The Brazilian Supreme Court rejected a British request to extradite the "Great Train Robber," Ronnie Biggs, who had been living in Rio de Janeiro for 27 years. The two countries had only recently signed an extradition treaty, but the court ruled that Mr. Biggs could not be extradited under Brazilian law because the robbery of the mail train in 1963 had occurred more than 20 years earlier. Mr. Biggs escaped from jail after serving just 15 months of a 30-year sentence, and fled to Australia before moving to Rio de Janeiro in 1970.

Hockey
NHL
Jacques Demers was hired as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, becoming the club's third head coach during the young season. The Lightning fired Terry Crisp after starting the season with a record of 2-7-2, and appointed Rick Paterson as interim head coach. The Lightning lost all 6 games under Mr. Paterson before hiring Mr. Demers, whose most recent head coaching position, with the Montreal Canadiens from 1992-95, included a Stanley Cup championship in 1993.

10 years ago
2007

Died on this date
Ira Levin, 78. U.S. author. Mr. Levin was a novelist and playwright whose works have often been adapted for film and television. His novels included A Kiss Before Dying (1953); Rosemary's Baby (1967); The Stepford Wives (1972); and The Boys from Brazil (1976). His plays included No Time for Sergeants (1956); Dr. Cook's Garden (1967); and Deathtrap (1978).