November 17, 2017

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Louise Bingley!

425 years ago
1592

Died on this date
John III, 54. King of Sweden, 1568-1592. John III, a son of King Gustav I, took the throne as the result of a successful rebellion against his older half-brother Eric XIV. John III also ruled Finland as Duke and later Grand Duke. King John III had Roman Catholic sympathies, but was known for his attempts to close the gap between the Lutheran and Catholic Churches in Sweden. King John III was succeeded on the throne by his son Sigismund.

100 years ago
1917

Died on this date
Auguste Rodin, 77. French sculptor. Mr. Rodin was best known for his bronze statue The Thinker, which originally appeared as part of the larger sculpture The Gates of Hell (1880). Mr. Rodin died five days after his 77th birthday.

75 years ago
1942

War
British troops in Libya occupied Derna on the Mediterranean coast and Mikili, 50 miles south, and were advancing toward Bengazi, 130 miles westward. German troops in Russia broke into the outskirts of a populated area on the Volkhov front and advanced slightly in Stalingrad fighting.

Defense
Spanish dictator Generalissimo Francisco Franco decreed partial mobilization of Spain's militry branches "to assure maintenance of peace in our territories."

U.S. Army officials announced that expansion of Army Air Forces Technical Training Command would make barracks out of more than 300 hotels in Miami Beach and Surfside, Florida.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for recognition of Admiral Jean-Francois Darlan as head of French possessions in North Africa as "a temporary expedient" to save lives.

U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt returned to Washington from her tour of England.

Oil
The U.S. Office of Price Administration announced that as of December 1, 1942, the "A" sticker would entitle the holder to three, instead of the current four gallons of gasoline per week.

70 years ago
1947

Died on this date
Victor Serge, 56. Belgian-born U.S.S.R. author. Mr. Serge, born Victor Lvovich Kibalchich, was an anarchist who became a Bolsheviks shortly after arriving in Petrograd in 1919. He wrote non-fiction and fiction books about 20th century revolutionaries. Mr. Serge criticized the regime of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, and was expelled from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1928. He spent time in prison, but was eventually released, and went to Belgium and then to France. Mr. Serge and his family eventually made their way to Mexico; he died of a heart attack shortly after entering a taxi.

Diplomacy
The United Nations General Assembly passed a compromise resolution on the Spanish government of Generalissimo Francisco Franco, calling on the Security Council to take "any action required," after rejecting stronger proposals due to U.S. opposition. The Assembly also recommended--over U.S.S.R. opposition--Austria, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Transjordan for UN membership.

Politics and government
The Indian Constituent Assembly began its first session as a temporary parliament, electing G.V. Mavalankar as Speaker.

Pierre de Gaulle, a banker and brother of French President Charles de Gaulle, was elected President of the Paris municipal council, defeating a Communist candidate.

Technology
American scientists John Bardeen and Walter Brattain observed the basic principles of the transistor, a key element for the electronics revolution of the 20th century.

Economics and finance
Canada received a $300-million loan from the Import-Export Bank for U.S. equipment and raw materials, while Canadian Finance Minister Doug Abbott banned most luxury imports and urged an increase in the automobile excise tax to preserve the country's dollar reserves.

U.S. President Harry Truman addressed the special session of Congress that he had requested, urging immediate passage of the $597-million emergency aid program for France, Italy, and Austria and a 10-point anti-inflation program, and asking for authority to impose rationing and wage and price controls. U.S. Senator Robert Taft (Republican--Ohio) criticized the anti-inflation proposals as "the end of economic freedom."

Labour
The Screen Actors Guild implemented an anti-Communist loyalty oath.

60 years ago
1957

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Enough Rope for Two, starring Jean Hagen, Steve Hill, and Steve Brodie

Died on this date
Norm Perry, 53. Canadian football player. Mr. Perry was a halfback with the Sarnia Imperials of the Ontario Rugby Football Union from 1928-1935. He helped the team to six ORFU titles, and the Grey Cup championship in 1934. Mr. Perry was awarded the Imperial Oil Trophy as the ORFU's Most Valuable Player in 1934. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1963 and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1975. Mr. Perry died of a heart attack.

George Fay, 48. U.S. attorney. Mr. Fay was the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia in 1946 and from 1947-1951. He cracked down on sex crimes, pursued a perjury case against former U.S. State Department employee Alger Hiss, and helped to prosecute Puerto Rican nationalists for the attempted assassination of U.S. President Harry Truman in 1950.

Disasters
A British European Airways Vickers Viscount G-AOHP crashed at Ballerup after the failure of three engines on approach to Copenhagen Airport. The cause was a malfunction of the anti-icing system on the aircraft.

50 years ago
1967

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: The Last Waltz--Engelbert Humperdinck (2nd week at #1)

Edmonton's top 10 (CJCA)
1 The Rain, the Park and Other Things--The Cowsills
2 Beg, Borrow and Steal--Ohio Express
3 Run, Run, Run--The Third Rail
4 I Can See for Miles--The Who
5 The Letter--The Box Tops
6 Let it All Hang Out--The Hombres
7 Hush--Billy Joe Royal
8 Holiday--The Bee Gees
9 People are Strange--The Doors
10 Incense and Peppermints--Strawberry Alarm Clock
Pick hit of the week: (Alone) In My Room--Willie & the Walkers
New this week: Chick-A-Boom--Van Morrison
Kites are Fun--The Free Design
This Town--Frank Sinatra
Soul Man--Ramsey Lewis
Freedom Bird--The Lewis & Clarke Expedition

Boxing
Dick Tiger (57-17-3) retained his world light heavyweight title with a technical knockout of Roger Rouse (34-6-3) at 36 seconds of the 12th round at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Mr. Rouse was knocked down in rounds 9, 10, and 12.

40 years ago
1977

Diplomacy
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat accepted Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin's invitation to address the Knesset. Egyptian Foreign Minister then resigned in protest at Mr. Sadat's decision, and bombs were set off near the Egyptian embassy in Damascus.

30 years ago
1987

Died on this date
Paul Derringer, 81. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Derringer pitched with the St. Louis Cardinals (1931-1933), Cincinnati Reds (1933-1942), and Chicago Cubs (1943-1945), compiling a record of 223 wins and 212 losses. He won 18 games and lost just 8 in his rookie year, but lost both of his decisions in the 1931 World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics. After going 0-2 to start the 1933 season with the Cardinals, he joined the Reds, and went 7-25 with them that year, finishing with a dismal record of 7-27. He improved to 15-21 in 1934 and 22-13 in 1935. Mr. Derringer's best seasons were 1938-1940, winning at least 20 games in each year. His best season was 1939, when he went 25-7 and led the National League with a winning percentage of .781 as the Reds won their first pennant in 20 years. Mr. Derringer won 20 games in 1940 and was 2-1 in the World Series as the Reds defeated the Detroit Tigers in 7 games. Mr. Derringer ended his career by appearing in 3 games as a relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs as they lost to the Tigers in 7 games.

Olympics
Former Canadian Olympians figure skater Barbara Ann Scott and speed-walker Fred Hayward, carried the Olympic Torch down Signal Hill in St. John's, Newfoundland and handed it off to Maurice Sheppard, the first of 6,620 Canadians who carried the flame on an 11,250-mile trek to Calgary. The Torch arrived 87 days later, on February 13, 1988, to open the Winter Olympic Games in Calgary.

Baseball
Toronto Blue Jays' left fielder George Bell was named the American League's Most Valuable Player for 1987, becoming the first Blue Jay to win the honour, as well as the first player from a Canadian-based baseball team and the first native of the Dominican Republic to win the MVP award. Mr. Bell batted .308 with 47 home runs and 134 runs batted in in 156 games, leading the league in RBIs.

25 years ago
1992

Law
Canadian Justice Minister Kim Campbell announced that the federal government would pay up to 80 victims of brainwashing experiments $100,000 each on compassionate grounds. The experiments, which included the use of electroconvulsive shock, were conducted by Dr. Ewen Cameron at McGill University in the 1950s and 1960s, and were funded by the Canadian government and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

20 years ago
1997

Hit parade
Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Tubthumping--Chumbawumba (2nd week at #1)
2 Fly--Sugar Ray
3 The Sound Of--Jann Arden
4 On My Own--Peach Union
5 Show Me Love--Robyn
6 Walkin' on the Sun--Smash Mouth
7 I've Just Seen a Face--Holly Cole
8 4 Seasons of Loneliness--Boyz II Men
9 Invisible Man--98 Degrees
10 I am the Man--Philosopher Kings

Singles entering the chart were Do What You Do by Carolyn Arends (#77); The Chain by Fleetwood Mac (#83); Good Man Feeling Bad by Tom Cochrane (#84); 3 AM by Matchbox 20 (#94); and Breaking All the Moves by She Moves (#96).

Terrorism
62 people in Luxor, Egypt, most of them foreign tourists, were killed by six Islamic terrorists outside the Temple of Hatshepsut. The attackers were killed by police.

Energy
The Hibernia drilling platform off the shore of Newfoundlans pumped its first barrel of oil; an output of 180,000 barrels per day by 2000 was predicted.

Hockey
Former Pittsburgh Penguins' centre Mario Lemieux was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

10 years ago
2007

Football
CIS
Uteck Bowl
Laval 2 @ St. Mary's 24