December 8, 2017

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Michael O'Byrne!

725 years ago
1292

Died on this date
John Peckham, 62 (?). English clergyman. Mr. Peckham was Roman Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury from 1279 until his death. He was known for his conservative theology, his opposition to Thomas Aquinas, and his dislike for Welsh people. Archbishop Peckham was succeeded by Robert Winchelsey.

475 years ago
1542

Born on this date
Mary, Queen of Scots. Queen of Scotland, 1542-1567; Queen Consort of France, 1559-1560. Mary assumed the Scottish throne when her father, King James V, died just 6 days after she was born. She was convicted of treason after being implicated in the Babington plot, calling for the assassination of Queen Elizabeth I of England, and was beheaded on February 5, 1587 at the age of 44.

200 years ago
1817

Born on this date
Christian Emil Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs. Council President of Denmark, 1865-1870. Count Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs was the first Council President from the conservative Højre party, which ruled until 1901. He resigned in 1870 and led negotiations with France to prevent Danish participation in the Franco-Prussian War. Count Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs died on October 12, 1896 at the age of 78.

125 years ago
1892

Boxing
Joe Goddard (24-1-6-2) knocked out Peter Maher (50-4) at 50 seconds of the 3rd round of a heavyweight bout at Coney Island Athletic Club in Brooklyn, New York.

110 years ago
1907

Died on this date
Oscar II, 78. King of Sweden, 1872-1907; King of Norway, 1872-1905. Oscar II succeeded his elder brother Charles XV of Sweden/Charles IV of Norway on the thrones of both countries, and was known for his support of science, arts, and Arctic exploration. He was dethroned in Norway after Sweden and Norway split into separate countries in 1905, and was succeeded as King of Norway by his grandnephew Haakon VII. Oscar II was succeeded as King of Sweden by his eldest son Gustav V.

90 years ago
1927

Academia
The Brookings Institution, one of the United States' oldest think tanks, was founded through the merger of three organizations that had been created by philanthropist Robert S. Brookings.

75 years ago
1942

Died on this date
Albert Kahn, 73. U.S. architect. Mr. Kahn designed many of the buildings in Detroit, including factories for the Packard and Ford motor companies.

War
The British House of Commons passed a bill lowering the draft age from 18 1/2 to 18. Russian offensives continued southwest of Stalingrad and on the central front.

Diplomacy
Cuban President Fulgencio Batista arrived in Washington for talks with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Cuba's war effort.

70 years ago
1947

Diplomacy
Nations of the Arab League, meeting in Cairo, promised "immediate measures" to help Palestinian Arabs resist partition.

Yugoslavian President Marshal Josip Broz Tito and Hungarian Premier Lajos Dinnyes signed a 20-year mutual assistance pact in Budapest similar to the recent Yugoslav-Bulgarian treaty.

Dutch and Indonesian representatives opened direct negotiations under U.S. auspices aboard the U.S. transport Renville in Batavia harbour.

Defense
The U.S. Senate ratified the inter-American defense treaty.

Energy
U.S. President Harry Truman issued an executive order reserving government ownership of uranium or other fissionate ore deposits in future sale or lease of public lands.

Law
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously set aside the conviction of Eddie Patton, a Negro from Mississippi who had been sentenced to death for murder, on the grounds that Negroes had been excluded from the jury that tried him.

Health
A two-month cholera epidemic in Egypt began to subside after causing an estimated 13,000 deaths.

60 years ago
1957

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Diplomatic Corpse, starring Peter Lorre, George Peppard, and Mary Scott

Politics and government
Belgian Congo natives voted for the first time in township council elections in Leopoldville, winning 130 of 170 elective council seats.

Labour
Bus and trolley drivers in Pittsburgh ended a 56-day strike after accepting an hourly wage raise of $2.28.

Disasters
62 passengers and crew members aboard an Aerolins Argentinas Dc-4 en route from Buenos Aires to San Carlos de Bariloche were killed when it crashed during a heavy rainstorm near Bolivar, Buenos Aires.

50 years ago
1967

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: (The Lights Went Out In) Massachusetts--The Bee Gees (2nd week at #1)

Edmonton's top 10 (CJCA)
1 Daydream Believer--The Monkees (2nd week at #1)
2 Hello Goodbye--The Beatles
3 (Alone) In My Room--Willie & the Walkers
4 (The Lights Went Out In) Massachusetts--The Bee Gees
5 Incense and Peppermints--Strawberry Alarm Clock
6 The Rain, the Park and Other Things--The Cowsills
7 Beg, Borrow and Steal--Ohio Express
8 Kentucky Woman--Neil Diamond
9 Soul Man--Sam & Dave
10 Ten Little Indians--The Yardbirds
Pick hit of the week: Dancing Bear--The Mamas and the Papas
New this week: Love is All Around--The Troggs
Portobello Road--The Spectrum
Love Me Two Times--The Doors
Foxey Lady--The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Sunny Day Girl--The Hobbits

Died on this date
Bob Lawrence, 32. U.S. astronaut. Major Lawrence was a United States Air Force pilot who became the first Negro astronaut when he was selected for the Air Force Manned Orbital Laboratory program in 1967. MOL was a program to build a space station for the purpose of spying on the U.S.S.R. Major Edwards and Major Harvey Royer were doing zoom landings in an F-104 as part of their research course when something went wrong, and the F-104 hit the runway. Major Royer ejected safely, but Major Lawrence was killed. Had he survived, he certainly would have been among the MOL pilots selected for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronaut program in 1969, after the MOL program was cancelled. Major Lawrence has been credited by NASA with accomplishments that "contributed greatly to the development of the Space Shuttle."

Defense
400 soldiers boarded a ship in Famagusta harbour and sailed for Athens as the Greek government began removing its troops from Cyprus in accordance with a pact signed by Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus that averted a war between Greece and Turkey. Clashes between the two countries in November had almost produced war, but mediation efforts led by special U.S. envoy Cyrus Vance, the United Nations, and North Atlantic Treaty Organization succeeded in preventing war and bringing the principals to the negotiating table.

Politics and government
An unheralded visit to Prague by U.S.S.R. Communist Party First Secretary Leonid Brezhnev reportedly saved Czech President and Communist Party leader Antonin Novotny from being ousted by Slovak dissidents in the Presidium. Mr. Novotny was reportedly accused of inept economic and party leadership and anti-Slovakian policies.

Protest
Three days of attempts to shut down the U.S. Army induction centre at 39 Whitehall Street in New York City resulted in 585 arrests; those arrested included pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock and poet Allen Ginsberg. The demonstration was part of a national Stop-the-Draft-Week program initiated by 40 anti-Vietnam War groups. Protesters were also arrested in Madison, Wisconsin; Manchester, New Hampshire; New Haven, Connecticut; and Cincinnati.

Agriculture
The 48th annual meeting of the American Farm Bureau concluded in Las Vegas with the members endorsing statements calling for the elimination of federal controls on wheat and livestock feed grains. The statements were also critical of U.S. President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society anti-poverty program, housewives' food store boycotts, and church leaders' activities in civil rights and politics.

Disasters
A Faucett Airlines plane crashed near Midday, Peru, killing 67 people.

40 years ago
1977

On television tonight
Class of '65, starring Tony Bill, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Everybody's Girl

This was the first episode of a fictional series based on the non-fiction book What Really Happened to the Class of '65? by David Wallechinsky and Michael S. Medved (1976).

Politics and government
The minority Socialist Portuguese government of Prime Minister Mario Soares fell on a vote of non-confidence when Mr. Soares couldn't persuade opposition parties to support a new policy of economic austerity.

Economics and finance
The U.S. government reported that the wholesale price index in November had risen 0.7% from October, an increase that was less than expected. Farm prices rose 3% in November, while the consumer price index increased 0.5%.

30 years ago
1987

Diplomacy
U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, meeting in Washington, signed the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, calling for the elimination of an entire class of weapons.

World events
An Israeli army tank transporter killed four Palestinian refugees and injured seven others during a traffic accident at the Erez Crossing on the Israel–Gaza Strip border. The incident has been cited as one of the events which sparked the First Intifada.

Hockey
NHL
Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers became the first National Hockey League goalie to actually score a goal by shooting the puck into the opposing team's net when he scored an empty net goal in a victory over the Boston Bruins at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.

20 years ago
1997

Hit parade
Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Tubthumping--Chumbawumba (5th week at #1)
2 Show Me Love--Robyn
3 As Long as You Love Me--Backstreet Boys
4 Fly--Sugar Ray
5 Sweet Surrender--Sarah McLachlan
6 Walkin' on the Sun--Smash Mouth
7 The Sound Of--Jann Arden
8 I've Just Seen a Face--Holly Cole
9 Surrounded--Chantal Kreviazuk
10 3 AM--Matchbox 20

Singles entering the chart were Transfiguration by Copyright (#84); Your Love by Jim Brickman with Michelle Wright (#86); Elmo by Holly McNarland (#88); Carry by Sandbox (#91); Feels So Good by Maase (#95); and Don't Wreck It by Age of Electric (#97).