January 11, 2018

325 years ago
1693

Disasters
Parts of Sicily and Malta were destroyed by an earthquake as Mount Etna erupted.

175 years ago
1843

Died on this date
Francis Scott Key, 63. U.S, lawyer and poet. Mr. Key is best remembered for writing the words to The Star-Spangled Banner (1814).

125 years ago
1893

Died on this date
Benjamin Butler, 74. U.S. politician. Mr. Butler, a Democrat, then a Republican, then a member of the Greenback Party, represented the 5th, 6th, and 7th Massachusetts Districts in the U.S. House of Representatives in sequence from 1867-1879, and was Governor of Massachusetts from 1883-1884. He was a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and was one of the managers of the impeachment of U.S. President Andrew Johnson in 1868. Mr. Butler died of complications from a bronchial infection, the day after arguing a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

110 years ago
1908

Hockey
ECAHA
Montreal Wanderers 2 @ Ottawa 12

7,100 fans attended the first game ever played at Ottawa Arena as the Ottawa Hockey Club routed the Wanderers.

90 years ago
1928

Died on this date
Thomas Hardy, 87. U.K. poet and author. Mr. Hardy was known for novels critical of Victorian society in England, such as Far from the Madding Crowd (1874); Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891); and Jude the Obscure (1895) (panned by critics as "Jude the Obscene").

Aviation
French aviators Dieudonne Costes and Joseph Lebrix continued their transatlantic flight by going from Lima, Peru to Guayaquil, Ecuador.

75 years ago
1943

Died on this date
Agustin P. Justo, 66. President of Argentina, 1932-1938. Major General Justo was elected in 1931 as the Concordancia's presidential candidate amidst allegations of electoral fraud; his presidency filled part of the period known as the Infamous Decade (1930-1943).

Carlo Tresca, 63. U.S. journalist and labour organizer. Mr. Tresca, a member of Industrial Workers of the World in the 1910s, was an opponent of the Mafia. He was shot dead by a handgun fired from a passing car.

War
Soviet forces retook Georgievsk, Piatigorsk, Mineralnye, Vodi, and 12 other points in the central Caucasus.

Diplomacy
The U.S.A. and U.K. gave up extraterritorial and other special rights in China when the Sino-American New Equal Treaty and Sino-British New Equal Treaty, respectively, were signed in Chungking. The treaties were ratified nine days later.

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated Edward J. Flynn as U.S. minister to Australia.

Argentina asked that Germany recall Captain Dietrich Niebuhr, its attache to the German embassy in Buenos Aires.

Protest
Professor J.P. Bhansali, a follower of Indian Hindu nationalist leader Mohandas Gandhi, ended a 61-day fast in protest against the alleged raping by Indian troops of village women.

Law
U.S. President Roosevelt nominated Wiley Blount Rutledge, Jr. to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the resignation of James F. Byrnes.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that witnesses testifying under subpoena before federal grand juries investigating Sherman Antitrust Law violations were entitled to immunity from prosecution.

Politics and government
U.S. President Roosevelt nominated Senator Prentiss Brown (Democrat--Michigan) to succeed Leon Henderson as Price Administrator.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Roosevelt submitted to Congress a war budget of $108.903 billion for fiscal 1944.

70 years ago
1948

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring John Stanley and Alfred Shirley, on MBS
Tonight's episode:  The Sudden Senility

Medicine
American University in Beirut announced the development of a new cholera serum, considered the most effective to date.

Golf
Lloyd Mangrum won the Bing Crosby Open in Del Monte, California.

60 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Diana--Paul Anka (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Wo meine Sonne scheint--Caterina Valente (4th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Only You (And You Alone)--The Platters (9th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Ma He's Making Eyes at Me--Johnny Otis Show (2nd week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 At the Hop--Danny and the Juniors (2nd week at #1)
2 Raunchy--Bill Justis and his Orchestra
--Ernie Freeman
3 April Love--Pat Boone
4 Peggy Sue--Buddy Holly
5 Great Balls of Fire--Jerry Lee Lewis
6 You Send Me--Sam Cooke
7 Kisses Sweeter than Wine--Jimmie Rodgers
8 All the Way--Frank Sinatra
9 Jailhouse Rock--Elvis Presley
10 Why Don't They Understand--George Hamilton IV

Singles entering the chart were Jo-Ann by the Playmates (#40); Dede Dinah by Frankie Avalon (#45); Swingin' Daddy by Buddy Knox with the Rhythm Orchids (#49); and Walkin' with Mr. Lee by Lee Allen and his Band (#60).

Died on this date
Edna Purviance, 62. U.S. actress. Miss Purviance was the leading lady in 33 films directed by Charlie Chaplin from 1915-1923. She retired from acting in 1927, and died of throat cancer.

Russell Keeney, 60. U.S. politician. Mr. Keeney, a Republican, was a lawyer and judge before representing Illinois' 14th District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1957 until his death, 13 days after his 60th birthday.

Health
Soviet scientists reported that analysis of the pulse, blood pressure, and respiration of Laika, the dog that had gone into space aboard the satellite Sputnik 2 in November 1957, indicated that "no harm comes to a living organism" in the weightlessness of space.

Defense
In a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen, U.S.S.R. Premier Nikolai Bulganin suggested that previous Soviet proposals for a Central European nuclear-free zone could be widened to include all of Scandinavia and Italy.

Politics and government
The Southern Rhodesian government of Prime Minister Garfield Todd's United Rhodesia Party resigned. Mr. Todd lowered property and education qualifications for voting in an attempt to increase participation by the British colony's black population, but most whites opposed the proposals as too radical.

Protest
Five Venezuelan Roman Catholic priests accused of sympathizing with the recent revolt against the government of President General Marcos Pérez Jiménez were released, following a meeting between Archbishop Rafael Arias Blanco and President Pérez Jiménez.

Sport
An Associated Press poll of sportswriters and sportscasters named Boston Red Sox left fielder Ted Williams as the outstanding male athlete in the United States for 1957, and tennis player Althea Gibson as the outstanding female athlete. Mr. Williams, who turned 39 before the end of the season, led the American League in batting average (.388) and slugging average (.731), with 38 home runs and 87 runs batted in in 132 games. Miss Gibson won the women's singles title at Wimbledon, becoming the first Negro player to accomplish the feat.

50 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Love You Tokyo--Los Primos (9th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Daydream Believer--The Monkees

On television tonight
Dragnet 1968, starring Jack Webb and Harry Morgan, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Big Prophet



Space
The U.S.A. launched Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite (GEOS)-2 (also known as Explorer 36), second in a series of satellites aimed at more accurately measuring the earth's size, shape, and gravitational field, using, among other instruments, laser beams bounced off it from the ground.

Diplomacy
U.K. Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Goronwy Roberts concluded a three-day visit to the Trucial States and announced to its shocked rulers that the United Kingdom would abrogate its treaties with them and intended to withdraw from the area.

40 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Mull of Kintyre--Wings (7th week at #1)

Died on this date
Mike Rodden, 86. Canadian football player, coach, and referee; hockey coach and referee; and journalist. Mr. Rodden played football at the University of Ottawa and Queen's University. Upon graduation he played for the Ontario Rugby Football Union's Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club Paddlers in 1915, then with the Toronto Argonauts of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union in 1919-1920. Mr. Rodden was also the Argonauts' coach in 1920, leading them to the IRFU title before losing to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues in the Grey Cup. Mr. Rodden shared the coaching duties (with Andy Buett) with Toronto Balmy Beach in that team's inaugural season in 1924. Balmy Beach won the ORFU title before losing to Queen's in the Grey Cup. Mr. Rodden took over as coach of the IRFU's Hamilton Tigers in 1927. Once again, he got his team into the Grey Cup, only to lose again--this time, to his old team, Balmy Beach. Mr. Rodden finally came out on the winning end of the Grey Cup, winning titles with the Tigers in 1928 and 1929. He stepped down as coach of the Tigers after the 1930 season. Mr. Rodden coached several college hockey teams in the early 1920s, and coached the NHL's Toronto St. Patrick's for two games early in 1927, shortly before Conn Smythe purchased the team and changed the team's name to Maple Leafs. While he was coaching, Mr. Rodden was working as a referee in the Ontario Hockey Association before moving up to the National Hockey League, where he refereed 1,187 games. Mr. Rodden was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a referee in 1962, and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1964, becoming the first man to be elected to both bodies. Mr. Rodden joined the Toronto Globe as a sportswriter in 1918, and was the paper's sports editor from 1928-1936. He then served as sports editor of the Kingston Whig-Standard from 1936-1958, and remained with that paper as a sports columnist until just a few weeks before his death.

Michael Bates, 57. Indian-born U.K. actor. Mr. Bates, an Anglo-Indian, appeared on stage, screen, and television. His movies included Patton (1970) and A Clockwork Orange (1971). Mr. Bates was best known for his co-starring roles in the television comedy series Last of the Summer Wine (1973-1975) and It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974-1977).

Economics and finance
The U.S. Labor Department reported that the national unemployment in December was a 1977 low of 6.4%, down from 6.7% in November. Employment for the year climbed a record 4.1 million.

Hockey
NHL
St. Louis 4 @ Vancouver 6
Toronto 4 @ Minnesota 3

The North Stars took a 3-0 lead over the Maple Leafs less than 10 minutes into the game before 6,942 fans at Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington, but Toronto struck back with a goal in the 2nd period and 3 in the 3rd. Tiger Williams scored the winning goal with 1:53 remaining in th game when his 40-foot slapshot eluded Minnesota goalie Pete LoPresti. Doug Hicks, Pierre Jarry, and Brad Maxwell scored for the North Stars. Lanny McDonald got the Maple Leafs on the scoreboard in the 2nd period, and Jerry Butler and Bruce Boudreau scored in the 3rd to tie the game. The game's most notable play took place in the 2nd period, when, with the score 3-0, Minnesota's Steve Jensen was tripped by Jack Valiquette while on a breakaway and was awarded a penalty shot. In one of the most hilarious misplays in NHL history, Mr. Jensen got the puck caught up in his skates just after he crossed the blue line, accidentally kicked it too far away to get a shot, tripped over Toronto goalie Mike Palmateer, and went crashing into the boards. Dick Irvin selected it as Hockey Night in Canada's play of the week.

30 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Never Gonna Give You Up--Rick Astley (7th week at #1)

Died on this date
Isidor Isaac Rabi, 89. Austro-Hungarian-born U.S. physicist. Dr. Rabi moved with his family to New York as an infant. He was awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his resonance method for recording the magnetic properties of atomic nuclei, " and was one of the one of the first scientists in the United States to work on the cavity magnetron, which is used in microwave radar and microwave ovens. Dr. Rabi served on the General Advisory Committee to the Atomic Energy Commission, and was President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Science Advisor. Dr. Rabi was one of 15 American scientists honoured by Time magazine as Men of the Year in 1960.

Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, 75. U.S. military aviator. Mr. Boyington was a fighter ace with the United States Marine Corps during World War II and commanded the "Black Sheep Squadron." He won the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross.

Personal
This blogger began his third and final term at the University of Western Ontario's School of Library and Information Science.

25 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): More and More--Captain Hollywood Project (4th week at #1)

Scandal
British Airways apologized for a "dirty tricks" campaign against competitor Virgin Atlantic and agreed to pay damages to Virgin Atlantic and Virgin boss Richard Branson.

Business
Montreal-based Henry Birks and Sons jewellery chain filed for bankruptcy protection; it closed 34 of its 112 stores, then sold another 39 stores to an Italian jewellery group.

20 years ago
1998

Abominations
Islamic extremists were blamed for the massacres of 100 people in two villages in Algeria.

Football
NFL
AFC Championship
Denver 24 @ Pittsburgh 21



NFC Championship
Green Bay 23 @ San Francisco 10

10 years ago
2008

Died on this date
Edmund Hillary, 88. N.Z. mountaineer and diplomat. Sir Edmund was a member of the ninth British expedition to Mount Everest when he and Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the peak of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. Sir Edmund climbed 10 other Himalayan peaks, and reached both the North and South Poles, becoming the first person to accomplish what was later known as the Three Poles Challenge. He devoted his later years to the Sherpa people, and was New Zealand's High Commissioner to India and Bangladesh, and Ambassador to Nepal, from 1985-1988.