January 19, 2018

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Inese!

230 years ago
1788

Australiana
The second group of ships of the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay.

175 years ago
1843

Academia
Mount Allison Wesleyan Academy--now Mount Allison University--opened in Sackville, New Brunswick as a boys' school; it was named to honour Sackville merchant Charles Allison, who promoted the project and donated land and money.

130 years ago
1888

Politics and government
Thomas Greenway was sworn in as Premier of Manitoba, succeeding David Harrison. Mr. Greenway, a Liberal, had been asked by Lieutenant Governor James Cox Aikins to form a government after Mr. Harrison, the Conservative Party leader, had been unable to secure a majority in the Legislative Assembly.

125 years ago
1893

Theatre
The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen received its premiere performance at the Lessing Theatre in Berlin.

75 years ago
1943

War
After three days of attacks, British and Greek destroyers sank 13 Axis ships in the central Mediterranean Sea. U.S.S.R. forces captured Urazova and Valuiki, 80 miles east of Karkov, in their offensive below Voronezh. U.K. forces moved to within 40 miles of Tripoli, while Royal Air Force and U.S. planes bombed retreating German Afrika Korps forces.

Politics and government
General H.H. Giraud appointed Marcel Peyrouton as Governor General of Algeria.

The Democratic Party caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives refused to confirm Rep. Vito Marcantonio (American Labor Party--New York) for membership on the Judiciary Committee. The U.S. administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced the appointment of Robert Johnson as director of the Smaller War Plants Corporation and as vice chairman of the War Production Board.

Labour
U.S. President Roosevelt ordered striking anthracite coal miners to return to work in 48 hours or, he said, the federal government would take the necessary measures for the safety of the nation.

70 years ago
1948

Defense
The U.S. National Council Against Conscription heard physicist Albert Einstein and 20 other prominent figures denounce plans for universal military training.

Politics and government
Japan's Socialist Party re-elected Prime Minister Tetsu Katayama as its chairman, but voted for greater emphasis on socialist programs in the government.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed and sent to President Harry Truman a Senate-approved measure giving legal authority to a permanent State Department international information and cultural program.

Law
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Fred Oyama, a U.S. citizen of Japanese descent, owned land in California purchased by his Japanese father, despite the state's Alien Land Law.

Academia
Oklahoma's Board of Regents established a Negro School of Law, with three teachers, in Oklahoma City to comply with the recent U.S. Supreme Court order demanding equal education for Negro students. The plaintiff in the case, Mrs. Ada Fisher, said she would not attend the school.

Economics and finance
A Franco-Italian commission meeting in Paris recommended that the two countries form a customs union.

Disasters
The Chilean steamship Cautín sank in the Imperial River, drowning 150 passengers.

Football
NFL
The Chicago Bears signed Notre Dame quarterback Johnny Lujack, winner of the 1947 Heisman Trophy as the outstanding college player in the United States. The Bears also signed Mr. Lujack's Notre Dame teammate, tackle George Connor.

60 years ago
1958

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Sylvia, starring Ann Todd, John McIntire, and Philip Reed

Exploration
Vivian Fuchs, leader of the 12-man British Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition travelling by snow tractor and sled from Ellsworth Station, Antarctica, reached the South Pole. His team met Sir Edmund Hillary, whose New Zealand team had reached the pole 17 days earlier.

Diplomacy
Japan released 69 Koreans under the terms of an accord with South Korea for mutual repatriation.

Politics and government
General Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes, head of Guatemala's National Democratic Reconciliation Party (PRDN), won a plurality in the presidential election, but failed to achieve the 51% majority necessary for election. In congressional elections, the PRDN won 40 of 66 seats.

Turkish Defense Minister Shemi Ergin resigned, and was replaced by Public Works Minister Ethem Menderes.

50 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Hello Goodbye--The Beatles

Edmonton's top 10 (CJCA)
1 Bottle of Wine--The Fireballs
2 Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)--John Fred and his Playboy Band
3 Dear Eloise--The Hollies
4 Jezebel--The Witness Inc.
5 Hello Goodbye--The Beatles
6 Daydream Believer--The Monkees
7 Next Plane to London--The Rose Garden
8 Different Drum--Stone Poneys
9 Monterey--Eric Burdon & the Animals
10 Woman, Woman--The Union Gap
Pick hit of the Week: New Orleans--Neil Diamond
New this week: Sunday Mornin'--Spanky and Our Gang
Quicksand--The Youngbloods
My What a Shame--Dino, Desi and Billy
You--Marvin Gaye
And Get Away--The Esquires

Died on this date
Ray Harroun, 89. U.S. auto racing driver. Mr. Harroun participated in 60 American Automobile Association Contest Board races from 1905-1911, winning 19. He won the 200-mile Wheeler-Schebler Trophy Race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1910, but was best known for winning the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911, with an average speed of 74.6 miles per hour. It took him about 6 hours and 42 minutes to complete the race, driving a Marmon of his own design. In those days, race cars carried a mechanic seated behind the driver, but Mr. Harroun's Marmon replaced the mechanic with a rear-view mirror. Mr. Harroun had retired after winning the AAA championship in 1910, but came out of retirement for this race. He died a week after his 89th birthday.

Diplomacy
Colombia and the U.S.S.R. resumed diplomatic relations; Colombia had broken relations in 1948.

Politics and government
U.S. President Lyndon Johnson nominated veteran Democratic Party adviser Clark Clifford to succeed the departing Robert McNamara as Defense Secretary. Mr. McNamara had announced his resignation on November 29, 1967.

40 years ago
1978

On television tonight
James at 15, starring Lance Kerwin, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Actions Speak Louder

Class of '65, starring Tony Bill, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Girl Who Always Said No

Politics and government
U.S. President Jimmy Carter delivered his first State of the Union address, in which he called for a $25 billion tax cut, Senate ratification of the Panama Canal treaties, creation of a federal department of education, and a strong energy bill.



Law
U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell announced the nomination of U.S. appellate judge William Webster as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Judge Webster, a Republican, had sat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit since 1971. Mr. Bell announced that the FBI director would be directly responsible to him and not to the President.

Journalism
Hal Walker, retiring after 12 years as sports editor of The Calgary Herald, published his last column. He came to Calgary in 1966 after many years in Toronto. He was particularly known for his coverage of the Canadian Football League.

Baseball
Eddie Mathews, who hit 512 home runs in a 17-year major league career, was the only player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 1978 vote of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Mr. Mathews was the only man to play for the Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta Braves. The third baseman played in the World Series of 1957 and 1958 (the Braves won in 1957), and finished his career as a backup with the Detroit Tigers' World Series championship team of 1968. Mr. Mathews' best season was probably 1953, the Braves' first season in Milwaukee. He led the National League in home runs with 47, with 135 runs batted in (second in the NL), 110 runs scored, and 99 bases on balls (fourth in the league). He batted .302 that year, and his slugging percentage of .627 was second best in the NL. Mr. Mathews also led the National League in home runs in 1959 with 46.

30 years ago
1988

Literature
Christopher Nolan of Dublin, who typed with the aid of a stick strapped to his head because of cerebral palsy, won the Whitbread Book of the Year award for his autobiography Under the Clock.

25 years ago
1993

Diplomacy
Czech Republic and Slovakia joined the United Nations.

20 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Carl Perkins, 65. U.S. musician. Mr. Perkins was one of the pioneers of rock and roll in the mid-1950s, part of the stable of artists assembled by Sam Phillips for his Sun label in Memphis, Tennessee. His biggest hit was Blue Suede Shoes, which hit #2 in the U.S. in the spring of 1956, spending 17 weeks in the top 40. The song was quickly covered by Elvis Presley, who took it to #20. Mr. Perkins' career was interrupted shortly after when he was seriously injured in a car accident. Several of his songs were performed by the Beatles, usually with Ringo (Honey Don't; Matchbox) or George (Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby) on lead vocal. In 1986 the surviving Sun records alumni--Mr. Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Roy Orbison--came together to record the album Class of '55. Although Mr. Perkins' song Birth of Rock and Roll didn't achieve chart success as a single, the album was highly regarded. In addition to his status as an elder statesman of rock and roll, Mr. Perkins became known in later years for his ridiculously obvious toupee.

10 years ago
2008

Died on this date
Don Wittman, 71. Canadian sportscaster. Mr. Wittman, a native of Herbert, Saskatchewan, worked for many years with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Winnipeg. Beginning in 1961, he called play-by-play for CBC telecasts of Canadian Football League games in the West, and added Hockey Night in Canada play-by-play to his resume when the Winnipeg Jets joined the National Hockey League in 1979. Mr. Wittman was CBC's lead announcer for curling from 1961-1968 and 1983-2006, and covered international sports events, including the Olympic Games. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in the media category in 1990, and the Canadian curling Hall of Fame in 2003. Mr. Wittman died of cancer.

Suzanne Pleshette, 70. U.S. actress. Miss Pleshette appeared in movies such as The Birds (1963), but as best known for playing Emily Hartley, the wife of Bob Newhart's character in the television comedy series The Bob Newhart Show (1972-1978), for which she was nominated twice for Emmy Awards. Miss Pleshette was a longtime smoker, and died 12 days before her 71st birthday after battles with lung cancer and pneumonia.

John Stewart, 68. U.S. musician. Mr. Stewart was a singer-songwriter who was a member of the Kingston Trio from 1961-1967 before embarking on a solo career. He wrote the song Daydream Believer, which was a major hit for the Monkees in 1967. Mr. Stewart achieved critical success as a solo artist, but commercial success eluded him until 1979, when the album Bombs Away Dream Babies, which included the top-5 single Gold, sold well. Mr. Stewart continued to perform until his death from a brain aneurysm, several months after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.