January 21, 2018

680 years ago
1338

Born on this date
Charles V. King of France, 1364-1380. Charles V, nicknamed "Charles the Wise," acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Jean II. He reigned during the Hundred Years' War, and his armies recovered much of the territory lost to English forces by his predecessors. King Charles V died on September 16, 1380 at the age of 42, and was succeeded by his son Charles VI.

380 years ago
1638

Died on this date
Ignazio Donati, 67 or 68. Italian composer. Mr. Donati was a pioneer in composing concertato motets.

375 years ago
1643

Exploration
Abel Tasman became the first European to reach Tonga.

280 years ago
1738

Born on this date
Ethan Allen. U.S. militia officer and politician. Mr. Allen, a native of Litchfield, Connecticut, served as Colonial Commandant of the militia organization known as the Green Mountain Boys in the 1760s and '70s. He and Benedict Arnold led the attack that captured Fort Ticonderoga, New York in the Revolutionary War in 1775. After being captured by British forces and imprisoned until 1778, Mr. Allen served as a judge in the Vermont Republic. He died of a a fit of apoplexy on February 12, 1789 at the age of 51.

225 years ago
1793

Died on this date
Louis XVI, 38. King of France and Navarre, 1774-1791; King of the French, 1791-1792. Five months after being arrested and four months after the abolition of the monarchy, Louis was beheaded by guillotine, having been convicted of treason by the National Convention six days earlier.

125 years ago
1893

Africana
The Tati Concessions Land, formerly part of Matabeleland, was formally annexed to the Bechuanaland Protectorate (now known as Botswana).

110 years ago
1908

Society
The New York City Board of Aldermen passed the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by Mayor George B. McClellan Jr. two weeks later.

100 years ago
1918

Born on this date
Chicháy. Filipina actress. Chicháy Garcia, born Ampario Robles Custodio, was a popular comic actress in Philippine films and television programs in a career that spanned four decades. She died on March 31, 1993 at the age of 75.

90 years ago
1928

Aviation
French aviators Dieudonne Costes and Joseph Lebrix continued their transatlantic flight by going from Caracas, Venezuela to Branquilla, Colombia.

80 years ago
1938

Died on this date
Georges Méliès, 76. French film producer and director. One of the pioneers of motion pictures, Mr. Méliès produced and directed such films as A Trip to the Moon (1902) and An Impossible Voyage (1904).

Boxing
Former world heavyweight champion Jim Braddock (51-26-7-3), in his first fight since losing the title to Joe Louis seven months earlier, ended his professional career by winning a 10-round split decision over British heavyweight champion Tommy Farr (68-27-17-2) at Madison Square Garden in New York (see video). It was Mr. Farr's fight since losing a 15-round decision to Mr. Louis in a challenge for the world title five months earlier.

75 years ago
1943

War
Rear Admiral Jonas Ingram, U.S. Naval Commander for the South Atlantic, announced that American and Brazilian units had sunk five Axis submarines during the past month. Major General Alexander Patch assumed command of U.S. forces stationed on Guadalcanal, relieving Major General Alexander Vandergrift.

Defense
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Yorktown was launched at Newport News, Virginia.

Abominations
U.S. Senator Guy Gillette (Democrat--Iowa) introduced a joint resolution calling for a constitutional amendment providing equal rights for women.

Economics and finance
U.S. Price Administrator Prentiss Brown announced that consumption of canned and processed foods would be cut more than 50% under point rationing beginning March 1, 1943.

70 years ago
1948

On the radio
Escape, on CBS (East Coast)
Tonight's episode: Papa Benjamin

This was an adaptation of the short story Dark Melody of Madness (1935) by Cornell Woolrich, writing as William Irish.

Canadiana
The Quebec Legislative Assembly passed a bill making the fleur-de-lys the official flag of Québec, the first provincial flag officially adopted in Canada.; The lily flower is a royal emblem of Old France.

Americana
The U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce honoured their choices of 10 outstanding young men of 1947, who included nuclear chemist Glenn Seaborg and Representative Richard Nixon (Republican--California).

Literature
The U.S. State Department released the book Nazi-Soviet Relations 1939-1941, containing captured German Foreign Office records concerning the German-Soviet alliance of 1939 and other dealings between the countries before the German invasion of Russia in June 1941.

Defense
The British Admiralty announced the scrapping of five outmoded capital ships: the battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth; HMS Valiant; HMS Nelson; and HMS Rodney, and the battle cruiser HMS Renown.

Diplomacy
The United Kingdom refused to comply with a United Nations General Assembly request that a port and inland area in Palestine be opened to increased Jewish immigration by February 1, 1948.

Economics and finance
Former U.S. President Herbert Hoover, in a letter to U.S. Senator Arthur Vandnberg (Republican--Michigan) of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, attacked the European Recovery Program, urging a one-third reduction in proposed European aid expenditures to avoid endangering the American economy.

60 years ago
1958

Died on this date
Velda Bartlett; Marion Bartlett; Betty Jean Fugate, 2. U.S. crime victims. The three residents of Lincoln, Nebraska were the first victims of the late January spree of Charlie Starkweather. When Mr. Starkweather, 19, went to the home of his 14-year-old girlfriend Caril Fugate and found she wasn’t home, he argued with, and shot to death, Caril’s mother and stepfather, Velda and Marion Bartlett, and clubbed Caril’s 2-year-old sister Betty Jean to death. Charlie hid the bodies behind the house before Caril came home from school. Charlie and Caril stayed in the house for six more days, keeping visitors away with a note taped to the front door warning that everyone inside was sick with the flu.

War
The Israeli Supreme Court exonerated Rudolf Kastner, head of the Jewish Relief Committee in Budapest during World War II, of charges that he had collaborated with the Nazis to send Hungarian Jews to German concentration camps. Mr. Kastner had been murdered in Tel Aviv in March 1957.

Defense
The Defense Ministers of Italy, France and West Germany agreed in Bonn to pool their nations' "developments and production in the weapons fields with the aim of standardization" of North Atlantic Treaty Organization arms.

Protest
Mobs in Caracas went on a rampage, overturning and burning buses and streetcars as a general strike began against the government of President General Marcos Pérez Jiménez.

Politics and government
Pennsylvania State Senator John Dent (Democrat) was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 21st District to fill the remainder of the term of Augustine Kelley (Democrat), who had died on November 20, 1957.

Economics and finance
Members of the Baghdad Pact Economic Committee ended a five-day meeting in Ankara with an appeal for more U.S. and U.K. aid.

Colonel Endang Dachiar, Jakarta area war administrator, banned bank withdrawals by Dutch citizens without prior approval by Indonesian military authorities.

The U.S. Federal Reserve Board announced a reduction in the discount rate from 3% to 2.75%.

Labour
Argentine bank workers staged a nationwide strike, disrupting commerce and closing the Buenos Aires stock market.

50 years ago
1968

Died on this date
Miller Gore Brittain, 55. Canadian artist. Mr. Brittain, a native of Saint John, New Brunswick, was a war artist during World War II, and was praised for his deeply imaginative and distinctive style.

Music
The soundtrack album from the movie The Graduate (1967) was released on Columbia Records. The album included songs performed by Simon & Garfunkel and music by Dave Grusin.

War
The Battle of Khe Sanh began in Vietnam when the Vietnamese People's Army attacked Khe Sanh Combat Base, a U.S. Marine Corps outpost in Quảng Trị Province.

Americana
U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey dedicated the reopening of the restored Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.

Environment
A United States Air Force B-52 bomber crashed near Thule Air Base, Greenland, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remained unaccounted for after the cleanup operation was complete. Six of the seven crew members survived, but co-pilot Leonard Svitenko was killed when he suffered fatal injuries while trying to bail out through one of the lower hatches.

Disasters
A Thai Airways International jet collided in mid-air with a Thai army plane near Bangkok; six aboard the army plane were killed.

Figure skating
The U.S. Championships concluded in Philadelphia. Tim Wood won the senior men's title, while Peggy Fleming was the senior women's champion.

Golf
Kermit Zarley won the Kaiser International Open in Napa, California with a score of 273; first prize money was $25,000.

Football
NFL
Pro Bowl @ Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
West 30 East 20

AFL
All-Star Game @ Gator Bowl, Jacksonville
East 25 West 24

New York Jets' quarterback Joe Namath and receiver Don Maynard were named the game's most valuable offensive players as they helped the East edge the West before 40,103 fans. Defensive back Speedy Duncan of the San Diego Chargers was named the most valuable defensive player.

40 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Solo Tu--Matia Bazar (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Belfast--Boney M. (10th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland: Mull of Kintyre--Wings (7th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Mull of Kintyre/Girls' School--Wings (8th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Baby Come Back--Player (2nd week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Mull of Kintyre--Wings (4th week at #1)
2 If I Had Words--Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley with the St. Thomas More School Choir
3 Egyptian Reggae--Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers
4 Isn't it Time--The Babys
5 Singin' in the Rain--Sheila B. Devotion
6 It's a Heartache--Bonnie Tyler
7 The Floral Dance--The Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band
8 Tingelingeling--Andre Van Duin Presenteert Ome Joop en Het Dik Voormekaar Koor
9 The Clown--BZN
10 Only a Fool--The Mighty Sparrow with Byron Lee and the Dragonaires

Singles entering the chart were Smurfenbier by Vader Abraham (#13); Is Je Moeder Niet Thuis by Nico Haak (#20); Jodela Hiti, Jodela Hita by Corrie van Gorp (#22); Koochie-Koo by Baccara (#31); and Put Your Love in Me by Hot Chocolate (#34).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Baby Come Back--Player (2nd week at #1)
2 Short People--Randy Newman
3 We are the Champions--Queen
4 You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)--Rod Stewart
5 How Deep is Your Love--Bee Gees
6 Slip Slidin' Away--Paul Simon
7 Here You Come Again--Dolly Parton
8 Just the Way You Are--Billy Joel
9 Come Sail Away--Styx
10 Desiree--Neil Diamond

Singles entering the chart were The Way You Do the Things You Do by Rita Coolidge (#73); (What A) Wonderful World by Art Garfunkel with James Taylor & Paul Simon (#80); Lady Love by Lou Rawls (#87); Everybody Loves a Rain Song by B.J. Thomas (#89); So Long by Firefall (#90); You Really Got Me by Van Halen (#97); Before My Heart Finds Out by Gene Cotton (#98); Storybook Children (Daybreak) by Bette Midler (#99); and What a Difference You've Made in My Life by Ronnie Milsap (#100).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 How Deep is Your Love--Bee Gees (5th week at #1)
2 (Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again--L.T.D.
3 Sentimental Lady--Bob Welch
4 Slip Slidin' Away--Paul Simon
5 Sometimes When We Touch--Dan Hill
6 Blue Bayou--Linda Ronstadt
7 You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)--Rod Stewart
8 Here You Come Again--Dolly Parton
9 Come Sail Away--Styx
10 Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue--Crystal Gayle

Singles entering the chart were Take Me to the Kaptin by Prism (#81); 25th of Last December by Roberta Flack (#84); La Vie en Rose by Grace Jones (#88); Jack and Jill by Raydio (#92); Galaxy by War (#94); Ain't Gonna Hurt Nobody by Brick (#96); Mind Bender by Stillwater (#97); Breakdown by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (#98); Come Go with Me by the Pockets (#99); and Second Avenue by Tim Moore (#100).

Hockey
NHL
Vancouver 1 @ Montreal 8

CHL
Fort Worth 1 @ Kansas City 0
Tulsa 3 @ Salt Lake City 1

30 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Never Can Say Goodbye--The Communards (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Always on My Mind--Pet Shop Boys (3rd week at #1)

25 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Nahkatakkinen tyttö--Dingo

Died on this date
Charlie Gehringer, 89. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Gehringer played 19 seasons (1924-1942) as a second baseman with the Detroit Tigers, batting .320 with 2,839 hits, 184 home runs, and 1,427 runs batted in in 2,323 games, and having 200 hits in 7 different seasons. He led the American League in 1937 with a .371 batting percentage and was named the AL's Most Valuable Player that year. Mr. Gehringer batted .321 in 3 World Series (1934, 1935, 1940), including a .375 mark in the Tigers' win over the Chicago Cubs in 6 games in 1935. Mr. Gehringer was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949 and served as the Tigers' general manager from 1951-1953.

20 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Jack Lord, 77. U.S. actor. Mr. Lord, born John Ryan, starred in the ABC television western series Stoney Burke in 1962-1963, and then hit it big as the star of the CBS police drama Hawaii Five-O from 1968-1980. As Steve McGarrett, he was known for the line "Book him, Dan-O!" Among his movies were Man of the West and Dr. No. Mr. Lord was a talented artist who sold paintings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the British Museum of Modern Art by the time he was 20.

Religion
Pope John Paul II arrived in Havana to begin his first visit to Cuba.