January 26, 2018

230 years ago
1788

Australiana
Captain Arthur Philip guided 11 ships of the British First Fleet loaded with convicts into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) in New South Wales, effectively founding Australia. The date is annually celebrated as Australia Day.

210 years ago
1808

World events
The New South Wales Corps under the command of Major George Johnston, working closely with civilian settler leader John Macarthur, deposed New South Wales Governor William Bligh in what became known as the Rum Rebellion, the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of a government in Australian history.

180 years ago
1838

Society
The first prohibition law in the United States was passed in Tennessee, making it a misdemeanour to sell liquor in taverns and stores.

125 years ago
1893

Died on this date
Abner Doubleday, 73. U.S. military officer. Mr. Doubleday was a general in the Union army in the U.S. Civil War who fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter, South Carolina in 1861, and had a major role in the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. He was erroneously credited with having created the game of baseball in Cooperstown, New York in 1839.

110 years ago
1908

Born on this date
Percy Beard. U.S. hurdler and coach. Mr. Beard set a world record time of 1.2 seconds in the 120-metre hurdles in 1931, and tied the record in 1934. He won a silver medal in the men's 110-metre hurdles at the 1932 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Mr. Beard was track and field coach of the University of Florida Gators from 1937-1964, and used his civil engineering background to design all-weather tracks. He was inducted into the U.S. National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1981, and died on March 27, 1990 at the age of 82.

100 years ago
1918

Born on this date
Nicolae Ceaușescu. 1st President of Romania, 1974-1989. Mr. Ceaușescu General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party in 1965, President of the State Council in 1967, and President of the Republic in 1974. He was one of the most ruthless and oppressive Communist dictators in eastern Europe, and when the Romanian Revolution occurred in December 1989, he and his wife Elena were arrested, convicted of economic sabotage and genocide, and executed by firing squad. Mr. Ceaușescu was 71 at the time of his death.

Philip José Farmer. U.S. author. Mr. Farmer was a science fiction writer who wrote almost 60 novels and over 100 short stories and novellas. He frequently worked sexual and religious themes into his work. Mr. Farmer died on February 25, 2009 at the age of 91.

War
A group of Red Guards hung a red lantern atop the tower of Helsinki Workers' Hall to symbolically mark the start of the Finnish Civil War.

90 years ago
1928

Died on this date
Guido Nardini, 46. Italian military aviator. Maresciallo Nardini was an air ace during World War I, recording six combat victories from 1916-1918. He continued to serve in the armed forces after the war, and was killed when he bailed out of an aircraft in trouble over the Ciampino airfield, and his parachute malfunctioned.

Aviation
French aviators Dieudonne Costes and Joseph Lebrix flew from Colon, Panama to Guatemala City, Guatemala, the latest stop on their transatlantic flight.

80 years ago
1938

Journalism
The last issue of the Saskatchewan Herald, the province's first newspaper, was published.

75 years ago
1943

Died on this date
Harry H. Laughlin, 62. U.S. eugenicist. Mr. Laughlin was director of the Eugenics Record Office from 1910-1939, and was a key figure in influencing the passage of legislation requiring compulsory sterilization of people deemed "unfit" to have children. The Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring passed by Germany's Nazi regime shortly after assuming power in 1933 was based on the model devised by Mr. Laughlin. Ironically, Mr. Laughlin would have qualified for sterilization according to his own standards--he was an epileptic.

War
Russian troops drove German forces out of Voronezh, 10 miles east of the Don River. Soviet sources claimed that 40,000 Germans had been killed and 28,000 captured since January 10 in fighting around Stalingrad. French troops captured Fort Saint, Tunisia and marched across the border and occupied Gadames, Libya. U.S. Senator Happy Chandler (Democrat--Kentucky) reported that service plans called for 10,420,000 men and women in the armed services by the end of 1943.

Labour
15,000 members of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union walked off their jobs in New York after wage negotiations broke down.

Baseball
The New York Yankees sold pitcher Lefty Gomez to the Boston Braves. He had compiled a record of 189-101 with the Yankees from 1930-1942; in 1942 he was 6-4 with an earned run average of 4.28 in 13 games.

70 years ago
1948

War
Communist Chinese forces, renewing their Manchurian offensive, took the rail junction of Sinlitun west of Mukden. The attacks left Communists in control of 95% o Manchuria's food-producing land and 85% of its population.

Defense
U.S. President Harry Truman nominated General Omar Bradley to succeed Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower as Army chief of staff following Gen. Eisenhower's retirement.

Politics and government
Alabama's Democratic Executive Committee adopted a resolution warning national party leaders not to support anti-segregation policies in the coming presidential campaign.

Society
Mrs. Ada Fisher returned her case to the U.S. Supreme Court after refusing to accept admission to an all-Negro law school established for her by the University of Oklahoma.

Economics and finance
16 European states participating in the Marshall Plan began a conference in Rome to coordinate use of their resources.

Poland and the U.S.S.R. signed a five-year trade agreement providing for exchange of goods worth $1 billion.

The U.S. State Department resumed negotiations in Washington on settlement of the U.S.S.R.'s Lend-Lease account.

Labour
International Ladies Garment Workers Union President David Dubinsky announced the expulsion of union officials who refused to sign affidavits required by the Taft-Hartley Act, swearing that they were not Communists.

Disasters
A hurricane struck Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, causing 300 deaths.

60 years ago
1958

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Motive, starring Skip Homeier, William Redfield, and Carl Betz

World events
U Seinda, Burmese Buddhist monk and anti-government leader since 1946, surrendered with 1,000 Arakan guerrillas in Mibya.

Politics and government
Israeli General Moshe Dayan resigned as Army chief of staff, reportedly at Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion's insistence, to take an active role in the dominant Mapai (Labor) Party.

Swiss voters rejected a constitutional amendment to outlaw cartels and monopolies.

Auto racing
Guy Monraisse and Jacques Feret of France, driving a Renault Dauphine, won the 1,900-mile Monte Carlo Rally from Oslo to Monte Carlo.

50 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Hello Goodbye--The Beatles (2nd week at #1)

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Bottle of Wine--The Fireballs
2 Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)--John Fred and his Playboy Band
3 Susan--The Buckinghams
4 I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite--Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart
5 Woman, Woman--The Union Gap
6 Itchycoo Park--Small Faces
7 Green Tambourine--The Lemon Pipers
8 Dear Eloise--The Hollies
9 Jezebel--The Witness Inc.
10 Bend Me, Shape Me--The American Breed
Pick of the Week: Sunday Mornin'--Spanky and Our Gang
New this week: Tomorrow--Strawberry Alarm Clock
Lollipop Train--Barry McGuire
1941--Tom Northcott
Get Out Now--Tommy James and the Shondells
Strawberry Shortcake--Jay and the Techniques

On television tonight
Off to See the Wizard, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Alexander the Great, starring William Shatner, Adam West, Joseph Cotten, and John Cassavetes

This episode was a pilot for a proposed series, filmed in 1963. The series was rejected by ABC, and the network kept the program in its vaults until broadcasting it as part of the family-oriented anthology series.



40 years ago
1978

On television tonight
James at 15, starring Lance Kerwin, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Star-Crossed Lovers



Class of '65, starring Tony Bill, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Class Clown

Television
It was announced that Frank Rigney, longtime colour analyst on CBC telecasts of Canadian Football League games, would be taking his telestrator with him to join the CTV broadcast crew for CFL games.

Died on this date
Leo Genn, 72. U.K. actor. Mr. Genn trained as a barrister, and practiced law when he wasn't acting, assisting the prosecution at the Nuremberg war crimes trials. His movie credits included The Velvet Touch; Mourning Becomes Electra; Quo Vadis (1951); Moby Dick; and 55 Days at Peking.

Scandal
South Korean rice dealer Tongsun Park reportedly gave U.S. Justice Department investigators in Seoul evidence that 15-18 current members of the United States Congress may have received cash gifts in violation of ethical standards. Acting Deputy Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti said that about $1 million had been given to American officials. Two days earlier, Mr. Park had told investigators that he had made financial contributions to at least five U.S. Senators, including the recently-deceased Hubert Humphrey (Democrat--Minnesota).

Disasters
A snowstorm swept the midwestern United States, with 15-inches of snow in Michigan and Indiana, killing more than 70 people and stranding thousands of motorists. In Ohio, about 150,000 homes were without heat or electricity when the storm knocked out power lines. In West Virginia, rivers overflowed their banks and forced at least 3,000 people to flee.

Hockey
NHL
Pittsburgh @ Detroit (postponed, snow)
Toronto 2 @ New York Islanders 4
Minnesota 2 @ Buffalo 1
Cleveland 0 @ Chicago 5
St. Louis 1 @ Los Angeles 5

A major snowstorm caused the postponement of the Red Wings' vs. the Penguins at Olympia Stadium. The storm also battered Chicago, and it was expected that the Black Hawks' home game that night against the Cleveland Barons would also be postponed. To the surprise of just about everybody, the game went ahead. Only 537 fans were on hand in the 17,000-seat Chicago Stadium to watch the Black Hawks win 5-0. Tony Esposito stopped 26 shots for the shutout, and the Black Hawks got goals from Ivan Boldirev, Stan Mikita, John Marks, Alain Daigle, and Phil Russell. Paul Harrison made 34 saves to outduel Buffalo goalie Don Edwards for his first NHL win as the North Stars upset the Sabres at War Memorial Auditorium. Glenn Goldup scored twice and Marcel Dionne scored his 250th career NHL goal as the Kings beat the Blues at the Forum in Inglewood, California.

Football
CFL
In Edmonton, Vic Rapp of the British Columbia Lions was awarded the Annis Stukus Trophy as the CFL's Coach of the Year for 1977. Mr. Rapp had coached the Lions to a 10-6 record and second place in the Western Football Conference, the Lions' best season since their Grey Cup championship year of 1964.

30 years ago
1988

Theatre
The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber opened at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway in New York. As of January 2018, the show is still running, and is Broadway's longest-running show.

Business
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce bought 65% of investment dealer Wood Gundy for $190 million, mostly in shares; the bank annunced that it would also provide $100 million in subordinated loans.

25 years ago
1993

Died on this date
Jan Gies, 87. Dutch resistance leader. Mr. Gies and his wife Miep helped hide Anne Frank and her family from Nazi persecution in Amsterdam during World War II.

Jeanne Sauvé, 70. Governor General of Canada, 1984-1990. Mme. Sauvé, a native of Prud'homme, Saskatchewan, was a journalist in both English and French with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation before entering federal politics as a Liberal, representing the Montreal riding of Ahuntsic from 1972-1979, and Laval-des-Rapides from 1979-1984. Mme. Sauvé was appointed Governor-General by Queen Elizabeth II on the advice of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau,and proved to be a terrible choice. She occupied the position of the Queen's representative in Canada, but said that she hated the monarchy. Mme. Sauvé also closed Rideau Hall, her official residence, to the public. Mme. Sauvé died after a long battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Politics and government
Former Czechoslovakian President Vaclav Havel was elected President of the new Czech Republic.

20 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Hogan "Kid" Bassey, 65. Nigerian boxer. Mr. Bassey was world featherweight champion from 1957-1959, the first world champion to come from Nigeria. He compiled a record of 59-13-2 in a professional career running from 1949-1959.

Scandal
On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denied having had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.



Business
TransCanada Pipelines and Nova Corporation announced a $14-billion merger, the largest to date in Canada's energy sector.

10 years ago
2008

Americana
Kirsten Haglund, representing Michigan, was named Miss America 2008; the pageant took place at the Theatre for the Performing Arts at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, only the third time it had been held outside Atlantic City.