January 30, 2018

1,000 years ago
1018

War
Ottonian Holy Roman Emperor Henry II and Piast duke of the Polans Bolesław I Chrobry concluded the Peace of Bautzen, ending a series of Polish-German wars over the control of Lusatia and Upper Lusatia, as well as Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia.

380 years ago
1648

War
The Treaty of Münster and Osnabrück was signed, ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain.

160 years ago
1858

Music
The first Hallé concert was given in Manchester, England, marking the official founding of The Hallé Orchestra as a full-time, professional orchestra.

150 years ago
1868

Politics and government
The Nova Scotia Legislature opened its first session after Confederation.

130 years ago
1888

Died on this date
Asa Gray, 77. U.S. botanist. Dr. Gray had a medical degree, but was more interested in botany, which he taught at Harvard University from 1842-1873. He was instrumental in unifying the taxonomic knowledge of the plants of North America, with his most notable work being his Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States, from New England to Wisconsin and South to Ohio and Pennsylvania Inclusive. Dr. Gray was a friend of Charles Darwin and a promoter of theistic evolution. He died two months after suffering a stroke.

110 years ago
1908

World events
Indian Hindu nationalist leader Mohandas Gandhi was released from prison by South African Prime Minister Jan Smuts after being tried and sentenced to two months in jail earlier in the month.

Sport
This was the first evening of the contest organized by Dr. Joseph-Paul Gadbois, sports columnist with the Montreal newspaper La Presse. The test was to lift a wheelbarrow loaded with weight over a distance of 25 feet. The contest, aimed at the general public, attracted several participants; it lasted several weeks, and drew enthusiastic crowds to Sohmer Park. The event ended on March 4 with the victory of Moses Charbonneau, a colossus of 6 feet 4 inches and 275 pounds, who managed to move 3,246 pounds.

100 years ago
1918

Born on this date
David Opatoshu. U.S. actor. Mr. Opatoshu, born David Opatovsky, was a character actor in films and television for more than 50 years. His movies included The Naked City (1948); Exodus (1960); and Torn Curtain (1966). Mr. Opatoshu died on April 30, 1996 at the age of 78.

90 years ago
1928

Died on this date
Johannes Fibiger, 60. Danish physician and pathologist. Dr. Fibiger was awarded the 1926 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his discovery of the Spiroptera carcinoma," which reportedly caused cancer in mice and rats. This result was later disproven.

Forrest Winant, 39. U.S. actor. Mr. Winant appeared in various Broadway productions from 1907-1920, including Kick In (1914), which starred John Barrymore. Winant was in four movies: The Brink (1915); New York (1916); The Iron Heart (1917); and His Woman (1919). He died of a heart attack in his hotel room in Alameda, California.

Theatre
Strange Interlude, written by Eugene O'Neill and starring Tom Powers, Glenn Anders, Philip Leigh, Lynn Fontanne, and Helen Westley, opened at the John Golden Theatre on Broadway in New York.

75 years ago
1943

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): There are Such Things--Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra with Frank Sinatra and the Pied Pipers (3rd week at #1)

War
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on his way home from the Casablanca Conference, stopped briefly in Trinidad and inspected U.S. defense installations there. Admiral Karl Doenitz, commander of the German submarine fleet, replaced Grand Admiral Erich Raeder as commander of all German naval forces. The U.K. Royal Air Force observed the tenth anniversary of Adolf Hitler's accession to power in Germany by launching a daytime bombing raid on Berlin. Soviet forces occupied the northwestern Caucasus oil centre of Maikop and the important railroad junction of Tikhoretsk, 85 miles south of Rostov. German forces broke thorugh French lines at Faid Pass, Tunisia and advanced 6 1/2 miles. Japanese torpedoes sank the cruiser USS Chicago and heavily damaged an American destroyer in the second day of the Battle of Rennell Island in the Guadalcanal campaign. Japanese attacks on Australian troops west of Mubo in northeastern New Guinea were repulsed, and the Japanese were pursued.

Politics and government
U.S. Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish quit his post as assistant director of the Office of War Information "to devote full time to his duties as a librarian."

Economics and finance
The New York Herald Tribune reported that U.S. Economic Stabilization Director James Byrnes had given Rubber Administrator William Jeffers top priority ratings for the completion of plants to produce 452,000 tons of synthetic rubber per year.

70 years ago
1948

Died on this date
Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi, 78. Indian independence activist. Mr. Gandhi, whose nickname means "high-souled" in Sanskrit, was the leading Hindu nationalist in India and advocate for independence from British rule, with a resume too lengthy to list here. He lived long enough to see India gain her independence in 1947. At Birla House in Delhi, the "great soul" emerged from his quarters to conduct a prayer meeting in the gardens. He was weak from a fast and was supported by a grandniece on each side. As the crowd parted for him, a man in a green pullover and khaki jacket rushed up to Mr. Gandhi, bowed briefly, and shot him once in the abdomen and twice in the chest. Mr. Gandhi shouted "Hai Rama! Hai Rama!", collapsed and died. The assassin, 37-year-old newspaper editor Nathuram Godse, was the ringleader of an 8-man conspiracy to kill Mr. Gandhi. He was a dedicated member of Hindu Mahasabha, an anti-Muslim organization that hated Gandhi for his tolerance of non-Hindu religions. Mr. Godse was afraid that Mr. Gandhi's policies would lead to a Muslim takeover of India. Winston Churchill, in a speech to his constituency association on February 23, 1931, had Mr. Gandhi pegged:

It is alarming, and also nauseating, to see Mr. Gandhi, a seditious Middle Temple lawyer, now posing as a fakir of a type well known in the East, striding half-naked up the steps of the Viceregal palace, while he is still organizing and conducting a defiant campaign of civil disobedience, to parley on equal terms with the representative of the King-Emperor...this malignant, subversive fanatic and the Viceroy of India.

Orville Wright, 76. U.S. aviator. Mr. Wright and his older brother Wilbur made the first powered flight of a heavier-than-air craft at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903, beginning the age of aviation. The brothers co-founded the Wright Company in their hometown of Dayton, Ohio in 1909. Wilbur died of typhoid fever in 1912 at the age of 45; Orville sold the company in 1915, and made his last flight as a pilot in 1918. He spent his remaining years as an adviser with various aviation organizations. Orville Wright died of a heart attack.

Herb Pennock, 53. U.S. baseball pitcher and executive. Mr. Pennock played with the Philadelphia Athletics (1912-1915); Boston Red Sox (1915-1917, 1919-1922, 1934); and New York Yankees (1923-1933), compiling a record of 241-162 with an earned run average of 3.60 in 617 games, and batted .191 with 4 home runs and 103 runs batted in in 620 games. He was a member of five World Series championship teams, and posted a 5-0 record with a 1.95 ERA in 10 World Series games. Mr. Pennock was the Red Sox' pitching coach from 1936-1939 and was an executive in the Red Sox' farm system until becoming general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies in December 1943, holding that position until his death from a cerebral hemorrhage, 11 days before his 54th birthday. Mr. Pennock was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame a few weeks after his death.

Arthur Coningham, 53. Australian-born U.K. military officer. Air Marshal Sir Arthur was an ace with the British Royal Flying Corps in World War and was a senior officer with the Royal Air Force in World War II, as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Flying Training Command. He was known as the "architect of modern air power doctrine regarding tactical air operations," based on the principles of air superiority as the first priority; centralized command of air operations co-equal with ground leadership; and innovative tactics in support of ground operations. Air Marshal Sir Arthur retired in 1947, and was among those aboard the British South American Airways plane Star Tiger when it disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle, 11 days after his 53rd birthday.

War
U.S. State Secretary George Marshall threatened to revoke the passports of Americans fighting on either side of the conflict in Palestine.

Diplomacy
The United Kingdom rejected a resolution of the United Nations Security Council's Palestine Committee urging the establishment of a Jewish militia in Palestine before the end of the British mandate.

Crime
Former McGill University professor Raymond Boyer received a two-year prison sentence in Montreal for conspiring to reveal Canadian war secrets to the U.S.S.R.

Energy
The U.S. Congressional Joint Committee on Atomic Energy approved the priority of weapons development over civilian research in the U.S. atomic energy program.

Disasters
The British South American Airways Avro Tudor IV Star Tiger, with 25 passengers and 6 crew members aboard, disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle. The disappearance remains unexplained.

Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games opened in St. Moritz, Switzerland, with 27 nations participating.

60 years ago
1958

Died on this date
Ernst Heinkel, 70. German engineer. Dr. Heinkel founded the Heinkel-Flugzeugwerke company in 1922. The company produced the Heinkel He 178, the world's first turbojet aircraft and jet plane, and the Heinkel He 176, the first rocket aircraft. Dr. Heinkel was a member of the Nazi Party, and used Jewish forced labour in his factories during World War II. He died six days after his 70th birthday.

War
U.K. troops and aircraft clashed with Yemeni forces on the Aden border after Yemenis fired on a British frontier patrol.

World events
The South African government ordered 17 whites, 18 Indians, and 58 Africans prosecuted on charges of high treason for opposing the government racial policy of apartheid.

Defense
U.S. State Secretary John Foster Dulles told the Baghdad Pact Council that American commitments under the Eisenhower Doctrine constituted a guarantee of U.S. involvement equal to full American membership in the pact.

Labour
A general strike ended in the Bahamas ended as strikers returned to work without achieving any of their objectives.

Baseball
Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick abolished fan voting for players in the Major League All-Star Game in favour of a poll of major league managers, coaches, and players. Mr. Frick's decision was a reaction to the stuffing of ballot boxes by Cincinnati Redlegs' fans in 1957, severl of whose choices for the 1957 National League starting lineup were overruled. Fan voting for All-Star Game starting lineups returned in 1970.

50 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Monja--Roland W. (5th week at #1)

On television tonight
The Invaders, starring Roy Thinnes, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Organization

Wojeck, starring John Vernon, on CBC
Tonight's episode: Give Until it Hurts and Then Some



War
Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces, believed to number 50,000, struck at 30 provincial capitals in South Vietnam in violation of a mutually agreed-upon ceasefire for Tet, the lunar new year. The attacks, which became known as the Tet offensive, caught Allied forces off guard. Saigon and Hue became major battlefields, and Communist forces occupied buildings of the U.S. embassy in Saigon for 6 hours before being wiped out. North Vietnam claimed that the attacks were being launched "to punish the American aggressors" for unilaterally cancelling the ceasefire in South Vietnam's five northern provinces the day before.

Israeli and Egyptian forces exchanged gunfire across the Suez Canal, leading to the cancellation of an agreement to clear up the southern part of the canal.

Politics and government
The United States Senate unanimously confirmed Clark Clifford as Secretary of Defense, succeeding Robert McMamara.

Disasters
Seven people were feared dead in an explosion at a shopping centre in Ingraham, Pennsylvania.

40 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Mull of Kintyre--Wings (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): UFO--Pink Lady (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Credo--Elsa Baeza (5th week at #1)

Diplomacy
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 14-1 to approve treaties that would hand the Panama Canal to Panama by 2000.

Scandal
Francis Fox resigned as Canada's Solicitor-General, days after admitting to an affair with a married woman which had resulted in her pregnancy, followed by Mr. Fox forging the signature of the woman's husband on a hospital document in order to obtain an abortion for the woman. The incident was a typical example of Quebec morality.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Commerce Department announced a record trade deficit of $26.7 billion, more than four times the 1976 deficit and the largest in U.S. history. Increased imports of oil, machinery, cars, coffee, adnd sugar accounted for a total increase of 22%, while U.S. exports increased by only 4.6%.

30 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: La Bamba--Los Lobos (10th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): China in Your Hand--T'Pau (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): (I've Had) The Time of My Life--Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Étienne--Guesch Patti (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): I Think We're Alone Now--Tiffany

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Heaven is a Place on Earth--Belinda Carlisle (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): I Think We're Alone Now--Tiffany

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Need You Tonight--INXS

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Need You Tonight--INXS
2 Could've Been--Tiffany
3 The Way You Make Me Feel--Michael Jackson
4 Hazy Shade of Winter--Bangles
5 Got My Mind Set on You--George Harrison
6 Seasons Change--Exposé
7 Candle in the Wind--Elton John
8 I Want to Be Your Man--Roger
9 Hungry Eyes--Eric Carmen
10 I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man--Prince

Singles entering the chart were Out of the Blue by Debbie Gibson (#61); Never Let Me Down Again by Depeche Mode (#81); Save Your Love by Great White (#83); All I Want is You by Carly Simon (#84); Never Can Say Goodbye by the Communards (#85); Angel by Aerosmith (#86); Never Knew Love Like This by Alexander O'Neal featuring Cherrelle (#87); You Don't Know by Scarlett & Black; Coming Up You by the Cars (#89); and It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) by R.E.M. (#90).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Got My Mind Set on You--George Harrison (3rd week at #1)
2 Could've Been--Tiffany
3 Pop Goes the World--Men Without Hats
4 Faith--George Michael
5 Cherry Bomb--John Cougar Mellencamp
6 Candle in the Wind--Elton John
7 Need You Tonight--INXS
8 Hazy Shade of Winter--Bangles
9 The Way You Make Me Feel--Michael Jackson
10 When a Man Loves a Woman--Luba

Singles entering the chart were Hot Hot Hot by Buster Poindexter and Banchees of Blue (#86); Endless Summer Nights by Richard Marx (#90); 853-5937 by Squeeze (#94); Magic (In Your Eyes) by FM (#96); and Run with Us by Lisa Lougheed (#97).

25 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): I Will Always Love You--Whitney Houston (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Gli Spari Sopra--Vasco Rossi (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Exterminate!--Snap!

#1 single in Flanders (VRT): I Will Always Love You--Whitney Houston (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): I Will Always Love You--Whitney Houston

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): I Will Always Love You--Whitney Houston (8th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Chart Information Network): I Will Always Love You--Whitney Houston (9th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): I Will Always Love You--Whitney Houston (10th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I Will Always Love You--Whitney Houston (9th week at #1)
2 If I Ever Fall in Love--Shai
3 In the Still of the Nite--Boyz II Men
4 Rump Shaker--Wreckx-N-Effect
5 Saving Forever for You--Shanice
6 Rhythm is a Dancer--Snap!
7 Good Enough--Bobby Brown
8 Deeper and Deeper--Madonna
9 When She Cries--Restless Heart
10 7--Prince and the New Power Generation

Singles entering the chart were Comforter by Shai (#60); That's What Love Can Do by Boy Krazy (#78); Bed of Roses by Bon Jovi (#79); Little Bird by Annie Lennox (#82); Feels Like Heaven by Peter Cetera with Chaka Khan (#87); I'm Gonna Get You by Bizarre Inc. featuring Angie Brown (#89); Love Is by Vanessa Williams and Brian McKnight (#90); and Tell the Truth by Jude Cole (#95).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 I Will Always Love You--Whitney Houston (7th week at #1)
2 Love Can Move Mountains--Celine Dion
3 Faithful--Go West
4 Steam--Peter Gabriel
5 Deeper and Deeper--Madonna
6 When She Cries--Restless Heart
7 Harvest Moon--Neil Young
8 To Love Somebody--Michael Bolton
9 No Mistakes--Patty Smyth
10 Never a Time--Genesis

Singles entering the chart were Eileen by Keith Richards (#71); Two Princes by Spin Doctors (#82); Bed of Roses by Bon Jovi (#90); Stand by Poison (#96); Waiting for the Sun by the Jayhawks (#97); Forever in Love by Kenny G (#98); and The Devil You Know by Jesus Jones (#99).

Environment
The government of Canada and the Haida Nation signed the Gwaii Haanas Agreement after outstanding claims were settled. The agreement designated Gwaii Haanas, the southernmost third of Haida Gwaii, a National Park and Haida Heritage Site, cooperatively managed by the Archipelago Management Board (AMB), made up of an equal number of representatives from the Council of Haida Nation and the Government of Canada (Parks Canada). Protests against clear-cut logging had led to the 1988 creation of the South Moresby National Park Reserve.

Tennis
Monica Seles defeated Steffi Graf in the finals to win the women's singles competition at the Australian Open for the third straight year. It was Miss Seles' eighth Grand Slam title.

20 years ago
1998

At the movies
Zero Effect, written and directed by Jake Kasdan, and starring Bill Pullman and Ben Stiller, opened in theatres.

10 years ago
2008

Died on this date
Jim Evenson, 61. U.S.-born football player. Mr. Evenson was a fullback with the University of Oregon Ducks in 1967, but was academically ineligible to play after that year, and turned professional, joining the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League. He played with the Lions (1968-1972) and Ottawa Rough Riders (1973-1974), and the Portland Thunder (1975) of the World Football League. Mr. Evenson made the Western Football Conference All-Star team from 1968-1971 and the Eastern Football Conference All-Star team in 1973, earning All-Canadian honours in 1970 and 1971. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his first four seasons with B.C., leading the CFL in rushing yardage in 1971 with 1,237 to win the Eddie James Memorial Trophy. Mr. Evenson was traded to the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1973 and helped the Rough Riders win the Grey Cup; he rushed 11 times for 53 yards in the Grey Cup game itself, and his 18-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter provided the winning margin in the Rough Riders' 22-18 win over the Edmonton Eskimos. A knee injury ended Mr. Evenson's 1974 season after 9 games, at the time he left the CFL he ranked 6th in career rushing yardage with 7,060, with 37 touchdowns in 100 games. He caught 116 yards for 1,147 yards and 6 touchdowns, and returned 33 kickoffs for 761 yards, including a 97-yard return in 1970. Mr. Evenson rushed 99 times for 439 yards and 1 touchdown with the Thunder, and caught 18 passes for 108 yards. Unfortunately, Mr. Evenson reportedly became a drunkard living on the streets of Portland, Oregon, where he died, three weeks after his 61st birthday. He was added to the B.C. Lions' Wall of Fame in July 2008.