January 5, 2018

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Laura-Belle Robinson!

375 years ago
1643

Society
The first legal divorce in Britain's American colonies took place when the Quarter Court of Boston granted Anne Clarke of the Massachusetts Bay Colony a divorce from her adulterous husband Denis Clarke.

180 years ago
1838

Died on this date
Anthony Van Egmond, 60. Canadian rebel. Mr. Van Egmond, a leader of the Upper Canada Rebellion, died in jail in Toronto while awaiting trial.

War
U.S. President Martin Van Buren issued a Neutrality Proclamation forbidding U.S. citizens from taking sides and fighting in the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions, as some were doing with organized secret societies, called Hunters' Lodges.

130 years ago
1888

Disasters
The 107-ton schooner Warren I. Crossly was lost off Louisbourg Harbour, Nova Scotia.

125 years ago
1893

Born on this date
Paramahansa Yogananda. Indian-born U.S. guru. Swami Yogananda, born Mukunda Lal Ghosh in Uttar Pradesh, began his career in his native India, founding a school in 1917 that became the Yogoda Satsanga Society of India. He moved to the United States in 1920, initially as India's delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals in Boston, where his address The Science of Religion was warmly received. Swami Yogananda founded Self-Realization Fellowship later in 1920, which is what he's best remembered for. With the exception of a long trip abroad in 1935-1936, Swami Yogananda spent the rest of his life in the United States, advocating the breaking of spiritual barriers between East and West. His Autobiography of a Yogi (1946) became a bestseller and remains an influential work of the New Age Movement. Swami Yogananda died on March 7, 1952 at the age of 57 as he concluded a speech at a dinner for Indian Ambassador to the United States Binay Ranjan Sen, and his wife at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.

75 years ago
1943

Died on this date
George Washington Carver, 78 (?). U.S. botanist. Professor Carver became one of the greatest Negro scientists in history, teaching at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama from 1896 until his death. In order to prevent soil depletion by repeated plantings of cotton, he encouraged poor farmers to practice crop rotation by growing alternative crops such as sweet potatoes and peanuts. Professor Carver was especially known for his promotion of peanuts, and has been credited with the rise in peanut production after the decline of cotton. Professor Carver came to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour at an early age, and this inspired his scientific work as well as his efforts to break social and racial barriers. He died of complications from a fall down a flight of stairs at his home.

Kenneth Walker, 44. U.S. military officer. Mr. Walker was a brigadier general in the United States Army Air Forces who was known for his advocacy of strategic bombardment. He was shot down and killed while leading a bombing raid over Rabaul, New Britain, and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

War
Russian forces took six more towns, including Nalchik, in the central Caucasus, from German forces. Allied bombers destroyed nine Japanese ships at Rabaul, New Britain, including a destroyer tender and a destroyer. British troops in Tunisia captured Djebel Azzag and other points 15 miles west of Mateur. Allied North African headquarters announced the activation of the U.S. 5th Army under Lieutenant General Mark Clark.

Economics and finance
U.S. Food Administrator Claude Wickard ordered 30% of all butter production reserved for military and Lend-Lease purposes, effective February 1, 1943.

70 years ago
1948

Literature
The novel Raintree County by Ross Lockridge, Jr. was published by Houghton, Mifflin. The book had actually been released the previous day, and the initial press run sold out by the official publication day.

The non-fiction book Caste, Class and Race by Oliver Cox, winner of the George Washington Carver Award for its analysis of racial antagonism, was published by Doubleday.

Academia
National Defence College opened in Kingston, Ontario.

Law
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a warrant was necessary to arrest and search a criminal suspect, reversing the conviction of a Buffalo, New York man found in possession of counterfeit gasoline ration coupons.

Economics and finance
Yugoslavian President Marshal Josip Broz Tito demanded the release of $70 million in gold deposited in the New York Federal Reserve Bank by the National Bank of Yugoslavia in 1941.

U.S. President Harry Truman and Treasury Secretary John Snyder endorsed the American Bankers Association plan for voluntary restrictions of bank credit to help curb inflation.

Labour
The New York Congress of Industrial Organizations voted to condemn former U.S. Vice President Henry Wallace's third-party U.S. presidential candidacy.

60 years ago
1958

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Percentage, starring Alex Nicol, Nita Talbot, and Don Keefer

War
Acting at the request of Cameroonian Premier Andre-Marie M'Bida, French Defense Minister Jacques Chaban-Delmas dispatched troops to the French Cameroons to crush an uprising by 800 members of the Communist-led Union des Populations du Cameroun.

Defense
The Rockefeller Fund Special Studies Project issued a report recommending "substantially increased defense expenditures" and "basic changes in our defense organization" to counter rapidly-increasing Soviet military strength.

Polish Foreign Minister Adam Rapacki said that Poland was willing to consider proposals for a nuclear-free zone in central Europe.

Protest
Venezuelan authorities arrested five Caracas priests for allegedly distributing leaflets urging a revolt against the government of President General Marcos Pérez Jiménez.

Economics and finance
Singaporean Chief Minister Lim Yew Hock appealed to the West for increased economic aid to help fight what he termed a Communist "war of subversion" against Singapore.

50 years ago
1968

Hit parade
Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Hello Goodbye--The Beatles
2 Daydream Believer--The Monkees
3 Next Plane to London--The Rose Garden
4 Bottle of Wine--The Fireballs
5 (The Lights Went Out In) Massachusetts--The Bee Gees
6 Dear Eloise--The Hollies
7 Peace of Mind--Paul Revere and the Raiders
8 Snoopy's Christmas--The Royal Guardsmen
9 Jezebel--The Witness Inc.
10 Different Drum--Stone Poneys
Pick of the Week: She Says--49th Parallel
New this week: To Give (The Reason I Live)--Frankie Valli
Counting Cracks in the Sidewalk--The Daisy Hill Puppy Farm
That's All Right--Brenda Lee
It's a Great Life--Trini Lopez
Pata Pata--Ray Bryant

Died on this date
Karl Kobelt, 76. President of the Swiss Confederation, 1946, 1952. Mr. Kobelt, a member of the Free Democratic Party, was a member of the Swiss Federal Council (1940-1954), and was also in charge of the Military Department during his time as President.

War
The government of Nigeria offered to stop all military action against the breakaway state of Biafra if the secessionists agreed to "discuss and negotiate" their differences with the Nigerian federal government.

Politics and government
Alexander Dubček came to power in Czechoslovakia, replacing Antonin Novotny as First Secretary of the Communist Party, beginning what became known as the "Prague Spring."

Protest
Pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock, 64, was the most prominent of five critics of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War who were indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury in Boston for conspiring to abet, aid, and counsel violations of the Selective Service Act. The others indicted were Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. 43, chaplain of Yale University; novelist Mitchell Goodman, 44; Marcus Raskin, 33, of the Institute for Policy Studies; and Michael Ferber, 23, a graduate student at Harvard University.

40 years ago
1978

On television tonight
James at 15, starring Lance Kerwin, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Unrequited Love...Twice

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

Hockey
NHL
Super Series '78
Spartak 2 @ St. Louis 1

The Soviet club Spartak edged the Blues at the Checkerdome as part of the exhibition series.

30 years ago
1988

Died on this date
Pete Maravich, 40. U.S. basketball player. "Pistol Pete" was a guard with the Louisiana State Tigers from 1967-70; his 44.2 average points per game and 3,667 total points with LSU is an NCAA record that still stands. Mr. Maravich played in the National Basketball Association with the Atlanta Hawks (1970-74); New Orleans/Utah Jazz (1974-80), and Boston Celtics (1980), retiring because of knee injuries. He was a five-time NBA all-star in his 10-year career. Mr. Maravich was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. Mr. Maravich came to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour at the age of 35, and died in the arms of Dr. James Dobson while on a visit to the headquarters of Focus on the Family. His death was caused by a heart defect so rare (a missing left coronary artery) that it was said that only 2 of every 500 doctors would ever see it during the course of their careers. At the age of 25 Pistol Pete made the eerily prophetic comment that he didn't want to play 10 years in the NBA and die of a heart attack at the age of 40. Fortunately, when that event did happen, he entered into the presence of the Lord.

25 years ago
1993

Environment
The Liberian-registered tanker MV Braer ran aground off the Shetland Islands, resulting in the spilling of 84,700 tons of crude oil into the North Sea.

20 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Sonny Bono, 62. U.S. musician and politician. Salvatore Phillip Bono first achieved success as a songwriter was High School Dance, performed by Larry Williams as the B-side of Short Fat Fanny in 1957. He was best known for his marriage (1965-1975) to Cher Sarkisian. As Sonny & Cher, they recorded several hit singles from 1965-1967 and 1971-1972, and hosted The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (1971-1974) and The Sonny & Cher Show (1976-1977). Mr. Bono was Mayor of Palm Springs, California from 1988-1992, and as a Republican, represented California's 44th District in the United States House of Representatives from 1993 until his death from injuries suffered in a skiing accident at South Lake Tahoe, Nevada. His current wife Mary filled the remainder of his Congressional term and was re-elected several times.

10 years ago
2008

Football
NFL
NFC Wild Card Playoff
Washington 14 @ Seattle 35



AFC Wild Card Playoff
Jacksonville 31 @ Pittsburgh 29