February 12, 2018

480 years ago
1538

Died on this date
Albrecht Altdorfer, 58 (?). German painter. Mr. Altdorfer was a major figure of the Danube School, painting biblical and historical scenes against a background of colourful landscapes.

425 years ago
1593

War
3,000 Joseon (Korean) defenders led by General Kwon Yul successfully repelled an invasion of 30,000 Japanese soldiers, commanded by Ukita Hideie and Kato Kiyomasa, in the Battle of Haengju.

250 years ago
1768

Born on this date
Franz II/I. Holy Roman Emperor, 1792-1806; Emperor of Austria, 1804-1835. Franz II succeeded his father Leopold II as Holy Roman Emperor, but dissolved the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after the defeat of German forces by those of Napoleon Bonaparte in the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805. Franz created the Austrian Empire in 1804 and reigned as Emperor Franz I, leading two empires from 1804-1806. He held several other thrones until his death on March 2, 1835, 18 days after his 67th birthday, and was succeeded on the Austrian and other thrones by his son Ferdinand I.

225 years ago
1793

Law
The United States Congress enacted the first fugitive slave law, requiring states--even those where slavery was forbidden--to return escaped slaves to their masters.

200 years ago
1818

South Americana
Supreme Director Bernardo O'Higgins formally approved the Chilean Declaration of Independence from Spain. The ceremony of independence took place in Talca, although the declaration was dated in Concepción on January 1, 1818.

140 years ago
1878

Baseball
Inspired by the mask fencers used, Frederick Thayer of Massachusetts, captain of the Harvard Baseball Club, received United States Patent No. 200,358 for an invention to reduce cuts and bruises: a wire catcher's mask to be worn during baseball games, strapped over the head and cushioned against the chin.

125 years ago
1893

Born on this date
Omar Bradley. U.S. military officer. General Bradley had a distinguished record in World War II, commanding forces in the Allied invasions of Sicily and Normandy. He headed the U.S. Veterans Administration from 1945-1947, and was Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army from 1948-1949 and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1949-1953, overseeing U.S. military policy during the Korean War. General Bradley was promoted to General of the Army in 1950, becoming the ninth and last (so far) five-star officer in the U.S. armed forces. He died on April 8, 1981 at the age of 88.

120 years ago
1898

Born on this date
Roy Harris. U.S. composer. Mr. Harris composed over 170 works, many of them on American themes. His Symphony 1933, sometimes referred to as Symphony No. 1, received its premiere performance in 1934 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under conductor Serge Koussevitsky. A week after the premiere, the symphony became the first American symphony to be commercially recorded. Mr. Harris's best-known work was Symphony No. 3, which premiered with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, again under Mr. Koussevitsky, in 1939. Mr. Harris lived long enough to receive a commission for a Bicentennial Symphony, but the work was panned by critics upon its 1976 premiere for dwelling on slavery and the Civil War instead of celebrating the 200th anniversary of American independence. Mr. Harris died on October 1, 1979 at the age of 81.

110 years ago
1908

Politics and government
Theo Heemskerk of the Anti-Revolutionaire Partij took office as Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

Auto racing
The Great Auto Race from New York to Paris began. Six cars, representing four nations (United States, France, Germany) started the race in front of 250,000 spectators in New York's Times Square. The Thomas Flyer represented the United States; the Protos represented Germany, and the Briax-Zust was the Italian car. France had three cars in the race: the De Dion-Bouton; Moto Bloc; and Sizaire-Naudin. The cars headed west and north across the United States before crossing the Pacific Ocean.

100 years ago
1918

Born on this date
Julian Schwinger. U.S. physicist. Dr. Schwinger shared the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics with Richard Feynman and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga "for their fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics, with deep-ploughing consequences for the physics of elementary particles." He died on July 16, 1994 at the age of 76.

80 years ago
1938

Diplomacy
Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg visited Adolf Hitler at the German Chancellor's retreat at Berchtesgaden, Bavaria. Mr. Hitler threatened to use military action against Austria if Mr. Schuschnigg didn't lift the ban on political parties, reinstate full party freedoms, release all imprisoned members of the Nazi party and let them participate in the Austrian government. Mr. Schuschnigg complied with Mr. Hitler's demands and appointed pro-Nazi lawyer Arthur Seyss-Inquart as Interior Minister and Nazi Edmund Glaise-Horstenau as minister without portfolio.

75 years ago
1943

At the movies
Journey Into Fear, directed by Norman Foster and starring Joseph Cotten, Dolores Del Rio, Ruth Warrick, and Orson Welles, opened in theatres.

War
Soviet troops recaptured Krasnodar, the Kuban Cossack capital in the western Caucasus. Allied forces repelled Japanese counter-attacks in the Donbaik and Rathedaung areas of Burma. The Japanese lost another 1,000 men in their continued retreat in the Wau-Mubo area of New Guinea.

Science
Viscount Nuffield donated about $40 million to create the Nuffield Foundation for scientific research in Britain.

Economics and finance
The U.S. War Production Board restricted shoe colours to black, white, army russet, and town brown, and put limits on heel heights for women's shoes.

70 years ago
1948

Defense
Nancy Leftenant of Amityville, New York became the first Negro admitted to the U.S. Army Nurse Corps.

Politics and government
U.S. President Harry Truman appointed Dr. Leonard Scheele to succeed Dr. Thomas Parran as Surgeon General off the U.S. Public Health Service.

4,000 Mississippi Democrats meeting in Jackson endorsed Governor Fielding Wright's demand that "all true white Jeffersonian Democrats" unite against the national party leadership.

Economics and finance
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Stafford Cripps announced a price freeze, and asked industry to submit plans for voluntary price and profit reduction.

60 years ago
1958

Politics and government
The Guatemalan Congress elected General Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes of the right-wing National Democratic Reconciliation Party to a six-year term as President.

Labour Party candidate Jack McCann won a by-election in the English riding of Rochdale for a seat in the House of Commons that had been held by the Conservatives since 1951.

Law
The Liberian National Legislature passed a law making racial discrimination a crime punishable by fines of up to $30,000, one-year jail terms, and in the case of foreigners, deportation.

50 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Cállate Niña--Pic-Nic (7th week at #1)

Abominations
69-79 unarmed residents of the South Vietnamese village of Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất were massacred, apparently by South Korean Marines. An investigation by the South Vietnamese command concluded that the massacre was perpetrated by Viet Cong disguised as South Korean Marines.

Disasters
18 people died in a fire in Hong Kong.

40 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Mull of Kintyre--Wings (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Cap Fear, 76. U.K.-born Canadian football player. Alfred Henry Fear played outside wing with the Toronto Argonauts (1919-1926); Montreal Winged Wheelers (1927); and Hamilton Tigers (1928-1932), and was a member of Grey Cup championship teams in 1921, 1928, 1929, and 1932. He was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1967.

30 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Always on My Mind--Pet Shop Boys (6th week at #1)

Theatre
This blogger attended a performance of Christopher Marlowe's play Dr. Faustus at Alumni Hall on the campus of the University of Western Ontario in London. The production was put on by the UWO English Department.

World events
The U.S. Navy missile cruiser USS Yorktown (CG-48) was intentionally rammed by the Soviet frigate Bezzavetnyy in the Soviet territorial waters, while Yorktown claimed the right of innocent passage.

Labour
Nurses in Edmonton voted to return to work, ending an illegal strike that had lasted 19 days.

25 years ago
1993

At the movies
Groundhog Day, co-written, co-produced, and directed by Harold Ramis, and starring Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, and Chris Elliott, opened in theatres.

Died on this date
James Bulger, 2. U.K. crime victim. Master Bulger was kidnapped and murdered by two 10-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables from a shopping centre in Bootle, near Liverpool.

20 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Gardner Ackley, 82. U.S. economist and diplomat. Dr. Ackley was a professor at the University of Michigan for 43 years, and wrote the textbook Macroeconomic Theory (1961). He was appointed to the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers by President John F. Kennedy, and was its Chairman from 1964-1968 under President Lyndon Johnson. Dr. Gardner served as United States Ambassador to Italy from 1968-1969.

Business
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League, acquired the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association.

10 years ago
2008

Died on this date
David Groh, 68. U.S. actor. Mr. Groh was best known for playing Joe Gerard in the television comedy series Rhoda (1974-1978). He died of kidney cancer.