February 14, 2018

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Liliya!

975 years ago
1043

Died on this date
Gisela of Swabia, 53. Holy Roman Empress, 1027-1039; Queen Consort of Germany, 1024-1039. Gisela was the wife of Conrad II and Queen Consort of Germany and Holy Roman Empress Consort from his accession to the respective thrones in 1024 and 1027 until his death in 1039. She died of dysentery.

650 years ago
1368

Born on this date
Sigismund. Holy Roman Emperor, 1433-1437. Sigismund, the son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, held several European thrones before succeeding his father as Holy Roman Emperor. Emperor Sigismund was the last male member of the House of Luxembourg; he died on December 9, 1437 at the age of 69, and was succeeded by Frederick III, the first emperor from the House of Habsburg.

240 years ago
1778

Americana
The United States flag was formally recognized by a foreign naval vessel for the first time, when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte renders a nine gun salute to USS Ranger, commanded by John Paul Jones.

160 years ago
1858

Born on this date
Arthur Irwin. Canadian-born U.S. baseball player and manager. A native of Toronto, Mr. Irwin played shortsop and third base with six major league teams (1880-1894), and managed five major league teams (1889-1899). He batted .241 with 5 home runs and 396 runs batted in in 1,010 games, and was known for pioneering the use of gloves for infielders. Mr. Irwin managed the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Eastern League pennant in 1897, and managed various minor league teams from 1900-1921, with little success. In 1921 he signed to manage the Hartford Senators of the Eastern League, which turned out to be his final assignment. Mr. Irwin jumped to his death from a ship in the Atlantic Ocean between New York and Boston on July 16, 1921 at the age of 63; it was soon revealed that he had a wife and family in both cities, and he had recently been told that he would die unless he underwent serious surgery for stomach cancer. Two months before his death, Mr. Irwin succeeded in persuading young Lou Gehrig to play for the Senators under an assumed name, and Mr. Gehrig almost lost his eligibility to play at Columbia University as a result. Mr. Irwin was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.

100 years ago
1918

Russiana
Russia adopted the Gregorian calendar (on 1 February according to the Julian calendar).

Disasters
A fire at Grey Nuns Orphanage in Montreal killed 64 children.

75 years ago
1943

Died on this date
Dora Gerson, 43. German singer and actress. A popular cabaret singer and motion picture actress in the 1920s, Miss Gerson, along with her husband Max Sluizer, 36, daughter Miriam, 5, and son Abel, 2, were murdered in the death camp at Auschwitz in Nazi-occupied Poland.

War
Soviet forces commanded by Colonel General Rodion I. Malinovsky liberated the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don after seven months of Nazi occupation. General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim's 5th Panzer Army launched a concerted attack against Allied positions in Tunisia.

Politics and government
Thai Prime Minister Luang Pibul Songgram and his entire cabinet resigned amid rumours of graft and corruption.

Higinio Morinigo, the only candidate, was re-elected to a five-year term as President of Paraguay.

Sport
Reich Sports Leader Hans von Tshammer und Osten banned all local athletic competition in Germany.

70 years ago
1948

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard) (Best Seller): Ballerina--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra (10th week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Ballerina--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra (8th week at #1)
--Bing Crosby with the Rhythmaires
--Buddy Clark
2 Serenade of the Bells--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Jo Stafford
--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra
3 How Soon (Will I Be Seeing You)--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
--Bing Crosby and Carmen Cavallaro
--Jack Owens
--Dinah Shore
4 Golden Earrings--Peggy Lee
5 Too Fat Polka (I Don’t Want Her) (You Can Have Her) (She’s Too Fat for Me)--Arthur Godfrey
6 I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover--Art Mooney and his Orchestra
--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra
--Uptown String Band
--The Three Suns
7 I'll Dance at Your Wedding--Ray Noble and his Orchestra with Buddy Clark
--Peggy Lee
8 Now is the Hour (Maori Farewell Song)--Bing Crosby
--Gracie Fields
--Eddy Howard and his Orchestra
--Margaret Whiting
9 Civilization (Bongo, Bongo, Bongo)--Danny Kaye and the Andrews Sisters
--Louis Prima and his Orchestra
--Jack Smith and the Clark Sisters
--Ray McKinley and his Orchestra
--Woody Herman and his Orchestra
10 Pass That Peace Pipe--Margaret Whiting
--Beryl Davis

Singles entering the chart were the versions of I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover by Russ Morgan and his Orchestra, and the Uptown String Band; and But Beautiful, with versions by Frank Sinatra, and Margaret Whiting (#27). Margaret Whiting's version of But Beautiful was the other side of Now is the Hour (Maori Farewell Song).

Died on this date
Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, 71. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Brown got his nickname as the result of a childhood accident, which enabled him to grip the ball in such a way as to throw an excellent curve. He played with six major league teams from 1903-1916, compiling a record of 239-130 with an earned run average of 2.06 in 481 games, and batted .206 with 2 home runs and 73 runs batted in in 493 games. Mr. Brown had six straight seasons of 20 or more wins with the Chicago Cubs from 1906-1911, and helped the Cubs win National League pennants in 1906 and 1910 and World Series championships in 1907 and 1908. He won 17 games with the Chicago Whales when they won the second and last championship of the Federal League in 1915. Mr. Brown died of complications from diabetes, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949.

Economics and finance
Wholesale commodity prices in the United States began to level off after 10 days of heavy trading on U.S. exchanges, averaging 12% less than February 4 levels.

Labour
100,000 Belgian coal miners, textile workers, and gas and electric wors employees struck for higher wages. The government blamed the outbreak on Communist agitation.

U.S. and U.K. military governors in Germany decided to allow the production of aluminum in their zones, an activity forbidden by the 1945 Potsdam agreement.

Disasters
Floods in the midwestern and southern United States caused seven deaths as a cold wave began to break.

60 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): The Story of My Life--Michael Holliday

On television tonight
Harbor Command, starring Wendell Corey
Tonight's episode: The Big Hoax

Died on this date
Abdur Rab Nishtar, 58. Pakistani politician. Mr. Nishtar, a member of the Pakistan Muslim League, was Governor of West Punjab from 1949-1951.

Asiatica
The Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan was formed when King Faisal II of Iraq and his cousin King Hussein of Jordan sought to unite their two Hashemite kingdoms as a response to the formation of the United Arab Republic (Egypt and Syria) on February 1.

Politics and government
Onésime Gagnon was installed as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec; he served until his death on September 30, 1961.

50 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)--Manfred Mann

Australia's Top 10 (Go-Set)
1 Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)--Johnny Farnham (3rd week at #1)
2 Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)--John Fred and his Playboy Band
3 Hello Goodbye/I Am the Walrus--The Beatles
4 Daydream Believer--The Monkees
5 Tin Soldier/I Feel Much Better--Small Faces
6 World/Sir Geoffrey Saved the World--The Bee Gees
7 The Rain, The Park and Other Things--The Cowsills
8 Monterey--Eric Burdon & the Animals
9 She (EP)--The Monkees
10 She's a Rainbow--The Rolling Stones

The only single entering the chart was I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite by Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart (#38).

On television tonight
He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown, on CBS

This was the fifth Peanuts special.

Diplomacy
United Nations Secretary-General U Thant concluded his week-long tour of Asian and European capitals.

40 years ago
1978

On television tonight
Family, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Crossing Over



Defense
The United States government announced that it would sell $4.8 billion worth of jet warplanes to Egypt, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. The decision, which would require Congressional approval, included selling Saudi Arabia 60 F-15 jets for $2.5 billion and Israel 15 F-15s for $400 million and 75 F-16 fighter-bombes for $1.5 billion. Egypt would get 50 F-5 fighters for $400 million.

Politics and government
Republican Party candidate S. William Green defeated Democratic Party candidate and former Congresswoman Bella Abzug in a special election to fill the U.S. House of Representatives seat formerly occupied by Democrat Ed Koch, currently Mayor of New York. Former New York city councilman Carter Burden had originally won the Democratic nomination, but Ms. Abzug had won an appeal to the New York State Supreme Court, quashing the nomination of Mr. Burden.

30 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Pump Up the Volume--M/A/R/R/S

#1 single in Switzerland: Heaven is a Place on Earth--Belinda Carlisle (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Frederick Loewe, 86. German born U.S. composer. Mr. Loewe collaborated with lyricist Alan Jay Lerner on Broadway musicals such as My Fair Lady (1956) and Camelot (1960).

Movies
The Garbo/Dietrich film festival at the University of Western Ontario concluded with screenings of two silent films: Gosta Berling's Saga, a Swedish Greta Garbo feature from 1924, and Die Frau, a German film starring Marlene Dietrich, from 1929. The print of Die Frau, with German titles, was from the collection of American film historian William K. Everson, who hosted the festival. According to Professor Everson, this was one of just two prints of the film known to exist. When Die Frau was released in the United States, it was under the title of Three Loves.

Olympics
Canada defeated Poland 1-0 in men's hockey at the Olympic Saddledome in Calgary. Speed skater Dan Jansen of the United States fell in his event at the Speed Skating Oval in Calgary, hours after learning of the death of his 27-year-old sister Jane from leukemia.

Auto racing
Bobby Allison, 50, became the oldest driver to win the Daytona 500, holding off a challenge from his son Davey, 26, to win NASCAR's biggest event.

25 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: I Will Always Love You--Whitney Houston (9th week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Would I Lie to You?--Charles & Eddie (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: I Will Always Love You--Whitney Houston (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): This Time/Life Without You--Christy Moore (4th week at #1)

Crime
The body of 2-year-old James Bulger was found two days after he had been kidnapped from a shopping centre in Bootle, near Liverpool, and murdered by two 10-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables.

Auto racing
Dale Jarrett won the Daytona 500, giving former Washington Redskins' football coach Joe Gibbs his first win as a NASCAR owner.

20 years ago
1998

Disasters
An oil tanker train collided with a freight train in Yaoundé, Cameroon, spilling fuel oil. One person scavenging the oil created a huge explosion which killed 120 people.

10 years ago
2008

Crime
Former student Steven Kazmierczak opened fire into a crowded lecture hall on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, killing 5 people and injuring 21 before fatally shooting himself.