February 15, 2018

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Arlene Carlstrom!

130 years ago
1888

Diplomacy
U.K. Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain signed the Chamberlain-Bayard Treaty, giving U.S. fishermen rights in inshore Canadian waters. The treaty was later rejected by the British Parliament, but U.S. fishermen were allowed to take out Canadian licenses.

120 years ago
1898

Disasters
An explosion of unknown origin sank the battleship USS Maine in the Havana harbour, killing 266 of the 354 crew members. Spain was accused of the deed, although that was never proven. The incident (accompanied by the slogan "Remember the Maine!") was one of the causes of the Spanish-American War which broke out two months later.

100 years ago
1918

Born on this date
Hank Locklin. U.S. musician. Mr. Locklin was a country singer-songwriter who performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville for almost 50 years, and had a recording career that spanned almost 30 years. His biggest hit singles were Let Me Be the One (1953) and Please Help Me, I'm Falling (1960), both of which reached #1 on the Billboard country chart, with the latter reaching #8 on the Hot 100 pop chart. Mr. Locklin died on March 8, 2009 at the age of 91.

Allan Arbus. U.S. actor and photographer. Mr. Arbus was an advertising photographer with his wife Diane, who became well-known in her own right. Mr. Arbus took up acting in the late 1960s, and was best known for playing psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Freedman in the television comedy series M*A*S*H (1973-1983). Mr. Arbus died on April 19, 2013 at the age of 95.

90 years ago
1928

Died on this date
H. H. Asquith, 75. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1908-1916. Herbert Henry Asquith, a Liberal, sat in the House of Commons from 1886-1924, and led the Liberal Party from 1908-1926. He was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1905 until he succeeded the retiring Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman as Prime Minister. Mr. Asquith was the last British Prime Minister to lead a Liberal majority government, and was responsible for leading the United Kingdom into World War I in 1914. Dissatisfaction with the war's progress led to his replacement as Prime Minister by David Lloyd George in December 1916, and Mr. Asquith led the Opposition for most of the next six years. He lost his seat in the 1924 general election, and was elevated to the House of Lords in 1925 as the 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith.

75 years ago
1943

War
Soviet troops occupied seven more towns in Ukraine, including the railroad junction of Kuteynikov, 50 miles north of the Sea of Azov. German troops occupied Gafsa, Tunisia, 36 miles east of the Algerian border.

Politics and government
Risto Ryti was re-elected President of Finland by presidential electors.

Ali Soheily took office as Prime Minister of Iran, replacing Ahmed Qavan Sultaneh, who resigned.

Labour
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the dismissal of the government's antitrust suit against the American Federation of Labor American Federation of Musicians and its president, James Petrillo, for banning recordings by union members.

Scandal
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the conviction of New Jersey Republican Party leader Enoch L. Johnson for income tax evasion.

70 years ago
1948

On the Radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes on MBS, starring John Stanley and Alfred Shirley
Tonight's episode: Shoscombe Old Place

Literature
Joseph Hitree won the $10,000 Harper Prize contest for his first novel, Son of the Moon.

Defense
The Greek government expanded its National Defense Council to include U.S. General James Van Fleet and U.K. General E.E. Downs, commanders of the two countries' military forces in Greece.

Politics and government
Romulo Gallego was inaugurated in Caracas as Venezuela's first popularly-elected President, succeeding Romulo Betancourt.

Economist Juan Natalicio Gonzalez, running unopposed, was elected President of Paraguay, succeeding Higinio Morinigo.

60 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): April Love--Pat Boone

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Der lachende Vagabund--Fred Bertelmann (4th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Gondolier--Dalida

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): The Story of My Life--Michael Holliday

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Stroll--The Diamonds (2nd week at #1)
2 Get a Job--The Silhouettes
3 At the Hop--Danny and the Juniors
4 Don't--Elvis Presley
5 Short Shorts--The Royal Teens
6 Sail Along Silvery Moon--Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra
7 Catch a Falling Star--Perry Como
8 Sugartime--The McGuire Sisters
9 I Beg of You--Elvis Presley
10 Oh Julie--The Crescendos

Singles entering the chart were It's Too Soon to Know (#31)/A Wonderful Time Up There (#50) by Pat Boone; Good Golly, Miss Molly by Little Richard (#40); Sweet Little Sixteen by Chuck Berry (#42); The Little Blue Man by Betty Johnson (#57); and Young Dove's Calling by the Couplings (#58).

Politics and government
Insurgent Army and political leaders meeting in central Sumatra proclaimed a new Revolutionary Government for Indonesia, headed by Masjumi (Muslim) Party leader Sjafruddin Prawiranegara as Prime Minister and Finance Minister.

The British Parliament approved a bill creating life peerages in the House of Lords.

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower accepted the resignation of former Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen as his special assistant for disarmament affairs; Mr. Stassen was seeking the Republican party nomination for Governor of Pennsylvania.

50 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Kaette Kita Yopparai--The Folk Crusaders (4th week at #1)

On television tonight
Dragnet 1968, starring Jack Webb and Harry Morgan, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Little Victim

Diplomacy
United States special envoy Cyrus Vance returned to Washington from South Korea and reported to President Lyndon Johnson. Before Mr. Vance left Seoul, a joint statement was issued by him and the South Korean government which noted increasing North Korean belligerency. The statement indicated at least a temporary rejection by the U.S. of South Korean demands for major U.S. strikes against any new North Korean aggression.

Politics and government
Gardner Ackley, Chairman of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers, resigned to accept the position of U.S. Ambassador to Italy. He was succeeded as the Council's Chairman by Art Okun.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that the nation's balance of payments deficit totalled $1.832 billion in the final three months of 1967, and $3.572 billion for the entire year of 1967. Treasury Secretary Henry Fowler described the fourth-quarter deficit as "the worst...since the third quarter of 1950 following the outbreak of the Korean War."

Olympics
Nancy Greene of Rossland, British Columbia, representing Canada, won the gold medal in the women's giant slalom at Grenoble, two days after winning the silver medal in the slalom. Annie Famose of France won the silver medal, and Fernande Bochatay of Switzerland took the bronze.

40 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Take a Chance on Me--ABBA

Boxing
Leon Spinks (7-0-1) won a 15-round split decision over defending champion Muhammad Ali (55-3) at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas to win the world heavyweight title. It was the first time since Jim Braddock's win over Max Baer in 1935 that the world heavyweight championship had changed hands on a decision.



Hockey
NHL
Vancouver 3 @ New York Rangers 6

30 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): (I've Had) The Time of My Life--Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Richard Feynman, 69. U.S. physicist. Dr. Feynman shared the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics in with Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itro Tomonaga "for their fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics (QED), with deep-ploughing consequences for the physics of elementary particles." Dr. Feynman was one of the pioneers of nanotechnology, and helped to popularize that and other areas of physics through lectures and books.

Olympics
Czechoslovakia defeated the United States 7-5 in men's hockey at Olympic Saddledome in Calgary.

25 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): I Will Always Love You--Whitney Houston (4th week at #1)

20 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Martha Gellhorn, 89. U.S. writer. Miss Gellhorn was a novelist and travel writer in a 60-year career, but was primarily known as a war correspondent. She was married to Ernest Hemingway from 1940-1945. Miss Gellhorn was suffering from cancer when she apparently committed suicide in London.

Georgios Mylonas, 78. Greek politician. Mr. Mylonas, a member of the Greek Centre Union and then New Democracy, was a close aide to Prime Minister George Papandreou; among the cabinet posts he held was that of Culture Minister (1989-1990). Mr. Mylonas was exiled on the island of Amorgos during Greece's military dictatorship (1967-1974), but escaped.

Olympics
At Nagano, Edmonton's Pierre Lueders and Charlottetown native Dave MacEachern, representing Canada, tied with the Italian team for the gold medal in 2-man bobsled. In men's hockey, Canada defeated the United States 4-1. The Sandra Schmirler rink from Regina, representing Canada, won the first gold medal ever presented for women's curling when they defeated Denmark 7-5 in the final. The other members of the rink were Jan Betker, Joan McCusker, Marcia Gudereit, and Atina Ford.

Auto racing
Seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt earned his only Daytona 500 victory.

10 years ago
2008

Declared dead on this date
Steve Fossett, 63. U.S. businessman and aviator. Mr. Fossett was declared dead more than five months after his small plane vanished over California's Sierra Nevada mountains. His remains were discovered late in October 2008, a year after his disappearance.