January 25, 2019

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Zlata Antunovic!

460 years ago
1559

Died on this date
Christian II, 77. King of Denmark and Norway, 1513-1523; King of Sweden, 1520-1521. Christian II acceded to the thrones of Denmark and Norway upon the death of his father Hans. He reigned under the Kalmar Union, which united Denmark, Norway, and Sweden under a single monarch. King Christian attempted to maintain the Kalmar Union by waging war on Sweden (1518-1523), and succeeded in capturing the country in 1520, but the Stockholm Bloodbath--a massacre of leading Swedish civilians in November 1520--led to an uprising, and King Christian was deposed as King of Sweden in August 1521. He attempted reforms in Denmark in 1522 that incurred the wrath of the nobility and clergy, and he was deposed and exiled to the Netherlands. Christian II attempted to regain his thrones in 1531, but he was arrested and spent the rest of his life as a prisoner in the Netherlands, dying in Kalundborg Castle.

275 years ago
1744

Died on this date
Domenico Sarro, 64. Italian composer. Mr. Sarro wrote cantatas and more than 30 operas in a career spanning more than 35 years. His best-known work was the opera Achille in Sciro (1737).

260 years ago
1759

Born on this date
Robert Burns. U.K. poet and lyricist. Mr. Burns was a pioneer of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as the national poet of Scotland. His birthday is celebrated annually by those of Scottish ancestry. Mr. Burns is probably best known for writing the song Auld Lang Syne. He died of a rheumatic heart condition, perhaps exacerbated by an allegedly intemperate lifestyle, on July 21, 1796 at the age of 37.

175 years ago
1844

Britannica
The Glaciarium, the world's first mechanically frozen ice rink, opened in London.

140 years ago
1879

Economics and finance
The Bulgarian National Bank was founded.

125 years ago
1894

Boxing
James J. Corbett (10-0-2-3) retained his world heavyweight title with a knockout of Charlie Mitchell (27-3-11-7) in the 3rd round at Duvall Athletic Club in Jacksonville, Florida.

120 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Paul-Henri Spaak. Belgian politician and diplomat. One of the pioneers of European unification, Mr. Spaak, a socialist, was Prime Minister of Belgium in 1938-1939; 1946; and 1947-1949. He was President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1946-1947; President of the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community (forerunner of the European Economic Community) from 1952-1954; and Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization from 1957-1961. Mr. Spaak died on July 31, 1972 at the age of 73.

110 years ago
1909

Opera
Elektra by Richard Strauss received its premiere performance at the Dresden State Opera.

100 years ago
1919

Born on this date
Edwin Newman. U.S. journalist. Mr. Newman worked for wire services in the early 1940s before serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He worked with CBS radio from 1947-1949, but spent most of the rest of his career with NBC, working there regularly from 1961-1984. He is mainly known to this blogger for his books Strictly Speaking (1974) and A Civil Tongue (1976), in which he criticized current misuse of the English language in the United States; both books are well worth reading. Mr. Newman and his wife moved to England in 2007; he died on August 13, 2010 at the age of 91.

War
The Battle of Shenkursk, a military intervention in the Russian Civil War in support of the White Russian government of Admiral Alexander Kolchak, concluded with Allied forces retreating before a stronger Bolshevik army.

Diplomacy
Canada joined other members of the Paris Peace Conference in approving the proposal to create the League of Nations.

80 years ago
1939

Boxing
Joe Louis (37-1) retained his world heavyweight title, knocking world light heavyweight champion John Henry Lewis (98-10-4) down three times and out at 2:29 of the 1st round at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was Mr. Louis's first fight since his 1-round knockout of former world champion Max Schmeling on June 22, 1938. It was the last fight for Mr. Lewis, who was forced to retire because of deteriorating eyesight.



75 years ago
1944

Died on this date
Frederick Van Nuys, 69. U.S. politician. Mr. Van Nuys, a Democrat, represented Indiana in the United States Senate from 1933 until his death after a short illness. He was first elected in 1932 as an opponent of Prohibition, defeating incumbent and Senate Majority Leader James E. Watson. Sen. Van Nuys joined with Sen. Robert Wagner (Democrat)--New York) to introduce anti-lynching legislation in the Senate in 1937. Indiana Governor appointed Samuel D. Jackson to fill the Senate vacancy caused by Sen. Van Nuys' death.

War
American units in Italy reached the outskirts of Cassino, encountering light opposition. Soviet troops on the Leningrad front cut the railroad at Vladimir, leaving the German forces below Leningrad without a lateral railroad. Argentine Foreign Minister Alberto Gilbert said that Allied charges of German espionage there were correct, and that the government was determined to end such activities.

Diplomacy
U.K. Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden announced that Britain would not recognize the revolutionary government of Bolivia.

Labour
A U.S. federal court ruled against local United Mine Workers of America unions, declaring that operators did not have to pay workers for travel time.

70 years ago
1949

Died on this date
Nobuaki Makino, 87. Japanese politician. Count Makino was Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs (1913-1914) and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan (1925-1935). He was one of the early leaders of the Liberalism movement in Japan, and was the de facto chief of the Japanese delegation at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.

Television
The first Emmy Awards were presented at the Hollywood Athletic Club in Los Angeles, with eligibility limited to programs produced in Los Angeles County and broadcast in the Los Angeles media market. The game show Pantomime Quiz was named the most popular program. The ceremony was telecast on Los Angeles station KTSL.

Politics and government
The first Israeli parliamentary election resulted in a large plurality for Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion's Mapai (Socialist) Party. Mapai won 46 of 120 seats in the Constituent Assembly, followed by Mapam (19); United Religious Front (16); and Herut (14), with eight other parties winning at last one seat each.

Economics and finance
The U.S.S.R. announced the creation of a Soviet-bloc counterpart to the Organization for European Economic Cooperation. The Council for Economic Mutual Assistance included all Eastern European states except Yugoslavia.

60 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in France (IFOP): Come Prima--Dalida (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Out There - Darkness, starring Bette Davis, James Congdon, and Frank Albertson

At the movies
A Stranger in My Arms, directed by Helmut Käutner, and starring June Allyson, Jeff Chandler, Sandra Dee, Charles Coburn, Mary Astor, and Peter Graves, received its premiere screening in London.



Diplomacy
Yugoslavian President Marshal Josip Broz Tito and Ceylonese Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike issued a joint communique at the conclusion of Marshal Tito's five-day visit to Ceylon, pledging to continue their neutralist policies.

Two days after Mexico had severed diplomatic relations with Guatemala, Guatemalan President Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes defended the strafing of a Mexican shrimp boat by Guatemalan planes, charging that Mexican fishermen had "continuously and pitilessly" robbd Guatemala's maritime resources.

Defense
West Berlin Mayor Willy Brandt said that Polish proposals for the creation of a nuclear-free zone in Europe could be "a basis for discussion" of a European settlement with the U.S.S.R.

Politics and government
Governors of the British East African territories of Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika, and Zanzibar met with U.K. Colonial Secretary Alan Lennox-Boyd for talks on growing nationalist unrest in their areas.

Transportation
American Airlines inaugurated the jet age in the United States with the first scheduled transcontinental flight of a Boeing 707.

50 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Eloise--Barry Ryan (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): Biplane Evermore--The Royal Guardsmen (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France: Casatchok--Dimitri Dourakine and his Orchestra (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Scende la pioggia--Gianni Morandi (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Eloise--Barry Ryan (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da--The Marmalade

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da--The Marmalade (2nd week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Ain't Got No--I Got Life--Nina Simone
2 Hair--Zen
3 Lily the Pink--The Scaffold
4 Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da--The Marmalade
5 I Started a Joke--The Bee Gees
6 Albatross--Fleetwood Mac
7 Son-of-a Preacher Man--Dusty Springfield
8 Eloise--Barry Ryan
9 Battle Hymn of the Republic--Andy Williams with the St. Charles Borromeo Choir
10 Bluebirds Over the Mountain--The Beach Boys

Singles entering the chart were Papa's Got a Brand New Bag by Otis Redding (#23); Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da by the Beatles (#24); Spooky's Day Off by Swinging Soul Machine (#29); Mona Lisa by Ben Cramer (#30); Casatschok by Dimitri Dourakine en zijn Orkest (#35); Emptyness by the Shoes (#36); and Touch Me by the Doors (#39).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 I Heard it Through the Grapevine--Marvin Gaye (7th week at #1)
2 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells
3 I'm Gonna Make You Love Me--Diana Ross and the Supremes & the Temptations
4 Soulful Strut--Young-Holt Unlimited
5 Everyday People--Sly & the Family Stone
6 Hooked on a Feeling--B.J. Thomas
7 Touch Me--The Doors
8 Worst that Could Happen--Brooklyn Bridge
9 I Started a Joke--The Bee Gees
10 Son-of-a Preacher Man--Dusty Springfield

Singles entering the chart were I'm Livin' in Shame by Diana Ross and the Supremes (#47); Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#62); Give it Up or Turnit a Loose by James Brown (#63); River Deep--Mountain High by Deep Purple (#72); Purple Haze by Dion (#78); The Greatest Love by Dorsey Burnette (#82); Indian Giver by 1910 Fruitgum Co. (#85); Let it Be Me by Glen Campbell and Bobbie Gentry (#90); The Carroll County Accident by Porter Wagoner (#93); Please Don't Desert Me Baby by Gloria Walker and the Chevelles (#98); Crossroads by Cream (#99); and Hey! Baby by Jose Feliciano (#100).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I'm Gonna Make You Love Me--Diana Ross and the Supremes & the Temptations
2 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells
3 Touch Me--The Doors
4 I Heard it Through the Grapevine--Marvin Gaye
5 Hooked on a Feeling--B.J. Thomas
6 Soulful Strut--Young-Holt Unlimited
7 Worst that Could Happen--Brooklyn Bridge
8 Everyday People--Sly & the Family Stone
9 I Started a Joke--The Bee Gees
10 If I Can Dream--Elvis Presley

Singles entering the chart were I'm Livin' in Shame by Diana Ross and the Supremes (#39); Woman Helping Man by the Vogues (#49); Indian Giver by 1910 Fruitgum Co. (#51); Crossroads by Cream (#53); Hey! Baby (#57)/My World is Empty Without You (#63) by Jose Feliciano; Someday Soon by Judy Collins (#61); I'm Gonna Hold on as Long as I Can by the Marvelettes (#63); Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#67); Give it Up or Turnit a Loose by James Brown (#69); River Deep--Mountain High by Deep Purple (#75); Bubble Gum Music by the Rock and Roll Dubble Bubble Trading Card Co. of Philadelphia-19141 (#80); I'm in Love with You by the Kasenetz-Katz Super Cirkus (#81); Almost Persuaded by Etta James (#83); Getting the Corners by the T.S.U. Toronadoes (#84); You Gave Me a Mountain by Frankie Laine (#87); The Greatest Love by Dorsey Burnette (#89); He Called Me Baby by Ella Washington (#92); I Got a Line on You by Spirit (#94); Me About You by the Lovin' Spoonful (#95); If by Al Hirt (#96); Only the Lonely by Sonny James (#97); Soul Shake by Peggy Scott and Jo Jo Benson (#98); Witchi Tai To by Everything is Everything (#99); and Light My Fire by Rhetta Hughes (#100).

Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells (2nd week at #1)
2 Twilight Woman--The 49th Parallel
3 Sweet Cream Ladies--The Box Tops
4 Build Me Up Buttercup--The Foundations
5 Beyond the Clouds--The Poppy Family
6 Son-of-a Preacher Man--Dusty Springfield
7 I'm Gonna Make You Love Me--Diana Ross and the Supremes & the Temptations
8 This Magic Moment--Jay and the Americans
9 Abraham, Martin and John--Dion
10 Bella Linda--The Grass Roots
Pick hit of the week: I'm Livin' in Shame--Diana Ross and the Supremes

War
Brazilian Army captain Carlos Lamarca deserted in order to fight against the country's military dictatorship, taking with him 10 machine guns and 63 rifles.

A the first plenary session of the four-party peace talks in Paris on the Vietnam War, chief U.S. negotiator Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. proposed the immediate restoration of the neutralization of the demilitarized zone.

Protest
Six days after his death from self-immolation in protest aganist the demoralization of his country following its occupation by Soviet forces, Czechoslovakian student protester Mr. Palach was given a hero's funeral in Prague, with 500,000 people silently filling the streets. Clashes broke out between workers and police in Prague's Wenceslas Square.

40 years ago
1979

On television tonight
Family, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Malicious Mischief

Religion
Pope John Paul II visited Mexico and the Dominican Republic to begin his first official papal visit outside Europe.

Politics and government
Iranian Prime Minister Shahpur Bakhtiar offered to resign if exiled Shi'ite Muslim leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini would delay his return to the country and allow the people to decide what kind of government they wanted.

Jean-Luc Pépin and John Robarts released the Report of the Task Force on Canadian Unity, recommending that Québec should have the power to maintain its language and culture, and that federal powers be reduced.

30 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Good Life--Inner City

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Bring Me Edelweiss--Edelweiss

War
The Soviet foreign ministry announced that the final "withdrawal process" of departure of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was under way.

Politics and government
U.S. President George Bush appointed an eight-member commission to propose a code of ethics for government officials.

Hockey
NHL
Chicago 6 Edmonton 3

25 years ago
1994

Space
The U.S. lunar probe Clementine was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Politics and government
U.S. President Bill Clinton delivered his first State of the Union address to Congress. He said he would veto any health care reform bill that "does not guarantee every American private health insurance that can never be taken away." Mr. Clinton said he would introduce a bill to reform the federal welfare system that would give the poor "a second chance, not a way of life," saying that he would seek to limit to two years the time during which heads of households could get welfare benefits. Mr. Clinton called for a ban on assault weapons and federal aid to permit local hiring of 100,000 new police officers, and endorsed a "three strikes, you're out" provision of a Senate anti-crime bill that would put anyone convicted of three violent felonies in prison for life.



Scandal
U.S. pop singer Michael Jackson reached an out-of-court settlement with a boy, now 14, who had accused him of sexual molestation. The terms were not made public, but sources said Mr. Jackson had agreed to a payment of $10-20 million. Although the settlement ended the civil suit, Mr. Jackson was still the subject of a criminal investigation.

20 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Robert Shaw, 82. U.S. music conductor. Mr. Shaw was a conductor of choruses and orchestras, and became known as the "dean" of American choral conductors. He was music director of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra (1953-1957) and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (1967-1988), founded the Robert Shaw Chorale in 1948, and conducted the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus. Mr. Shaw championed the work of modern composers, recorded in various genres, and won 14 Grammy Awards, among numerous honours. He died after a stroke.

Scandal
Six members of the International Olympic Committee faced expulsion following an inquiry into a corruption scandal.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Robert Flahiff was convicted in Montreal of laundering $1.7 million in drug money when he was a lawyer; he was sentenced to three years in prison in the most serious conviction ever delivered against a higher court judge.

Religion
Pope John Paul II continued his visit to Mexico, delivering an address at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City to "representatives of all the generations of the century."

Disasters
At least 1,000 people were killed when an earthquake struck Armenia, Colombia.

10 years ago
2009

Died on this date
Eddie Reed, 79. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Reed was an outfielder who played in the Negro American League in the early 1950s; he played in the 1953 East-West Game while a member of the Memphis Red Sox. Mr. Reed spent 8 seasons (1954, 1956-1962) in the minor leagues, never rising above Class B. He played with the Great Falls Electrics of the Class C Pioneer League for all but 11 games from 1958-1962. Mr. Reed batted .300 with 112 home runs and 657 runs batted in in 812 minor league games, and was 0-0 in 3 games as a pitcher; he tied for the Pioneer League lead in triples in 1958 (14), and in 1959 tied for the PL lead in RBIs (103) and led outfielders in fielding percentage (.979).

Hockey
NHL
All-Star Game @ Bell Centre, Montreal
East 12 West 11 (SO)

Alexei Kovalev of the Montreal Canadiens and Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals scored in the shootout to give the Eastern Conference its win over the Western Conference before 21,273 fans. Mr. Kovalev scored 2 goals and an assist in regulation time, and was named the game's most valuable player.