January 1, 2020

420 years ago
1600

Britannica
Scotland adopted January 1 as New Year's Day.

270 years ago
1750

Born on this date
Frederick Muhlenberg. U.S. clergyman and politician. Rev. Muhlenberg was a Lutheran minister who was a delegate from Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress (1779-1780), and sat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1780-1783). He represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives (1789-1797), and was the first Speaker of the House (1789-1791, 1793-1795). Rev. Muhlenberg was the first signer of the Bill of Rights, and in 1789 cast the deciding vote for the nation's new capital. He died on June 4, 1801 at the age of 51.

240 years ago
1780

Died on this date
Johann Ludwig Krebs, 66. German musician and composer. Mr. Krebs played various instruments, but specialized in the organ, studying with Johann Sebastian Bach. He wrote works for organ as well as chamber and choral works, but his Baroque compositions were unfashionable in his time.

210 years ago
1810

Politics and government
Major-General Lachlan Macquarie took office as Governor of New South Wales.

160 years ago
1860

Europeana
The first Polish stamp was issued, replacing the Russian stamps previously in use.

130 years ago
1890

Africana
Eritrea was consolidated into a colony by the Italian government.

125 years ago
1895

Born on this date
J. Edgar Hoover. U.S. law enforcement official. John Edgar Hoover joined the U.S. Bureau of Investigation in 1919, and became its Director in 1924; the agency was renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1935. Under Mr. Hoover's leadership, the FBI modernized crime-fighting, creating a forensic laboratory and compiling a large centralized fingerprint database. However, Mr. Hoover was criticized for abusing his power, including the use of illegal methods to obtain evidence, and harassing individuals and groups he opposed. Mr. Hoover was still directing the FBI at the time of his death from a heart attack on May 2, 1972 at the age of 77.

120 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Chiune Sugihara. Japanese diplomat. Mr. Sugihara held various posts, but was known for his time as Japanese vice-consul in Kaunas, Lithuania (1939-1941), when he arranged transit visas for 6,000 Jews, enabling them to flee Europe through Japanese territory. He was forced to resign from the Japanese foreign service in 1947, and died on July 31, 1986 at the age of 86.

Xavier Cugat. Spanish-born U.S. bandleader. Mr. Cugat, born Francisco de Asís Javier Cugat Mingall de Bru y Deulofeu, moved to Cuba with his family at the age of 5 and to the United States at the age of 15. He led the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel's orchestra in New York City for 16 years, covering the time before and after World War II. Mr. Cugat died on October 27, 1990 at the age of 90.

110 years ago
1910

Defense
Captain David Beatty was promoted to Rear Admiral, and became the youngest admiral in the British Royal Navy (except for royal family members) since Horatio Nelson.

Hockey
CHA
Quebec 7 @ Montreal Shamrocks 6

This was the first game for both teams in the new Canadian Hockey Association.

90 years ago
1930

At the movies
Party Girl, co-written, produced, and directed by Victor Halperin (directing under the pseudonym Rex Hale), and starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Jeanette Loff, and Marie Prevost, received its premiere screening in New York City shortly after midnight as 1929 passed into 1930.



Football
NCAA
Rose Bowl
Southern California 47 Pittsburgh 14

80 years ago
1940

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on NBC
Tonight’s episode: The Blue Carbuncle

Died on this date
William A. Ashbrook, 72. U.S. politician. Mr. Ashbrook founded the newspaper The Johnstown (Ohio) Independent in 1884. A Democrat, he represented Licking County in the Ohio House of Representatives (1906-1907), and represented Ohio's 17th District in the U.S. House of Representatives (1907-1921, 1935-1940). Mr. Ashbrook's son John, a Republican, held the same seat from 1961-1982, and also died in office.

War
Canada's National Defence Department announced that the Canadian Army's 1st Division had arrived in Britain, as King George VI signed a proclamation providing for the military conscription of all British males aged 19-28. Soviet planes bombed Jyvaskyla, Finland. Japanese troops advanced in the southern Chinese province of Kwangtung.

Diplomacy
Vladimir Sokolina was dismissed as under-secretary general of the League of Nations after he refused to resign as instructed by the Soviet government.

Politics and government
Yellowknife enacted the first municipal government in the Northwest Territories.

Economics and finance
Dutch fiscal authorities forecast an increase in the world's gold flow to the United States because of World War II.

In his annual report, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Henry Wallace said that World War II would hinder rather than help American farmers.

Disasters
Nearly 60 towns and villages were washed away as floods spread across Turkey from the Aegean Sea to the Black Sea.

Football
NCAA
Orange Bowl
Georgia Tech 21 Missouri 7

Cotton Bowl
Clemson 6 Boston College 3

Sun Bowl
Arizona State 0 Catholic 0

Sugar Bowl
Texas A&M 14 Tulane 13

Rose Bowl
Ohio State 17 California 14

75 years ago
1945

Hit parade
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Don't Fence Me In--Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters
2 The Trolley Song--The Pied Pipers
--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
--Judy Garland
3 I'm Making Believe--The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald
4 Dance with a Dolly (With a Hole in Her Stocking)--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra
--Evelyn Knight with Camarata and his Orchestra
--Tony Pastor and his Orchestra
5 I Dream of You--Andy Russell
--Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra
6 There Goes That Song Again--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
7 Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That’s an Irish Lullaby)--Bing Crosby
--Charlie Spivak and his Orchestra
8 I'll Walk Alone--Dinah Shore
--Martha Tilton
--Mary Martin
9 Together--Helen Forrest and Dick Haymes
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
10 The Very Thought of You--Ray Noble and his Orchestra
--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were the version of I Dream of You by Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra; the version of Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That’s an Irish Lullaby) by Charlie Spivak and his Orchestra; Evelina by Bing Crosby (#21); I Promise You by Jo Stafford (#22); Corns for My Country by the Andrews Sisters (#23); How Deep is the Ocean by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra (#30); Twilight Time by the Three Suns (#31); and Sweet Dreams, Sweetheart, with versions by Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra; and Stan Kenton and his Orchestra (#45). The version of Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That’s an Irish Lullaby) by Charlie Spivak and his Orchestra was the other side of Let Me Love You Tonight (No Te Importe Saber), charting at #19. Corns for My Country was the other side of I'm in a Jam (With Baby), charting at #44. Twilight Time was the other side of How Many Hearts Have You Broken, charting at #36. The version of Sweet Dreams, Sweetheart by Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra was the other side of Moon on My Pillow, charting at #35.

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on MBS
Tonight's episode: Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot

Abominations
In retaliation for the Malmedy massacre, U.S. troops massacred 30 German S.S. prisoners at Chenogne.

War
German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler told the German people in a radio broadcast that World War II would not end until 1946 unless "by German victory," because Germany would never capitulate. The German Luftwaffe launched Operation Bodenplatte, a large but failed attempt to knock out Allied air power in northern Europe in a single blow; they reportedly lost 208 planes in attacks upon Allied positions in Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. After taking another 200 blocks on both sides of the Danube River, Soviet troops claimed to control about 35 square miles of Budapest. U.S. forces in the Philippines landed unopposed on the east coast of Mindoro Island.

Diplomacy
France became a member of the United Nations.

U.S. Secretary of State Edward Stettinius announced that the United States would continue to recognize the Polish government-in-exile in London.

Economics and finance
U.S. Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion Director James F. Byrnes suggested legislation to increase the authority of the War Mobilization Commission and the National War Labor Board so that decisions could be enforced without making property seizures by the military necessary.

Football
NCAA
Orange Bowl
Tulsa 26 Georgia Tech 12

Sugar Bowl
Duke 29 Alabama 26

Cotton Bowl
Oklahoma A & M 34 Texas Christian 0

Rose Bowl
Southern California 25 Tennessee 0

70 years ago
1950

Diplomacy
Yugoslavia, Ecuador, and India replaced Argentina, Canada, and Ukraine as temporary members of the United Nations Security Council.

Politics and government
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover expressed "emphatic" opposition to the creation of a national police system with the task of controlling domestic Communists.

Economics and finance
The United States announced plans to supply Yugoslavia with aircraft equipment for civilian use.

60 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?--Emile Ford and the Checkmates (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?--Emile Ford and the Checkmates (3rd week at #1)

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CBS
Tonight’s episode: The Four of Us are Dying, starring Harry Townes, Ross Martin, Philip Pine, and Don Gordon

Died on this date
Margaret Sullavan, 50. U.S. actress. Miss Sullavan was mainly a stage actress, but was nominated for an Academy Award for her starring performance in Three Comrades (1938), and was known for starring with James Stewart in four films, including The Shop Around the Corner (1940) and The Mortal Storm (1940). She suffered from depression and hearing loss in later years, and died of what was ruled to be an accidental overdose of barbiturates in a hotel room in New Haven, Connecticut, where she was starring in a tryout of the play Sweet Love Remembered.

Africana
Cameroon achieved its independence from France and the United Kingdom.

Journalism
The Toronto-based weekly Canadian Jewish News published its first edition.

Football
NCAA
Orange Bowl
Georgia 14 Missouri 0

Cotton Bowl
Syracuse 23 Texas 14

Sugar Bowl
Mississippi 21 Louisiana State 0

Rose Bowl
U of Washington 44 Wisconsin 8

50 years ago
1970

Yellowknifiana
As the centennial year of the Northwest Territories began, Yellowknife officially became a city, and its first traffic lights began operating.

Canadiana
The cities of Fort William and Port Arthur, Ontario officially amalgamated to become Thunder Bay.

Abominations
The price of a chocolate bar in Canada increased from 10c to 15c, prompting this blogger to stop buying them.

War
U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew interrupted a 10-nation, 23-day tour of Asia by making a side trip from Manila, his first stop, to South Vietnam for a 24-hour stay. He visited American troops, including the wounded at an evacuation hospital, and said that his day "confirms to me the wisdom of our policies" and that he is leaving "with the feeling that the new year will bring us closer to our common goal."

Israeli jets knocked out the East Ghor Canal in Jordan for the third time.

World events
The beginning of Unix time was defined, at 00:00:00.

The government of France suspended two French officials involved in the December 25 theft of five French gunboats from Cherbourg by an Israeli crew, and expelled an Israeli diplomat said to have negotiated the boats’ sale through a non-existent Norwegian concern.

Politics and government
Pakistani President Agha Mohammed Yahya Khan lifted restrictions on political activity that had been in effect since March 1969.

Religion
Pope Paul VI denounced powerful nations basing their stability on "trading arms to poor nations lacking plows, schools, and hospitals" and "giant industries" prospering on their "capacity to produce arms" in the most spontaneous and fervent peace plea of his papacy.

Society
The age of majority in Great Britain dropped from 21 to 18 as legislation passed in 1969 went into effect. An estimated 2.25-3 million young people were now eligible to vote, marry without their parents’ consent, and enjoy other rights. The Labour government also announced the abolition of the money limit for travel outside Britain.

Environment
U.S. President Richard Nixon signed a bill creating a Council on Environmental Quality, pledging a fight against pollution so that "the decade of the seventies will be known as the time when this country regained a productive harmony between man and nature." Without such a fight, he said, areas such as the one around his California home "will be unfit to live in" by 1980.

Economics and finance
In line with an agreement signed between the government of Chile and Anaconda Co. in June 1969, the first of two stages of "negotiated nationalization" of the firm’s subsidiaries in the country went into effect.

Football
NCAA
Cotton Bowl
Texas 21 Notre Dame 17

Sugar Bowl
Mississippi 27 Arkansas 22

Orange Bowl
Pennsylvania State 10 Missouri 3

Rose Bowl
Southern California 10 Michigan 3



40 years ago
1980

Hit parade
Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles
2 Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)--ABBA
3 We Don't Talk Anymore--Cliff Richard
4 Don't Bring Me Down--Electric Light Orchestra
5 Babe it's Up to You--Smokie
6 She's in Love with You--Suzi Quatro
7 Boy Oh Boy--Racey
8 Maybe--Thom Pace
9 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
10 Tusk--Fleetwood Mac

Singles entering the chart were Crazy Little Thing Called Love; Bang Bang by B.A. Robertson (#13); Todesengel by Frank Duval & Orchestra (#15); I Want You to Want Me by Cheap Trick (#16); Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough by Michael Jackson (#17); Bobby Brown by Frank Zappa (#18); and Lucifer by the Alan Parsons Project (#19).

Died on this date
Pietro Nenni, 88. Italian politician. Mr. Nenni, a Republican from 1908-1921 and a Socialist thereafter, held various cabinet posts, including Minister of Foreign Affairs (1946-1947, 1968-1969) and Deputy Prime Minister (1963-1968). He favoured close ties with the Communist Party, and received the Stalin Peace Prize in 1951, but broke with the Communists after the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956, and returned the prize money.

Adolph Deutsch, 82. U.K.-born U.S. composer. Mr. Deutsch, a native of London, moved to the United States in 1910. He composed music for Broadway plays before moving to Hollywood in the late 1930s, where he began composing film scores for Warner Brothers Pictures. He was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning for his scoring of Annie Get Your Gun (1950); Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and Oklahoma! (1955). Mr. Deutsch's other scores included those for High Sierra (1941); The Maltese Falcon (1941); and The Apartment (1960). He was a founder and president of the Screen Composers Association.

War
There was heavy fighting between Soviet forces and Afghan army units at the town of Bala Zhar in Afghanistan. Soviet forces killed or interned 700 soldiers of the Afghan Army’s 26th Parachute Regiment when they refused a Soviet request to disarm. The U.S.S.R. said it had sent troops to Afghanistan to help repel "reactionary bands" armed, trained, and directed by the U.S.A. and China. The Soviets also accused Pakistan of training officers to command Afghan Muslim groups to fight in Afghanistan.

Europeana
A constitutional provision went into effect in Sweden providing for royal succession by absolute, or equal, primogeniture. It meant that King Carl XVI's infant son Carl Philip was now displaced as heir by the king's daughter Victoria, who was two years older than the prince.

Disasters
44 were reported killed when fire swept through a crowded social club in Chapais, Quebec at a New Year’s Eve party.

An earthquake registering 7.0 on the Richter scale hit Portugal’s Azore Islands, crumbling building, killing at least 52 people, and injuring more than 300.

Football
NCAA
Cotton Bowl
Houston 17 Nebraska 14

Rose Bowl
Southern California 17 Ohio State 16

Orange Bowl
Oklahoma 24 Florida State 7

Sugar Bowl
Alabama 24 Arkansas 9

Hockey
International exhibition
Czechoslovakia 1 @ Canadian Olympic Team 5

30 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Love Shack--The B-52's (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Christmas Eve--Tatsuro Yamashita

Abominations
Salary raises for Canadian Members of Parliament went into effect, with MPs to get a minimum $82,700 per year, plus a $20,000 tax free allowance. The Prime Minister's salary increased to $153,700 per year.

Politics and government
David Dinkins was sworn in as New York City's first Negro mayor.

Football
NCAA
Fiesta Bowl
Florida State 41 Nebraska 17

Cotton Bowl
Tennessee 31 Arkansas 27

Rose Bowl
Southern California 17 Michigan 10

Orange Bowl
Notre Dame 21 Colorado 6

Sugar Bowl
U of Miami 33 Alabama 25

25 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: George--Headless Chickens (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Cotton Eye Joe--Rednex (6th week at #1)

Died on this date
E.P. Wigner, 92. Hungarian-born U.S. physicist and mathematician. Dr. Wigner received a share of the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his contributions to the theory of the atomic nucleus and the elementary particles, particularly through the discovery and application of fundamental symmetry principles."

Fred West, 53. U.K. criminal. Mr. West, alone and with his second wfe Rosemary, tortured at least 11 women and young girls in Gloucester, England. He was arrested in 1994 and hanged himself in his cell while on remand at Winson Green Prison in Birmingham.

War
A four-month truce between Bosnia's Muslim-led government and Bosnian Serbs went into effect.

Economics and finance
The World Trade Organization went into effect.

Europeana
Sweden, Austria, and Finland were admitted into the European Union.

Diplomacy
The Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe became the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Science
The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway was detected, confirming the existence of freak waves.

Football
NFL
AFC Wild Card Playoff
New England 13 @ Cleveland 20





NFC Wild Card Playoff
Chicago 35 @ Minnesota 18



20 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Y2K. Worldwide crisis. Y2K, a computer programming problem that was supposed to threaten the existence of all life as we knew it, died and was quickly forgotten when January 1, 2000 came and nothing unusual happened, even in countries that had done little or nothing to prepare for it. Governments and industry had spent $350 billion U.S. to prepare. It was reported that The Gambia had experienced some problems, but I have it on good authority that even that report was bogus. U.S. authorities did lose contact with a spy satellite for two or three hours.

Football
NCAA
Cotton Bowl
Arkansas 27 Texas 6

Rose Bowl
Wisconsin 17 Stanford 9

Orange Bowl
Michigan 35 Alabama 34 (OT)

10 years ago
2010

Terrorism
A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 people and injuring 100 more.