January 25, 2020

1,630 years ago
390

Died on this date
Gregory of Nazianzus, 60 (?). Eastern Orthodox Archbishop of Constantinople, 379-381. Gregory "the Theologian" infused Hellenism into the church, and was a prominent Trinitarian, arguing against Arianism. His position as Archbishop was always disputed, and he survived an assassination attempt in 379. Gregory resolved the dispute by resigning and resuming his position as Bishop of Nazianzus, eventually retiring from clerical life to become a hermit. Gregory is regarded as a saint in both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.

1,270 years ago
750

Died on this date
Ibrahim ibn al-Walid. Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, 744. Ibrahim succeeded his brother Yazid III as Caliph on October 4, 744. On December 7, he abdicated, and was replaced by Marwan II. Ibrahim was executed as part of the Battle of the Zab.

War
Forces of the Abbasid Caliphate commanded by Abdallah ibn Ali defeated forces of the Umayyad Caliphate led by Marwan II in the Battle of the Zab in what is now Iraq.

270 years ago
1750

Born on this date
Johann Gottfried Vierling. German composer. Mr. Vierling was an organist who composed works for organ, and about 160 cantatas. He died on November 22, 1813 at the age of 63.

160 years ago
1860

Born on this date
Charles Curtis. 31st Vice President of the United States, 1929-1933. Mr. Curtis, a Republican, was partly of Kaw Indian ancestry, and grew up on a reservation in Kansas. He represented his state in the United States House of Representatives from 1893-1907 and in the Senate from 1907-1913 and 1915-1929, when he took office as Vice President under President Herbert Hoover. Mr. Curtis was Mr. Hoover's running mate again in 1932, but the administration was unpopular because of its perceived inability to deal with the Depression, and the ticket was soundly defeated. Mr. Curtis then retired from politics and practiced law until his death from a heart attack on February 8, 1936, two weeks after his 76th birthday.

130 years ago
1890

Adventure
Nellie Bly, a reporter for the New York World, bested Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days by completing her circumnavigation in 72 days.

Labour
The United Mine Workers of America was founded in Columbus, Ohio with the merger of the Knights of Labor Trade Assembly No. 135 and the National Progressive Miners Union.

120 years ago
1900

Died on this date
Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, 64. German royal family member. Princess Adelheid was the daughter of Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and a niece of Queen Victoria. She married Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein in 1856. The couple had seven children; their second child and oldest daughter Augusta Viktoria married the future Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1881. Duke Frederick died on January 14, 1880, and Princess Adelheid lied as a widow for her last 20 years.

80 years ago
1940

War
German planes bombed the Shetland Islands.

Politics and government
Canadian Governor General Lord Tweedsmuir granted Prime Minister Mackenzie King's request for a dissolution of Parliament.

Protest
Indian activist Mohandas Gandhi began a 24-hour fast in Bombay to draw attention to demands for Indian independence from Britain.

Economics and finance
The United States government banned shipments of packages to belligerent countries without an affidavit that the material was being transferred to foreign ownership.

75 years ago
1945

Died on this date
Konstantin Umansky, 42. U.S.S.R. diplomat. Mr. Umansky was the Soviet Ambassador to the United States from 1939-1941, Ambassador to Mexico from 1943-1945, and Ambassador to Costa Rica from 1944-1945, concurrent with his posting to Mexico. He was to fly to Costa Rica to present his diplomatic credentials, but the plane on which he was a passenger crashed on takeoff outside Mexico City, killing Mr. Umansky, his wife Raisa, and three embassy officials.

War
A survey by U.S. Selective Service revealed that 40.3% of men aged 28 called for the draft were rejected as physically unfit. German forces in France increased their threat to Strasbourg with a 2,000-yard advance in the Hagenau Forest and a crossing of the Moder River. British forces took Linne, Putbrock, and Kirchhoven, while U.S. troops captured Wallerode, Medel, Ambleve, and Mirfeld. Soviet forces in East Prussia advanced to within 4 miles of Posen and cut the Germans' escape corridor to 11 miles. U.S. forces in the Philippines commanded by General Douglas MacArthur captured the Clark Field airstrips and nearby Fort Stotsenburg and Luzon.

Economics and finance
The Association of American Railroads ordered a 72-hour freight embargo effective January 27, 1945 on everything but war material.

70 years ago
1950

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Ben Wright and Eric Snowden, on ABC
Tonight’s episode: The Case of the Interrupted Voyage

The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Jackson Beck, on ABC

Crime
Four days after being convicted of two counts of perjury, U.S. diplomat and accused Soviet spy Alger Hiss was sentenced by U.S. Federal Judge Henry Goddard to five years in prison. Mr. Hiss continued to deny his guilt, and appealed the verdict.

Energy
U.S. President Harry Truman asked Congress for $87.6 million in additional spending authority for the atomic energy program.

Labour
The French cabinet ordered new security measures to prevent Communist-led strikes from slowing down defense industries.

89,000 United Auto Workers of America members struck against Chrysler Corporation in a pension-wage dispute.

60 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): La Montaña--Lucho Gatica

#1 single in France (IFOP): Le marchand de bonheur--Les Compagnons de la chanson (11th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Running Bear--Johnny Preston (2nd week at #1)
2 El Paso--Marty Robbins
3 Why--Frankie Avalon
4 Teen Angel--Mark Dinning
5 Way Down Yonder in New Orleans--Freddie Cannon
6 The Big Hurt--Miss Toni Fisher
7 The Village of St. Bernadette--Andy Williams
8 Go, Jimmy, Go--Jimmy Clanton
9 Pretty Blue Eyes--Steve Lawrence
10 Where or When--Dion and the Belmonts

Singles entering the chart were Midnite Special by Paul Evans (#70); Forever by the Little Dippers (#77); Baby (You've Got What it Takes) by Dinah Washington & Brook Benton (#79); On the Beach by Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra (#84); Harbor Lights by the Platters (#86); My Little Marine by Jamie Horton (#89); I Can't Say Goodbye by the Fireflies featuring Ritchie Adams (#90); I was Such a Fool (To Fall in Love with You) by the Flamingos (#94); Mediterranean Moon by the Rays (#95); I'll Take Care of You by Bobby Bland (#96); Livin' Dangerously by the McGuire Sisters (#97); and Secret of Love by Elton Anderson with the Sid Lawrence Combo (#100). On the Beach was a version of the title theme of the movie.

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKWX)
1 Running Bear--Johnny Preston
2 El Paso--Marty Robbins
3 Hound Dog Man/This Friendly World--Fabian
4 Pretty Blue Eyes--Steve Lawrence
5 First Name Initial--Annette with the Afterbeats
6 Not One Minute More/You're My Love--Della Reese
7 Way Down Yonder in New Orleans--Freddie Cannon
8 The Big Hurt--Miss Toni Fisher
9 Heartaches by the Number--Guy Mitchell
10 Why--Frankie Avalon

Singles entering the chart were Beyond the Sea by Bobby Darin (#32); Harlem Nocturne by the Viscounts (#35); Sweet Nothin's by Brenda Lee (#38); Bulldog by the Fireballs (#39); My Little Marine by Jamie Horton (#49); Forever by the Little Dippers (#54); Why Do I Love You So by Johnny Tillotson (#57); and Country Boy by Fats Domino (#59).

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Zlata Antunovich!

Died on this date
Diana Barrymore, 38. U.S. actress. Miss Barrymore, born Diana Blythe, was the daughter of actor John Barrymore and the niece of actors Ethel and Lionel Barrymore. She appeared in minor roles in several movies in the early 1940s, but heavy drinking and drug use destroyed her career and her life. The autopsy on Miss Barrymore showed no signs of an overdose and gave no cause of death.

Scandal
The U.S. National Association of Broadcasters reacted to the payola scandal by threatening fines for any disc jockeys who accepted money for playing particular records.

50 years ago
1970

At the movies
MASH, directed by Robert Altman, and starring Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, and Robert Duvall, received its premiere screening in New York City.





Died on this date
Eiji Tsuburaya, 68. Japanese film director and producer. Mr. Tsuburaya was a special effects director for about 250 movies in a career spanning 50 years. He was perhaps best known for directing special effects for movies featuring Godzilla and other monsters in the 1950s and '60s. Mr. Tsuburaya died of a heart attack.

Politics and government
Former Czechoslovakian Premier Alexander Dubcek, whose "Prague Spring" reform movement had been crushed by an invasion of Soviet tanks in August 1968, left the country to take up his new position as Ambassador to Turkey.

Disasters
25 people were killed when a bus plunged into a ravine near San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

A plane carrying Mexican reporters crashed near Poza Rica, killing 19 of 20 aboard.

40 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): No More Tears (Enough is Enough)--Donna Summer/Barbra Streisand

#1 single in France (IFOP): Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles (11th week at #1)

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough--Michael Jackson (3rd week at #1)
2 The Part of Me that Needs You Most--Exile
3 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
4 She's in Love with You--Suzi Quatro
5 Rise--Herb Alpert
6 If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body (Would You Hold it Against Me)--Bellamy Brothers
7 Half the Way--Crystal Gayle
8 Caravan Song--Barbara Dickson
9 Breakfast in America--Supertramp
10 Friday on My Mind--Chilly

Singles entering the chart were Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles (#13); and Ain't Gonna Stop (Till I Get to the Top) by Joy (#17).

World events
Two days after dissident Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov had been sent into exile, the Soviet news agency Tass reported that, "for humane considerations and taking Sakharov’s previous services into account," he would not be put on trial.

Indianica
Mother Teresa was honoured for her charitable work, receiving India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose 13.3% in 1979, the largest annual increase in 33 years. Since the beginning of such record-keeping in 1912, only 1917-1919 and 1946 had shown greater rises. The December increase in the Consumer Price Index was 1.2%, the highest in nearly a year. Large increases in the cost of energy and housing led the increases for both the month and the year. It was reported that the purchasing power of workers for the year had declined by 5.3%.

30 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Letkautus--Lättykettu & Tehosekoittajat (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor

Died on this date
Ava Gardner, 67. U.S. actress. Miss Gardner was one of Hollywood's most noted beauties, starring in such movies as The Killers (1946); The Hucksters (1947); The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952); Mogambo (1953); The Barefoot Contessa (1954); Bhowani Junction (1956); On the Beach (1959); Seven Days in May (1964); and The Night of the Iguana (1964).

Diplomacy
U.S. President George Bush announced his support for a $1 billion package of cash, loans, and other types of aid to help rebuild the devastated economy of Panama.

Disasters
Avianca Flight 52, a Colombian jetliner, apparently ran out of fuel over Long Island in New York and crashed into a wooded area in the community of Cove Neck. 73 of the 161 people aboard were killed and the rest injured. The plane, en route from Bogota via Medellin, was to have landed at Kennedy International Airport. The landing was delayed for more than an hour because of bad weather. About 50 minutes before the crash, the pilot told the air traffic controllers that he needed a priority landing because of low fuel.

Hurricane-force winds caused the deaths of at least 39 people in England and Wales and at least 21 people elsewhere in Europe.

25 years ago
1995

World events
Russia almost launched a nuclear attack after it mistook a Black Brant XII, a Norwegian research rocket, for a U.S. Trident missile.

Crime
Lead attorney Johnnie Cochran delivered the opening argument in the defense of former U.S. football star O.J. Simpson, on trial in Los Angeles for the June 12, 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.

20 years ago
2000

Crime
Shannon Murrin, who had spent five years in prison awaiting trial, was found not guilty in Vancouver, British Columbia of murdering 8-year-old Mindy Tran of Kelowna, B.C. in 1994.

10 years ago
2010

Died on this date
Ali Hassan al-Majid, 68 (?). Iraqi military officer and politician. General al-Majid, a first cousin of President Saddam Hussein, held various positions in the Iraqi government, including Minister of Defense (1991-1995) and Director of the Intelligence Service (1995-2003). He was nicknamed "Chemical Ali" for his use of chemical weapons against the country's Kurdish population, which resulted in his arrest by American forces in 2003. Gen. al-Majid was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity in 2007, and he was executed by hanging in Baghdad.

Disasters
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409, a Boeing 737 jetliner en route from Beirut to Addis Ababa, crashed into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Na'ameh, Lebanon, killing all 90 people aboard.