February 14, 2020

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Liliya!

890 years ago
1130

Religion
Cardinal Gregory Papareschi was consecrated as Pope Innocent II, the day after the death of Honorius II.

620 years ago
1400

Died on this date
Richard II, 33. King of England, 1377-1399. Richard II acceded to the throne at the age of 10 upon the death of his grandfather Edward III. He was initially controlled by regents, but eventually exercised his own power. He had to deal with the Hundred Years' War, and played a major role in suppressing the Peasants' Revolt in 1381. He continually battled against nobility known as the Lords Appellant, and disinherited his exiled cousin Henry of Bolingbroke. Henry invaded England with a small force that became larger, deposed King Richard, and took the throne as King Henry IV. Richard II was imprisoned in Pontefract Castle, where he died, probably from starvation.

490 years ago
1530

Died on this date
Tangáxoan II. Cazonci (King) of Tarascan state, 1521-1529. Tangáxoan II was the last monarch of the Tarascan state, which included what is now the Mexican state of Michoacán and parts of two other states. He acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Zuanga, and made a peace treaty with Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, who allowed him a large degree of autonomy in exchange for his submission. In 1529, conquistador Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán, president of the Royal Audiencia of Mexico, accused Tangáxoan of keeping his old religion hidden, of encouraging disobedience and of killing a certain number of Spaniards. Tangáxoan was convicted in a trial, tied to a horse and dragged, and finally burned at the stake. A succession of puppet rulers was installed by Spain.

240 years ago
1780

Died on this date
William Blackstone, 56. U.K. judge and politician. Sir William, a Tory, represented Hindon (1761-1768) and Westbury (1768-1770) in the House of Commons before being appointed to the bench, serving as a Justice of the Court of King's Bench (1770) and Justice of the Common Pleas (1770-1780). He was best known for his four-volume Commentaries on the Laws of England (seven editions, 1765-1783), which not only influenced British law, but influenced the United States and other English-speaking countries to adopt common law. Sir William died after suffering from a nervous disorder for several months.

230 years ago
1790

Died on this date
Capel Bond, 59. U.K. musician and composer. Mr. Bond was a church organist whose most notable compositions were Six Concertos in Seven Parts (1766) and Six Anthems in Score (1769).

220 years ago
1800

Born on this date
Emory Washburn. U.S. politician and academic. Mr. Washburn, a Whig, was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1826, 1838, 1877) and Senate (1841), and was Governor of Massachusetts (1854-1855). He taught at Harvard University Law School (1856-1876), and wrote several books on law and history. Mr. Washburn died on March 18, 1877 at the age of 77.

175 years ago
1845

Died on this date
Joseph Lakanal, 82. French politician. Mr. Lakanal was a rhetoric professor before becoming a member of the National Convention of the French Republic (1792-1795), and the Committee of Public Instruction (1793). In 1795, he was elected to the Council of Five Hundred, and was a founding member of the Institut de France. Mr. Lakanal retired to the United States after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, and the U.S. Congress granted him 500 acres to found the Vine and Olive Colony, a settlement of expatriate French Bonapartists in Alabama. Mr. Lakanal returned to France in 1834.

160 years ago
1860

Born on this date
Eugen Schiffer. German politician. Mr. Schiffer was a delegate to the lower chamber of the Prussian diet for the National Liberal Party (1903-1918) and a member of the Reichstag (1912-1917). He was one of the founders of the Deutsche Demokratische Partei (German Democratic Party) (DDP) in November 1918, serving as Minister of Finance (February-April 1919) and Minister of Justice (October 1919-March 1920, May-October 1921), holding the title of Vice-Chancellor during his first term as Minister of Justice. Mr. Schiffer left politics in 1925, moving into educational and financial administration. After World War II, he co-founded the Liberaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (Liberal Democratic Party) (LDPD) in the Soviet-occupied sector of Berlin, and headed the central administration of Justice (Justizverwaltung) under the Soviet military government (1945-1948) before moving to West Berlin, where he died on September 5, 1954 at the age of 94.

125 years ago
1895

Born on this date
Wilhelm Burgdorf. German military officer. General of the Infantry Burgdorf was a commander and staff officer in the Wehrmacht during World War II. In October 1944, he assumed the role of the Chief of the Army Personnel Office and Chief Adjutant to Fuehrer Adolf Hitler. Gen. Burgdorf played a role in the forced suicide of Gen. Erwin Rommel in October 1944, and committed suicide by shooting himself in the Fuehrerbunker in Berlin on May 2, 1945 at the age of 50, two days after the suicide of Mr. Hitler, and the day after the suicide of Mr. Hitler's successor, Josef Goebbels.

Max Horkheimer. German-born philosopher and sociologist. Dr. Horkheimer was a cultural Marxist and member of Frankfurt University's Institute of Social Research--popularly known as the "Frankfurt School"--and was known for his work in critical theory, the application of knowledge from social sciences and humanities to change power structures in various aspects of society. His best known book was Eclipse of Reason (1947). Dr. Horkheimer fled Germany after the Nazis came to power and eventually settled in the United States, becoming an American citizen in 1940. Dr. Horkheimer returned to the University of Frankfurt in 1949, teaching there until the mid-1960s. He died in Nuremberg on July 7, 1973 at the age of 78.

Theatre
Oscar Wilde's final play, The Importance of Being Earnest, opened at St. James's Theatre in London.

120 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Jessica Dragonette. U.S. singer. Miss Dragonette, born Jessica Dragonetti, sang on radio from 1926-1948, and became known as the "Princess of Song." She helped to popularize operettas and semi-classical music, and performed for American troops during World War II and for charities benefiting the war effort. Miss Dragonette died of a heart attack on March 18, 1980, shortly after being released from hospital following an asthma attack.

War
British forces began the Battle of the Tugela Heights in an effort to lift the Siege of Ladysmith.

Hockey
Stanley Cup
Winnipeg Victorias 2 @ Montreal Shamrocks 3 (Best-of-three challenge series tied 1-1)

Harry Trihey scored 2 goals for the second straight game as he led the defending champion Shamrocks over the Victorias at Montreal Arena.

110 years ago
1910

Died on this date
Giovanni Passannante, 60. Italian anarchist. Mr. Passannante was an anarchist who attempted to assassinate King Umberto I in 1878. He was sentenced to death in 1879, but his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment on the island of Elba. Mr. Passannante was kept in solitary confinement and reportedly tortured, and his mental condition deteriorated beyond repair. He was transferred to the asylum of Montelupo Fiorentino, where he died, five days before his 61st birthday.

100 years ago
1920

Politics and government
The League of Women Voters was founded in Chicago.

Hockey
NCAA
Princeton 0 @ Yale 4

The Bulldogs, playing their home games in Philadelphia because of a lack of a suitable facility in New Haven, Connecticut, shut out the Tigers in the opening event at Philadelphia Arena.

90 years ago
1930

Died on this date
Thomas Mackenzie, 76. Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1912. Sir Thomas, a native of Scotland, moved to New Zealand with his family at the age of 4. He was an independent politician before 1890, and a Liberal thereafter, and represented several different ridings in the N.S. Parliament (1887-1912). Sir Thomas held several cabinet posts, and served as Prime Minister from March-July 1912. His government fell on a non-confidence vote, and he then served as New Zealand's High Commissioner in London (1912-1920).

80 years ago
1940

Died on this date
Gilbert Morgan. U.K. chemist. Sir Gilbert was an authority on synthetic chemistry and dyestuffs.

War
The U.S.S.R. reported that her forces had made further advances in the Summa section of Finland. The Japanese government claimed control of enough territory to create a Japanese-supported regime in central China led by Wang Ching-wei, and asked Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek to surrender.

Diplomacy
Panama received a German note rejecting the 300-mile security zone plan of the American republic.

World events
British Colonial Secretary Malcolm MacDonald said that the Jewish immigration quota for Palestine would not be increased in the foreseeable future.

Labour
New York Governor Herbert Lehman signed the Perry bill, making it illegal for labour union officials to engage in any sort of racial or religious discrimination.

75 years ago
1945

War
A report from London said that German radio had urged Germans to "cast overboard our last scruples" and "kill, murder, and poison" Allied troops. The British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces began fire-bombing Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony. In their drive on Berlin and Dresden, Soviet forces captured seven major German strongholds: Neustaedtel; Neusalz; Freystadt; Sprottau; Goldberg; Jauer; and Striegau. A Navigational error leads to the mistaken bombing of Prague by an American squadron of B-17s assisting in the Soviets' Vistula–Oder offensive. Mostar is liberated by Yugoslav partisans. Forces of the U.S. 6th Army attacked the Japanese garrison of Fort McKinley in southeastern Manila. Other American units in the Philippines began clearing operations on the Bataan peninsula, the first of moves intended to reopen Manila Bay. Chinese forces broke the Japanese hold on the Canton-Hankow railroad with the capture of Pingshek, 165 miles north of Canton.

Diplomacy
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden arrived in Athens as martial law in Greece ended and all sentnces passed by military courts in their trials of rebel ELAS supporters were annulled.

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt met with King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia aboard USS Quincy, officially beginning U.S.-Saudi diplomatic relations.

A conference of Arab leaders opened in Cairo to consider a federation plan including Egypt, Arab Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Transjordan, and Saudi Arabia.

Chinese Nationalists and Communists met to negotiate their differences, with the aid of U.S. Ambassador Patrick Hurley.

Crime
A U.S. military commission at Governors Island, New York found William Colepaugh and Erich Gimpel guilty of espionage, and sentenced them to death.

Law
The United States Justice Department filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to assume jurisdiction in the Montgomery Ward case. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had recently ordered the Army to seize seven Montgomery Ward and Company properties in Chicago and Detroit because of the company's refusal to comply with National War Labor Board orders, but on January 27, Federal Court Judge Philip Sullivan had ruled in Chicago that the seizure was illegal. The U.S. government had then decided to take its case to the Circuit Court of Appeals.

Journalism
The students of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia accepted a proposal for partial faculty supervision of the student newspaper The Flat Hat. Publication had been suspended three days earlier because of an editorial by Marily Kaemmerle which suggested that the time would come for interracial education, social contacts, and marriage.

Labour
U.S. Economic Stabilization Director Fred Vinson ordered the Army and Navy to cancel contracts with E.A. Laboratories, Inc. because it had failed to comply with a National War Labor Board order.

70 years ago
1950

On the radio
Philo Vance, starring Jackson Beck
Tonight’s episode: The Scarface Murder Case

On television tonight
Suspense, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Suicide Club, starring Ralph Bell, Ralph Clanton, Donald Buka, and Richard Fraser



Died on this date
Karl Guthe Jansky, 44. U.S. physicist and engineer. Mr. Jansky joined Bell Telephone Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey in 1928, and was working there in 1931 when first discovered radio waves emanating from the Milky Way, resulting in him being credited as one of the founders of radio astronomy. He died from a heart condition.

Diplomacy
The U.S.S.R. and the People's Republic of China signed a 30-year friendship and mutual defense treaty in Moscow. Other agreements promised the eventual return of Soviet-held properties in Manchuria and a five year, $300-million Soviet credit for industrial material.

The U.S.A. and Yemen renewed relations after a two-year lapse.

Politics and government
The Burmese Parliament voted to extend martial law, imposed to control unrest in the country, to September 1, 1950.

Economics and finance
West Germany released $23.8 million in Marshall Plan funds to West Berlin for industrial development.

U.S. President Harry Truman signed the Korea-Taiwan economic aid bill.

Labour
The U.S. Congress of Industrial Organizations urged the United States to work for world disarmament, and opposed resumption of diplomatic relations with Spain.

60 years ago
1960

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Day of the Bullet, starring Barry Gordon, Glenn Walken, Dennis Patrick, and Biff Elliot

50 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): Pretty Belinda--Chris Andrews

#1 single in France: Billy le Bordelais--Joe Dassin

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Ma chi se ne importa--Gianni Morandi (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Dein schönstes Geschenk--Roy Black (7th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)--Edison Lighthouse (3rd week at #1)

Australia's Top 10 (Go-Set)
1 Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head--Johnny Farnham (4th week at #1)
2 Smiley--Ronnie Burns
3 Down on the Corner/Fortunate Son--Creedence Clearwater Revival
4 I Thank You--Lionel Rose
5 Jam Up Jelly Tight--Tommy Roe
6 Holly Holy--Neil Diamond
7 Arkansas Grass--Axiom
8 Suspicious Minds--Elvis Presley
9 Venus--Shocking Blue
10 Penny Arcade--Roy Orbison

Singles entering the chart were Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin (#29); Someday We'll Be Together by Diana Ross and the Supremes (#36); He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother by the Hollies (#38); and Melting Pot by Blue Mink (#39).

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Mijn Gebed--D.C. Lewis (2nd week at #1)
2 Seasons--Earth and Fire
3 Venus--Shocking Blue
4 Mighty Joe--Shocking Blue
5 Het Stoomlied (Kunst- En Vliegwerk)--Ed & William Bever
6 Het Zal Je Kind Maar Wezen--Adèle Bloemendaal, Leen Jongewaard, Piet Römer en koor
7 Jin-Go-La-Ba--Santana
8 Melting Pot--Blue Mink
9 Our Father--Unit Gloria
10 Marian--The Cats

Singles entering the chart were Who'll Stop the Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#19); I Want You Back by the Jackson 5 (#34); Dear Ann by the George Baker Selection (#37); Come and Get It by Badfinger (#38); and Temma Harbour by Mary Hopkin (#40).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin/Everybody is a Star--Sly & the Family Stone
2 I Want You Back--The Jackson 5
3 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas
4 Venus--The Shocking Blue
5 Hey There Lonely Girl--Eddie Holman
6 No Time--The Guess Who
7 I'll Never Fall in Love Again--Dionne Warwick
8 Psychedelic Shack--The Temptations
9 Travelin' Band/Who'll Stop the Rain--Creedence Clearwater Revival
10 Arizona--Mark Lindsay

Singles entering the chart were It's a New Day (Parts 1 and 2) by James Brown (#83); Keep on Doin' by the Isley Brothers (#84); Something's Burning by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition (#85); Walking Through the Country by the Grass Roots (#86); A Friend in the City by Andy Kim (#90); Ticket to Ride by the Carpenters (#92); Heartbreaker by Grand Funk Railroad (#93); All I Have to Do is Dream by Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell (#95); Kentucky Rain by Elvis Presley (#96); If You've Got a Heart by Bobby Bland (#97); Rag Mama Rag by The Band (#98); Take it Off Him and Put it on Me by Clarence Carter (#99); and The Fightin' Side of Me by Merle Haggard and the Strangers (#100).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Venus--The Shocking Blue (3rd week at #1)
2 Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin--Sly & the Family Stone
3 I Want You Back--The Jackson 5
4 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas
5 Hey There Lonely Girl--Eddie Holman
6 Without Love (There is Nothing)--Tom Jones
7 I'll Never Fall in Love Again--Dionne Warwick
8 No Time--The Guess Who
9 Arizona--Mark Lindsay
10 Whole Lotta Love--Led Zeppelin

Singles entering the chart were Kentucky Rain by Elvis Presley (#45); It's a New Day (Parts 1 and 2) by James Brown (#51); Call Me by Aretha Franklin (#53); Walking Through the Country by the Grass Roots (#66); Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Grows) by Edison Lighthouse (#70); Take a Look Around by Smith (#72); The Declaration by the 5th Dimension (#80); Gotta Get Back to You by Tommy James and the Shondells (#81); All I Have to Do is Dream by Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell (#82); Can't Help Falling in Love by Al Martino (#85); Just Seventeen by the Raiders (#89); You're the One (Part 2) by Little Sister (#91); 1984 by Spirit (#95); Comin' Home by Delaney & Bonnie and Friends featuring Eric Clapton (#96); Melting Pot by Blue Mink (#97); The Cat Walk by the Village Soul Choir (#98); Welfare Cadillac by Guy Drake (#99); and The Ghetto (Part 1) by Donny Hathaway (#100).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin/Everybody is a Star--Sly & the Family Stone
2 Venus--The Shocking Blue
3 Without Love (There is Nothing)--Tom Jones
4 Hey There Lonely Girl--Eddie Holman
5 No Time--The Guess Who
6 I Want You Back--The Jackson 5
7 I'll Never Fall in Love Again--Dionne Warwick
8 Psychedelic Shack--The Temptations
9 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas
10 Walkin' in the Rain--Jay and the Americans

Singles entering the chart were Kentucky Rain by Elvis Presley (#67); Gotta Get Back to You by Tommy James and the Shondells (#83); Keep on Doin' by the Isley Brothers (#84); Down in the Alley by Ronnie Hawkins (#88); Rag Mama Rag by the Band (#89); Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Grows) by Edison Lighthouse (#90); Just Seventeen by the Raiders (#94); It's Just a Matter of Time by Sonny James (#96); Je T'Aime...Moin Non Plus by Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg (#97); Come and Get It by Badfinger (#98); Call Me by Aretha Franklin (#99); and Comin' Home by Delaney & Bonnie and Friends featuring Eric Clapton (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Without Love (There is Nothing)--Tom Jones
2 Venus--The Shocking Blue
3 I'll Never Fall in Love Again--Dionne Warwick
4 2 Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin--Sly & the Family Stone
5 No Time--The Guess Who
6 Arizona--Mark Lindsay
7 Hey There Lonely Girl--Eddie Holman
8 Winter World of Love--Engelbert Humperdinck
9 I Want You Back--The Jackson 5
10 Blowing Away--The 5th Dimension

Singles entering the chart were He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother by the Hollies (#68); Goin' Down by Allan Nicholls (#77); I'm Just a Prisoner (Of Your Good Lovin') by Candi Staton (#82); Keep on Doin' by the Isley Brothers (#85); Good Guys Only Win in the Movies by Mel and Tim (#86); She's Ready by the Spiral Starecase (#87); Try (Just a Little Bit Harder) by Janis Joplin (#92); My Little Friend by Elvis Presley (#94); All I Have to Do is Dream by Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell (#96); Take a Look Around by Smith (#97); Take it Off Him and Put it on Me by Clarence Carter (#98); My Elusive Dreams by Bobby Vinton (#99); and To Love Means to Be Free by Tony Green and Barry Stagg (#100). My Little Friend was the B-side of Kentucky Rain, which had yet to chart.

Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas (2nd week at #1)
2 That's Where I Went Wrong--The Poppy Family
3 No Time--The Guess Who
4 Sunday Mornin'--Oliver
5 Venus--The Shocking Blue
6 Fancy--Bobbie Gentry
7 Don't Cry Daddy--Elvis Presley
8 I Want You Back--The Jackson 5
9 Life is a Song--Gainsborough Gallery
10 Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye--Steam
Pick hit of the week: Bridge Over Troubled Water--Simon & Garfunkel

Defense
U.S. President Richard Nixon extended a ban on biological weapons to cover military toxins. Although the White House called the move "another significant step to being about arms control," officials conceded that the ban was extended to close a loophole left open when authority to produce chemical warfare agents for defensive purposes was continued.

Crime
Immediately after the jury in the conspiracy trial of the "Chicago Seven" began its deliberations, four of the defendants were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for contempt of court by Judge Julius Hoffman. The four--David Dellinger, Rennie Davis, Tom Hayden, and Abbie Hoffman--were given terms ranging from 8 months to almost 2 years and 5 months.

War
Tensions between Jordanian troops and Palestinian commandos began to ease when the commandos began to leave the barricades near Amman and the army troops began to thin out.

Journalism
It was reported that a shakeup of the editorial board of Novy Mir, the U.S.S.R.’s liberal literary journal, had caused its chief editor, Aleksandr Tvardovsky, to resign the previous day, because Mr. Tvardovsky felt that it was useless to continue with a board that would undermine his authority.

Skiing
Betsy Clifford of Canada won the giant slalom race at Val Gardena, Italy, becoming, at 16, the youngest winner of an alpine race. French skiers Ingrid Lafforgue and Françoise Macchi finished second and third, respectively.



Boxing
Jose Napoles (63-4) retained his world welterweight title with a knockout of Ernie Lopez (38-7-1) at 2:38 of the 15th round at The Forum in Inglewood, California.



40 years ago
1980

Space
An unmanned U.S. spacecraft named Solar Maximum Mission--Solar Max, for short--was launched into Earth orbit. The 5,100-pound craft was designed to study solar flares; violent eruptions near the sun’s surface that send gusts of radiation and gases into space that cause radio and television disruptions; and auroral displays. Sunspots and related solar flares were expected to reach the peak of their 11-year cycle from April to June. Solar Max was tentatively scheduled to be retrieved by the space shuttle on its 15th mission in late 1982 or early 1983.



Crime
It was reported that indictments against 55 people in 10 states in the U.S.A. had been handed down after a 2½-year undercover investigation of pornography distribution and film piracy called "Miporn" for "Miami pornography."

Olympics
Men’s Hockey @ Lake Placid, New York
U.S.A. 7 Czechoslovakia 3

Hockey
NHL
Montreal 5 Quebec 1

30 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Jimmy Dean--Troll (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Jean Wallace, 66. U.S. actress. Miss Wallace, born Jean Walasek, appeared in about 20 movies, including Jigsaw (1949); The Big Combo (1955); and Storm Fear (1955), the latter two of which starred her then-husband Cornel Wilde. She died of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage.

Tony Holiday, 38. West German singer. Mr. Holiday, born Rolf Peter Knigge, had several hit singles on the West German and Austrian charts from 1977-1980. He was a sodomite who died of AIDS, 10 days before his 39th birthday.

Halina Dudzic, 27. Canadian woman. Miss Dudzic, an Edmonton resident who had been disabled in a car accident years earlier and was unable to speak, was dropped off at her house by the Disabled Adult Transportation Service driver, who drove off before making sure that Miss Dudzic had been able to get inside safely. Miss Dudzic, who lived alone, had forgotten her keys, and there were no neighbours nearby. She was unable to break into the house, and was found the next day, frozen to death. News of her death saddened everyone who’d had the privilege of meeting her; shortly before moving into her house, Miss Dudzic had been a neighbour of this blogger. I met her a few times, and I remember her well. The Halina Dudzic Memorial Awards are handed out every year by Sturgeon Composite High School in Namao, Alberta. The student in each grade with the highest mark in English receives a cash award and a copy of Tiny But Tuff, a book of Miss Dudzic’s poetry that was published by her family in 1993.

Space
The Voyager 1 probe took the photograph of planet Earth that later become famous as Pale Blue Dot.

Politics and government
The Liberal-dominated Canadian Senate sent the Progressive Conservative government’s unemployment insurance legislation back to the House of Commons, saying it was a bad piece of legislation that needed major changes before it could be approved. The legislation would overhaul the current system, cutting benefits by $1.3 billion annually by tightening eligibility requirements and reducing benefits, especially in those areas of the country with lower unemployment rates. The bill, which would also extend maternity benefits and cover workers over the age of 65 for the first time, was passed by the P.C. majority in the House of Commons in November 1989. Liberal Senator Jacques Hebert described the bill as "a demolition operation designed to destroy the present unemployment insurance plan."

Disasters
An Indian Airlines passenger jet, Flight 605, crashed while preparing to land at Bangalore, killing 92 of the 146 people aboard.

Hockey
NHL
Washington 4 Edmonton 3

25 years ago
1995

War
Mexican President Ernest Zedillo Once de Leon ordered a halt to the Mexican army's offensive against Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) rebels in the state of Chiapas, and said he would ask Congress to approve an amnesty for rebels who disarmed.

Crime
In a vote that largely went along party lines, the Republican-controlled United States House of Representatives voted 238-192 to defeat a bill from President Bill Clinton for $30 billion to fight crime, including $8 billion to hire 100,000 new police officers and $6 billion for crime prevention programs. The House voted in favour of $10 billion in block grants to local authorities to use as they saw fit to fight crime.

20 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Vitamin T. Smith, 76. U.S. football player. Verda T. Smith was a running back and kick returner at Abilene Christian University before playing with the Los Angeles Rams (1949-1953), rushing 208 times for 669 yards and 7 touchdowns, catching 59 passes for 1,025 yards and 12 touchdowns, returing 75 punts for 814 yards and 1 touchdown, and returning 57 kickoffs for 1,453 yards and 3 touchdowns in 59 regular season games. His best season was 1950, when he rushed 51 times for 250 yards and 1 touchdown, caught 16 passes for 279 yards and 4 TDs, completed his only pass for 11 yards, returned 22 punts for 218 yards, and returned 22 kickoffs for 742 yards and 3 touchdowns, leading the league in yards in the latter category and setting a single-season record in touchdowns on kickoff returns that stood until 1967. Mr. Smith helped the Rams win the National Football League championship in 1951.

Space
The spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker entered orbit around asteroid 433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid.

Terrorism
13 men were charged in the February 6 hijacking of an Afghan jetliner carrying 180 people that had eventually landed in London. Officials said that 69 of the people who had been on the plane were seeking political asylum in Britain.

Politics and government
Real estate developer Donald Trump announced that he would not seek the Reform Party nomination for President of the United States for 2000.

Disasters
22 were killed and 100 injured when tornadoes hit rural areas of the U.S. state of Georgia during hours when most people were asleep.

A spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board said that investigators believed that a damaged jackscrew in the tail was a factor in causing the January 31 crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 off the coast of California, killing all 88 people aboard. The spokesman said that the airline had been aware of this damage since September 1997.

10 years ago
2010

Died on this date
Dick Francis, 89. U.K. jockey and author. Mr. Francis, a native of Wales, was a steeplechase jockey in the 1950s, winning 350 races before his retirement in 1957. He wrote over 50 mystery novels, all set in the milieu of horse racing. Mr. Francis won several awards for his novels, and died at his home on Grand Cayman Island, after years of declining health.

Doug Fieger, 57. U.S. musician. Mr. Fieger was rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the rock group the Knack, and co-wrote their first and biggest hit single, My Sharona, which is one of the worst songs ever recorded. He died after a long battle with cancer.