February 19, 2020

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Lee Morrow!

420 years ago
1600

Disasters
The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina exploded in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America. The eruption
wiped out vegetation and buried the surroundings with 6.6 feet (2 metres) of volcanic rock, while also damaging infrastructure and economic resources. The eruption had significant effects on Earth's climate, decreasing temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, causing floods, famines and cold waves in numerous places, and depositing several million tons of acid.

390 years ago
1630

Born on this date
Shivaji I. Chhatrapati (Emperor) of the Maratha Empire, 1674-1680. Shivaji I was a warrior-king who formed the Maratha Empire in India from the declining Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur. He both fought and allied with the Mughal Empire, Sultanate of Golkonda, and Sultanate of Bijapur, as well as European colonial powers. Shivaji I was a Hindu, but practiced religious toleration toward Muslims. He died on April 3-5, 1680 at the age of 50 after a week-long attack of fever and dysentery, and was succeeded by his son Sambhaji. Chhatrapati Shivaji I was regarded as a hero by Indian independence advocates in the 20th century.

140 years ago
1880

Born on this date
Álvaro Obregón Salido. President of Mexico, 1920-1924; President-elect of Mexico, 1928. General Obregón was a leader in the Mexican Revolution in 1910, and lost his right arm in battle against the forces of Pancho Villa in 1915. Gen. Obregón participated in a revolution that ousted President Adolfo de la Huerta in 1920, and took office as President after the assassination of Venustiano Carranza, who had led the revolt against Mr. de la Huerta. Gen. Obregón oversaw economic and educational reforms, and was successful, with U.S. help, in crushing a revolt led by Mr. de la Huerta in 1923-1924. Gen. Obregón left office after one term, and his handpicked successor, Plutarco Elías Calles, was elected President. Gen. Obregón had been moderately opposed to the Roman Catholic Church during his presidency, but Mr. Calles was more anti-clerical in his policies, earning him the enmity of Roman Catholics. Gen. Obregón, 48, came out of retirement and was elected on July 1 to a six-year term as President and was due to take office on December 1. On July 17, 1928, he was attending a lunch in his honour presented by President Calles at a restaurant in San Angel, 12 miles south of Mexico City, when he was assassinated by Jose de Leon Toral, a cartoonist who concealed a pistol under his hat and claimed that he was motivated by his hatred of the anti-Catholic policies of President Calles and Gen. Obregón. President Calles blamed Roman Catholic machinations for the assassination.

125 years ago
1895

Born on this date
Louis Calhern. U.S. actor. Mr. Calhern, born Carl Henry Vogt, appeared in numerous Broadway plays and in movies such as Notorious (1946); The Asphalt Jungle (1950); The Magnificent Yankee (1950); and Julius Caesar (1953). He died of a sudden heart attack in Japan on May 12, 1956 at the age of 71 while filming The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956); his scenes were refilmed, with Paul Ford taking his place.

100 years ago
1920

Born on this date
George Rose. U.K.-born U.S. actor. Mr. Rose had a long career in cinema and theatre. He made his first Broadway appearance in Henry IV, Part I in 1946, and eventually received five Tony nominations, winning for My Fair Lady (1976) and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1986). His movie appearances included A Night to Remember (1958). Mr. Rose was 68 when he was beaten to death by his adopted son at his vacation home in the Dominican Republic on May 5, 1988. He was on tour with The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and had gone to the D.R. during a two-week vacation break.

C. Z. Guest. U.S. socialite. Mrs. Guest, born Lucy Douglas Cochrane, took her initials from the nickname "Cissy." She appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies in 1944, and in 1947 married W.F.C. Guest, a distant relative of Winston Churchill. Mrs. Guest as known for her good taste in fashion, and designed a fashion line in the 1980s. She also wrote a column on gardening for the New York Post in the late 1970s. Mrs. Guest died on November 8, 2003 at the age of 83, after experiencing breathing difficulties.

80 years ago
1940

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

War
King Gustav V of Sweden publicly announced that Sweden could not provide Finland with any official assistance in her war against the U.S.S.R. A communique from Moscow reported Soviet occupation of the Rijonsaari and Revonsaari Islands in the Gulf of Finland. France reported the loss of 29 men to a German ambush while on a scouting mission east of the Nied River. Japanese military authorities denied that their forces had been routed in the Chinese province of Kwangsi.

Diplomacy
U.S. State Department officials indicated that the U.S.A. would reject Norway's suggestion that President Franklin D. Roosevelt arbitrate the February 16 Altmark incident.

Economics and finance
The Japanese Foreign Office abandoned as futile an effort to reopen trade negotiations with the United States.

The U.S. House of Representatives Banking Committee delayed action on the Finnish aid bill pending advice from the State Department.

U.S. Army Colonel Philip B. Fleming was sworn in as wage-hour administrator in Washington, D.C.

Society
A Gallup Poll reported that 55% of Americans approved the proposed federal anti-lynching law.

Law
U.S. Labor Secretary Frances Perkins urged modifications of immigration law to provide for quicker naturalization of aliens.

Football
NFL
Ernie Nevers resigned as head coach of the Chicago Cardinals. Mr. Nevers had played for the team from 1929-1931 and coached them in the latter two seasons before retiring. In 1939 he was rehired as coach, but the team finished fifth and last in the West Division with a record of 1-10.

75 years ago
1945

Hit parade
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Rum and Coca-Cola--The Andrews Sisters
2 Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive--Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers with Paul Weston and His Orchestra
--Artie Shaw and his Orchestra
--Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters
3 Don't Fence Me In--Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Kate Smith
--Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights
4 I Dream of You (More than You Dream I Do)--Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra
--Andy Russell
--Frank Sinatra
--Perry Como
5 I'm Making Believe--The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald
6 Sleigh Ride in July--Dinah Shore
--Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra
--Bing Crosby
7 Cocktails for Two--Spike Jones and his City Slickers
8 Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night in the Week)--Frank Sinatra
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
9 There Goes that Song Again--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra
10 Confessin' (That I Love You)--Ella Fitzgerald and the Song Spinners
--Perry Como

No singles entered the chart.

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Mystery of the Surrey Inn

War
30,000 U.S. Marines invaded Iwo Jima, 750 miles south of Tokyo, suffering 2,400 casualties as a result of resistance from the 20,000-man Japanese garrison. By nightfall the Marines had advanced across the southern part of the island, cutting off Japanese defenders on Mount Suribachi from forces in the north. U.S. troops in the Philippines took Fort McKinley and forced the Japanese into a one-square-mile pocket in southern Manila.

Diplomacy
Declaring that the present government had fulfilled requirements of international law, the United States announced its recognition of the new regime in El Salvador.

Energy
U.S. Director of War Mobilization and Reconversion James Byrnes requested that all places of entertainment in the country observe a midnight curfew beginning February 26, 1945 to conserve energy.

Boxing
Willie Pep (86-1) retained New York State Athletic Commission recognition as world featherweight champion with a 15-round unanimous decision over Phil Terranova (36-12-9) at Madison Square Garden in New York.

70 years ago
1950

Died on this date
Carlos de la Torre y Huerta, 91. Cuban naturalist and politician. Dr. de la Torre was best known for his study of Cuban fossil fauna, and was an expert in the filed of malacology (the study of mollusks). He supported Cuban independence, was elected Mayor of Havana in 1902, and was President of the Chamber of Deputies (1903-1904). Dr. de la Torre opposed the dictatorship of Cuban President Gerardo Machado in the late 1920s, and spent several years in exile in the United States, returning to Cuba after the 1933 Sergeants' Revolt that forced Mr. Machado to resign. Dr. de la Torre received many international honours from scientific societies.

War
Airplanes scattered leaflets over Chinese coastal cities, carrying Nationalist Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's New Year's message that Nationalists would soon launch a mainland offensive.

Defense
U.S. Army General Stephen Chamberlain, commander of the subarctic Exercise Sweetbriar, said that the defense of Alaska would require 15,000 properly trained men, as opposed to the 1,500 combat troops presently maintained there.

Journalism
The Moscow Bolshevik, 30-year-old newspaper of the Moscow city Communist Party, changed its name to the Moscow Pravda.

60 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Why--Anthony Newley (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Why--Anthony Newley (3rd week at #1)

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CBS
Tonight’s episode: Elegy, starring Cecil Kellaway, Jeff Morrow, Kevin Hagen, and Don Dubbins

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Jackie Strip!

Space
The People's Republic of China successfully launched the T-7, its first sounding rocket, in Shanghai; the rocket reached an altitude of 5 miles. An earlier launch attempt of a T-7 had been unsuccessful.

50 years ago
1970

On television tonight
Dragnet 1970, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Narco: Pill Maker



Space
The U.S.S.R. launched Molniya 1/13, the first of two telecommunications satellites launched in 1970 to form part of the Soviet international communications satellite network.

Abominations
Five members of a U.S. Marine combat patrol were arrested on charges of murdering 11 Vietnamese civilians at Refugee Hamlet 4 of Sonthang village. All members of Company B of the 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment, 1st Marine Division, they were Lance Corporal Randell D. Herrod, 20, leader of the patrol; Pfc. Thomas R. Boyd, 19; Pfc. Michael S. Krichten, 19; Pfc. Samuel G. Green, 18; and Pvt. Michael A. Schwartz, 21.

Society
The United States Senate and House of Representatives approved education appropriation bills containing amendments introduced by southern opponents of school desegregation. The House bill contained three anti-busing and "freedom of choice" amendments designed to restrict federal power to enforce desegregation. The Senate bill contained an amendment designed to halt busing of children to achieve racial balance.

Baseball
Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspended Detroit Tigers’ ace pitcher Denny McLain indefinitely for his "involvement in 1967 bookmaking activities" in Detroit.

40 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (Hot Press): Brass in Pocket--Pretenders (2nd week at #1)

30 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Kōya no Megaroporisu (荒野のメガロポリス)--Hikaru Genji

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Pump ab Das Bier--Werner Wichtig (2nd week at #1)

Albertana
The provincial holiday known as Family Day was observed for the first time.

25 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Tomorrow--Silverchair (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Old Pop in an Oak--Rednex (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Cotton Eye Joe--Rednex (13th week at #1)

Diplomacy
Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic rejected a request by the nations of the so-called Contact Group--France, Germany, Russia, U.K., U.S.A.--that he recognize the international borders of Bosnia and Croatia, and accept a partition that would give 49% of Bosnia's territory to Bosnian Serbs, who already held 70% of the country's territory. The contact group had offered to lift international sanctions against Yugoslavia in return for Mr. Milosevic's support of the partition plan.

20 years ago
2000

Politics and government
Texas Governor George W. Bush won the South Carolina Republican Party U.S. presidential primary with 53% of the vote. U.S. Senator John McCain (Arizona) took 42% of the vote.

Hockey
NHL
Montreal 2 Toronto 1

10 years ago
2010

Died on this date
George Cisar, 99. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Cisar played left field with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1937), batting .207 (6 for 29) with no home runs and 4 runs batted in in 20 games. He played at least 616 games in at least 6 seasons in the minor leagues (1935-1940), hitting at least 50 homers.

Crime
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation concluded that Army scientist Bruce Ivins had acted alone in the 2001 anthrax mailings that killed five people, and formally closed the case.

Scandal
U.S. golfer Tiger Woods admitted marital infidelity, and acknowledged receiving therapy.