November 10, 2020

730 years ago
1290

Died on this date
Qalawun, 67 or 68. Sultan of Egypt and Syria, 1279-290. Qalawun acceded to the throne of the Bahri Mamluk dynasty when 7-year-old Solamish was sent into exile in Constantinople. He made treaties with and waged wars against Crusader states, and ordered a siege of Frankish-held Acre in 1290. Sultan Qalawun died before the city could be taken; he was succeeded by his son Al-Ashraf Khalil, who completed the conquest of Acre in 1291.

440 years ago
1580

War
After the three-day Siege of Smerwick ended with Papal States forces commanded by Sebastiano di San Giuseppe surrendering to English forces led by Baron Grey de Wilton, the English Army beheaded over 600 people, including soldiers and civilians, at Dún an Óir, Ireland.

210 years ago
1810
Born on this date
George Jennings. U.K. plumber and engineer. Mr. Jennings invented the first public flush toilets for the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, and designed the first underground public convenience. He died of lung congestion following a carriage accident, on April 17, 1882 at the age of 71.

175 years ago
1845

Born on this date
John Thompson. Prime Minister of Canada, 1892-1894. Sir John, a Conservative, was Premier of Nova Scotia in 1882 and Minister of Justice in the federal government of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald from 1885-1891. Upon Mr. Macdonald's death in June 1891, Sir John declined the office of Prime Minister, but accepted it upon the resignation of Sir John Abbott in December 1892, becoming the first Prime Minister from Atlantic Canada and the first Roman Catholic to hold the position. On December 12, 1894, at the age of 49, Sir John was at Windsor Castle in London, and Queen Victoria had just made him a member of her Privy Council, when he died of a sudden heart attack just minutes after the ceremony. Sir John was succeeded as Prime Minister by Sir Mackenzie Bowell.

170 years ago
1850

Born on this date
Arthur Goring Thomas. U.K. composer. Mr. Thomas wrote over 100 songs and duets, severl operas, and a ballet suite for orchestra. He began to show signs of mental distress in 1891, and committed suicide on March 20, 1892 at the age of 41.

125 years ago
1895

Born on this date
Jack Northrop. U.S. aviation executive. Mr. Northrop worked with Lockheed Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft before founding Avion Corporation in 1929, which he was forced to sell to United Aircraft and Transport Corporation in 1930. In 1932, he founded Northrop Corporation, which became a subsidiary of Douglas several years later. Mr. Northrop founded another Northrop Corporation in Hawthorne, California in 1939. He promoted the flying wing as the next major step in aircraft design, but it wasn't adopted as the next generation bomber platform after World War II, and the disappointment led Mr. Northrop to retire from aviation in 1952. He suffered severe financial and health setbacks in later years, but was encouraged shortly before his death to find out that the company now known as Northrop Grumman had used the flying wing design for a stealth bomber. Mr. Northrop died on February 18, 1981 at the age of 85.

120 years ago
1900

Politics and government
Former Canadian Prime Minister Charles Tupper resigned as leader of the federal Conservative Party, three days after the Conservatives had lost to Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier's Liberals in the Canadian federal election, and Mr. Tupper had lost his seat in the Nova Scotia riding of Cape Breton.

100 years ago
1920

Born on this date
Ina Clough. U.K. actress. Miss Clough appeared in bit and character roles in movies and television programs from 1971-2002. She died on January 25, 2003 at the age of 82.

90 years ago
1930

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Richard Gordon and Leigh Lovell, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Copper Beeches

This was the first episode in which Mr. Gordon played Sherlock Holmes; he continued in the role for several years.

Football
CRU
ORFU
Final
Hamilton 6 @ Toronto 18

80 years ago
1940

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

Died on this date
Key Pittman, 68. U.S. politician. Mr. Pittman, a Democrat, represented Nevada in the United States Senate from 1913 until his death. He was President pro tempore of the Senate and chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations from 1933 until his death. Sen. Pittman suffered a heart attack shortly before the November 5, 1940 election, but Democratic Party officials lied to the press and said that Sen. Pittman had been hospitalized for exhaustion and that his condition wasn't serious, when in fact they had been told by two doctors that Sen. Pittman's death was imminent.

War
Italian Undersecretary of War General Ubaldo Soddu replaced General Sebastiano Visconti Prasca as commander-in-chief of Italian forces in Albania. Canada and Britain started a trans-Atlantic ferry service to move planes, men and supplies to Britain from Goose Bay and Gander, Newfoundland.

Defense
The China Aid Council, composed of American groups, protested to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt against the shipment of "war supplies, including finished steel and machine tools, to Japan, contrary to the principles implied in the embargo." New York Triborough Bridge Authority Chairman Robert Moses proposed construction of four major highways in the metropolitan area at a cost of $65 million to facilitate the defense of the city in wartime.

Politics and government
The Boston Globe printed comments from an interview conducted the previous day with Joseph P. Kennedy, U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, in which he expressed the opinion that democracy was dead in England and would soon be replaced by national socialism.

Disasters
The Vrancea earthquake struck Romania, registering 7.7 on the Richter scale, killing an estimated 1,000 and injuring approximately 4,000 more.

Track and field
Gérard Côté of Canada won the 6th annual Yonkers Marathon in a time of 2:34:06.2 to win the U.S. National Amateur Athletic Association championship

Football
NFL
Washington (7-1) 14 @ Brooklyn (5-3) 16
Cleveland (4-4) 13 @ New York (4-3-1) 0
Philadelphia (0-8) 3 @ Pittsburgh (2-6-2) 7
Chicago Bears (6-2) 14 @ Detroit (4-4-1) 17
Green Bay (5-3) 28 @ Chicago Cardinals (2-5-2) 7

AFL
Buffalo (1-6) 7 @ Columbus (7-1) 13
New York 7 @ Milwaukee (6-2) 30
Cincinnati (1-6) 17 Boston (4-4) 13 @ Charleston, West Virginia

75 years ago
1945

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Till the End of Time--Perry Como with Russ Case and his Orchestra (Best Seller--9th week at #1; Airplay--9th week at #1; Juke Box--7th week at #1; Honor Roll of Hits--8th week at #1)

War
Chinese Nationalists reported that troops had made progress against Communist forces along the Great Wall and were driving on Chinhsien. Communist and Nationalist forces clashed near the coastal anchor of the Great Wall at Shanhaikwan.

Fighting of British and British Indian troops against Indonesian nationalists and returning colonialists in the East Javan city of Surabaya reached its peak. The day is now celebrated in Indonesia as Heroes' Day (Hari Pahlawan).

Diplomacy
British Prime Minister Clement Attlee and Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King arrived in Washington for talks with U.S. President Harry Truman about the atomic bomb.

Politics and government
Mexico's governing Intitutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) refused to support any reforms in the electoral law, which empowered the Chamber of Deputies to count votes in national elections.

Archaeology
Dr. Samuel N. Kramer of the Pennsylvania Museum announced the discovery of a previously unknown heroic age in Sumer, lower Babylonia, that flourished 5,000 years ago.

Football
CRU
WIFU
Final
Calgary 6 @ Winnipeg 9

Lloyd Boivin's short touchdown rush in the 4th quarter gave the Blue Bombers their win over the Stampeders before just 1,500 fans at Osborne Stadium on a cold Saturday afternoon. A 60-yard touchdown pass from Harry Hobbs to George Alexander--the only completed pass of the game--gave the Stampeders a 5-0 lead, which was reduced to 5-3 on a 40-yard field goal by Ches McCance, who converted Mr. Boivin's TD. The winning touchdown culminated a drive that seemed to have ended near the Calgary 40-yard line when referee Les Ferguson ruled that the Stampeders had stopped the Blue Bombers on a third-down gamble. The yard markers at Osborne Stadium were inaccurate, and the Blue Bombers requested a measurement. The measurement showed that the rushing play had gained the necessary yardage, and Mr. Ferguson reversed his ruling. The game deteriorated in the final minutes, especially after Calgary playing coach Dean Griffing threw a punch at Winnipeg quarterback Nate Shore as Mr. Shore was heading back to his bench. Several fans ran onto the field to get involved, and police had to come onto the field to restore order. The game statistics give an indication of the game's ineptitude, including: First downs: Calgary 2, Winnipeg 7; Yards rushing: Calgary 78, Winnipeg 153; Yards passing: Calgary 60, Winnipeg 0; Passes/complete: Calgary 10/1, Winnipeg 5/0; Interceptions: Calgary 1, Winnipeg 0; Punts/average yards: Calgary 12/32.7, Winnipeg 11/34.1; Punt return yards: Calgary 20, Winnipeg 42; Fumbles/lost: Calgary 2/2, Winnipeg 0; Penalties/yards: Calgary 5/50, Winnipeg 3/35.

Canadian university
Yates Cup
Western Ontario 17 @ Queen's 2

The Mustangs defeated Queen's at Richardson Stadium in Kingston to win their first Yates Cup championship.

Hardy Cup
Alberta 1 @ British Columbia 17 (British Columbia won 3-game total points series 36-17)

Reg Clarkson scored 2 touchdowns and 2 converts, with Phil Guman scoring the other TD as the Thunderbirds defeated the injury-riddled Golden Bears at Capilano Stadium in Vancouver to win the Western Canada championship. Billy Ingram punted for the Alberta point in the 3rd quarter.

70 years ago
1950

At the movies
Two Weeks with Love, directed by Roy Rowland, and starring Jane Powell and Ricardo Montalban, opened in theatres.



Literature
Bertrand Russell of the United Kingdom was named the winner of the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought." William Faulkner was named the winner of the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel." The prize hadn't been presented in 1949 because of disagreement within the prize committee.

Science
Cecil Frank Powell of the United Kingdom was named the winner of the 1950 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his development of the photographic method of studying nuclear processes and his discoveries regarding mesons made with this method." Otto Diels and Kurt Alder of West Germany were named winners of the 1950 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for their discovery and development of the diene synthesis."

World events
Three days after Tribhuvan had been deposed as King of Nepal by Prime Minister Sir Tin Maharaja, Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana in favour of the king's 4-year-old grandson Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, two Indian planes landed at Gauchar Airport in Katmandu and took the deposed monarch and the remaining members of the royal family to New Delhi, where they were formally welcomed by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and other high officials.

Terrorism
A U.S. federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. indicted Puerto Rican nationalist Oscar Collazo on charges of killing White House policeman Leslie Coffelt during the assassination attempt on President Harry Truman on November 1.

Diplomacy
Spain was admitted to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

Defense
U.S. Commerce Secretary Charles Sawyer announced that the government would have to use mandatory controls to regulate defense production, because voluntary agreements "just won't work."

Disasters
A U.S. Air Force B-50 bomber accidentally detonated an unarmed Mark IV atomic weapon over St-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska, Quebec just before 4 P.M.; the bomb lacked its plutonium-uranium core, but a 2,200-kilogram chemical charge exploded, pushing a cloud of yellow smoke spiralling up a kilometre above the St. Lawrence River, with a low rumble the shook houses for 25 miles around. The plane had run into trouble during a flight from Goose Bay, Labrador.

60 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade): It's Now or Never--Elvis Presley

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): It's Now or Never--Elvis Presley (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
The Untouchables, starring Robert Stack, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Waxey Gordon Story

Literature
The first run of D.H. Lawrence’s novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover sold all 200,000 copies on the first day of publication in Great Britain. The novel had been published in Italy in 1928, but had been banned in Britain until a recent court ruling that the book wasn’t obscene.

Oil
Canada's deepest deepest oil or gas well to date was drilled in the Rocky Mountains at Fording Mountain, British Columbia.

Economics and finance Canada announced a contribution of $1 million to the United Nations fund for the Congo.

50 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Black Night--Deep Purple

War
For the first time in five years, an entire week ended with no reports of American combat fatalities in Southeast Asia.

Diplomacy
The U.S.S.R. freed two U.S. Army generals, a major, and a Turkish colonel three weeks after their plane had strayed over the Russian-Turkish border during a storm.

Chinatica
The Great Wall of China opened to the world for tourism.

Crime
A grand jury in Marin, California indicted Negro militant and avowed Communist Angela Davis, 26, for murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy stemming from an attempted escape by Black Panther defendants from a San Rafael courtroom in August that resulted in a shootout that killed four people, including the judge.

Boxing
Henry Cooper (40-13-1) of England retained his European title with a technical knockout of Jose Manuel Urtain (34-2) of Spain in the 9th round at Empire Pool, Wembley, London. It was considered an upset, and was Mr. Cooper's last win.

Jimmy Ellis (28-6) scored a technical knockout over Roberto Davila (21-21) of Peru at 2:26 of the 7th round of a heavyweight bout at Miami Beach Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida.

40 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Woman in Love--Barbra Streisand

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Kaze wa Aki Iro / Eighteen--Seiko Matsuda (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Xanadu--Olivia Newton-John/Electric Light Orchestra (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Santa Maria--Roland Kaiser (2nd week at #1)

Politics and government
Michael Foot defeated Denis Healey in the second round of voting to become the leader of the British Labour Party.

Labour
The Polish trade union organization Solidarity called off a planned series of strikes after the Polish Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling that had ordered the insertion of a clause asserting the supreme role of the Communist Party in dealing with labour in the solidarity charter.

30 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Jukebox in Siberia--Skyhooks (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): I'm Your Baby Tonight--Whitney Houston (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Cult of Snap--Snap! (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Verdammt - Ich Lieb' Dich--Matthias Reim (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Une femme avec une femme--Mecano

#1 single in the U.K. (CIN): Unchained Melody--The Righteous Brothers (2nd week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 The Joker--Steve Miller Band (2nd week at #1)
2 Show Me Heaven--Maria McKee
3 Have You Seen Her--MC Hammer
4 Candy--Iggy Pop
5 I'm Your Baby Tonight--Whitney Houston
6 Verdammt - Ich Lieb' Dich--Matthias Reim
7 Born to Be Wild--Steppenwolf
8 Duet--Brigitte Kaandorp en Herman Finkers
9 Must Bee the Music--King Bee
10 Thunderstruck--AC/DC

Singles entering the chart were Doin' the Do by Betty Boo (#26); Body Language by the Adventures of Stevie V (#32); Love Takes Time by Mariah Carey (#33); Over the Hills by BZN (#35); I Like You by Culture Beat featuring Lana E. and Jay Supreme (#36); and Spring from Vivaldi's Four Seasons by Nigel Kennedy (#38).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Love Takes Time--Mariah Carey
2 Pray--M.C. Hammer
3 Ice Ice Baby--Vanilla Ice
4 Giving You the Benefit--Pebbles
5 I Don't Have the Heart--James Ingram
6 More than Words Can Say--Alias
7 Black Cat--Janet Jackson
8 Groove is in the Heart--Deee-Lite
9 Knockin' Boots--Candyman
10 Something to Believe In--Poison

Singles entering the chart were Hang in Long Enough by Phil Collins (#69); I Wanna Get with U by Guy (#73); Gentle by Dino (#81); New York Minute by Don Henley (#82); Me-U=Blue by Glenn Medeiros (featuring the Stylistics) (#83); Love is a Killer by Vixen (#84); If You Needed Somebody by Bad Company (#88); and Falling to Pieces by Faith No More (#92).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Ice Ice Baby--Vanilla Ice (2nd week at #1)
2 Love Takes Time--Mariah Carey
3 Giving You the Benefit--Pebbles
4 Pray--M.C. Hammer
5 Black Cat--Janet Jackson
6 More Than Words Can Say--Alias
7 I Don’t Have the Heart--James Ingram
8 Suicide Blonde--INXS
9 Groove is in the Heart--Deee-Lite
10 Knockin’ Boots--Candyman

Singles entering the chart were Hang in Long Enough by Phil Collins (#53); Sensitivity by Ralph Tresvant (#56); Does She Love That Man? by Breathe featuring David Glasper (#69); Never Enough by the Cure (#72); The First Time by Surface (#73); If You Needed Somebody by Bad Company (#80); Gentle by Dino (#82); Doin' the Do by Betty Boo (#85); and Don't You Wanna Be Mine by Denise Lopez (#87).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Suicide Blonde--INXS
2 Praying for Time--George Michael
3 More than Words Can Say--Alias
4 Unchained Melody--The Righteous Brothers
5 Love Takes Time--Mariah Carey
6 Say a Prayer--Breathe
7 Stranded--Heart
8 Black Cat--Janet Jackson
9 Something Happened on the Way to Heaven--Phil Collins
10 So Close--Daryl Hall John Oates

Singles entering the chart were Lost Soul by Bruce Hornsby and the Range (#63); Real Real Gone by Van Morrison (#71); So Hard by Pet Shop Boys (#87); Burning Train by Scott Merritt (#90); The Bridge is Burning by the Jitters (#91); Fearless by the Neville Brothers (#93); Heaven Can Wait by Paul Young (#95); I Can't Forget About You by Zahalan (#96); Signs by Tesla (#98); and I'm Seventeen by Tommy Cogswell and the Young Rumblers (#99).

Died on this date
Aurelio Monteagudo, 46. Cuban-born Venezuelan baseball pitcher. Mr. Monteagudo played with the Kansas City Athletics (1963-1966); Houston Astros (1966); Chicago White Sox (1967); Kansas City Royals (1970); and California Angels (1973), compiling a record of 3-7 with an earned run average of 5.05 in 72 games--65 in relief. He also had lengthy careers in the Venezuelan League and the Mexican League, and was inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009. Mr. Monteagudo was killed in a car accident nine days before his 47th birthday.

Politics and government
Chandra Shekhar, leader of the Janata Dal (Socialist) Party, was sworn in as Prime Minister of India. He was widely seen as a caretaker Prime Minister who would lose his position when Congress (I) leader and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi withdrew his support from the governing coalition.

25 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Gangsta's Paradise--Coolio feauring L.V. (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Gangsta's Paradise--Coolio feauring L.V. (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Ken Saro-Wiwa, 54. Nigerian activist. Mr. Saro-Wiwa, a writer and televsion producer, was a member of the minority Ogoni ethnic group who was opposed to environmental damage to his homeland caused by oil extraction. He and with eight others with the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop) were hanged by government forces despite international protests and pleas for clemency.

Crime
A sniper shot and wounded an abortion clinic a doctor at his Ancaster, Ontario home.

20 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Jacques Chaban-Delmas, 85. Prime Minister of France, 1969-1972. Mr. Chaban-Delmas, a Gaullist, was Mayor of Bordeaux from 1947-1995, and served as Prime Minister under President Georges Pompidou. He lost the 1974 presidential election to Valery Giscard D'Estaing.

Adamantios Androutsopoulos, 81. Prime Minister of Greece, 1973-1974. Mr. Androutsopoulos held various positions in the military junta that governed Greece from 1967-1974, and was the last Prime Minister--concurrently serving as Finance Minister--before the restoration of democratic government.

War
The government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front agreed to a 30-day cease-fire in their civil war. The sides had stopped negotiating after hostilities had resumed in May.

Diplomacy
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat addressed the United Nations Security Council and requested deployment of 2,000 UN peacekeepers between Palestinians and Israeli troops.

Energy
The Quebec government announced its withdrawal from the Churchill Falls hydroelectric project, leaving the way open to Newfoundland with a more modest project amounting to $ 3.7 billion. The project, initially prepared by Hydro-Québec, and which provided for the deviation of the Romaine River, was valued at $12 billion. The abandonment of the Churchill Falls project was attributed to the deregulation of electricity rates in the United States.

10 years ago
2010

Died on this date
Dino De Laurentiis, 91. Italian-born movie producer. Mr. De Laurentiis, who moved to the United States in 1976 and became an American citizen 10 years later, produced or co-produced more than 500 movies, some of which were good. He won an Academy Award for La Strada (1954), winner as Best Foreign Language Film.

Sport
Olympic medallist Clara Hughes was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame with race car driver Jacques Villeneuve; gymnast Kyle Shewfelt; NHL goaltender Patrick Roy; Paralympian Chantal Petitclerc; freestyle skier Jean-Luc Brassard; and Roger Jackson and Bobby Ackles in the builder category.