November 30, 2020

320 years ago
1700

War
Swedish forces led by King Charles XII defeated the Russian army in the Battle of Narva.

210 years ago
1810

Born on this date
Oliver Winchester. U.S. businessman and politician. Mr. Winchester bought the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, a division of Smith and Wesson, in 1855. The repeating rifle's design was improved, and the company was named the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1866. The Winchester rifles were tremendously successful with pioneers in the western United States, making Mr. Winchester a wealthy man. A Republican, he was a City Commissioner in New Haven, Connecticut, and was Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut (1866-1867). Mr. Winchester died on December 10, 1880, 10 days after his 70th birthday.

190 years ago
1830

Died on this date
Pius VIII, 69. Roman Catholic Pope, 1829-1830. Pius VIII, born Francesco Saverio Maria Felice Castiglioni, earned a doctorate in canon law and civil law, and was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood in 1785, rising through the ranks until he succeeded Leo XII on the papal throne. He opposed masonic secret societies and modernistic Bible translations, and addressed the issue of marriages between Catholics and Protestants, approving them only if the children were raised as Catholics. Pope Pius VIII suffered from poor health during his entire reign, and his health declined seriously in the final weeks before his death, 10 days after his 69th birthday. Some have speculated that Pope Pius VIII was poisoned, but evidence is lacking. He was succeeded by Gregory XVI.

180 years ago
1840

Born on this date
Henry Birks. Canadian businessman. Mr. Birks, a native of Montreal, founded the jewellery firm Henry Birks and Sons in Montreal in 1879. He died on April 16, 1928 at the age of 87.

120 years ago
1900

Died on this date
Oscar Wilde, 46. Irish author. The author of The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) died in Paris. His last words were reported as "I am dying beyond my means." Another account has it that his last words were, "Either that wallpaper goes or I do."

100 years ago
1920

Born on this date
Virginia Mayo. U.S. actress. Miss Mayo, born Virginia Jones, was one of the biggest box office stars of the 1940s for such movies as The Princess and the Pirate (1944); The Best Years of Our Lives (1946); and White Heat (1949). She appeared in several movies with Danny Kaye, such as Up in Arms (1944); Wonder Man (1945); The Kid from Brooklyn (1946); The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947); and A Song is Born (1948). Miss Mayo died of pneumonia and complications of congestive heart failure on January 17, 2005 at the age of 84.

90 years ago
1930

Football
NFL
Brooklyn (7-3-1) 7 @ New York (11-4) 6
Green Bay (10-2) 37 @ Staten Island (5-5-2) 7
Portsmouth (4-6-2) 6 @ Chicago Bears (8-4-1) 14

80 years ago
1940

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): The Woodpecker Song--Kate Smith; Glenn Miller and his Orchestra (1st month at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Only Forever--Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter and his Orchestra (7th week at #1)

Died on this date
George B. McClellan, Jr., 75. U.S. politician. Mr. McClellan, son of U.S. Civil War Union Army General George McLellan, was a Democrat who represented New York's 12 District in the United States House of Representatives from 1895-1903, and served as Mayor of New York from 1904-1909. He later became a professor of economic history at Princeton University. Mr. McClellan died a week after his 75th birthday.

Married on this date
U.S. actress Lucille Ball married Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz in Greenwich, Connecticut.

War
The Greek Army announced the capture of the Italian base of Pogradec in northeastern Albania. Italian Duce Benito Mussolini's newspaper Il Popole d'Italia stated that Italy would settle her quarrel with Greece alone and without the military help of Germany. Radio reports from Rome announced that the Axis powers had abandoned their plans for the defeat of Britain through actual invasion. Thailand announced the occupation of the French Indochinese districts of Banongkien, Bangkokekrabein, and Patruchai, as well as reprisal air raids on Thakhek and Savannakhet in the undeclared war.

Diplomacy
Japan officially recognized the Chinese government in Nanking in a treaty signed by Lieutenant General Noriyuki Abe and "President" Wang Ching-wei.

Politics and government
Paraguayan President Morinigo established a virtual dictatorship by signing a decree granting him full power to carry out the "Paraguayan revolution."

Economics and finance
The U.S. administration of President Harry Truman announced that a $50-million credit had been given to China and that an additional $50 million load would be made soon.

Society
The United States Census Bureau reported that the excess of males over females in the U.S.A. was being reduced by nearly 100,000 per year, and that in about five years there would be a female majority.

Football
CRU
Grey Cup
Ottawa Rough Riders 8 @ Toronto Balmy Beach 2 (First game of 2-game total points series)

Dave Sprague scored the game’s only touchdown, converted by Rick Perley, while Sammy Sward added 2 singles as the Rough Riders defeated Balmy Beach before 4,998 fans at Varsity Stadium. Bobby Porter’s 2 singles accounted for Balmy Beach’s scoring.

NCAA
Navy defeated Army 14-0 in the annual game between the two defense academies at Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia.

75 years ago
1945

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Don't Fence Me In--Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters (3rd month at #1)

Died on this date
Heinz-Wilhelm Eck, 29. German military officer. Kapitänleutnant Eck was in command of the Kriegsmarine submarine U-852 when it sank the Greek merchant ship SS Peleus in the South Atlantic Ocean on March 13, 1944. Kapitänleutnant Eck ordered his crew to use hand grenades and fire automatic weapons into the ship in order to sink it, giving the crew of the Peleus no chance of survival. Kapitänleutnant Eck was captured soon after when U-852 was beached in Somaliland, and was taken prisoner. He was convicted as a war criminal and executed by firing squad at Lüneberg Heath, Germany.

War
At the hearings of the United States Senate committee on the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, evidence was introduced that Admiral Harold Stark, then Chief of Naval Operations, sent warnings to Admiral Husband Kimmel on November 27 and December 3, 1941 regarding possible Japanese attacks. Former Nazi official Rudolf Hess announced that he was sane, that he had been faking amnesia, and that he was ready to go on trial for war crimes in Nuremberg. Field Marshal Count Juichi Terauchi, Japanese commander in Southeast Asia, surrendered to British Lord Louis Mountbatten in Rangoon.

Defense
The Allied Control Council banned military training, war veterans' organizations, and parades in Germany.

Politics and government
The six-party National Liberation Committee in Italy chose Alcide de Gasperi as Prime Minister.

Labour
A labour-management conference in Washington, D.C. ended with agreement on the use of arbitration in contracts with no-strike, no lockout clauses and the strengthening of the U.S. Conciliation Service.

Disasters
400 people were killed when an earthquake and tsunami struck Pasni, India.

34 people were killed and heavy property damage resulted from a two-day storm in New England.

70 years ago
1950

War
United Nations forces on the west coast of Korea withdrew to a line midway between Pyongyang and the Yalu River to avoid encirclement by Chinese Communist forces. In a formal statement, U.S. President Harry Truman denied any intention of abandoning [the UN] mission in Korea," and threatened to use atomic weapons if necessary to prevent Chinese forces from overrunning the peninsula.

Education
The New York State Court of Appeals upheld a state law barring Communists from teaching in public schools.

Technology
The first concentrated milk, maunfactured by Sealtest, was sold in Wilmington, Delaware.

Economics and finance
Argentina's first automobile factory was opened in Buenos Aires in ceremonies attended by President Juan Peron.

Labour
U.S. Steel and the United Steel Workers of America agreed on a 10% wage raise averaging 16c-18c per hour, an agreement expected to set the pattern for the one million-worker steel industry.

Business
The same day that it reached its agreement with the USW, U.S. Steel raised prices by 5½% ($5.50 per ton).

60 years ago
1960

Business
The last DeSoto rolled off the assembly line in Detroit, 12 days after Chrysler Corporation had announced the discontinuation of the passenger car marque, after more than 32 years of production. Only 3,034 1961 DeSotos were sold.



50 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Lookin' Out My Back Door/Long as I Can See the Light--Creedence Clearwater Revival (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Kyōto no Koi--Yūko Nagisa (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): N'A Veiriña Do Mar--María Ostiz (3rd week at #1)

Religion
Pope Paul VI departed Manila and visited Western Samoa before arriving in Sydney, Australia.

Football
NFL
Miami (7-4) 20 @ Atlanta (3-6-2) 7



40 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): He's So Shy--The Pointer Sisters

#1 single in Switzerland: Woman in Love--Barbra Streisand (3rd week at #1)

Diplomacy
Edwin Meese, a senior adviser to U.S. President-elect Ronald Reagan, stated that the U.S. and U.S.S.R. would begin talks on a new arms limitation treaty within a few weeks of Mr. Reagan’s inauguration on Jaunuary 20.

25 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Gangsta's Paradise--Coolio featuring L.V. (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Gangsta's Paradise--Coolio featuring L.V. (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Gangsta's Paradise--Coolio featuring L.V.

War
Operation Desert Storm, the U.S. campaign in the Persian Gulf, officially ended.

Diplomacy
Bill Clinton became the first U.S. President to visit Northern Ireland, where he spoke in favour of the Northern Ireland peace process to a huge rally at Belfast City Hall.

Movies
Walt Disney Studios announced that it would open animation studios in Toronto and Vancouver.

20 years ago
2000

Space
The U.S. space shuttle Endeavour, with a five-man crew comanded by Brent Jett, launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida to begin mission STS-97, an 11-day mission aboard the International Space Station.



10 years ago
2010

Defense
U.S. Defense Department leaders called for scrapping the 17-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" ban after releasing a survey about the prospect of openly sodomite troops.

Politics and government
Doug Phillips was installed as Yukon Commissioner, succeeding Geraldine Van Bibber.