January 25, 2021

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Zlata Antunovic!

1,980 years ago
41

Politics and government
After a night of negotiation, Claudius was accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate, the day after the death of Caligula.

230 years ago
1791

Canadiana
The British Parliament passed the Constitutional Act of 1791 and split the old Province of Quebec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada.

180 years ago
1841

Born on this date
John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher. Ceylonese-born U.K. military officer and politician. Admiral of the Fleet "Jacky" Fisher held numerous commands during a 60-year career in the Royal Navy, and was known as a champion of naval reform. He served as First Sea Lord (1904-1910, 1914-1915), overseeing the construction of the battleship HMS Dreadnought and advocating the development of submarines. Baron Fisher retired as First Sea Lord on his 69th birthday, but came out of retirement at the start of World War I. He had frequent disputes with First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, and resigned again following the failure of the Gallipoli campaign in 1915. Baron Fisher died of cancer on July 10, 1920 at the age of 79.

140 years ago
1881

Business
Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell formed the Oriental Telephone Company.

120 years ago
1901

Born on this date
Mildred Dunnock. U.S. actress. Miss Dunnock was a character actress who appeared in plays, movies, and television programs in a career spanning more than 50 years. She was nominated for Academy Awards for her supporting performances in Death of a Salesman (1951) and Baby Doll (1956), reprising in the former the role that she had played on Broadway in 1949. Miss Dunnock died on July 5, 1991 at the age of 90.

100 years ago
1921

Born on this date
Josef Holeček. Czechoslovakian canoeist. Mr. Holeček won gold medals in the men's C-1 1,000-metre event at the Summer Olympic Games in London in 1948 and Helsinki in 1952. He won a gold medal in that competition at the 1950 World Championships in Copenhagen and a silver medal in the C-1 10,000-metre event. Mr. Holeček died on February 20, 2005, 26 days after his 84th birthday.

Samuel T. Cohen. U.S. physicist. Mr. Cohen worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II, and then at RAND Corporation and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where, in 1958, he devised the anti-tank thermonuclear weapon popularly known as the neutron bomb. Mr. Cohen died of stomach cancer on November 28, 2010 at the age of 89.

80 years ago
1941

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Frenesi--Artie Shaw and his Orchestra (6th week at #1)

Diplomacy
Cuban Secretary of State Jose Manuel Cortina repudiated U.S. Senator George Smathers' (Democrat--Florida) resolution that Cuba be admitted as a state of the union.

Defense
Former U.S. Ambassador to France William C. Bullitt told the House of Representatives that he supported the Lend-Lease bill, and warned the committee of German invasion through Latin America if Britain failed.

Religion
Pope Pius XII elevated the Apostolic Vicariate of the Hawaiian Islands to the dignity of a diocese; it became the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.

75 years ago
1946

Diplomacy
Sir Archibald Clark Kerr was appointed U.K. Ambassador to the United States to succeed Lord Halifax, whose resignation was effective May 1, 1946.

U.S.S.R. delegate to the United Nations Andrei Vishinsky told the Security Council that the Soviet Union opposed any UN inquiry into Iranian accusations of Soveit interference in Iran's affairs.

The Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry began hearings in London on the Palestine issue.

Protest
Rioting in Bombay by followers of the late Subhas Chandra Bose, leader of the pro-Japanese Indian National Army during World War II, continued for the third day, with casualties mounting to 22 dead and over 600 wounded.

Labour
The American Federation of Labor voted to readmit the United Mine Workers, and elected UMW President John L. Lewis as Vice President of the AFL.

70 years ago
1951

At the movies
The Enforcer, starring Humphrey Bogart, Zero Mostel, Ted de Corsia, and Everett Sloane, opened in theatres in New York City. It was Mr. Bogart’s last film under his contract with the Warner Brothers studio.



War
Operation Thunderbolt, the first major U.S. counteroffensive in Korea in 1951, began under the new commanding officer of the U.S. Eighth Army, General Matthew Ridgway.

Diplomacy
The Universal Postal Union's Executive Committee seated a Communist Chinese delegation at its meeting in Cairo.

Scandal
A court in Havana cleared former Cuban President Ramon Grau San Martin and former Finance Minister Florentino Martinez of involvement in alleged misappropriations of $174 million in government funds from 1944-1948.

Economics and finance
Angered by India's opposition to the United Nations' anti-Chinese resolution and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's criticism of the West, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Tom Connally (Democrat--Texas) tabled an Indian request for $200 million in food aid to forestalll a famine.

Labour
The West German government averted a threatened strike of Ruhr miners and steel workers by promising to give their unions an equal voice in company management.

60 years ago
1961

At the movies
One Hundred and One Dalmatians, a Walt Disney Productions animated film directed by Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wolfgang Reitherman, and featuring the voices of Rod Taylor, Cate Bauer, Betty Lou Gerson, and Ben Wright, opened in theatres.



World events
A new six-man junta seized power in El Salvador, ousting another junta that had ruled for three months after toppling President Jose Maria Lemus. The new junta--two army officers and four civilians called the Military-Civilian Directorate--said it acted to halt the "leftist excesses" of the old junta. The new group said that its aims were "eminently anti-Communist and constitutional."

Terrorism
The pilot of a U.S. Navy patrol bomber spotted the Portuguese cruise ship Santa Maria far out in the Atlantic Ocean, three days after it had been hijacked by pirates led by former Portuguese army captain Hecor Galvao. The U.S. plane’s pilot radioed a request to Mr. Galvao to turn about and put in at the U.S. Naval Base in San Juan. Mr. Galvao refused, and said he was headed for the Portuguese colony of Angola in western Africa.

Politics and government
U.S. President John F. Kennedy held the first presidential news conference to be broadcast live on radio and television. He announced that the U.S.S.R. had released the two surviving crewmen of a U.S. Air Force RB-47 jet reconnaissance plane that had been shot down by Soviet flyers over the Barents Sea on July 1, 1960. The Americans, Captain Freeman Olmstead and Captain John McKone, were flown from Moscow to Washington, where they were entertained at the White House as President and Mrs. Kennedy before returning to their homes at Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka, Kansas.



50 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): My Sweet Lord--George Harrison (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Bōkyō--Shinichi Mori

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Te Quiero, Te Quiero--Nino Bravo (6th week at #1)

Died on this date
Donald Winnicott, 74. U.K. physician. Dr. Winnicott was a pediatrician and psychoanalyst who was influential in the field of object relations theory and developmental psychology. He was best known for his ideas on the true self and the false self, and the "good enough" parent. Dr. Winnicott served two terms as president of the British Psychoanalytical Society (1956-1959, 1965-1968), published more than 200 papers, and books such as Playing and Reality (1971). He died after the last of a series of heart attacks.

World events
A military coup led by General Idi Amin seized power in Uganda while President Milton Obote was attending the Commonwealth Conference in Singapore.



Terrorism
The trial of FLQ terrorist Paul Rose began for the October 1970 murder of Québec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte.

Space
The United States launched Intelsat IV F-2, the first of three global communications satellites launched in 1971 to form part of a satellite communications system operated by the multinational International Communications Satellite Consortium.

Crime
Charles Manson and three of his followers were convicted of the 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate and six other people.

Economics and finance The report of the Castonguay-Nepveu Commission on income security in Quebec was tabled. It proposed the establishment of a General Social Allowance Income (RGAS) which would replace or supplement the income of less fortunate Quebecers up to a specific threshold.

Disasters
18 people were killed when a Venezuelan airliner crashed south of Lake Maracaibo.

40 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Shaddap You Face--Joe Dolce Music Theatre (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: (Just Like) Starting Over--John Lennon (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Adele Astaire, 84. U.S. dancer and actress. Miss Astaire, born Adele Austerlitz, was three years older than her brother Fred, and they performed together for 27 years. She achieved success in Broadway musicals such as Lady, Be Good! (1924); Funny Face (1927); and The Band Wagon (1931). Miss Astaire's partnership with her brother ended in 1932 when she married Lord Charles Arthur Francis Cavendish and settled to domestic life in England as Lady Cavendish. Lord Cavendish died in 1944, and she married American investment banker and spy Kenneth Douglass in 1947, returning to the United States. Miss Astaire never resumed her show business career, and died after suffering a stroke.

Terrorism
Five days after their release from the U.S. embassy in Tehran after 444 days of captivity, 52 American hostages set foot on American soil after their U.S. Air Force VC-137 named Freedom One landed at Stewart International Airport, 17 miles from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. The hostages were joined by their families and taken by bus to the Hotel Thayer on the academy grounds, where they were to stay until January 27.



War
Iraq announced that it had captured two strategic mountain passes in the Iranian province of Kurdistan.

Diplomacy
Leaders of 37 Muslim nations and the Palestine Liberation Organization convened in Taif, Saudi Arabia, for the beginning of a five-day conference. Missing was the five-member Iranian delegation, which had been instructed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to boycott the meeting because Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would be there. Libya also boycotted the meeting to protest the presence of U.S. surveillance planes based in Saudi Arabia. Afghanistan was barred because its government was attempting to suppress Muslim rebels, and Egypt was barred because of its peace treaty with Israel. In an opening speech read by Crown Prince Fahd, King Khalid of Saudi Arabia urged the group to drive Israel out of the Arab territories it had occupied since 1967, and to secure the rights of the Palestinians.

World events
Jiang Qing, the widow of Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong, was sentenced to death for counter-revolutionary crimes during the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976. However, the sentence was suspended for two years during which she would be "helped to reform through labour." If she reformed, the court could commute the sentence to imprisonment. The sentences of the other three members of the "Gang of Four" were also announced. Zhang Chunqiao, former mayor of Shanghai, received the same sentence as Jiang Qing. Yao Wenyaun, former head of China’s mass communication organizations, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Wang Hongwen, former deputy party chairman, was sentenced to life imprisonment. Other defendants received prison sentences of 16-18 years, but since most of them had been jailed in 1971, it was ruled that they had already served more than half of their sentences.

Politics and government
Four British Labour Party Members of Parliament--all former cabinet ministers--announced their intentions to break away from the party and set up a "council for social democracy."

Football
NFL
Super Bowl XV @ New Orleans
Oakland 27 Philadelphia 10

Jim Plunkett completed 13 of 21 passes for 261 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Raiders became the first team to win the Super Bowl after qualifying for the playoffs as a wild card team. Mr. Plunkett's touchdown passes covered 2 yards to Cliff Branch and 80 yards to Kenny King in the 1st quarter, and 29 yards to Mr. Branch in the 3rd quarter. Chris Bahr converted all 3 and added fild goals of 46 and 35 yards. The Eagles scored their only touchdown in the 4th quarter on an 8-yard pass from Ron Jaworski to Keith Krepfle. Tony Franklin, who had kicked a 30-yard field goal in the 2nd quarter. converted. Mr. Jaworski completed 18 of 38 passes for 291 yards but gave up 3 interceptions, all to linebacker Rod Martin, who returned them a total of 44 yards. Mark van Eeghen led the Oakland rushing attack with 80 yards on 19 carries; Wilbert Montgomery led Philadelphia with 44 yards on 16 carries. Mr. King led the Raiders with 93 yards on 2 receptions; Mr. Montgomery led the Eagles with 91 yards on 6 receptions. 76,135 fans attended the game at Louisiana Superdome.



30 years ago
1991

War
Allied officials accused Iraq of environmental terrorism for dumping millions of litres of crude oil from a Kuwaiti supertanker into the Persian Gulf. It was the largest oil slick on record, covering about 900 square kilometres, and containing as much as 11 million barrels of oil by January 30. The oil posed a serious danger to the area’s ecosystem as well as to the operation of Allied ships.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the gross national product had declined at an annual rate of 2.1% for the fourth quarter of 1990; for all of 1990, the growth rate was 0.9%, the lowest since the 2.5% decline in 1982.

25 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Jesus to a Child--George Michael (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Missing--Everything But the Girl

Died on this date
Billy Bailey, 49. U.S. criminal. Mr. Bailey was hanged at Delaware Correctional Center at Smyrna for the 1979 murders of Gilbert Lambertson, 80, and his wife Clara, 73. Mr. Bailey remainis the most recent person to be hanged in the U.S.A.

Jonathan Larson, 35. U.S. composer and playwright. Mr. Larson was best known for the musical Rent (1996), which won numerous awards, including several Tonys and a Pulitzer Prize. Mr. Larson died of an aortic dissection, believed to be caused by undiagnosed Marfan syndrome, the morning of the play's first Off-Broadway preview performance, and 10 days before his 36th birthday. Mr. Larson had been suffering from severe chest pains, dizziness, and shortness of breath for several days, but his condition was misdiagnosed; an investigation concluded that proper diagnosis and surgery would have saved his life.

Europeana
Russia became a member state of the Council of Europe.

Politics and government
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien launched a major cabinet shuffle, adding Pierre Pettigrew as Minister of Human Resources Development and Stéphane Dion as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.

Law
Leilani Muir was awarded $750,000 by an Alberta judge; she had been wrongly diagnosed as mentally disabled and sterilized by the province's Eugenics Board in 1959.

Labour
A general strike was held in Bolivia to protest attempts by the government of President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada Bustamente to balance the budget by raising fuel prices and holding wage increases to 8%.

10 years ago
2011

Protest
Egypt's revolution began as thousands of anti-government protesters clashed with police during a Tunisia-inspired demonstration to demand the end of President Hosni Mubarak's rule.