January 7, 2021

570 years ago
1451

Died on this date
Amadeus VIII of Savoy a.k.a. Felix V, 67 (?). Roman Catholic Antipope, 1439-1449. Amadeus VIII was elected Antipope in opposition to Pope Eugene IV, and is regarded as the last historical antipope.

130 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Zora Neale Hurston. U.S. folklorist. Miss Hurston was known for studying and writing about the people of the Negro town of Eatonville, Florida and the surrounding area. Her best-known book was the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937). Miss Hurston died on January 28, 1960, three weeks after her 69th birthday.

125 years ago
1896

Literature
The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, the first cookbook by Fannie Farmer, was published by Little, Brown & Company.

100 years ago
1921

Born on this date
Esmeralda Arboleda Cadavid. Colombian politician and diplomat. Miss Arboleda, a Liberal, opposed the military government of General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla in the mid-1950s, and with her husband Samuel Uribe Hoyos spent several years in exile in Boston before returning to Colombia in 1958. She became the first woman elected to the Colombian Senate, serving from 1958-1961. Miss Arboleda was Colombia's Minister of Communications (1961-1962); Ambassador to Austria (1967-1969); and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations (1967-1969). She died of kidney failure on April 16, 1997 at the age of 76.

90 years ago
1931

Died on this date
Edward Channing, 74. U.S. historian. Dr. Channing taught at Harvard University (1883-1829), training many future historians. He was best known for his six-volume A History of the United States (1905-1926), for which he won the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for History.

Aviation
Guy Menzies made the first solo non-stop trans-Tasman (Australia -New Zealand) flight in 11 hours and 45 minutes, crash-landing on New Zealand's west coast.

80 years ago
1941

War
British troops in Libya captured El Adem airport, 15 miles south of Tobruk.

Diplomacy
Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka protested the British seizure of Japanese funds in Bermuda.

Law
A judge in New Jersey upheld the state's "race hatred" statutes by overrruling objections of nine convicted German-American Bund leaders.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Office of Production management (OPM), with William Knudsen as director general. Sidney Hillman was appointed associate director general with equal powers.

Labour
19 American unions affiliated with the American Federation of Labor's Building Trades Department adopted a no-strike policy on defense construction.

75 years ago
1946

Hit parade
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 It Might as Well Be Spring--Paul Weston and his Orchestra with Margaret Whiting
--Dick Haymes
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
2 Chickery Chick--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Evelyn Knight and the Jesters
3 It's Been a Long Long Time--Harry James and his Orchestra
--Bing Crosby with Les Paul and his Trio
--Charlie Spivak and his Orchestra
--Stan Kenton and his Orchestra
4 I Can't Begin to Tell You--Bing Crosby with Carmen Cavallaro
--Andy Russell
--Harry James and his Orchestra
5 Symphony--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra
--Benny Goodman and his Orchestra
--Bing Crosby
--Jo Stafford
6 Waitin' for the Train to Come In--Peggy Lee
--Harry James and his Orchestra
--Johnny Long and his Orchestra and Dick Robertson
7 Dig You Later (A Hubba-Hubba-Hubba)--Perry Como and the Satisfyers
8 Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief--Betty Hutton
9 That's for Me--Dick Haymes
--Jo Stafford
10 I'll Buy that Dream--Helen Forrest and Dick Haymes
--Harry James and his Orchestra
--Hal McIntyre and his Orchestra

No new 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 Murder in Wax

Died on this date
Suzanne Degnan, 6. U.S. crime victim. Miss Degnan was taken from her family's apartment in Chicago, murdered, and dismembered. Her body parts were found in various storm drains in her neighbourhood. William Heirens, 17, pled guilty on September 4 to her murder and the 1945 murders of two women in Chicago, and was sentenced the next day to life in prison with no possibility of parole. He claimed that his confession had been made under duress.

War
At the Nazi war crimes trial in Nuremberg, U.S. Army Colonel Telford Taylor summed up the case against the German general staff and high command by declaring that their plans for conquest "turned Europe into a charnel house."

Diplomacy
The U.S.A., U.K., U.S.S.R., and France formally recognized Austria.

A petition singed by 77 prominent Argentinians urged the United Nations to intervene against undemocratic governments and destroy "the Nazi redoubt installed in Argentina."

Economist Robert Nathan told the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry on Palestine at its opening session in Washington that Palestine could absorb 615,000-1,125,000 displaced Jews within 10 years.

Defense
U.S. Secretary of State James Byrnes stated that U.S. interests in the atomic issue would not be jeopardized by any United Nations commission, and denied that atomic secrets would be given up without congressional approval.

Journalism
American Society of Newspaper Editors and United Press President Hugh Baillie asked Edward Stettinius, acting head of the United States delegation to the United Nations, to work for the free exchange of international news.

Politics and government
The Romanian cabinet was reformed in line with Soviet objectives , with the appointment of Mihai Romniceanu and Emil Hatsieganu as ministers without portfolio.

The U.S. House of Representatives Territorial Affairs Subcommittee began hearings in Honolulu for Hawaiian statehood.

U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover said that American Youth for Democracy reflected "all the sinister purposes of the Communist Party in teh United States."

Protest
American soldiers in Manila, Guam, Camp Boston (France), and Andrews Field (Maryland) demonstrated against a reported demobilization slowdown.

Religion
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Jehovah's Witnesses had the right to distribute their literature in company-owned or federal towns.

Labour
United Auto Workers and Kaiser-Frazer Company reached an agreement giving the union a $1.20 average hourly wage.

70 years ago
1951

Movies
Egypt banned Samson and Delilah (1949), charging that it represented "an episode of Israeli life and power."

Asiatica
The Nepalese government announced that its Parliament and hereditary Prime Minister Maharajah Mohan Shumshere Jung Bahadur Rana had agreed to the return of King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah, who had been deposed on November 7, 1950 in favour of his three-year-old grandson Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah and had fled to India.

War
A major Communist attack drove the U.S. 2nd Division from the road centre of Wonju and penetrated United Nations positions east of Seoul.

Defense
France and the United Kingdom rejected Soviet notes that they had violated treaties with the U.S.S.R. by joining the Atlantic Pact and backing the use of West German troops.

Labour
The Order of Railway Conductors joined the brotherhoods of trainmen and firemen in rejecting the U.S. railroad labour agreement negotiated the previous month.

60 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Are You Lonesome To-night?/I Gotta Know--Elvis Presley (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Il cielo in una stanza--Mina

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Ramona--Blue Diamonds (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (Dutch Top 40): It's Now Or Never--Elvis Presley (10th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Poetry in Motion--Johnny Tillotson

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Wonderland by Night--Bert Kaempfert and his Orchestra
--[Louis Prima]
--[Anita Bryant]
2 Exodus--Ferrante and Teicher
--[Mantovani & his Orchestra]
3 Are You Lonesome To-night?--Elvis Presley
4 Will You Love Me Tomorrow--The Shirelles
5 Last Date--Floyd Cramer
6 Rubber Ball--Bobby Vee
7 You're Sixteen--Johnny Burnette
8 Corinna, Corinna--Ray Peterson
9 North to Alaska--Johnny Horton
10 Angel Baby--Rosie and the Originals

Singles entering the chart were Yes, I'm Lonesome Tonight by Dodie Stevens (#85); Spoonful by Etta and Harvey (#88); Baby Sittin' Boogie by Buzz Clifford (#91); Emotions by Brenda Lee (#94); Don't Read the Letter by Patti Page (#95); My Empty Arms by Jackie Wilson (#98); What am I Gonna Do by Jimmy Clanton (#99); Wheels by the String-A-Longs (#100); If I Didn't Care by the Platters (also #100); and (Ghost) Riders in the Sky by the Ramrods (also #100). The version of Yes, I'm Lonesome Tonight by Thelma Carpenter was listed with the version by Dodie Stevens, but not charted.

Vancouver's Top 10 (CFUN)
1 Calendar Girl--Neil Sedaka (3rd week at #1)
2 Corinna, Corinna--Ray Peterson
3 Are You Lonesome To-night?--Elvis Presley
4 Lonely Teenager--Dion
5 Pepe--Duane Eddy and the Rebels
6 Wonderland by Night--Bert Kaempfert and his Orchestra
7 Rubber Ball--Bobby Vee
8 Lovey Dovey--Buddy Knox
9 (I Wanna) Love My Life Away--Gene Pitney
10 Angel Baby--Rosie and the Originals

Singles entering the chart were Calcutta by Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra (#11); Tell the World by the String-A-Longs (#25); Emotions/I'm Learning by Brenda Lee (#31); Take Time Out by Carl Dobkins, Jr. (#35); Oh Joan by the Beau-Marks (#37); Don't You Dare Let Me Down by Conway Twitty (#39); Shop Around by the Miracles (#40); If I Didn't Care by the Platters (#43); Dance by the Light of the Moon by the Olympics (#44); Once in Awhile by the Chimes (#45); (Little Sparrow) His True Love Said Goodbye by Johnny Tillotson (#47); Muskrat Ramble by Freddy Cannon (#48); I Idolize You by Ike & Tina Turner (#49); and Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White by Jerry Murad's Harmonicats (#50). Tell the World was the other side of Wheels, which had yet to chart.

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKWX)
1 Calendar Girl--Neil Sedaka
2 Wonderland by Night--Bert Kaempfert and his Orchestra
--Anita Bryant
3 Are You Lonesome To-night?--Elvis Presley
4 Corinna, Corinna--Ray Peterson
5 Lonely Teenager--Dion
6 Doll House--Donnie Brooks
7 Rubber Ball/Everyday--Bobby Vee
8 Wings of a Dove--Paul Clayton
9 Angel Baby--Rosie and the Originals
10 North to Alaska/The Mansion You Stole--Johnny Horton

Singles entering the chart were Everyday; Emotions by Brenda Lee (#25); Sound Off by Titus Turner (#35); Theme from The Young Ones by Dave Appell and his Orchestra (#37); Shop Around by the Miracles (#38); and My Empty Arms by Jackie Wilson (#39).

On television tonight
The Roaring 20's, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Maestro

Crime
Special Branch Detective Superintendent George Gordon Smith arrested Harry Houghton, Ethel Gee, Gordon Lonsdale in London. Det. Supt. Smith and two colleagues then went to Ruislip, Middlesex and arrested Peter and Helen Kroger, the core members of the Portland Spy Ring, a spy ring operating on behalf of the U.S.S.R. The five were charged with espionage two days later.



Defense
A four-day conference in Casablanca concluded with five African heads of state--King Mohamed V of Morocco; President Gamal Nasser of the United Arab Republic; President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana; President Sekou Toure of Guinea; and President Modibo Keita of Mali--announcing plans for a NATO-type of African organization to insure common defense and coordinate policies. In an African Charter of Casablanca, they proclaimed their "determination to liberate the African territories still under foreign domination" and to "liquidate colonialism and neo-colonialism in all their forms." Participating in the talks but not in the proclamation were Premier Ferhat Abbas of the provisional Algerian government; Libyan foreign minister Abdelkader el-Allam; and Ceylonese Ambassador to the U.A.R. Alwin Perera.

Diplomacy
The U.S. State Department issued a White Paper defending the legality of American aid extended to Laos and calling upon other free nations to join with the U.S. "to support and maintain the independence of Laos through whatever measures seem most promising." The statement said that the U.S. had no intention or desire to establish a military base in Laos, and that U.S. aid had been extended only at the request of the Royal Lao government and in accordance with agreements with that government. In contrast, the White Paper called attention to the "Soviet Union’s recent illegal deliveries of munitions and military supplies to pro-Communist rebels." The White Paper warned: "If Laos should be seized by the Communists, the effects could be far-reaching and the implication for other small and vulnerable states all too evident."

Boxing
Former world middleweight champion Carmen Basilio (55-15-7) won a 10-round unanimous decision over Gaspar Ortega (57-21-2) in a middleweight bout at Madison Square Garden in New York.



50 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in France (IFOP): J'habite en France--Michel Sardou (2nd week at #1)

Environment
In a 2-1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ordered the federal government to issue immediate notices of cancellation of all uses of DDT and to determine whether the insecticide was an "imminent hazard" to public health.

War
The stalemate continued at the Paris peace talks between the U.S. and South Vietnam on one side and North Vietnam and Viet Cong on the other side.

40 years ago
1981

Hit parade
Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 (Just Like) Starting Over--John Lennon (5th week at #1)
2 The Tide is High--Blondie
3 Passion--Rod Stewart
4 Looking for Clues--Robert Palmer
5 I Got You--Split Enz
6 Hungry Heart--Bruce Springsteen
7 De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da--The Police
8 Wasn't That a Party--The Rovers
9 Every Woman in the World--Air Supply
10 Teacher Teacher--Rockpile

Singles entering the chart were Teacher Teacher; and Hey Nineteen by Steely Dan (#20).

Died on this date
Alvar Lidell, 72. U.K. broadcaster. Mr. Lidell was a newsreader for the British Broadcasting Corporation for most of the period from 1939-1969, and was particularly known for announcing key events during World War II. He also narrated over 230 books for the blind.

Eric Robinson, 51. Australian politician. Mr. Robinson, a Liberal, represented McPherson in the Australian Parliament (1972-1981), and held several cabinet posts, including Minister for Finance (1977-1980). He resigned in February 1979, saying that he could no longer offer "unqualified support" to Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, but returned to his position four days later, affirming "no significant differences" with Mr. Fraser. Mr. Robinson wasn't appointed to cabinet after the 1980 general election, and died of a heart attack, 11 days before his 52nd birthday.

Politics and government
U.S. President-elect Ronald Reagan completed his cabinet selections by naming T.H. Bell as Secretary of Education. He also announced that he would retain former U.S. Senate majority leader Mike Mansfield as U.S. Ambassador to Japan.

Labour
Delegates of the Polish independent trade union movement Solidarity proclaimed a five-day work week with Saturdays off and no increase in workloads, no cuts in salaries, and no curtailment of other days off. First Deputy Prime Minister Mieczyslaw Jagielski suggested an alternate plan of just two Saturdays off per month or that workloads be increased to compensate for the five-day week.

Hockey
NHL
Washington 3 @ Edmonton 6
Hartford 3 @ Los Angeles 5

Dave Parro played his first National Hockey League game in goal for the Capitals in their loss to the Oilers at Northlands Coliseum.

Marcel Dionne scored his 1,000th career NHL point with a goal in the Kings' victory over the Whalers at the Forum in Inglewood, California.

30 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Ai wa Katsu--(愛は勝つ)--Kan (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Raptori--Debi Gibson

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Sadeness Part I--Enigma (9th week at #1)

Music
Paul Simon performed at the Edmonton Coliseum, beginning with The Obvious Child--his current single--and finishing with American Tune. I paid $33.75 for my ticket for a seat behind the stage, but the sound quality was excellent, as was the performance of Mr. Simon and his band. It was such a good show that Bridge Over Troubled Water might have been the "low" point. I haven’t been to a concert at the Coliseum since.

World events
Nine hours after Roger Lafontant and his private militia had stormed the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince, forced the resignation of Haitian President Ertha Pascal Trouillot, and announced that Mr. Lafontant had assumed the provisional presidency, loyalist troops stormed the second-storey presidential offices, freeing Ms. Trouillot and capturing Mr. Lafontant and his followers. They were to be held for trial by civilian authorities.

War
The Soviet defense ministry said that it would send thousands of troops to seven republics to seize draft dodgers and enforce conscription. Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis said the U.S.S.R. was "looking for bloodshed."

Defense
U.S. Defense Secretary Dick Cheney announced that he was cancelling the Navy’s A-12 Stealth attack-plane project. The A-12 Avenger was being developed by McDonnell Douglas Corporation and General Dynamics Corp. The Navy had planned to pay $52 billion for 620 of the planes. Mr. Cheney said that the companies had not been able to "design, develop, fabricate, assemble, and test the A-12 aircraft within the contract schedule," and that it was not in the national interest to bail the companies out. The companies denied defaulting on the contract. The Pentagon had never previously cancelled such an expensive program.

Politics and government
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Clayton Yeutter was named by the White House to become chairman of the Republican National Committee, replacing the ailing Lee Atwater, who had resigned in 1990 after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.

25 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): One Sweet Day--Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Gangsta's Paradise--Coolio featuring L.V. (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Earth Song--Michael Jackson (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Scotland (OCC): Earth Song--Michael Jackson (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Károly Grósz, 65. Prime Minister of Hungary, 1987-1988. Mr. Grósz joined the Hungarian Communist Party in 1945 at the age of 14 and rose through the ranks, eventually holding the office of Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister), and General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (1988-1989). He was unable to withstand the move for reform within the party, which reorganized itself as the Hungarian Socialist Party on October 7, 1989, ousting him from leadership. Mr. Grósz led a hardline faction and formed a new Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, which failed to win any seats in Hungary's first multiparty election in 1990. Mr. Grósz died of kidney cancer.

Terrorism
A bomb exploded in Karachi, killing 7 people and wounding 35. Other attacks the same day killed 11 and wounded 25.

Disasters
A major blizzard paralyzed the eastern United States, claiming more than 100 lives.

Football
NFL
NFC Divisional Playoff
Philadelphia 11 @ Dallas 30



AFC Divisional Playoff
Indianapolis 10 @ Kansas City 7



20 years ago
2001

Terrorism
It was reported that an investigation by the U.S. Navy into the October 2000 bombing of the destroyer Cole in Yemen concluded that neither the captain of the ship nor the crew should be punished for security lapses.

10 years ago
2011

Terrorism
Inderjit Singh Reyat was sentenced in Vancouver, British Columbia to nine years in prison for perjury at the 2003 trial of two men acquitted in the Air India bombing that killed 331 people in 1985. He was the only man ever convicted in the bombing, and lost his appeal in 2013.