February 14, 2021

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Liliya!

260 years ago
1761

War
British troops occupied Fort Michilimackinac, Michigan.

190 years ago
1831

Died on this date
Henry Maudslay, 59. U.K. engineer. Mr. Maudslay is regarded as a father of machine tool technology. Circa 1800, he invented a metal lathe to cut metal, enabling the manufacture of standard screw thread sizes, thus allowing interchangeable parts and the development of mass production. Mr. Maudslay died about four weeks after contracting a chill while crossing the English Channel after a visit to France.

Vicente Guerrero Saldaña, 48. 2nd President of Mexico, 1829. General Guerrero was of Afro-Mestizo descent, and championed the cause of Mexico's common people as one of the leading generals in the Mexican War of Independence. He was a member of the York Rite of Freemasonry, which tended to attract liberal reformers, in opposition to the Scottish Rite, mainly composed of old order conservatives. Gen. Guerrero finished second in the 1828 presidential election, but his supporters instigated a coup that forced the resignation of President-elect General Gómez Pedraza. Gen. Guerrero took office as President on April 1, 1829. He succeeded in abolishing slavrey throughout Mexico, and championed other reforms, but was overthrown in December 1829 in a coup led by conservative Vice President Anastasio Bustamante. Gen. Guerrero engaged in war in the southern part of the country through 1830, but was captured in January 1831, convicted by a court-martial, and executed by a firing squad. For Gen. Guerrero to be executed rather than exiled shocked the nation, and it has been speculated that the act may have been racially motivated.

Marye of Yejju. Ethiopian politician. Marye became Ras of the province of Begemder and Enderase (Regent) of Emperor Gigar, holding office from 1828 until his death in the Battle of Debre Abbay.

War
The forces of Ras Marye of Yejju defeated the forces of Sabagadis, Dejazmach (Governor) of Tigray. Sabagadis was executed the next day in the Battle of Debre Abbay in the Ethiopian province of Tigray.

175 years ago
1846

Born on this date
Julian Scott. U.S. artist and musician. Mr. Scott was a Union Army drummer in the American Civil War, and received the Medal of Honor in 1865 for rescuing wounded soldiers while under enemy fire in the Battle of Lee's Mills in 1862. He became a painter of Civil War scenes after the war; his best-known work was Battle of Cedar Creek (1872), which hangs in the Vermont State House. Mr. Scott died on July 4, 1901 at the age of 55.

140 years ago
1881

Died on this date
Fernando Wood, 68. U.S. politician. Mr. Wood, a Democrat, was Grand Sachem of the Tammany Hall machine in New York City, serving as Mayor (1855-1858, 1860-1862) and representing various New York Districts in the U.S. House of Representatives (1841-1843, 1863-1865, 1867-1881). He supported the Confederates in the American Civil War, and suggested declaring New York a free city in order to continue business with the Confederacy. Mr. Wood also opposed the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, outlawing slavery.

130 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Katherine Stinson. U.S. aviatrix. Miss Stinson was the fourth woman in the United States to be certified to fly, earning her license in 1912 and setting records for aerobatic maneuvers, distance, and endurance. She became an air mail pilot, becoming the first woman to fly the mail in China, Japan, and Canada (Calgary to Edmonton in 1918). Miss Stinson drove an ambulance for the Red Cross in France in World War I, but she contracted tuberculosis, and spent several years in a sanitarium. She married fellow aviator and district judge Miguel Otero in 1927; the couple settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and she became an architect. Miss Stinson died on July 8, 1977 at the age of 86.

Died on this date
William Tecumseh Sherman, 71. U.S. military officer. General Sherman served in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861-1865), where he was praised for his military strategy--most notably leaading Union troops on a march through Georgia and the Carolinas--and criticized for his "scorched earth" policy of total war against the Confederate States of America. He succeeded U.S. Grant as Commanding General of the Army, serving from 1869-1893. Gen. Sherman died six days after his 71st birthday.

Transportation
Two two special excursion trains met at Blaine, Washington at the Canada-U.S. border to celebrate the driving of the silver last spikes opening both the New Westminster amd Southern Railway (NWSR), 23.51 miles from the boundary to the ferry at Liverpool (Brownsville) on the Fraser River's south shore opposite New Westminster, British Columbia and the Fairhaven and Southern Railway from the boundary to Bellingham, Washington. Both lines were branches of J.J. Hill's Great Northern Railway (GNR); regular service with Seattle began December 2, 1891.

125 years ago
1896

Hockey
Stanley Cup
Winnipeg Victorias 2 @ Montreal Victorias 0 (Winnipeg won 1-game challenge)

Jack Armytage scored 10 minutes into the game and Tote Campbell scored in the 1st half at Victoria Skating Rink as the Winnipeg Victorias, champions of the Manitoba Hockey Association, defeated the defending champion Montreal Victorias to become the first team outside the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada to win the cup. George Merritt won the goaltending duel over Robert Jones.

120 years ago
1901

Died on this date
Edward Stafford, 81. Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1856-1861, 1865-1869, 1872. Sir Edward, a native of Edinburgh, moved to New Zealand in 1843. As an independent politician he represented Nelson (1855-1868) and Timaru (1868-1878) in the New Zealand Parliament. As Prime Minister, Sir Edward took measures to define the relationships between the various levels of government, and pursued positive relations with the Māori. He retired from politics in 1878 and spent most of his later life in England, dying in London.

Politics and government
Winston Churchill, elected in November 1900 as the Member of Parliament for Oldham while running as the candidate of the Conservative Party, took his seat in the British House of Commons for the first time.

110 years ago
1911

Born on this date
Willem Kolff. Dutch-born U.S. physician and inventor. Dr. Kolff, the "Father of Artificial Organs," emigrated to the United States in 1950. He was a pioneer in the field of hemodialysis, the artificial kidney, heart-lung machines, and the artificial heart. Dr. Kolff died on February 11, 2009, three days before his 98th birthday.

100 years ago
1921

Born on this date
Hugh Downs. U.S. journalist and television personality. Mr. Downs began his career in radio in 1939, and had one of the longest careers in television history, beginning in 1945; for several years he held the record for the most hours on commercial network television before being passed by Regis Philbin. Mr. Downs was announcer and sidekick on Tonight Starring Jack Paar (1957-1962); co-host of Today (1962-1971); host of the game show Concentration (1958-1969); and anchor of the news program 20/20 (1978-1999). He wrote a column in Science Digest in the 1960s, and was a published composer who hosted the PBS program Live from Lincoln Center (1990-1996). Mr. Downs died of heart failure on July 1, 2020 at the age of 99.

Hazel McCallion. Canadian politician. Mrs. McCallion, born Hazel Journeaux in Port Daniel, Quebec, worked as a secretary and moved to Toronto in 1942. She married Sam McCallion in 1951, and the couple moved to the nearby village of Streetsville, where she began her political career. Mrs. McCallion served as Mayor of Streetsville (1970-1973), and unsuccessfully opposed the village's amalgmation with the towns of Mississauga and Port Credit to form the city of Mississauga at the beginning of 1974. She served as Mayor of Mississauga (1978-2014), with little opposition in wining 12 consecutive elections. Mrs. McCallion was appointed as the first Chancellor of Sheridan College in 2016, and still holds the office.

80 years ago
1941

War
Greece claimed that its troops had broken through the Italian lines along the entire front in Albania.

Diplomacy
German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler had a three-hour conference at Berchtesgaden with the Yugoslav Prime Minister Dragiša Cvetković and his Foreign Minister, after which the visitors left for Belgrade.

Kichisaburō Nomura, the new Japanese Ambassador to the United States, presented his credentials to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The United States Senate ratified a revision of the 1924 treaty with the Dominican Republic under which the President would cease to appoint the collector of customs there.

Defense
U.S. defense authorities estimated that 1,002 military planed had been manufactured in January 1941, compared with 799 in December 1940 and about 500 a year earlier.

Economics and finance
The British Board of Trade applied the Trading with the Enemy Act to Romania, effective February 15, 1941.

The U.S. Senate passed and sent back to the House of Representatives a slightly amended version of the Public Debt Act of 1941, raising the debt limit from $49 billion to $65 billion.

Labour
International Longshoremen's Association leader Harry Bridges was arrested in San Francisco on charges of having been a member of an organization advocating the violent overthrow of the U.S. government.

Sport
Willie Hoppe won the world three-cushion billiards title for the second consecutive year.

Football
NCAA
Frank Leahy was named head football coach and director of athletics at the University of Notre Dame; he replaced Elmer Layden, who had resigned on February 3 to become Commissioner of the National Football League.

75 years ago
1946

At the movies
Gilda, starring Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, and George Macready, opened in theatres.



Diplomacy
The United Nations Security Council took up the Syrian and Lebanese appeal for withdrawal of British and French troops from the Levant; U.K. Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin urged that all countries involved in the dispute begin negotiations in Paris the following week.

Averell Harriman resigned as U.S. Ambassador to the U.S.S.R. and President Harry Truman named Army General Walter Bedell Smith as his replacement.

Argentine presidential candidate Juan Peron accused U.S. Undersecretary of State Spruille Braden of heading a spy ring covering all of Latin America, and of financing a political campaign of him.

Politics and government
In a new treaty, Cambodia gained autonomy within French Indochina.

Korean nationalists under Kim Koo and Syngman Rhee formed the Korean Democratic Representative Council in Seoul.

Defense
U.S. Navy Secretary James Forrestal and Admiral Chester Nimitz told the Senate Naval Affairs Committee that a strong Navy with widespread bases was the surest dfense against atomic attack.

Technology
The creation of Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (ENIAC), the first electronic digital computer, was announced at the University of Pennsylvania.

Economics and finance
The Bank of England was nationalized.

U.S. President Truman announced a new policy allowing wage increases consistent with the general wage patterns set in industry since August 1945 and permitting price adjustments without a six-month wait.

Olympics
The International Olympic Committee announced that London had been chosen as the site of the 1948 Summer Olympic Games.

70 years ago
1951

War
The Indian government reported that Chinese Communist forces had overrun eastern Tibet and were now at the border of Tibet and Assam in northeastern India.

World events
Philippine security forces rounded up 450 suspected Hukbalahap agents in seven Luzon provinces.

Diplomacy
Italy came out in support of the French position on Germany, urging political and economic equality for the West German state, but limited rearmament within the framework of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Defense
118 of the U.S. House of Representatives' Republican Party members signed a declaration backing former President Herbert Hoover's policy of concentrating on hemispheric defense and a congressional limit on the use of American troops in Europe.

Politics and government
Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and his coalition cabinet resigned after losing a vote in the Knesset on secular education in immigrant camps, which the Orthodox Jewish bloc opposed.

Crime
Pedro Abizu Campos, president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, was convicted in San Juan of attempted murder during the nationalist revolt in the fall of 1950.

Medicine
The Moscow Communist youth newspaper Komsomoiskaya reported the successful transplantation of hearts and lungs from one dog to another.

Labour
Public schools in Minneapolis, closed by a 22-day strike of school personnel, reopened after teachers won a $100 yearly pay increase.

Boxing
Sugar Ray Robinson (122-1-2) scored a technical knockout of Jake La Motta (78-14-3) at 2:04 of the 13th round at Chicago Stadium to win the world middleweight title, marking the first time the feat had been accomplished by the reigning world welterweight champion. Mr. Robinson was also recognized by Pennsylvania as the world middleweight champion going into the bout. It was the sixth and final fight between the two, with Mr. Robinson winning five.



60 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Seemann--Lolita (5th week at #1)

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Greatest Monster of Them All, starring William Redfield, Richard Hale, Sam Jaffe, and Robert H. Harris

Thriller, hosted by Boris Karloff, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Merriweather File, starring James Gregory, Bethel Leslie, and Ross Elliott



Diplomacy
In a formal statement on the announcement of the death of former Congolese Premier Patrice Lumumba, the Soviet government withdrew its recognition of United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold, called for withdrawal of the UN force from the Congo within one month, and threatened to lend unilateral support to the "legitimate" Congolese government of Mr. Lumumba’s former deputy, Antoine Gizenga. The statement branded Mr. Hammarskjold as "an accomplice and organizer of the murder" of Mr. Lumumba, demanded Mr. Hammarskjold’s dismissal, and added, "For his part, the Soviet government will not maintain any relations with Hammarskjold and will not recognize him as an official of the United Nations." The statement accused "Belgian colonialists" of responsibility for Mr. Lumumba’s death and said they would never have dared to commit the crime without being confident of the Western powers’ support. The Soviet government demanded UN condemnation of Belgium, the arrest of Moise Tshombe--President of the secessionist Congolese province of Katanga, where Mr. Lumumba had been arrested and killed--and the arrest of Major General Joseph Mobutu and the disarming of their troops.

Science

The element Lawrencium (atomic number 103) was first synthesized at the University of California.

50 years ago
1971

Disasters
34 people were killed and 113 injured when fire aboard a Yugoslav train in a tunnel spread.

40 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Anna Dai Capelli Rossi--I Ragazzi Dai Capelli Rossi (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Stars on 45--Stars on 45

#1 single in Ireland: (Just Like) Imagine--John Lennon (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): In the Air Tonight--Phil Collins (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Woman--John Lennon (2nd week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Shine Up--Doris D and the Pins (2nd week at #1)
2 Stars on 45--Stars on 45
3 Funkin' for Jamaica (N.Y.)--Tom Browne
4 If You Could Read My Mind - Special U.S. Disco-Mix--Viola Wills
5 Amoureux Solitaires/Dis Moi que Tu M'aimes--Lio
6 Lola (Live)--The Kinks
7 Ik Wil Op M'n Kop Een Kamerbreed Tapijt--Barry Hughes & De Kwaffeurs
8 Flip Fluitketel/Er Staat Een Paard in de Gang--André Van Duin
9 My Feet Won't Move--Fruitcake
10 Embarrassment--Madness

Singles entering the chart were Wij Zijn De Slijpers Van Parijs by De Slijpers (#26); Rock this Town by the Stray Cats (#29); Rapture by Blondie (#34); Once in a Lifetime by the Talking Heads (#35); All American Girls by Sister Sledge (#36); and Het Dorpsfeest by Jan & Zwaan (#37).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Celebration--Kool & The Gang (2nd week at #1)
2 9 to 5--Dolly Parton
3 I Love a Rainy Night--Eddie Rabbitt
4 The Tide is High--Blondie
5 Passion--Rod Stewart
6 Woman--John Lennon
7 (Just Like) Starting Over--John Lennon
8 Keep on Loving You--REO Speedwagon
9 Giving it Up for Your Love--Delbert McClinton
10 Hey Nineteen--Steely Dan

Singles entering the chart were Morning Train (Nine to Five) by Sheena Easton (#74); Keep this Train A-Rollin' by the Doobie Brothers (#82); Just the Two of Us by Grover Washington, Jr. (#83); How 'Bout Us by Champaign (#84); Medley: Yesterday Once More/Nothing Remains the Same by the Spinners (#85); It's a Love Thing by the Whispers (#87); Being with You by Smokey Robinson (#89); and Proud by the Joe Chemay Band (#90).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Celebration--Kool & The Gang
2 9 to 5--Dolly Parton
3 The Tide is High--Blondie
4 I Love a Rainy Night--Eddie Rabbitt
5 Keep on Loving You--REO Speedwagon
6 Passion--Rod Stewart
7 Same Old Lang Syne--Dan Fogelberg
8 Woman--John Lennon
9 (Just Like) Starting Over--John Lennon
10 Hey Nineteen--Steely Dan

Singles entering the chart were Morning Train (Nine to Five) by Sheena Easton (#64); I Love You by Climax Blues Band (#85); How 'Bout Us by Champaign (#87); Ooo-Eee by Nicolette Larson (#89); Theme from Raging Bull (Cavalleria Rusticana) by Joel Diamond (#90); It's My Job by Jimmy Buffett (#94); Blackjack by Rupert Holmes (#95); Full of Fire by Shalamar (#97); and 8th Wonder by Sugarhill Gang (#98). As the title indicates, Theme from Raging Bull (Cavalleria Rusticana) was a version of the theme from the movie.

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 Celebration--Kool & The Gang
2 9 to 5--Dolly Parton
3 I Love a Rainy Night--Eddie Rabbitt
4 The Tide is High--Blondie
5 Keep on Loving You--REO Speedwagon
6 Passion--Rod Stewart
7 (Just Like) Starting Over--John Lennon
8 Every Woman in the World--Air Supply
9 Hit Me with Your Best Shot--Pat Benatar
10 Hey Nineteen--Steely Dan

Singles entering the chart were Morning Train (Nine to Five) by Sheena Easton (#65); And Love Goes On by Earth, Wind & Fire (#74); Just Between You and Me by April Wine (#76); Just the Two of Us by Grover Washington, Jr. (#81); Lipstick by Suzi Quatro (#82); Dreamer by the Association (#94); and Turn Me Loose by Loverboy (#95).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 The Tide is High--Blondie (2nd week at #1)
2 Passion--Rod Stewart
3 Wasn't That a Party--The Rovers
4 Tell it Like it Is--Heart
5 Hey Nineteen--Steely Dan
6 (Just Like) Starting Over--John Lennon
7 Looking for Clues--Robert Palmer
8 Hungry Heart--Bruce Springsteen
9 Turn Me Loose--Loverboy
10 Keep on Loving You--REO Speedwagon

Singles entering the chart were I Ain't Gonna Stand for It by Stevie Wonder (#43); Does a Fool Ever Learn by Eddie Schwartz (#46); Just Between You and Me by April Wine (#49); and Flash's Theme aka Flash by Queen (#50).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CFUN)
1 Hey Nineteen--Steely Dan
2 I Ain't Gonna Stand for It--Stevie Wonder
3 Looking for Clues--Robert Palmer
4 I Love a Rainy Night--Eddie Rabbitt
5 The Tide is High--Blondie
6 Turn Me Loose--Loverboy
7 Wasn't That a Party--The Rovers
8 Teacher Teacher--Rockpile
9 Every Woman in the World--Air Supply
10 Guilty--Barbra Streisand (Duet with Barry Gibb)

Singles entering the chart were Ah! Leah! by Donnie Iris (#29); and Woman by John Lennon (#30).

War
Vladilen Vasev, minister counsellor of the Soviet embassy in the United States, denied that the Soviets had supplied arms to the Marxist guerrillas in El Salvador who were waging a war against the Salvadoran government. He did admit that the U.S.S.R. had been sending arms to Cuba and Ethiopia without restrictions.

Disasters
An early morning fire engulfed a discotheque in Dublin, killing 44 and injuring 129, many of them teenagers.

Fire swept through a 23-storey office building in Sao Paulo, killing at least 17 and injuring 30.

Hockey
NHL
New York Rangers 3 @ Toronto 6

30 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Do the Bartman--The Simpsons (4th week at #1)

War
Iraq claimed that a British bombing raid west of Baghdad had destroyed an apartment block and killed 130. Total allied casualties in the war stood at about 50. The U.S. command said that the allies had destroyed 1,300 of 4,280 Iraqi tanks, 800 of 1,870 armoured personnel carriers, and 1,100 of 3,110 artillery pieces.

Hockey
NHL
Los Angeles 4 @ Edmonton 2

25 years ago
1996

On television today
Ernie Coombs, CBC's Mr. Dressup, finished the last episode of the children's show, after 31 years on the air.

Protest
Congolese soldiers began a mutiny over nonpayment of wages.

Disasters
Four days of torrential rains and floods in Brazil had killed 80 people.

20 years ago
2001

Education
The Kansas Board of Education reversed its 1999 ruling and restored evolution to the state's science curriculum, making knowledge of evolution mandatory in order to graduate.

10 years ago
2011

On television today
The game show Jeopardy! began airing the first of three episodes pitting human players Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings against an IBM computer named "Watson."

Died on this date
George Shearing, 91. U.K.-born U.S. musician. Sir George was a jazz pianist and bandleader who composed standards such as Lullaby of Birdland and had a recording career spanning more than 50 years. He became an American citizen in 1956, and was knighted in 2007.

Protest
As a part of the Arab Spring, the Bahraini uprising began with a "Day of Rage."