December 1, 2021

940 years ago
1081

Born on this date
Louis VI. King of the Franks, 1108-1137. Louis VI "le Gros" ("the Fat") acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Philip I. He was a warrior king who spent almost all of his reign fighting either the "robber barons" who plagued Paris or the kings of England for their continental possession of Normandy. Louis VI, as his nickname indicates, became too fat in later years to lead troops into battle, and died of dysentery on August 1, 1137 at the age of 55. He was succeeded on the throne of the Capetian dynasty by his son Louis VII.

780 years ago
1241

Born on this date
Margaret of Sicily. German royal family member. Princess Margaret was the fourth child and second daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and Empress Isabella, who died giving birth to her. Princess Margaret was betrothed in 1242 to Albert II "the Degenerate," Margrave of Meissen, and the couple married in 1255. They eventually settled in Wartburg and had five children; she left him when she discovered his adultery and went to Frankfurt-am-Main, supported by local citizens until her death six weeks later, on August 8, 1270 at the age of 28.

Died on this date
Isabella of England, 27 (?). Holy Roman Empress, 1235-1241. Isabella, the fourth child and second daughter of King John and Queen Isabella, married the twice-widowed Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in 1235, becoming Empress consort as well as Queen consort of Germany and Queen consort of Sicily. She died giving birth to the couple's fourth child, Margaret.

500 years ago
1521

Died on this date
Leo X, 45. Roman Catholic Pope, 1513-1521. Leo X, born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the second son of Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of the Florentine Republic, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1489. He won the backing of the younger members of the Sacred College and was elected to succeed Pope Julius II. Pope Leo X patronized the arts, borrowed and spent money, and granted indulgences in order to finance the reconstruction of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. He also opposed the Protestant Reformation and issued the bull Exsurge Domine (1520), resulting in the excommunication of Martin Luther. Pope Leo X died suddenly of pneumonia, 10 days before his 46th birthday; he was succeeded on the papal throne by Adrian VI.

260 years ago
1761

Born on this date
Marie Tussaud. French-born U.K. sculptress. Madame Tussaud carved her first wax figure in 1877. She went to England in 1802 to exhibit her works, and was forced to remain there because of the Napoleonic Wars between Britain and France. In 1831, Madame Tussaud opened the wax museum in London that still bears her name. She died in her sleep on April 16, 1850 at the age of 88.

200 years ago
1821

Caribbeana
José Núñez de Cáceres won the independence of the Dominican Republic from Spain, and named the new territory the Republic of Spanish Haiti.

125 years ago
1896

Born on this date
Georgy Zhukov, 77. Soviet military officer and politician. General Zhukov led the Red Army to a number of crucial victories over Nazi forces in World War II, and served as Minister of Defense for the Soviet Union from 1955-1957. He died on June 18, 1974 at the age of 77.

110 years ago
1911

Born on this date
Walter Alston. U.S. baseball manager. Mr. Alston played in one game with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1936, striking out in his only time at bat in the major leagues. As a minor leaguer, he led the Mid-Atlantic League in home runs in four seasons. He began his career as a manager in 1940, while still playing in the minors. From 1950-1953 Mr. Alston managed the Montreal Royals of the International League; his teams never finished lower than second place, and the Royals won the Junior World Series (defeating the Kansas City Blues, champions of the American Association) in 1953. Mr. Alston became manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954, and led the team to its first World Series victory in 1955. He accompanied the team when it moved to Los Angeles in 1958, and managed the Dodgers until he handed the reins to coach Tom LaSorda with four games remaining in the 1976 season. His career regular season record with the Dodgers was 2,040 wins, 1,613 losses, 5 ties, .558 winning percentage. His teams won the World Series in 1955, 1959, 1963, and 1965, plus National League pennants in 1956, 1966, and 1974. Mr. Alston was named the Major League Manager of the Year by The Sporting News in 1955, 1959, and 1963. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983, and died on October 1, 1984 at the age of 72.

Calvin Griffith, 87. Canadian-born U.S. baseball executive. Mr. Griffith, born Calvin Griffith Robertson in Montreal, moved to live with his aunt and uncle in the United States at the age of 11; his uncle was Clark Griffith, owner of the Washington Nationals. Calvin took his surname and assumed control of the Nationals upon the death of Clark Griffith in 1955. He changed the team's name back to Senators in 1957, and moved the team to Minnesota in 1961, renaming them the Twins. Under Mr. Griffith's ownership, the Twins won the American League pennant in 1965, taking the Los Angeles Dodgers to the limit before losing the World Series in 7 games. The Twins came close to winning the pennant in 1967, and won AL West Division pennants in 1969 and 1970. After that, they tended to play mediocre ball, never winning more than 85 games in a season until 1988, four years after Mr. Griffith had sold the team. On September 26, 1978, Mr. Griffith attracted national attention when he made a speech to the Lions Club in Waseca, Minnesota. Apparently drunk, Mr. Griffith said that he'd moved the team to the twin cities because of the low black population of Minnesota; that blacks were more disposed to attending wrestling matches than baseball games; that Rod Carew had been a "damn fool" to sign a contract the year before that paid him $170,000 per year; that catcher Butch Wynegar's .229 batting average in 1978 was the result of spending too much time chasing his new wife around the bedroom during spring training than chasing baseballs; and that Mr. Wynegar would have been better off staying single and picking up women for one-night stands because "love comes pretty cheap for ballplayers these days and they should take advantage of it." When Mr. Griffith sold the Twins, it was the end of an era: he was the last major league baseball owner for whom the baseball club was his only business. Mr. Griffith died on October 20, 1999 at the age of 87.

100 years ago
1921

Born on this date
Ralph Manza. U.S. actor. Mr. Manza was a character actor, mainly in television, from the mid-1950s until his death from a heart attack on January 31, 2000 at the age of 78.

Vernon McGarity. U.S. soldier. Technical Sergeant McGarity served with the U.S. Army in World War II, and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of the Bulge on December 16, 1944, when he was wounded early in a German artillery barrage, but returned to his unit, repeatedly braved heavy fire to rescue wounded men, attacked the advancing Germans, and retrieved supplies. He died on May 21, 2013 at the age of 91.

90 years ago
1931

Economics and finance
The Ottawa branch of the Royal Mint started operation as the Royal Canadian Mint, under the control of the Department of Finance, which acquired the buildings and land.

80 years ago
1941

War
The German government admitted that German forces had withdrawn from Rostov in the face of "reckless" attacks by superior Soviet forces. The British government admitted that General Erwin Rommel's German forces had succeeded in penetrating British defenses at Rezegh and Ed Duda, Libya, seizing Rezegh and Bir el-Hamed and fighting their way to Zaafran, cutting the corridor between Rezegh and Tobruk. Emperor Hirohito of Japan gave his final approval to initiate war against the United States. A dispatch from Manila said that an American air unit under the Chinese flag would protect the Burma Road supply line to China from Japanese air attacks.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt returned to Washington from Warm Springs, Georgia as Secretary of State Cordell Hull continued talks with Japanese Ambassador to the United States Kichisaburō Nomura and special envoy Saburo Kurusu.

French Prime Minister Philippe Pétain conferred with German Commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe Hermann Göring near Paris.

Defense
Fiorello La Guardia, Mayor of New York City and Director of the U.S. Office of Civilian Defense, signed Administrative Order 9, creating the Civil Air Patrol.

World events
Governor of the Straits Settlements Sir Shenton Thomas proclaimed a state of emergency in Singapore and called out the volunteer land, sea, and air force.

Crime
A jury in Minneapolis convicted 18 members of the Socialist (Trotskyist) Workers Party on charges of conspiracy to create insubordination in the U.S. Army.

Nick Dean, sought on a charge of extorting $1 million from the movie industry, was arrested by federal agents in Chicago.

Politics and government
U.S. Representative Thomas Winter (Republican--Kansas) charged that the Rural Electrification Administration "is teeming with Communists."

Medicine
Dr. E.R. Witwer said that the formation of cancer in brain cells could be detected in its earliest stages by means of a petrographic microscope.

Economics and finance
Maximum Prices Regulations were passed by the Canadian Parliament, to begin wartime wage and price controls in Canada. The regulations were based on the highest prices in the four weeks ending October 11, 1941.

Labour
Wayne Morse, chairman of U.S. President Roosevelt's fact-finding board, announced a settlement of thr threatened railroad strike scheduled for December 7. Under the agreement reached by 19 unions and railroad representatives, 1.2 million workers would get 10¢ hourly wage increases.

Football
NCAA
The final poll of Associated Press reporters named the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers as the best team in American college football for 1941, followed by Duke and Notre Dame.

75 years ago
1946

Diplomacy
King Michael of Romania affirmed a policy of friendship with the U.S.S.R.

Politics and government
Miguel Aleman Valdes was inaugurated as President of Mexico.

Alois Hundhammer led the Christian Social Union (CSU) to victory in the Bavarian state election, taking 104 of 180 seats in the Landtag. The Social Democratic Party (SPD), led by Jean Stock, was second with 54 seats, followed by the Economic Reconstruction Union (WAV), led by Alfred Loritz, with 13 seats. In Hesse, voters approved a new state constitution and gave the SPD a majority of seats in the Landtag.

Defense
The U.S. Mediterranean Fleet under Admiral Bernard Bieri anchored in Beirut for a "goodwill" visit.

Protest
U.S. military veterans who had occupied 50 homes in Chicago as "squatters" began to move out after the Chicago Housing Authority promised not to prosecute them.

Economics and finance
King Michael of Romania announced that the government would take over the national bank.

Football
NFL
Chicago Cardinals (6-5) 35 @ Chicago Bears (7-2-1) 28
Green Bay (6-4) 20 @ Washington (5-4-1) 7
Los Angeles (5-4-1) 21 @ New York (6-3-1) 21
Pittsburgh (5-5-1) 7 @ Philadelphia (5-5) 10

AAFC
Buffalo (3-10-1) 14 @ Los Angeles (7-4-1) 62

70 years ago
1951

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): My Truly, Truly Fair--Guy Mitchell; Donald Peers (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Cold, Cold Heart--Tony Bennett (Best Seller--5th week at #1); It's No Sin--Eddy Howard and his Orchestra (Disc Jockey--3rd week at #1); Because of You--Tony Bennett (Jukebox--10th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 (It's No) Sin--The Four Aces (5th week at #1)
--Eddy Howard
2 Cold, Cold Heart--Tony Bennett
3 Because of You--Tony Bennett
--Les Baxter and his Orchestra
4 Down Yonder--Del Wood
--Joe "Fingers" Carr
--Champ Butler
5 I Get Ideas--Tony Martin
--Louis Armstrong
6 Undecided--The Ames Brothers and Les Brown and his Band of Renown
7 Domino--Tony Martin
8 And So to Sleep Again--Patti Page
9 The World is Waiting for the Sunrise--Les Paul and Mary Ford
10 Jealousy (Jalousie)--Frankie Laine

Singles entering the chart were The Three Bells (Les Trois Cloches) by Les Compagnons de la Chanson (#38) and Always, Always by June Valli (#39).

On television tonight
Sherlock Holmes, starring Alan Wheatley and Raymond Francis, on BBC
Tonight's episode: The Second Stain

This was the sixth and last episode of the series. Unfortunately, none of the episodes are known to still exist.

Died on this date
Sam Rinella. U.S. gangster. Mr. Rinella was an associate of Al Capone in Chicago before opening the Copacabana nightclub on December 26, 1946. The club, which may have been financed with money from former Chicago Police Chief Hugh Duffy, closed six months later. Mr. Rinella was the proprietor of the Brown Derby restaurant in Chicago when he was slain by two gunmen outside his Chicago home.

Diplomacy
General Augustin Guillaume, French resident general in Morocco, charged that Arab nationalists were "preparing the ground for Communism" in French Morocco.

Transportation
A new highway from Toronto to Barrie, Ontario opened for traffic; it was named Highway 400 the following year.

Agriculture
The European Consultative Assembly in Strasbourg failed to endorse a Western European agricultural union similar to the Coal and Steel Community, for lack of a two-thirds majority vote.

Economics and finance
West Germany announced a halt to all trade with East Germany because of Communist interference with traffic from West Berlin.

Labour
1,200 members of the American Federation of Labor Insurance Agents International Union struck Prudential Insurance Company offices in 32 states to enforce demands for an increase in minimum pay from $35 to $55 per week. It was the U.S.A.'s first nationwide insurance agent strike.

Olympics
United States Olympic Committee President Avery Brundage announced in Chicago that college athletes "rewarded financially for their talent alone" would be barred from the 1952 Summer Olympic Games in Helsinki.

Football
NCAA
Navy 42 Army 7 @ Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia

60 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Tower of Strength--Frankie Vaughan; Take Good Care of My Baby--Bobby Vee

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Jungle, starring John Dehner

50 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)--Benny Hill

On television tonight
Rod Serling's Night Gallery, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Pickman's Model, starring Bradford Dillman and Louise Sorel; The Dear Departed, starring Steve Lawrence, Maureen Arthur, and Harvey Lembeck; An Act of Chivalry, starring Deidre Hall

Theatre
The musical Two Gentlemen of Verona, directed by Mel Shapiro, with music by Galt MacDermot, lyrics by John Guare, and book by Messrs. Guare and Shapiro, based on the play by William Shakespeare, opened at the St. James Theatre on Broadway in New York. The cast included Raul Julia and Clifton Davis.

War
Khmer Rouge rebels intensified their assaults on Cambodian government positions, forcing their retreat from Kompong Thmar and nearby Ba Ray.

Defense
The United States government suspended the licensing of all arms shipments to India, citing Indian incursions into Pakistani territory as its reason. The sending of U.S. arms to Pakistan had been stopped early in September.

Disasters
A moving Metro subway train crashed into a second parked train in Montreal, killing one person.

40 years ago
1981

Hit parade
Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Ja, wenn wir alle Englein wären--Fred Sonnenschein und seine Freunde (3rd week at #1)
2 Tainted Love--Soft Cell
3 Du entschuldige - i kenn' di--Peter Cornelius
4 Dance Little Bird--Electronica's
5 Japanese Boy--Aneka
6 Hooked on Classics--The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
7 Physical--Olivia Newton-John
8 Stars on 45 Vol. 2--Stars on 45
9 Green Door--Shakin' Stevens
10 Only Crying--Keith Marshall

Singles entering the chart were Physical; Wired for Sound by Cliff Richard (#11); and In the Night by Bilgeri (#19).

30 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Black or White--Michael Jackson (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Black or White--Michael Jackson

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Let's Talk About Sex!--Salt-N-Pepa (3rd week at #1)
2 (Everything I Do) I Do it for You--Bryan Adams
3 Any Dream Will Do--Jason Donovan
4 Do the Limbo Dance--David Hasselhoff
5 Always Look on the Bright Side of Life--Monty Python
6 Jambo--Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung
7 The Fly--U2
8 Send Me an Angel--Scorpions
9 Something Got Me Started--Simply Red
10 Black or White--Michael Jackson

Singles entering the chart were Cream by Prince and the New Power Generation (#15); and Spending My Time by Roxette (#21).

Died on this date
Pat O'Callaghan, 85. Irish athlete. Mr. O'Callaghan won the men's hammer throw at the 1928 and 1932 Summer Olympic Games, becoming the first person to win an Olympic medal under the Irish flag instead of the British flag.

George Stigler, 80. U.S. economist. Dr. Stigler, a key figure in the Chicago School of Economics, was awarded the 1982 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences "for his seminal studies of industrial structures, functioning of markets and causes and effects of public regulation."

Europeana
Ukrainian voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum for independence from the U.S.S.R., with 92% voting in favour.

Politics and government
In addition to the independence referendum, Ukrainian voters elected a President. Independent candidate Leonid Kravchuk was elected, receiving 61.6% of the vote, while People's Movement of Ukraine candidate Viacheslav Chornovil received 23.3%, with four other candidates accounting for the remaining 15.1%.

25 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): No Diggity--BLACKstreet (featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen) (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)--Backstreet Boys (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)--Backstreet Boys (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Scotland (OCC): One and One--Robert Miles featuring Maria Nayler

Died on this date
Irving Gordon, 81. U.S. songwriter. Mr. Gordon, born Israel Goldener, wrote popular songs from the 1930s through the '50s; his best-known song was Unforgettable (1951).

Politics and government
Dalton McGuinty was elected leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, replacing Lyn McLeod, who had led the party since 1992.

20 years ago
2001

Died on this date
Ellis Dungan, 92. U.S. film director and producer. Mr. Dungan was best known for his work in India, where he was predominantly a director of Tamil-language movies from 1936-1950, introducing American moviemaking techniques to Tamil cinema. He returned to the United States and settled in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1958, where he started his own company and made documentary films for the next 30 years.

Football
CIS
Vanier Cup at SkyDome, Toronto
St. Mary's 42 Manitoba 16

St. Mary's quarterback Ryan Jones completed 19 of 32 passes for 290 yards and 3 touchdowns, and rushed 3 times for 18 yards as the Huskies won the Vanier Cup for the first team since 1973 and became the first Atlantic team to win the cup since Acadia in 1981. St. Mary's led 25-16 after 3 quarters, but scored 2 converted touchdowns and a field goal in the 4th quarter before 19,138 fans. The Huskies dedicated their championship to former head coach Larry Uteck, who was disabled with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Their current head coach, Blake Nill, won the coaching duel over Manitoba's Brian Dobie. For the Bisons, it was their first Vanier Cup appearance since winning consecutive championships in 1969 and 1970.



NCAA
Army 26 Navy 17 @ Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia

10 years ago
2011

Died on this date
Alan Sues, 85. U.S. comedian and actor. Mr. Sues appeared in character roles in several plays, movies, and television programs, but was best known as a member of the cast of the television comedy program Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1968-1972), in which he played the characters "Big Al the Sportscaster" and "Uncle Al the Kiddies' Pal." He died after suffering a heart attack while watching television.

Christa Wolf, 82. German writer. Mrs. Wolf was a novelist and essayist who was one of the best-known writers to come from East Germany, with works that expressed her feminist and socialist views. She was an informant for the East German secret police force Stasi from 1959-1961, but Stasi officials lost interest in her "reticence," and Mrs. Wolf herself was closely watched for the next 30 years.

War
The Canadian flag was hauled down for the last time at Kandahar Airfield, marking the end of Canada's military presence in the Afghan province.