December 10, 2021

980 years ago
1041

Died on this date
Michael IV, 31 (?). Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, 1034-1041. Michael IV "the Paphlagonian" was the son of a peasant and worked as a money changer before his brother John found him a job in the imperial court. Michael began an affair with Empress Zoë Porphyrogenita; it was believed that they conspired to murder Emperor Romanos III. Michael and Zoë were married the day of Emperor Romanos' death, and Michael was crowned Emperor the following day. He suffered from epilepsy, and entrusted most of the business of government to his brother. Emperor Michael led his troops in a successful campaign against Bulgarian rebels in 1041, but his epilepsy got worse, and he developed dropsy in both legs. The illnesses led to his death, and he was succeeded by his nephew Michael V.

480 years ago
1541

Died on this date
Francis Dereham, 32-35. English courtier. Mr. Dereham had an affair with Catherine Howard when she was a teenager and before she became the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. She made him her Private Secretary and then a Gentleman Usher of the Queen's Chamber in August 1541; when their previous relationship was exposed, Mr. Dereham admitted that there had been a pre-contract of marriage with Miss Howard, but denied that there had been any intimacy since then, and that he had been supplanted in his affections by the courtier Thomas Culpeper. Mr. Dereham was convicted of treason on December 1, and was executed at Tyburn by hanging, drawing, and quartering.

Thomas Culpeper, 27 (?). English courtier. Mr. Culpeper was a cousin of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, and a distant cousin of Catherine Howard. He was keeper of the armoury when he began an affair with Queen Catherine in 1541. The affair was discovered, and Mr. Culpeper was tried with Mr. Dereham and convicted of treason. Because of his previous status as a favourite, he was spared Mr. Dereham's punishment, and was executed at Tyburn by beheading. The heads of both men were displayed on London Bridge.

170 years ago
1851

Born on this date
Melvil Dewey. U.S. librarian. Mr. Dewey founded The Library Journal in 1876; he was one of the founders of the American Library Association, and was its secretary (1876-1891) and president (1891-1893). He was chief librarian of Columbia University Libraries (1883-1888); director of the New York State Library (1888-1906); and secretary and executive officer of the University of the State of New York (1888-1900). Mr. Dewey established the standard dimensions for catalogue cards, but was best known for creating the Dewey Decimal System of classification system, first published in 1876. He had a reputation for sexually harassing women, which finally forced his resignation as N.Y. State Library director and from active participation in the ALA. Mr. Dewey founded the Lake Placid Club as a resort in 1895, with a policy that barred Jews, Negroes, and other minorities from membership. He died from a stroke on December 26, 1931, 16 days after his 80th birthday.

160 years ago
1861

War
Forces led by Nguyễn Trung Trực, an anti-colonial guerrilla leader in southern Vietnam, sank the French lorcha L'Esperance.

Americana
The Confederate States of America accepted a rival state government's pronouncement that declared Kentucky to be the 13th state of the Confederacy.

130 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis. Governor General of Canada, 1946-1952. Field Marshal Alexander served with distinction in both World Wars, and was Commander-in-Chief of British forces in the Middle East during World War II. He was created Viscount Alexander of Tunis and was appointed Governor General of Canada, a role in which he was popular and effective. Viscount Alexander returned to England in 1952 and was given a peerage in order to join the cabinet of Prime Minister Winston Churchill as Secretary of Defense from 1952-1954. Earl Alexander died on June 16, 1969 at the age of 77. Alexander Circle in Edmonton, the street on which this blogger spent his earliest years, is named in his honour.

Nelly Sachs. German-born Swedish poet and playwright. Miss Sachs was Jewish, and fled Germany with her mother in 1940 when Nazi persecution of Jews in Germany increased. She was awarded the 1966 Nobel Prize in Literature "for her outstanding lyrical and dramatic writing, which interprets Israel's destiny with touching strength." Miss Sachs died on May 12, 1970 at the age of 78.

Transportation
The Calgary and Edmonton Railway, built in 1890-91, was absorbed by the Canadian Pacific Railway.

125 years ago
1896

Theatre
Ubu Roi by Alfred Jarry received its premiere performance at Théâtre de l'Œuvre at the Nouveau-Théâtre in Paris. The production was regarded as offensive and obscene by many, and a riot broke out at the end of what turned out to be its only performance.

Born on this date
Torsten Bergström. Swedish actor. Mr. Bergström was best known as a stage actor with several companies in Stockholm, but also appeared in 32 movies from 1919 until his death on May 26, 1948 at the age of 51.

Died on this date
Alfred Nobel, 63. Swedish chemist and engineer. Mr. Nobel became fluent in six languages, and obtained the first of 355 patents at the age of 24. His best-known invention was dynamite, which he patented in 1867. Mr. Nobel acquired the weapons manufacturing firm Bofors-Gullspång in 1894. When his brother Ludwig died in 1888, several newspapers erroneously printed Alfred's obituary, with one accusing him of being a war profiteer and killer. The accusation prompted Mr. Nobel to create the Nobel Prizes to recognize those who "conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Mr. Nobel was accused of high treason against France for selling the propellant ballistite to Italy, so he moved from Paris to Sanremo, Italy in 1891, and died there from a stroke.

Transportation
The Province of British Columbia declared the Red Mountain Railway complete.

120 years ago
1901

World events
The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in Stockholm. The winners were Wilhelm Roentgen of Germany (Physics), for his discovery of X-rays; Jacobus Henricus van't Hoff of the Netherlands (Chemistry), for his discovery of the laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions; Emil Adolf von Behring of Germany (Physiology or Medicine), for his work on serum therapy, especially its application against diphtheria; and Sully Prudhomme of France (Literature), for his poetry. The Nobel Peace Prize was (and still is) presented in Oslo in honour of the king of Norway, and the winners were Henry Dunant of Switzerland, for his role in founding the International Committee of the Red Cross; and Frederic Passy of France, for being one of the main founders of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the main organizer of the Universal Peace Congress.

110 years ago 1911 Born on this date
Chet Huntley. U.S. journalist. Mr. Huntley was a radio newscaster with CBS from 1939-1951 and ABC from 1951-1955 before joining NBC in 1955. In 1956 he was teamed with David Brinkley to provide television coverage of the Democratic and Republican conventions, and the combination proved so successful that they became the network's regular evening newscasters. The Huntley-Brinkley Report ran on NBC from 1956-1970, when Mr. Huntley retired. He died of lung cancer on March 20, 1974 at the age of 62.

Died on this date
Joseph Dalton Hooker, 94. U.K. botanist and explorer. Sir Joseph, the son of botanist Sir William Jackson Hooker, obtained a medical degree and served as Assistant-Surgeon on HMS Erebus with Captain James Clark Ross's Antarctic expedition to the South Magnetic Pole (1839-1843). He worked with the Geological Survey of Great Britain (1846-1847), and was granted a leave for an expedition to the Himalayas and India (1847-1851). Dr. Hooker also conducted expeditions to Palestine (1860), Morocco (1871), and the western United States (1877). He was appointed Assistant-Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in 1855, and succeeded his father as Director, holding the position from 1865-1885. Sir Joseph was a friend of Charles Darwin and one of the earliest scientists to support the theory of evolution. Sir Joseph wrote numerous articles and monographs, with longer books that included the seven-volume The Flora of British India (1872-1897).

100 years ago
1921

Born on this date
Toh Chin Chye. Singaporean politician. Mr. Toh, a reader in physiology by profession, was a chairman of the People's Action Party (1954-1981), and held various cabinet posts, including Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore (1959-1968). He died in his sleep on February 3, 2012 at the age of 90.

80 years ago
1931

At the movies
The Struggle, the last movie directed by the legendary D.W. Griffith, opened in theatres in New York City. It ran there for just eight days, had three-day runs in Boston and Philadelphia, and as far as I know, was screened nowhere else during its initial release.



80 years ago
1941

Died on this date
Colin Kelly, 26. U.S. military aviator. Captain Kelly was a World War II B-17 Flying Fortress pilot who flew bombing runs against the Japanese Navy in the first days after the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He was killed when his B-17 exploded, but before the explosion he had ordered his crew to bail out, earning him a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross.

War
The British Royal Navy capital ships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse were sunk by Imperial Japanese Navy torpedo bombers in the South China Sea near Malaya. Imperial Japanese forces under the command of General Masaharu Homma landed on the Philippine island of Luzon; U.S. bases and Manila suburbs were bombed, while the U.S. War Department reported that American bombers had sunk the Japanese battleship Haruna off northern Luzon. Japanese forces captured Kota Bharu, an air base on the east coast of northern Malaya. The British command claimed that U.K. troops had broken the siege of Tobruk, Libya. A Soviet communique reported that Elets, 225 miles south of Moscow in the Orel sector, had been recaptured. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the Defense Communications Board to take over or close any private radio facilities if deemed necessary by the Army or Navy. U.S. Attorney General Francis Biddle reported that 2,303 "enemy aliens"--1,291 Japanese, 865 Germans, and 147 Italians--had been arrested for internment. U.S. Office of Production Management Director General William Knudsen called for a 24-hour day, seven-day week in war industries in announcing a victory program in Washington. Washington state police reported that fires in the form of arrows pointing toward Seattle had been found and extinguished the previous night.

Defense
U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull proposed before the governing board of the Pan American Union that a meeting of foreign ministers of the American republics be held in Rio de Janeiro in January 1942 to discuss hemispheric defense.

Politics and government
Louis St. Laurent was sworn in as Minister of Justice in the cabinet of Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King, succeeding the late Ernest Lapointe.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Office of Production Management banned the sale of new tires for civilian use through December 22, 1941.

Business
A Motion Picture Industry Conference Committee was organized in Chicago by film producers, distributors, and exhibitors to coordinate action on taxation, advertising, and general practices.

Disasters
The new U.S. freighter Oregon sank after colliding with a U.S. Navy ship south of Cape Cod; nine men drowned and eight were missing.

Boxing
The Boxing Writers Association of New York awarded the Edward J. Neil Memorial Plaque to world heavyweight champion Joe Louis as the outstanding boxer of the year.

75 years ago
1946

Died on this date
Damon Runyon, 66. U.S. writer. Mr. Runyon, born Alfred Damon Runyan, covered baseball and boxing for Hearst newspapers for many years, but was probably best known for his short stories about colourful characters in New York City in the 1920s and '30s. The Broadway musical Guys and Dolls (1950) was based on two of his stories. Mr. Runyon was a heavy smoker who died of lung cancer.

Walter Johnson, 59. U.S. baseball pitcher and manager. Mr. Johnson, nicknamed "The Big Train," played with the Washington Nationals from 1907-1927, compiling a record of 417-279 with an earned run average of 2.17 in 802 games. His career total of 3,502 strikeouts was the major league record until 1983, and he remains the record holder with 110 shutouts. Mr. Johnson's career win total is second to Cy Young, and was a major factor in becoming one of the first five men--and the first pitcher--to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. Mr. Johnson was also a dangerous hitter, batting .235 with 24 home runs and 255 runs batted in in 933 games. He managed the Nationals from 1929-1932 and the Cleveland Indians from 1933-1935, compiling a record of 529-432. Mr. Johnson died of a brain tumour.

Television
CBS announced the development of a receiver capable of handling either black and white or colour images.

Aviation
The U.S. Army Air Forces disclosed that their first rocket plane, the Bell XS-1, capable of 1,700 miles per hour at an altitude of 80,000 feet, had been successfully flown at Muroc Lake, California.

Diplomacy
The United Nations General Assembly approved, despite Soviet opposition, a draft constitution for the International Refugee Organization.

Defense
U.S.S.R. Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov agreed in the UN General Assembly to a British proposal for creation of a veto-free international commission to inspect troops and armaments of all nations.

Politics and government
Allied commanders in Berlin approved the 14 new members of the city's council of aldermen.

Labour
General Motors President Charles Wilson, head of U.S. President Harry Truman's civil rights commission, proposed a five-point labour law program which would outlaw industry-wide bargaining and compulsory unionization as well as sympathy strikes and boycotts.

70 years ago
1951

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Angry Birds, starring John Forsythe, Constance Dowling, and Vaughn Taylor



Died on this date
Algernon Blackwood, 82. U.K. writer. Mr. Blackwood worked as a journalist in Britain and the United States, but was primarily known for his supernatural fiction, particularly the novellas The Willows (1907) and The Wendigo (1910). He died after a series of strokes.

War
A company of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry carried out a raid behind Hill 277 in Korea, while the Royal Canadian Regiment sent a 35-man fighting patrol against Hill 166; both patrols reached their objectives and brought back useful information on enemy defenses.

Germanica
The southwest states of Baden, Wuerttemberg-Baden, and Wuerttemberg-Hohenzollern voted in a plebiscite to merge.

Politics and government
King George VI of Great Britain resumed his state duties after his recovery from a lung operation.

Nebraska Governor Val Peterson (Republican) named conservative newspaper publisher Fred Seaton (Republican) to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of Kenneth Wherry (Republican).

Crime
The Dade County sheriff's office deputized 50 Jewish war veterans to help guard Miami synagogues after the fifth dynamiting attempt against Jewish centres in the past six months failed.

U.S. author Dashiell Hammett was released from prison in Ashland, Kentucky after serving a six-month sentence for contempt of court.

Technology
The first gas turbine helicopter was tested in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

Transportation
East Germany announced the completion of a new system of railroads around Berlin, circumventing the Western sectors.

Oil
Iran agreed to participate in International Court hearings on Britain's complaint against nationalization of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.

Economics and finance
World Bank President Eugene Black dismissed as "unrealistic" proposals that his organization lend $1 billion per year to backward countries.

Labour
United Mine Workers of America President John L. Lewis announced that his union and soft coal operators had joined in a plan for increased coal shipments to Western Europe, involving the creation of a union-industry corporation which would charter "mothballed" U.S. Liberty ships.

Disasters
A typhoon swept the central Philippines, causing 569 deaths.

60 years ago
1961

Diplomacy
African National Congress President Albert Luthuli of South Africa accepted the 1960 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. He used his acceptance speech to denounce the South African racial policy of apartheid and to appeal for racial equality. Mr. Luthuli was awarded the prize "for his role in the non-violent struggle against apartheid in South Africa." He was put under a travel ban by the South African government and was unable to accept the prize in 1960, but the ban was lifted for 10 days in order for him to travel to Oslo to accept the prize.



Hockey
Canadian junior
Teams from Drummondville and Montreal played in the first game ever played at the Maurice Richard Arena in Montreal. 3,000 people attended the game, including Maurice "Rocket" Richard, who had retired from the Montreal Canadiens in 1960 after an 18-year Hall of Fame career. Formal ceremonies for the arena's opening took place in January 1962.

Football
NFL
Cleveland (8-5) 14 @ Chicago (7-6) 17
Dallas (4-8-1) 13 @ St. Louis (6-7) 31
Green Bay (10-3) 21 @ San Francisco (7-5-1) 22
Minnesota (3-10) 7 @ Detroit (8-4-1) 13
New York (10-3) 28 @ Philadelphia (9-4) 24
Pittsburgh (6-7) 30 @ Washington (0-12-1) 14

AFL
Buffalo (6-8) 10 @ San Diego (12-1) 28
Denver (3-11) 21 @ Dallas (5-8) 49
Houston (9-3-1) 48 @ New York (7-6) 21

50 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey--Paul & Linda McCartney (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Mamy Blue--Pop Tops (6th week at #1)

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Mammy Blue--Charisma (8th week at #1)
2 Amen--Peanutbutter Conspiracy
3 Butterfly--Danyel Gerard
4 Get Me Some Help--Neville Whitmill
5 You--Peter Maffay
6 Never Ending Song of Love--The New Seekers
7 Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast--Daniel Boone
8 The Desiderata--Les Crane
9 Cousin Norman--Marmalade
10 I Believe (in Love)--Hot Chocolate

Singles entering the chart were Till by Tom Jones (#18); Soley Soley by Middle of the Road (#19); and (Is This the Way to) Amarillo by Tony Christie (#20).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 An Old Fashioned Love Song--Three Dog Night
2 Brand New Key--Melanie
3 Hey Girl--Donny Osmond
4 The Desiderata--Les Crane
5 It's a Cryin' Shame--Gayle McCormick
6 Two Divided by Love--The Grass Roots
7 Devil You--Stampeders
8 Wild Night--Van Morrison
9 Stones--Neil Diamond
10 No Good to Cry--The Poppy Family

Singles entering the chart were Can I Get a Witness by Lee Michaels (#29); and (I Know) I'm Losing You by Rod Stewart with Faces (#30).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKVN)
1 Have You Seen Her--Chi-Lites
2 An Old Fashioned Love Song--Three Dog Night
3 Got to be There--Michael Jackson
4 Brand New Key--Melanie
5 Family Affair--Sly & the Family Stone
6 Can I Get a Witness--Lee Michaels
7 (I Know) I'm Losing You--Rod Stewart with Faces
8 Stones--Neil Diamond
9 No Good to Cry--The Poppy Family
10 Lovin' You Ain't Easy--Pagliaro

Singles entering the chart were Life in the Bloodstream by the Guess Who (#19, charting with its A-side, Sour Suite); American Pie by Don McLean (#27); Tightrope Ride by the Doors (#36); Take it Slow (Out in the Country) by Lighthouse (#37); Hey Big Brother by Rare Earth (#38); George Jackson by Bob Dylan (#39); and One Monkey Don't Stop No Show by the Honey Cone (#40).

Baseball
In one of the worst trades in history, the New York Mets traded pitchers Nolan Ryan and Don Rose, outfielder Leroy Stanton, and catcher Frank Estrada to the California Angels for shortstop Jim Fregosi. Mr. Ryan was 10-14 with an earned run average of 3.97 in 30 games with New York in 1971; Mr. Rose was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 1 game with the Mets, and 11-10 with a 3.33 ERA in 31 games with the Tidewater Tides of the AAA International League. Mr. Stanton batted .190 with no home runs and 2 runs batted in in 5 games with the Mets, and .324 with 23 home runs and 104 runs batted in in 139 games with Tidewater in 1971. Mr. Estrada hit .500 (1 for 2) with no homers or RBIs in 1 game with the Mets, .252 with 7 home runs and 28 RBIs in 51 games with the Memphis Blues of the AA Dixie Association, and .260 with 6 homers and 21 RBIs in 58 games with Tidewater in 1971. Mr. Fregosi hit .233 with 5 homers and 33 RBIs in 107 games with California in 1971.

40 years ago
1981

Hit parade
Edmonton's Top 10 (CFRN)
1 Young Turks--Rod Stewart
2 Hooked on Classics--The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
3 Waiting for a Girl Like You--Foreigner
4 Yesterday's Songs--Neil Diamond
5 Steal the Night--Stevie Woods
6 Oh No--Commodores
7 Harden My Heart--Quarterflash
8 Wired for Sound--Cliff Richard
9 Take Off--Bob and Doug McKenzie
10 Leather and Lace--Stevie Nicks with Don Henley

Health
A mysterious disease mainly affecting sodomites and later known as AIDS, was causing increasing concern in the United States.

30 years ago
1991

Died on this date
Greta Kempton, 90. Austro-Hungarian-born U.S. artist. Miss Kempton, a native of Vienna, emigrated to the United States in the 1920s. She was a portrait painter who became the official White House artist during the administration of President Harry Truman (1947-1953). Miss Kempton died from heart failure.

Tippy Larkin, 74. U.S. boxer. Mr. Larkin, born Antonio Pilliteri, was world light welterweight champion in 1946, but vacated the title after just one defense because of his inability to maintain the weight. He compiled a record of 136-59-1-1 in a professional career spanning 1935-1952.

War
The Canadian Defense Department said that the Gulf War had cost Canada $690 million, below the $1 billion anticipated.

25 years ago
1996

Died on this date
Faron Young, 64. U.S. musician. Mr. Young was a country singer who had numerous hit singles from the early 1950s through the mid-1970s; his biggest hit, Hello Walls, reached #1 on the Billboard country chart and crossed over to reach #12 on the Hot 100 pop singles chart. Mr. Young's career declined in later years, and he became a heavy drinker and suffered from depression. He committed suicide by shooting himself. Mr. Young was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.

Politics and government
The new Constitution of South Africa was promulgated by Nelson Mandela.

20 years ago
2001

At the movies
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first in a three-film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy trilogy, received its premiere screening at the Odeon Leicester Square in London. It was directed by Peter Jackson, and starred Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, and many others.





Died on this date
Ashok Kumar, 90. Indian actor. Mr. Kumar, whose real name was Kumudlal Ganguly, was one of the biggest stars in the history of Indian cinema, appearing in more than 300 films and television programs in a career spanning more than 60 years, with his greatest popularity occurring in the 1940s. He was also a qualified homeopath, and acquired a reputation for delivering miracle cures. Mr. Kumar died of heart failure.

10 years ago
2011

Football
NCAA
Navy 27 Army 21 @ FedExField, Washington