December 12, 2021

200 years ago
1821

Born on this date
Gustave Flaubert. French author. Mr. Flaubert was a leading proponent of literary realism and was known for his exacting style, looking for "just the right word." His best-known work was the novel Madame Bovary (1857). Mr. Flaubert died of a cerebral hemorrhage on May 8, 1880 at the age of 58, after suffering from venereal disease for years.

190 years ago
1831

Politics and government
William Lyon Mackenzie was expelled from the Upper Canada Assembly by a Tory majority vote of 24-15 for calling the assembly a “sycophantic office,” in his newspaper The Colonial Advocate. A mob of several hundred then entered the Assembly, demanding that Lieutenant Governor John Colborne dissolve parliament; he refused. Mr. Mackenzie was re-elected in a by-election several weeks later.

120 years ago
1901

Radio
Using a 500-foot (150-metre) kite-supported antenna for reception, Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St. John's, Newfoundland, from his company's wireless station at Poldhu, Cornwall, England.

90 years ago
1931

Football
NCAA
Army 17 Navy 7 @ Yankee Stadium, New York

80 years ago
1941

Died on this date
César Basa, 26. Filipino military aviator. Lieutenant Basa was shot down in a battle against numerically superior Japanese forces, and was the first Filipino fighter pilot to be killed in World War II; he was awarded a posthumous Silver Star.

War
Hungary and Romania declared war on the United States. The United Kingdom declared war on Bulgaria. India declared war on Japan. Panama, Honduras, Haiti, and El Salvador declared war on Germany and Italy. 54 Japanese A6M Zero fighters raided Batangas Field, Philippines; Jesْs Villamor and four Filipino fighter pilots fended them off, while César Basa was killed. The U.S. War Department claimed that Japanese landings at several points on the Philippine island of Luzon had been repulsed. Japanese troops advanced in northwest Malaya, while Japanese bombers raided Penang. The U.S.S.R. claimed that the German armies besieging Moscow had been routed. The British command reported that its troops had pushed 40 miles west of Tobruk, Libya and had surrounded El Gazala. The United States Coast Guard seized 14 French ships in American ports, including the luxury liner SS Normandie at New York; it was subsequently renamed USS Lafayette. A U.S. federal jury in New York convicted 14 men on charges of espionage and failure to register as agents of Germany; 19 others had already pled guilty. U.S. aviator Charles Lindbergh was scheduled to address an America First Committee in Boston, but, because of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor five days earlier, the America First Committee dissolved, and his speech, titled What Do We Mean by Democracy and Freedom?, was never delivered. The U.S. Senate passed and sent to conference a $10,572,350,705 defense appropriation bill, increasing the House of Representatives measure by $2,328,511,774.

Abominations
German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler declared the imminent extermination of the Jews at a meeting in the Reich Chancellery in Berlin.

Politics and government
Three days after taking office as Premier of British Columbia, John Hart formed a Liberal/ Conservative coalition government in order to prevent the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation from forming the government.

Religion
Three Protestant women's organizations merged under a single constitution as the National Council of Churchwomen at a meeting in Atlantic City.

Business
Ford Motor Company began a 24-hour day, 7-day week for all defense projects.

75 years ago
1946

Died on this date
Charles B. Thwing, 86. U.S. physicist. Dr. Thwing devised Thwing's law of inductivity.

War
Greek Prime Minister Constantin Tsaldaris accused Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Albania of creating a state of "undeclared war" in border clashes against Greece.

Diplomacy
The United Nations General Assembly passed a compromise resolution on Spain, urging member nations to recall their ministers from Spain, barring the country from participation in UN agencies, and calling on the UN Security Council to take up the issue again if Spain did not establish a democratic government "within a reasonable time."

The Council of Foreign Ministers ended its New York meetings after agreeing to set up special committees to study the Austrian and German peace treaties.

Defense
The Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, and Royal Canadian Air Force were reintegrated into one central command.

Politics and government
Socialist Léon Blum was elected by the French National Assembly to serve as President of the Provisional Government, effective December 16. He had served as Prime Minister from 1936-1937 and March 13-April 10, 1938.

Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King announced a cabinet shuffle, resulting in Paul Martin assuming the office of Minister of National Health and Welfare, replacing Brooke Claxton, who was named Minister of National Defence. Mr. Claxton replaced Douglas Abbott, who was named Minister of Finance and Receiver General. Mr. Abbott replaced J.L. Ilsley, who was named Minister of Justice, replacing Louis St. Laurent, who had recently been named Secretary of State for External Affairs.

South Korea's first occupation legislature opened in Seoul, boycotted by the rightist Han Kook Party because of the invalidation of elections in two provinces.

U.S. President Harry Truman created an office of Temporary Controls, headed by General Philip Fleming, to take over and liquidate the Office of Price Administration, Civilian Production Administration, Office of Economic Stabilization, and Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion.

Technology
Dr. Luis W. Alvarez was awarded the Robert J. Collier Aviation Trophy for his work on radar.

Journalism
Allied authorities in Tokyo issued requirements for the licensing of news media in Japan to control "propaganda" from Soviet and other sources.

Energy
U.S. President Truman named nine scientists as advisers to the Atomic Energy Commission, including Manhattan Project workers Enrico Fermi, Glenn Seaborg, and J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Scandal
The U.S. Senate War Investigating Committee heard Army engineers testify that Sen. Theodore Bilbo (Democrat--Mississippi) was active in securing over $25 million in contracts to build war installations in his state.

Labour
The government of Guatemala temporarily banned strikes and slowdowns in the face of threatened protests against United Fruit Company and International Railways of Central America.

Disasters
A fire at an ice plant in Hudson Heights, Manhattan, New York City, spread to an adjacent tenement, killing 37 people.

70 years ago
1951

Died on this date
Mildred Bailey, 44. U.S. singer. Mrs. Bailey was a jazz singer who was popular in the 1930s and '40s, performing and recording with the bands of artists such as Paul Whiteman and Red Norvo, and frequently appearing on radio. She was the older sister of musician Al Rinker, who teamed up with Bing Crosby and Harry Barris in the Rhythm Boys in the 1920s. Mrs. Bailey suffered from diabetes in later years, and died of heart failure.

War
The latest U.S. Defense Department reports placed U.S. casualties in the Korean War at 102,576 (17,441 dead).

Protest
3,000 South Koreans demonstrated in Pusan against any armistice agreement that would leave Korea divided.

Aviation
The de Havilland DHC-3 Otter made its first test flight.

Transportation
The Canadian Parliament voted to set up the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority as the Canadian project manager in cooperation with the United States.

Oil
Iran threatened to shift its oil sales to Soviet-bloc countries if former customers of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company did not place orders on Iranian terms within 10 days.

Boxing
Former world heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles (73-6-1) won a 12-round unanimous decision over world light heavyweight champion Joey Maxim (77-18-4) at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. Mr. Charles had won a 15-round unanimous decision over Mr. Maxim on May 30, 1951, when Mr. Charles was still heavyweight champion.

Baseball
Joe DiMaggio announced his retirement from the New York Yankees. The outfielder batted .325 with 361 home runs and 1,537 runs batted in in 1,736 games in 13 seasons (1936-1942, 1946-1951), leading the American League in batting twice, home runs twice, runs batted in twice, slugging twice, and runs once, while being named as the AL's Most Valuable Player three times. He was one of the best defensive center fielders in history, and helped the Yankees win 10 AL pennants and 9 World Series, batting .271 with 8 homers and 30 RBIs in 51 World Series games. He hit safely in 56 consecutive games in 1941, a record that still stands.

60 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): When the Girl in Your Arms is the Girl in Your Heart--Cliff Richard and the Norrie Paramor Orchestra (4th week at #1)

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Services Rendered, starring Stephen Dunne and Hugh Marlowe

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Robb Findlay!

Space
The U.S.A. launched the satellite OSCAR 1, whose mission was "radio propagation." It was the first amateur radio satellite.

Economics and finance
Tickets went on sale for New Zealand’s new national Golden Kiwi lottery. All 250,000 tickets sold within 24 hours, with the £12,000 top prize (equivalent to nearly $550,000 today) four times that offered in previous lotteries.

Boxing
The Edward J. Neil Memorial Trophy, awarded annually by the Boxing Writers' Association of New York to the person doing the most for boxing in the previous year, was awarded to Gene Fullmer, National Boxing Association world middleweight champion.

50 years ago
1971

Died on this date
David Sarnoff, 80. Belarusian-born U.S. broadcasting executive. Mr. Sarnoff founded Radio Corporation of America in 1919, and led RCA until his retirement in 1970. He was a major figure in the development of radio and television.

Hockey
NHL
Minnesota 3 @ Chicago 5

Bobby Hull scored his 1,000th career point with an assist on Chico Maki's goal at 7:59 of the 1st period, and scored the winning goal at 12:21 as the Black Hawks scored all their goals in the 1st period of their win over the North Stars at Chicago Stadium. Dennis Hull scored 2 goals for the Black Hawks.

Football
NFL
Cleveland (8-5) 21 @ New Orleans (4-7-2) 17
Chicago (6-7) 10 @ Green Bay (4-7-2) 31
Dallas (10-3) 42 @ New York Giants (4-9) 14
St. Louis (4-8-1) 7 @ Philadelphia (5-7-1) 19
Atlanta (6-6-1) 3 @ San Francisco (8-5) 24
Pittsburgh (6-7) 21 @ Cincinnati (4-9) 13
Oakland (7-4-2) 14 @ Kansas City (9-3-1) 16
Denver (4-8-1) 17 @ San Diego (6-7) 45
Houston (3-9-1) 20 @ Buffalo (1-12) 14
New England (5-8) 6 @ New York Jets (5-8) 13

See video.

40 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Cicale--Heather Parisi

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Pretend--Alvin Stardust

#1 single in Ireland: Begin the Beguine (Volver a Empezar)--Julio Iglesias (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Begin the Beguine (Volver a Empezar)--Julio Iglesias

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Don't You Want Me--The Human League

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Under Pressure--Queen & David Bowie
2 Why Do Fools Fall in Love--Diana Ross
3 Pretend--Alvin Stardust
4 Annie--Miggy
5 Wünderbar--Tenpole Tudor
6 Let's Start II Dance Again--Bohannon
7 It's Raining--Shakin' Stevens
8 Physical--Olivia Newton-John
9 Should I Do It--Pointer Sisters
10 Your Love Still Brings Me To My Knees--Marcia Hines

Singles entering the chart were One of Us by ABBA (#18); Spirits in the Material World by the Police (#29); We Kill the World (Don't Kill the World) by Boney M. (#34); Saturday Nights by Patricia Paay (#37); and I'm a Rocking Machine by Babe (#38).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Physical--Olivia Newton-John (4th week at #1)
2 Waiting for a Girl Like You--Foreigner
3 Every Little Thing She Does is Magic--The Police
4 Oh No--Commodores
5 Let's Groove--Earth, Wind & Fire
6 Young Turks--Rod Stewart
7 Here I Am (Just When I Thought I was Over You)--Air Supply
8 Why Do Fools Fall in Love--Diana Ross
9 Harden My Heart--Quarterflash
10 Don't Stop Believin'--Journey

Singles entering the chart were Sweet Dreams by Air Supply (#74); All Our Tomorrows by Eddie Schwartz (#80); Sea of Love by Del Shannon (#81); Keeping Our Love Alive by Henry Paul Band (#88); A World Without Heroes by Kiss (#92); Every Home Should Have One by Patti Austin (#93); and Titles (Chariots of Fire) by Vangelis (#94).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Physical--Olivia Newton-John (4th week at #1)
2 Waiting for a Girl Like You--Foreigner
3 Let's Groove--Earth, Wind and Fire
4 Oh No--Commodores
5 Private Eyes--Daryl Hall & John Oates
6 Every Little Thing She Does is Magic--The Police
7 Young Turks--Rod Stewart
8 Why Do Fools Fall in Love--Diana Ross
9 Here I Am--Air Supply
10 Don't Stop Believin'--Journey

Singles entering the chart were Sweet Dreams by Air Supply (#78); All Our Tomorrows by Eddie Schwartz (#84); Keeping Our Love Alive by Henry Paul Band (#85); A World Without Heroes by Kiss (#86); Could it Be Love by Jennifer Warnes (#88); and Titles (Chariots of Fire) by Vangelis (#89).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 Physical--Olivia Newton-John (4th week at #1)
2 Waiting for a Girl Like You--Foreigner
3 Private Eyes--Daryl Hall & John Oates
4 Let's Groove--Earth, Wind & Fire
5 Oh No--Commodores
6 Why Do Fools Fall in Love--Diana Ross
7 Young Turks--Rod Stewart
8 Every Little Thing She Does is Magic--The Police
9 Don't Stop Believin'--Journey
10 Here I Am (Just When I Thought I was Over You)--Air Supply

Singles entering the chart were Sweet Dreams by Air Supply (#74); Falling in Love by Balance (#84); Sea of Love by Del Shannon (#87); All Our Tomorrows by Eddie Schwartz (#88); Love in the First Degree by Alabama (#89); Call Me by Skyy (#90); Closer to the Heart by Rush (#97); Better Things by the Kinks (#98); and Blue Jeans by Chocolate Milk (#99).

Canada’s Top 10 (RPM)
1 The Friends of Mr. Cairo--Jon and Vangelis (5th week at #1)
2 Waiting for a Girl Like You--Foreigner
3 My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)--Chilliwack
4 Physical--Olivia Newton-John
5 Young Turks--Rod Stewart
6 Under Pressure--Queen & David Bowie
7 Oh No--Commodores
8 Every Little Thing She Does is Magic--The Police
9 No Reply at All--Genesis
10 Don't Stop Believin'--Journey

Singles entering the chart were Wind Him Up by Saga (#43); Comin' In and Out of Your Life by Barbra Streisand (#45); and Waiting on a Friend by the Rolling Stones (#46).

30 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Mysterious Ways--U2

Europeana
The Russian Federation gained its independence from the U.S.S.R.

Law
Canadian Justice Minister Kim Campbell introduced into the House of Commons a new rape shield law that defined consent, allowing case questioning only when crucial to the defendant. The new bill restored protections lost by a court ruling the previous August.

25 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Breathe--The Prodigy

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Breathe--The Prodigy (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Vance Packard, 82. U.S. journalist. Mr. Packard wrote for newspapers and magazines from the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s, but was best known for his books critiquing trends in modern society. His books included The Hidden Persuaders (1957); The Status Seekers (1959); The Waste Makers (1960); The Pyramid Climbers (1962); The Naked Society (1964); The Sexual Wilderness (1968); A Nation of Strangers (1972); and The People Shapers (1977).

Radio
The government of Canada decided to take over operation of Radio Canada International, reversing Canadian Broadcasting Corporation President Perrin Beatty's earlier decision to close it down.

Politics and government
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien named Lise Thibault as Lieutenant Governor of Québec, with her appointment to take effect January 30, 1997. Mrs. Thibault was the first woman and first person with a disbility to hold the post.

Baseball
Outfielder Moises Alou signed with the Florida Marlins as a free agent. Mr. Alou, the son of Montréal Expos' manager Felipe Alou, had been with the Expos since 1990, and batted .281 with 21 home runs and 96 runs batted in in 143 games in 1996.

20 years ago
2001

Died on this date
Jean Richard, 80. French actor and businessman. Mr. Richard appeared in movies and television programs in a career spanning more than 40 years. He was best known for starring in the television detective series Les Enquêtes du Commissaire Maigret (1967-1990). Mr. Richard owned and managed three major circuses, two theme parks, and a private zoo.

World events
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat closed the offices of the organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Environment
Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Văn Khải announced the decision on upgrading the Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng nature reserve to a national park, providing information on projects for the conservation and development of the park and revised maps.

10 years ago
2011

Environment
Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent announced that Canada was withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 2002. Mr. Kent stated that the Kyoto Protocol's targets of greenhouse gas emiission reduction were unrealistic.