Wednesday 28 January 2009

February 2, 2009

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Simon O'Byrne!

500 years ago
1509


Born on this date
Jan van Leiden (John of Leiden)
. Dutch-born religious leader. Jan van Leiden was a leader of the Anabaptists, an offshoot of the Reformation known for practicing baptism only on those who confess their faith in Jesus Christ and want to be baptized. Jan moved to Münster in 1533 and was a leader of the Münster Rebellion, proclaiming himself "King of Münster," and attempting to turn the city into an Anabaptist theocracy. The insurrection was overthrown in 1535 after a siege; Jan was captured, tortured, and executed on January 22, 1536, 11 days before his 27th birthday, along with fellow Anabaptist leaders Bernhard Knipperdolling and Bernhard Krechting.

360 years ago
1649


Born on this date
Benedict XIII
. Roman Catholic Pope, 1724-1730. Benedict XIII, born Pietro Francesco Orsini, was a Dominican friar who was ordained a priest in 1671. He held several bishoprics before succeeding Innocent XIII as pope. Benedict XIII focused on his religious responsibilities as bishop rather than on papal administration. His political naivety led him to rely on Cardinal Niccolò Coscia, a secretary whose financial abuses ruined the papal treasury. Benedict XIII died of an attack of catarrh on February 21, 1730, 19 days after his 81st birthday. He was succeeded as pope by Clement XII.

340 years ago
1669


Born on this date
Louis Marchand
. French musician and composer. Mr. Marchand was an organ and harpsichord virtuoso who was known for his violent temper and scandalous behaviour. Relatively few of his works survive; those that do are mainly for organ, with a few for harpsichord. Mr. Marchand died on February 17, 1732, 15 days after his 63rd birthday.

300 years ago
1709


World events
English privateer Alexander Selkirk was rescued by another English privateer, Woodes Rogers, after spending more than four years as a castaway on a desert island in the Spanish-owned Juan Fernández Islands. The incident is believed to have inspired Daniel Defoe's adventure book Robinson Crusoe (1719).

240 years ago
1769


Died on this date
Clement XIII, 75
. Roman Catholic Pope, 1758-1769. Clement XIII, born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, succeeded Benedict XIV. Clement XIII received a Jesuit education and defended the Jesuits against pressure to suppress them. He also favoured dialogue with Old Catholic Protestants in an attempt to mend the schism between them, but met with little success. Pope Clement died of apoplexy, the night before the scheduled meeting of a consistory to consider suppression of the Jesuits, which led to suspicions that he had been poisoned. Clement XIII was succeeded as Pope by Clement XIV.

140 years ago
1869


Politics and government
Lord Lisgar was installed as Governor General of Canada, succeeding Lord Monck.

120 years ago
1889


Born on this date
Pitrim Sorokin
. Russian-born U.S. sociologist. Professor Sorokin was an anti-Communist and a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party who supported the White Movement during the Russian Revolution. He eventually fled the country and emigrated to the United States in 1923, and founded the Harvard University Department of Sociology. Prof. Sorokin's best-known work was the four-volume Social and Cultural Dynamics (1937-1941), in which he classified societies according to their "cultural mentality," which can be "ideational" (reality is spiritual), "sensate" (reality is material), or "idealistic" (a synthesis of the two). He suggested that major civilizations evolve from an ideational to an idealistic, and eventually to a sensate mentality. Prof. Sorokin died on February 10, 1968, eight days after his 79th birthday.

110 years ago
1899


Australiana
The Australian Premiers' Conference in Melbourne decided to locate Australia's capital city, Canberra, between Sydney and Melbourne.

Canadiana
Israel Tarte was appointed head of the Paris Exposition Commission for Canada, to organize the Canadian display at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris.

90 years ago
1919


Died on this date
Julius Kuperjanov, 24
. Estonian military officer. Lieutenant Kuperjanov commanded the Tartumaa Partisan Battalion during the Estonian War of Independence, and was among the liberators of Tartu on January 14, 1919. He died two days after being wounded in the victorious Battle of Paju.

70 years ago
1939

Disasters

The Japanese submarine I-36 sank in the Bungo Channel, killing 81.

60 years ago
1949


Diplomacy
South Korea formally applied for admission to the United Nations.

U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson held a press conference to give the U.S. response to U.S.S.R. dictator Josef Stalin's proposal for a peace conference. Mr. Acheson stated that the United States would not engage in bilateral negotiations on matters affecting other nations, and claimed that "normal [diplomatic] channels" should be adequate to resolve ther Berlin dispute and other East-West difficulties.

Politics and government
Hungarian opposition leader Istvan Barankovics dissolved the Catholic People's Party in protest against government policies.

Golf
Ben Hogan narrowly survived a head-on car crash with a bus in Texas. For a time it appeared he might never play again, but he recovered from his injuries and won the United States Open 16 months later at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, defeating Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio in an 18-hole playoff.

50 years ago
1959


Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Como Antes (Come Prima)--Los 5 Latinos

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters (3rd week at #1)
2 The All American Boy--Bill Parsons
3 Donna--Ritchie Valens
4 16 Candles--The Crests
5 Stagger Lee--Lloyd Price
6 My Happiness--Connie Francis
7 Gotta Travel On--Billy Grammer
8 Lonely Teardrops--Jackie Wilson
9 A Lover's Question--Clyde McPhatter
10 Goodbye Baby--Jack Scott

Singles entering the chart were Charlie Brown by the Coasters (#69); (I'll Be with You In) Apple Blossom Time by Tab Hunter (#76); Give Me Your Love (#96)/Madrid (#100) by Nat "King" Cole; Teardrops Will Fall by Dicky Doo and the Dont's (#97); and The Hanging Tree by Marty Robbins (#99). The Hanging Tree was the title song of the movie.

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKWX)
1 Gotta Travel On--Billy Grammer (4th week at #1)
2 The All American Boy--Bill Parsons
3 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters
4 Goodbye Baby--Jack Scott
5 My Happiness--Connie Francis
6 Manhattan Spiritual--Reg Owen and his Orchestra
7 The Children's Marching Song (Nick Nack Paddy Whack)--Cyril Stapleton and his Orchestra
--Mitch Miller and his Orchestra
8 Stagger Lee--Lloyd Price
9 16 Candles--The Crests
10 Donna/La Bamba--Ritchie Valens

Singles entering the chart were the version of The Children's Marching Song (Nick Nack Paddy Whack) by Mitch Miller and his Orchestra; Plain Jane by Bobby Darin (#43); (I'll Be with You In) Apple Blossom Time by Tab Hunter (#44); Story of My Love by Conway Twitty (#48); Charlie Brown by the Coasters (#52); The Shag by Billy Graves (#53); Who Cares by Don Gibson (#58); and Blah, Blah, Blah by Nicola Paone (#60).

Music
The Winter Dance Party tour continued as Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper performed at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. Afterward, Mr. Holly chartered a Beechcraft Bonanza to take him and his backup musicians, Tommy Allsup and Waylon Jennings, to Fargo, North Dakota, en route to the next leg of the tour at the Armory in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Diplomacy
Soviet officers at the Marienborn autobahn checkpoint between East and West Germany detained a U.S. Army truck convoy bound from West Berlin to East Germany when its commander refused to submit the trucks to detailed inspection.

Politics and government
The British House of Commons voted to revoke the constitution granted to Malta in 1947.

Indira Gandhi, 41, the daughter of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and wife of member of parliament Feroze Gandhi, was unanimously elected president of the Indian National Congress Party.

Agriculture
The Cuban government began to put into effect an agrarian reform law designed to benefit 200,000 families through distribution of 33-100 acres of land to landless farmers.

Education
Negro children in Norfolk and Arlington, Virginia attended previously all-white schools for the first time, without serious disorders.

Crime
Cincinnati Reds' pitcher Don Newcombe and his brothers Norman and Harold were acquitted in Newark, New Jersey of assault charges brought by former policeman Ulysses Rose after a fracas in the Newcombes' tavern in 1957.

Oddities
Nine experienced ski hikers in the northern Ural Mountains in the Soviet Union died under mysterious circumstances.

40 years ago
1969


Died on this date
Boris Karloff, 81
. U.K.-born U.S. actor. Mr. Karloff, one of the most famous horror actors ever, was born William Henry Pratt on November 23, 1887. As a young man he came to Canada to work on the railway, and started his career on stage in Kamloops, British Columbia, later moving to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Mr. Karloff (he reportedly took the surname from a distant relative) eventually moved to Hollywood, and found some work as an extra. His big break came with the role of the monster in Frankenstein in 1931. He reprised the role just twice more: Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). Starting with The Black Cat (1934), Mr. Karloff began teaming up with Bela Lugosi, and the two acted in a number of horror movies together, mainly for Universal studios. The best of the Boris & Bela movies are probably The Black Cat; The Raven (1935); and Son of Frankenstein. Non-horror movies that featured Mr. Karloff included Scarface (1932); The Lost Patrol (1934); The Black Room (1935); and Unconquered (1947). He also made occasional radio appearances in such series as Suspense and Inner Sanctum Mysteries. On television, Mr. Karloff was the host of the NBC series Thriller, which ran from 1960-1962; he also acted in five episodes. His most memorable role came in 1966 as the narrator of the Christmas classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas. This blogger's favourite television role for Mr. Karloff was the episode of Tales of Tomorrow titled Past Tense (1953), where he played an amateur scientist who went back in time 40 years and tried to introduce penicillin to people of an earlier time. Mr. Karloff continued to act in movies to the end. In the early 1960s he appeared in low-budget movies for director Roger Corman such as The Raven (1963) and The Terror (1963). His last big part came in Targets (1968), where he played an aging horror star who's decided to retire from acting because the horror of real life exceeds that on the screen. Mr. Karloff's final movies were four low-budget horror flicks filmed in Mexico, and released after his death (the last one came out in 1971). He also lent his name to a series of Gold Key comic books.

Golf
Jack Nicklaus won the Andy Williams-San Diego Open; first prize money was $30,000.

30 years ago
1979


Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Too Much Heaven--Bee Gees (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Y.M.C.A.--Village People (8th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Tragedy--Bee Gees

Died on this date
Sid Vicious, 21
. U.K. musician. Mr. Vicious, born John Simon Ritchie, played bass guitar with the punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1976-1978. After the group broke up early in 1978, he performed as a solo act, and became involved in a relationship in New York with a young woman named Nancy Spungen. The relationship was characterized by drug use and violence, and when she was found stabbed to death on October 12, 1978, Mr. Vicious was charged with her murder. He attempted suicide and was hospitalized before being releases on bail. In December, Mr. Vicious was charged with assault after attacking Todd Smith, brother of singer Patti Smith. Mr. Vicious underwent 55 days of forced detoxification and was reportedly clean of drugs when he was bailed out on February 1,1979. He attended a party where a friend delivered him heroin, and he died early the next morning after overdosing.

Politics and government
Iranian Prime Minister Shahpur Bakhtiar offered to include supporters of Shi'ite Muslim leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in a government of "national unity," but the Ayatollah continued to insist that Mr. Bakhtiar resign before they negotiate.

25 years ago
1984


Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Jenseits von Eden--Nino de Angelo (6th week at #1)

Religion
On a beautiful sunny Thursday, Christian Awareness Week continued at the University of Alberta. Campus Crusade for Christ speaker Michael Horner delivered his second of three noon hour lectures at SUB Theatre; the title was Who Did Jesus Think He Was, Anyway?. That night, illusionist Andre Kole put on his show at Kinsmen Field House.

20 years ago
1989


Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Finnish Singles Chart): Back to the Stone Age--Stone (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart--Marc Almond featuring Gene Pitney

Died on this date
Arnold Nordmeyer, 87
. N.Z. politician. Rev. Nordmeyer was a Presbyterian minister who joined the Labour Party in 1933, and represented Oamaru (1935-1949), Brooklyn (1951-1954), and Island Bay (1954-1969) in Parliament. He was Minister of Health (1941-1947); Minister of Finance (1957-1960); President of the Labour Party (1950-1955); and Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (1963-1965). Mr. Nordmeyer died five days before his 88th birthday.

Ondrej Nepela, 38. Czechoslovakian figure skater. Mr. Nepela won the European men's championship for five straight years (1969-1973); the men's world championship for three straight years (1971-1973); and the gold medal in the Winter Olympic Games (1972). He skated professionally with Holiday on Ice (1973-1986), and became a coach. He died 11 days after his 38th birthday, officially from cancer of the lymph nodes, but more likely of AIDS.

World events
A violent coup against Paraguayan dictator Alfredo Stroessner began.

War
Withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan continued as the last armoured column left the capital of Kabul.

Diplomacy
Japanese Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita met in Washington with U.S. President George Bush. The two reportedly discussed political, military, and economic matters.

U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle was in Caracas, where he attended the inauguration of Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez. Mr. Quayle criticized former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who was also in Caracas, for meeting with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.

Politics and government
Bowing to public pressure, the United States Senate voted 95-5 to reject a proposal to raise their own pay as well as that of judges and top officials in the executive branch. The pay raises, running to 50% and more, had been approved by President Ronald Reagan in early January, but had been widely opposed by the American public.

10 years ago
1999


Canadiana
In Wiarton, Ontario, the Wiarton Willie Groundhog Day Festival was mired in scandal as the organizers discovered, only a couple of days before the big event, that Willie had died while hibernating during the winter; they put what they claimed was a lifeless Willie in a little casket with pennies over his eyes and clutching a carrot. The scandal erupted when it leaked out that his real body was so badly decomposed it could not be shown to the public; instead, organizers put a stuffed version in the casket. For the next five years a replacement, "Wee Willie,” fulfilled the role until he was replaced by "Wee Willie II."

February 1, 2009

Born on this date
Happy birthday, Snejka!

210 years ago
1799


Canadiana
Royal Assent was given to change the name of Île St- Jean to Prince Edward Island.

160 years ago
1849


Law
The Amnesty Act came into effect, granting full immunity to participants in the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions of 1837-1838 who had fled the Canadas. Upper Canada Rebellion leader William Lyon Mackenzie returned to Toronto from the United States that day, and told a Toronto newspaper that he was a reformed man, that "American democracy as it presented itself in the form of political corruption, crass materialism and human slavery, filled his soul with righteous indignation. He was convinced that the vaunted liberty of the United States was merely a sham; that neither the grandiloquent principles of the Declaration of Independence, nor the unctuous guarantees of the American Constitution assured to the private citizen the same measure of civil and political freedom as was enjoyed by the humblest Canadian subject under the British Constitution." In 1851, Mr. Mackenzie was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Canada.

150 years ago
1859


Born on this date
Victor Herbert
. U.K.-born U.S. composer. Mr. Herbert, born Victor Muspratt in Guernsey, moved to the United States in 1886. He was a cellist who turned to composing and conducting. Mr. Herbert wrote various works for cello, piano, and orchestra, but was best known for operettas such as Babes in Toyland (1903) and Naughty Marietta (1910). He died of a heart attack on May 26, 1924 at the age of 65, shortly after his last show, The Dream Girl, began its pre-Broadway run in Connecticut.

125 years ago
1884


Literature
The first volume (A to Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary was published.

75 years ago
1934


Crime
Supreme Court of Alberta Justice John Robert Boyle sentenced Lamont-area farmer Danko Marchuk to three years in Prince Albert Penitentiary for perjury because of his testimony at a debt trial on November 21, 1933.

60 years ago
1949


Died on this date
Herbert Stothart, 63
. U.S. conductor and composer. Mr. Stothart was a composer of film scores who was nominated for Academy Awards 12 times from 1935-1945, winning the Oscar for The Wizard of Oz (1939). He died of cancer.

War
King Abdullah of Transjordan agreed to join the Israeli-Egyptian armistice conference on Rhodes.

Acting Nationalist Chinese President Li Tsung-jen named an eight-man civilian delegation to arrange for an official peace conference in Peking.

Philippine security forces reported the capture of the Sierra Madre headquarters of the Hukbalahap guerrillas in central Luzon.

Defense
In a diplomatic note to the U.S.S.R., Norway announced that she must seek the protection of the projected North Atlantic security alliance, following the breakdown of Scandinavian regional defense negotiations.

World events
The Israeli cabinet announced plans to incorporate the new city of Jerusalem into Israel despite United Nations efforts to make Jerusalem an international city.

Crime
A British military court in Dusseldorf sentenced Communist leader Max Reimann to three months in prison for encouraging Germans to ostracize those cooperating with the Western Allies.

Society
The U.S. Displaced Persons Commission issued its first semi-annual report, complaining that restrictive provisions of the 1948 immigration law had severely hampered its ability to bring refugees into the United States. The report urged the elimination of provisions of the law discriminating against Jews and Catholics.

Economics and finance
New York Governor Thomas Dewey submitted a record state budget of $936.2 million for fiscal 1949-50, to be financed in part by a two-thirds increase in the state income tax.

Sport
World and Olympic figure skating champion Barbara Ann Scott was named the winner of the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy as Canada's outstanding athlete of 1948.

50 years ago
1959


Hit parade
#1 single in France (IFOP): Come Prima--Dalida (3rd week at #1)

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Total Loss, starring Nancy Olson and Ralph Meeker

Died on this date
Madame Sul-Te-Wan, 85
. U.S. actress. Madame Sul-Te-Wan, born Nellie Crawford, was the first Negro actress to sign a film contract and be a featured performer. She was a character actress who appeared, often uncredited, in movies from the silent era into the 1950s; her films included The Birth of a Nation (1915); King Kong (1933); Maid of Salem (1937); and Carmen Jones (1954). Madame Sul-Te-Wan died of a stroke.

Willie Hoppe, 71. U.S. billiards player. Mr. Hoppe won 51 world titles in carom billiards from 1906-1952. He was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1966.

Music
The Winter Dance Party tour, featuring Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper, continued with performances in Appleton, Wisconsin, and at the Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

World events
The Moroccan High Court in Rabat sentenced to death former Governor Addi ou Bihi and three other leaders of an abortive 1957 plot against the government.

Agriculture
The Hungarian government ordered a speedup in agricultural collectivization.

40 years ago
1969


Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Eloise--Barry Ryan (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): Biplane Evermore--The Royal Guardsmen (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France: Casatchok--Dimitri Dourakine and his Orchestra (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Scende la pioggia--Gianni Morandi (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Eloise--Barry Ryan (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Lonely Woods of Upton--Sean Dunphy

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Albatross--Fleetwood Mac

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Ain't Got No--I Got Life--Nina Simone (2nd week at #1)
2 Hair--Zen
3 I Started a Joke--The Bee Gees
4 Albatross--Fleetwood Mac
5 Lily the Pink--The Scaffold
6 Kiele, Kiele, Kiele...--Toon Hermans en De Driedonken Blaaskapel
7 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da--The Beatles
8 Antoinette--Leo Den Hop
9 Lea--The Cats
10 Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da--The Marmalade

Singles entering the chart were Atlantis by Donovan (#22); Hey Jude by Wilson Pickett (#26); 't Saunabad by Tony Bass (#34); Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells (#35); and Maybe Tomorrow by the Iveys (#37).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells
2 Everyday People--Sly & the Family Stone
3 Worst that Could Happen--Brooklyn Bridge
4 Touch Me--The Doors
5 I Heard it Through the Grapevine--Marvin Gaye
6 I'm Gonna Make You Love Me--Diana Ross and the Supremes & the Temptations
7 I Started a Joke--The Bee Gees
8 Hooked on a Feeling--B.J. Thomas
9 Soulful Strut--Young-Holt Unlimited
10 Build Me Up Buttercup--The Foundations

Singles entering the chart were Soul Shake by Peggy Scott and Jo Jo Benson (#46); Good Lovin' Ain't Easy to Come By by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (#69); 30-60-90 by Willie Mitchell (#74); Dizzy by Tommy Roe (#86); Grits Ain't Groceries (All Around the World) by Little Milton (#89); Woman Helping Man by the Vogues (#90); This Girl's in Love with You by Dionne Warwick (#92); Do Your Thing by the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band (#95); My Special Prayer by Percy Sledge (#96); Someday Soon by Judy Collins (#97); Saturday Night at the World by Mason Williams (#99); and Cloud Nine by Mongo Santamaria (#100).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells
2 Touch Me--The Doors
3 I'm Gonna Make You Love Me--Diana Ross and the Supremes & the Temptations
4 I Heard it Through the Grapevine--Marvin Gaye
5 Everyday People--Sly & the Family Stone
6 Worst that Could Happen--Brooklyn Bridge
7 I Started a Joke--The Bee Gees
8 Hooked on a Feeling--B.J. Thomas
9 If I Can Dream--Elvis Presley
10 You Showed Me--The Turtles

Singles entering the chart were This Girl's in Love with You by Dionne Warwick (#70); To Susan on the West Coast Waiting by Donovan (#71); Good Lovin' Ain't Easy to Come By by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (#72); Great Balls of Fire by Tiny Tim (#85); Purple Haze by Dion (#88); Traces by Classics IV (#89); She's Not There by the Road (#93); Johnny One Time by Brenda Lee (#96); The Carroll County Accident by Porter Wagoner (#99); and Sophisticated Cissy by the Meters (#100). To Susan on the West Coast Waiting was the other side of Atlantis.

Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells (3rd week at #1)
2 Build Me Up Buttercup--The Foundations
3 Twilight Woman--The 49th Parallel
4 Sweet Cream Ladies--The Box Tops
5 This Magic Moment--Jay and the Americans
6 Baby Let's Wait--The Royal Guardsmen
7 Touch Me--The Doors
8 Beyond the Clouds--The Poppy Family
9 I'm Gonna Make You Love Me--Diana Ross and the Supremes & the Temptations
10 Son-of-a Preacher Man--Dusty Springfield
Pick hit of the week: Cruel War--Sugar n' Spice

World events
The International Committee of the Red Cross resumed relief flights to Biafra's starving refugees from Cotonou, Dahomey, following negotiations which had begun several weeks earlier when Equatorial Guinea banned all flights from the island of Fernando Po.

Protest
Northern Ireland Protestant leader Rev. Ian Paisley led a protest demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Terence O'Neill.

30 years ago
1979


On television tonight
Family, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Sleeping Over

Died on this date
Abdi İpekçi, 49
. Turkish journalist. Mr. İpekçi joined the newspaper Milliyet in 1954, becoming editor-in-chief in 1959. He supported the separation of religon and state; human rights for various minorities in Turkey; and dialogue and conciliation with Greece. Mr. İpekçi was driving home from his office in Istanbul when he was murdered by Oral Çelik and Mehmet Ali Ağca, members of the ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves organization. Two years later, Mr. Ağca attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II.

Ottawana
The National Capital Commission opened the first Winterlude, developed by NCC head Douglas Fullerton, and featuring a skateway along the Rideau Canal.

World events
Shi'ite Muslim leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran after 15 years in exile, saying that he wanted to establish an Islamic republic, replacing the monarchy and the three-week-old civilian government of Prime Minister Shahpur Bakhtiar, and threatening to arrest Mr. Bakhtiar if he didn't resign. While the army put on a show of force in Tehran in Mr. Bakhtiar's support, he said that he would not let Iran "be governed by any force other than the legitimate authority."

Defense
Officials with the U.S. administration of President Jimmy Carter reported that the U.S.S.R. had begun to test their own version of the long-range cruise missile, with a range of 1,500 miles, but not as accurate as the American version.

Diplomacy
Chinese Deputy Premier Deng Xiaoping continued his visit to the United States, beginning five days of visits to Atlanta, Houston, and Seattle.

Religion
Pope John Paul II concluded his Latin American visit with a visit to the Bahamas before returning to Rome.

Crime
Almost five years after being kidnapped from her apartment in Berkeley, California, U.S. newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was released from a federal prison under an executive clemency order from President Jimmy Carter after serving 22 months of a 7-year sentence for bank robbery. The clemency order imposed parole conditions on Miss Hearst.

25 years ago
1984


War
Walid Jumblat, leader of Lebanon's Druze Muslims, said that peace talks with Lebanese President Amin Gemayel were a waste of time and that a decisive battle in Lebanon was inevitable. Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution calling for "prompt and orderly" withdrawal of U.S. Marines from Lebanon. White House spokesman Larry Speakes said the action "aids and abets" the enemies of peace in Lebanon, and U.S. President Ronald Reagan said he would ignore the resolution.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Ronald Reagan submitted a budget for fiscal 1985 (with the fiscal year beginning October 1, 1984) to Congress of $925.5 billion, a deficit of $180.4 billion. The budget called for an increase in military spending of $33 billion, 14.5% more than the defense outlays for fiscal 1984.

Religion
As part of Christian Awareness Week at the University of Alberta, Campus Crusade for Christ speaker Michael Horner delivered his first of three noon hour lectures at SUB Theatre. His topic was Faith and the Intellect.

Basketball
NBA
David Stern, the National Basketball Association's former legal counsel, was named to succeed Larry O'Brien as the league's commissioner.

Bernard King scored 50 points for the second consecutive game as he led the New York Knickerbockers toa 105-98 win over the Dallas Mavericks at Madison Square Garden in New York.

20 years ago
1989


Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Good Life--Inner City (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Bring Me Edelweiss--Edelweiss (2nd week at #1)

Austria's top 10 (Ö3)
1 First Time--Robin Beck
2 Twist in My Sobriety--Tanita Tikaram
3 Stop!--Sam Brown
4 Kiss--The Art of Noise featuring Tom Jones
5 Bring Me Edelweiss--Edelweiss
6 Don't Worry Be Happy--Bobby McFerrin
7 Tango Korrupti--Rainhard Fendrich
8 Never Trust a Stranger--Kim Wilde
9 Put a Little Love in Your Heart--Annie Lennox and Al Green
10 Orinoco Flow--Enya

Singles entering the chart were Twist in My Sobriety; Put a Little Love in Your Heart; Big Fun by Inner City (#17); Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson (#23); and Y tu by Peter Kent and Luisa Fernandez (#27).

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Pottery Will Get You Nowhere

Died on this date
Elaine de Kooning, 70
. U.S. artist. Mrs. de Kooning was married to artist Willem de Kooning, and became an abstract expressionist and figurative expressionist painter herself, but was perhaps better known for writing and teaching about art in the post-World War II period.

Politics and government
Former U.S. Senator John Tower, President George Bush's nominee to be Secretary of Defense, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he did not have a drinking problem.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the index of leading economic indicators had risen 0.6% in December 1988.

10 years ago
1999


Scandal
Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky gave a vidotaped deposition for U.S. Senators weighing impeachment charges against President Bill Clinton.

January 31, 2009

200 years ago
1809


Born on this date
Lemuel Allan Wilmot
. Canadian politician and judge. Mr. Wilmot, a native of Lincoln, New Brunswick, was a Reformer, and sat in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1834-1851. He was a leader in the campaign for responsible government, and was the province's Attorney General from 1848-1851. Mr. Wilmot was a judge from 1851-1868, and then served as Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick from 1868-1873. He died in Fredericton on May 20, 1878 at the age of 69.

170 years ago
1839


Politics and government
John "Radical Jack" Lambton, Lord Durham, the outgoing Governor of Canada, handed his Report on the Affairs of British North America to British Prime Minister. Lord Durham blamed the power of the Family Compact and Chateau Clique ruling elites for the 1837 rebellions, and recommended uniting the Canadas under one responsible government, with English the only official language, so as to assimilate the French Canadians.

160 years ago
1849


Politics and government
Newly-appointed Lieutenant-Governor Sir Edmund Walker Head, New Brunswick's first civilian Lieutenant-Governor, addressed the New Brunswick Legislature for the first time.

90 years ago
1919


War
The Tartumaa Partisan Battalion and Finnish volunteer Sons of the North defeated Latvian Riflemen in the Battle of Paju in Estonia. Tartumaa Partisan Battalion commander Lieutenant Julius Kuperjanov was wounded, and died two days later.

Protest
Thousands of workers in Glasgow, Scotland, demanding that the 47-hour work week be shortened, clashed with police in the city's George Square. Six British tanks were brought in to surround the city, but the incident ended without fatalities.

75 years ago
1934


At the movies
The Ninth Guest, directed by Roy William Neill, and starring Donald Cook and Genevieve Tobin, opened in theatres.



60 years ago
1949

On the radio

The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring John Stanley and George Spelvin (Wendell Holmes), on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Devil's Foot

The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Elliott Lewis, on MBS

On television today
These Are My Children, the first television daytime soap opera, received its premiere broadcast by the NBC station in Chicago; the program ended its brief run on February 25, 1949.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Harry Truman granted full U.S. recognition to Israel and Transjordan.

Politics and government
The U.S. Senate confirmed President Truman's appointment of Maurice Tobin as U.S. Secretary of Labor. Dean Rusk, director of the U.S. State Department's Office of United Nations Affairs, was named assistant Secretary of State.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected former Texas Governor Coke Stevenson's plea for a review of his 1948 Texas Democratic primary dispute with Senator Lyndon Johnson. Mr. Johnson had won the primary by 87 votes over Mr. Stevenson, earning the nickname "Landslide Lyndon." There were disputes over the legitimacy of some of the votes recorded for Mr. Johnson.

Oil
The U.S. Senate Small Business Committee issued a report on its 1 1/2-year study of the U.S.oil industry, charging that 20 "large, integrated oil companies" dominated domestic petroleum production and marketing. The report claimed that the 1947 oil shortage had been induced by companies to increase prices.

50 years ago
1959


Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Tom Dooley--The Kingston Trio (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Julia--Johnny Dorelli (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Tom Dooley--Nilsen Brothers

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): One Night/I Got Stung--Elvis Presley (2nd week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters (3rd week at #1)
2 My Happiness--Connie Francis
3 16 Candles--The Crests
4 Stagger Lee--Lloyd Price
5 Donna--Ritchie Valens
6 The Children's Marching Song (Nick Nack Paddy Whack)--Cyril Stapleton and his Orchestra
--Mitch Miller and his Orchestra
7 Gotta Travel On--Billy Grammer
8 Lonely Teardrops--Jackie Wilson
9 The Chipmunk Song--The Chipmunks with David Seville
10 A Lover's Question--Clyde McPhatter

Singles entering the chart were Try Me by James Brown and his Famous Flames (#65); Nola, with versions by Billy Williams; and the Morgan Brothers (#70); Oh Why (#76)/I Don't Need You Anymore (#96) by the Teddy Bears; Plain Jane by Bobby Darin (#77); It Takes So Long (To Say Goodbye) by Dean Martin (#81); Give Me Your Love by Nat "King" Cole (#85); (I’ll Be with You In) Apple Blossom Time by Tab Hunter (#87); The Story of My Love by Conway Twitty (#88); Here I Stand by Wade Flemons and the Newcomers (#99); and Blah, Blah, Blah by Nicola Paone (#100).

Died on this date
Pedro Morejon Caldes
. Cuban military officer. Captain Caldes was executed in Havana by firing squad after Cuba's Supreme War Tribunal rejected his appeal.

Politics and government
Switzerland's male voters rejected proposed constitutional amendments giving women the right to vote in national elections and to hold federal office.

Amintore Fanfani resigned as political secretary of Italy's Christian Democratic Party, charging that conservative party members had deserted him in critical issues.

Education
The Virginia state legislature passed bills repealing the compulsory school attendance law and providing for state tuition grants to students leaving desegregated schools for all-white private schools.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Vice President Richard Nixon to chair a permanent Cabinet Committee on Price Sustainability for Economic Growth.

40 years ago
1969


Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Lily The Pink--The Scaffold

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells (2nd week at #1)
2 Stand by Your Man--Tammy Wynette
3 I Started a Joke--The Bee Gees
4 Touch Me--The Doors
5 Going Up the Country--Canned Heat
6 I Heard it Through the Grapevine--Marvin Gaye
7 Mendocino--Sir Douglas Quintet
8 Star Crossed Lovers--Neil Sedaka
9 These Eyes/Lightfoot--The Guess Who?
10 Sweet Cream Ladies--The Box Tops

Singles entering the chart were To Susan on the West Coast Waiting by Donovan (#24); I'm Livin' in Shame by Diana Ross & the Supremes (#26); One Ring Jane by Mother Tucker's Yellow Duck (#28); Games People Play by Joe South (#29); and The Greatest Love by Dorsey Burnette (#30).

Edmonton's top 10 (CJCA)
1 I Started a Joke--The Bee Gees
2 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells
3 Magic Carpet Ride--Steppenwolf
4 Hooked on a Feeling--B.J. Thomas
5 Electric Stories--The 4 Seasons
6 Stand by Your Man--Tammy Wynette
7 Wichita Lineman--Glen Campbell
8 If I Can Dream--Elvis Presley
9 This Magic Moment--Jay and the Americans
10 Lo Mucho que te Queiro (The More I Love You)--Rene & Rene

Died on this date
Meher Baba, 74
. Indian religious leader. Meher Baba, born Merwan Sheriar Irani, claimed to be an avatar--a god in human form. He was born to Zoroastrian parents, and began his journey into Eastern mysticism at the age of 19. Meher Baba took a vow of silence at the age of 31 in 1925, and kept the vow, communicating through an alphabet board or hand gestures. He promoted typical Hindu doctrines such as reincarnation, and the unreality of the physical world, and began to attract followers in the West in 1931. Meher Baba suffered serious injuries in two car accidents in the 1950s that limited his mobility, but he continued to teach until his death.

Gail Miller. Canadian crime victim. Miss Miller, a nursing assistant in Saskatoon, was raped and murdered in a back lane. Saskatoon city police rounded up a young man named Albert "Shorty" Cadrain and questioned him about the murder; two weeks later, after hearing about a $2,000 reward, Mr. Cadrain implicated his friend David Milgaard, who was charged and convicted in January 1970. After 8,355 days in prison, Mr. Milgaard was released after a Supreme Court of Canada review of the case.

Environment
Oil leaking from an offshore rig in the Santa Barbara Channel off California spread an 800-square-mile slick, causing widespread destruction of marine life. The slick was capped on February 8.

Disasters
At least 35 people were killed when an express train crashed into the rear of another passenger train in a snowstorm in Chonan, South Korea.

An express train plowed into a stationary freight train in western Hungary, killing 9 people and injuring 69.

30 years ago
1979


Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick--Ian Dury and the Blockheads (2nd week at #1)

Politics and government
Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, resigned, amid fears of an increase in terrorist activity in Italy. After 10 months in office, Mr. Andreotti, leader of the Christian Democratic Party, felt that he had no choice but to resign, five days after the Communists had withdrawn their support of the government, having demanded full participation in the cabinet as the price of their continued support of the government.

Religion
Pope John Paul II continued his Latin American visit, meeting with university students in Guadeloupe; addressing journalists in Mexico City; and delivering an address to peasants, employees, and workers in Monterrey, Mexico.

Hockey
NHL
St. Louis 1 @ Toronto 5

Borje Salming's 10th goal of the season in the 2nd period broke a 1-1 tie as the Maple Leafs came back from an early 1-0 deficit to defeat the Blues at Maple Leaf Gardens. Paul Harrison won the goaltending duel over Ed Staniowski. John Anderson, suffering from the flu, scored his 8th and 9th goals of the season in the 3rd period, and Darryl Sittler closed the scoring with a powerplay goal.

25 years ago
1984


Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): My Oh My--Slade (2nd week at #1)

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the Index of Leading Economic Indicators had risen 0.6% in December 1983, thus reversing the one-month decline in November.

20 years ago
1989


Died on this date
William Stephenson, 92
. Canadian-born U.K. soldier and spy. Sir William, a native of Winnipeg, fought for Canada in World War I, and moved to England in the early 1920s. He founded and led British Security Coordination, relaying secrets between British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was known by his code name Intrepid, and is said to have been the real-life inspiration for Ian Fleming's fictional spy James Bond.

Politics and government
Testifying before the United States Senate Armed Services Committee, conservative activist Paul Weyrich said that he had on several occasions observed former U.S. Senator (Republican--Texas) and Secretary of Defense nominee John Tower in a drunken condition and socializing with women who were not Mr. Tower's wife.

Scandal
The trial of former U.S. Marine Colonel and National Security Council member Oliver North on 12 charges related to the 1986 Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages scandal began.

Hockey
NHL
Vancouver 6 Edmonton 2
Calgary 8 Los Angeles 5

10 years ago
1999


Died on this date
Norm Zauchin, 69
. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Zauchin played first base with the Boston Red Sox (1951, 1955-1957) and Washington Senators (1958-1959), batting .233 with 50 home runs and 159 runs batted in in 346. His best year was his rookie year of 1955, when he hit .239 with 27 home runs and 93 RBIs in 130 games, and leading American League first basemen with a .995 fielding percentage. He became the Red Sox' first baseman when Harry Agganis fell ill early in the season, and died suddenly, soon after being hospitalized. The highlight of Mr. Zauchin's career was when he hit 3 homers and drove in 10 runs--all in the first 5 innings--for the Red Sox in a 16-0 rout of the Washington Nationals on May 27, 1955. Mr. Zauchin played at least 7 seasons from 1948-1960, hitting at least 126 homers and driving in at least 248 runs.

Giant Baba, 61. Japanese wrestler and promoter. Shohei Baba, who stood 6' 10" and weighed 283 pounds, won numerous titles as a professional wrestler, especially in the 1970s, but was best known for founding the promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1972. He died of cancer eight days after his 61st birthday.

Football
NFL
Super Bowl XXXIII @ Pro Player Stadium, Miami
Denver 34 Atlanta 19

John Elway, playing the final game of his 16-year Hall of Fame career, completed 18 of 29 passes for 336 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown to Rod Smith, while rushing for a touchdown of his own and handing off to Howard Griffith for 2 more TDs as he led the Broncos to their second straight Super Bowl championship, defeating the Falcons before 74,803 fans. The Falcons scored both their touchdowns in the 4th quarter on a 94-yard kickoff return by Tim Dwight and a 3-yard pass from Chris Chandler to Terance Mathis.

January 30, 2009

360 years ago
1649


Died on this date
Charles I, 48
. King of England and Ireland; King of Scotland, 1625-1649. Charles I succeeded his father James I on the thrones, but spent much of his reign quarreling with Parliament over his royal prerogative. King Charles believed in the divine right of kings, levied taxes without parliamentary consent, and fought against the parliamentary armies of England and Scotland in a civil war from 1642-1645. He was captured, escaped in 1647, and was quickly recaptured. King Charles I was convicted of treason and publicly beheaded in London. While his son Charles II inherited the throne, the monarchy was overthrown in favour of a republic, and Charles II wasn't restored to the throne until 1660.

220 years ago
1789


War
Tây Sơn forces emerged victorious against Qing armies and liberated the capital Thăng Long in the Battle of Ngọc Hồi-Đống Đa in Vietnam.

120 years ago
1889


Died on this date
Archduke Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, 30; Baroness Mary Vetsera, 17
. Prince Rudolf, eldest son of Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria-Hungary and heir apparent to the throne, was separated from his wife, Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, when he met and began an affair with Baroness Vetsera. The emperor demanded that the couple end their relationship, but in a suicide pact, Prince Rudolf shot Baroness Vetsera and then himself in the Imperial hunting lodge at Mayerling in the Vienna Woods.

Energy
Work began on the Capilano River Dam in British Columbia, to bring fresh water to Vancouver; the pipeline was to cross Burrard Inlet underwater.

90 years ago
1919


War
Estonian partisans captured Paju Manor from invading Soviet forces, but were soon pushed out.

75 years ago
1934


Died on this date
Frank Nelson Doubleday, 72
. U.S. publisher. Mr. Doubleday founded the publishing firm Doubleday & McClure Company in 1897.

60 years ago
1949


Literature
The New York Herald Tribune listed The Big Fisherman by Lloyd C. Douglas as the best-selling fiction book, and Crusade in Europe by Dwight D. Eisenhower as the best-selling non-fiction book.

Politics and government
A dissident faction of Paraguay's Colorado Party, led by Raimondo Rolon, forced the government of President Juan Natalicio Gonzales to resign after five months in office. The National Assembly elected Mr. Rolon as President and scheduled new elections for April.

Labour
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers suspended a strike scheduled to begin the next day against 15 western U.S. railroads, following the creation of an emergency board by U.S. President Harry Truman to investigate union demands for a second engineer on diesel locomotives.

Sport
Sverre Kongsgaard of Norway set a North American competitive ski jump record of 290 feet at Olympian Hill near Hyak, Washington.

50 years ago
1959


Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): I Got Stung/One Night--Elvis Presley

Died on this date
Boyce Brown, 48
. U.S. musician. Mr. Brown was a jazz saxophonist who helped to create Chicago jazz in the late 1920s; he worked with Wingy Manone, Paul Mares, and Danny Alvin.

Defense
The U.S.S.R. news agency Tass announced a 300,000-man reduction in the Soviet armed forces.

U.S. Senators John F. Kennedy (Democrat--Massachusetts) and Joseph Clark (Democrat--Pennsylvania) introduced bills to repeal the loyalty oath requirement of the National Defense Education Act of 1958.

Abominations
The Cuban cabinet suspended four articles of the Constitution for 90 days in order to speed war crimes trials.

Politics and government
U.S. Senator William Fulbright (Democrat--Arkansas) resigned his position as chairman of the Senate Banking and Currency Committee to replace Sen. Theodore Green (Democrat--Rhode Island) as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, following Sen. Green's resignation because of ill health. Sen. A. Willis Robertson (Democrat--Virginia) then replaced Sen. Fulbright as Banking and Currency Committee chairman.

Protest
Belgian authorities in the Belgian Congo arrested 100 Africans in the Leopoldville suburb of Dendale in connection with recent anti-European rioting.

Economics and finance
Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba called for the dissolution of his country's economic and financial ties with France as a step toward free Tunisian economic association with other European Common Market states.

Disasters
The Danish passenger-freighter MS Hans Hedtoft, returning from its maiden voyage to Greenland, hit an iceberg off Cape Farewell, Greenland, and sank, killing all 55 passengers and 40 crewmen.

40 years ago
1969


On television tonight
Dragnet 1969, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Narcotics: DR-21



Died on this date
Dominique Pire, 58
. Belgian clergyman. Father Pire was a Roman Catholic Dominican friar who was awarded the 1958 Nobel Peace Prize for his work as "...Leader of the relief organization for refugees "L'Europe du Coeur au Service du Monde."" He died 11 days before his 59th birthday, of complications following surgery.

Music
The Beatles performed live in "public" for the last time, putting on an impromptu performance on a cold day in London on the roof of the Abbey Road recording studio. Puzzled passersby looked up to see the sight, before police ordered the group to bring the concert to an end after 45 minutes. The Beatles were in the midst of recording the album that would eventually be released in 1970 under the title Let it Be.

Roy Orbison recorded the song Southbound Jericho Parkway.

Space
The International Satellite for Ionospheric Studies (ISIS)-1 was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. A cooperative effort between the United States and Canada, ISIS-1 was the third in a series of five to continue ionospheric research from the Alouette series.

War
At the second plenary session of Vietnam War peace talks in Paris, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong rejected the American proposal for the immediate restoration of the neutralization of the demilitarized zone, charging that it was a scheme to conceal "American aggressive designs."

Academia
Yale University joined other schools such as Johns Hopkins University, Fordham University, and Boston University in withdrawing academic standing from Reserve Officers Training Corps.

Medical school freshmen at Howard University boycotted anatomy courses, following the ouster of the department chairman; the boycott ended February 19.

30 years ago
1979


World events
The Iranian government of Prime Minister Shahpur Bakhtiar authorized the return of exiled Shi'ite Muslim leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, even though the Ayatollah had made no concessions and would be arriving on his own terms. The United States government ordered the evacuation of all dependents and non-essential American officials.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping concluded two days of talks at the White House in Washington.

Politics and government
In a referendum in Rhodesia, white voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional plan that would give the country limited black rule, giving whites 28 of the 100 seats in the Assembly and a proportionate number of seats in the cabinet. The plan allowed for white control of the civil service, armed forces, and judiciary for 10 years after a black Prime Minister took over after elections in April 1979. The result of the referendum was considered a victory for Prime Minister Ian Smith and the three moderate black leaders who negotiated the plan with him.

Religion
Pope John Paul II continued his Latin American visit with an address to Catholic students in Mexico City; various activities, including a public address to workers and their families at Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara; and mass in Zapopán, Mexico.

Disasters
Varig Flight 967, a Boeing 707-323C freighter en route from Tokyo to Rio de Janeiro via Los Angeles, disappeared over the Pacific Ocean 30 minutes after taking off from Tokyo. The aircraft, all six crewmen, and 53 paintings by Manabu Mabu being returned from an exhibition, and valued at $1.24 million, were never seen again.

25 years ago
1984


Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Original Sin--INXS

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Karma Chameleon--Culture Club (7th week at #1)

Died on this date
Lee McCall, 33 (?)
. South African criminal. Mr. McCall, a member of the Stander Gang--three escaped convicts who had begun robbing banks on October 1983--was killed in a shootout with police at the gang's hangout in Houghton, Gauteng, South Africa.

Religion
University of Alberta economics professor Bruce Wilkinson spoke on the first day of Christian Awareness Week at the U of A.

20 years ago
1989


Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Kokomo--The Beach Boys (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Smooth Criminal--Michael Jackson (4th week at #1)

Weather
At 5 A.M. in Edmonton it was raining, but the rain had changed to snow by 7 A.M., and by noon the snow was knee-high. The city ended up being hit by its biggest one-day snowfall in 104 years, as the temperature dropped from above freezing to almost -30 F. in the worst single day of weather that this blogger has experienced. People who worked downtown but lived elsewhere were offered free hotel accommodation, as they were unable to get home.

War
The U.S. government criticized increased Soviet bombing of Afghanistan as a "scorched-earth policy," while the Soviet commander insisted the attacks were necessary because rebels had not allowed safe passage for Soviet troops withdrawing from Afghanistan.

Diplomacy
The foreign ministers of Syria and Iran, meeting in Damascus, signed a peace pact aimed at ending fighting between rival Shiite Muslim militias in Lebanon. Syria had supported Amal, the more moderate group, while Iran had supported the more radical group Hezbollah. More than 500 people had been killed since violence between them had begun in April 1988. Under the new truce, Amal would control security in southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah could also remain in the area.

The United States closed its embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, four days after being ordered to do so by U.S. Secretary of State James Baker.

Politics and government
Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney shuffled his cabinet, appointing six new ministers and re-assigning the responsibilities of 19 others; Lucien Bouchard was sworn in as Minister of the Environment.

Crime
Former criminal lawyer Joel Steinberg was found guilty in New York City of first-degree manslaughter in the death by beating of his 6-year-old illegally-adopted daughter Lisa. Damaging testimony against Mr. Steinberg had been given by his lover, Hedda Nussbaum.

10 years ago
1999


Died on this date
Ed Herlihy, 89
. U.S. broadcaster. Mr. Herlihy had a long career as an announcer for various NBC radio and television programs and Universal newsreels, and was also known for commercials for Kraft cheese products.

Huntz Hall, 78. U.S. actor. Henry Richard Hall was best known for starring as one of the Dead End Kids/East Side Kids/Bowery Boys in dozens of movies from 1937-1958. He died of congestive heart failure.

Football
NFL
New York Giants' linebacker Lawrence Taylor, considered by many to be among the greatest football players ever, was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility despite objections from some voters who felt his history of drug abuse should have kept him out.

January 29, 2009

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Ken Dies!

890 years ago
1119


Died on this date
Gelasius II, 54-59
. Roman Catholic Pope, 1118-1119. Gelasius II, born Giovanni Caetani, succeeded Paschall II, but spent much of his papacy in exile as a result of a dispute with Holy Roman Emperor Henry V over the issue of investiture. Gelasius II fled Rome in March 1118, but excommunicated Emperor Henry and Antipope Gregory VII, and returned to Rome in July 1118. He held a synod at Vienne in January 1119 and was planning to hold a general council to decide the issue of investiture when he died, one year and five days after taking office. Gelasius II was succeeded by Callixtus II.

260 years ago
1749


Born on this date
Christian VII
. King of Denmark and Norway, 1766-1808. Christian VII succeeded his father Frederick V on the throne, but was beset by severe mental problems--perhaps schizophrenia--and was king in name only for most of his reign. He died of a stroke on March 13, 1808 at the age of 59, and was succeeded by his son Frederick VI.

190 years ago
1819


Britannica
Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen Stamford Raffles made a brief survey of the Karamun Islands before landed on the island of Singapore, establishing a post at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula.

180 years ago
1829


Academia
McGill University, built with the legacy and property from fur trader James McGill, opened in Montréal.

175 years ago
1834


Labour
U.S. President Andrew Jackson ordered the first use of U.S. federal soldiers to suppress a labour dispute.

110 years ago
1899


Died on this date
Alfred Sisley, 59
. French-born U.K. artist. Mr. Sisley, born in Paris to English parents, was an Impressionist landscape painter who spent most of his life in France, and died there of throat cancer.

75 years ago
1934


Died on this date
Fritz Haber, 75
. German chemist. Dr. Haber won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for his development for synthesizing ammonia, important for fertilizers and explosives. While Dr. Haber's work in the production of fertilizer has helped in the feeding of much of the world's population, he's also been criticized as the "father of chemical warfare" for his work in the development of chlorine and other poisonous gases in World War I. Although Dr. Haber was Jewish, the Nazis offered him funding to continue his research in weapons, but he left the country, and died of heart failure in Basel, Switzerland, while on his way to live in what is now Israel.

60 years ago
1949


Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Buttons and Bows--Dinah Shore and the Happy Valley Boys; Gene Autry (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard) (Best Seller): A Little Bird Told Me--Evelyn Knight and the Stardusters (2nd week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Buttons and Bows--Dinah Shore and the Happy Valley Boys (12th week at #1)
--The Dinning Sisters
2 A Little Bird Told Me--Evelyn Knight and the Stardusters
--Blue Lu Barker
--Paula Watson
3 On a Slow Boat to China--Kay Kyser Orchestra
--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra
--Benny Goodman and his Orchestra
--Eddy Howard and his Orchestra
--Art Lund
4 My Darling, My Darling--Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae with the Starlighters
--Doris Day and Buddy Clark
5 Far Away Places--Margaret Whiting and the Crew Chiefs
--Bing Crosby
--Perry Como
6 You were Only Fooling (While I was Falling in Love)--Blue Barron and his Orchestra
--The Ink Spots
--Kay Starr
7 Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly)--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Dinah Shore
8 Cuanto la Gusta--Carmen Miranda and the Andrews Sisters
9 The Pussy Cat Song (Nyow! Nyot Nyow!)--Patty Andrews and Bob Crosby
--Perry Como with the Fontane Sisters
10 Maybe You'll Be There--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were Red Roses for a Blue Lady, with versions by Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra; and Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians (#23); Wabash Blues by Pee Wee Hunt and his Orchestra (#29); and Tarra Ta-Larra Ta-Lar by Bing Crosby (#35).

On the radio
Tales of Fatima, starring Basil Rathbone, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Frozen Forest

War
The Greek government rejected the peace discussion offer of Communist guerrillas.

Defense
The U.S. Navy's fastest and most powerful cruiser, the USS Newport News, was commissioned in Newport News, Virginia.

Labour
The administration of U.S. President Harry Truman issued its proposed National Labor Relations Act of 1949, to replace the Taft-Hartley Act. The measure eliminated several provisions of the existing law, including prohibition of the closed shop and affidavit requirements for union officials.

50 years ago
1959


Died on this date
Winifred Brunton, 78
. U.K. artist. Mrs. Brunton, the wife of Egyptologist Guy Brunton, accompanied him on his archaeological digs, and painted portraits of Egyptian monarchs, which were published in the books Kings and Queens of Ancient Egypt (1926) and Kings and Queens of Ancient Egypt (1926). She died in South Africa.

Music
The first Melodifestivalen, an annual Swedish music competition that determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, was held in Stockholm.

Diplomacy
Liberia proposed the formation of a loosely-connected organization of independent African nations, to be known as the Associated States of Africa.

Politics and government
In the wake of the National Council's refusal to approve his 1959 budget, Prince Rainier III suspended the Monacan constitution and resumed full personal power.

Ignoring a suggestion by Rep. James Roosevelt that the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities be abolished, the House voted $327,000 for the committee's continued work.

Weather
Dense fog - the worst in seven years - brought road, rail, and air transport in many parts of England and Wales to a virtual standstill.

Agriculture
Arguing in a special message to Congress that "the price-support and production-control program has not worked," U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower disclosed plans for the United States and "other surplus-producing nations" to seek ways of "using [surplus] food for peace."

Business
Following a meeting in Washington with Canadian Justice Minister E. Davie Fulton, U.S. Attorney General William Rogers announced U.S. agreement to consult with the Canadian government before bringing anti-trust actions against American firms operating in Canada.

Basketball
NCAA
Adolph Rupp, who had been coach at the University of Kentucky since 1930, won his 600th game there, then an NCAA record. He coached until 1972, and retired with 876 victories and four national titles.

40 years ago
1969


Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Albatross--Fleetwood Mac

Australia's top 10 (Go-Set)
1 Eloise--Barry Ryan
2 Going Up the Country--Canned Heat
3 Lily the Pink--The Scaffold
4 White Room--Cream
5 Hey Jude/Revolution--The Beatles
6 I Started a Joke/Kilburn Towers--The Bee Gees
7 Love Child--Diana Ross and the Supremes
8 Chewy Chewy--Ohio Express
9 Son-of-a Preacher Man--Dusty Springfield
10 Scarborough Fair--Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66

Singles entering the chart were Just Lovin' You by Lynn Rodgers (#33); I am the Urban Spaceman by the Bonzo Dog Doodah Band (#37); I'm Gonna Make You Love Me/A Place in the Sun by Diana Ross and the Supremes & the Temptations (#38); and A Minute of Your Time by Tom Jones (#39).

Died on this date
Allen Dulles, 75
. U.S. diplomat and spymaster. Mr. Dulles, the younger brother of U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, held various diplomatic posts before joining the office of Strategic Services at the beginning of World War II. The OSS eventually became the Central Intelligence Agency, and Mr. Dulles served as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence (1951-1953) and Director of Central Intelligence (1953-1961). He and other CIA officials were forced to resign on November 29, 1961, amid increasing criticism of the agency's performance. Mr. Dulles served on the Warren Commission (1963-1964) that investigated the November 22, 1963 assassination of President Kennedy, and died of influenza and pneumonia.

Personal
I was one of the grade 2 boys invited to Ken Dies' 8th birthday party, and came away with a nickel that had been placed in the cake. A fun time was had by all.

Protest
Canadian and West Indian students occupied the computer centre of Sir George Williams University (today part of Concordia University) in Montreal to protest alleged racism on campus by a biology professor. The protest ended on February 11, 1969, but not until computers had been vandalized.

Boxing
Zora Folley (77-10-6) scored a technical knockout of Sonny Moore (21-31-2) at 2:54 of the 4th round of a heavyweight bout at the Silver Slipper in Las Vegas when referee Harold Krause stopped the fight because of a cut inside Mr. Moore's mouth. Mr. Moore was a last-minute substitute for Tommy Fields.

Jose Gonzalez (35-14-2) won a 10-round decision over Tito Marshall (37-20-8) in a light heavyweight fight at Sunnyside Garden, Queens, New York.

30 years ago
1979


Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?--Rod Stewart

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Champion--Alice

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Tú--Umberto Tozzi (9th week at #1)

Diplomacy
U.S. President Jimmy Carter welcomed Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping to the White House to begin two days of talks.

Religion
Pope John Paul II continued his Latin American visit, visiting a children's hospital and addressing representatives of Roman Catholic organizations in Mexico City, and holding mass in Oaxaca.

Labour
The strike of British truckers ended when an arbitration panel recommended a pay increase of 20.75%, amid government fears of the inflationary precedent of such a wage settlement.

Football
NFL
Pro Bowl @ Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
NFC 13 AFC 7

Roger Staubach of the Dallas Cowboys completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to fellow Cowboy Tony Hill in the 3rd quarter to give the NFC its win before 38,333 fans. Mr. Staubach completed 9 of 15 passes for 125 yards.

25 years ago
1984


Hit parade
#1 single in France: Flashdance...What a Feeling--Irene Cara (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Jenseits von Eden--Nino de Angelo

On television tonight
The Four Seasons, based on the 1981 movie of the same name, debuted as a series on CBS. Alan Alda, who wrote and directed the film, introduced the first episode of the TV series.

Defense
A study released by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization showed that the rate of growth of Soviet military spending had slowed between 1976 and 1982. The U.S.S.R. accused the U.S.A. of violating arms control agreements.

Hockey
NHL
Montreal 7 @ Boston 2

20 years ago
1989


Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Angel of Harlem--U2

#1 single in Switzerland: Bring Me Edelweiss--Edelweiss (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Mandel Kramer, 72
. U.S. actor. Mr. Kramer appeared in numerous radio programs, but was perhaps best known as the lat actor to play the title character in Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (1961-1962). He played police chief Bill Marceau in the television soap opera The Edge of Night (1959-1979).

Diplomacy
Hungary became the first Eastern Bloc nation to establish diplomatic relations with South Korea.

Baseball
The game-winning run batted in was dropped as a statistic, after 9 seasons. The career leader in game-winning RBIs was Keith Hernandez, with 129.

10 years ago
1999


Died on this date
Lili St. Cyr, 80
. U.S. stripper. Miss St. Cyr, born Willis Marie Van Schaack, was a popular burlesque performer from the late 1930s through the mid-'60s, achieving her greatest fame in the 1940s and '50s, when she was based in Montreal. Miss St. Cyr's act resulted in a couple of highly-publicized criminal trials, but she was acquitted both times of violating public morals.

January 28, 2009

940 years ago
1069


Died on this date
Robert de Comines, Earl of Northumbria
. English nobleman. The Earl of Northumbria was burned to death in a house fire set by rebels in Durham, after many of his 700-man army had been killed in the streets. The incident led to the Harrying of the North by King William the Conqueror.

150 years ago
1859


Died on this date
Frederick J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, 76
. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1827-1828. Mr. Robinson, a Tory, entered the House of Commons in 1806, and gradually rose through the ranks, serving as President of the Board of Trade (1818-1823) and Chancellor of the Exchequer (1823-1827) before being elevated to the peerage in 1827. When Prime Minister George Canning died in office, King George IV appointed Viscount Goderich to succeed him. However, Viscount Goderich had difficulty holding together Mr. Canning's coalition of Tories and Whigs. He was also troubled by his wife's precarious health, and King George mocked the Prime Minister as someone who was always crying in his presence. Viscount Goderich resigned on January 8, 1828 after just four months in office, and was succeeded by the Duke of Wellington. Viscount Goderich joined the Whig Party in 1830 and served as Colonial Secretary from 1830-1833, working for the emancipation of slaves within the British Empire. He again served as President of the Board of Trade from 1841-1843.

William H. Prescott, 62. U.S. historian. Mr. Prescott, credited as America's first scientific historian, specialized in political and military history of late Renaissance Spain and the early Spanish Empire. His books included The History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic (1837); The History of the Conquest of Mexico (1843); A History of the Conquest of Peru (1847); and the unfinished History of the Reign of Phillip II (1856–1858). Mr. Prescott died from a stroke.

110 years ago
1899


Hockey
CAHL
Ottawa (2-1) 1 @ Montreal (3-2) 5
Montreal Victorias (2-1) 5 @ Quebec (0-4) 4

100 years ago
1909


Born on this date
John Thomson
. U.K. soccer goalkeeper. Mr. Thomson played 164 games for Celtic (1926-1931), and played on Scottish Cup championship teams in 1927 and 1931. He also played for the Scottish national team in 1930 and 1931. On September 5, 1931, Celtic played Old Firm rival Rangers at Ibrox Park in Glasgow. Early in the 2nd half, Mr. Thomson and Sam English of the Rangers dove for the ball; Mr. English's knee hit Mr. Thomson's skull, causing severe injuries to the goalkeeper. He was taken off on a stretcher, but died at the age of 22 in hospital hours later, after surgery to relieve swelling resulting from a fractured skull. Mr. Thomson was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

Defense
The United States ended direct control over Cuba, as American troops left the country with the exception of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, after being there since the Spanish–American War.

80 years ago
1929


Disasters
The bridge spanning Surprise Creek on the Canadian Pacific Railway Mainline at Golden, British Columbia collapseds at 7:45 am.

70 years ago
1939


Died on this date
William Butler Yeats, 73
. Irish poet. Mr. Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923 for "inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation." His most frequently-quoted poem is probably The Second Coming (1920).

60 years ago
1949


On television tonight
Your Show Time, hosted and narrated by Arthur Shields, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Sire de Maletroit's Door, starring Morris Carnovsky, Dan O'Herlihy, and Allene Roberts

At the movies
Un homme et son péché (A Man and His Sin), directed by Paul Gury, and starring Hector Charland, Nicole Germain, and Guy Provost, opened in theatres in Quebec. The story of a greedy old man and those he influences in rural Quebec in 1889, Un homme et son péché is considered a classic example of French-Canadian cinema.



Died on this date
Jean-Pierre Wimille, 40
. French auto racing driver. Mr. Wimille won 20 Grand Prix races before and after World War II, while serving in the French Resistance during the war. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1937 and 1939. Mr. Wimille was killed while practicing for the 1949 Buenos Aires Grand Prix, a month before his 41st birthday.

Diplomacy
The foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg concluded a conference in London by announcing plans to form a Council of Europe as the political basis of a European federation. The organization was to consist of a committee of ministers delegated by member states and an advisory parliament which would consider matters referred to it by the ministerial committee.

Defense
General Bryant Moore succeeded General Maxwell Taylor as superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

Journalism
The New York Star ceased publication after seven months. The Star had published its first edition on June 23, 1948, succeeding the liberal-leaning PM, which had begun publication in June 1940 and published its final edition on June 22, 1948.

50 years ago
1959


Died on this date
Walter Beall, 59
. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Beall played with the New York Yankees (1924-1927) and Washington Nationals (1929), compiling a record of 5-5 with an earned run average of 4.43 and 1 save in 36 games. The Yankees purchased him from the Rochester Tribe of the AA International League, where he was 25-8 with a 2.76 ERA in 41 games in 1924. Mr. Beall played at least 7 seasons in the minor leagues from 1920-1931, with a record of 59-46. He was said to have an outstanding curveball, but poor control limited his success.

Diplomacy
Cambodian Prime Minister Norodom Sihanouk agreed to renew diplomatic relations with Thailand, following United Nations mediation efforts by Sweden's Baron Johann Beck Friis.

Defense
The Baghdad Pact Ministerial Council ended a three-day meeting in Karachi, Pakistan after failing to solve the problem of Iraq's dormant membership or to end members' fears that the United States would not support them in the event of an attack.

U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles told a closed session of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee that the U.S.A. and her allies were in "complete agreement" on "standing firm in Berlin and, if need be, risking war, rather than being taken out of Berlin."

Protest
Colonial troops led by Belgian officers quelled renewed rioting in Leopoldville, Belgian Congo.

Law
Virginia Governor J. Lindsay Almond, Jr. told the state legislature that Virginia must bow to court decisions upholding desegregation, and that he would not use state troops or police to resist them.

Economics and finance
The U.S.S.R. and Yugoslavia signed a trade pact in Moscow calling for the exchange of $108 million worth of goods in 1959, down from 1958's figure of $124 million.

Labour
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent Congress a 20-point message requesting legislation to protect union members and the public from corrupt labour leaders.

Football
NFL
Vince Lombardi, the offensive assistant coach with the New York Giants since 1954 and one of Fordham University's "Seven Blocks of Granite" in the 1930's, was named head coach of the Green Bay Packers. He had helped the Giants win the National Football League championship in 1956.

40 years ago
1969


Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da--The Beatles

Disasters
Iran reported 20 people killed, 50 villages inundated, and 30,000 people homeless after the worst floods to hit Khuzistan in more than a century.

Football
AFL-NFL
The American and National Football Leagues held a joint draft of college players. The AFL's Buffalo Bills had the first choice, and selected University of Southern California running back O.J. Simpson. The NFL's Atlanta Falcons had the second choice, and selected University of Notre Dame offensive tackle George Kunz.

30 years ago
1979


Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Le Freak--Chic

#1 single in Switzerland: Y.M.C.A.--Village People (2nd week at #1)

Diplomacy
Senior Communist Party Deputy Chairman Deng Xiaoping arrived in Washington to begin the first official visit to the United States by a top Chinese Communist leader.

Religion
Pope John Paul II continued his Latin American visit in Puebla, Mexico, opening a Latin American bishops' conference.

Hockey
Toronto 2 @ Washington 2

25 years ago
1984


Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): La Donna Cannone--Francesco De Gregori (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT Top 30): Thriller--Michael Jackson (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Love of the Common People--Paul Young

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Pipes of Peace--Paul McCartney (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: Relax--Frankie Goes to Hollywood

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Owner of a Lonely Heart--Yes (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Owner of a Lonely Heart--Yes (2nd week at #1)
2 Break My Stride--Matthew Wilder
3 Karma Chameleon--Culture Club
4 Talking in Your Sleep--The Romantics
5 Twist of Fate--Olivia Newton-John
6 I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues--Elton John
7 Say Say Say--Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
8 Joanna--Kool & The Gang
9 The Curly Shuffle--Jump 'n The Saddle
10 Running with the Night--Lionel Richie

Singles entering the chart were Got a Hold on Me by Christine McVie (#49); Footloose by Kenny Loggins (#63); Here Comes the Rain Again by Eurythmics (#66); Somebody's Watching Me by Rockwell (#77); Automatic by the Pointer Sisters (#83); Rebel Yell by Billy Idol (#85); Body Talk by Deele (#88); Vitamin L. by the B.E. Taylor Group (#90); and Looks That Kill by Motley Crue (#95). Footloose was the title song of the movie.

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Karma Chameleon--Culture Club (2nd week at #1)
2 Owner of a Lonely Heart--Yes
3 Major Tom (Coming Home)--Peter Schilling
4 Talking in Your Sleep--The Romantics
5 Twist of Fate--Olivia Newton-John
6 Say Say Say--Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
7 Union of the Snake--Duran Duran
8 Red Red Wine--UB40
9 Cum On Feel the Noize--Quiet Riot
10 I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues--Elton John

Singles entering the chart were Send Me an Angel by Real Life (#42); New Moon on Monday by Duran Duran (#43); Here Comes the Rain Again by Eurythmics (#47); I Want a New Drug by Huey Lewis and the News (#48); and I Still Can't Get Over Loving You by Ray Parker, Jr. (#50).

Disasters
Tropical Storm Domoina made landfall in southern Mozambique, eventually causing 214 deaths and some of the most severe flooding so far recorded in the region.

Hockey
NHL
Los Angeles 4 @ Edmonton 2

In their win over the Oilers at Northlands Coliseum, the Kings held Edmonton centre Wayne Gretzky off the scoresheet, ending his record streak at 51 games with at least one point. During the scoring streak, which started October 5, 1983, Mr. Gretzky amassed 153 points on 61 goals and 92 assists.

20 years ago
1989


Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): C'è da spostare una macchina--Francesco Salvi (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): First Time--Robin Beck (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Tonight--Tina Turner and David Bowie

#1 single in France (SNEP): High--David Hallyday (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart--Marc Almond featuring Gene Pitney

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Two Hearts--Phil Collins (2nd week at #1)
2 When I'm with You--Sheriff
3 Armageddon It--Def Leppard
4 Don't Rush Me--Taylor Dayne
5 When the Children Cry--White Lion
6 Straight Up--Paula Abdul
7 Born to Be My Baby--Bon Jovi
8 The Way You Love Me--Karyn White
9 Wild Thing--Tone Loc
10 All This Time--Tiffany

Singles entering the chart were She Won't Talk to Me by Luther Vandross (#73); Walk the Dinosaur by Was (Not Was) (#74); Feels So Good by Van Halen (#79); Bring Down the Moon by Boy Meets Girl (#82); Cryin' by Vixen (#86); Superwoman by Karyn White (#87); Left to My Own Devices by Pet Shop Boys (#92); Into You by Giant Steps (#96); and She Drives Me Crazy by Fine Young Cannibals (#97).

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Don't Rush Me--Taylor Dayne
2 Armageddon It--Def Leppard
3 Two Hearts--Phil Collins
4 When I'm with You--Sheriff
5 Straight Up--Paula Abdul
6 Born to Be My Baby--Bon Jovi
7 The Way You Love Me--Karyn White
8 When the Children Cry--White Lion
9 I Remember Holding You--Boys Club
10 All This Time--Tiffany

Singles entering the chart were Cryin' by Vixen (#75); Dreamin' by Vanessa Williams (#77); Walk the Dinosaur by Was (Not Was) (#78); She Drives Me Crazy by Fine Young Cannibals (#80); Orinoco Flow by Enya (#82); Tell Her by Kenny Loggins (#85); Left to My Own Devices by Pet Shop Boys (#87); Heaven Knows by When in Rome (#89); and Got it Made by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (#92).

Died on this date
Choekyi Gyaltsen, 50
. Tibetan religious leader. Mr. Gyaltsen was the 10th Panchen Lama--the highest-ranking member of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism--after the Dalai Lama. Mr. Gyaltsen supported China's claim to Tibet, but later expressed criticism of China's treatment of Tibet, and was imprisoned from 1964-1977. He was visiting Tibet when he died, reportedly of a heart attack. Conspiracy theories abound.

10 years ago
1999


Died on this date
Valery Gavrilin, 59
. U.S.S.R. composer. Mr. Gavrilin composed works in various genres, but was perhaps best known for choral works and film scores. His work was characterized by melodies inspired by Russian folk songs. Mr. Gavrilin died after two severe heart attacks.

Crime
Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan, honoring a personal request for mercy from Pope John Paul II, spared a triple murderer from execution.