November 17, 2015

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Louise Bingley!

1,640 years ago
375

Died on this date
Valentinian I, 54. Emperor of the Roman Empire, 364-375. Flavius Valentinianus and his brother Flavius Valens were sons of the prominent military commander Gratianus Funarius. Valentinian fell into disfavour and exile in the late 350s, but became a tribune in the early 360s, and was chosen to succeed Jovian as Emperor of the Western Empire; he appointed Valens as co-Emperor in the Eastern Empire. Valentinian I achieved military victories over Alamanni, Quadi, and Sarmatian forces, and his general Count Theodosius defeated a revolt in Africa and the Great Conspiracy, a coordinated assault on Roman Britain by Picts, Scots, and Saxons. Emperor Valentinian suffered a fatal stroke while yelling at Quadi envoys, and was succeeded as Emperor by his sons Gratian and Valentinian II.

225 years ago
1790

Born on this date
August Ferdinand Möbius. German mathematician and astronomer. Dr. Möbius was best known for his discovery of the Möbius strip, a non-orientable two-dimensional surface with only one side when embedded in three-dimensional Euclidean space. He died on September 26, 1868 at the age of 77.

150 years ago
1865

Born on this date
John Stanley Plaskett. Canadian astronomer. Mr. Plaskett, a native of Hickson, Ontario, was a machinist before beginning his career as an astronomer at the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa in 1903, where he measured radial velocities and studied spectroscopic binaries, performed the first detailed analysis of galactic structure, and constructed various instruments. He became the first director of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria in 1917. Mr. Plaskett died on October 17, 1941, a month before his 76th birthday.

75 years ago
1940

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on NBC
Tonight’s episode: The Norwood Builder

War
French Army General Maurice Gustav Gamelin and former Prime Ministers Leon Blum and Edouard Daladier were arrested and brought to the detention centre at Bourrasol, and were charged with responsibility for the French defeat by the Nazis. U.K. Air Chief Marshal C.T. Dowding was relieved of his duties and assigned to Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production, for special service in the United States.

Diplomacy
German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler and King Boris III of Bulgaria conferred at Mr. Hitler's retreat at Berchtesgaden in an attempt to bring Bulgaria into the Tripartite Pact.

Accusations appeared in the Japanese press that a secret pact among Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States had been signed or was about to be signed in which Thailand was offered economic assistance if she retained her neutrality, and help in regaining territory lost to Indochina.

NBC announced the extension of radio rebroadcasting rights to include 20 Latin American republics "to speed the development of pan-American solidarity."

Defense
21 twin-engine Douglas bombers, comprising the U.S. Army Air Forces' 9th Bombardment Group, left for the Panama Canal Zone. U.S. Army pilots drove through a picket line without disturbance at the Vultee Aircraft plant in Downey, California, and flew 17 completed BT-13 basic training planes to Moffett Field in Sunnyvale, California.

Politics and government
A "United National Front" was formed in Tel Aviv by Pinchas Rutenberg, with the purpose of securing the unity of Palestine Jewry.

Economics and finance
Congress of Industrial Organizations President John L. Lewis warned that "the whole economy of the United States has been changed from a peace economy to a war economy," and that the economy may collapse when the war period came to an end.

Football
NFL
Green Bay (5-4) 3 @ New York (5-3-1) 7
Cleveland (4-5) 14 @ Brooklyn (6-3) 29
Detroit (5-4-1) 21 @ Philadelphia (0-9) 0
Chicago Bears (6-3) 3 @ Washington (8-1) 7

AFL
New York (4-3) 1 @ Buffalo (1-7) 0
Boston (4-4-1) 0 @ Columbus (7-1-1) 0

The game between the Yankees and Indians at Civic Stadium was called after a storm dumped four inches of snow on the field, which was covered by a tarpaulin. The snow had partially melted overnight, and then froze on top of the cover, also freezing the tarp to the ground itself. Early-arriving fans assisted the grounds crew in a futile attempt to clear the field of snow and remove the tarp while other fans struggled to find usable seats in the stands. When the time for kickoff approached, it became apparent that the field would not be in playable condition for the game, so the officiating crew declared a forfeit in favor of the visiting Yankees.

70 years ago
1945

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Till the End of Time--Perry Como with Russ Case and his Orchestra (Best Seller--10th week at #1; Juke Box--8th week at #1); Chickery Chick--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra with Nancy Norman, Billy Williams and the Kaye Choir (Best Seller--1st week at #1; Airplay--1st week at #1); It's Been a Long, Long Time--Harry James and His Orchestra with Kitty Kallen; Bing Crosby with Les Paul and his Trio (Honor Roll of Hits--1st week at #1)

Abominations
A British military court at Luneberg sentenced 11 men to death and 19 to prison terms for war crimes at the Nazi concentration camps of Belsen and Auschwitz.

War
The Nationalist Chinese delegation returned to Peking from the Manchurian capital of Changchun after failing to arrange for the landing of government troops.

The first Netherlands East Indies peace conference among Premier Sutan Sjahrir, Acting Governor Hubertus Van Mook, and Lieutenant General Philip Christison ended without result.

U.S. Chief of Naval Intelligence Rear Admiral Thomas Inglis told the U.S. Senate committee investigating the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii that on October 5, 1941, Japanese Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto had briefed pilots on the planned attack.

Diplomacy
The United Kingdom announced that it would accept Hungary's diplomatic representative, but without ambassadorial rank.

Defense
U.S. Navy Admiral Chester Nimitz reversed his position and said that he now opposed a merger of the United States military services.

60 years ago
1955

Died on this date
James P. Johnson, 61. U.S. musician and composer. Mr. Johnson was a pioneering stride jazz pianist in New York who bridged the ragtime and jazz eras. He composed in various genres, but was best known for writing songs such as Charleston and I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight). Mr. Johnson died four years after suffering a paralyzing stroke; he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970, and the Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1973.

50 years ago
1965

Diplomacy
The United Nations General Assembly voted for the fifteenth time to reject the People's Republic of China for membership.

France ordered the Guinean ambassador out of Paris, after Guinea accused France of taking part in a plot against Guinean President Sekou Toure.

Football
CFL
Western Finals
Calgary 11 @ Winnipeg 15 (Best-of-three series tied 1-1)

Kenny Ploen completed a 48-yard pass to Leo Lewis in the 4th quarter for the winning touchdown as the Blue Bombers defeated the Stampeders before 16,100 fans on a cold Wednesday night at Winnipeg Stadium. Calgary middle linebacker Wayne Harris suffered an injury that kept him out of the third game of the series.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Mamma Mia--ABBA (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Ichigo Hakusho wo Mou Ichido--Bang Bang (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Paloma Blanca--George Baker Selection

Education
The New John, the student newspaper at Sir John Franklin Territorial High School in Yellowknife, published a front page story revealing the results of a survey purporting to show a connection between smoking and grades. Of 96 students randomly chosen (including this blogger, who was in the library at the time), 72 were non-smokers, and 24 were smokers. The participants were asked what their mark in social studies was in 1974-75. The non-smokers reported an average mark of 78.647%, while the smokers reported an average mark of 68.333%. This blogger was then, and is now, a non-smoker, but I question the survey's validity and reliability in demonstrating that "smoking leads to stupidity or is it the other way round?"

Economics and finance
A three-day summit in France of the heads of government of the U.S.A.; U.K.; France; Italy; West Germany; and Japan concluded.

Crime
A judge ordered American newspaper heiress Patty Hearst to stand trial on charges of bank robbery and use of a firearm to commit a felony for her involvement in a bank robbery with members of the Symbionese Liberation Army, some of whom had kidnapped her from her Berkeley, California apartment.

Football
NFL
Buffalo (5-4) 24 @ Cincinnati (8-1) 33

Baseball
The Texas Rangers traded pitcher Ferguson Jenkins to the Boston Red Sox for outfielder Juan Beniquez, pitcher Steve Barr, cash, and a player to be named later. The Red Sox assigned pitcher Craig Skok to the Sacramento Solons, the Rangers' farm team in the AAA Pacific Coast League, on December 12, 1975 to complete the deal. Mr. Jenkins was 17-18 with an earned run average of 3.93 in 37 games with Texas in 1975. Mr. Beniquez batted .291 with 2 home runs and 17 runs batted in in 78 games with Boston in 1975, while Mr. Barr was 0-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 3 games with Boston in 1975, and 6-12 with a 2.92 ERA in 23 games with the Pawtucket Red Sox of the AAA International League.

The Los Angeles Dodgers traded outfielders Jim Wynn and Tom Paciorek and infielder-outfielder Lee Lacy and infielder Jerry Royster to the Atlanta Braves for outfielder Dusty Baker and first baseman Ed Goodson. Mr. Wynn batted .248 with 28 home runs and 58 runs batted in and 110 bases on balls in 130 games with Los Angeles in 1975, while Mr. Paciorek batted .193 with 1 homer and 5 RBIs in 62 games; Mr Lacy hit .314 with 7 homers and 40 RBIs in 106 games; and Mr. Royster batted .250 with no home runs and 1 RBI in 13 games with Los Angeles after .333 with 10 homers and 65 RBIs in 133 games with the Albuquerque Dukes of the Pacific Coast League, winning the PCL batting title. Mr. Baker batted .261 with 19 home runs and 72 runs batted in in 142 games with Atlanta in 1975, while Mr. Goodson hit .207 with 1 home run and 8 runs batted in in 39 games with the San Francisco Giants in 1975 before being traded to Atlanta and batting .211 with 1 homer and 8 RBIs in 47 games with the Braves, for a combined total of .208 with 2 homers and 16 RBIs in 86 games.

30 years ago
1985

Died on this date
Jimmy Ritz, 81. U.S. comedian. Mr. Ritz, born Samuel Joachim, was the middle brother of the Ritz Brothers comedy team, with older brother Al and younger brother Harry. The team appeared in a string of movies from 1936-1943, and concentrated on nightclub appearances for more than 20 years afterward.

Lon Nol, 72. Prime Minister of Cambodia, 1966-1967, 1969-1971; President of the Khmer Republic, 1972-1975. General Lon Nol was Prime Minister under Prince Norodom Sihanouk, but took power in a coup in March 1970. He ruled the country until he was deposed by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. Lon Nol died in Fullerton, California, four days after his 72nd birthday.

Football
CFL
Eastern Final
Montreal 26 @ Hamilton 50

Western Final
Winnipeg 22 @ British Columbia 42

Ken Hobart completed 22 of 28 passes for 397 yards and 5 touchdowns and rushed 6 times for 47 yards and a touchdown to lead the Tiger-Cats to their second straight Eastern Division title. 24,423 fans at Ivor Wynne Stadium saw the Tiger-Cats score the first 22 points of the game in the 1st quarter on touchdown passes from Mr. Hobart of 18 yards to Rocky DiPietro; 14 yards to Steve Stapler; and 32 yards to Ron Ingram. Bernie Ruoff converted all 3 and added a single on the kickoff after Mr. Ingram’s touchdown. Roy Kurtz kicked a 36-yard field goal on the last play of the quarter to get the Concordes on the scoreboard. The teams traded touchdowns in the 2nd quarter--Johnny Shepherd rushed 1 yard for Hamilton, converted by Mr. Ruoff, and Joe Barnes completed an 11-yard pass to Nick Arakgi, converted by Mr. Kurtz. Mike McTague added a single on the kickoff after Mr. Arakgi’s touchdown to make the halftime score 29-11 in favour of Hamilton. Mr. Hobart rushed 1 yard for his touchdown in the 3rd quarter, converted by Mr. Ruoff, before Montreal came back with 15 straight points. Mr. Kurtz kicked a 32-yard field goal, and then Harry Skipper returned a punt 91 yards for a touchdown. A 2-point convert attempt was unsuccessful, but Mr. Kurtz kicked a 39-yard field goal with 8 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter to reduce the Hamilton lead to 36-23. Mr. Kurtz kicked a 24-yard field goal at 5:12 of the 4th quarter to make the score 36-26, but the Tiger-Cats put the game away when Mr. Hobart completed a 38-yard touchdown pass to Mr. Stapler at 7:33 and a 56-yard touchdown pass to Mr. Stapler at 10:00, both converted by Mr. Ruoff. Mr. DiPietro led all receivers with 163 yards on 7 receptions, while Mr. Stapler had 114 on 4 catches. Jeff Patterson led the Montreal receivers with 8 receptions for 111 yards, and Mr. Arakgi caught 6 for 59. Alan Reid led the Concordes on the ground with 40 yards on 13 carries. Montreal quarterback Joe Barnes completed 24 of 40 passes for 246 yards. It was the last time that the Montreal team played as the Concordes. In 1986 they reacquired the rights to their earlier name of Alouettes.



59,478 loud fans saw the Lions break open a close game with 3 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter to defeat the Blue Bombers at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver. B.C. quarterback Roy Dewalt had one of his best games, completing 17 of 28 passes for 314 yards and touchdowns of 38 yards to Ron Robinson in the 1st quarter, 35 yards to John Pankratz in the 2nd quarter, and 27 yards to Ned Armour in the 3rd quarter. Mr. Armour, who had played in just 1 game during the regular season and had caught just 1 pass, was activated for the game to replace injured star Merv Fernandez. Mr. Armour responded with 6 receptions for 138 yards to lead all receivers. Another late-season injury replacement, Freddie Sims, rushed 22 times for 116 yards and a touchdown for the Lions. He had been activated for the last regular season game to replace the injured Keyvan Jenkins. The biggest Lion touchdown was scored by defensive back Keith Gooch, who returned an interception 57 yards for a major score in the 3rd quarter to put the Lions ahead 32-16 after Lui Passaglia’s convert. The Lions led 17-16 at halftime, and Winnipeg head coach Cal Murphy, who had recently returned to the team after a heart attack, was angry at B.C. general manager Bob Ackles for refusing to let him use an extra headset in the spotter’s booth in the press box. Mr. Murphy coached the second half from the sidelines, but it failed to inspire his team to victory. The Blue Bombers jumped out to an early 8-0 lead when defensive end Tony Norman recovered a fumble by Mr. Dewalt in the Lions’ end zone. Trevor Kennerd converted and added a single on a missed field goal attempt before Mr. Robinson scored and Mr. Passaglia converted to make the score 8-7 in favour of Winnipeg at the end of the 1st quarter. Mr. Pankratz scored his touchdown, converted by Mr. Passaglia, and the Blue Bombers responded with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Tom Clements to James Murphy, converted by Mr. Kennerd. Mr. Passaglia kicked a 22-yard field goal and Mr. Kennerd scored a single off another missed field goal to leave the Lions ahead 17-16 at halftime. Mr. Sims rushed 2 yards for his touchdown, converted by Mr. Passaglia, and Mr. Passaglia added a single before Mr. Gooch’s touchdown put the game away. Mr. Passaglia converted that touchdown and the one by Mr. Armour as the Lions led 39-16 after 3 quarters. Mr. Passaglia added a 22-yard field goal to make the score 42-16 before the Blue Bombers finally answered with a 1-yard touchdown rush by Willard Reaves with 4:49 remaining in the game. A 2-point convert attempt was unsuccessful. Joe Poplawski led the Blue Bombers with 90 yards on 5 pass receptions, while Mr. Reaves led them on the ground with 45 yards on 15 carries. Mr. Murphy caught 6 passes for 64 yards and rushed twice for 28. Mr. Clements had a poor game, completing 19 of 39 for 284 yards but surrendering 4 interceptions, including 2 by Darnell Clash in the 1st half.



25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Groove is in the Heart--Deee-Lite

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): I'm Your Baby Tonight--Whitney Houston (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Cult of Snap--Snap! (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Verdammt - Ich Lieb' Dich--Matthias Reim (4th week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Une femme avec une femme--Mecano (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (CIN): Unchained Melody--The Righteous Brothers (3rd week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Show Me Heaven--Maria McKee
2 The Joker--Steve Miller Band
3 I'm Your Baby Tonight--Whitney Houston
4 Candy--Iggy Pop
5 Born to Be Wild--Steppenwolf
6 Have You Seen Her--MC Hammer
7 Thunderstruck--AC/DC
8 Freedom!--George Michael
9 Duet--Brigitte Kaandorp en Herman Finkers
10 Verdammt - Ich Lieb' Dich--Matthias Reim

Singles entering the chart were The Anniversary Waltz by Status Quo (#21); Keep on Running by Milli Vanilli (#29); It's a Shame (My Sister) by Monie Love featuring True Image (#33); New Power Generation by Prince (#34); and Doe Mij Maar Na by Vader Abraham en De Smurfen (#40).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Love Takes Time--Mariah Carey (2nd week at #1)
2 Pray--M.C. Hammer
3 More than Words Can Say--Alias
4 Groove is in the Heart--Deee-Lite
5 I'm Your Baby Tonight--Whitney Houston
6 Ice Ice Baby--Vanilla Ice
7 Something to Believe In--Poison
8 Because I Love You (The Postman Song)--Stevie B
9 I Don't Have the Heart--James Ingram
10 From a Distance--Bette Midler

Singles entering the chart were Justify My Love by Madonna (#46); I'm Not in Love by Will to Power (#61); Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) by C+C Music Factory (#74); Anything is Possible by Debbie Gibson (#75); Does She Love that Man? by Breathe featuring David Glasper (#80); You're Amazing by Robert Palmer (#82); Love Will Never Do (Without You) by Janet Jackson (#89); I'm Free by the Soup Dragons (#92); The Ghetto by Too $hort (#94); and Rockin' Over the Beat by Technotronic (#95).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Love Takes Time--Mariah Carey
2 More Than Words Can Say--Alias
3 Pray--M.C. Hammer
4 Ice Ice Baby--Vanilla Ice
5 Groove is in the Heart--Deee-Lite
6 Giving You the Benefit--Pebbles
7 Something to Believe In--Poison
8 I Don’t Have the Heart--James Ingram
9 I’m Your Baby Tonight--Whitney Houston
10 Knockin’ Boots--Candyman

Singles entering the chart were Justify My Love by Madonna (#47); I Wanna Get With U by Guy (#65); Anything is Possible by Debbie Gibson (#68); You're Amazing by Robert Palmer (#69); New York Minute by Don Henley (#70); I’m Not in Love by Will to Power (#73) The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss) by Cher (#77); and Falling to Pieces by Faith No More (#80).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Suicide Blonde--INXS (2nd week at #1)
2 More than Words Can Say--Alias
3 Love Takes Time--Mariah Carey
4 Black Cat--Janet Jackson
5 Stranded--Heart
6 Praying for Time--George Michael
7 Unchained Melody--The Righteous Brothers
8 Say a Prayer--Breathe
9 So Close--Daryl Hall John Oates
10 Impulsive--Wilson Phillips

Singles entering the chart were You Gotta Love Someone by Elton John (#46); Freedom by George Michael (#63); You're Amazing by Robert Palmer (#65); New York Minute by Don Henley (#79); Keep Our Love Alive by Stevie Wonder (#80); The Way You Do the Things You Do by UB40 (#89); Birthday by Paul McCartney (#90); Kiss Me You Fool by the Northern Pikes (#95); and Full Circle by the Jeff Healey Band (#98). You Gotta Love Someone was from the movie Days of Thunder (1990).

Died on this date
Robert Hofstadter, 75. U.S. physicist. Dr. Hofstadter was awarded a share of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his pioneering studies of electron scattering in atomic nuclei and for his thereby achieved discoveries concerning the structure of the nucleons."

Diplomacy
U.S. President George Bush, on his way to Paris for the summit that would mark the official end of the Cold War, visited Czechoslovakia, addressing an audience of 100,000 in Prague’s Wenceslas Square before speaking to the Federal Assembly.

Politics and government
The Supreme Soviet approved a plan put forward earlier in the day by Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev that called for an emergency reorganization of the U.S.S.R.’s executive branch of government. The plan would put the executive branch directly under presidential control, but allow the 15 republics more decision-making powers. The office of Premier would be abolished and the council of heads of the republics, chaired by Mr. Gorbachev, would be elevated to the key role in the government.

Environment
Fugendake, part of the Mount Unzen volcanic complex, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, became active again and erupted.

20 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Gangsta's Paradise--Coolio feauring L.V. (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Gangsta's Paradise--Coolio feauring L.V. (3rd week at #1)