1799
Franciana
France adopted the metre as its official unit of length.
140 years ago
1869
Abominations
John Campbell, Governor of the Wyoming Territory, approved the first law in U.S. history explicitly granting women the right to vote.
130 years ago
1889
Born on this date
Ray Collins. U.S. actor. Mr. Collins had a lengthy career on stage and in radio, including associations with Orson Welles in The Shadow and Mercury Theatre on the Air in the 1930s. He continued his association with Mr. Welles with supporting roles in the movies Citizen Kane (1941); The Magnificent Ambersons (1942); and Touch of Evil (1958). In later years, Mr. Collins was best known for playing Lieutenant Arthur Tragg in the television series Perry Mason from 1957-1964. He died on July 11, 1965 at the age of 75.
110 years ago
1909
Born on this date
Hermes Pan. U.S. dancer and choreographer. Mr. Pan, born Hermes Panagiotopoulos, danced on stage and in films, but was better known as a choreographer in movies, working on 89 films. He worked with Fred Astaire in more than 20 movies and television specials, resulting in an Academy Award for Dance Direction for A Damsel in Distress (1937) and an Emmy Award for An Evening with Fred Astaire (1958). Mr. Pan died on September 19, 1990 at the age of 80.
Died on this date
Red Cloud, 87. American Indian chief. Red Cloud, whose Lakota name was Maȟpíya Lúta, led the Oglala Lakota from 1868 until his death. He led the successful campaign known as Red Cloud's War against U.S. Army forces from 1866-1868 in northeastern Wyoming and southern Montana, and led the Oglala Lakota in a transition to reservation life after signing the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868). Red Cloud was succeed as chief by his son Jack Red Cloud.
Literature
Selma Lagerlöf of Sweden became the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, "in appreciation of the lofty idealism, vivid imagination and spiritual perception that characterize her writings."
100 years ago
1919
Born on this date
Harrison Williams. U.S. politician. "Pete" Williams, a Democrat, represented New Jersey's 6th District in the U.S. House of Representatives (1953-1957) and represented the state in the Senate (1959-1982). He was convicted in 1981 of taking bribes in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Abscam sting operation, although he actually refused a bribe and was actually guilty only of indiscreet conversation. Sen. Williams resigned his seat before a planned vote to expel him took place; his treatment at the hands of his colleagues was so shameful and hypocritical that even Dr. Carl McIntire, a well-known Presbyterian pastor whose conservative views were opposed to those of Sen. Williams, was so outraged that he started a one-man committee to defend Mr. Williams. Mr. Williams died of cancer and heart ailments on November 17, 2001, 23 days before his 82nd birthday.
Alexander Courage. U.S. composer. Mr. Courage orchestrated and composed scores for numerous films and television programs, but was best known for composing the theme music for the television series Star Trek (1966-1969). He died on May 15, 2008 at the age of 88.
90 years ago
1929
Died on this date
Harry Crosby, 31. U.S. publisher and socialite. Mr. Crosby, scion of a Boston Brahmin family, served with the American Ambulance Service in World War I, but became restless after the war, and came to embody the "Lost Generation" of young American expatriates in the 1920s. He and his wife Polly (who later changed her first name to Caresse) were married in 1922, and conducted an open marriage while spending much of their time in France and elsewhere. Mr. Crosby founded Éditions Narcisse--later renamed Black Sun Press-- in 1927 to publish his own poetry and the works of others. In 1928, Mr. Crosby began having an affair with Josephine Rotch, 20, who was also from a wealthy Boston family. She married A.S. Bigelow in June 1929, but soon resumed her affair with Mr. Crosby. Mr. and Mrs. Crosby returned to America from France in November 1929, where Mr. Crosby resumed his affair with Mrs. Bigelow. On December 10, Mr. Crosby failed to keep a dinner date with his wife and poet Hart Crane. Mr. Crosby and Mrs. Bigelow were found in the apartment of a friend of his; Mr. Crosby had apparently shot Mrs. Bigelow before turning the gun on himself.
80 years ago
1939
Died on this date
John Grieb, 60. U.S. athlete. Mr. Grieb won a gold medal in the team gymnastics event and a silver medal in the men's triathlon at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis. He died three weeks after his 60th birthday.
War
The 1st Canadian Infantry Division, made up of 7,400 hastily trained soldiers, sailed from Halifax for Great Britain.
Football
NFL
Championship @ Wisconsin State Fair Park, West Allis, Wisconsin
New York 0 @ Green Bay 27
The Packers avenged their loss to the Giants in the previous year's championship game by bottling the Giants up in their own end of the field. The only scoring of the first half came in the first quarter on a 7-yard pass from tailback Arnie Herber to Milt Gantenbein, converted by Tiny Engebretsen. Green Bay put the game away in the third quarter on a 29-yard field goal by Mr. Engebretsen and a 27-yard touchdown pass from tailback Cecil Isbell to Joe Laws, converted by Mr. Engebretsen. Ernie Smith kicked a 42-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and converted the last touchdown, a 1-yard rush by Ed Jankowski. 32,279 fans were in attendance at Wisconsin State Fair Park, a stadium informally known as the Dairy Bowl. It remains the only NFL championship game ever played in West Allis, near Milwaukee.
75 years ago
1944
Died on this date
John Brunt, 22. U.K. military officer. Captain Brunt was killed by mortar fire in Italy the day after rallying his men and killing a number of German troops while under heavy fire, actions which earned him a posthumous Victoria Cross. He died four days after his 22nd birthday.
War
Canadian Army troops stormed the Lamone River defenses in Italy. U.S. troops in Germany renewed their assault on Duren on a 10-mile front. The Soviet threat to Budapest increased as a tank unit drove down the east bank of the Danube River to within 7 1/2 miles of the city. ELAS forces shelled Omonia Square in Athens, while British Royal Air Forces bombers dropped explosives on ELAS establishments for the first time. U.S. forces in the Philippines eliminated all Japanese opposition in the Ormoc area and captured the city itself.
Diplomacy
The visit of French provisional government leader General Charles de Gaulle to Moscow concluded with a treaty of alliance between France and the U.S.S.R. providing for both nations to continue the war until full victory; for neither country to conclude a separate peace with Germany; for each to take in all common measures intended to oppose a new German threat; and for both to join the United Nations. The treaty was valid for 20 years.
Baseball
A committee of major league baseball owners and writers announced the selection of recently-deceased Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Judge Landis died on November 25 at the age of 78 after almost 25 years in office.
70 years ago
1949
Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): A Little Bird Told Me--Evelyn Knight; The Joe Loss Orchestra
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard) (Best Seller): Mule Train--Frankie Laine and the Muleskinners (3rd week at #1)
U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Mule Train--Frankie Laine and the Muleskinners (2nd week at #1)
--Bing Crosby
--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
--Tennessee Ernie
2 I Can Dream, Can't I?--The Andrews Sisters
3 That Lucky Old Sun--Frankie Laine
--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
4 Don't Cry, Joe (Let Her Go, Let Her Go, Let Her Go)--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra
5 Slipping Around--Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely
6 Jealous Heart--Al Morgan
7 I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts--Freddie Martin and his Orchestra
8 You're Breaking My Heart--Vic Damone
--Buddy Clark
--The Ink Spots
9 Dear Hearts and Gentle People--Dinah Shore
--Bing Crosby
10 A Dreamer's Holiday--Perry Como and the Fontane Sisters
--Buddy Clark with the Girl Friends
Singles entering the chart were The Old Master Painter, with versions by Dick Haymes; and Richard Hayes (#33); Charley My Boy (#35)/She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (#39) by the Andrews Sisters/Russ Morgan and his Orchestra; Sleigh Ride by the Boston Pops Orchestra (#37); and The River Seine, with versions by Art Mooney and his Orchestra; and Victor Young and his Singing Strings (#38). She Wore a Yellow Ribbon was a version of the title song of the movie.
Died on this date
Duncan Stewart, 45. S.A.-born U.K. politician. Mr. Stewart, a native of Transvaal, was educated in England, and entered the Colonial Administration Service in 1928, holding various positions until taking office as Governor of the Malaysian state of Sarawak in November 1949. He died in hospital in Singapore, six days after being stabbed by Malaysian nationalist Rosli bin Dobi, while Mr. Stewart was in the town of Sibu as part of his first visit to the colony.
War
General Lu Han, Nationalist Governor of Hunnan Province in southwestern China, surrendered to Communist forces. The People's Liberation Army began its siege of Chengdu, the last Kuomintang-held city in mainland China, forcing President of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek and his government to retreat to Taiwan.
Politics and government
A Liberal Party/Country Party coalition led by Robert Menzies won 74 of 121 seats in the House of Representatives in the Australian federal election, unseating the Labour Party government of Prime Minister Ben Chiffey. The coalition increased its total by 48 from the previous election, while Labour increased its total by 4. The number of members of both the House and Senate had been increased since the most recent election in 1946, and it was the first election in which the single transferable vote proportional representation system was used.
Former Iraqi Ambassador to the United States Ali Jawdat al-Ayubi became Prime Minister of a new Iraqi cabinet.
Quaker Oats Company vice chairman R. Douglas Stuart was named treasurer of the U.S. Republican National Committee.
Football
NCAA
An American Football Coaches Association poll named Bud Wilkinson of the University of Oklahoma as the best coach of 1949.
60 years ago
1959
On television tonight
The Untouchables, starring Robert Stack, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Tri-State Gang, with guest stars William Bendix, Alan Hale, Jr., and Florence Halop
Died on this date
Henri Vidal, 40. French actor. Mr. Vidal appeared in 36 movies from 1941-1959, including The Angel of the Night (1944); Fabiola (1949); and Attila (1954). He died of a heart attack, two weeks after his 40th birthday.
Protest
South African police and troops fired on demonstrating Africans in Windhoek, South-West Africa, killing 12 and wounding 50.
Defense
U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Nathan Twining charged in Paris that some North Atlantic Treaty Organization powers, particularly France, had hobbled NATO defenses by refusing to implement 1957 agreements to accept U.S. missile bases and to integrate their air forces into a unified European air defense system.
Politics and government
Addressing the opening session of the U.S. Communist Party convention in New York, Midwest Secretary Gus Hall urged the party to adapt its program to American conditions as the Chinese Communists under Mao Tse-Tung (Mao Zedong) had done in China.
Economics and finance
Cuban Foreign Minister Raul Roa said in New York that while Cuba's right to expropriate land could not be questioned by an outside government, Cuba was willing to discuss compensation for expropriated U.S.-owned land.
Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker proposed a new formula of grants to universities. Québec Premier Paul Sauvé remained dissatisfied with this proposal, which didn't take into account the $25 million owed to Quebec in light of its previous refusals.
Labour
Reporting no substantive progress since the resumption of negotiations in the steel strike, U.S. Mediation and Conciliation Service Director Joseph Finnegan announced in Washington that he was "suspending the mediation sessions subject to call."
50 years ago
1969
On television tonight
Then Came Bronson, starring Michael Parks, on NBC
Tonight's episode: A Long Trip to Yesterday
At the movies
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, directed by Sydney Pollack, and starring Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Susannah York, and Gig Young, opened in theatres.
World events
In the sixth coup staged since Dahomey’s independence since 1960, the army seized power and arrested President Emile Zinsou after a brief exchange of gunfire with his guards.
Diplomacy
Israel rejected U.S. Secretary of State William Rogers’ Middle East peace plan, announced the previous day, and reiterated its belief that peace could be achieved only through direct Arab-Israeli talks.
Crime
In a long-delayed ruling which held up the inquest into the death of Mary Jo Kopechne in Senator Ted Kennedy’s car at Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts in July, Judge Bernard Brominski of the Luzerne County Court at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania turned down a request for exhumation of Miss Kopechne’s body.
Hockey
NHL
Montreal 6 @ Toronto 3
On the regular Wednesday Hockey Night in Canada telecast on CTV, Johnny Bower of the Maple Leafs played his first game of the season and the final game of his career, giving up 5 goals (the last goal was scored into an empty net), in the loss to the Canadiens at Maple Leaf Gardens.
40 years ago
1979
Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles (2nd week at #1)
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Ihōjin--Sayuri Kume
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Reunited--Peaches & Herb
Died on this date
Ann Dvorak, 68. U.S. actress. Miss Dvorak, born Anna McKim, began her career as a child in actress in silent films, and was popular in the 1930s in movies such as Scarface (1932); Three on a Match (1932); and G Men (1935). She died of stomach cancer.
World events
The students occupying the U.S. embassy in Iran allowed a hostage U.S. Marine to be interviewed on television.
Protest
The Kuomintang dictatorship of Taiwan arrested a large number of opposition leaders who had organized pro-democracy demonstrations in Kaohsiung; the incident was credited with ending the party's rule in 2000.
Adventure
20-year-old daredevil Eddie Kidd accomplished a "death-defying" motorcycle jump, crossing an 80-foot gap over a 50-foot sheer drop at the River Blackwater at Maldon, Essex, England.
Hockey
NHL
The Boston Bruins traded veteran right wing Bobby Schmautz to the Edmonton Oilers for inexperienced forward Dan Newman. Mr. Schmautz was in his 12th season in the NHL, and his 7th with the Bruins. In 20 games in 1979-80 with the Bruins, he scored 8 goals and 6 assists. In the 1977 Stanley Cup playoffs, Mr. Schmautz led all players with 11 goals in 14 games. Mr. Newman had played briefly with the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens before joining the Oilers for their first season in the NHL.
30 years ago
1989
Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Escaping--Margaret Urlich (2nd week at #1)
#1 single in Switzerland: Girl I'm Gonna Miss You--Milli Vanilli (2nd week at #1)
Politics and government
Gustav Husak, who had run Czechoslovakia for more than 20 years as Communist Party leader and President, resigned as President. Playwright Vaclav Havel, leader of the opposition group Civic Forum, and Alexander Dubcek, leader of the Prague Spring reform movement in 1968, announced their candidacies for President.
Diplomacy
U.S. representatives Brent Scowcroft and Lawrence Eagleburger concluded two days of
Protest
At Mongolia's first open pro-democracy public demonstration, in front of the Youth Cultural Centre in Ulaanbaatar, activist Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj announced the establishment of the Mongolian Democratic Union.
Football
NFL
New England (5-9) 10 @ Miami (8-6) 31
Pittsburgh (7-7) 13 @ New York Jets (4-10) 0
New Orleans (7-7) 22 @ Buffalo (8-6) 19
Dallas (1-13) 10 @ Philadelphia (10-4) 20
San Diego (4-10) 21 @ Washington (8-6) 26
Seattle (6-8) 24 @ Cincinnati (7-7) 17
Detroit (5-9) 27 @ Chicago (6-8) 17
Atlanta (3-11) 17 @ Minnesota (9-5) 43
Kansas City (7-6-1) 21 @ Green Bay (8-6) 3
Cleveland (7-6-1) 17 @ Indianapolis (7-7) 23 (OT)
Tampa Bay (5-9) 17 @ Houston (9-5) 20
New York Giants (10-4) 14 @ Denver (10-4) 7
Steve Largent of the Seattle Seahawks caught the 100th touchdown pass of his career in their victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, passing Don Hutson on the NFL's career list.
25 years ago
1994
Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): All I Wanna Do--Sheryl Crow
#1 single in Italy: It's a Rainy Day--Ice MC
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Hypnose--Scorpia (3rd week at #1)
#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Cotton-Eyed Joe--Rednex (10th week at #1)
#1 single in Flanders (VRT): Always--Bon Jovi
#1 single in France (SNEP): Can You Feel the Love Tonight--Elton John (2nd week at #1)
#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Dromen zijn bedrog--Marco Borsato (11th week at #1)
#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Stay Another Day--East 17
U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 On Bended Knee--Boyz II Men (2nd week at #1)
2 Here Comes the Hotstepper--Ini Kamoze
3 Another Night--Real McCoy
4 Always--Bon Jovi
5 I'll Make Love to You--Boyz II Men
6 Creep--TLC
7 Secret--Madonna
8 All I Wanna Do--Sheryl Crow
9 I Wanna Be Down--Brandy
10 You Want This/'70s Love Groove--Janet Jackson
Singles entering the chart were Doll Parts by Hole (#65); If You Love Me by Brownstone (#79); Kitty Kitty by 69 Boyz (#83); Mishale by Andru Donalds (#92); Redneck Stomp by Jeff Foxworthy (#94); and Always and Forever by Luther Vandross (#95).
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 On Bended Knee--Boyz II Men (2nd week at #1)
2 Here Comes the Hotstepper--Ini Kamoze
3 Another Night--Real McCoy
4 Always--Bon Jovi
5 Secret--Madonna
6 I'm the Only One--Melissa Etheridge
7 I'll Make Love to You--Boyz II Men
8 All I Wanna Do--Sheryl Crow
9 I Wanna Be Down--Brandy
10 Never Lie--Immature
Singles entering the chart were I Alone by Live (#75); Bad Reputation by Freddie Johnston (#77); House of Love by Amy Grant with Vince Gill (#80); Do You See by Warren G (#85); Mishale by Andru Donalds (#88); Missing You by Steve Perry (#90); and You Got Me Rocking by the Rolling Stones (#91).
Died on this date
Alex Wilson, 89. Canadian runner. Mr. Wilson represented Canada in the 1928 and 1932 Summer Olympic Games, winning a silver medal in the men's 800-meter event in 1928, bronze in the men's 400-metre run in 1932, and bronze in the 4 x 100-metre releay in both years. He won gold, silver, and bronze medals at the British Empire Games in Hamilton in 1930. Mr. Wilson was a successful coach at the University of Notre Dame for many years, and died in South Bend, Indiana, five days after his 89th birthday.
War
Maurice Baril, military adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General and head of the Military Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, recommended that the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR) stand down.
Diplomacy
Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres received the Nobel Peace Prize for their roles in the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accord.
20 years ago
1999
At the movies
The Green Mile, directed by Frank Tarabont, and starring Tom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Clarke Duncan, and James Cromwell, opened in theatres.
Died on this date
Franjo Tudjman, 77. President of Croatia, 1990-1999. Mr. Tudjman was a general under Yugoslavian President Tito. In 1990, as leader of HDZ (Hrvatska Demokratska Zajednica, Croatian Democratic Union) he became President of Croatia. On June 25, 1991 Mr. Tudjman proclaimed Croatia’s independence from Yugoslavia. He was re-elected twice, and was still in power at the time of his death after a long battle with cancer. Mr. Tudjman was succeeded by acting President Vlatko Pavletić.
Rick Danko, 55. Canadian-born musician. Mr. Danko, a native of Blayney, Ontario, was a singer and bass player with the Hawks (later known as The Band) in the 1960s and 70s. He later embarked on a solo career, and performed with Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band in 1989, including a stop in Edmonton. Mr. Danko died in his sleep of heart failure, brought on by years of drinking and drug use, 19 days before his 56th birthday.
Crime
Wen Ho Lee, who had been fired in March from his job as a nuclear physicist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, was indicted by a federal grand jury in New Mexico on 59 felony counts involving violations of the Atomic Energy and Foreign Espionage acts. Though accused of mishandling classified data--including removal of information on weapons by transferring data to portable tapes--he was not charged with sharing it with any other government.
Horse racing
Laffit Pincay, Jr., 52, broke Bill Shoemaker's career record for victories when he rode Irish Nip to a first-place finish at Hollywood Park in California. It was the Panamanian-born Mr. Pincay's 8,834th victory on 44,647 mounts over his 35-year career.
10 years ago
2009
At the movies
Avatar, directed by James Cameron, and starring Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana, received its premiere screening in London.
Died on this date
Vladimir Teplyakov, 84. U.S.S.R. physicist. Mr. Teplyakov, with I.M. Kapchinsky, invented the principle of the radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ), which revolutionized the acceleration of low-energy charged particle beams.
Diplomacy
U.S. President Barack Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo with a humble acknowledgment of his scant accomplishments and a robust defense of the U.S. at war.
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