Monday 9 December 2019

December 9, 2019

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Mary Ann Murphy!

425 years ago
1594


Born on this date
Gustav II
. King of Sweden, 1611-1632. Gustav II acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Charles IX. He has been credited as a brilliant commander, leading Sweden to military supremacy during the Thirty Years' War, and turning the country into a major European power. King Gustav II implemented political reforms and supported the Protestant cause. He was killed in the Battle of Lützen on November 6, 1632 at the age of 37, and was succeeded on the throne by his daughter Christina.

350 years ago
1669


Died on this date
Clement IX, 69
. Roman Catholic Pope, 1667-1669. Clement IX, born Giulio Rospigliosi, was a Vatican diplomat before being appointed to the College of Cardinals in 1657. He succeeded Alexander VII as pope, and had an uneventful papacy. Clement IX allegedly died of a broken heart; he was succeeded by Clement X.

130 years ago
1889


Born on this date
Hannes Kolehmainen
. Finnish runner. Mr. Kolehmainen won gold medals in three events--men's 5,000- and 10,000-metre, and individual cross country run--and a silver medal in the team cross country event at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm. His career was interrupted by World War I, but he came back to win the gold medal in the marathon at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp. Mr. Kolehmainen competed in the marathon at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, but he failed to complete the race. He died on January 11, 1966 at the age of 76.

120 years ago
1899


Born on this date
Jean de Brunhoff
. French author and illustrator. Mr. Brunhoff created the fictional elephant Babar, featuring the character in seven children's books published from 1931-1941. Mr. Brunhoff died of tuberculosis on October 16, 1937 at the age of 37.

110 years ago
1909


Born on this date
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
U.S. actor and military officer. Mr. Fairbanks, the son of actor Douglas Faribanks, Sr., appeared in movies such as Little Caesar (1931); The Prisoner of Zenda (1937); Gunga Din (1939); and The Corsican Brothers (1941). He became a U.S. Navy captain and diplomat during World War II, and devoted his later years to promoting Anglo-American friendship. Mr. Fairbanks died of a heart attack on May 7, 2000 at the age of 90.

100 years ago
1919


Born on this date
William Lipscomb
. U.S. chemist. Dr. Lipscomb was awarded the 1976 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his studies on the structure of boranes illuminating problems of chemical bonding." He died from pneumonia on April 14, 2011 at the age of 91.

80 years ago
1939


Canadiana
Quebec adopted a new coat of arms and the motto, "Je me souviens" (I Remember).

Football
CRU
Grey Cup @ Lansdowne Park, Ottawa
Winnipeg 8 Ottawa 7

Art Stevenson punted for a single from the Ottawa 8-yard line to give the Blue Bombers the win before 11,738 fans on a cold day in the first Grey Cup in which the winning point was scored on the final play. The play was set up with less than 2 minutes remaining when Orville Burke of the Rough Riders, who hadn’t fumbled once during the regular season and playoffs, lost his second fumble of the game when he dropped a punt from Mr. Stevenson at his own 45-yard line. Jeff Nicklin recovered for Winnipeg and ran to the 35. A few plays later Mr. Stevenson punted into the Ottawa end zone; Mr. Burke attempted to kick it back, but the ball went off the side of his foot and out of bounds at the 8-yard-line, with time for just one more play. The Rough Riders scored first on a 65-yard pass; Mr. Burke completed to Tommy Daley, who then lateralled to Andy Tommy, who took it the rest of the way. Tiny Herman converted to make it 6-0. Mr. Burke lost his first fumble of the day on his 10-yard line; the Blue Bombers recovered, and Andy Bieber rushed for a touchdown to cut the lead to 6-5. Greg Kabat’s convert was wide, but he tied the game with a single off a wide field goal in the second quarter. The third quarter was scoreless, but on the first play of the fourth quarter, Winnipeg’s Les Lear blocked a punt, and the Blue Bombers got the ball on the Ottawa 10-yard line. The defense held, and Mr. Kabat missed another field goal, but got a single to put the Blue Bombers ahead 7-6. The Rough Riders tied the game when Mr. Herman missed a field goal from the Winnipeg 25 and the ball went for a single point to tie the game 7-7.

75 years ago
1944


Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): I'm Making Believe--The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald (Best seller--1st week at #1); Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall--The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald (Juke Box--2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Laird Cregar, 31
. U.S. actor. Mr. Cregar, who seldom weighed less than 300 pounds as an adult, played "heavies" in plays and films. He was perhaps best known for his supporting role in the film noir This Gun for Hire (1942) and his starring roles in The Lodger (1944) and Hangover Square (1945). During the filming of the latter, Mr. Cregar went on a crash diet, which put a strain on his system. He died shortly after suffering a heart attack, following abdominal surgery.

War
The United States Selective Service announced the renewed induction of men aged 26-37 who were needed as replacements. U.S. forces in Germany cracked the Maginot Line near Aachen and joined forces with units on the Saar front on the east bank of the Saar River. Soviet troops in Hungary captured Vac, tightening their circle around Budapest. Chinese War Minister General Chen Cheng said that the Japanese attack on Kweichang, the capital of the province of Kweichow, had been repulsed.

Politics and government
A Peruvian cabinet crisis ended with Finance Minister Julio East assuming the premiership and Manuel Gallagher becoming Foreign Minister.

70 years ago
1949


World events
A court in Sarajevo convicted 10 Soviet emigres of Yugoslavian government charges of espionage, and sentenced them to prison terms of 3-20 years.

Politics and government
The United Nations General Assembly reaffirmed its 1947 decision to place Jerusalem under UN administration despite Israeli and Jordanian refusal to give up parts of the city that they controlled.

Scandal
A U.S. federal court in Washington, D.C. sentenced U.S. Representative J. Parnell Thomas (Republican--New Jersey) from 6-18 months in prison and fined him $10,000 for congressional payroll-padding.

Crime
Heide Massing, ex-wife of German spy Gerhart Eisler, testified at the perjury trial in New York of former U.S. State Department employee Alger Hiss, corroborating Time magazine editor Whittaker Chambers' claim that Mr. Hiss had belonged to a Communist underground in Washington during the late 1930s.

Economics and finance
U.S. Budget Director Frank Pace urged a tax increase to avert a federal deficit in the coming fiscal year, opposing congressional proposals for reduced government spending.

Labour
Anti-Communist labour representatives from 53 countries, including those from the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, concluded a 12-day meeting in London after establishing the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions to rival the leftist World Federation of Trade Unions.

Anthracite coal mine operators in the United States rejected United Mine Workers of America contract terms, including doubling of employer contributions to the UMW welfare and pension fund and a 95c daily wage increase.

Football
The National Football League and All-America Football Conference merged, with the expanded league to be called the National-American Football League. The Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Colts were admitted to the NAFL, while the New York Yankees, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Hornets, and Los Angeles Dons of the AAFC folded.

60 years ago
1959


Diplomacy
The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution deploring the "continued disregard" of the U.S.S.R. and the "present Hungarian regime" for UN resolutions demanding the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary and admission of a special UN representative to the country.

An estimated one million Indians greeted U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower as he arrived in New Delhi to begin a four-day visit to India. Meanwhile, dispatches from Karachi reported that President Eisenhower had rejected Pakistani President Ayub Khan's request for American support in disputes with India over Kashmir and with Afghanistan over proposed formation of an independent tribal state in northern Pakistan.





Labour
Steel industry representative C. Conrad Cooper rejected all three of U.S. Labor Secretary James Mitchell's alternatives for ending the steel strike, charging that they were inflationary.

Boxing
Sonny Liston (26-1) scored a technical knockout of Willi Besmanoff (42-18-7) in a heavyweight bout at Cleveland Arena when referee Mike Minnich stopped the fight after the 6th round because of bad gashes over Mr. Besmanoff's eyes. The TKO was officially recorded as taking place in the 7th round.



Football
NCAA
U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon presented the Heisman Trophy for the outstanding college player in the United States in 1959 to Louisiana State University halfback Billy Cannon in a ceremony at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City.

50 years ago
1969


Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Grüezi wohl, Frau Stirnimaa--Die Minstrels (7th week at #1)

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State William Rogers proposed a Middle East peace plan that called for Israeli withdrawal from occupied Egyptian territory; a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, and establishment of a demilitarized zone. Mr. Rogers also urged the need for a "unified Jerusalem" with Israel and Jordan sharing alike in its life and freedom of movement for all. He stressed the need for Israeli access to the Gulf of Aqaba, but touched only indirectly on occupied Jordanian or Syrian territory.

Labour
A bitter campaign culminated with Tony Boyle defeating Jock Yablonski for the presidency of the United Mine Workers of America by a margin of 80,577 votes to 46,073 in an election widely suspected of being corrupt.

40 years ago
1979


Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Jezebel--Jon Stevens (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles

Died on this date
Fulton J. Sheen, 84
. U.S. clergyman. Rev. Sheen was a Roman Catholic Bishop who became nationally known through his use of radio and television. He was ordained a priest in 1919, and taught theology at Catholic University of America before serving as Auxiliary Bishop of New York (1951-1966) and Bishop of Rochester (1966-1969). Rev. Sheen hosted the radio program The Catholic Hour (1930-1950) and the television programs Life is Worth Living (1952-1957) and The Fulton Sheen Program (1961-1968). He was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Television in 1953 and 1954, winning in 1953; he was nominated in 1957 in the category of Best Male Personality--Continuing Performance. Rev. Sheen also wrote 73 books.

Health
The eradication of the smallpox virus was certified, making it the first disease to have been driven to extinction.

30 years ago
1989


Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Lambada--Kaoma (11th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Girl I'm Gonna Miss You--Milli Vanilli (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Hélène--Roch Voisine

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): You Got It (The Right Stuff)--New Kids on the Block (3rd week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Lily was Here--David A. Stewart and featuring Candy Dulfer (3rd week at #1)
2 Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins
3 Listen to Your Heart--Roxette
4 All Around the World--Lisa Stansfield
5 Get Busy--Mr. Lee
6 Girl I'm Gonna Miss You--Milli Vanilli
7 When I Looked at Him--Exposé
8 Homely Girl--UB40
9 Street Tuff--Rebel MC & Double Trouble
10 Dançando Lambada--Kaoma

Singles entering the chart were Sit and Wait by Sydney Youngblood (#26); Rome We Komen (WK 1990) by De Havenzangers (#27); Rock and a Hard Place by the Rolling Stones (#31); Pretending by Eric Clapton (#33); Love Shack by the B-52's (#35); and Never Too Late by Kylie Minogue (#36).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 We Didn't Start the Fire--Billy Joel
2 Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins
3 Blame it on the Rain--Milli Vanilli
4 (It's Just) The Way that You Love Me--Paula Abdul
5 Don't Know Much--Linda Ronstadt (featuring Aaron Neville)
6 Back to Life--Soul II Soul
7 Angelia--Richard Marx
8 With Every Beat of My Heart--Taylor Dayne
9 Love Shack--The B-52's
10 Pump Up the Jam--Technotronic featuring Felly

Singles entering the chart were Tell Me Why by Expose (#67); We Can't Go Wrong by the Cover Girls (#73); Electric Boogie by Marcia Griffiths (#90); I Don't Know by Michael Morales (#92); A Girl Like You by the Smithereens (#93); Heart by Neneh Cherry (#94); Gimme Your Good Lovin' by Diving for Pearls (#96); Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode (#97); and 500 Miles by the Hooters (#99).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 We Didn't Start the Fire--Billy Joel
2 Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins
3 Angelia--Richard Marx
4 Back to Life--Soul II Soul
5 (It's Just) The Way that You Love Me--Paula Abdul
6 Don't Know Much--Linda Ronstadt (featuring Aaron Neville)
7 With Every Beat of My Heart--Taylor Dayne
8 Rhythm Nation--Janet Jackson
9 Don't Close Your Eyes--Kix
10 Love Shack--The B-52's

Singles entering the chart were Tell Me Why by Expose (#72); No More Lies by Michel'le (#81); Serious Kinda Girl by Christopher Max (#83); We Can't Go Wrong by the Cover Girls (#87); Woman in Chains by Tears for Fears (#89); and Hide Your Heart by Kiss (#94).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Angelia--Richard Marx
2 When I See You Smile--Bad English
3 We Didn't Start the Fire--Billy Joel
4 Blame it on the Rain--Milli Vanilli
5 (It's Just) The Way that You Love Me--Paula Abdul
6 Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins
7 Love Shack--The B-52's
8 Don't Know Much--Linda Ronstadt (featuring Aaron Neville)
9 Giving Away a Miracle--Luba
10 Rocklandwonderland--Kim Mitchell

Singles entering the chart were Cruel Life by Ray Lyell & the Storm (#78); Hands On by Lee Aaron (#80); What Kind of Man Would I Be? by Chicago (#82); Kickstart My Heart by Motley Crue (#84); Bring it All Back by Grayson Hugh (#86); Woman in Chains by Tears for Fears (#88); This One's for the Children by New Kids on the Block (#90); and Don't Make Me Over by Sybil (#92).

World events
The military uprising against Philippine President Corazon Aquino, which had begun December 1, ended with the fall of a key airport. The official casualty toll for both sides was reported as 119 killed and 418 wounded.

Politics and government
The East German Communist Party chose Gregor Gysi, a lawyer, to succeed Egon Krenz, who had resigned six days earlier, as General Secretary and the country’s head of state.

Diplomacy
U.S. National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft and Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger began two days of kowtowing to meeting with Chinese Communist party and government leaders in Beijing. Although it was announced that the purpose of the meeting was for the U.S. representatives to brief the Chinese on the recently-concluded Malta summit that ended the Cold War with the U.S.S.R., it was widely assumed that an attempt to improve relations between China and the United States was the principal focus.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 7 Montreal 4

25 years ago
1994


Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Old Pop in an Oak--Rednex (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Spanish Lady--Dustin (4th week at #1)

Diplomacy
Exploratory talks about peace in Northern Ireland began between the British government of Prime Minister John Major and representatives of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army. They were the first public talks between the parties in 22 years.

20 years ago
1999


At the movies
This blogger and attractive female company attended a preview screening of Anna and the King, starring Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat. This was at least the third movie version of the story, after Anna and the King of Siam (1946) and The King and I (1956). I think I'm one of the few people who remember the short-lived television series Anna and the King which aired in the fall of 1972, in which Yul Brynner reprised his role as the king, and Samantha Eggar played Anna.

Politics and government
A Reform Party protest against a land claims agreement between the government of Canada and the Nisga’a Indians of British Columbia ended after 43 hours of voting in the House of Commons, which is how long it took to defeat 471 amendments proposed by Reform MPs.

Crime
The government of Ontario introduced a bill to create a province-wide registry to track pedophiles and other sex offenders who move from one community to another.

Law
The Supreme Court of Hawaii upheld a 1998 amendment to the state constitution that forbade same-sex marriages. The court had held in 1993 that state laws limiting marriages to heterosexual couples were unconstitutional, but the legislature passed a law the following year banning sodomite marriages, and the voters, in a 1998 referendum, approved the constitutional amendment allowing such a law.

10 years ago
2009


Died on this date
Gene Barry, 90
. U.S. actor. Mr. Barry, born Eugene Klass, starred in movies such as The Atomic City (1952) and The War of the Worlds (1953), but was better known for starring in television series such as Bat Masterson (1958-1961); Burke's Law (1963-1966); and The Name of the Game (1968-1971).

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