February 6, 2010

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Bob Powless and Brian Poluk!

1,950 years ago
60

World events
This is the earliest date for which the day of the week is known; a graffito in Pompeii identified this day as a dies Solis (Sunday). In modern reckoning, this date would have been a Wednesday.

270 years ago
1740

Died on this date
Clement XII, 87. Roman Catholic Pope, 1730-1740. Clement XII, born Lorenzo Corsini, was a lawyer before entering the clergy. He was Archbishop of Nicomedia, nuncio to Vienna, and papal treasurer before succeeding Benedict XIII as pope. Pope Clement XII presided over a surplus in papal finances, oversaw building projects, and issued the first public papal condemnation of Freemasonry. He died of complications from gout, and was succeeded by Benedict XIV.

190 years ago
1820

Born on this date
Thomas C. Durant. U.S. railroad tycoon. Dr. Durant was a physician in the 1840s before becoming a railroad executive. He was successful at raising money for the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad (M&M) in the 1850s, and was vice president of the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in 1869 when it met with the Central Pacific railroad at Promontory Summit in Utah Territory. Dr. Durant created the financial structure which led to the Crédit Mobilier scandal, which hurt the careers of several politicians and nearly bankrupted Union Pacific. Dr. Durant died on October 5, 1885 at the age of 65.

Africana
The first 86 Negro immigrants sponsored by the American Colonization Society departed New York to start a settlement in what is now Liberia.

170 years ago
1840

Diplomacy
The Treaty of Waitangi was signed between representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand, establishing a British Governor of New Zealand, recognizing Māori ownership of their lands and other properties, and giving the Māori the rights of British subjects.

130 years ago
1880

Died on this date
Edward Barron Chandler, 79. Canadian politician. Mr. Chandler, a native of Amherst, Nova Scotia, moved to Dorchester, New Brunswick to study law, and entered politics when he was elected to the N.B. legislature as an opponent of responsible government. He became a member of the New Brunswick Legislative Council in 1836, and was a cabinet minister from 1848-1854. Mr. Chandler was a delegate from New Brunswick to the conferences that led to Canadian confederation, and was a Father of Confederation. He was a cautious supporter of the federal Conservative government of Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, and refused a Senate appointment, but accepted the appointment as Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick in 1878. Mr. Chandler died in office, and was succeeded by Robert Duncan Wilmot.

120 years ago
1890

Born on this date
James McGirr. Australian politician. Mr. McGirr, a member of the Labour Party, was Premier of New South Wales from 1947-1952. He died of a heart attack on October 27, 1957 at the age of 67.

110 years ago
1900

Law
The Permanent Court of Arbitration, an international arbitration court at The Hague, was created when the Senate of the Netherlands ratified an 1899 peace conference decree.

100 years ago
1910

Born on this date
Carlos Marcello. Tunisian-born U.S. gangster. Mr. Marcello, born Calogero Minacori, emigrated with his family to Louisiana when he was an infant. He turned to crime at an early age, and ended up as boss of the New Orleans crime family from 1947 until the early 1980s. He served six months in prison in the mid-1960s for assaulting a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, and served 6 1/2 years after being convicted in a bribery scandal in the '80s. Mr. Marcello has been accused of involvement in the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1963, but this blogger is skeptical of those accusations. Mr. Marcello died on March 3, 1993, 25 days after his 83rd birthday.

80 years ago
1930

Track and field
A six-stage snowshoe race between Québec City and Montreal ended at the Montreal Forum, as Édouard Fabre took the victory after 34 hours and 18 minutes. The race followed the marathon between Montreal and Lewsiton, Maine that promoter Armand Vincent had organized in 1929. Mr. Fabre was a previous winner of the Boston Marathon and San Francisco Marathon.

75 years ago
1935

Popular culture
The board game Monopoly® went on sale for the first time.

70 years ago
1940

War
The Allied War Council met in Paris to discuss a French offer to aid Finland in her war against the U.S.S.R. Japanese spokesmen claimed penetration of the province of Ningsia in northwestern China.

Diplomacy
Delegates from 10 League of Nations members met in The Hague to establish a committee for the study of economic and social problems.

British envoy Sir Stafford Cripps left Chungking for Sinkiang on his inspection tour of the Chinese war zone.

60 years ago
1950

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Dead Pigeon, starring Joel Ashley, John Boruff, Philip Coolidge, and Florida Friebus

Diplomacy
U.S. High Commissioner John McCloy warned West Germany that the United States would use all its power and influence to head off a revival of Nazism. He told the Germans not to expect a revived Army or Air Force.

Defense
London Intelligence Digest editor Kenneth de Courcy claimed that the U.S.S.R. had already built three hydrogen bombs and exploded one.

The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff ended a six-day visit to Japan and Okinawa after conferring with General Douglas MacArthur on defense needs in the Pacific region.

The U.S. Defense Department announced the test-firing of the Navy's "Mighty Mouse," the first successful air-to-air rocket.

Politics and government
The Republican Party issued its policy statement for the 1950 U.S. congressional elections under the slogan "Liberty Against Socialism."

Academia
U.S. Army Secretary Gordon Gray accepted the appointment as President of the University of North Carolina.

Labour
The coal mine strike in the United States widened to included 400,000 miners as U.S. President Harry Truman invoked the Taft-Hartley Act and appointed a three-man fact-finding commission to investigate the dispute.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Boom Boom Baby--Crash Craddock

#1 single in Italy: Romantica--Tony Dallara

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Marina--Rocco Granata and the International Quintet (6th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Why--Anthony Newley (3rd week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Running Bear--Johnny Preston (3rd week at #1)
2 Teen Angel--Mark Dinning
3 El Paso--Marty Robbins
4 Where or When--Dion and the Belmonts
5 You Got What it Takes--Marv Johnson
6 Why--Frankie Avalon
7 Go, Jimmy, Go--Jimmy Clanton
8 Handy Man--Jimmy Jones
9 Pretty Blue Eyes--Steve Lawrence
10 Lonely Blue Boy--Conway Twitty

Singles entering the chart were Lady Luck by Lloyd Price and his Orchestra (#70); Outside My Window by the Fleetwoods (#79); Beatnik Fly by Johnny and the Hurricanes (#81); Too Pooped to Pop "Casey" by Chuck Berry (#87); Bad Boy by Marty Wilde (#89); (Baby) Hully Gully by the Olympics (#92); I Know What God Is by Perry Como (#93); You're My Baby by Sarah Vaughan (#95); I was Such a Fool (To Fall in Love with You) by the Flamingos (#97); How Much by the Skyliners (#98); I'll Take Care of You by Bobby Bland (#100); Angela Jones by Johnny Ferguson (also #100); and On the Beach by Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra (also #100). I Know What God Is was the other side of Delaware, charting at #57.

Vancouver's Top 10 (CFUN)
1 Lucky Devil--Carl Dobkins, Jr.
2 Teen Angel--Mark Dinning
3 Running Bear--Johnny Preston
4 Little Bitty Girl--Bobby Rydell
5 Terry--Leigh Bell
6 Handy Man--Jimmy Jones
7 Lonely Blue Boy--Conway Twitty
8 What in the World's Come Over You--Jack Scott
9 Go, Jimmy, Go--Jimmy Clanton
10 Down by the Station--The Four Preps

Singles entering the chart were Outside My Window by the Fleetwoods (#23); What a Night by the Chippendales (#28); (There was a) Tall Oak Tree by Dorsey Burnette (#29); Werewolf by the Frantics (#31); Wild Cat by Gene Vincent (#34); Was There Once by Mike Minor (#36); and Lady Luck by Lloyd Price and his Orchestra (#38).

Died on this date
Jesse Belvin, 27. U.S. musician. Mr. Belvin was a singer, songwriter, and pianist who co-wrote Earth Angel a major rhythm and blues hit for the Penguins in 1954. As was the common practice in those days, the song was covered by a white artist, in this case the Crew Cuts, whose version hit #3 on the Billboard U.S. pop chart. Mr. Belvin sang with the Shields, whose great doo-wop ballad You Cheated hit #20 on the pop chart in 1958. He then embarked on a career as a solo artist, reaching #31 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1959 with Guess Who. His promising career was shortened when he and his wife were killed in a car accident near Hope, Arkansas, just after he had appeared in Little Rock on a bill with Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, and Marv Johnson. It was the first concert in Little Rock to take place before an integrated audience, and the show was interrupted by white yutes shouting racial slurs. Mr. Belvin’s records are among the most sought among aficionados of 1950s-1960s male rhythm and blues singers.

40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Nature--The Fourmyula

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)--Edison Lighthouse

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Pretty Belinda--Chris Andrews (3rd week at #1)
2 Theresa--Dave Mills
3 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas
4 Jam Up Jelly Tight--Tommy Roe
5 (Call Me) Number One--The Tremeloes
6 Without Love (There is Nothing)--Tom Jones
7 Don't Cry Daddy--Elvis Presley
8 All I Have to Do is Dream--Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell
9 He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother--The Hollies
10 The Liquidator--The Harry J. All Stars

Singles entering the chart were Good Old Rock 'n Roll by the Dave Clark Five (#18); Someday We'll Be Together by Diana Ross and the Supremes (#19); and Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday by Stevie Wonder (#20).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Venus--The Shocking Blue (2nd week at #1)
2 Arizona--Mark Lindsay
3 Fancy--Bobbie Gentry
4 Walkin' in the Rain--Jay and the Americans
5 No Time--The Guess Who
6 Thank You Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin--Sly & the Family Stone
7 He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother--Hollies
8 I'm Tired--Savoy Brown
9 Walk a Mile in My Shoes--Joe South and the Believers
10 I Want You Back--The Jackson 5

Singles entering the chart were Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel (#21); Down in the Alley by Ronnie Hawkins (#25); I Must Have Been Blind by the Collectors (#27); Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum (#28); Ma Belle Amie by the Tee Set (#29); and Rainy Night in Georgia by Brook Benton (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Fancy--Bobbie Gentry (2nd week at #1)
2 Arizona--Mark Lindsay
3 Jennifer Tomkins--Street People
4 Venus--The Shocking Blue
5 Groovy Grubworm--Harlow Wilcox and the Oakies
6 No Time--The Guess Who
7 Walk a Mile in My Shoes--Joe South and the Believers
8 When Julie Comes Around--The Cuff Links
9 Ma Belle Amie--The Tee Set
10 Honey Come Back--Glen Campbell

On television tonight
Hallmark Hall of Fame, on NBC
Tonight's episode: A Storm in Summer, starring Peter Ustinov and N'gai Dixon

This drama was directed by Buzz Kulik and written by Rod Serling.

War
In a television interview, former U.S. President Lyndon Johnson said that enemy exhaustion after the Tet offensive of early 1968, and not domestic political considerations, led him to offer a partial halt to the bombing of North Vietnam. He added that the 206,000 additional American troops that U.S. military leaders had requested at that time reflected not a sense of weakness but rather a fear of Communist-inspired trouble elsewhere. Meanwhile, both sides observed a cease-fire for Tet in 1970: the U.S. and South Vietnamese for 24 hours, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong for four days. U.S. and S.V. troops stayed on guard against any repetition of the 1968 offensive. Each side accused the other of cease-fire violations, and the U.S. command posted 113 "enemy initiated" incidents, with a death toll of 3 Americans, 5 South Vietnamese, and 137 Communists.

Egyptian frogmen sank an Israeli naval vessel at Elath. 15 hours later, Israeli jets retaliated by bombing and sinking an Egyptian minelayer in the Red Sea. Both sides unleashed air strikes the same day.

Politics and government
U.S. Senator Fred Harris of Oklahoma, explaining that he wanted to free himself from the "restraints" of the job, resigned as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Sen. Harris, who had held the job for about a year, told aides that he was weary of factional sniping from both right and left.

Economics and finance
The European Economic Community’s first commercial treaty with an eastern European country was concluded with Yugoslavia. The three-year trade agreement could help Yugoslavia expand exports to the west, but the significance of the accord was seen as at least partly political.

The U.S. Labor Department reported that unemployment had risen in January by 0.5% to 3.9%, which was still below the rates from 1957-1966.

30 years ago
1980

World events
Iranian President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr denounced the student militants holding hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran as "self-centred children" who were behaving like a "government within a government." The Revolutionary Council ordered the state broadcasting system to stop granting the militants automatic air time to publicize their views.

Science
Elwyn Simmons of Duke University announced the discovery of the oldest primate fossils in the chain of alleged human hereditary lineage found to date. In the previous three years, more than two dozen skeletal fossils of monkey-like primates the size of a house cat had been found at the edge of the Sahara Desert in Egypt. The primate, alleged to be an ancestor of both apes and humans, was named Aegyptopithecus. It was thought to have roamed Africa 30 million years ago and to have had a complex social structure defended by males.

25 years ago
1985

Died on this date
Kevin Lapa, 24. Canadian football player. Mr. Lapa, a native of Kamloops, British Columbia, played linebacker at Weber State University and was chosen by the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League in the second round of the 1983 CFL college draft. After returning to Weber State for one more year, he reported to the Lions, where he played defensive end, wearing #70. He saw some action in pre-season games, but cancer was discovered in his mouth during the pre-season. he underwent surgery and spent the entire 1984 season on the Lions’ disabled list, although he was able to practice with the team on occasion. Mr. Lapa succumbed to the cancer in Kamloops.

20 years ago
1990

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight's episode: She, My Friend and I

Died on this date
Jimmy Van Heusen, 77. U.S. songwriter. Mr. Van Heusen, born Edward Babcock, was kwown for writing the music to Sammy Cahn's lyrics for songs in musical shows and movies. He was nominated for 14 Academy Awards, and won four times for Best Original Song: Swinging on a Star (Going My Way) (1944); All the Way (The Joker is Wild) (1957); High Hopes (A Hole in the Head) (1959); and Call Me Irresponsible (Papa's Delicate Condition) (1963). He also won an Emmy Award with Mr. Cahn for the song Love and Marriage, written for the Producers' Showcase presentation of Our Town.

Politics and government
U.S.S.R. Premier Nikolai Ryzhkov, responding to calls for a multiparty political system, said that a multiparty system, in effect, already existed. Hard-liners on the Communist Party Central Committee warned that any moves toward a multiparty system or free enterprise could lead to the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

Hockey
NHL
New Jersey 2 Edmonton 2

Brett Hull of the Dallas Stars became the first son of a 50-goal scorer to score 50 goals in a season himself. Brett scored his 50th goal of the season at Chicago Stadium against the Blackhawks, the team with which Mr. Hull's father Bobby had posted five 50-goal seasons.

10 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Phil Walters, 83. U.S. auto racing driver. Mr. Walters was a glider pilot with the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II and lost half a lung and a kidney as the result of wounds, but was able to become a sports car and endurance race driver. He won numerous sports car races from 1950-1955, and won the Grand Prix, 12 Hours of Sebring in 1953, while finishing third in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1953. Mr. Walters was preparing to join Enzo Ferrari's Formula One team in 1955, but witness the crash at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in which 85 spectators were killed, and immediately quit the sport. He later became an accomplished sailboat racer.

Terrorism
Hijackers seized control of an Afghan passenger jet with more than 180 aboard, soon after takeoff from Kabul. Some hostages were released during landings in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and 9 were released when the plane landed in Moscow.

War
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russian troops had captured the last rebel stronghold in the Chechen capital of Grozny. The city was little more than a pile of rubble after a six-month bombardment that left no home intact and much of the city booby-trapped or littered with unexploded Russian shells.

Politics and government
Tarja Halonen became the first woman to be elected President of Finland, taking 51.6% of the vote. Voter turnout was 80.2%.

U.S. First Lady Hillary Clinton announced that she would be seeking a seat in the United States Senate in New York in 2000. Speaking in Purchase, New York, she said she was a "new Democrat" who supported a significant role for government, but with financial responsibility. She said, "I may be new to the neighbourhood, but I’m not new to your concerns." New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani went on five Sunday morning television programs to promote his candidacy.

Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard said that Quebec must solve its health care crisis before calling another sovereignty referendum.

Protest
Police raided a university in Mexico City and arrested 632 striking students, ending a nine-month occupation.

Football
NFL
Pro Bowl @ Aloha Stadium, Honolulu
NFC 51 AFC 31

Randy Moss of the Minnesota Vikings caught 9 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown for the National Football Conference, and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Mr. Moss’s touchdown came on a 25-yard pass from Steve Beuerlein. Mike Alstott rushed for three NFC touchdowns, while other NFC touchdowns were scored by Aeneas Williams (62-yard interception return) and Derrick Brooks (20-yard interception return). Jason Hanson converted all 6 and added 3 field goals. Jimmy Smith of the Jacksonville Jaguars caught 3 touchdown passes for the American Football Conference: 5 yards from Mark Brunell, 21 yards from Peyton Manning, and 52 yards from Mr. Manning. Tony Gonzalez scored the other AFC touchdown on a 10-yard pass from Rich Gannon. Olindo Mare converted all 3 and added a field goal. Tony Dungy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was the winning head coach over Tom Coughlin of Jacksonville.

February 5, 2010

1,040 years ago
970

Died on this date
Polyeuctus. Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, 956-970. Polyeuctus succeeded Theophylact on the patriarchal throne, and was known for his great mind and zeal for the Orthodox faith. He excommunicated Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II because of his marriage, but also excommunicated Nikephoros II's assassins. Polyeuctus was succeeded as Ecumenical Patriarch by Basil I.

200 years ago
1810

Born on this date
Ole Bull. Norwegian musician and composer. Mr. Bull was a violin virtuoso who achieved popularity throughout Europe and the United States in a performing career spanning more than 50 years, being compared favourably by Robert Schumann to Niccolò Paganini. Mr. Bull composed more than 70 works, only about 10 of which survive. He died of cancer on August 17, 1880 at the age of 70.

War
The French Army began the Siege of Cádiz in the Peninsular War.

170 years ago
1840

Born on this date
Hiram Maxim. U.S.-born U.K. engineer. Sir Hiram was beast known for inventing the Maxim gun--the first portable, fully automatic machine gun. He died on November 24, 1916 at the age of 76.

John Boyd Dunlop. U.K. veterinarian and inventor. Dr. Dunlop, a native of Scotland, practiced veterinary medicine for 10 years before pursuing inventions using rubber. He developed pneumatic tires, and lent his name to Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company, founded in 1889. Dr. Dunlop died on October 23, 1921 at the age of 81, after catching a chill.

120 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Adlai Stevenson II. U.S. politician and diplomat. Mr. Stevenson, a Democrat, was Governor of Illinois from 1949-1953. His namesake Adlai Stevenson was Vice President of the United States under President Grover Cleveland from 1893-1897. Adlai Stevenson II was the Democratic Party's nominee for President of the United States in 1952 and 1956, but lost to Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower in both elections. After failing to obtain the Democratic presidential nomination in 1960, Mr. Stevenson was appointed United States Ambassador to the United Nations in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, a position which he held until his death. He had just completed a radio interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation in London when he collapsed on the sidewalk with a fatal heart attack on July 14, 1965 at the age of 65.

70 years ago
1940

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

War
The Allied Supreme War Council secretly agreed to prepare to occupy the Norwegian city of Narvik and to recruit an expeditionary force of "volunteers" to assist Finland in her war against the U.S.S.R. The Japanese Foreign Office said that Japanese planes would continue to bomb the Haiphong-Hunan railroad in China because of military necessity.

Diplomacy
The U.S.A. and Saudi Arabia established diplomatic relations.

Politics and government
At a press conference in Hyde Park, New York, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt refused to answer questions regarding whether he would seek a third term in office in the November 1940 election.

The American Youth Congress refused to oust alleged Communists from its organization.

Economics and finance
Financial experts of the Western Hemisphere, meeting in Washington, agreed upon the establishment of an Inter-American Bank to stimulate trade within the Americas.

Labour
The International Labour Organization declared the U.S.S.R.'s permanent seat vacant and nominated the Netherlands as the successor.

60 years ago
1950

On the radio
Christopher London, starring Glenn Ford, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Missing Heiress

This series was created for radio by Erle Stanley Gardner, the creator of Perry Mason.

Defense
The Polish Parliament passed a universal military service law reorganizing the country's armed forces along Soviet lines.

Politics and government
Italy withdrew General Guglielmo Nasi's appointment as Governor of Italian Somaliland, replacing him with Gen. Arturo Ferrara as commander of Italian troops in the trust territory and Pompeo Gorini as civil administrator.

Society
The U.S. National Safety Council reported that 32,500 of the 91,000 Americans who had died in accidents in 1949 had been killed in traffic mishaps.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Why--Anthony Newley

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Why--Anthony Newley

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CBS
Tonight’s episode: The Last Flight, starring Kenneth Haigh, Simon Scott, and Alexander Scourby

This was the first episode written by Richard Matheson to be produced and broadcast.

Basketball
NBA
Syracuse 100 @ Boston 124

Bill Russell of the Celtics grabbed a record 51 rebounds to lead his team over the Nationals at Boston Garden. Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors broke the mark with 55 rebounds, the current record, nine months later against the Celtics.

40 years ago
1970

On television tonight
Dragnet 1970, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Burglary: The Son

Health
In the first experiment in which large animals developed malignant tumours after exposure to cigarette smoke, two scientists reported that of dogs they trained to smoke, 12 were later found to have lung cancer. The scientists claimed that their study "effectively" refuted the tobacco industry’s contention that there was no link between cigarettes and cancer.

Education
A dozen southern U.S. Senators, led by John Stennis (Democrat--Mississippi) and Strom Thurmond (Republican--South Carolina), took the Senate floor to demand that the new federal school desegregation guidelines be applied to northern as well as southern schools, or be abandoned altogether. Their protest opened Sen. Stennis’s campaign to restore "freedom of choice" and bar compulsory busing for school integration via an amendment for the $35-billion education bill that had been passed by the House of Representatives.

30 years ago
1980

Diplomacy
The foreign ministers of France and West Germany called for the U.S.S.R. to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.

Scandal
U.S. Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti was objecting that Congressional investigations into the recently-revealed Federal Bureau of Investigation Operation Abscam, in which FBI agents disguised as businessmen and Arab sheikhs had offered bribes to selected U.S. public officials, could jeopardize criminal charges that the government might want to pursue.

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Aku no hana (悪の華)--Buck-Tick

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins (10th week at #1)

Scandal
Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan refused Judge Harold Greene’s direction to provide excerpts from his diaries to the attorneys of former national security adviser Admiral John Poindexter, on trial for his role in the Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages deal. Mr. Reagan, through his attorneys, asserted a claim "to the constitutionally protected privacy of his diaries." Judge Greene agreed with Adm. Poindexter that Mr. Reagan possessed information that was unavailable from any other source, and ordered Mr. Reagan to give videotaped testimony.

10 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Claude Autant-Lara, 98. French film director and politician. Mr. Autant-Lara directed about 50 movies from 1923-1977. His films included Sylvie et le fantôme (Sylvie and the Phantom) (1946); Le Diable au corps (Devil in the Flesh) (1947); and Occupe-toi d'Amélie (Keep an Eye on Amelia) (1949). In June 1989, Mr. Autant-Lara was elected to the European Parliament as a candidate for the National Front. In his maiden speech, he warned about the American cultural threat, and promptly resigned his seat.

Barbara Pentland, 88. Canadian composer. Miss Pentland, a native of Winnipeg, was a concert pianist before embarking on a career as an avant-garde composer, writing four symphonies and numerous choral, chamber, and instrumental works, including the piano composition Studies in Line (1941). Ill health prevented her from composing for at least a decade before her death in Vancouver.

Ward Cornell, 75. Canadian sportscaster. Mr. Cornell, a native of London, Ontario and a graduate of the University of Western Ontario, was intermission host of Hockey Night in Canada’s Toronto broadcasts from 1959-1972. He also was the play-by-play broadcaster for the football games of the University of Western Ontario Mustangs and the London Lords in the late 1950s, and general manager of London radio station CFPL from 1954-1967. After leaving Hockey Night in Canada Mr. Cornell was appointed agent-general in England for the government of Ontario, and was later a deputy minister in the provincial government. He died of emphysema in Uxbridge, Ontario.

Abominations
Russian forces massacred at least 60 civilians in the Novye Aldi suburb of Grozny, Chechnya.

February 4, 2010

1,140 years ago
870

Died on this date
Ceolnoth. English religious leader. Ceolnoth was Roman Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury from 833 until his death. He had to deal with Viking raids on Kent, resulting in a decline in monastic life and scholarly works. Archbishop Ceolnoth made alliances with West Saxon Kings Egbert and Æthelwulf that laid the foundation for future relations between the archbishops of Canterbury and the kings of England. Ceolnoth was succeeded as Archbishop of Canterbury by Æthelred.

1,050 years ago
960

Chinatica
Zhao Kuangyin was crowned as Emperor Taizu, initiating the Song dynasty, which lasted more than three centuries.

420 years ago
1590

Died on this date
Gioseffo Zarlino, 72 or 73. Italian composer and music theorist. Mr. Zarlino wrote madrigals and 41 motets, but was better known as a music theorist, making a large contribution to the theory of counterpoint as well as to musical tuning.

270 years ago
1740

Born on this date
Carl Michael Bellman. Swedish songwriter. Mr. Bellman was best known for two collections of poems set to music: Fredmans epistlar (Fredman's Epistles) (1790) and Fredmans sånger (Fredman's Songs) (1791). Mr. Bellman was a heavy drinker who suffered from gout and tuberculosis; he died in his sleep on February 11, 1795, a week after his 55th birthday.

200 years ago
1810

War
The British Royal Navy seized Guadeloupe.

190 years ago
1820

War
In the Chilean War of Independence, the Chilean Navy under the command of Lord Cochrane completed the two-day Capture of Valdivia with just 300 men and 2 ships, defeating Spanish forces commanded by Colonel Manuel Montoy.

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Jacques Prévert. French poet and screenwriter. Mr. Prévert's poems were often about life in Paris after World War II, and were collected in six volumes (1946-1973). Some of his poems were set to music by Joseph Kosma; the most notable example was Les feuilles mortes (Autumn Leaves) (1945). Mr. Prévert's best-known screenplay was for Les Enfants du paradis (Children of Paradise) (1945). He died of lung cancer on April 11, 1977 at the age of 77.

70 years ago
1940

War
Japanese planes disrupted traffic on the Haishong-Yunan rail line in China despite U.S. appeals.

Diplomacy
The Balkan Entente conference--with the foreign ministers of Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia--concluded with the communique that the entente would continue in force until 1949.

Economics and finance
The governing body of the International Labour Organization rejected U.S. delegate Robert J. Watt's suggestion the previous day that the ILO prepare a plan for the world's transition from a war to a peace-time economy.

The New York Times reported that because of the European War, Palestine was suffering its worst depression ever.

60 years ago
1950

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): "A" You're Adorable--Perry Como and the Fontane Sisters; Tony Pastor

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): I Can Dream, Can't I?--The Andrews Sisters with Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra (Best Seller--4th week at #1; Disc Jockey--5th week at #1; Jukebox--3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I Can Dream, Can't I?--The Andrews Sisters (5th week at #1)
2 Dear Hearts and Gentle People--Bing Crosby
--Dinah Shore
3 The Old Master Painter--Dick Haymes
--Richard Hayes
--Phil Harris and his Orchestra
4 Johnson Rag--Jack Teter Trio
--Jimmy Dorsey and his Original "Dorseyland" Jazz band
--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra
5 There's No Tomorrow--Tony Martin
6 A Dreamer's Holiday--Perry Como
--Buddy Clark and the Girl Friends
7 Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo (The Magic Song)--Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae
--Perry Como
8 Mule Train--Frankie Laine and the Muleskinners
--Bing Crosby
--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
--Tennessee Ernie
9 Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy--Red Foley
--Bing Crosby
10 Slipping Around--Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely

Singles entering the chart were Sitting by the Window by Billy Eckstine (#26); Quicksilver by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters (#29); Bamboo by Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra (#30); and Fairy Tales by Paul Weston and his Orchestra (#34).

Died on this date
Montagu Norman, 78. U.K. banker. Baron Norman was Governor of the Bank of England from 1920-1944, and was known as the "currency dictator of Europe." While visiting his brother's country estate in 1944, he tripped over a cow and may have been kicked in the head, suffering an injury from which he never fully recovered. Baron Norman died after a stroke.

Defense
12 leading U.S. physicists, led by Hans Bethe of Cornell University, urged that the United States promise the world that it would not be the first country to use the hydrogen bomb.

Politics and government
Chinese Communists announced the formation of a regional for the eastern provinces of Shantung, kiangsu, Anthwei, Chekiang, Fukien, and Taiwan.

Five Socialist ministers quit French Prime Minister Georges Bidault's cabinet in protest against a January cost-of-living wage increase.

Labour
United Mine Workers of America President John L. Lewis rejected U.S. President Harry Truman's proposal to end the coal strike, claiming the miners did not want their wages and working conditions dictated by "three strangers" on the proposed presidential fact-finding board.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?--Emile Ford and the Checkmates (7th week at #1)

On television tonight
The Untouchables, starring Robert Stack, on ABC
Tonight's episode: One-Armed Bandits, with guest stars Larry Gates, John Beradino, and Harry Guardino

At the movies
Visit to a Small Planet, directed by Norman Taurog, and starring Jerry Lewis, Earl Holliman, Joan Blackman, and Fred Clark, opened in theatres.





40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)--Edison Lighthouse

On television tonight
Then Came Bronson, starring Michael Parks, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Lucky Day

At the movies
Patton, directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, and starring George C. Scott and Karl Malden, received its premiere screening in New York City.



Died on this date
Louise Bogan, 72. U.S. poetess. Miss Bogan was known for her lyric poetry, which was collected into six volumes. She was Poet Laureate to the Library of Congress in 1945, becoming was the first woman to hold the title. Miss Bogan was the poetry reviewer for The New Yorker from 1931-1970, retiring shortly before her death.

Space
The New York Times Service reported that American and British experts believed that the Soviet Union had built and successfully tested a satellite capable of intercepting and destroying other orbiting spacecraft. From tracking data gathered on Soviet spacecraft and from secret intelligence reports, the experts deduced that 16 months earlier the U.S.S.R. had launched an "interceptor-inspector-destroyer" satellite, officially named Cosmos 248, which had homed in on Cosmos 249 and Cosmos 252 and destroyed them. Radars of the United States Air Force originally saw the two Cosmos target satellites and their carrier rockets in orbit. According to officially published reports, the radars later detected 25 pieces of each spacecraft, indicating that an explosion had occurred. The experts noted that the explosions, which could have been caused by small onboard missiles with conventional warheads such as the Sidewinder type, occurred about the time the target satellites were near Cosmos 248. For more than a year, it was said, the Soviets successfully masked the tests by conducting them in October 1968 while public attention and private radars were focused on the U.S.A.’s Apollo 7 manned flight and the U.S.S.R.’s Soyuz 3 manned mission.

Environment
An executive order by U.S. President Richard Nixon called for the elimination of all air and water pollution caused by federal agencies. The directive provided $359 million to carry out the task and a three-year deadline to meet the requirements of state pollution standards.

Journalism
The U.S. Justice Department disclosed that it would not insist on obtaining all the material asked from newsmen in a recent series of subpoenas. A spokesman for the department said that investigators had breached a long-standing policy of agreeing with newsmen on the information to be demanded through a subpoena.

Disasters
All 39 aboard were killed when an Argentinian airliner crashed in a northeastern swamp.

30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough--Michael Jackson (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Daitokai--Crystal King (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Man Gave Names to All the Animals--Bob Dylan

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd

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

World events
Dissident Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov, recently exiled to Gorky, said that he had been threatened with a pistol and had been warned that he faced harsher exile or commitment to a psychiatric hospital if his wife, Yelena Bonner, continued to carry his written statements to Moscow.

Protest
100 demonstrators jostled Québec Premier René Lévesque to prevent him from entering the Paladium in Longueuil, where he was to deliver a speech related to the province's upcoming referendum on sovereignty. Mr. Lévesque said that the protest had been infiltrated by "marginal second-class revolutionaries who take advantage of every opportunity to get their message across, or they could not get through. Our society is not violent compared to others, and I've seen worse."

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Love Shack--The B-52's (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 All Around the World--Lisa Stansfield (5th week at #1)
2 Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins
3 Bakerman--Laid Back
4 Leave a Light On--Belinda Carlisle
5 Don't Know Much--Linda Ronstadt (featuring Aaron Neville)
6 I Feel the Earth Move--Martika
7 Listen to Your Heart--Roxette
8 Ride on Time--Black Box
9 The Road to Hell (Part 2)--Chris Rea
10 Sit and Wait--Sydney Youngblood

Singles entering the chart were Sit and Wait; Dear Jessie by Madonna (#21); Rich in Paradise "Going Back to My Roots" by F.P.I. Project (#27); and The Message is Love by Arthur Baker and the Backbeat Disciples featuring Al Green (#30).

Died on this date
"Whipper" Billy Watson, 74. Canadian wrestler. Mr. Watson, born William Potts in East York, Ontario, was a main attraction at Maple Leaf Wrestling in Toronto from 1940-1971, frequently holding the British Empire heavyweight title, and briefly holding the world title in 1947 and 1956. He also wrestled in St. Louis in the 1940s and '50s, joined the National Wrestling Alliance in 1955, and bought the Seattle territory. Mr. Watson was forced to retire from wrestling after suffering a serious knee injury in a car accident. He devoted himself to charity work, especially with Easter Seals. Mr. Watson retired to Florida, where he died.

Protest
100,000 people demonstrated in Moscow on behalf of democracy.

Football
NFL
Pro Bowl @ Aloha Stadium, Honolulu
NFC 27 AFC 21

Los Angeles Rams’ cornerback Jerry Gray was the game’s Most Valuable Player.

10 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Carl Albert, 91. U.S. politician. Mr. Albert, a Democrat, represented Oklahoma's 3rd District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947-1977. He was House Majority Whip (1955-1962); House Majority Leader (1962-1971); and Speaker of the House (1971-1977). Mr. Albert served with the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, acting as a prosecutor with the Judge Advocate General Corps, and rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Doris Kenner Jackson, 58. U.S. singer. Mrs. Jackson was an original member of the Shirelles, who recorded such hit singles as Dedicated to the One I Love (1960-1961); Will You Love Me Tomorrow (1960-1961); Mama Said (1961); Baby It’s You (1962); Soldier Boy (1962); and Foolish Little Girl (1963).

Politics and government
Austria’s coalition government, with 12 ministers--6 from the People’s Party and 6 from the Freedom Party--was sworn in. People’s Party leader Wolfgang Schussel became Chancellor; Freedom Party leader Joerg Haider was not named to the cabinet, but his private secretary, Susanne Riess-Passer, became the country’s first Vice-Chancellor.

Three days after taking just 1% of the vote in the New Hampshire primary, Gary Bauer withdrew from the contest for the Republican party nomination for President of the United States for 2000.

Diplomacy
The United States recalled its Austrian ambassador "for consultations."

Health
The World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium Charter of Paris was signed by French President Jacques Chirac and UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura, initiating World Cancer Day, which is held on February 4 every year.

February 3, 2010

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Louise Taylor!

490 years ago
1520

Died on this date
Sten Sture the Younger, 26 or 27. Regent of Sweden, 1512-1520. Sten Sture the Younger succeeded his father Svante Nilsson as regent as the result of a coup against High Councillor Eric Trolle, who had been chosen by the council. Sten Sture the Younger wanted Sweden to remain independent of Denmark, but his forces were defeated by Danish forces in the Battle of Bogesund on January 19, 1520, and he died 15 days after being wounded in the battle.

320 years ago
1690

Economics and finance
The colony of Massachusetts issued the first paper money in the Americas.

190 years ago
1820

Died on this date
Gia Long, 57. Emperor of Vietnam, 1802-1820. Gia Long, born Nguyễn Ánh, was the second son of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Khoát of southern Vietnam, and was forced into hiding in 1777 after his family was slain in the Tây Sơn revolt. He eventually obtained French support and defeated the Tây Sơn. Gia Long succeeded in unifying Vietnam, and imposed a regime of Confucian orthodoxy. He died five days before his 58th birthday, and was succeeded by his son Minh Mạng.

180 years ago
1830

Born on this date
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1885-1886; 1886-1892; 1895-1902. The Marquess of Salisbury, a Conservative, died 50 years to the day that he'd first entered the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Stamford in Lincolnshire. He was the last British Prime Minister to lead his full administration from the House of Lords, which he'd entered in 1868. Lord Salisbury's motto was "Whatever happens will be for the worse, and therefore it is in our interest that as little should happen as possible." He died on August 22, 1903 at the age of 73. Mister, we could use a man like Lord Salisbury again.

Europeana
The London Protocol of 1830, an amendment to the 1829 Protocol among the United Kingdom, France, and Russia, established the full independence and sovereignty of Greece from the Ottoman Empire as the final result of the Greek War of Independence.

170 years ago
1840

Born on this date
Allan McLean. U.K.-born Australian politician. Mr. McLean, a native of Scotland, moved to Australia as a child. He represented Gippsland North in the Victorian Legislative Assembly (1880-1901), holding several cabinet posts and serving as Premier of Victoria (1899-1900). Mr. McLean opposed Australian federation, but entered federal politics after it took effect in 1901, and represented Gippsland in the House of Representatives (1901-1906) as a member of the Protectionist Party, serving as Minister for Trade and Customs (1904-1905). Mr. McLean narrowly lost in seat in the 1906 federal election, and died on July 13, 1911 at the age of 71, after long suffering from a rheumatic condition.

140 years ago
1870

Law
The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. It reads:

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

130 years ago
1880

Baseball
The Worcester Worcesters, who had played in the minor league National Base-Ball Association, were admitted to the National League as its eighth franchise, replacing the Syracuse Stars, who had disbanded near the end of the 1879 season.

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Mabel Mercer. U.K.-born U.S. singer. Miss Mercer was a vaudeville and music hall singer in Britain and Europe before moving to the United States at the beginning of World War II. She achieved success as a nightclub singer in New York City, making occasional recordings from 1942-1980. She died on April 20, 1984 at the age of 84.

80 years ago
1930

Politics and government
The Communist Party of Vietnam was founded at a "Unification Conference" held in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

75 years ago
1935

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Louis Hector and Leigh Lovell, on NBC
Tonight’s episode: Cherchez La Femme

70 years ago
1940

At the movies
Calling Philo Vance, starring James Stephenson, opened in theatres. The film was a remake of The Kennel Murder Case (1933), which had starred William Powell.

War
German planes bombed the British coast from the Tyne River to Norfolk, claiming the sinking of 14 ships.

Diplomacy
The U.S. State Department asked both French and Japanese authorities to assure safe passage over the Haiphong-Yunan railroad in China.

Politics and government
The Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee announced its endorsement of Franklin D. Roosevelt for a third term as President of the United States.

The "farm bloc" of the United States Senate moved to restore budget cuts in the Agriculture bill, the day after the House of Representatives had voted a cut of $66.9 million.

Economics and finance
Robert J. Watt, U.S. delegate to the International Labour Organization meeting in Geneva, urged that body to prepare a plan for the world's transition from a war to a peace-time economy.

60 years ago
1950

Died on this date
Sid Field, 45. U.K. comedian. Mr. Field was a music hall performer throughout England for many years before achieving popularity on stage in London in the 1940s. He appeared in just three movies, and was starring as Elwood P. Dowd in a stage version of Harvey when he died of a heart attack. Mr. Field was a great influence on Laurence Olivier, Tony Hancock, and many other performers.

World events
Klaus Fuchs, a top British atomic scientist said to have known everything about construction of the U.S. atomic bomb, was arrested in London as a Soviet spy.

Diplomacy
Poland, Romania, Hungary, and North Korea recognized Ho Chi Minh's Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Communist China protested to United Nations Secretary-General Trygve Lie against the continued representation of Nationalist China in the UN.

Panamanian President Arnulfo Arias said that Peruvian and Venezuelan exiles in Panama would not be permitted to make speeches denouncing their governments.

Law
The U.S. Senate passed a bill to create a single code of military justice for the armed forces.

Agriculture
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Charles Brannan ordered the dumping of 25 million bushels of American-grown potatoes in an effort to keep prices up.

50 years ago
1960

Died on this date
Fred Buscaglione, 38. Italian singer and actor. Mr. Buscaglione was popular on stage and in recordings and movies in the mid-late 1950s, playing the comic character of a mobster with a penchant for whiskey and women. He was killed in a car accident in Rome.

World events
British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, in an address to the South African parliament in Cape Town, delivered his "Wind of Change" speech, acknowledging the increasing desire of Negro peoples in Africa to govern themselves, and offering a rebuke to South Africa’s apartheid system. He had delivered the "Wind of Change" speech in Accra, Ghana on January 10, but it had gone unnoticed at that time. Part of the text of the speech may be found here. South African Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd promptly offered his response to Mr. Macmillan's speech.



40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Kvällstoppen): Venus--Shocking Blue

#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye--Steam

Space
The U.S.A. launched Space Electric Rocket Test (SERT) II, a probe whose purpose was to demonstrate the capability of electric ion thrusters to operate in space.



30 years ago
1980

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

#1 single in Switzerland: Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd

Crime
The 36-hour riot and hostage-taking at New Mexico state penitentiary in Santa Fe concluded when more than 250 state police and National Guardsmen recaptured the prison without firing a shot. New Mexico Governor Bruce King had spoken with inmates over the telephone, and according to officials, this act and negotiations with prison spokesmen enabled the peaceful retaking of the prison. 33 inmates were killed in the incident. Witnesses said that execution squads of prisoners armed with axes and blowtorches had tortured and murdered fellow prisoners, especially those purported to be informers. Some of the deaths were from overdoses of drugs obtained from the prison infirmary, and smoke inhalation from fires that were set. About 600 of the prison’s 1,1366 inmates eventually fled the building but remained in the prison yard. The 11 hostages taken when the siege began were released one by one until only three remained when police entered the prison. Prison officials made public 11 demands by inmates, including less crowding, better food, and improved recreation and education facilities. The prison held 1/3 more prisoners than it was designed for.

Hockey
NHL
Edmonton 5 Los Angeles 3

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Love Shack--The B-52's (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Lambada--Kaoma (19th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): All Around the World--Lisa Stansfield

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): All Around the World--Lisa Stansfield

#1 single in France (SNEP): Les Valses de Vienne--François Feldman (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (CIN): Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Me So Horny--The 2 Live Crew
2 Got to Get--Rob 'n' Raz featuring Leila K
3 All Around the World--Lisa Stansfield
4 Get a Life--Soul II Soul
5 Words--The Christians
6 Get Into It--Tony Scott
7 Inna City Mamma--Neneh Cherry
8 Homely Girl--UB40
9 In Private--Dusty Springfield
10 Whatcha' Gonna Do with My Lovin'--Inner City

Singles entering the chart were Get Up! (Before the Night is Over) by Technotronic (#18); Nothing Compares to U by Sinéad O'Connor (#26); Ik Zie 'n Pils by De Havenzangers (#27); En Nou die Hèndjes de Lucht In by Van Alles Wè m.m.v. C.V. De Loeiers (#28); Fools Gold by the Stone Roses (#30); I Can't Stand It by Twenty 4 Seven featuring MC FixxIt (#32); Op De Deksel Van De Jampot... by Vader Abraham (#33); and I'm Not the Man I Used to Be by Fine Young Cannibals (#38).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 How am I Supposed to Live Without You--Michael Bolton (3rd week at #1)
2 Opposites Attract--Paula Abdul (Duet with the Wild Pair)
3 Downtown Train--Rod Stewart
4 Two to Make it Right--Seduction
5 Janie's Got a Gun--Aerosmith
6 I Remember You--Skid Row
7 Free Fallin'--Tom Petty
8 Pump Up the Jam--Technotronic featuring Felly
9 Just Between You and Me--Lou Gramm
10 Everything--Jody Watley

Singles entering the chart were Keep it Together by Madonna (#56); Love Me for Life by Stevie B (#69); I Wish it Would Rain Down by Phil Collins (#71); Forever by Kiss (#72); All Around the World by Lisa Stansfield (#78); That's What I Like by Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers (#91); 1-2-3 by the Chimes (#93); and You're the Only Woman by the Brat Pack (#94).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Downtown Train--Rod Stewart
2 How am I Supposed to Live Without You--Michael Bolton
3 Pump Up the Jam--Technotronic featuring Felly
4 Two to Make it Right--Seduction
5 Everything--Jody Watley
6 Just Between You and Me--Lou Gramm
7 Free Fallin'--Tom Petty
8 Opposites Attract--Paula Abdul (with Wild Pair)
9 Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins
10 I Remember You--Skid Row

Singles entering the chart were Keep it Together by Madonna (#70); Forever by Kiss (#73); All Around the World by Lisa Stansfield (#83); Walk on By by Sybil (#85); Get Up! (Before the Night is Over) by Technotronic (#87); Wouldn't Change a Thing by Kylie Minogue (#89); If U were Mine by U-Krew (#90); There's a Party Going On by Yvonne (#92); Let Love Rule by Lenny Kravitz (#95); and Fly High Michelle by Enuff Z’Nuff (#96).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins (8th week at #1)
2 Downtown Train--Rod Stewart
3 Just Between You and Me--Lou Gramm
4 Pump Up the Jam--Technotronic featuring Felly
5 Janie's Got a Gun--Aerosmith
6 Free Fallin'--Tom Petty
7 Peace in Our Time--Eddie Money
8 Just Like Jesse James--Cher
9 We Didn't Start the Fire--Billy Joel
10 Don't Know Much--Linda Ronstadt (featuring Aaron Neville)

Singles entering the chart were Almost Hear You Sigh by the Rolling Stones (#75); Tender Lover by Babyface (#77); Boots or Hearts by the Tragically Hip (#80); Love Will Lead You Back by Taylor Dayne (#82); All My Life by Linda Ronstadt (with Aaron Neville) (#85); Get Up! (Before the Night is Over) by Technotronic (#87); True Blue Love by Lou Gramm (#89); Sometimes She Cries by Warrant (#91); and Love Don't Come Easy by the Alarm (#93).

Music
Bobby Vee and the Crickets performed in Mr. Vee's home town of Fargo, North Dakota. Also on the bill was Del Shannon, giving what turned out to be his last live performance; he shot himself five days later while under the influence of Prozac.

Politics and government
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev told the Communist Party’s Central Committee, "We should abandon the ideological dogmatism that became ingrained during the past decades."

The Bulgarian parliament confirmed Andrei Lukanov as the country’s new premier.

Scandal
Darryl Strawberry's baseball career took a dramatic turn for the worse when the 27-year-old five-time all-star outfielder for the New York Mets entered a centre for drug and alcohol abuse in Manhattan to treat what the team described as a drinking problem.

Horse racing
Bill Shoemaker, 58, the greatest jockey in history, rode in his last race, finishing fourth at Santa Anita Park. He retired with 8,833 victories in 40,350 races.

Hockey
NHL
Pittsburgh 4 @ Toronto 8

10 years ago
2000

Diplomacy
Austria’s European allies froze bilateral ministerial contacts, while Israel recalled its ambassador from Austria.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat met, but failed to make any headway in discussions over which additional land on the West Bank was to be transferred to the Palestinian National Authority.

Politics and government
Austrian President Thomas Klestil approved the new coalition government of the People’s Party and the Freedom Party, but persuaded People’s Party leader Wolfgang Schussel and Freedom Party leader Joerg Haider to support democratic principles and renounce Austria’s past ties to the Nazis.

The Toronto police union called off a controversial fund-raising campaign aimed at financing bids to defeat politicians the union leadership didn’t like.

Business
A record for the biggest corporate merger was set when Britain’s Vodafone Airtouch Group PLC said it would acquire Mannesmann AG. Vodafone was the biggest wireless telephone company in the world, while Mannesmann was Germany’s largest. The all-stock transaction was valued at the equivalent of $183 billion U.S. Vodafone had attempted a hostile takeover, and after it appeared that Mannesmann’s shareholders would favour a merger, negotiations led to a superficially amicable agreement. The merged company would have 42 million subscribers.

February 2, 2010

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Simon O’Byrne and Sandy Ting!

1,130 years ago
880

Died on this date
Bruno, 40-50 (?). Duke of Saxony, 866-880. Bruno, a member of the Ottonian dynasty, succeeded his father as Duke of Saxony. He was killed fighting against Norse warriors in the Battle of Lüneburg Heath.

War
The Norse Great Heathen Army defeated forces of King Louis III of France in a snowstorm in the Battle of Lüneburg Heath in Saxony.

760 years ago
1250

Died on this date
Erik XI, 33 or 34. King of Sweden, 1222-1229, 1234-1250. Erik XI, nicknamed "The Lisp" and "The Lame," was born after the death of his father Erik X, who was succeeded by Johan I from the rival house of Sverkersson. King Johan I died in 1222 without an heir, enabling Erik XI to accede to the throne. He was overthrown by Knut II in 1229 after the Battle of Olustra, but regained the throne after the death of King Knut. King Erik I achieved eastward expansion of Sweden's territory, but had to deal with internal feuding in the later years of his reign. King Erik died without an heir, and was succeeded by Valdemar of the house of Birgersson.

360 years ago
1650

Born on this date
Nell Gwyn. English actress. Miss Gwyn was one of the first actresses of the English stage, and was regarded as an embodiment of the spirit of England during the Restoration. She was the mistress of King Charles II from 1668 until his death in 1685. Miss Gwyn died on November 14, 1687 at the age of 37 after suffering several strokes.

310 years ago
1700

Born on this date
Johann Christoph Gottsched. German scholar. Professor Gottsched taught poetry, logic, and metaphysics at the University of Leipzig, but was better known as a literary critic for about 30 years. Prof. Gottsched's constant criticism of the works of prominent writers eventually led him to be ignored, and by the time of his death on December 12, 1766 at the age of 66, his name had become a byword for foolish pedantism.

160 years ago
1850

War
Mormon Church President Brigham Young declared war on the Timpanogo Indians, beginning the Battle at Fort Utah.

150 years ago
1860

Born on this date
Curtis Guild, Jr. U.S. politician and diplomat. Mr. Guild, a Republican, was publisher of the Boston Commercial Bulletin before entering politics. He was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1881); Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (1903-1906); and Governor of Massachusetts (1906-1909). Mr. Guild enacted various reforms, especially in labour and business. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Russia (1911-1913), and died, after a brief illness, on April 6, 1915 at the age of 55.

140 years ago
1870

Scandal
The Cardiff Giant, a 10-foot-tall petrified man discovered on the Cardiff, New York farm of William Newell in 1869, was revealed to be a hoax. The giant was a block of gypsum carved into the likeness of a man, artificially aged, and buried on Mr. Newell’s farm, where it was "discovered" by workmen. The giant was purported to be an example of those mentioned in the sixth chapter of Genesis, and Mr. Newell’s neighbour George Hull, who had concocted the scheme, charged visitors 25c each to see it. P.T. Barnum attempted to buy the giant, and when he was rebuffed, he had his own version made, and declared Mr. Hull’s giant to be phony. It was at this point that Mr. Hull confessed to the hoax. One of Mr. Hull’s partners, David Hannum, said that the incident proved that "there’s a sucker born every minute." Mr. Barnum then appropriated the phrase and made it his own.

120 years ago
1890

Born on this date
Charles Correll. U.S. actor. Mr. Correll co-starred with Freeman Gosden in the radio comedy series Sam 'n' Henry 1926-1928 and played Andy Brown in that series' successor, Amos 'n' Andy (1928-1960). Mr. Correll died on September 26, 1972 at the age of 82.

Music
Antonin Dvorak's 8th Symphony received its premiere performance in Prague, with the composer conducting the orchestra.



110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Willie Kamm. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Kamm was a third baseman with the Chicago White Sox (1923-1931) and Cleveland Indians (1931-1935), batting .281 with 29 home runs and 826 runs batted in in 1,693 games. He was regarded as the best defensive third baseman in the American League for most of his career, leading the AL in fielding percentage eight times. After the White Sox traded Mr. Kamm, they had difficulty finding a good third baseman for most of the next 60 years. He died on December 21, 1988 at the age of 88.

90 years ago
1920

War
The Treaty of Tartu was signed between Estonia and Russia, ending the Estonian War of Independence (1918-1920).

World events
French troops occupied Memel Territory, which had been severed from Germany as a result of the Treaty of Versailles.

75 years ago
1935

Died on this date
Marau, 74. Queen consort of Tahiti, 1877-1880. Marau, the daughter of Jewish English merchant Alexander Salmon and Princesss Oehau, married future King Pōmare V in 1875, and became queen consort when he acceded to the throne upon the death of his mother, Queen Pōmare IV. King Pōmare V gave Tahiti to France and abdicated the throne in 1880; he and Queen Marau were divorced in 1887.

Technology
Leonarde Keeler tested the first polygraph machine on two criminals in Portage, Wisconsin.

70 years ago
1940

War
Former U.S. President Herbert Hoover urged the United States to stay out of the European war. Japanese military sources reported the capture of Pinyang, a strategic city in the Chinese province of Kwangsi.

Civil disorders in the northeast Indian frontier area were reported.

Diplomacy
Foreign ministers of the Balkan Entente countries--Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia--met in Belgrade.

The Japanese Foreign Office explained that its adherence to the Anti-Comintern Pact "involves no question of antagonizing" the U.S.S.R.

Politics and government
U.S. Vice President John Nance "Cactus Jack" Garner announced that he would enter the Georgia Democratic primary, if one was held, to challenge the New Deal economic policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Economics and finance
The U.S. House of Representatives voted a $66.9-million cut in the Agriculture Department bill despite pressure from farmers and President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

A New York Stock Exchange seat was sold for $48,000, the lowest price since 1918.

Medicine
Dr. J.B. Collip of McGill University reported the discovery of an oral substance to be used in combating diabetes.

Chess
Isaac Kashdan won the international tournament in Havana.

60 years ago
1950

On television tonight
Escape, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Old Castle, starring Sarah Fussell, Jabez Grey, Hanna Landy, and Bruno Wick

What's My Line?, hosted by John Daly, on CBS

This was the first broadcast of the long-running quiz show.



Died on this date
Katherine Devereux Blake, 91. U.S. educator and activist. Miss Blake was principal of Public School No. 6 in New York City from 1894-1928, and founded the city's first evening high school for women in 1897. She supported the usual worthless causes such as women's suffrage.

Diplomacy
French President Vincent Aurol signed accords completing French recognition of Bao Dai's conservative Vietnamese government. Czechoslovakia recognized Ho Chi Minh's Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Politics and government
El Salvador's military junta announced that elections for a new president and Constitutional Congress would be held on March 26, with women participating for the first time.

Labour
U.S. President Harry Truman's proposal for a truce in the soft-coal dispute was accepted by all major mine operators, but United Mine Workers of America President John L. Lewis withheld his answer.

50 years ago
1960

On television tonight
Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, hosted by John Newland, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Who are You?, starring Philip Bourneuf, Anna Lee, and Reba Waters



Weather
Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania groundhog, failed to see his shadow for the first time.

40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head--Johnny Farnham (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Kuroneko no Tango--Osamu Minagawa (16th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Himno a la Alegría--Miguel Ríos

On the radio
The Challenge of Space, on Springbok Radio
Tonight’s episode: The New Colonisers

Died on this date
Bertrand Russell, 97. U.K. philosopher. Professor Russell was one of the founders of analytic philosophy, and was regarded as one of the 20th century's foremost logicians. His most famous book, written with Alfred North Whitehead, was the three-volume Principia Mathematica (1910-1913). Prof. Russell was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1950 "in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought." Prof. Russell was known for campaigning against nuclear arms, but it was less well-known that for several years in the late 1940s he advocated a pre-emptive nuclear strike by the U.S.A. against the U.S.S.R. Prof. Russell died of influenza. Rabi Maharaj, in his autobiography Death of a Guru (1977, p. 129) offered the following comment on one of Prof. Russell’s best-known books: "Why I am Not a Christian had turned out to be a disappointment...Russell’s arguments were weak and contrived, and the more I read of why he had not become a Christian, the more convinced I became that I must become one--the evidence demanded it." Malcolm Muggeridge said of Prof. Russell: "He had no heart at all." Paul Johnson included a chapter on Prof. Russell in his book Intellectuals (1988), which I recommend.

Crime
Pre-trial hearings of 13 Black Panthers charged in April 1969 with having conspired to bomb police stations, department stores, and other structures; possession of illegal weapons; attempted murder; and attempted arson began in New York City with several disruptions by the defendants--who called the judge "pig," gave the clenched fist salute, shouted "all power to the people"--and their supporters. State Supreme Court Justice John Murtagh frequently warned that such behaviour may bring disciplinary measures, and twice ordered the courtroom cleared.

Religion
The head of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Los Angeles announced that most of the sisters in the order would abandon formal religious life and become a secular community. The group, believed to be the largest to leave the Roman Catholic Church en masse, would continue to devote its efforts to teaching and social concerns.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Richard Nixon submitted a $200.8-billion budget for fiscal 1971 to Congress, with a blueprint for a $1.3-billion surplus he said would combat inflation while beginning the necessary process of "reordering our national priorities." In his surplus plan, Mr. Nixon combined a series of spending cuts, particularly a $6.3-billion slash in space and defense outlays, with a speedup in collection of excise and corporate withholding taxes. He also appealed to Congress to enact revenue and postal reforms sent to it in 1969.

30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Disco Bambina--Heather Parisi (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): I Have a Dream--ABBA (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland: Brass in Pocket--Pretenders (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): My Girl--Madness

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Too Much Too Young (EP)--The Special A.K.A. featuring Rico (The Specials)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Rapper's Delight--Sugarhill Gang
2 I Have a Dream--ABBA
3 Rap-O Clap-O--Joe Bataan
4 Nederland, Die Heeft De Bal--André Van Duin & Het Nederlands Elftal
5 Fly Too High--Janis Ian
6 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd
7 What's a Matter Baby--Ellen Foley
8 It Will Come in Time--Billy Preston and Syreeta
9 David's Song (Who'll Come with Me)--Kelly Family
10 On My Radio--The Selecter

Singles entering the chart were Hot Shot by Herman Brood and his Wild Romance (#23); Aa'me Hoelala/Laat De Russen Maar Komen by Vader Abraham (#25); Moonlight and Muzak by M (#28); Escape (The Piña Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes (#31); An Englishman in New York by Godley & Creme (#32); and Rain, Snow and Ice by Snoopy (#36).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Rock with You--Michael Jackson (3rd week at #1)
2 Do That to Me One More Time--Captain & Tennille
3 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
4 Cruisin'--Smokey Robinson
5 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
6 Escape (The Pina Colada Song)--Rupert Holmes
7 Sara--Fleetwood Mac
8 The Long Run--Eagles
9 Yes, I'm Ready--Teri DeSario with K.C.
10 Don't Do Me Like That--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Singles entering the chart were How Do I Make You by Linda Ronstadt (#68); Rockin' Into the Night by 38 Special (#80); Come Back by the J. Geils Band (#82); Years by Wayne Newton (#84); Us and Love (We Go Together) by Kenny Nolan (#87); The Hardest Part by Blondie (#88); Peanut Butter by Twennynine featuring Lenny White (#90); I Don't Like Mondays by the Boomtown Rats (#91); and Computer Game "Theme from the Circus" by Yellow Magic Orchestra (#92).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Do That to Me One More Time--Captain & Tennille
2 Rock With You--Michael Jackson
3 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
4 Cruisin'--Smokey Robinson
5 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
6 Escape (The Pina Colada Song)--Rupert Holmes
7 Don't Do Me Like That--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
8 Sara--Fleetwood Mac
9 This is It--Kenny Loggins
10 The Long Run--Eagles

Singles entering the chart were How Do I Make You by Linda Ronstadt (#55); Come Back by the J. Geils Band (#82); And the Beat Goes On by the Whispers (#84); Us and Love (We Go Together) by Kenny Nolan (#89); and I Pledge My Love by Peaches & Herb (#97).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
2 Do That to Me One More Time--Captain & Tennille
3 Rock With You--Michael Jackson
4 The Long Run--Eagles
5 Cruisin'--Smokey Robinson
6 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
7 Yes, I'm Ready--Teri DeSario with K.C.
8 Don't Do Me Like That--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
9 Sara--Fleetwood Mac
10 Escape (The Pina Colada Song)--Rupert Holmes

Singles entering the chart were How Do I Make You by Linda Ronstadt (#47); And the Beat Goes On by the Whispers (#86); I Pledge My Love by Peaches & Herb (#87); Us and Love (We Go Together) by Kenny Nolan (#89); Come Back by the J. Geils Band (#90); The Walk by the Inmates (#95); Shooting Star by Dollar (#99); and I Shoulda Loved Ya by Narada Michael Walden (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Rapper's Delight--Sugarhill Gang (2nd week at #1)
2 Message in a Bottle--The Police
3 Please Don't Go--KC & the Sunshine Band
4 Don't Do Me Like That--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
5 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
6 We Don't Talk Anymore--Cliff Richard
7 Babe--Styx
8 Escape (The Pina Colada Song)--Rupert Holmes
9 The Long Run--Eagles
10 I Don't Like Mondays--The Boomtown Rats

Singles entering the chart were Longer by Dan Fogelberg (#88); I Wanna Rock You by Giorgio Moroder (#89); You are the Light by Harlequin (#91); Lonely Eyes by Robert John (#95); Kiss Me in the Rain by Barbra Streisand (#97); Desire by Andy Gibb (#98); and Let Me Go, Love by Nicolette Larson (#100).

Died on this date
William Howard Stein, 68. U.S. biochemist. Dr. Stein shared the 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Stanford Moore "for their contribution to the understanding of the connection between chemical structure and catalytic activity of the active centre of the ribonuclease molecule."

Scandal
It was reported that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation had been conducting a two-year undercover operation called Operation Abscam (for Arab Scam), where undercover agents posing as businessmen and Arab sheiks had met with various public officials and offered bribes for political favours. The meetings were surreptitiously videotaped. The 31 officeholders under investigation included U.S. Senator Harrison Williams (Democrat--New Jersey) and Congressmen John Murphy (D.--New York); Frank Thompson, Jr. (D.--New Jersey); Michael Myers (D.--Pennsylvania); John Murtha (D.--Pennsylvania); Raymond Lederer (D.--Pennsylvania); John Jenrette (D.--South Carolina); and Richard Kelly (Republican--Florida). Sen. Larry Pressler (R.--South Dakota) had met with FBI agents posing as Arab businessmen, but had spurned the bribe offer. When he heard of the investigation, he said, "I’m a little upset because I’m clean. My campaign records are kept perfectly. Why would they want to test me out?"

Crime
During the night, two inmates at New Mexico State Penitentiary in Santa Fe overpowered a guard who had discovered them drinking homemade whiskey. 400 inmates then took over the five wings of the main building, and rioters turned on their fellow inmates. The riot and hostage taking went on for 36 hours.

Hockey
NHL
Chicago 5 @ Toronto 4

25 years ago
1985

Hit parade
U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I Want to Know What Love Is--Foreigner
2 Like a Virgin--Madonna
3 Easy Lover--Philip Bailey with Phil Collins
4 You're the Inspiration--Chicago
5 Careless Whisper--Wham!
6 All I Need--Jack Wagner
7 Run to You--Bryan Adams
8 The Boys of Summer--Don Henley
9 Loverboy--Billy Ocean
10 I Would Die 4 U--Prince and the Revolution

20 years ago
1990

World events
South African President F.W. de Klerk lifted the 30-year ban on the African National Congress and announced that convicted terrorist Nelson Mandela would soon be freed from prison.

The U.S. Justice Department announced that deposed Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega and one of his co-defendants would be treated as prisoners of war. The department noted, however, that the Geneva Convention provides that "prisoners of war may be prosecuted in the civilian courts of the detaining country."

A military court in Romania convicted four former top aides to deposed President Nicolae Ceausescu of complicity to commit genocide. Those convicted included Emil Bobu, third-ranking figure in the government. The men were sentenced to life in prison.

Politics and government
Alexander Lilov was elected as leader of the Bulgarian Communist Party, succeeding Petar Mladenov. Mr. Lilov was seen as a compromise candidate, who was not identified with the ousted hard-line regime of President Todor Zhivkov, and who could better lead the party in upcoming elections.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate had fallen to 5.2% in January.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 2 @ Detroit 5
Pittsburgh 6 @ Edmonton 3

10 years ago
2000

Movies
The first digital cinema projection in Europe was realized in Paris by Philippe Binant with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments.

Crime
The trial of four New York City policemen accused of murder in the February 1999 death of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed native of Guinea, began in Albany. The original charges were two counts of second-degree murder: intentional killing and depraved indifference to human life. Mr. Diallo had been struck by 19 of 41 shots fired at him in the vestibule of his Bronx apartment building. As the policemen approached him, Mr. Diallo had begun to remove a wallet from his pocket; police said they thought it was a gun.

Protest
More than 1,500 students demonstrated on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to protest the lack of money for university students in Canada and the high debt load they faced.

Disasters
The cockpit voice recorder from Alaska Airlines Flight 261, the jet that had crashed off the California coast two days earlier with the deaths of all 88 people aboard, was recovered.

February 1, 2010

1,160 years ago
850

Died on this date
Ramiro I, 60 (?). King of Asturias, 842-850. Ramiro I, the son of King Bermudo I, was away from Asturias (a kingdom in the Iberian peninsula) when he was chosen by King Alfonso II as his successor. King Alfonso's son-in-law Nepotian claimed the throne in Ramiro's absence, but Ramiro defeated him in battle, and had him blinded and interned in a monastery. King Ramiro I had to fend off attacks from Vikings and Moors during his reign. He was succeeded on the throne by his son Ordoño I.

320 years ago
1690

Born on this date
Francesco Maria Veracini. Italian composer. Mr. Veracini was a violinist who was best known for his violin sonatas. He also wrote violin concertos, recorder sonatas, and orchestral suites, and has been described as heralding the end of the Baroque era. Mr. Veracini died on October 31, 1768 at the age of 78.

260 years ago
1750

Died on this date
Bakar, 50. Georgian royal family member. Prince Bakar, the son of King Vakhtang VI of Kartli (eastern Georgia), was regent of Kartli from 1716-1719 while his father was absent at the Safavid court of Persia. Prince Bakar followed his father into exile in Russia in 1724, serving in the Russian diplomatic service and rising to the rank of lieutenant-general in the Army. He died in Moscow.

220 years ago
1790

Law
The Supreme Court of the United States convened for the first time, in New York City.

140 years ago
1870

Born on this date
Erik Adolf von Willebrand. Finnish physician. Dr. von Willebrand, head of medicine at Deaconess Hospital in Helsinki from 1908-1933, made major contributions to hematology. He identified a bleeding disorder that was distinct from hemophilia, which became known as von Willebrand disease. The disease was caused by a a deficiency of a protein, now known as von Willebrand factor. Dr. von Willebrand died on September 12, 1949 at the age of 79.

120 years ago
1890

Born on this date
Nikolai Reek. Estonian military officer and politician. Lieutenant General Reek was the Estonian military commander during the Estonian War of Independence (1918-1920) and Minister of War from 1939-1940 until Estonia was conquered and occupied by the U.S.S.R. He was arrested and imprisoned by Soviet authorities in 1941, and was executed at Ussolye, Perm Oblast on May 8, 1942 at the age of 52.

110 years ago
1900

Politics and government
Raymond Préfontaine was re-elected Mayor of Montréal. After winning by acclamation in 1898, he received 6,217 votes to 3,095 for challenger William Doran.

70 years ago
1940

Died on this date
Philip Francis Nowlan, 51. U.S. author. Mr. Nowlan was a science fiction writer who created the character Buck Rogers in his novella Armageddon 2419 A.D. (1928). The Buck Rogers comic strip ran from 1929-1967. Mr. Nowlan died from a stroke.

War
Soviet forces launched a large assault against Finnish defenses along the Mannerheim Line. Kyosti Kollio, Finnish parliament President, stated his country's willingness to reach a peace agreement with the U.S.S.R. United Mine Workers of American President John L. Lewis claimed that American labour would oppose any U.S. war participation.

Defense
The United States Army tested a new cannon-carrying pursuit plane, travelling up to 400 miles per hour, at Bolling Field, near Anacostia, Maryland.

Economics and finance
The Japanese Diet received a record budget request of 10.282 billion yen, of which 4.460 billion were for the military.

U.S. Senators Robert Wagner (Democrat--New York) and Walter George (Democrat--Georgia) introduced legislation seeking $10 million for rural hospital construction.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jerome Frank urged the creation of a private agency, federally funded, to make loans for small business expansion.

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent the nominations of Marriner Eccles and Chester Davis to the Senate for renomination to the Federal Reserve Board.

60 years ago
1950

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Ben Wright and Eric Snowden, on ABC
Tonight’s episode: The Case of the Frightened Matriarch

The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Jackson Beck, on ABC

At the movies
La liga de las muchachas, directed by Fernando Cortés, and starring Elsa Aguirre, Miroslava, and numerous others, opened in theatres in Mexico.



War
The U.S.S.R. accused Emperor Hirohito of Japan of responsibility for germ warfare in World War II, and demanded that he be tried by an international war crimes court. The Western Allies refused.

Politics and government
John Bowlen was installed as Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta, succeeding John Bowen.

The United Kingdom informed the United Nations Trusteeship Council that it had established a provincial council in its trust territory of Tanganyika, and allowed the creation of local governments there for the first time.

The U.S. Senate voted 64-27 to adopt a constitutional amendment to elect presidents and vice presidents by dividing the electoral votes of a state among candidates in proportion to their popular votes in that state.

Earl Warren announced that he would run for an unprecedented third term as Governor of California.

Defense
Israel ordered all men aged 18-49 and women aged 15-34 to register as military reservists.

USS Missouri, the only remaining active battleship in the U.S. fleet, was towed free from a sandbar in Chesapeake Bay after being grounded for two weeks.

Transportation
U.S. President Harry Truman asked Congress to authorize unification of Panama Canal operations under the Panama Canal Company, as urged by the Hoover Commission on Executive Organization.

Society
Yale University anthropologist George Murdock, addressing a meeting of the American Social Hygiene Association in New York, predicted that "within three generations" society would accept pre-marital sexual experimentation as a valuable aid in picking a mate. He urged the Protestant church to take the lead in such a "reform."

Economics and finance
The Organization for European Economic Cooperation asked member countries to abolish quotas on 60% of their imports within two months and on 75% of their imports by July 1950. Britain's opposition prevented the Council from completing an agreement on a system of free exchange of European currencies.

Labour
New York State ordered coal rationing to public utilities and other large users as the miners' strike continued.

Economist Arthur Lipsett concluded a survey of U.S. labour strength by estimating the net worth of the nation's unions at $3 billion-$4 billion.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): La Montaña--Lucho Gatica (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Le marchand de bonheur--Les Compagnons de la chanson (12th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Running Bear--Johnny Preston (3rd week at #1)
2 Teen Angel--Mark Dinning
3 El Paso--Marty Robbins
4 Where or When--Dion and the Belmonts
5 Go, Jimmy, Go--Jimmy Clanton
6 Why--Frankie Avalon
7 Handy Man--Jimmy Jones
8 The Big Hurt--Miss Toni Fisher
9 Way Down Yonder in New Orleans--Freddie Cannon
10 Pretty Blue Eyes--Steve Lawrence

Singles entering the chart were Country Boy by Fats Domino (#61); China Doll by the Ames Brothers (#70); Lady Luck by Lloyd Price and his Orchestra (#71); Wild One (#72)/Little Bitty Girl (#86) by Bobby Rydell; Let it Rock by Chuck Berry (#81); Time and the River by Nat King Cole (#83); That Old Feeling by Kitty Kallen (#85); Sixteen Reasons by Connie Stevens (#89); (There was a) Tall Oak Tree by Dorsey Burnette (#92); Money (That's What I Want) by Barrett Strong (#95); Peace of Mind by Teresa Brewer (#96); Fannie Mae by Buster Brown (#97); (Baby) Hully Gully by the Olympics (#98); and The Whiffenpoof Song by Bob Crewe (#100).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKWX)
1 Running Bear--Johnny Preston (2nd week at #1)
2 El Paso--Marty Robbins
3 First Name Initial--Annette with the Afterbeats
4 He'll Have to Go--Jim Reeves
5 Hound Dog Man/This Friendly World--Fabian
6 Not One Minute More/You're My Love--Della Reese
7 Pretty Blue Eyes--Steve Lawrence
8 Lonely Blue Boy--Conway Twitty
9 Way Down Yonder in New Orleans--Freddie Cannon
10 Among My Souvenirs--Connie Francis

Singles entering the chart were Darling Lorraine by the Knockouts (#36); Baby (You've Got What it Takes) by Dinah Washington & Brook Benton (#37); Mashed Potatoes by Nat Kendrick (#47); Lady Luck by Lloyd Price and his Orchestra (#53); Outside My Window by the Fleetwoods (#56); Cry Me a River by Janice Harper (#57); Eternally/You're My Baby by Sarah Vaughan (#58); Beatnik Fly by Johnny and the Hurricanes (#59); and On the Beach/Paris Valentine by Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra (#60).

Protest
Four Negro college students began a series of sit-ins at a white-only lunch counter in Woolworth’s department store, Greensboro, North Carolina (see video). The four--Franklin McCain; Joseph McNeil; Ezell Blair, Jr.; and David Richmond--were freshmen at North Carolina A&T State University. They took seats at the segregated lunch counter of F. W. Woolworth's, were refused service, and sat peacefully until the store closed. They returned the next day, along with about 25 other students, and their requests were again denied.

40 years ago
1970

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Snejka!

Religion
In his first direct response to a request by a Dutch Roman Catholic council that celibacy for priests be made optional, Pope Paul VI said that the principle of celibacy was so fundamental that it could not be questioned, let alone dropped. He said that abandoning the doctrine would violate Christ’s injunction to hid disciples to leave all else and follow Him.

Education
The deadline for total desegregation of southern U.S. schools set by the Supreme Court was defied by officials of 20 districts in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. While two Alabama districts ignored the order, other administrators closed the schools temporarily and others supported boycotts by white parents and students.

Disasters
An Argentine express train rammed a stalled commuter train near Buenos Aires, killing 136 and injuring 179.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 6 @ Boston 7



Pittsburgh 0 @ New York 6

Terry Sawchuk got a rare start in goal for the Rangers and recorded his first shutout in two years, and his 103rd and final career regular season NHL shutout as the Rangers blanked the Penguins at Madison Square Garden.

30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): No More Tears (Enough is Enough)--Donna Summer/Barbra Streisand (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles (12th week at #1)

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough--Michael Jackson (4th week at #1)
2 The Part of Me that Needs You Most--Exile
3 Rise--Herb Alpert
4 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
5 She's in Love with You--Suzi Quatro
6 If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body (Would You Hold it Against Me)--Bellamy Brothers
7 Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles
8 Caravan Song--Barbara Dickson
9 Great Balls of Fire--Nightmare
10 Friday on My Mind--Chilly

Singles entering the chart were Another Brick in the Wall (Part II) by Pink Floyd (#12); Babe by Styx (#17); and Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) by ABBA (#18).

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles (5th week at #1)
2 I Have a Dream--ABBA
3 Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)--ABBA
4 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd
5 Confusion--Electric Light Orchestra
6 Tusk--Fleetwood Mac
7 Don't Bring Me Down--Electric Light Orchestra
8 Todesengel--Frank Duval & Orchestra
9 I'm Born Again--Boney M.
10 Babe it's Up to You--Smokie

Singles entering the chart were Another Brick in the Wall (Part II) and The Ballad of Lucy Jordan by Marianne Faithfull (#12).

Hockey
NHL
Edmonton 9 Winnipeg 2

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Get Up! (Before the Night is Over)--Technotronic

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Peter Fricker, 69. U.K. composer. Mr. Fricker composed more than 160 works, including five symphonies, and other instrumental, chamber, and choral pieces. He moved to the United States in 1964 and taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara until his death from throat cancer on February 1, 1990.

World events
East German Premier Hans Modrow, addressing a press conference in East Berlin, outlined a plan for reunifying East and West Germany. He described an approach for integrating economic and governmental institutions into a country that would become militarily neutral. West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said he would not begin any negotiations until after East German elections in March.

Politics and government
Bulgarian Premier Georgi Atanasov and his cabinet resigned. The Communist Party of Bulgaria ratified a manifesto that endorsed democratic ideals but kept its Marxist-Leninist ideology.

The National Salvation Front agreed to a power-sharing arrangement prior to elections in Romania. It was agreed that the interim legislative body would be increased in size and would include representatives of 30 registered political parties.

Scandal
Albert Hakim was sentenced to two years’ probation and fined $5,000 for illegally supplementing the salary of former U.S. National Security Council staff member Oliver North.

U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh recommended that an independent counsel be appointed to investigate Samuel Pierce, Jr. and other former high officials in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In compliance with procedures established by law, Mr. Thornburgh made his recommendations to a special three-judge panel. He said that the counsel would investigate charges that Mr. Pierce, a former secretary of HUD, and other officials had awarded grants to developers backed by well-known Republicans.

Business
Humanitas publishing house was founded in Bucharest by philosopher Gabriel Liiceanu.

10 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Dick Rathmann, 76. U.S. auto racing driver. Mr. Rathmann, born James Rathmann, drove in the AAA Championship Car Series in 1949-1950 and the USAC Championship Series from 1956-1964. He raced in the Indianapolis 500 nine times, with a best finish of fifth in 1956. He won the pole position for the race in 1958, but was one of several cars involved in a crash in the first lap that put them out of the race. Mr. Rathmann's best finish was at Daytona in 1959, when he finished second. He raced with the NASCAR circuit from 1951-1955. Mr. Rathmann's younger brother was named Dick, but the two switched first names in 1946 so that the younger brother could enter a race while underage; the name change stuck for life. Jim won the 1960 Indianapolis 500. Dick died 26 days after his 76th birthday.

War
Rebel forces in Chechnya announced that they were pulling out of the capital city of Grozny after sustaining heavy losses fighting against Russian forces.

Politics and government
Austrian People’s Party leader Wolfgang Schussel announced that his party and the Freedom Party would form a coalition government. The Freedom Party was led by Joerg Haider, who in the past had made remarks that had been widely interpreted as showing Nazi sympathies, though he later apologized for them. Mr. Schussel, who would become chancellor in the new government, deplored the threat by the European Union to impose sanctions if the Freedom Party joined the coalition.

The first primary votes took place in the contests for the Democratic and Republican Party nominations for President of the United States. Vice-President Al Gore defeated U.S. Senator Bill Bradley in the Democratic primary 50% to 46%. Sen. John McCain won the Republican primary with 48%, defeating Texas Governor George W. Bush, who took 30%, by a surprisingly large margin. Publisher Steve Forbes captured 13% of the vote; Alan Keyes took 6%, and Gary Bauer 1%.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Bill Clinton cited several reasons for the longest peacetime boom in American history, 107 consecutive months of economic expansion dating back to March 1991: the anti-inflationary policies of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board; his administration’s success in reducing and eliminating federal budget deficits; advances in technology, and free-trade policies supported by himself and Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush.

Disasters
Search teams found the remains of four victims of the crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, which had gone down off the California coast the previous day, killing all 88 people aboard.