December 27, 2009

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Marilyn Draper!

550 years ago
1459

Born on this date
Jan I. King of Poland, 1492-1501. Jan I acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Casimir IV; his reign included unsuccessful military efforts against the Ottoman Turks. King Jan I died on June 17, 1501 at the age of 41, and was succeeded by his brother Aleksander I.

200 years ago
1809

Born on this date
Alexandros Rizos Rangavis. Greek writer and diplomat. Mr. Rangavis wrote philological works, plays and poetry. He held various educational and diplomatic posts, including Greek Ambassador to Germany (1874-1886). He was one of the Greek representatives at the Congress of Berlin (1878). Mr. Rangavis died on June 28, 1892 at the age of 82.

130 years ago
1879

Born on this date
Sydney Greenstreet. U.K.-born U.S. actor. Mr. Greenstreet spent many years as a stage actor before making his movie debut in The Maltese Falcon (1941). His movies included Across the Pacific (1942); Casablanca (1942); Passage to Marseille (1944); The Mask of Dimitrios (1944); Three Strangers (1946); The Hucksters (1947); Ruthless (1948); and Flamingo Road (1949). Many of these movies also featured Peter Lorre in the cast. Mr. Greenstreet starred as the title character of the radio series The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe (1950-1951), and died from complications of diabetes and Bright's disease on January 18, 1954, 22 days after his 74th birthday.

90 years ago
1919

Died on this date
Achilles Alferaki, 73. Russian composer and politician. Mr. Alferaki was Mayor of Taganrog (1880-1888) before serving as Chancellor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and director of the Russian Telegraph Agency. He wrote two operas and more than 100 Romantic compositions.

80 years ago
1929

Abominations
U.S.S.R. Communist Party General Secretary Josef Stalin ordered the "liquidation of the kulaks as a class."

70 years ago
1939

War
Finnish forces held off a Soviet attack in the Battle of Kelja.

Disasters
Erzincan, Turkey was hit by an earthquake, killing 30,000.

60 years ago
1949

On the radio
Philo Vance, starring Jackson Beck
Tonight’s episode: The Identical Murder Case

On television tonight
Suspense, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Case of Lady Sannox, starring Stella Adler, Henry Brandon, and Berry Kroeger



Movies
The New York Film Critics Circle named All the King's Men as the Best Picture of 1949, with Broderick Crawford winning for Best Actor. Other awards were: Best Director--Carol Reed (The Fallen Idol); Best Actress--Olivia de Havilland (The Heiress); Foreign Language Film--Ladri di biciclette (Bicycle Thieves aka The Bicycle Thief).

Literature
The $10,000 Harper award went to Max Steele for his first novel, Debby.

Asiatica
Ceremonies in Amsterdam and Jakarta marked the formal establishment of the United States of Indonesia, ending the Dutch East Indies after more than 300 years of Dutch rule.

Defense
The U.S. Air Force ended a two-year investigation of flying saucer reports by denying their authenticity.

Crime
Pre-trial testimony in the Judith Coplon-Valentin Gubitchev espionage case in New York produced a statement from a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent that Ms. Coplon's telephone line had been illegally tapped, reversing earlier government contentions that all evidence had been gathered legally.

Journalism
Argentine President Juan Peron sued the newspapers Prensa and Nacion for claiming that he had enriched himself through the presidency.

Economics and finance
U.S. headquarters in Tokyo announced plans to give private firms control over Japanese imports.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in France (IFOP): Le marchand de bonheur--Les Compagnons de la chanson (7th week at #1)

On the radio
Ungdomsteatern, on Sveriges Radio
Today's episode: De tre studenterna, starring Georg Arlin as Sherlock Holmes and Ragnar Falck as Dr. Watson

This adaptation of A. Conan Doyle’s story The Adventure of the Three Students was reportedly the first Sherlock Holmes radio broadcast in Sweden.

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Graduating Class, starring Wendy Hiller, Gigi Perreau, Jocelyn Brando, and Robert H. Harris

Politics and government
The French protectorate islands of Wallis and Futuna, northeast of the Fiji Islands in the South Pacific Ocean, voted to become French overseas territories.

Labour
The International Longshoremen's Association and the Mobile Steamship Association agreed on a contract, averting the resumption of a dock strike in Mobile, Alabama.

Football
NFL
Championship @ Memorial Stadium, Baltimore
New York 16 @ Baltimore 31

Quarterback Johnny Unitas passed for 2 touchdowns and rushed for another to lead the Colts to their second straight championship game win over the Giants. Mr. Unitas hooked up with Lenny Moore for a 60-yard touchdown, converted by Steve Myhra, 4:55 into the 1st quarter to give Baltimore a 7-0 lead. New York came back with field goals by Pat Summerall in each of the first 3 quarters to take a 9-7 lead. Late in the 3rd quarter, Giants’ running back Alex Webster was stopped on a fourth down- and inches-to-to gamble on the Colts’ 28, and that changed the momentum of the game. Mr. Unitas rushed 4 yards for the touchdown that put the Colts ahead at 2:42, and completed a 12-yard pass to Jerry Richardson for another major score at 7:21. Johnny Sample returned an interception 42 yards for another touchdown at 9:31. Mr. Myhra converted all 3 and kicked a 25-yard field goal at 12:40 to make the score 31-9. The Giants finally scored a touchdown when Chuck Conerly passed 32 yards to Bob Schnelker, converted by Mr. Summerall, with just 32 seconds remaining. Mr. Unitas finished with 18 completions in 29 passes for 265 yards; Mr. Moore had 127 yards on 3 catches. Mr. Schnelker led all receivers with 9 receptions for 178 yards. Mr. Sample had 2 interceptions on the day for 76 yards, returned 2 punts for 23, and 1 kickoff for 8. The Giants lost the services of offensive end Kyle Rote for the 2nd half when he left with a concussion. 57,545 fans attended the only NFL championship game to be played at Memorial Stadium.





40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Suspicious Minds--Elvis Presley

#1 single in Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): Abbey Road (LP)--The Beatles

#1 single in France: Tu veux ou tu veux pas--Marcel Zanini

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Belinda--Gianni Morandi (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Sugar, Sugar--The Archies (7th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Two Little Boys--Rolf Harris

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Two Little Boys--Rolf Harris (2nd week at #1)

Australia's Top 10 (Go-Set)
1 Something/Come Together--The Beatles (3rd week at #1)
2 Suspicious Minds--Elvis Presley
3 Penny Arcade--Roy Orbison
4 Picking Up Pebbles--Matt Flinders
5 And When I Die--Blood, Sweat & Tears
6 I'll Never Fall in Love Again--Bobbie Gentry
7 Take a Letter Maria--R.B. Greaves
8 Jean--Oliver
9 The Star--Ross D. Wyllie
10 Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head--Johnny Farnham

Singles entering the chart were Holly Holy by Neil Diamond (#28); Cold Turkey by the Plastic Ono Band (#31); Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head by B.J. Thomas (#36); and Carroll County Accident by Bobby and Laurie (#38).

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Marian--The Cats (2nd week at #1)
2 Mighty Joe--Shocking Blue
3 Oh Well!--Fleetwood Mac
4 Cha-La-La, I Need You--The Shuffles
5 Another 45 Miles--The Golden Earring
6 One Million Years--Robin Gibb
7 The Flood--Ginger Ale
8 Maanserenade--Marty
9 Yester-Me Yester-You Yesterday--Stevie Wonder
10 Tonight Today--DBM & T

Singles entering the chart were Winter World of Love by Engelbert Humperdinck (#30); Take Five by the Dave Brubeck Quartet (#36); Without Love by Tom Jones (#38); and Everybody's Talkin' by Nilsson (#39).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Someday We'll Be Together--Diana Ross and the Supremes
2 Leaving on a Jet Plane--Peter, Paul and Mary
3 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas
4 Down on the Corner/Fortunate Son--Creedence Clearwater Revival
5 Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye--Steam
6 Holly Holy--Neil Diamond
7 Come Together/Something--The Beatles
8 I Want You Back--The Jackson 5
9 Whole Lotta Love--Led Zeppelin
10 Take a Letter Maria--R.B. Greaves

Singles entering the chart were Without Love (There is Nothing) by Tom Jones (#50); I'll Never Fall in Love Again by Dionne Warwick (#51); Monster by Steppenwolf (#71); Hey There Lonely Girl by Eddie Holman (#73); Traces/Memories by the Lettermen (#75); A World Without Music by Archie Bell & the Drells (#92); Theme from Electric Surfboard by Brother Jack McDuff (#95); The Gangs Back Again by Kool & The Gang (#98); Guess Who by Ruby Winters (#99); and The Thrill is Gone by B.B. King (#100).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Someday We'll Be Together--Diana Ross and the Supremes
2 Leaving on a Jet Plane--Peter, Paul and Mary
3 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas
4 Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye--Steam
5 Holly Holy--Neil Diamond
6 Whole Lotta Love--Led Zeppelin
7 I Want You Back--The Jackson 5
8 Jam Up Jelly Tight--Tommy Roe
9 Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday--Stevie Wonder
10 Down on the Corner--Creedence Clearwater Revival

Singles entering the chart were Without Love (There is Nothing) by Tom Jones (#34); I'll Never Fall in Love Again by Dionne Warwick (#39); Monster by Steppenwolf (#62); Hold On by the Rascals (#73); The Thrill is Gone by B.B. King (#82); Everybody is a Star (#84)/Thank You Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin (#87) by Sly & the Family Stone; Moon Walk Part I by Joe Simon (#88); Lu by Peggy Lipton (#89); Voodoo Woman by Simon Stokes & the Nighthawks (#95); Mornin' Mornin' by Bobby Goldsboro (#97); Come Saturday Morning by the Sandpipers (#98); and Listen to the People by Zager & Evans (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Leaving on a Jet Plane--Peter, Paul and Mary
2 And When I Die--Blood, Sweat & Tears
3 Holly Holy--Neil Diamond
4 Someday We'll Be Together--Diana Ross and the Supremes
5 Heaven Knows--The Grass Roots
6 Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye--Steam
7 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas
8 Jam Up Jelly Tight--Tommy Roe
9 Whole Lotta Love--Led Zeppelin
10 Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday--Stevie Wonder

Singles entering the chart were Without Love (There is Nothing) by Tom Jones (#75); Hey There Lonely Girl by Eddie Holman (#84); Monster by Steppenwolf (#85); Look-Ka Py Py by the Meters (#86); Can't Take My Eyes Off You by Nancy Wilson (#87); Hold On by the Rascals (#88); How I Miss You Baby by Bobby Womack (#91); He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother by the Hollies (#94); Mornin' Mornin' by Bobby Goldsboro (#96); Lu by Peggy Lipton (#97); Room to Move by John Mayall (#98); Listen to the People by Zager & Evans (#99); and Voodoo Woman by Simon Stokes & the Nighthawks (#100).

War
Leaders of Egypt, Sudan, and Libya concluded a three-day summit in Tripoli and announced after the last session that the Arab western front against Israel had been extended from Libya through Cairo to Khartoum.

Politics and government
Prime Minister Eisaku Satō led his Liberal Democratic Party to another victory in the Japanese general election, taking 288 of 486 seats in the House of Representatives. The LDP total was an increase of 11 from the most recent election in 1967. The Japan Socialist Party, led by Tomomi Narita, lost 50 seats, but still finished second with 90 seats. Komeitō, led by Yoshikatsu Takeiri, increased its total from 25 to 47, finishing third.

Disasters
A Montreal apartment house fire killed 6 people.

Zambian officials reported that rampaging hippopotamuses (hippopotami?) had killed 9 people by overturning their boats on the Namwala River.

Football
NFL
Western Conference Championship
Los Angeles 20 @ Minnesota 23

Minnesota quarterback Joe Kapp rushed 2 yards for a touchdown late in the 4th quarter--converted by Fred Cox--and defensive end Carl Eller sacked Los Angeles quarterback Roman Gabriel for a safety touch to give the Central Division champion Vikings the win over the Coastal Division champion Rams before 47,900 fans at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. The Rams led 17-7 at halftime on short touchdown passes from Mr. Gabriel to Bob Klein and Billy Truax. Bruce Gossett converted both and added a field goal. Dave Osborn rushed 1 yard for a Minnesota touchdown in the 1st quarter, and did the same in the 3rd quarter. Both were converted by Mr. Cox. Mr. Gossett kicked another field goal in the 4th quarter to give Los Angeles a 20-14 lead. Mr. Gabriel completed 22 of 32 passes, but for just 150 yards; he also rushed 4 times for 26 yards. Mr. Kapp was 12 for 19 in passing for 196 yards, and led the Minnesota ground game with 7 carries for 42. Gene Washington of the Vikings led all receivers with 90 yards on 4 receptions. The loss was the fourth straight for the Rams, who had started the season with 11 straight wins.





30 years ago
1979

Died on this date
Hafizullah Amin, 50. Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council of Afghanistan, 1979. Mr. Amin, a Communist, was Afghanistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs (1978-1979) and became Chairman of the Council of Ministers on March 27, 1979. He came to power in a coup on September 14, 1979, and took the offices of Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the People's Democratic Party. Mr. Amin was opposed to excessive Soviet influence, and was murdered the day after 5,000 Soviet troops invaded the country. He was succeeded in his various offices by Babrak Karmal.

War
U.S.S.R. forces seized control of Afghanistan.

Politics and government
Following four hours of heavy street fighting in Kabul and the death of President Hafizullah Amin, a new Afghan government led by Babrak Karmal was installed. Mr. Karmal, a former deputy to Mr. Amin’s Marxist predecessor, Nur Mohammad Taraki, had been in exile in East Germany and Czechoslovakia after his pro-Moscow faction had been purged from the Afghan government.

Disasters
A fire broke out in a 150-year-old prison in Lancaster County, South Carolina, killing 10 inmates and injuring 8 other people.

Hockey
NHL-U.S.S.R.
Exhibition
Super Series '80
Central Red Army 5 @ New York Rangers 2

This was the first game of Super Series ’80.



St. Louis 3 @ Detroit 2

This was the first National Hockey League game at Joe Louis Arena.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins

World events
The Romanian Revolution concluded, as the last minor street confrontations and stray shootings abruptly ended in Bucharest.

War
American military officials released casualty figures regarding the U.S. invasion of Panama which had begun on December 20. 23 U.S. soldiers, 3 American civilians, 297 Panamanian soldiers, and at least 400 Panamanian civilians were killed. 322 U.S. soldiers, 1 American civilian, 123 Panamanian soldiers, and at least 2,000 Panamanian civilians were wounded or injured.

10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Michael McDowell, 49. U.S. author and screenwriter. Mr. McDowell wrote numerous paperback horror novels, but his best-known work was the screenplay for the movie Beetlejuice (1988). He was a sodomite who died of AIDS.

Terrorism
Indian negotiators opened talks with five hijackers who had seized a plane on December 24 after takeoff from Katmandu, Nepal, and had taken it to Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Weather
It was warm enough in Edmonton for this blogger to go out at night wearing shorts.

Football
NFL
New York Jets (7-8) 38 @ Miami (9-6) 31

December 26, 2009

520 years ago
1489

War
The forces of the Roman Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella took control of Almería from the Nasrid ruler of Granada, Muhammad XIII.

190 years ago
1819

Born on this date
E.D.E.N. Southworth. U.S. authoress. Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth wrote more than 60 novels, and was the most popular novelist in the United States in the last half of the 19th century. Her novels, which included The Hidden Hand (1859) and Ishmael (1876), featured heroines who used their wits to get out of difficult situations. Mrs. Southworth died on June 30, 1899 at the age of 79.

150 years ago
1859

Born on this date
William Stephens. U.S. politician. Mr. Stephens represented California's 7th District in the United States House of Representatives from 1911-1913 and California's 10th District from 1913-1916. He was a Republican when he was first elected, but joined the Progressive Party, led by former President Theodore Roosevelt, in 1912. Mr. Stephens rejoined the Republican Party in 1916 and served as Governor of California from 1917-1923. He died on April 25, 1944 at the age of 84.

100 years ago
1909

Died on this date
Frederic Remington, 48. U.S. artist. Mr. Remington was a painter, illustrator, and sculptor of the Hudson River School of Romantic landscape painters, but became known for depicting scenes of the American Old West. He weighed nearly 300 pounds and suffered from chronic appendicitis, which contributed to his death from peritonitis after an emergency appendectomy.

90 years ago
1919

Baseball
The Boston Red Sox sold outfielder-pitcher Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000. Mr. Ruth had become the game's biggest star in 1919, batting .322 with 29 home runs--then a major league record for a single season--and 113 runs batted in in 130 games, leading the American League in runs (103); home runs; RBIs; on base percentage (.456); and slugging (.657), while compiling a pitching record of 9-5 with an earned run average of 2.97 and 1 save in 17 games. The deal wasn't completed until January 3, 1920.

60 years ago
1949

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Man Who Couldn't Lose, starring Dean Harens and Alfreda Wallace

Diplomacy
Egypt accused Jordan and Iraq of interfering in Syrian politics with the aim of establishing a Jordanian-Iraqi-Syrian union.

Energy
Columbia University physicist John Dunning reported the development of a new Method of producing uranium which drastically reduced the cost of nuclear energy.

Economics and finance
The United Kingdom and Yugoslavia signed a five-year, $616-million commercial agreement, Yugoslavia's largest post-World War II trade pact with a Western nation.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Joey's Song/Ooh! Look-a-There, Ain't She Pretty?--Bill Haley and his Comets (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Arrivederci--Don Marino Barreto, Jr. (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Unter fremden Sternen--Freddy Quinn (6th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): What Do You Want?--Adam Faith (4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Heartaches by the Number--Guy Mitchell (2nd week at #1)
2 Why--Frankie Avalon
3 The Big Hurt--Miss Toni Fisher
4 Uh! Oh!--The Nutty Squirrels
5 Mack the Knife--Bobby Darin
6 We Got Love--Bobby Rydell
7 El Paso--Marty Robbins
8 It's Time to Cry--Paul Anka
9 Way Down Yonder in New Orleans--Freddie Cannon
10 Oh! Carol--Neil Sedaka

Singles entering the chart were Where or When by Dion and the Belmonts (#66); Little Coco Palm by Jerry Wallace (#88); I Don't Know What it Is by the Bluenotes (#93); Teen Angel by Mark Dinning (#94); This Time of the Year by Brook Benton (#96); Down by the Station by the Four Preps (#97); Baciare Baciare (Kissing Kissing) by Dorothy Collins (#98); Handy Man by Jimmy Jones (#99); I Can't Say Goodbye by the Fireflies (#100); and Nuttin' for Christmas by Kenny and Corky (also #100).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CFUN)
1 Running Bear--Johnny Preston
2 Hound Dog Man--Fabian
3 First Name Initial--Annette with the Afterbeats
4 That's All Right--Ray Smith
5 Way Down Yonder in New Orleans--Freddie Cannon
6 Oh! Carol--Neil Sedaka
7 Boom Boom Baby--Crash Craddock
8 This Friendly World--Fabian
9 Why--Frankie Avalon
10 It's Time to Cry--Paul Anka

Singles entering the chart were Bonnie Came Back by Duane Eddy and the Rebels (#24); Smokie--Part 2 by Bill Black's Combo (#30); Why Do I Love You So by Johnny Tillotson (#32); It Might Have Been by Joe London (#33); Cat Walk by Don Costa, Orchestra and Chorus (#35); Down by the Station by the Four Preps (#37); What About Us by the Coasters (#39); and Little Coco Palm by Jerry Wallace (#40). Cat Walk was the B-side of I'll Walk the Line, which charted at #40 on December 5 for one week.

Politics and government
African delegates in Leopoldville approved resolutions calling for talks with Belgium beginning on "ways and means to pass over power to the Congolese government."

Saying that his recent trips through the United States "have made it clear...that the great majority of those who control the Republican convention stand opposed to any contest for the nomination," New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller withdrew from the campaign for the 1960 Republican Party U.S. presidential nomination.

Medicine
William and Francis Fry of the University of Illinois biophysical laboratory in Champaign reported experimental development of a battery-powered pump capable of replacing the heart to maintain blood circulation of a normally active person.

Labour
Minnesota Governor Orville Freeman ended martial law in Albert Lea, but kept 100 National Guardsmen on duty to prevent renewed violence at the Swift and Company meat packing plant.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Come Together--The Beatles

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Two Little Boys--Rolf Harris

Edmonton’s Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Come Together/Something--The Beatles (8th week at #1)
2 One Tin Soldier--The Original Caste
3 Leaving on a Jet Plane--Peter, Paul and Mary
4 Don’t Cry Daddy--Elvis Presley
5 Cold Turkey--Plastic Ono Band
6 Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head--B.J. Thomas
7 Fancy--Bobbie Gentry
8 Holly Holy--Neil Diamond
9 Take a Letter Maria--R.B. Greaves
10 Midnight Cowboy--Ferrante & Teicher

John Barry’s original version of Midnight Cowboy, from the movie, had been released as a single in the summer of 1969 but had failed to chart. The B-side of Mr. Barry’s version, another song from the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack called Fun City, was used as the theme for a Ralph Lauren TV commercial almost 25 years later.

At the movies
The Meadowlark Cinerama opened in Edmonton; the first movie shown was Krakatoa, East of Java (1969).

Diplomacy
U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew left Washington for a 23-day goodwill trip to 11 Asian countries, taking with him samples of moon rocks as gifts for his hosts.

Disasters
11 were killed and many others injured when fire swept through a 16th Century hotel in Saffron Walden, England.

A snowstorm began in southern Quebec, which resulted in 70 centimetres of snow and 15 deaths from December 26-28.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd (2nd week at #1)

War
The U.S.S.R. airlifted at least 5,000 troops to Kabul, Afghanistan in an effort to shore up that country’s Marxist government against increasingly effective Islamic resistance, beginning a war that was to last almost a decade.

96 Patriotic Front guerrillas were flown in from Lusaka, Zambia to join 1,500 peacekeepers from across the Commonwealth, as well as government soldiers from the Rhodesia Security Force, to monitor the cease-fire due to start at midnight on December 28.

Energy
A group investigating the accident earlier in the year at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania reported to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, tentatively recommending that serious consideration be given to closing any reactor whose operator was unable to develop plans to evacuate everybody living within a 30-mile radius of the reactor.

Hockey
NHL
Edmonton 4 Colorado 3

20 years ago
1989

Died on this date
Lennox Berkeley, 86. U.K. composer. Sir Lennox composed choral, chamber, instrumental, and choral works, including several operas and four symphonies.

Doug Harvey, 65. Canadian hockey player. Mr. Harvey was a defenceman with the Montreal Canadiens (1947-61); New York Rangers (1961-64); Detroit Red Wings (1967); and St. Louis Blues (1968-69), scoring 88 goals and 452 assists in 1,113 regular season games and 8 goals and 64 assists in 137 playoff games. He won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the National Hockey League's best defenceman seven times, played on six Stanley Cup championship teams, and was unanimously elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973. Mr. Harvey was also a halfback with the Montreal Hornets of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union in 1945, scoring 1 point in a 6-game season. As well, Mr. Harvey played baseball in the Boston Braves' organization with the Class C Ottawa Senators and Nationals of the Border League from 1947-1950, batting .344 with 18 home runs in 238 games. He drank himself to death a week after his 65th birthday.

World events
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev used the word "illegitimate" to describe the Lithuanian Communist Party’s declaration of its independence from the Soviet party on December 20, and ruled out secession by any of the U.S.S.R.’s 15 republics.

Politics and government
The day after the execution of Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena, Ion Iliescu, a former party official, was named interim President.

10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Shankar Dayal Sharma, 81. 9th President of India, 1992-1997; Vice President of India, 1987-1992. Mr. Sharma, a member of the Indian National Congress Party, was president of the party from 1972-1974, held various cabinet posts, and was Governor of the states of Andhra Pradesh (1984-1985); Punjab (1985-1986); and Maharashtra (1986-1987). He was elected President in 1992, taking 66% of the vote, but declined to run for a second term.

Curtis Mayfield, 57. U.S. musician. Mr. Mayfield was the lead singer, songwriter and producer for the Impressions in the 1960s and '70s. His best-known compositions for the group included Gypsy Woman (1961); It's All Right (1963); People Get Ready (1965); and We're a Winner (1968). He also wrote hits for artists such as Major Lance (Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um (1964)) and Jan Bradley (Mama Didn't Lie (1963)), and worked with the Impressions' original lead singer, Jerry Butler, after Mr. Butler left to pursue a solo career in the early 1960s. Mr. Mayfield left the Impressions to pursue his own solo career in the early 1970s, founded his own label--Curtom--and struck gold with the soundtrack for the 1972 movie Super Fly. Mr. Mayfield didn't like the movie's apparent pro-drug message, and wrote lyrics for the song (originally an instrumental) Freddie's Dead to reflect his views. Freddie's Dead and Super Fly both reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Mr. Mayfield was paralyzed from the neck down in a freak accident in 1990 when he was performing outdoors at an oldies show in Brooklyn, and a gust of wind blew a light standard down on top of him. He recorded the vocals to his last album, New World Order, while lying on his back in his hospital bed. The album, released in 1997, is well worth listening to. Mr. Mayfield died from complications of diabetes.

Disasters
Cyclone Lothar, with winds of up to 220 kilometres per hour (137.5 miles per hour), swept across Central Europe, killing 137 people--60 in France--and causing U.S.$1.3 billion in damage.

Football
NFL
Arizona (6-9) 14 @ Atlanta (4-11) 37
Cincinnati (4-11) 0 @ Baltimore (8-7) 22
Buffalo (10-5) 13 @ New England (7-8) 10
Carolina (7-8) 20 @ Pittsburgh (6-9) 30
Chicago (6-9) 12 @ St. Louis (13-2) 34
Indianapolis (13-2) 29 @ Cleveland (2-14) 28
Green Bay (7-8) 10 @ Tampa Bay (10-5) 29
Jacksonville (13-2) 14 @ Tennessee (12-3) 41
Kansas City (9-6) 14 @ Seattle (9-6) 23
Minnesota (9-6) 34 @ New York Giants (7-8) 17
Oakland (7-8) 20 @ San Diego (7-8) 23
Washington (9-6) 26 @ San Francisco (4-11) 20 (OT)

December 25, 2009

450 years ago
1559

Religion
Giovanni Angelo Medici was elected Roman Catholic Pope Pius IV, succeeding Paul IV, who had died four months earlier. Pius IV was installed on January 6, 1560.

210 years ago
1809

Medicine
Dr. Ephraim McDowell performed the first ovariotomy, removing a 22.5-pound tumor from Jane Crawford. The operation was performed, without benefit of anesthetic or antisepsis, in 25 minutes at his home in Danville, Kentucky. The patient made a complete recovery and lived for 32 more years.

180 years ago
1829

Born on this date
Patrick Gilmore. U.K.-born U.S. composer and bandleader. Mr. Gilmore, a native of Ireland, moved to Boston in 1848, and led bands before and after the American Civil War. He wrote the Famous 22nd Regiment March (1874) and the lyrics to the song When Johnny Comes Marching Home (1863). Mr. Gilmore died on September 24, 1892 at the age of 62; he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

140 years ago
1869

Born on this date
Charles Finger. U.K.-born U.S. author and musician. Mr. Finger, a native of England, moved to the United States in his 20s, and several dozen books of fiction and non-fiction for young readers. He was awarded the 1925 Newbery Medal for the book Tales from Silver Lands (1924). Mr. Finger was a pianist and piano teacher, and directed the San Angelo Conservatory of Music in Texas (1898-1904). He died on January 7, 1941 at the age of 71.

120 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Lila Bell Wallace. Canadian-born U.S. publisher. Mrs. Wallace, born Lila Bell Acheson in Virden, Manitoba, co-founded Reader's Digest with her husband DeWitt in 1922. She died on May 8, 1984 at the age of 94.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Humphrey Bogart. U.S. actor. One of the most famous movie stars in history, "Bogie" won the Academy Award for Best Actor for The African Queen (1951), but is probably better known for his starring roles in movies such as The Maltese Falcon (1941); Casablanca (1942); and The Big Sleep (1946). He was a heavy smoker and drinker, and died after a painful battle with throat cancer on January 14, 1957, 20 days after his 57th birthday.

70 years ago
1939

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

60 years ago
1949

Died on this date
Farran Zerbe, 78. U.S. numismatist. Mr. Zerbe began collecting coins as a child, and joined the American Numismatic Association (ANA) in 1900. He served as chief numismatist (person responsible for selling government coins) at the World's Fairs in St. Louis (1904), Portland (1905), and San Francisco (1915), and was president of the ANA in 1908-1909. Mr. Zerbe's 1908 purchase of the ANA's journal The Numismatist for himself instead of on behalf of the ANA earned him the enmity of other numismatists. He sold his coin collection to Chase National Bank in 1928, and served as its curator until his retirement in 1939. Mr. Zerbe was inducted into the Numismatic Hall of Fame in 1969.

Leon Schlesinger, 65. U.S. film producer. Mr. Schlesinger founded Leon Schlesinger Productions, and produced the Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes cartoons from 1933-1944, when his company was purchased by Warner Brothers and became Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. Mr. Schlesinger died of a viral infection.

World events
The Czechoslovakian government revoked the citizenship of people who fled the country after the Communist coup of February 1948.

Defense
The U.S. Air Force announced the development of a highly heat-resistant ceramic stupalith, for use in jet and rocket engines.

Politics and government
The Austrian Interior Ministry announced the arrest of 13 youths for attempting to form a neo-Nazi organization.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?--Emile Ford and the Checkmates (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?--Emile Ford and the Checkmates (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CBS
Tonight’s episode: What You Need, starring Ernest Truex and Steve Cochran

Aviation
Pan American World Airways Boeing 707 jet airliners set new world speed records, flying from Paris-Boston in 6 hours 38 minutes; Paris-New York in 6 hours 10 minutes; London-New York in 6 hours 21 minutes; and Los Angeles-London in 11 hours 5 minutes.

40 years ago
1969

World events
In defiance of a French arms embargo, five French gunboats were spirited from the port of Cherbourg late at night by an Israeli crew.

Diplomacy
Leaders of Egypt, Sudan, and Libya gathered in Tripoli for the beginning of a three-day summit.

30 years ago
1979

Died on this date
Joan Blondell, 73. U.S. actress. Miss Blondell co-starred with James Cagney in several movies, including Sinner’s Holiday (1930); The Public Enemy (1931); Blonde Crazy (1932); and The Crowd Roars (1932). Other movies included Bullets or Ballots (1936); A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945); Nightmare Alley (1947); and The Blue Veil (1951), for which she received an Academy Award nomination. Miss Blondell acted in many television shows from the 1950s through the 1970s.

Football
NCAA
Fiesta Bowl
Pittsburgh 16 Arizona 10

25 years ago
1984

Basketball
NBA
New Jersey 120 @ New York 114

Bernard King of the Knickerbockers set a team single-game scoring record with 60 points.

20 years ago
1989

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

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Pump Up the Jam--Technotronic featuring Felly (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Frederick F. Houser, 84. U.S. politician and judge. Mr. Houser, a Republican, was a member of the California State Assembly (1931-1933, 1939-1943), and ran three unsuccessful campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives (1932, 1934, 1936). He was Lieutenant Governor of California (1943-1947), and sat on the California Superior Court (1947-1966).

Betty Garde, 84. U.S. actress. Miss Garde appeared, usually in minor roles, in plays, movies, radio, and television programs in a career spanning more than 40 years. She performed in several radio programs directed by Orson Welles.

Robert Pirosh, 79. U.S. movie director and screenwriter. Mr. Pirosh co-wrote the screenplays for the Marx Brothers comedies A Night at the Opera (1935) and A Day at the Races (1937), and won an Academy Award for his screenplay for Battleground (1949). He was nominated for another Academy Award for the screenplay for Go for Broke! (1951), which was the first movie that he directed.

Nicolae Ceausescu, 71. President of Romania, 1967-1989. Mr. Ceausescu and his wife Elena, 70, his chief deputy in the government, were given a brief trial by a military tribunal on charges of genocide, abuse of power, and theft, and they were both executed by a firing squad at an undisclosed location.

Billy Martin, 61. U.S. baseball player and manager. Mr. Martin was an infielder--mostly playing for second base--with seven major league teams from 1950-1961, batting .257 with 64 home runs and 333 runs batted in in 1,021 games. He was best known for his years with the New York Yankees (1950-1953, 1955-1957), when he played with five World Series championship teams. He made a diving catch of a pop fly in the seventh game of the 1952 World Series to help save the game, and was the most valuable player of the 1953 World Series, batting .500 (12 hits in 24 at bats in a 6-game series). Mr. Martin managed five different major league teams from 1969-1988, compiling a record of 1,253-1,1013. He managed the Yankees five different times, leading them to the American League pennant in 1976 and the World Series championship in 1977. Mr. Martin won divisional titles with three of the other teams he managed, but he had a habit of wearing out his welcome; drinking and fighting often proved his undoing. Mr. Martin was killed in a vehicle crash; he and a friend had both been drinking, and Mr. Martin was apparently the passenger in the pickup truck when it skidded off an icy road, careened 300 feet down an embankment, crashed into a culvert, and stopped at the foot of his driveway. He wasn't wearing a seat belt, and the resulting injuries proved fatal.

Football
NFL
Cincinnati (8-8) 21 @ Minnesota (10-6) 29

10 years ago
1999

War
After a night of heavy shelling, Russian forces began entering Grozny, capital of the rebellious province of Chechnya, where they met fierce resistance.

Terrorism
A Taliban spokesman said that the five hijackers who had seized a plane after takeoff from Katmandu, Nepal and now sat at Kandahar had demanded the release of a Muslim cleric, and of several Kashmiri guerrillas held in Indian jails. The Taliban refused to negotiate, but refuelled the plane and provided food.

Football
NFL
Denver (6-9) 17 @ Detroit (8-7) 7

December 24, 2009

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Hilary Hahn!

375 years ago
1634

Born on this date
Mariana of Austria. Queen consort of Spain, 1649-1665. Mariana, the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III and Maria Anna of Spain, was betrothed in 1646 to her cousin and heir to the Spanish throne Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias, but he died before their marriage, so she married her widowed uncle King Felipe IV, who was 30 years her senior. The couple had five children, only two of whom survived to adulthood. Their son Carlos III acceded to the throne upon the death of his father, but he was incapacitated to the extent that Queen Mariana remained as regent until her death, likely the result of breast cancer, on May 16, 1696 at the age of 61.

330 years ago
1679

Born on this date
Domenico Sarro. Italian composer. Mr. Sarro wrote cantatas and more than 30 operas in a career spanning more than 35 years. His best-known work was the opera Achille in Sciro (1737). Mr. Sarro died on January 25, 1744 at the age of 64.

200 years ago
1809

Born on this date
Kit Carson. U.S. frontiersman and military officer. Christopher Carson was one of the most famous people in the history of the American West. He was a mountain man in the 1830s, a guide for John C. Frémont in the 1840s, and a U.S. Army officer during the American Civil War in the 1860s, rising to the rank of brevet brigadier general. Mr. Carson was the subject of numerous dime novels and newspaper accounts, often fictitious. He died of an aortic aneurysm on May 23, 1868 at the age of 58, shortly after the death of his third wife.

100 years ago
1909

Born on this date
Mitchell Ayres. U.S. bandleader and composer. Mr. Ayres, born Mitchell Agress, led an orchestra that backed Perry Como on his television show and recordings. He was musical conductor for the television variety program The Hollywood Palace from 1964 until his death. Among Mr. Ayres’ best-known recordings was Number 7 Theme, the theme from a television commercial for Number 7 cigarettes that was released as a single in 1964. Mr. Ayres was killed on September 5, 1969 at the age of 59 when he and a female companion were run over while crossing a street in Las Vegas.

60 years ago
1949

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly)--Burl Ives; Dinah Shore

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard) (Best Seller): Mule Train--Frankie Laine and the Muleskinners (5th week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Mule Train--Frankie Laine and the Muleskinners (4th week at #1)
--Bing Crosby
--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
--Tennessee Ernie
2 I Can Dream, Can't I?--The Andrews Sisters
3 Slipping Around--Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely
4 That Lucky Old Sun--Frankie Laine
--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
5 Don't Cry, Joe (Let Her Go, Let Her Go, Let Her Go)--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra
6 A Dreamer's Holiday--Perry Como and the Fontane Sisters
--Buddy Clark with the Girl Friends
7 Dear Hearts and Gentle People--Dinah Shore
--Bing Crosby
8 Jealous Heart--Al Morgan
9 Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer--Gene Autry and the Pinafores
10 I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts--Freddie Martin and his Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were Echoes by Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae (#31); Marta (Rambling Rose Of The Wildwood) (#33)/Bye Bye Baby (#38) by Tony Martin and the Aristokats; A Game of Broken Hearts, with versions by Kay Starr; and Doris Day and the Country Cousins (#36); (It Happened at The) Festival of Roses, with versions by Doris Day; and Bill Lawrence (#37); Bye Bye Baby by Frank Sinatra (#38, charting with the version by Tony Martin and the Aristokats); and Wunderbar by Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae (#40).

Defense
The U.S.A. and Yugoslavia signed an air agreement permitting U.S. airlines the use of Yugoslavian air space and landing facilities. Yugoslavian airlines received similar rights in the U.S. zones of Germany and Austria.

Politics and government
The Greek government lifted martial law in Athens, the Peloponnesus, and Aegean Islands.

The French cabinet of Prime Minister Georges Bidault narrowly won a vote of confidence in the National Assembly during the debate over the 1950 budget.

Economics and finance
India suspended coal deliveries to Pakistan, charging that Pakistan had fallen behind in scheduled to jute shipments to Calcutta.

50 years ago
1959

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

The Untouchables, starring Robert Stack, on ABC
Tonight's episode: You Can't Pick the Number, with guest stars Jay C. Flippen and Darryl Hickman

Died on this date
Slaheddine Baccouche, 76. Grand Vizier of Tunisia, 1943-1947, 1952-1954. Mr. Baccouche was Grand Vizier under King Muhammad VIII, and was regarded as one of the leading opponents of the Tunisian national movement.

Shah Mahmud Khan, 69. Prime Minister of Afghanistan, 1946-1953. Sardar Khan, an independent, permitted relatively free elections in 1949, but reverted to a policy of strict control by the time of the 1952 elections. He was succeeded as Prime Minister by his nephew Sardar Mohammed Daoud Khan.

Politics and government
A congress called by five leading nationalist parties demanded "complete, immediate and unconditional independence" for the Belgian Congo.

Economics and finance
The U.S. State Department announced that the U.S.S.R. had agreed to reopen talks on settling its World War II Lend-Lease debt.

The U.S. Veterans Administration allocated an additional $60 million in direct loan funds for veterans' housing.

40 years ago
1969

On television tonight
Then Came Bronson, starring Michael Parks, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Against a Blank Cold Wall

Died on this date
Clarence Pitt, 73. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Pitt was an outfielder who played 11 seasons (1918-1928) in the minor leagues, batting approximately .320 with 8 home runs in at least 811 games. He was with the Baltimore Orioles when they won the International League pennant in 1923.

War
Nigerian troops captured the Biafran capital of Umuahia.

World events
Two weeks after a military coup in Dahomey, all political prisoners in the country were freed.

Baseball
Outfielder Curt Flood wrote a letter to Commissioner Bowie Kuhn saying that his trade from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies should be voided and that he should be made a free agent. "After 12 years in the major leagues," he said, "I do not feel I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes."

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Ihōjin--Sayuri Kume (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Sin Amor (Dghingis Khan)--Iván (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
Family, on ABC
Tonight's episode: 'Tis the Season

Space
The first European-built rocket, Ariane 1, successfully completed its maiden flight. The space launcher finally took off from the Kourou Space Centre in French Guiana on its third attempt.



Diplomacy
The hostages in the U.S. embassy in Iran had endured 50 days of captivity, and Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini allowed three useful idiots American clergymen to visit the embassy for Christmas. The three were William Sloane Coffin of Riverside Church in New York City; William Howard of the National Council of Churches; and Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, a Roman Catholic leader from Detroit. All three were known for their liberal views.

Hockey
NHL
The Toronto Maple Leafs traded centre and right wing Pat Boutette to the Hartford Whalers for right wing Bob Stephenson. Mr. Boutette, in his fifth season with the Maple Leafs, had no goals and 4 assists in 32 games with Toronto in 1979-80, while Mr. Stephenson had no goals and 1 assist in 4 games with Hartford and 10 goals and 18 assists in 28 games with the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Escaping--Margaret Urlich (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Girl I'm Gonna Miss You--Milli Vanilli (4th week at #1)

World events
Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega took refuge in the Vatican’s diplomatic refuge in Panama City. When this news came, most of the remaining resistance to the U.S. invasion collapsed. The mission had the right to grant Gen. Noriega asylum, and negotiations began among American, Vatican, and Panamanian diplomats as to his future. U.S. officials argued that because Gen. Noriega had been indicted in the United States for drug trafficking, he was not eligible for asylum.

Football
NFL
Detroit (7-9) 31 @ Atlanta (3-13) 24
Chicago (6-10) 0 @ San Francisco (14-2) 26
Green Bay (10-6) 20 @ Dallas (1-15) 10
Denver (11-5) 16 @ San Diego (6-10) 19
Indianapolis (8-8) 6 @ New Orleans (9-7) 41
Kansas City (8-7-1) 27 @ Miami (8-8) 24
Los Angeles Raiders (8-8) 17 @ New York Giants (12-4) 34
Los Angeles Rams (11-5) 24 @ New England (5-11) 20
Phoenix (5-11) 14 @ Philadelphia (11-5) 31
Pittsburgh (9-7) 31 @ Tampa Bay (5-11) 22
Cleveland (9-6-1) 24 @ Houston (9-7) 20

Only 7,092 fans showed up at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium to see the Falcons lose to the Lions.

10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Maurice Couve de Murville, 92. Prime Minister of France, 1968-1969. Mr. Couve de Murville, a member of Union pour la défense de la République (Union for the Defense of the Republic), was Minister of Foreign Affairs (1958-1968) and Minister of Economy and Finances (May 31-July 10, 1968) before succeeding Georges Pompidou as Prime Minister, serving under President Charles de Gaulle. He then represented Paris's 6th Constituency in the National Assembly (1973-1986) and sat as Senator for Paris (1986-1995).

Bill Bowerman, 88. U.S. running coach and businessman. Mr. Bowerman, a son of Oregon Governor Jay Bowerman, was track coach at the University of Oregon from 1948-1973, and trained numerous distance runners who won national championships and competed in the Olympic Games. He manufactured his first pair of running shoes in 1960, and four years later, co-founded the running shoe company that became known as Nike. Mr. Bowerman wrote the book Jogging (1966), which helped to inspire running as a national craze.

João Figueiredo, 81. 30th President of Brazil, 1979-1985. General Figueiredo was the last President of Brazil to hold the office during the period of military rule following the 1964 coup d'état. He was Chief Minister of the Military Cabinet from 1969-1974 and head of the National Intelligence Service from 1974-1978. Gen. Figueiredo continued the process of redemocratization that his predecessor, General Ernesto Geisel, had pursued, but opposed a direct election for the presidency, in favour of an indirect election by Congress. Opposition candidate Tancredo Neves won the election, and Gen. Figueiredo finished his term and retired.

William C. Schneider, 76. U.S. aerospace engineer. Dr. Schneider joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1963, and served as mission director for Projects Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab. He was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1969. Dr. Schneider died the day after his 76th birthday.

Terrorism
Indian Airlines Flight 814, a jet with 189 people aboard, was hijacked after it took off from Katmandu, Nepal, and was held for seven days. The five hijackers, whose nationalities were unknown, were armed with rifles, grenades, and knives. The plane, originally bound for New Delhi, landed at Amritsar, India; Lahore, Pakistan; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for refuelling, then at Kandahar, Afghanistan. In Dubai, 27 hostages, mostly women and children, were released, and the body of a man killed by the hijackers (a newlywed whose wife was another passenger on the plane) was taken away. In Kandahar, the plane was surrounded by soldiers of the Taliban, the Islamic militia in control of Afghanistan.

Football
NFL
Dallas (7-8) 24 @ New Orleans (2-13) 31

December 23, 2009

440 years ago
1569

Died on this date
Philip II, 62. Russian religious leader. Philip II, born Feodor Stepanovich Kolychev, was a Russian Orthodox monk who was appointed Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia by Czar Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible in 1566). Metropolitan Philip publicly opposed Czar Ivan's policy of Oprichnina--the massacre of boyars--and refused to bless the Czar. Ivan had Philip deposed in 1568, and had his minion Malyuta Skuratov strangle Philip.

75 years ago
1934

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Louis Hector and Leigh Lovell, on NBC
Today’s episode: The Case of the Poisoned Stick

70 years ago
1939

Died on this date
Anthony Fokker, 49. Indonesian-born Dutch aircraft manufacturer. Mr. Fokker designed the Fokker Dr.I and Fokker D.VII, which were used by the German Luftstreitkräfte to great effect during World War I. He died of meningitis.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Grüezi wohl, Frau Stirnimaa--Die Minstrels (9th week at #1)

Diplomacy
The three-day Arab summit meeting in Rabat, Morocco ended when Egyptian President Gamal Nasser walked out after Kuwait and Saudi Arabia refused to hike war funds for Arab forces fighting Israel. Although Mr. Nasser returned for closing ceremonies, Syrian, Iraqi, and Southern Yemeni delegates boycotted it.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Jezebel--Jon Stevens (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Todesengel--Frank Duval

War
U.S.S.R. forces occupied the Afghan capital of Kabul.

Disasters
About 100 were reported killed when a bus went over a cliff near Yerevan, Soviet Armenia.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 4 @ Montreal 8
Boston 4 @ New York Rangers 3

At the end of the Bruins' win at Madison Square Garden, a spectator named John Kaptain hit Stan Jonathan of the Bruins with a rolled-up program and grabbed Mr. Jonathan's stick and hit him with it, prompting the entire Boston team except for goalie Gerry Cheevers to go into the stands after Mr. Kaptain.



Football
NFL
NFC Wild Card Playoff
Chicago 17 @ Philadelphia 27





AFC Wild Card Playoff
Denver 7 @ Houston 13



25 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in France (SNEP): I Just Called to Say I Love You--Stevie Wonder (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: When the Rain Begins to Fall--Jermaine Jackson and Pia Zadora (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Joan Lindsay, 88. Australian writer and artist. Mrs. Lindsay wrote fiction and non-fiction in various genres, and was best known for her novel Picnic at Hanging Rock (1967). She painted in her later years, and died of stomach cancer.

Football
NFL
NFC Wild Card Playoff
New York Giants 16 @ Los Angeles Rams 13

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Lambada--Kaoma (13th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Lily was Here--David A. Stewart and Candy Dulfer (5th week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Hélène--Roch Voisine (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Do They Know it's Christmas?--Band Aid II

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins
2 Don't Know Much--Linda Ronstadt (featuring Aaron Neville)
3 We Didn't Start the Fire--Billy Joel
4 Rhythm Nation--Janet Jackson
5 With Every Beat of My Heart--Taylor Dayne
6 Back to Life--Soul II Soul
7 Pump Up the Jam--Technotronic featuring Felly
8 Just Like Jesse James--Cher
9 This One's for the Children--New Kids on the Block
10 Living in Sin--Bon Jovi

Singles entering the chart were Price of Love by Bad English (#68); Here and Now by Luther Vandross (#78); Room by the B-52s (#88); Too Hot by Loverboy (#90); and Right and Hype by Abstrac' (#93).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins (2nd week at #1)
2 Don't Know Much--Linda Ronstadt (featuring Aaron Neville)
3 We Didn't Start the Fire--Billy Joel
4 Rhythm Nation--Janet Jackson
5 With Every Beat of My Heart--Taylor Dayne
6 Back to Life--Soul II Soul
7 Just Like Jesse James--Cher
8 Pump Up the Jam--Technotronic featuring Felly
9 Living in Sin--Bon Jovi
10 (It's Just) The Way that You Love Me--Paula Abdul

Singles entering the chart were Opposites Attract by Paula Abdul (Duet with the Wild Pair) (#70); Price of Love by Bad English (#72); Everything You Do (You’re Sexing Me) by Fiona with Kip Winger (#80); Going Home by Kenny G (#82); I Will Survive by Safire (#85); Roam by the B-52's (#88); Foolish Heart by Sharon Bryant (#90); and A Girl Like You by the Smithereens (#92).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins (2nd week at #1)
2 We Didn't Start the Fire--Billy Joel
3 Blame it on the Rain--Milli Vanilli
4 Angelia--Richard Marx
5 The Last Worthless Evening--Don Henley
6 When I See You Smile--Bad English
7 With Every Beat of My Heart--Taylor Dayne
8 Leave a Light On--Belinda Carlisle
9 Love Shack--The B-52's
10 Rock and a Hard Place--Rolling Stones

Singles entering the chart were Expedition Sailor by Kim Mitchell (#80); Principal's Office by Young M.C. (#82); Move to Move by Kon Kan (#84); Here is Christmas by Ann and Nancy Wilson (#86); Dangerous by Roxette (#88); So Far Away by Mystery Romance (#90); and Hide Your Heart by Kiss (#92).

War
The U.S. Defense Department announced that secret radar-evading F-117A Stealth bombers had been used in combat for the first time in Panama, and had dropped two bombs near a barracks.

Football
NFL
Buffalo (9-7) 37 @ New York Jets (4-12) 0
Washington (10-6) 29 @ Seattle (7-9) 0

Only 21,148 fans were in attendance at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey to see the Bills rout the Jets.

10 years ago
1999

Weather
It was warm enough in Edmonton for this blogger to wear shorts outside.

December 22, 2009

1,940 years ago
69

Died on this date
Vitellius, 54. Roman Emperor, 69. Vitellius succeeded Otho as Emperor on April 16, 69. His position was challenged by Vespasian, and Vitellius was preparing to abdicate when he was executed by Vespasian's soldiers.

590 years ago
1419

Died on this date
John XXIII, 49 (?). Roman Catholic Antipope, 1410-1415. John XXIII, born Baldassarre Cossa, obtained doctorates in civil and canon law, and entered the service of Pope Boniface IX during the Western Schism, when there were rival claimants to the papacy in Rome and Avignon. Dr. Cossa was one of seven cardinals who deserted Pope Gregory XII in 1408, and became the leader of the Council of Pisa, which was convened with followers of Antipope Benedict XIII. In an attempt to end the schism, the Council deposed both Gregory XII and Benedict XIII and elected Alexander V as antipope, resulting in three rival claimants to the papacy. Alexander V died soon thereafter, and Dr. Cossa became Antipope John XXIII on May 25, 1410, having been ordained a priest just the day before. John XXIII was recognized as pope by France, England, Bohemia, Portugal, parts of the Holy Roman Empire, and northern Italian city states including Florence and Venice. The Council of Constance was convened in 1413 as another attempt to end the schism; Antipope John escaped down the Rhine River to Freiburg im Breisgau, but was returned to Constance, and was imprisoned in Germany after being convicted by the Council of various charges. He was freed in 1418 after a heavy ransom was paid by the Medici Bank, and died in Florence, where he had been made Cardinal Bishop of Frascati by Pope Martin V. When Angelo Roncalli acceded to the papacy in 1958, there was some confusion concerning the numbering, but he took the name John XXIII.

240 years ago
1769

War
Having been soundly defeated in battle, China's Qing dynasty agreed to terms of truce, ending the Sino-Burmese War.

190 years ago
1819

Born on this date
Franz Abt. German composer and conductor. Mr. Abt wrote about 3,000 works, mainly of vocal music. He spent much of his last 30 years as a guest conductor of choirs throughout Europe and the United States. Mr. Abt died on March 31, 1885 at the age of 65.

170 years ago
1839

Born on this date
John Nevil Maskelyne. U.K. magician and inventor. Mr. Maskelyne worked as a stage magician for more than 40 years, inventing illusions that are still used today. He was skeptical of claims of supernatural powers, and founded the Occult Committee in 1914 to expose those he regarded as frauds. Mr. Maskelyne's book Sharps and Flats: A Complete Revelation of the Secrets of Cheating at Games of Chance and Skill (1894) is still considered a standard work. He invented the pay toilet and other devices of the Victorian era. Mr. Maskelyne died on May 18, 1917 at the age of 77.

140 years ago
1869

Born on this date
E. A. Robinson. U.S. poet. Edward Arlington Robinson won three Pulitzer Prizes for his work in the 1920s. His best-known poem is probably Richard Cory (1897). Mr. Robinson died on April 6, 1935 at the age of 65.

120 years ago
1889

Born on this date
George Hutson. U.K. runner. Mr. Hutson won bronze medals in the men's 5000-metre run and the 3000-metre team race at the 1912 Summer Olympic Games in Stockholm. He died on September 14, 1914 at the age of 34 when he was killed in the Battle of the Marne while serving as a sergeant with the Royal Sussex Regiment.

Carroll Reece. U.S. politician. Mr. Reece, a Republican, represented Tennessee's 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives (1921-1931, 1933-1947, 1951-1961), and was chairman of the Republican National Committee (1946-1948). He led the House's Reece Committee (1954),, originally the Cox Committee (1952-1953), which investigated the use of funds by tax-exempt organizations (non-profit organizations) to see if they were being used to support Communism. Mr. Reece's commission concluded, "Some of the larger foundations have directly supported 'subversion' in the true meaning of that term--namely, the process of undermining some of our vitally protective concepts and principles. They have actively supported attacks upon our social and governmental system and financed the promotion of socialism and collectivist ideas." Mr. Reece died of lung cancer on March 19, 1961 at the age of 71, shortly after beginning his 18th term as a Congressman.

Minor Watson. U.S. actor. Mr. Watson was a character actor who appeared in 113 movies from 1913-1956. He died on July 28, 1965 at the age of 75.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Gustaf Gründgens. German actor and director. Mr. Gründgens was one of Germany's most famous actors of the 20th century, in plays and in movies such as M (1931) and Faust (1960). He was able to continue his career during the Nazi regime in Germany, and whether he collaborated with the Nazis remains a matter of dispute. While travelling around the world, Mr. Gründgens died on October 7, 1963 at the age of 63 of an internal hemorrhage, apparently caused by an overdose of sleeping pills, which may have been accidental.

Died on this date
D.L. Moody, 62. U.S. evangelist. Dwight Lyman Moody was raised as a Unitarian, but came to saving faith in Jesus Christ in 1855. He became a widely-known evangelist, preaching throughout the United States, and making several tours of the United Kingdom. Mr. Moody became associated with the Plymouth Brethren and the Holiness Movement, and founded what is now Moody Church in Chicago, as well as Moody Bible Institute and Moody Press. He died, perhaps of congestive heart failure, just over a month after taking ill during another preaching tour.

100 years ago
1909

Born on this date
Patricia Hayes. U.K. actress. Miss Hayes appeared in numerous radio and television comedy programs, and won a BAFTA Award in 1971 for starring in the title role of the Play for Today drama Edna, the Inebriate Woman. She died on September 19, 1998 at the age of 88.

80 years ago
1929

Politics and government
A referendum in Germany on a "Law against the Enslavement of the German People" received approval from 94.5% of those who voted. The "Liberty Law," proposed by German nationalists, would formally renounce the Treaty of Versailles and make it a criminal offense for German officials to co-operate in the collecting of reparations. However, only 14.5% of eligible voters participated, well below the 50% threshold necessary for the measure to become law. The referendum followed the proposed law's rejection in the Reichstag by a margin of 318-82 vote. The bill was rejected by centrist, centre-left, and centre-right parties, who favoured the Young Plan of loosening the burden of reparations payments. The "Liberty Law" was supported by the Nazi Party, German National People's Party (DNVP), and Pan-German League.

70 years ago
1939

Died on this date
Ma Rainey, 53 or 57. U.S. singer. Mrs. Rainey was billed as the "Mother of the Blues," and was one of the first blues singers to record, making over 100 recordings from 1923-1928, including Bo-Weevil Blues (1923); See See Rider Blues (1924); and Black Bottom (1927). She recorded with Louis Armstrong and toured until her retirement in 1935. Mrs. Rainey died of a heart attack.

Protest
Indian Muslims observe a "Day of Deliverance" to celebrate the resignations of members of the Indian National Congress over their not having been consulted over the decision to enter World War II with the United Kingdom.

60 years ago
1949

At the movies
Captain Carey, U.S.A., directed by Mitchell Leisen, and starring Alan Ladd and Wanda Hendrix, received its premiere screening in London.



The Blonde Bandit, directed by Harry Keller, and starring Dorothy Patrick, Robert Rockwell, and Gerald Mohr, opened in theatres.



Diplomacy
The Japanese government refused to accept the 1945 Yalta agreement as binding on Japan, maintaining its claim to southern Sakhalin, the southern Kuriles, Okinawa, and Iwo Jima.

Aviation
The U.S. National Aeronautics Association's Collier Trophy for the year's greatest aviation achievement was awarded to the Radio Technical Commission for its development of a bad-weather flight system used in the Berlin airlift.

Politics and government
Patrick Malin was chosen to succeed Roger Baldwin as director of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Health
A U.S.-Mexican agricultural commission reported the successful conclusion of a three-year campaign against foot and mouth disease in Mexico.

The U.S. Public Health Service announced the creation of a radiological health branch to plan for protection against atomic radiation in case of a nuclear attack.

Economics and finance
Japan and the United Kingdom completed a $360-million trade agreement.

The U.S. Commerce Department tightened restrictions on shipments to Communist countries containing non-secret technical information of military importance.

The U.S. Agriculture Department ended price support purchases of eggs.

Labour
The U.S. National Labor Relations Board ruled that farm workers were not covered by the Taft-Hartley Act, in a case involving a strike by the American Federation of Labor National Farm Labor Union against the Di Giorgio Fruit Corporation in Bakersfield, California.

50 years ago
1959

On television tonight
Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, hosted by John Newland, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Make Me Not a Witch, starring Patty McCormack, Robert Emhardt, Eileen Ryan, and Leo Penn



Died on this date
Gilda Gray, 58. Polish-born U.S. actress and dancer. Miss Gray, born Marianna Michalska, was orphaned at an early age, and moved with her foster parents to Milwaukee in 1909. She became popular in vaudeville in the early 1920s for dancing the "shimmy," and appeared in movies such as Cabaret (1927) and Piccadilly (1929). Miss Gray suffered from poor health in later years, and died of a heart attack.

War
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru told the Lok Sabha that India would not use police or troops to expel Communist Chinese forces from disputed border areas, but warned that he would oppose further Chinese incursions with force.

Diplomacy
U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and other cabinet members greeted President Dwight D. Eisenhower as he landed at Andrews Air Force Base, Virginia after completing his 11-nation tour of Europe, Asia, and North Africa.

Defense
North Atlantic Council foreign ministers meeting in Paris pledged full support to the negotiating position adopted by the U.S.A., U.K., France, and West Germany in the Western summit talks.

U.S. Defense Department officials confirmed a Canadian-U.S. agreement for construction of 52 new radar stations to fill gaps in the Pinetree warning system across Canada.

Politics and government
Algerian sources in Cairo reported that Prime Minister Ferhat Abbas's provisional government in Algeria had been replaced by a military cabinet led by Belkacem Krim, deputy prime minister and defense minister under Mr. Abbas.

U.S. Senator Wayne Morse (Democrat--Oregon) announced that he had agreed to enter Oregon's Democratic Party primary for the U.S. presidential nomination in 1960 at the urging of his backers.

Labour
U.S. District Court Judge F. Dickinson Letts, acting on the request of court-appointed monitors, ordered the Teamsters union to prepare for elections to free 12 Teamsters locals from trusteeship.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Kuroneko no Tango--Osamu Minagawa (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Sugar, Sugar--The Archies (6th week at #1)

Victoria's Top 10 (CJVI)
1 One Tin Soldier--The Original Caste
2 Someday We'll be Together--Diana Ross and the Supremes
3 I Still Believe in Tomorrow--John and Anne Ryder
4 Mind, Body and Soul--The Flaming Ember
5 Fortunate Son/Down on the Corner--Creedence Clearwater Revival
6 Leavin' on a Jet Plane--Peter, Paul and Mary
7 Holly Holy--Neil Diamond
8 A Brand New Me--Dusty Springfield
9 That's Where I Went Wrong--The Poppy Family
10 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas

Singles entering the chart were Near My Soul by Jim Brady and the Sonics (#33); One Way Tickets by McKenna Mendelson (#34); She Came in Through the Bathroom Window by Joe Cocker (#36); and Hicky Burr by Bill Cosby (#38).

On the radio
The Challenge of Space, on Springbok Radio
Tonight’s episode: Where was Atlantis?

Died on this date
Enrique Peñaranda del Castillo, 77. 45th President of Bolivia, 1940-1943. General Peñaranda commanded his country's forces during the second half of the Chaco War against Paraguay (1932-1935), and was elected President in 1940 as the candidate of the Concordance, an alliance of traditionalist and right-wing parties. He supported the Allies during World War II, but was unpopular at home, and was deposed by a coup of reformist military officers. Gen. Peñaranda lived the rest of his life in exile, and died in Madrid.

Diplomacy
The Middle East peace plan proposed by U.S. Secretary of State William Rogers on December 9 that called for Israeli withdrawal from occupied Egyptian territory, a peace treaty between the two and establishment of a demilitarized zone, and a "unified" Jerusalem shared by Israel and Jordan was rejected at an emergency meeting of the Israeli cabinet. Prime Minister Golda Meir termed the plan an appeasement of the Arabs.

Economics and finance
The way for talks on British entry into the European Economic Community was paved when EEC ministers, meeting in Brussels, reached agreement on how to finance their farm policy. France had insisted that such an accord would have to be reached before it would reconsider its veto on U.K. entry.

Terrorism
A Swiss court at Winterthur convicted three members of the Palestine Liberation Front charged with a machine gun attack in February on an Israeli plane at the Zurich airport, and sentenced them to 12 years in jail for the murder of the co-pilot. The Israeli guard who had shot and killed the fourth raider was acquitted.

Bernadette Devlin, 22, member of the British House of Commons for Mid-Ulster, was sentenced to six months in jail and was released on bail for her role in Londonderry’s Bogside riots earlier in the year.

Economics and finance
The Supreme Court agreed with the Quebec Court of Appeal in declaring illegal the “voluntary tax” of $2 collected by the City of Montreal from its taxpayers and other participants. The "tax," a form of lottery, had been introduced by Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau in May 1968 as a way of paying for the Expo 67 world's fair and other projects.

Disasters
A crippled U.S. Navy jet crashed into a Miramar Naval Air station hangar, killing 14 and injuring 11.

40 were killed and at least 50 missing after a South Vietnamese passenger plane crashed near Nha Trang air base.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in Southern Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): Is She Really Going Out with Him?--Joe Jackson (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Remi, Le Sue Avventure--Ragazzi Di Remi (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland: Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd (2nd week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Weekend--Earth and Fire (2nd week at #1)
2 Love and Understanding--Mac Kissoon and Family
3 Get Up and Boogie--Freddie James
4 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
5 Ooh, Yes I Do--Luv'
6 Please Don't Go--KC and the Sunshine Band
7 Gonna Get Along Without You Now--Viola Willis
8 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd
9 Thema Uit "De Verlaten Mijn" - Einsamer Hirte--Gheorghe Zamfir met Orkest o.l.v. James Last
10 We Got the Whole World in Our Hands--Nottingham Forest with Paper Lace

Singles entering the chart were Fly Too High by Janis Ian (#28); What's a Matter Baby by Ellen Foley (#33); Can We Still Be Friends by Robert Palmer (#35); Het Leven is Goed in M'n Brabantse Land by Oh Sixteen-Oh Seven met zang van Thijs v.d. Molen (#38); and Tell Everybody by Herbie Hancock (#39).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Escape (The Pina Colada Song)--Rupert Holmes
2 Please Don't Go--KC and the Sunshine Band
3 Babe--Styx
4 Send One Your Love--Stevie Wonder
5 Still--Commodores
6 Do That to Me One More Time--Captain & Tennille
7 You're Only Lonely--J.D. Souther
8 No More Tears/Enough is Enough--Barbra Streisand/Donna Summer
9 Ladies Night--Kool & The Gang
10 Take the Long Way Home--Supertramp

Singles entering the chart were Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen (#58); Fool in the Rain by Led Zeppelin (#64); September Morn' by Neil Diamond (#66); Daydream Believer by Anne Murray (#67); Heartbreaker by Pat Benatar (#76); Star by Earth, Wind & Fire (#81); Can We Still Be Friends by Robert Palmer (#82); I Don't Want to Talk About It by Rod Stewart (#84); 99 by Toto (#85); I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) by Bonnie Pointer (#86); Don't Make Me Over by Jennifer Warnes (#87); Shooting Star by Dollar (#88); Volcano by Jimmy Buffett (#89); Let Me Sleep Alone by Cugini (#90); and Holdin' on for Dear Love by Lobo (#93).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Escape (The Pina Colada Song)--Rupert Holmes
2 No More Tears/Enough is Enough--Barbra Streisand/Donna Summer
3 Please Don't Go--KC and the Sunshine Band
4 Ladies Night--Kool & The Gang
5 Send One Your Love--Stevie Wonder
6 Babe--Styx
7 Jane--Jefferson Starship
8 We Don't Talk Anymore--Cliff Richard
9 Do That to Me One More Time--Captain & Tennille
10 Rock with You--Michael Jackson

Singles entering the chart were Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen (#54); Fool in the Rain by Led Zeppelin (#69); September Morn' by Neil Diamond (#78); Daydream Believer by Anne Murray (#79); Heartbreaker by Pat Benatar (#84); I Don't Want to Talk About It by Rod Stewart (#86); 99 by Toto (#87); I'm Alive by Gamma (#90); I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) by Bonnie Pointer (#98); and Holdin' on for Dear Love by Lobo (#99).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Babe--Styx (4th week at #1)
2 Still--Commodores
3 Heartache Tonight--Eagles
4 Take the Long Way Home--Supertramp
5 Dreaming--Blondie
6 No More Tears/Enough is Enough--Barbra Streisand/Donna Summer
7 Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough--Michael Jackson
8 I Don't Like Mondays--The Boomtown Rats
9 Dream Police--Cheap Trick
10 Pop Muzik--M

Singles entering the chart were Damned if I Do by the Alan Parsons Project (#84); Last Train to London by Electric Light Orchestra (#86); Third Time Lucky by Foghat (#96); Roller Skatin' Mate by Peaches & Herb (#98); Rotation by Herb Alpert (#99); and Cruisin' by Smokey Robinson (#100).

Died on this date
Darryl F. Zanuck, 77. U.S. motion picture executive. U.S. motion picture executive. Mr. Zanuck worked with Warner Brothers Pictures before co-founding 20th Century Pictures, Inc. in 1933 and buying out Fox Film Corporation, combining them as 20th Century Fox in 1935. Mr. Zanuck ran the studio for most of the next four decades, eventually being forced out in a power struggle with his son Richard in 1971. Darryl Zanuck was nominated for 16 Academy Awards, winning for Best Picture for How Green Was My Valley (1941); Gentleman's Agreement (1947); and All About Eve (1950). He died of pneumonia.

Protest
Three days of violence in the Baluchistan-Seistan province of Iran concluded with at least 12 dead and 80 wounded.

Football
NCAA
Sun Bowl
U of Washington 14 Texas 7

Hockey
NHL
Montreal 4 Vancouver 2
Los Angeles 9 Edmonton 3

25 years ago
1984

Died on this date
Leon Burns, 42. U.S. football player. Mr. Burns was involved in an armed robbery as a teenager, and served four years in prison (although maintaining his innocence) before playing running back with Laney College (1967-1968) and California State University, Long Beach (1969-1970), leading the nation in yards rushing (1,659) and touchdowns rushing (26) in 1969, and rushing for more than 1,000 yards in his senior year. He played in the National Football League with the San Diego Chargers (1971) and St. Louis Cardinals (1972) and in the World Football League with the Portland Storm (1974), rushing 87 times for 292 yards (3.4 yards average per carry) and 3 touchdowns, catching 9 passes for 46 yards (5.1 average), and returning 3 kickoffs for 26 yards (8.7 average) in 28 NFL games, and rushing 51 times for 193 yards (3.8 average) in the WFL. Mr. Burns was shot and killed outside his apartment complex in southeast Los Angeles; his murder, which remains unsolved, was thought to be motivated by robbery.

Popular culture
Harrumph! Egad! Fap! Our Boarding House, a comic panel created by Gene Ahern that had been running since September 16, 1921, was published in newspapers for the last time, as the final creative team, cartoonist Les Carroll and writer Tom McCormick, had decided to retire. It ended with one of Major Amos B. Hoople’s inventions finally making big money. An Arab sheik had sold all his oil interests and wanted to market solar energy, using one of the Major’s patents. He offered Major Hoople $5 million to fly to his country immediately, or he would move to nuclear power. Major Hoople accepted, and he and Martha left the boarding house with Buster, Clyde, Mack, and Twiggs still living there, and three servants to do the work of Mrs. Hoople. Twiggs predicted that they’d be closed within a week. The Edmonton Journal was one of the few papers still carrying Our Boarding House to the very end. Every few years they’d drop the feature, only to bring it back when readers complained. Our Boarding House inspired a radio series titled Major Hoople that ran in 1942-1943 with Frank Bresee in the title role, but no episodes are known to survive.

Football
NFL
AFC Wild Card Playoff
Los Angeles Raiders 7 @ Seattle 13

NCAA
Sun Bowl
Maryland 28 Tennessee 27

20 years ago
1989

Died on this date
Samuel Beckett, 83. Irish-born French playwright and novelist. Mr. Beckett’s works included Waiting for Godot (1952) and Krapp’s Last Tape (1959). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for 1959. I’ve never bothered reading any of his stuff, because I have no interest in whiny Europeans who spend their time complaining about the God they say doesn’t exist.

World events
As up to 150,000 pro-democracy protesters massed to defy Securitate forces in Romania, it was reported that the defense minister had committed suicide, though it was later determined that he had been shot for refusing to order the army to fire on the demonstrators. Military units joined the rebels. President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena, his chief deputy in the government, fled Bucharest by helicopter. They landed and seized a car, but were in turn captured by insurgents near Tirgoviste. A coalition of former Communist officials, military officers, students, and others formed the National Salvation Front to run the country.

Germanica
Berlin’s most famous landmark, the Brandenburg Gate, opened for the first time in nearly 30 years.

War
The Organization of American States condemned the U.S.A.’s invasion of Panama.

10 years ago
1999

Space
The moon appeared 14% brighter than it did when furthest away from Earth. Astronomers said that the moon wouldn’t be this close again for more than a century. This blogger went for a walk in the North Saskatchewan River valley in Edmonton, and it was indeed bright, with the moonlight reflecting off the snow.

Diplomacy
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat concluded two days of talks in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Terrorism
Ahmed Ressam of Algeria, arrested at Port Angeles, Washington on December 14 after bomb-making materials were found in his car, was indicted in Seattle.

Scandal
Canadian porn star Kathryn Gannon, aka Marylin Star, was accused of illegally profiting from inside information gained from an intimate relationship with an influential Wall Street executive.

Disasters
Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509, a Boeing 747-200F en route from Seoul to Milan via Tashkent and London, crashed shortly after take-off from London Stansted Airport due to pilot error. All four crew members were killed.