December 24, 2014

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Hilary Hahn!

870 years ago
1144

War
The capital of the crusader County of Edessa fell to Imad ad-Din Zengi, the atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo.

720 years ago
1294

Religion
The day after the Roman Catholic papal conclave began, Benedetto Caetani was elected and installed as Pope Boniface VIII, succeeding Celestine V, who had resigned on December 13.

380 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.

200 years ago
1814

War
A U.S. delegation led by Ambassador to Russia John Quincy Adams and a British delegation led by Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier signed the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812. For more on the treaty and its 200th anniversary, go here, here, here, and here.

120 years ago
1894

Born on this date
Georges Guynemer. French military aviator. Capitaine Guynemer was a pilot in the French Air Service during World War I, and had 54 combat victories before being fatally shot down on September 11, 1917 at the age of 22.

Jack Thayer. U.S. bureaucrat. Mr. Thayer, a member of a prominent Philadelphia family, was aboard RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage in 1912, and was one of the few who survived jumping into the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. He and several others survived on top of a collapsible lifeboat for hours before being taken aboard another lifeboat. Mr. Thayer served with the U.S. Army in World War I, and became financial vice president of the University of Pennsylvania. His son Edward served as a bomber pilot in World War II and was shot down and presumed dead in 1943, which sent Mr. Thayer into a depression. He became further depressed after the death of his mother, also a Titanic survivor, on April 14, 1944, the 32nd anniversary of the disaster. Mr. Thayer committed suicide at the age of 50 on September 19, 1945 by slashing his throat and wrists.

100 years ago
1914

Born on this date
Ralph Marterie. Italian-born U.S. musician. Mr. Marterie was a trumpeter for various bands before leading his own band, achieving hit singles such as Crazy, Man, Crazy (1953) and Skokiaan (1954). He died on October 10, 1978 at the age of 63.

Died on this date
John Muir, 76. U.K.-born U.S. naturalist. Mr. Muir, a native of Scotland, moved to Wisconsin with his family at the age of 13. More than 20 years later he settled in California, where he became known for exploring the Sierra Nevada mountains. Mr. Muir was renowned as one of the first advocates for preserving the American wilderness, and co-founded the Sierra Club in 1892.

War
The "Christmas truce" began in World War I.

Sport
Duke Kahanamoku of Hawaii gave a demonstration of surfing at Sydney's Freshwater Beach; the event has been credited with helping to increase the popularity of surfing in Australia.

90 years ago
1924

World events
The Yugoslav-backed army of former Albanian cabinet minister Ahmed Zogu reclaimed the Albanian capital of Tirana, and Prime Minister Fan Noli and his government fled to Italy.

70 years ago
1944

War
With the largest tactical air assault to date in World War II, involving 6,500 planes, the Allies momentarily checked the German advance into Belgium. The U.S. 9th Army's V Corps repelled a German attack on Butgenbach. American troops captured La Gleize. Fierce fighting continued in Bastogne. ELAS forces attacking EDES guerrillas in northeastern Greece forced the latter to evacuate Yanina and Arta.

Religion
In his Christmas message, Pope Pius XII expressed support for an international organization to keep world peace.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Office of Price Administration announced new ration quotas, putting all beef back on the list.

60 years ago
1954

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Let's Have Another Party--Winifred Atwell (4th week at #1)

50 years ago
1964

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: I Feel Fine--The Beatles

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): I Feel Fine--The Beatles (3rd week at #1)

Edmonton's top 10 (CJCA)
1 I Feel Fine--The Beatles (4th week at #1)
2 The Wedding--Julie Rogers
3 Love Potion No. 9--The Searchers
4 Amen--The Impressions
5 Run, Run, Run--The Gestures
6 Alone and Lonely--Bobby Curtola
7 Leader of the Laundromat--The Detergents
8 Mr. Lonely--Bobby Vinton
9 Anyway You Want It--Dave Clark Five
10 Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow the Sun)--Del Shannon
Pick hit of the week: This Diamond Ring--Gary Lewis and the Playboys
New this week: If You Don't Want My Love--Jack London
Shake--Sam Cooke
Have You Looked Into Your Heart--Jerry Vale
Use Your Head--Mary Wells
This Diamond Ring--Gary Lewis and the Playboys
The Monkeyshine--Carl Perkins

War
Viet Cong operatives detonated a car bomb outside the Brinks Hotel in Saigon to demonstrate they could strike an American installation in the heavily-guarded South Vietnamese capital. Two U.S. personnel were killed and 53-63 other people were injured.

40 years ago
1974

Scandal
U.K. Labour Party Member of Parliament and former cabinet minister John Stonehouse was found in Australia with his secretary and detained by authorities there, more than a month after disappearing and faking his own death while on a business trip to Miami Beach, Florida.

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Like a Virgin--Madonna (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): ¿Cómo Pudiste Hacerme Esto a Mí?--Alaska y Dinarama (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Peter Lawford, 61. U.K.-born U.S. actor. Mr. Lawford, born Peter Sydney Ernest Aylen, appeared in such movies as The White Cliffs of Dover (1944); The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945); Easter Parade (1948); Little Women (1949); Ocean's 11 (1960); and Advise and Consent (1962), but was best known as a member of Frank Sinatra's "Rat Pack," and as the brother-in-law of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, having married then-Senator Kennedy's sister Patricia in 1954. He and Patricia divorced in 1966; Mr. Lawford's acting career went into decline, and he died after years of heavy drinking.

25 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.

Economics and finance
The Canadian House of Commons approved the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) after a bitter two-week debate and closure.

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.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): Zombie--The Cranberries (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Strange Love--Kina

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Hyper Hyper--Scooter

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Cotton-Eyed Joe--Rednex (12th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT): Always--Bon Jovi (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Can You Feel the Love Tonight--Elton John (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): I Will Survive--Hermes House Band

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Stay Another Day--East 17 (3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Here Comes the Hotstepper--Ini Kamoze (2nd week at #1)
2 On Bended Knee--Boyz II Men
3 Another Night--Real McCoy
4 Always--Bon Jovi
5 Creep--TLC
6 I'll Make Love to You--Boyz II Men
7 I Wanna Be Down--Brandy
8 You Want This/'70s Love Groove--Janet Jackson
9 Secret--Madonna
10 Before I Let You Go--BLACKstreet

Singles entering the chart were Pickup Man by Joe Diffie (#83); Pimp of the Year by Dru Down (#91); Promise Me by Lil Suzy (#93); Bad Reputation by Freedy Johnston (#95); and Whutcha Want? by Nine (#97).

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 On Bended Knee--Boyz II Men (4th week at #1)
2 Another Night--Real McCoy
3 Here Comes the Hotstepper--Ini Kamoze
4 Always--Bon Jovi
5 I'm the Only One--Melissa Etheridge
6 You Want This/70's Love Groove--Janet Jackson
7 Secret--Madonna
8 Creep--TLC
9 I Wanna Be Down--Brandy
10 I'll Make Love to You--Boyz II Men

Singles entering the chart were If You Love Me by Brownstone (#68); Don't Say Goodbye Girl by Tevin Campbell (#79); She Don't Use Jelly by Flaming Lips (#82); You Suck by the Murmurs (#86); and All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey (#88).

Died on this date
Rossano Brazzi, 78. Italian actor. Mr. Brazzi was known for movies such as Three Coins in the Fountain (1954); The Barefoot Contessa (1954); Summertime (1955); and South Pacific (1958).

Terrorism
Air France Flight 8969 was hijacked on the ground at Houari Boumediene Airport in Algiers. Over the course of three days, three passengers were killed, as were all four terrorists.

10 years ago
2004

Died on this date
Johnny Oates, 58. U.S. baseball player and manager. Mr. Oates was a catcher with the Baltimore Orioles (1970, 1972); Atlanta Braves (1973-1975); Philadelphia Phillies (1975-1976); Los Angeles Dodgers (1977-1979); and New York Yankees (1980-1981), batting .250 with 14 home runs and 126 runs batted in in 593 games. He managed the Orioles (1991-1994) and Texas Rangers (1995-2001), compiling a record of 797-746, leading the Rangers to American League West Division pennants in 1996, 1998, and 1999. Mr. Oates died after a three-year battle with a brain tumour.

December 23, 2014

325 years ago
1689

Born on this date
Joseph Bodin de Boismortier. French composer. Mr. Boismortier wrote more than 100 instrumental and vocal works, and was the first French composer to use the Italian concerto form. He obtained a royal license for engraving music in 1724, and was able to become wealthy by publishing his music for sale to the public. Mr. Boismortier died on October 28, 1755 at the age of 85.

100 years ago
1914

War
Australian and New Zealand troops arrived in Cairo.

80 years ago
1934

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

75 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.

70 years ago
1944

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Don't Fence Me In--Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and his Orchestra (Best Seller--1st week at #1; Juke Box--2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Charles Dana Gibson, 77. U.S. artist. Mr. Gibson created the "Gibson Girl" the iconic representation of American womanhood at the beginning of the 20th century.

War
German submarine U-806 torpedoed Royal Canadian Navy minesweeper HMCS Clayoquot by the Halifax lightship; the minesweeper sank on the 24th. U.S. Director of War Mobilization and Reconversion James F. Byrnes said that he found it difficult to understand how men could be physically unfit for military service yet still participate in professional sports. Fighting between left-wing ELAS and right-wing EDES guerrillas broke out in northwestern Greece. U.S. land-based plans attacked Grace Park Field in the area of Manila and destroyed about 25 enemy aircraft.

Politics and government
The U.S.S.R. announced that Premier General Bela Mikos had formed a Hungarian provisional government in Debrecen.

Exiled Basque, Castilian, and Galician leaders signed a pact of solidarity in Mexico City, pledging to overthrow the Spanish regime of Generalissimo Francisco Franco.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill providing for postwar flood control projects estimated at $1 billion and authorizing a $400,000 multipurpose project in the Missouri River Valley.

Horse racing
United States Director of War Mobilization and Reconversion James F. Byrnes ordered that all horse racing operations cease effective January 3, 1945 because of the sport's drain on manpower, tires and gasoline that could better be used in the war effort. The ban wasn't lifted until V-E Day, May 8, 1945.

50 years ago
1964

Music
Brian Wilson, leader of the Beach Boys, suffered a nervous breakdown on board a plane shortly after takeoff from Los Angeles as the group was beginning a short tour. The incident led to Mr. Wilson's permanent retirement from touring with the group, spending his time in the studio writing, producing, and recording the songs.

Religion
Anglican, Baptist, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic churches agreed to share a pavilion at the Expo '67 world's fair in Montreal.

Transportation
British Railways Board chairman Richard Beeching resigned his position to return to his post at Imperial Chemical Industries.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Kung Fu Fighting--Carl Douglas (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Todo El Tiempo Del Mundo--Manolo Otero

Music
Child of Winter (Christmas Song) by the Beach Boys was released as a single on Brother/Reprise Records. The B-side was Susie Cincinnati, which had previously been released in 1970 as the B-side of Add Some Music to Your Day. The late recording (November 18, 1974) and release dates for Child of Winter (Christmas Song) all but guaranteed that the record would not be commercially successful. It failed to chart, and was unheard by most Beach Boys fans until its appearance on the album Ultimate Christmas (1998).

30 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

25 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.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Old Pop in an Oak--Rednex (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Stay Another Day--East 17 (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Sebastian Shaw, 89. U.K. actor. Mr. Shaw appeared in numerous plays, films, and television programs in a career spanning 65 years. His movies included The Squeaker (1937); The Spy in Black (1939); and Return of the Jedi (1983).

10 years ago
2004

Died on this date
P. V. Narasimha Rao, 83. Prime Minister of India, 1991-1996. Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao, a member of the Indian National Congress Party, was Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (1971-1973) and sat in the Lok Sabha (1977-1997), holding several cabinet posts, including Minister of External Affairs (1980-1984, 1988-1989, 1992-1994) and Minister of Defence (1984-1985, 1993-1996). He was the first Prime Minister from South India, and became known as the "Father of Indian Economic Reform," adopting free-market policies in contrast to the mixed economic policies of his predecessors. The Indian National Congress Party was defeated in the 1996 general election; Mr. Rao was forced to resign as party president. He was convicted of corruption in 2000, but was acquitted on appeal in 2002. Mr. Rao died two weeks after suffering a heart attack.

Scandal
Former Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland pled guilty to a corruption charge. He served 10 months in prison.

December 22, 2014

1,770 years ago
244

Born on this date
Diocletian. Emperor of the Roman Empire, 284-305. Diocletian, a native of Croatia, was a cavalry commander who was proclaimed Emperor after the deaths of Emperor Carus and Carus's son Numerian during a campaign in Persia. Diocletian governed as an autocrat, but succeeded in delegating responsibility and bringing stability to the government. He was best known for his persecution of Christians (303-312), which was the largest and bloodiest persecution of Christians by Roman authorities. As with other persecutions, it failed to eradicate Christianity within the Empire. Diocletian voluntarily abdicated in 305 because of illness, and died on December 3, 311 or 312, 19 days before his 67th or 68th birthday.

175 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.

150 years ago
1864

War
In the U.S. Civil War, Union Army General William T. Sherman sent a message to President Abraham Lincoln from Georgia, saying, "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah," concluding Gen. Sherman's "March to the Sea."

125 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.

120 years ago
1894

Abominations
French Army Captain Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason in a court-martial that triggered worldwide charges of anti-Semitism.

Golf
The United States Golf Association, which sets the rules for the game in addition to administering the United States Open, was founded in New York City at a meeting of delegates from five clubs: Newport (Rhode Island) Golf Club; St. Andrew's Golf Club in Yonkers, New York; The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts; Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York; and Chicago Golf Club.

90 years ago
1924

Hockey
NHL
Babe Dye scored 5 goals as the Toronto St. Patricks routed the Boston Bruins 10-2 at Mutual Street Arena in Toronto.

75 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 observed 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.

70 years ago
1944

Died on this date
Harry Langdon, 60. U.S. actor. Mr. Langdon was one of the most popular comedy performers of the silent film era, starring in movies such as The Strong Man (1926); Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1926); and Long Pants (1927). His career began to decline after he took over the directing chores for his own pictures, and most of his performances took place in short and low-budget movies. Mr. Langdon was one of the writers of the Laurel and Hardy movies Block-Heads (1938); The Flying Deuces (1939); A Chump at Oxford (1940); and Saps at Sea (1940), and co-starred with Oliver Hardy in Zenobia (1939). Mr. Langdon died from a cerebral hemorrhage.

War
The office of U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced that 250,000 more fighting men would have to be found for Britain's armies in 1945. During the Battle of the Bulge, Germany demanded the surrender of American troops at Bastogne, Belgium; U.S. Army Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe reportedly replied: "Nuts!" The U.S.S.R. threw about 240,000 troops into battle in Latvia. Japanese troops retreating through the Chinese province of Kwangsi stiffened their resistance at Hochih, 95 miles northwest of Liuchow. The Vietnam People's Army was formed to resist Japanese occupation of Indochina.

50 years ago
1964

On television tonight
The Fugitive, starring David Janssen, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Devil's Carnival, with guest stars Philip Abbott, Warren Oates, Dee Pollock, and Madeleine Sherwood

Defense
The first test flight of the Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" reconnaissance plane took place at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.

Transportation
The Eastern Townships Autoroute opened in Quebec.

40 years ago
1974

Died on this date
Sterling North, 68. U.S. author. Mr. North was best known for his children's novel Rascal (1963).

Africana
Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Mohéli voted to become the independent nation of Comoros. Mayotte remained under French administration.

Terrorism
The Irish Republican Army was blamed for a bomb that was thrown at the London home of former British Prime Minister Edward Heath. Mr. Heath was away, but returned home 10 minutes later.

Hockey
NHL
Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins became the sixth player to score 500 career goals.

Football
NFL
AFC Divisional Playoff
Buffalo 14 @ Pittsburgh 32

NFC Divisional Playoff
Washington 10 @ Los Angeles 19

Franco Harris rushed 24 times for 74 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Steelers, led by quarterback Terry Bradshaw, rolled up 438 yards in net offense as they defeated the Bills before 49,841 fans at Three Rivers Stadium. Pittsburgh's Roy Gerela opened the scoring with a 21-yard field goal, but Buffalo quarterback Joe Ferguson completed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Paul Seymour, and John Leypoldt's convert gave the Bills a 7-3 lead after the 1st quarter. The Steelers erupted for 4 touchdowns--only 2 of them converted--in the 2nd quarter, beginning with a 27-yard pass from Mr. Bradshaw to Rocky Bleier. Buffalo running back O.J. Simpson, who was held to 49 yards rushing for the game, scored the only touchdown of the 2nd half on a 3-yard pass from Mr. Ferguson in the 3rd quarter.

The Rams trailed the Redskins 10-7 in the 3rd quarter before 77,925 fans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but the Los Angeles defense recovered 2 Washington fumbles and David Ray kicked 2 field goals to give the Rams a 13-10 lead, before linebacker Isiah Robertson intercepted a Sonny Jurgensen pass in the 4th quarter and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown to clinch the victory. The Rams opened the scoring in the 1st quarter on a 10-yard touchdown pass from James Harris to Bob Klein, converted by Mr. Ray. The Redskins replied with a 35-yard field goal by Mike Bragg in the 1st quarter and a 1-yard touchdown rush by Moses Denson in the 2nd quarter, converted by Mr. Bragg.

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): I Just Called To Say I Love You--Stevie Wonder (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT Top 30): When The Rain Begins To Fall--Jermaine Jackson and Pia Zadora (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): When The Rain Begins To Fall--Jermaine Jackson and Pia Zadora (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Do They Know it's Christmas?--Band Aid

#1 single in the U.K.: Do They Know it's Christmas?--Band Aid (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Like a Virgin--Madonna

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Wild Boys--Duran Duran (2nd week at #1)
2 Like a Virgin--Madonna
3 I Feel for You--Chaka Khan
4 Cool it Now--New Edition
5 Sea of Love--The Honeydrippers
6 Out of Touch--Daryl Hall John Oates
7 We Belong--Pat Benatar
8 Wake Me Up Before You Go Go--Wham!
9 Valotte--Julian Lennon
10 Run to You--Bryan Adams

Singles entering the chart were Careless Whisper by Wham! featuring George Michael (#29); Money Changes Everything by Cyndi Lauper (#57); Sugar Walls by Sheena Easton (#60); The Old Man Down the Road by John Fogerty (#62); Do They Know it's Christmas? by Band Aid (#67); Lovergirl by Teena Marie (#84); Treat Her Like a Lady by the Temptations (#85); Mr. Telephone Man by New Edition (#86); Turn Up the Radio by Autograph (#88); Do it Again by the Kinks (#89); and Naughty Naughty by John Parr (#90).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Sea of Love--The Honeydrippers
2 I Feel for You--Chaka Khan
3 The Wild Boys--Duran Duran
4 I Just Called to Say I Love You--Stevie Wonder
5 Wake Me Up Before You Go Go--Wham!
6 Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)--Billy Ocean
7 Strut--Sheena Easton
8 Out of Touch--Daryl Hall John Oates
9 All Through the Night--Cyndi Lauper
10 Valotte--Julian Lennon

Singles entering the chart were Mistake No. 3 by Culture Club (#86); Money Changes Everything by Cyndi Lauper (#92); Method of Modern Love by Daryl Hall John Oates (#94); In Neon by Elton John (#95); Neutron Dance by the Pointer Sisters (#96); and Make No Mistake, He's Mine by Barbra Streisand (with Kim Carnes) (#97).

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 Arthur Q. Bryan in the title role, but no episodes are known to survive.

Crime
New York City resident Bernhard Goetz shot four Negro youths on a Manhattan subway train, claiming they were about to rob him.

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

NCAA
Sun Bowl
Maryland 28 Tennessee 27

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins (4th week at #1)

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.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Super Gut--Mo-Do

Diplomacy
North Korean officials returned the body of U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer David Hilemon to U.S. officials, five days after the reconnaissance helicopter carrying CWO Hilemon and CWO Bobby Hall had been shot down over N.K. territory, resulting in the death of CWO Hilemon and the capture of CWO Hall.

Politics and government
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose governing coalition in parliament was falling apart, submitted his resignation to President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro. Mr. Berlusconi would lead a caretaker government until elections were held.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the gross domestic product had grown at an annual rate of 4% in the third quarter of 1994.

10 years ago
2004

Died on this date
Doug Ault, 54. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Ault was a first baseman with the Texas Rangers (1976) and Toronto Blue Jays (1977-1978, 1980), batting .236 with 17 home runs and 86 runs batted in in 256 games. He was the Blue Jays' first baseman in their first game ever, and hit his first 2 home runs--and the first 2 in the history of the Blue Jays--as they defeated the Chicago White Sox 9-5 before 44,649 fans at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. However, Mr. Ault had a hitch in his swing that he was unable to correct, and pitchers soon took advantage of this weakness. Mr. Ault played in Japan and the Mexican League before finishing his playing career in 1982, and then became a manager in the Blue Jays' minor league organization, winning two pennants. However, he was unable to find work in professional baseball after 1994, and other endeavors and marital problems eventually led him to commit suicide by shooting himself.

December 21, 2014

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Juliette Richard!

210 years ago
1804

Born on this date
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1868, 1874-1880. Mr. Disraeli was of Jewish ancestry, but converted to Anglicanism at the age of 12. He was a novelist before and after entering politics. A Conservative, Mr. Disraeli entered the House of Commons in 1837; he spent most of his career in opposition, but was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1852, 1858-1859, 1866-1868) in the governments of Lord Derby. When Lord Derby resigned in February 1868, Mr. Disraeli succeeded him, but the Conservatives were defeated by W.E. Gladstone's Liberals in the general election nine months later. The Conservatives were returned to power with a majority in the 1874 election; Mr. Disraeli enjoyed a close friendship with Queen Victoria, who appointed him Earl of Beaconsfield. His government was mainly concerned with the Eastern Question--instability in the Ottoman Empire--and Mr. Disraeli arranged for British purchase of a major interest in the Suez Canal and peace terms in the Balkans favourable to Britain and unfavourable to Russia. Wars in Afghanistan and South Africa, as well as domestic economic issues, undermined Mr. Disraeli's public support, and Mr. Gladstone led the Liberals back into power in the 1880 general election. Mr. Disraeli continued as Leader of the Opposition until his death on April 19, 1871 at the age of 66 from bronchitis after suffering from asthma and gout.

170 years ago
1844

Business
The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers opened their store in Rochdale, England, forming the basis for the modern co-operative movement.

120 years ago
1894

Politics and government
Canadian Governor General Earl of Aberdeen appointed Senator Mackenzie Bowell, the Conservative government's senior cabinet minister, as Prime Minister, succeeding Sir John Thompson, who had died suddenly in London on December 12. Sir Mackenzie, the Minister of Trade and Commerce and government leader in the Senate, became the second--and so far, last--person to be Prime Minister of Canada while serving in the Senate.

70 years ago
1944

At the movies
The Fighting Lady, a documentary directed by Edward Steichen, and narrated by Robert Taylor, opened in theatres.



War
Canadian troops in Italy captured Bagnacavallo and advanced on the eastern front to the Senio River. In the pincer movement to trap the last German troops in Hungary, Soviet forces closed the gap between their armies to 22 miles. British troops in Greece used tanks and rocket-firing planes against ELAS forces.

Scandal
James Allen, who had been convicted of conspiracy to obstruct the drafting of men into the U.S. armed services and had been unsuccessful in four attempts to have his case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, filed a suit for $75 million against U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Attorney General Francis Biddle, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover, and others on charges that they had "conspired" to injure his reputation and property; deprive him of his liberty and use of freedom of the press; and intimidate him in to submission.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill authorizing a $10-million public works program for the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Communications
U.S. President Roosevelt appointed Paul Porter as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.

60 years ago
1954

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson, on BBC Light Programme
Tonight's episode: The Final Problem, with guest star Orson Welles as Professor Moriarty

50 years ago
1964

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Ma Vie--Alain Barriere (6th week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 (There's) Always Something There to Remind Me--Sandie Shaw
2 I Feel Fine--The Beatles
3 Mr. Lonely--Bobby Vinton
4 I'm Gonna Be Strong--Gene Pitney
5 Ringo--Lorne Greene
6 Big Man in Town--The 4 Seasons
7 Mountain of Love--Johnny Rivers
8 Come See About Me--The Supremes
9 Everything's Alright--The Newbeats
10 Dance, Dance, Dance--The Beach Boys

Singles entering the chart were The Jerk by the Larks (#29); He's in Town by the Red Berries (#33); Boom Boom by the Animals (#34); Lovin' Place by Gale Garnett (#35); Don't Forget I Still Love You by Bobbi Martin (#37); Do-Wacka-Do by Roger Miller (#38); My Buddy Seat by the Hondells (#39); and I Can't Live Without You by Joe Popiel (#40).

On television tonight
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Memo from Purgatory, starring James Caan, Lynn Loring, Walter Koenig, Tony Musante, and Zalman King

Music
The album Coast to Coast by the Dave Clark Five was released in the U.S.A. on Epic Records. It was released in Canada on January 11, 1965 on Capitol Records under the title Across Canada with the Dave Clark Five.

Space
The United States launched the satellite Explorer 26, whose mission was to study natural and artificial radiation regions.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): Lonely This Christmas--Mud

#1 single in the U.K.: Lonely This Christmas--Mud

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Cat's in the Cradle--Harry Chapin

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Angie Baby--Helen Reddy
2 Cat's in the Cradle--Harry Chapin
3 Kung Fu Fighting--Carl Douglas
4 Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds--Elton John
5 Junior's Farm--Paul McCartney & Wings
6 You're the First, the Last, My Everything--Barry White
7 I Can Help--Billy Swan
8 Only You--Ringo Starr
9 Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy)--Al Green
10 You Got the Love--Rufus featuring Chaka Khan

Singles entering the chart were Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell (#80); Black Water by the Doobie Brothers (#82); Lonely People by America (#83); When a Child is Born by Michael Holm (#84); I'm a Woman by Maria Muldaur (#87); Costafine Town by Splinter (#89); Your Bulldog Drinks Champagne by Jim Stafford (#96); I Wouldn't Treat a Dog (The Way You Treated Me) by Bobby Bland (#98); Hoppy, Gene and Me by Roy Rogers (#99); and Day Tripper by Anne Murray (#100). Big Yellow Taxi was a live version of a song that had originally been a hit for Miss Mitchell in 1970.

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Kung Fu Fighting--Carl Douglas
2 I Can Help--Billy Swan
3 My Melody of Love--Bobby Vinton
4 Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds--Elton John
5 When Will I See You Again--The Three Degrees
6 So You are a Star--The Hudson Brothers
7 Longfellow Serenade--Neil Diamond
8 Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)--Reunion
9 One Man Woman/One Woman Man--Paul Anka with Odia Coates
10 Junior's Farm--Paul McCartney & Wings

Singles entering the chart were Day Tripper by Anne Murray (#84); Ready by Cat Stevens (#85); Best of My Love by the Eagles (#86); Pick Up the Pieces by Average White Band (#87); Fly Away by Wednesday (#88); I'll Be Your Everything by Percy Sledge (#89); Struttin' by Billy Preston (#91); Get Dancin' by Disco Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes (#92); I Belong to You by Love Unlimited (#93); Changes by David Bowie (#94); It's All Right by Jim Capaldi (#95); She's Gone by Tavares (#96); Someday by Dave Loggins (#97); I'll Be Gone by the Huggett Family (#98); Some Kind of Wonderful by Grand Funk (#99); and Can't Get it Out of My Head by Electric Light Orchestra (#100).

Calgary's Top 10
1 Angie Baby--Helen Reddy (2nd week at #1)
2 Cat's in the Cradle--Harry Chapin
3 Kung Fu Fighting--Carl Douglas
4 Ramona--Stampeders
5 I Can Help--Billy Swan
6 Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)--Reunion
7 When Will I See You Again--The Three Degrees
8 Wishing You were Here--Chicago
9 Longfellow Serenade--Neil Diamond
10 So You are a Star--The Hudson Brothers
Pick hit of the week: Everlasting Love--Carl Carlton

Died on this date
Richard Long, 47. U.S. actor. Mr. Long appeared in the television series Bourbon Street Beat (1959-1960); 77 Sunset Strip (1960-1962); The Big Valley (1965-1969); and Nanny and the Professor (1970-1971). His movies included Tomorrow is Forever (1946); The Stranger (1946); and Cult of the Cobra (1955). Mr. Long died four days after his 47th birthday, after a series of heart attacks.

Hockey
NHL
Boston 4 @ Toronto 8

In the national Hockey Night in Canada telecast, Inge Hammarstrom had the best game of his career, scoring 3 goals for the Maple Leafs and earning the selection as the game's first star as they upset the Bruins at Maple Leaf Gardens. Phil Esposito scored 3 goals for Boston and was named the game's third star.

Football
NFL
NFC Divisional Playoff
St. Louis 14 @ Minnesota 30

AFC Divisional Playoff
Miami 26 @ Oakland 28

Fran Tarkenton completed touchdown passes of 16 and 38 yards to John Gilliam, and Chuck Foreman rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown as the Vikings defeated the Cardinals before 48,150 fans at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. The touchdown that broke the game open came in the 3rd quarter, when Minnesota defensive back Nate Wright returned a fumble 20 yards, and Fred Cox's convert gave the Vikings a 17-7 lead. The Cardinals opened and closed the scoring on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Jim Hart to Earl Thomas and an 11-yard touchdown rush by Terry Metcalf, both converted by Jim Bakken.



Ken Stabler's 8-yard touchdown pass to Clarence Davis with 26 seconds remaining in regulation time gave the Raiders their win over the Dolphins before 53,023 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, ending Miami's two-year reign as Super Bowl champions. Mr. Stabler had earlier thrown touchdown passes of 31 yards to Charlie Smith, 13 yards to Fred Biletnikoff, and 72 yards to Cliff Branch. Miami's Nat Moore returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown; Bob Griese completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Paul Warfield in the 3rd quarter; and Benny Malone rushed 23 yards for a touchdown in the 4th quarter to give the Dolphins the lead. The Dolphins attempted a comeback in the final seconds, but Mr. Griese's pass was intercepted by Oakland linebacker Phil Villapiano.

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)--Billy Ocean (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): The Wild Boys--Duran Duran (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Forever Young--Alphaville

Basketball
NCAA
Georgeann Wells of West Virginia University became the first woman to dunk the ball during competition in a game at Elkins, West Virginia.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Ryyd-joulu--Bat & Ryyd (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Finland (Finnish Singles Chart): Pump Up the Jam--Technotronic (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Do They Know It's Christmas?--Band Aid II (2nd week at #1)

Edmonton's Top 10
1 Swing the Mood--Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers
2 Blame it on the Rain--Milli Vanilli
3 Back to Life--Soul II Soul
4 Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins
5 Pump Up the Jam--Technotronic featuring Felly
6 We Didn't Start the Fire--Billy Joel
7 When I See You Smile--Bad English
8 Angelia--Richard Marx
9 Rhythm Nation--Janet Jackson
10 With Every Beat of My Heart--Taylor Dayne

Protest
Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu addressed a rally in Bucharest and was jeered by many in the crowd, an unprecedented event considering how tightly he held power. Securitate troops, known for their fierce loyalty to Mr. Ceausescu, fired on the crowd, drove them elsewhere, and killed up to 40.

Crime
Larry Mahoney, the driver of a pickup truck that had collided with a church bus near Carrollton, Kentucky in May 1988, was acquitted on 27 counts of murder, but was convicted on 27 counts of manslaughter. Mr. Mahoney's lawyers acknowledged that he had been drunk and driving in the the wrong direction on an interstate highway at the time of the crash, but blamed a faulty gas tank on the bus for the fire that took the heavy toll of life, including 24 children and 3 adults. 12 other people were burned in the crash.

20 years ago
1994

War
American and North Korean officials met at Panmunjom, in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, to discuss the December 17 North Korean downing of a U.S. reconnaissance helicopter that was flying over N.K. territory, resulting in the death of Chief Warrant Officer David Hilemon and the capture of CWO Bobby Hall.

Politics and government
All four Northern League ministers resigned from the cabinet of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Economics and finance
The day after the Mexican government of President Ernesto Zedillo had allowed the peso to fall 15% against the U.S. dollar, the government allowed the peso to float freely in currency markets, triggering a decline of an additional 15% in its value.

World events
The Mexican volcano Popocatépetl, dormant for 47 years, erupted gases and ash.

10 years ago
2004

War
In the single deadliest suicide attack on American soldiers in Iraq, a suicide bomber killed 22 at the forward operating base next to the main U.S. military airfield at Mosul.

December 20, 2014

475 years ago
1539

Died on this date
Johannes Lupi, 33 (?). Flemish composer. Mr. Lupi, whose name in Flemish was Jean Leleu, composed a cappella polyphonic works. He died after years of chronic illness.

150 years ago
1864

Defense
Canadian militia were sent near the U.S. border to guard against possible raids by the Fenians, the Irish-American secret society dedicated to the end of British rule in Ireland.

War
In the U.S. Civil War, Confederate forces evacuated Savannah, Georgia as Union General William T. Sherman continued his "March to the Sea."

120 years ago
1894

Born on this date
Robert Menzies. Prime Minister of Australia, 1939-1941, 1949-1966. Sir Robert was a member of the Nationalist Party and then the United Australia Party, and was one of the main figures in the founding of the Liberal Party in December 1944. When Joseph Lyons died in 1939, Sir Robert succeeded him as Prime Minister, several months before the beginning of World War II. Sir Robert spent four months in England in 1941, and apparently had strong support to replace Winston Churchill as British Prime Minister. Sir Robert eventually was compelled to return to Australia, where his government fell in August 1941. He served as Leader of the Opposition from 1943-1949, returning to power with an electoral victory in 1949. Sir Robert was known for his opposition to Communism and his support for U.S. foreign policy and strong links with the United Kingdom. He resigned as Prime Minister on January 26, 1966, and from Parliament three weeks later. Sir Robert's 18 years and 5 months as Prime Minister is by far the longest time in the office for any Australian Prime Minister. He died of a heart attack on May 15, 1978 at the age of 83, several years after suffering two serious strokes.

100 years ago
1914

Born on this date
Harry F. Byrd, Jr. U.S. politician. Mr. Byrd, a nephew of polar explorer Richard Byrd and son of a United States Senator, was a Democrat who served in the Virginia state Senate from 1948-1965. Upon the resignation of his father from the United States Senate in November 1965 for health reasons, Mr. Byrd was appointed to succeed him. He split with the Democratic Party in 1970 and was re-elected as an independent candidate in 1970 and 1976, serving in the Senate until 1983. Mr. Byrd died on July 30, 2013 at the age of 98.

90 years ago
1924

Crime
German Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler was released from Landsberg Prison in Bavaria after serving nine months for treason as a result of his failed "Beer Hall Putsch" in Munich on November 9, 1923.

75 years ago
1939

Died on this date
Hans Langsdorff, 55. German military officer. Mr. Langsdorff, captain of the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee, lay on the ship’s battle ensign and shot himself in Montevideo a week after the ship suffered serious damage from British ships in the Battle of the River Plate, and three days after the Admiral Graf Spee was scuttled. Captain Langsdorff had wanted to go down with the ship, but held off until he knew that the crew would be granted amnesty. His suicide also forestalled any suspicions that he had retired from the battle out of cowardice.

70 years ago
1944

At the movies
Winged Victory, directed by George Cukor, and starring Lon McCallister, Jeanne Crain, and Edmond O'Brien, opened in theatres in New York City.



War
U.S. forces were holding on the flanks of the German offensive into Belgium. The U.S. 1st Army's VII Corps resumed its attack toward the Roer River, blocking the Winden-Untermanbach highway and pushing into Schneidhausen. Royal Canadian Air Force Squadrons Nos. 435 and 436 flew their first operational mission, supplying the British Fourteenth Army on its epic march south on the Burma Road. U.S. troops in the Philippines captured Valencia on Leyte Island and its airfield, recent headquarters of the Japanese 35th Army. U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur claimed that the Allies had won the battle for Ormoc in the Philippines.

Diplomacy
British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden told the House of Commons that the U.K. wanted only to feed starving Greeks and ensure a stable democratic government in Greece, and was not trying to force a regency or unwelcome king on the populace.

Transportation
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the measure appropriating $1.5 billion in federal aid for building state highways.

60 years ago
1954

On television tonight
Sherlock Holmes, starring Ronald Howard and H. Marion Crawford
Tonight's episode: The Mother Hubbard Case



Died on this date
James Hilton, 54. U.K.-born U.S. author. Mr. Hilton was best known for his novels Lost Horizon (1933); Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1934); and Random Harvest (1941). He shared an Academy Award for his contribution to the screenplay of Mrs. Miniver (1942). Mr. Hilton died of liver cancer.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet--Bachman-Turner Overdrive

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Kung Fu Fighting--Carl Douglas (7th week at #1)

Died on this date
R. Palme Dutt, 78. U.K. journalist and politician. Mr. Dutt joined the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) in 1920; he founded their monthly magazine Labour Monthly in 1921, and became editor of Workers' Weekly in 1922. Mr. Dutt was on the Executive Committee of the CPGB from 1923-1965, and was the party's chief theorist for many years, while also supervising the Communist Party of India. He was a hard-line Stalinist until his death.

Politics and government
The Canadian Parliament increased the number of seats in the House of Commons from 264 to 282, effective the next federal election.

30 years ago
1984

Disasters
The Summit Tunnel fire was the largest underground fire in history, as a freight train carrying over 1 million litres of gasoline derailed near the town of Todmorden, England, in the Pennines. Fortunately, there were no fatalities, and damage was minimal.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Lambada--Kaoma (10th week at #1)

War
In the early morning hours, more than 12,000 U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force personnel landed in Panama, doubling the U.S. military presence in the country. U.S. forces were divided into five task forces which attacked selected targets. One seized the headquarters of the Panama defense forces; other targets included military and strategic locations in and around Panama City. The U.S. force, however, failed to capture dictator General Manuel Noriega. An alternative government, headed by Guillermo Endara as president, was sworn in by a Panamanian judge at a U.S. military base. Mr. Endara claimed he had won a presidential election in May, but Gen. Noriega had annulled the vote. To protect shipping, U.S. troops closed the Panama Canal. Announcing the invasion, U.S. President George Bush said he had the obligation to safeguard the lives of American citizens. U.S. Secretary of State James Baker said that Gen. Noriega reportedly had planned to attack U.S. citizens in Panama. Most members of the United States Congress supported the invasion.

Politics and government
The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia replaced Karel Urbanek as its leader with Premier Ladislav Adamec.

The Lithuanian Communist Party declared itself independent of the Soviet party and asserted that its goal was the creation of an "independent democratic Lithuanian state."

Protest
Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu returned from a visit to Iran and denounced the pro-democracy demonstrators in his country.

20 years ago
1994

Died on this date
Dean Rusk, 85. U.S. politician. Mr. Rusk was U.S. Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson from 1961-1969, serving during the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War.

War
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, in Bosnia as a private citizen to meet with leaders of that country's warring factions, announced that the government and the Bosnian Serbs had agreed to a cease-fire.

Economics and finance
In an attempt to make Mexican products more affordable on world markets, the Mexican government of President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon allowed the peso to fall nearly 15% in value against the U.S. dollar.

The United States Commerce Department reported that the trade deficit in October was $10.14 billion, the second-highest monthly figure ever.

10 years ago
2004

Crime
A gang of thieves stole £26.5 million worth of currency from the Donegall Square West headquarters of Northern Bank in Belfast, one of the largest bank robberies in British history.

December 19, 2014

120 years ago
1894

Born on this date
Ford Frick. U.S. baseball executive. Mr. Frick was President of the National League from 1934-1951, and Commissioner of Baseball from 1951-1965. His most controversial decision as Commissioner was the ruling that the single season home run records of Babe Ruth and Roger Maris should be listed separately because Mr. Ruth’s season was 8 games shorter. It was later revealed that Mr. Frick had served as a ghostwriter for Mr. Ruth earlier in his career. He was also one of the last people to see the Babe alive; he visited him in the hospital the day before the Babe died. Mr. Frick was also accused by some of favouring the National League in his decisions as Commissioner, such as how expansion teams in the 1960s were to be stocked. As National League President, Mr. Frick enforced the lowering of the colour bar, and threatened to suspend any players who planned to protest the presence of Jackie Robinson in the league. Before becoming a baseball executive, Ford Frick was a sportswriter, first in the Midwest, then in New York. He also appeared on radio, and pioneered the daily radio sportscast. Mr. Frick was hired by the National League as its publicity director in 1934; he became NL President later that year. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970, and died on April 8, 1978 at the age of 83, after a series of strokes.

70 years ago
1944

Died on this date
Abbas II, 70. Khedive of Egypt and Sudan, 1892-1914. Abbas II was the last Khedive of Egypt and Sudan, serving under the Ottoman Empire. He died 30 years--virtually to the day--after being deposed by Great Britain because of his support for the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of World War I.

War
U.S. forces in Belgium struck back at the German offensive, taking Stavelot and engaging in heavy fighting in Malmedy. Soviet forces in Czechoslovakia drove to within 9 miles of the Kosice rail junction. In wide-ranging attacks, Allied planes struck Omura on the Japanese island of Kyushu, as well as the Chinese cities of Shanghai and Nanking. The British Information Service announced in Washington that under the terms of an interim agreement all British forces, save a few border patrols, would be withdrawn from Ethiopia.

Economics and finance
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration Director Herbert Lehman announced the withdrawal from Greece of most of the UNRRA staff because of military conditions in the country.

Scandal
A U.S. federal grand jury indicted Carl L. Norden, Inc., Theodore Barth and Ward Marvelle--officials of the organization--and United States Naval Reserve Commander John Corrigan on charges of conspiring to defraud the United States government by restricting production of the Norden bombsight to the Norden firm.

Politics and government
Three days of voting concluded in Guatemala, resulting in the election of philosophy professor Juan José Arévalo Bermejo of the Revolutionary Action Party as the country's new President, to take office on March 15, 1945. Mr. Arévalo took 86.25% of the vote.

The United States Senate, just prior to adjournment and the expiration of the 77th Congress, confirmed all six of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's nominees as assistants to Secretary of State Edward Stettinius. The nominees included Joseph Grew; William Clayton; Nelson Rockefeller; and Archibald MacLeish.

Labour
Montgomery Ward announced a basic minimum wage plan, approved by the U.S. National War Labor Board, for its stores in the Detroit area.

50 years ago
1964

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): I Feel Fine/She's a Woman--The Beatles (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France: Sacré Charlemagne--France Gall

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Non son degno di te--Gianni Morandi

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Pretty Woman--Roy Orbison

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): I Feel Fine--The Beatles (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Come See About Me--The Supremes

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I Feel Fine--The Beatles
2 Mr. Lonely--Bobby Vinton
3 Come See About Me--The Supremes
4 Ringo--Lorne Greene
5 She's Not There--The Zombies
6 Time is on My Side--The Rolling Stones
7 I'm Into Something Good--Herman's Hermits
8 Goin' Out of My Head--Little Anthony and the Imperials
9 The Jerk--The Larks
10 Dance, Dance, Dance--The Beach Boys

Singles entering the chart were You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' by the Righteous Brothers (#72); Hold What You've Got by Joe Tex (#73); I Can't Stop by the Honeycombs (#84); Come On Do the Jerk by the Miracles (#87); My Buddy Seat by the Hondells (#88); You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You (#89)/You'll Always Be the One I Love (#91) by Dean Martin; The Name Game by Shirley Ellis (#92); Downtown by Petula Clark (#98); Fiddler on the Roof by the Village Stompers (#99); and Lovely, Lovely (Loverly, Loverly) by Chubby Checker (#100).

On television tonight
The Outer Limits, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Duplicate Man, starring Ron Randell, Sean McClory, and Constance Towers

World events
The South Vietnamese military junta of General Nguyễn Khánh dissolved the High National Council--an unelected advisory body created by the junta at the request of the United States--and arrested some of the members.

Defense
In Halifax, the Royal Canadian Navy commissioned HMCS Annapolis, the 20th ship in the destroyer escort program.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Oh Yes! You're Beautiful--Gary Glitter

Politics and government
Under the provisions of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Nelson Rockefeller was sworn in as Vice President of the United States under President Gerald Ford.

30 years ago
1984

Abominations
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang signed an agreement to transfer Hong Kong to China in 1997.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-British_Joint_Declaration

Hockey
NHL
Scotty Bowman became the NHL's career leader in victories with 691 when he coached the Buffalo Sabres to a 6-3 victory over the Black Hawks in Chicago.

25 years ago
1989

Died on this date
Stella Gibbons, 87. U.K. writer. Miss Gibbons was a journalist, poetess, and novelist. She was best known for the novel Cold Comfort Farm (1932). Miss Gibbons died after years of declining health, 17 days before her 88th birthday.

Diplomacy
West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl met with East German Premier Hans Modrow.

Protest
Pro-democracy demonstrations that had begun in Timisoara, Transylvania, Romania several days earlier spread to two other cities.

Crime
A bomb was discovered at the Jacksonville, Florida office of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People before it exploded. Federal investigators said that they had "hard forensic evidence" to link the bomb with those that had killed Alabama judge Robert Vance on December 16 and Savannah, Georgia attorney Robert Robinson on December 18. Another bomb had been discovered at the federal court building in Atlanta on December 18. Eventually, Walter Moody was convicted of murder and currently sits on death row in Alabama.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 0.4% in November.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Cotton Eye Joe--Rednex (11th week at #1)

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Cotton Eye Joe--Rednex (7th week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Always--Bon Jovi (3rd week at #1)
2 Secret--Madonna
3 Out of Tears--Rolling Stones
4 Insensitive--Jann Arden
5 On Bended Knee--Boyz II Men
6 You Don't Know How it Feels--Tom Petty
7 Get Over It--Eagles
8 Blind Man--Aerosmith
9 Dance Naked--John Mellencamp
10 What's the Frequency, Kenneth--R.E.M.

Singles entering the chart were Sukiyaki by 4 P.M. (#80); Soldier of Love by the Beatles (#85); You Wreck Me by Tom Petty (#86); Better Man by Pearl Jam (#90); and How Strong by Doucette (#92). Soldier of Love, recorded in July 1963, was from the album Live at the BBC, a compilation of recordings made on BBC Light Programme radio shows from 1963-1965.

Business
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved the $3.1-billion takeover of Maclean Hunter, Ltd. by Rogers Communications, Inc.

10 years ago
2004

Died on this date
Herbert C. Brown, 92. U.K.-born U.S. chemist. Dr. Brown, born Herbert Brovarnik, was born in London, but moved to the United States with his family at the age of 2. He shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Georg Wittig "for their development of the use of boron- and phosphorus-containing compounds, respectively, into important reagents in organic synthesis."

December 18, 2014

125 years ago
1889

Communications
The Canadian Pacific Railway telegraph was linked up with the Atlantic Cable at Canso, Nova Scotia.

110 years ago
1904

Born on this date
Wilf Carter. Canadian musician. Mr. Carter, a native of Port Hilford, Nova Scotia, moved to Calgary at the age of 18, and in 1930 began performing on radio as a country and western singer and guitarist, with a distinctive yodelling style. He made his first recordings in 1933, and became the first Canadian country artist to achieve popularity in the United States, where he was known as "Montana Slim," hosting his own radio program on CBS from 1934-1940. Mr. Carter was seriously injured in a car accident in 1940 and didn't resume touring until 1949, but was still able to record. He wrote more than 500 songs, and in 1971 was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Mr. Carter continued to perform and record until hearing loss forced him to retire in 1992. He died in Scottsdale Arizona on December 5, 1996, 13 days before his 92nd birthday.

100 years ago
1914

World events
The United Kingdom declared Egypt a Sultanate under British protectorate. The declaration was issued in the form of a letter from acting British Agent Milne Cheetham to Prince Hussein Kamel, uncle of Abbas II, Khedive of Egypt and Sudan. Abbas II was deposed because of his support for the Ottoman Empire, and Hussein Kamel became Sultan of Egypt.

75 years ago
1939

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

Died on this date
Ernest Lawson, 66. Canadian-born U.S. artist. Mr. Lawson, a native of Halifax, moved to the United States in 1888, settling in Kansas. He was a landscape painter who was a member of The Eight, a group of artist who united to protest the restrictive policies of the National Academy of Design. Mr. Lawson drowned while apparently swimming at Miami Beach, Florida; he was suffering from declining health and depression, and some suspected that he committed suicide.

War
The Battle of the Heligoland Bight, the first major air battle of World War II, took place. Three British Royal Air Force bomber squadrons attempted to sink or damage German ships in the Heligoland Bight in the North Sea, but suffered enough damage to persuade them to abandon daylight missions thereafter.

70 years ago
1944

Hit parade
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Trolley Song--The Pied Pipers (2nd week at #1)
--Judy Garland
--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
2 I'm Making Believe--The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald
3 Dance with a Dolly (With a Hole in Her Stocking)--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra
--Evelyn Knight with Camarata and his Orchestra
--Tony Pastor and his Orchestra
4 Don't Fence Me In--Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters
5 Together--Helen Forrest and Dick Haymes
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
6 You Always Hurt the One You Love--The Mills Brothers
7 I'll Walk Alone--Dinah Shore
--Martha Tilton
--Mary Martin
8 Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That’s an Irish Lullaby)--Bing Crosby
9 Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall--The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald
10 Tico-Tico--Charles Wolcott and his Orchestra
--Ethel Smith and Bando Carioca

Singles entering the chart were the version of The Trolley Song by Judy Garland, who sang it in the movie Meet Me in St. Louis (1944); and Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are, with versions by Charlie Barnet and his Orchestra; and Bob Strong and his Orchestra (#40).

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Wandering Miser

War
The large-scale German offensive into Belgium and Luxembourg picked up, driving at Consdorf and St. Vith. The U.S. 1st Army was supported by 60,000 men and 11,000 vehicles of the 3rd Army. The U.S. 9th Army took Wurm and Mullendorf. Soviet troops captured more than 40 towns in a 12-mile advance on a 68-mile front aimed at Slovakia. 77 B-29 Superfortresses and 200 other aircraft of the U.S. 14th Army Air Force bombed the Japanese supply base of Hankow, China. U.S. forces on Mindoro Island in the Philippines fanned out 6 miles from San Jose.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Edward Stettinius issued a statement reiterating the U.S. desire to defer border settlements in Poland to after the conclusion of the war.

Politics and government
Members of the U.S. Electoral College met in state capitols to cast 432 ballots for President and Democratic Party candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt and vice presidential nominee Harry Truman, and 99 for Republican Party presidential candidate Thomas Dewey and vice presidential candidate John W. Bricker.

Law
The U.S. Supreme Court, in Korematsu v. United States, voted 6-3 to uphold the constitutionality of the U.S. government's wartime relocation and internment of Americans of Japanese descent. Meanwhile, in Ex parte Endo, the court ruled unanimously that the U.S. government could not continue to detain a citizen who was "concededly loyal" to the United States.

In United States v. Johnson, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that defendants charged with violating the Federal Denture Act for mailing dentures from Illinois to Delaware, where they were received by a person not licensed to practice dentistry in Delaware, could be prosecuted only in the district from which the dentures had been mailed.

Labour
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Tunstall v. Brother of Locomotive Firemen that Negro employees on American railroads were protected by the Railway Labor Act against management-union pacts seeking to oust them from jobs and deny them promotions.

Sport
The Associated Press announced the results of a nationwide poll naming swimmer Ann Curtis as America's top female athlete of 1944, and golfer Byron Nelson as the top male athlete.

60 years ago
1954

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Sh-Boom--The Crew-Cuts (3rd week at #1)

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Mr. Sandman--The Chordettes (Best Seller--3rd week at #1; Disc Jockey--2nd week at #1; Jukebox--1st week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Let Me Go Lover--Joan Weber
2 Mr. Sandman--The Chordettes
--The Four Aces
3 I Need You Now--Eddie Fisher
4 Papa Loves Mambo--Perry Como
5 Teach Me Tonight--The DeCastro Sisters
6 This Ole House--Rosemary Clooney
7 Hey There--Rosemary Clooney
--Sammy Davis, Jr.
8 The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane--The Ames Brothers
--Archie Bleyer
9 Shake, Rattle and Roll--Bill Haley and his Comets
10 Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)--Eddie Fisher

Singles entering the chart were Hearts of Stone by the Charms (#16, with the version by the Fontane Sisters); Open Up the Doghouse (Two Cats are Comin’ In) by Nat "King" Cole and Dean Martin (#27); Christmas Alphabet by the McGuire Sisters (#34); Melody of Love by Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra (#36); Hold Me in Your Arms by Doris Day (#39); Addio by the Ames Brothers (#40); and No Man is an Island by Don Cornell (#43). Hold Me in Your Arms was the B-side (or maybe the A-side) of Ready, Willing and Able, charting at #47. Addio was the B-side of The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane.

Hockey
NHL
Maurice "Rocket" Richard of the Montreal Canadiens scored his 400th career goal in his 690th game.

50 years ago
1964

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): I Feel Fine--The Beatles

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 I Feel Fine--The Beatles (3rd week at #1)
2 The Wedding--Julie Rogers
3 Love Potion No. 9--The Searchers
4 Run, Run, Run--The Gestures
5 Slaughter on Tenth Avenue--The Ventures
6 Amen--The Impressions
7 Alone and Lonely--Bobby Curtola
8 Dance, Dance, Dance--The Beach Boys
9 Mr. Lonely--Bobby Vinton
10 Leader of the Laundromat--The Detergents
Pick hit of the week: Little by Little--The Pickwicks
New this week: You'll Always Be the One I Love--Dean Martin
I Will Wait for You--Steve Lawrence
So What--Bill Black's Combo
Across the Street (Is a Million Miles Away)--Ray Peterson
So Many Other Boys--The Esquires

You'll Always Be the One I Love was the B-side (or maybe the A-side) of You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland: I'm Leaving It (All) Up to You--Donny and Marie Osmond (7th week at #1)

Died on this date
Harry Hooper, 87. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Hooper played right field with the Boston Red Sox (1909-1920) and Chicago White Sox (1921-1925), batting .281 with 75 home runs and 817 runs batted in in 2,309 games. He was a member of World Series championship teams in 1912, 1915, 1916, and 1918, as he combined with Tris Speaker and Duffy Lewis to form one of the best outfields in major league history. Mr. Hooper was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.

Crime
In Mississauga, Ontario, businessman Peter Demeter was sentenced to life imprisonment for hiring an unknown person to kill his wife Christine in 1973 and collect $1 million insurance money.

Protest
The British government of Prime Minister Harold Wilson announced that it would pay £42,000 in compensation to relatives of those killed in the Bloody Sunday riots in Londonderry, Northern Ireland on January 30, 1972.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): If I Could Turn Back Time--Cher (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Pump Up the Jam--Technotronic featuring Felly (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Robert E. Robinson. U.S. attorney. Mr. Robinson, a Negro who had performed legal work for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was killed by a bomb that had been mailed to his office in Savannah, Georgia. Mr. Robinson’s death occurred two days after the similar murder of Judge Robert S. Vance of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Alabama. Another bomb was discovered at the federal court building in Atlanta. Walter Moody ended up being convicted of the murders.

Diplomacy
The United States administration of President George Bush announced that national Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft and Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, who had concluded a two-day visit to China on December 10, had also made a secret trip to China in July, a month after the Chinese regime had crushed the student uprising in Beijing’s Tienanmen Square.

Economics and finance
The European Economic Community and the Soviet Union signed an agreement on trade and commercial and economic cooperation.

Labour
Britain’s Labour Party, in line with European legislation, abandoned its policy in favour of closed shops. The move was seen by many as an attempt by Labour to shed the image of a party that was run by unions.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Here Comes the Hotstepper--Ini Kamoze

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Cotton Eye Joe--Rednex (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Cotton Eye Joe--Rednex (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Chart Information Network): Stay Another Day--East 17 (3rd week at #1)

On television tonight
Don't Drink the Water, on ABC

This was the first made-for-television movie to be directed by Woody Allen, and was based on his 1966 Broadway play. He didn't direct the theatrical movie version, which was released in 1969. The stars of the 1994 version were Mr. Allen, Michael J. Fox, Dom DeLuise, Mayim Bialik, Edward Herrmann, and Julie Kavner.





Died on this date
Lilia Skala, 98. Austro-Hungarian born U.S. actress. Mrs. Skala, a native of Vienna, fled her native land after the German occupation of Austria in the late 1930s, eventually settling in the United States. She was best known for her supporting performance as the Mother Superior in Lilies of the Field (1963), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. She played the Countess, Lisa Douglas’s mother in the television comedy series Green Acres (1965-1971). Mrs. Skala died 20 days after her 98th birthday.

War
Russian bombing raids on Grozny, capital of the separatist state of Chechnya, began.

Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic said that his government would agree to only a short-term cease-fire rather than to a long-term cease-fire that would tend to solidify territorial gains by the opposition Serbs. Mr. Izetbegovic made the announcement after meeting with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who had come to meet with leaders of the warring factions at the invitation of Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.