February 22, 2015

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Laura Pereverzoff Ong and Maria Melania Belmar Mora!

520 years ago
1495

War
The French Army of King Charles VIII took Naples without a pitched battle or siege; King Alfonso II of Naples was expelled, and Charles was crowned King of Naples.

160 years ago
1855

Academia
Pennsylvania State University was founded in State College, Pennsylvania, as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania.

150 years ago
1865

Law
Tennessee adopted a new constitution, abolishing slavery.

125 years ago
1890

Died on this date
John Jacob Astor III, 67. U.S. philanthropist. Mr. Astor was the wealthiest member of his family; he managed the family's real estate holdings, and donated to New York institutions such as the Astor Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Trinity Church.

120 years ago
1895

Born on this date
Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre. Peruvian politician. Mr. Haya de la Torre was a university reformer before entering politics. He was exiled to Mexico by the Peruvian government in 1924, and founded the Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana--Partido Aprista Peruano (American Popular Revolutionary Alliance--Peruvian Aprista Party) in 1924, leading the party for the rest of his life. He favoured universal democracy and Latin American solutions to regional problems, rejecting both U.S. imperialism and Soviet Communism. Mr. Haya de la Torre returned to Peru in 1931 and was an unsuccessful candidate for President of Peru that year. He was imprisoned later that year, and the party was outlawed from 1931-1934 and 1935-1945. Mr. Haya de la Torre was forced to seek asylum at the Colombian embassy in Lima from 1949-1954, but was eventually feed, and the APRA was legalized again in 1956. Mr. Haya de la Torre ran for President again in June 1962, and led with 33.0% of the vote, slightly below the one-third required by the Constitution in order to be elected. A military coup a month later nullified the election. Mr. Haya de la Torre ran for President again in June 1963, but finished second. He became a member and President of the Peruvian Constituent Assembly in July 1978, serving until his death just over a year later at the age of 84 on August 2, 1979. A few weeks before his death, Mr. Haya de la Torre signed the new constitution on his deathbed.

Politics and government
A woman's suffrage bill, introduced and championed by Henry R. Emmerson, Member of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly for Albert County, was narrowly defeated in the House of Assembly by a vote of 18-17.

80 years ago
1935

Aviation
Airplanes were prohibited from flying over the White House in Washington, D.C.

75 years ago
1940

War
A Soviet official handed proposed terms of a settlement with Finland to the Swedish minister, warning that harsher terms would be imposed if these were rejected. Ivan Maisky, U.S.S.R. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, presented the Soviet peace proposals to the British Foreign Office. Dispatches from the Chinese capital of Chungking claimed the rout of the forces of Wang Ching-wei--leader of the Japanese-sponsored government in central China--on the Fulkien coast.

Politics and government
General Nuri-es Said formed a new Iraqi cabinet, naming himself both Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.

French socialists abstained in a vote of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies, leaving the government of Prime Minister Edouard Daladier with a majority of one.

Religion
La-Mu-Ton-Chu, a 6-year-old boy, was installed as the 14th Dalai Lama in ceremonies at Lhasa, Tibet.

Society
The U.S. State Department reported that applications for immigration had doubled in 1939 because of the disturbed conditions in Europe.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a five-month low in the wholesale price index, as farm products and textiles prices continued to decline.

Business
New York attorney Jacob Javits proposed changes in anti-trust laws to permit industries to form trade associations.

70 years ago
1945

War
The United States Senate Military Affairs Committee reported out a "no-labor-draft" substiture for the House of Representatives May-Bailey bill for "limited national service." The Senate measure would cover all workers, rather than those aged 18-45. A German U-Boat torpedoed the Royal Canadian Navy corvette Trentonian. As U.S. infantry units crossed the Saar River in assault boats south of Saarburg, U.S. troops cleared German forces from the triangle between the Saar and Moselle Rivers. More than 3,000 American planes took part in an assault on German transportation systems, bombing Lueneberg, Steudal, Haldenstadt, and Nordheim in western, central, and southern Germany. Soviet dictator Josef Stalin claimed that Germany had lost more than 1.15 million men in the 40-day Soviet offensive, and that "full victory is near." Remaining Japanese forces in Manila were trapped by American troops in the ancient walled sector of the city. U.S. forces landed on Capul Island, at the mouth of the San Bernardino Strait off the northwest coast of Samar Island, and occupied it by nightfall.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Edward Stettinius, speaking at the Inter-American Conference in Mexico City, reaffirmed the Good Neighbor Policy toward Latin America, and promised that the U.S. would provide economic assistance to help Latin American countries adjust to postwar economic conditions.

Politics and government
U.S. Representatives John Rankin (Democrat--Mississippi) and Frank Hook (Democrat--Michigan) grappled and exchanged blows on the House floor after verbal exchanges over whether the Congress of Industrial Organization Political Action Committee was Communist-influenced.

Defense
The U.S. House of Representatives Military Affairs Committee named a subcommittee to investigate charges that Communists had received Army commissions.

Economics and finance
The United States House of Representatives passed the Senate-approved postwar rivers and harbors bill authorizing nearly $500 million in projects, and sent it to the White House for President Franklin D. Roosevelt's signature.

Labour
Public members of the U.S. National War Labor Board reported to President Franklin D. Roosevelt that wages on the average were surpassing prices and that it was essential to maintain the "Little Steel" formula for the time being.

60 years ago
1955

Tennis
Maureen Connolly, who had won the women's singles championship at Wimbledon from 1952-1954, announced her retirement from competitive tennis, seven months after breaking her leg when the horse she was riding was hit by a motor vehicle.

50 years ago
1965

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): La Yenka--Johnny & Charley (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): The Hucklebuck--Brendan Bowyer (6th week at #1)

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Bye, Bye Baby (Baby Goodbye)--The 4 Seasons
2 It's Alright--Adam Faith
3 The Boy from New York City--The Ad Libs
4 Yeh, Yeh--Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames
5 Terry--Twinkle
6 Dusty--The Rag Dolls
7 For Lovin' Me--Peter, Paul and Mary
8 Little Things--Bobby Goldsboro
9 My Girl--The Temptations
10 Shakin' All Over--Chad Allan and the Expressions (Guess Who?)

Singles entering the chart were Come Home by the Dave Clark Five (#18); Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey (#19, with the version by John Barry and his Orchestra); Hurt So Bad by Little Anthony and the Imperials (#35); Everyday by the Rogues (#36); Goodnight by Roy Orbison (#37); The Time Has Come by Dianne James (#38); That Weepin' Willow Tree by Ray Griff (#39); and Born to Be Together by the Ronettes (#40).

On television tonight
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Trap, starring Anne Francis, Donnelly Rhodes, and Robert Strauss

Died on this date
Felix Frankfurter, 82. Austro-Hungarian-born U.S. jurist. Mr. Frankfurter, a native of Vienna, immigrated to New York with his family at the age of 12. He graduated from Harvard Law School and helped to found the American Civil Liberties Union. Mr. Frankfurter was appointed an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 and sat on the court until 1962. He was known for advocating judicial restraint in his decisions.

Space
The U.S.S.R. launched the satellite Cosmos 57, with the mission ending the same day, as it apparently failed to achieve Earth orbit.

Religion
Pope Paul VI, at the first private consistory of his reign, consecrated 27 cardinals.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Un corpo e un'anima--Wess & Dori Ghezzi (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir (Lady Marmalade)--Labelle (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)--Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Pick Up the Pieces--Average White Band

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Fire--Ohio Players
2 Pick Up the Pieces--Average White Band
3 Black Water--The Doobie Brothers
4 Best of My Love--The Eagles
5 My Eyes Adored You--Frankie Valli
6 Have You Never Been Mellow--Olivia Newton-John
7 You're No Good--Linda Ronstadt
8 Some Kind of Wonderful--Grand Funk
9 Lady--Styx
10 #9 Dream--John Lennon

Singles entering the chart were I Wanna Learn a Love Song by Harry Chapin (#78); I Have a Dream by Donny Osmond (#81); Hush/I'm Alive by Blue Swede (#89); Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance) by Leo Sayer (#93); Showdown by Odia Coates (#94); Angel (What in the World’s Come Over Us) by Atlanta Rhythm Section (#97); No Love in the Room by the 5th Dimension (#99); and Hijack by Herbie Mann (#100).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Mandy--Barry Manilow
2 Doctor's Orders--Carol Douglas
3 Never Can Say Goodbye--Gloria Gaynor
4 Please Mr. Postman--Carpenters
5 Pick Up the Pieces--AWB
6 Best of My Love--The Eagles
7 Some Kind of Wonderful--Grand Funk
8 Get Dancin'--Disco Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes
9 You Beat Me to the Punch--Charity Brown
10 Roll on Down the Highway--Bachman-Turner Overdrive

Singles entering the chart were Lady Luck by Ken Tobias (#87); Star on a TV Show by the Stylistics (#88); Uproar by Anne Murray (#92); Don't Call Us, We'll Call You by Sugarloaf/Jerry Corbetta (#95); Shame, Shame, Shame by Shirley (And Company) (#96); Lovin' You by Minnie Riperton (#97); Emotion by Helen Reddy (#98); Part of the Plan by Dan Fogelberg (#99); and Sad Sweet Dreamer by Sweet Sensation (#100).

Winnipeg's Top 30 (CFRW)
1 Changes--David Bowie (2nd week at #1)
2 Mandy--Barry Manilow
3 Some Kind of Wonderful--Grand Funk
4 Dream On--The Righteous Brothers
5 Have You Never Been Mellow--Olivia Newton-John
6 Bungle in the Jungle--Jethro Tull
7 You're No Good--Linda Ronstadt
8 Black Water--The Doobie Brothers
9 Boogie On Reggae Woman--Stevie Wonder
10 Please Mr. Postman--Carpenters
11 Lonely People--America
12 Roll on Down the Highway--Bachman-Turner Overdrive
13 You're the First, the Last, My Everything--Barry White
14 Never Can Say Goodbye--Gloria Gaynor
15 Morning Side of the Mountain--Donny and Marie Osmond
16 Get Dancin'--Disco Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes
17 Lady--Styx
18 Best of My Love--The Eagles
19 Doctor's Orders--Carol Douglas
20 Pick Up the Pieces--AWB
21 Junior's Farm--Paul McCartney & Wings
22 My Eyes Adored You--Frankie Valli
23 California Jam--Klaatu
24 You Beat Me to the Punch--Charity Brown
25 Mother Earth--Ian Thomas
26 She's My Lady--Jayson Hoover
27 Lady Marmalade--LaBelle
28 (Make Me Do) Anything You Want--A Foot in Coldwater
29 Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds--Elton John
30 Don't Call Us, We'll Call You--Sugarloaf/Jerry Corbetta

Winnipeg's Top 30 (CKRC)
1 Black Water--The Doobie Brothers
2 Mandy--Barry Manilow
3 My Eyes Adored You--Frankie Valli
4 Roll on Down the Highway--Bachman-Turner Overdrive
5 Bungle in the Jungle--Jethro Tull
6 Please Mr. Postman--Carpenters
7 Morning Side of the Mountain--Donny and Marie Osmond
8 Best of My Love--The Eagles
9 Changes--David Bowie
10 Have You Never Been Mellow--Olivia Newton-John
11 Lady Marmalade--LaBelle
12 You Beat Me to the Punch--Charity Brown
13 Never Can Say Goodbye--Gloria Gaynor
14 Some Kind of Wonderful--Grand Funk
15 Lady--Styx
16 Doctor's Orders--Carol Douglas
17 You're No Good--Linda Ronstadt
18 Fire--Ohip Players
19 Pick Up the Pieces--AWB
20 Don't Call Us, We'll Call You--Sugarloaf/Jerry Corbetta
21 Mother Earth--Ian Thomas
22 Sweet Surrender--John Denver
23 Poetry Man--Phoebe Snow
24 Boogie On Reggae Woman--Stevie Wonder
25 Can You Give it All to Me--Myles and Lenny
26 (Make Me Do) Anything You Want--A Foot in Coldwater
27 Powerful People--Gino Vannelli
28 No No Song--Ringo Starr
29 Up in a Puff of Smoke--Polly Brown
30 (Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song--B.J. Thomas

30 years ago
1985

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Shout--Tears for Fears (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): I Want To Know What Love Is--Foreigner (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Efrem Zimbalist, 94 or 95. Russian-born U.S. musician. Mr. Zimbalist was a famous concert violinist for more than 40 years. He settled in the United States, and directed the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadephia from 1941-1968. Mr. Zimbalist composed several works, mainly for violin. His son Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. became a popular actor.

Alexander Scourby, 71. U.S. actor. Mr. Scourby recorded 422 books for the Talking Books program of the American Foundation for the Blind, and was best known for his 1950 recording of the King James Version of the Bible. He worked in theater and cinema, with his best-known movie being The Big Heat (1953).

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Get Up! (Before the Night is Over)--Technotronic (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor (5th week at #1)

Edmonton's Top 7 (CFRN)
1 Opposites Atract--Paula Abdul (Duet with the Wild Pair)
2 Back to Life--Soul II Soul
3 Dangerous--Roxette
4 Two to Make it Right--Seduction
5 Let Your Backbone Slide--Maestro Fresh-Wes
6 All or Nothing--Milli Vanilli
7 I Go to Extremes--Billy Joel

Scandal
A transcript of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s videotaped testimony in the trial of former national security adviser John Poindexter, who was on trial for his part in the Iran-Contra scandal, was made public. Mr. Reagan testified that he had authorized, in general, the policy of selling arms to Iran and aiding the Nicaraguan Contras, but he said he had repeatedly told subordinates to obey the law, and he said he had not known that National Security Council staff member Oliver North had been coordinating supply missions for the Contras and otherwise assisting the Contras at a time when the U.S. Congress had banned U.S. support for them. Mr. Reagan often testified that he was unable to remember key meetings or conversations.

Environment
A grain carrier collided with a Polish fishing vessel in Vancouver Harbour, British Columbia, spilling 40,000 litres of diesel fuel.

Health
For the first time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a low-calorie substitute for fat. Nutrasweet Company had developed the substance, Simplesse, a blend of proteins from egg white and milk. The FDA said Simplesse was safe for use in frozen dessert products, and the company said it could be used in other foods having a high fat content. Other food manufacturers were reported working on fat substitutes in response to concerns about nutrition.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 2 @ Calgary 12

20 years ago
1995

Died on this date
Ed Flanders, 60. U.S. actor. Mr. Flanders was best known for playing Dr. Donald Westphall on the television series St. Elsewhere (1982-1988). He won three Emmy Awards--including one for his performance in St. Elsewhere--and a Tony Award. Mr. Flanders always seemed mopey on television, and in fact suffered from depression, which contributed to his suicide by shooting himself.

Politics and government
British Prime Minister John Major and Irish Prime Minister John Bruton held a joint news conference where they presented their plan for government in Northern Ireland. The plan contemplated creation of a cross-border assembly for Northern Ireland that would included representatives from Ulster and the parliament of Ireland. This body would deal with economic and cultural development, while the United Kingdom would continue to control taxation and security in Northern Ireland. N.I. Unionists, who favoured continued ties with the U.K., denounced the plan as a blueprint for union with the Republic of Ireland.

Defense
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's Corona spy satellite program, in existence from 1959-1972, was declassified.

Politics and government
Lucienne Robillard, newly elected to the House of Commons as a Liberal candidate in a Montreal riding, was appointed federal Minister of Labour in the cabinet of Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

10 years ago
2005

Died on this date
Simone Simon, 94. French actress. Miss Simon made a number of movies in France, including La Bête Humaine (1938), but is best remembered for Hollywood movies such as The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941); Cat People (1942); and The Curse of the Cat People (1944).

Harry Simeone, 94. U.S. musician. Mr. Simeone was an arranger for bandleader Fred Waring, and also worked in movies and television, but was best known for assembling the Harry Simeone Chorale, who recorded the Christmas songs The Little Drummer Boy (1958) and Do You Hear What I Hear? (1962).

February 21, 2015

770 years ago
1245

Scandal
Pope Innocent IV accepted the resignation of Thomas, the first known bishop of Finland, after he confessed to torture and forgery.

575 years ago
1440

Politics and government
The Prussian Confederation was formed by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia, to oppose the arbitrariness of the Teutonic Knights.

130 years ago
1885

Americana
The Washington Monument was dedicated in a Masonic ceremony in Washington, D.C.

120 years ago
1895

Born on this date
Henrik Dam. Danish biochemist and physiologist. Dr. Dam shared the 1943 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Edward Doisy "for his discovery of vitamin K." He died on April 17, 1976 at the age of 81.

100 years ago
1915

Born on this date
Ann Sheridan. U.S. actress. Miss Sheridan was known for her starring roles in movies for the Warner Brothers studio in the late 1930s and 1940s, including Angels with Dirty Faces (1938); They Drive by Night (1940); The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942); Kings Row (1942); Nora Prentiss (1947); and I was a Male War Bride (1949). She died of throat and liver cancer on January 21, 1967 at the age of 51.

90 years ago
1925

Journalism
The New Yorker published its first issue.

80 years ago
1935

Politics and government
British author John Buchan, Baron Tweedsmuir, was appointed Governor General of Canada.

Boxing
Joe Louis (15-0) scored a technical knockout of Lee Ramage (40-10-5) at 2:11 of the 2nd round of a heavyweight bout at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles.

75 years ago
1940

War
The Chilean Foreign Office reaffirmed the country's observance of strict neutrality in the European war.

Economics and finance
Canadian Finance Minister J.L. Ralston announced a $125-million increase to $500 million in war expenditures for fiscal 1941.

Politics and government
The New York Times reported that Democratic Party Senators and Representatives said that Franklin D. Roosevelt could have the party's nomination in the November 1940 election for a third term as President of the United States if he so desired. U.S. Senator Gerald Nye (Republican--North Dakota) said that Mr. Roosevelt should follow the precedent established by George Washington and step down after two terms.

Medicine
The Pasteur Institute in Paris announced development of a vaccine that simultaneously immunized against smallpox and yellow fever for one year.

Disasters
An earthquake struck the Turkish province of Kaysori, killing 40 people.

70 years ago
1945

Died on this date
Eric Liddell, 43. U.K. runner and missionary. Mr. Liddell, nicknamed the "Flying Scotsman," was famous for refusing to run heats in the men's 100-metre run in the 1924 Summer Olympic Games in Paris on a Sunday, although that was the event he was favoured to win. He did win the gold medal in the men's 400-metre run. A slightly fictionalized version of the story was told in the movie Chariots of Fire (1981). Mr. Liddell served as a Christian missionary in China from 1925-1943, until he was captured by Japanese forces and interned. He died of an inoperable brain tumour.

War
29 former Greek cabinet ministers went on trial for collaboration with the enemy. The Canadian Army broke through the Siegfried Line and reached Goch. Soviet forces in Germany reached the confluence of the Oder and Neisser Rivers, 45 miles southeast of Berlin. U.S. troops in Italy regained Mount Belvedere on the Bologna front. Japanese Kamikaze planes sank the escort carrier USS Bismarck Sea and seriously damaged the USS Saratoga.

Crime
Carl Emil Ludwig Krepper was convicted on two counts of conspiring to "obstruct, interfere with and injure the defense of the United States," as the contact man for Nazi saboteurs who had landed by submarine in the United States.

Diplomacy
The Inter-American Conference to discuss issues of war and peace opened in Mexico City, with Argentina absent.

Business
The Wrigley chewing gum company was forced to discontinue the manufacture of trade brand gums because of ingredient shortages.

Baseball
Major league officials cancelled the 1945 All-Star Game as a travel conservation measure.

Disasters
After pleading nolo contendre to manslaughter charges in connection with the July 6, 1944 fire in Hartford, Connecticut, six key men with Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus received prison terms ranging from six months to seven years.

60 years ago
1955

On television tonight
Sherlock Holmes, starring Ronald Howard and H. Marion Crawford
Tonight's episode: The Case of the Vanished Detective



50 years ago
1965

Died on this date
Malcolm X, 39. U.S. clergyman and civil rights activist. Mr. X, born Malcolm Little, became a member of the Nation of Islam while serving a prison sentence for larceny, and became a Nation of Islam minister in the early 1950s. Beginning in 1957, Mr. X became nationally prominent, and was the Negro civil rights leader most feared by whites, as the Nation of Islam advocated hatred of white people. Mr. X eventually became disillusioned with the Nation of Islam and its leader, Elijah Muhammad, and left the movement in March 1964. He converted to Sunni Islam, and when he made the hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca in April 1964 and saw people of various races being treated as equals, he began to soften his views. While preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan, a disturbance was created in the audience that enabled three men to rush the stage and shoot Mr. X to death (see also here). Three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of the shooting, but speculation regarding a wider conspiracy continues.



Space
The U.S.S.R. launched the satellites Cosmos 54, Cosmos 55, and Cosmos 56.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: I Can Help--Billy Swan (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Griechischer Wein--Udo Jürgens (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: I Can Help--Billy Swan (4th week at #1)

Diplomacy
The Organization of African Unity concluded its eight-day meeting in the Ethiopian capital of Addas Ababa.

Scandal
Former United States Attorney General John Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman were sentenced from 2 1/2-8 years in prison for their roles in the June 1972 break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. and the subsequent cover-up. Another Watergate figure, Robert Mardian, was given a sentence of 10 months-3 years.

Society
The film Emmanuelle (1974) was seized from the Uptown Two Theatre in Calgary, and the theatre was charged with corrupting public morals. The film had been seized from the Odeon Theatre in Edmonton on January 20, and Odeon Mid-Western Ltd. had been charged with exposing obscene material to the public. The film, which had been showing six times per day in Calgary, had been approved by the Alberta Motion Picture Censorship Board.

30 years ago
1985

Died on this date
Louis Hayward, 75. South African-born U.S. actor. Mr. Hayward was the first actor to portray the Saint on film, starring in The Saint in New York (1938) and The Saint's Return (1953). His other movies included Anthony Adverse (1936); And Then There were None (1945); and Ruthless (1948). Mr. Hayward died 26 days before his 76th birthday.

Maurice Smith, 75. U.K.-born Canadian journalist. Mr. Smith, a native of London, moved to Winnipeg with his family in 1913. He worked with the Winnipeg Free Press from 1927-1976, serving as sports editor for the last 32 years of his career with the paper. Mr. Smith was known for his coverage of curling, hockey, and football, and helped to establish the Canadian High School Curling Championships in 1951. His honours included induction into the Football Reporters of Canada section of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1982. Mr. Smith died of heart failure while on vacation in Hawaii.

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor

At the movies
Films dating from the 1910s and 1920s that had been discovered buried in the ground at Dawson City, Yukon Territory in 1978, were shown at the Provincial Museum of Alberta in Edmonton. The Arctic permafrost had acted as a preservative, preventing the films from disintegrating. The films shown included a newsreel about the trial of the "Ohio Gang" members of the U.S. administration of President Warren G. Harding, and part of a feature film starring Douglas Fairbanks that had been thought to be lost. The latter film--possibly The Half-Breed (1916)--was set in the Canadian north, but showed a gorilla in the wild (!).

Diplomacy
Czechoslovakian President Vaclav Havel was enthusiastically received by the United States Congress as he addressed the body in Washington. Mr. Havel said he saw the rise of democracy in the Soviet bloc as a "historically irreversible process," and he foresaw "an era in which all of us, large and small, former slaves and former masters, will be able to create what your great President Lincoln called the ‘family of man.’"

20 years ago
1995

Adventure
Steve Fossett, a Chicago stockbroker, landed at Leader, Saskatchewan, becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.

Economics and finance
The United States and Mexico reached an agreement on terms relating to a $20-billion U.S. loan package--intended to bolster the peso and prevent Mexico from defaulting on its debt--that U.S. President Bill Clinton had unveiled in January. To receive the loan, Mexico agreed to reduce government spending and restrain growth of the money supply. The U.S. assistance was part of an overall package of international support valued at $50 billion.

10 years ago
2005

Died on this date
Gene Scott, 75. U.S. clergyman and broadcaster. Dr. Scott was an Assemblies of God pastor who then left the denomination and established his own church in Los Angeles. He established the Faith Broadcasting Network, which, in 1983, became the first television network to broadcast, by satellite, "Christian" programming 24 hours per day. Dr. Scott's messages were also carried around the clock on shortwave radio.

February 20, 2015

225 years ago
1790

Died on this date
Joseph II, 48. Holy Roman Emperor, 1765-1790. Joseph II was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I, and the brother of Marie Antoinette. A Roman Catholic, he was known for granting religious tolerance to Protestants and Jews. Joseph II died after a lengthy illness, 22 days before his 49th birthday; he left no sons and was succeeded as Emperor by his brother Leopold II.

180 years ago
1835

Disasters
An earthquake and tsunami struck Concepcion, Chile. One of those who experienced the earthquake was British naturalist Charles Darwin. The town was largely destroyed and had to be rebuilt.

170 years ago
1845

Politics and government
The New Brunswick House of Assembly passed a motion of non-confidence in Lieutenant-Governor Sir William Colebrooke and his Executive Council, after Sir William appointed his son-in-law Alfred Reade to the post of provincial secretary.

150 years ago
1865

War
The Uruguayan War ended after six months with a peace agreement between President Tomás Villalba and rebel leader Venancio Flores, setting the scene for the destructive Paraguayan War.

120 years ago
1895

Born on this date
Louis Zborowski. U.K. auto racing driver and designer. Count Zborowski, the son of race driver W.E.M. Zborowski, raced in Europe in the early 1920s, and finished 20th of 24 drivers in the 1923 Indianapolis 500. He designed several cars nicknamed "Chitty Bang Bang," which inspired the later book, movie, and musical Chitty-Chitty-Bang- Bang. Count Zborowski, whose father had been killed in a hill climb in France in 1903, died on October 19, 1924 at the age of 29 when he was killed in a crash during the Italian Grand Prix.

Died on this date
Frederick Douglass, 77 (?). U.S. civil rights activist. Mr. Douglass, born into slavery in Maryland as Frederick Bailey, escaped from slavery in 1838 and eventually settled in Massachusetts. He was the most famous Negro proponent of the abolition of slavery in the United States, and his three autobiographies were all bestsellers. Mr. Douglass also supported women's suffrage, and was nominated for Vice President of the United States in 1872 as the running mate of Victoria Woodhull on the ticket of the Equal Rights Party. In 1888 he became the first Negro to receive a vote for President of the United States at the convention of a major party, getting one vote at the Republican National Convention. Mr. Douglass died of a heart attack or stroke in Washington, D.C., just after returning home from delivering an address to a meeting of the National Council of Women.

100 years ago
1915

Americana
The Panama–Pacific International Exposition (PPIE) opened in what is now the Marina District in San Francisco. The exposition's ostensible purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely seen in the city as an opportunity to showcase its recovery from the 1906 earthquake.

80 years ago
1935

Exploration
Caroline Mikkelsen of Denmark became the first woman to set foot in Antarctica, accompanying her husband, Captain Klarius Mikkelsen. The expedition made landfall at the Vestfold Hills near the present Davis Station.

75 years ago
1940

Politics and government
The French Chamber of Deputies expelled 58 Communist Party members who had not denounced the U.S.S.R.

Economics and finance
The Council of the Federated Malay States voted a war gift of $5 million to the United Kingdom.

70 years ago
1945

Died on this date
Edwin M. "Pa" Watson, 61. U.S. military officer. Major General Watson, a secretary and military aide to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, died aboard a U.S. warship en route home from the Yalta Conference in Crimea.

War
The United States Senate Military Affairs Committee put aside consideration of the May-Bailey bill and began consideration of a substitute that would drop all "labor draft" aspects of war worker mobilization. Soviet troops battled to within 8 miles of Guben, an outer fortress of Berlin. Soviet units pushed into the Polish Corridor to within 40 miles of Danzig. U.S. Marines advanced against the central Japanese airfield on Iwo Jima, while other units advanced yard-by-yard up the slopes of Mount Suribachi. U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur announced that the remaining Japanese forces in southern Manila had been compressed into an area approximately 1,200 by 800 yards.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt met at Great Bitter Lake with King Farouk of Egypt, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia. Topics of discussion included Middle East politics and progress of World War II.

Venezuela formally adhered to the United Nations declaration.

Labour
The U.S. National War Labor Board ordered a minimum wage of 55c per hour for 50,000 textile workers in order to correct substandard wages.

50 years ago
1965

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Under the Boardwalk/Walking the Dog--The Rolling Stones

#1 single in France: Sacré Charlemagne--France Gall (9th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Le colline sono in fiore--The New Christy Minstrels (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Das ist die Frage aller Fragen--Cliff Richard (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Letkiss--Gudrun Jankis; Stig Rauno

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): I'll Never Find Another You--The Seekers

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): This Diamond Ring--Gary Lewis and the Playboys

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'--The Righteous Brothers (3rd week at #1)
2 This Diamond Ring--Gary Lewis and the Playboys
3 Downtown--Petula Clark
4 My Girl--The Temptations
5 The Name Game--Shirley Ellis
6 Shake--Sam Cooke
7 I Go to Pieces--Peter and Gordon
8 All Day and All of the Night--The Kinks
9 Twine Time--Alvin Cash and the Crawlers
10 Bye, Bye Baby (Baby Goodbye)--The 4 Seasons

Singles entering the chart were Eight Days a Week by the Beatles (#48); Shotgun by Jr. Walker & the All Stars (#54); Stop! In the Name of Love by the Supremes (#65); Come Tomorrow by Manfed Mann (#71); Send Me the Pillow You Dream On by Dean Martin (#74); If I Loved You by Chad & Jeremy (#78); Good Times by Jerry Butler (#80); I Must Be Seeing Things by Gene Pitney (#90); If I Ruled the World by Tony Bennett (#93); Pass Me By by Peggy Lee (#95); I've Been Trying by the Impressions (#96); Diamond Head by the Ventures (#98); This Sporting Life by Ian Whitcomb and Bluesville (#99); and I Can't Explain by the Who (#100). Jimmy Smith's version of Goldfinger was mentioned with the version by Shirley Bassey (charting at #36), but was not charted.

On television tonight
Sherlock Holmes, starring Douglas Wilmer and Nigel Stock, on BBC 1
Tonight's episode: The Illustrious Client

Music
The Beatles were at EMI Studios in London, where they recorded the song That Means a Lot.

Space
The U.S. probe Ranger 8 crashed into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo manned missions.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): January--Pilot (3rd week at #1)

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Mandy Sellars!

Yellowknifiana
Noted Canadian author Mordecai Richler was in the city, doing research for a book project that was later abandoned. He visited our house, and it was a pleasure for this blogger to meet him.

25 years ago
1990

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Tree House

Diplomacy
Czechoslovakian President Vaclav Havel arrived in Washington, D.C., becoming the first head of state of his country to visit the United States.

Economics and finance
Canadian Finance Minister Michael Wilson announced the federal budget. Transfer payments to the provinces for health care and higher education were to be cut by $2.5 billion over the next two years. The reduction in payments to the provinces, combined with higher personal taxes, was projected to hold the government’s annual deficit to $28.5 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1991. Other measures announced in the budget included: a 5% limit on increased spending for defense, foreign aid, science and technology, and Indian Affairs programs; cancellation of the Polar 8 icebreaker project announced in 1985 to help assert Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic; and the sale of major Crown corporations Petro-Canada and Telesat Canada.

20 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: Lick It--20 Fingers

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Zombie--Ororo (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Cotton Eye Joe--Rednex (20th week at #1)

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Conquest of Paradise--Vangelis (2nd week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Bang and Blame--R.E.M.
2 Take a Bow--Madonna
3 When I Come Around--Green Day
4 Insensitive--Jann Arden
5 On Bended Knee--Boyz II Men
6 Mishale--Andru Donalds
7 Strong Enough--Sheryl Crow
8 You Don't Know How it Feels--Tom Petty
9 Buddy Holly--Weezer
10 Love Will Keep Us Alive--The Eagles

Singles entering the chart were Sour Times (Nobody Loves Me) by Portishead (#81); The Cowboy Song by Sting (#85); Another Day by Whigfield (#87); Bourbon Street by Eddie Schwartz (#89); Heart of Stone by Dave Stewart (#91); In the House of Stone by Martin Page (#92); The U.S. of Ache by Kim Mitchell (#94); Every Day of the Week by Jade (#95); Bad Reputation by Freedy Johnston (#96); and Shame by Zharva (#97).

10 years ago
2005

Died on this date
Raymond Mhlaba, 85. S.A. terrorist and politician. Mr. Mhlaba was a Communist and member of the African National Congress who was one of seven ANC leaders convicted of sabotage and high treason in June 1964 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was freed in October 1989, and became chairman of the South African Communist Party in 1995. Mr. Mhlaba was Premier of the Eastern Cape from 1994-1997. He died of liver cancer, eight days after his 85th birthday.

Hunter S. Thompson, 67. U.S. journalist. Mr. Thompson was a pioneering practitioner of "gonzo journalism," in which the reporter becomes the central figure of the story. His best-known books were Hell's Angels (1967); Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971); and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 (1973). Mr. Thompson was a heavy drinker and user of illegal drugs, and his writing declined after the early 1970s. He fatally shot himself, making it "deadtime for gonzo."

Sandra Dee, 60 or 62. U.S. actress. Miss Dee, born Alexandra Zuck, was best known for playing the title character in the movie Gidget (1959) and several sequels. She was married to singer and actor Bobby Darin from 1960-1967. Miss Dee died of kidney disease after years of poor health.

Abominations
Spain became the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but with a low voter turnout.

February 19, 2015

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Lee Morrow and Jackie Strip!

120 years ago
1895

Born on this date
Louis Calhern. U.S. actor. Mr. Calhern, born Carl Henry Vogt, appeared in numerous Broadway plays and in movies such as Notorious (1946); The Asphalt Jungle (1950); The Magnificent Yankee (1950); and Julius Caesar (1953). He died of a sudden heart attack in Japan on May 12, 1956 at the age of 71 while filming The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956); his scenes were refilmed, with Paul Ford taking his place.

100 years ago
1915

War
The first Allied naval attack on the Dardanelles began when a strong Anglo-French task force bombarded Ottoman artillery along the coast of Gallipoli.

75 years ago
1940

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

War
King Gustav V of Sweden publicly announced that Sweden could not provide Finland with any official assistance in her war against the U.S.S.R. A communique from Moscow reported Soviet occupation of the Rijonsaari and Revonsaari Islands in the Gulf of Finland. France reported the loss of 29 men to a German ambush while on a scouting mission east of the Nied River. Japanese military authorities denied that their forces had been routed in the Chinese province of Kwangsi.

Diplomacy
U.S. State Department officials indicated that the U.S.A. would reject Norway's suggestion that President Franklin D. Roosevelt arbitrate the February 16 Altmark incident.

Economics and finance
The Japanese Foreign Office abandoned as futile an effort to reopen trade negotiations with the United States.

The U.S. House of Representatives Banking Committee delayed action on the Finnish aid bill pending advice from the State Department.

U.S. Army Colonel Philip B. Fleming was sworn in as wage-hour administrator in Washington, D.C.

Society
A Gallup Poll reported that 55% of Americans approved the proposed federal anti-lynching law.

Law
U.S. Labor Secretary Frances Perkins urged modifications of immigration law to provide for quicker naturalization of aliens.

Football
NFL
Ernie Nevers resigned as head coach of the Chicago Cardinals. Mr. Nevers had played for the team from 1929-1931 and coached them in the latter two seasons before retiring. In 1939 he was rehired as coach, but the team finished fifth and last in the West Division with a record of 1-10.

70 years ago
1945

Hit parade
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Rum and Coca-Cola--The Andrews Sisters
2 Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive--Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers with Paul Weston and His Orchestra
--Artie Shaw and his Orchestra
--Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters
3 Don't Fence Me In--Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Kate Smith
--Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights
4 I Dream of You (More than You Dream I Do)--Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra
--Andy Russell
--Frank Sinatra
--Perry Como
5 I'm Making Believe--The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald
6 Sleigh Ride in July--Dinah Shore
--Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra
--Bing Crosby
7 Cocktails for Two--Spike Jones and his City Slickers
8 Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night in the Week)--Frank Sinatra
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
9 There Goes that Song Again--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra
10 Confessin' (That I Love You)--Ella Fitzgerald and the Song Spinners
--Perry Como

No singles entered the chart.

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

War
30,000 U.S. Marines invaded Iwo Jima, 750 miles south of Tokyo, suffering 2,400 casualties as a result of resistance from the 20,000-man Japanese garrison. By nightfall the Marines had advanced across the southern part of the island, cutting off Japanese defenders on Mount Suribachi from forces in the north. U.S. troops in the Philippines took Fort McKinley and forced the Japanese into a one-square-mile pocket in southern Manila.

Diplomacy
Declaring that the present government had fulfilled requirements of international law, the United States announced its recognition of the new regime in El Salvador.

Energy
U.S. Director of War Mobilization and Reconversion James Byrnes requested that all places of entertainment in the country observe a midnight curfew beginning February 26, 1945 to conserve energy.

Boxing
Willie Pep (86-1) retained New York State Athletic Commission recognition as world featherweight champion with a 15-round unanimous decision over Phil Terranova (36-12-9) at Madison Square Garden in New York.

60 years ago
1955

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Hold My Hand--Don Cornell; Nat "King" Cole (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Give Me Your Word--Tennessee Ernie Ford

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Sincerely--The McGuire Sisters (Best Seller--2nd week at #1; Disc Jockey--2nd week at #1); Hearts of Stone--The Fontane Sisters (Jukebox--2nd week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Melody of Love--Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra (3rd week at #1)
--David Carroll and his Orchestra
--The Four Aces
2 Hearts of Stone--The Fontane Sisters
--The Charms
3 Sincerely--The McGuire Sisters
4 Mr. Sandman--The Chordettes
--The Four Aces
5 Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So)--Perry Como
--The Crew-Cuts
6 Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)--The Penguins
--The Crew-Cuts
7 Let Me Go Lover--Joan Weber
8 The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane--The Ames Brothers
--Archie Bleyer
9 Tweedlee Dee--Georgia Gibbs
--LaVern Baker and the Gliders
10 That's All I Want from You--Jaye P. Morgan

Singles entering the chart were How Important Can it Be? by Sarah Vaughan (#12, charting with the version by Joni James); (I’m Always Hearing) Wedding Bells by Eddie Fisher (#20); Smiles by Crazy Otto (#33); and Paths of Paradise by Johnnie Ray (#50). Smiles was the other side of Glad Rag Doll, charting at #34.

Hockey
NHL
Montreal 10 New York 2

Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion scored 5 goals as the Canadiens routed the Rangers.

50 years ago
1965

Hit parade
Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 This Diamond Ring--Gary Lewis and the Playboys (4th week at #1)
2 Love Potion No. 9--The Searchers
3 King of the Road--Roger Miller
4 Little Things--Bobby Goldsboro
5 Look of Love--Lesley Gore
6 Ferry Cross the Mersey--Gerry & the Pacemakers
7 Eight Days a Week--The Beatles
8 The Jolly Green Giant--The Kingsmen
9 Paper Tiger--Sue Thompson
10 I Go to Pieces--Peter and Gordon
Pick hit of the week: I Must Be Seeing Things--Gene Pitney
New this week: The Boy from New York City--The Ad Libs
Find My Way Back Home--The Nashville Teens
Don't Be Scared--The Rip Chords
Do You Wanna Dance?--The Beach Boys
Moon Shot--Duane Eddy
I Can't Explain--The Who

Music
The Beatles were at EMI Studios in London, where they recorded the song You're Gonna Lose That Girl.

World events
Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and a communist spy of the North Vietnamese Viet Minh, along with Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Trần Thiện Khiêm attempted a coup against the military junta of Nguyễn Khánh.

25 years ago
1985

On television today
The BBC soap opera EastEnders broadcast its first episode.

Weather
It hit 47 F. in Edmonton.

Medicine
William J. Schroeder of Jasper, Indiana became the first recipient of an artificial heart to leave hospital alive.

Disasters
Iberia Airlines Flight 610, a Boeing 727 jet, crashed into Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148 people.

Football
CFL
Canadian College Draft
Round 1
1 Ottawa--Nick Benjamin, OL, Concordia U.
2 Calgary--Randy Ambrosie, OL, Manitoba
3 British Columbia (from Saskatchewan)--John Ulmer, DE, North Dakota
4 Montreal--Tony Johns, TB, Henderson State
5 Edmonton--Peter Emsky, OL, Washington State
6 Winnipeg (from Toronto)--Pat Langdon, TE, Tennessee
7 British Columbia--Rick Ryan, DB, Weber State
8 Hamilton--Jed Tommy, RB, Guelph
9 Winnipeg--Bob Molle, DE, Simon Fraser

The draft went 9 rounds, with 81 players drafted. This draft was the first since 1972 in which the CFL teams weren’t allowed to claim any players as territorial exemptions. My friend Harold Riemer, an offensive tackle with the University of Alberta Golden Bears, was chosen in the sixth round, #50 overall. Peter Emsky joined the Eskimos for training camp in 1986, but never played a regular season game in the Canadian Football League.

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Kōya no Megaroporisu (荒野のメガロポリス)--Hikaru Genji

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Pump ab Das Bier--Werner Wichtig (2nd week at #1)

Albertana
The provincial holiday known as Family Day was observed for the first time.

20 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Tomorrow--Silverchair (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Old Pop in an Oak--Rednex (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Cotton Eye Joe--Rednex (13th week at #1)

Diplomacy
Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic rejected a request by the nations of the so-called Contact Group--France, Germany, Russia, U.K., U.S.A.--that he recognize the international borders of Bosnia and Croatia, and accept a partition that would give 49% of Bosnia's territory to Bosnian Serbs, who already held 70% of the country's territory. The contact group had offered to lift international sanctions against Yugoslavia in return for Mr. Milosevic's support of the partition plan.

February 18, 2015

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Paul Jelley and Ezra Levant!

320 years ago
1695

Died on this date
William Phips, 44. American politician. Sir William, a native of Maine, moved to Boston in 1673, and was a treasure hunter in the 1680s, recovering a large treasure from a sunken Spanish galleon off the island of Hispaniola in 1686. He led successful naval campaigns against New France in 1690, and was appointed Governor of Massachusetts Bay in 1692. Sir William signed the order creating the court that heard the Salem witch trials in 1692, but became dissatisfied, and disbanded the court after five months. He was recalled to London in 1694 to face charges of conspiring to withhold customs monies, but fell ill with a fever and died 16 days after his 44th birthday, before the charges could be heard.

200 years ago
1815

War
The Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812 between the United Kingdom and the United States, went into effect when it was unanimously approved by the United States Senate. The treaty had been signed in the Flemish city of Ghent on December 24, 1814.

150 years ago
1865

War
In the U.S. Civil War, Union forces under Major General William T. Sherman set the South Carolina State House on fire during the burning of Columbia. Charleston, South Carolina surrendered control of the city to Union Brigadier General Alexander Schimmelfennig.

130 years ago
1885

Literature
Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published.

125 years ago
1890

Born on this date
Edward Arnold. U.S. actor. Mr. Arnold, born Gunther Edward Arnold Schneider, was a beefy character actor who was known for playing authority figures, especially villainous ones. His movies included Come and Get It (1936); The Toast of New York (1937); You Can't Take it with You (1938); Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939); Meet John Doe (1941); and The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941). Mr. Arnold died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 66 on April 26, 1956.

Adolphe Menjou. U.S. actor. Mr. Menjou was known for his moustache and natty attire in such movies as The Sheik (1921); A Woman of Paris (1923); The Front Page (1931); A Star is Born (1937); The Hucksters (1947); and State of the Union (1948). His opposition to Communism in the late 1940s and 1950s led to a decline in acting opportunities. Mr. Menjou died of hepatitis on October 29, 1963 at the age of 73.

120 years ago
1895

Born on this date
George Gipp. U.S. football player. Mr. Gipp, popularly known as "the Gipper," was a quarterback, halfback, and punter with the University of Notre Dame (1917-1920), earning All-American honours in 1920 and setting team records that still stand. He died from a streptococcal throat infection and pneumonia at the age of 25 on December 14, 1920, three weeks after his last game. When Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne visited him on his deathbed, Mr. Gipp reportedly told him that if the team was ever in a desperate situation that he should tell the team to "win just one for the Gipper." Ronald Reagan played Mr. Gipp in the movie Knute Rockne, All American (1940). Mr. Gipp was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1951.

Pete Henderson. Canadian auto racing driver. Mr. Henderson, a native of Arran, Ontario, began racing in 1915, and participated in the Indianapolis 500 in 1916 and 1920, finishing 6th and 10th, respectively. He died in Los Angeles on June 19, 1940 at the age of 45.

Semyon Timoshenko. U.S.S.R. military officer. Marshal of the Soviet Union Timoshenko joined the Red Army in 1918 and the Bolshevik Party in 1919. He achieved success in the Winter War against Finland (1939-1940), which led to his appointment as People's Commissar for Defense of the Soviet Union, holding the office from May 7, 1940-July 19, 1941. Marshal Timoshenko held various commands for the remainder of World War II, and various offices through the 1960s. He died on March 31, 1970 at the age of 75.

100 years ago
1915

Born on this date
Phyllis Calvert. U.K. actress. Miss Calvert, born Phyllis Bickle, was a leading lady in British films in the 1940s and '50s. Her movies included Kipps (1941); The Man in Grey (1943); Appointment with Danger (1951); Mandy (1952); Indiscreet (1958); and Mrs. Dalloway (1997). Miss Calvert died on October 8, 2002 at the age of 87.

75 years ago
1940

Died on this date
Rudy Widoeft, 47. U.S. musician. Mr. Widoeft was a jazz saxophonist who was popular in the 1910s and '20s, and made over 300 recordings. His ragtime-influenced style waned in popularity in the 1930s, and he almost completely stopped performing in the mid-1930s. Mr. Widoeft was a heavy drinker, and died from cirrhosis of the liver.

War
Shanghai authorities reported the landing of Japanese forces at Haiteng and on the Luchow Peninsula in southern China.

Politics and government
A Gallup Poll reported that Democratic voters favoured President Franklin D. Roosevelt over Vice President John Nance "Cactus Jack" Garner by a 7-1 margin as the party's nominee for President of the United States in the November 1940 election.

Economics and finance
The British Treasury took control of 60 American stocks held by British subjects.

70 years ago
1945

Died on this date
Ivan Chernyakhovsky, 37. U.S.S.R. military officer. General of the Army Chernyakhovsky was the youngest Soviet general ever to reach that rank. He led the 3rd Belorussian Front against Nazi forces in 1944 in Belarus and on the border of East Prussia. Gen. Chernyakhovsky launched the Soviet East Prussian Offensive in 1945 as part of the drive on Berlin, but was killed by shell fragments from artillery fire while inspecting preparations for an offensive.

War
U.S. forces in Germany expanded their bridgehead over the Our and Sauer Rivers north of Echternach to 5 miles. Soviet forces moved to within 16 miles east of Dresden and completed mop-up operations in Pomerania and Brandenburg. Japanese forces recaptured the Chinese town of Pingshek, regaining control of the Canton-Hankow railway. The Soviet newspaper Pravda accused China of not giving its full effort to the war.

60 years ago
1955

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Softly, Softly--Ruby Murray

At the movies
New York Confidential, directed and co-written by Russell Rouse, and starring Broderick Crawford, Richard Conte, Marilyn Maxwell, Anne Bancroft, and J. Carrol Naish, opened in theatres in New York City.





...Y mañana serán mujeres, directed by Alejandro Galindo, and starring Rosita Quintana, Roberto Cañedo, and Carmen Ignarra, opened in theatres in Mexico.



Defense
Wasp, the first of 14 shots in the Operation Teapot series of nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site, was successfully detonated, with a yield of 1.2 kilotons.

Boxing
Former world heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles (84-12-1) won a 10-round unanimous decision over Charley Norkus (26-13) at Madison Square Garden in New York.





50 years ago
1965

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Tired of Waiting for You--The Kinks

Music
The Beatles were at EMI Studios in London, where they recorded the songs Tell Me What You See, You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, and If You've Got Trouble.

Africana
The Gambia gained its independence from Britain.

Politics and government
The second report of the Canadian Royal Commission on Health Services outlined workings of the new pre-paid medical care plan.

Disasters
An avalanche on Grandue Mountain killed 18 copper miners, 8 others at the Oranduc Mines camp 30 miles north of Stewart, British Columbia.

30 years ago
1985

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): I Want to Know What Love Is--Foreigner (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Tenshi no Wink--Seiko Matsuda (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): The NeverEnding Story--Limahl

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Welcome to Our World--John Grenell (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Get Up! (Before the Night is Over)--Technotronic

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Bakerman--Laid Back
2 Sit and Wait--Sydney Youngblood
3 Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins
4 All Around the World--Lisa Stansfield
5 Don't Know Much--Linda Ronstadt (featuring Aaron Neville)
6 Got to Get--Rob 'n' Raz featuring Leila K.
7 Leave a Light On--Belinda Carlisle
8 Get a Life--Soul II Soul
9 Ride on Time--Black Box
10 Rich in Paradise "Going Back to My Roots"--F.P.I. Project

Singles entering the chart were Got to Get; Scandalous! by Prince (#27); Get Up! (Before the Night is Over) by Technotronic (#28); and La Luna by Belinda Carlisle (#29).

Died on this date
Joe Erskine, 56. U.K. boxer. Mr. Erskine, a native of Wales, was a heavyweight who compiled a record of 45-8-1 in a professional career from 1954-1964. He was British (1956-1958) and British Empire (1957-1958) heavyweight champion, recording two wins each against Henry Cooper and Dick Richardson, and also beating Joe Bygraves, Willie Pastrano, George Chuvalo, and Jack Bodell. Mr. Erskine died 23 days after his 56th birthday.

Politics and government
The Liberal Democratic Party won a decisive victory in elections to the House of Representatives, lower house of the Diet in Japan. The LDs’ long rule had appeared threatened by the Recruit Company scandal, in which the conglomerate had given millions of dollars (actually yen, I suppose) in cash and stocks to leading politicians. However, the LDP won 275 of 512 seats, losing 25 seats and holding its majority in the House. The Socialist Party, the principal opposition, gained 51 seats for a total of 136, but mostly at the expense of smaller parties. The results appeared to strengthen the position of Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu.

Diplomacy
Czechoslovakian President Vaclav Havel began a trip to North American with a visit to Ottawa, where he met with Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

20 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): Another Night--Real McCoy (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Stay Another Day--East 17 (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT): A Girl Like You--Edwyn Collins

#1 single in France (SNEP): Short Dick Man--Fingers featuring Gillette (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): No Limit--Irene Moors & de Smurfen (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Think Twice--Celine Dion (3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Creep--TLC (4th week at #1)
2 Take a Bow--Madonna
3 On Bended Knee--Boyz II Men
4 Another Night--Real McCoy
5 Baby--Brandy
6 You Gotta Be--Des'ree
7 Candy Rain--Soul for Real
8 Always--Bon Jovi
9 Sukiyaki--4 P.M.
10 Hold My Hand--Hootie & the Blowfish

Singles entering the chart were Like the Way I Do/If I Wanted To by Melissa Etheridge (#25); If You Think You're Lonely Now by K-Ci Hailey (#52); She's a River by Simple Minds (#67); You Got It by Bonnie Raitt (#74); Can I Stay with You by Karyn White (#81); I Believe by Blessid Union of Souls (#85); How Did I Get by Without You? by John Waite (#93); and Think of You by Usher (#94). You Got It was from the movie Boys on the Side (1995).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Take a Bow--Madonna
2 Creep--TLC
3 On Bended Knee--Boyz II Men
4 Strong Enough--Sheryl Crow
5 Hold My Hand--Hootie & the Blowfish
6 You Gotta Be--Des'ree
7 Every Day of the Week--Jade
8 Sukiyaki--4 P.M.
9 I Know--Dionne Farris
10 Another Night--Real McCoy

Singles entering the chart were This Lil' Game We Play by Subway featuring 702 (#61); Sour Times (Nobody Loves Me) by Portishead (#65); Tour by Capleton (#69); Mad Izm by Channel Live (#72); I Believe by Blessid Union of Souls (#79); Keep Givin' Me Your Love by Ce Ce Peniston (#81); and She's a River by Simple Minds (#88).

Politics and government
The executive board of the U.S. civil rights organization National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) voted 30-29 to elect Myrlie Evers, widow of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, to replace Benjamin Chavis as chairman. Mrs. Evers, whose husband had been gunned down outside the couple's Jackson, Mississippi home in 1963 by white racist Byron De La Beckwith, had been commissioner of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works and an executive at Atlantic Richfield and an advertising firm. Mr. Chavis had been fired in 1994 amidst allegations of mismanagement, as the NAACP faced a debt of $4 million.

10 years ago
2005

Society
A ban on fox hunting with dogs in England and Wales came into force.

February 17, 2015

150 years ago
1865

War
In the U.S. Civil War, Columbia, South Carolina was burned as Confederate forces fled advancing Union forces.

125 years ago
1890

Died on this date
Christopher Latham Sholes, 71. U.S. journalist, politician, and inventor. Mr. Sholes published the Southport Telegraph--later known as the Kenosha Telegraph-- in Wisconsin. He served in the Wisconsin State Senate as a Democrat (1848-1849) and as a Republican (1856-1857), and in the Wisconsin State Assembly as a member of the Free Soil Party (1852-1853). He co-invented a numbering machine in 1866, and co- invented the typewriter in 1868, as well as the QWERTY keyboard. Mr. Sholes died three days after his 71st birthday, after a long battle with tuberculosis.

80 years ago
1935

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Louis Hector and Leigh Lovell, on NBC

75 years ago
1940

Theatre
The Unconquered, an adaptation by Ayn Rand of her novel We the Living (1936), closed at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway in New York after just six performances. It was produced and directed by George Abbott, and starred Helen Craig, John Emery, and Dean Jagger.

Born on this date
Gene Pitney. U.S. singer and songwriter. Mr. Pitney was known for performing songs written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, including (The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance (#4, Billboard Hot 100, 1962); Only Love Can Break a Heart (#2, 1962); True Love Never Runs Smooth (#21, 1963); and Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa (#17, 1963). At the time that Only Love Can Break a Heart was the #2 single in the U.S.A., the #1 spot was held by He’s a Rebel by the Crystals, a song written by Mr. Pitney. Mr. Pitney recorded songs in Italian and Spanish, which contributed to his popularity in foreign countries. He had the distinction of being the first rock and roll singer to perform at the Academy Awards ceremony. The title song for Town Without Pity, which he sang and had a hit with (#13, 1962) was a nominee for best original song for 1961. Mr. Pitney died of a heart attack in his hotel room between performances in Cardiff, Wales on April 5, 2006 at the age of 66.

War
Sweden refused Finland's request for military aid in her war against the U.S.S.R. Chinese military authorities reported the rout of Japanese troops at Nanning. Afghanistan's ambassador to Turkey was recalled to Kabul for military discussions dealing with the possible spread of war to western Asia.

Diplomacy
U.S. Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles departed New York for visits to Italy, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom to assess the present state of the European war and prospects for peace.

Politics and government
A Gallup Poll indicated that 52% of the American people expected Franklin D. Roosevelt to seek a third term as President of the United States in 1940, and 60% expected him to win the November election.

Track and field
At the Melrose Games in New York, world records were set by John Blozis in the shot put and Allan Tolmich in the 60-yard high hurdles.

70 years ago
1945

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Rum and Coca-Cola--The Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and his Orchestra (Best Seller--2nd week at #1; Juke Box--2nd week at #1); Don't Fence Me In--Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and his Orchestra (Airplay--4th week at #1)

War
British and Canadian troops divided the German lines in the west by cutting the Goch-Calcar highway. Soviet troops breached the Germans' Queis River defenses, reaching Rauscha, 60 miles northeast of Dresden. Wernher von Braun and other German rocket scientists evacuated the V-2 rocket site at Peenemunde before advancing Soviet troops arrived. Two days of assaults on the Tokyo area by U.S. planes resulted in the loss of 177 Japanese planes and the sinking of 14 ships, while the Americans lost 49 planes.

Diplomacy
The ambassadors of Peru and Ecuador signed an agreement ending the 120-year-old border dispute between the countries.

Labour
The World Trade Union Congress in London ended after an 11-day session that failed to establish a world labour organization to replace the International Federation of Trade Unions.

South Dakota Governor M.Q. Sharpe (Republican) signed a bill ending the closed shop in that state.

60 years ago
1955

Golf
Mike Souchak set a PGA Tour nine-hole record by shooting 27 on the back side of Bracken Ridge Park Golf Course in San Antonio in the Texas Open. He finished with a 60 for the round and then a 72-hole record total of 257 for the tournament.

50 years ago
1965

Music
The Beatles were at EMI Studios in London, where they recorded the songs You Like Me Too Much and The Night Before.

Patti Page was at Columbia Recording Studio in Nashville, where she recorded Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte, a song that originally been performed in the movie Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte by Al Martino. Mr. Martino's version had recently been released as the B-side of My Heart Would Know.

Space
The United States launched the probe Ranger 8 on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions.

Economics and finance
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Lester Pearson reduced the age at which Old Age Pensions would be paid to 65 instead of 70, with the change to be phased in over five years.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): My Little Angel--William Shakespeare (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Shitetsu Ensen--Goro Noguchi (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Todo El Tiempo Del Mundo--Manolo Otero (9th week at #1)

Movies
The American Film Institute presented its third annual Life Achievement Award to actor and director Orson Welles. Mr. Welles used the occasion to play a clip from his latest--and unfinished--movie, The Other Side of the Wind.



30 years ago
1985

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Do They Know it's Christmas?--Band Aid (5th week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Ghostbusters--Ray Parker, Jr. (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: One Night in Bangkok--Murray Head (5th week at #1)

On the radio
The Stories of Sherlock Holmes, starring Graham Armitage and Kerry Jordan, on Springbok Radio
Tonight's episode: The Bloemhof Diamond

Track and field
At a meet in Auckland, John Walker of New Zealand broke the four-minute mile for the 100th time in his career.

Horse racing
Laffit Pincay, Jr. rode four winners at Santa Anita Park in California, becoming the third jockey, behind Johnny Longden and Bill Shoemaker, to win at least 6,000 thoroughbred races.

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Janie's Got a Gun--Aerosmith

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Un' Estate Italiana--Edoardo Bennato; Gianna Nannini (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): All Around the World Lisa Stansfield (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Daar Gaat Ze--Clouseau (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Les Valses de Vienne--François Feldman (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (CIN): Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor (3rd week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor
2 Get Up! (Before the Night is Over)--Technotronic
3 Me So Horny--The 2 Live Crew
4 Get a Life--Soul II Soul
5 Get Into It--Tony Scott
6 I Wish it Would Rain Down--Phil Collins
7 Got to Get--Rob 'n' Raz featuring Leila K
8 Words--The Christians
9 Sacrifice--Elton John
10 Whatcha' Gonna Do with My Lovin'--Inner City

Singles entering the chart were Daar Gaat Ze by Clouseau (#15); I'll Be Loving You (Forever) by New Kids on the Block (#25); Got to Have Your Love by Mantronix (#27); Esta Loca by Latino Party (#29); Opposites Attract by Paula Abdul (#35); and Zeg Me Dat Het Niet Zo Is by the Frank Boeijen Groep (#37).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Opposites Attract--Paula Abdul (Duet with the Wild Pair) (2nd week at #1)
2 Two to Make it Right--Seduction
3 Escapade--Janet Jackson
4 Dangerous--Roxette
5 Janie's Got a Gun--Aerosmith
6 What Kind of Man Would I Be?--Chicago
7 All or Nothing--Milli Vanilli
8 Downtown Train--Rod Stewart
9 Tell Me Why--Expose
10 We Can't Go Wrong--The Cover Girls

Singles entering the chart were I'll Be Your Everything by Tommy Page (#51); Blue Sky Mine by Midnight Oil (#77); I'll Be There by Joyce "Fenderella" Irby (#78); The Heart of the Matter by Don Henley (#90); Anytime by the McAuley Schenker Group (#88); Got to Get by Leila K with Rob 'N' Raz (#89); Sending All My Love by Linear (#92); Living in Oblivion by Anything Box (#95); and True Blue Love by Lou Gramm (#96).

Hit parade
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Opposites Attract--Paula Abdul (Duet with the Wild Pair) (2nd week at #1)
2 Two to Make it Right--Seduction
3 Janie's Got a Gun--Aerosmith
4 How am I Supposed to Live Without You--Michael Bolton
5 Dangerous--Roxette
6 What Kind of Man Would I Be?--Chicago
7 I Remember You--Skid Row
8 Peace in Our Time--Eddie Money
9 Tell Me Why--Expose
10 Downtown Train--Rod Stewart

Singles entering the chart were Heart of Stone by Cher (#69); I'll Be Your Everything by Tommy Page (#72); Blue Sky Mine by Midnight Oil (#78); Got to Get by Leila K with Rob ’N’ Raz (#85); You're the Voice by John Farnham (#86); I'm Not Satisfied by Fine Young Cannibals (#87); Brother, Don't You Walk Away by the Hooters (#92); If You Leave Me Now by Jaya (#93); and Wild Women Do by Natalie Cole (#95). Wild Women Do was from the movie Pretty Woman (1990).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Downtown Train--Rod Stewart (2nd week at #1)
2 Janie's Got a Gun--Aerosmith
3 Peace in Our Time--Eddie Money
4 Opposites Attract--Paula Abdul (Duet with the Wild Pair)
5 Just Between You and Me--Lou Gramm
6 Free Fallin'--Tom Petty
7 Escapade--Janet Jackson
8 What Kind of Man Would I Be?--Chicago
9 Dangerous--Roxette
10 All or Nothing--Milli Vanilli

Singles entering the chart were Let Your Backbone Slide by Maestro Fresh-Wes (#74); Catch Me in the Act by Paradox (#76); A Face in the Crowd by Tom Petty (#78); Anytime by the McAuley Schenker Group (#80); Dirty Deeds by Joan Jett (#84); I'm Not Satisfied by Fine Young Cannibals (#87); Far Far Cry by Jon Anderson (#89); C'mon and Get My Love by D-Mob (#91); and Love is a Dangerous Weapon by the Works (#93).

Died on this date
Hap Day, 88. Canadian hockey player and coach. Clarence Henry Day was a left wing, and later, a defenceman with the Toronto St. Patricks and Maple Leafs (1924-37) and New York Americans (1937-38), scoring 86 goals and 116 assists in 586 regular season games, and 4 goals and 7 assists in 51 playoff games. He played with the 1931-32 Stanley Cup championship team, and coached the Maple Leafs from 1940-50, winning Stanley Cups in 1942; 1945; and three straight from 1947-49. Mr. Day was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961.

Erik Rhodes, 84. U.S. actor. Mr. Rhodes, born Ernest Sharpe, appeared in several Broadway musicals, but was best known for his roles in movies such as The Gay Divorcee (1934); Top Hat (1935); Charlie Chan in Paris (1935); and The Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938). He died a week after his 84th birthday.

Scandal
In a closed courtroom in Los Angeles, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan concluded two days of videotaped testimony, amounting to eight hours, in the trial of former national security adviser John Poindexter, who was on trial for his involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal.

Hockey
NHL
New Jersey 4 @ Toronto 5

20 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Tears Don't Lie--Mark 'Oh (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Think Twice--Celine Dion (5th week at #1)

At the movies
Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie, starring Billy Warlock and Christopher Lloyd, opened in theatres.

War
Hostilities in the three-week Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ended with a cease-fire brokered by the United Nations.

Crime
A jury in Nassau County, New York convicted Colin Ferguson, an immigrant from Jamaica, of killing 6 passengers and wounding 19 others with a handgun on a commuter train in December 1993.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that the trade deficit in 1994 was $108.1 billion, 42% higher than the 1993 figure and the largest for a calendar year since 1988.

10 years ago
2005

Died on this date
Dan O'Herlihy, 85. Irish-born U.S. actor. Mr. O'Herlihy appeared in many television programs and in such movies as Odd Man Out (1947); Macbeth (1948); The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1954); and Fail Safe (1964).

Politics and government
U.S. President George W. Bush named John Negroponte to be the first national intelligence director.

February 16, 2015

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Veronica Jones and Anna!

110 years ago
1905

Died on this date
Jay Cooke, 83. U.S. financier. Mr. Cooke opened the private banking house of Jay Cooke & Company in Philadelphia on January 1, 1861; he's generally acknowledged as the first major investment banker in the United States and creator of the first wire house firm. Mr. Cooke helped finance the Union war effort during the American Civil War and the Northern Pacific Railway after the war.

75 years ago
1940

At the movies
A Chump at Oxford, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, opened in theatres.



War
A Gallup Poll reported that Americans favoured staying out of the European war by a margin of 68%-32%. The Royal Canadian Air Force's No. 110 Army Cooperation Squadron sailed for Britain, the first of 48 RCAF squadrons to go overseas. 299 British prisoners were freed from the German tanker Altmark when it was seized in Norwegian waters by sailors from the British destroyer HMS Cossack and taken to Leith, Scotland.

World events
The German merchant chip Koenigsberg returned to Paraguay after being challenged by a Brazilian gunboat.

Sport
The Pan-American Committee of the Amateur Athletic Union met in New York to discuss the possibility of staging Pan-Am Games in the near future.

70 years ago
1945

Abominations
Dr. Joseph Schwartz, European director of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, estimated that only 1-1.5 million of 6 million Jews were still alive on the European continent.

War
The United States War Department announced that draft registrants under the age of 38 who were not physically qualified for general military service, but who had left essential war jobs, were being inducted into the Army. In a 17-mile gain on the Oder River, Soviet forces came to within 62 miles southeast of Berlin. U.S. paratroopers and sea assault units invaded Corregidor, making quick advances against little Japanese resistance.

Labour
The World Trade Union Congress in London adopted a program for participation in the peace settlement, including these points:
1. Authorities occupying Germany shall recognize the voice of labour;
2. The trade union movement should be consulted on the use of material and mapower for the restoration of Germany;
3. that Dumbarton Oaks was obligated to put an end to international cartels and monopolies;
4. that provision should be made for labour representation in the United Nations.

St. Paul, Minnesota radio station KSTP ended an 11-month fight against American Federation of Musicians President James Petrillo, and gave in to union demands to employ an additional eight musicians for 22 hours per week at $52 each.

Politics and government
The United States House of Representatives passed the George bill, divorcing lending agencies from the Commerce Department.

Journalism
The government of Argentina closed the anti-U.S. newspapers Cabildo and Pampero on the grounds that they were printed on imported newsprint and that this was protested by several foreign ministers.

Drew Pearson, author of the column Washington Merry-Go-Round, started a suit for libel against columnist Westbrook Pegler, charging Mr. Pegler with writing that Mr. Pearson was "a miscalled news broadcaster specializing in falsehoods and smearing people with political and personal motivation."

50 years ago
1965

On television tonight
The Fugitive, starring David Janssen, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Moon Child, with guest stars Murray Hamilton, June Harding, David Sheiner, and Virginia Christine

Music
The Beatles were at EMI Studios in London, where they finished recording the songs I Need You and Another Girl, and recorded the song Yes it Is.

Space
The United States launched Pegasus 1, a winged satellite whose purpose was the study of micrometeroid impacts in low Earth orbit.

Transportation
British Railways Board chairman Richard Beeching delivered a report outlining transportation needs over the next quarter-century.

40 years ago
1975

Died on this date
Morgan Taylor, 71. U.S. runner. Mr. Taylor won a gold medal in men's 400-metre hurdles at the 1924 Summer Olympic Games in Paris and won bronze medals in the same events in 1928 in Amsterdam and 1932 in Los Angeles, becoming the first American to win three Olympic medals in track.

30 years ago
1985

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): The Wild Boys--Duran Duran

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Do What You Do--Jermaine Jackson

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Easy Lover--Philip Bailey (with Phil Collins) (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): I Know Him So Well--Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: I Know Him So Well--Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Careless Whisper--Wham! featuring George Michael

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Careless Whisper--Wham! featuring George Michael
2 Easy Lover--Philip Bailey (with Phil Collins)
3 I Want to Know What Love Is--Foreigner
4 You're the Inspiration--Chicago
5 Loverboy--Billy Ocean
6 The Boys of Summer--Don Henley
7 California Girls--David Lee Roth
8 Sugar Walls--Sheena Easton
9 Method of Modern Love--Daryl Hall John Oates
10 The Old Man Down the Road--John Fogerty

Singles entering the chart were I'm on Fire by Bruce Springsteen (#47); When the Rain Begins to Fall by Jermaine Jackson and Pia Zadora (#73); Rhythm of the Night by DeBarge (#78); Lucky by Greg Kihn (#80); Second Nature by Dan Hartman (#83); Radioactive by the Firm (#85); Kiss and Tell by Isley, Jasper, Isley (#88); and Bongo Bongo by the Steve Miller Band (#90).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Easy Lover--Philip Bailey (with Phil Collins) (2nd week at #1)
2 I Want to Know What Love Is--Foreigner
3 Careless Whisper--Wham! featuring George Michael
4 All I Need--Jack Wagner
5 You're the Inspiration--Chicago
6 Neutron Dance--Pointer Sisters
7 Loverboy--Billy Ocean
8 Like a Virgin--Madonna
9 Method of Modern Love--Daryl Hall John Oates
10 California Girls--David Lee Roth

Singles entering the chart were This is Not America by David Bowie and the Pat Metheny Group (#70); Material Girl by Madonna (#76); Too Late for Goodbyes by Julian Lennon (#84); Lovergirl by Teena Marie (#93); Only the Young by Journey (#94); High on You by Survivor (#95); and When the Rain Begins to Fall by Jermaine Jackson and Pia Zadora (#96).

Died on this date
Marian Engel, 51. Canadian author. Mrs. Engel, born Marian Passmore, was known for writing about women in late middle age. Her best-known novel was Bear (1976), which won the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction. Mrs. Engel died of cancer.

Terrorism
The Lebanon-based Shi'ite terrorist group Hezbollah was founded. Sheik Ibrahim al-Amin issued Hezbollah's manifesto.

Scandal
Five days after being acquitted of violating the Official Secrets Act for leaking two documents about the sinking of the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano in the 1982 Falklands War, Clive Ponting, resigned his post.

25 years ago
1990

Scandal
In a closed Los Angeles courtroom, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan began two days of videotaped testimony for use in the trial of former national security adviser John Poindexter. Admiral Poindexter was on trial for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the merchandise trade deficit, which stood at $108.58 billion for all of 1989, was the lowest since 1984. Exports rose 13% in 1989, imports only 7.3%.

Hockey
NHL
Vancouver 2 Edmonton 2

20 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Don't You Know--Pandora (2nd week at #1)

10 years ago
2005

Abominations
The Kyoto Protocol, an international wealth-transfer scam masquerading as an environmental initiative, came into force following its ratification by Russia.

Labour
The National Hockey League cancelled the entire 2004-2005 regular season and playoffs after a round of last-gasp negotiations failed to resolve differences over a salary cap. The players had been locked out since the summer of 2004.