January 17, 2012

400 years ago
1612

Born on this date
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron. English military officer and politician. Sir Thomas was Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. He led the Parliamentary forces to many victories, but was eventually overshadowed by his subordinate, Oliver Cromwell. Sir Thomas opposed the trial and execution of King Charles I, and resigned his command. He was elected to the First Protectorate for West Riding in 1654 and to the Third Protectorate Parliament for Yorkshire in 1659. Sir Thomas was re-elected in Yorkshire to the Convention Parliament in 1660, and headed the House of Commons commission that waited upon King Charles II at The Hague and urged his speedy return to England. Sir Thomas was spared the retribution exacted on many other leaders of the revolution, and spent his last 11 years in retirement, dying at the age of 59 on November 12, 1671.

130 years ago
1882

Born on this date
Noah Beery, Sr.. U.S. actor. Mr. Beery, the older brother of actor Wallace Beery and father of actor Noah Beery, Jr., was a character actor who appeared in over 200 movies, including The Mark of Zorro (1920); The Vanishing American (1925); Beau Geste (1926); and She Done Him Wrong (1933). He died of a heart attack at his brother's home on April 1, 1946 while they were celebrating Wallace's birthday and rehearsing a radio drama they were to appear in that night.

70 years ago
1942

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Chattanooga Choo Choo--Glenn Miller and his Orchestra (7th week at #1)

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Muhammad Ali! The three-time world heavyweight boxing champion was born Cassius Marcellus Clay in Louisville, Kentucky.

Died on this date
Walter von Reichenau, 57. German military officer. Generalfeldmarschall Reichenau joined the Prussian Army in 1903, and served with the German Army in both World Wars. He commanded the 10th Army during the invasion of Poland and the 6th Army during the invasions of Belgium and France, and as part of Army Group South during the invasion of the Soviet Union. Generalfeldmarschall Reichenau was an outspoken supporter of Adolf Hitler and a member of the Nazi Party, and in October 1941 issued the Severity Order, which led to the mass murder of 33,000 Jews by the SS Einsatzgruppen at Babi Yar in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Generalfeldmarschall Reichenau reportedly suffered a heart attack after his daily cross-country run in cold weather on January 14, 1942, and died while being flown to a hospital in Leipzig, although there are differing accounts of his death.



40 years ago
1972

Died on this date
Betty Smith, 75. U.S. authoress. Mrs. Smith wrote four novels, but was best known for her first, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1943). She died of pneumonia.

Diplomacy
The Pearce Commission, a British group whose eight-week mission was to conduct a survey of public opinion in Rhodesia toward an agreement to restore normal relations between that country and the United Kingdom, arrived in Salisbury.

Law
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled 6-1 that the state’s death penalty was unconstitutional because it violated the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The 20 men on death row in Trenton State prison were to have their sentences reduced to life imprisonment.

25 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: The Final Countdown--Europe (6th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: Reet Petite (The Sweetest Girl in Town)--Jackie Wilson (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Shake You Down--Gregory Abbott

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Shake You Down--Gregory Abbott
2 Walk Like an Egyptian--Bangles
3 C'est la Vie--Robbie Nevil
4 Notorious--Duran Duran
5 Control--Janet Jackson
6 At this Moment--Billy Vera and the Beaters
7 Land of Confusion--Genesis
8 Everybody Have Fun Tonight--Wang Chung
9 The Way it Is--Bruce Hornsby and the Range
10 Open Your Heart--Madonna

Singles entering the chart included Jacob's Ladder by Huey Lewis and the News (#39); Mandolin Rain by Bruce Hornsby and the Range (#59); Respect Yourself by Bruce Willis (#64); All I Want by Howard Jones (#86); and Don't Dream it's Over by Crowded House (#90).

Canada’s Top 10 (RPM)
1 Everybody Have Fun Tonight--Wang Chung
2 The Way it Is--Bruce Hornsby and the Range
3 Walk Like an Egyptian--Bangles
4 You Give Love a Bad Name--Bon Jovi
5 Stand by Me--Ben E. King
6 Can't Help Falling in Love--Corey Hart
7 The Lady in Red--Chris de Burgh
8 The Next Time I Fall--Peter Cetera with Amy Grant
9 The Rain--Oran "Juice" Jones
10 Notorious--Duran Duran

Singles entering the chart were Jacob's Ladder by Huey Lewis and the News (#86); Respect Yourself by Bruce Willis (#90); Without Your Love by Toto (#93); I Need Your Loving by the Human League (#95); and Ain't No Cure for Love by Jennifer Warnes (#96).

20 years ago
1992

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the nation’s trade deficit had narrowed to $3.57 billion in November 1991, the smallest in nine years.

10 years ago
2002

Economics and finance
Argentina reopened its stock exchange and replaced the president of the central bank.

Diplomacy
Colin Powell became the first U.S. secretary of state to visit the Afghan capital of Kabul since Henry Kissinger in 1976.