October 31, 2015

250 years ago
1765

Died on this date
Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, 44. English royal family member and miliary officer. Prince William was the third and youngest son of King George II. He became a lieutenant general and led the suppression of a Jacobite rebellion in the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Prince William died after several years of declining health.

130 years ago
1885

Football
ORFU
College Series
Toronto 2 @ Ottawa 19

120 years ago
1895

Born on this date
Les Darcy. Australian boxer. Mr. Darcy compiled a professional record of 52-4 from 1910-1916, winning the Australian version of the world middleweight title in 1915 and the Australian heavyweight title in 1916. He moved to the United States during World War I in order to avoid the debate over conscription in Australia, but died on May 24, 1917 at the age of 21 from septicemia and complications from dental work that he had received to replace teeth that had been knocked out during a bout.

Basil Liddell Hart. French-born U.K. historian and strategist. Sir Basil, born in Paris to English parents, served as a British Army captain during World War I, and remained in the service until 1927. He was known for his influential military history books from the 1920s onward, in which he argued against the use of frontal assault and in favour of the "indirect approach" and reliance on fast-moving armoured formations. Sir Basil's ideas were influential not only in Britain, but in the United States, Australia, and other countries. He died on January 29, 1970 at the age of 74.

90 years ago
1925

Died on this date
Max Linder, 41. French actor and film director. Mr. Linder, born Gabriel-Maximilien Leuvielle, directed, wrote, and acted in silent film comedies from 1905 until his death, and has been called the first international movie star. He served as a dispatch driver during World War I, which led to health problems and depression. Mr. Linder and his wife Hélène "Jean" Peters, 20, made a suicide pact and carried it out, cutting open the veins in their arms.

Football
CRU
ORFU
Toronto Balmy Beach (4-0) 9 @ Camp Borden (2-2) 1 (OT)

NCAA
Red Grange, the "Galloping Ghost," almost single-handedly defeated the mighty University of Pennsylvania in his first game in the Eastern U.S., as the University of Illinois beat the Quakers 24-2 before 65,000 fans at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. He for 363 yards and 3 touchdowns, twice ripping off broken-field runs of 60 yards.

75 years ago
1940

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Till the Lights of London Shine Again--The Joe Loss Orchestra (3rd month at #1)

War
The most intense phase of the Battle of Britain ended, with the United Kingdom preventing a possible German invasion. Japanese troops abandoned the whole province of Kwangsi in southern China. Indian politician Jawaharlal Nehru was arrested and charged with violating the Defense of India Rules by making speeches intended to hinder prosecution of the war.

Politics and government
French Vice-Premier Pierre Laval declared that democracy was dead all over the world, and expressed hope for Britain's defeat in the European war.

Mrs. Earl Browder, wife of the Communist Party's 1940 candidate for President of the United States, was ordered by U.S. Attorney General Robert Jackson to be deported to the U.S.S.R. because of her "surreptitious entry" into the U.S.A. in 1933.

Defense
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau disclosed that the United Kingdom had ordered "a large number" of freighters from United States shipyards to offset losses from German U-boat attacks.

Movies
The Hollywood film industry pledged its entire facilities to the United States Army for the production of movies to be used in training draftees.

Medicine
Sulfaguanidine, a derivative of sulfanilamide devised by Dr. E. Kennerly Marshall, was announced as a cure for bacterial dysentery, a common ailment among troops in the tropics.

Dedicating the $4-million National Health Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said that the government did not intend to socialize medical practice.

70 years ago
1945

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Don't Fence Me In--Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters (2nd month at #1)

At the movies
Spellbound, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, and Leo G. Carroll, received its premiere screening in New York City (see video).



War
Yen Hsi-shan, Governor General of the Chinese province of Shansi, reported that 100,000 Chinese Communist troops were attacking Tatun.

Reports from Moscow indicated that the Soviet Union wanted Italy to pay $300 million in reparations, with one-third going to the U.S.S.R. and the rest to Greece, Yugoslavia, and Albania.

Diplomacy
In a major foreign policy address, U.S. Secretary of State James Byrnes said that he recognized the U.S.S.R.'s special interests in eastern and central Europe, but that in a world divided "into spheres of exclusive influence" is more dangerous than national isolation. U.S. President Harry Truman reported that Soviet dictator Josef Stalin had informed him of the U.S.S.R.'s willingness to join the Far Eastern Advisory Commission meeting in Washington.

Politics and government
Venezuelan provisional President Romulo Betancourt promised free elections in six months for a new president and National Assembly to rewrite the nation's constitution.

The new Brazilian government of President Jose Linhares pledged to eliminate all traces of the previous "dictatorship." General Getulio Vargas, who had resigned as President two days earlier, left Rio de Janeiro by plane for his ranch, promising to "harbour no hatred or personal animosities."

In his third report as military governor, U.S. Army General Dwight Eisenhower stated that the terms of the Potsdam Declaration were being carried out in the American zone of Germany.

Education
Allied headquarters ordered the Japanese Education Ministry to investigate 400,000 teachers in 39,000 schools and to eliminate all militarists.

Academia
Booker T. Washington became the first Negro elected to the New York University Hall of Fame. Also chosen were U.S. Revolutionary War figure Thomas Paine; U.S. Army doctor Walter Reed; and Southern poet Sidney Lanier.

Labour
U.S. President Harry Truman said that no maximum percentage for wage increases could be set on a nationwide or industry-wide basis. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 550 strikes and lockouts in September involving 455,000 workers and 3,650,000 man-days of idleness.

The International Labor Organization banned Argentine representative Juan Rodriguez and his adviser Manuel Pichel because their government was deemed fascist.

Football
CRU
WIFU
Semi-Finals Calgary 3 @ Regina 1 (First game of 2-game total points series

This was the first game for the recently-formed Calgary team under the name Stampeders.

60 years ago
1955

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Hey Mr. Banjo--Silvio Francesco (1st month at #1)

Britannica
Princess Margaret called off her plans to marry Royal Air Force Group Captain Peter Townsend, former equerry to King George VI. Capt. Townsend was divorced, and Princess Margaret decided to abide by the Church of England's opposition to her marriage to a divorced man.

50 years ago
1965

Football
CFL
Toronto (3-11) 21 @ Hamilton (10-4) 35
Calgary (12-4) 20 @ British Columbia (6-9-1) 10

Willie Bethea, Billy Wayte, and Gerry McDougall scored touchdowns for the Tiger-Cats as they beat the Argonauts at Civic Stadium. Hamilton's Don Sutherin kicked 2 converts, 3 field goals, and 3 singles to win the Eastern Football Conference scoring title with 82 points, 7 more than Ottawa's Moe Racine. It was the final game in the 12-year Hall of Fame career of Toronto halfback Dick Shatto, and the final game in a Toronto uniform for halfback and quarterback Jackie Parker.

The Stampeders beat the Lions before 24,191 fans on a rainy Sunday afternoon at Empire Stadium in Vancouver to clinch first place in the Western Football Conference for the first time since 1949. Calgary's Larry Robinson kicked 7 points to finish the season with 95, good enough to win the Dave Dryburgh Memorial Trophy as the WFC's leading scorer for the second straight season. It was the last season in which no CFL player scored as many as 100 points. The defending Grey Cup champion Lions finished the season with 5 straight losses.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Wasted Days and Wasted Nights--Freddy Fender (7th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Lady Bump--Penny McLean

#1 single in Switzerland: Dolannes-Melodie--Jean-Claude Borelly (3rd week at #1)

Yellowknifiana
The annual Halloween "Spookarama" took place at the airport hangar without incident, despite an anonymous threat of the use of explosives. This blogger was among those in attendance.

Hockey
NHL
The Detroit Red Wings obtained goaltender Ed Giacomin from the New York Rangers. Mr. Giacomin was in his 11th season in the NHL--all with the Rangers--and had made the first or second all-star team five times. In 4 games with the Rangers in 1975-76, Mr. Giacomin had posted a record of 0-3-1 with a goals against average of 4.75, and had lost his position as a starter to John Davidson, who had been acquired from the St. Louis Blues in an off-season trade.

Football
CIAU
British Columbia (4-3) 17 @ Calgary (6-1) 37

Dan Diduck rushed for 108 yards and 3 touchdowns and added another TD on a 61-yard punt return to help the Dinosaurs defeat the Thunderbirds at McMahon Stadium to clinch the first Western Intercollegiate Football League title in their 12-year history.

30 years ago
1985

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CITV
Tonight’s episode: Examination Day, starring David Mendenhall; A Message From Charity, starring Robert Duncan McNeill and Kerry Noonan

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the deficit on merchandise trade with other countries had set a monthly record in September of $15.5 billion.

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): I've Been Thinking About You--Londonbeat (4th week at #1)

Business
General Motors reported its greatest quarterly loss ever, $1.98 billion. GM announced that it would close four assembly plants permanently and said that five other plants might be closed.

20 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: Boombastic--Shaggy (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Alan Bush, 94. U.K. composer. Mr. Bush wrote four symphonies, and numerous chamber, piano, choral, and piano works, as well as compositions for stage and screen. He was a member of the Labour Party before joining the Communist Party in 1935, and used his music to promote Marxism and Communism, resulting in his works being banned for many years.

Rosalind Cash, 56. U.S. actress. Miss Cash appeared in various movies and television programs, but was best known for her co-starring role in the movie The Omega Man (1971). She died of cancer.

Politics and government
Jacques Parizeau announced his resignation at year end as Premier of Québec, leader of the Parti québécois, and MNA for L'Assomption, the day after his Yes side narrowly lost the Québec sovereignty referendum. Mr. Parizeau attracted heavy criticism for blaming the narrow defeat of the referendum on Anglophones and Jews; his influence had been eclipsed by the entry of Lucien Bouchard into the sovereigntist ranks.

Economics and finance
Canada's dollar and stock exchanges soared while interest rates fell after the No side narrowly won the Québec referendum.

Education
The Newfoundland government of Premier Brian Tobin passed a proposed constitutional amendment to reform the province's school system, doing away with the existing system based on religious denominations.

10 years ago
2005

Law
U.S. President George W. Bush nominated Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Alito was a replacement for White House counsel Harriet Miers, who had withdrawn her nomination in the face of opposition from those who thought her unqualified.