May 29, 2008

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Cathy Brown!

275 years ago
1733

Law
Gilles Hocquart, Intendant of New France, upheld the right of Canadians to have Indians as slaves and to sell them.

170 years ago
1838

Terrorism
Pirate Bill Johnston attacked and burned the Canadian steamer Sir Robert Peel off Wellesley Island in the Thousand Islands in Upper Canada.

Politics and government
John George Lambton, Lord Durham, landed at Quebec. He had been appointed Governor by British Prime Minister Lord Melbourne to investigate Canadian colonial grievances after the rebellions of 1837.

160 years ago
1848

Americana
Wisconsin was admitted to the Union as the 30th state.

125 years ago
1883

Politics and government
Frank Oliver was elected to represent the city of Edmonton on the Northwest Territories Council.

100 years ago
1908

Baseball
The New York Giants defeated the Brooklyn Superbas 1-0 before 3,000 fans at Washington Park in Brooklyn, as Christy Mathewson gave up 4 hits and struck out 8 to win the pitchers' duel over Nap Rucker, who allowed just 3 hits.

The St. Louis Cardinals scored a run in the bottom of the 11th inning to defeat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 before 4,500 fans at Robison Field in St. Louis.

The Washington Nationals scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th inning to break a 5-5 tie as they defeated the Boston Red Sox 7-5 to complete a sweep of their doubleheader before 6,690 fans at Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds in Boston. The Nationals won the first game 6-1, with Gavy Cravath's first major league home run accounting for the Boston run. Pat Donahue made his major league debut as a substitute catcher with the Red Sox in the first game, making 1 putout, but not coming to bat.

Biff Schlitzer pitched a 3-hitter to win the pitchers' duel over Joe Lake, who pitched a 4-hitter, as the Philadelphia Athletics edged the New York Highlanders 1-0 to gain a split of their doubleheader before 10,000 fans at Highland Park. The Highlanders scored 2 runs in the 1st inning and 4 in the 4th as they won the first game 6-5.

Jack Powell pitched a 3-hitter to win the pitchers' duel over Charlie Chech, who allowed 5 hits, as the St. Louis Browns edged the Cleveland Naps 1-0 before 3,174 fans at League Park in Cleveland.

90 years ago
1918

War
Armenian forces defeated Ottoman troops at the Battle of Sardarabad, not only stopping the Turkish invasion, but also preventing the complete destruction of the Armenian nation.

Environment
Point Pelee National Park, a major migratory bird refuge, was established on the southernmost point of mainland Ontario.

80 years ago
1928

Died on this date
Alma S. Olmstead, 81. U.S. woman. Mrs. Olmstead, a resident of Lincoln, Nebraska, was born in Erie County, New York. Her father, who was 95 when she was born, fought in the Revolutionary War.

H.C. Smith. U.S. mining executive. Mr. Smith, superintendent of the Don Carlos mine in Pachuca, Mexico, was assassinated.

A.G. Cooper. U.K. aviator. Mr. Cooper was piloting a stunting machine at Weymouth, England in front of a crowd of 20,000 who were waiting to see if a prophesied tidal wave would occur. The plane fell into the sea 20 minutes before the predicted time of the save, and Mr. Cooper drowned in the cockpit before he could be reached.

Dorothy Sielagowski, 7. U.S. crime victim. Miss Sielagowski, a resident of Toledo, Ohio, was kidnapped, attacked, strangled, and left on a relative’s porch.

Politics and government
The first session of the 70th Congress of the United States adjourned, having been in action since December 5, 1927. Of the 19,770 bills introduced, 923 became laws.

Religion
In Weymouth, England, 20,000 gathered at the sands to see whether the "Great Pyramid" prophecy of destruction by a tidal wave would come true; it didn’t.

Business
Chrysler Corporation announced their acquisition of control of Dodge Bros., Inc., a rival automobile manufacturing concern.

Baseball
Bill Terry hit for the cycle, scoring 2 runs and driving in 6, to lead the New York Giants to a 12-5 win over the Brooklyn Robins at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.

The New York Yankees swept a doubleheader from the Washington Nationals 3-2 and 12-3 before 25,000 fans at Yankee Stadium. Leo Durocher's bases-loaded triple in the opener gave George Pipgras (8-1) the win. Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth both slugged a pair of home runs in the nightcap: Mr. Gehrig hit his 9th of the season in the 3rd inning off Washington starter Milt Gaston‚ then Messrs. Ruth and Gehrig hit back-to-back homers in the 4th off Lloyd Brown. Mr. Ruth added his 18th off Mr. Brown in the 7th. Earl Combs also homered for the Yankees.

60 years ago
1948

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard) (Best Seller): Nature Boy--King Cole (3rd week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Nature Boy--King Cole
--Frank Sinatra
2 Little White Lies--Dick Haymes
--Dinah Shore
3 Sabre Dance--Woody Herman and his Orchestra
--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra
4 You Can't Be True, Dear--Ken Griffin
--Vera Lynn
--Dick Haymes with the Song Spinners
--The Sportsmen
5 Now is the Hour (Maori Farewell Song)--Bing Crosby
--Gracie Fields
--Margaret Whiting
--Eddy Howard and his Orchestra
--Charlie Spivak and his Orchestra
6 Toolie Oolie Doolie (The Yodel Polka)--The Andrews Sisters
--Vaughn Horton and the Polka Debs
--The Sportsmen
7 Because--Perry Como
8 Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)--Peggy Lee
9 Baby Face--Art Mooney and his Orchestra
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Jack Smith and the Clark Sisters
10 The Dickey-Bird Song--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were Put 'Em in a Box, Tie 'Em with a Ribbon (And Throw ’Em in the Deep Blue Sea) (#25)/It's the Sentimental Thing to Do (#35) by the King Cole Trio; Put 'Em in a Box, Tie 'Em with a Ribbon (And Throw ’Em in the Deep Blue Sea) by Doris Day (#25, charting with the version by the King Cole Trio); My Happiness, with versions by Jon and Sondra Steele; the Pied Pipers; and Ella Fitzgerald (#27); Run, Run, Run, with versions by the Charioteers; and Edmundo Ros and his Rumba Band (#39); and At a Sidewalk Penny Arcade by Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra (#40). Doris Day's version of Put 'Em in a Box, Tie 'Em with a Ribbon (And Throw ’Em in the Deep Blue Sea) was the original version from the movie Romance on the High Seas (1948).

Theatre
The musical Oklahoma! closed at the St. James Theatre on Broadway in New York after a record 2,246 performances since March 31, 1943.

Died on this date
May Whitty, 82. U.K. actress. After many years on English stages, Dame May went to Hollywood. She made her mark as a character actor in such movies as Night Must Fall (1937); The Lady Vanishes (1938); Suspicion (1941); Mrs. Miniver (1942); Gaslight (1944); and The Sign of the Ram (1948).

War
Arab and Jewish forces clashed near Latrun on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway in the heaviest battle of the Palestine war, with indecisive results.

Defense
Bulgaria and Poland signed a 20-year mutual assistance pact in Warsaw.

Baseball
Richie Ashburn of the Philadelphia Phillies hit his first major league home run‚ a leadoff inside-the-park homer‚ off Thornton Lee's third pitch. The homer extended Mr. Ashburn's hitting streak to 18 games, but it was the Phillies’ only run as the New York Giants won 7-1 before 18,843 fans at the Polo Grounds in New York. Bill Rigney led off the 1st‚ 3rd‚ and 5th innings with hits‚ while Sid Gordon added a 3-run homer in the 5th. Mr. Lee was a complete-game winner over Walt Dubiel.

Sam Chapman scored all the way from first base on a single by Buddy Rosar with 1 out in the bottom of the 8th inning to break a 5-5 tie as the Philadelphia Athletics edged the New York Yankees 6-5 before 15,123 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

The Washington Nationals scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to defeat the Boston Red Sox 5-4 in the first game of a doubleheader before 14,052 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington, and withstood a 5-run 9th inning rally to win the second game 7-6. The Red Sox drew consecutive bases-loaded walks with 2 out in the 9th inning of the second game to draw within a run, but Stan Spence flied out to center field to end the game.

Bob Lemon pitched a 4-hitter and singled in the game's final run in the 9th inning as the Cleveland Indians shut out the Chicago White Sox 4-0 before 4,694 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

50 years ago
1958

At the movies
No Time for Sergeants, directed and co-produced by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Andy Griffith, opened in theatres.

Died on this date
Juan Ramón Jiménez Mantecón, 76. Spanish poet. Mr. Jiménez was awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his lyrical poetry, which in the Spanish language constitutes an example of high spirit and artistical purity."

Defense
The French Army agreed to withdraw 5,000 men from eastern Morocco.

Politics and government
Following talks with French President Rene Coty, Charles de Gaulle indicated that he would assume the prime ministership on condition that the government receive full powers for a fixed time, with a mandate "to prepare and to submit to the country through a referendum...changes that must be made" in the constitution.

Louisiana Governor Earl Long (Democrat) signed election law changes despite complaints that the law disenfranchised Jews with a provision for holding primaries on Saturday.

Republican Party leaders in Harlem endorsed U.S. Representative Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (Democrat--New York) for the Republican congressional nomination.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Young Girl--The Union Gap (2nd week at #1)

Australia's top 10 (Go-Set)
1 Honey--Bobby Goldsboro (3rd week at #1)
2 Young Girl--The Union Gap
3 The Unicorn--The Irish Rovers
4 Lady Madonna/The Inner Light--The Beatles
5 Congratulations--Cliff Richard
6 If I Only Had Time--John Rowles
7 Valleri/Tapioca Tundra--The Monkees
8 The Legend of Xanadu--Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich
9 Delilah--Tom Jones
10 The Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp--O.C. Smith

Singles entering the chart were This Guy's in Love with You by Herb Alpert (#35); Cry Like a Baby by the Box Tops (#38); Lazy Sunday by Small Faces (#39); and Gee I'm Gonna Miss You by Graham Chapman (#40).

At the movies
Wild in the Streets, directed by Barry Shear and starring Christopher Jones, Shelley Winters, Hal Holbrook, and Richard Pryor, opened in theatres.

Personal
The Shrine Circus was in Edmonton, and this blogger went with his dad to see it at the Edmonton Gardens after school.

World events
Some 200,000 marchers, led by Communists, chanted "Adieu, de Gaulle" when French President Charles de Gaulle suddenly left Paris for his country home amid speculation that he was resigning. Former Premier Pierre Mendes-France declared that he was ready to form a "popular government."

The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a resolution calling on all members to impose a total embargo on all trade with or travel to Rhodesia.

War
A spokesman for the North Vietnamese government berated U.S. President Lyndon Johnson for accusing North Vietnam of obstructing the Paris peace talks.

Disasters
The U.S. nuclear submarine Scorpion, with 99 men aboard, was reported missing. It was two days overdue at Norfolk, Virginia after a three-month training exercise with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea.

A gas explosion at a nursery school in Hapeville, Georgia killed seven children and two adults.

Soccer
European Cup
Final @ Wembley Stadium, London
Manchester United 4 Benfica 1 (ET)

Manchester United beat the Portuguese side Benfica to become the first English club to win the European Cup.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Wuthering Heights--Kate Bush (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Southpaw--Pink Lady (9th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Stayin' Alive--Bee Gees (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Carl Reynolds, 75. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Reynolds, an outfielder, played for five major league teams from 1927-1939, batting .302 with 80 home runs and 695 runs batted in in 1,222 games. Mr. Reynolds’ best season was 1930, when he hit .359 with 202 hits, 22 home runs, 100 runs batted in, and 103 runs scored with the Chicago White Sox. He hit .302 with the Chicago Cubs in 1938 when they won the National League pennant, but went 0 for 12 in the World Series.

Ali Soilih, 41. President of the Comoro Islands, 1976-1978. Mr. Soilih, whose full name was Ali Soilih M'tsashiwa, led a coup that deposed President Said Mohamed Jaffar in August 1975 and imposed a Maoist dictatorship, but was deposed himself in a coup on May 13, 1978, and was killed in a reported attempt to escape house arrest.

Diplomacy
Chinese Foreign Minister Huang Hua hinted to the United Nations General Assembly that China might join the special session on disarmament in Geneva if those talks were not controlled by the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. He also called the Soviet Union the "most dangerous source of a new world war" and warned the United States against a policy of appeasement. The Soviet delegate walked out during Mr. Huang’s speech.

Terrorism
The West German government disclosed that Yugoslavia had arrested four of West Germany’s most-wanted terrorists. Their extradition to West Germany was being held up while Yugoslavia tried to extradite Croatian nationalists held in West Germany.

Golf
Nancy Lopez won her third straight tournament and fourth of the year, winning the LPGA Tournament in New Rochelle, New York with a score of 277. First prize money was $15,000.

25 years ago
1983

Diplomacy
At the Williamsburg summit of western democracies (U.S.A.; Canada; Britain; Japan; West Germany; Italy; France), U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz issued a statement supported by all of the countries, affirming their desire to reduce armaments through negotiations. The statement warned that U.S. medium-range missiles would be deployed in western Europe if no accord were reached with the Soviet Union on arms limitation.

Auto racing
Perennial bridesmaid Tom Sneva finally won the Indianapolis 500. Mr. Sneva, who had finished second in 1977, 1978, and 1980, took the checkered flag with an average speed of 162.117 miles per hour. Al Unser, who had won the race three times, finished second. The purse was over $2.4 million. Mr. Sneva was stuck behind the lapped car of Al Unser, Jr., who was helping to protect the lead of his father despite being shown the blue "move-over" flag. Mr. Sneva took advantage of some other slower cars to pass both Unsers in daring moves on the mainstretch and third turn on lap 190, and went on to win. Teo Fabi joined Walt Faulkner (1959) as one of only two rookies ever to qualify for the pole position.



20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Breakaway--Big Pig (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Heart--Pet Shop Boys (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Salem bin Laden, 42. Saudi Arabian businessman. Mr. bin Laden, a half-brother of terrorist Osama bin Laden, succeeded his father Mohammed as patriarch of the Saudi Binladin Group. He was flying an ultralight aircraft in Texas when it hit power lines and dropped 115 feet; he wasn't wearing a helmet, and was killed.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Ronald Reagan arrived in Moscow for a summit meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. At their first conversation, President Reagan reportedly pressed Mr. Gorbachev on human rights issues, while Soviet human rights activists demonstrated in the streets of Moscow and Leningrad. That evening, President and Mrs. Reagan strolled near Spasso House, the U.S. ambassador’s residence where they were staying, and were mobbed by Soviet citizens. U.S. and Soviet working groups met to discuss human rights, arms control, and regional conflicts.

Auto racing
Rick Mears won the Indianapolis 500 for the third time, with an average speed of 144.809 miles per hour. Emerson Fittipaldi finished second in the first Indianapolis 500 to have a $5 million purse. Mr. Mears’ previous wins were in 1979 and 1984. He went on to win it again in 1991. Roger Penske's team dominated the month, qualifying all three teammates Rick Mears, Danny Sullivan and Al Unser on the front row. Their cars had unique solid wheels instead of the conventional spoke designs used on most of the other cars. On race day the three teammates combined to lead 192 laps. Mr. Sullivan dominated the first half, but hit the south short-chute wall on lap 102 after his front wing adjusters slipped, robbing the car of steering capability. Mr. Mears, at one point more than a lap down, took the lead nine laps later, and outlasted Mr. Unser and Emerson Fittipaldi to take the checkered flag.



Basketball
NBA
Western Conference
Finals
Los Angeles Lakers 104 @ Dallas 118 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)

10 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Barry Goldwater, 89. U.S. politician. Mr. Goldwater, a Republican, represented Arizona in the United States Senate from 1953-1965 and 1969-1987. He was the Republican Party’s presidential candidate in 1964, but lost in a landslide to incumbent Lyndon Johnson. Mr. Goldwater was known for many years as "Mr. Conservative," but he was really a libertarian, and spent the last 17 years of his life ranting against Christians.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Bill Clinton imposed economic penalties on Pakistan for conducting five underground nuclear tests.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Western Conference
Finals
Dallas 3 @ Detroit 5 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Basketball
NBA
Eastern Conference
Finals
Chicago 89 @ Indiana 92 (Best-of-seven series tied 3-3)