August 12, 2008

150 years ago
1858

Communications
Initial test messages were sent from Cape Trinity, Newfoundland to Valencia, Ireland on the telegraph cable laid by the USS Niagara and HMS Agamemnon. The first official telegram was a letter of congratulation from Queen Victoria to U.S. President James Buchanan on August 16.

110 years ago
1898

War
The peace protocol ending the Spanish-American War was signed in Washington.

Americana
The Hawaiian flag was lowered from ʻIolani Palace in an elaborate annexation ceremony in Honolulu and replaced with the flag of the United States to signify the transfer of sovereignty from the Republic of Hawaii to the United States.

90 years ago
1918

War
Major combat in the Battle of Amiens ended, with the Allies having made advances deep into German-held territory. Private Thomas Dinesen of the 42nd Battalion Québec Regiment (Royal Highlanders of Canada) single-handedly captured 2 kilometres of strongly defended enemy trenches at Parvillers, France during 10 hours of hand-to-hand fighting, killing 12 Germans with grenade and bayonet. He was awarded the Victoria Cross on October 26, 1918.

80 years ago
1928

Died on this date
Leoš Janáček, 74. Czech composer. Mr. Janáček was known for incorporating Czech folk music into his works, the best known of which were chamber pieces and operas such as Káťa Kabanová and The Cunning Little Vixen.

Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games closed in Amsterdam. Canada finished with 4 gold medals, 2 each for Percy Williams and Ethel Catherwood.

60 years ago
1948

Died on this date
Arso Jovanović, 41. Yugoslavian military officer. Colonel General Jovanović, partisan chief of staff suring World War II, was killed at the border while attempting to escape to Romania with two other Montenegrin dissidents, Vlado Dapčević and Branko Petričević, who were captured alive. The Yugoslavian government accused Col. Gen. Jovanović of working with the Cominform against President Marshal Josip Broz Tito.

Diplomacy
U.S.S.R. consular employee Oksana Kosenkina jumped from a third-floor window of the Soviet consulate in New York and was critically injured. She charged that consular officials were holding her prisoner and preparing to return her to Russia after she had attempted to escape the consulate the previous week. A second escaped consular employee, Mikhail Samarin, appeared in Washington to testify before a closed session of the House of Representatives Commission on Un-American Activities.

Abominations
About 600 unarmed members of the Khudai Khidmatgar protest movement were shot dead on the orders of the Chief Minister of the North-West Frontier Province, Abdul Qayyum Khan Kashmiri, on Babrra ground in the Hashtnagar region of Charsadda District, North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Pakistan.

World events
The Anglo-American airlift to Berlin achieved its goal of transporting 4,500 tons of supplies per day.

Politics and government
U.S. State Secretary George Marshall refused to open confidential files to a Senate immigration subcommittee inviestigating charges that Communist spies had entered the United States as United Nations representatives.

Economics and finance
The Mexican government fixed retail prices of rice, flour, lard, beans, and salt in an effort to curb rising living costs.

50 years ago
1958

War
An estimated 90 Communist Chinese MiG-17s flew sorties near Quemoy in the first heavy Communist air activity in the area since 1954.

U.K. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan met in Nicosia with Greek Cypriot leaders Themistocles Dervis and Charilaos Demetriades and Turkish Cypriot leaders Fazil Kutchuk and Rauf Denktash to discuss the truce in Cyprus, and then returned to London.

Defense
U.S. Marines began withdrawing from Lebanon following agreement among President Camille Chamoun, President-elect Fuad Chehab, and American military officers that the country's internal situation had improved.

The United States successfully tested a second missile-borne nuclear warhead over Johnson Island in the Pacific Ocean.

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower vetoed a bill authorizing construction of a $60-million nuclear-powered icebreaker for the Coast Guard.

Politics and government
U.S. President Eisenhower signed a bill curbing the right of federal agencies to withhold information from the public.

Transportation
President Eisenhower signed a compromise bill authorizing federal guarantees of up to $500 million in loans for equipment, improvements, and maintenance of America's railroads.

Economics and finance
U.S. Undersecretary of State C. Douglas Dillon announced American support for a proposed Inter-American Development Institution to provide loans to Latin American countries for regional development projects.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): C C C--The Tigers (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Delilah--Tom Jones (10th week at #1)

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Tu--Umberto Tozzi (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Tu--Umberto Tozzi (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland: You're the One that I Want--John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (8th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): You're the One that I Want--John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (9th week at #1)

Rhodesia's Top 10 (Lyons Maid)
1 Rivers of Babylon--Boney M. (7th week at #1)
2 I Can't Stand the Rain--Eruption
3 If You Can't Give Me Love--Suzie
4 You're the One that I Want--John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
5 Take a Chance on Me--ABBA
6 Make Love to Me--Kelly Marie
7 Too Much, Too Little, Too Late--Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams
8 Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue--Crystal Gayle
9 Stayin' Alive--Bee Gees
10 Sweet, Sweet Smile--Carpenters

Singles entering the chart were Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty (#18); and Lido Shuffle by Boz Scaggs (#20).

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Three Times a Lady--Commodores

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 You're the One that I Want--John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (7th week at #1)
2 Windsurfin'--The Surfers
3 Too Much, Too Little, Too Late--Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams
4 Let's All Chant--Michael Zager Band
5 Oh Darling--Theo Diepenbrock
6 Arabian Affair--The Abdul Hassan Orchestra
7 Wet Day in September--Pussycat
8 Last Dance--Donna Summer
9 Lay Love on You--Luisa Fernandez
10 You're the Greatest Lover--Luv'

Singles entering the chart were Follow Me by Amanda Lear (#21); Nutbush City Limits by Ike & Tina Turner (#29); Davy's on the Road Again by Manfred Mann's Earth Band (#30); and Um Português by Linda De Suza (#35).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Three Times a Lady--Commodores
2 Grease--Frankie Valli
3 Miss You--The Rolling Stones
4 Last Dance--Donna Summer
5 Love Will Find a Way--Pablo Cruise
6 Life's Been Good--Joe Walsh
7 Hot Blooded--Foreigner
8 Shadow Dancing--Andy Gibb
9 Baker Street--Gerry Rafferty
10 Copacabana (At the Copa)--Barry Manilow

Singles entering the chart were Hollywood Nights by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band (#58); Right Down the Line by Gerry Rafferty (#61); Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meat Loaf (#62); Come Together by Aerosmith (#64); Oh! Darling by Robin Gibb (#80); All I See is Your Face by Dan Hill (#81); Raise a Little Hell by Trooper (#82); Brandy by the O'Jays (#84); Sweet Life by Paul Davis (#85); Almost Like Being in Love by Michael Johnson (#87); Back in My Arms Again by Genya Ravan (#91); California Nights by Sweet (#96); Arms of Mary by Chilliwack (#97); Long Hot Summer Nights by Wendy Waldman (#98); and Livingston Saturday Night by Jimmy Buffett (#100). Oh! Darling was from the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Miss You--The Rolling Stones
2 Baker Street--Gerry Rafferty
3 Shadow Dancing--Andy Gibb
4 Grease--Frankie Valli
5 Last Dance--Donna Summer
6 Three Times a Lady--Commodores
7 Still the Same--Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
8 Bluer than Blue--Michael Johnson
9 Runaway--Jefferson Starship
10 Copacabana (At the Copa)--Barry Manilow

Singles entering the chart were She's Always a Woman by Billy Joel (#94); Steppin' in a Slide Zone by the Moody Blues (#95); Whenever I Call You "Friend" by Kenny Loggins (#96); I Will Still Love You by Stonebolt (#99); and I Can't Wait Any Longer by Bill Anderson (#100).

Diplomacy
China and Japan signed a 10-year peace and friendship treaty in Peking (Beijing). According to Japanese Foreign Minister Sunao Sonoda, China dropped its claim to the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, claimed also by Japan and Taiwan. Mr. Sonoda also revealed that China would terminate the 1950 Sino-Soviet friendship treaty in April 1979.

Energy
The U.S. Energy Department announced that a major advance in controlled nuclear fusion had been made by Princeton University scientists, using a magnetic "bottle," a donut-shaped device called Torus Tokamak, originally developed in the U.S.S.R.

Disasters
40 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed when a bus plunged into a river in Uganda.

Football
NFL
Pre-season
New England Patriots' receiver Darryl Stingley was paralyzed from the chest down after being hit by Oakland Raiders' safety Jack Tatum on a crossing pattern over the middle.



25 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Flashdance...What a Feeling--Irene Cara (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Codo--DÖF (2nd week at #1)

Diplomacy
The New York Times published a letter ostensibly written by 16-year-old Andrei Berezhkov, son of a Soviet diplomat stationed in Washington, in which he stated "I hate my country" and that he wanted to stay in the United States. It was known that he had left his home on August 10 and had driven around Washington. The Soviet embassy claimed the letter was a forgery, while the U.S. State Department said it would not let young Mr. Berezhkov leave the country without being interviewed.

Environment
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration used helicopters to spray marijuana plants in White County, Georgia with the herbicide Paraquat, which had caused more than 1,000 deaths since the 1960s.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that prices paid by producers for finished goods had risen 0.1% in July.

Football
CFL
British Columbia (4-1) 43 @ Edmonton (3-2) 13

The Lions took advantage of turnovers as they handed the defending Grey Cup champion Eskimos their worst home defeat since moving into Commonwealth Stadium in 1978. Edmonton quarterback Warren Moon threw 5 interceptions, and backup Matt Dunigan threw another. Four of the interceptions off Mr. Moon came in the 1st half, when the Lions scored 29 points in the 2nd quarter and built a 36-3 halftime lead. B.C. defensive tackle Nick Hebeler suffered a season-ending knee injury. The game marked a successful return to Edmonton for B.C. head coach Don Matthews, who had been an assistant coach with the Eskimos from 1977-1982.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): The Twist (Yo, Twist!)--The Fat Boys with Stupid Def Vocals by Chubby Checker

Died on this date
Jean-Michel Basquiat, 27. U.S. artist. Mr. Basquiat, a New York City graffiti painter who went on to acclaim as a Neo-Expressionist/Primitivist painter, died of a heroin overdose.

Politics and government
U Sein Lwin resigned as President of Burma after just 16 days in office.

The day after being approved by the United States Senate, Dick Thornburgh was sworn in as U.S. Attorney General. Outgoing Attorney General Edwin Meese announced that he had signed an order providing for the appointment of independent prosecutors to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by members of Congress. Mr. Meese, who himself had been the target of such investigation by independent prosecutors, said the action would mean tht Congress would be subject to the same kind of investigations that applied to the executive branch of the U.S. government.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that the prices charged by producers for finished goods had risen 0.5% in July.

Football
CFL
Edmonton (3-2) 14 @ Hamilton (3-2) 22

The Tiger-Cats made 5 interceptions off Edmonton quarterback Tracy Ham as they beat the defending Grey Cup champion Eskimos at Ivor Wynne Stadium. Despite Mr. Ham's poor performance, Edmonton head coach Joe Faragalli refused to take him out of the game.



10 years ago
1998

Economics and finance
Swiss banks agreed to pay $1.25 billion as restitution to Holocaust survivors to settle claims for their assets.