August 3, 2008

2,000 years ago
8

War
Roman Empire forces of General Tiberius defeated the Dalmatae on the river Bosna.

1,100 years ago
908

War
An invading Hungarian force defeated an East Frankish army under Duke Burchard of Thuringia in the Battle of Eisenach.

230 years ago
1778

Opera
The opera house La Scala opened in Milan, with a performance of Antonio Salieri's Europa riconosciuta.

200 years ago
1808

Born on this date
Hamilton Fish. U.S. politician. Mr. Fish, a Whig, represented New York's 6th District in the United States House of Representatives from 1843-1845 before serving as Lieutenant Governor of New York in 1848, Governor of New York in 1849-1850, and United States Senator from New York from 1851-1857. Mr. Fish, who became a Republican after the Whig party collapsed in the mid-1850s, was U.S. Secretary of State under President U.S. Grant from 1869-1877, and was considered one of the greatest Secretaries of State in American history. He died on September 7, 1893 at the age of 85.

120 years ago
1888

Politics and government
Edgar Dewdney, who had served as Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Territories from December 3, 1881-July 1, 1888, was elected as a Conservative candidate to the Canadian House of Commons in Assiniboia East. Hayter Reed succeeded Mr. Dewdney as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, with Amédée Forget appointed as his assistant.

90 years ago
1918

War
Canadian air ace Billy Bishop was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in London; he had recently downed 25 German planes in 12 days, bringing his total to 72.

80 years ago
1928

Died on this date
Clifford Thompson; Jim Moss. U.S. criminals. Mr. Thompson, a white man, and Mr. Moss, a Negro, were executed at Georgia State Prison in Milledgeville for the August 5, 1927 murder of Coleman Osborne.

B.O. Ashworth. U.S. criminal. C. Lawson. U.S. crime victim. Mrs. Ashworth shot and killed Miss Lawson in a newspaper office in Waco, Texas and then poisoned herself to death.

Crime
Former U.S. Congressman Charles Wharton and Charles "Limpy" Cleaver were sentenced in Chicago for complicity in the $133,000 Evergreen Park mail robbery on February 25, 1928. Mr. Wharton was sentenced to 2 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, while Mr. Cleaver was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Aviation
Polish aviators Major Louis Idzikowski and Major Casimir Kubala left Le Bourget Field in Paris, bound for New York City. Their plane went down in the sea off Portugal and they were rescued by the German steamer Samos.

70 years ago
1948

Movies
The International Film Festival in Marienbad named the Polish entry Oswiecim as the year's best film, and named William Wyler as best director for The Best Years of Our Lives.

Exploration
Charles Hubbard, U.S. Weather Bureau chief of Arctic operations, discovered a cache of documents left by Admiral Robert Peary on Ellesmere Island in the Northwest Territories during a polar expedition in 1905-1906. The documents included copies of records left by British explorer Sir George Nares.

Politics and government
The Hungarian Parliament elected Deputy Premier Arpad Szakasits, former Social Democratic Party leader, to succeed Zoltan Tildy as President.

The Communist-led People's Council in Berlin approved a draft constitution for a German People's Republic providing for a coalition government and bicameral parliament.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities heard testimony from Time editor Whittaker Chambers, who claimed that he had served as a Communist underground courier during the 1930s. Among those implicated by Mr. Chambers as part of his underground "ring" was Alger Hiss, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former State Department director of special political affairs.

60 years ago
1958

Died on this date
Peter Collins, 27. U.K. auto racing driver. Mr. Collins participated in 35 Formula One races fro 1952-1958, with 3 wins and 9 podium finishes. He was killed in a crash in the German Grand Prix, 15 days after winning the British Grand Prix.

Diplomacy
Following a four-day meeting in Peking between U.S.S.R. Premier Nikita Khrushchev and Chinese President Mao Tse-tung (Mao Zedong), a joint communique was issued expressing full agreement in all matters of foreign policy.

Defense
The U.S. Navy atomic submarine Nautilus, under the command of U.S. Navy Commander William Anderson, made the first underwater crossing of the North Pole. Nautilus had left Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on July 23 on Operation Sunshine, a top-secret voyage not publicized until later in the month.

Following domestic opposition and a Soviet protest, Israel halted its airlift of supplies and fuel for British forces in Jordan.

Economics and finance
The U.S.A. and Turkey announced a $359-million Turkish aid program, to be financed by the United States, the World Bank, and Western Europe.

Disasters
Sherman Krause, 20, of Edmonton, rescued three children and an elderly man whose small boat in Alberta's Cooking Lake had been rammed by a heavy outboard cabin cruiser. Mr. Krause was on the shore, 125 yards away, when he saw the larger boat go over the smaller boat. Mr. Krause, who was preparing to launch his own boat, quickly motored out to the scene and put the victims into his own boat. Another man who had been in the smaller boat clung to the boat that had just rammed it.

Auto racing
Tony Brooks of the United Kingdom won the German Grand Prix at Nürburgring, with fellow Briton Roy Salvadori second in a race that was marred by the fatal crash of another British driver, Peter Collins.

50 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): The Orange and the Green/(The Puppet Song) Whiskey on a Sunday--The Irish Rovers

#1 single in France: Rain and Tears--Aphrodite's Child (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): La nostra favola--Jimmy Fontana

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Jumpin' Jack Flash--The Rolling Stones (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): I Pretend--Des O'Connor

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Mony Mony--Tommy James and the Shondells

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Hello, I Love You--The Doors

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Ich Bau' Dir Ein Schloss--Heintje (6th week at #1)
2 Times were When--The Cats
3 Camp--Sir Henry and his Butlers
4 Sunny Girl--The Hep Stars
5 Angel of the Morning--Merrilee Rush
6 You Don't Know What You Mean to Me--Sam & Dave
7 Callow-La-Vita--Raymond Froggatt
8 Day's--The Kinks
9 Young Girl--The Union Gap
10 Honey--Bobby Goldsboro

Singles entering the chart were Hush...Not a Word to Mary by John Rowles (#34); Nathaliê by Mo & Po (#37); and Last Night in Soho by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich (#40).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Lady Willpower--Gary Puckett and the Union Gap
2 Grazing in the Grass--Hugh Masakela
3 Jumpin' Jack Flash--The Rolling Stones
4 Hurdy Gurdy Man--Donovan
5 Classical Gas--Mason Williams
6 Hello, I Love You--The Doors
7 Stoned Soul Picnic--The 5th Dimension
8 Turn Around, Look at Me--The Vogues
9 Indian Lake--The Cowsills
10 People Got to Be Free--The Rascals

Singles entering the chart were Mr. Businessman by Ray Stevens (#76); Can't You Find Another Way (Of Doing It) by Sam & Dave (#82); On the Road Again by Canned Heat (#86); Morning Dew by Lulu (#92); Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do by Betty Wright (#95); I've Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do) by Eddie Floyd (#96); Tell Someone You Love Them by Dino, Desi and Billy (#98); and Sudden Stop by Percy Sledge (#99).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Lady Willpower--Gary Puckett and the Union Gap (4th week at #1)
2 D.W. Washburn--The Monkees
3 Stoned Soul Picnic--The 5th Dimension
4 Hurdy Gurdy Man--Donovan
5 Jumpin' Jack Flash--The Rolling Stones
6 Grazing in the Grass--Hugh Masakela
7 Indian Lake--The Cowsills
8 The Horse--Cliff Nobles & Co.
9 The Look of Love--Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
10 Pictures of Matchstick Men--The Status Quo

Singles entering the chart were Don't Give Up by Petula Clark (#74); Baby, Come Back by the Equals (#81); You've Had Better Times by Peter and Gordon (#84); Lydia Purple by the Collectors (#89); I Can't Stop Dancing by Archie Bell & the Drells (#90); Happy by Nancy Sinatra (#93); Do it Again by the Beach Boys (#94); Light My Fire by Jose Feliciano (#95); I Guess I'll Have to Cry, Cry, Cry by James Brown and the Famous Flames (#96); Slip Away by Clarence Carter (#97); Brown Eyed Woman by Bill Medley (#98); and I Got the Sweetest Feeling by Jackie Wilson (#100).

Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 You Keep Me Hangin' On--The Vanilla Fudge
2 Lady Willpower--Gary Puckett and the Union Gap
3 Hurdy Gurdy Man--Donovan
4 Mr. Bojangles--Jerry Jeff Walker
5 Jumpin' Jack Flash--The Rolling Stones
6 Tuesday Afternoon (Forever Afternoon)--The Moody Blues
7 The Legend of Xanadu--Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich
8 Sky Pilot--Eric Burdon and the Animals
9 If You Knew--Gainsborough Gallery
10 Indian Lake--The Cowsills
Pick hit of the week: Hello, I Love You--The Doors

World events
A left-wing military coup reportedly led by paratroop commander Captain Marien Ngouabi deposed Republic of Congo--Brazzaville President Alphonse Massamba-Debat.

40 years ago
1978

Music
Arthur Fiedler conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra in an outdoor concert before over 30,000 people on an island in the Grand River in Brantford, Ontario in the first Canadian appearance by the Pops in 20 years. It was a benefit concert to raise money for renovation of the Capitol Theatre, home of the Brantford Symphony Orchestra.

Terrorism
Palestinian terrorists set off a bomb in a crowded market in Tel Aviv, killing one Israeli and wounding 50. Israeli jets struck at Palestinian bases in Lebanon five hours later, wounding five Lebanese civilians, according to the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Politics and government
Robert T. Griffin, protege of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Tip O'Neill, was appointed to a newly-created federal job. He had been fired on July 28 from his post as deputy director of the General Services Administration, a move that severely strained relations between Mr. O'Neill and the administration of President Jimmy Carter. The dismissal resulted from a dispute between Mr. Griffin and GSA Administrator Jay Solomon over control of the agency. Mr. Griffin's new post as "senior assistant" to Robert Strauss, the Carter administration's chief inflation adviser, paid $50,000 per year, the same as his GSA position.

Economics and finance
The New York Stock Exchange recorded a volume of 65.4 million shares traded, breaking the former record of 63.49 million shares traded on April 17, 1978. The ticker tape ran as much as 22 minutes late during the record trading, and the Dow Jones industrial average closed at 886.87, up 3.38 for the day.

Sport
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip officially opened the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton; it also marked the opening of Commonwealth Stadium.

25 years ago
1983

Died on this date
Carolyn Jones, 53. U.S. actress. Miss Jones was nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting performance in The Bachelor Party (1957), but was best known for playing Morticia Addams in the television comedy series The Addams Family (1964-1966).

Defense
The U.S.A. ordered the aircraft carrier Coral Sea to postpone its departure from the Mediterranean Sea, and said that it had sent antiaircraft weapons to Chad as well as three military advisers to train Chadian soldiers in their use.

Politics and government
U.S. President Ronald Reagan addressed the convention of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women in Washington, but made a poor impression with such comments as "if it wasn't for women, us men would still be walking around in skin suits carrying clubs."

30 years ago
1988

World events
Matthias Rust, the young West German who had flown a plane into Moscow's Red Square in 1987, was released from a Soviet prison. He was officially expelled by the U.S.S.R. and flown to Frankfurt. His release was reportedly orderd by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.

Defense
U.S. President Ronald Reagan vetoed the $299.6-billion defense authorization bill for fiscal 1989, charging that it would weaken the country's defenses. Mr. Reagan particularly objected to cutbacks in authorization of funds for the Strategic Defense Initiative and MX missile program.

Scandal
The United States House of Representatives voted 413-3 to impeach U.S. District Judge Alcee Hastings of Florida for high crimes and misdemeanors. The principal charge was that Judge Hastings had conspired to obtain a $150,000 bribe from defendants in a racketeering case before his court. Though he had been acquitted in a criminal trial, a panel of a federal appeals court later concluded that Judge Hastings had been guilty and that he had won his acquittal through perjury. Mr. Hastings, the 11th judge to be impeached, now faced trial by the United States Senate.