August 30, 2008

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Michelle Kent!

580 years ago
1428

Died on this date
Shōkō, 27. Emperor of Japan, 1412-1428. Shōkō, born Mihito, acceded to the throne upon the abdicaton of his father Go-Komatsu. He regularly practiced abstinence and fasting, which may have led to his death. Shōkō left no heir, and was succeeded as Emperor by his third cousin Go-Hanazono.

525 years ago
1483

Died on this date
Louis XI, 60. King of France, 1461-1483. Louis XI, nicknamed "The Universal Spider" for his scheming character, succeeded his father Charles VII on the throne. He was succeeded by his son Charles VIII.

100 years ago
1908

Born on this date
Fred MacMurray. U.S. actor. Mr. MacMurray was mainly known for comic roles in movies such as The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and Son of Flubber (1963), but was also memorable as a "heavy" in films such as Double Indemnity (1944); The Caine Mutiny (1954); and The Apartment (1960). He was best known to a later generation as the star of the television comedy series My Three Sons (1960-1972). Mr. MacMurray died of pneumonia on November 5, 1991 at the age of 83 after battling leukemia for a decade.

90 years ago
1918

Died on this date
Moisei Uritsky, 45. Russian revolutionist. Mr. Uritsky was a leader of the Bolshevik Revolution in1917 and was chief of the secret police commission Cheka in Petrograd. He was assassinated in Petrograd by Imperial Russian Army cadet Leonid Kannegisser in retaliation for the execution of Mr. Kannegisser' friend and other officers.

Crime
Socialist Revolutionary Party member Fanni Kaplan shot and seriously wounded Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin in Moscow. Along with the assassination of Moisei Uritsky, this prompted the decree for Red Terror and the revival of capital punishment.

80 years ago
1928

Died on this date
Wilhelm Wien, 64. German physicist. Dr. Wien was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1911 "for his discoveries regarding the laws governing the radiation of heat."

Martin L. Miller, 22. U.S. criminal. Mr. Miller, a Negro, was executed in Sing Sing Prison, New York for the March 19, 1928 murder of Mrs. Helen Kimball, a schoolteacher who had surprised him during the robbery of her apartment in Brooklyn.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Frank Kellogg arrived in Dublin aboard the U.S. cruiser Detroit, coming from the Paris peace conference.

Politics and government
U.S. Senator Joseph T. Robinson (Arkansas) accepted the Democratic Party U.S. vice presidential nomination.

Disasters
Six miners were killed in a blow-out at Coal Creek No.1 East in British Columbia.

70 years ago
1938

Died on this date
Max Factor, Sr., 65. Polish-born U.S. make-up artist and businessman. Mr. Factor, born Maksymilian Faktorowicz in Lodz, lived in Berlin and Moscow before moving to the United States in 1904. He founded the cosmetics firm Max Factor & Company in Los Angeles in 1909. Mr. Factor popularized the term "makeup" as a noun as well as a verb, and was given an honourary Academy Award in 1929 for his contributions to motion pictures.

60 years ago
1948

On the radio
The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Elliott Lewis, on MBS

Radio
Hooperatings reported that the most popular evening programs in the United States were Take it or Leave It; Stop the Music; and The Horace Heidt Show.

Diplomacy
U.S.S.R. Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov, meeting with Western envoys in Moscow, agreed to shift talks on a Berlin settlement to Allied military headquarters in that city.

The International Refugee Organization became an official United Nations specialized agency after Denmark ratified the IRO charter, becoming the 15th nation to do so.

The International Red Cross ended a 10-day conference in Stockholm after appealing for a ban on nuclear weapons and revision of the rules of war to emphasize protection of civilians.

World events
Former Czechoslovakian delegate to the United Nations Jan Papanek claimed knowledge of a medical report which showed that Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk had been murdered before being thrown through a window of the Foreign Ministry in Prague on March 10, 1948.

Defense
Registration began for the peacetime draft, the second in U.S. history.

Politics and government
Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Adolf Berle told the House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities that former State Department employee Alger Hiss had advocated a "pro-Russian" policy while employed in the Department during World War II but that he had been investigated and cleared of charges of being a Communist agent. Alexander Stevens, a Czech national and alleged Communist spy, appeared before a House Un-American Activities subcommittee while in New York to face deportation hearings. Although he refused to answer the subcommittee's questions, Time editor Whittaker Chambers identified him as the head of the Communist espionage network in the United States during the 1930s.

New York's American Labor Party endorsed the Progressive Party U.S. presidential ticket of Henry Wallace and Glen Taylor.

Transportation
Kaiser-Frazer announced plans to enter the low-price auto field in competition with Chevrolet, Ford, and Plymouth.

Football
WIFU
Winnipeg (1-2) 0 @ Calgary (2-0) 30

Paul Rowe scored 2 touchdowns, Harry Hood scored a touchdown and convert, and Bill Pullar and Dave Berry added TDs for the Stampeders as they routed the Blue Bombers at Mewata Stadium. Bill Wusyk added 3 converts.

50 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): The Purple People Eater--Sheb Wooley (5th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Sail Along Silvery Moon--Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra (8th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Hello, le soleil brille--Annie Cordy (25th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): When--The Kalin Twins

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare)--Domenico Modugno (2nd week at #1)
--Dean Martin
2 Little Star--The Elegants
3 Patricia--Perez Prado and his Orchestra
4 Bird Dog--The Everly Brothers
5 Poor Little Fool--Ricky Nelson
6 Everybody Loves a Lover--Doris Day
7 Just a Dream--Jimmy Clanton and the Rockets
8 My True Love--Jack Scott
9 Fever--Peggy Lee
10 When--The Kalin Twins

Singles entering the chart were Over and Over, with versions by Bobby Day, and Thurston Harris (#51); Carol by Chuck Berry (#54); The Green Mosquito by the Tune Rockers (#67); Where the Blue of the Night by Tommy Mara (#70); and My Lucky Love by Doug Franklin with the Bluenotes (#73).

Died on this date
John C.H. Lee, 71. U.S. military officer. Lieutenant General "Court House" Lee commanded the Communications Zone in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. He was an engineer with a reputation for getting things done, but his belief in the outer forms of strong discipline made him disliked by many, and he was given the nickname, based on his initials, "Jesus Christ Himself."

Éric de Bisschop, 66. French explorer. Mr. Bisschop had a 30-year career as a seafarer in the Pacific Ocean. He was investigating the theory that ancient Polynesian and South American people maintained contact by sailing across the South Pacific Ocean, but died when his raft broke up on a reef at Rakahanga atoll in the northern Cook Islands.

Frank Demaree, 48. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Demaree was an outfielder with the Chicago Cubs (1932-1933, 1935-1938); New York Giants (1939-1941); Boston Braves (1941-1942); St. Louis Cardinals (1943); and St. Louis Browns (1944), batting .299 with 72 home runs and 591 runs batted in in 1,155 games. With one more hit or one fewer at bat, Mr. Demaree would have had a .300 career major league batting average. He played with pennant-winning teams in 1932, 1935, 1938, and 1943, batting .214 with 3 homers and 6 RBIs in 12 World Series games. Mr. Demaree's best season was probably 1936, when he batted .350 with 16 homers and 96 RBIs. He had a similar season a year later, hitting .324 with 17 home runs and 115 RBIs. Mr. Demaree played in the Pacific Coast League with the Sacramento Senators (1930-1932); Los Angeles Angels (1934); and Portland (1944-1945). In 1934, he hit .383 with 45 home runs and 173 RBIs in 186 games and was named the league's Most Valuable Player. Mr. Demaree died of internal hemorrhaging after being ill for some time, perhaps because of heavy drinking. He was inducted into the PCL Hall of Fame in 2009.

Defense
In a note delivered to the U.S.A. and U.K., the U.S.S.R. accepted U.S. proposals for Big Three talks in Geneva on an international nuclear test ban.

Energy
U.S. and U.K. delegates to the second International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Geneva pledged to end all secrecy curbs applied to their research on the control of thermonuclear reactions.

France announced that she had developed techniques to transform natural uranium into a fissionable form capable of detonating nuclear weapons or powering industrial reactors.

Society
A Louisiana law requiring that blood plasma shipped into the state be labelled according to race went into effect.

Football
CFL
IRFU
Ottawa (1-2) 9 @ Montreal (1-2) 11

ORFU
Detroit (0-2) 6 @ Kitchener-Waterloo (2-0) 41

Pat Abbruzzi scored a touchdown in the 3rd quarter to help the Alouettes edge the Rough Riders at Lansdowne Park. Bill Bewley converted and added a field goal, and Montreal quarterback Sam Etcheverry punted for a single. George Brancato scored the Ottawa touchdown in the 4th quarter; Mack Yoho's field goal accounted for the other Ottawa score.

Bernie Custis and Mr. Mitchell each scored 2 touchdowns for the Dutchmen as they routed the Raiders at Kitchener Stadium. Dave West and Royal Bailey also scored K-W TDs, with Mike Norcia adding 4 converts and Bob Celeri punting for a single. Mr. Wegrynoski scored a touchdown for Detroit.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Angel of the Morning--Merrilee Rush (2nd week at #1)

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 People Got to Be Free--The Rascals
2 The Snake--Al Wilson
3 Down at Lulu's--Ohio Express
4 Harper Valley P.T.A.--Ricki Page
5 Born to Be Wild--Steppenwolf
6 On the Road Again--Canned Heat
7 Eyes of a New York Woman--B.J. Thomas
8 You Keep Me Hangin' On--The Vanilla Fudge
9 Tell Someone You Love Them--Dino, Desi and Billy
10 Girl from the North Country--Tom Northcott

Singles entering the chart were Street Fighting Man by the Rolling Stones (#25); Cinnamon by Derek (#26); The Weight by Jackie DeShannon (#27); I've Gotta Get a Message to You by the Bee Gees (#28); and Time for Everyone by the Northwest Company (#29).

Edmonton's top 10 (CJCA)
1 Sunshine of Your Love--Cream
2 Sealed with a Kiss--Gary Lewis and the Playboys
3 You Keep Me Hangin' On--The Vanilla Fudge
4 Sunshine Girl--Herman's Hermits
5 Hello, I Love You--The Doors
6 Born to Be Wild--Steppenwolf
7 Harper Valley P.T.A.--Jeannie C. Riley
8 Mr. Businessman--Ray Stevens
9 Morning Dew--Lulu
10 Pictures of Matchstick Men--The Status Quo
Pick hit of the week: Six Man Band--The Association
New this week: Do What You Gotta Do--Bobby Vee
I Would Be the One--Kensington Market
Please Return Your Love to Me--The Temptations
The Boy with the Green Eyes--The Angels

Died on this date
William Talman, 53. U.S. actor. Mr. Talman was best known for playing District Attorney Hamilton Burger in the television series Perry Mason (1957-1966). His movies included I Married a Communist (1950) and The Hitch-Hiker (1953), in which he played memorably villainous roles. Mr. Talman, a heavy smoker, died of lung cancer, and filmed two public service spots shortly before his death, warning against the dangers of smoking.



Music
Four days after its release in North America, the single Hey Jude/Revolution by the Beatles was released in the United Kingdom on Apple Records, as one of four singles released that day to launch the label; the others were Those were the Days by Mary Hopkin; Sour Milk Sea by Jackie Lomax; and Thingumybob by the Black Dyke Mills Band.

Labour
The government of Canada cancelled the Winter Works Program first started in 1958-59.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Three Times a Lady--Commodores (2nd week at #1)

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Bart Hendricks!

Died on this date
Paul Nielsen, 31. Canadian boxer. Mr. Nilsen, nicknamed "The Investment," was a heavyweight from Toronto who began his professional career in 1969 and compiled a record of 14-15. His career was interrupted in the mid-1970s by various personal problems, including scrapes with the law. On December 10, 1976, Mr. Nielsen knocked out George Jerome in 8 rounds to become the first heavyweight champion of the new Canadian Professional Boxing Council, and was scheduled to fight Canadian Boxing Federation champion George Chuvalo in October 1978 to unify the title, but Mr. Nielsen was killed in a car accident in South Carolina.

Economics and finance
Major U.S. banks raised their prime lending rate to 9 1/4% because of Federal Reserve actions designed to fight inflation and prop up the dollar, which continued to slide in all markets except London. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that wages had risen a record 2.1% for the second quarter of 1978, while the consumer price index had risen 2.9% during the same period. A governor of the Federal Reserve warned that inflation might amount to at least 8% through 1979.

Football
CFL
Calgary (3-3-1) 16 @ Ottawa (6-1) 27
British Columbia (3-3-2) 10 @ Edmonton (6-1) 18

Tom Clements and Condredge Holloway each threw a touchdown pass for the Rough Riders as they scored 17 points in the 2nd half to overcome a 16-10 deficit and defeat the Stampeders before 26,665 fans at Lansdowne Park in a game televised nationally on CTV. For defensive back Billy Hardee, it was his first Canadian Football League game and his only game in a Calgary uniform, wearing #17.

Edmonton defensive back Joe Hollimon returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter to help the Eskimos beat the Lions before 42,768 fans in the first Canadian Football League game ever played at Commonwealth Stadium. Larry Key scored a TD for the Lions on a 26-yard pass from Gary Keithley in the 2nd quarter.

CIAU
WIFL
British Columbia (1-0) 48 @ Saskatchewan (0-1) 7

Gord Penn rushed for 3 touchdowns and Barry Muis caught passes from Dan Smith for 2 more TDs as the Thunderbirds routed the Huskies at Griffith Stadium in Saskatoon.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Flashdance...What a Feeling--Irene Cara (4th week at #1)

Space
The U.S. space shuttle Challenger lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida to begin its third mission, STS-8. The crew included the first Negro American to go into space--U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Guion Bluford--and the oldest U.S. astronaut to date, Dr. William Thornton, 54. The other crew members were Dick Truly, Commander; Daniel Brandenstein, Pilot; and Dale Gardner, Mission Specialist.

War
The day after two U.S. Marines had been killed by Muslims attacking Beirut, three French soldiers and a French embassy policeman in Beirut were killed during attacks by Muslim militias. U.S. President Ronald Reagan, in response to letters from U.S. Congressional leaders, said that the "continued presence of these U.S. forces in Lebanon is essential" and that he would keep Congress informed. Israel said that it had agreed to a U.S. request to delay its withdrawal from the Shouf mountains southeast of Beirut.

Diplomacy
U.S. Central American envoy Richard Stone met in Costa Rica with representatives of the Salvadoran rebel movement. It was reported that the rebels said they would not disarm and participate in elections without assurances on sharing power.

Crime
The Filipino government identified Rolando Galman y Dawang, a "gun for hire," as the man who was alleged to have assassinated political opposition leader Benigno Aquino on his arrival at Manila International Airport on August 21.

20 years ago
1988

Died on this date
Jack Marshall, 76. Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1972. Sir Jack, a member of the National Party, represented Mount Victoria (1946-1954) and Karori (1954-1975) in Parliament, and held several cabinet posts, most notably Deputy Prime Minister (1957, 1960-1972). He served as Prime Minister from February-December 1972, and then as Leader of the Opposition until resigning the party leadership in 1974. Sir Jack died in England while en route to a conference of the United Bible Societies.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that leading economic indicators had declined 0.8% in July.

Swimming
Canadian Vicki Keith staggered ashore from Lake Ontario, ending her marathon swim of all five Great Lakes and setting the women's world distance record of 38 kilometres for the butterfly stroke. Miss Keith had started her marathon on July 1.

10 years ago
1998

War
Armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and their Angolan and Zimbabwean allies recaptured Matadi and the Inga dams in the western DRC from Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) and Rwandan troops.