August 29, 2008

1,300 years ago
708

Economics and finance
Copper coins were minted in Japan for the first time.

510 years ago
1498

Exploration
Vasco da Gama decided to depart Calicut, India and return to Portugal.

475 years ago
1533

Died on this date
Atahualpa, 36. Incan Emperor, 1532-1533. Atahualpa assumed the throne upon the execution of his half-brother Huáscar in a civil war following the death of their father Huayna Capac. Atahualpa was the last Sapa Inca (sovereign emperor) before the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. He was captured by forces of Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro at Cajamarca, Peru and was executed there by garroting after being baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. Atahualpa was succeeded on the throne by puppet Emperor Túpac Huallpa.

300 years ago
1708

War
Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville led a party of French, Algonquin, and Abenaki warriors in a raid on Haverhill, a small frontier community in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. 16 people were killed and up to 14 captured as the raiding party was chased away by local militia.

280 years ago
1728

Europeana
The city of Nuuk in Greenland was founded as the fort of Godt-Haab by royal Governor Claus Paarss.

250 years ago
1758

War
British forces commanded by General James Wolfe departed Louisbourg, Nova Scotia to destroy Acadian fishing camps and settlements along the Northumberland Strait, from Miramichi north into the Gaspé region.

Politics and government
The Treaty of Easton established the first American Indian reservation, for the Lenape at Indian Mills, New Jersey.

240 years ago
1778

War
British and American forces battled indecisively in the Battle of Rhode Island.

150 years ago
1858

Canadiana
James Hector, geologist with the Palliser Expedition, was knocked unconscious in a fall from his kicking horse near the Continental Divide in British Columbia. Kicking Horse Pass later became the route of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

125 years ago
1883

Technology
Thomas Ahearn, head of the Ottawa Street Railway Company, presided over a demonstration of his pioneering electric stove at the Windsor Hotel in Ottawa, Ontario. This is believed to have been the world's very first dinner cooked on an all-electric stove.

110 years ago
1898

Business
The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was founded by Frank Seiberling in Akron, Ohio.

90 years ago
1918

War
The French commune of Bapaume was taken by the New Zealand Division in the Hundred Days Offensive. Brutinel's Brigade, the first fully motorized brigade in the British Empire armies, advanced the front line by approximately one kilometre by seizing Bench Farm and Victoria Copse. The Canadian Corps Cyclist Battalion established posts up to the Scarpe River. Only 39 members of the 22nd (Quebec) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force answered roll call after taking and defending the French village of Cherisy.

80 years ago
1928

Died on this date
Hulda Schulz, 22. U.S. schoolteacher. Miss Schulz poisoned herself to death in Ringoes, New Jersey.

70 years ago
1938

Transportation
Malton Airport opened northwest of Toronto.

60 years ago
1948

Died on this date
Al Rogari, 27. U.S. baseball umpire. Mr. Rogari was in his third year as an umpire in the Class C Border League, and was driving from Auburn to Ogdensburg, New York with umpiring partner James Donahue when their car crashed. Mr. Rogari was killed, while Mr. Donahue suffered only cuts and bruises.

Literature
The City of Frankfurt, Germany gave the $3,000 Goethe Prize to novelist and playwright Fritz von Unruh, whose writings had been banned by the Nazis.

War
Greek government forces opened a new offensive against Communist guerrillas in the Vitsi Mountain area of northwestern Greece.

Diplomacy
The Communist-dominated World Congress of Intellectuals concluded a five-day meeting in Wroclaw (formerly Breslau), Poland with a strong condemnation of U.S. foreign policy. Progressive Party U.S. presidential candidate Henry Wallace and physicist Albert Einstein sent messages to the Congress deploring the postwar growth of international tensions.

Disasters
A five-day heat wave ended after bringing record high temperatures to most of the United States, causing 218 deaths and extensive crop damage.

50 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): When--The Kalin Twins (2nd week at #1)

Space
The U.S.S.R. announced that Soviet scientists had sent two dogs in a rocket to a record altitude of 279 miles and brought them back safely.

War
Communist Chinese artillery bombarded the Nationalist-held Tan Islands.

World events
New York authorities arrested four Cubans, seizing a secret cache of ammunition intended for shipment to guerrillas in Cuba.

Defense
The United States Air Force Academy opened in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

U.S. Defense Secretary Neil McElroy announced plans for a series of 10 U.S. nuclear tests this autumn in the Nevada proving grounds.

Politics and government
Former Finnish Prime Minister Karl August Fagerholm formed a five-party coalition cabinet to replace Prime Minister Reino Kuuskoski's caretaker government, ending a four-month cabinet crisis.

40 years ago
1968

Died on this date
Ulysses S. Grant III, 87. U.S. military officer. Major General Grant, a grandson of General of the Army and U.S. President U.S. Grant, served in both world wars, and was in charge of U.S. civil defense during World War II. He was an engineer, and served on the National Capital Park and Planning Commission during peacetime, and also supervised the Park Police.

Space
The government of Canada cancelled support for an observatory under construction on Mount Kobau, British Columbia.

War
It was reported that 3,000 civilians in Vietnam had been killed in terrorist attacks since January 1, and that the Viet Cong had kidnapped 4,850.

30 years ago
1978

Diplomacy
Chinese Communist Party Chairman Hua Guofeng completed a visit to Eastern Europe, symbolizing a historic break with China's traditional isolation. He visited Romania from August 17-20 and Yugoslavia from August 21-29, delivering sharp attacks on the U.S.S.R. in both countries.

Politics and government
Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle, beset by protests, vowed to remain in office until the end of his term.

Economics and finance
The U.S. dollar fell sharply in value after a $3-billion trade deficit, far worse than expected, was reported for July.

Football
CFL
Montreal (4-3) 10 @ Winnipeg (3-4) 36

The Bombers erupted for 33 points in the 2nd quarter and coasted to victory the Alouettes before a Winnipeg Stadium record crowd of 27,201. Winnipeg quarterback Dieter Brock threw 4 touchdown passes, 2 to Richard Crump. Larry Lawrence of the Alouettes, making his first start as a CFL quarterback in 7 years, snapped his Achilles tendon early in the game, an injury which ended his career. Mr. Lawrence broke into pro football with the Calgary Stampeders in 1970, where he became known for his long hair and white shoes. He was a surprise cut in 1971, and moved on to the Edmonton Eskimos that year before retiring. Mr. Lawrence came out of retirement a few years later, and managed to land a backup spot with the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He moved on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before ending up back in the CFL with the Alouettes in 1978. Mr. Lawrence dressed for two games as a backup before getting the starting assignment in Winnipeg, where he completed 2 of 3 passes for 31 yards before his injury.

25 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Flashdance...What a Feeling--Irene Cara (7th week at #1)

Died on this date
Simon Oakland, 68. U.S. actor. Mr. Oakland, a trained concert violinist, played character roles in numerous movies, television programs, and plays--usually cast as a tough guy--from 1956 until his death from cancer the day after his 68th birthday. His movies included I Want to Live! (1958); Psycho (1960); West Side Story (1961); The Sand Pebbles (1966); and Bullitt (1968).

Diplomacy
Soviet leader Yuri Andropov distributed a note to Western countries along with an interview published August 26 in Pravda in which he said that the U.S.S.R. was prepared to dismantle all missiles it removed from Europe if talks in Geneva on reducing intermediate-range missiles in Europe ended successfully. Mr. Andropov reiterated his previous proposal to reduce the number of medium-range missiles deployed in Europe to the number already deployed by the United Kingdom and France, providing that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization also cancelled the deployment of U.S. missiles scheduled for December. The U.S.A. and West Germany reiterated their position that the French and British arsenals were independent and could not be counted as NATO weapons.

Politics and government
Brian Mulroney, who had been elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada on June 11, won a seat in the House of Commons when he captured a federal by-election in the Nova Scotia riding of Central Nova.

Sport
The Pan-American Games concluded in Caracas. The United States won the greatest number of medals, followed by Cuba, and Canada third with 108.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Perfect--Fairground Attraction (2nd week at #1)

Space
The U.S.S.R. mission Soyuz TM-6 launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and docked with space station Mir for a duration of almost 4 months. The crew consisted of Commander Vladimir Lyakhov, Flight Engineer Valeri Polyakov, and Research Cosmonaut Abdul Mohmand, who became the first Afghan to go into space.

10 years ago
1998

Football
CIAU
Pre-season
Saskatchewan (1-0) 24 Alberta (0-1) 21 @ Lloydminster

Kelly McNairn returned a fumbled punt 30 yards for a touchdown in the 4th quarter, providing the winning margin for the Huskies as they defeated the Golden Bears before 500 fans at Armstrong Field. Tony Chad rushed 2 yards for the first Saskatchewan TD in the 2nd quarter, with Matt Kellett adding 2 converts, 3 field goals, and a single. Mike Spencer rushed 34 yards for the first Alberta TD in the 2nd quarter; Nathan Connor rushed 5 yards for the second Alberta TD on a third-down gamble in the 3rd quarter; and Hardeep Bamara completed a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jamie Stoddard with 55 seconds remaining in the game. Mr. Connor rushed 8 times for 73 yards and Mr. Spencer carried 4 times for 47 yards. The Golden Bears recorded 6 quarterback sacks.