August 31, 2008

Married on this date
Happy Anniversary, Lois & Lee Morrow!

1,690 years ago
318

Died on this date
Liu Cong. Emperor of Han Zhao, 310-318. Liu Cong was a son of Emperor Liu Yuan, who founded Han Zhao, a state of the nomadic Xiongnu people. Following Liu Yuan's death in 310, Liu Cong won a power struggle by killing his older brother Liu He. Liu Cong became increasingly dictatorial during his reign, and died of a brief illness, apparently brought on by the death of his son Liu Kang in a fire in the summer of 318. Liu Cong was succeeded on the throne by his son Liu Can.

790 years ago
1218

Died on this date
Al-Adil I, 73. Sultan of Egypt, 1200-1218. Emir of Damascus, 1196-1218. Al Adil I, whose full name was al-Malik al-Adil Sayf ad-Din Abu-Bakr Ahmed ibn Najm ad-Din Ayyub, was known in the West as Saphadin, the younger brother of Saladin. Saphadin succeeded his brother as Emir of Damascus, and won a power struggle with his brothers to become Sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty. Sultan Al-Adil I promoted trade and good relations with the Crusader states, but he was killed in a campaign against a Crusader invasion, and was succeeded on the throne by his son Al-Kamil.

320 years ago
1688

Died on this date
John Bunyan, 59. English author and preacher. Mr. Bunyan, a non-conformist, was best known for his allegorical novel The Pilgrim's Progress (1678-1684).

125 years ago
1883

Journalism
Andrew M. Armour and Thomas B. Braden published the first issue of their Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranch Advocate and General Advertiser newspaper; a four-pager published, edited and typeset from a tiny hand-press in a tent on the banks of the Elbow River, with a one-year subscription available for $3 (in advance).

120 years ago
1888

Died on this date
Mary Ann Nichols, 43. U.K. murder victim. Mrs. Nichols, a prostitute in the Whitechapel area of London, was considered to be the first victim of the murderer known as Jack the Ripper.

100 years ago
1908

Born on this date
William Saroyan. U.S. author and playwright. Mr. Saroyan was the son of Armenian immigrants, and wrote extensively about the Armenian immigrant experience in California. His play The Time of Your Life (1939) became the first drama to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. He won an Academy Award for his story for The Human Comedy (1943). When MGM Pictures rejected Mr. Saroyan's original script for the movie, he had it published as a novel, shortly before the film's release. Mr. Saroyan died of prostate cancer on May 18, 1981 at the age of 72.

80 years ago
1928

Diplomacy
The U.S.S.R. notified the French envoy in Moscow that it would adhere to the Kellogg-Briand Pact, renouncing war as an instrument of national policy.

Politics and government
The National Executive Committee of the U.S. Prohibition Party voted 4-3 to keep their U.S. presidential ticket in the field.

Crime
In Philadelphia, a U.S. federal grand jury, which for 10 days had been investigating the activities of gangsters and bootleggers, declared in a preliminary report that the city was in the grip of a wealthy, powerful, and highly-organized criminal ring, which, with the benefit of efficient legal advice, had conducted an organized system of bribery, robbery, assault, and murder, using notorious criminals, thugs, and gunmen "who have been put upon the streets of Philadelphia with deadly weapons, and in the conduct of their illegal purposes have not hesitated to indulge in bloodshed and wanton brutality."

70 years ago
1938

Disasters
Torrential rains hit the St. Lawrence River Valley in Quebec; 12 people were killed in flooding and landslides.

60 years ago
1948

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Near You--Bing Crosby; Dick Haymes and the Andrews Sisters (4th month at #1)

Died on this date
Andrei Zhdanov, 52. U.S.S.R. politician. Mr. Zhdanov held various positions, including Second Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the U.S.S.R. from 1939-1948. Mr. Zhdanov was intended to be the successor to First Secretary Josef Stalin, but he was a drunkard, and died in a sanatorium of a reported heart attack, shortly after taking a contrary stand on Yugoslavia to that of Mr. Stalin.

Diplomacy
Allied military governors began negotiations on a Berlin settlement, holding the first session of the Allied Control Council since the withdrawal of the U.S.S.R. on March 20, 1948. Allied deputy foreign ministers ended a year of discussions on disposition of Italy's foreign colonies without agreement.

Politics and government
Yugoslavian President Marshal Josip Broz Tito eliminated all non-Communists from his cabinet, with the exception of Justice Minister Frane Frol. Deputy Premier Eduard Kardelj replaced Stanoje Simich as Foreign Minister.

The French National Assembly gave Robert Schuman a vote of confidence following his appointment as Prime Minister by President Vincent Auriol.

Labour
American Federation of Labor International Ladies Garment Workers Union President David Dubinsky announced the formation of an IGLWU Political Campaign Committee to support U.S. President Harry Truman and congressional candidates opposed to the Taft-Hartley Act. The Congress of Industrial Organizations Executive Board also promised to back President Truman.

Illinois barred the Progressive Party from the state ballot in coming elections.

Chess
Herman Steiner of Los Angeles won the U.S. Chess Federation Championship in South Fallsburg, New York.

Football
IRFU
Ottawa (1-0) 36 @ Montreal (0-1) 18

Tony Golab scored 2 touchdowns and Doug Smylie, Bob Paffrath, Nelson Greene, and Lally Lalonde also scored TDs for the Rough Riders as they overcame an early 12-0 deficit to beat the Alouettes before 11,000 fans at Royals Stadium. Eric Chipper converted 4 of the Ottawa touchdowns, and Ace Powell converted the other. Bronco Reese and Glen Douglas scored to give the Alouettes an early lead, and Virgil Wagner closed the scoring with a Montreal touchdown.

50 years ago
1958

Sport
Italy won the eight-oar title and Australia's Stuart Mackenzie the single sculls title at the world rowing championships in Poznan, Poland.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): MacArthur Park--Richard Harris (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France: Rain and Tears--Aphrodite's Child (12th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): La nostra favola--Jimmy Fontana (5th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Du sollst nicht weinen--Heintje (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Help Yourself--Tom Jones (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Help Yourself--Tom Jones

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): People Got to Be Free--The Rascals (3rd week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Ich Bau' Dir Ein Schloss--Heintje (10th week at #1)
2 Dong-Dong-Di-Ki-Di-Gi-Dong--Golden Earrings
3 Times were When--The Cats
4 Callow-La-Vita--Raymond Froggatt
5 Do it Again--The Beach Boys
6 Fire--The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
7 I've Gotta Get a Message to You--The Bee Gees
8 Abergavenny--Marty Wilde
9 Help Yourself--Tom Jones
--Dans Met Mij--Ben Cramer
10 Rain and Tears--Aphrodite's Child

Singles entering the chart were Classical Gas by Mason Williams (#34); Gotta See Jane by R. Dean Taylor (#39); and Ice in the Sun by the Status Quo (#40).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 People Got to Be Free--The Rascals (2nd week at #1)
2 Born to Be Wild--Steppenwolf
3 Light My Fire--Jose Feliciano
4 Turn Around, Look at Me--The Vogues
5 Hello, I Love You--The Doors
6 Sunshine of Your Love--Cream
7 Classical Gas--Mason Williams
8 Sealed with a Kiss--Gary Lewis and the Playboys
9 Soul-Limbo--Booker T. & the M.G.'s
10 Dream a Little Dream of Me--Mama Cass

Singles entering the chart were To Wait for Love by Herb Alpert (#79); I Wish it Would Rain by Gladys Knight & the Pips (#80); Hey, Western Union Man by Jerry Butler (#91); Shape of Things to Come by Max Frost and the Troopers (#92); Walk in the Park by Claudine Longet (#94); Private Number by Judy Clay and William Bell (#97); Fly Me to the Moon by Bobby Womack (#99); and The Funky Judge by Bull and the Matadors (#100). Shape of Things to Come was from the movie Wild in the Streets (1968).

Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 Hello, I Love You--The Doors (3rd week at #1)
2 Sunshine of Your Love--Cream
3 1,2,3, Red Light--1910 Fruitgum Company
4 My Name is Jack--Manfred Mann
5 Girl from the North Country--Tom Northcott
6 Do it Again--The Beach Boys
7 Pictures of Matchstick Men--The Status Quo
8 On the Road Again--Canned Heat
9 Born to Be Wild--Steppenwolf
10 Lady Willpower--Gary Puckett and the Union Gap
Pick hit of the week: Street Fighting Man--The Rolling Stones

War
American deaths in Vietnam for the week of August 25-31 were reported at 408, while North Vietnamese and Viet Cong deaths ere put at 4,755, most of them in the attack on a U.S. camp at Duclap in the mountains near Cambodia. Total U.S. casualties reported since 1961 came to 27,508 killed and 171,809 wounded.

30 years ago
1978

Died on this date
John Wrathall, 65. 2nd President of Rhodesia, 1976-1978. Mr. Wrathall, a member of the National Front, held various cabinet posts before serving as President until his death from a heart attack, three days after his 65th birthday. He was the last white President of Rhodesia.

Disappeared on this date
Musa al-Sadr, the Iranian-born Shia Muslim cleric and then religious leader of Lebanon, disappeared during an official visit to Libya.

Crime
William and Emily Harris pled guilty to kidnapping American newspaper heiress Patty Hearst from her Berkeley, California apartment in 1974.

Politics and government
U.S. President Jimmy Carter appointed Agriculture Department counsel Sarah Weddington, an abortion rights advocate, to a women's issues position in his administration, replacing Midge Costanza, who had resigned a month earlier.

25 years ago
1983

On the radio
Chuck Chandler worked his last regular shift at CFRN in Edmonton.

War
Counterattacking Lebanese army units recaptured parts of Beirut that had fallen to Muslim militias.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the index of leading economic indicators had risen only 0.3% in July, the smallest increase in 11 months.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Superstitious--Europe (4th week at #1)

Journalism
Moncton's daily newspaper Le Matin declared bankruptcy, leaving L'Acadie NOUVELLE, in Caraquet, as the only French-language daily in New Brunswick.

Football
CFL
Calgary (2-6) 17 @ Toronto (7-1) 33


Saskatchewan (4-4) 35 @ Winnipeg (4-4) 38

10 years ago
1998

Space
North Korea claimed to have successfully launched Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1, its first satellite, although no objects were ever tracked in orbit from the launch.