August 8, 2008

420 years ago
1588

War
The Battle of Gravelines concluded with the English defeat of the Spanish Armada, ending Spain's ambitions of conquering England.

250 years ago
1758

War
Brigadier General Andrew Rollo captured Île St-Jean (later renamed Prince Edward Island) from the French and deported 3,500 inhabitants to France. Robert Rogers and Rogers' Scouts defeated French forces at Fort Anne, Québec.

100 years ago
1908

Aviation
Wilbur Wright made the Wright Brothers' first public flight, at a racecourse at Le Mans, France.

90 years ago
1918

War
The Battle of Amiens began in Amiens, France, marking the start of the Allied Powers' Hundred Days Offensive through the German front lines that ultimately led to the end of World War I. General Sir Arthur Currie, with the four divisions of the Canadian Corps, and 144 Mark V tanks, backed by some Australian and British units, mounted a four-day assault with 600 tanks against 20 German divisions along a 14-kilometre front, taking 16,000 prisoners in two hours. German General Erich Ludendorff called it "the black day of the German army." The battle was later deemed the Allies’ most successful day of combat on the Western Front. The Allies had successfully moved the Canadian Corps of four infantry divisions to Amiens without them being detected by the Germans. John Croke became the first Newfoundlander to be awarded the Victoria Cross; he had captured a German machine gun nest while severely wounded. Herman James Good of South Bathurst, New Brunswick earned the Victoria Cross at Hangard Wood in France during the Battle of Amiens. With his company under heavy fire from machine guns, he charged an enemy nest alone and then did the same again, under point-blank fire.

80 years ago
1928

Died on this date
Maurice Drouhin. French aviator. Mr. Drouhin and two aides were killed while trying out their airplane in preparation for a flight from Paris to New York City.

Disasters
A gale swept Florida from east to west, killing five people, and causing over $5 million in damage to buildings and citrus fruit.

Olympics
Ulise (Pete) DesJardins of the United States won the springboard diving gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Three days later, Mr. DesJardins, called the "Little Bronze Statue" because of his 5-foot-3-inch stature and perpetual tan, won the platform competition--a double unmatched until Greg Louganis of the United States achieved it in Los Angeles in 1984.

60 years ago
1948

War
The Greek Army reported advancing to the Albanian frontier at both ends of the semi-circular Grammos front.

Diplomacy
U.S.S.R. consular employee Mikhail Samarin contacted the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation from hiding, and denounced "the party, police and government machinery of the Soviet Union."

Science
U.S.S.R. biologist Trofim D. Lysenko announced the reaffirmation of his environmentalist view of genetics by the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee. Mr. Lysenko denounced Mendelian genetics as an "alien foreign bourgeois biology."

Religion
The Church of England ended a five-week conference in Lambeth after hearing Archbishop of York Cyril Garbett urge a union of all Christian churches.

Protestant clergymen represented in the National Council Against Conscription called on U.S churches to observe a day of "mourning and repentance" to protest the peactime draft.

Economics and finance
Soviet authorities in Berlin acted against food hoarding and black market traders in an effort to prevent the growth of food shortages.

Labour
The U.S. National Labor Relations Board issued its first ruling against "featherbedding," ordering a Los Angeles local of the American Federation of Labor Plasterers and Cement Finishers International Association to refund wages paid to four employees for work not done.

50 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): All I Have to Do is Dream--The Everly Brothers (6th week at #1)

Died on this date
Barbara Coates, 7. Canadian accident victim. A resident of Calgary, Miss Coates was staying with her family at the Sunwapta Bungalow Camp in Jasper National Park. At 10 A.M. she went out to pick strawberries with her younger sister, when she was attacked by a bear. The sister made it back into the cabin, and the children's mother rushed out, seized their baby brother and threw him into the cabin, and attempted to beat back the bear. She was unsuccessful, and the bear dragged Barbara away and killed her. Park officials later shot and killed the bear.

Space
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Case Institute of Technology President T. Keith Glennan as the first Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

War
The government of the Indian state of Assam charged that Pakistani troops were firing at Indians along the 30-mile Surma River frontier between Assam and East Pakistan.

Diplomacy
U.K. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan met with Greek Prime Minister Konstantine Karamanlis and Foreign Minister Evangelos Averoff in Athens to discuss the Cyprus situation.

Jordan complained to the United Nations Security Council that heavily-armed infiltrators were crossing from Syria into Jordan in increasing numbers.

Transportation
Toronto's Gardiner Expressway opened from the Humber River to Jameson Avenue.

Labour
The Argentine Senate completed passage of a labour organization bill re-establishing the single General Labour Confederation supported by Peronist labour leaders.

Boxing
Gene "Ace" Armstrong (15-0) won a 10-round unanimous decision over Rory Calhoun (35-5-1) in a middleweight bout at Madison Square Garden in New York. Mr. Calhoun was knocked down 4 times.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Edmonton (2-0) 19 @ Hamilton (0-3) 7

Joe-Bob Smith, Jackie Parker, and Jim Shipka scored touchdowns for the Eskimos as they defeated the Tiger-Cats before 14,000 fans at Civic Stadium. Rookie quarterback Mickey Trimaski passed to Ron Howell for the Hamilton touchdown in the 1st quarter.

CFL-ORFU
Pre-season
Calgary (3-0) 33 @ Sarnia (0-1) 1

Dick Washington scored 2 touchdowns and Dean Renfro, Ernie Warlick, and Jim Bakhtiar each scored a TD as the Stampeders routed the Golden Bears before 5,000 fans at Norm Perry Park.

40 years ago
1968

Space
The United States launched the satellites Explorers 39 and 40 atop a Scout rocket from Western Test Range at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California in an interdisciplinary project to continue the detailed study of density and radiation characteristics of Earth's upper atmosphere at a time of high solar activity.

Politics and government
Former U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon was elected on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention at Miami Beach Convention Center as the 1968 Republican Party candidate for President of the United States. Maryland Governor Spiro Agnew was elected on the first ballot as the party's vice presidential candidate.





Scandal
Florida financier Louis Wolfson and three of his associates were convicted by a U.S. federal jury in New York of violating the Securities and Exchange Act, in connection with the selling and buying of stock of Merritt-Chapman & Scott Corp., a shipbuilding, construction, chemical, and moneylending firm, which was currently being liquidated.

30 years ago
1978

Football
CFL
Toronto (3-2) 18 @ Ottawa (3-1) 37
British Columbia (2-1-2) 43 @ Saskatchewan (0-4) 14

Calvin Culliver rushed for touchdowns of 12 and 1 yards to help the Lions take a 28-0 halftime lead as they coasted to victory over the Roughriders before 19,584 fans at Taylor Field in Regina. A 58-yard rush by Mr. Culliver set up his first touchdown, but he suffered a knee injury later in the game, and never played again. B.C. quarterback Jerry Tagge threw touchdown passes to Al Charuk and Richard Appleby in the 1st half. Ron Lancaster completed a 57-yard touchdown pass to Paul Williams early in the 3rd quarter to get the Roughriders on the scoreboard, but on the first play from scrimmage following the kickoff, B.C. running back Larry Key threw an 89-yard touchdown pass to Leon Bright. Mike Strickland rushed 11 yards for the other Saskatchewan TD later in the 3rd quarter. Chuck Wills made an interception and returned it 19 yards in his only game in a Saskatchewan uniform and the last game of his 3-year CFL career.

25 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Flashdance...What a Feeling--Irene Cara (5th week at #1)

World events
The Guatemalan military government of President Efrain Rios Montt was overthrown by Defense Minister Brigadier General Oscar Humberto Mejia Victores, who replaced General Rios Montt as President. Gen. Rios Montt, who claimed to be a born-again Christian, had come to power in a military coup in 1982. He had refused to set a firm date for elections and had raised taxes, and there were widespread reports of abuses of human rights under his regime. The coup that put Brig. Gen. Mejia in power was swift and almost bloodless, and the new president lifted restrictions on civil liberties associated with the "state of alarm" imposed by Gen. Rios Montt.

Economics and finance
Citibank, followed by other leading U.S. banks, raised its prime interest rate from 10.5% to 11%, the first such increase in more than a year.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Age of Reason--John Farnham (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Alan Napier, 85. U.K.-born U.S. actor. Mr. Napier appeared as a character actor in many movies and television programs, but is best remembered as Alfred the butler on the television series Batman (1966-1968).

War
United Nations Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar announced that a cease-fire between Iran and Iraq would go into effect on August 20 and that both parties would begin to discuss a final settlement.

Angola, Cuba, and South Africa issued a joint statement announcing a truce in Angola, with South Africa to begin withdrawing its troops from Angola on August 10.

Protest
The 8888 Uprising, a series of marches, demonstrations, protests, and riots against the one-party state of the Burma Socialist Programme Party in Burma, began.

Baseball
Wrigley Field, which had been known as Weeghman Park when it opened in 1914 as the home of the Chicago Whales of the Federal League, hosted its first night game. The game between the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies was rained out in the 4th inning.

10 years ago
1998

War
The Iranian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan was raided by the Taliban, leading to the deaths of 10 Iranian diplomats and Islamic Republic News Agency reporter Mahmoud Saremi, 30 (?).