July 10, 2008

1,020 years ago
988

Britannica
The Norse King Glun Iarainn recognized Máel Sechnaill II, High King of Ireland, and agreed to pay taxes and accept Brehon Law. The event is considered to be the founding of the city of Dublin.

320 years ago
1688

World events
William, Prince of Orange, received the invitation from the Immortal Seven Englishmen to send a military force to England to force his uncle King James II to install William's wife Mary, a Protestant and daughter of King James II, as heiress.

230 years ago
1778

War
King Louis XVI of France declared war on the Kingdom of Great Britain.

80 years ago
1928

Politics and government
On the advice of Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos, Greek President Admiral Paul Kondouritis signed a decree changing the electoral system for the Senate and Chamber of Deputies and providing that in the future, each district was to elect its Deputy or Senator on the majority system. The present regulations were based on the total national vote, with each party being allotted seats on the basis of the proportion of the vote it polled.

Scandal
The U.S. Senate subcommittee investigating charges of Republican Party patronage heard testimony that Republican officials in Georgia had demanded $500 from a former postmaster for his wife's job, and revelations that a postmaster had given the party 5% of his salary--approximately $600--since taking office in 1923 because he didn't expect that a man could hold office unless he paid.

70 years ago
1938

Aviation
Howard Hughes, flying a Lockheed 14 Super Electra with a four-man crew, took off from New York City in an attempt to break Wiley Post's record, set in 1933, for the fastest fight around the world.

70 years ago
1948

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard) (Best Seller): Woody Wood-Pecker--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 You Can't Be True, Dear--Ken Griffin
--Dick Haymes with the Song Spinners
--The Sportsmen
--Vera Lynn
--The Marlin Sisters with Eddie Fisher
--Dick James
2 Nature Boy--King Cole
--Dick Haymes with the Song Spinners
3 Woody Wood-Pecker--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra
4 Little White Lies--Dick Haymes
--Dinah Shore
5 My Happiness--Jon and Sondra Steele
--The Pied Pipers
--Ella Fitzgerald
6 Toolie Oolie Doolie (The Yodel Polka)--The Andrews Sisters
--The Sportsmen
7 The Dickey-Bird Song--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra
8 Haunted Heart--Perry Como
--Jo Stafford
9 Love Somebody--Doris Day and Buddy Clark
10 St. Louis Blues March--Tex Beneke and his Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were Maybe You'll Be There by Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra (#26) and Keen and Peachy by Woody Herman and his Orchestra (#40).

Theatre
Allegro, a musical written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, choreographed and directed by Agnes de Mille, and starring John Battles, Annamary Dickey, William Ching, Roberta Jonay, Lisa Kirk, and John Conte, closed at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway in New York after 315 performances.

War
Tanks appeared for the first time in Palestine fighting as an Israeli armoured force captured the Lydda airfield, the largest in Palestine.

Politics and government
The Turkish Parliament passed an election law guaranteeing a secret ballot and open vote-counting procedures.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas told supporters that he was not available for a draft to be the Democratic Party's candidate for President of the United States.

Boxing
Marcel Cerdan (107-3) regained the European middleweight title with a 15-round decision over Cyril Delannoit (48-8-3) at Palais des Sports in Brussels. Mr. Delannoit had won the title with a 15-round decision over Mr. Cerdan on May 23.

60 years ago
1958

Defense
Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an agreement in Ottawa to have Canada and the United States set up the cabinet-level Committee on Joint Defense to guide North American defenses in the event of enemy attack.

Delegates to the Geneva conference on nuclear test detection announced that they had "approved conclusions" on the use of "registering acoustical waves for the detection of nuclear explosions at considerable distances."

Politics and government
The Cambodian National Assembly approved Prince Norodom Sihanouk as Prime Minister of a Socialist cabinet.

The United Kingdom dismissed Sir Ali Abdul Karim al Abdali, Sultan of Lahej, Western Aden's dominant sheikdom, for alleged pro-U.A.R. sympathies.

Communist delegates from 46 nations met in East Berlin to attend the firth congress of the East German Socialist Unity Party.

Law
The U.S. Immigration Office dropped deportation proceedings against Iva Toguri d'Aquino, the Los Angeles-born Nisei who had served six years in prison for broadcasting on Japanese radio during World War II. She was singled out as "Tokyo Rose," although the nickname was actually a collective reference to Japanese women airing English-language broadcasts to Allied servicemen.

50 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Baby, Come Back--The Equals (2nd week at #1)

Australia's top 10 (Go-Set)
1 The Unicorn--The Irish Rovers (5th week at #1)
2 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly--Hugo Montenegro, his Orchestra and Chorus
3 This Guy's in Love with You--Herb Alpert
4 Lazy Sunday--Small Faces
5 Jumpin' Jack Flash--The Rolling Stones
6 Honey--Bobby Goldsboro
7 A Man Without Love (Quando M'innamoro)--Engelbert Humperdinck
8 Angel of the Morning--Merrilee Rush
9 Mrs. Robinson--Simon and Garfunkel
10 Love Machine--Pastoral Symphony

Singles entering the chart were The Orange and the Green/(The Puppet Song) Whiskey on a Sunday by the Irish Rovers (#17); MacArthur Park by Richard Harris (#22); Indian Lake by the Cowsills (#24); and Hurdy Gurdy Man by Donovan (#36).

Diplomacy
U.A.R. President Gamal Nasser concluded his six-day visit to Moscow.

Politics and government
French President Charles de Gaulle named Finance Minister Maurice Jacques Couve de Murville to succeed Georges Pompidou as Prime Minister.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Winnipeg (0-2) 1 @ Toronto (1-0) 35
Saskatchewan (1-0) 9 @ British Columbia (0-1) 8

40 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Rivers of Babylon--Boney M.

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Monster--Pink Lady

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Cara de Gitana--Daniel Magal (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
World News Tonight, on ABC

This was the first broadcast of the revamped newscast (formerly ABC Evening News). The new version featured anchors Frank Reynolds (Washington), Max Robinson (Chicago), and Peter Jennings (London).



Died on this date
John D. Rockefeller III, 72. U.S. philanthropist. Mr. Rockefeller, the eldest son of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., devoted his efforts to philanthropy and to organizations involved in East Asian affairs. He was killed in a car accident.

World events
A military coup led by army chief of staff Colonel Mustapha Ould Salek overthrew Mauritanian President Moktar Ould Daddah

Medicine
A U.S. court of appeals in Denver ruled that terminally-ill cancer patients were legally entitled to use the drug Laetrile, ruling that "safety" and "effectiveness" in the federal law banning the drug had no meaning when applied to people who were terminally ill. Laetrile had been legzlized in 14 states, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had been fighting to retain the ban on its use.

Disasters
Floods had reportedly killed at least 122 people in Afghanistan and northern Pakistan.

25 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland: Flashdance...What a Feeling--Irene Cara

Died on this date
Werner Egk, 82. German composer. Mr. Egk, born Werner Mayer, was a classical pianist who wrote operas, ballets, instrumental, and vocal works in a career spanning more than 50 years. He never joined the Nazi Party and was cleared by denazification tribunals, but achieved success during the Nazi regime in Germany in the 1930s and '40s.

Diplomacy
U.S. envoy Richard Stone met with government officials in El Salvador.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Blue Monday ‘88--New Order (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Im Nin'Alu--Ofra Haza (3rd week at #1)

10 years ago
1998

Abominations
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas agreed to pay $23.4 million to nine former altar boys who claimed to have been sexually abused by former priest Rudolph Kos.

Football
CFL
British Columbia (0-2) 10 @ Edmonton (2-0) 15

Running back C.J. Williams threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Don Blair with 4:53 remaining in the 3rd quarter to help the Eskimos defeat the Lions before 31,582 fans at Commonwealth Stadium. Jimmy Cunningham scored the only B.C. touchdown on an 89-yard punt return late in the game. Edmonton defensive back Malikia Griffin played his first Canadian Football League game, and played so well that he was named the CFL's Defensive Star of the Week.