July 15, 2008

220 years ago
1788

Politics and government
The meeting location for New Brunswick’s Legislative Assembly moved from Saint John to Fredericton.

170 years ago
1838

Academia
Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered the Divinity School Address at Harvard Divinity School, discounting Biblical miracles and declaring Jesus a great man, but not God. The Protestant community reacted with outrage.

130 years ago
1878

Communications
The Hamilton District Telegraph Company in Hamilton, Ontario opened the first telephone exchange in the British Empire.

Economics and finance
The Toronto Stock Exchange, first set up in 1852, formally incorporated.

120 years ago
1888

Disasters
The stratovolcano Mount Bandai erupted, killing approximately 500 people, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

90 years ago
1918

War
The Second Battle of the Marne began in France with a German attack.

60 years ago
1948

Died on this date
John J. Pershing, 87. U.S. military officer. General of the Armies Pershing, nicknamed "Black Jack" for his command of regiments of Negro soldiers, served in the Spanish-American War and in the Philippines, but was best known for his command of U.S. Army Expeditionary Forces in France in World War I.

Politics and government
A Roper poll reported that 50.5% of voters questioned after the Republican National Convention favoured Republican candidate Thomas Dewey for President of the United States in 1948, vs. 28.2% for U.S. President and Democratic Party candidate Harry Truman and 4% for Progressive Party candidate Henry Wallace.

A five-man committee appointed by the U.S Atomic Energy Commission cleared National Board of Standards Director Edward Condon of disloyalty charges raised by the House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities.

Journalism
Allied headquarters in Tokyo ended pre-publication censorship of the Japanese press.

50 years ago
1958

War
Two battalions of U.S. Marines landed on the beaches south of Beirut and assumed control of Beirut International Airport.

Asiatica
The new government of Iraq announced its withdrawal from the Arab State of Jordan and Iraq.

Politics and government
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower accepted the resignation of Gabriel Hauge, his special assistant for economic affairs.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Emerald no Densetsu--The Tempters (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Delilah--Tom Jones (6th week at #1)

Transportation
After seven years of diplomatic and technical delays, direct airline service between New York and Moscow was launched, with commercial jets of the two countries scheduled to make one round trip per week between the two cities. Aerofot Ilyushin 62 flew to New York, while two Pan American Boeing 707 jets flew to Moscow.

Disasters
Nine people were killed and six seriously injured when a truck carrying 20 people crashed over a bridge parapet near Beni Mellal, Morocco.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Calgary (2-0-1) 30 @ Montreal (1-1) 11



British Columbia (0-2) 22 @ Hamilton (1-0) 24
Edmonton (2-1) 24 @ Winnipeg (0-3) 13

Don Lisbon, Art Perkins, and Charlie Fulton scored touchdowns for the Eskimos, with Peter Kempf adding 3 converts and a field goal, as they defeated the Blue Bombers at Winnipeg Stadium.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Tu--Umberto Tozzi (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Rivers of Babylon--Boney M. (14th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland: You're the One that I Want--John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): You're the One that I Want--John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (5th week at #1)

Rhodesia's Top 10 (Lyons Maid)
1 Rivers of Babylon--Boney M. (3rd week at #1)
2 Take a Chance on Me--ABBA
3 Stayin' Alive--Bee Gees
4 I Can't Stand the Rain--Eruption
5 Make Love to Me--Kelly Marie
6 Substitute--Clout
7 Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue--Crystal Gayle
8 (Your Love has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher--Rita Coolidge
9 Figaro--The Brotherhood of Man
10 Man to Man--Hot Koko

Singles entering the chart were Sweet Banana by John Edmond (#17); and If You Can't Give Me Your Love by Suzie (#19).

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Shadow Dancing--Andy Gibb (5th week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 You're the One that I Want--John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (3rd week at #1)
2 Miss You--The Rolling Stones
3 Whole Lotta Rosie--AC/DC
4 Rivers of Babylon/Brown Girl in the Ring--Boney M.
5 Dance Across the Floor--Jimmy "Bo" Horne
6 Windsurfin'--The Surfers
7 Copacabana (At the Copa)--Barry Manilow
8 Hold You Back--Status Quo
9 Too Much, Too Little, Too Late--Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams
10 Let's All Chant--Michael Zager Band

Singles entering the chart were I've Had Enough/Deliver Your Children by Wings (#22); Wake Up! by Ian Dury and the Blockheads (#27); Heaven on Earth by Rainbow Train (#29); Making Up Again by Goldie (#30); The Man with the Child in His Eyes by Kate Bush (#32); and Airport by the Motors (#36).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Baker Street--Gerry Rafferty
2 Shadow Dancing--Andy Gibb
3 Miss You--The Rolling Stones
4 Still the Same--Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
5 Use Ta Be My Girl--The O'Jays
6 It's a Heartache--Bonnie Tyler
7 Take a Chance on Me--ABBA
8 Last Dance--Donna Summer
9 You Belong to Me--Carly Simon
10 The Groove Line--Heatwave

Singles entering the chart were An Everlasting Love by Andy Gibb (#56); Love is in the Air by John Paul Young (#78); You're All I Need to Get By by Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams (#90); It's Really You by the Tarney/Spencer Band (#96); 5.7.0.5. by City Boy (#97); A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy by the Kinks (#98); and Lady Blue by George Benson (#99).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Baker Street--Gerry Rafferty
2 Shadow Dancing--Andy Gibb
3 It's a Heartache--Bonnie Tyler
4 Take a Chance on Me--ABBA
5 You Belong to Me--Carly Simon
6 Miss You--The Rolling Stones
7 Two Out of Three Ain't Bad--Meat Loaf
8 Love is Like Oxygen--Sweet
9 Still the Same--Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
10 Dance with Me--Peter Brown with Betty Wright

Singles entering the chart included Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra (#82); Hot Blooded by Foreigner (#84); Two Tickets to Paradise by Eddie Money (#85); You by Rita Coolidge (#90) Is the Night Too Cold for Dancin'? by Randy Bachman (#92); Break it to Them Gently by Burton Cummings (#93); Dream Lover by the Marshall Tucker Band (#95); New Orleans Ladies by Louisiana's Le Roux (#96); Runaway Love by Linda Clifford (#97); Trans-Europe Express by Kraftwerk (#98); God Knows by Debby Boone (#99); and This Night Won't Last Forever by Bill LaBounty (#100).

Protest
Hundreds of Mexican-Americans demonstrated in Plainview, Texas to protest alleged reluctance of the U.S. administration of President Jimmy Carter to prosecute police officers accused of the deaths of Hispanic Americans. The Justice Department had recently announced that it wold not bring federal charges against a Dallas policeman who was serving a five-year prison sentence for having killed a 12-year-old Mexican-American boy in Plainview in 1973.

Golf
Jack Nicklaus shot a 3-under-par 69 in the final round to win the British Open for the third and final time, finishing with a 7-under-par total of 281 on the Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland, 2 strokes ahead of Ray Floyd, Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw, and Simon Owen. Defending champion Tom Watson was tied for the lead after three rounds, but shot a 4-over-par 76 in the final round to fall out of contention. First prize money was ₤12,500 ($23,750).

Baseball
Dave Revering hit a solo home run with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Oakland Athletics a 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays before 6,863 fans, including this blogger and his parents, at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Losing pitcher Tom Underwood pitched a complete game, allowing 7 hits and 2 earned runs.

The Kansas City Royals scored 5 runs in the first 2 innings and coasted to an 8-2 win over the New York Yankees before 34,979 fans at Yankee Stadium. Dennis Leonard pitched an 8-hit complete game victory.

Lary Sorensen pitched a 5-hitter and Larry Hisle provided the necessary scoring with a 2-run home run with 2 out in the 1st inning as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago White Sox 3-1 before 41,379 fans at County Stadium in Milwaukee. Eric Soderholm homered with 2 out in the top of the 5th to get the White Sox on the scoreboard, but Don Money led off the bottom of the 6th with a home run to restore the 2-run lead.

Larry Milbourne hit a grand slam in the 2nd inning and a solo home run in the 4th--his first 2 homers of the season--to help the Seattle Mariners defeat the Cleveland Indians 7-6 before 26,117 fans at the Kingdome in Seattle. Andre Thornton drove in 3 runs for the Indians with a pair of solo homers and a single.

Frank Tanana pitched an 8-hitter to win the pitchers' duel over Milt Wilcox as the California Angels shut out the Detroit Tigers 2-0 before 33,001 fans at Anaheim Stadium. Carney Lansford singled home Don Baylor with the first run in the 4th inning and hit a home run in the 7th.

Woodie Fryman pitched a 6-hitter and the Montreal Expos scored 7 runs in the first 3 innings as they shut out the Houston Astros 8-0 before 15,360 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

Jeff Burroughs and Bob Horner hit consecutive home runs in the bottom of the 1st inning to give the Atlanta Braves a 3-0 lead, and they withstood a 2-run 9th-inning rally to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

Larry Herndon scored on a bunt single by Rob Andrews with 1 out in the top of the 11th inning to break a 5-5 tie as the San Francisco Giants edged the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 before 16,174 fans at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Darrell Evans drove in 4 runs for San Francisco with 2 home runs and a single.

All the runs were scored in the 6th inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 before 33,903 fans at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Doug Rau allowed 6 hits and 1 unearned run in 6 2/3 innings to win the pitchers' duel over Bob Forsch.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Im Nin'Alu--Ofra Haza (5th week at #1)

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that prices charged by producers for finished goods had risen 0.4% in June. The Commerce Department reported that the U.S. deficit on merchandise trade had increased slightly in May to $10.9 billion.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (1-0) 48 @ Ottawa (0-1) 21



10 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Sarawanabavanandan Shanmuganathan, 38. Sri Lankan politician. Mr. Shanmuganathan, a Hindu and a member of the Democratic People's Liberation Front, represented Vanni District in the Sri-Lankan Parliament from 1994 until his assassination by a claymore mine. Mr. Shanmuganathan was a member of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and his assassination was blamed on the rival Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, but has also been blamed on infighting within PLOTE.

Politics and government
The government of British Columbia signed the Nisga'a Land Agreement with the Nisga'a First Nation at New Aiyansh, B.C. The first land rights negotiations had been begun by the tribe in 1887. They were granted 1,930 square kilometres of the Naas River valley and $190 million dollars, and would govern and police themselves if they ratified the Agreement. The B.C. Legislature gave its assent on April 23, 1999 and on April 13, 2000, the Canadian Parliament passed the Nisga'a Final Agreement Act, with the treaty coming into effect on May 11, 2000.