July 17, 2008

125 years ago
1883

Born on this date
Şemsettin Günaltay. Prime Minister of Turkey, 1949-1950. Professor Günaltay was a historian and Dan of the Faculty of Theology at Istanbul University before entering politics, winning election to the Ottoman Parliament in 1915 as a candidate for the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), representing Bilecik Province. After the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, he represented Sivas (1923-1950) and Erzincan (1950-1954) in the Grand National Assembly as a member of the Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (Republican People's Party) (CHP), succeeding to the office of Prime Minister following the resignation of Hasan Saka in January 1949. Prof. Günaltay led the government until its defeat by the Democratic Party in the general election in May 1950. He was elected to the Senate in 1961, representing Istanbul Province, but died of prostate cancer at the age of 78 on October 19, 1961, before he could take his seat.

120 years ago
1888

Born on this date
S.Y. Agnon. Austro-Hungarian-born Israeli author. Shmuel Yosef "Shai" Agnon, born Shmuel Yosef Halevi Czaczkes in Polish Galicia, moved to Ottoman Palestine in 1908 and to Germany in 1913 before moving to Jerusalem permanently in 1924. He was a major figure in modern Hebrew literature, writing novels and short stories. Mr. Agnon was awarded a share of he 1966 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his profoundly characteristic narrative art with motifs from the life of the Jewish people." He died on February 17, 1970 at the age of 81.

90 years ago
1918

Died on this date
Nikolai II, 50. Czar of Russia, 1894-1917. Nikolai II acceded to the throne upon the death of his father, Aleksandr III. Czar Nikolai II opposed democratic reforms, but Russia's loss to Japan in the Russo-Japanese War in 1904 and her disastrous performance on the Allied side in World War I led to revolution. Czar Nikolai abdicated after the "February Revolution" in 1917; the Bolsheviks seized power eight months later, and on July 17, 1918, Czar Nikolai II, Empress Alexandra, 46, their five children, and others who chose to stay with them were executed by Communist soldiers in Yekaterinburg (see also here), ending the Romanov dynasty.

War
RMS Carpathia, which had rescued the survivors of the RMS Titanic sinking in 1912, was itself sunk off Ireland by the German SM U-55, with the loss of five crewmen.

80 years ago
1928

Died on this date
Giovanni Giolitti, 85. Prime Minister of Italy, 1892-1893, 1903-1905, 1906-1909, 1911-1914, 1920-1921. Mr. Giolitti was a member of the Historical Left (1882-1913); Liberal Union (1913-1922); and Italian Liberal Party (1922-1928). He held various cabinet posts in addition to his five terms as Prime Minister, and was regarded as a master of producing a flexible, centrist government. He served longer as Italy's Prime Minister than anyone except Benito Mussolini, and remains the subject of much debate.

Álvaro Obregón Salido, 48. President of Mexico, 1920-1924; President-elect of Mexico, 1928. General Obregón was a leader in the Mexican Revolution in 1910, and lost his right arm in battle against the forces of Pancho Villa in 1915. Gen. Obregón participated in a revolution that ousted President Adolfo de la Huerta in 1920, and took office as President after the assassination of Venustiano Carranza, who had led the revolt against Mr. de la Huerta. Gen. Obregón oversaw economic and educational reforms, and was successful, with U.S. help, in crushing a revolt led by Mr. de la Huerta in 1923-1924. Gen. Obregón left office after one term, and his handpicked successor, Plutarco Elías Calles, was elected President. Gen. Obregón had been moderately opposed to the Roman Catholic Church during his presidency, but Mr. Calles was more anti-clerical in his policies, earning him the enmity of Roman Catholics. Gen. Obregón came out of retirement and was elected on July 1 to a six-year term as President and was due to take office on December 1. He was attending a lunch in his honour presented by President Calles at a restaurant in San Angel, 12 miles south of Mexico City, when he was assassinated by Jose de Leon Toral, a cartoonist who concealed a pistol under his hat and claimed that he was motivated by his hatred of the anti-Catholic policies of President Calles and Gen. Obregón. President Calles blamed Roman Catholic machinations for the assassination.

Diplomacy
A new agreement for international control of the Tangiers Zone was initialled in Paris by representatives of Spain, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy. The accord related chiefly to the reorganization of administrative details in the zone.

Politics and government
The New York Socialist State Executive Committee sent to Governor Al Smith 11 charges against the administration of Mayor Jimmy Walker, and asked for an investigation.

Health
200 lunchers in Somerville, Massachusetts were poisoned by chocolate cream pie.

70 years ago
1938

Aviation
Douglas Corrigan took off from Brooklyn to fly the "wrong way" to Ireland and became known as "Wrong Way" Corrigan.

60 years ago
1948

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard) (Best Seller): Woody Wood-Pecker--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra (3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 You Can't Be True, Dear--Ken Griffin (2nd week at #1)
--Dick Haymes with the Song Spinners
--The Sportsmen
--Vera Lynn
--The Marlin Sisters with Eddie Fisher
--Dick James
2 Woody Wood-Pecker--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra
--The Sportsmen and Mel Blanc
--Danny Kaye and the Andrews Sisters
3 Nature Boy--King Cole
4 Little White Lies--Dick Haymes
5 My Happiness--Jon and Sondra Steele
--The Pied Pipers
--Ella Fitzgerald
6 William Tell Overture--Spike Jones and his City Slickers
7 Toolie Oolie Doolie (The Yodel Polka)--The Andrews Sisters
--The Sportsmen
8 The Dickey-Bird Song--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra
9 St. Louis Blues March--Tex Beneke and his Orchestra
10 Because--Perry Como

Singles entering the chart were the versions of Woody Wood-Pecker by the Sportsmen and Mel Blanc; and Danny Kaye and the Andrews Sisters; Meadowlands (Russian Patrol) by Tex Beneke and his Orchestra (#32); Walk it Off by Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra (#36); and How High the Moon by Stan Kenton and his Orchestra (#37).

Died on this date
Ildebrando Zacchini, 79. Maltese-born U.S. entertainer. Mr. Zacchini devised a human cannonball act, using compressed air. He originally intended it for defense purposes, but when that was rejected, he used it for entertainment in the Ringling Brothers Circus.

World events
The Czechoslovakian government announced the arrest of 84 Western spies in an alleged plot to assassinate Defense Minister Ludovic Svoboda.

Defense
The U.S. Air Force began transferring 60 B-29s to the United Kingdom for a month of "long-range flight training" in Europe.

Politics and government
Southern American Democrats from 13 states met in Birmingham, Alabama in a move to defeat the party's national ticket and platform. South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond was elected as the Southern Democratic U.S. presidential candidate, with Mississippi Governor Fielding Wright as his vice presidential running mate. The convention's platform stressed states' rights and racial segregation.

50 years ago
1958

War
Indonesian government troops captured the rebel stronghold of Tondano in the northern Celebes after a 10-day battle.

Defense
2,000 men of the British 16th Parachute Brigade and supporting units were flown to a camp near Amman from their base on Cyprus, escorted en route by 50 U.S. Navy fighters.

Economics and government
U.S. Commerce Secretary Sinclair Weeks formed a Special Committee on World Economic Practices to study the Soviet economic offensive and other international economic matters.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Baby, Come Back--The Equals (3rd week at #1)

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

Singles entering the chart were Hush...Not a Word to Mary by John Rowles (#27); Autumn of My Life by Bobby Goldsboro (#28); My Name is Jack by Manfred Mann (#29); Temptation 'Bout to Get Me by the Virgil Brothers (#33); May I Take a Giant Step (Into Your Heart) by the 1910 Fruitgum Company (#37); and Louisiana Man by Bobbie Gentry (#38).

At the movies
Yellow Submarine, an animated film directed by George Dunning and based on the Beatles' song of the same name, opened in theatres.

For Love of Ivy, directed by Daniel Mann and starring Sidney Poitier and Abbey Lincoln, opened in theatres.

War
Clashes between Israeli soldiers and Arab guerrillas began along the West Bank of the Jordan River.

World events
A group of Iraqi Army officers sympathetic to the right wing of the Ba'ath Socialist Party toppled the government of President Abdel Rahman Arif. The Revolutionary Command Council, led by former Prime Minister and Defense Minister Major General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, 56, called the leftist Arif regime "opportunists, thieves, ignorant, illiterate Zioist spies," and urged liberation of Palestine "now, not tomorrow."

Politics and government
The Military Revolutionary Committee in Dahomey selected Emile-Derin Zinsou as the country's new President because of indecisive elections in April.

Defense
Former Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson was appointed President of the London-based Institute for Strategic Studies, a defense and disarmament research centre.

Labour
A strike by 2,700 Ontario brewery workers ended after three weeks.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
British Columbia (0-3) 15 @ Ottawa (1-0-1) 22

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Rivers of Babylon--Boney M. (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Monster--Pink Lady (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Sólo Tú--Matia Bazar

Protest
Nearly 1,000 American Indians and their supporters marched to the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, completing a 2,700-mile "longest walk" that had begun from Alcatraz Island, California on February 11 to publicize Indian fears of a "Red backlash" in legislation pending in Cingress which they felt was anti-Indian.

Law
An agreement between Canada and the United States was signed in Washington whereby Canadians in American jails and Americans in Canadian prisons could now finish their sentences in their home countries.

Economics and finance
Leaders of the world's seven largest industrial democracies concluded a two-day summit in Bonn with an agreement on a package of moves to spur economic growth "without rekindling inflation."

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Sweet Lovers--Holidaymakers

#1 single in Switzerland: Im Nin'Alu--Ofra Haza (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Bruiser Brody, 42. U.S. wrestler. Mr. Brody, whose real name was Frank Goodish, played football at Texas A&M University and worked as a sportswriter before becoming a wrestler and working in various circuits, usually as a heel. He was in the locker room in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, preparing for a match, when he was stabbed to death by fellow wrestler José Huertas González. Mr. Goodish was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2014.

10 years ago
1998

Law
A diplomatic conference adopted the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, establishing a permanent international court to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.

Disasters
A tsunami triggered by an undersea earthquake devastated several villages in Papua New Guinea, killing more than 2,100 people, and destroying the homes of thousands more.

Football
CFL
Hamilton (2-1) 29 @ Winnipeg (0-3) 7