July 20, 2008

610 years ago
1398

War
The Battle of Kellistown was fought in Ireland between the forces of the English led by Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March against the O'Byrnes and O'Tooles under the command of Art Óg mac Murchadha Caomhánach, the most powerful Chieftain in Leinster. Mr. Mortimer, 24, was killed.

270 years ago
1738

Exploration
Canadian explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye reached the western shore of Lake Michigan.

200 years ago
1808

Died on this date
François-Hippolyte Barthélémon, 66. French-born U.K. musician and composer. Mr. Barthélémon was a violinist who was educated in Paris, and moved to England in 1764. He was known for his operas and burlettas (short comic operas), and also wrote six symphonies and several concertos. Mr. Barthélémon died a week before his 67th birthday.

160 years ago
1848

Abominations
The two-day Sececa Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention in the United States, concluded at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York.

150 years ago
1858

Baseball
All-star teams from Brooklyn and Manhattan played the first in a series of three games at the Fashion Park Race Course on Long Island; it was reportedly the first time admission (50 cents) was ever charged at a game.

100 years ago
1908

Canadiana
The Prince of Wales--the future King George V--arrived in Québec for the city's 300th anniversary celebration.

80 years ago
1928

Diplomacy
Japan opened a Canadian legation in Ottawa.

Politics and government
Roy West, Vice Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Republican National Committee, was named by U.S. President Calvin Coolidge to succeed Hubert Work as U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Mr. Work resigned to become Chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Society
The Hungarian government ordered all the country's gypsies to settle down and dress and live like other people.

Crime
The Scottish Court of Appeals unanimously set aside the conviction of Oscar Slater for the December 21, 1909 murder in Glasgow of Marion Gilchrist, 80. Famed author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had long championed Mr. Slater's case.

Weather
With the temperature in Washington, D.C. reaching 95 F., Miss Mildred Mercier cracked an egg and let it fall on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. It fried in 4 minutes 32 seconds and was put between slices of bread and eaten, in view of photographers and a crowd.

70 years ago
1938

Business
The United States Department of Justice filed suit in New York City against the motion picture industry, charging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act in regards to the studio system. The case eventually resulted in a break-up of the industry in 1948.

60 years ago
1948

Literature
Percy McKaye was awarded the $5,000 1948 fellowship award of the Academy of American Poets for his dramatic tetralogy Hamlet, King of Denmark.

War
Chen Li-fu, vice president of the Chinese National Assembly, visited U.S. President Harry Truman to ask for "immediate military aid" against the Chinese Communists.

World events
U.S.S.R. authorities in Germany introduced Soviet zone exit permits for all land travel between Berlin and West Germany.

Defense
U.S. President Truman issued a proclamation ordering all men aged 18-25 to register for military service.

Politics and government
The South Korean National Assembly elected Syngman Rhee as President of the Democratic Republic of Korea.

A U.S. federal grand jury in New York indicted 12 Communist Party U.S.A. leaders on charges of advocating the violent overthrow of the U.S. government in violation of the 1940 Alien Registration Act. Among those indicted were party chairman William Z. Foster; general secretary Eugene Dennis; Congress of Industrial Organizations International Fur and Leather Workers Union leader Irving Potash; and Ohio Communist leader Gus Hall.

Business
A U.S. federal grand jury in Pittsburgh indicted Du Pont, Sherwin-Williams, Glidden, and 11 other companies on charges of fixing prices of paint and related products.

50 years ago
1958

War
U.K. Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd and U.K. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles reportedly reached a decision in Washington against military action in Iraq.

Diplomacy
Jordan severed diplomatic relations with the United Arab Republic as the result of the U.A.R.'s recognition of the new Iraqi government.

Disasters
An explosion in a top-secret military area near Kokin Breg, Yugoslavia caused 26 deaths.

Golf
Dow Finsterwald won the PGA Championship at Llanerch Country Club in Havertown, Pennsylvania with a 4-under-par total of 276, 2 strokes ahead of Billy Casper. First prize money was $5,500.

Football
CFL
WIFU
Calgary Stampeders intrasquad game
Red 39 White 14

Tom Flores threw 3 touchdown passes and Billy Magee added 2 more for Red as they beat White before 4,000 fans at Mewata Stadium. Mr. Flores threw his TD passes to Jack Lamb, Ron Clinkscale, and Chuck Holloway, while Mr. Magee completed his TD first TD pass to Jim Smith in the 3rd quarter; 5 minutes later, he completed a pass to Jack Gotta, who lateralled to lineman Lorne Reid, who carried the ball the rest of the way for the touchdown. The first White TD was scored in the 2nd quarter when Bob O'Neil intercepted a pass and lateralled to Dick Washington, who returned it 65 yards for the score. John Pyeatt scored the other White touchdown later in the quarter on a 29-yard pass from Nobby Wirkowski.

Baseball
Jim Bunning pitched a no-hitter for the Detroit Tigers as they shut out the Boston Red Sox 3-0 in the first game of a doubleheader before 29,529 fans at Fenway Park in Boston. Ted Bowsfield made his major league debut as a relief pitcher with the Red Sox, allowing 1 hit in a scoreless 9th inning. The Red Sox scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th to break a 2-2 tie as they won the second game 5-2, with Ike Delock pitching a 10-hit complete game victory to improve his 1958 record to 10-0.

Enos Slaughter led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a single for his fourth hit of the game, and Yogi Berra followed with a home run to give the New York Yankees a 3-1 win over the Kansas City Athletics in the first game of a doubleheader before 32,836 fans at Yankee Stadium. Whitey Ford pitched a 5-hitter and scored 3 runs as the Yankees won the second game 8-0 to complete the sweep. Jerry Lumpe led the New York attack with a home run, 2 singles, and 4 runs batted in. The Yankees' middle infield turned 4 double plays in the second game.

Bob Boyd tripled to lead off the bottom of the 10th inning and pinch runner Jim Busby scored on a bases-loaded single by Joe Ginsberg with 1 out to give the Baltimore Orioles a 3-2 win over the Cleveland Indians before 11,342 fans at Memorial Stadium. Arnie Portocarrero pitched a 2-hit complete game win, with both Cleveland hits coming in a 2-run 3rd inning.

Sherm Lollar doubled home 2 runs and scored on a single by Earl Torgeson as the Chicago White Sox scored 3 runs in the top of the 5th inning and defeated the Washington Senators 5-2 in the first game of a doubleheader before 9,084 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Dick Donovan pitched a 5-hit complete game victory. Roy Sievers led off the bottom of the 9th with a home run off Early Wynn to give the Senators a 5-4 win in the second game, after the White Sox had scored a run in the top of the 9th to tie the score.

Johnny Podres pitched a 4-hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers as they shut out the Philadelphia Phillies 6-0 before 17,506 fans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Angel of the Morning--Merrilee Rush

#1 single in France: Rain and Tears--Aphrodite's Child (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Ho scritto t'amo sulla sabbia--Franco IV e Franco I

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Delilah--Peter Alexander (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Blue Eyes--Don Partridge (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Baby, Come Back--The Equals (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Grazing in the Grass--Hugh Masakela

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Ich Bau' Dir Ein Schloss--Heintje (4th week at #1)
2 Camp--Sir Henry and his Butlers
3 Young Girl--The Union Gap
4 Times were When--The Cats
5 You Don't Know What You Mean to Me--Sam & Dave
6 The Muffin Man--World of Oz
7 Honey--Bobby Goldsboro
8 Summertime Blues--Blue Cheer
9 Jumpin' Jack Flash--The Rolling Stones
10 The Hurdy Gurdy Man--Donovan

Singles entering the chart were Day's by the Kinks (#25); Ik Kan Geen Kikker Van de Kant Afduwen by the Het Lowland Trio (#35); MacArthur Park by Richard Harris (#37); Callow-La-Vita by Raymond Froggatt (#38); and Bring a Little Lovin' by Los Bravos (#40).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Jumpin' Jack Flash--The Rolling Stones
2 This Guy's in Love with You--Herb Alpert
3 Lady Willpower--Gary Puckett and the Union Gap
4 The Horse--Cliff Nobles & Co.
5 Grazing in the Grass--Hugh Masakela
6 Angel of the Morning--Merrilee Rush & the Turnabouts
7 The Look of Love--Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
8 Indian Lake--The Cowsills
9 Hurdy Gurdy Man--Donovan
10 Stoned Soul Picnic--The 5th Dimension

Singles entering the chart were People Got to Be Free by the Rascals (#43); Yesterday's Dream by the Four Tops (#58); Don't Give Up by Petula Clark (#61); I Can't Stop Dancing by Archie Bell & the Drells (#63); I Guess I'll Have to Cry, Cry, Cry by James Brown and the Famous Flames (#69); Happy by Nancy Sinatra (#71); Do it Again by the Beach Boys (#76); Slip Away by Clarence Carter (#77); Light My Fire by Jose Feliciano (#84); The Impossible Dream by Roger Williams (#87); God Bless Our Love by the Ballads (#91); Prayer Meetin' by Willie Mitchell (#92); You Can Try if You Want To by the Troggs (#94); I am Your Man by Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers (#95); Brown Eyed Woman by Bill Medley (#96); Send My Baby Back by Freddie Hughes (#97); Just a Little Bit by Blue Cheer (#99); and I'm Gonna Do What They Do to Me by B.B. King (#100). Slip Away was the B-side of Funky Fever, which had entered the chart on June 1 and peaked at #96 on June 8.

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Lady Willpower--Gary Puckett and the Union Gap (2nd week at #1)
2 D.W. Washburn--The Monkees
3 Indian Lake--The Cowsills
4 Stoned Soul Picnic--The 5th Dimension
5 The Look of Love--Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
6 Angel of the Morning--Merrilee Rush
7 The Horse--Cliff Nobles & Co.
8 This Guy's in Love with You--Herb Alpert
9 Hurdy Gurdy Man--Donovan
10 Jumpin' Jack Flash--The Rolling Stones

Singles entering the chart were Dreams of the Everyday Housewife by Wayne Newton (#51, charting with the version by Glen Campbell); People Got to Be Free by the Rascals (#72); This Wheel's on Fire by Julie Driscoll (#77); Somebody Cares by Tommy James and the Shondells (#82); Never Going Back by the Lovin' Spoonful (#83); Halfway to Paradise by Bobby Vinton (#84); 1,2,3, Red Light by the 1910 Fruitgum Company (#90); Breaking Up is Hard to Do by the Happenings (#91); Sally Had a Party by Flavor (#93); You Met Your Match by Stevie Wonder (#95); Nice Girl by Copperpenny (#96); Muffin Man by World of Oz (#97); Yesterday's Dream by the Four Tops (#99); and I Can't Make it Anymore by the Original Caste (#100).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 San Francisco Girls (Return of the Native)--Fever Tree
2 Hurdy Gurdy Man--Donovan
3 Classical Gas--Mason Williams
4 Hello, I Love You--The Doors
5 She's a Heartbreaker--Gene Pitney
6 Lady Willpower--Gary Puckett and the Union Gap
7 Lydia Purple--The Collectors
8 The Look of Love--Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
9 Grazing in the Grass--Hugh Masakela
10 (You Keep Me) Hangin' On--Joe Simon

Singles entering the chart were Autumn of My Life by Bobby Goldsboro (#24); People Got to Be Free by the Rascals (#25); Don't Give Up by Petula Clark (#28); Backwards and Forwards by December's Children (#29); and Baby You Come Rollin' Across My Mind by Peppermint Trolley Company (#30).

Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 Lady Willpower--Gary Puckett and the Union Gap (2nd week at #1)
2 Jumpin' Jack Flash--The Rolling Stones
3 Indian Lake--The Cowsills
4 Hurdy Gurdy Man--Donovan
5 Don't Take it So Hard--Paul Revere and the Raiders
6 The Legend of Xanadu--Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich
7 This Guy's in Love with You--Herb Alpert
8 Sky Pilot--Eric Burdon and the Animals
9 If You Knew--Gainsborough Gallery
10 Bring a Little Lovin'--Los Bravos
Pick hit of the week: Some Things You Never Get Used To--Diana Ross and the Supremes

If You Knew was the other side of Sonny, which had been the pick hit of the week for July 13. If You Knew was originally released in 1967 by the Young Rascals as the B-side of I've Been Lonely Too Long.

Died on this date
Bray Hammond, 81. U.S. historian. Mr. Hammond was assistant secretary to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in 1944-1950. He won the 1958 Pulitzer Prize for History for his book Banks and Politics in America from the Revolution to the Civil War (1957).

Personal
This blogger took his first train ride, from Hinton to Jasper, Alberta.

Disasters
Six people were killed and thousands driven from their homes when flood waters swamped fresh areas of the Indian state of Kerala.

Eight miners were killed and seven trapped in a cave-in in an emerald mine near Bogota.

Sport
The first Special Olympics games were held at Soldier Field in Chicago, with about 1,000 athletes.

40 years ago
1978

Scandal
Dr. Peter Bourne resigned as U.S. President Jimmy Carter's top adviser on drug abuse, the day after admitting that he had written a prescription for the powerful sedative Quaalude for one of his aides, using a fictitious name. A friend of the aide had been arrested while trying to fill the prescription. Dr. Bourne said that he had used the false name to protest the confidentiality of his aide, who, he said, had a real medical need for the drug. In his resignation announcement, Dr. Bourne made an incidental reference to a "high incidence" of marijuana use among White House staff.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Den jeg elsker--Sanne Salomonsen (2nd week at #1)

Politics and government
The Democratic National Convention, meeting at the Omni in Atlanta, officially nominated Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis as the party's 1988 candidate for President of the United States of America, with U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas as the vice-presidential candidate. Mr. Dukakis received 2,876.25 votes to 1,218.5 for Rev. Jesse Jackson. Mr. Bentsen was nominated by acclamation.

Football
CFL
Ottawa (0-2) 11 @ Toronto (1-1) 34

10 years ago
1998

Business
The Southam Press newspaper chain acquired the Financial Post newspaper from Sun Media; it later formed a part of the National Post.

The Canadian entertainment company Alliance Communications merged with Atlantis Communications, to form Alliance Atlantis.