July 24, 2008

860 years ago
1148

War
King Louis VII of France laid siege to Damascus during the Second Crusade.

80 years ago
1928

Died on this date
Leo Boice. U.S. longshoreman. Mr. Boice was shot and killed by a U.S. Prohibition agent on a U.S. government pier at Hoboken, New Jersey when he allegedly refused to be searched for liquor.

Defense
The U.S. Navy ordered the withdrawal of 1,350 Marines from China.

Politics and government
The New Jersey legislature passed, over Governor Moore's veto, a bill authorizing the removal of any officer of an election bureau without charges or a hearing. The legislature then summarily removed Thomas A. McDonald as Superintendent of the Hudson County Election Bureau, and, in joint session, appointed as his successor John Ferguson, ex-chairman of the Republican City Committee.

Scandal
In Paris, before 118 magistrates of the Civil Court of the Seine, a registrar was tried and suspended for expediting "for recompense" papers in American divorce cases through the courts. His was the last of the hearings in which seven solicitors and one bailiff had already been suspended or reprimanded. The accused blamed the false information as to length of residence on American lawyers in Paris.

60 years ago
1948

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard) (Best Seller): Woody Wood-Pecker--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra (4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Woody Wood-Pecker--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra
--The Sportsmen and Mel Blanc
--Danny Kaye and the Andrews Sisters
2 You Can't Be True, Dear--Ken Griffin
--Dick Haymes with the Song Spinners
--The Sportsmen
--Vera Lynn
--The Marlin Sisters with Eddie Fisher
3 My Happiness--Jon and Sondra Steele
--The Pied Pipers
--Ella Fitzgerald
4 Little White Lies--Dick Haymes
5 William Tell Overture--Spike Jones and his City Slickers
6 Nature Boy--King Cole
7 Love Somebody--Doris Day and Buddy Clark
8 Toolie Oolie Doolie (The Yodel Polka)--The Andrews Sisters
--The Sportsmen
9 Haunted Heart--Perry Como
--Jo Stafford
10 Twelfth Street Rag--Pee Wee Hunt and his Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were A Tree in the Meadow by Margaret Whiting (#32); Rambling Rose by Perry Como and the Satisfiers (#36); Cool Water by Vaughn Monroe and the Sons of the Pioneers (#37); and Who? Me? by Tex Williams and his Western Caravan (#38).

At the movies
Blonde Ice, directed by Jack Bernhard, and starring Leslie Brooks, Robert Paige, and Michael Whalen, opened in thetres.



Died on this date
Eleanor "Cissy" Patterson, 63. U.S. journalist. Miss Patterson, who married Austro-Hungarian Count Josef Gizycki in 1904, was editor of the Washington Times and Washington Herald from 1930-1939, at which time she bought both papers from William Randolph Hearst and merged them as the Washington Times-Herald. Under Countess Gizycki, the papers took an isolationist, anti-President Franklin D. Roosevelt position. Countess Gizycki died of a heart attack, possibly the result of years of heavy drinking.

Politics and government
The U.S. Progressive National Convention at Municipal Auditorium in Philadelphia nominated former U.S. Vice President Henry Wallace as its 1948 U.S. presidential candidate and Senator Glen Taylor (Democrat--Idaho) as its vice presidential candidate.

Leading southern U.S. Democrats, including presidential candidate Strom Thurmond, who were opposed to President Harry Truman, met in Atlanta and adopted the name "States' Rights Democrats" for their party.

50 years ago
1958

Politics and government
The U.S. Senate adopted a resolution establishing a Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences.

Iranian Deputy Prime Minister and internal security director General Timur Bakhtian invited Kurdish minorities of Iraq and Syria to discuss union with Iran.

Crime
Frankie Carbo, an American underworld figure who was known for his association with boxing, was indicted on 10 charges of conspiracy and acting as an illegal matchmaker and undercover manager.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): I Pretend--Des O'Connor

Australia's Top 10 (Go-Set)
1 This Guy's in Love with You--Herb Alpert (2nd week at #1)
2 Jumpin' Jack Flash--The Rolling Stones
3 Angel of the Morning--Merrilee Rush
4 Lady Willpower--Gary Puckett and the Union Gap
5 Lazy Sunday--Small Faces
6 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly--Hugo Montenegro, his Orchestra and Chorus
7 The Unicorn--The Irish Rovers
8 Yummy Yummy Yummy--Ohio Express
9 The Orange and the Green/(The Puppet Song) Whiskey on a Sunday--The Irish Rovers
10 Mrs. Robinson--Simon and Garfunkel

Singles entering the chart were D.W. Washburn/It's Nice to Be with You by the Monkees (#19); Boy by Lulu (#28); Let Yourself Go/Your Time Hasn't Come Yet, Baby by Elvis Presley (#30); The Days of Pearly Spencer/Harlem Lady by David McWilliams (#32); I Don't Want to Love You/Jamie by Johnny Farnham (#36); and I'll Be Your Baby Tonight/Maria by Burl Ives (#40).

War
Communist forces shelled severl cities in the South Vietnamese province of Quangngai.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Ottawa (2-1-1) 13 @ Saskatchewan (3-1) 29
Toronto (2-2) 7 @ British Columbia (1-3) 46

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Rivers of Babylon--Boney M. (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Monster--Pink Lady (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Cara de Gitana--Daniel Magal (3rd week at #1)

25 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland: Flashdance...What a Feeling--Irene Cara (3rd week at #1)

War
The Black July anti-Tamil riots, generally regarded as the beginning of the Sri Lankan Civil War, began, killing between 400 and 3,000.

Rival Palestine Liberation Organization factions broke their cease-fire in Lebanon's Bekka Valley.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (1-2) 28 @ British Columbia (1-1) 44

The Lions' win over the Roughriders was the first regular season game played at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver.



Baseball
In what became known as the "Pine Tar game," the Kansas City Royals were trailing the New York Yankees 4-3 with 2 out in the top of the 9th inning when Kansas City third baseman George Brett hit a 2-run home run off New York relief pitcher Goose Gossage to give the Royals a 5-4 lead. New York manager Billy Martin immediately demanded that home plate umpire Tim McClelland examine Mr. Brett's bat, arguing that the bat had been coated with pine tar past the legal limit of 18 inches from the bottom. Mr. McClelland agreed and called Mr. Brett out, resulting in the final out of a 4-3 Yankee win. Mr. Brett immediately charged out of the dugout and had to be restrained from getting to the umpire. The Royals officially protested the decision.





20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Sweet Lovers--Holidaymakers (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Im Nin'Alu--Ofra Haza (5th week at #1)

Edmontonia
A group of Edmontonians whipped up the world's largest milk shake ever, weighing 54,914 pounds, 13 ounces. The shake used 44,689 lb. 8 oz. of ice cream, 9,688 lb. 2 oz. of syrup, and 537 lb. 3 oz. of topping.

Aviation
Emma Houlston landed a single-engine plane at St. John's, Newfoundland, becoming the youngest person to fly across Canada. The 9-year-old from Medicine Hat, Alberta took off from Victoria July 10, with her father the navigator and official pilot-in-command.

10 years ago
1998

At the movies
Saving Private Ryan, directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg, and starring Tom Hanks, opened in theatres.

Crime
Russell Eugene Weston, Jr. burst into the United States Capitol in Washington and opened fire, killing two police officers. He was later ruled to be incompetent to stand trial.

Football
CFL
Calgary (3-1) 44 @ Winnipeg (0-4) 25



British Columbia (1-3) 25 @ Saskatchewan (2-2) 20