July 7, 2008

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Ringo Starr!

290 years ago
1718

Died on this date
Alexei Petrovich, 28. Czarevich of Russia. Alexei was the son of Peter I "the Great," but didn't get along with his father. Alexei died in the Peter and Paul fortress in Saint Petersburg, two days after the senate had condemned him to death for conspiring rebellion against his father, and after being tortured.

210 years ago
1798

Defense
As a result of the XYZ Affair, the U.S. Congress rescinded the 1778
Treaty of Alliance with France, sparking the "Quasi-War," which began two days later when Congress authorized U.S. attacks on French warships.

160 years ago
1848

Born on this date
Rodrigues Alves. 5th President of Brazil, 1902-1906; President-elect of Brazil, 1918-1919. Mr. Alves, a member of the Conservative Party before 1889 and the Republican Party of São Paulo thereafter, was President of the province of São Paulo from 1887-1888 and 1900-1902, and held various cabinet posts before his presidency, which was characterized by his modernization of Rio de Janeiro. Mr. Alves was elected President again on March 1, 1918, taking 99.1% of the vote, but fell victim to the influenza epidemic and died at the age of 70 on January 16, 1919, before he could take office. Vice President-elect Delfim Moreira became acting President until new elections could be held on April 13, 1919.

150 years ago
1858

Communications
Frederick Gisbourne started laying underwater telegraph cable from Ireland to Newfoundland.

110 years ago
1898

Americana
President William McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution, annexing Hawaii as a territory of the United States.

100 years ago
1908

Born on this date
Revilo P. Oliver. U.S. philologist. Dr. Oliver was a professor of Spanish and Italian at the University of Illinois, but was better known for his opposition to Communism and Christianity. He was a founding member of the John Birch Society, but broke with the JBS in the mid-1960s. Dr. Oliver testified before the Warren Commission in 1964 that the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy was a Soviet plot, with Lee Harvey Oswald as a puppet. In 1974, Dr. Oliver and William Pierce co-founded the National Alliance, known for its Holocaust denial and opposition to racial integration. Dr. Oliver retired in 1977; he was suffering from leukemia and severe emphysema when he committed suicide on August 20, 1994 at the age of 86.

90 years ago
1918

Died on this date
Vernon A. Forbes, 34. U.S. politician. Mr. Forbes, a Republican, represented the 21st District in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1913 until his death, sitting on various committees. He and friend Ralph Poindexter drowned when their boat broke up while they were fishing in Crescent Lake.

80 years ago
1928

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Pat Hitchcock!

Died on this date
General Protogeroff. Macedonian revolutionist. Gen. Protogeroff and another revolutionist were assassinated in Sofia.

Kallie Saleeby; Carrie Erd. U.S. crime victims. Mr. Saleeby, an artist, and Miss Erd, his wife, who was employed at the U.S. consulate in Beirut, were murdered in Beirut by assassins.

Technology
Sliced bread was sold for the first time by the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri, on the 48th birthday of Otto Frederick Rohwedder, who had invented the bread slicing machine.

Disasters
The Chilean government steamship Angamos, bound for Talcahuano, hit rocks at night in a storm in the Bay of Arauco, with the loss of 262 of 269 people aboard. Most of the passengers were railroad labourers.

70 years ago
1938

Politics and government
The Conservative Party of Canada leadership convention at Ottawa Coliseum concluded with R. J. Manion, who had represented the Ontario riding of Fort William from 1917-1935, defeating four other candidates to win the party's leadership on the second ballot, replacing retiring former Prime Minister R.B. Bennett. Mr. Manion had served as minister of railways and canals in Mr. Bennett's government from 1930-1935.

60 years ago
1948

War
British and Ghurka forces began operations in Malaya against Communist-led insurgents attempting to take control of rubber plantations and urban centres.

Politics and government
The Catholic Party remained the largest party in the House of Representatives, capturing 32 of 100 seats in the Dutch general election. The election resulted in a four-party coalition government of the Catholic Party; Labour Party; Christian Historical Union; and People's Party for Freedom and Democracy.

Chilean President Gabriel Gonzalez Videla reorganized his cabinet to include Radical, Liberal, and Conservative members.

The U.S. State and Interior Departments urged Congress to transfer U.S. Pacific possessions and trusteeships from military to civilian control.

World events
Peruvian Colonel Alfonzo Liosa Gonzalez fled to Bolivia after failing in an attempted military coup.

Defense
Six women, the first to enlist under the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, were inducted into the U.S. Navy.

Labour
A U.S. House of Representatives Labor subcommittee opened hearings in New York on alleged Communist infiltration of the city's labour unions.

Baseball
On his 42nd birthday, legendary Negro League pitcher Satchel Paige signed with the Cleveland Indians.

50 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): The Purple People Eater--Sheb Wooley (Best Seller--4th week at #1; Disc Jockey--2nd week at #1; Top 100--4th week at #1)

Americana
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act, making Alaska the 49th state; he also urged Congress to grant statehood to Hawaii.

Diplomacy
Representatives of India and Pakistan resumed talks in London on implementation of plans for the development of the Indus River Basin.

Economics and finance
The U.S.S.R. and East Germany signed an agreement in Moscow linking the two countries' heavy industries.

40 years ago
1968

Died on this date
Jo Schlesser, 40. French auto racing driver. Mr. Schlesser was a sports car and Formula Two driver who competed in three Formula One events. After John Surtees refused to drive a Honda in the French Grand Prix, claiming it was a potential deathtrap, Mr. Schlesser was hired to drive the car, and was killed in a crash on lap 3.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Lyndon Johnson toured the Salvadoran capital of San Salvador.

Defense
France resumed her nuclear testing program with the explosion of an atomic bomb one-third of a mile above Mururoa Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. It was the 13th French nuclear test, and the first since July 2, 1967. Japan, Peru, New Zealand, and the Polynesian Territorial Assembly lodged protests against the test, fearing radioactive pollution of the atmosphere.

Golf
Tom Weiskopf won the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Michigan with a total score of 280. First prize money was $25,000.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Edmonton (0-1) 3 @ Calgary (1-0) 28

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan):

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Rivers of Babylon--Boney M. (12th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Rivers of Babylon--Boney M. (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Francisco Mendes, 39. Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau, 1973-1978. Mr. Mendes, a member of the Marxist-Leninist Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC) (African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde), became Prime Minister upon Guinea-Bissau's declaration of independence from Portuguese rule in 1973. He was killed in a car accident; conspiracy theories abound, but PAIGC was suspected of involvement. Mr. Mendes was succeeded as Prime Minister by Constantino Teixeira.

Asiatica
The Solomon Islands gained their independence from the United Kingdom after 80 years of British rule.

Literature
A U.S. federal judge ruled that former Central Intelligence Agency agent Frank Snepp had to forfeit profits on Decent Interval, an unathorized book he had written about the agency, dealing with the CIA's evacuation of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. The judge ruled that although the book contained no classified information, Mr. Snepp had violated a contractual agreement not to publish unauthorized material relating to CIA activity, and the book had "caused the United States irreparable harm and loss." The president of Random House, the book's publisher, commented that the "supreme irony" of the case was that former CIA Director Richard Helms had been fined $2,000 recently "for lying to a Congressional committee and that Frank Snepp has suffered the impoundment of at least $60,000 for telling the truth."

Law
U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell won a stay in a U.S. federal court of the previous day's ruling that he was in contempt of court for refusing to turn over files on 18 informants who had spied on the Socialist Workers Party for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The SWP had long been seeking the files in its $40-million suit against the FBI. Evidence had already been introduced thatt the FBI had used about 1,300 informants in its investigation of the small Trotskyite party.

Baseball
The Calgary Cardinals scored 10 runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning and withstood a 5-run 4th as they beat the Great Falls Giants 17-8 in a Pioneer League game before 463 fans at Foothills Park in Calgary. Calgary catcher Dennis Delany batted 4 for 5 with 2 runs and 3 runs batted in.

25 years ago
1983

Hit parade
Canada's Top 30
1 Every Breath You Take--The Police
2 Total Eclipse of the Heart--Bonnie Tyler
3 I'm Still Standing--Elton John
4 Come Dancing--The Kinks
5 Flashdance (What a Feeling)--Irene Cara
6 Electric Avenue--Eddy Grant
7 Too Shy--Kajagoogoo
8 Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)--Eurythmics
9 Hot Girls in Love--Loverboy
10 Our House--Madness
11 Baby Jane--Rod Stewart
12 Puttin' on the Ritz--Taco
13 Never Gonna Let You Go--Sergio Mendes
14 Don't Let it End--Styx
15 Stand Back--Stevie Nicks
16 Is There Something I Should Know--Duran Duran
17 Faithfully--Journey
18 China Girl--David Bowie
19 Wishing--A Flock of Seagulls
20 Heartache Avenue--The Maisonettes
21 Wanna Be Startin' Something--Michael Jackson
22 Moonlight Shadow--Mike Oldfield
23 1999--Prince
24 Best Years of Our Lives--Mens Room
25 Roll Me Away--Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
26 How Do You Sleep at Night--The Tenants
27 The Haunting--The Front
28 Maniac--Michael Sembello
29 Change--Tears for Fears
30 It's a Mistake--Men at Work

Best Years of Our Lives was the B-side of Sign of the Times, which had been a hit about three months earlier. Maniac was the second song from the Flashdance soundtrack to become a hit.

Diplomacy
11-year-old U.S. schoolgirl Samantha Smith, who had written a letter to Soviet leader Yuri Andropov advocating peace between the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R., flew with her parents to the Soviet Union at the invitation of Mr. Yuri Andropov.

West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl concluded a three-day visit to the U.S.S.R.

U.S. Vice President George Bush ended a European tour in Iceland, saying that he believed European governments would continue to support deployment of U.S. missiles in Europe unless the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. reached an accord on arms limitation.

U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz concluded a three-day visit to the Middle East.

U.S. envoy Richard Stone met with Salvadoran officials.

Scandal
Six men, including three former members of the United States House of Representatives, entered federal prisons as a result of convictions in the Abscam bribery investigations, in which Federal Bureau of Investigation agents posing as Arab sheiks had offered bribes to various Congressmen.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (1-0) 21 @ Montreal (0-1) 14
Toronto (1-0) 45 @ Calgary (0-1) 30

The Roughriders' win over the Concordes at Olympic Stadium marked the beginning of the 14-year Hall of Fame career of Saskatchewan slotback Ray Elgaard.

In the Stampeders' loss to the Argonauts at McMahon Stadium, Calgary defensive back Darrel Toussaint blocked a punt, but later broke his leg, and didn't play another CFL game for two years. Terry Leschuk of the Stampeders averaged 50.8 yards on 5 kickoffs in his only CFL game. It was the first game for Hank Ilesic as punter and kicker for the Argnonauts after 6 years with the Edmonton Eskimos.



20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Gimme Hope Jo'anna--Eddy Grant (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Afrikka, sarvikuonojen maa--Eppu Normaali (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Jimmy Edwards, 68. U.K. comedian. Mr. Edwards was a writer and actor in radio and television, starring in radio programs such as Take it from Here (1948-1960) and Does the Team Think? (1957-1976), and television programs such as Whack-O! (1956-1960). He died of pneumonia.

10 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Moshood Abiola, 60. President-elect of Nigeria, 1993. Mr. Abiola, a Yoruba Muslim from southern Nigeria, was a financier and philanthropist who, as the candidate of the Social Democratic Party, was elected President on June 12, 1993, easily defeating National Republican Convention candidate Bashir Tofa. The election was regarded as fair by national and international observers, but was annulled by General Ibrahim Babangida, the military ruler whom Mr. Abiola was to replace. General Sani Abacha seized power later in 1993, and Mr. Abiola was imprisoned in solitary confinement in 1994. His health deteriorated, and on the day he was to be released, he suddenly collapsed and died in the presence of an American delegation that had gone to secure his release. An international autopsy reportedly confirmed that Mr. Abiola had died of a heart attack, but there was a widespread suspicion that he had been murdered.

Protest
News of the death of Moshood Abiola prompted an outbreak of four days of rioting in Lagos, resulting in at least 19 deaths.

Scandal
Canadian Senator Michel Cogger, convicted of influence peddling, was fined $3,000, put on 12-months probation, and ordered to do 120 hours of community service.

Former National Hockey League Players' Association President Alan Eagleson was paroled after serving one-third of an 18-month term for defrauding Hockey Canada, the NHLPA and Labatt Breweries.

Baseball
Major League All-Star Game @ Coors Field, Denver
American League 13 National League 8

Alex Rodriguez and Roberto Alomar each hit a home run and 2 singles to help the AL defeat the NL before 51,267 fans.