September 12, 2008

325 years ago
1683

Died on this date
Afonso VI, 40. King of Portugal and the Algarves, 1656-1683. Afonso VI succeded his father João IV as king. His brother Pedro forced him into exile in 1667, and became prince regent in 1668. Afonso died in Sintra, and his brother succeeded him as King Pedro II.

War
Several European armies joined forces to defeat the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of Vienna, helping to keep Europe "Christian" instead of Muslim.

160 years ago
1848

Politics and government
Switzerland became a federal state with the adoption of a new constitution.

140 years ago
1868

Diplomacy
Sheikh Mohammed bin Thani, Emir of Qatar, signed a treaty with Colonel Lewis Pelly, a British resident in the Persian Gulf, which recognized the independence of Qatar.

120 years ago
1888

Born on this date
Maurice Chevalier. French actor and singer. Mr. Chevalier was known for singing songs such as Louise and Thank Heaven for Little Girls, and for his appearances in movies such as The Love Parade (1929); The Big Pond (1930); Love in the Afternoon (1957); and Gigi (1958). He died on January 1, 1972 at the age of 83.

90 years ago
1918

Died on this date
George Reid, 73. Prime Minister of Australia, 1904-1905. Sir George, who was born in Scotland and moved to Australia as a child, led the Free Trade Party from 1891-1908 and went back and forth from state politics in New South Wales to federal politics, serving as Premier of New South Wales from 1894-1899. He was Prime Minister for just under 11 months during a time when protectionist parties were divided, without his party having a majority in either house of Parliament. When the protectionist parties were united, Sir George was soon voted out of office. He was Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1910-1916, and was then elected unopposed to the British House of Commons as a Unionist candidate, representing self-governing Dominions in supporting the Allied effort in World War I. Sir George died of a cerebral thrombosis.

War
The American Expeditionary Forces under commander-in-chief General John J. Pershing launched the Saint-Mihiel Offensive, its first major offensive in Europe as an independent army.

Politics and government
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Robert Borden created the Department of Public Instruction to give war information to the public.

80 years ago
1928

Disasters
The Okeechobee hurricane first struck the island of Guadeloupe; eventually it reached the United States, and caused over 4,000 deaths overall.

75 years ago
1933

Science
Atomic scientist Leó Szilárd, waiting for a red light on Southampton Row in Bloomsbury, London, conceived the idea of the nuclear chain reaction, leading one to wonder how history may have turned out differently if he hadn't had to wait for that red light.

70 years ago
1938

Died on this date
Prince Arthur of Connaught, 55. Governor General of South Africa, 1920-1924. Prince Arthur of Connaught and Strathearn was a grandson of Queen Victoria and the third son of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, Queen Victoria's third son. The younger Prince Arthur died of stomach cancer.

Politics and government
In a speech in Nuremberg, German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler demanded self-determination for the Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia.

Football
WIFU
Regina (3-0) 7 @ Winnipeg (2-1) 0

Howard Cleveland's punt single in the 4th quarter was the only scoring in the game until the last play, when a desperation pass by Blue Bomber quarterback Russ Rebholz was intercepted by Leo Danaher and returned 40 yards for a touchdown, converted by Bert Nelson. The Roughriders' win, before a capacity crowd of 6,300 at Osborne Stadium, was their third straight shutout. A white ball was used in the game because Regina objected to the yellow ball with black stripes usually used for night games in Winnipeg.

Baseball
Hank Greenberg's 50th home run of the season was the deciding blow as the Detroit Tigers edged the Chicago White Sox 4-3 before 3,500 fans at Briggs Stadium in Detroit in a game that was played in 1 hour 40 minutes. Mr. Greenberg's homer was hit off losing pitcher Jack Knott. Al Benton was the winning pitcher.

60 years ago
1948

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring John Stanley and Ian Martin, on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Unwelcome Ambassador

This was the first episode of the 1948-1949 season, and marked Ian Martin's first appearance as Dr. Watson, replacing Alfred Shirley.

Literature
Literary historian Samuel Sukel identified 18 anonymous short stories published in 1840 as the work of Nathaniel Hawthorne.

War
Marshal Lin Biao, commander-in-chief of the Chinese Communist Northeast Field Army, launched a massive offensive toward Jinzhou, beginning the Liaoshen Campaign.

Politics and government
Negro leaders in Virginia, meeting in Richmond, formed a Committee for the Reelection of Truman.

50 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): When--The Kalin Twins (4th week at #1)

Technology
Jack Kilby demonstrated the first working integrated circuit while working at Texas Instruments.

Education
Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus issued a proclamation closing Little Rock's four high schools to avoid "violence."

Boxing
Former world welterweight champion Kid Gavilán announced his retirement from active boxing to become a boxing instructor in Havana. In a 15-year professional career he had a record of 107-30-6-1, and was never knocked out.

40 years ago
1968

Labour
Lake Superior grain handlers ended an 8-week strike.

25 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Australiana--Austen Tayshus (3rd week at #1)

Diplomacy
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau expelled two Soviet diplomats for trying to obtain prohibited high technology equipment.

11 days after Korean Air Lines Flight 007 had been shot down over Soviet air space with the loss of all 269 people aboard, the U.S.S.R. vetoed a United Nations Security Council Resolution proposed by the United States that "deeply deplored the destruction of the Korean airliner and the tragic loss of civilian life therein." The vote in favour was 9-2 with 5 abstentions.

War
The number of U.S. ships off Beirut stood at 12, with the battleship New Jersey on its way.

Politics and government
All members of Israel's ruling coalition agreed to support the new Prime Minister, Yitzhak Shamir.

Crime
A Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Connecticut was robbed of approximately $7 million by the Puerto Rican terrorist organization Boricua Popular Army, better known as Los Macheteros.

After five days of activity, the commission named by Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos to investigate the August 21 assassination of political opposition leader Benigno Aquino was suspended until the Supreme Court decided cases challenging its legality.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Perfect--Fairground Attraction (4th week at #1)

Crime
One man was slightly injured when Medina Perez, Cuba's commercial attaché, opened fire with a gun on a London street. The Cuban government blamed the incident on an attempt to get Mr. Perez to defect. Mr. Perez and Cuban Ambassador Oscar Fernandez-Mell were expelled from Great Britain.

Disasters
Hurricane Gilbert reached Jamaica with winds of 115 miles per hour, leaving 500,000 people homeless and destroying the banana and poultry industries.

10 years ago
1998

Football
CFL
British Columbia (3-8) 28 @ Toronto (6-5) 37

Kerwin Bell threw 4 touchdown passes to Derrell "Mookie" Mitchell to help the Argonauts defeat the Lions before 14,218 fans at SkyDome.