September 21, 2008

450 years ago
1558

Died on this date
Charles V, 58. Holy Roman Emperor, 1519-1556. Charles V, the son of King Philip I of Castile and grandson of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, held various other titles, and succeeded his grandfather as Holy Roman Emperor. He defended the Holy Roman Empire against the Protestant Reformation and expansion of the Ottoman Empire, and waged war for about 35 years. Facing the prospect of an alliance of all his enemies, Charles V abdicated some of his titles, and finally abdicated as Holy Roman Emperor in favour of his younger brother Ferdinand I. Charles V retired to a monastery, and died of malaria.

210 years ago
1798

Died on this date
George Read, 65. U.S. politician and judge. Mr. Read, a Federalist, represented Delaware in the Continental Congress (1774-1777); was President of Delaware (1777-1778); represented Delaware in the United States Senate (1789-1793); and was Chief Justice of Delaware from 1793 until his death, three days after his 65th birthday.

110 years ago
1898

World events
Empress Dowager Cixi seized power and ends the Hundred Days' Reform in China.

90 years ago
1918

Journalism
Blinded war veteran Harris Turner of Saskatoon published the first issue of Turner's Weekly.

Communications
Canada's Post Office introduced the first government airmail stamp, a five penny brown.

80 years ago
1928

Politics and government
Voting in the Swedish general election concluded. The Social Democratic Party, led by Per Albin Hansson, remained the party with the largest representation in the Second Chamber of the Riksdag, winning 90 of 230 seats, a decline of 14 from the most recent election in 1924. The Electoral League, led by Arvid Lindman, increased from 65 to 73 seats, and Mr. Lindman became Prime Minister, replacing Free-minded National Association leader Carl Gustaf Ekman, whose party had dropped from 29 to 28 seats.

Scandal
Testifying in the U.S. federal court in Albany, New York in the baseball pool case, an employee swore that he had inserted 1,200 "dummy plays" per week along with the regular plays of customers in the pool.

75 years ago
1933

Died on this date
Kenji Miyazawa, 37. Japanese author and poet. Mr. Miyazawa wrote children's novels and poetry that was influenced by his conversion to Nichiren Buddhism. He suffered from poor health for years, and died of pneumonia, 25 days after his 37th birthday.

World events
The trial of Marinus van der Lubbe, Ernst Torgler, Georgi Dimitrov, Blagoi Popov, and Vasil Tanev--charged with setting the fire that had burned down the German Reichstag in Berlin on February 27, 1933, and of attempting to overthrow the government--began in Leipzig.

70 years ago
1938

Died on this date
Ormond Beach, 27. U.S.-born Canadian football player. Mr. Beach, a native of Oklahoma, played at the University of Kansas and then joined the Sarnia Imperials of the Ontario Rugby Football Union, playing flying wing and linebacker from 1934-1937. He was an ORFU All-Star in all four seasons, won the Imperial Oil Trophy as the ORFU's Most Valuable Player in 1937, and helped the Imperials win ORFU championships in all four years and Grey Cup championships in 1934 and 1936. Mr. Beach worked for Imperial Oil in Sarnia during the off-season, and was killed in an explosion shortly before the start of the football season. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

Disasters
The Great Hurricane of 1938 made landfall on Long Island in New York. The death toll was estimated at 500-700 people.

60 years ago
1948

Diplomacy
The United Nations General Assembly began its third annual session at Palais de Chaillot in Paris, electing Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Herbert Evatt as president.

Arab League leaders rejected the Bernadotte plan for Palestine, claiming that they would never recognize the country's partition. U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall announced U.S. support for the plan.

Defense
The United Kingdom suspended commercial work in the royal dockyards in order to begin refitting 100 warships for service by April 1949.

Technology
Stanford University announced the development of an X-ray microscope able to penetrate hard body structures and examine live specimens.

Boxing
European champion Marcel Cerdan (108-3) won the National Boxing Association world middleweight title when defending champion Tony Zale (67-18-2) didn't come out for the 12th round at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey.



50 years ago
1958

Defense
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru met with the Maharajah of Bhutan in an effort to persuade Bhutan to join Nepal and Sikkim in a common defense network led by India.

World events
Beirut was placed under a 24-hour curfew in order to curtail renewed clashes between Christian and Muslim factions.

Politics and government
The Iraqi government announced the creation of a new military agency to censor all books and pamphlets published in the country.

Society
The New York City Commission on Intergroup Relations announced that 14 city and Long Island newspapers had voluntarily agreed to reject real estate advertisements identifying property as "interracial." The commission said that the term acutally meant "for Negroes only," and helped preserve and develop segregated housing.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Help Yourself--Tom Jones (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France: Those were the Days--Mary Hopkin

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Azzurro--Adriano Celentano (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Help Yourself--Tom Jones (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): I've Gotta Get a Message to You--The Bee Gees

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Hey Jude--The Beatles

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Harper Valley P.T.A.--Jeannie C. Riley

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Hey Jude--The Beatles (2nd week at #1)
2 Rain and Tears--Aphrodite's Child
3 Those were the Days--Mary Hopkin
--Sandie Shaw
4 I've Gotta Get a Message to You--The Bee Gees
5 Dong-Dong-Di-Ki-Di-Gi-Dong--Golden Earrings
6 Ich Bau' Dir Ein Schloss--Heintje
7 Don't You Cry for a Girl--The Shoes
8 Times were When--The Cats
9 Fire--The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
10 I Say a Little Prayer--Aretha Franklin

Singles entering the chart were Street Fighting Man by the Rolling Stones (#13); Only One Woman by the Marbles (#37); This Rose in My Hand by the Tee Set (#39); and King Croesus by World of Oz (#40).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Hey Jude--The Beatles
2 Harper Valley P.T.A.--Jeannie C. Riley
3 People Got to Be Free--The Rascals
4 1,2,3, Red Light--1910 Fruitgum Company
5 Hush--Deep Purple
6 Light My Fire--Jose Feliciano
7 You're All I Need to Get By--Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
8 The Fool on the Hill--Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
9 The House that Jack Built--Aretha Franklin
10 Born to Be Wild--Steppenwolf

Singles entering the chart were I Found a True Love by Wilson Pickett (#58); Sweet Blindness by the 5th Dimension (#66); Elenore by the Turtles (#68); Sweet Young Thing Like You by Ray Charles (#72); Chained by Marvin Gaye (#73); I've Got Dreams to Remember by Otis Redding (#82); Suzie Q (Part One) by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#83); Cycles by Frank Sinatra (#91); I Ain't Got to Love Nobody Else by the Masqueraders (#92); Hole in My Pocket by the Barry Goldberg Reunion (#93); Hold Me Tight by Johnny Nash (#94); Those were the Days by Mary Hopkin (#98); and Smell of Incense by Southwest F.O.B. (#100). Cycles was the other side of My Way of Life, charting at #60.

Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 Revolution--The Beatles
2 I've Gotta Get a Message to You--The Bee Gees
3 1,2,3, Red Light--1910 Fruitgum Company
4 On the Road Again--Canned Heat
5 Harper Valley P.T.A.--Jeannie C. Riley
6 Magic Bus--The Who
7 Happy Feeling--The Happy Feeling
8 Do it Again--The Beach Boys
9 Sunshine of Your Love--Cream
10 Hello, I Love You--The Doors
Pick hit of the week: Let's Get Together--Bobby Gimby

Died on this date
Charles Jackson, 65. U.S. author. Mr. Jackson was best known for his first novel, The Lost Weekend (1944), which was adapted into an Academy Award-winning movie a year later. He suffered from tuberculosis, was a heavy smoker, and struggled with drinking and drug use. Mr. Jackson had reportedly resumed drinking when he died of barbiturate poisoning in what was ruled a suicide.

Space
The U.S.S.R. lunar probe Zond 5 splashed down in the Indian Ocean and was recovered by U.S.S.R. recovery vessels Borovichy and Vasiliy Golovi, a week after launch.

Football
CFL
Calgary (7-3) 27 @ Ottawa (4-3-1) 24

CIAU-NAIA
Pre-season
British Columbia 0 @ Alberta (3-0) 22

Ludwig Daubner rushed 13 times for 93 yards and a touchdown, and Bill Jenner rushed 13 times for 77 yards and caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Dan McCaffery to help the Golden Bears shut out the Thunderbirds at Varsity Stadium in Edmonton. Starting quarterback Terry Lampert scored the other touchdown. Dave Benbow converted all 3 TDs, and Gil Mather scored the other point when he fielded a UBC punt on the last play of the 1st half and kicked it back into the B.C. end zone for a single. The Thunderbirds appeared to have scored on the 2nd half kickoff when Mr. Smith returned it 92 yards for a touchdown, but it was called back on a clipping penalty. UBC's Dick Stein attempted a 42-yard field goal in the 1st quarter, but his kick was wide and run out of the Alberta end zone.

NCAA
Houston (1-0-1) 20 @ Texas (0-0-1) 20

Texas head coach Darrell Royal unveiled a new backfield formation called the wishbone against the Cougars at Memorial Stadium in Austin. Halfbacks lined up farther from the line of scrimmage than the fullback, creating the appearance of a wishbone. The Longhorns won two national titles with it in 1969 and 1970, and the formation permanently changed college football.

40 years ago
1978

On television tonight
Family, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Starting Over

This was the first episode of the season.

25 years ago
1983

Protest
500,000 people attended a rally in Manila in support of Agapito Aquino, brother of recently slain political opposition leader Benigno Aquino. Speakers demanded the resignation of President Ferdinand Marcos. The rally became violent when one group, mainly composed of students, marched on the presidential residence. 11 people were killed and 200 wounded in an exchange of homemade bombs and gunfire. Mr. Marcos appeared on television in response to the fact that many business people had protested and outlined an economic program to "lighten the burden on the private sector."

Politics and government
U.S. Interior Secretary James G. Watt described a special advisory panel as consisting of "a black ... a woman, two Jews and a cripple." Mr. Watt later apologized and resigned.

Football
CFL
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers traded disgruntled quarterback Dieter Brock to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for quarterback Tom Clements. Mr. Brock, who had won the Schenley Award as the league's Most Outstanding Player in 1980 and 1981, but had walked out on the Blue Bombers in a contract dispute during training camp and again during the regular season and was currently under suspension. In 6 games in 1983 Mr. Brock had completed 115 of 223 passes for 1,892 yards and 10 touchdowns, with 9 interceptions. In 10 games with the Tiger-Cats in 1983 Mr. Clements had completed 190 of 323 passes for 2,416 yards and 19 touchdowns, with 15 interceptions. Winnipeg was in second place in the Western Division with a 6-4 record, while Hamilton was second in the Eastern Division with a 4-6 record, but had lost at home to the Toronto Argonauts 50-16 three days earlier in an embarrassing performance.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): The Only Way Is Up--Yazz and the Plastic Population

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 0.4% in August.

10 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Florence Griffith-Joyner, 38. U.S. athlete. "Flo-Jo" won silver medals in the women's 200-metre run in the Summer Olympic Games in 1984 in Los Angeles, and gold medals in the 100-metre, 200-metre, 4 x 100-metre events, and a silver medal in the 4 x 400-metre relay. Her best times in the 100-metre and 200-metre runs still stand as world records. She died in her sleep of an epileptic seizure.

Scandal
U.S. President Bill Clinton's testimony about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky was released to the public.