September 26, 2008

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Jennifer Korchinski!

140 years ago
1868

Died on this date
August Ferdinand Möbius, 77. German mathematician and astronomer. Dr. Möbius was best known for his discovery of the Möbius strip, a non-orientable two-dimensional surface with only one side when embedded in three-dimensional Euclidean space.

120 years ago
1888

Born on this date
J. Frank Dobie. U.S. writer. Mr. Dobie wrote articles and books about Texas in the days of the open range, and helped to save Texas Longhorn cattle from extinction. He died on September 18, 1964, eight days before his 76th birthday.

T. S. Eliot. U.S.-born U.K. writer. Mr. Eliot was known for poems such as The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915); The Waste Land (1922); and The Hollow Men (1925), and for plays such as Murder in the Cathedral (1935). He also wrote short stories and non-fiction, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 "for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry." Mr. Eliot died on January 4, 1965 at the age of 76.

90 years ago
1918

War
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, led by General Sir Arthur Currie's Canadian Army divisions, began, lasting until the total surrender of German forces.

90 years ago
1928

Crime
Chinese pirates killed the officers of the British steamship An King near Hong Kong, robbed the passengers, looted the ship, and fled at sea with $80,000.

Disasters
Explosions in an army magazine at Fort Cabreriza, Spanish Morocco, killed 38 people and injured 200.

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 Bruce-Partington Plans

Died on this date
Elmer Leifer, 55. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Leifer began his career in the minor leagues in 1915 as a pitcher, later switching to the outfield and third base. He played in 9 games with the Chicago White Sox in 1921, batting 3 for 10 with no home runs and 1 run batted in. In 1922 Mr. Leifer played with the Little Rock Travelers of the Southern Association. On May 10, he was playing center field, and collided with shortstop Travis Jackson while going for a pop fly. Mr. Jackson suffered minor injuries, but Mr. Leifer suffered a fractured skull and ended up losing his left eye. He was able to resume his career, and played in various minor leagues and tournaments through 1926. Mr. Leifer's injuries from the collision with Mr. Jackson reportedly affected him for the rest of his life, and he committed suicide with an overdose of Nembutal.

Diplomacy
The U.S.A., U.K., and France broke off talks in Moscow on Berlin, claiming that the U.S.S.R. had gone back on an earlier agreement to lift the blockade in exchange for the use of Soviet-zone currency in the city. The Western allies announced that they would place the Berlin dispute before the United Nations Security Council.

World events
Yugoslavian sources reported the execution of seven Albanian officials during a purge of pro-Tito elements in Albania.

Defense
The U.S. Air Force Association ended its second annual convention in New York after demanding the unification of the Air Force and naval aviation under a single command, and criticizing Navy plans for a carrier-based strategic bomber force.

Politics and government
The Louisiana state legislature approved the inclusion of U.S. President Harry Truman's name on the state ballot, but refused to allow him to be listed as a Democrat.

Oil
Hungary expelled two officials of the Hungarian-American Oil Company, a subsidiary of Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, on charges of sabotaging oil production.

Economics and finance
New Zealand abolished meat rationing, retaining restrictions on butter and gasoline.

50 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Carolina Moon/Stupid Cupid--Connie Francis

Space
The U.S. Navy launched Vanguard SLV-3, a satellite carrying weather instruments, but it failed to achieve Earth orbit, marking the sixth such failure in Project Vanguard.

Politics and government
Burmese Prime Minister U Nu announced that armed forces commander General Ne Win had agreed to form a government capable of restoring stability prior to 1959 general elections.

Canadiana
John Diefenbaker became the first Prime Minister to visit the Yukon while in office; his "Northern Vision" made northern issues and development a priority.

Academia
Clark Kerr took office as President of the University of California, succeeding Robert Sproul.

Sport
The American yacht Columbia successfully defended the Americas Cup by defeating the British yacht Sceptre in four races off Newport, Rhode Island.

Football
SIFL
Western Ontario (0-1) 20 @ Toronto (1-0) 26

Tim Reid and Pete Joyce each scored 2 touchdowns for the Varsity Blues as they defeated the Mustangs before 12,593 fans at Varsity Stadium in the first Senior Intercollegiate Football League game to be played at night. Walter Adams kicked a convert and Pete Joynt added a single for Toronto. John Sloan, Lionel Conacher, Jr., and Frank Cosentino scored the UWO touchdowns, with Bill Mitchell kicking 2 converts.

Baseball
Little World Series
Minneapolis Millers (AA) 6 @ Montreal Royals (IL) 2 (Minneapolis led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Art Schult and Tom Umphlett each drove in 2 runs and Gene Mauch batted 3 for 3 with an RBI to help the Millers defeat the Royals before 8,791 fans at Jarry Park. Solly Drake hit a solo home run for Montreal. Al Schroll was the winning pitcher.

40 years ago
1968

On television tonight
Dragnet 1969, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Juvenile: DR-05



At the movies
Oliver!, directed by Carol Reed and starring Mark Lester, Jack Wild, and many others, opened in theatres.

Died on this date
Daniel Johnson, Sr., 53. Canadian politician. Mr. Johnson, a member of the Union Nationale, represented Bagot in the Quebec Legislative/National Assembly from 1946 until his death. He became leader of the Union Nationale in 1961, and took office as Premier of Quebec after the UN won the provincial election in 1966. Mr. Johnson suffered a heart attack in July 1968, but returned to work in September, and was among the politicians who attended a banquet the night prior to a ceremony marking the completion of Hydro-Québec's Manicouagan-5 dam in Manicouagan. The next morning, Mr. Johnson was found in bed in his hotel room, dead from another heart attack. His sons Pierre-Marc and Daniel, Jr. both later served as Premier of Quebec.

Space
The U.S. Air Force launched four satellites--OV-2-5, OV-5-2, OV-5-4, LES-6--together. Two had the purpose of investigating radiation and solar flares, while another studied the effects of low-gravity on the heat transfer of fluids, and the last was an experimental tactical communications satellite. Three of the four flew in synchronous orbits.

War
Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban rejected a four-point U.S.S.R. plan to end the impasse between Israel and the U.A.R. as identical to a plan presented by the Soviets on November 22, 1967, which he said, called for Israeli withdrawal "without the possibility of sure and recognized frontiers."

Diplomacy
U.S. President Lyndon Johnson announced the resignation of George Ball as chief U.S. representative to the United Nations in order to join Vice President Hubert Humphrey's presidential campaign as top foreign policy adviser. Mr. Johnson designated James Russell Wiggins, 64, editor and executive vice president of The Washington Post, as Mr. Ball's successor.

Boxing
Buster Mathis (28-1) scored a technical knockout of James J. Woody (12-5) at 2:59 of the 6th round of a heavyweight bout at Madison Square Garden in New York; it was Mr. Mathis's third fight--and win--in 22 days. In another heavyweight bout on the same card, George Chuvalo (52-14-2) scored a technical knockout of Manuel Ramos (21-8-2) at 1:31 of the 5th round; it was Mr. Chuvalo's third fight--and win--in 24 days.

30 years ago
1978

On television tonight
The Paper Chase, on CBS
Tonight's episode: A Day in the Life of...



Died on this date
Manne Siegbahn, 91. Swedish physicist. Dr. Siegbahn was awarded the 1924 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his discoveries and research in the field of X-ray spectroscopy."

Defense
The U.S. Senate approved a $35.2-billion weapons procurement bill, omitting the nuclear aircraft carrier that had provoked President Jimmy Carter's veto of the original bill. The new bill contained none of the $2.2 billion worth of weapons proposed by Mr. Carter to replace the carrier.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 0.6% in August.

25 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Australiana--Austen Tayshus (5th week at #1)

World events
Soviet military officer Stanislav Petrov averted a likely worldwide nuclear war by correctly identifying a report of an incoming nuclear missile as a computer error and not an American first strike.

Diplomacy
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, U.S. President Ronald Reagan chastised the Soviet Union for the September 1 downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 over Soviet air space with the loss of all 269 people aboard, but also made a new proposal to break the deadlock between the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. on intermediate-range missiles in Europe. Mr. Reagan said that the door to an agreement was open and "It is time for the Soviet Union to walk through it," and he offered to reduce the number of missiles scheduled for deployment in Europe, and said some missiles could be deployed outside Europe.

Baseball
Bob Forsch of the St. Louis Cardinals pitched his second career major league no-hitter, blanking the Montreal Expos 3-0 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. His first no-hitter was a 5-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in the same stadium on April 16, 1978.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Simply Irresistible--Robert Palmer (2nd week at #1)

Diplomacy
In his last address to the United Nations while he was President of the United States, Ronald Reagan was complimentary toward the body, and called for greater efforts to stop any use of chemical weapons.

Olympics
Ben Johnson of Canada was stripped of the gold medal he had won three days earlier in the men's 100-metre run and was sent back to Toronto from Seoul in disgrace after testing positive for a banned drug. He instantly went from being a Canadian hero to "that Jamaican." Also embarrassed was the Canadian newsmagazine Maclean's, which had just published its latest issue with a photo of Mr. Johnson on the cover and the headline King of Seoul.

10 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Betty Carter, 69. U.S. singer. Miss Carter was a jazz singer known for her scat singing and improvisational skills in a career spanning 50 years. She performed with artists such as Lionel Hampton, Ray Charles, and Sonny Rollins. Miss Carter died of pancreatic cancer.

Football
CFL
Toronto (8-5) 30 @ Edmonton (7-6) 29
Hamilton (9-3-1) 31 @ British Columbia (4-9) 34

Former Eskimo Kerwin Bell passed for 501 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Derrell "Mookie" Mitchell tied Terry Greer's record, set in 1983, of catching 16 passes in a game as the Argonauts took a 28-7 lead and barely held on to beat the Eskimos before 31,923 fans at Commonwealth Stadium. Edmonton quarterback David Archer completed 20 of 30 passes for 293 yards and touchdowns of 47 and 21 yards to Don Blair, and rushed for a touchdown of his own.

Juan Johnson rushed for 123 yards and 3 touchdowns to help the Lions edge the Tiger-Cats before 12,256 fans at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver to end a 5-game losing streak.

CIAU
Manitoba (0-3) 19 @ Saskatchewan (3-0) 37
Calgary (2-2) 17 @ Alberta (0-3) 15