July 8, 2009

910 years ago
1099

War
15,000 starving Christian soldiers began the siege of Jerusalem by marching in a religious procession around the city as its Muslim defenders watched.

300 years ago
1709

War
Russian forces commanded by Czar Peter the Great defeated Swedish forces of King Charles XII in the Battle of Poltava in what is now Ukraine.

170 years ago
1839

Born on this date
John D. Rockefeller. U.S. oil magnate. Mr. Rockefeller co-founded Standard Oil Company and the University of Chicago, becoming the first American billionaire and the world's richest man. He was known for philanthropy in his later years and died on May 23, 1937 at the age of 97.

150 years ago
1859

Died on this date
Oscar I, 60. King of Sweden and Norway, 1844-1859. Oscar I acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Charles XIV. He instituted liberal reforms and improved ties between Sweden and Norway. King Oscar I's health declined in the 1850s, and he became paralyzed in 1857. He died four days after his 60th birthday, and was succeeded by his son Charles XV.

130 years ago
1879

Exploration
The American sailing ship USS Jeannette departed San Francisco carrying an ill-fated expedition to the North Pole.

120 years ago
1889

Journalism
The Wall Street Journal began publication.

Boxing
In the first American sporting event to receive national press coverage, John L. Sullivan retained his world heavyweight title with a 75-round knockout over Jake Kilrain in Richburg, Mississippi. 3,000 spectators arrived on special trains to witness the last bare-knuckle heavyweight title fight, fought under the London Prize Ring rules. The fight, refereed by John Fitzpatrick, started at 10:30 A.M. Mr. Sullivan vomited in the 44th round and appeared to be on the way to losing, but he got a second wind, and began to get the better of the fight after that. Mr. Kilrain’s second, Mike Donovan, threw the sponge into the ring after the 75th round. Mr. Kilrain thought he could outlast Mr. Sullivan, but Mr. Donovan thought his fighter may have died if the fight had continued.

Baseball
The New York Giants opened the new Polo Grounds at 155th Street and 8th Avenue with a 7-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Alleghenys.

110 years ago
1899

Labour
Militia troops were called in to stop a riot during a two-day streetcar workers strike in London, Ontario.

100 years ago
1909

Born on this date
Ike Petersen. U.S. football player. Mr. Petersen was a back with the Chicago Cardinals (1935) and Detroit Lions (1936), rushing 136 times for 575 yards and 3 touchdowns, catching 10 passes for 75 yards, and completing 5 of 23 passes for 92 yards with 1 touchdown and 4 interceptions. He rushed 84 yards for a touchdown in 1936, which was the longest rushing play in the National Football League that year. Mr. Petersen died on August 6, 1995 at the age of 86.

90 years ago
1919

Politics and government
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson received a tumultuous welcome in New York City after his return from the Versailles Peace Conference in France.

Baseball
Jack Coombs resigned as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, who were in last place in the National League with a record of 18-44. He was replaced by outfielder Gavy Cravath, who went on to lead the NL in home runs at the age of 38 despite playing in only 83 of 138 games.

75 years ago
1934

Music
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performed in the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park for the first time.

Baseball
The Boston Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Athletics 7-4 and 7-2 before 24,000 fans at Fenway Park in Boston. Jimmie Foxx hit his 25th and 26th home runs of the season in the first game, while Bob Johnson hit his 25th for the Athletics in the same game. Boston leadoff hitter Max Bishop tied his own major league record by drawing 8 bases on balls in the doubleheader.

70 years ago
1939

Died on this date
Havelock Ellis, 80. U.K. physician. Dr. Ellis was a pioneering researcher in sexology, and wrote the first medical textbook on homosexuality. He was also a supporter of eugenics.

60 years ago
1949

On television tonight
Your Show Time, hosted and narrated by Arthur Shields, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Cricket on the Hearth, starring Heather Wilde

Literature
Nancy Mitford's novel Love in a Cold Climate, a sequel to The Pursuit of Love (1945), was published in New York by Random House.

Died on this date
Harold Knerr, 66. U.S. cartoonist. Mr. Knerr wrote and drew several comic strips before replacing Rudolph Dirks as writer and artist of The Katzenjammer Kids from 1914 until his death from heart disease. Doc Winner then took over the comic strip.

War
U.S. and U.S.S.R. patrols clashed on the border between East and West German near Coburg, resulting in one Soviet death.

Greek government forces reported the capture of Mount Kaimakchalan, a guerrilla strongpoint on the Yugoslav frontier.

Crime
The New York perjury trial of former U.S. State Department official Alger Hiss ended inconclusively as the jury failed to reach a verdict. U.S. Representative Richard Nixon (Republican--California) accused judge Samuel Kaufman of favouring the defense, and demanded a House of Representatives Un-American Activities Committee investigation of the trial, claiming that the truth about Mr. Hiss must "not be left in doubt because of technicalities."

Politics and government
Nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi and California Institute of Technology President Lee Du Bridge, testifying before the Joint Congressional Atomic Energy Committee, opposed Federal Bureau of Investigation examination of AEC fellowship applicants as a step toward a police state.

Economics and finance
U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snyder began talks in London with U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Stafford Cripps on the solution of Britain's balance of payments problem. The U.K. and U.S.S.R. announced a one-year trade agreement permitting Britain to avoid grain purchases in Canada and the United States by buying Soviet wheat.

The U.S. Congress completed action on a compromise public housing program providing $308 million in federal subsidies for the construction of 810,000 new dwelling units over six years and $325 million in loans and grants for farm housing construction.

Baseball
Outfielder Monte Irvin and infielder Hank Thompson, brought up from the Jersey City Giants of the International League three days earlier, became the first Negroes to play for the New York Giants. Mr. Thompson started at second base against the Brooklyn Dodgers, while Mr. Irvin came in to pinch hit for Clint Hartung in the 8th inning. When Mr. Thompson faced Brooklyn pitcher Don Newcombe, it marked the first time in major league history that a Negro pitcher had faced a Negro batter. The Dodgers won 4-3 before 34,468 fans at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Mr. Thompson batted 0 for 3 with a base on balls, a sacrifice, and a run, with 4 putouts and 3 assists. Mr. Irvin drew a base on balls.

Marv Rickert led off the top of the 16th inning with a single and scored on an outfield fly by Del Crandall to break a 3-3 tie as the Boston Braves edged the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 before 11,238 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

50 years ago
1959

Defense
The U.S.A. informed the NATO Permanent Council in Paris that 200 Air Force jet fighters based at NATO airfields in France would be transferred to the United Kingdom and West Germany.

New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller announced that he would call for legislative approval of measures to require the incorporation of nuclear bomb shelters in all new buildings and homes in the state.

Politics and government
The French Community Council voted to act against efforts by Ghana and Guinea to form a pan-African federation with French Community states.

Indonesian President Sukarno appointed a 10-member "inner cabinet," taking the post of Prime Minister for himself.

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a $4.68-billion Agriculture Department appropriations bill.

Disasters
A Danish excursion launch exploded and burned near Hadersley, Denmark, killing 55 passengers.

Boxing
Jose Becerra (58-4-3) knocked out defending champion Alphonse Halimi (27-2) at 2:02 of the 8th round to win the world bantamweight title at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in the first event held at the facility, which had officially opened four days earlier.



40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Mendocino--Sir Douglas Quintet (4th week at #1)

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Carleton Hobbs and Norman Shelley, on BBC 2
Tonight's episode: The Lion's Mane

This adaptation of The Lion's Mane, by Michael Hardwicke, had Dr. Watson as the narrator; the original A. Conan Doyle story was one of two (The Blanched Soldier was the other) in which Sherlock Holmes was telling the story.

Died on this date
Red Rolfe, 60. U.S. baseball player and manager. Mr. Rolfe played 1 game in 1931 and was the regular third baseman for the New York Yankees from 1934-1942, batting .289 with 69 home runs and 497 runs batted in in 1,175 games, playing for five World Series-winning teams. His best season was 1939, when he hit .329 and led the American League in runs (139), hits (213), and doubles (46). Shortly before his death he was named the third baseman on the all-time Yankees' team. After his playing career ended, Mr. Rolfe served as the baseball and basketball coach at Yale University from 1943-1946, coached the Toronto Huskies of the Basketball Association of America in 1946-47, and then managed the Detroit Tigers from 1949-1952. After finishing second in 1950, 3 games behind the Yankees, the Tigers' performance declined, and Mr. Rolfe became increasingly unpopular with his players. He was fired in mid-season of 1952, when the Tigers were in last place in the American League with a dismal 23-49 record, and a 278-256 overall record under Mr. Rolfe. Mr. Rolfe died after along battle with kidney disease.

Politics and government
A new cabinet was formed in Libya, with Mahmoud Sulayman al-Maghrabi as Prime Minister.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Montreal (0-2) 0 @ Winnipeg (1-0) 18

Baseball
The New York Mets scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning off Chicago Cubs' ace pitcher Ferguson Jenkins to defeat the Cubs 4-3 before 55,096 fans at Shea Stadium in New York in the first game of an important series between the top teams in the National League East Division. Chicago center fielder Don Young misplayed a couple of balls in the 9th inning, and third baseman Ron Santo publicly criticized him for it. Mr. Santo later admitted that this was the biggest mistake of his career. Mr. Young dressed and left the stadium quickly after the game, and didn't take the team bus to the hotel. The story of this three-game series, the three-game series at Wrigley Field in Chicago the following week, and the three games that the Mets played at home against the Montreal Expos between the games vs. the Cubs was told in a book titled The Year the Mets Lost Last Place (1969) by Paul Zimmerman and Dick Schaap.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Lay Your Love on Me--Racey

#1 single in Switzerland: Pop Muzik--M (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, 73. Japanese physicist. Dr. Tomonaga shared the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics with Richard Feynman and Julian Schwinger "for their fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics (QED), with deep-ploughing consequences for the physics of elementary particles." Dr. Tomonaga died of throat cancer.

Michael Wilding, 66. U.K. actor. Mr. Wilding appeared in several films with Anna Neagle, and Under Capricorn (1949) and Stage Fright (1950), both directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Mr. Wilding was married to Elizabeth Taylor from 1952-1957; he died 15 days before his 67th birthday, when he fell down a flight of stairs during an epileptic seizure.

Robert Burns Woodward, 62. U.S. chemist. Dr. Woodward, widely regarded as the preeminent organic chemist of the 20th century, was awarded the 1965 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his outstanding achievements in the art of organic synthesis."

Diplomacy
Talks ended in Vienna among Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, and Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat. A joint statement expressed "concern" over Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, and cited the Palestinian issue as "the central problem of the Middle East conflict."

Oil
Explosions at major pipelines in Iran eliminated 80% of the production of the Abadan refinery, producing continued concern among world leaders about the fragility of the world’s supply.

Economics and finance
China announced its first law on joint ventures which provided certain guarantees and incentives designed to attract foreign investors.

Baseball
Outfielder Ben Oglivie was the hero as the Milwaukee Brewers swept a doubleheader from the Detroit Tigers before 39,141 fans at County Stadium in Milwaukee. He hit home runs in his first 3 plate appearances in the first game as the Brewers won 5-4, and drove in the winning run as they won the second game 3-1.

Luis Tiant pitched a 1-hitter and Reggie Jackson led off the 2nd inning with a home run to provide the necessary scoring as the New York Yankees shut out the Oakland Athletics 2-0 before 13,483 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Rickey Henderson singled to lead off the 4th with the only Oakland hit.

Jerry Royster singled home Pepe Frias with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Atlanta Braves a 6-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals before 4,160 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The Cardinals had scored 3 runs in the top of the 9th to tie the score 5-5.

25 years ago
1984

Abominations
In his Sunday morning sermon, Archbishop Habgood of York declined to rebuke David Jenkins, who had been newly consecrated as the Church of England's Bishop of Durham, after Mr. Jenkins had publicly expressed opinions that constituted a denial of the Christian faith. Later in the day, a strange cloud began hanging over York Minster cathedral.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (0-1-1) 27 @ Hamilton (1-0-1) 27
Toronto (1-1) 26 @ Winnipeg (1-1) 28

The Tiger-Cats tied the game against the Roughriders at Ivor Wynne Stadium on a 2-point convert pass from Dieter Brock to Rocky DiPietro. The reason they needed a touchdown and 2-point convert to tie the game was because Hamilton head coach Al Bruno had foolishly gone for a 2-point convert after the Tiger-Cats’ previous touchdown had reduced the Roughriders’ lead from 27-13 to 27-19. If he’d just gone for the 1-point convert then, Saskatchewan’s lead would have been reduced to 7 points, and the Tiger-Cats could have gone with a 1-point convert to tie the game or a 2-point convert to win at the end. The first 2-point attempt was unsuccessful, making it necessary to go for a 2-point convert on the last touchdown just to get the tie. There was no overtime in regular season games in those days.



20 years ago
1989

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Express Yourself--Madonna

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Marina (Remix 89)--Rocco Granata & the Carnations (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): No More Boleros--Gerard Joling (4th week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Johnny, Johnny Come Home--Avalanche (6th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)--Soul II Soul featuring Caron Wheeler (3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Good Thing--Fine Young Cannibals
2 Baby Don't Forget My Number--Milli Vanilli
3 If You Don't Know Me by Now--Simply Red
4 Express Yourself--Madonna
5 Toy Soldiers--Martika
6 I Drove All Night--Cyndi Lauper
7 Miss You Like Crazy--Natalie Cole
8 Satisfied--Richard Marx
9 Buffalo Stance--Neneh Cherry
10 What You Don't Know--Expose

Singles entering the chart were Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx (#44); Don't Wanna Lose You by Gloria Estefan (#55); If I Could Turn Back Time by Cher (#89); 18 and Life by Skid Row (#91); Open Letter (To a Landlord) by Living Colour (#92); Love Has Taken its Toll by Saraya (#93); Turned Away by Chuckii Booker (#95); and (You're My One and Only) True Love by Seduction (#97).

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Good Thing--Fine Young Cannibals
2 Baby Don't Forget My Number--Milli Vanilli
3 Satisfied--Richard Marx
4 Express Yourself--Madonna
5 I Drove All Night--Cyndi Lauper
6 This Time I Know it's for Real--Donna Summer
7 If You Don't Know Me by Now--Simply Red
8 Miss You Like Crazy--Natalie Cole
9 Buffalo Stance--Neneh Cherry
10 Every Little Step--Bobby Brown

Singles entering the chart were Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx (#53); Don't Wanna Lose You by Gloria Estefan (#63); The Prisoner by Howard Jones (#77); Keep on Movin' by Soul II Soul (#79); All I Want is You by U2 (#82); Shower Me with Your Love by Surface (#90); and Come Home with Me Baby by Dead or Alive (#95).

World events
Former Nigerian cabinet minister Umaru Dikko, who had been freed by British authorities after being kidnapped and drugged in London, was taken to an undisclosed location after being examined in a hospital. Mr. Dikko, who fled Nigeria after a military coup in December 1983, had been accused by Nigeria’s new government of stealing millions of dollars.

10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Pete Conrad, 69. U.S. astronaut. Mr. Conrad became the third man to walk on the moon when he commanded the Apollo 12 mission in November 1969. Known for his humour, Mr. Conrad, who was shorter than his lunar predecessor, Neil Armstrong said on touching the lunar surface, "That may have been a small step for Neil, but it was a long one for me." Mr. Conrad was one of the nine astronauts who comprised the second group of astronauts who joined the U.S. manned space program in 1962. His first space mission was Gemini 5 in August 1965, where he served as pilot on an eight-day mission commanded by Gordon Cooper. Mr. Conrad's first assignment as commander was Gemini 11 in September 1966, where his pilot was Dick Gordon. Mr. Conrad and Mr. Gordon, along with Alan Bean, were the Apollo 12 crew. Mr. Conrad stayed with the space program long enough to command Skylab 1 in 1973; his crewmates were Dr. Joe Kerwin and Paul Weitz. Pete Conrad was killed in a motorcycle accident on a highway near Ojai, California, just 10 days after he had finished taping a television documentary about the Apollo 12 mission with Messrs. Gordon and Bean for the Speed Vision cable channel. During the taping, Mr. Conrad got choked up when he mentioned C.C. Williams, who had been killed in a plane crash in 1967 shortly after being assigned as lunar module pilot for Apollo 12 (Alan Bean replaced him). The Apollo 12 crew paid tribute to Mr. Williams by taking his flight wings to the moon, and having four stars displayed on the official flight patch, the fourth representing C.C. Williams.

Protest
The previous day’s court ban of a moderate newspaper led to student protests. Members of an Islamic vigilante group attacked demonstrating students in Tehran, and police stormed a dormitory. Many students were beaten, and at least one was killed.

Football
CFL
Hamilton (1-0) 39 @ Winnipeg (0-1) 9

This was Dave Ritchie’s first regular season game as head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.