June 11, 2009

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Vivian Koshman!

500 years ago
1509

Married on this date
King Henry VIII of England married his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

160 years ago
1859

Died on this date
Klemens von Metternich, 86. 1st State Chancellor of the Austrian Empire, 1821-1848. Prince Metternich became Austria's Foreign Minister in 1809, and retained the office upon becoming Chancellor. He was one of the most important figures in international relations in the first half of the 19th century, promoting a system of international congresses in an effort to maintain a balance of power in Europe. Prince Metternich was forced out of office during the Revolutions of 1848.

140 years ago
1879

Born on this date
Roger Bresnahan. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Bresnahan played with the Washington Senators (1897); Chicago Orphans (1900); Baltimore Orioles (1901-1902); New York Giants (1902-1908); St. Louis Cardinals (1909-1912); and Chicago Cubs (1913-1915), batting .279 with 26 home runs and 530 runs batted in in 1,446 games. He was a pitcher and outfielder before becoming a catcher, where he pioneered the use of shin guards and batting helmets. He died of a heart attack on December 4, 1944 at the age of 65, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.

Died on this date
Willem, Prince of Orange, 38. Dutch royal family member. Willem, the eldest son of King Willem III, became heir apparent to the Dutch throne in 1849 upon his father's accession to the throne. Prince Willem's desire to marry Countess Mathilde von Limburg-Stirum was rejected in 1874, and he went into exile in Paris, where he lived a dissolute life of sex, drinking, and gambling. He died of typhus, liver complaints, and total exhaustion.

120 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Hugo Wieslander. Swedish athlete. Mr. Wieslander set a world record in the pentathlon in 1911, and finished seventh in the event at the 1912 Summer Olympic Games in Oslo. He finished second in the decathlon in the 1912 Olympics, but was awarded the gold medal after Jim Thorpe was disqualified for having played professional baseball. Mr. Wieslander was always uncomfortable about receiving the gold medal, and finally donated it to a museum in 1954. He died on May 24, 1976, 18 days before his 87th birthday; in 1982, the International Olympic Committee reinstated Mr. Thorpe, and the two men were recognized as joint winners in the decathlon for 1912.

Politics and government
Conservative Member of Parliament D'Alton McCarthy founded the Equal Rights Association in Toronto to argue for repeal of Quebec's Jesuits Estate Act, claiming the government let the Roman Catholic Church control political decision-making. Mr. McCarthy, who was backed by the Orange Order, also agitated against Catholic separate schools in Manitoba and the Northwest.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Yasunari Kawabata. Japanese author. Mr. Kawabata wrote novels and short stories, and was awarded te 1968 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his narrative mastery, which with great sensibility expresses the essence of the Japanese mind," becoming the first Japanese winner of the award. He died on April 16, 1972 at the age of 72; he apparently committed suicide by gassing himself, but some believe his death to have been accidental.

100 years ago
1909

Golf
The third and fourth rounds of the British Open were played at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club in Deal, Kent, England. J.H. White won the Open for the fourth time, finishing with a total score of 295, 6 strokes ahead of Tom Ball and James Braid. First prize money was £50.

90 years ago
1919

Health
The Saskatchewan Registrar of Vital Statistics announced that 4,322 Saskatchewanians had died in the influenza epidemic of 1918-19 (more than in the First World War).

Golf
The third and fourth rounds of the U.S. Open were played at Brae Burn Country Club in West Newton, Massachusetts, and resulted in Walter Hagen and Mike Brady tied with 17-over-par total scores of 301, necessitating an 18-hole playoff the next day. Mr. Brady carried a 2-stroke lead into the third round and shot a 2-over-par 73 to expand his lead to 5 strokes over Mr. Hagen, who shot a 4-over-par 75. Mr. Hagen shot 75 in the fourth round, while Mr. Brady shot a 9-over-par 80.

Horse racing
Sir Barton, with Johnny Loftus aboard, won the 51st running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park, New York, becoming the first horse to win the Triple Crown. The Canadian-owned horse set an American record time of 2:17 2/5 for the Belmont Stakes, which was then 1 3/8 miles. Sweep On placed second, 5 lengths behind the winner, with Natural Bridge a further 8 lengths behind in the three-horse field.



75 years ago
1934

Died on this date
Lev Vygotsky, 37. U.S.S.R. psychologist. Dr. Vygotsky was a developmental psychologist who was known for his concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD), which he defined as “the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.” Dr. Vygotsky died from tuberculosis. His ideas continue to be the subject of scholarly debate.

Baseball
The Chicago Cubs traded first baseman Dolph Camilli to the Philadelphia Phillies for first baseman Don Hurst. Mr. Camilli went on to win the National League Most Valuable Player award in 1941 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Mr. Hurst, who had led the NL in runs batted in in 1932, went on to hit just .199 in 51 games with the Cubs in what turned out to be his last season in the major leagues.

Jimmy DeShong pitched a shutout as the New York Yankees defeated the United States Military Academy 7-0 in their annual exhibition game at West Point.

70 years ago
1939

Golf
Byron Nelson and Craig Wood were tied with 1-under par scores of 68, 8 strokes ahead of Denny Shute in an 18-hole playoff to break a tie for the lead at the U.S. Open at Philadelphia Country Club in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. Mr. Shute was eliminated, and another playoff round between Messrs. Nelson and Wood was scheduled for the following day.

60 years ago
1949

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): (I'd Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard) (Best Seller): Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra (5th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra (2nd week at #1)
--Bing Crosby
--Burl Ives
2 Again--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra
--Mel Torme
--Vic Damone
--Doris Day and the Mellomen
3 "A" You're Adorable (The Alphabet Song)--Perry Como with the Fontane Sisters
--Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae
4 Forever and Ever--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra
--Perry Como
5 Careless Hands--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Mel Torme
--Bing Crosby
6 Some Enchanted Evening--Perry Como
--Bing Crosby
7 Baby, it's Cold Outside--Margaret Whiting and Johnny Mercer
--Dinah Shore and Buddy Clark
8 Cruising Down the River--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra
--Blue Barron and his Orchestra
9 Bali Ha'i--Perry Como
--Peggy Lee
10 Once in Love with Amy--Ray Bolger

No new singles entered the chart.

On the radio
Pat Novak For Hire, starring Jack Webb, on ABC
Tonight’s episode: Georgie Lampson

Tales of Fatima, starring Basil Rathbone, on CBS
Tonight’s episode: Murder in Pig Latin

Died on this date
Koçi Xoxe, 38. Greek-born Albanian politician. Mr. Xoxe was a Communist who served as Albania's Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister from 1946-1948. He lost a power struggle with Enver Hoxha and was purged for "pro-Yugoslavian" activities, convicted in a secret trial, and hanged in Tirana.

War
Burmese government forces reported taking the oil refining centre of Yenangyuang on eh Irrawaddy River from Communist guerrillas.

World events
Lebanese authorities arrested 300 members of the Syrian National Party on charges of plotting a coup against the government in Beirut.

A court in Tirana sentenced former Albanian Deputy Premier Xoxe Koci to death for "traitorous" support of Yugoslavia.

Politics and government
Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek became the head of a Supreme Policy Committee established to advise the Nationalist Chinese cabinet.

Religion
Czechoslovakian Roman Catholic Archbishop Josef Beran ordered a Catholic boycott of all government-sponsored religious groups and publications.

Economics and finance
Czechoslovakia severed trade relations with Yugoslavia.

Labour
U.S. and U.S.S.R. authorities in Berlin agreed on a tentative settlement of the Berlin railway workers' strike, permitting workers living in West Berlin to receive 60% of their wages in West German marks with the right to exchange a further 15% into Western currency.

Golf
Dr. Cary Middlecoff shot a 2-under-par 69 in the third round and a 4-over-par 75 in the fourth round to win the U.S. Open at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois, finishing with a 2-over-par total score of 286, 1 stroke ahead of Clayton Heafner and Sam Snead. First prize money was $2,000.



Horse racing
Capot, with Ted Atkinson up, won his second straight Triple Crown race, taking the 81st running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park, New York in a time of 2:30 1/5, 1½ lengths ahead of Kentucky Derby winner Ponder, with Palestinian finishing third in the eight-horse field.

50 years ago
1959

On television tonight
The Lawless Years, starring James Gregory, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Payoff



Diplomacy
At the foreign ministers conference in Geneva, Western foreign ministers warned U.S.S.R. Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko that the conference would end in failure unless the Soviet Union withdrew its proposal for a one-year extension of Western rights in Berlin.

Defense
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower submitted to Congress an agreement under which the United States would give Greece information and equipment for training Greek forces in the use of atomic weapons.

Politics and government
Premier Leslie Frost led his governing Progressive Conservative Party to its sixth consecutive victory and fifth consecutive majority of seats in the Provincial Parliament in the Ontario provincial election. The PCs won 71 of 98 seats down 12 from the most recent election in 1955. The Liberal Party, led by John Wintermeyer, doubled their seats from 11 to 22; the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, led by Donald C. MacDonald, increased their total from 3 to 5.

Literature
U.S. Postmaster General Arthur Summerfield banned a new, unexpurgated edition of D.H. Lawrence's novel Lady Chatterley's Lover from the mails.

Transportation
The Hovercraft, invented by English engineer Christopher Cockerell, was officially launched in the Solent, off England's south coast.

Disasters
Millions of Chinese mobilized to fight the worst flood in Kwantung Province's history.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): The Ballad of John and Yoko--The Beatles

Died on this date
John L. Lewis, 89. U.S. labour leader. John Llewellyn Lewis worked as a coal miner before becoming a union leader. He served as President of the United Mine Workers of America (1920-1960), and was the leading founder of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in 1935. Mr. Lewis resigned as President of the CIO in 1941, took the UMW out of the CIO in 1942, and took the union into the American Federation of Labor in 1944. He was a liberal who supported U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but was an isolationist who broke with Mr. Roosevelt over foreign policy in 1940. Mr. Lewis was effective in gaining wage increases for miners, but was detested by those outside the movement for calling for numerous strikes over the years, damaging the American economy and war effort during World War II. His heavy jowls, thick hair, and bushy eyebrows made him a favourite subject of caricaturists.

War
In Paris, Tran Buu Kiem, chief of the National Liberation Front delegation at the Vietnam War peace talks, announced that the new "revolutionary provisional government" of South Vietnam would replace the NLF at the talks. He outlined the new group’s policy, which was about the same as that of the NLF.

Exploration
Four Britons arrived in Spitsbergen, Norway to complete a 476-day journey from Point Barrow, Alaska, becoming the first to cross the frozen Arctic Ocean. The British Trans-Arctic Expedition, which began February 21, 1968, reached the North Pole on April 5, 1969 (the day before the 60th anniversary of Robert Peary’s arrival), and covered 3,700 miles in total--the longest Arctic crossing on foot.

Crime
Three Chicago policemen--Sgt. George Jurich, and Patrolmen Vincent D’Amico and Edward Becht--were acquitted of violating the civil rights of Chicago Daily News reporter John Linstead. They had been accused of beating Mr. Linstead during the Democratic National Convention in 1968.

Disasters
At the joint Naval board of inquiry regarding the June 2 collision of the Australian aircraft carrier Melbourne and the U.S. destroyer Frank E. Evans, which had resulted in the deaths of 74 Americans, Commander Albert McLemore, captain of the Frank E. Evans, testified that he had not received signals from the Melbourne on the expected plans for the destroyer's deployment when he had gone to bed, leaving Lt. (jg.) Ronald Ramsey as the officer in command of the deck at the time of the collision.

Baseball
The Montreal Expos traded shortstop Maury Wills (the first Expo ever to come to bat) and outfielder Manny Mota (the first player drafted by the Expos in the National League expansion draft in 1968) to the Los Angeles Dodgers for first baseman and outfielder Ron Fairly and utility infielder Paul Popovich. Mr. Popovich was promptly traded to the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Jack Lamabe and center fielder Adolfo Phillips. As Mr. Phillips left the Cubs, he shook hands with every member of the team except manager Leo Durocher. Mr. Wills was batting .222 with no home runs and 8 runs batted in in 47 games with Montreal, while Mr. Mota was batting .315 with no home runs or RBIs in 22 games with the Expos. Mr. Fairly was batting .219 with no homers and 8 RBIs in 30 games with Los Angeles in 1969, while Mr. Popovich was batting .200 with no home runs and 4 RBIs in 28 games with Los Angeles in 1969. Mr. Phillips was batting .224 with no homers and 1 RBI in 28 games with Chicago in 1969, while Mr. Lamabe had appeared in 10 games with the Tacoma Cubs of the AAA Pacific Coast League in 1969, and he was transferred to the PCL's Vancouver Mounties.

Joe Lahoud, replacing an injured Tony Conigliaro in right field, had the biggest game of his career, hitting 3 home runs and driving in 4 runs to lead the Boston Red Sox past the Minnesota Twins 13-5 before 15,687 fans at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. Dick Schofield added to the Boston cause with 3 doubles, 2 runs, and a run batted in.

Pinch hitter Tom Satriano singled home 2 runs with 2 out in the top of the 14th inning to break a 5-5 tie as the California Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-5 before 9,817 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

Pinch hitter Bobby Cox doubled home Jake Gibbs with 2 out in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the New York Yankees a 5-4 win over the Kansas City Royals before 8,669 fans at Yankee Stadium. Kansas City left fielder Lou Piniella hit a 2-run inside-the-park home run in the 8th inning when New York center fielder Jim Lyttle fell down going after the ball, which bounced into the monument area of center field.



Reggie Jackson led off the top of the 13th inning with his second home run of the game and Danny Cater doubled home Tommie Reynolds later in the inning as the Oakland Athletics scored 2 runs to break a 4-4 tie and defeat the Washington Senators 6-4 before 6,609 fans at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.

Jim Northrup singled home Ron Woods with 1 out in the bottom of the 10th inning to tie the score, and Jimmie Price doubled home Norm Cash with 2 out to give the Detroit Tigers a 4-3 win over the Seattle Pilots before 23,569 fans at Tiger Stadium. The Pilots had taken a 4-3 lead with 1 out in the top of the 10th on a solo home run by John Kennedy. Detroit starting pitcher Denny McLain allowed 10 hits and 2 runs--both earned--in 9 innings.

Jose Arcia singled with 1 out in the bottom of the 10th inning and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Tommy Dean to give the San Diego Padres a 6-5 win over the Montreal Expos before 3,111 fans at San Diego Stadium.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Lay Your Love on Me--Racey (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Miserarete--Judy Ongg (9th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Born to Be Alive--Patrick Hernández

Died on this date
Alice Dalgliesh, 85. Trinidadian-born U.S. authoress and publisher. Miss Dalgliesh moved to England with her family at the age of 13, and to the United States six years later. She has been called "a pioneer in the field of children's historical fiction," with novels such as The Courage of Sarah Noble (1954) and The Thanksgiving Story (1954). Miss Dalgliesh was the founding editor at Scribner's and Sons Children's Book Division from 1934-1960, using her position to improve the quality and increase the prestige of children's literature.

John Wayne, 72. U.S. actor. "The Duke," born Marion Morrison, had bit parts in a few silent movies before getting his first starring role in the sound western The Big Trail (1930). Stardom eluded him, however, until John Ford cast him in Stagecoach (1939), which was his 60th film. Mr. Wayne then became one of the biggest stars in movie history, and was especially successful in Westerns and war movies, too many to name here. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for True Grit (1969). Mr. Wayne’s last movie was The Shootist (1976), where, appropriately, he played an old gunfighter dying of cancer.

World events
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin denounced critics of his government’s settlement policy, reiterating Israel’s right to build new communities in occupied Arab lands.

Thailand expelled 30,000 refugees from Cambodia back across the border, and warned that it would soon eject 50,000 more.

25 years ago
1984

War
More than 100 people were killed and about 250 wounded in an exchange of shelling and gunfire between Christian and Muslim militias in Lebanon.

Diplomacy
Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko urged the United States "without delay" to negotiate a treaty that would ban the use of anti-satellite weapons.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Ottawa (1-1) 18 @ Montreal (1-1) 0
Toronto (1-1) 18 @ Hamilton (1-1) 17
Edmonton (0-2) 8 @ British Columbia (2-0) 32

One of the rookies playing for the Lions in their win over the Eskimos at Empire Stadium in Vancouver was a defensive lineman named Kevin Lapa. During that training camp, cancer was discovered in Mr. Lapa’s mouth; he spent the entire season on the disabled list, and died early in 1985 at the age of 24.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): If You Don't Know Me by Now--Simply Red (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: The Look--Roxette (3rd week at #1)

Music
Canadian folk music stars Ian and Sylvia, Gordon Lightfoot, and Murray McLauchlan gave a free concert before 8,000 people protesting the building of a dam on the Oldman River in southern Alberta.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Detroit 114 @ Los Angeles Lakers 110 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 3-0)

Joe Dumars scored 31 points, including 17 straight in the 3rd quarter, as the Pistons defeated the Lakers before 17,505 fans at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Isiah Thomas scored 26 points and added 8 assists for Detroit, Vinnie Johnson scored 17 points--13 in the 4th quarter, and Dennis Rodman, despite suffering from back spasms, grabbed 19 rebounds. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 24 points for the Lakers and grabbed 13 rebounds. James Worthy led Los Angeles with 26 points, and Michael Cooper scored 15 points and added 13 assists.



10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
DeForest Kelley, 79. U.S. actor. Mr. Kelley was a character actor in movies and television programs from the 1940s through the 1960s, but didn't become well-known until he played Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the television series Star Trek (1966-1969) and six movies from 1979-1991. He died of stomach cancer.

War
The United Nations set up a peacekeeping mission, including 600 Canadians, in East Timor. Operation Toucan was to help organize elections, support the new government, and establish the rule of law; Canadian participation ended on February 23, 2000.

Baseball
Shortstop Miguel Tejada hit 3 home runs and drove in 5 runs to lead the Oakland Athletics past the Los Angeles Dodgers 12-6 before 24,261 fans at Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland.

Richie Sexson led off the top of the 11th inning with a home run to break a 6-6 tie as the Cleveland Indians beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-6 before 42,928 fans at Cinergy Field in Cincinnati.