June 27, 2009

250 years ago
1759

War
General James Wolfe landed a body of British troops at Lévis, across from Québec, and blockaded the St. Lawrence River to French shipping, beginning a siege lasting 75 days.

180 years ago
1829

Died on this date
James Smithson, 64. French-born U.K. scientist. Mr. Smithson, born Jacques-Louis Macie, moved to England as an infant. He was a chemist and mineralogist who assisted in the development of calamine. Despite the fact that Mr. Smithson had never travelled to nor corresponded with anyone in the United States, he left an endowment "to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men."

170 years ago
1839

Died on this date
Ranjit Singh, 58. Maharajah of Punjab, 1801-1839. Majarajah Ranjit Singh was the founder of the Sikh Empire, that existed from 1799-1849. He was succeeded as Maharajah by his son Kharak Singh.

140 years ago
1869

Born on this date
Emma Goldman. Lithuanian-born U.S. activist. Miss Goldman was one of the late 19th century and early 20th century's most prominent anarchists. She died in Toronto on May 14, 1940 at the age of 70, and her death was no great loss.

Hans Spemann. German embryologist. Dr. Spemann was awarded the 1935 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his discovery of the organizer effect in embryonic development." He discovered what is now known as embryonic induction, an influence exercised by various parts of the embryo that directs the development of groups of cells into particular tissues and organs. Dr. Spemann died on September 9, 1941 at the age of 72.

War
The Battle of Hakodate ended after almost seven months with the surrender of forces of the Republic of Ezo to Imperial Japanese forces.

125 years ago
1884

Baseball
Larry Corcoran pitched his third career National League no-hitter as the Chicago White Stockings beat the Providence Grays 6-0 at Lakefront Park in Chicago.

120 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Moroni Olsen. U.S. actor. Mr. Olsen began acting in plays in the 1910s, but was best known as a character actor in numerous movies from the mid-1930s until his death on November 22, 1954 at the age of 65.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Juan Trippe. U.S. aviation executive. Mr. Trippe founded Pan American Airways in 1927 and served as the airline's president until 1968. He was involved with innovations such as cabin pressurization and jumbo jets. Mr. Trippe died on April 3, 1981 at the age of 81, shortly after suffering a stroke.

90 years ago
1919

Died on this date
Peter Sturholdt, 33. U.S. boxer. Mr. Sturholdt finished fourth in the lightweight division at the 1904 Summer Olympic Games in St. Louis, but was retroactively recognized as the bronze medal winner more than 100 years later as the result of the 1905 disqualification of silver medalist Jack Egan. Mr. Sturholdt worked as a painter, and was killed when the scaffold he was standing on broke.

Abominations
Esther I. Clark of Fredericton became the first female minister in New Brunswick, when she was hired as pastor of the Baptist Church in Grangeville.

80 years ago
1929

Boxing
Max Schmeling (42-4-3) won a 15-round decision over Paulino Uzcudun (38-7-2) in a heavyweight bout at Yankee Stadium in New York.



75 years ago
1934

At the movies
El fantasma del convento (The Phantom of the Monastery), cowritten and directed by Fernando de Fuentes, and starring Marta Roel, Carlos Villatoro, Enrique del Campo, and Paco Martinez, opened in theatres in Mexico City.



Baseball
Bill DeLancey’s home run in the bottom of the 9th inning gave the St. Louis Cardinals an 8-7 win over the New York Giants in 115-degree weather at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis. Dizzy Dean was awarded his 12th win of the season, despite being removed from the game with the score tied 7-7 with 2 out in the top of the 9th. National League President John Heydler supported official scorer Mike Haley’s decision to award the decision to Mr. Dean.

70 years ago
1939

Transportation
Pan American Airways inaugurated the world's first transatlantic air service with a flight between Botwood, Newfoundland and Southampton, England.

Baseball
The Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Bees played a 23-inning 2-2 tie before 2,457 fans at National League Park in Boston. The game was called on account of darkness after 5 hours and 15 minutes. Whit Wyatt pitched the first 16 innings for the Dodgers, allowing 15 hits and 2 earned runs.

Bob Feller pitched a 1-hitter, walking 6 batters and striking out 13, as the Cleveland Indians defeated the Detroit Tigers 5-0 before 55,305 fans at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. Bobo Newsom took the loss, allowing 5 hits and 4 runs--all earned--in 2 innings.

60 years ago
1949

Politics and government
Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent led his governing Liberal Party to its fourth straight majority in the House of Commons in the Canadian federal election. The Liberals took 191 of 262 seats in the House of Commons, an increase of 73 from the most recent election in 1945. The Progressive Conservatives, led by former Ontario Premier George Drew, dropped from 65 seats to 24. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, led by M.J. Coldwell, dropped from 28 seats to 13; the Social Credit Party, led by Solon Low, dropped from 13 to 10. The Liberals' total remains their highest total in any Canadian federal election.

Religion
The Czechoslovakian government barred communications and meetings of Roman Catholic church officials without prior state approval.

Law
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state courts may consider illegally-obtained evidence if permitted to do so by state law, upholding the abortion conviction of Denver physician Dr. Julius Wolf, whose records had been seized without a warrant. The Court also reversed the murder convictions of three Negroes due to police coercion in obtaining confessions.

Economics and finance
The U.S.A. withdrew its objections to the Argentine-British trade pact after accepting the U.K.'s explanation that its acute dollar shortage forced it to deal extensively with Argentina.

Labour
24,000 Australian coal miners struck for a $4.40 weekly pay raise and a 35-hour work week, forcing extensive layoffs and plant closings in other industries.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Personality--Lloyd Price

#1 single in Italy: Venus--Frankie Avalon (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Die Gitarre und das Meer--Freddy Quinn (10th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Dream Lover--Bobby Darin

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Battle of New Orleans--Johnny Horton (5th week at #1)
2 Personality--Lloyd Price
3 Lonely Boy--Paul Anka
4 Dream Lover--Bobby Darin
5 Kansas City--Wilbert Harrison
6 Quiet Village--Martin Denny
7 Tallahassee Lassie--Freddy Cannon
8 A Teenager in Love--Dion and the Belmonts
9 Lipstick on Your Collar--Connie Francis
10 Frankie--Connie Francis

Singles entering the chart were Sea of Love by Phil Phillips with the Twilights (#79); Lavender-Blue by Sammy Turner (#80); Lonely Guitar by Annette (#86); Cap and Gown by Marty Robbins (#88); Till There was You by Anita Bryant (#90); Oh, What a Fool by the Impalas (#91); The Way I Walk by Jack Scott (#94); Wonderful You by Jimmie Rodgers (#96); Crying My Heart Out for You by Neil Sedaka (#100); and I'm Coming Home by Marv Johnson (also #100).

Diplomacy
French President Charles de Gaulle concluded a five-day state visit to Italy.

Iraq ended its three-month boycott of Arab League meetings.

Americana
Hawaiians, in a plebiscite, voted 132,938-7,854 in favour of accepting statehood.

Crime
Japanese police announced the breakup of a narcotics ring said to have smuggled $278 million worth of drugs from Communist China in the past 10 years.

Golf
Mickey Wright shot a 1-over-par 71 to win her second straight U.S. Women's Open with a 7-over-par total score of 287 at Churchill Valley Country Club in Blackridge, Pennsylvania, 2 strokes ahead of Louise Suggs. First prize money was $1,800.

Baseball
With the players voting, outfielder Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves became the first player to be unanimously elected to play in an All-Star game.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Hair--The Cowsills (2nd week at #1)

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 The Ballad of John and Yoko/Old Brown Shoe--The Beatles (2nd week at #1)
2 I Threw it All Away--Bob Dylan
3 Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet--Henry Mancini, his Orchestra and Chorus
4 Let Me--Paul Revere and the Raiders
5 Israelites--Desmond Dekker and the Aces
6 Medicine Man (Part I)--Buchanan Brothers
7 In the Ghetto--Elvis Presley
8 My Pledge of Love--The Joe Jeffrey Group
9 One--Three Dog Night
10 Bad Moon Rising/Lodi--Creedence Clearwater Revival

Singles entering the chart were When I Die by Motherlode (#25); Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition (#27); In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus) by Zager and Evans (#28); Along Came Jones by Ray Stevens (#29); and Color Him Father by the Winstons (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 The Ballad of John and Yoko--The Beatles (2nd week at #1)
2 Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)--The 5th Dimension
3 Seattle--Perry Como
4 Get Back--The Beatles with Billy Preston
5 One--Three Dog Night
6 Bad Moon Rising--Creedence Clearwater Revival
7 See--The Rascals
8 In the Ghetto--Elvis Presley
9 Medicine Man (Part I)--Buchanan Brothers
10 Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet--Henry Mancini, his Orchestra and Chorus

Personal
It was the last day of school for this blogger in Miss Whiting's grade 2 class at Yellowknife Public School. Like everyone else, I was looking forward to summer.

World events
The military government of Greece ousted the president of the Council of State, the nation’s highest administrative tribunal, and accused the 25-man body of challenging its revolutionary authority. The Council was set up 40 years earlier to protect against arbitrary government actions.

Politics and government
The United Kingdom granted the West Indies island of St. Vincent the status of an associated state within the Commonwealth, effective October 27, 1969.

Labour
The Medical College of South Carolina Hospital announced that it had reached an agreement to end the 13-week strike of hospital workers in Charleston. A settlement was yet to be reached at Charleston County Hospital.

Baseball
Steve Carlton struck out 12 and improved his 1969 record to 8-5 as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Chicago Cubs 3-1 before 29,224 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Cardinals scored 2 runs in the 7th inning and 1 in the 8th, after Chicago pitcher Ken Holtzman, who dropped to 10-2, had retired the first 20 batters.

The Philadelphia Phillies scored all their runs in the first 4 innings and held on to defeat the Montreal Expos 8-7 before 16,847 fans at Jarry Park in Montreal. Steve Renko made his major league debut as Montreal's starting pitcher and took the loss, allowing 4 hits and 5 runs--all earned--in 2 1/3 innings, walking 3 batters and striking out none, batting 0 for 1. He was relieved by Dick Radatz after yielding a 3-run home run by Larry Hisle, who singled in the eventual deciding run. Mack Jones drove in 4 runs for the Expos with a pair of homers.

Steve Blass allowed 3 hits in 8 1/3 innings to win the pitchers' duel over Jerry Koosman as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the New York Mets 3-1 before 42,276 fans at Shea Stadium in New York. Freddie Patek's solo home run in the 5th inning was the eventual winning run. The Mets scored in the 9th and had runners on first and second bases with 1 out, but Joe Gibbon relieved Mr. Blass and struck out pinch hitters Rod Gaspar and Ed Charles to end the game.

Pete Rose's 2-run home run off Juan Marichal with 1 out in the bottom of the 8th inning provided the winning margin as the Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants 4-3 in the first game of a doubleheader before 20,340 fans at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The Giants scored 2 runs in the 9th and had runners on first and second bases with 2 out, but Willie Mays grounded into a force play to end the game. The Reds scored 6 runs in the first 2 innings and coasted to a 9-1 win in the second game, with Jim Merritt pitching a 6-hit complete game victory to improve his 1969 record to 8-3. Ozzie Virgil flied out as a pinch hitter for the Giants in the 8th inning of the second game, which was the 324th and last game of his 9-year major league career.

Marty Martinez singled home Curt Blefary with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Houston Astros a 5-4 win over the Atlanta Braves before 24,580 fans at the Astrodome.

The Baltimore Orioles scored 2 runs in each of the first 2 innings and Dave McNally pitched a 5-hitter to improve his record for the season to 11-0 as the Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers 4-1 before 39,798 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

Hawk Taylor singled home Ellie Rodriguez to climax a 2-run rally in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Kansas City Royals a 9-8 win over the Minnesota Twins before 11,031 fans at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City.

Blue Moon Odom pitched a 4-hitter to win the pitchers' duel over Billy Wynne, who allowed just 3 hits and no earned runs, as the Oakland Athletics edged the Chicago White Sox 1-0 before 7,825 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The game's only run was scored with 2 out in the bottom of the 8th when Ted Kubiak beat out an infield hit on a grounder to Chicago third baseman Bill Melton, and Mr. Melton made a throwing error, allowing pinch runner Catfish Hunter to score.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Ring My Bell--Anita Ward (3rd week at #1)

War
Syrian MiGs were involved in dogfights with Israeli jets over southern Lebanon in the first aerial combat between the countries in five years. Israelis had been attacking Palestine Liberation Organization bases. Israel claimed that it had shot down five of the MiGs. It was the first time that Israel had used F-15s, advanced American jets, in combat. The United States expressed serious concern over the use of these jets, as they had been supplied to Israel on condition that they be used only for defensive purposes.

Diplomacy
The United States sent special envoys to Nicaragua in an attempt to persuade Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza to step down in favour of a provisional government that would include Sandanista rebels.

Defense
Howard Baker (Tennessee), leader of the Republican minority in the United States Senate, announced that he would not support the SALT-II arms limitation treaty unless it was amended.

Abominations
The United States Supreme Court ruled 5-2 to uphold voluntary affirmative action plans that allowed companies to give special preference to Negroes to eliminate past "racial imbalance" in job classifications. No evidence of past discrimination by the employers needed to be proved in order for such programs to be legal. The court rejected the arguments of Brian Weber, a white worker, that a special training program at the Gramercy, Louisiana plant of Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp. had practiced "reverse discrimination" against whites by reserving half the places for Negro workers. Mr. Weber had not been admitted to the program even though two Negro workers with less seniority had been given places in it. The Court treated the affirmative action program as a voluntary agreement between private parties whose conduct was not regulated by the Constitution. Of course, Mr. Weber and other whites didn’t volunteer to be discriminated against.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Montreal (3-0) 30 @ Toronto (1-2) 18

Baseball
The New York Mets outscored the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-6 over the last 3 innings, and scored 5 unanswered runs in the top of the 9th, to win 12-9 before 13,168 fans at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

On the Wednesday night Expos Baseball telecast on CBC, Silvio Martinez pitched a 1-hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals as they blanked the Montreal Expos 5-0 before 14,864 fans at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Mr. Martinez, who improved his 1979 record to 6-2, was 4 outs away from a no-hitter when Duffy Dyer singled.

The San Francisco Giants scored all their runs in the bottom of the 8th inning as they rallied from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Houston Astros 6-3 before 11,563 fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. San Francisco second baseman Roger Metzger made the first and last outs at bat in the 8th.

Jim Palmer pitched a 4-hitter to improve his 1979 record to 7-3, winning the pitchers' duel over Mike Paxton as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Cleveland Indians 3-1 before 20,209 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Toby Harrah led off the 9th inning with a home run to break up Mr. Palmer's bid for a shutout.

The Boston Red Sox scored a run in the 8th inning and 2 in the 9th to overcome a 1-0 deficit and defeat the Detroit Tigers 3-1 before 32,381 fans at Tiger Stadium.

The Milwaukee Brewers scored 6 runs in the top of the 5th inning to take a 9-0 lead and held on for a 9-8 win over the Minnesota Twins before 18,602 fans at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington.

With Joe Simpson on third base and 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning, Ken Kravec intentionally walked Bobby Valentine and Leon Roberts to load the bases, and then unintentionally walked Ruppert Jones to force home Mr. Simpson with the winning run to give the Seattle Mariners a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox before 8,106 fans at the Kingdome in Seattle. Mr. Kravec allowed 11 hits and 4 earned runs in pitching a complete game.

25 years ago
1984

Diplomacy
After eight hours of talks with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, Rev. Jesse Jackson announced the release of 22 Americans and 26 Cubans. It was believed that most of the Americans were being held on drug charges. Mr. Castro and Rev. Jackson called for normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba, and endorsed peace negotiations to end military conflicts in Central America. Mr. Castro indicated a willingness to discuss the return to Cuba of hundreds of Cubans being held in the United States since he had permitted them to migrate to Florida from the Cuban port of Mariel in 1980. Rev. Jackson then went to Nicaragua.

Roberto D'Aubuisson, leader of the right-wing Arena party in El Salvador, was in the United States, and met with 12 United States Senators. He denied involvement in an alleged plot to assassinate Thomas Pickering, the U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador.

Economics and finance
The United States Senate voted 83-15 and the House of Representatives voted 268-155 to approve a package of budget cuts and tax increases designed to make a "down payment" against the enormous budget deficits projected for the next few years. The complex bill was expected to raise $50 billion in taxes and reduce spending by $11 billion.

Baseball
Dusty Baker stole second base, third base, and home plate in the 3rd inning, and Chili Davis hit a pinch grand slam in the 5th as the San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds 14-9.

20 years ago
1989

Law
The United States House of Representatives voted 411-5 to express its concern over the June 21 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that burning the American flag was a legitimate form of political protest. President George Bush announced his support for a Constitutional amendment barring desecration of the flag.

Scandal
A United States federal appeals court ruled 2-1 to overturn the conviction of Lyn Nofziger, a former official in the administration of President Ronald Reagan, who had been found guilty in 1988 of illegal lobbying. The appeals court ruled that prosecutors had failed to prove that Mr. Nofziger knew that his lobbying was against the law.

Baseball
Randy Milligan batted 4 for 5 with a home run, 2 doubles, and 4 runs batted in to help the Baltimore Orioles rout the Toronto Blue Jays 16-6 before 30,136 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Jay Tibbs allowed 13 hits and 6 earned runs in pitching a complete game victory to improve his record for the season to 5-0. The most interesting aspect of the game was that with Frank Robinson managing the Orioles and Cito Gaston managing the Blue Jays, it was the first regular season game in major league history to feature Negro managers for both teams.

Charlie Puleo and Steve Ziem combined to pitch a no-hitter for the Richmond Braves of the International League as they shut out the Oklahoma City 89ers of the American Association 3-0 in an interlocking game.

10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Georgios Papadopoulos, 80. Prime Minister of Greece, 1967-1973; President of Greece, 1973. Colonel Papadopoulos fought against invading Italian and German forces during World War II, but eventually became a Nazi collaborator. He led a military coup that seized power in 1967, and led the junta until he was deposed by a coup led by his co-conspirator, Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannidis. Democracy was restored to Greece in 1974, and Col. Papadopoulos was among those convicted in 1975 of various high crimes and misdemeanors. They were originally sentenced to death, but the sentences were commuted to life imprisonment, and Col. Papadopoulos died in prison.

Marion Motley, 79. U.S. football player. Mr. Motley, one of the first Negro stars in American professional football, played fullback with the Cleveland Browns from 1946-1953. The Browns were the champions of the All-America Football Conference during the entire four years of the league's existence from 1946-1949; after moving into the National Football League, the Browns won the league title in 1950, and were finalists in the championship game during the last three seasons of Mr. Motley's career. Mr. Motley led the AAFC in rushing in 1948 with 964 yards, and the NFL in 1950 with 810 yards. He excelled in AAFC championship games: 13 rushes for 98 yards and a touchdown in 1946; 13 for 109 yards, including a 51-yard run to set up a touchdown in 1947; 14 for 133 yards and three touchdowns in 1948; and 8 for 75, including a 63-yard touchdown run, in 1949. Mr. Motley was slowed down by knee injuries during his last three seasons; a comeback attempt with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1955 ended after 7 games as a linebacker. He was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1968, and died of prostate cancer, 22 days after his 79th birthday.

Sport
In the sixth X Games at Pier 30 overlooking San Francisco Bay, Tony Hawk became the first skateboarder ever to land the 900, his sport's equivalent of the four-minute mile.

Baseball
Mike Witt pitched a 3-hitter and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays scored 5 runs in the 1st inning and coasted to an 8-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays before 18,048 fans at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

Craig Wilson's 2-run home run climaxed a 3-run 9th inning for the Chicago White Sox as they edged the Boston Red Sox 7-6 before 30,627 fans at Fenway Park in Boston.

Ken Griffey's 3-run home run in the bottom of the 1st inning gave the Seattle Mariners a 3-2 lead as they defeated the Texas Rangers 5-2 before 56,530 fans in the last major league game to be played at the Kingdome in Seattle. Mr. Griffey's blow was his 198th career home run in the Kingdome.



Greg Maddux allowed 2 hits in 8 innings to win the pitchers' duel over Masato Yoshii, who allowed just 4 hits in 7 innings, as the Atlanta Braves edged the New York Mets 1-0 before 46,092 fans at Turner Field in Atlanta. Ozzie Guillen doubled home Eddie Perez with 2 out in the bottom of the 3rd inning for the game's only run.

Travis Lee tripled to lead off the bottom of the 10th inning and scored on a single by pinch hitter Andy Fox to give the Arizona Diamondbacks a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals before 44,458 fans at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix.