June 6, 2009

260 years ago
1749

World events
The Conspiracy of the Slaves in Malta was discovered, three weeks before the rebellion of Muslim slaves was scheduled to take place.

210 years ago
1799

Born on this date
Alexander Pushkin. Russian poet, novelist, and dramatist. The author of such works as the novel Eugene Onegin (1825-1832) and play Boris Godunov (1831), Mr. Pushkin was killed in a duel in St. Petersburg on June 6, 1837 at the age of 37.

Died on this date
Patrick Henry, 63. U.S. politician. Mr. Henry was an American Founding Father, who served as a delegate from Virginia to the First (1774) and Second (1775) Continental Congresses. At the Second Virginia Convention in 1775, he famously said, "Give me liberty or give me death!" Mr. Henry served two terms as Governor of Virginia (1776-1779, 1784-1786), and devoted the late 1780s to opposing ratification of the United States Constitution. He died of stomach cancer, eight days after his 63rd birthday.

200 years ago
1809

Politics and government
Sweden promulgated a new Constitution, which restored political power to the Riksdag of the Estates after 20 years of enlightened absolutism. At the same time, Charles XIII was elected to succeed Gustav IV as King of Sweden.

180 years ago
1829

Died on this date
Shanawdithit, 28 (?). Newfoundland artist. Shanawdithit was the last known survivor of the Beothuk people. She and two friends were captured by Newfoundland traders in 1823 at Badger Bay; after her friends died of tuberculosis, she served in the house of Scottish entrepreneur William Cormack, and gave valuable information about her people to the Beothuk Institution in St. John's. Shanawdithit died of tuberculosis.

150 years ago
1859

Australiana
Queensland was established as a separate colony from New South Wales.

120 years ago
1889

Disasters
The Great Seattle Fire destroyed the entire central business district of the city.

100 years ago
1909

Born on this date
Isaiah Berlin. Latvian-born U.K. scholar. Sir Isaiah was born into a Jewish family moved moved to Russia in 1915, and to England in 1921. He spent most of his life at the University of Oxford, where he taught social and political theory, and gained a reputation as the world's greatest thinker, especially in such areas as liberty and values. Sir Isaiah died on November 5, 1997 at the age of 88.

World events
French troops capture Abéché (in modern-day Chad) and install a puppet sultan in the Ouaddai Empire.

90 years ago
1919

Europeana
The Republic of Prekmurje ended when it was incorporated into the newly established Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

Transportation
The Canadian National Railways Corporation was created by a federal Order-in-Council, merging several railways--including the Intercolonial, Grand Trunk, and Canadian Northern--to become the largest railway system in Canada.

Economics and finance
The Canadian government passed an Act to amend the Currency Act, 1910, setting the weight of the 1¢ coin at 50 grains.

90 years ago
1929

Politics and government
The Liberal Party of Premier Jimmy Gardiner was reduced to a plurality in the Saskatchewan provincial election. They won 28 of 63 seats in the Legislative Assembly, a decrease of 22 from the most recent election in 1925. The Conservatives, led by James Anderson, increased their total from 3 to 24, while the Progressive Party dropped from 6 to 5, and 6 independent candidates were elected. Mr. Gardiner attempted to lead a minority government, but soon lost a non-confidence motion and was forced to turn over the government to a Conservative-Progressive-independent coalition.

Transportation
The Canadian National Railway (CNR) took over more failed private rail corporations: the Kent Northern Railway; Inverness Railway & Coal Company; Montréal & Southern Railway; Québec Oriental Railway; Atlantic Railway, Québec & Western Railway; and Saint John and Québec Railway.

75 years ago
1934

Economics and finance
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was established in the United States to protect investors and maintain the integrity of the securities markets.

Baseball
The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox split a doubleheader. The Yankees won the opener over Lefty Grove 15-3 as Myril Hoag, substituting for Babe Ruth, tied an American League record with 6 singles in 6 at bats. The Red Sox won the second game 7-3, dropping the Yankees to second place behind the Detroit Tigers.

70 years ago
1939

Died on this date
Simmy Murch, 58. U.S. baseball player and coach. Mr. Murch was an infielder with the St. Louis Cardinals (1904-1905) and Brooklyn Superbas (1908), batting .141 with no home runs and 1 run batted in in 23 games. He played at least 1,039 games in the minor leagues from 1902-1912. Mr. Murch coached at Middlebury College for three years and then at Phillips Exeter Academy from 1923 until his death.

Declared dead on this date
New York Supreme Court Justice Joseph Force Crater, known as the "Missingest Man in New York", was declared legally dead. He was 41 when he was last seen leaving a restaurant in New York City on August 6, 1930.

Baseball
The New York Giants blasted the Cincinnati Reds 17-3 before 7,405 fans at the Polo Grounds in New York, setting a major league record in the 4th inning by hitting 5 home runs after 2 were out. The fourth home run of the inning was an inside-the-park homer by pitcher Frank Salvo--his only major league home run. Burgess Whitehead, Mr. Salvo, and Jo-Jo Moore hit their homers consecutively.

Pinch hitters Chuck Klein and Pinky Whitney hit consecutive singles to drive in the last 2 runs of a 3-run rally in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 9-8 win over the Chicago Cubs before 1,000 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. The Phillies released Mr. Klein after the game, and he was signed the next day by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

60 years ago
1949

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring John Stanley and George Spelvin (Wendell Holmes), on MBS
Tonight’s episode: The Red Death

This was the last episode of the series for both John Stanley and Wendell Holmes, and the last to be broadcast on the Mutual Broadcsting System. When the 1949-1950 season started a few months later, the series had returned to ABC after a two-year absence, and Ben Wright and Eric Snowden were the stars.

Edmontonia
The Greyhound bus depot opened downtown at 2 P.M.

The Starlite, Edmonton’s first drive-in theatre, opened at the corner of 87th Avenue and 156th Street (kitty-corner from the present location of Meadowlark Mall). There was such a huge volume of traffic that not everyone who drove there was able to get in. The Starlite closed shortly after midnight on November 11, 1970.

Society
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee passed an anti-lynching bill, the first civil rights measure to gain committee approval during the current session.

Kansas' 69-year ban on the sale of liquor ended.

Americana
The U.S. House of Representatives passed and sent to the Senate a measure authorizing the nationalization of 85,000 resident Asians.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Harry Truman named future U.S. high commissioner for Germany John McCloy to serve as head of the Economic Cooperation Administration in Germany.

Prices on the New York Stock Exchange dropped to their lowest level since May 21, 1947.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): (Now and Then There’s) A Fool Such as I--Elvis Presley (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters (11th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Die Gitarre und das Meer--Freddy Quinn (7th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): (Now and Then There’s) A Fool Such as I/I Need Your Love Tonight--Elvis Presley (6th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Battle of New Orleans--Johnny Horton (2nd week at #1)
2 Kansas City--Wilbert Harrison
3 Personality--Lloyd Price
4 Quiet Village--Martin Denny
5 Dream Lover--Bobby Darin
6 Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)--Edward Byrnes & Connie Stevens
7 A Teenager in Love--Dion and the Belmonts
8 The Happy Organ--Dave "Baby" Cortez
9 Only You (Loin de Vous)--Franck Pourcel's French Fiddles
10 Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home)--The Impalas

Singles entering the chart were There Goes My Baby by the Drifters (#72); There is Something on Your Mind by Big Jay McNeely and Band (#81); Gotta New Girl by Bobby Day (#83); A Prayer and a Juke Box by Little Anthony and the Imperials (#90); Since You've Been Gone by Clyde McPhatter (#91); With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming, with versions by Patti Page; and Enoch Light and the Light Brigade (#94); Zooba! by Don Ralke (#97); Separate Ways by Sarah Vaughan (#98); Like Young by Andre Previn and David Rose (#99); Mama's Place by Bing Day; and Sing Along by Jimmy Dean (also #100).

On the radio
The Sign of Four: Part 4, starring Richard Hurndall as Sherlock Holmes and Bryan Coleman as Dr. Watson, on BBC Light Programme

Died on this date
Charles Culp Burlingham, 100. U.S. lawyer. Mr. Burlingham led the investigation leading to New York Mayor Jimmy Walker's resignation in 1932.

World events
Riflemen fired at the presidential palace in Managua in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Nicaraguan President Luis Somoza.

Economics and finance
Leaders of seven French West African states agreed to form a customs union and share customs revenues.

Czechoslovakia formalized the first purchase of Communist Chinese industrial machinery to be sold in Europe.

Horse racing
Sword Dancer, who had placed second in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, won the 91st running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park, New York in a time of 2:28 2/5. Bagdad placed second. Winning jockey Bill Shoemaker had ridden Tomy Lee to victory in the Kentucky Derby.

Baseball
The Los Angeles Dodgers called shortstop Maury Wills up from the AAA Spokane Indians of the Pacific Coast League, where he was hitting .313 with 25 stolen bases.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 In the Ghetto--Elvis Presley (2nd week at #1)
2 Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet--Henry Mancini, his Orchestra and Chorus
3 Bad Moon Rising/Lodi--Creedence Clearwater Revival
4 Get Back/Don't Let Me Down--The Beatles with Billy Preston
5 Heather Honey--Tommy Roe
6 I Threw it All Away--Bob Dylan
7 Where's the Playground Susie--Glen Campbell
8 Israelites--Desmond Dekker and the Aces
9 Goodbye--Mary Hopkin
10 The Windmills of Your Mind--Dusty Springfield

Singles entering the chart were The Ballad of John and Yoko/Old Brown Shoe by the Beatles (#22); Grazing in the Grass by the Friends of Distinction (#29); and Love Me Tonight by Tom Jones (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Get Back--The Beatles with Billy Preston (4th week at #1)
2 In the Ghetto--Elvis Presley
3 Gitarzan--Ray Stevens
4 Goodbye--Mary Hopkin
5 Atlantis--Donovan
6 Hair--The Cowsills
7 Where's the Playground Susie--Glen Campbell
8 Love (Can Make You Happy)--Mercy
9 One--Three Dog Night
10 More Today than Yesterday--The Spiral Starecase

Atlantis was the B-side of To Susan on the West Coast Waiting, which had been a hit several months earlier. The picture sleeve featured a swastika, albeit facing in a different direction from the Nazi version.

Died on this date
Miles Dempsey, 72. U.K. military officer. General Sir Miles served in both World Wars, but particularly distinguished himself in World War II, when he commanded the British Army's XIII Corps for the invasions of Sicily and Italy in 1943, and commanded the Second Army during the Battle of Normandy. He was the first British Army commander to cross the Rhine River. General Sir Miles was Commander in Chief of Middle East Land Forces during the Palestine Emergency from 1946 until his retirement in 1947. He died of stomach cancer on the 25th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

Politics and government
Romanian President Nicolae Ceaucescu warned the conference of 75 Communist parties in Moscow that it was threatened with failure because speakers were criticizing other Communist parties. The Romanians were attending the conference on the understanding that no interference in other parties’ affairs would be tolerated.

Journalism
On the second anniversary of the beginning of the Six-Day War, the Soviet Communist party newspaper Pravda warned Arab extremists that "political methods" were the only way to regain lands seized by the Israelis. The article condemned the use of force by Arab commandos.

Law
Testimony before a United States federal court in Houston indicated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had tapped the telephones of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black Muslim leader Elijah Muhammad subsequent to President Lyndon Johnson’s 1965 order to halt all wiretaps except those authorized by the Attorney General for "national security" reasons.

The suggestion of the U.S. draft director, Lt. Gen. Lewis B. Hershey, that antiwar protesters be reclassified by their local boards, was barred by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The court did uphold the reclassification of those who destroyed their draft cards.

Football
AFL
New York Jets’ quarterback Joe Namath announced his retirement from football after being threatened with a suspension for allegedly allowing his restaurant, Bachelors III, to become a hangout for gamblers.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Dance Away--Roxy Music

Died on this date
Jack Haley, 80. U.S. actor. Mr. Haley began his career in vaudeville and was known for performing in musical comedies. He was best known for playing the Tin Woodman in the movie The Wizard of Oz (1939). Mr. Haley died of a heart attack.

Labour
British Columbia longshoremen started a 13-day strike, disrupting prairie wheat shipments.

Baseball
The Montreal Expos set a team record by scoring 11 runs in one inning--8 before the first out was recorded--on their way to a 12-2 win over the Atlanta Braves before 5,618 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in the Wednesday night Expos Baseball telecast on CBC. Winning pitcher Ross Grimsley batted 2 for 4 with a double, a run, and 2 runs batted in.

Danny Ainge tripled home Alfredo Griffin with 1 out in the top of the 9th inning and scored on a fielder's choice as the Toronto Blue Jays broke a 3-3 tie and held on to defeat the California Angels 5-4 before 18,835 fans at Anaheim Stadium. Bobby Grich hit a solo home run with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th, but pinch hitter Willie Davis flied out to center field to end the game. Jesse Jefferson allowed 10 hits and 3 earned runs in pitching a complete game for his first win of the season after 5 losses.

25 years ago
1984

Died on this date
Anthony Perry. U.S. baseball fan. Clumsiness was the cause of the death of Mr. Perry, who was leaning over the railing of the upper deck at Candlestick Park in San Francisco and yelling at the Giants after they had just lost 5-4 in 11 innings to the Atlanta Braves, and fell to his death.

World events
Leaders of eight nations participated in ceremonies observing the 40th anniversary of D-Day, the allied invasion of Normandy. U.S. President Ronald Reagan spoke at Pointe du Hoc, where 225 U.S. Rangers--135 of whom died--scaled cliffs to knock out a German battery. He acknowledged the Soviet contribution to the war effort, but he noted that the U.S.S.R. had kept its troops in "the center of this continent...They are still there, uninvited, unwanted, unyielding..." Mr. Reagan also spoke at Omaha Beach, site of an American cemetery. French President Francois Mitterand spoke at Utah Beach, paying tribute to both the allied and German dead: "The enemies of yesterday are now reconciled."

Terrorism
A siege by Sikh extremists at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, India ended when the Indian army, using mortars, antitank rockets, and machine guns, moved into the temple. After a day-long battle, the army ended all resistance, but at the cost of 300 lives, including 48 soldiers. Sikh extremist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was among the dead. About 240 were injured, and the army took 450 prisoners.

Politics and government
At a noon press conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, former U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale declared that he had won the support of enough uncommitted delegates to declare victory in the contest for the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party. Independent tabulations, such as those by United Press International and Congressional Quarterly, supported his claim.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Montreal (1-0) 38 @ Ottawa (0-1) 18

20 years ago
1989

Politics and government
In a straight party vote, Rep. Tom Foley (Democrat--Washington) was elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, replacing Jim Wright, who had recently resigned.

Business
The planned friendly merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications was thrown off course when Paramount Communications Corporation made a $10.7 billion cash offer for Time. The move outraged Time executives, whose chairman, J. Richard Munro, said that it raised "serious questions" about the "integrity and motives" of Paramount chairman Martin Davis.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Los Angeles Lakers 97 @ Detroit 109 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Isiah Thomas scored 24 points, Joe Dumars scored 22, and Vinnie Johnson added 19 as the Pistons defeated the defending champion Lakers before 21,454 fans at the Palace at Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Magic Johnson and James Worthy each scored 17 points for Los Angeles.



10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Manuel Ramos, 56. Mexican boxer. Mr. Ramos was a heavyweight who compiled a record of 26-29-3 in a professional career from 1963-1977. He won 13 straight fights from 1966-1968, including decisions over former contender Eddie Machen in 1966 and former World Boxing Association world champion Ernie Terrell in 1967. Mr. Ramos' winning streak ended when he challenged Joe Frazier for the version of the world heavyweight championship recognized by the athletic commissions of New York and several other states, losing by technical knockout to Mr. Frazier in 2 rounds in 1968. Mr. Ramos lost his last 15 fights, and was 1-19-1 in his last 21 bouts.

Tennis
Andre Agassi of the United States defeated Andre Medvedev of Ukraine in the men's final of the French Open in four sets, becoming the fifth man to win all four Grand Slam events--the Australian, the French and the United States Opens, and Wimbledon. The others who have won all four: Rod Laver of Australia, Fred Perry of the United Kingdom, Roy Emerson of Australia and Don Budge of the United States.