July 10, 2009

590 years ago
1419

Born on this date
Go-Hanazono. Emperor of Japan, 1428-1464. Go-Hanazono, born Hikohito-shinnō, succeeded his third cousin Shōkō on the Chrysanthemum Throne. Emperor Go-Hanazono abdicated in favour of his son Go-Tsuchimikado in 1564, and died on January 18, 1471 at the age of 51.

500 years ago
1509

Born on this date
John Calvin (Jean Cauvin). French-born Swiss religious and political leader. Mr. Calvin, born Jehan Cauvin, broke with the Roman Catholic Church in the early 1530s and became one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation, known for his multi-volume work Institutes of the Christian Religion. Mr. Calvin's theology emphasized the sovereignty of God. I haven't space here to examine Calvinism in depth; the reader is encouraged to do his own research. Mr. Calvin's performance as Mayor of Geneva illustrates the danger of combining ecclesiastical and secular power--he was responsible for the execution of heretic Michael Servetus in 1553, and had at least one man executed for expressing disagreement with the content of one of Mr. Calvin's sermons. Mr. Calvin died on May 27, 1564 at the age of 54 after several years of declining health.

490 years ago
1519

World events
Zhu Chenhao declared the Ming dynasty's Emperor Zhengde a usurper, beginning the Prince of Ning rebellion in China.

450 years ago
1559

Died on this date
Henri II, 40. King of France, 1547-1559. Henry II, the second son of King François I, spent four years in captivity in Spain as a hostage in exchange for his father, and became the heir upon the death of his older brother François in 1536. Henri II acceded to the throne upon the death of his father, on Henri's 28th birthday. King Henri's reign was characterized by war against Italy and persecution of Protestants. On June 30, 1559, Henri II was participating in a jousting tournament, and suffered a freak injury when fragments from his opponent's splintered lance penetrated his eye; an infection set in that proved untreatable, and King Henri II died, and was succeeded on the throne by his son François II.

220 years ago
1789

Exploration
Alexander Mackenzie reached the delta of the river that now bears his name, near what is now Inuvik, Northwest Territories.

170 years ago
1839

Born on this date
Adolphus Busch. German-born U.S. brewer. Mr. Busch and his father-in-law Eberhard Anheuser founded the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis. Mr. Busch died on October 10, 1913 at the age of 74.

140 years ago
1869

Disasters
Gävle, Sweden was largely destroyed in a fire; 80% of its 10,000 residents were left homeless.

80 years ago
1929

Politics and government
Camillien Houde, Mayor of Montreal and Member of the Legislative Assembly for Sainte-Marie, was elected leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec at the party's convention in Quebec City.

Baseball
The Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies combined to hit one home run in each inning as the Pirates won 15-9 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. The Pirates hit 5 home runs, the Phillies 4. Fred Fussell was the winning pitcher despite allowing 12 hits and 9 runs--8 earned--in 6 1/3 innings.

75 years ago
1934

Baseball
Major League All-Star Game @ Polo Grounds, New York
American League 9 National League 7

Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants turned in a memorable performance, striking out five consecutive Hall of Famers: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin. The NL jumped out to an early lead, but Mel Harder of the Cleveland Indians pitched 5 shutout innings in relief of Red Ruffing of the New York Yankees.



60 years ago
1949

Literature
The New York Herald Tribune listed Point of No Return by John P. Marquand as the best-selling fiction book, and Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth and Ernestine Caldwell as the best-selling non-fiction book.

Defense
U.S.S.R. scientists set off the first Soviet nuclear explosion in the Ust-Urt desert between the Caspian and Aral seas, inaugurating the nuclear arms race.

Politics and government
The French National Assembly approved plans for the creation of a Council of Europe.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Dream Lover--Bobby Darin (2nd week at #1)

War
French troops launched an offensive against Algerian guerrilla strongholds in the Hodna Mountain area of southeastern Algeria.

World events
Cuban secret police announced the discovery of an anti-government movement in Havana led by Juan Walfrido Despaigne, son of Major Enrique Despaigne, who had bee executed as a war criminal.

Defense
A special panel of U.S., U.K., and U.S.S.R. nuclear experts recommended to the Geneva test-ban conference that space satellites be used to detect nuclear detonations at altitudes above 30 miles (50 kilometres).

Politics and government
Agreement was reached on formation of a new Austrian cabinet after Chancellor Julius Raab accepted Socialist demands for control of the Foreign Ministry and nationalized industries.

Administering the oath of office to his new 10-member cabinet, Indonesian President Sukarno said that it would remain in office for at least five years to implement "guided democracy" in Indonesia.

Boxing
Don Jordan (48-11) retained his world welterweight title with a 15-round unanimous decision over Denny Moyer (20-1) at Meadows Race Track in Portland, Oregon.



40 years ago
1969

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Carleton Hobbs and Norman Shelley, on BBC 2
Tonight’s episode: His Last Bow

This was the final new episode starring Mr. Hobbs and Mr. Shelley to be broadcast. They had been playing their roles on BBC since 1952, and His Last Bow, set in the retirement years of Sherlock Holmes, was an appropriate finale.

Adventure
Teignmouth Electron, the trimaran piloted by Donald Crowhurst, the apparent leader of the Golden Globe around-the-world yacht race, was discovered abandoned, 11 days after Mr. Crowhurst's last radio transmission, and 9 days after his last log entry. He had apparently jumped overboard as a result of increasing mental and emotional strain, which was reflected in his log entries. For months Mr. Crowhurst had been sending false reports of his progress; in fact, the Teignmouth Electron was found in the mid-Atlantic Ocean, about 1,800 miles from England. The race, which involved lone sailors going around the world, had begun the previous fall; Mr. Crowhurst, the last entrant to begin the journey, had set sail from Teignmouth, England on October 31, 1968. The story was told by Nicholas Tomalin and Ron Hall in The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst (original British title: The Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst), published in 1970. It's one of the most fascinating books that this blogger has ever read.

Journalism
In Johannesburg, Lawrence Gandar, editor of the Rand Daily Mail, along with one of the paper’s reporters, was found guilty, after an eight-month legal battle, of having published information on South Africa’s prison system without reasonable attempts to verify it. The trial was widely considered to be part of an attempt by the South African government to hide prison conditions in the country.

Labour
17,000 Inco workers at plants in Sudbury and Port Colborne, Ontario began a strike.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Montreal (0-3) 12 @ British Columbia (1-1) 14

Baseball
The Chicago Cubs salvaged the last game of a three-game series against the New York Mets with a 6-2 win before 36,012 fans at Shea Stadium in New York. A 5-run 5th inning and the pitching of Bill Hands enabled the Cubs to end the Mets’ seven-game winning streak. The Mets were now in second place in the National League East Division, 4 games behind Chicago.

Manny Sanguillen singled home Carl Taylor with 1 out in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 2-1 win over the Montreal Expos before 4,982 fans at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The Pirates had tied the game with an unearned run in the bottom of the 9th. Gary Waslewski pitched the first 10 innings for the Expos, allowing 7 hits and no earned runs.

Juan Marichal pitched a 3-hitter to win the pitchers' duel over Don Sutton as the San Francisco Giants shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 before 34,816 fans at Dodger Stadium.

Tony Horton singled home 2 runs with 2 out in the top of the 11th inning to break a 5-5 tie as the Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers 7-5 before 21,701 fans at Tiger Stadium.

Frank Robinson singled home Paul Blair with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Baltimore Orioles a 5-4 win over the Boston Red Sox before 11,278 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Jim Hardin pitched a 7-hit complete game victory.

30 years ago
1979

Died on this date
Arthur Fiedler, 84. U.S. orchestra conductor. Mr. Fiedler was a violinist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and founded the Boston Sinfonietta chamber orchestra in 1924, but was best known as conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra from 1930 until his death after a period of failing health.

Doug Gilbert, 41. Canadian sportswriter. Mr. Gilbert, previously with the Montreal Gazette, was working for the Edmonton Sun covering the Pan-American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico when he was struck by a taxi and killed. Mr. Gilbert was named Canada’s Sportswriter of the Year in 1978. He was working on a book about the recent international sporting success of East Germany; the book was published posthumously under the title The Miracle Machine. Mr. Gilbert didn’t live long enough to experience the embarrassment that he would surely have felt to learn that he had been duped and that the East Germans’ success was more the result of drugs than training.

Politics and government
The United States Senate defeated a proposed constitutional amendment to end the Electoral College and have a direct popular election of presidents. Proponents of the amendment argued that it was possible under the Electoral College system for a candidate who lost in the popular vote to become president. Opponents of the amendment said they didn’t want any "radical" tampering with the Constitution.

Disasters
A United States Federal Aviation Administration report on the May 25 crash of an American Airlines DC-10 jetliner that killed all 272 people on board and 3 on the ground shortly after takeoff from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport said that the disaster was caused by a DC-10 maintenance procedure used by American Airlines mechanics. The procedure, also used by Continental Air Lines, was the use of a forklift to remove and replace the engine and pylon as a single unit to save time. The report claimed that a 10½-inch crack in the left engine pylon of the crashed DC-10 occurred when the unit was being reinstalled by a forklift in March 1979.

Football
CFL
Montreal (1-0) 11 @ Toronto (0-1) 9
Edmonton (1-0) 28 @ Winnipeg (0-1) 10

The defending Grey Cup champion Eskimos opened their season with a win over the Blue Bombers at Winnipeg Stadium. Brian Kelly, playing his first CFL game, caught 2 touchdown passes from quarterback Tom Wilkinson, who went the distance. John Konihowski caught 7 passes to help the Eskimo attack. Edmonton’s other touchdown came in the second quarter when Joe Hollimon blocked a Bernie Ruoff field goal attempt, and Dan Kepley returned it 60 yards for the score. Winnipeg’s touchdown came on a pass from Dieter Brock to Mike Holmes on the last play of the game; a 2-point convert attempt was unsuccessful. In an earlier game, the Alouettes edged the Argonauts at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. It was the first regular season CFL game for Forrest Gregg as head coach of the Argonauts and for Tony Adams as the Toronto quarterback.

Baseball
The San Francisco Giants scored 4 runs with 2 out in the top of the 13th inning to break a 7-7 tie and defeat the Montreal Expos 11-7 before 21,055 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Montreal right fielder Ellis Valentine showed off his throwing ability when he fielded a drive that bounced in front of him and threw out the batter, Darrell Evans, before he reached first base.

Pinch hitter Del Unser's 3-run home run with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning climaxed a 5-run rally and gave the Philadelphia Phillies a 6-5 win over the San Diego Padres before 30,234 fans at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mr. Unser's homer was his third straight as a pinch hitter, a major league record.

Pinch hitter Champ Summers hit a 2-run home run and Lou Whitaker singled Ron LeFlore home with an unearned run as the Detroit Tigers scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to defeat the Minnesota Twins 6-5 before 17,747 fans at Tiger Stadium. Detroit third baseman Tom Brookens batted 1 for 3, and made 1 putout and 1 assist in his first major league game.

Aided by 2 hit batsmen, the Oakland Athletics scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to overcome a 6-4 deficit and defeat the Baltimore Orioles 7-6 before 1,880 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

25 years ago
1984

Baseball
Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets combined for a record 6 consecutive strikeouts to help the National League defeat the American League 3-1 in the major league All-Star game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. In the 4th inning Mr. Valenzuela struck out Dave Winfield, Reggie Jackson, and George Brett. In the 5th, Mr. Gooden struck out Lance Parrish, Chet Lemon, and Alvin Davis. The 19-year-old Mr. Gooden was the youngest player ever to appear in an All-Star game.



20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): The Look--Roxette

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

Canada's Top 10 (RPM):
1 Good Thing--Fine Young Cannibals (2nd week at #1)
2 Express Yourself--Madonna
3 Buffalo Stance--Neneh Cherry
4 Baby Don't Forget My Number--Milli Vanilli
5 Satisfied--Richard Marx
6 If You Don't Know Me by Now--Simply Red
7 This Time I Know it's for Real--Donna Summer
8 I Drove All Night--Cyndi Lauper
9 The Doctor--The Doobie Brothers
10 Pop Singer--John Mellencamp

Singles entering the chart were Love Train by Holly Johnson (#81); Jackie Brown by John Cougar Mellencamp (#83); The Prisoner by Howard Jones (#85); California Blue by Roy Orbison (#87); Black Velvet by Alannah Myles (#90); If You Could See Me Now by Big Bam Boo (#92); Can't Live with You by Billy Newton-Davis (#94); and Times Like These by the Razorbacks (#97).

Died on this date
Mel Blanc, 81. U.S. actor. Mr. Blanc provided the voice for countless cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Woody Woodpecker, and Barney Rubble. He played Jack Benny’s music teacher on Mr. Benny’s radio and television programs for many years. Mr. Blanc also had his own radio show for one season in the 1940s.

Diplomacy
U.S. President George Bush met with the leader of Poland’s Communist regime, General Wojciech Jaruzelski, and then addressed the Polish parliament. Noting the tide of democratic reform in Poland, Mr. Bush said, "A profound cycle of turmoil and great change is sweeping the world..." He announced a plan for U.S. economic aid for Poland that included $100 million for investment in Polish business (subject to approval by Congress); support for the rescheduling of Poland’s foreign debt; support for World Bank loans to assist industry and agriculture; and $15 million to clean up industrial pollution (also subject to Congressional approval).

Labour
Miners in Mezhdurechensk, Siberia walked off the job, one of a series of wildcat strikes in the U.S.S.R. in July.

Basketball
NBA
The Chicago Bulls named Phil Jackson to succeed Doug Collins as head coach.

10 years ago
1999

War
The Democratic Republic of the Congo and five other nations--all of whom had troops in the Congo--signed a cease-fire agreement that sought to end Congo’s civil war. Signatories included Angola, Namibia, and Zimbabwe--all supporters of the government of the Congo--and Rwanda and Uganda--supporters of the rebels. The cease-fire called for the integration of government and rebel soldiers into the army and for a national dialogue on the future of the Congo. The agreement also provided for the disarming of the Hutu militia.

Soccer
After 90 minutes of regulation time and 30 minutes of overtime without a goal, the United States defeated China 5-4 on penalty kicks to win the Women’s World Cup before 90,185 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. It was the largest crowd to see a women’s sporting event in the United States, and perhaps the world.

Football
CFL
Montreal (1-0) 15 @ Toronto (0-1) 12

The Alouettes opened their regular season with a win over the Argonauts at SkyDome, in the CFL head coaching debut for both Charlie Taaffe of the Alouettes and Jim Barker of the Argonauts. The last time two head coaches had made their debuts against each other was in 1967, when the same teams were involved. On that occasion, Leo Cahill’s Argonauts beat Kay Dalton’s Alouettes 14-7 at Molson Stadium in Montreal.

Baseball
Carlos Delgado hit a 3-run home run in the 5th inning and drove in Shannon Stewart with a ground out in the 9th to break a 6-6 tie as the Toronto Blue Jays edged the Montreal Expos 7-6 before 15,005 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Chris Stowers grounded out as a pinch hitter in the 6th inning for the Expos in his major league debut, while Rob Butler popped out as a pinch hitter for the Blue Jays in the 4th in the 109th and last game of his 4-year major league career.

Matt Franco’s pinch hit single with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning drove in 2 runs to give the New York Mets a 9-8 win over the New York Yankees before 53,792 fans at Shea Stadium in New York. The result ended the Yankees’ streak of 125 victories when leading after 8 innings. Paul O'Neill hit 2 home runs and a double for the Yankees, and Jorge Posada also homered twice for the Yankees.

The San Diego Padres scored 2 runs on an infield single by Eric Owens and a throwing error by pitcher John Wetteland with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to defeat the Texas Rangers 5-4 before 49,123 fans at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

Omar Vizquel hit a 2-run home run with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Cleveland Indians an 11-10 win over the Cincinnati Reds before 43,127 fans at Jacobs Field in Cleveland.