July 17, 2009

610 years ago
1399

Died on this date
Jadwiga, 25. Queen of Poland, 1384-1399. Jadwiga, the daughter of King Louis the Great, succeeded her father and became Poland's first female monarch. She was betrothed to William of Austria in 1385, but William was forced to leave Austria, and Queen Jadwiga married Jogaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1386. Jogaila was a pagan, but he converted to Roman Catholicism upon his marriage, and became King Władysław II. Queen Jadwiga died four days after the death of her daughter Elizabeth Bonifacia, who had been born, reportedly prematurely, on June 22, 1399. King Władysław II ruled Poland after his wife's death.

580 years ago
1429

Franciana
King Charles VII was crowned in the Reims Cathedral, after a successful campaign by Joan of Arc.

170 years ago
1839

Born on this date
Ephraim Shay. U.S. inventor. Mr. Shay invented the Shay locomotive for hauling logs in 1880 or 1881. He died on April 19, 1916 at the age of 76.

130 years ago
1879

Born on this date
Jack Laviolette. Canadian hockey player, coach, and executive. Mr. Laviolette, a native of Belleville, Ontario, played defence and forward with four teams in five different leagues from 1903-18, but was best known as the first coach and general manager, while also playing, with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey Association (1909-17) and National Hockey League (1917-18). He scored 65 points on 47 goals and 18 assists in 138 regular season NHA games and 2 goals and 1 assist in 18 NHL games, adding 1 goal and 3 assists in 12 Stanley Cup games. Mr. Laviolette helped the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup in 1916, but his playing career ended two years later when he lost his right foot in a car accident. He died on January 10, 1960 at the age of 80. Mr. Laviolette was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1960, and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963.

120 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Erle Stanley Gardner. U.S. author. Mr. Gardner was a lawyer who became bored with the practice of law and began writing fiction. He was best known for creating the crime-solving lawyer Perry Mason. 135 million copies of Mr. Gardner's books were in print at the time of his death on March 11, 1970 at the age of 80.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
James Cagney. U.S. actor. Mr. Cagney won the Academy Award for Best Actor for portraying entertainer George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), but was best known for playing gangsters in movies such as The Public Enemy (1931); Angels with Dirty Faces (1938); The Roaring Twenties (1939); and White Heat (1949). Mr. Cagney died on March 30, 1986 at the age of 86; he remains one of the most frequently-imitated actors.

Business
Nippon Electric Company was organized as the first Japanese joint venture with foreign capital.

75 years ago
1934

Baseball
New York Giants’ pitcher Roy Parmelee helped his cause with a grand slam in the 7th inning as the Giants beat the Chicago Cubs 5-3.

60 years ago
1949

Politics and government
The U.S. Bill of Rights Congress in New York ended with the adoption of resolutions urging an end to Federal Bureau of Investigation loyalty checks and repeal of the Smith Act, under which U.S. Communist leaders were being tried.

Religion
Roman Catholic priests in Prague issued a resolution declaring their support for Archbishop Josef Beran and other church leaders loyal to the Vatican.

The American Friends Service Committee concluded a year-long peace study by issuing a report urging the United States to place its nuclear weapons under United Nations supervision; ease restrictions on trade with Eastern Europe; abandon the West German government plan in favour of German reunification; and work for UN mediation of international disputes. The report, compiled by a committee headed by Haverford College President Gilbert White, was sent to U.S. State Secretary Dean Acheson and U.S.S.R. ambassador to the U.S.A. Aleksandr Panyushkin.

Scandal
U.S. Representative Paul Shafer (Republican--Michigan) demanded that President Harry Truman suspend presidential military aide Harry Vaughn, following reports linking Mr. Vaughn to the "five percenter" influence peddling scandal.

Society
The U.S. National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples' Springarn Medal, given annually to an American Negro for outstanding achievement, went to United Nations Palestine mediator Ralph Bunche.

Freedom House presented its Freedom Awards for 1949 to U.S. Army General Lucius Clay and Atomic Energy Commission director David Lilienthal.

Tennis
Pancho Gonzales and Magda Rurac won the men's and women's singles titles, respectively, at the U.S. national clay court competition in Chicago.

50 years ago
1959

At the movies
The Mouse that Roared, directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Peter Sellers, Jean Seberg, and William Hartnell, opened in theatres in the United Kingdom.

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Dream Lover--Bobby Darin (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Eugene Meyer, 83. U.S. financier and publisher. Mr. Meyer published The Washington Post from 1933-1946. He served as Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board from 1930-1933, and was the first President of the World Bank Group from June-December 1946. Mr. Meyer resigned that position to return as chairman of the Washington Post Company until his death.

Billie Holiday, 44. U.S. singer. Miss Holiday, born Eleanora Fagan and nicknamed "Lady Day," was one of the most influential jazz singers in history, with a career spanning more than 25 years. Her best-known songs included Strange Fruit (1939) and God Bless the Child (1941). Miss Holiday had an unhappy personal life, and died as the result of years of drinking and drug use.

Diplomacy
The foreign ministers of the U.S.S.R., U.S.A., U.K., and France resumed private discussions in Geneva on the problems of Berlin and German reunification, but made no substantial progress toward a settlement.

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed July 19-25 as Captive Nations Week in honour of the peoples of Soviet bloc states.

Defense
U.S.S.R. Premier Nikita Khrushchev warned Scandinavian states against permitting construction of NATO missile sites on their territory.

Politics and government
Cuban President Manuel Urrutia Lleo resigned because of differences of opinion with Prime Minister Fidel Castro over land reform and the death penalty for counter-revolutionaries.

The Canadian government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker founded the Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) to deal with possible nuclear attack, and protect the public.

Disasters
47 South Koreans were trampled to death when a sudden storm in Pusan caused a stampede among 70,000 spectators at an outdoor show.

Baseball
Jim McAnany broke up Ralph Terry’s no-hit bid with a single to lead off the top of the 9th inning, Early Wynn reached first base on a fielder's choice on a sacrifice bunt, and Jim Landis singled them home with 2 out as the Chicago White Sox defeated the New York Yankees 2-0 before 42,168 fans at Yankee Stadium. Mr. Wynn also pitched a 2-hitter, with each pitcher striking out just 1 batter.

The Boston Red Sox, trailing 8-1 after 6 1/2 innings, rallied for 3 runs in the 7th inning and 3 in the 9th, but fell 8-7 to the Cleveland Indians before 26,432 fans at Fenway Park in Boston. The Red Sox had runners on first and second bases with 2 out in the 9th, but relief pitcher Gary Bell struck out pinch hitter Bobby Avila to end the game. Minnie Minoso was ejected by home plate umpire Frank Umont in the 8th inning after he refused to enter the batter's box; Mr. Umont ordered Boston's Leo Kiely to pitch, and Mr. Umont called 3 straight strikes. Mr. Minoso then threw his bat at mr. Umont, and was ejected.

The Baltimore Orioles scored 3 runs after 2 were out and nobody on base in the bottom of the 2nd inning and held on to beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2 before 26,808 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

Dick Williams hit a 2-run single and Harry Chiti followed with a 2-run double for the Kansas City Athletics as they scored 4 runs in the top of the 7th inning to break a 3-3 tie and beat the Washington Senators 7-4 before 9,842 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

Art Ceccarelli pitched a 6-hitter to win the pitchers' duel over Bob Purkey as the Chicago Cubs edged the Cincinnati Reds 1-0 before 7,748 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Mr. Ceccarelli scored run in the 5th inning when he reached first base by bunting into a force play, advanced to third base on a bunt single by Tony Taylor, and scored when Lee Walls grounded into a force play with the bases loaded and beat the throw to first on an attempted double play. Mr. Purkey pitched a 7-hitter.

Harry Anderson hit a solo home run with 1 out in the bottom of the 7th inning to break a 2-2 tie as the Philadelphia Phillies edged the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 before 16,686 fans at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Jim Owens pitched a 10-hit complete game to win the pitchers' duel over Roger Craig.

Sam Jones pitched a 7-hitter to win the pitchers' duel over Ron Kline as the San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 before 33,220 fans at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. San Francisco shortstop Eddie Bressoud batted 3 for 4, and scored the winning run in the 7th inning when he led off with a double and scored on a 2-out double by Willie Kirkland.

With 2 out and nobody on base in the bottom of the 8th inning, Ken Boyer singled, Joe Cunningham doubled him home, and Gene Oliver singled home Mr. Cunningham as the St. Louis Cardinals rallied for 2 runs and defeated the Milwaukee Braves 4-3 before 22,612 fans at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Lee Maye made his major league debut in left field for the Braves, batting 2 for 5, with no fielding chances.

40 years ago
1969

Space
The Apollo 11 spacecraft quietly passed the halfway mark on its journey to the moon. The crew of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins broadcast a television show back to earth. To follow the Apollo 11 mission in real time, go to Apollo 11 in Real Time.

The Soviet unmanned probe Luna 15, launched on July 13, went into lunar orbit. There was still no hint as to its mission.

For more on this date, see The Days of Apollo 11.

30 years ago
1979

World events
Sandanista rebel forces in Nicaragua took the capital of Managua and 27 cities in the area. Gen. Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigned as President and flew to exile in Miami. His successor, Francisco Urcuyo Maleanos, said that he would stay in office despite U.S. assurance to rebels that he was only an interim head of state.

Politics and government
U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s cabinet and all the members of his senior White House staff offered their resignations after Mr. Carter had held a cabinet meeting and had lectured the group about their unsatisfactory performance.

U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy said that his behaviour 10 years earlier after the automobile accident on Chappaquiddick Island that had taken the life of Mary Jo Kopechne did not mean that he could not meet the pressures of the presidency of the United States if he chose to run. Senator Kennedy admitted that he had acted in an "irrational and irresponsible" way after the accident. In an interview with The New York Times, Sen. Kennedy said that he had been confronted with issues of war and peace in public life in the last 10 years and "have felt no hesitancy about involving myself in them and taking stands on many of them."

Defense
The New York Times reported that a new issue had arisen in the U.S. Senate debate on the SALT-II arms limitation treaty with the U.S.S.R., with the realization that the treaty might allow the Soviet Union to deploy up to five intercontinental missile systems it had under development. Although the development of only one entirely new system was allowed under the pact, it also allowed the modification of existing types within 5% of some of their present characteristics; opponents of the treaty considered the 5% provision to be a loophole.

Crime
The United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations released its final report, which concluded that conspiracies were "likely" in the murders of President John F. Kennedy and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. The report maintained that elements of organized crime "probably" conspired to have President Kennedy shot to death and that two people fired at his car in Dallas on November 22, 1963. Mr. King’s death in Memphis on April 4, 1968 "probably" evolved from a conspiracy of right-wing St. Louis businessmen, according to the report. The FBI, the CIA, and the Soviet and Cuban governments were cleared of any involvement in the conspiracies. The report was largely the work of the committee’s chief counsel, G. Robert Blakely; 3 of the 12 members of the committee filed dissenting views. The committee’ findings on President Kennedy’s death were based on acoustic tests of a Dallas police tape recording which some experts said contained the sounds of the event.

Protest
Members of Tobique First Nation led an 80-mile march of women and children from Oka, Quebec to Ottawa, in protest of the sections of Canada’s Indian Act discriminating against Indian women.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (0-2) 20 @ Edmonton (2-0) 52
Montreal (1-1) 10 @ British Columbia (2-0) 25

Waddell Smith caught 10 passes for 232 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead the Eskimo attack in their rout of the Roughriders at Commonwealth Stadium. Mike Strickland scored 3 touchdowns for the Roughriders.

Baseball
Major League All-Star Game @ Kingdome, Seattle
National League 7 @ American League 6

Lee Mazzilli of the New York Mets hit a home run in the 8th inning to tie the game, and drew a bases-loaded walk in the 9th to force in the winning run as the NL edged the AL before 58,905 fans. Pittsburgh Pirates’ right fielder Dave Parker was voted the game’s Most Valuable Player on the strength of two run-saving throws--one to third base and one to home plate--to nail baserunners.



25 years ago
1984

Diplomacy
The U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. initialled an agreement to modernize the "hot line" between their capitals. The agreement provided for a high-speed facsimile transmission system that would triple the speed of word transmission and could transmit graphic material such as maps and charts.

In West Germany during a week-long six-nation tour to build support for his government, Salvadoran President Jose Napoleon Duarte obtained the West German government’s agreement to lift its five-year ban on aid to El Salvador.

Politics and government
At the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, Rev. Jesse Jackson delivered an emotional appeal on behalf of "the desperate, the damned, the disinherited, the disrespected, and the despised." Rev. Jackson said that if "I have caused anyone discomfort, created pain or revived someone’s fears, that was not my truest self." This was in apparent reference to Rev. Jackson’s comments earlier in the campaign when he called New York City "Hymietown," an anti-Jewish slur. Delegates rejected Rev. Jackson's platform planks, calling for reductions in military spending, and an end to runoff primaries in the South.

Pierre Mauroy resigned as Prime Minister of France.

The Sandanista government of Nicaragua announced that Daniel Ortega, coordinator of the junta, would be its candidate in the presidential election.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): The Look--Roxette (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): The Look--Roxette (4th week at #1)

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

Singles entering the chart were Joy and Pain by Rob Base and D.J. EZ Rock (#77); It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be by Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston (#79); All the Things I Wasn't by the Grapes of Wrath (#85); Don't Wanna Lose You by Gloria Estefan (#86); Headed for a Heartbreak by Winger (#89); Slavery by Annette Ducharme (#91); Different Drummer by Tom Cochrane & Red Rider (#92); and Night Train by Guns n' Roses (#94).

Died on this date
Itubwa Amram, 66. Nauruan politician. Rev. Amram was Nauru's first native-born pastor, and represented Aiwo in the Nauruan Parliament from 1968-1971, serving as the Parliament's Speaker for that period. He was defeated in his bid for re-election.

Music
The Jeff Healey Band performed at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton. It was a great concert, but the band was ear-splittingly loud. The opening act was a group from Calgary called the Blasters. This blogger paid $22 for his ticket.

Diplomacy
Diplomatic relations between Poland and Vatican City were restored.

U.S. President George Bush, fresh from the G7 summit in Paris, visited the Netherlands.

Defense
The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit--better known as the Stealth Bomber--made its first flight from United States Air Force Plant 42 at Palmdale, California.

Labour
Miners at 8 mines in the Donetsk Basin in Ukraine walked out on their jobs. Walkouts which had begun in Siberia a week earlier had now spread to the surrounding Kuznetsky Basin, a major coal region. The strikes became a factor in the debate over U.S.S.R. President Mikhail Gorbachev’s program of perestroika, or restructuring.

Baseball
The Toronto Blue Jays swept the first doubleheader ever played at SkyDome in Toronto, defeating the California Angels 6-4 and 5-4 before 48,641 fans. David Wells, pitching in relief, was the winning pitcher in both games, with Tom Henke picking up the saves in both games.

10 years ago
1999

Politics and government
The Republican majority in the United States House of Representatives was reduced slightly when Rep. Michael Forbes switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party. He charged that the Republican party had been taken over by extremists who were unable to govern. There were now 222 Republicans in the House, 211 Democrats, 1 independent, and 1 vacancy.

Protest
Students in Iran ended demonstrations against the national government that had begun with a court’s ban on a leading moderate newspaper.