July 22, 2009

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Eileen Sasakamoose!

800 years ago
1209

Abominations
Roman Catholic troops massacred the inhabitants of the French town of Béziers in the first major military action of the Albigensian Crusade.

510 years ago
1499

War
Swiss forces decisively defeated the army of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in the Battle of Dornach in Switzerland.

380 years ago
1629

Canadiana
David Kirke, Louis Kirke, and Thomas Kirke raised the English flag over Québec and took possession of Fort St-Louis and Samuel de Champlain's Habitation. A year earlier, the Kirke brothers had demanded the surrender of the fort, but Mr. Champlain had driven them off. The French left Québec on September 14; some habitants stayed behind. Four years later, the colony reverted to France. Olivier le Noir was the first black person to arrive at Québec, with the Kirke brothers. The first African slave in Canada was a 6-year-old boy, the property of Sir David Kirke; he was later sold to Father Paul Le Jeune, baptized a Roman Catholic, and given the name Olivier LeJeune.

160 years ago
1849

Born on this date
Emma Lazarus. U.S. poet and activist. Miss Lazarus was best known for her sonnet The New Colossus (1883), lines from which were put on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. She supported the creation of a Jewish homeland, and died, likely of Hodgkin's lymphoma, on November 19, 1887 at the age of 38.

140 years ago
1869

Died on this date
John Roebling, 63. German-born U.S. engineer. Mr. Roebling moved to the United States in the 1830s and designed suspension bridges, most notably the Brooklyn Bridge--the world's first steel-wire suspension bridge--which began construction in 1870, and was completed in 1883. Mr. Roebling died of tetanus, 24 days after one of his feet was crushed by a ferry in an accident at a dock, resulting in the amputation of his toes. His son Washington was designated to complete construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.

120 years ago
1889

Born on this date
James Whale. U.K.-born U.S. movie director. Mr. Whale was best known for the films Journey's End (1930); Waterloo Bridge (1931); Frankenstein (1931); The Old Dark House (1932); The Invisible Man (1933); and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). He committed suicide by drowning himself in his swimming pool on May 29, 1957 at the age of 67.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Sobhuza II. King of Swaziland, 1899-1982. Sobhuza II was four months old when he succeeded his father Ngwane V on the throne. Sobhuza II's grandmother Labotsibeni Mdluli served as regent until 1921, and then Sobhuza II ruled directly until his death. He played a major role in obtaining Swaziland's independence from British rule in 1968. King Sobhuza died on August 21, 1982 at the age of 83; his reign of 82 years 254 days is the longest on record. He had 70 wives who gave him 210 children; his son Mswati III succeeded him on the throne.

100 years ago
1909

Baseball
Rube Carson of the Portland Beavers pitched a 10-inning no-hitter against Los Angeles Angels, winning 1-0 in the first extra-inning no-hitter in the history of the Pacific Coast League.

75 years ago
1934

Died on this date
John Dillinger, 31. U.S. criminal. After a string of bank robberies and the murders of several policemen, Mr. Dillinger was gunned down in an ambush led by Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Melvin Purvis as he walked out of the Biograph Theater in Chicago after seeing the movie Manhattan Melodrama.

Baseball
43-year-old Dazzy Vance recorded his 2,000th career strikeout and pitched his last major league complete game as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Boston Braves 4-2.

60 years ago
1949

Television
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission announced the issuance of temporary permits to two stations in New York and Baltimore for experimental colour broadcasts.

Politics and government
The East German People's Council called for reunification of Berlin under a single municipal government and election of an all-German council to create a federal state superceding the West German republic.

The United Nations Trusteeship Council ended its fourth regular session in Lake Success, New York after approving U.S. administration of the Pacific trust territories.

A U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee approved a revised Communist control bill providing 10-year jail sentences for plotting to set up a totalitarian government in the United States.

Crime
A French military court in Paris convicted Otto Abetz, German Ambassador to France during the World War II occupation, of complicity in the deportation of French officers, and sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

Business
A U.S. federal court in Trenton, New Jersey issued a consent decree to restrain the American Cast Iron Pipe Company and two other firms from alleged trade restraing in the cast iron pressure pipe industry.

Labour
British dock workers ended their four-week wildcat strike after the Canadian Seamen's Union agreed to drop sanctions against Canadian ships in British ports.

50 years ago
1959

Died on this date
Ralph Savidge, 80. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Savidge played with the Cincinnati Reds (1908-1909), posting a 0-1 record with an earned run average of 5.76 in 5 games. He was 101-88 in 205 games in 7 seasons in the minor leagues from 1904-1911.

Douglas McKay, 66. U.S. politician. Mr. McKay, a Republican, served a term as Mayor of Salem, Oregon and four terms in the Oregon State Senate before serving as Governor of Oregon (1949-1952) and U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1953-1956), attempting to balance environmental concerns and development interests. He died of a heart attack, four weeks after his 66th birthday.

Music
The first Canadian jazz festival opened in Toronto, featuring Oscar Peterson and Maynard Ferguson, and special guest Louis Armstrong.

War
French troops began a major offensive against 5,000 Algerian nationalist guerrillas operating in the mountainous Kabylla area east of Algiers.

Diplomacy
U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon flew to Moscow to begin an 11-day visit to the U.S.S.R.

U.S.S.R. Premier Nikita Khrushchev and Polish Communist Party First Secretary Wladyslaw Gomulka and Prim Minister Józef Cyrankiewicz issued a joint communique in Warsaw pledging support for East German attempts to "liquidate the abnormal situation in West Berlin" if the Geneva conference produced no settlement.

Politics and government
The Indonesian Parliament approved by acclamation President Sukarno's assumption of revolutionary powers under the 1945 constitution.

Energy
Queen Elizabeth II opened the Queen Elizabeth Generating Station of Saskatchewan Power Corporation in Saskatoon.

Baseball
Bobby Avila, playing his first game with the Milwaukee Braves after being acquired from the Boston Red Sox, hit a 2-run home run off Jim O’Toole with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Braves a 5-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds before 18,843 fans at County Stadium in Milwaukee. Warren Spahn pitched a 9-hit complete game victory and hit a solo homer--his second home run of the season--in the 3rd inning.

Earl Averill, Jr.'s grand slam began the scoring in a 7-run 2nd inning for the Chicago Cubs as they coasted to a 7-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers before 29,790 fans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Bob Anderson pitched a 5-hit complete game victory.

Sherm Lollar singled home Nellie Fox with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th to give the Chicago White Sox a 5-4 win over the Boston Red Sox before 11,847 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Mendocino--Sir Douglas Quintet (5th week at #1)

Space
The Apollo 11 spacecraft continued its return to Earth.

To follow the Apollo 11 mission in real time, go to Apollo 11 in Real Time.

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

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Lay Your Love on Me--Racey (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Gloria--Umberto Tozzi

Died on this date
J.V. Cain, 28. U.S. football player. James Victor Cain became the first tight end to be taken in the first round of the National Football League draft when he was chosen by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1974. In 55 games from 1974-1977 he caught 76 passes for 1,014 yards and 9 touchdowns. His best season was probably 1976, when he caught 28 passes for 400 yards and 5 touchdowns. At the Cardinals' training camp in 1979, Mr. Cain was coming back from an injury that had kept him out of the lineup for the entire 1978 season. He ran a routine pass route, took two steps back toward the huddle at the end of the play, and collapsed from congenital heart failure. It was his 28th birthday.

World events
The Sandanista junta in Nicaragua announced that it would try members of the former regime of Anastasio Somoza for war crimes, but that no executions were planned.

War
Israeli warplanes bombed three coastal villages in Lebanon; Lebanon claimed that at least 15 civilians were killed.

Economics and finance
The Bank of Canada raised its lending rate from 11.25% to 11.75%.

Disasters
It was reported that the death toll from a tidal wave that had struck Lomblem Island, Indonesia a week earlier had risen to 539.

25 years ago
1984

Golf
Seve Ballasteros won the British Open at the Old Course at St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland with a 12-under-par score of 276, 2 strokes ahead of Bernhard Langer and Tom Watson. First prize money was £55,000 ($71, 500).

Football
CFL
Edmonton (2-2) 26 @ Toronto (3-1) 43
British Columbia (2-1) 3 @ Winnipeg (2-1) 25

The Edmonton Eskimos went into the game at Exhibition Stadium without quarterback Matt Dunigan, who had fallen asleep while wearing his contact lenses and was in tremendous pain. Johnny Evans started in his place, and threw 2 touchdown passes to Brian Kelly, giving Mr. Kelly 10 touchdowns in the first 4 games of the season. Backup quarterback Kevin Ingram threw to Marco Cyncar for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, and passed to Larry Cowan for a 2-point convert. The pass to Mr. Cyncar was Mr. Ingram’s only CFL touchdown pass. For the Argonauts, Joe Barnes relieved Condredge Holloway at quarterback in the second quarter and proceeded to throw 6 touchdown passes, including one to linebacker William Miller.



20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Viva la mamma--Edoardo Bennato (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Marina (Remix 89)--Rocco Granata & the Carnations (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): No More Boleros--Gerard Joling (6th week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Johnny, Johnny Come Home--Avalanche (8th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): You'll Never Stop Me Loving You--Sonia

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Toy Soldiers--Martika
2 Express Yourself--Madonna
3 If You Don't Know Me by Now--Simply Red
4 Batdance--Prince
5 So Alive--Love and Rockets
6 On Our Own--Bobby Brown
7 Good Thing--Fine Young Cannibals
8 What You Don't Know--Expose
9 Lay Your Hands on Me--Bon Jovi
10 Baby Don't Forget My Number--Milli Vanilli

Singles entering the chart were Heaven by Warrant (#78); Kisses on the Wind by Neneh Cherry (#79); Closer to Fine by Indigo Girls (#85); That's the Way by Katrina and the Waves (#86); My Paradise by the Outfield (#90); Let the Day Begin by the Call (#91); Forget Me Not by Bad English (#92); Smooth Up by BulletBoys (#96); and Stop! by Erasure (#97).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Express Yourself--Madonna
2 If You Don't Know Me by Now--Simply Red
3 Good Thing--Fine Young Cannibals
4 Batdance--Prince
5 Toy Soldiers--Martika
6 Baby Don't Forget My Number--Milli Vanilli
7 I Drove All Night--Cyndi Lauper
8 What You Don't Know--Expose
9 Satisfied--Richard Marx
10 Lay Your Hands on Me--Bon Jovi

Singles entering the chart were Hangin' Tough by New Kids on the Block (#70); Kisses on the Wind by Neneh Cherry (#77); Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming by Robert Palmer (#80); Jackie Brown by John Cougar Mellencamp (#87); and Don't Say You Love Me by Billy Squier (#90).

Died on this date
Frank Thompson, 71. U.S. politician. Mr. Thompson, a Democrat, was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly from 1950-1954 and represented New Jersey's 4th District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1955-1980. He was accused in the Abscam scandal in 1980, and was defeated in his bid for re-election. Rep. Thompson was convicted on charges of bribery and conspiracy on December 3, 1980, and resigned his eat on December 29, five days before his term expired. He served two years of a three-year prison sentence and was paroled in 1985. Mr. Thompson died of throat cancer, four days before his 71st birthday.

Baseball
Johnny Bench, Carl Yastrzemski, Red Schoendienst, and umpire Al Barlick were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

10 years ago
1999

Religion
The government of China outlawed the Falun Gong sect, which claimed millions of adherents in China. Falun Gong, or Buddhist Law, emphasizes spirituality, moral values, and good health practices, including exercise. The sect had no apparent political agenda, but had been pressing the government for protection of its rights.

Politics and government
Voting mostly along party lines, the United States House of Representatives voted 223-208 to approve a $792 billion reduction in taxes for individuals and businesses. The bill provided a 10% tax cut over 10 years for everyone; reduced taxes for married couples who paid more taxes than if they were single; cut the capital gains tax; and gave tax breaks to businesses. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan said that "the timing is not right" for a tax cut as large as that approved by the House. President Bill Clinton promised to veto the bill.

Football
CFL
Winnipeg (1-2) 18 @ Montreal (3-0) 30
Edmonton (1-2) 37 @ Calgary (2-1) 41

Backup quarterback Henry Burris relieved starter Dave Dickenson and rallied the Stampeders to their win at McMahon Stadium. One of the Stampeder scores came on a heads-up play by rookie punter Scott McKenzie, who recovered his own punt and ran 40 yards for a touchdown. It was the first CFL touchdown to be scored in this manner since Dick Adams of the Ottawa Rough Riders had run 80 yards after recovering his own punt in a game in Winnipeg on September 12, 1973. Barefoot kicker Jon Baker played his first CFL game for the Eskimos, replacing injured rookie Matt Kellett, who was still able to punt. Calgary defensive back Eddie Davis suffered a season-ending knee injury.