July 25, 2009

870 years ago
1139

War
The Almoravid Moors, led by Ali ibn Yusuf, were defeated by Portuguese Prince Afonso Henriques in the Battle of Ourique in southern Portugal.

600 years ago
1409

Died on this date
Martin I, 32-35. King of Sicily, 1390-1409. "Martin the Younger," the son of the future King Martin I of Aragon, married Queen Maria in 1390 and jointly ruled Sicily with her until her death in 1401. Martin I ruled Sicily alone until his own death, which occurred shortly after he had led his troops in the conquest of Sardinia. He fathered two illegitimate children, but had no legitimate heir, and was succeeded on the throne by his father, who ruled Sicily as King Martin II.

400 years ago
1609

Exploration
The English ship Sea Venture, en route to Virginia, was deliberately driven ashore at Bermuda during a storm to prevent its sinking; the survivors went on to found a new colony there.

250 years ago
1759

War
British forces led by Major General Sir William Johnson and Brigadier General John Prideaux obtained the surrender of Fort Niagara, New York from outnumbered and outgunned French Commander Pierre Pouchot, who insisted upon a solemn promise that Sir William would protect them from his Iroquois allies. The British now controlled the entire western frontier. French forces abandoned Fort Rouillé and Crown Point when they heard of the British capture of Fort Niagara.

210 years ago
1799

War
French forces commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte defeated 10,000 Ottomans under Mustafa Pasha in the Battle of Abukir in Egypt.

160 years ago
1849

Health
The lazaretto in Tracadie, New Brunswick opened. The leper facility struggled until June 11, 1867, when the House of Assembly authorized the Board of Health to place the facility under the care of the Religious Hospitalliers of Saint Joseph.

130 years ago
1879

Politics and government
Luc Letellier de St-Just was dismissed as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec and replaced by Théodore Robitaille. Mr. Letellier was a Liberal member of the Canadian Senate and Leader of the Government in the Senate at the time of his appointment as Lieutenant Governor by Canadian Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie. In March 1878, Lt. Gov. Letellier dismissed the Conservative government of Premier Charles-Eugène Boucher de Boucherville despite the Conservatives' majority in both houses of Parliament. Lt. Gov. Letellier accused Quebec's government of incompetence and corruption, while Mr. Boucher accused the Lieutenant Governor of a coup d'etat. The Conservatives, led by Sir John A. Macdonald, won the 1878 federal election and moved to dismiss Mr. Letellier, but Canadian Governor General the Marquess of Lorne referred the matter to the Colonial Secretary, who advised him to follow the advice of his ministers, thus allowing for Mr. Letellier's dismissal. Mr. Robitaille had been a Conservative member of the Canadian House of Commons since 1867, and a member of the Quebec Legislative Assembly from 1871-1874.

90 years ago
1919

Baseball
The New York Giants traded outfielder Dave Robertson to the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Phil Douglas. Mr. Robertson had tied for the National League lead in home runs in 1916 and 1917, but had been in the military afterward, with just 1 game and no plate appearances with the Giants in 1919. Mr Douglas was 10-6 with an earned run average of 2.00 and 4 shutouts in 25 games with the Cubs in 1919.

At Fenway Park in Boston, Red Sox’ pitcher Babe Ruth gave up 13 hits and didn’t strike out a batter, but still pitched a complete game and beat the New York Yankees 8-6 to improve his 1919 record to 7-5.

George Burns tripled home Tilly Walker from second base and Cy Perkins followed with a single to score Mr. Burns as the Philadelphia Athletics scored 2 runs in the top of the 11th inning to break a 4-4 tie and defeated the Washington Nationals 6-4 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. The Nationals had runners on first and second bases with none out in the bottom of the 11th, but were unable to score against Scott Perry, who allowed 12 hits and 4 earned runs in pitching a complete game to improve his record for the season to 4-14.

The Chicago White Sox overcame a 4-3 deficit with 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning and defeated the St. Louis Browns 6-4 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Ken Williams led off the top of the 2nd inning with an inside-the-park home run, and Chicago starting pitcher Lefty Williams left the game three batters later when Hank Severeid hit a line drive that bounced off Mr. Williams' head and into the stands behind the White Sox' bench for a ground rule double. Mr. Williams was too wobbly to continue, and was relieved by Dickie Kerr, who allowed 7 hits and 3 earned runs to get the win, improving his 1919 record to 7-3 and batting 2 for 2 with a run batted in.

80 years ago
1929

Baseball
Lefty Grove allowed 8 hits and 3 earned runs in 6 innings to improve his 1929 record to 17-2 and helped his own cause by batting 3 for 4 with his first home run of the season, a double, 2 runs, and 5 runs batted in to lead the Philadelphia Athletics to a 21-3 rout of the Cleveland Indians before 5,000 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Philadelphia first baseman Jimmie Foxx hit 2 homers and drove in 4 runs. The Athletics led 9-1 after 1 inning and 20-3 after 5.

Bill Cissell singled home 2 runs with 2 out in the top of the 10th inning to break a 1-1 tie as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Washington Nationals 3-1 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Firpo Marberry allowed 9 hits and 3 earned runs in pitching a complete game loss.

Red Lucas pitched a 9-hit complete game victory, allowing 2 earned runs and improving his record for the season to 13-6, and aided his own cause by batting 4 for 5 with 2 runs and a run batted in as the Cincinnati Reds routed the Boston Braves 14-2 at Redland Field in Cincinnati. Cincinnati leadoff hitter Evar Swanson batted 5 for 6 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs.

75 years ago
1934

Died on this date
Engelbert Dollfuss, 41. Chancellor of Austria, 1932-1934. Mr. Dollfuss became Chancellor as head of a coalition government, but assumed dictatorial powers in 1933, modelling his government on Italian fascism. He was shot to death by eight Austrian Nazis in the Chancellery building.

70 years ago
1939

Baseball
New York Yankees’ rookie pitcher Atley Donald improved his record to 12-0 with a 5-1 win over the St. Louis Browns before 6,076 fans at Yankee Stadium. Joe DiMaggio hit a home run 450 feet into the left field bleachers, and Red Rolfe also homered for the Yankees.

In a record-setting 9th inning, the Cleveland Indians broke a 3-3 tie with 9 runs in the top half, and gave up 5 in the bottom of the inning to beat the Philadelphia Athletics 12-8 before 2,500 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

60 years ago
1949

On the radio
Murder By Experts, hosted and narrated by John Dickson Carr, on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Big Money

Diplomacy
Egyptian and Syrian leaders opposed to Jordanian expansion met in Lebanon and demanded the creation of a separate Arab Palestinian state.

Defense
U.S. President Harry Truman signed the U.S. ratification of the North Atlantic Treaty and sent Congress a message urging approval of a $1.45-billion Military Assistance Program for Western Europe.

The first Western press report of the Soviet nuclear test appeared in the Paris weekly Samedi-Soir.

Politics and government
The Egyptian cabinet of Prime Minister Ibrahim Abdul Hadi Pasha resigned.

U.S. Attorney General Tom Clark added three allegedly Communist organizations to the Justice Department's subversive list: the American Rescue Ship Mission; the Emergency Conference to Save Spanish Refugees; and the National Conference on American Policy in China and the Far East.

Crime
The Norwegian government cleared opera singer Kirsten Flagstad of complicity in her husband's pro-Nazi World War II activities.

Literature
Thomas Mann accepted the Goethe Prize for Literature in Frankfurt, his first appearance in Germany in 16 years.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Federal Reserve Board reported that U.S. industrial production had reached a three-year high in June, dropping for the seventh consecutive month.

A U.S. federal district court in Chicago ruled that the national rent control law was unconstitutional, but rent controls remained in effect pending Supreme Court review of the decision.

Labour
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee opened an investigation of the coal industry to determine the extent of the United Mine Workers of America's power.

Golf
The Professional Golfers Association banned South African Bobby Locke from PGA-sponsored tournaments, claiming that he had violated commitments to play in exhibitions.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Personality--Lloyd Price (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Arrivederci--Don Marino Barreto Jr.

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Die Gitarre und das Meer--Freddy Quinn (14th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Dream Lover--Bobby Darin (5th week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Battle of New Orleans--Johnny Horton (9th week at #1)
2 Lonely Boy--Paul Anka
3 Waterloo--Stonewall Jackson
4 Lipstick on Your Collar--Connie Francis
5 Personality--Lloyd Price
6 What a Diff'rence a Day Makes--Dinah Washington
7 Tiger--Fabian
8 There Goes My Baby--The Drifters
9 A Big Hunk o' Love--Elvis Presley
10 My Heart is an Open Book--Carl Dobkins, Jr.

Singles entering the chart were Cry by the Knightsbridge Strings (#75); My Own True Love by Jimmy Clanton (#80); Time Marches On by Roy Hamilton (#83); Blues Stay Away from Me (#88)/All Nite Long (#94) by Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra; Sugaree, with versions by Rusty York; and Hamk Ballard and the Midnighters (#89); The Three Bells by the Browns (#98); Bye Bye Baby Goodbye by Teresa Brewer (#99); I Still Get Jealous by Joni James (#100); and Memphis, Tennessee by Chuck Berry (also #100).

Died on this date
Buck O'Brien, 77. U.S. baseball pitcher. Thomas Joseph O'Brien played with the Boston Red Sox (1911-1913) and Chicago White Sox (1913), compiling a record of 29-25 with an earned run average of 2.62 in 64 games. He was 20-13 in helping the Red Sox win the World Series in 1912 and started for the Red Sox on April 20 in the first game ever played at Fenway Park, but was 0-2 in the World Series itself. Mr. O'Brien was 76-43 in 5 seasons in the minor leagues from 1909-1914, and was 26-7 with the Denver Grizzlies of the Class A Western League in 1911, which led to his acquisition by the Red Sox late in the season.

Joe Schepner, 63. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Schepner was a third baseman with the St. Louis Browns (1919), batting .208 with no home runs and 6 runs batted in in 14 games. He played 1,873 games in 17 seasons in the minor leagues from 1916-1932. Mr. Schepner died 16 days before his 64th birthday.

Jim Boyer, 50. U.S. baseball umpire. Mr. Boyer worked in 1,025 games in the American League from 1944-1950, and worked in the 1947 Major League All-Star Game and World Series.

Diplomacy
The day after U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and U.S.S.R. leader Nikita Khruschchev had faced off in the "kitchen debate," the American National Exhibition opened in Moscow.

Disasters
Hurricane Debra struck the Texas coast wih gale winds and ten-inch rainfall.

Baseball
Yogi Berra’s 2-run home run in the top of the 9th inning enabled the New York Yankees to defeat the Detroit Tigers 9-8 before 26,530 fans at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. Second baseman Bobby Richardson and shortstop Fritzie Brickell each hit their first major league home runs for the Yankees. The win was costly, as first baseman Bill Skowron broke his arm in two places when he collided with Detroit runner Coot Veal while reaching for a throw in the bottom of the 9th, and was lost for the rest of the season. The Tigers loaded the bases with 2 out in the 9th, but Jim Bronstad relieved Duke Maas and induced Al Kaline to ground into a force play at third base to end the game.



Pinch hitter Harry Simpson singled home Sammy Esposito with 1 out in the bottom of the 17th inning to give the Chicago White Sox a 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles before 12,562 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Turk Lown allowed 3 hits and no runs in 6 innings to get the win in relief of Bob Shaw, who allowed 9 hits and 1 earned run in 11 innings.

A pair of errors by catcher Johnny Roseboro in the top of the 10th inning led to 2 unearned runs as the St. Louis Cardinals broke a 2-2 tie and defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 before 31,105 fans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): In the Ghetto--Elvis Presley (2nd week at #1)

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)--Zager and Evans (2nd week at #1)
2 Crystal Blue Persuasion--Tommy James and the Shondells
3 Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town--Kenny Rogers and the First Edition
4 The Ballad of John and Yoko/Old Brown Shoe--The Beatles
5 Quentin’s Theme--The Charles Randolph Greane Sounde
6 Baby, I Love You--Andy Kim
7 Along Came Jones--Ray Stevens
8 Laughing--The Guess Who
9 Sweet Caroline (Good Times Never Seemed So Good)--Neil Diamond
10 Put a Little Love in Your Heart--Jackie DeShannon

Singles entering the chart were True Grit by Glen Campbell (#27) and What Does it Take (To Win Your Love) by Jr. Walker & the All Stars (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)--Zager and Evans (2nd week at #1)
2 Baby, I Love You--Andy Kim
3 Let Me--Paul Revere and the Raiders
4 Crystal Blue Persuasion--Tommy James and the Shondells
5 The Ballad of John and Yoko--The Beatles
6 Listen to the Band--The Monkees
7 Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet--Henry Mancini, his Orchestra and Chorus
8 Medicine Man (Part I)--Buchanan Brothers
9 Get Back--The Beatles with Billy Preston
10 Roll with It--Southbound Freeway

Listen to the Band, a Michael Nesmith composition, was the B-side of Someday Man, written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, with Davy Jones handling lead vocals. Southbound Freeway was an Edmonton group led by Barry Allen.

Died on this date
Otto Dix, 77. German artist. Mr. Dix was a painter and printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of German society during the Weimar Republic and the brutality of war. He was regarded by the Nazis as a "degenerate artist," and was fired from his teaching post at the Dresden Academy. Mr. Dix painted mainly religious allegories and scenes of postwar suffering n his later years; he died after a stroke.

Space
Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins were in their quarantine trailer aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier Hornet, heading toward Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Two aluminum boxes filled with lunar rocks and soil were flown separately to Houston for analysis.

Crime
Senator Ted Kennedy appeared on nationwide television, and described as "indefensible" his failure to immediately report the automobile accident in which Mary Jo Kopechne had died a week earlier, but said that he had returned to the accident scene during the night with two other members of the party, who he said, had tried to free Miss Kopechne from the car. Senator Kennedy said he was considering resigning his Senate seat, but asked for "the advice and opinion" of the people of Massachusetts. Earlier in the day, Sen. Kennedy pleaded guilty in Dukes County Court to the charge of leaving the scene of an accident, and received a two-month suspended sentence.



War
The U.S. Command disclosed that 5,666 U.S. planes, with a total value estimated at $3 billion, had been lost in the Vietnam War since 1961. U.S. President Richard Nixon declared the Nixon Doctrine, stating that the United States now expected her Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This was the start of the "Vietnamization" of the war.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Are 'Friends' Electric?--Tubeway Army (3rd week at #1)

Music
The National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Charles Gerhardt, recorded Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score for Kings Row as part of The Classic Film Score Series for RCA records. The recording session took place at Walthamstow Town Hall in London, England. The recording was produced by Mr. Korngold's son George.

World events
Israel returned a 2,500-square mile tract of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in the second phase of a six-phase withdrawal to take place over three years. Conflict erupted between the United States and Israel over the type of peacekeeping force that would enforce the new treaty between Israel and Egypt since the United Nations Emergency Force had withdrawn the day before. The UN Security Council, with U.S. support, placed a corps of military observers in the Sinai to monitor Israel’s withdrawal, but Israel charged that an unarmed force of a few hundred men was inadequate to the tasks stipulated by the treaty.

Defense
United States Senator Sam Nunn (Democrat--Georgia) said that he would oppose the SALT-II arms limitation treaty with the U.S.S.R. unless the administration of President Jimmy Carter agreed to a substantial raise in military spending.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Jimmy Carter named Paul Volcker, head of New York’s Federal Reserve Bank, to replace William Miller as head of the Federal Reserve Board.

Transportation
The United States House of Representatives authorized a three-year, $2.7 billion operating budget for Amtrak; the 20% cut in funding was less than the 43% cut urged by the administration of President Jimmy Carter.

Football
CFL
Calgary (2-0) 19 @ Montreal (1-2) 7
Hamilton (1-2) 24 @ Saskatchewan (0-3) 20

Former Ohio State University star Tom Cousineau made his CFL debut at linebacker for the Alouettes in their loss to the Stampeders at Olympic Stadium.

The Roughriders blew a 20-3 lead in losing to the Tiger-Cats at Taylor Field in Regina.

25 years ago
1984

Space
Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to walk in space.

Politics and government
U.S. President Ronald Reagan, at a campaign rally in Austin, Texas, charged that the Democrats were planning billions of dollars in new spending and taxes, and said that the Democratic ticket was "so far left they’ve left America."

20 years ago
1989

Died on this date
Steve Rubell, 45. U.S. entrepreneur. Mr. Rubell and partner Ian Schrager operated several nightclubs in New York City, most notably Studio 54, which attracted many celebrity patrons during its peak period from April 1977-February 1980. The good times for Messrs. Rubell and Schrager were interrupted when they both served a year in prison from 1980-1981 for income tax evasion. Mr. Rubell, a heavy-drinking, drug-using sodomite, died after a long battle with AIDS.

Canadiana
The Canadian War Museum, assisted by public donations, paid $79,000 at an auction in London to acquire the Victoria Cross awarded posthumously to Private William Milne of Saskatchewan. The Victoria Cross was one of the five awarded to Canadians for the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917.

Health
The Princess of Wales opened the Landmark AIDS Centre in southeast London.

Football
CFL
Winnipeg (2-1) 43 @ Ottawa (0-3) 32



10 years ago
1999

Politics and government
In a rebuff to party founder Ross Perot, delegates to the [United States] Reform Party convention in Dearborn, Michigan chose Jack Gargan as party chairman. Mr. Gargan had the support of Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, the party’s highest elected official.

Cycling
Lance Armstrong of the United States won his first Tour de France, completing the 2,290-mile course in 91 hours, 32 minutes, 16 seconds. Mr. Armstrong won seven straight Tours de France from 1999-2005, all of which were stricken from the record in 2012 in a ruling by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

Baseball
George Brett, Robin Yount, Nolan Ryan, and Orlando Cepeda were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Albert Belle batted 4 for 4 with a base on balls, 3 home runs, and 6 runs batted in, and was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the 11th inning, preceding Cal Ripken, Jr.s' bases-loaded single with 2 out that gave the Baltimore Orioles an 8-7 win over the Anaheim Angels before 44,724 fans at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Reggie Williams struck out as a pinch hitter for the Angels in the 9th and remained in the game in left field, making 1 putout in the 88th and last game of his 4-year major league career.

Ricky Ledee hit a solo home run with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the New York Yankees a 2-1 win over the Cleveland Indians before 54,944 fans at Yankee Stadium. Derek Jeter homered to led off the 4th inning for the other New York run.

Mike Sweeney singled to lead off the bottom of the 10th inning and Jermaine Dye followed with a home run to give the Kansas City Royals a 13-11 win over the Oakland Athletics before 20,454 fans at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. The Athletics led 11-5 after 5 1/2 innings, but the Royals scored 3 in the 6th and 3 in the 9th to send the game to extra innings. Oakland designated hitter John Jaha and Kansas City third baseman Joe Randa each drove in 5 runs.

Chipper Jones led off the 10th inning with a home run to break a 4-4 tie as the Atlanta Braves edged the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 before 25,659 fans at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

Michael Tucker hit a solo home run with 2 out in the top of the 14th inning to break a 1-1 tie as the Cincinnati Reds edged the San Francisco Giants 2-1 before 34,452 fans at 3Com Park at Candlestick Point in San Francisco. Pokey Reese homered in the 6th for the other Cincinnati run.