August 18, 2009

450 years ago
1559

Died on this date
Paul IV, 83. Roman Catholic Pope, 1555-1559. Pope Paul IV, born Gian Pietro Carafa, became a bishop in 1505 and held various offices, including papal nuncio in Spain, which resulted in him developing an anti-Spanish bias. He succeeded Marcellus II as pope; Paul IV's papacy was characterized not only by a nationalistic bias against Spain, but by confining the Jews of Rome to a ghetto, and compelling them to wear distinctive clothing. Pope Paul IV died after three months of failing health; he was succeeded by Pius IV.

190 years go
1819

Born on this date
Maria Nikolaevna. Russian royal family member. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna was a daughter of Czar Nikolai I and sister of Czar Aleksandr II. She married Maximilian, Duke of Leuchtenburg in 1839 and became Grand Duchess of Leuchtenburg. The couple had seven children before the Duke's death in 1852. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna secretly married Count Grigori Stroganov in 1854, and the couple had two children. She apparently developed varicose veins or a bone disease, and died on February 21, 1876 at the age of 56.

160 years ago
1849

Society
Reverend William King won a public debate in Chatham, Canada West against segregationist Edwin Larwill on a proposal to establish the Elgin Settlement for Negro refugees, mostly escaped slaves. Mr. Larwill lost support with his extreme views.

140 years ago
1869

Born on this date
Carl Rungius. German-born U.S. artist. Mr. Rungius first visited the United States in 1894, and emigrated to the U.S.A. in 1896. He became one of the 20th century's most prominent painters of wildlife, visiting locations throughout the United States and Canada. Mr. Rungius died on October 21, 1959 at the age of 90; his entire state was purchased by Calgary oilman Eric Harvie, and resides in the Glenbow Museum in Calgary.

Technology
Inventor William Hamilton, owner of the St. Lawrence Foundry, Engine Works and Machine Shop, received Canada's first patent, for his “Eureka Fluid Meter," which measured the flow of gases and liquids. The uncomplicated invention, “a piston and valve mechanism,” moved with little friction and not much draw of power.

125 years ago
1884

Baseball
The Philadelphia Athletics pounded the Baltimore Orioles 20-1 in an American Association game. Harry Stovey led the attack with 3 triples (2 in the 8th inning) and 2 singles.

Having clinched the Eastern League pennant three days earlier with a 51-12 record, the Wilmington Quicksteps were admitted to the Union Association as a replacement for the recently-departed Philadelphia Keystones.

90 years ago
1919

At the movies
Deliverance, directed by George Foster Platt, and starring Etna Ross, Ann Mason, and others, received its premiere screening at the Lyric Theatre in New York City. The film was a biography of Helen Keller, and Miss Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan, played themselves as adults.



Died on this date
Joseph Seagram, 78. Canadian distiller and politician. Mr. Seagram, a native of Fisher's Mills, Canada West, began working at Waterloo Distillery in 1864, became a partner in the company in 1869, and became sole owner in 1883, renaming it Seagram. He created Seagram's VO in 1907, which became the best-selling Canadian whiskey in the world. Mr. Seagram was a town councillor in Waterloo, Ontario (1879-1886), and represented Waterloo North in the Canadian House of Commons (1896-1908). He was also an owner of racehorses, and founded Seagram Stables in 1888. His horses won 15 Queen's Plates, including eight straight from 1891-1898. Mr. Seagram was president of the Ontario Jockey Club (1906-1917) and helped to found the Canadian Racing Association in 1908. He was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1976. Mr. Seagram died in Waterloo.

80 years ago
1929

Baseball
Catcher Hank Gowdy, 40, making his first appearance in the major leagues in four years, batted 4 for 4 to help the Boston Braves defeat the Cincinnati Reds 10-9 at Braves Field.

Pat Malone pitched a 5-hitter to improve his 1929 record to 16-8, outduelling Rube Benton (11-13) as the Chicago Cubs edged the New York Giants 1-0 at the Polo Grounds in New York. Pinch hitter Cliff Heathcote drove in Kiki Cuyler with a sacrifice fly in the 7th inning to score the game's only run.

Ted Lyons (10-15) pitched a 6-hitter and climaxed a 3-or-4 day at bat by doubling home John Kerr with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Chicago White Sox a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Losing pitcher Herb Pennock (8-7) pitched a 9-hit complete game.

Sam Gray (15-11) pitched a 10-hit complete game and batted 1 for 3 with a 1 and 2 runs batted in to win the pitchers' duel over Lefty Grove (18-3), who pitched a 6-hitter, as the St. Louis Browns defeated the Philadelphia Athletics 4-3 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Philadelphia first baseman Jimmie Foxx batted 3 for 4 with 2 home runs, a double, 3 runs, and 2 runs batted in.

60 years ago
1949

On the radio
A Book at Bedtime, read by Laidman Browne, on BBC Light Programme
Tonight's episode: The Norwood Builder, Part 4

Died on this date
Samuel Green, 59. U.S. racist leader. Mr. Green joined the Ku Klux Klan in 1922, and became Grand Dragon of Georgia by the early 1930s. The organization was dissolved in 1944, but Mr. Green revived it in 1945. He became Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan on August 4, 1949, but died of a heart attack after just two weeks in the position, and was succeeded by Samuel Roper.

Paul Mares, 49. U.S. musician. Mr. Mares was a jazz cornetist and trumpeter who led the New Orleans Rhythm Kings in the 1920s and the band Paul Mares and his Friars Society in the 1930s. He was a heavy smoker and died of lung cancer.

Defense
General Frank Howley, retiring U.S. commander in Berlin, stated that Western Allied representatives would only express their "points of view" on the revived Allied Berlin command, and would not wait for unanimous Allied agreement before taking action.

The U.S. House of Representative halved President Harry Truman's request for military aid to Europe, approving $869.5 million.

Protest
The Chilean government of President Gabriel González Videla imposed martial law in Santiago and ordered the arrest of Communist labour leaders, following two days of unrest resulting from a transit fare increase.

Abominations
The Hungarian Parliament adopted a new constitution declaring the country a People's Republic.

Politics and government
The U.S. Senate confirmed J. Howard McGrath as Attorney General, succeeding Tom Clark.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science attacked President Truman's loyalty check program and the security clearance requirements of the Defense Department and the Atomic Energy Commission.

Law
The U.S. Senate confirmed former U.S. Attorney General Tom Clark as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Scandal
U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy (Republican--Wisconsin) demanded that President Truman dismiss Harry Vaughan as coordinator of veterans affairs. Mr. Truman urged the press "in common fairness" to withhold criticism of Mr. Vaughan until the conclusion of hearings by the U.S. Senate subcommittee investigating influence-peddling in Washington.

Economics and finance
The World Bank granted India a $34-million loan for railway construction.

Labour
The Finnish government of Prime Minister Karl-August Fagerholm moved to suppress nationwide strikes involving 150,000 workers, putting military forces on alert and charging Communists with encouraging unrest in the hope of seizing power.

50 years ago
1959

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Carleton Hobbs and Norman Shelley, on BBC Light Programme
Tonight’s episode: The Noble Bachelor

Diplomacy
Foreign ministers of 21 American republics, meeting in Santiago, Chile, signed a declaration affirming basic principles of democratic government and human rights as essential to regional harmony.

Defense
Maldivian Prime Minister Ibrahim Nasir rejected British offers to discuss building a Royal Air Force base on Gan Island and to mediate a revolt against the government on southern isles of the archipelago.

Protest
118 African women were sentenced to two months in prison in Natal, South Africa, following their arrest for building roadblocks and exhorting farm workers to strike.

Crime
U.S. Representative Frank Thompson (Democrat--New Jersey), an advocate of the Landrum-Griffin labour reform bill, was squirted with sulfuric acid by a passing truck.

Football
CFL
IRFU
Toronto (1-0) 21 @ Ottawa (0-1) 20
Montreal (0-1) 16 @ Hamilton (1-0) 22

The Argonauts went into their game at Lansdowne Park without the services of star halfback and punter Dave Mann. Mr. Mann had been suspended (for the entire season, it turned out) while facing a marijuana charge. His lawyer was Charles Dubin, an Argonauts Advisory Council member who 30 years later became famous for heading an inquiry into the use of drugs in sport after Ben Johnson was stripped of his Olympic gold medal. The starting quarterback for the Ottawa Rough Riders was Frank Tripucka, who had been traded to Ottawa in the off-season from the Saskatchewan Roughriders after six seasons there.

Baseball
Branch Rickey resigned as president of the Pittsburgh Pirates to become president of the Continental League.

60 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Kinjirareta Koi--Ryoko Moriyama (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): María Isabel--Los Payos (5th week at #1)

On the radio
The Challenge of Space, on Springbok Radio
Tonight’s episode: In the Beginning

Popular culture
Three days of dope-smoking, fornication, and rolling around in mud known as the Woodstock Music and Art Fair ended, with an estimated 400,000 young people crowded onto Max Yasgur’s farm near Bethel, New York. The final performer was Jimi Hendrix. It doesn’t say much for this generation that Woodstock is considered by many to be the high point of their existence. Compare this to the achievement a few weeks earlier of the generation born in the vicinity of 1930: going to the moon and back.

Law
U.S. President Richard Nixon announced the nomination of Federal Judge Clement Haynsworth, Jr., a conservative from South Carolina, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. If confirmed by the Senate, Judge Haynsworth, Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, would replace Abe Fortas, who resigned in May while under criticism for alleged personal misconduct.

A three-man United States federal court ruled that welfare recipients could not be denied public assistance solely for refusing to allow caseworkers into their homes without a warrant. The court ruled that the granting of federal assistance did not require those on welfare to waive their Fourth Amendment right against unlawful search.

Disasters
The death toll from Hurricane Camille continued to mount, and thousands were left homeless in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. Fires burned out of control along the Gulf Coast because firefighting units couldn’t reach them, while the Red Cross reported that its shelters housed more than 70,000 storm victims in three states.

24 people were drowned when a French pleasure boat sank in Lake Geneva.

Boxing
George Foreman (4-0) knocked out Chuck Wepner (18-5-2) 54 seconds into the 3rd round of a heavyweight bout at Madison Square Garden in New York.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in Zimbabwe Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight--Julie Covington (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Tu Sei l'Unica Donna Per Me--Alan Sorrenti (9th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland: I Don't Like Mondays--The Boomtown Rats (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): I Don't Like Mondays--The Boomtown Rats (4th week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 I was Made for Lovin' You--Kiss (3rd week at #1)
2 Quiereme Mucho--Julio Iglesias
3 Ring My Bell--Anita Ward
4 Voulez-Vous--ABBA
5 El Lute/Gotta Go Home--Boney M.
6 This is My Life (La Vita)--Shirley Bassey
7 Bad Girls--Donna Summer
8 Theme from 'The Deer Hunter' (Cavatina)--The Shadows
9 Aan de Grens Van de Duitse Heuvelen--The Sunstreams
10 Are 'Friends' Electric?--Tubeway Army

Singles entering the chart were I Don't Like Mondays by the Boomtown Rats (#22); Give Up Your Guns by the Buoys (#24); We Don't Talk Anymore by Cliff Richard (#29); After the Love Has Gone by Earth, Wind v Fire (#37); and Highway to Hell by AC/DC (#40).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Good Times--Chic
2 My Sharona--The Knack
3 The Main Event/Fight--Barbra Streisand
4 Bad Girls--Donna Summer
5 After the Love Has Gone--Earth, Wind & Fire
6 When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman--Dr. Hook
7 Ring My Bell--Anita Ward
8 The Devil Went Down to Georgia--The Charlie Daniels Band
9 You Can't Change That--Raydio
10 Mama Can't Buy You Love--Elton John

Singles entering the chart were Rolene by Moon Martin (#81); Remember (Walking in the Sand) by Louise Goffin (#82); Groove Me by Fern Kinney (#86); Found a Cure by Ashford & Simpson (#87); So Good, So Right by Brenda Russell (#88); I've Got the Next Dance by Deniece Williams (#89); Frederick by the Patti Smith Group (#90); and Crank it Up (Funky Town) (Part 1) by Peter Brown (#93).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 My Sharona--The Knack
2 Good Times--Chic
3 Bad Girls--Donna Summer
4 The Main Event/Fight--Barbra Streisand
5 When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman--Dr. Hook
6 Ring My Bell--Anita Ward
7 The Devil Went Down to Georgia--The Charlie Daniels Band
8 Gold--John Stewart
9 After the Love Has Gone--Earth, Wind & Fire
10 Mama Can't Buy You Love--Elton John

Singles entering the chart were Spooky by Atlanta Rhythm Section (#73); Rolene by Moon Martin (#82); Remember (Walking in the Sand) by Louise Goffin (#84); Where Will Your Heart Take You by Buckeye (#87); Found a Cure by Ashford & Simpson (#88); If You Remember Me by Chris Thompson with Night (#89); Just Another Night by Ian Hunter (#90); and Street Life by the Crusaders (#96). If You Remember Me was intended for the movie The Champ (1979); it wasn't used, but was included on the soundtrack album. The original single, with Theme from "The Champ" by Dave Grusin on the B-side, was released as Planet 45904, and was credited solely to Chris Thompson; the single in the Cash Box chart was Planet 45909.

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Bad Girls--Donna Summer (2nd week at #1)
2 I Want You to Want Me--Cheap Trick
3 Ring My Bell--Anita Ward
4 Shine a Little Love--Electric Light Orchestra
5 Gold--John Stewart
6 When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman--Dr. Hook
7 Born to Be Alive--Patrick Hernandez
8 You Take My Breath Away--Rex Smith
9 I was Made for Lovin' You--Kiss
10 Mama Can't Buy You Love--Elton John

Singles entering the chart were Draggin' 'em Down the Line by Burton Cummings (#86); Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor) by Robert Palmer (#87); Cruel to Be Kind by Nick Lowe (#91); Young Blood by Rickie Lee Jones (#96); Ain't that a Shame by Cheap Trick (#97); Rise by Herb Alpert (#99); and Driver's Seat by Sniff 'n' the Tears (#100).

Died on this date
Vasantrao Naik, 66. Indian politician. Mr. Naik was a member of the legislative assemblies of Madhya Pradesh (1952-1957); Bombay State (1957-1960); and Maharashtra (1960-1977), and was Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1963-1975. He represented Washim in the Indian Parliament from 1977 until his death in Singapore.

On the radio
Chuck Chandler returned to the Edmonton airwaves at noon on CFRN. Most recently he’d been a popular disc jockey with CHED for several years before leaving in June 1979.

Transportation
The 457-mile (736-kilometre) Dempster Highway, linking Inuvik, Northwest Territories to Yukon's Klondike Highway, opened at Flat Creek, Yukon.

25 years ago
1984

Football
CFL
Edmonton (3-4) 24 @ Montreal (3-4) 44

The Concordes rolled up a 37-6 lead at Olympic Stadium before the Eskimos scored 3 unconverted touchdowns in the 4th quarter to make the score a little less lopsided.

Baseball
Juan Berenguer pitched 8 1/3 innings and struck out 12 as the Detroit Tigers defeated the Seattle Mariners 4-3. Kirk Gibson hit his 20th home run of the season for the Tigers, a 3-run shot.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Das Omen (Teil I)--Mysterious Art (8th week at #1)

Died on this date
Yūji Koseki, 80. Japanese composer. Mr. Koseki wrote popular and military music, as well as film scores. He died a week after his 80th birthday.

Luis Carlos Galan, 45. Colombian politician. A senator and presidential candidate, Mr. Galan was a vocal opponent of drug dealers and exporters. He was fatally shot by hitmen at a rally in Soacha, a suburb of Bogota. Mr. Galan was leading the polls for the 1990 presidential election.

Diplomacy
Aleksandr Yakovlev, the Soviet Communist Party official in charge of foreign policy, said that the 1939 Hitler-Stalin pact that resulted in Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania being absorbed into the U.S.S.R. had contained secret protocols, and he condemned the agreement as a "deviation from Leninist principles."

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 0.2% in July for the second consecutive month.

Business
Michael Knighton bought Manchester United for £20 million in the biggest takeover deal in the history of British football.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (4-2) 40 @ Hamilton (5-1) 46

Mike Kerrigan threw 5 touchdown passes for the Tiger-Cats, 3 to Tony Champion. Roughriders' quarterback Tom Burgess completed 25 of 49 passes for 420 yards and 5 touchdown passes of his own (including 2 each to Jeff Fairholm and Don Narcisse), but also threw 3 interceptions. The teams combined for 5 touchdowns in a wild 4th quarter, when Saskatchewan outscored Hamilton 23-15.



Baseball
The New York Yankees fired manager Dallas Green and replaced him with Bucky Dent. It was the 17th managerial change since George Steinbrenner bought the team in 1973. The Yankees were mired in 5th place in the American League East Division with a record of 58-65 when the change was made.

Andre Dawson got his 2,000th major league hit, but his Chicago Cubs fell 6-5 to the Houston Astros before 31,987 fans at the Astrodome, giving up 2 runs in each of the 8th and 9th innings.

10 years ago
1999

Baseball
First baseman Dale Sveum hit home runs from each side of the plate and drove in 4 runs to help the Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Cincinnati Reds 12-6 before 19,733 fans at Cinergy Field in Cincinnati. Pittsburgh center fielder Brian Giles batted 3 for 4 with a home run, double, 3 runs, and 3 runs batted in.

The Houston Astros scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning as they came back from a 4-1 deficit to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-4 before 23,540 fans at the Astrodome.

Larry Walker hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 1st inning and a 3-run homer with none out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Colorado Rockies a 4-1 win over the Atlanta Braves before 46,553 fans at Coors Field in Denver.