September 17, 2009

1,130 years ago
879

Born on this date
Charles the Simple. King of West Francia, 898-922. Charles the Simple, the third son of King Louis the Stammerer, was crowned in 893 by a faction opposed to King Odo, but became king only upon Odo's death in 898. Charles was deposed in a revolt by nobles and replaced by King Robert I, and was defeated in an attempt to reclaim the throne in 923. Charles the Simple was captured and imprisoned, and died in prison at Péronne on October 7, 929, 19 days after his 50th birthday.

270 years ago
1739

Born on this date
John Rutledge. U.S. politician. Mr. Rutledge was President of South Carolina from 1776-1778 and Governor of South Carolina from 1779-1782. He was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1789-1791, resigning to become Chief Justice of the South Carolina Court of Common Pleas and Sessions. Mr. Rutledge was appointed by President George Washington to fill the vacancy created whtn Chief Justice John Jay resigned to take office as Governor of New York. Mr. Rutledge took the position as a recess appointment, since the U.S. Senate wasn't in session at the time. He spoke out against the Jay Treaty with Great Britain, which helped to influence the Senate to vote 14-10 in December 1795 against Mr. Rutledge's appointment. Mr. Rutledge resigned from the Supreme Court on December 28, 1795 after just six months as Chief Justice; he died on July 23, 1800 at the age of 60.

200 years ago
1809

War
Russia and Sweden signed the Treaty of Fredrikshamn, ending the Finnish War and ceding to Russia the territory that would become Finland. Russian Ambassador to Sweden David Alopaeus and Foreign Minister Nikolai Rumyantsev represented Russia, while former Swedish Ambassador to Russia General Kurt von Stedingk and Colonel Anders Fredrik Skjöldebrand represented Sweden.

190 years ago
1819

Born on this date
Marthinus Wessel Pretorius. 1st President of the South African Republic, 1857-1860, 1864-1871; State President of the Orange Free State (1860-1863). Mr. Pretorius founded the city of Pretoria in 1855, and served as President of both the South African Republic and Orange Free State from February-September 1860 in an attempt to forge bonds between the two states. After his two terms as President of the South African Republic, Mr. Pretorius served as co-head of state with Paul Kruger and Piet Joubert as the Triumvirate from 1881-1883. Mr. Pretorius died on May 19, 1901 at the age of 81.

160 years ago
1849

World events
American abolitionist Harriet Tubman escaped to Philadelphia from slavery in Maryland.

150 years ago
1859

Born on this date
William H. "Billy the Kid" Bonney. U.S. outlaw. A notorious cattle rustler who had killed two deputies, Billy the Kid was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in New Mexico on July 14, 1881 at the age of 21.

I. L. Patterson. U.S. politician. Isaac Lee Patterson, a Republican, sat in the Oregon Legislative Assembly (1918-1922) and was Governor of Oregon from 1927 until his death in office from pneumonia on December 21, 1929 at the age of 70.

Americana
Joshua A. Norton, a resident of San Francisco who was dissatisfied with the current legal and political systems in the United States, declared himself "Norton I, Emperor of the United States." His claim was never formally recognized, but he was treated as a colourful character in San Francisco until his death on January 8, 1880 at the age of 61.

140 years ago
1869

Born on this date
Christian Lous Lange. Norwegian historian. Dr. Lange was a leading internationalist, and was awarded a share of the 1921 Nobel Peace Prize "[For his work as] the first secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee" and "the secretary-general of the Inter-Parliamentary Union." Dr. Lange was Secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 1900-1909. He died on December 11, 1938 at the age of 69.

130 years ago
1879

Born on this date
Rube Foster. U.S. baseball pitcher and manager. Andrew Foster played with the Chicago Union Giants (1902); Cuban X-Giants (1903); Philadelphia Giants (1904-1906); Leland Giants (1907-1910); and Chicago American Giants (1911-1917), and was regarded as the Negro Leagues' best pitcher in the early 20th century. He was a pioneering owner and manager in the Negro National League in 1920, leading the Chicago American Giants to the NNL's first three pennants from 1920-1922. Mr. Foster was nearly asphyxiated by a gas leak in Indianapolis, and began behaving erratically. He was confined to an asylum in 1926, and never recovered his health before his death on December 9, 1930 at the age of 51. Mr. Foster was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.

110 years ago
1899

Died on this date
Charles Pillsbury, 56. U.S. businessman. Mr. Pillsbury co-founded the Pillsbury Company flour firm in Minnepaolis in 1869. He died from a heart ailment.

Baseball
A preliminary organization meeting was held in Chicago regarding a proposed new American Association. Among the delegates were Cap Anson of Chicago; Chris Von der Ahe and Al Spink of St. Louis; and representatives from Milwaukee‚ New York‚ Philadelphia‚ and Washington.

100 years ago
1909

Died on this date
Thomas Bent, 70. Australian politician. Sir Thomas represented Brighton in the Victoria Legislative Assembly (1871-1894, 1900-1909), and was Premier of Victoria (1904-1909). He was known for enriching himself through corrupt dealings involving his property developments, which led to his demotion to the back benches for many years. Sir Thomas became leader of Victoria's Commonwealth Liberal Party and led them to electoral majorities in 1904 and 1907. He resigned as Premier in January 1909 after his government was defeated.

75 years ago
1934

Baseball
18-year-old rookie Reese Diggs recorded his only major league victory as he allowed 8 hits, including home runs by Earl Averill and opposing pitcher Bob Weiland, in pitching the Washington Nationals to a 13-6 win over the Cleveland Indians. Pete Sosko had 5 of Washington’s 21 hits.

70 years ago
1939

War
The Soviet Union joined Germany's invasion of Poland during the Polish Defensive War of 1939.

60 years ago
1949

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Far Away Places--Bing Crosby; The Joe Loss Orchestra (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard) (Best Seller): You're Breaking My Heart--Vic Damone (3rd week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 You're Breaking My Heart--Vic Damone
--The Ink Spots
--Buddy Clark
2 Some Enchanted Evening--Perry Como
--Bing Crosby
3 The Huckle-Buck--Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra
--Frank Sinatra
4 Room Full of Roses--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Dick Haymes
--Eddy Howard and his Orchestra
5 Baby, it's Cold Outside--Dinah Shore and Buddy Clark
--Margaret Whiting and Johnny Mercer
--Don Cornell and Laura Leslie
6 Let's Take an Old-Fashioned Walk--Perry Como
7 Someday (You’ll Want Me to Want You)--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
--The Mills Brothers
8 Again--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra
--Doris Day and the Mellomen
9 Maybe it's Because--Dick Haymes
--Eddy Howard and his Orchestra
10 Jealous Heart--Al Morgan

No new singles entered the chart.

On the radio
Tales of Fatima, starring Basil Rathbone, on CBS
Tonight’s episode: The Bend Sinister

Lilli Palmer appeared as a guest star.

Movies
The Cannes Film Festival awarded its Palme d'Or to The Third Man.

Diplomacy
U.K. Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin and French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman, conferring in Washington with U.S. State Secretary Dean Acheson, endorsed the U.S. decision to restrict its support for the Chinese Nationalist government, and urged aid to independent nationalist movements in Southeast Asia as the best means of containing Communism in the Far East.

Defense
North Atlantic Treaty members established a North Atlantic Council in Washington to carry out the security provisions of the pact.

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees passed a $1.3-billion military aid bill, reserving $75 million for the "general area of China."

World events
Former Hungarian General Gyorgy Palffy, testifying at his trial in Budapest, read a confession admitting to government charges of espionage and subversion.

Economics and finance
Argentina suspended all imports in order to relieve a foreign exchange shortage.

Disasters
The Canadian steamship SS Noronic burned in Toronto Harbour, with the loss of over 118 lives.





Football
CRU
IRFU
Hamilton (0-4) 12 @ Ottawa (4-0) 19
Montreal (2-2) 24 @ Toronto (2-2) 11

WIFU
Calgary (4-0) 20 @ Winnipeg (1-4) 1
Edmonton (1-3) 1 @ Saskatchewan (3-2) 13

ORFU
Toronto (0-3) 2 @ Hamilton (1-2) 45
Sarnia (3-1) 0 @ Windsor (3-1) 13

50 years ago
1959

Married on this date
U.S. comedian Zeppo Marx married showgirl Barbara Blakely in Las Vegas.

Aviation
U.S. test pilot Scott Crossfield flew the North American X-15 rocket plane under its own power for the first time, reaching a record altitude of 52,341 feet over the Mojave Desert in California.

Diplomacy
After arriving in New York on the first leg of a cross-country tour of the United States, U.S.S.R. Premier Nikita Khrushchev met with 27 leading U.S. industrialists, financiers, and educators at the home of former New York Governor Averell Harriman.



Politics and government
Deputy Premier Lin Piao, who was closely linked with Chairman Mao Tse-tung (Mao Zedong) and Marshal Chu Teh, replaced Peng Teh-huai as Defense Minister of the People's Republic of China.

Baseball
Ground was broken in Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles for a $12-million, 55,000-seat stadium for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

International League
Finals
Richmond 5 @ Havana 3 (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)

American Association
Finals
Fort Worth 6 @ Minneapolis 8 (Minneapolis led best-of-seven series 1-0)

40 years ago
1969

On television tonight
Then Came Bronson, starring Michael Parks, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Runner

This was the first regular episode of the series.

Football
CFL
Edmonton (3-6) 13 @ British Columbia (1-8) 5

Jim Thomas rushed 65 yards for the game’s only touchdown as the Eskimos defeated the Lions before 22,791 fans at Empire Stadium in Vancouver on a rainy Wednesday night.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): My Sharona--The Knack (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Kanpaku Sengen--Masashi Sada (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Ring My Bell--Anita Ward

Diplomacy
Cuban dictator Fidel Castro freed the last four U.S. citizens that Cuba was holding on political charges. Mr. Castro had previously offered to exchange his prisoners for the four Puerto Rican nationalist terrorists whose sentences had been commuted by U.S. President Jimmy Carter, but the U.S. State Department denied that a deal had been made for an exchange.

Defense
The New York Times reported that the United States Defense Department thought it might encounter grave obstacles in building the MX missile system because of legal and environmental concerns. The system, expected to be fully deployed by 1989, would be built in a desert in a yet-to-be-determined western state.

Journalism
The United States Justice Department announced that it was abandoning efforts to prevent publication of articles on the hydrogen bomb in The Progressive magazine and the Daily Californian. Since the concepts had been made public when the Madison Press Connection published a letter by Charles Hansen the previous day, the department decided that it was pointless to continue to restrain publication of an article by Howard Moreland which he’d written for The Progressive. Justice Department spokesman Terrence Adamson said that national security had been "injured" by the publication of Mr. Hansen’s letter, and that the department would still prosecute violations of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 when there were disclosures of national security secrets.

Disasters
An Air Canada DC-9 jetliner returned to Boston after losing its rear door and part of its tail over the Atlantic Ocean. The accident prompted an investigation of DC-9s for possible structural defects.

25 years ago
1984

Died on this date
Richard Basehart, 70. U.S. actor. Mr. Basehart was best known for his starring role in the 1960s television series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. His movies included He Walked By Night (1948) and The House on Telegraph Hill (1951). Shortly before his death, Mr. Basehart emceed the closing ceremonies for the Olympic games at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Abominations
The new Canadian government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was sworn into office in Ottawa. Mr. Mulroney, the country’s 18th Prime Minister, appointed a 40-member cabinet, the largest in Canadian history.

Politics and government
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale said that he would make war and peace a major issue, and accused President Ronald Reagan of making the world more dangerous.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the nation’s balance of payments showed a record deficit of $24.4 billion in the second quarter of 1984.

Baseball
17 years to the day after hitting his first major league home run, Reggie Jackson hit his 500th career major league home run. The blow, off Bud Black, was the only run for the California Angels as they lost 10-1 to the Kansas City Royals, falling behind the Royals in the battle for first place in the American League West Division.

Harold Baines hit 3 home runs to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 7-3 win overt the Minnesota Twins, dropping the Twins into second place in the AL West Division.

Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets struck out 16 batters for the second consecutive game, but lost 2-1 to the Philadelphia Phillies when he balked home the winning run in the 8th inning.

20 years ago
1989

Disasters
Hurricane Hugo struck Montserrat, destroying 80% of the island's property and leaving 99% of the 12,000 residents homeless.

Football
CFL
Ottawa (1-10) 34 @ Hamilton (7-4) 52
Edmonton (9-2) 35 @ Saskatchewan (6-5) 48

Mike Kerrigan completed 24 of 45 passes for 398 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Tiger-Cats to victory before 14,327 fans at Ivor Wynne Stadium. Wally Zatylny scored another Hamilton touchdown on a 54-yard punt return. Damon Allen started at quarterback for the Rough Riders and completed 17 of 37 passes for 247 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He was relieved by Tony Kimbrough, who was 6 for 8 for 146 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Hamilton defense held Ottawa to 0 yards rushing.

Before 24,776 fans at Taylor Field in Regina, the Roughriders led 27-11 at halftime, but the Eskimos roared back with 3 straight touchdowns in the third quarter and a field goal in the early seconds of the fourth to take a 35-27 lead. However, quarterback Kent Austin led Saskatchewan to 21 consecutive points to finish the game, ending Edmonton’s winning streak at 7 games. Mr. Austin completed 19 of 32 passes for 281 yards and 3 touchdowns, and rushed 10 times for 47 yards and a touchdown. Eskimo quarterback Tracy Ham completed 25 of 41 passes for 384 yards and 4 touchdowns, but was also sacked 8 times. Craig Ellis led Edmonton receivers with 10 catches for 222 yards and 2 touchdowns.



10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Frankie Vaughan, 71. U.K. singer and actor. Mr. Vaughan, born Frank Ableson, was a singer of pop songs who had a string of hits from the 1950s through the '80s. Many of his singles were covers of songs that had been hits for American artists. Mr. Vaughan died of heart failure.

Disasters
Hurricane Floyd left New England.

Football
CFL
Edmonton (4-7) 41 @ Saskatchewan (3-8) 38

Former Roughrider quarterback Kevin Mason, in his first start as an Eskimo, completed 10 of 17 passes for 131 yards and touchdown passes to Terry Vaughn and Ed Hervey. Mr. Mason also rushed 13 times for 116 yards and a touchdown, and Troy Mills carried 22 times for 178 yards and a touchdown. Only 18,231 fans were on hand at Taylor Field in Regina to see the Roughriders almost pull off a miraculous comeback in the fourth quarter. Edmonton led 41-17 after three quarters, but Mike Saunders rushed for 2 touchdowns and caught a pass for a 2-point convert from backup quarterback Steve Sarkisian (who scored the touchdown) as the Roughriders rallied for 23 consecutive points in the final quarter.

CIAU
Laval (2-0) 20 @ McGill (0-2) 14
Saskatchewan (3-0) 28 @ Calgary (1-2) 23

Mathieu Bertrand completed 14 of 25 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for a touchdown to lead the Laval Rouge et Or past the McGill Redmen at Molson Stadium in Montreal.

Baseball
Mark McGwire hit a grand slam--his 56th home run of the season--and Thomas Howard and Fernando Tatis followed with homers as the St. Louis Cardinals scored 9 runs in the bottom of the 4th inning as they overcame a 4-0 deficit and defeated the Houston Astros 11-8 before 37,027 fans at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. The Cardinals hit 4 home runs, the Astros 3.

Dante Bichette hit 2 home runs and drove in 7 runs to help the Colorado Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 18-10 before 44,170 fans at Coors Field in Denver.