October 30, 2009

475 years ago
1534

Religion
The English Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, making King Henry VIII head of the Church of England.

200 years ago
1809

Died on this date
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, 71. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1783, 1807-1809. Mr. Cavendish-Bentinck, a Whig from 1761-1794 and a Tory thereafter, was elected to the House of Commons for the English borough of Weobley in 1761, and entered the House of Lords upon the death of his father a year later. He led a coalition government from April-Decemer 1783, but the government fell after losing a vote in the House of Commons on reforming the East India Company. The Duke of Portland served as Home Secretary (1794-1801) and Lord of the Council (1801-1805), and returned as Prime Minister in 1807, following the collapse of the coalition "Ministry of all the Talents." He was regarded as a figurehead leader of a cabinet of strong ministers, but died in office after an operation to remove a kidney stone.

170 years ago
1839

Born on this date
Alfred Sisley. French-born U.K. artist. Mr. Sisley, born in Paris to English parents, was an Impressionist landscape painter who spent most of his life in France, and died there of throat cancer on January 29, 1899 at the age of 59.

100 years ago
1909

Football
CRU
ORFU
(Toronto) Parkdale Canoe Club (2-1) 6 Toronto Amateur Athletic Club (2-1) 10

90 years ago
1919

Died on this date
Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 68. U.S. poet. Miss Wilcox was best known for her poem Solitude, which includes the lines: "Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone." She was an occultist who subscribed to the teachings of Theosophy and New Thought, and died of cancer, six days before her 69th birthday.

Football
CRU
ARU
The Edmonton Canucks disbanded for the season, two days before they were scheduled to play the Calgary Canucks at Hillhurst Park in Calgary.

70 years ago
1939

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on NBC
Tonight’s episode: The Devil’s Foot

60 years ago
1949

Theatre
Lost in the Stars, a musical with lyrics and book by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on Alan Paton's novel Cry, the Beloved Country, opened at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway in New York. The production was directed by Rouben Mamoulian, and starred Todd Duncan and Inez Matthews. It was Mr. Weill's last work for the stage.

Died on this date
Charles Kerr, 88. U.S. engineer. Mr. Kerr designed the first steam turbine used in merchant ships; he died in Los Angeles.

Defense
The U.S. Defense Department announced a forthcoming reduction of the Navy by 77 ships because of budget cuts.

Football
CRU
IRFU
Hamilton (0-11) 18 @ Montreal (7-4) 29

NFL
Philadelphia (5-1) 38 @ Pittsburgh (4-2) 7
New York Giants (4-2) 41 @ Chicago Cardinals (2-4) 38
Washington (2-3-1) 14 @ New York Bulldogs (0-5-1) 14
Chicago Bears (3-3) 24 @ Los Angeles (6-0) 27
Detroit (1-5) 14 Green Bay (2-4) 16 @ Milwaukee

AAFC
Baltimore (1-8) 14 @ New York (6-1) 21
San Francisco (6-3) 28 @ Cleveland (6-1-1) 30



50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Travellin' Light--Cliff Richard and the Shadows

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CBS
Tonight’s episode: Walking Distance, starring Gig Young

This early episode, in which Mr. Young plays a 36-year-old man who takes a side trip to his old home town and finds himself transported 25 years back in time, gets my vote as the best of the entire series. I think Bernard Herrmann’s score is the best music ever written for a single television episode. The music was frequently reused in later Twilight Zone episodes and can be heard in various episodes of The Fugitive.



Space
Nikolai Kozyrev of Russia's Pulkovo Observatory reported that spectral photographs proved that the lunar crater Alphonse was an "active" volcano.

War
Dispatches from Saigon reported that South Vietnamese marines had killed 300 Communist guerrillas and captured 400 more in a two-week anti-terrorist drive in the Camau Peninsula.

Defense
The U.S.A. announced Turkish acceptance of a NATO missile base accord.

Protest
At least 20 Africans died in rioting touched off when Belgian-led African territorial police tried to arrest Congolese National Movement leader Patrice Lumumba and dispersed a nationalist rally in Stanleyville.

Disasters
Piedmont Airlines Flight 349, a Douglas DC-3 en route from Washington, D.C., crashed on approach to Charlottesville–Albemarle Airport in Albemarle County, Virginia, killing 26 of the 27 people on board. Passenger Phil Bradley, 33, was the sole survivor.

40 years ago
1969

On the radio
A Book at Bedtime, on BBC 4
Tonight's episode: The Hound of the Baskervilles, Part 9, read by Nigel Stock

On television tonight
Dragnet 1970, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Homicide: Cigarette Butt



War
After 40 sessions, Paris peace talks to end the Vietnam War were still stalled when chief U.S. negotiator Henry Cabot Lodge tried to get the talks moving by proposing secret talks. The Communists flatly turned down the proposal, calling for direct negotiations between the U.S.A. and Viet Cong.

Defense
It was reported that a secret 1966 U.S. Army memorandum revealed the existence of more than 20,000 bullets containing fatal disease toxins. Knowledgeable sources said that the bullets, stockpiled at Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas, could logically be used by the Army for only one purpose--assassination.

Politics and government
Standing next to Vice-President Spiro Agnew at a White House reception, U.S. President Richard Nixon said that Mr. Agnew "has done a great job for this administration." Mr. Agnew then spoke of "the need for self-discipline of the adult community."

Protest
The first major disruption on the campus of Vassar in its 108-year history occurred when 35 Negro female students seized control of the school’s administration offices and presented a list of separatist demands, including a department of black studies and separate dormitories for 200 Negro students. The protesters, most of them full scholarship students, were aided by 10 Negro youths, who guarded the main entrance.

Exploration
Announcing "the most ambitious underwater exploration program ever attempted," the U.S. Interior Department said that scientists would start living for several months below the ocean’s surface off St. John in the Virgin Islands in the spring of 1970.

Science
The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Murray Gell-Mann of the United States for his work "concerning the classification of elementary particles and their interactions."

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Derek Barton of the U.K. and Odd Hassel of Norway for their work concerning the conformation--or shape--of molecules.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (12-3) 18 @ British Columbia (5-11) 7

Ron Lancaster completed a 65-yard pass to Hugh Campbell for one Saskatchewan touchdown, while backup quarterback Bubba Wyche completed just 1 of 7 passes, but his completion was a short pass to Bobby Thompson, who broke it for an 85-yard touchdown as the Roughriders beat the Lions. B.C. failed to score a touchdown, getting only a field goal and 2 singles from Ted Gerela, as well as a safety touch. 32,340 fans showed up at Empire Stadium to see if their team could clinch a playoff spot after starting the season with 10 losses in their first 11 games. Instead, B.C.’s 4-game winning streak was snapped, and they had to hope that the Roughriders would win in Edmonton 3 days later to prevent the Eskimos from capturing the Western Football Conference’s third and final playoff spot.

Baseball
Nippon Series
Hankyu Braves 4 @ Yomiuri Giants 9 (Yomiuri led best-of-seven series 3-1)

30 years ago
1979

Died on this date
Barnes Wallis, 92. U.K. engineer. Sir Barnes invented the bouncing bomb used by the Royal Air Force in Operation Chastise (the "Dambusters" raid) to attack the dams of the Ruhr Valley during World War II. His other inventions included the earthquake bomb and a version of the geodetic airframe.

Hockey
NHL
St. Louis 2 Edmonton 1

Baseball
Japan Series
Kintetsu Buffaloes 2 @ Hiroshima Carp 3 (Kintetsu led best-of-seven series 2-1)

25 years ago
1984

Died on this date
Jerzy Popieluszko, 37. Polish clergyman. A Roman Catholic priest who spoke out against Poland’s Communist government and in support of the Solidarity trade union movement, Father Popieluszko’s body was found 11 days after he’d been kidnapped, allegedly by three members of Poland’s secret police, led by a police captain in the Interior Ministry.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Swing the Mood--Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Lambada--Kaoma (11th week at #1)

Protest
300,000 East Germans in Leipzig demonstrated in Leipzig on behalf of political reform. It was the second such demonstration there within a week.

Politics and government
Newfoundland Premier Clyde Wells announced his intention submit a motion to the Newfoundland House of Assembly to terminate the province's approval of the Meech Lake constitutional accord.

10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Max Patkin, 79. U.S. baseball clown. Mr. Patkin, the "Clown Prince of Baseball," was a minor league pitcher with the Wisconsin Rapids White Sox (1941-1942) and Green Bay Bluejays (1942) of the Class D Wisconsin State League and Wilkes-Barre Barons (1946) of the Class A Eastern League, compiling a record of 11-9 in 32 games. An arm injury curtailed his career, but his antics caught the eye of Cleveland Indians' owner Bill Veeck, who hired him as a "coach" to boost attendance. When the Indians began to attract crowds without needing Mr. Patkin, Mr. Veeck got him started with minor league clubs, where he spent most of the rest of his life as a travelling entertainer. I met Mr. Patkin when he performed for the Edmonton Trappers in 1981, and I have one of his autographed baseball cards. His style of humour was dated, to put it mildly, but he was a very nice man, and I was sad to hear of his passing.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (3-14) 21 @ Edmonton (6-11) 34
Hamilton (10-7) 21 @ British Columbia (12-5) 26

Sean Millington rushed 29 times for 225 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Eskimos past the Roughriders before a Commonwealth Stadium crowd of 33,850 on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Mr. Millington’s rushing total was exactly half of his total for the season, and broke Normie Kwong’s team single-game record of 192 yards from 1955. Edmonton quarterback Kevin Mason completed 11 of 17 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown to Ed Hervey. Reggie Jones caught 3 passes for 99 yards for the Roughriders, including a 65-yard touchdown reception from Steve Sarkisian. Ricky Whittle carried 14 times for 41 yards and ran 1 yard for the other Saskatchewan touchdown. The win kept the Eskimos’ playoff hopes alive; a win in Toronto or a Winnipeg loss in Montreal the following week would put the Eskimos into the playoffs for the 28th consecutive season. For the Roughriders, the loss was their eighth in a row.

B.C. quarterback Damon Allen rushed 11 times for 65 yards and completed 16 of 24 passes for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead the Lions over the Tiger-Cats in front of just 18,817 fans at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver. Rocky Henry and Don Blair were on the receiving end of Mr. Allen’s touchdown passes. The Lions’ other touchdown was scored by linebacker Rafael Robinson, who blocked a punt in the third quarter and returned it 11 yards. Ronald Williams led the Hamilton offense with 12 carries for 144 yards and touchdown runs of 1 and 65 yards; he also caught 2 passes for 23 yards. The Tiger-Cats hurt their own cause with 4 lost fumbles. Hamilton defensive end Joe Montford was ejected just 7 minutes into the game when he appeared to try to kick one of the Lions during a melee on the field that involved several players.