June 12, 2010

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Genevieve Morrow!

1,100 years ago
910

War
Using the famous feigned retreat tactic of the nomadic warriors, Magyar forces defeated the East Frankish army under King Louis the Child in the Battle of Augsburg in Bavaria.

1,060 years ago
950

Born on this date
Reizei. Emperor of Japan, 967-969. Reizei, born Norihira-shinnō, acceded to the throne shortly after the death of his father Murakami. He abdicated in favour of his younger brother En'yū, and lived in retirement until his death on November 21, 1011 at the age of 61.

990 years ago
1020

Died on this date
Lyfing. English clergyman. Lyfing, born Ælfstan, was abbot of Chertsey Abbey (ca. 989); Bishop of Wells (998 or 999-1013); and Archbishop of Canterbury (1013-1020). He was succeeded as Archbishop of Canterbury by Æthelnoth.

770 years ago
1240

Religion
The Disputation of Paris, in which four rabbis defended the Talmud against Christian monk Nicholas Donin's accusations of blasphemy, began in the court of King Louis IX of France.

460 years ago
1550

Europeana
The city of Helsinki, Finland (belonging to Sweden at the time) was founded by King Gustav I of Sweden.

180 years ago
1830

War
34,000 French soldiers landed at Sidi Ferruch, 27 kilometres west of Algiers, beginning the Invasion of Algiers.

130 years ago
1880

Baseball
Lee Richmond pitched the first perfect game in major league history as the Worcester Brown Stockings edged the Cleveland Blues 1-0 at Agricultural County Fair Grounds in Worcester.

120 years ago
1890

Born on this date
Egon Schiele. Austro-Hungarian artist. Mr. Schiele was a major figurative painter of the early 20th century whose work, which included many self-portraits, was noted for its sexuality. He was arrested in Neulengbach, Austria in 1912 for seducing an underage girl, and police seized more than a hundred drawings, resulting in his conviction for exhibiting erotic drawings in a place accessible to children. Mr. Schiele served briefly with the Austro-Hungarian army in World War I, but didn't see combat, and continued to paint. He succumbed to influenza on October 31, 1918 at the age of 28, three days after the death of his wife Edith, who also died from the flu.

110 years ago
1900

Died on this date
Lucretia Peabody Hale, 79. U.S. authoress. Miss Hale, the niece of Unitarian minister and politician Edward Everett and sister of Unitarian minister and politician Edward Everett Hale, wrote two novels and numerous short stories.

100 years ago
1910

Born on this date
Bill Naughton. U.K. playwright and author. Mr. Naughton, a native of Ireland, was best known for his play (1963) and novel (1966) Alfie, which was made into a movie in 1966. He died on January 9, 1992 at the age of 81.

90 years ago
1920

Politics and government
At the Chicago Coliseum, the Republican National Convention nominated U.S. Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio on the 10th ballot to be the party's candidate for President of the United States in the November election. His final vote total was 692.2 (70.35%). Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge was nominated as the vice presidential candidate on the first ballot, with 674.5 votes. Mr. Harding's nomination was said to have come about after negotiations in the original "smoke-filled room."

80 years ago
1930

Boxing
Max Schmeling (43-4-3) of Germany won the world heavyweight title when he was fouled in the 4th round of his fight with American contender Jack Sharkey (34-9-1) at Yankee Stadium in New York. The title had been vacant since Gene Tunney had retired in the summer of 1928. Jim Crowley was the referee who awarded the victory to Mr. Schmeling.



70 years ago
1940

War
13,000 British and French troops surrendered to German Major General Erwin Rommel at Saint-Valery-en-Caux. Gen. Rommel's troops captured 40,000 prisoners along the French coast. The Italian government of Duce Benito Mussolini announced the mining of waters around Malta and Sicily and the French naval base at Bizerta, Tunisia. Despite stubborn Chinese resistance, Japanese troops captured Ichang.

Diplomacy
British and Japanese officials reached an accord on the law and order and currency differences in Tientsin that had strained relations between the countries for a year.

Economics and finance
U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Marriner Eccles asked Congress to broaden the board's power to grant loans to small businesses dealing in war contracts.

Medicine
Dr. Bayard T. Horton of the Mayo Clinic reported that the drug histamine was effective in combating severe headaches.

Art
American artists voted to withdraw from the biennial Venice Art Exhibit because of Italy's declaration of war against the United Kingdom and France.

Journalism
The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano failed to be published for the first time since 1870.

Baseball
The Cleveland Indians lost for the 8th time in their last 13 games, falling 9-5 to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston. When Cleveland manager Ossie Vitt went to the mound to remove pitcher Mel Harder from the game, he said, "It's about time you won one‚ the money you're making." That and similar remarks about ace pitcher Bob Feller prompted Mr. Harder to ask team owner Alva Bradley for a meeting the following morning.

60 years ago
1950

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Determined Lady, starring Fred Baron, Gene Blakely, and Robert Eckles

Died on this date
Skimp Hersey. U.S. auto racing driver. Mr. Hersey died from severe burns received in a crash during a stock car race at Lakewood Speedway, south of Atlanta.

Diplomacy
The Arab League Council met in Cairo to decide whether to expel Jordan for annexing Arab Palestine.

Politics and government
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee failed to elicit testimony from former Amerasia editor Philip Jaffe, who claimed his right against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Amerasia, a journal of Far Eastern affairs,
was published from 1937-1947, had many Communists on its staff, and Mr. Jaffe was a friend of Communist Party USA leader Earl Browder.

Academia
Students enrolled in the first nuclear engineering college course at the University of North Carolina in Raleigh.

Economics and finance
The British Labour Party rejected the plan of French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman for a European coal and steel community, proposals for a stronger Council of Europe and other moves toward a federated Europe as presupposing "an unsustainable degree of uniformity in the internal policies of member states."

Canada and the U.S.A. signed two agreements to avoid double taxation of their citizens and to prevent income tax evasion.

The Dow-Jones industrial average hit a 20-year high.

Tennis
Francisco "Pancho" Segura, who had upset Jack Kramer in the semi-finals, defeated Frank Kovacs in the men's singles final of the U.S. men's professional championship in Cleveland.

50 years ago
1960

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Schartz-Metterklume Method, starring Hermione Gingold, Elspeth March, and Doris Lloyd

Died on this date
Art Wilson, 74. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Wilson was a catcher with the New York Giants (1908-1913); Chicago Whales (1914-1915); Pittsburgh Pirates (1916); Chicago Cubs (1916-1917); Boston Braves (1918-1920); and Cleveland Indians (1921), batting .274 with 24 home runs and 227 runs batted in in 812 games.

Baseball
The Pittsburgh Pirates scored 6 runs in the 1st inning en route to a 15-3 rout of the St. Louis Cardinals in the first game of a doubleheader before 29,605 fans at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Pittsburgh first baseman Dick Stuart batted 5 for 6 with 2 home runs and 5 runs batted in, while shortstop Dick Groat was 4 for 6 with a double, 3 runs, and an RBI. Every Pittsburgh starter had at least 1 hit and 1 run. Vernon Law (9-2) pitched a 13-hit complete game victory an drove in 2 runs with a double. Ernie Broglio (3-2) allowed 10 hits and 2 earned runs in 8 innings and batted 2 for 3 with an RBI to help the Cardinals win the second game 5-2.

The San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Braves 16-7 before 39,148 fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in a game that lasted 3 hours and 52 minutes. San Francisco catcher Bob Schmidt batted 4 for 4 with a base on balls, 2 doubles, 3 runs, and a run batted in, while Willie McCovey came to bat as a pinch hitter for the Giants in the 7th inning and hit the first grand slam of his major league career. Stan Lopata caught the 8th inning for Milwaukee, making 1 putout and popping up for the last out of the 853rd and last game of his 13-year major league career.

The Detroit Tigers and Washington Senators split a doubleheader before 15,225 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington, combining for 11 home runs. Jim Lemon hit a homer for the Senators as they won the first game 8-3, and added 2 more in the second game, which the Tigers won 12-5. Rocky Colavito hit 2 home runs for the Tigers in the second game, and winning pitcher Frank Lary (6-5) also homered.

40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Star Crossed Lovers--Craig Scott

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Yellow River--Christie (2nd week at #1)

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Daughter of Darkness--Tom Jones
2 Carol Ok--Chris Andrews
3 Spider Spider--Tidal Wave
4 Knock Knock Who's There--Mary Hopkin
5 Tchaikovsky One--Omega Limited
6 Ma Belle Amie--Tee Set
7 When Julie Comes Around--The Cuff Links
8 All Kinds of Everything--Dana
9 Come Softly to Me--Percy Sledge
10 Love is a Beautiful Song--Dave Mills

Singles entering the chart were Yellow River by Christie (#14); and Tennessee Bird Walk by Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan (#14).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 My Baby Loves Lovin'--White Plains
2 Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)--Melanie with the Edwin Hawkins Singers
3 Soolaimón (African Trilogy II)--Neil Diamond
4 The Long and Winding Road/For You Blue--The Beatles
5 Everything is Beautiful--Ray Stevens
6 The Wonder of You--Elvis Presley
7 Up Around the Bend/Run Through the Jungle--Creedence Clearwater Revival
8 Get Ready--Rare Earth
9 Mama Told Me (Not to Come)--Three Dog Night
10 Question--The Moody Blues

Singles entering the chart were Hitchin' a Ride by Vanity Fare (#24); Crazy Jane by Tom Northcott (#26); Teach Your Children by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (#27); Baby Hold On by the Grass Roots (#28); United We Stand by the Brotherhood of Man (#29); and A Little Bit of Soap by Paul Davis (#30).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKVN)
1 The Long and Winding Road/For You Blue--The Beatles
2 A Song of Joy (Himno a la Alegria)--Miguel Rios
3 My Baby Loves Lovin'--White Plains
4 Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)--Melanie with the Edwin Hawkins Singers
5 Up Around the Bend/Run Through the Jungle--Creedence Clearwater Revival
6 The Letter--Joe Cocker with Leon Russell and the Shelter People
7 Maybe I'm Amazed (LP track)--Paul McCartney
8 Question--The Moody Blues
9 Get Ready--Rare Earth
10 Mama Told Me (Not to Come)--Three Dog Night

Singles entering the chart were Canned Ham by Norman Greenbaum (#26); Hitchin' a Ride by Vanity Fare (#27); Ball of Confusion (That's What the World is Today) by the Temptations (#28); I Want to Take You Higher by Sly & the Family Stone (#29); and Baby Hold On by the Grass Roots (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 The Long and Winding Road--The Beatles (2nd week at #1)
2 Mississippi--John Phillips
3 Gimme Dat Ding--The Pipkins
4 Let it Be--The Beatles
5 Soolaimón (African Trilogy II)--Neil Diamond
6 Everything is Beautiful--Ray Stevens
7 Daughter of Darkness--Tom Jones
8 My Baby Loves Lovin'--White Plains
9 Up Around the Bend--Creedence Clearwater Revival
10 Little Green Bag--George Baker Selection

Terrorism
The Palestinian guerrillas who had been fighting against Jordanian army forces in and around Amman since June 7 released their foreign hostages, the day after a truce had begun.

War
U.S. and South Vietnamese officials in Saigon said that the slaying of 74 civilians by Viet Cong fighters, who had shelled and then swept through a hamlet earlier in the week, was evidence that the Communists were using terror to counteract the gains that the S.V. government had made in the countryside.

Baseball
Dock Ellis (5-4), who had been taking LSD the previous night and had then consumed Dexamyl and Benzedrine to come down off the high, walked 8 batters and hit another, but gave up no hits as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Diego Padres 2-0 in the first game of a doubleheader before 9,903 fans at San Diego Stadium. Willie Stargell hit 2 solo home runs to account for the scoring. Van Kelly came to bat as a pinch hitter for San Diego in the 9th and grounded out for the second last out of the 111th and last game of his 2-year major league career. The Padres won the second game 5-2 behind the 6-hit pitching of Danny Coombs (6-4). Nate Colbert hit 2 triples, and Al Ferrara homered for the Padres.





Tony Perez hit a 2-run home run in the top of the 4th inning to provide the winning margin as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 before 10,553 fans at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Wayne Simpson (9-1) pitched an 8-hit complete game victory without allowing an earned run, outduelling Woodie Fryman (4-3).

Bob Gibson (7-3) pitched a 5-hitter, struck out 8, and hit a home run and a double to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-1 win over the San Francisco Giants before 8,634 fans at Candlestick Park in San Franciso. Skip Pitlock (0-1) allowed 5 hits and 4 runs--all earned--in 5 innings, walking 1 batter, striking out 2, and making a wild pitch and a balk, while batting 0 for 1 in his first major league game.

Bert Campaneris, who had led off the game with a home run, doubled home Dick Green and scored on a double by Reggie Jackson as the Oakland Athletics scored 2 runs in the top of the 11th inning to break a 2-2 tie and defeat the Baltimore Orioles 4-2 before 21,059 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Clay Dalrymple led off the bottom of the 6th inning with a home run and Don Buford added a solo homer with 2 out for the Baltimore runs. Mudcat Grant (4-0) allowed 4 hits but no runs in 4 innings to get the win in relief of Rollie Fingers,who allowed 3 hits and 2 earned runs in 7 innings.

Russ Snyder's grand slam off Rich Hand (1-5) with 2 out in the top of the 8th inning broke a 0-0 tie as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cleveland Indians 4-1 before 8,156 fans at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. Marty Pattin (3-5) pitched a 6-hit complete game victory.

Tommy John (5-8) pitched a 2 hitter and Syd O'Brien provided the winning run when he led off the 3rd inning with a home run as the Chicago White Sox shut out the Washington Senators 6-0 before 7,928 fans at White Sox Park. Ken Berry's 3-run homer climaxed a 5-run 7th.

30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (Hot Press): What's Another Year--Johnny Logan (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Milburn Stone, 75. U.S. actor. Mr. Stone appeared in vaudeville in the late 1920s and early '30s before going to Hollywood, where he appeared in character roles in numerous movies. He was best known for playing Doc Adams in more than 600 episodes of the television series Gunsmoke (1955-1975). Mr. Stone died on a heart attack on June 12, 1980, 23 days before his 76th birthday.

Masayoshi Ōhira, 70. Prime Minister of Japan, 1978-1980. Mr. Ōhira, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1952, and held several cabinet posts, including Minister for Foreign Affairs (1962-1964, 1974-1976) and Minister of Finance (1974-1976). He became leader of the LDP in 1978, and replaced Takeo Fukuda as Prime Minister on December 7. Mr. Ōhira led the LDP to victory in the 1979 general election, but led a minority government. He lost a vote of non-confidence in the Diet on May 16, 1980, and was campaigning for the upcoming election when he was hospitalized on May 31, suffering from exhaustion and a heart ailment. Mr. Ōhira died of a heart attack, and his chief cabinet secretary, Masayoshi Ito, became acting Prime Minister in accord with Japan’s cabinet law.

Danny Thomas, 29. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Thomas was an outfielder who played 54 games with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1976 and 1977, batting .274. He was a member of the Worldwide Church of God, a pseudo-Christian cult then led by Herbert W. Armstrong. The WCG enforced the seventh-day Sabbath on its members, and Mr. Thomas refused to play games between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday, earning the nickname "The Sundown Kid." This refusal to play Saturday afternoon games helped to shorten a promising career, which ended in the Inter-American League in 1979. In 1975, while playing in the minors at the AA level, Mr. Thomas had been suspended in mid-season for the balance of the year for punching an umpire. He hanged himself in a jail cell in Mobile, Alabama while being held on a rape charge.

Defense
The United States Senate voted 58-34 to approve funding for a peacetime military draft.

Baseball
Charlie Lea (1-0) allowed 8 hits and 1 earned run in 8 innings, walking 3 batters and striking out 4, while batting 0 for 3 with a base on balls in his first major league game, getting the win for the Montreal Expos as they beat the San Diego Padres 9-1 before 20,724 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Brad Mills entered the game as a pinch hitter for Montreal in the 5th inning and stayed in the game at third base, batting 3 for 3 with 3 runs batted in.

Mike Easler hit for the cycle to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 10-6 win over the Cincinnati Reds before 31,557 fans at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

Butch Hobson batted 3 for 5 with 2 home runs and a run batted in, and Jim Rice and Dave Stapleton added home runs for the Boston Red Sox as they routed the California Angels 13-2 before 27,960 fans at Anaheim Stadium.

25 years ago
1985

Baseball
Bruce Tanner, son of Pittsburgh Pirates’ manager Chuck Tanner, made his major league debut as a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, a team formerly managed by his father. He allowed 7 hits and allowed 2 runs--both earned in 6 2/3 innings to beat the Seattle Mariners 6-3 before 9,808 fans at the Kingdome in Seattle for his only major league win.

Pinch hitter Rance Mulliniks led off the top of the 10th inning with a home run to give the Toronto Blue Jays a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees before 25,129 fans at Yankee Stadium. Mr. Mulliniks' homer was hit off relief pitcher Rich Bordi, who had just entered the game.

Pat Sheridan tripled with 1 out in the top of the 14th inning and Jim Sundberg singled him home with the winning run as the Kansas City Royals edged the Oakland Athletics 3-2 before 11,010 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

The New York Mets scored 4 runs in the top of the 11th inning to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 before 22,455 fans at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. New York relief pitcher Rick Aguilera made his major league debut when he entered the game to begin the bottom of the 10th inning; he allowed a base on balls, but no hits in pitching 2 scoreless innings and getting the win.

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Doubleback--ZZ Top

Died on this date
Terence O'Neill, 75. Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, 1963-1969. Mr. O'Neill, the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, was a moderate who desired to reconcile the differences between Roman Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. He was an Anglican and sat in Parliament from 1946-1970. He was forced to resign as Prime Minister as a result of increasing violence in Northern Ireland and dissent within the Ulster Unionist Party.

Politics and government
The parliament of the Russian Federation formally declared its sovereignty.

Czechoslovakian President Vaclav Havel reappointed Marian Calfa as Premier and asked him to form a new government, three days after Mr. Havel's party, Civic Forum, had captured 170 of 300 seats in parliament in national elections.

New Democratic Party Member of the Legislative Assembly Elijah Harper used the rules of procedure to block the introduction of the resolution ratifying the Meech Lake constitutional accord in the Manitoba legislature. Mr. Harper, a Cree Indian, forced the legislature to delay opening debate on the constitutional agreement, whose deadline for approval was June 23, 1990.

Scandal
Patricia Starr, a former Liberal Party of Ontario fund-raiser, was charged along with the National Council of Jewish Women (Toronto section) of 71 counts of violating Ontario's election spending law for exceeding the maximum allowed.

Journalism
Lise Bissonnette was named Director (editor) of the Montreal daily newspaper Le Devoir.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Detroit 112 @ Portland 109 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 3-1)

Gerald Henderson's layup field goal with 1.8 seconds remaining gave the Pistons a 3-point lead, and Danny Young's 35-foot field goal appeared to tie the game for the Trail Blazers, but the shot was ruled to have come just after the buzzer. The referee who made the call, Earl Strom, was working in the final game of his 29-year Hall of Fame professional career, and video evidence confirmed that his final call was correct. Isiah Thomas led Detroit with 32 points and 5 assists, while Portland's Clyde Drexler led all scorers with 34 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists. 12,642 fans attended the game at Memorial Coliseum.



Baseball
Mickey Tettleton hit a 2-run home run with 2 out in the 9th inning to tie the game, and then Randy Milligan homered leading off the 10th to give the Baltimore Orioles a 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers before 27,599 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Baltimore shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. played in his 1,308th consecutive game, passing Everett Scott for second place behind Lou Gehrig. In playing his 886th consecutive game at shortstop he passed Mr. Gehrig’s record for consecutive games at the same position.

The Texas Rangers scored 4 unearned runs in the top of the 9th inning off ace relief pitcher Dennis Eckersley to defeat the Oakland Athletics 6-5 before 21,625 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The rally began when pinch hitter Kevin Reimer reached first base on an error by Oakland shortstop Walt Weiss with 1 out. The Next batter, Jeff Huson, grounded into a force play, which should have been the third out of the inning.

The New York Mets outhit the Chicago Cubs 21-16 and outscored them 19-8 before 34,893 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Dave Magadan and Kevin McReynolds hit home runs for the Mets.

10 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Sandro Rosa do Nascimento, 21. Brazilian criminal. Mr. Nascimento was armed with a revolver when he boarded Ônibus #174, a public bus, in Jardim Botânico, a wealthy neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro, with the apparent intention of robbing the passengers. However, a passenger signalled to a passing military police vehicle, and the bus was soon intercepted by police, and the robbery escalated into a hostage-taking. Mr. Nascimento left the bus with schoolteacher Geisa Firmo Gonçalves as a human shield, and a shootout ensued. The first shot from police hit Ms. Gonçalves in the face, and Mr. Nascimento then killed her with three shots. Mr. Nascimento was immobilized by the police and taken into custody where he died of reported asphyxiation. The officers who took Mr. Nascimento into custody were acquitted by a jury of murder.



Defense
The United States Energy Department announced that two top-secret hard drives, containing data on how to disarm and dismantle nuclear weapons, were missing from a vault at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The drives were first discovered missing on May 7, but employees hadn't reported their absence until May 31.

Law
A study led by Columbia University Law School professor James Liebman concluded that the judicial administration of the death penalty in the United States was "fraught with error." The study examined 5,500 death penalty appeals filed in the U.S. between 1973 and 1995 and found that 2/3 of the sentences had been overturned, primarily because of incompetent defense lawyers, improper instructions by the judge, or abuses by the prosecutors, including suppression of evidence. About 7% of the convicts were found not guilty when retried, and an additional 75% received lesser sentences upon retrial.

Protest
Dozens of Chinese migrants smashed windows and set fires at the British Columbia detention facility where they had been held since arriving illegally in Canada a year earlier.