July 10, 2010

720 years ago
1290

Died on this date
Ladislaus IV, 27. King of Hungary and Croatia, 1272-1290. Ladislaus IV, the son of King Stephen V, was kidnappd and imprisoned by rebellious lord Joachim Gutkeled in 1272, and was still a prisoner when King Stephen died. King Ladislaus was declared in 1277 to be of age, but was unable to restore royal power in Hungary. His mother Elizabeth was a Cuman, and King Ladislaus's support for the pagan Cumans helped to make him very unpopular. 26 days before his 28th birthday, King Ladislaus IV was assassinated by three Cuman assassins, and was succeeded on the throne by Andrew III.

550 years ago
1460

War
House of York forces commanded by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, defeated King Henry VI's Lancastrian forces in the Battle of Northampton and took King Henry prisoner.

500 years ago
1510

Died on this date
Catherine Cornaro, 55. Queen of Cyprus, 1474-1489. Queen Catherine was from a Venetian noble family, and married King James II of Cyprus by proxy in 1468, marrying him in person in Cyprus in 1472. When King James died on July 10, 1473, Queen Catherine became regent, and became queen in her own right when their son James died before his first birthday. Cyprus was controlled by Venetian merchants during her reign, and having no heir, she was forced to abdicate in 1489 in favour of the Doge of Venice. Catherine was allowed to retain her title of Queen, and was made Lady of Asolo of the Republic of Venice.

210 years ago
1800

Academia
Governor-General of India Lord Wellesley founded Fort William College in Fort William, India.

120 years ago
1890

Americana
Wyoming entered the Union as the 44th state.

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Mitchell Parish. Lithuanian-born U.S. songwriter. Mr. Parish, born Michael Pashelinsky, emigrated to the United States with his family as an infant. He wrote lyrics to such songs as Stardust; Stars Fell on Alabama; Deep Purple; Sweet Lorraine; and Volare. Mr. Parish died on March 31, 1993 at the age of 92.

100 years ago
1920

Died on this date
John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, 79. Ceylonese-born U.K. military officer and politician. Admiral of the Fleet "Jacky" Fisher held numerous commands during a 60-year career in the Royal Navy, and was known as a champion of naval reform. He served as First Sea Lord (1904-1910, 1914-1915), overseeing the construction of the battleship HMS Dreadnought and advocating the development of submarines. Baron Fisher retired as First Sea Lord on his 69th birthday, but came out of retirement at the start of World War I. He had frequent disputes with First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, and resigned again following the failure of the Gallipoli campaign in 1915. Baron Fisher died of cancer.

Politics and government
Acting on the advice of his doctors, Sir Robert Borden resigned after almost nine years as Prime Minister of Canada. Governor General the Duke of Devonshire offered the office to former Finance Minister William T. White, but Mr. White declined, and Mr. Borden was succeeded as head of the Unionist government by Minister of Mines, Minister of the Interior, and Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs Arthur Meighen, who represented the Manitoba riding of Portage la Prairie in the House of Commons.

75 years ago
1935

Died on this date
Paul Hines, 83. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Hines was one of the National League's earliest stars, leading the NL in batting in 1878 and 1879 while with the Providence Grays. In 18 seasons with 7 major league teams, Mr. Hines played 1,481 games, batting .301. While playing for the Washington Senators in 1886 and 1887, Mr. Hines became a friend of William McKinley, and when Mr. McKinley became President of the United States, he appointed Mr. Hines to be the postmaster of the Department of Agriculture, a job he held for many years. Mr. Hines lost his hearing after a severe beaning in 1886, and his sight had also deteriorated by the time he was arrested on a pickpocketing charge in 1921.

Baseball
The Cincinnati Reds scored 8 runs in the third inning en route to a 15-2 rout of the Brooklyn Dodgers at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Babe Herman of the Reds hit the first home run at night in major league history, connecting off Dutch Leonard.

70 years ago
1940

Died on this date
Donald Tovey, 64. U.K. musicologist and composer. Sir Donald was best known for his six-volume Essays in Musical Analysis (1935-1939). He was a pianist whose relatively few compositions included a symphony, chamber music, and works for piano. Sir Donald died a week before his 65th birthday.

War
The Battle of Britain began when Luftwaffe fighters attacked shipping convoys off the southeast coast of England.

Politics and government
The Vichy government was established in France, as the parliament passed a resolution giving total power to Marshal Philippe Petain.

The United States Senate approved Frank Knox as Secretary of the Navy.

Diplomacy
Romania announced its withdrawal from the League of Nations.

Defense
Asking Congress for $4.8 billion in additional defense funds, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt promised, "We will not send our men to take part in European wars." The Senate passed and sent to conference a "$75-billion two-ocean navy bill.

60 years ago
1950

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: I Dreamt I Died

This was a restaging of a story originally broadcast on November 28, 1949.

War
U.S. troops, backed by air and artillery concentrations, halted a North Korean tank-led drive after it advanced more than half the distance from captured Chonan to the emergency South Korean capital at Taejon. The U.S. Army called for 20,000 draftees, but the Air Force and Navy said that they were getting enough volunteers to meet their initial manpower needs.

Diplomacy
The Czechoslovakian government charged that American military planes had been dropping the Colorado beetle (the potato bug) in flights over the C.S.S.R. and East Germany, and warned that there may be "consequences" if the flights continued.

Politics and government
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 249-71 to kill President Harry Truman's proposal to give the Federal Security Agency departmental status.

50 years ago
1960

Died on this date
Sæbjørn Buttedahl, 83. Norwegian-born actor and sculptor. Mr. Buttedahl began his acting career on stage in 1896, and worked at Centralteatret in Oslo (then known as Kristiana) from 1907-1924. He also achieved prominence as a sculptor of busts of theatrical personalities. Mr. Buttedahl appeared in three silent films from 1926-1927. He emigrated to the United States in 1926, and eventually settled in San Diego.

40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Gimme Dat Ding--The Pipkins (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha--Cliff Richard

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Come Softly to Me--Percy Sledge (2nd week at #1)
2 Yellow River--Christie
3 Working on a Good Thing--Outlet
4 I Don't Believe in If Anymore--Roger Whittaker
5 Daughter of Darkness--Tom Jones
6 Up Around the Bend--Creedence Clearwater Revival
7 Which Way You Goin' Billy?--The Poppy Family
8 In the Summertime--Mungo Jerry
9 Cottonfields--The Beach Boys
10 Little Green Bag--George Baker Selection

Singles entering the chart were The Wonder of You by Elvis Presley (#15); Groovin' with Mr. Bloe by Mr. Bloe (#19); and The Wedding by Jody Wayne (#20).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Hitchin' a Ride--Vanity Fare
2 Mama Told Me (Not to Come)--Three Dog Night
3 I'm Gonna Capture You--Terry Jacks
4 Are You Ready?--Pacific Gas & Electric
5 Ride Captain Ride--Blues Image
6 Teach Your Children--Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
7 (They Long to Be) Close to You--Carpenters
8 Gimme Dat Ding--The Pipkins
9 Baby Hold On--The Grass Roots
10 Band of Gold--Freda Payne

Singles entering the chart were Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours by Stevie Wonder (#25); Cinnamon Girl by Neil Young with Crazy Horse (#27); Freedom Blues by Little Richard (#29); and O-o-h Child by the Five Stairsteps (#30).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKVN)
1 Are You Ready?--Pacific Gas & Electric (2nd week at #1)
2 Question--The Moody Blues
3 Spill the Wine--Eric Burdon and War
4 Get Ready--Rare Earth
5 Your Own Back Yard--Dion
6 Gimme Shelter--Merry Clayton
7 Ride Captain Ride--Blues Image
8 Teach Your Children--Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Ohio--Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
9 Mama Told Me (Not to Come)--Three Dog Night
10 Crazy Jane--Tom Northcott

Singles entering the chart were O-o-h Child by the Five Stairsteps (#28); Tighter, Tighter by Alive and Kicking (#29); and In the Summertime by Mungo Jerry (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Gimme Dat Ding--The Pipkins (2nd week at #1)
2 A Song of Joy (Himno a la Alegria)--Miguel Rios
3 Mississippi--John Phillips
4 The Long and Winding Road--The Beatles
5 Crazy Jane--Tom Northcott
6 Mama Told Me (Not to Come)--Three Dog Night
7 Canned Ham--Norman Greenbaum
8 Ride Captain Ride--Blues Image
9 Nothing Can Touch Me (Don't Worry Baby, It's Alright)--The Original Caste
10 Teach Your Children--Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Died on this date
Bjarni Benediktsson, 62. Prime Minister of Iceland, 1963-1970. Mr. Benediktsson, a member of the Independence Party, was Mayor of Reykjavik (1940-1947) and then served as Iceland's Foreign Minister, leading Iceland into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Mr. Benediktsson became Minister of Justice and Speaker of the Althing in 1959, and became leader of the Independence Party in 1961, serving as acting Prime Minister from September-December 1961. He succeeded Ólafur Thors as Prime Minister and served in that office until his death in a fire at a government summer house. His wife and grandson also died in the fire.

Personal
This blogger went fishing with his parents and others at Lac La Martre, Northwest Territories and caught three lake trout. On the flight home to Yellowknife, I sat in the co-pilot’s seat of the Beechcraft, and Bob Engle let me take the wheel for a few minutes--while the plane was in the air.

World events
The People’s Republic of China released U.S. Roman Catholic Bishop James Walsh, 79, after 12 years of solitary confinement in prison. He was released to Hong Kong officials. The Maryknoll missionary, from Cumberland, Maryland, had been arrested in Shanghai on October 18, 1958 and sentenced to 20 years in prison for espionage. At the time of his release the Chinese announced that Hugh Redmond, 50, a businessman from Yonkers, New York who had been imprisoned since 1954 for alleged espionage, had committed suicide on April 13.

Defense
U.S. sources in Cambodia reported that Thailand had assured the Cambodians that she would provide help for their defense if needed.

Education
U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell disclosed that the Justice Department had sued six more Florida school districts that day to complete action in that state against districts refusing to segregate. These, in addition to 46 districts sued the previous day, would, he said, mean that virtually all school districts in Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina would have complied voluntarily or would be involved in litigation by the time the fall term began. Also the U.S. Internal Revenue Service warned that the tax-exempt status of private schools continuing to practice racial discrimination in their admissions policies would be revoked under a new policy.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
British Columbia (0-2) @ Saskatchewan (1-0) 27

Baseball
Ron Santo doubled home Jim Hickman and scored on a 1-out single by Johnny Callison in the 2nd inning as the Chicago Cubs shut out the Philadelphia Phillies 2-0 before 22,399 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ferguson Jenkins (10-10) pitched a 5-hitter, while losing pitcher Grant Jackson (1-8) allowed 4 hits and 2 earned runs in 6.1 innings.

The Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves split a doubleheader before 44,804 fans at Atlanta Stadium, with the Braves winning the first game 11-9 and the Reds winning the second game 3-1. In the first game, Atlanta first baseman Orlando Cepeda hit 2 home runs, while losing pitcher Jim Merritt (14-7) hit his first homer of the season and Cincinnati shortstop Woody Woodward, playing in his 684th career major league game, hit his only major league home run, off Ron Reed. In the second game, all the scoring took place in the 9th inning. With 2 out and nobody on base, Dave Concepcion reached first base on an error by Atlanta shortstop Sonny Jackson, and catcher Pat Corrales hit a long drive that glanced off Hank Aaron's glove and went over the fence for a 2-run homer. It was Mr. Corrales' only home run of the season, and the fourth and last of his major league career. Mr. Woodward, batting for pitcher Tony Cloninger, drew a base on balls, and eventually scored on a single by Bobby Tolan. Pinch hitter Jimmie Hall homered to lead off the bottom of the 9th for Atlanta and Hank Aaron singled with 2 out, but Mr. Cepeda struck out to end the game. Cincinnati leadoff hitter Pete Rose of the Reds had 5 singles in as many at bats in the second game. Mr. Cloninger (2-2) allowed 4 hits in 8 innings and was credited with the win over George Stone (7-5), who allowed 12 hits and no earned runs in 8.2 innings.

Coco Laboy batted 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, a run, and 4 runs batted in to help the Montreal Expos defeat the New York Mets 9-7 before 29,394 fans at Shea Stadium in New York. Carl Morton (10-6) allowed 10 hits and 6 earned run in 7.1 innings to get the win over Jerry Koosman (5-5).

After Al Oliver led off the 9th inning with a home run to break a 2-2 tie, relief pitcher Dave Giusti tripled home John Jeter and Bill Mazeroski with 2 out and scored on a bunt single by Matty Alou as the Pittsburgh Pirates scored 4 runs and beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2 before 23,920 fans at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Mr. Giusti (6-0) pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in relief of Jim Nelson to get the win, while Bob Gibson (12-4) allowed 12 hits and 6 earned runs in a complete game loss.

The Los Angeles Dodgers held on to beat the San Diego Padres 9-7 before 18,888 fans at San Diego Stadium despite giving up 4 home runs and 5 runs in the 9th inning. Wes Parker led the Dodgers with 2 doubles and a triple. The Padres trailed 9-2 when Ivan Murrell, Ed Spiezio, and Dave Campbell all hit solo home runs off Los Angeles starting pitcher Bill Singer. Jose Pena then entered the game in relief of Mr. Singer and gave up a 2-run homer to Cito Gaston. Al Ferrara was then hit by a pitch, but Nate Colbert struck out to end the game.

Ed Brinkman bunted for a single with 1 out in the bottom of the 3rd inning and Frank Howard followed with a home run to provide the deciding runs as the Washington Senators edged the New York Yankees 2-1 before 16,225 fans at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. Dick Bosman (9-7) pitched a 4-hitter to outduel Steve Kline (0-1), who allowed 8 hits and 2 earned runs in a complete game, walking 1 batter and striking out 3, making 1 putout and 1 assist, and batting 0 for 2 in his first major league game.

Les Cain (9-2) allowed 4 hits and 2 earned runs in 6.2 innings and singled home 2 runs to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 4-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles before 44,568 fans at Tiger Stadium. Jim Palmer (12-6) allowed 9 hits and 3 earned runs in 6 innings to take the loss.

Ed Kirkpatrick hit a home run in each game for the Kansas City Royals as they swept a doubleheader from the Chicago White Sox 8-6 and 2-0 before 12,463 fans at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City.

Jim Fregosi's 2-run home run in the bottom of the 1st inning offset a run in the top of the 1st as the California Angels edged the Minnesota Twins 2-1 before 22,106 fans at Anaheim Stadium. Andy Messersmith (8-8) pitched a 6-hitter to outduel Jim Kaat (7-7), who allowed 7 hits and 2 earned runs in 6 innings.

30 years ago
1980

Died on this date
Joseph Krumgold, 72. U.S. author and screenwriter. Mr. Krumgold won Newbery Medals for his children's novels ...And Now Miguel (1953) and Onion John (1959), becoming the first two-time winner of the award. He wrote screenplays and stories for about 20 movies from 1935-1960, and died of a stroke.

Religion
Pope John Paul II continued his tour of Brazil, beginning the day in Fortaleza before moving on to Brazil.

Football
CFL
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers released running back Larry Washington, who had been held to 8 yards on 4 rushes and 5 yards on 1 pass reception in their season-opening loss in Edmonton the previous night. Mr. Washington had begun his Canadian Football League career with the Edmonton Eskimos in 1977. He was a sensation through the first 5 games of the season, but was injured prior to the next game, and fumbled 4 times in that game. After playing injured for 4 games, he went on the injured list. He experienced increasing pain, and ended up in hospital with pelvic inflammatory disease, which usually affects women. Mr. Washington didn’t return to the lineup until September 10, 1978, almost a year after going on the injured list. He played well for the first 2 games before his production slowed, and was put on the injured list again in October. Mr. Washington was cut by the Eskimos at the end of the pre-season in 1979, and was picked up by the Blue Bombers, where he was paired in the offensive backfield with Jim Washington (no relation). In 4 seasons in the CFL Larry Washington played just 21 games, rushing 203 times for 875 yards for a 4.3 average gain and 3 touchdowns. He caught 34 passes for 242 yards, an average gain of 7.1. The only other player I can think of with a similar injury is George Fleming, who set an American Football League record with a 54-yard field goal while playing for the Oakland Raiders in 1961 and led the CFL in scoring with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1963. A few weeks after setting a CFL record with a 55-yard field goal on August 7, 1964, he came up lame, played a few games, and then went on the injured list for the balance of the season when his kicking declined. In the pre-season of 1965, Mr. Fleming hadn’t fully recovered, with his kicking being particularly affected, and his career ended when he was cut at the end of the pre-season.

25 years ago
1985

Died on this date
Kai Holm, 89. Danish actor. Mr. Holm appeared in more than 40 movies and more than a dozen television programs in a career spanning almost 60 years.

Popular culture
Coca-Cola announced that it was bringing back the original Coke and calling it Coca-Cola Classic. The "new" Coke (Coca-Cola with a new, sweeter taste) had been introduced a couple of months earlier, apparently as a result of consumer taste tests. The new taste was quickly panned by many (including this blogger), who found it too sweet. One of the blunders that Coca-Cola made in this situation was in not telling consumers that a preference for the new taste meant that the old flavour would be done away with. A few weeks after the new Coke appeared, the Chicago Tribune’s Bob Greene, whose column was widely syndicated throughout North America, wrote a column blasting the new Coke as "a disaster," and suggested that they bring back the old flavour. Coca-Cola adopted Mr. Greene’s suggestion, and manufactured both flavours. Eventually (I’m not sure when), the new Coke quietly disappeared, and the word "classic" no longer appeared on bottles and cans of Coca-Cola. The company’s president, whose name I forget, kept his job despite being supervising one of the greatest marketing blunders in history.

Football
CFL
Calgary (0-1) 18 @ Montreal (2-0) 22

Rich Thomaselli rushed 2 yards for the winning touchdown at 7:25 of the 4th quarter as the Concordes rallied from a 15-0 deficit to defeat the Stampeders at Olympic Stadium.



20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Whose Law (Is it Anyway?)--Guru Josh

Politics and government
At the 28th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in Moscow, U.S.S.R. President Mikhail Gorbachev was re-elected as the party’s general secretary by a 3-1 margin.

Baseball
Major League All-Star Game @ Wrigley Field, Chicago
American League 2 National League 0

6 pitchers combined to hold the NL to 2 hits in a rain-delayed game before 39,071 fans. Julio Franco of the Texas Rangers drove in both runs in the 7th inning and was named the game's most valuable player.



10 years ago
2000

Politics and government
A national referendum confirmed Bashar al-Assad, son of the late President Hafez al-Assad, as the new President of Syria.

Ezer Weizman, who in May had announced his intention to resign, formally stepped down as President of Israel. Israel’s attorney general had found that Mr. Weizman had acted improperly in not revealing more than $300,000 in donations from a French businessman.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak survived a non-confidence vote in the Knesset. Three parties had withdrawn from his ruling coalition, fearing that Mr. Barak would give up too much in his forthcoming summit with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at Camp David, Maryland.

Business
European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company NV (EADS), the world's second-largest aerospace group, was formed by the merger of Aérospatiale-Matra, Daimler-Chrysler Aerospace (DASA), and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA).