July 22, 2010

100 years ago
1910

475 years ago
1535

Born on this date
Katarina Stenbock. Queen consort of Sweden, 1552-1560. Katarina, the niece of King Gustav I's second wife, Queen Margaret, became Queen consort when she became his thrid wife in 1552. The couple had no children, but Queen Katarina served as a mediator of disputes between King Gustav and his children. Gustav I died in 1560, and was succeeded by Erik XIV, his son from his first marriage. Katarina spent the rest of her life as a Dowager Queen. She died on December 13, 1621 at the age of 86.

470 years ago
1540

Died on this date
John I, 53. King of Hungary, 1526-1540; Voivode of Transylvania, 1511-1540. John Zápolya was proclaimed King of Hungary by the Diet in November 1526. He died nine days after his wife Princess Isabella Jagiełło of Poland gave birth to their son John Sigismund.

190 years ago
1820

Born on this date
Oliver Mowat. Canadian politician. Sir Oliver, a native of Kingston, Upper Canada, was a lawyer who articled under John A. Macdonald, but the two eventually became political rivals. He was a Reformer in the 1830s, but later helped to found the Ontario Liberal Party and the Liberal Party of Canada. He entered politics as an alderman in Toronto in 1857, and then represented Ontario South in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada (1858-1864), holding several cabinet posts. Sir Oliver served as vice-Chancellor of the Court of Chancery of Upper Canada (1864-1872), and then re-entered provincial politics, representing Oxford in the Ontario Legislative Assembly and serving as Premier and Attorney General of Ontario (1872-1896), the longest tenure as Premier in the province's history. His time in office was characterized by his consistently successful defense of the constitutional rights of the provinces, in opposition to the strong federal government preferred by Sir John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party and government. Sir Oliver resigned as Premier in order to enter federal politics; when Wilfrid Laurier led the Liberals to victory in the 1896 federal election, he appointed Sir Oliver to the Senate, serving as Government Leader in the Senate, while also holding the offices of Minister of Justice and Attorney General in Mr. Laurier's cabinet (1896-1897). Sir Oliver left politics in November 1897 to accept the office of Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario; he died in office on April 19, 1903 at the age of 82.

100 years ago
1910

Born on this date
George Caithamer. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Caithamer was a catcher with the Chicago White Sox (1934), batting .316 (6 for 19) in 5 games with no home runs and 3 runs batted in. He played at least 419 games in at least 6 seasons in the minor leagues (1929-1937), with at least 34 homers. Mr. Caithamer died on June 1, 1954 at the age of 43.

Baseball
Deacon Phillippe (6-1) pitched the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 14-1 win over the Brooklyn Superbas before 2,578 fans at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, aiding his cause with an inside-the-park grand slam off Fred Miller in the 2nd inning. Mr. Phillippe pitched a 6-hitter, and added a single, run, and sacrifice. Happy Smith was unsuccessful in at bat for the Superbas as a pinch hitter in the 3rd inning in his 35th and last major league game.

The Cleveland Naps scored a run in the top of the 9th inning to break a 6-6 tie as they edged the Philadelphia Athletics 7-6 in the first game of a doubleheader at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Heinie Berger started on the mound for Cleveland, allowing 7 hits and 4 runs in 6 innings, walking 5 batters and striking out none, while batting 1 for 2 with a double, being hit by a pitch, and scoring a run in the 90th and last game of his 4-year major league career. Philadelphia's Chief Bender pitched a 7-hitter and Cleveland's Cy Falkenberg allowed 13 hits as both pitchers went the distance in the second game, which was called because of darkness with the teams tied 1-1 after 15 innings.

The New York Highlanders scored 4 runs in the 7th inning and 5 in the 8th as they came back from an 8-2 deficit to defeat the Detroit Tigers 11-8 before 8,000 fans at Hilltop Park in New York. Detroit center fielder Ty Cobb batted 2 for 2 with 2 bases on balls, a triple, 2 runs, and 4 runs batted in.

80 years ago
1930

Baseball
Bob Seeds and Charlie Jamieson hit consecutive run-scoring singles with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Cleveland Indians a 6-5 win over the New York Yankees in the first game of a doubleheader before 19,500 fans at League Park in Cleveland. Cleveland center fielder Earl Averill batted 4 for 5 with 2 home runs and 5 runs batted in, with his second homer breaking an 8-8 tie in the bottom of the 8th as the Indians won the second game 10-8 to complete the sweep.

Pitcher George Uhle, sent to bat as a pinch hitter in the 8th inning, drove in 2 runs with a single off Lefty Grove (13-4) to lift the Detroit Tigers to a 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Athletics before 4,000 fans at Navin Field in Detroit. Chief Hogsett (8-6) was the winning pitcher.

Phil Collins (10-3) singled in a run in the 2nd inning and hit home runs in the 4th and 5th while pitching a 12-hit complete game to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to an 11-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates before 1,500 fans at National League Park in Philadelphia. The teams combined for 29 hits and 7 bases on balls, but the game was completed in 1 hour 59 minutes.

75 years ago
1935

Died on this date
William Mulholland, 79. U.K.-born U.S. engineer. Mr. Mulholland, a native of Belfast, was a sailor who disembarked in the United States in 1874, settling in Los Angeles in 1877. He was a self-taught civil engineer who was responsible for building the infrastructure to bring water to Los Angeles from elsewhere in California, enabling it to become the state's largest city. Mr. Mulholland supervised the building of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, which opened in 1913. The effort to bring water to Los Angeles was opposed by residents of the Owens Valley, resulting in the California water wars of the 1920s, which included acts of vandalism by the valley residents against parts of the system. Mr. Mulholland was responsible for the design of the St. Francis Dam in San Francisquito Canyon; the dam was completed in 1926. Mr. Mulholland increased the dam's height by 20 feet after the start of construction, without a corresponding increase in the width of the dam's base; this error contributed significantly to the dam's collapse just before midnight on March 12, 1928, triggering a flood that killed at least 431 people in the surrounding area. Mr. Mulholland and an assistant had inspected the dam just 12 hours before it burst; he accepted sole blame for the disaster, which virtually ended his career, but was never criminally charged. He died from a stroke.

Baseball
Wes Ferrell pitched and hit his way to a win, hitting a game-ending home run in the bottom of the 9th inning as the Boston Red Sox edged the St. Louis Browns 2-1 at Fenway Park in Boston.

70 years ago
1940

On the radio
Forecast: Suspense, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Lodger, starring Herbert Marshall

This was an audition broadcast of Suspense, which didn't begin airing as a series until 1942. Alfred Hitchcock directed the broadcast, which was an adaptation of a story that he had directed as a silent movie in 1926, and which had been his first suspense thriller and had become his first commercial success.

Died on this date
George Fuller, 79. Australian politician. Sir George began his political career of nearly four decades free from party affiliation, but was later a member of several different parties. He represented Kiama (1889-1894) and Wollondilly (1915-1928) in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, serving as Colonial Secretary (1916-1920) and taking the leadership of the Nationalist Party in 1917. On December 20, 1921, the N.S.W. government of Premier James Dooley lost a non-confidence vote, and Sir George was asked to form a government. Just seven hours later, his government was defeated on a non-confidence vote, and Mr. Dooley's Labour Party resumed governing. Sir George led the Nationalists to victory in the 1922 state election, and he served as Premier until 1925. Between his times in state politics, Sir George was in federal politics, representing Illawarra in the Australian Parliament (1901-1913). He served as Minister for Home Affairs (1909-1910) in the Commonwealth Liberal Party cabinet of Prime Minister Alfred Deakin, and was responsible for making Canberra the national capital. Sir George was N.S.W. Agent-General in London (1928-1931), and then returned to Australia.

Albert Young, 62. U.S. boxer. Mr. Young won the gold medal in the Summer Olympic Games in St. Louis in 1904 in the welterweight division. He later promoted fights in his native San Francisco. Mr. Young died after years of suffering from anemia and ulcers.

War
U.K. Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax answered German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler's speech of three days earlier, saying that Great Britain would not succumb to force. The U.K. reinforced its Gibraltar garrison and evacuated civilians to Morocco and Madeira. A system of conscription of all single men went into effect in New Zealand. Governor General Pierre Ryckmans said in Elizabethville that the Belgian Congo would support the United Kingdom against the Axis.

Diplomacy
At the Pan-American Consultative Conference in Havana, U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull suggested a "collective trusteeship" for European territories in the Western Hemisphere.

Politics and government
18 U.S. Senators from the Democratic Party indicated that they would not actively campaign for the party in the 1940 fall elections in protest at Franklin D. Roosevelt seeking a third term as President of the United States, and his selection of Henry Wallace as his vice presidential running mate.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced that he had asked Congress to increase the capital and lending power of the Export-Import Bank to $700 million and to make it easier for the bank to issue credits to Latin American countries.

Baseball
The Chicago Cubs bought notoriously lazy-fielding first baseman Zeke Bonura from the Washington Nationals for $10,000. He was batting .273 with 3 home runs and 45 runs batted in in 79 games with Washington in 1940.

60 years ago
1950

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Music! Music! Music!--Donald Peers; Freddy Martin and his Orchestra; Teresa Brewer (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Mona Lisa--Nat "King" Cole (Best Seller--2nd week at #1; Disc Jockey--3rd week at #1; Jukebox--1st week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Bewitched--Bill Snyder and his Orchestra (3rd week at #1)
--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra
--Doris Day
--Larry Green and his Orchestra
--Jan August & Jerry Murad’s Harmonicats
2 I Wanna Be Loved--The Andrews Sisters
--Billy Eckstine
3 Mona Lisa--Nat "King" Cole
--Victor Young and his Orchestra (Don Cherry, vocal)
--Art Lund
4 "The Third Man" Theme--Anton Karas
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
5 My Foolish Heart--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra
--Billy Eckstine
--Mindy Carson
6 Sentimental Me--The Ames Brothers
--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra
--Ray Anthony and his Orchestra
7 Hoop-Dee-Doo--Perry Como
--Kay Starr
--Doris Day
8 The Old Piano Roll Blues--Hoagy Carmichael and Cass Daley
--Lawrence "Piano Roll" Cook
9 Roses--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
10 Count Every Star--Hugo Winterhalter and his Orchestra
--Ray Anthony and his Orchestra
--Dick Haymes and Artie Shaw

Singles entering the chart were Sam's Song (The Happy Tune) (#14, charting with the version by Joe "Fingers" Carr and the Carr-Hops)/Play a Simple Melody (#20, charting with the version by Jo Stafford) by Gary Crosby and Friend; Gone Fishin', with versions by Bill Darnel; and Arthur Godfrey (#26); Goodnight Irene by Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra and the Weavers (#39); and No Other Love by Jo Stafford (#40). Gary Crosby’s "Friend" was his father Bing. Goodnight Irene was the other side of Tzena, Tzena, Tzena (#11, charting with the versions by Mitch Miller and his Orchestra; and Vic Damone).

Died on this date
William Lyon Mackenzie King, 75. Prime Minister of Canada, 1921-1926; 1926-1930; 1935-1948. Dr. King, who received his doctorate in political economy from Harvard University, was Canada's Deputy Minister of Labour (1900-1908) before entering federal politics as a member of the Liberal Party, representing Waterloo North (1908-1911); Prince (1919-1921); York North (1921-1925); Prince Albert (1925-1945); and Glengarry (1945-1948) in the House of Commons. He served as Canada’s Minister of Labour (1909-1911) in the cabinet of Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, and assumed the party’s leadership upon Sir Wilfrid's death in 1919. Dr. King’s book Industry and Humanity (1918) is said to be an excellent cure for insomnia, capable of putting the reader into deep slumber for hours. Dr. King led the Liberals to victory in the 1921 federal election, leading a minority government. The Conservative party, led by Arthur Meighen, achieved a plurality of seats in the 1925 federal election, but Dr. King's Liberals maintained power with the support of the Progressive Party. The Liberals briefly lost power to the Conservatives in 1926 in the "King-Byng Affair," but the resulting election returned a Liberal majority. When the Depression set in in 1930, Dr. King's Liberals were unseated by R.B. Bennett's Conservatives, but regained power in a landslide electoral victory in 1935, and were never seriously threatened during the remainder of his time in office, which ended with his retirement in November 1948. Dr. King led the Canadian government through the later years of the Depression and World War II, overseeing a tremendous mobilization for the war, and adjustment to postwar conditions. He advocated greater Canadian independence from Britain in foreign policy; some of his policies, such as restrictive immigration and internment of Japanese-Canadians during World War II, remain controversial. Dr. King's 22 years as Prime Minister set a British Empire/Commonwealth record for longevity. He wouldn’t recognize the country today; what he knew as Canada is today more accurately called, in Mark Steyn’s word, Trudeaupia. Dr. King made a speech in London in 1941 in which he said that Canada was fighting World War II to reserve Christian and democratic ideals. He wrote in his diary in 1945 that he was grateful that the atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese instead of on the white races of Europe. The country that Mackenzie King governed and left behind was a white, mostly English speaking nation that used imperial measurements and flew the Red Ensign and Union Jack, that executed murderers, and prohibited abortion and sodomy. Dr. King and his immediate successor, Louis St. Laurent, did nothing to change this. They would be considered far-right extremists today and would likely be unwelcome in what passes for the Liberal Party of Canada in 2010.

War
The U.S. Air Force reported that air attacks on enemy supply lines through Korea had cut Communist supply movements to "near minimum," but cautioned that this would not be felt for a month at the front.

World events
Bolivian troops put down a socialist coup attempt.

After six years in exile in Switzerland, King Leopold III of Belgium returned to Brussels amidst heavy security precautions against socialist demonstrations.

Americana
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the population had risen by nearly 19 million since 1945, to 150,520,198.

Medicine
Delegates to the American Heart Association meeting in San Francisco heard a report that community-wide epidemics of rheumatic heart disease may be preventable with penicillin.

Economics and finance
Canada reported soaring food prices and a wave of "scare buying" because of the Korean War.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Please Don't Tease--Cliff Richard and the Shadows

Baseball
Vic Wertz drove in 4 runs, 3 of them on a home run, to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 6-4 win over the Cleveland Indians before 25,595 fans at Fenway Park in Boston. Ted Williams added a home run for the Red Sox and also stole a base, becoming the first major league player to record a stolen base in 4 different decades. Jimmy Piersall hit 2 home runs for the Indians off winning pitcher Ike Delock (5-3). Mike de la Hoz made his major league debut as Cleveland's starting shortstop, batting 1 for 3, and making 3 putouts and 2 assists in 7 innings.

The Milwaukee Braves hit 4 home runs to 2 for the Chicago Cubs, but the Cubs won 8-7 before 16,739 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ernie Banks and Ron Santo homered for the Cubs, with Joe Adcock and Hank Aaron homering for the Braves before the 9th inning, in which pinch hitter Eddie Haas led off with his only major league home runs, and Eddie Mathews homered with 2 out and the bases empty.

40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): All Right Now--Free (3rd week at #1)

War
In the first fighting reported since the beginning of a U.S. and South Vietnamese offensive into enemy base areas within South Vietnam, a battle around a small hilltop artillery outpost near the Ashau Valley resulted in the deaths of at least 13 American soldiers.

Terrorism
Six Palestinian commandos, members of the Popular Struggle Front, hijacked a Greek Olympic passenger jet after takeoff from Beirut and, after negotiations with Greek officials in Athens, agreed to let the 55 passengers and crew get off in exchange for a promise to release seven Arab guerrillas in Greek jails.

Scandal
A jury in Trenton, New Jersey convicted former Newark Mayor Hugh Addonizio and four others on 64 counts each, one of conspiracy and 63 of extortion, in a $1,400,000 kickback scheme against Newark contractors.

Disasters
At least 500 Hindu pilgrims were believed drowned when a flooded river in the Himalayan foothills swept 25 buses, 5 taxis, and an army vehicle carrying 800 from Badrinath into a gorge.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Saskatchewan (2-2) 21 @ Edmonton (2-2) 25

30 years ago
1980

Died on this date
Ali Akbar Tabatabai. Iranian diplomat. A former press attaché at the Iranian Embassy in Washington, Mr. Tabatabai was shot to death at his home in Bethesda, Maryland by an assassin disguised as a postal worker. Notified that there was special-delivery mail for him, Mr. Tabatabai came to the door and was shot in the abdomen several times. Within an hour of the shooting, investigators found a U.S. Postal Service jeep abandoned two blocks from Mr. Tabatabai’s home. The postal carrier driving the vehicle said he had been approached by three men who forced him to surrender the jeep.

Protest
Two members of the Ku Klux Klan were acquitted in Chattanooga, Tennessee of shooting and wounding four Negro women, while a third Klansman was convicted on the reduced charge of assault. Shortly after the verdicts were announced, firebombings and throwing of stones and bottles began, and the violence lasted for three nights.

Weather
A ferocious thunderstorm struck Edmonton in the evening, the best this blogger had yet seen.

Football
CFL
Hamilton (1-1) 14 @ Montreal (1-2) 17
Winnipeg (0-3) 6 @ British Columbia (2-0) 26

Backup quarterback Gerry Dattilio directed the Alouettes to 17 points in the last 5 minutes and 12 seconds of the game, handing off to Skip Walker for 1 touchdown and rushing for another himself, both converted by Don Sweet. Mr. Sweet finished the comeback with a 38-yard field goal with 8 seconds remaining, sending 32,048 fans home from Olympic Stadium happy. Montreal’s starting quarterback, Joe Barnes, completed just 2 of 10 passes for 10 yards and 2 interceptions. Mr. Walker rushed 17 times for 117 yards. Hamilton quarterback Bruce Lemmerman completed 7 of 11 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown to Leif Pettersen. Neither offense could get much going: The Tiger-Cats picked up just 8 first downs and 232 yards net offense, while the Alouettes earned just 10 first downs and 163 yards net offense--mostly in the last few minutes.

Leon Bright amassed 98 yards in punt returns and 96 in kickoff returns to help the Lions defeat the Blue Bombers before 23,214 at Empire Stadium in Vancouver. Joe Paopao completed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Al Charuk for one B.C. touchdown, while their other major score came on a 65-yard punt return by Harry Holt in the 3rd quarter.

Baseball
Bob Horner hit 2 home runs to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 7-5 win over the Montreal Expos before 37,108 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Mr. Horner’s homers gave him 15 in his last 23 games and 13 for July.

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): U Can't Touch This/Dancin' Machine--MC Hammer

#1 single in Switzerland: Verdammt - ich lieb' dich--Matthias Reim (3rd week at #1)

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Verdammt - ich lieb' dich--Matthias Reim (2nd week at #1)
2 I Promised Myself--Nick Kamen
3 Ooops Up--Snap!
4 I Can't Stand It!--Twenty 4 Seven featuring Capt. Hollywood
5 Insieme: 1992--Toto Cutugno
6 Hey, Wickie--Der Schreckliche Sven & die tollkühnen Plattenreiter
7 What's a Woman?--Vaya Con Dios
8 Alle meine Lieda--Remix-Poidl
9 Kingston Town--UB40
10 Black Velvet--Alannah Myles

Singles entering the chart were Whose Law (Is it Anyway) by Guru Josh (#20); and Dirty Cash (Money Talks) by the Adventures of Stevie V (#30).

Died on this date
Manuel Puig, 57. Argentine author. Mr. Puig, born Juan Manuel Puig Delledonne, was known for the novels La traición de Rita Hayworth (Betrayed by Rita Hayworth) (1968); Boquitas pintadas (Heartbreak Tango) (1969); and El beso de la mujer araña (Kiss of the Spider Woman) (1976). He moved to Mexico in 1973 when he figured that his leftist political views were about to become unfashionable in Argentina, and died there of a heart attack after undergoing gall bladder surgery.

Golf
Nick Faldo shot a 1-under-par 71 in the final round to win the British Open on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland with an 18-under-par total of 270, 5 strokes ahead of Mark McNulty and Payne Stewart. First prize money was £85,000 ($153,850).



Cycling
Greg LeMond of the United States won the Tour de France for the second straight year and the third time in five years. He finished 2 minutes 16 seconds ahead of runner-up Claudio Chiappucci of Italy.



Died on this date
Eric Christmas, 84. U.K.-born actor. Mr. Christmas was a character actor who appeared in numerous plays, movies, and television programs in a career spanning six decades. He moved to Canada in 1948, working with the comedy team Wayne and Shuster, and performing at the Stratford Festival from 1957-1970. Mr. Christmas spent his later years in San Diego.

Claude Sautet, 76. French director and screenwriter. Mr. Sautet was known for films such as Les choses de la vie (The Things of Life) (1970); Vincent, Paul, François, et les Autres (Vincent, François, Paul and the Others) (1974); Une Histoire simple (A Simple Story) (1978); and Un cœur en hiver (A Heart in Winter) (1992). He died of liver cancer.

Baseball
Rookie Andy Tracy hit a grand slam and drove in 7 runs to lead the Montreal Expos to a 17-7 win over the Florida Marlins before 15,476 fans at Pro Player Stadium in Miami.

The Minnesota Twins defeated the Cleveland Indians 10-6 before 14,108 fans at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, as Cleveland shortstop Omar Vizquel’s American League record errorless streak ended at 95 games.