July 31, 2010

260 years ago
1750

Died on this date
João V, 60. King of Portugal, 1706-1750. João V, known as "The Magnanimous" and the "Portuguese Sun King," acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Pedro II. He ruled as an absolute monarch, spending large amounts of money on architectural works and international embassies. He intervened in the affairs of other European nations, and pursued an expansionist policy, with significant territorial gains in America and India. João V died of dropsy, and was succeeded by his son José I.

220 years ago
1790

Technology
The first U.S. patent was issued to Samuel Hopkins of Vermont for a process of making fertilizer.

130 years ago
1880

Born on this date
Premchand. Indian author. Munshi Premchand, whose real name was Dhanpat Rai Shrivastava, was one of the most prominent Hindi writers of the 20th century, with works that included more than a dozen novels and about 300 short stories. He suffered from chronic ill health, and died on October 8, 1936 at the age of 56.

Heinrich Simon. German journalist. Dr. Simon, a Jewish refugee and writer of anti-Nazi editorials in Germany, died in Washington, D.C. on May 6, 1941 at the age of 60 after being beaten by unknown assailants.

100 years ago
1910

Born on this date
Gordon McNaughton. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. McNaughton played with the Boston Red Sox (1932), posting a record of 0-1 with a 6.43 earned run average in 6 games. He was 12-16 in 58 games in 4 seasons in the minor leagues (1933-1936). Mr. McNaughton lived a sordid private life, and was killed on August 6, 1942, six days after his 32nd birthday, when he was shot in a hotel room in Chicago by Mrs. Eleanor Williams, a former girlfriend.

Glenn Liebhardt. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Liebhardt, the son of a major league pitcher, played with the Philadelphia Athletics (1930) and St. Louis Browns (1936, 1938), posting a 0-1 record with an earned run average of 8.96 in 31 games, batting 0 for 13. He won at least 51 games and lost at least 35 in at least 158 games in 10 seasons in the minor leagues (1930-1939). Mr. Liebhardt died on March 14, 1992 at the age of 81.

Baseball
The Chicago Cubs swept a doubleheader from the St. Louis Cardinals 9-3 and 4-0 before 20,000 fans at Robison Field in St. Louis. Three Finger Brown (16-10) was the winning pitcher in the first game, and King Cole (10-2) pitched a no-hitter in the second game, which was stopped in the bottom of the 7th inning. The Cubs were batting and had the bases loaded with 1 out, but the game was called in order for both teams to make train connections to eastern cities. Eddie Higgins (0-1), who relieved starting pitcher Johnny Lush in the 2nd inning, allowed 11 hits and 6 runs in 8 innings in the 19th and last game of his 2-year major league career.

The Cleveland Naps scored a run in the top of the 11th inning to break a 4-4 tie as they defeated the St. Louis Browns 5-4 in the first game of a doubleheader at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Cy Falkenberg (10-8) pitched a 3-hitter for the Naps as they won the second game 2-0 to complete the sweep.

Ty Cobb's solo home run in the 5th inning broke a 5-5 tie and held up as the winning run as the Detroit Tigers edged the Chicago White Sox 6-5 before 21,000 fans at White Sox Park. The White Sox scored all their runs in the 4th inning against Bill Donovan (8-3), who pitched a 5-hit complete game victory.

80 years ago
1930

Died on this date
Hazel Johnson. The wife of Washington Nationals’ manager and former pitching great Walter Johnson died in Washington, suffering from heat exhaustion. She had driven to Washington from Kansas the previous week during the hottest month yet recorded in the United States. The Johnsons had five children.

Baseball
Lou Gehrig hit his 7th career major league grand slam, added 2 doubles, a sacrifice bunt, a base on balls, scored 3 runs, and drove in 8 for the New York Yankees as they edged the Boston Red Sox 14-13 before 6,000 fans at Fenway Park in Boston.

Bing Miller drew a base on balls with 1 out in the top of the 9th inning, advanced to second base on a single by Dib Williams, and scored from there on a single by Jimmy Dykes for the deciding run as the Philadelphia Athletics withstood a 3-run rally in the bottom of the 9th to defeat the Washington Nationals 4-3 before 8,000 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Joe Kuhel made his major league debut with Washington, drawing a base on balls as a pinch hitter in the 9th to load the bases and coming around to score. George Earnshaw (16-6) allowed 4 hits and 3 earned run in 8+ innings to get the win, outduelling Bump Hadley (9-7), who allowed 8 hits and 3 earned runs in 7 innings. Lefty Grove relieved Mr. Earnshaw and retired 3 straight batters to earn his first save of the season.

Dick Porter doubled with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning and Ed Morgan followed with a home run to give the Cleveland Indians a 5-3 win over the Detroit Tigers before 3,000 fans at League Park in Cleveland. Wes Ferrell (17-9) pitched an 8-hit complete game victory.

Garland Braxton (5-7) and Ted Lyons (17-9) were the respective winning pitchers for the Chicago White Sox as they swept a doubleheader from the St. Louis Browns 10-2 and 1-0 before 5,000 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

Larry French (12-13) pitched a 10-hit complete game and doubled home Dick Bartell with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals before 3,000 fans at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

75 years ago
1935

Baseball
Wes Ferrell hit 2 home runs in a game for the third time in his major league career as he pitched the Boston Red Sox to a 6-4 win over Bobo Newsom and the Washington Nationals.

Mel Harder of the Cleveland Indians also hit 2 home runs, but lost 6-4 to the Chicago White Sox.

70 years ago
1940

Died on this date
Udham Singh, 40. Indian criminal. Mr. Singh was a pro-independence activist who was hanged at Pentonville Prison in England for the March 13, 1940 assassination of Punjab Governor Michael O'Dwyer. Mr. O'Dwyer had been Governor when 379 unarmed Indians had been massacred at Amritsar in 1919, and his assassination was apparently in reprisal for this incident.

War
The United Kingdom announced the full application of its blockade to continental France. After telling the House of Commons that a crisis may soon be imminent, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill wrote to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt urgently requesting destroyers and seaplanes to beat back a German invasion. Japanese planes bombed Chungking for four hours, killing 80 people.

Diplomacy
The Japanese Foreign Office announced that it would arrest all foreigners suspected of espionage.

Politics and government
Chinese Communist leader Chou En-lai left Chungking for Yenan with a reported agreement to end the dispute between the Kuomintang and Communist parties in China.

Defense
The U.S. House of Representatives passed and sent to the Senate a national defense appropriations bill for rearmament of $4,963,151,957.

Oil
The U.S. State Department announced a flat ban on the export of aviation gasoline outside the Western Hemisphere.

Labour
Arthur J. Edwards charged that the system of recruiting southern U.S. Negroes to harvest summer crops in New Jersey amounted to a form of peonage.

Americana
Preliminary 1940 Census data indicated that the District of Columbia had registered the largest population gains of any major city in the decade 1930-1940.

60 years ago
1950

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Strange Case of John Kingman, starring John Baragrey, Oliver Cliff, and Philip Coolidge

This was a restaging of a story originally broadcast on March 6, 1950.

Literature
Ordeal by Slander by U.S. Far Eastern Affairs Adviser Owen Lattimore, a defense against U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy's (Republican--Wisconin) charges of disloyalty, was published in Boston by Little, Brown.

War
U.S. President Harry Truman ordered four National Guard divisions and two National Guard regimental combat teams to active duty within 30 days. He also authorized the Marine Corps to expand two divisions to full wartime strength of about 23,000 men.

Thailand closed its Burmese frontier in response to reports that Burmese troops were massing to drive a force of refugee Chinese troops into Thailand.

Diplomacy
The United Nations Security Council asked UN agencies to provide relief for Korean civilian war refugees, one million of whom had fled the area invaded by North Korean troops.

India and Nepal signed friendship and commercial treaties in Katmandu.

40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): In the Summertime--Mungo Jerry

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): The Wonder of You--Elvis Presley

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 In the Summertime--Mungo Jerry (2nd week at #1)
2 Cottonfields--The Beach Boys
3 Yellow River--Christie
4 Which Way You Goin' Billy?--The Poppy Family
5 Come Softly to Me--Percy Sledge
6 Working on a Good Thing--Outlet
7 Question--The Moody Blues
8 The Wedding--Jody Wayne
9 Groovin' with Mr. Bloe--Mr. Bloe
10 The Wonder of You--Elvis Presley

The only single entering the chart was A Song of Joy (Himno a la Alegria) by Miguel Rios (#20).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Band of Gold--Freda Payne
2 Spill the Wine--Eric Burdon and War
3 (They Long to Be) Close to You--Carpenters
4 In the Summertime--Mungo Jerry
5 Make it with You--Bread
6 Tighter, Tighter--Alive and Kicking
7 As the Years Go By--Mashmakhan
8 Are You Ready?--Pacific Gas & Electric
9 Snowbird--Anne Murray
10 Lay a Little Lovin' on Me--Robin McNamara

Singles entering the chart were Lookin' Out My Back Door/Long as I Can See the Light by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#24); Hi-De-Ho by Blood, Sweat & Tears (#25); I've Lost You by Elvis Presley (#28); I Want to Take You Higher by Ike & Tina Turner and the Ikettes (#29); and Big Yellow Taxi by the Neighborhood (#30).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKVN)
1 In the Summertime--Mungo Jerry
2 Spill the Wine--Eric Burdon and War
3 Hitchin' a Ride--Vanity Fare
4 (They Long to Be) Close to You--Carpenters
5 Cinnamon Girl--Neil Young with Crazy Horse
6 Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours--Stevie Wonder
7 Make it with You--Bread
8 Ohio--Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
9 Summertime Blues--The Who
10 Freedom Blues--Little Richard

Singles entering the chart were As the Years Go By by Mashmakhan (#13); Indiana Wants Me by R. Dean Taylor (#19); Lookin' Out My Back Door/Long as I Can See the Light by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#23); Ten Pound Note by Steel River (#28); Hi-De-Ho by Blood, Sweat & Tears (#29); and You Can't Deny It by Edward Bear (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Mama Told Me (Not to Come)--Three Dog Night
2 Spill the Wine--Eric Burdon and War
3 As the Years Go By--Mashmakhan
4 A Little Bit of Soap--Paul Davis
5 Gimme Dat Ding--The Pipkins
6 Hitchin' a Ride--Vanity Fare
7 (They Long to Be) Close to You--Carpenters
8 Pearl--Tommy Roe
9 I Just Can't Help Believing--B.J. Thomas
10 Indiana Wants Me--R. Dean Taylor

Died on this date
Anne de Leusse, 15. French girl. Miss de Leusse died of a rare form of collagen disease. Her story was told by her mother Claude de Leusse in the book For Love of Anne (1972).

Terrorism
Uruguayan terrorists kidnapped Dan Mitrione, 50, an official with the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Brazilian Consul Aloysio Mares Gomide, 41, in Montevideo.

Diplomacy
After a lengthy debate that precipitated a government split, Israel’s cabinet voted 17-6 to accept the Middle East peace proposal of U.S. Secretary of State William Rogers, which called for a 90-day standstill cease-fire between Israel and Egypt and negotiations conducted by Gunnar Jarring, Sweden’s Ambassador to the U.S.S.R., who had previously tried to bring the two sides together. The Gahal party, which favoured retention of all Arab land taken in the Six-Day War in 1967, cast the six votes against the Rogers proposal, and quit the government.

Defense
The U.K. Royal Navy observed Black Tot Day, the last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration.

Protest
In Amman, 25,000 demonstrators cheered a call by a Palestinian guerrilla leader for the "liberation" of all of Palestine and the rejection of the peace formula.

Hartford, Connecticut Mayor Ann Uccello declared a state of emergency, and the city was placed under a 9 P.M.-5 A.M. curfew to "limit the dangers to life and property" after three days of rioting by Negro and Puerto Rican youths. A 28-year-old Puerto Rican man was shot, reportedly by a policeman.

Football
CFL
Edmonton (0-1) 11 @ Saskatchewan (2-0) 23

The Roughriders ruined Ray Jauch’s regular season debut as a head coach as Jack Abendschan tied what was then a single game record with 5 field goals. The 13,960 fans at Taylor Field in Regina saw the Saskatchewan defense hold the Eskimos to 7 yards rushing. Former B.C. Lion Leroy Sledge, playing his first game as an Eskimo and his last in the CFL, carried 5 times for 7 yards and caught 1 pass for 5 yards. Former Calgary Stampeder flanker Jeff Atcheson also playing his first game as an Eskimo and his last in the CFL, catching 1 pass for 30 yards. Dave Cutler accounted for all of the Edmonton scoring with 3 field goals and 2 singles.

NFL
Pre-season
College All-Star Game @ Soldier Field, Chicago
Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) 24 College All-Stars 3

69,940 fans saw the Chiefs defeat the All-Stars. Boston University defensive back Bruce Taylor was named the All-Stars' Most Valuable Player.

Baseball
The Chicago Cubs swept a doubleheader from the Cincinnati Reds 7-1 and 11-3 before 50,056 fans at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Rookie sensation Wayne Simpson (14-3) was the Reds’ starting pitcher in the first game, but left after 3 innings with what turned out to be a torn rotator cuff. He pitched in only 2 games during the remainder of the season, and never fully recovered. Chicago second baseman Glenn Beckert batted 4 for 5 with 2 runs in the first game, while third baseman Ron Santo batted 4 for 4 with a base on balls, 2 doubles, 2 runs, and 3 runs batted in in the second game.

Bill Melton hit a sacrifice fly with none out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th inning to score Tom McCraw, climaxing a 2-run rally as the Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 5-4 before 5,467 fans at White Sox Park.

Bill Zepp relieved Pete Hamm (0-1) and promptly walked Elliott Maddox with 2 out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th inning, forcing Al Kaline home with the winning run as the Detroit Tigers edged the Minnesota Twins 10-9 before 35,247 fans at Tiger Stadium. The Twins scored 6 runs ini the 6th to take a 6-3 lead, but the Tigers responded with 6 in the 7th. Bob Allison came to bat as a pinch hitter for Minnesota with 2 out in the top of the 9th and hit a 2-run home run to tie the score 9-9; it was his only home of the season, and the 256th and last of his major league career.

Jay Johnstone's single leading off the 3rd inning was the only hit off Sonny Siebert (11-5) as the pitched the Boston Red Sox to a 2-0 win over the California Angels before 36,160 fans at Anaheim Stadium. Mike Andrews hit a solo home run in the 3rd inning to provide the winning run, and Carl Yastrzemski added a solo homer in the 4th off Tom Murphy (11-7), who allowed 10 hits in a complete game.

30 years ago
1980

Protest
Three days of racial violence in Orlando, Florida concluded.

Business
Chrysler Corporation reported the greatest loss ever by a U.S. car maker: $536.1 million during the second quarter of 1980.

Journalism
The Albertan published its last edition. The Calgary morning newspaper had been bought by the Toronto Sun chain, and began publishing on August 1 as The Calgary Sun.

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Hanky Panky--Madonna

Died on this date
Albert Leduc, 87. Canadian hockey player. Mr. Leduc, a native of Valleyfield Quebec who was nicknamed "Battleship," was a defenceman with the Montreal Canadiens (1925-33, 1934-35); Ottawa Senators (1933-34); and New York Rangers (1933-34), scoring 93 points on 58 goals and 35 assists in 384 regular season games and 5 goals and 6 assists in 28 Stanley Cup games. He was a member of the Canadiens' Stanley Cup championship teams of 1929-30 and 1930-31.

Protest
Oka, Quebec Mayor Jean Ouellette got the Oka Town Council to reject a $1.34-million federal offer to buy disputed land for Mohawks, and $2.5 million compensation to town for lost economic opportunities.

Labour
16,000 Ontario and Quebec steel workers walked off the job at the Stelco and Algoma steel plants.

Baseball
Nolan Ryan picked up his 300th career major league victory as the Texas Rangers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 11-3 before 51,533 fans at County Stadium in Milwaukee.





10 years ago
2000

Politics and government
Moshe Katsav, a member of the opposition Likud Party who had once been the youngest mayor in Israel, was elected the country’s President by a vote of 63-57 on the second ballot in the Knesset. His opponent was former Prime Minister Shimon Peres, an ally of current Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Mr. Katsav, a native of Iran, became the first Israeli President to have been born in an Islamic country.

The U.S. Republican National Convention opened at First Union Center in Philadelphia. The party platform struck a relatively moderate tone, although it kept strong language opposing abortion rights and advocating that such opposition be required of nominees for federal courts. General Colin Powell delivered the keynote speech and said he believed that presumptive presidential nominee George W. Bush's commitment to "compassionate conservatism" could help bring the races together.

Law
The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that Canada’s federal law prohibiting the possession of marijuana was unconstitutional because it failed to recognize that some people with chronic illnesses could use marijuana as medicine. The court gave the federal government one year to amend the law.

Business
CanWest Global Communications Corporation announced a $3.5-billion takeover of all the major Canadian newspapers held by Conrad Black’s Hollinger Inc.