July 7, 2010

490 years ago
1520

War
Spanish conquistadors defeated a larger Aztec army in the Battle of Otumba in Mexico.

340 years ago
1670

Americana
Governor Hector d'Andigné de Grandfontaine took possession of Acadia from Thomas Temple in Boston, as agreed by the Treaty of Bréda, and established the capital of Acadia at Pentagouet (Castine, Maine) as a defense against English encroachment.

240 years ago
1770

War
The naval Battle of Chesma between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire concluded with a decisive Russian victory in the area between the western tip of Anatolia and the island of Chios. On the same day, Russian forces defeated Ottoman forces in the Battle of Larga in eastern Moldavia.

220 years ago
1790

Died on this date
François Hemsterhuis, 68. Dutch philosopher. Mr. Hemsterhuis wrote on aesthetics and moral philosophy. His philosophy has been characterized as Socratic in content and Platonic in form; its foundation was the desire for self-knowledge and truth, untrammelled by the rigid bonds of any particular system.

180 years ago
1830

Defense
The Saint John County Militia in New Brunswick, under Lieutenant-Colonel Simonds, announced the formation of a separate African Company of the First Battalion comprised of "all the people of Color."

150 years ago
1860

Born on this date
Gustav Mahler. Austrian composer and conductor. Mr. Mahler was one of the leading conductors of his day, with appointments in Prague, Leipzig, Budapest, Hamburg, Vienna, and New York in a career spanning 30 years. He was a Romantic composer whose works weren't widely appreciated in his lifetime, but are now performed regularly. Mr. Mahler wrote nine complete symphonies and part of a tenth, and composed many songs and choral works. He died of the heart ailment bacterial endocarditis on May 18, 1911 at the age of 50.

Abraham Cahan. Lithuanian-born U.S. writer. Mr. Cahan became involved in radical circles as a teenager, and emigrated to New York at the age of 21. He co-founded the Yiddish-language newspaper The Forward in 1897 and was its editor-in-chief from 1903-1946, using it to promote socialism. Mr. Cahan died of congestive heart failure on August 31, 1951 at the age of 91.

130 years ago
1880

Born on this date
Otto Frederick Rohwedder. U.S. engineer. Mr. Rohwedder invented a bread-slicing machine in 1927, and commercially sold the first loaf of sliced bread on July 7, 1928, his 48th birthday. In 1933 he sold his patent rights to Micro-Westco Co. of Bettendorf, Iowa and joined the company, retiring in 1951. Mr. Rohwedder died on November 8, 1960 at the age of 80.

120 years ago
1890

Died on this date
Henri Nestlé, 75. German-born Swiss businessman. Mr. Nestlé, born Heinrich Nestle, was one of the creators of condensed milk, and founded the Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé company in 1866.

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Maria Bard. German actress. Miss Bard was a stage actress who appeared in several films, including Berlin-Alexanderplatz (1931). She committed suicide on April 8, 1944 at the age of 43, reportedly for political reasons.

Baseball
Kid Nichols earned his 300th career major league win and had 2 of his team's 19 hits as the Boston Beaneaters beat the Chicago Orphans 11-4 at West Side Park in Chicago. Nixey Callahan took the loss.

80 years ago
1930

Died on this date
Arthur Conan Doyle, 71. U.K. author, physician, and sportsman. Sir Arthur, a native of Edinburgh, was a physician whose medical practice allowed him enough free time to write fiction. He began publishing short stories in 1879, but was best known for creating the detective Sherlock Holmes in 1887, eventually writing four Sherlock Holmes novels and 56 Holmes short stories. Sir Arthur's other well-known fictional characters were Professor George Edward Challenger--featured in the novel The Lost World (1912) and several other works--and Brigadier Gerard, who was featured in 17 humourous adventure stories. Sir Arthur thought that too much attention was paid by readers to Sherlock Holmes, and he regarded the historical novels The White Company (1891) and Sir Nigel (1905-1906) as his best works. Sir Arthur was a keen public advocate of spiritualism in his later years, attending seances, delivering lectures, and writing books such as his last, The Edge of the Unknown (1930). He died of a heart attack. For more on the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Professor Challenger, and Brigadier Gerard, go to Conan Doyle Info.

75 years ago
1935

Baseball
Dizzy and Daffy Dean were the respective winning pitchers as the St. Louis Cardinals swept a doubleheader from the Cincinnati Reds 9-4 and 5-1 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Dizzy relieved Jesse Haines in the 4th inning of game 1, and singled as part of a 5-run 5th inning. Daffy pitched a 7-hitter in game 2.

Lou Gehrig hit a grand slam and drove in 5 runs, and Tony Lazzeri hit a 3-run home run and drove in 6 runs as the New York Yankees whipped the Washington Nationals 11-1.

St. Louis Browns' pitchers handed out 11 bases on balls as the Browns lost 12-5 to the Detroit Tigers. Hank Greenberg hit a double and triple for the Tigers and drove in 3 runs, giving him 100 RBIs for the season. Moose Solters hit home runs in his first 3 plate appearances to account for all the Browns' runs. The win was the 10th straight for the Tigers.

Mel Ott's grand slam helped Carl Hubbell to his 10th win of the season as the New York Giants beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 9-2 to take a 6½-game lead in the National League at the all-star break.

70 years ago
1940

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Ringo Starr!

World events
U.S. Marines arrested 16 armed Japanese gendarmes for trespasssing on U.S. property in Shanghai.

Diplomacy
Reports from London indicated that the U.S.S.R. had told Japan that it desired to keep the Burma Road open.

Politics and government
Voters in Mexico chose between Manuel Ávila Camacho of the Institutional Revolutionary Party and Juan Andreu Almazán of the National Action Party (with support from the Laborist Party) in the country's presidential election, with the results to be announced six days later.

The All-India National Congress demanded that the United Kingdom state unequivocally that she would grant India total independence.

Argentine police allegedly uncovered plans for a pro-Nazi insurrection.

Abominations
Romanian Culture Minister Horia Sima prohibited Jewish actors and musicians from performing in public.

Baseball
At a meeting of National League club owners in St. Louis, NL President Ford Frick proposed batting helmets for hitters, admitting that he'd received a lukewarm response from managers and players he'd polled on the subject.

The Boston Bees swept a doubleheader from the Brooklyn Dodgers 1-0 and 2-1 before 21,928 fans at National League Park in Boston. Manuel Salvo outdueled Whit Wyatt in the first game, while Dick Coffman was the winning pitcher in the second game.

The Cincinnati Reds edged the Chicago Cubs 4-3 before 23,193 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago to move past the Brooklyn Dodgers into first place in the National League.

60 years ago
1950

At the movies
The Second Woman, directed by James V. Kern, and starring Robert Young and Betsy Drake, opened in theatres.



Once a Thief, directed by W. Lee Wilder, and starring Cesar Romero, June Havoc, Marie McDonald, and Lon Chaney, Jr., opened in theatres.



El hombre sin rostro (The Faceless Man), written and directed by Juan Bustillo Oro, and starring Arturo de Córdova, Carmen Molina, Miguel Ángel Ferriz, and Matilde Palou, opened in theatres in Mexico.



Died on this date
Fats Navarro, 26. U.S. musician. Theodore Navarro was a jazz trumpeter and composer in the 1940s who performed with the big bands of musicians such as Benny Goodman, Billy Eckstine, and Lionel Hampton, and with smaller combos of musicians such as Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, and Bud Powell. He developed tuberculosis, a weight problem, and a heroin addiction, and the combination ultimately killed him.

War
The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution authorizing the United States to appoint General Douglas MacArthur as commander of UN forces in Korea, which were permitted to fly the UN flag. U.S. President Harry Truman authorized the armed forces to use the draft if necessary to build up enough strength to meet the Korean crisis.

Defense
U.S. President Truman urged Congress to authorize $260 million for hydrogen bomb and other atomic weapon development; it was the first request for H-bomb funds.

Education
The U.S. National Education Association ended a six-day convention in New York after passing resolutions barring Communists from membership and urging that Communists also be barred from teaching. It advocated federal aid for public schools, but opposed the use of public funds for parochial schools.

Economics and finance
A meeting in Paris of 17 Western European states unanimously accepted a U.S.-endorsed proposal for the creation of a European Payments Union. The clearing-house would make the currencies of its members interconvertible.

The U.S. Reconstruction Finance Corporation ordered the reactivation of three government-owned synthetic rubber plants in the face of rising natural rubber prices and uncertainty of supply from the Far East.

Labour
The International Labor Organization reported that Panama had promised toimprove working conditions on its merchant marine ships.

Sport
Jack Walsh of Trenton, New Jersey set a world weightlifting record of 4,235 pounds (on his back).

Golf
Bobby Locke shot a 2-under-par 68 in the final round to win the British Open at Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland with a 1-under-par total score of 279, a record low total at the time. He finished 2 strokes ahead of Roberto De Vicenzo.





50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Good Timin'--Jimmy Jones

40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Kvällstoppen): Pretty Belinda--Chris Andrews (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): El Cóndor Pasa--Simon & Garfunkel (3rd week at #1)

Canadiana
Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, and Princess Anne visited Yellowknife as part of their Canadian tour, helping to celebrate the centennial of the Northwest Territories. This blogger was one of the Cub Scouts at the airport to meet the royal party. I shook hands with their Royal Highnesses Prince Philip and Prince Charles, and had a closeup view of Her Majesty as she talked to the person next to me.

Defense
Lieutenant-Colonel Ron Cheriton, in full dress uniform, visited Rideau Hall in Ottawa and watched as Governor General Roland Michener took charge of the colours of the Canadian Guards, who had been dropped from the order of battle by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, the Kissing Flower Boy who had conspicuously avoided military service in World War II. The certificate signed by Mr. Michener said, "I have this day accepted these colours for safekeeping in this our Government House; in the city of Ottawa, until such time as the Regiment may be called upon to serve our Sovereign and Country."

The U.S. administration of President Richard Nixon announced plans for a $50-million military aid program for Cambodia that would not entail any direct American military commitment.

War
The report of a special U.S. House of Representatives committee that had toured southeast Asia was branded a "whitewash" by one of the panel’s staff members, Thomas Hawkins, who directed most of his criticism at the report’s failure to document what he called the "inhumane treatment" of political prisoners by the South Vietnamese.

Politics and government
The United States Senate defeated two liberal attempts to trim funds from the space program as part of a campaign to reorder national priorities.

Labour
U.S. President Richard Nixon invoked emergency powers to halt a strike by railway firemen and their union allies against three of the nation’s largest railroads.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Winnipeg (0-1) 23 @ Montreal (1-0) 27

Baseball
Brooks Robinson hit a grand slam off Lindy McDaniel with none out in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Baltimore Orioles a 6-2 win over the New York Yankees before 28,906 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Mr. Robinson had earlier singled in a run in the 4th inning. New York starting pitcher Mel Stottlemyre allowed 7 hits and 2 earned runs in 7 innings, and opened the scoring with a home run to lead off the 3rd inning. Mike Cuellar (10-5) pitched a 7-hit complete game victory.

Frank Howard hit a home run in each game, but his Washington Senators lost a doubleheader to the Cleveland Indians 7-3 and 7-5 before 9,433 fans at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. John Roseboro pinch hit for the Senators in the 7th inning of the second game, and followed Mr. Howard's homer with one of his own; it was Mr. Roseboro's only home run of the season, and the 104th and last of his major league career.

Reggie Smith hit a solo home run in the 1st inning and singled home 2 runs in the 9th to help the Boston Red Sox defeat the Detroit Tigers 8-4 in the first game of a doubleheader before 30,873 fans at Tiger Stadium. Jim Northrup hit a pair of solo homers for Detroit. Elliott Maddox led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a home run to give the Tigers a 4-3 win in the second game. Mr. Smith batted 3 for 3 with a home run for Boston.

Pinch hitter Ted Savage hit a home run with 2 out and nobody on base in the bottom of the 12th inning to give the Milwaukee Brewers a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox in the first game of a doubleheader before 15,280 fans at County Stadium in Milwaukee. He was batting for Marty Pattin (5-7), who pitched an 11-hit complete game victory. Mike Hegan led off the bottom of the 7th with a double and scored on a throwing error by pitcher Joel Horlen on a sacrifice bunt by Dave May for the game's only run as the Brewers won the second game 1-0 to complete the sweep. Lew Krausse (7-10) pitched a 9-hit shutout to outduel Mr. Horlen (6-11), who allowed 4 hits and no earned runs in 7 innings.

Harmon Killebrew's 3-run double climaxed a 4-run 5th inning for the Minnesota Twins as they beat the Oakland Athletics 4-2 before 16,278 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Jose Tartabull entered the game in the bottom of the 8th for Oakland as a pinch runner for Tommy Davis and remained in the game in left field, with no fielding chances in the 749th and last game of his 9-year major league career.

Sal Campisi (2-2) intentionally walked Ken Singleton to load the bases with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning and then unintentionally walked Ron Swoboda to force home Al Weis with the winning run as the New York Mets edged the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 before 42,858 fans at Shea Stadium in New York.

30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Can't Stop the Music--Village People

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Dancing All Night--Monta & Brothers (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Funkytown--Lipps Inc. (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Funkytown--Lipps Inc. (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Dore Schary, 74. U.S. producer and screenwriter. Mr. Schary wrote screenplays for numerous films in the 1930s and '40s, winning an Academy Award for his story for Boys Town (1938). He was head of production for Vanguard Films (1944-1947); RKO (1947-1948); and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1948-1956), where he was known for producing "message" pictures. Mr. Schary wrote and produced the play Sunrise at Campobello (1958), which won five Tony Awards. He also produced the movie (1960).

War
During the Lebanese Civil War, 83 Tiger militants were killed during the Safra massacre.

Abominations
Sharia law was instituted in Iran.

Religion
Pope John Paul II continued his tour of Brazil, meeting with lepers at Salvador da Bahia in Todos los Santos Bay and then conducting a mass in Recife.

25 years ago
1985

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): 19--Paul Hardcastle

#1 single in France (SNEP): Éthiopie--Chanteurs sans Frontières (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: 19--Paul Hardcastle (4th week at #1)

Tennis
Unseeded Boris Becker, 17, of West Germany, became the youngest Wimbledon champion ever and the first unseeded player to win, firing 21 aces in the men's singles final to defeat Kevin Curren, 27, of South Africa, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4.



Football
CFL
Ottawa (0-1) 22 @ Saskatchewan (1-0) 46

Jack Gotta was the winner in his first game as head coach of the Roughriders as they defeated the Rough Riders at Taylor Field in Regina. It was the first game for Joe Moss as Ottawa's head coach.



20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): It Must Have Been Love--Roxette

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Un' Estate Italiana--Edoardo Bennato; Gianna Nannini (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Mi Abuela--Wilfred y la Gagna

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): What's a Woman?--Vaya Con Dios (7th week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Maldòn--Zouk Machine (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (CIN): Sacrifice/Healing Hands--Elton John (3rd week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 What's a Woman?--Vaya Con Dios (3rd week at #1)
2 Dirty Cash--Adventures of Stevie V
3 Ooops Up--Snap!
4 Still Got the Blues (For You)--Gary Moore
5 Hijo de la Luna--Mecano
6 Back by Dope Demand--King Bee
7 At this Moment/Emozioni--Marco Borsato
8 I Promised Myself--Nick Kamen
9 The Future--Prince
10 Saxuality--Candy Dulfer

Singles entering the chart were Killer by Adamski (#27); She Ain't Worth It by Glenn Medeiros featuring Bobby Brown (#30); Blueshouse by B.B. Queen (#32); Close to You by Maxi Priest (#33); and One More Night by Mildred Douglas (#39).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Step by Step--New Kids on the Block (2nd week at #1)
2 It Must Have Been Love--Roxette
3 She Ain't Worth It--Glenn Medeiros featuring Bobby Brown
4 Poison--Bell Biv DeVoe
5 Hold On--En Vogue
6 Do You Remember?--Phil Collins
7 I'll Be Your Shelter--Taylor Dayne
8 Cradle of Love--Billy Idol
9 Hold On--Wilson Phillips
10 Rub You the Right Way--Johnny Gill

Singles entering the chart were All I Do is Think of You by Troop (#67); Unskinny Bop by Poison (#70); La Raza by Kid Frost (#89); Stranger to Love by St. Paul (#91); How Bad Do You Want It? by Don Henley (#92); and (Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection by Nelson (#93).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Step By Step--New Kids on the Block (3rd week at #1)
2 It Must Have Been Love--Roxette
3 Do You Remember?--Phil Collins
4 Ready Or Not--After 7
5 I’ll Be Your Shelter--Taylor Dayne
6 Hold On--En Vogue
7 Cradle of Love--Billy Idol
8 She Ain’t Worth It--Glenn Medeiros featuring Bobby Brown
9 Poison--Bell Biv DeVoe
10 Hold On--Wilson Phillips

Singles entering the chart were Come Back to Me by Janet Jackson (#50); Unskinny Bop by Poison (#53); Love and Emotion by Stevie B (#60); Close to You by Maxi Priest (#75); Do Me! by Bell Biv DeVoe (#80); I'm Never Gonna Give You Up by Brat Pack (#85); and A Dream's a Dream by Soul II Soul (#90).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 It Must Have Been Love--Roxette
2 Do You Remember?--Phil Collins
3 Vogue--Madonna
4 Step by Step--New Kids on the Block
5 Hold On--Wilson Phillips
6 All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You--Heart
7 Baby It's Tonight--Jude Cole
8 I’ll Be Your Shelter--Taylor Dayne
9 Children of the Night--Richard Marx
10 Dangerous Times--Sue Medley

Singles entering the chart were Cuts Both Ways by Gloria Estefan (#62); Vision of Love by Mariah Carey (#75); When I Dream of You by Tommy Page (#79); Crazy Love by Blvd. (#80); Come Back to Me by Janet Jackson (#84); What Do People Know by Poco (#85); Possession by Bad English (#88); Hold On by En Vogue (#89); The Power by Snap! (#91); It's Not Love by Shari Ulrich (#93); and Love Letter by Bonnie Raitt (#96).

Died on this date
Bill Cullen, 70. U.S. radio and television host and panelist. Mr. Cullen was known as the "Dean of Game Show Hosts," hosting 23 shows from 1945-1986. He was perhaps best known as host of The Price is Right (1956-1966), and as a panelist on To Tell the Truth (1952-1967) and panelist and occasional host on I've Got a Secret. Mr. Cullen was a smoker for most of his life, and died of lung cancer.

Cazuza, 32. Brazilian singer and songwriter. Cazuza, born Agenor de Miranda Araújo Neto, came to prominence in the early 1980s as lead singer of the rock group Barão Vermelho, and achieved greater success when he began recording as a solo artist in 1985. He was a bisexual who died of AIDS.

Music
The Three Tenors performed together for the first time in a concert at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, watched by a global television audience of around 800 million, on the eve of the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final.

Politics and government
The Albanian regime of President Ramiz Alia dismissed hard-liners from the Workers’ (Communist) Party Politburo.

Tennis
Martina Navratilova defeated Zina Garrison 6-4, 6-1 to win a record ninth women's singles title at Wimbledon.



10 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Kenny Irwin Jr., 30. U.S. auto racing driver. Mr. Irwin was a NASCAR driver who began in the truck series in 1996, and began racing in the Winston Cup series in 1998, winning the award as Rookie of the Year. He recorded 12 top 10 finishes, with his best being 4th at Talladega Superspeedway in 2000. Mr. Irwin was killed in a practice for the thatlook.com 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when his car's throttle stuck, the car crashed into a wall, and he died from a basilar skull fracture, 29 days before his 31st birthday.

Scandal
The United States Army announced that Major General Larry Smith, who had been accused in 1999 of molesting Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy in 1996, would retire in September. Lt. Gen. Kennedy complained to the Army only after Maj. Gen. Smith’s appointment as deputy inspector general. An official report released on this date concluded that Lt. Gen. Kennedy’s allegations were true; Maj. Gen. Smith released a statement maintaining that he had done nothing wrong.

Crime
The U.S. administration of President Bill Clinton indicated that it would delay the federal execution of Juan Raul Garza pending development of new clemency guidelines being drafted by the Justice Department. Mr. Garza had been convicted in 1993 of murdering three people. The last federal execution had taken place in 1963.

Football
CFL
British Columbia (1-0) 33 @ Hamilton 26 (0-1-0-1) (OT)

This was the first regular season game under the Canadian Football League’s new overtime format where the teams took turns with possession of the ball starting at the opponents’ 35-yard line, with a maximum of 4 possessions each. The losing team received 1 point in the standings for losing in overtime.