August 5, 2010

1,100 years ago
910

Died on this date
Eowils; Halfdan; Ingwær. Kings of Northumbria, 902-910. Eowils, Halfdan, and Ingwær were Norse brothers who were co-Kings of Northumbria from the time of the Viking victory in the Battle of the Holme until they were all killed in the Battle of Tettenhall.

War
The last major Danish army to raid England for nearly a century was defeated in the Battle of Tettenhall by the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex, led by King Edward the Elder and Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians.

910 years ago
1100

Britannica
Henry I was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey in London.

410 years ago
1600

Died on this date
John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, 23 (?); Alexander Ruthven, 20. Scottish conspirators. John and Alexander Ruthven were brothers who lured King James VI to Gowrie House in Perth in an apparent attempt to kidnap him. The king was able to cry for help, and he was heard by some of his followers, who were able to rescue King James and kill the Ruthven brothers. Details of the event remain a mystery.

400 years ago
1610

Died on this date
Alonso García de Ramón, 58 (?). Spanish soldier and politician. Mr. García de Ramón joined the Spanish Army at the age of 16 and fought in numerous campaigns in Europe and South America, gaining fame for killing Cadeguala, Toqui (leader) of the Mapuche people in Chile in a single combat in 1586. Mr. García de Ramón was Royal Governor of Chile (1600-1601, 1605-1610); he died in office and was succeeded by Luis Merlo de la Fuente Ruiz de Beteta.

390 years ago
1620

Americana
The Mayflower departed Southampton, England, carrying would-be settlers, on its first attempt to reach North America; it was forced to dock in Dartmouth when its companion ship, the Speedwell, sprung a leak.

160 years ago
1850

Born on this date
Guy de Maupassant. French author. Mr. Maupassant was one of the first authors of short stories, of which he wrote about 300, including Boule de Suif (1880) and Le Horla (1887). He contracted syphilis and died in an asylum on July 6, 1893, 30 days before his 43rd birthday.

150 years ago
1860

Born on this date
Louis Wain. U.K. artist. Mr. Wain was an illustrator who was known for his drawings of anthropomorphized large-eyed cats and kittens. He was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia and was institutionalized, dying on July 4, 1939 at the age of 78.

Europeana
Three months after being crowned King of Sweden, Karl XV of Sweden and Norway was crowned king of Norway in Trondheim.

120 years ago
1890

Born on this date
Erich Kleiber. Austrian-born orchestra conductor and composer. Mr. Kleiber conducted various orchestras in Germany beginning in 1912, and was appointed musical director of the Berlin Staatsoper (State Opera) in 1923. When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, Mr. Kleiber and his family moved to Buenos Aires, and he became an Argentine citizen in 1936, while conducting in several South American countries. Mr. Kleiber resumed working in Europe after World War II, and accepted an invitation in 1951 to resume his position with the Berlin Staatsoper, whose building was slowly being restored after being bombed in the war. However, the building was in East Berlin, then under Soviet control, and Mr. Kleiber became increasingly uncomfortable with political interference in musical affairs, and ultimately declined the post. He died suddenly in Zurich on January 27, 1956 at the age of 65. Mr. Kleiber was regarded as an outstanding conductor of the works of Mozart, Beethoven, and Richard Strauss, and also encouraged modern composers. He also composed instrumental, orchestral, and chamber works.

75 years ago
1935

Died on this date
David Townsend, 43. U.S. art director. Mr. Townsend worked with several movie studios from 1919 until his death in a car accident while scouting locations in Sonora Pass in California for Robin Hood of El Dorado (1936).

70 years ago
1940

War
German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler authorized a stepped-up offensive against the United Kingdom. Both the British and Italians claimed success after the largest reported air battle over Libya to date. Japanese forces took control of the important Chinese port city of Kwangchowan.

Abominations
The U.S.S.R. formally annexed Latvia.

Defense
The U.S. Senate Military Affairs Committee approved the Burke-Wadsworth Selective Service Bill and sent it to the full Senate. The United States War Department approved construction of future munitions plants between the Allegheny and Rocky Mountains. Republican Party U.S. presidential candidate Wendell Willkie urged that industrial plants be decentralized and relocated in smaller communities.

Law
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress and state legislatures to enact additional laws dealing with subversive and seditious acts.

Politics and government
A Gallup Poll reported that if the U.S. presidential election were held today, President Franklin D. Roosevelt would take 51% of the vote to 49% for Republican candidate Wendell Willkie.

Communications
Regular trans-Atlantic airmail service between the U.K. and U.S.A. began with the landing of the first flight in New York.

Education
The U.S. National Education Association issued a statement urging all educators to aid the defense program by instilling new faith in democracy.

Economics and finance
The United States Treasury Department announced that, as of July 31, 1945, the national debt was $44,034,571,710.

Baseball
In the second game of a doubleheader before 2,158 fans at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, John Whitehead pitched a 4-0 no-hitter for the Browns against the Detroit Tigers in a game that was called because of rain after 6 innings. The win was the first of the season for Mr. Whitehead and the 49th and last of his major league career. The Tigers won the first game 9-2, with Pete Fox driving in 3 runs and Schoolboy Rowe pitching a 6-hit complete game to improve his 1940 record to 10-2.

Jimmie Foxx hit his 25th home run of the season with a man on base in the 5th inning to help the Boston Red Sox defeat the New York Yankees 4-1 before 5,100 fans at Fenway Park in Boston. Fritz Ostermueller pitched a 7-hit complete game to win the pitchers' duel over Ernie "Tiny" Bonham, who pitched a complete game, allowing 10 hits and 4 runs--3 earned--in his major league debut, walking 2 batters and striking out 2.

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 (7th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Mona Lisa--Nat "King" Cole (Best Seller--4th week at #1; Disc Jockey--5th week at #1; Jukebox--3rd week at #1)

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

The only single entering the chart was Mambo Jambo by Dave Barbour and his Orchestra (#40).

Health
The French National Assembly passed a law authorizing the Health Ministry to ban Coca-Cola and certain other non-alcoholic drinks.

Labour
In San Francisco, U.S. Federal Judge George Harris revoked the bail of Harry Bridges, the Australian-born president of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, calling him "an agent dedicated to executing the Communist program." Mr. Bridges was immediately sent to jail.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Please Don't Tease--Cliff Richard and the Shadows (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Arthur Meighen, 86. Prime Minister of Canada, 1920-1921; 1926. Mr. Meighen was a native of St. Marys, Ontario who became a lawyer and made his name in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, where he was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1908. He served with the Conservative and Unionist federal governments as a cabinet minister in various departments, and was tapped to replace Robert Borden as Prime Minister, taking office on July 10, 1920. The government that he presided over was losing popularity, and was defeated by the Liberals in the federal election of December 6, 1921. Mr. Meighen lost his House of Commons seat in Portage la Prairie, but remained as opposition leader, winning a by-election in the Ontario riding of Grenville in 1922. Mr. Meighen and his rival, Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister Mackenzie King, had a strong personal didlike for each other, and it was always a sore spot with Mr. Meighen that he kept losing political battles against a man he regarded as intellectually inferior. The Conservatives won a plurality of seats in the 1925 federal election, but Mr. King was able to maintain power with the help of the Progressive Party. In 1926, the Liberals lost support in the House of Commons, and Governor General Lord Byng, in what became known as the King-Byng affair, asked Mr. Meighen to form a government. The government quickly collapsed, an election resulted, and the Liberals won a majority, with Mr. Meighen being defeated again in Portage la Prairie. Mr. Meighen quit as party leader in the House, but was appointed to the Senate in 1932, and led the Conservatives in the Upper House until early 1942. In November 1941 the Conservatives chose Mr. Meighen as party leader again, and he ran in a federal by-election in the Toronto riding of York South in 1942. He lost to the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation candidate and left politics for good after the party--now renamed the Progressive Conservative Party--chose a new leader late in December 1942.

Africana
Upper Volta gained its independent from France, as a republic led by President Maurice Yaméogo, leader of the Voltaic Democratic Union (UDV). The country became known as Burkina Faso in 1984.

40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): The Wonder of You--Elvis Presley

War
Cambodian soldiers recaptured part of the outskirts of Skoun, 40 miles northwest of Pnompenh, after American planes struck at Communist ground positions in direct support of the Cambodian troops.

Society
A draft report of the U.S. President’s Commission on Pornography found that erotic books, films, and magazines did not increase sex crimes or corrupt the morals of youth. The study indicated that women were sometimes aroused by pornography without their conscious knowledge.

Football
CFL
Calgary (1-1) 2 @ Edmonton (1-1) 14

Don Trull completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Sam Campbell for the Eskimos’ first touchdown of the 1970s, before 21,267 fans at Clarke Stadium. It was the only touchdown Mr. Campbell ever scored in the CFL.



30 years ago
1980

Died on this date
Harold L. Runnels, 56. U.S. politician. Mr. Runnels, a Democrat, was a member of the New Mexico State Senate (1960-1970) and represented the state's 2nd District in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 until his death from respiratory failure while being treated for pleurisy and cancer. His son Mike was Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico (1983-1987).

World events
171 Iranian men held without charge in a U.S. federal prison in Otisville, New York and 20 Iranian women held without charge in a detention facility in New York City were released after they had identified themselves. One Iranian man continued to be held while facing charges of assaulting a police officer. Before the release of the prisoners, who had been arrested outside the White House on July 27 for scuffling with police and anti-Ayatollah Khomeini demonstrators, six Muslim and Christian clergymen visited the prisoners in Otisville and reported that their condition was good and that they had no complaints about their treatment.

Defense
In a document known as Presidential Directive 59, the U.S. administration of President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States had adopted a new strategy for nuclear war that would give priority to attacking military and political targets in the U.S.S.R. rather than to destroying cities and industrial complexes. The change in policy came in response to the Soviet Union's mounting effort to threaten U.S. land-based missiles, which had led American officials to believe that the Soviets didn’t accept the American concept of mutual deterrence based on the quick, massive destruction of civilian targets. Instead, according to U.S. officials, the U.S.S.R. was ready to fight a prolonged, but limited, nuclear war centred on military targets. The new U.S. policy was designed to deter such a war by increasing the ability of the U.S. to destroy vital Soviet military forces with highly accurate missiles such as the MX rocket, which had just been developed.

Football
CFL
Hamilton (2-2) 13 @ Ottawa (2-3) 3
Calgary (2-3) 23 @ British Columbia (3-1) 31

Bernie Ruoff kicked 4 field goals and a single to offset a field goal by Gerry Organ before a Lansdowne Park crowd of 24,181. Rough Rider quarterbacks Condredge Holloway and Charlie Weatherbie produced just 9 first downs and 71 yards net offense. Hamilton quarterback Bruce Lemmerman completed 13 of 20 passes, but for just 123 yards. Marco Cyncar of the Tiger-Cats caught 4 passes for 66 yards.



Joe Paopao completed 15 of 21 passes for 233 yards and touchdowns to Al Charuk, Harry Holt, and John Henry White to lead the Lions to victory in front of an Empire Stadium crowd of 25,465. Don Taylor rushed 4 yards for the other B.C. touchdown. Ken Johnson completed an 86-yard touchdown pass to Tom Forzani on the first play from scrimmage for the Stampeders’ first touchdown, while James Sykes, who finished with 16 carries for 144 yards, rushed 1 yard for the other Calgary major. Mr. Forzani caught 3 passes for 137 yards, while teammate Willie Burden caught 8 for 117. Mr. Johnson completed 19 of 37 for 352 yards, but also threw 3 interceptions.

Baseball
The San Diego Padres traded infielder Kurt Bevacqua and a player to be named later to the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor league first baseman-outfielder Rick Lancellotti and utility player Luis Salazar. Mr. Bevacqua was batting .268 with no home runs and 12 runs batted in in 62 games with San Diego in 1980. Mr. Lancellotti batted .221 with 7 homers and 29 RBIs in 61 games with the Portland Beavers of the AAA Pacific Coast League and .262 with 10 homers and 21 RBIs in 30 games with the Buffalo Bisons of the AA Eastern League; he was transferred to the Amarillo Gold Sox of the AA Texas League. Mr. Salazar had played 117 games with the Beavers in 1980, and was transferred to the PCL's Hawaii Islanders. The Padres sent relief pitcher Mark Lee, then with the Islanders, to the Pirates on August 12 to complete the deal.

The Montreal Expos beat the New York Mets 11-5 before 33,821 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, giving Dick Williams his 1,000th win as a major league manager. New York second baseman Doug Flynn tied a modern major league single-game record with 3 triples, and scored 3 runs.

Glenn Hubbard's 3-run home run with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning climaxed a 5-run rally and gave the Atlanta Braves a 6-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers before 10,187 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. All the 9th-inning runs were unearned, because the rally began after the first 2 batters were retired, and Jeff Burroughs reached first base on an error by third baseman Ron Cey on a ground ball for what should have been the final out.

Jim Essian singled home Dave McKay with 2 out in the bottom of the 7th inning to climax a 2-run rally as the Oakland Athletics edged the Minnesota Twins 3-2 before 4,651 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Rick Langford (11-9) pitched a 3-hit complete game victory, outduelling Jerry Koosman (9-10).

Pinch hitter Jason Thompson singled home Bobby Grich with 2 out in the bottom of the 8th inning to climax a 2-run rally as the California Angels edged the Seattle Mariners 5-4 before 22,326 fans at Anaheim Stadium.

25 years ago
1985

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Crazy for You--Madonna (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Majo--Kyōko Koizumi

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Live is Life--Opus

Died on this date
Arnold Horween, 87. U.S. football player and coach. Mr. Horween, born Arnold Horwitz, was a back with Harvard University (1916, 1919-1920) and the Racine and Chicago Cardinals (1921-1924). He was an All-American in his last two years at Harvard, and kicked the winning point in the 1920 Rose Bowl. Mr. Horween coached the Cardinals in his last two seasons with them, compiling a record of 16-7. He returned to Harvard as football coach from 1926-1930, compiling a record of 20-17-3. Mr. Horween then moved back to his native Chicago, where he operated the family business, the Horween Leather Company.

Baseball
Darryl Strawberry hit 3 straight home runs and then a single to lead the New York Mets to a 7-2 win over the Chicago Cubs before 34,107 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): U Can't Touch This/Dancin' Machine--MC Hammer (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Verdammt - ich lieb' dich--Matthias Reim (5th week at #1)

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Verdammt - ich lieb' dich--Matthias Reim (4th week at #1)
2 Ooops Up--Snap!
3 I Promised Myself--Nick Kamen
4 Insieme: 1992--Toto Cutugno
5 I Can't Stand It!--Twenty 4 Seven featuring Capt. Hollywood
6 Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung--Samurai
7 Alle meine Lieda--Remix-Poidl
8 What's a Woman?--Vaya Con Dios
9 It Must Have Been Love--Roxette
10 Kingston Town--UB40

Singles entering the chart were Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung; and La luna lila (Purple Moon) by Luisa Fernandez & Peter Kent (#27).

World events
230 U.S. Marines were flown to Monrovia from ships off the coast of Liberia to rescue American citizens endangered by that country’s civil war.

Protest
After meeting with local mayors, Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa gave the Mohawk Warriors 48 hours to negotiate a peaceful settlement before he took "appropriate measures." The Warriors had been blockading two communities in a dispute over land that they claimed belonged to them.

10 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Alec Guinness, 86. U.K. actor. Sir Alec, born Alec Guinness, de Cuffe, was a stage actor known for roles in plays by William Shakespeare, but made a successful transition to film acting, in comedies with Ealing Studios in the 1940s and '50s, and in more serious roles in movies directed by David Lean, including The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957); Lawrence of Arabia (1962); and Doctor Zhivago (1965). He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Bridge on the River Kwai, and was nominated for his starring performance in The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), and for his supporting performances in Star Wars (1977) and Little Dorrit (1988).

Economics and finance
U.S. President Bill Clinton vetoed a bill that would have reduced the taxes paid by married couples, 25 million of whom paid more in taxes than if they had been able to file separately as single individuals. Mr. Clinton argued that the bill would benefit the wealthiest Americans.