August 6, 2010

910 years ago
1100

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

190 years ago
1820

Died on this date
Antonín Vranický, 59. Czech musician and composer. Mr. Vranický was a classical violinist whose compositions included at least three symphonies, chamber music, and instrumental works, many for violin.

150 years ago
1860

Canadiana
A levee was held at Old Government House in Fredericton, New Brunswick for H.R.H. Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, followed by a state dinner and Royal Ball at “Province Hall” (Legislative Assembly) – “on a scale of magnificence never before attempted in this Province.”

140 years ago
1870

War
Prussian forces won decisive victories in the Battle of Spicheren and Battle of Wörth in the Franco-Prussian War.

130 years ago
1880

Born on this date
Leo Carrillo. U.S. actor. Mr. Carrillo appeared on stage and screen in a career spanning more than 40 years. He was best known for playing Pancho in the television series The Cisco Kid (1950-1956). Mr. Carrillo died of cancer on September 10, 1961 at the age of 81.

Hans Moser. Austrian actor. Mr. Moser, born Johann Julier, appeared in more than 150 films in a career spanning more than 40 years, and was particularly associated with the Austrian genre known as the Wiener Film. He often played ordinary characters in subordinate positions who unintentionally got others in trouble, and was known for mumbling indistinctly for comic effect rather than pronouncing words and sentences clearly, and also for failing to finish his sentences. Mr. Moser died on June 19, 1964 at the age of 83.

Baseball
Tim Keefe made his major league debut with the Troy Trojans, beating the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 on a 4-hitter. He struck out 7 and batted 2 for 4.

120 years ago
1890

Died on this date
William Kemmler, 30. U.S. criminal. Mr. Kemmler murdered Matilda "Tillie" Ziegler, his common-law wife, with a hatchet on March 29, 1889. He was executed at Auburn Prison in New York, becoming the first person ever executed in the electric chair. The execution was botched, and Mr. Kemmler took eight minutes to die, with several spectators becoming nauseous from the smell of burning flesh.

Baseball
Cy Young pitched his first major league game and earned his first major league win, giving up just 3 hits in leading the Cleveland Spiders past the Chicago Colts 8-1 in the first game of a doubleheader at National League Park in Cleveland. The Colts won the second game 7-1.

Long John Reilly hit for the cycle for the third time in his major league career as the Cincinnati Reds whipped the Pittsburgh Alleghenys 16-3 at Redland Field.

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Adoniran Barbosa. Brazilian musician. Mr. Barbosa, whose real name was João Rubinato, was a samba singer and composer whose career spanned a half-century. He was mainly popular on radio, but appeared in several movies and television programs, and made several recordings. Mr. Barbosa died on November 23, 1982 at the age of 72.

Charles Crichton. U.K. director, producer, and screenwriter. Mr. Crichton directed movies and television programs in various genres, but was best known for comedies such as The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) and A Fish Called Wanda (1988). He retired after the latter film, for which he was nominated for Academy Awards for his direction and as co-writer, with star John Cleese, of the original screenplay. Mr. Crichton died on September 14, 1999 at the age of 89.

Cecil Green. U.K.-born geophysicist and businessman. Mr. Green, a native of England, moved to Toronto and then to San Francisco with his family when he was a child. He studied at the University of British Columbia and then at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering. In 1941, Mr. Green and three partners bought Geophysical Service Incorporated, a company founded in 1930 that manufactured equipment for use in the seismic industry, as well as defense electronics. The company was reorganized as Texas Instruments in 1951, with Mr. Green serving as a vice president and director. He died on April 11, 2003 at the age of 102.

90 years ago
1920

Died on this date
Stefan Bastyr, 29. Polish military aviator. Kapitan Bastyr served with the Polish Air Force during World War I, and was credited with the Air Force's first military flight, on November 5, 1918 during the Battle of Lwów (1918) in the Polish-Ukrainian War. He was killed during the Battle of Lwów (1920) when his Fokker D.VII crashed in Lwów, 11 days before his 30th birthday.

80 years ago
1930

Baseball
Eugene Mercantelli, playing under the name Gene Rye, hit 3 home runs and batted in 8 runs in the 8th inning as the Waco Cubs scored 18 runs in the inning to come back from a 6-2 deficit and defeat the Beaumont Exporters 20-7 in a Texas League game in Waco. Mr. Rye led off the inning with a home run, added a 3-run homer to give the Cubs 10 runs before the first out was made, and hit a grand slam in his third at bat of the inning. Jerry Mallet, who carried a 4-run lead into the 8th, Ed Green, and Walter Newman, were the Beaumont pitchers, with Mr. Green taking the loss and Mr. Newman surrendering Mr. Rye's last 2 home runs. It was the first night game in Waco, and the first Texas League night game to be broadcast on radio.

75 years ago
1935

Baseball
Dizzy Dean won his own game with a 3-run home run in the 10th inning as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-3 at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis.

70 years ago
1940

War
Montreal Mayor Camilien Houde was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for sedition. The Italian drive into British Somaliland widened into a 300-mile front. The French colony of New Caldonia refused to accept the armistice with Germany.

Abominations
Estonia was illegally annexed by the U.S.S.R.

Defense
The National Inventors Council, formed to encourage inventions useful for U.S. national defense, held its first meeting in Washington.

Economics and finance
Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika, Zanzibar, Rhodesia, and Nyasaland formed the East Africa Economic Council to coordinate economic policies for war purposes.

The U.S.A.-U.S.S.R. trade agreement was renewed for another year.

Scandal
Oscar Wheeler, Communist Party candidate for Governor of West Virginia, was found guilty of fraudulent solicitation of funds for a Communist nominating petition.

60 years ago
1950

World events
One Israeli and seven Arabs were killed when Israeli border guards ousted a group of Arab shepherds from a Jewish area near Beersheba.

Baseball
Tommy Byrne (12-6) pitched a 3-hitter and scored 2 runs, while Billy Martin hit his first major league home run to conclude the scoring as the New York Yankees scored all the runs from the 3rd-5th innings as they routed the Cleveland Indians 9-0 before 66,726 fans at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. Bob Lemon (17-5) allowed 5 hits and 4 runs--all earned--in 2.2 innings to take the loss.

Ellis Kinder (11-11) and Joe Dobson (12-8) were the respective winning pitchers for the Boston Red Sox as they swept a doubleheader from the Chicago White Sox 9-2 and 4-3 before 21,035 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Mr. Kinder helped his cause by hitting his only major league home run--a grand slam--and driving in 6 runs.

Larry Jansen (13-7) and Sal Maglie (9-3) pitched respective shutouts as the New York Giants swept a doubleheader from the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-0 and 3-0 before 17,182 fans at the Polo Grounds in New York.

Red Schoendienst batted 5 for 5 with a double and 2 runs, while Cloyd Boyer (5-2) pitched a 4-hitter to help the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2 in the first game of a doubleheader before 31,914 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Eddie Kazak singled home Mr. Schoendienst and Stan Musial in the 4th inning while Max Lanier (10-4) pitched a 6-hitter for the Cardinals as they won the second game 2-0 to complete the sweep. Bubba Church (5-2) took the loss in the second game despite allowing just 3 hits in 7 innings.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Just a Closer Walk with Thee--Jimmie Rodgers

#1 single in Italy: Scandalo al sole (The Theme from "A Summer Place")--Percy Faith and his Orchestra (13th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Milord--Dalida (6th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Please Don't Tease--Cliff Richard and the Shadows (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini--Brian Hyland
2 It's Now or Never--Elvis Presley
3 Only the Lonely (Know How I Feel)--Roy Orbison
4 I'm Sorry--Brenda Lee
5 Tell Laura I Love Her--Ray Peterson
6 Alley-Oop--The Hollywood Argyles
--Dante and the Evergreens
7 Please Help Me, I'm Falling--Hank Locklin
8 Image of a Girl--The Safaris with the Phantom's Band
9 Josephine--Bill Black's Combo
10 Feel So Fine--Johnny Preston

Singles entering the chart were Lisa by Jeanne Black (#74); If I Can't Have You by Etta and Harvey (#79); Yogi by the Ivy Three (#80); You Mean Everything to Me by Neil Sedaka (#84); A Mess of Blues by Elvis Presley (#93); The Brigade of Broken Hearts by Paul Evans (#96); Anymore by Teresa Brewer (#98); Far, Far Away by Don Gibson (#99); The Tip of My Fingers by Nick Noble (#100); A Million to One by Jimmy Charles and the Reveletts (also #100); and Whip it on Me by Jessie Hill (also #100).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CFUN)
1 The Blamers--Les Vogt
2 It's Now or Never--Elvis Presley
3 Only the Lonely (Know How I Feel)--Roy Orbison
4 Yogi--The Ivy Three
5 No--Dodie Stevens
6 The Twist--Chubby Checker
7 Walk - Don't Run--The Ventures
8 Pineapple Princess--Annette with the Afterbeats
9 In My Little Corner of the World--Anita Bryant
10 Dreamin'--Johnny Burnette

Singles entering the chart were Cool Water by Jack Scott (#28); You Mean Everything to Me by Neil Sedaka (#33); A Teenager Feels it Too by Denny Reed (#38); Margo by the Browns (#40); Sentimental Kid by the Four Preps (#46); Sweet Cucumber by Little Bill (#47); My Congratulations Baby by the Tune Weavers (#49); and Beatnick Sticks by Paul Revere and the Raiders (#50).

Economics and finance
Cuba nationalized American and foreign-owned property in the nation.

Swimming
Régent Lacoursière won the annual swim across Lac Saint-Jean in Quebec in a time of 9 hours 30 minutes and 12 seconds.

40 years ago
1970

Died on this date
Nikos Tsiforos, 58. Egyptian-born Greek director and screenwriter. Mr. Tsiforos moved to Athens with his family at the age of 2. He was known for his humourous screenplays, and was credited with 64 scripts (1948-1970), many written in collaboration with Polyvios Vassiliadis. Mr. Tsiforos directed 17 movies (1948-1961), and died three weeks before his 58th birthday.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State William Rogers and Spanish Foreign Minister Gregorio Lopez Bravo signed an agreement extending for another five years the U.S. lease of four military bases in Spain in exchange for $153 million in economic and military aid, including the lease of five destroyers, two submarines, and five other smaller ships. The renewal was criticized by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright (Democrat--Arkansas), head of the Foreign Relations Committee, who called for hearings to make terms of the pact public.

David K.E. Bruce began his job as the new chief U.S. negotiator at the Vietnam War peace talks in Paris. The positions of both the Americans and the Communists appeared unchanged.

Defense
U.S. Defense Secretary Melvin Laird announced a draft call for the rest of the year of 39,000, making the year’s total of 163,500 the lowest since 1964.

Society
U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Elliott Richardson told a U.S. Senate committee that his department was no longer cutting off federal funds to southern school districts that refused to integrate, but favoured court action instead.

Politics and government
Former Treasury Minister Emilio Colombo took office as Prime Minister of Italy's new four-party coalition cabinet.

The U.S. Congress sent a bill to President Richard Nixon creating an independent United States Postal Service, thus relinquishing its grip on the U.S. mails after almost 200 years.

Disasters
30 people were killed when a Pakistani airliner crashed after takeoff from Rawaldi.

30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (Hot Press): Xanadu--Olivia Newton John/Electric Light Orchestra (2nd week at #1)

Football
CFL
Edmonton (4-0) 23 @ Toronto (3-2) 3
Montreal (2-2) 18 @ Saskatchewan (1-4) 10

The Edmonton defense sacked Toronto quarterback Mark Jackson 5 times and stopped the Argonauts at the Eskimo 1-yard line on a third-down gamble late in the second quarter in a defensive battle in front of an Exhibition Stadium crowd of 48,595. Warren Moon completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Brian Kelly in the 3rd quarter, and Neil Lumsden rushed 19 yards for the final touchdown in the 4th quarter, flattening an Argonaut defensive back on the way (that play still gets shown in highlight clips of that era).

25,943 fans at Taylor Field in Regina--the largest midweek crowd in Roughrider history--saw the home team give up 6 turnovers. Only 2 touchdowns were scored: Skip Walker on a 2-yard rush for the Alouettes in the 1st quarter, and Dwight Edwards for Saskatchewan on a 45-yard pass from John Hufnagel.

25 years ago
1985

Labour
The Major League Baseball Players Association staged its second strike in five years, but this one ended the next day. The minimum salary was raised to $60,000 as part of the settlement.

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Jōnetsu no bara (情熱の薔薇)--The Blue Hearts

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Verdammt, Ich Lieb' Dich--Matthias Reim (12th week at #1)

Died on this date
George Dixon, 56. U.S.-born Canadian football player. Mr. Dixon was a running back at the University of Bridgeport who was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 1959, and failed to make the team despite returning a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown in a pre-season game. He joined the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in mid-season, and played 76 regular season games with the Alouettes (1959-1965) in a career shortened by knee injuries. Mr. Dixon was named the league's Most Outstanding Player in 1962, when he rushed 216 times for 1,520 yards (7.0 yards per carry) and 11 touchdowns, and added 1,270 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns in 1963, earning All-Canadian honours in both seasons. He scored 4 touchdowns in a game against the Ottawa Rough Riders on September 5, 1960, and set a CFL record with a 109-yard touchdown rush against the Rough Riders on September 2, 1963. Mr. Dixon retired midway through the 1965 season after amassing 5,615 yards rushing, with 42 touchdowns rushing and 59 touchdowns overall. He remained in Montreal for the rest of his life, serving as head coach of the Loyola College Warriors in the late 1960s and early '70s, and providing colour commentary on English-language radio broadcasts of Alouettes and Concordes games. Mr. Dixon was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1974.

War
The United Nations Security Council ordered a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

Politics and government
Pakistani President Ghulam Ishaq Khan removed Benazir Bhutto as Prime Minister, replaced her with Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi as interim Prime Minister, and declared a state of emergency. Mr. Khan said that the state of corruption in Mrs. Bhutto’s government had been widespread, and the press reported a number of allegations. Mrs. Bhutto called her removal illegal and unconstitutional.

Diplomacy
Talks began in South Africa between the South African government and the African National Congress.

10 years ago
2000

Politics and government
The Serbian Renewal Movement, which had been the largest opposition party in Yugoslavia, nominated Vojislav Mihajlovic, the mayor of Belgrade, to challenge President Slobodan Milosevic in the coming election.