October 16, 2010

1,325 years ago
690

Politics and government
Empress Wu Zetian ascended to the throne of the Tang dynasty and proclaimed herself ruler of the Chinese Empire.

320 years ago
1690

War
William Phips arrived at Quebec with 37 ships and 2,200 men, and asked for French forces to surrender; Count Frontenac, with a garrison of 3,000, refused.

170 years ago
1840

Born on this date
Kuroda Kiyotaka. Prime Minister of Japan, 1888-1889. Count Kuroda held several cabinet posts before and after serving as Prime Minister. He died of a brain hemorrhage on August 23, 1900 at the age of 59.

125 years ago
1885

Baseball
World Series
Chicago White Stockings 4 @ St. Louis Browns 7 (Seven-game series tied 1-1-1)

The Browns scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning as they defeated the White Stockings before 3,000 fans at Sportsman’s Park. The White Stockings didn’t help their own cause, making 12 errors. Bob Caruthers of the Browns and John Clarkson of the White Stockings each pitched complete games.

120 years ago
1890

Born on this date
Maria Goretti. Italian Roman Catholic saint. Miss Goretti was murdered at the age of 11 on July 6, 1902 after refusing the sexual advances of Alessandro Serenelli, who lived in the same house. Mr. Serenelli eventually repented and became a lay brother in a monastery. Miss Goretti was canonized by Pope Pius XII on June 24, 1950.

Michael Collins. Irish politician. Mr. Collins was a leader of the Irish revolution for independence from the United Kingdom. He held various positions with the Irish Republican Army and government. He was Chairman of the Provisional Government from January 1922 until his assassination at the age of 31 in an ambush on August 22, 1922.

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Goose Goslin. U.S. baseball player. Leon Allen Goslin was an outfielder with the Washington Nationals (1921-1930, 1933, 1938); St. Louis Browns (1930-1932); and Detroit Tigers (1934-1937), batting .316 with 248 home runs and 1,612 runs batted in in 2,287 games. He hit .379 to win the American League batting title in 1928--hitting a single in his final at bat to edge Heinie Manush of the Detroit Tigers for the crown--and had 11 seasons with at least 100 runs batted in, leading the AL in 1924 with 129. Mr. Goslin played with five pennant-winning teams and two World Series championship clubs (1924, 1935), batting .287 with 7 homers and 19 RBIs in 32 World Series games. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968, and died on May 15, 1971 at the age of 70, after a period of declining health.

90 years ago
1920

Died on this date
Alberto Nepomuceno, 56. Brazilian composer. Mr. Nepomuceno was a Brazilian nationalist in politics as well as music. He was perhaps best known for his operas and vocal works, but also composed instrumental and orchestral works.

80 years ago
1930

Football
NFL
Chicago Cardinals (1-3-2) 12 @ New York (4-1) 25

70 years ago
1940

Abominations
The Warsaw Ghetto was established.

Football
AFL
Boston (3-1) 10 @ Buffalo (1-3) 0
Milwaukee (3-1) 3 @ Columbus (4-1) 7

60 years ago
1950

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Thing Upstairs, starring Freddie Barholomew, Dayton Lummis, and Peggy Nelson

Baseball
The St. Louis Cardinals fired Eddie Dyer after 5 seasons as the team’s manager. He led them to a World Series championship in 1946, but the team finished 5th in the National League in 1950 with a record of 78-75.

50 years ago
1960

Football
CFL
EFC
Ottawa (8-4) 13 @ Toronto (9-3) 37

32,896 attended the game at CNE Stadium.

NFL
Washington (1-1-1) 24 @ New York (3-0-1) 24
Detroit (0-3) 10 @ Philadelphia (3-1) 28
St. Louis (1-3) 14 @ Pittsburgh (2-2) 27
Los Angeles (0-4) 17 @ Baltimore (3-1) 31
San Francisco (2-2) 10 @ Chicago (3-1) 27
Cleveland (3-0) 48 @ Dallas (0-4) 7

AFL
Buffalo (1-4) 13 @ New York (4-2) 17
Dallas (2-4) 10 @ Houston (4-1) 20
Boston (2-3) 14 @ Oakland (3-3) 27
Denver (3-2) 19 @ Los Angeles (3-3) 23

40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Lola--The Kinks (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Band of Gold--Freda Payne (3rd week at #1)

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Burning Bridges--The Mike Curb Congregation
2 Mademoiselle Ninette--Michael Holm
3 Brown Eyes--Chris Andrews
4 I (Who Have Nothing)--Tom Jones
5 Lookin' Out My Back Door--Creedence Clearwater Revival
6 Lola--The Kinks
7 Neanderthal Man--Hotlegs
8 Push Mr. Pride Aside--Percy Sledge
9 Ain't Love a Funny Thing--Sam Evans
10 Poor Little Rich Girl--Dickie Loader

Singles entering the chart were All the Tears in the World by Dave Mills (#18); Like I Do by Barbara Ray and the 5th Association (#19); and Montego Bay by Bobby Bloom (#20).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Lola--The Kinks
2 Look What They've Done to My Song Ma--The New Seekers
3 All Right Now--Free
4 We've Only Just Begun--Carpenters
5 It's Only Make Believe--Glen Campbell
6 El Condor Pasa--Simon & Garfunkel
7 Cracklin' Rosie--Neil Diamond
8 Groovy Situation--Gene Chandler
9 I'll Be There--The Jackson 5
10 God, Love and Rock & Roll (We Believe)--Teegarden & Van Winkle

Singles entering the chart were I Think I Love You by the Partridge Family (#25); Share the Land/Bus Rider by the Guess Who (#28); Heed the Call by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition (#29); and Lucretia MacEvil by Blood, Sweat & Tears (#30).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKVN)
1 We've Only Just Begun--Carpenters (2nd week at #1)
2 Lola--The Kinks
3 Look What They've Done to My Song Ma--The New Seekers
4 Out in the Country--Three Dog Night
5 Long Long Time--Linda Ronstadt
6 Fire and Rain--James Taylor
7 El Condor Pasa--Simon & Garfunkel
8 Green-Eyed Lady--Sugarloaf
9 It's Only Make Believe--Glen Campbell
10 My Home Town--The Seeds of Time

Singles entering the chart were Share the Land/Bus Rider by the Guess Who (#23); It's a Shame by the Spinners (#26); I Can Hear You Calling by Bush (#27); Deeper & Deeper by Freda Payne (#28); Heed the Call by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition (#29); and After Midnight by Eric Clapton (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Cracklin' Rosie--Neil Diamond (3rd week at #1)
2 Me and Bobby McGee--Gordon Lightfoot
3 El Condor Pasa--Simon & Garfunkel
4 Long Long Time--Linda Ronstadt
5 Lola--The Kinks
6 Sunday Morning Coming Down--Johnny Cash
7 God, Love and Rock & Roll (We Believe)--Teegarden & Van Winkle
8 Patches--Clarence Carter
9 Julie, Do Ya Love Me--Bobby Sherman
10 Montego Bay--Bobby Bloom

On television tonight
The Interns, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Eyes of the Beholder

Terrorism
After fruitless negotiations between the government of Canada and the Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ) terrorists who had kidnapped British trade commissioner James Cross and Quebec Labour and Immigration Minister Pierre Laporte, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau mobilized troops and invoked the War Measures Act, giving police extraordinary powers and suspending many civil liberties.



Protest
Italian troops were sent into Reggio di Calabria following an outbreak of violence while protesting the choice of the rival city of Cantanzaro as capital of the newly-formed region of Calabria.

A special grand jury in Portage County in Ohio investigating the May 4 fatal shootings of four students by Ohio National Guardsmen at Kent State University indicted 25 people, but cleared the National Guardsmen. The panel accused the KSU administration of "over-indulgence and permissiveness," faculty members of an "over-emphasis" on the right to dissent, and students of "obscene" language.

Boxing
Chucho Castillo (40-10-2) scored a technical knockout over fellow Mexican Ruben Olivares (61-1-1) in the 14th round at The Forum in Ingelwood, California to win the world bantamweight title. Mr. Olivares, who had won the title 14 months earlier and had defeated Mr. Castillo at the same venue by a unanimous decision on April 18, suffered his first loss when referee Dick Young stopped the fight because of a bad cut over the champion's left eye. Mr. Castillo was ahead 7 rounds to 6 on Mr. Young's scorecard, while the two judges had scored the fight even.



Hockey
AHL
Baltimore 5 @ Montreal 3

Rick McCann and Jean-Pierre Mallette each scored twice for the Clippers as they spoiled the Voyageurs' home opener before 1,309 fans at the Montreal Forum. Fred Speck opened the scoring for Baltimore just 43 seconds into the game, scoring on Ken Dryden, who faced 33 shots in his first professional game. Ron Busniuk, Brian Lavender, and Bob Murdoch scored for the Voyageurs, who had just 18 shots against Baltimore goalie Bob Whidden.



30 years ago
1980

Environment
The Furbish Lousewort, a perennial herb only found growing along the banks of the upper Saint John River, became the first plant to be protected under New Brunswick’s Endangered Species Act.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that industrial production at U.S. factories and mines had increased 1% in September, the largest increase in 17 months.

25 years ago
1985

Politics and government
The Republican Party, led by defense Minister Giovanni Spadolini, withdrew from Italy’s governing coalition. Mr. Spadolini objected to the fact that Muhammad Abbas, suspected of being the mastermind behind the recent hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro, had been permitted by Prime Minister Bettino Craxi to fly from Italy to Yugoslavia.

Diplomacy
U.S. Senator Paul Laxalt (Republican--Nevada), a close friend and adviser to President Ronald Reagan, arrived in the Philippines at Mr. Reagan’s behest to urge Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos to institute some political and economic reforms.

Defense
A report issued by the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee recommended the abolition of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, asserting that interservice rivalries forced the secretary of defense to deal with competing pressures from services when preparing budgets and planning military actions. The report proposed that the joint chiefs be replaced by a Joint Military Advisory Council consisting of military officers near retirement age who would not command their individual services.

Labour
United Automobile Workers in the U.S.A. and Canada began a strike against Chrysler Corporation. 70,000 workers in the U.S. and 10,000 in Canada walked off the job. Negotiations on a new contract had been under way for two months.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Federal Reserve Board reported that industrial production had fallen a seasonally-adjusted 0.1% in September, and had risen only 1.1% in the previous 12 months.

Baseball
Politics and government
The Republican Party, led by defense Minister Giovanni Spadolini, withdrew from Italy’s governing coalition. Mr. Spadolini objected to the fact that Muhammad Abbas, suspected of being the mastermind behind the recent hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro, had been permitted by Prime Minister Bettino Craxi to fly from Italy to Yugoslavia.

Diplomacy
U.S. Senator Paul Laxalt (Republican--Nevada), a close friend and adviser to President Ronald Reagan, arrived in the Philippines at Mr. Reagan’s behest to urge Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos to institute some political and economic reforms.

Defense
A report issued by the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee recommended the abolition of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, asserting that interservice rivalries forced the secretary of defense to deal with competing pressures from services when preparing budgets and planning military actions. The report proposed that the joint chiefs be replaced by a Joint Military Advisory Council consisting of military officers near retirement age who would not command their individual services.

Labour
United Automobile Workers in the U.S.A. and Canada began a strike against Chrysler Corporation. 70,000 workers in the U.S. and 10,000 in Canada walked off the job. Negotiations on a new contract had been under way for two months.

Economics and finance
The National and Mercantile Banks merged into the National Bank of Canada.

The U.S. Federal Reserve Board reported that industrial production had fallen a seasonally-adjusted 0.1% in September, and had risen only 1.1% in the previous 12 months.

Baseball
National League Championship Series
St. Louis 7 @ Los Angeles 5 (St. Louis won best-of-seven series 4-2)

Jack Clark’s 3-run home run with 2 out in the top of the 9th inning gave the Cardinals their win over the Dodgers before 55,208 fans at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers led 4-1 after 6 innings, but the Cardinals scored 3 in the 7th to tie the game and knock Los Angeles starting pitcher Orel Hershiser out of the box. Mike Marshall hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 8th off Todd Worrell to give the Dodgers a 5-4 lead, but when the Cardinals put runners on second and third bases with 2 out in the 9th, Dodger manager Tom Lasorda elected to have Tom Niedenfuer pitch to Mr. Clark. Ken Dayley retired the Dodgers in the bottom of the 9th for his second save of the Series. Bill Madlock hit a home run for the Dodgers, his third in as many games. Joaquin Andujar started on the mound for the Cardinals and left after 6 innings.



American League Championship Series
Kansas City 6 @ Toronto 2 (Kansas City won best-of-seven series 4-3)

Jim Sundberg’s wind-blown triple in the 6th inning broke open a 2-1 game and helped the Royals defeat the Blue Jays before 32,084 fans at Exhibition Stadium, coming back to win the last 3 games (see video). Bret Saberhagen was the starting pitcher for the Royals, but lasted just 3 innings. Charlie Leibrandt pitched 5.1 innings to get his first win of the series after 2 losses. Toronto starter Dave Steib pitched 5.2 innings and took the loss. Pat Sheridan of the Royals hit the game’s only home run, his 2nd of the Series.

20 years ago
1990

Died on this date
Art Blakey, 71. U.S. musician. Mr. Blakey was a jazz drummer who became known for his work with the big bands of Fletcher Henderson and Billy Eckstine before leading his own band known as the Jazz Messengers. He became a Muslim and eventually changed his name to Abdullah Ibn Buhaina. Mr. Blakey was inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame in 1982. He died of lung cancer five days after his 71st birthday.

Economics and finance
U.S.S.R. President Mikhail Gorbachev presented his proposals for economic reforms to the Duma. The proposals included the selling of state property to private individuals; the lifting of price controls; and the transfer of many economic decisions to the 15 republics. Some sectors, including transportation, communications, defense industries, energy, banking, and foreign trade would remain under the control of the central government. Mr. Gorbachev dropped the 500-day timetable for accomplishing the goals of the plan.

Baseball
World Series
Oakland Athletics 0 @ Cincinnati Reds 7 (Cincinnati led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Eric Davis hit a 2-run home run off Dave Stewart in the bottom of the 1st inning, and that proved to be enough as the Cincinnati Reds shocked the Oakland Athletics 7-0 before 55,830 fans at Riverfront Stadium. The Reds scored 2 more runs off Mr. Stewart in the 3rd inning and added 3 runs in the 5th. Winning pitcher Jose Rijo pitched 7 innings, relieved by Rob Dibble and Randy Myers.

10 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Rick Jason, 77. U.S. actor. Mr. Jason, born Richard Jacobson, appeared in plays, films, and television programs, but was best known for his co-starring role in the television series Combat! (1962-1967). A week after attending a Combat! reunion with fellow cast members in Las Vegas, Mr. Jason committed suicide by shooting himself, reportedly despondent over "unspecified personal matters."

Mel Carnahan, 66. U.S. politician. Mr. Carnahan, a Democrat, held various state offices in Missouri, including Treasurer (1981-1985) and Lieutenant Governor (1989-1993). He took office as Governor in January 1993 and was still in office when he won the Democratic Party nomination for a United States Senate seat, running against incumbent Republican Senator John Ashcroft. Mr. Carnahan was killed in a plane crash while travelling to a campaign rally in New Madrid, Missouri. The plane was piloted by his son Randy, who was also killed, along with the plane's other passenger, campaign adviser Chris Sifford. Mr. Carnahan’s name remained on the ballot; acting Governor Roger Wilson announced that Mr. Carnahan’s widow Jean would serve until the general election of 2002 if Mr. Carnahan won. He did, and she did.

Diplomacy
A summit was hastily convened in Sharm el Sheik, Egypt to deal with the latest outbreak of violence in Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories. Those present included Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak; Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat; United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan; U.S. President Bill Clinton; Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak; and Jordan’s King Abdullah.

Terrorism
The government of Yemen, which said that it had questioned 1,500 people in connection with the October 12 bombing of the American warship USS Cole, which had temporarily stopped at the Yemeni port of Aden, denounced the attack as "a premeditated criminal act."

Politics and government
Beaton Tulk took office as Premier of Newfoundland, succeeding Brian Tobin, who announced that he was stepping down in order to run for the Liberal Party in the next federal election.

Business
Chevron Corporation announced that it would buy Texaco Incorporated, a merger that would create the world’s fourth-largest oil company. The plan included the reduction of the company’s workforce by 4,000.

Baseball
National League Championship Series
St. Louis 0 @ New York 7 (New York won best-of-seven series 4-1)

Mike Hampton pitched a 3-hitter for his second win of the Series and the Mets scored 3 runs in the 1st inning as they blanked the Cardinals at Shea Stadium. Todd Zeile drove in 3 runs with a double.