July 14, 2012

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Michael Upstone!

250 years ago
1762

Born on this date
Joseph Lakanal. French politician. Mr. Lakanal was a rhetoric professor before becoming a member of the National Convention of the French Republic (1792-1795), and the Committee of Public Instruction (1793). In 1795, he was elected to the Council of Five Hundred, and was a founding member of the Institut de France. Mr. Lakanal retired to the United States after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, and the U.S. Congress granted him 500 acres to found the Vine and Olive Colony, a settlement of expatriate French Bonapartists in Alabama. Mr. Lakanal returned to France in 1834, and died on February 14, 1845 at the age of 82.

150 years ago
1862

Born on this date
Gustav Klimt. Austrian artist. Mr. Klimt's paintings included The Kiss (1907-1908)and Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907). He died on February 6, 1918 at the age of 55.

110 years ago
1902

Born on this date
Paul Guilfoyle. U.S. actor and director. Mr. Guilfoyle began his career on stage before appearing in minor roles in numerous films from 1935-1960, including White Heat (1949); Julius Caesar (1953); and Not as a Stranger (1955). He directed three movies and numerous television programs before his death from a heart attack on June 27, 1961, 17 days before his 59th birthday.

100 years ago
1912

Born on this date
Northrop Frye. Canadian literary critic. Mr. Frye, a native of Sherbrooke, Quebec, was one of those scholars who wrote books that were unread by anyone outside academia. His best-known books included Fearful Symmetry (1947); Anatomy of Criticism (1957); and The Great Code (1982). He died on January 23, 1991 at the age of 78.

Woody Guthrie. U.S. musician. An inspiration to generations of folksingers and songwriters, the writer of the song This Land is Your Land was born in Okemah, Oklahoma. Mr. Guthrie died on October 3, 1967 at the age of 55 after a long battle with Huntington's disease.

60 years ago
1952

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Bog-Oak Necklace, starring Jane Seymour

50 years ago
1962

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: Stai lontana da me--Adriano Celentano (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): I Can't Stop Loving You--Ray Charles

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Roses are Red (My Love)--Bobby Vinton

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Roses are Red (My Love)--Bobby Vinton
2 I Can't Stop Loving You--Ray Charles
3 The Stripper--David Rose and his Orchestra
4 The Wah Watusi--The Orlons
5 Wolverton Mountain--Claude King
6 Palisades Park--Freddy Cannon
7 Sealed with a Kiss--Brian Hyland
8 Al Di La'--Emilio Pericoli
9 It Keeps Right on A-Hurtin'--Johnny Tillotson
10 Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)--Dee Dee Sharp

Singles entering the chart were Above the Stars by Mr. Acker Bilk (#74); The Ballad of Paladin by Duane Eddy (#84); Surfin' Safari by the Beach Boys (#92); So Wrong by Patsy Cline (#94); Rinky Dink by Dave "Baby" Cortez (#95); A Swingin' Affair by Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra (#96); What's a Matter Baby (Is it Hurting You) by Timi Yuro (#97); Why Did You Leave Me? by Vincent Edwards (#99); Ben Crazy by Dickie Goodman (#100); and Life's Too Short by the Lafayettes (also #100). Vincent Edwards was the star of the television series Ben Casey, of which Ben Crazy was a spoof.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Edmonton Eskimos intrasquad game
Green 27 Gold 21

40 years ago
1972

Politics and government
The Democratic National Convention concluded in the wee hours of the morning in Miami Beach, Florida with the nomination of U.S. Senators George McGovern of South Dakota and Thomas Eagleton of Missouri as the party’s 1972 candidates for the positions of President and Vice President, respectively, of the United States of America. Delegates were allowed to nominate vice-presidential candidates who hadn’t been officially nominated, and 69 candidates were named from the floor, including Chinese Communist dictator Mao Zedong, consumer advocate Ralph Nader, CBS news correspondent Roger Mudd, Martha Mitchell (the wife of U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell), and my favourite, Archie Bunker (the bigoted main character of the television comedy series All in the Family). In his acceptance speech, Sen. McGovern said that President Richard Nixon would be “the fundamental issue” of the campaign, and promised that, if elected, his administration would “turn away from excessive preoccupation overseas to rebuilding our own nation.” The convention ended at about 4 A.M., and Mr. McGovern’s speech came at such an awkward hour that few heard it, and he failed to benefit from the usual post-convention “bounce” in the polls that a major party’s presidential nominee usually receives.

Boxing
Former world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson (55-7-1) scored a technical knockout of Pedro Agosto (21-4) at Madison Square Garden in New York when referee Arthur Mercante stopped the bout after the 6th round because of cuts to Mr. Agosto's face and eyes. The win was Mr. Patterson's last.



30 years ago
1982

Died on this date
Jackie Jensen, 55. U.S. baseball and football player. One of the greatest sports legends in the history of the University of California, Mr. Jensen was a star halfback and punter with the Golden Bears from 1946-1948, becoming the first player at U of C to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. He ran 67 yards for a touchdown early in the 1949 Rose Bowl, but left the game later with a leg injury, and the Golden Bears lost 20-14 to Northwestern University. Mr. Jensen, who had just completed his junior year, left university to play professional baseball as an outfielder with the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League. He hit just .261 with 9 home runs, but was sold to the New York Yankees after the season, and played for them from 1950-1952. Mr. Jensen was dissatisfied with the slow progress of his career, and was dealt to the Washington Nationals early in the 1952 season. After two seasons in Washington, Mr. Jensen was traded to he Boston Red Sox, where he enjoyed great success from 1953-1959. In the last six of those seven years Mr. Jensen batted in more runs than any other American League player. His best season was 1958, when he batted .286 with 35 home runs and 122 RBIs, and was named the AL's Most Valuable Player. A crippling fear of flying caused Mr. Jensen to retire after the 1959 season. He came back in 1961, but had a mediocre year, and the fear of flying finally drove him out of the game for good. In 11 years in the major leagues Mr. Jensen played in 1,438 game, batting .279 with 199 home runs and 929 runs batted in. A succession of jobs in and out of baseball followed, including a return to the University of California as baseball coach. Mr. Jensen was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1984. He remains the only man to play in an East-West Shrine Game, a Rose Bowl, a World Series, and a major league baseball All-Star game--although his World Series experience was confined to a single pinch-running appearance in 1950.

War
Iran announced the beginning of a new offensive into Iraq, near Basra, which was 14 miles from the border.

25 years ago
1987

Terrorism
At least 72 people were killed and 300 injured when two car bombs exploded in a crowded section of Karachi. Pakistani President Muhammad Zia ul-Haq attributed the bombings to Pakistan’s support of the resistance movement in Afghanistan.

Baseball
Major League All-Star Game @ Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
National League 2 American League 0 (13 innings)

Tim Raines of the Montreal Expos hit a triple with 2 out in the top of the 13th inning to drive in Ozzie Virgil of the Atlanta Braves and Hubie Brooks of the Expos, providing the only scoring as the NL edged the AL before 49,671 fans. Mike Scott of the Houston Astros pitched the first 2 innings for the NL, while Lee Smith of the Chicago Cubs, who entered the game in the bottom of the 10th inning, was the winning pitcher. Bret Saberhagen of the Kansas City Royals pitched the first 3 innings for the AL, and Jay Howell of the Oakland Athletics, who entered the game in the top of the 12th inning, took the loss. The AL had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the 9th inning when Dave Winfield of the New York Yankees attempted to score on a failed double play attempt, but Mr. Virgil held onto the ball at home plate in a collision with Mr. Winfield and recorded the putout. Mr. Raines won the Arch Ward Trophy as the game’s Most Valuable Player.



20 years ago
1992

Politics and government
The Yugoslav parliament approved Milan Panic, a native of Serbia, as Yugoslavia’s Premier. He was chosen by Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.

Crime
34 Mohawks facing charges stemming from the 1990 Oka crisis in Quebec (an armed standoff between Mohawks and Quebec police at the Akwesasne reserve) were acquitted after an eight-week trial in Montreal. Five others had been acquitted earlier in the trial, and two were given prison sentences.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 0.3% in June.

Baseball
Major League All-Star Game @ Jack Murphy-San Diego Stadium
American League 13 National League 6

The AL scored 4 runs in the top of the 1st inning on 7 consecutive singles and 4 more runs in the 6th inning to take a 10-0 lead as they defeated the NL before 59,372 fans. Ken Griffey of the Seattle Mariners batted 3 for 3 with a home run and won the Arch Ward Trophy as the game’s Most Valuable Player. Kevin Brown of the Texas Rangers pitched the 1st inning for the AL and was the winning pitcher, while Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves pitched the 1st inning for the NL and took the loss. Will Clark of the San Francisco Giants homered for the NL. The win was the fifth in a row for the American League.