August 12, 2012

250 years ago
1762

Born on this date
George IV. King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover, 1820-1830. The eldest son of King George III was born at St. James's Palace in London. He began serving as Regent in 1811 when King George III's porphyria left him incompetent to govern, and acceded to the throne when George III died on January 29, 1820. King George IV's extravagant lifestyle helped to set current standards in fashion, but his behaviour, which included barring his wife Queen Caroline from the coronation, made him very unpopular with the public, and brought the monarchy into disrepute. His health declined greatly in the later years of his reign, with his weight reportedly reaching 500 pounds, and he died on June 25, 1830 at the age of 67.

120 years ago
1892

Politics and government
Liberal Party leader William Gladstone formed a government in Great Britain, the day after the Conservative government of Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Third Marquess of Salisbury, had lost a non-confidence motion in the House of Commons 350-310 after six years in power. Mr. Gladstone had previously served as Prime Minister from 1868-1874; 1880-1885; and 1886.

90 years ago
1922

Died on this date
Arthur Griffith, 51. Irish journalist and politician. Mr. Griffith founded the nationalist newspaper The United Irishman in 1899, and founded the political party Sinn Féin in 1905, serving as its president from 1911-1917. He represented East Cavan (1918-1921) and Cavan (1921-1922) in the Teachta Dála, and represented Fermanagh and Tyrone in the Northern Ireland Parliament (1921-1922), serving as Ireland's Minister for Home Affairs (1919-1921) and Minister for Foreign Affairs (1921-1922). Mr. Griffith led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that produced the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, and served as President of Dáil Éireann from January 10, 1922 until his death from a cerebral hemorrhage resulting from heart failure.

60 years ago
1952

On television tonight
Suspense, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Remember Me?, starring Cloris Leachman, Martin E. Books, and Frieda Altman

Baseball
Stu Miller made his major league debut, going the distance as the St. Louis Cardinals edged the Chicago Cubs 1-0 in 10 innings. Bob Rush was the losing pitcher; it was his second 1-0 loss in a row.

50 years ago
1962

Space
The U.S.S.R. launched Vostok 4, with Pavel Popovich aboard, the day after Andrian Nikolayev had entered Earth orbit aboard Vostok 3. The two capsules came within 4 miles of each other and established radio contact, but didn't actually rendezvous.

40 years ago
1972

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K.: School's Out--Alice Cooper

Australia's Top 10 (Go-Set)
1 Puppy Love--Donny Osmond (2nd week at #1)
2 Sylvia's Mother--Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show
3 The Candy Man--Sammy Davis, Jr. with the Mike Curb Congregation
4 Daddy Don't You Walk so Fast--Wayne Newton
5 Alone Again (Naturally)--Gilbert O'Sullivan
6 Nice to Be with You--Gallery
7 Beautiful Sunday--Daniel Boone
8 Metal Guru--T. Rex
9 It's Four in the Morning--Faron Young
10 (Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All--The 5th Dimension

Singles entering the chart were Taxi by Harry Chapin (#34) and Sister Jane by New World (#39).

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Alone Again (Naturally)--Gilbert O'Sullivan (3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Alone Again (Naturally)--Gilbert O'Sullivan
2 Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)--Looking Glass
3 (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right--Luther Ingram
4 Daddy Don't You Walk so Fast--Wayne Newton
5 How Do You Do--Mouth and MacNeal
6 School's Out--Alice Cooper
7 Where is the Love--Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
8 Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)--The Hollies
9 I'm Still in Love with You--Al Green
10 Day By Day--Godspell

Singles entering the chart were Honky Cat by Elton John (#60); Play Me by Neil Diamond (#61); Wholy Holy by Aretha Franklin (#66); Why by Donny Osmond (#74); Think (About It) by Lyn Collins (#76); Geronimo's Cadillac by Michael Murphey (#86); In Time by Engelbert Humperdinck (#92); How Could I Let Her Get Away by the Spinners (#93); Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar by Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen (#95); Loving You Just Crossed My Mind by Sam Neely (#97); Garden Party by Rick Nelson & the Stone Canyon Band (#98); and A Piece of Paper by Gladstone (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Daddy Don't You Walk so Fast--Wayne Newton
2 How Do You Do--Mouth and MacNeal
3 Alone Again (Naturally)--Gilbert O'Sullivan
4 Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)--Looking Glass
5 School's Out--Alice Cooper
6 Too Late to Turn Back Now--Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
7 Day By Day--Godspell
8 Wild Eyes--Stampeders
9 Layla--Derek and the Dominoes
10 Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)--The Hollies

Singles entering the chart were City of New Orleans by Arlo Guthrie (#56); Circles by the New Seekers (#63); Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me by Mac Davis (#66); Africa by Thundermug (#79); In the Quiet Morning by Joan Baez (#80); Go All the Way by Raspberries (#84); Easy Livin' by Uriah Heep (#90); I Believe in Music by Gallery (#92); America by Yes (#93); Put on Your Light by Harry Chapin (#95); Rock Me on the Water by Jackson Browne (#96); Rock and Roll Song by Valdy (#97); Alabama Wild Man by Jerry Reed (#98); Carolyn by Terry McManus (#99); and Love Song by Tommy James (#100).

Calgary’s Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 Wild Eyes—Stampeders (3rd week at #1)
2 Alone Again (Naturally)—Gilbert O’Sullivan
3 Daddy Don’t You Walk so Fast—Wayne Newton
4 Some Sing, Some Dance—Pagliaro
5 Coconut--Nilsson
6 The Candy Man—Sammy Davis, Jr. with the Mike Curb Congregation
7 Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)—The Hollies
8 How Do You Do—Mouth and MacNeal
9 Motorcycle Mama—Sailcat
10 Concrete Sea--Terry Jacks
Pick hit of the week: Beautiful Sunday--Daniel Boone

30 years ago
1982

Hit parade
Edmonton’s Top 20 (CHED)
1 Abracadabra—Steve Miller Band
2 Eye of the Tiger—Survivor
3 Hard to Say I’m Sorry—Chicago
4 Hold Me—Fleetwood Mac
5 Your Daddy Don’t Know—Toronto
6 Only the Lonely—The Motels
7 Love Plus One—Haircut One Hundred
8 Take it Away—Paul McCartney
9 Even the Nights are Better—Little River Band
10 Only Time Will Tell—Asia
11 Eyes of a Stranger—Payola$
12 One More Time—Streetheart
13 What Kind of Fool am I?—Rick Springfield
14 Enough is Enough—April Wine
15 Always on My Mind—Willie Nelson
16 I Found Somebody—Glenn Frey
17 Keep the Fire Burnin’—REO Speedwagon
18 Eye in the Sky—Alan Parsons Project
19 Wasted on the Way—Crosby, Stills & Nash
20 Jack & Diane—John Cougar

On television tonight
Gorilla at Large, on CITV

Gorilla at Large, originally shown in 3D when released to theatres in 1954, was shown in 3-D on television as an experiment. I still have my 3-D video glasses that I bought for 99c at a 7-11 store for the occasion.

Died on this date
Henry Fonda, 77. U.S. actor. Mr. Fonda, who usually played heroic and morally upright characters, starred in such movies as Jezebel (1938); Young Mr. Lincoln (1939); Drums Along the Mohawk (1939); The Grapes of Wrath (1940); The Lady Eve (1941); The Male Animal (1942); The Ox-Bow Incident (1943); My Darling Clementine (1946); The Fugitive (1947); Fort Apache (1948); Mr. Roberts (1955); The Wrong Man (1956); 12 Angry Men (1957); Warlock (1959); Fail-Safe (1964); The Best Man (1964); Firecreek (1968); and Once Upon a Time in the West (1969). He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his last movie, On Golden Pond (1981). His daughter Jane and son Peter also became famous actors.

Salvador Sanchez, 23. Mexican boxer. Mr. Sanchez compiled a professional record of 44-1-1 with 31 knockouts. He knocked out Danny Lopez in the 13th round to win the World Boxing Council world featherweight title on Feb. 2, 1980, and successfully defended the title nine times, most recently on July 21, 1982, with a 15-round knockout of Azumah Nelson. Mr. Sanchez was killed in a car accident near the town of Queretaro.

Journalism
The Sandanista government of Nicaragua closed La Prensa, the country’s only opposition newspaper, over an incident concerning a Roman Catholic priest who claimed that police had forced him naked into the street. La Prensa refused to print the police version of the story, choosing instead not to publish it at all.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (2-3) 26 @ Ottawa (1-4) 19

Joe Adams, in his first start as a CFL quarterback, completed 24 of 35 passes for 355 yards and touchdowns to John McCorquindale in the 3rd quarter and Ron Robinson in the 4th quarter as the Roughriders beat the Rough Riders before 21,455 fans at Lansdowne Park. Dave Ridgway added 2 converts and 4 field goals, including one from 29 yards with 4 seconds remaining in the game to give Saskatchewan their 7-point lead. Joey Walters caught 8 of Mr. Adams’ passes for 138 yards, and Chris DeFrance caught 9 for 137. Skip Walker rushed 1 yard for the only Ottawa touchdown in the 3rd quarter.

25 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): It's a Sin--Pet Shop Boys (3rd week at #1)

Baseball
The Atlanta Braves traded pitcher Doyle Alexander, in his 17th season in the major leagues, to the Detroit Tigers for minor league pitcher John Smoltz.

20 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Abba-esque--Erasure (8th week at #1)

Died on this date
John Cage, 79. U.S. composer. Mr. Cage was known for “compositions” such as 4’ 33” (four minutes, thirty-three seconds) (1952) that illustrated his belief in the existence of an impersonal universe and blind chance, rather than an infinite and personal God. See my post on Mr. Cage here.

Economics and finance
Representatives of the U.S.A., Canada, and Mexico announced that they had approved a draft agreement establishing free trade among the three nations. Over 15 years, tariff and other restrictions on trade and investment would be eliminated. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) also included an accession clause, paving the way for other countries to join the pact without a redesign of the agreement. The legislatures of all three countries would have to approve the draft.

Football
CFL
Edmonton (5-1) 30 @ Hamilton (3-3) 28

A bizarre play resulted in a 2-point convert with 27 seconds remaining in regulation time to give the Eskimos their win over the Tiger-Cats before 21,327 fans at Ivor Wynne Stadium. Henry “Gizmo” Williams made a sensational catch of a Tracy Ham pass for a 64-yard touchdown to tie the game, but Hamilton linebacker Terry Wright blocked Sean Fleming’s convert attempt. The ball bounced right into the hands of holder Glenn Harper, who had the presence of mind to run into the Hamilton end zone for the convert in what may be the only instance in CFL history of 2 convert attempts being recorded in the statistics for the same play. Mr. Williams’ touchdown was his second of the game; he had returned a punt 104 yards for a TD in the 3rd quarter. Blake Marshall rushed 3 yards for the first Edmonton touchdown in the 2nd quarter, and Mr. Ham completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Craig Ellis in the 3rd quarter. All of the Hamilton touchdowns were scored on rushing plays: a 21-yard run by Lee Knight in the 1st quarter, and 1-yard runs by Orville Lee in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.