June 24, 2013

200 years ago
1813

Born on this date
Henry Ward Beecher. U.S. clergyman. Mr. Beecher, a Congregationalist minister, was one of the most famous American clergymen of the 19th century. He was a prominent social reformer, supporting the abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, temperance, and Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Mr. Beecher was very popular with women, and was often accused of having extramarital affairs. In 1875 he was tried on a civil charge of adultery, accused of having an affair with Elizabeth Tilton, the wife of a friend of his. The trial ended in a hung jury. Mr. Beecher died on March 8, 1887 at the age of 73. Readers of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories will remember that Dr. Watson kept an unframed portrait of Mr. Beecher.

War
In the War of 1812, a force of 440 British Iroquois attacked and harassed Colonel Charles Boerstler and 570 American soldiers as they moved through wooded country to attack the British outpost at Beaver Dams, Upper Canada. Lieutenant James FitzGibbon, the British commander, had already been already warned of their approach by the Iroquois and Laura Secord. To escape being massacred, Col. Boerstler surrendered with 462 men to Lt. FitzGibbon and his 50 British regulars. The Americans were forced back across the Niagara River in this Iroquois victory in defense of Canada.

120 years ago
1893

Born on this date
Roy Disney. U.S. motion picture executive. Mr. Disney was the older brother of motion picture producer Walt Disney, and the two co-founded Walt Disney Productions. While Walt was the creative genius of the company, Roy looked after the financial interests of the studio. Roy Disney retired shortly after the opening of Walt Disney World, and died on December 20, 1971 at the age of 78.

100 years ago
1913

Diplomacy
Greece and Serbia annulled their alliance with Bulgaria.

75 years ago
1938

Space
Pieces of a meteor, estimated to have weighed 450 metric tons when it hit the Earth's atmosphere and exploded, landed near Chicora, Pennsylvania.

70 years ago
1943

Music
Ralph Vaughan Williams conducted the premiere performance of his Symphony No. 5 in a Promenade Concert at Royal Albert Hall in London.

War
Nearly 500 Allied planes bombed oil depots and airfields in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Defense
U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel William Lovelace set an American record with a 40,200-foot parachute jump near Euphrata, Washington to test oxygen equipment.

Crime
An attempt by white U.S. Army military police to arrest Negro servicemen at a pub in Bamber Bridge, England, turned into a firefight, leaving one dead and seven injured.

Politics and government
Australian Prime Minister John Curtin's Labour Party government survived a non-confidence vote in Parliament.

Economics and finance
The U.S. State Department created an Office of Foreign Economic Cooperation, headed by Assistant Secretary Dean Acheson, to coordinate economic activities of civilian economic agencies in liberated areas.

Labour
U.S. Interior Secretary Harold Ickes warned that coal rationing may be necessary, as about 40% of 530,000 striking coal miners remained off the job.

Transportation
The British Columbia government of Premier John Hart allocated $6 million to build a road linking Prince George with the Alaska Highway.

60 years ago
1953

On the radio
I Was a Communist for the FBI, starring Dana Andrews
Tonight’s episode: Tour of Duty

50 years ago
1963

Politics and government
The United Kingdom granted Zanzibar internal self-government.

Edmontonia
Edmonton's city council approved a $1.9-million downtown civic centre and farmers' market.

Boxing
Leotis Martin (8-0) won a 6-round decision over Johnny Alford (15-9-3) in a heavyweight bout at Convention Hall in Philadelphia.

40 years ago
1973

Diplomacy
U.S. President Richard Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed an agreement in Washington setting forth a "modest expansion" of air passenger service by Pan American Airlines and Aeroflot. Washington and Leningrad were to become points of entry and departure, and beginning in April 1974, both airlines would schedule three round-trip flights per week. In the first televised address of a Soviet leader to the American people, Mr. Brezhnev suggested the possibility of another summit before the end of the year.

Disasters
29 people were killed and at least 15 injured when a flash fire, attributed to arson, swept through a bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Beat It--Michael Jackson (5th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Juliet--Robin Gibb (4th week at #1)

At the movies
Twilight Zone: The Movie opened in theatres in North America.

Died on this date
Stephen Clark, 10. Canadian accident victim. Master Clark was playing with friends in the Edmonton area of Mill Woods when a late-afternoon thunderstorm hit so quickly and so hard that a manhole cover popped off, and he was sucked down the manhole and drowned.

Space
U.S. space shuttle mission STS-7 ended after six days when Challenger landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, rather than Cape Canaveral, Florida as planned, because of weather.

Diplomacy
U.S. Vice-President George Bush began a two-week trip to Europe.

Law
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-0 in favour of prohibiting the United States Postal Service from preventing the dissemination of unsolicited advertisements for contraception.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the administration of President Ronald Reagan had been "arbitrary and capricious" in seeking to repeal a regulation requiring passive restraints in new cars.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Ottawa (0-3) 15 @ Toronto (2-1) 31

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Im Nin'Alu--Ofra Haza (2nd week at #1)

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): I Can't Help Falling in Love (With You)--UB40

Terrorism
With the assistance of an informer wearing a wire, U.S. federal agents seized eight alleged Muslim terrorists who were planning a campaign of bombings and political assassinations.

Politics and government
British Minister for Northern Ireland Michael Mates resigned from the Conservative cabinet of Prime Minister John Major because of his links with fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir.

Science
The United States House of Representatives voted to halt support for the $11-billion supercollider proton-smasher in Texas.

10 years ago
2003

Diplomacy
At a meeting at Camp David, Maryland, U.S. President George W. Bush offered Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf a $3-billion package of military aid, but not the F-16 fighter planes that Mr. Musharraf specifically wanted.

Scandal
Canadian privacy commissioner George Radwanski resigned amid investigations by the federal Auditor General and a parliamentary committee into his food and travel spending. Mr. Radwanski and a female assistant spent $500,000 over two years for travel and meals, much of it enjoyed together.