June 28, 2013

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, James Remnant!

400 years ago
1613

War
Captain Samuel Argall came up the coast from Boston to attack the French settlements at Annapolis, Nova Scotia.

200 years ago
1813

Died on this date
Gerhard von Scharnhorst, 57. Prussian general. General Scharnhorst was known for his leadership in the Napoleonic Wars. He died of the results of a foot wound received in battle on May 2, 1813.

175 years ago
1838

Britannica
Queen Victoria was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London.

Politics and government
Canadian Governor General Lord Durham banished eight Patriote leaders to Bermuda without trial, including Dr. Wolfred Nelson. He proclaimed an amnesty for 107 jailed rebels (released on bail of $5,000-20,000), but not for the 16 Patriotes still in the United States (including George-Etienne Cartier), and the ten accused of the murder of George Weir.

100 years ago
1913

Died on this date
Manuel Ferraz de Campos Sales, 72. 4th President of Brazil, 1898-1902. Mr. Ferraz de Campos Sales succeeded Prudente José de Morais Barros as President, and was succeeded in turn by Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves.

70 years ago
1943

War
Paris radio claimed that 96 German divisions--about 1.7 million troops--were ready to meet an invasion of the continent. Japanese troops in China moved from Nanking, Hankow, and Siyang to the central Yangtze front.

Defense
Sperry Corporation announced that its new automatic computing sight, which could aim and fire 50-calibre machine guns automatically, had been installed on U.S. Flying Fortresses.

Crime
Three Brazilians and 10 people now in Germany were sentenced in Rio de Janeiro to 20-30-year prison terms for giving shipping information to the German government before Brazil's entry into World War II.

Politics and government
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt named Judge Marvin Jones to replace Chester Davis as war food administrator.

Horse racing
Calumet Stables retired Whirlaway, the five-year-old who had won 32 races, including the 1941 Triple Crown, and a record $561,161.

50 years ago
1963

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Welcome to My World--Jim Reeves (3rd week at #1)

Space
The United States launched Research Satellite for Geophysics.

40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Rubber Bullets--10 C.C.

Died on this date
Mohamed Boudia, 41. Algerian terrorist. Mr. Boudia, who had participated in the Algerian War before fleeing to Paris in 1965, was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). He was assassinated by an Israeli hit squad as part of Operation Wrath of God in reprisal for his role in the massacre of 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team at the Summer Olympic games in Munich in September 1972.

Politics and government
The first elections were held for the Northern Ireland Assembly. Parties supporting the British White Paper's proposal for power-sharing between Protestants and Roman Catholics won a majority of seats in the 78-member body.

The New Democratic Party government of Premier Ed Schreyer retained power in the Manitoba provincial election, winning a five-seat majority.

30 years ago
1983

Law
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to strike down a life sentence imposed in South Dakota against a repeat offender who had passed a bad cheque for $100.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that interstate natural gas pipeline companies could charge the same rates for their gas as those charged by independent producers.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit had risen to $6.91 billion in May, the highest monthly figure ever. President Ronald Reagan said that his administration was raising its forecast of economic growth for the final quarter of 1983 from 4.7%-5.5%.

Disasters
Three people were killed in the partial collapse of Connecticut's busy I-95 Mianus River Bridge.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Toronto (3-1) 25 @ Montreal (2-2) 24

25 years ago
1988

Politics and government
In a keynote address on the opening day of the 19th All-Union Conference of the Soviet Communist Party--and the first such conference since 1941--Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev proposed to create a central government headed by a strong president who would be chosen by a 2,250-member Congress of People's Deputies, representative of the Soviet people. He called for a limit of two five-year terms for party leaders; multi-candidate elections; a commission to combat corruption; a review of the Soviet constitution; more authority for local legislatures over local matters; and a ban on interference in the management of economic affairs by party organizations. Mr. Gorbachev supported freedom of conscience in religion, and he condemned the "cult of personality" under Josef Stalin and the "period of stagnation" under Leonid Brezhnev. He also warned that the government's budget deficit was growing.

The legislatures of British Columbia and Ontario ratified the Meech Lake constitutional accord.

Crime
U.S. attorney Rudolph Giuliani filed a suit in New York under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law on behalf of the U.S. Justice Department, asking a federal court to remove the leaders of the Teamsters Union and appoint a trustee to run it. Mr. Giuliani said that his goal was "to take back the Teamsters from the Mafia," and said that organized crime had deprived union members of their rights through 20 murders as well as through shootings, bombings, beatings, extortion, and theft. Mr. Giuliani noted that four of the last five teamsters presidents had been indicted while in office and three had been imprisoned.

Law
The Canadian Parliament passed a law banning tobacco advertising, with some exceptions.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Calgary (1-0) 39 @ British Columbia (0-1) 27

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Mr. Vain--Culture Beat (2nd week at #1)

War
The United States launched missiles against an Iraqi intelligence centre in Baghdad in reprisal for an attempt to assassinate former U.S. President George Bush during a visit to Kuwait in April.

10 years ago
2003

Football
CFL
British Columbia (0-2) 30 @ Saskatchewan (2-0) 32