August 1, 2013

175 years ago
1838

Society
Non-labourer slaves in most of the British Empire were emancipated.

120 years ago
1893

Literature
The Adventure of the Resident Patient by A. Conan Doyle, ninth in a series of short stories published in book form in 1894 as The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, was published in the August 1893 issue of The Strand Magazine.

Born on this date
Alexander. King of Greece, 1917-1920. Alexander, the second son of King Constantine I, was installed as a puppet king after King Constantine and Alexander's elder brother Crown Prince George were forced into exile by the Triple Entente powers and the followers of Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos. King Alexander supported Greece's war against the Central Powers in World War I, but his marriage to a commoner caused a scandal. He died of sepsis on October 25, 1920 at the age of 27, several weeks after being bitten by a monkey. Constantine I was then returned to the throne.

Technology
Henry Perky patented shredded wheat.

75 years ago
1938

Died on this date
John Aasen, 48. U.S. actor. Mr. Aasen was a 7'2" sideshow performer who appeared in 14 movies, including Why Worry? (1923); Should Married Men Go Home? (1928); and Bengal Tiger (1936). He died from pneumonia.

Boxing
Johnny Paychek (21-3-1) knocked out Al Globe (15-11-5) at 2:15 of the 5th round of their heavyweight bout at Riverview Park in Des Moines, Iowa.

70 years ago
1943

Died on this date
Lin Sen, 79. Chairman (President) of the National Government of China, 1931-1943. Lin Sen was a member of the Kuomintang, and was largely a figurehead in office, while Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek exercised the actual power. Lin Sen died several months after suffering a stroke.

Don Deacon, 30 or 31. Canadian hockey player. Mr. Deacon, a native of Regina, played left wing with various senior, minor league, and military teams from 1932-43. He played with the Detroit Red Wings from 1936-37 and 1938-40, scoring 6 goals and 4 assists in 30 regular season games and 2 goals and 1 assist in 2 playoff games. Mr. Deacon was based in Calgary with the Canadian Army in 1942-43, and scored 52 points on 21 goals and 31 assists in 23 regular games and 4 goals and 2 assists in 3 Allan Cup playoff games with the Currie base team. While on leave in Vancouver, he was at a party at a friend's home when he fell to his death from a balcony, which suggests that he was most likely drunk.

Lydia Litvyak, 22. U.S.S.R. military aviatrix. Senior Lieutenant Litvyak served in the Soviet Air Force during World War II and was the first female fighter pilot to down an enemy aircraft, recording five solo kills before being fatally shot down near Orel during the Battle of Kursk, 17 days before her 23rd birthday.

War
The Japanese government granted independence to Burma, which then declared war on the U.S.A. and U.K. More than 175 U.S. Liberators dropped 300 tons of bombs on the Ploesti oil refineries in Romania, with the loss of 20 bombers; it was the second raid on the refineries, which produced 90% of the German Luftwaffe's gasoline. U.S. troops took Mistretta, Sicily, capturing 10,000 prisoners.

Diplomacy
China severed relations with the Vichy French regime.

Protest
Race-related rioting erupted in New York City's Harlem section, resulting in several deaths.

Rioting died down in northern Italy as Italians began evacuation from cities to escape Allied air raids.

Technology
Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft Corporation revealed a system that de-iced planes by circulating heated air through the motor exhaust pipes.

60 years ago
1953

Hit Parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Tell Me a Story--Frankie Laine and Jimmy Boyd (2nd week at #1)

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): I'm Walking Behind You--Eddie Fisher (Best seller--2nd week at #1; Disc Jockey--3rd week at #1; Jukebox--5th week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I'm Walking Behind You--Eddie Fisher (4th week at #1)
2 No Other Love--Perry Como
3 The Song from Moulin Rouge (Where is Your Heart)--Percy Faith and his Orchestra
4 Vaya Con Dios (May God Be with You)--Les Paul and Mary Ford
5 April in Portugal--Les Baxter and his Orchestra
6 Terry's Theme from "Limelight"--Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra
--[Richard Hayman and his Orchestra]
7 Ruby--Richard Hayman and his Orchestra
--[Les Baxter and his Orchestra]
8 P.S. I Love You--The Hilltoppers
9 Allez-Vous-En--Kay Starr
10 With These Hands--Eddie Fisher

Singles entering the chart were Blue Canary by Dinah Shore (#26); Te Amo by Frankie Laine (#28); and Hey Joe! by Frankie Laine (#33). Te Amo was the B-side (or maybe the A-side) of Where the Winds Blow, which charted at #34).

Academia
The Université de Sherbrooke was founded.

50 years ago
1963

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): (You're the) Devil in Disguise--Elvis Presley

Space
The mission of the U.S. satellite Solar Radiation 4, launched on June 15, 1963, ended.

Disasters
Seven people, including two small children, were killed in an explosion at a gas station in Hanmer, Ontario.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Hamilton (1-1) 16 @ Montreal (2-1) 23
Ottawa (2-1) 8 @ British Columbia (3-0) 18

40 years ago
1973

Scandal
The United States Senate Select Committee on Campaign Activities made public a 1972 White House memo from former presidential aide Charles Colson in which Mr. Colson warned that hearings on Richard Kleindienst's nomination as U.S. Attorney General could directly involve President Richard Nixon and other administration officials in the settlement of a series of anti-trust actions against the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation.

Football
CFL
Montreal (1-0) 18 @ Hamilton (0-1) 9

Montreal quarterback George Mira completed touchdown passes to Peter Dalla Riva and Johnny Rodgers, the 1972 Heisman Trophy winner who was playing his first CFL game. The Alouettes' win over the defending Grey Cup champion Tiger-Cats at Ivor Wynne Stadium was the first CFL game for Marv Levy as Montreal's head coach. Montreal defensive back Merl Code suffered a season-ending knee injury, and didn't play another CFL game until 1976.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Flashdance...What a Feeling--Irene Cara (4th week at #1)

Diplomacy
Robert McFarlane, U.S. President Ronald Reagan's special envoy to the Middle East, arrived in Beirut to begin several weeks of meetings with leaders of various Middle East countries.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Age of Reason--John Farnham

On the radio
Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh began broadcasting his nationally syndicated radio program across the United States.

Died on this date
Florence Eldridge, 86. U.S. actress. Miss Eldridge was a character actress who appeared in 23 movies and television programs from 1923-1978, but was better known as a stage actress. She appeared in more than 20 Broadway plays in a career spanning almost 40 years, and was nominated for a Tony Award for her starring performance in Long Day's Journey Into Night (1956), which co-starred her husband Fredric March, who won a Tony Award for his performance.

War
A British soldier was killed and nine injured when a bomb planted by the provisional Irish Republican Army exploded at the Inglis Barracks in London.

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: (I Can't Help) Falling in Love with You--UB40 (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): (I Can't Help) Falling in Love with You--UB40 (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Mr. Vain--Culture Beat (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): What's Up?--4 Non Blondes (3rd week at #1)

Disasters
The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 came to a peak.

10 years ago
2003

Terrorism
35-50 people were killed when a suicide bomber rammed a truck through the gates of a military hospital in Mozdok, North Ossetia, Russia. Russian officials blames Chechen separatists.

World events
Lord Hutton, the judge investigating the recent death of British scientist and former United Nations weapons inspector Dr. David Kelly, opened his inquiry.

Scandal
Tape recordings made from July 30-August 1 appeared to reveal that Baylor University head basketball coach Dave Bliss had advised assistant coaches and players to depict Patrick Dennehy (a Baylor basketball player whose body, with two bullet wounds, had been found on July 25, more than a month after he'd been reported missing) as a drug dealer, in an apparent attempt to conceal the fact that Mr. Bliss had paid money to Mr. Dennehy. Mr. Dennehy's roommate and former teammate Carlton Dodson had been charged on July 21 with Mr. Dennehy's murder.

Football
CFL
British Columbia (4-3) 26 @ Toronto (4-3) 28 (OT)
Saskatchewan (5-2) 27 @ Calgary (2-5) 11