July 22, 2013

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Eileen Sasakamoose!

1,175 years ago
838

War
Forces of the Abbasid Caliphate led by General Afshin inflicted a heavy defeat upon Byzantine Empire forces led by Emperor Theophilos in the Battle of Anzen near Dazman, Turkey.

570 years ago
1443

War
Old Swiss Confederacy forces defeated Zürich forces in the Battle of St. Jakob an der Sihl in the Old Zürich War.

220 years ago
1793

Exploration
Alexander Mackenzie reached the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first recorded human to complete a transcontinental crossing of Canada.

125 years ago
1888

Born on this date
Selman Waksman. Ukrainian-born U.S. biochemist and inventor. Dr. Waksman discovered over 20 antibiotics and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his discovery of "streptomycin," the first antibiotic active against tuberculosis." He died on August 16, 1973 at the age of 85.

120 years ago
1893

Born on this date
Jesse Haines. U.S. baseball pitcher. "Pop" Haines played with the Cincinnati Reds (1918) and St. Louis Cardinals (1920-1937), compiling a record of 210-158 with an earned run average of 3.64 in 555 games, and batting .186 with 3 home runs and 79 runs batted in in 560 games, with all but his first game being played with the Cardinals. He had three seasons of 20 or more wins, and helped the Cardinals win World Series championships in 1926, 1931, and 1934. Mr. Haines was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970; his election to the Hall by the Veterans Committee remains controversial. He died on August 5, 1978 at the age of 85.

Karl Menninger. U.S. psychiatrist. Dr. Menninger and his father Charles founded the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas in 1919. The Menninger Sanitarium was founded in 1925, and the Menninger Foundation in 1946, as the first group psychiatric practice. Karl Menninger's books included The Human Mind (1930); Man Against Himself (1938); The Crime of Punishment (1968); and Whatever Became of Sin? (1973). Dr. Menninger died on July 18, 1990, four days before his 97th birthday.

Died on this date
John Rae, 79. U.K. physician and explorer. Dr. Rae grew up in Scotland and obtained his medical degree from the University of Edinburgh before joining the Hudson's Bay Company and moving to British North America. He was known for exploring the Arctic in the 1840s and 1850s, where he discovered the final portion of the Northwest Passage and found out in 1854 what had happened to the expedition of Sir John Franklin of 1845-1848. Numerous places in the Northwest Territories are named after Dr. Rae.

Americana
Katharine Lee Bates wrote the lyrics to America the Beautiful after admiring the view from the top of Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs, Colorado.

110 years ago
1903

Died on this date
Cassius Marcellus Clay, 92. U.S. politician and diplomat. Mr. Clay was a planter from Kentucky who opposed slavery. He served three terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives (1835-1841), and survived an assassination attempt in 1843. Mr. Clay was a founder of the Republican Party in Kentucky in the mid-1850s; he campaigned unsuccessfully for the Republican U.S. vice presidential nomination 1860, but supported the presidential bid of Abraham Lincoln. When Mr. Lincoln took office as President in 1861, he appointed Mr. Clay as United States Ambassador to Russia. Mr. Clay interrupted his diplomatic duties in 1862 to serve as a major general in the Union Army during the Civil War, and returned to his amassadorial post in 1863. He was instrumental in securing Russian support for the Union, and in negotiations for America's purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. Mr. Clay left the Republican Party in 1869, helped to organize the Liberal Republican Party in 1872, and supported Democratic Party presidential candidates in the elections of 1876 and 1880 before returning to the Republicans in 1884. He died of "general exhaustion."

80 years ago
1933

Aviation
Wiley Post became the first person to fly solo around the world, travelling 15,596 miles (25,099 km) in 7 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes, and landing at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York.

70 years ago
1943

Music
Alfred Wallenstein, 44, was elected permanent conductor and musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, becoming th first native-born American to direct a major American orchestra.

War
The U.S. War Department disclosed that 65,058 Axis prisoners of war were being interned in the United States. Soviet troops advanced 3-5 miles on the Orel front and captured a number of vilages, including the German stronghold of Bolkhov. American forces led by General George Patton captured Palermo, Sicily. Canadians captured Assoro and Leonforte, with three other Italian towns. U.S. planes blasted Japanese positions on Mundo, New Georgia and attacked three more enemy warships in the Bougainville Strait.

Protest
Axis occupation forces violently dispersed a mass protest in Athens, killing 22.

Transportation
Trans-Canada Air Lines made its first crossing of the Atlantic, a 12-hour 26-minute flight from Montreal to Prestwick, Scotland. TCA 's unarmed Lancaster – a bomber converted for civilian use – carried three passengers on official government business and 2,600 pounds of mail for the Army.

60 years ago
1953

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

At the movies
El misterio del carro express (The Mystery of the Express Car), co-written and directed by Zacarías Gómez Urquiza, and starring Miguel Torruco and Rebeca Iturbide, opened in theatres in Mexico.



50 years ago
1963

Music
The Beach Boys' single Surfer Girl/Little Deuce Coupe was released on Capitol Records.

Edmontonia
City council was presented with a plan that would divide downtown into eight areas.

Diplomacy
Zafrulla Khan, President of United Nations General Assembly, arrived in Ottawa to begin a visit to Canada.

Politics and government
André Laurendeau and Davidson Dunton were appointed to chair the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism.

The Canadian Parliament passed an act establishing the Department of Industry.

Boxing
Sonny Liston (35-1), who had knocked out defending champion Floyd Patterson in 2 minutes and 6 seconds of the 1st round to win the world heavyweight title on September 25, 1962, won the rematch against Mr. Patterson (38-4) before 8,000 fans at the Las Vegas Convention Center, knocking him down 3 times and out in 2 minutes and 10 seconds. On the undercard, Leotis Martin (9-0) knocked out Billy Johnson (2-3) in the 1st round of a heavyweight bout.



Football
CFL
Pre-season
Edmonton (0-1) 14 @ Montreal (0-2) 17

Baseball
Two months after obtaining him from the Washington Senators in a trade for Gil Hodges, the New York Mets released outfielder Jimmy Piersall. Mr. Piersall had hit just .194 in 40 games with the Mets, but he did hit his 100th career major league home run with them, running the bases backwards to celebrate the milestone.

40 years ago
1973

Defense
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Sweden lodged complaints about France's detonation of a nuclear device the previous day over the South Pacific atoll of Mururoa.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Total Eclipse of the Heart--Bonnie Tyler (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Baby Jane--Rod Stewart (2nd week at #1)

Diplomacy
U.S. President Ronald Reagan announced that deputy national security adviser Robert McFarlane would succeed Philip Habib as his chief Middle East negotiator. Syria had refused to see Mr. Habib, regarding him as hostile to Arab positions.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index had edged upward 0.2% in June, and only 2.9% for the first six months of 1983.

The Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS) declared in a Washington state court that it could not pay off debts for two cancelled nuclear power plants near Richland and Satsop, Washington. The court had refused to reconsider its June 5 decision freeing state utilities from contracts to pay for cancelled plants.

Football
CFL
Hamilton (1-2) 18 @ Winnipeg (2-1) 29

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Im Nin'Alu--Ofra Haza (6th week at #1)

Died on this date
Duane Jones, 51. U.S. actor. Mr. Jones was known mainly for his starring role in Night of the Living Dead (1968).

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

Football
CFL
Calgary (0-2) 31 @ British Columbia (2-0) 44



20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Mr. Vain--Culture Beat

Disasters
Levees near Kaskaskia, Illinois ruptured, forcing the entire town to evacuate on barges operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Monsoons in India had killed more than 500 people and had driven hundreds of thousands from homes and farms.

Football
CFL
Hamilton (3-0) 25 @ Toronto (0-3) 9

Lubo Zizakovic blocked a Lance Chomyc field goal attempt and Greg Eaglin returned it 75 yards for a touchdown in the 3rd quarter as the Tiger-Cats beat the Argonauts before 27,373 fans at SkyDome. John Hood rushed 8 yards for the other Hamilton TD with 37 seconds remaining in the game. Paul Osbaldiston added 3 field goals, 2 converts, and 2 singles. Tracy Ham passed 27 yards to Robert Clark for the only Toronto touchdown.

10 years ago
2003

Died on this date
Uday Hussein, 39; Qusay Hussein, 36. Iraqi politicians. The two sons of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein were reportedly killed in a gun battle with U.S. troops in Mosul.

Politics and government
Cabinet minister John Manley withdrew from the contest to replace outgoing Prime Minister Jean Chretien as the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, saying that to continue would be "irresponsible" in the face of insufficient party support.