July 26, 2013

225 years ago
1788

Americana
The New York State Convention, meeting in Poughkeepsie, ratified the United States Constitution and entered the Union as the 11th state.

210 years ago
1803

Transportation
The Surrey Iron Railway, arguably the world's first public railway, opened in south London.

150 years ago
1863

Died on this date
Sam Houston, 70. 1st President of the Republic of Texas, 1836-1838; 3rd President of the Republic of Texas, 1841-1844; Governor of Tennessee, 1827-1829; Governor of Texas, 1859-1861. Mr. Houston was one of the key figures who helped to bring Texas into the United States. The city of Houston is named after him.

War
In the U.S. Civil War, Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan and 360 of his volunteers were captured by Union forces at Salineville, Ohio, ending Morgan's Raid.

110 years ago
1903

Born on this date
Donald Voorhees. U.S. orchestra conductor. Mr. Voorhees made recordings from 1926-1931 before moving on to a long career in radio and television, most notably conducting the orchestra for Cavalcade of America (1935-1941, 1949-1953) and The Bell Telephone Hour (1942-1968). He served as the first conductor and musical director of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra (1951-1983), and died of pneumonia on January 10, 1989 at the age of 85.

90 years ago
1923

Canadiana
U.S. President Warren G. Harding visited Vancouver on way back from Alaska, becoming the first American President to visit Canada during his term of office.

Politics and government
James David Stewart led the Conservatives back to power in the Prince Edward Island provincial election.

70 years ago
1943

War
U.S. and Canadian troops turned back a counterattack by German forces on the central Sicilian front. Allied planes bombed Reggio Calabria in southern Italy and airfields at Capodichino and Montecorvino Rovello in the Naples area. U.S. planes dropped a record 104 tons of bombs in 13 raids on Japanese-occupied Kiska in the Aleutians.

Crime
Eight American expatriates--Ezra Pound; Frederick Kaltenback; Robert H. Best; Douglas Chandler; Edward Delaney; Constance Drexel; Jane Anderson; and Max Koischwitz--were indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury in Washington for treason.

Labour
A U.S. federal grand jury in Pittsburgh indicted 30 leaders of unauthorized coal strikes in southwestern Pennsylvania on charges of violating the Smith-Connally War Labor Disputes Law,
the first such action taken under the new statute.

60 years ago
1953

Died on this date
Nikolaos Plastiras, 69. Prime Minister of Greece, 1945; 1950; 1951-1952. Mr. Plastiras, a hero of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922, was Prime Minister January 3-April 9, 1945; April 15-August 21, 1950; and November 1, 1951-October 11, 1952.

War
The United Nations signs the Korean Armistice in Pamnunjon, South Korea. The cease-fire in the three-year war was to take effect the next day.

Protest
Fidel Castro was among a group of rebels against the government of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista who unsuccessfully attacked the Moncada army barracks, thus beginning the Cuban revolution. The movement became known as the 26th of July Movement.

Society
Arizona Governor John Howard Pyle ordered an anti-polygamy law enforcement crackdown on residents of Short Creek, Arizona, which became known as the Short Creek raid.

50 years ago
1963

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): I Like It--Gerry and the Pacemakers (4th week at #1)

Music
The single Bad to Me/I Call Your Name by Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas was released in the United Kingdom on Parlophone Records. Both songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Space
The United States launched the communications satellite Syncom 2, the world's first geosynchronous satellite (having an orbital period the same as the earth's rotation period), from Cape Canaveral, Florida atop a Delta B booster.

Economics and finance
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development voted to admit Japan.

Disasters
An earthquake struck Skopje, Yugoslavia, killing over 1,000 people and destroying over 80% of the city's buildings.

40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Welcome Home--Peters and Lee (2nd week at #1)

Scandal
In a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Sirica, U.S. President Richard Nixon said he could not comply with special prosecutor Archibald Cox's subpoena for tapes of White House conversations regarding the June 1972 break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. and the subsequent cover-up. Mr. Nixon argued that he could not comply with the subpoena because the "independence of the three branches of our Government" was at issue. Mr. Cox immediately petitioned Judge Sirica for an order to release the tapes. Mr. Nixon also wrote to U.S. Senator Sam Ervin (Democrat--North Carolina), chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Campaign Activities, saying that he must "respectfully refuse" to supply the tapes requested by the committee. The committee voted unanimously to seek a court order to compel the President to comply with their request.

30 years ago
1983

Defense
The United States Senate voted 58-41 to spend $2.6 billion on production of the MX missile, five days after the House of Representatives had approved an amendment to a defense authorization bill cutting production funds from $2.6 billion to $2.2 billion. The difference would need to be resolved in conference.

Law
The British High Court rejected the attempt of Victoria Gillick, a mother of 10 children, to prevent doctors prescribing contraception to girls under 16 without parental consent.

Football
Cookie Gilchrist became the first--and so far only--person elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame to refuse the honour. Mr. Gilchrist, a running back with the Sarnia Golden Bears (1954), Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen (1955), Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1956-1957), Saskatchewan Roughriders (1958), and Toronto Argonauts (1959-1961), was still bitter about racism he had experienced from coaches.

25 years ago
1988

Politics and government
Retired general U Sein Lwin was named by the central committee of Burma's ruling party to succeed General Ne Win as the country's president. The committee dismissed Burma's prime minister and attorney general, who were held responsible for student-led riots in March and June.

Diplomacy
Iran said that it was willing to help obtain the release of U.S. hostages in Lebanon if the United States freed Iranian assets frozen in 1979.

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Mr. Vain--Culture Beat (6th week at #1)

Died on this date
Matthew Ridgway, 98. U.S. military officer. General Ridgway had an outstanding career in the United States Army, and was best known for replacing Douglas MacArthur as commander of United Nations forces in Korea in 1951 after General MacArthur had been fired by U.S. President Harry Truman.

War
Israeli forces stepped up bombing, artillery, and gunboat attacks on guerrilla bases in southern Lebanon in retaliation for rocket attacks that had killed seven Israeli soldiers. Pro-Iranian militiamen aimed more rocket attacks on Israeli settlements.

Abominations
The U.S. Supreme Court, with Justice John Paul Stevens writing the judgment, refused to allow a Michigan couple to keep the 2-year-old girl they had raised since birth, but had been ordered to be returned to her biological parents.

Economics and finance
In response to popular dissatisfaction and protests from the market-oriented wing of his government, Russian President Boris Yeltsin modified his announcement of two days earlier that the government would withdraw support for all bank notes issued before the beginning of the year.

Disasters
Asiana Airlines Flight 733, a Boeing 737 jet en route from Seoul to Mokpo, South Korea, crashed into Mount Ungeo on its approach to landing, killing 68 of the 116 passengers and crew members aboard.

10 years ago
2003

Football
CFL
Toronto (3-3) 41 @ Calgary (2-4) 24