July 7, 2013

470 years ago
1543

War
French troops invaded Luxembourg.

220 years ago
1793

Politics and government
The first meeting of the Assembly of St. John's Island (later known as Prince Edward Island) took place in Charlottetown.

150 years ago
1863

War
The United States introduced its first military draft. For $300, one could buy an exemption; this led to the New York City draft riots which began six days later, becoming the worst civil disturbance in American history.

120 years ago
1893

Died on this date
Samuel Blatchford, 73. Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1882-1893. Justice Blatchford, the son of politician and diplomat R.M. Blatchford, served on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (1867-1878) and U.S. Circuit Court for the Second Circuit (1878-1882) before being appointed to the Supreme Court by President Chester Arthur, thus becoming the first person to serve at all three levels of the federal judiciary. Justice Blatchford was known as an expert in admiralty law, and authored 430 opinions and 2 dissents while on the Supreme Court. He died shortly after being stricken with paralysis.

75 years ago
1938

Politics and government
The Conservative Party of Canada leadership convention at Ottawa Coliseum concluded with R. J. Manion, who had represented the Ontario riding of Fort William from 1917-1935, defeating four other candidates to win the party's leadership on the second ballot, replacing retiring former Prime Minister R.B. Bennett. Mr. Manion had served as minister of railways and canals in Mr. Bennett's government from 1930-1935.

70 years ago
1943

Died on this date
Harry Oakes, 68. U.S.-born U.K. magnate. Sir Harry, a native of Maine, made a fortune in gold mining in northern Ontario and was once regarded as the richest man in Canada. He became a British subject and moved to the Bahamas in 1935 for tax reasons. On July 8, 1943, Sir Harry was found murdered in his mansion in Nassau, with his corpse partially burned and strewn with feathers; he had apparently been dead since the previous night. His murder was never officially solved.

Divorced on this date
Former world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey was granted a divorce from former actress Hannah Williams Dempsey in White Plains, New York.

War
French General H.H. Giraud arrived in Washington to confer with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and U.S. military leaders. The French Committee of National Liberation apointed Brigadier General Henri-Paul Jacomy military commander of French Guiana and the Antilles, including Martinique. The German offensive on the Belgorod-Orel front continued as thousands of fresh troops were hurled into action.

Politics and government
Prime Minister Jan Smuts led his United Party to another majority government in the South African general election. The UP captured 89 of 153 seats, but their total was a decline of 22 from the most recent election in 1938. The Reunited National Party, led by D.F. Malan, finished second with 43 seats, an increase of 16 from 1938.

The British Commonwealth Party issued a manifesto demanding common ownership of land; independence for India; self-government for colonies; and a postwar world economic council.

Protest
U.S. Fair Employment Practices Commission Chairman Monsignor Francis Haas reported that a"inadequate housing, recreation and public transportation" were responsible for the recent race riot in Detroit.

Labour
The Congress of Industrial Organizations Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America asked the National War Labor Board for a 9% wage increase.

60 years ago
1953

On television tonight
Suspense, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Mascot, starring Margaret Hayes and Mike Wallace

40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): We were All Wounded at Wounded Knee--Redbone (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: Skweeze Me Pleeze Me--Slade (2nd week at #1)

Australia's Top 10 (Go-Set)
1 Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree--Dawn featuring Tony Orlando (6th week at #1)
2 Daisy a Day--Jud Strunk
3 The Twelfth of Never--Donny Osmond
4 Heaven is My Woman's Love--Col Joye
5 The Morning After--Maureen McGovern
6 Get Down--Gilbert O'Sullivan
7 Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)--Deodato
8 Daniel--Elton John
9 My Love--Paul McCartney & Wings
10 Suzie Darling--Barrie Crocker

New singles entering the chart were Hello, Hello, I'm Back Again by Gary Glitter (#28); Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy by Bette Midler (#31); Never Never Never (Grande, Grande, Grande) by Shirley Bassey (#33); Cherry Cherry (Live) by Neil Diamond (#36); I Don't Want to Know About It by Ross Ryan (#38); Destiny Song by Band of Light (#39); and Give Me Love--(Give Me Peace on Earth) by George Harrison (#40).

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Will it Go Round in Circles--Billy Preston

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Give Me Love--(Give Me Peace on Earth)--George Harrison (2nd week at #1)
2 Will it Go Round in Circles--Billy Preston
3 Kodachrome--Paul Simon
4 Playground in My Mind--Clint Holmes
5 Shambala--Three Dog Night
6 My Love--Paul McCartney & Wings
7 Natural High--Bloodstone
8 One of a Kind (Love Affair)--The Spinners
9 Long Train Runnin'--The Doobie Brothers
10 Bad, Bad Leroy Brown--Jim Croce

Singles entering the chart were The Hurt by Cat Stevens (#76); Let's Get it On by Marvin Gaye (#83); Everyone's Agreed that Everything Will Turn Out Fine by Stealers Wheel (#87); Sixty Minute Man by Clarence Carter (#97); There You Go by Edwin Starr (#99); and One Tin Soldier (The Legend of Billy Jack) by Coven (#100). Sixty Minute Man was the B-side of Mother-in-Law, which had peaked at #66 on June 23.

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Playground in My Mind--Clint Holmes (3rd week at #1)
2 My Love--Paul McCartney & Wings
3 Kodachrome--Paul Simon
4 Frankenstein--The Edgar Winter Group
5 Pillow Talk--Sylvia
6 Right Place Wrong Time--Dr. John
7 Shambala--Three Dog Night
8 Will it Go Round in Circles--Billy Preston
9 Yesterday Once More--Carpenters
10 Rosalie--Michael Tarry

Singles entering the chart were Touch Me in the Morning by Diana Ross (#82); Feeling Stronger Every Day by Chicago (#83); Satin Sheets by Jeanne Pruett (#85); If You Want Me to Stay by Sly and the Family Stone (#87); How Can I Tell Her by Lobo (#90); Isn't That So by Jesse Winchester (#92); Lazy Susan by Jerry Fuller (#93); Brother Louie by the Stories (#96); Are You Man Enough by the Four Tops (#97); We are All of Us by Michael Vincent (#98); He by Today's People (#99); and He by Family Child (#100).

#1 single in Calgary: Kodachrome--Paul Simon (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Veronica Lake, 50. U.S. actress. Miss Lake, born Constance Ockelman, became a movie star in the early 1940s--in no small part due to her "peekaboo" hairstyle--in films such as I Wanted Wings (1941); Sullivan's Travels (1941); This Gun for Hire (1942); The Glass Key (1942); and The Blue Dahlia (1946). Drinking and mental problems soon ruined her career and life.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
Canada's Top 30
1 Every Breath You Take--The Police
2 Total Eclipse of the Heart--Bonnie Tyler
3 I'm Still Standing--Elton John
4 Come Dancing--The Kinks
5 Flashdance (What a Feeling)--Irene Cara
6 Electric Avenue--Eddy Grant
7 Too Shy--Kajagoogoo
8 Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)--Eurythmics
9 Hot Girls in Love--Loverboy
10 Our House--Madness
11 Baby Jane--Rod Stewart
12 Puttin' on the Ritz--Taco
13 Never Gonna Let You Go--Sergio Mendes
14 Don't Let it End--Styx
15 Stand Back--Stevie Nicks
16 Is There Something I Should Know--Duran Duran
17 Faithfully--Journey
18 China Girl--David Bowie
19 Wishing--A Flock of Seagulls
20 Heartache Avenue--The Maisonettes
21 Wanna Be Startin' Something--Michael Jackson
22 Moonlight Shadow--Mike Oldfield
23 1999--Prince
24 Best Years of Our Lives--Mens Room
25 Roll Me Away--Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
26 How Do You Sleep at Night--The Tenants
27 The Haunting--The Front
28 Maniac--Michael Sembello
29 Change--Tears for Fears
30 It's a Mistake--Men at Work

Best Years of Our Lives was the B-side of Sign of the Times, which had been a hit about three months earlier. Maniac was the second song from the Flashdance soundtrack to become a hit.

Diplomacy
11-year-old U.S. schoolgirl Samantha Smith, who had written a letter to Soviet leader Yuri Andropov advocating peace between the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R., flew with her parents to the Soviet Union at the invitation of Mr. Yuri Andropov.

West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl concluded a three-day visit to the U.S.S.R.

U.S. Vice President George Bush ended a European tour in Iceland, saying that he believed European governments would continue to support deployment of U.S. missiles in Europe unless the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. reached an accord on arms limitation.

U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz concluded a three-day visit to the Middle East.

U.S. envoy Richard Stone met with Salvadoran officials.

Scandal
Six men, including three former members of the United States House of Representatives, entered federal prisons as a result of convictions in the Abscam bribery investigations, in which Federal Bureau of Investigation agents posing as Arab sheiks had offered bribes to various Congressmen.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (1-0) 21 @ Montreal (0-1) 14
Toronto (1-0) 45 @ Calgary (0-1) 30

The Roughriders' win over the Concordes at Olympic Stadium marked the beginning of the 14-year Hall of Fame career of Saskatchewan slotback Ray Elgaard.

In the Stampeders' loss to the Argonauts at McMahon Stadium, Calgary defensive back Darrel Toussaint blocked a punt, but later broke his leg, and didn't play another CFL game for two years. Terry Leschuk of the Stampeders averaged 50.8 yards on 5 kickoffs in his only CFL game. It was the first game for Hank Ilesic as punter and kicker for the Argnonauts after 6 years with the Edmonton Eskimos.



25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Gimme Hope Jo’anna--Eddy Grant (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Jimmy Edwards, 68. U.K. comedian. Mr. Edwards was a writer and actor in radio and television, starring in radio programs such as Take it from Here (1948-1960) and Does the Team Think? (1957-1976), and television programs such as Whack-O! (1956-1960). He died of pneumonia.

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): (I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You--UB40 (2nd week at #1)

Diplomacy
The leaders of the world's seven leading industrialized nations began their annual summit in Tokyo.

Labour
The Ontario Provincial Parliament passed the Social Contract Act, to save the province $2 billion annually in public-sector compensation.

Football
CFL
Sacramento (0-1) 23 @ Ottawa (1-0) 32

The Gold Miners' loss to the Rough Riders before 23,916 fans at Frank Clair Stadium was the first regular season game played by an American-based franchise in the Canadian Football League. Tom Burgess passed for 373 yards and touchdowns to Stephen Jones, Jock Climie, and Wayne Walker to lead the Rough Riders. Sacramento's first touchdown came on an 8-yard pass from David Archer to Mike Oliphant in the 2nd quarter. Mr. Oliphant rushed 8 yards for another Sacramento major in the 3rd quarter.



10 years ago
2003

Space
NASA Opportunity rover, MER-B or Mars Exploration Rover--B, was launched into space aboard a Delta II rocket.

A second simulation test conducted by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration supported the theory that a piece of insulating foam from an external tank had fallen off during launch and had created a hole in the heat shield of the space shuttle Columbia. On reentry into the atmosphere, it was concluded, superheated gases had entered the wing, causing the shuttle's disintegration on February 1, 2003. In the test at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, a piece of foam was fired at a wing at 530 miles per hour, and created a hole about 16 x 16 inches.

Diplomacy
U.S. President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush began a visit to five sub-Saharan African nations.

A U.S. Defense Department delegation arrived in the Liberian capital of Monrovia to investigate humanitarian and security problems.

War
General Tommy Franks retired as head of U.S. Central Command in Iraq.

Politics and government
Leading Iraqi political groups endorsed a U.S. plan for a governing council in Iraq. A 37-member council began its work that day, and L. Paul Bremer III, civilian administrator for Iraq, announced a new currency.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas threatened to resign in the face of rising criticism of his handling of peace negotiations with Israel.

Scandal
A report by the U.K. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee cleared Prime Minister Tony Blair and government communications director Alistair Campbell of attempts to manipulate intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The committee did say that Mr. Blair had unwittingly misled Parliament when he presented it with a dossier in February that included unverified information about Iraq's weapons capabilities. The committee reopened its investigation three days later when the Defense Ministry revealed that former United Nations weapons inspector David Kelly had been a source for the British Broadcasting Corporation.

An unattributed statement from the White House admitted that evidence regarding an alleged Iraqi purchase of uranium from Africa was unsubstantiated and "should not have been included" in U.S. President George W. Bush's State of the Union address in January.