June 6, 2014

370 years ago
1644

War
The Qing dynasty Manchu forces led by Emperor Shunzhi captured Beijing during the collapse of the Ming dynasty.

170 years ago
1844

Britannica
The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in London.

125 years ago
1889

Disasters
The Great Seattle Fire destroyed the entire central business district of the city.

120 years ago
1894

Labour
Governor Davis H. Waite ordered the Colorado state militia to protect and support the miners engaged in the Cripple Creek miners' strike.

90 years ago
1924

Golf
Cyril Walker won the U.S. Open at the South Course of Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Michigan with a 9-over-par score of 297, 3 strokes ahead of defending champion Bobby Jones. First prize money was $500.

80 years ago
1934

Economics and finance
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was established to protect investors and maintain the integrity of the securities markets.

75 years ago
1939

Died on this date
Simmy Murch, 58. U.S. baseball player and coach. Mr. Murch was an infielder with the St. Louis Cardinals (1904-1905) and Brooklyn Superbas (1908), batting .141 with no home runs and 1 run batted in in 23 games. He played at least 1,039 games in the minor leagues from 1902-1912. Mr. Murch coached at Middlebury College for three years and then at Phillips Exeter Academy from 1923 until his death.

Declared dead on this date
New York Supreme Court Justice Joseph Force Crater, known as the "Missingest Man in New York", was declared legally dead. He was 41 when he was last seen leaving a restaurant in New York City on August 6, 1930.

Baseball
The New York Giants blasted the Cincinnati Reds 17-3 before 7,405 fans at the Polo Grounds in New York, setting a major league record in the 4th inning by hitting 5 home runs after 2 were out. The fourth home run of the inning was an inside-the-park homer by pitcher Frank Salvo--his only major league home run. Burgess Whitehead, Mr. Salvo, and Jo-Jo Moore hit their homers consecutively.

Pinch hitters Chuck Klein and Pinky Whitney hit consecutive singles to drive in the last 2 runs of a 3-run rally in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 9-8 win over the Chicago Cubs before 1,000 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. The Phillies released Mr. Klein after the game, and he was signed the next day by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

70 years ago
1944

Died on this date
John Hix, 36. U.S. cartoonist. Mr. Hix began writing and drawing the newspaper cartoon feature Strange as it Seems, a competitor to Ripley's Believe it or Not!, in 1928. The feature, like its rival, also became a radio feature and a series of short films. Declining health led Mr. Hix to turn over the drawing chores to Kick Kirby in the early 1940s, although Mr. Hix continued to write it until his death from a heart attack, 11 days before his 37th birthday. His brother Ernest, who was already running the business end of the organization, continued the feature.

War
Thousands of British, Canadian, and American troops began landing on the beaches of Normandy in southern France as the culmination of Operation Overlord, a major offensive against German forces. This blogger's father was on the Royal Canadian Navy minesweeper HMCS Georgian. Canadian casualties that day were less than expected: 715 wounded, 359 dead. The Canadians advanced further inland on that first day than either the British or the Americans. Allied forces swept forward along a 70-mile front in an effort to smash German armies fleeing northward from Rome.







Sport
Sports officials across the United States, including all major league baseball team owners, cancelled games and events as the Allied forces began D-Day operations in Normandy.

50 years ago
1964

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Can't Buy Me Love/You Can't Do That--The Beatles (5th week at #1)

#1 single in France: La Plus Belle Pour Aller Danser--Sylvie Vartan (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Cin, cin--Richard Anthony (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Oh My Darling Caroline--Ronny (7th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): You're My World (Il Mio Mondo)--Cilla Black (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Chapel of Love--The Dixie Cups

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Chapel of Love--The Dixie Cups
2 Love Me Do--The Beatles
3 A World Without Love--Peter and Gordon
--[Bobby Rydell]
4 My Guy--Mary Wells
5 Love Me with All Your Heart (Cuando Calienta El Sol)--The Ray Charles Singers
6 Hello, Dolly!--Louis Armstrong
7 Little Children--Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas
8 Walk on By--Dionne Warwick
9 Do You Love Me--The Dave Clark Five
10 P.S. I Love You--The Beatles

Singles entering the chart were Bad to Me by Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas (#65); Alone with You by Brenda Lee (#66); Memphis by Johnny Rivers (#68); My Baby Don't Dig Me by Ray Charles (#73); Lazy Elsie Molly by Chubby Checker (#75); Long Lonely Nights by the 4 Seasons (#76); Tennessee Waltz (#78)/Good Times (#81) by Sam Cooke; The Girl from Ipanema by Getz/Gilberto (#97); Dang Me by Roger Miller (#98); and I Wanna Be Loved by Dean and Jean (#99). Bad to Me was the B-side of Little Children.

Space
The U.S.S.R. launched the satellite Cosmos 31.

Horse racing
Quadrangle, with Manuel Ycaza aboard, won the 96th running of the Belmont Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York in a time of 2:28 2/5, ruining Northern Dancer's hope of winning the Triple Crown. Roman Brother placed second, and Northern Dancer third.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Any Dream Will Do--Joe Cuddy (4th week at #1)

30 years ago
1984

World events
250 Sikh militants and 48 Indian government troops were killed when the troops attacked the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, which was being held by the Sikhs.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Boston 129 @ Los Angeles Lakers 125 (OT) (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)

The Lakers blew a 5-point lead with less than a minute remaining in regulation time, and lost to the Celtics in overtime before 17,505 fans at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Larry Bird led the Celtics with 29 points and 21 rebounds. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Lakers led all scorers with 32 points, but fouled out of the game in overtime.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Montreal (1-0) 38 @ Ottawa (0-1) 18

25 years ago
1989

Politics and government
In a straight party vote, Representative Tom Foley (Democrat--Washington) was elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, replacing Jim Wright (Texas), who had recently resigned.

Business
The planned friendly merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications was thrown off course when Paramount Communications Corporation made a $10.7 billion cash offer for Time. The move outraged Time executives, whose chairman, J. Richard Munro, said that it raised "serious questions" about the "integrity and motives" of Paramount chairman Martin Davis.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Los Angeles Lakers 97 @ Detroit 109 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Isiah Thomas scored 24 points, Joe Dumars scored 22, and Vinnie Johnson added 19 as the Pistons defeated the defending champion Lakers before 21,454 fans at the Palace at Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Magic Johnson and James Worthy each scored 17 points for Los Angeles.



20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Without You--Mariah Carey (4th week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 I'll Remember--Madonna (4th week at #1)
2 Sleeping in My Car--Roxette
3 The Most Beautiful Girl in the World--The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Love Symbol)
4 Misled--Celine Dion
5 Baby, I Love Your Way--Big Mountain
6 You Mean the World to Me--Toni Braxton
7 Don't Turn Around--Ace of Base
8 I'll Take You There--General Public
9 If You Go--Jon Secada
10 I Swear--All-4-One

Singles entering the chart were I Need Your Love by Boston (#49); Bad Intentions by Robbie Robertson (#68); Smelling the Drama by Live (#80); Fall Down by Toad the Wet Sprocket (#83); Stay (I Missed You) by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories (#85); Twist and Shout by Chaka Demus and Pliers featuring Jack Radics and the Taxi Gang (#89); Gentlemen Who Fell by Milla (#94); Get Off This by Crocker (#95); Simple Brain by the Waltons (#96); and Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden (#98). Stay (I Missed You) was from the movie Reality Bites (1994).

Died on this date
Barry Sullivan, 81. U.S. actor. Mr. Sullivan appeared in plays, television programs, and more than 100 movies, including The Bad and the Beautiful (1952); Queen Bee (1955); and Light in the Piazza (1962). He died of respiratory failure.

War
Canadians joined a contingent of 35,000 World War II Allied veterans (and even some Germans) commemorating the 50th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of France.

Protest
Six people seeking asylum in England escaped from an immigration centre in Oxfordshire after an overnight protest on the roof.

10 years ago
2004

Died on this date
Donald R. Currey, 70. U.S. geographer. Dr. Currey was known for exploring and researching relics from Lake Bonneville in the eastern Great Basin in Nevada. He was infamous for his 1964 act, while a graduate student, of cutting down Prometheus, the world's oldest known tree.

Theatre
Phylicia Rashad became the first Negro actress to win a Tony Award for a leading dramatic role for her performance in a revival of A Raisin in the Sun.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Detroit 87 @ Los Angeles 75 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 1-0)

The Pistons trailed 41-40 at halftime but outscored the Lakers 47-34 in the 2nd half before 18,997 fans at Staples Center. Chauncey Billups led Detroit with 22 points, while Shaquille O'Neal of Los Angeles led all scorers with 34 points.