July 14, 2014

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Michael Upstone!

225 years ago
1789

Protest
The storming and destruction of the Bastille, a fortress and prison in Paris, marked the beginning of the French Revolution. 98 attackers and one defender were killed in the fighting. Just seven prisoners were being held in the Bastille at the time of the attack. King Louis XVI’s diary entry for that day read, "rien" (nothing).

Exploration
Alexander Mackenzie finally completed his journey to the mouth of the great river--eventually named in his honour--that he hoped would take him to the Pacific, but which turned out to flow into the Arctic Ocean.

125 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Ante Pavelić. Croatian military officer and politician. General Pavelić founded the Croatian fascist nationalist organization Ustaše in 1929, and governed the "Independent State of Croatia"--a Nazi-Fascist puppet state--using the title of Poglavnik from 1941-1945. He was responsible for assassinations--including King Alexander I of Yugoslavia in 1934--and genocides against Serbs, Jews, and other peoples. Gen. Pavelić was able to escape Europe after World War II and fled to Argentina, where he organized a Croatian government-in-exile. He was severely wounded in an assassination attempt in 1957 and eventually moved to Spain, where he died of the effects of his wounds on December 28, 1959 at the age of 70.

Baseball
A.G. Spalding’s plan for classifying minor leagues was printed across the United States. It called for strict salary and draft-price limits according to the class of the leagues--features that were to serve as the basis for the next century of baseball.

120 years ago
1894

Born on this date
Dave Fleischer. U.S. animator. Mr. Fleischer and his older brother Max owned Fleischer Studios, producing and driecting cartoons featuring characters such as Betty Boop and Popeye. Dave left the company at the end of 1941 and produced two Academy Award-nominated cartoons for Columbia Pictures in 1942, but failed to achieve subsequent success. He worked with Universal Studios in the 1950s and '60s as an adviser on technical matters. Dave Fleischer died of a stroke on June 25, 1979, 19 days before his 85th birthday.

80 years ago
1934

Baseball
The Detroit Tigers rallied for 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning and set an American League record with 11 doubles as they edged the New York Yankees 12-11 at Navin Field in Detroit. The Yankees had 3 doubles, and home runs by Babe Ruth (his 15th of the season and 701st of his major league career) and Frankie Crosetti. New York first baseman Lou Gehrig, suffering from lumbago, extended his consecutive game playing streak when he batted in the first inning, singled, and was replaced by pinch runner Red Rolfe. The Iron Horse was listed as shortstop on the lineup card.

The Philadelphia Phillies scored 5 runs in the 1st inning and 11 runs in the 2nd inning as they routed the Cincinnati Reds 18-0 in the first game of a doubleheader at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. The Phillies completed the sweep with a 5-4 win in the second game.

70 years ago
1944

At the movies
Summer Storm, directed by Douglas Sirk, and starring George Sanders, Linda Darnell, and Anna Lee, opened in theatres.





War
The United States Army and Navy named "boards of investigation" to inquire into responsibility for negligence during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941. Soviet troops captured Pinsk, in the heart of the Pipet Marshes. Reinforced Japanese troops encircled Hengyang in the Chinese province of Hunan.

Politics and government
James Byrnes, director of the U.S. Office of War Mobilization, called U.S. Senator Harry Truman (Democrat--Missouri) from Washington and asked Sen. Truman to nominate him at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, claiming that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had decided on Mr. Byrnes as the party's new nominee for Vice President.

Economics and finance
Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas issued a decree ordering industrial mobilization for military purposes, including a 10-hour workday.

Representatives of the major U.S. auto manufacturers told the U.S. War Production Board that they were too busy with war work to plan for reconversion to civilian production at an early date.

60 years ago
1954

Died on this date
Jacinto Benavente, 87. Spanish playwright. Mr. Benavente wrote 172 works, and was awarded the 1922 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the happy manner in which he has continued the illustrious traditions of the Spanish drama".

Jackie Saunders, 61. U.S. actress. Born Anna Jackal, Miss Saunders starred in movies for Balboa Films, a studio of the silent era.

Boxing
Nino Valdes (30-8-3) scored a technical knockout of Tommy "Hurricane" Jackson (16-3-1) at 2:35 of the 2nd round of a heavyweight bout at Madison Square Garden in New York when Mr. Jackson was knocked down 3 times in the 2nd round, automatically ending the fight.



50 years ago
1964

Music
Bobby Curtola, backed by Chad Allan and the Reflections, performed an outdoor lunchtime concert in downtown Edmonton as part of Klondike Days. Also on the bill was Jimmy Clanton.

Football
CFL
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers traded quarterback Vernon Cole and defensive back Doug Daigneault to the Montreal Alouettes for defensive back Barrie Hansen and guard Marvin Lee. Mr. Cole, who had backed up Kenny Ploen in 1960, was attempting to return to the CFL after three years of U.S. military service.

Saskatchewan Roughriders' intrasquad game
White 30 Green 14

Pre-season
Calgary (1-0) 35 @ Montreal (0-1) 7

40 years ago
1974

Terrorism
The seven hostages being held since July 11 in the basement cell block of the U.S. courthouse in Washington, D.C. by armed convicts Frank Gorham and Otis Wilkerson managed to escape.

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Self Control--Raf (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT Top 30): The Reflex--Duran Duran (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): The Reflex--Duran Duran (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Two Tribes--Frankie Goes To Hollywood (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: Two Tribes--Frankie Goes to Hollywood (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): When Doves Cry--Prince (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 When Doves Cry--Prince
2 Dancing in the Dark--Bruce Springsteen
3 The Reflex--Duran Duran
4 Eyes Without a Face--Billy Idol
5 Self Control--Laura Branigan
6 Jump (For My Love)--The Pointer Sisters
7 Almost Paradise...Love Theme from Footloose--Mike Reno and Ann Wilson
8 Time After Time--Cyndi Lauper
9 Infatuation--Rod Stewart
10 Doctor! Doctor!--Thompson Twins

Singles entering the chart were Lights Out by Peter Wolf (#67); When You Close Your Eyes by Night Ranger (#77); 17 by Rick James (#81); Two Sides of Love by Sammy Hagar (#84); Mama Weer All Crazee Now by Quiet Riot (#85); and Still Loving You by the Scorpions (#89).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Oh Sherrie--Steve Perry (2nd week at #1)
2 Self Control--Laura Branigan
3 Let's Hear it for the Boy--Deniece Williams
4 Dancing in the Dark--Bruce Springsteen
5 Time After Time--Cyndi Lauper
6 Sister Christian--Night Ranger
7 Eyes Without a Face--Billy Idol
8 Almost Paradise...Love Theme from Footloose--Mike Reno and Ann Wilson
9 The Reflex--Duran Duran
10 Jump (For My Love)--Pointer Sisters

Singles entering the chart were Panama by Van Halen (#42); New Romance by Holly Woods and Toronto (#44); Boys (Do Fall in Love) by Robin Gibb (#45); and Young Thing, Wild Dreams (Rock Me) by Red Rider (#48).

Died on this date
Ernest Tidyman, 56. U.S. writer. Mr. Tidyman won the Academy Award for his screenplay adaptation for The French Connection (1971). He created the fictional detective John Shaft in novels and co-wrote the screenplay for the movie Shaft (1971) and wrote the screenplay for Shaft's Big Score (1972). Mr. Tidyman died of a perforated ulcer.

Philippé Wynne, 43. U.S. singer. Mr. Wynne was a lead singer with the Spinners in the 1970s. He died the day after suffering a heart attack on stage while performing at Ivey's nightclub in Oakland, California.

Diplomacy
Officials with the United States administration announced that President Ronald Reagan had written U.S.S.R. President Konstantin Chernenko and offered to postpone space weapons talks scheduled to be held in Vienna in September, acknowledging that the Soviets might view the talks as a ploy prior to the November U.S. presidential election.

Politics and government
Former U.S. Vice-President and current Democratic party presidential candidate Walter Mondale named Georgia state party chairman Bert Lance as general chairman of the campaign.

World events
The Sandanista government of Nicaragua announced that Rev. Luis Amado Pena, a Roman Catholic priest arrested in June and charged with plotting against the government, would be tried before a special tribunal.

Football
CFL
Hamilton (1-1-1) 9 @ Ottawa (2-1) 31

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Das Omen (Teil I)--Mysterious Art (3rd week at #1)

Protest
About 500 people were involved in scuffles as Parisians celebrated the bicentenary of the French Revolution.

Politics and government
Lech Walesa, founder of the Polish labour union Solidarity, said he would support Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski or any other Communist party leader put forth by the parliamentary majority, which included the Communists and two smaller parties.

Business
A Delaware Chancery Court rejected an attempt by Paramount Communications and some Time, Inc. stockholders to prevent Time’s purchase of Warner Communications. Time sought to buy Warner to prevent its own hostile takeover by Paramount.

Oddities
Police disclosed that Thomas Root, the Washington, D.C. lawyer who had survived a 1,000-mile plane flight and crash the day before after claiming to be unconscious most of the way, had been shot once in the abdomen after his Cessna had taken off. Mr. Root told investigators that he had no idea how he had been shot, but that he carried a loaded revolver in the glove compartment because his business carried him to remote locations. Federal officials confirmed a report that hey had been watching Mr. Root as a possible drug trafficker because of "suspicious" trips to the Caribbean.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that producer prices for finished goods had declined 0.1% in June, and that the annual rate of advance (5.1%) in the second quarter of 1989 had been only half of the advance reported for the first quarter.

Football
CFL
Ottawa (0-1) 24 @ Winnipeg (1-0) 29

The defending Grey Cup champion Blue Bombers opened their season with a win over the Rough Riders (0-1) at Winnipeg Stadium. Damon Allen played his first game at quarterback for the Rough Riders since joining the team after leaving the Edmonton Eskimos. Former Blue Bombers’ star receiver Eugene Goodlow, who had left Winnipeg for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL in 1983, caught 1 pass for 36 yards for the Rough Riders in his first CFL game since 1982. The game also marked the Blue Bomber debut for defensive tackle Dan Kearns, who had played 10 years for the Edmonton Eskimos.



Baseball
Lonnie Smith’s leadoff home run in the bottom of the 9th inning off Sid Fernandez gave the Atlanta Braves a 3-2 win over the New York Mets before 24,143 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Mr. Fernandez struck out 16 Braves in taking the loss.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Everybody--DJ Bobo (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Riverdance--Bill Whelan (11th week at #1)

Died on this date
César Tovar, 54. Venezuelan baseball player. Mr. Tovar played several positions with the Minnesota Twins (1965-1972); Philadelphia Phillies (1973); Texas Rangers (1974-1975); Oakland Athletics (1975-1976); and New York Yankees (1976), batting .278 with 46 home runs and 435 runs batted in in 1,488 games. On September 22, 1968, he became the second player in major league history to play all nine positions in a single game. Mr. Tovar set an American League for a single season that still stands when he played in 164 games in 1967. He led the AL in doubles (36) and triples (13) in 1970, and in hits (204) in 1971. Mr. Tovar died of pancreatic cancer; he was inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.

Football
CFL
Sacramento (1-1) 25 @ Hamilton (0-2) 22
Edmonton (1-1) 35 @ Winnipeg (1-1) 50

David Archer's 59-yard touchdown pass to Troy Mills gave the Gold Miners their win over the Tiger-Cats before 19,921 fans at Ivor Wynne Stadium.

Matt Dunigan set a CFL single-game record with 713 yards passing as the Blue Bombers beat the Eskimos before 21,686 fans at Winnipeg Stadium. Alfred Jackson caught 7 of Mr. Dunigan's passes for 308 yards--an average of 44 yards per catch--and 4 touchdowns. David Williams caught 10 more for 240 yards.

10 years ago
2004

War
The Butler Report on British intelligence in the events preceding the war in Iraq faulted the British government for relying on "seriously flawed" intelligence to make the case for war. The report did not, however, find evidence that Prime Minister Tony Blair had misled the public or intentionally exaggerated the threat posed by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Terrorism
Iraqi insurgents led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi beheaded another hostage, a Belgian truck driver. The governor of the northern province of Nineveh was killed in an ambush.

Politics and government
French President Jacques Chirac announced that France would join other countries in holding a referendum on the European Union constitution.

Society
The United States Senate voted 50-48 against a constitutional amendment banning sodomite marriage.