July 19, 2014

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Chris Walker and Chris Woods!

1,950 years ago
64

Disasters
The Great Fire of Rome began in the merchant area of Rome and soon burnt completely out of control.

1,500 years ago
514

Died on this date
Symmachus. Roman Catholic Pope, 498-514. Pope Symmachus succeeded Anastasius II, but there was a schism over who was the legitimate pope. Symachus was succeeded by Hormisdas.

1,075 years ago
939

War
King Ramiro II of León defeated the Moorish army under Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III in the Battle of Simancas in Spain.

470 years ago
1544

War
English troops began the first Siege of Boulogne, France.

220 years ago
1794

Born on this date (?)
José Justo Corro. President of Mexico, 1836-1837. Mr. Corro was a lawyer who was a dedicated follower of General Antonio López de Santa Anna. Mr. Corro served in the cabinet of President Miguel Barragán as Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs (1835-1836), and was named President by the Chamber of Deputies when Mr. Barragán resigned on February 27, 1836. President Corro was in office until April 19, 1837, during which Gen. Santa Anna was taken prisoner in Texas; Mexican troops retreated from Texas in order to save Gen. Santa Anna's life; Pope Gregory XVI recognized Mexico's indepencence; diplomatic relations with the United States were suspended; and Mexico's currency was debased, resulting in riots. Mr. Corro turned the government over to General Anastasio Bustamante, and retired to private life. He died on or near December 18, 1864 at the approximate age of 70.

200 years ago
1814

War
In the War of 1812, British troops under Lieutenant Colonel William McKay captured Fort Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, giving the British a base for potential 1815 attacks on St. Louis, Missouri, and down the Mississippi River.

170 years ago
1844

Health
New Brunswick's first lazaretto opened on Sheldrake Island in Miramichi Bay. With little support, the leper colony was a failure, and discontent became widespread. The facility was closed in 1849, and residents were moved to new accommodations at Tracadie.

150 years ago
1864

War
The Third Battle of Nanking concluded after four months with the Qing dynasty finally defeating the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the last major engagement of the Taiping Rebellion in China.

120 years ago
1894

Born on this date
Khawaja Nazimuddin. Governor General of Pakistan, 1948-1951; Prime Minister of Pakistan, 1951-1953. Sir Khawaja was a member of the Muslim League who served as Prime Minister of Bengal (1943-1945) and Chief Minister of East Pakistan (1945-1948) before serving as Pakistan's first Bengali leader. He became Governor General upon the death of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and became Prime Minister following the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan. Sir Khawaja struggled to maintain law and order in Pakistan, and Governor General Sir Malik Ghulam forced him to resign in favour of diplomat Mohammad Ali Bogra. Sir Khawaja died after a brief illness on October 22, 1964 at the age of 70.

Percy Spencer. U.S. physicist. Mr. Spencer was largely self-taught in various subjects, and worked with the U.S. defense contract firm Raytheon during World War II. In 1945, he invented the microwave oven. Mr. Spencer died on September 8, 1970 at the age of 76.

100 years ago
1914

Born on this date
Marius Russo. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Russo played with the New York Yankees (1939-1943, 1946), compiling a record of 45-34 with an earned run average of 3.13 in 120 games. He was a member of World Series championship teams in 1939, 1941, and 1943. Mr. Russo died on March 26, 2005 at the age of 90.

75 years ago
1939

Baseball
Shortstop Arky Vaughan hit for the cycle and added another single in 5 trips to the plate to pace the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 10-3 win over the New York Giants before 3,331 fans at the Polo Grounds in New York.

Tony Cuccinello singled to lead off the bottom of the 9th inning and came around to score on consecutive sacrifice bunts by Otto Huber, Al Lopez, and Rabbit Warstler to give the Boston Bees a 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs before 3,048 fans at National League Park in Boston. Mr. Warstler bunted for a single with 2 strikes on him.

Willard Hershberger singled home Billy Werber and Lonnie Frey with 1 out in the top of the 10th inning to break a 2-2 tie as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers 4-2 before 27,665 fans at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.

Barney McCosky batted 4 for 4 with a base on balls, double, 2 runs, and 4 runs batted in as the Detroit Tigers routed the Washington Nationals 11-0 before 5,626 fans at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. Rudy York added 2 singles and 4 RBIS, while starting pitcher Schoolboy Rowe allowed 3 hits in 3 2/3 innings to get the win, improving his 1939 record to 3-8. He left the game after being hit on the knee by a line drive by Mickey Vernon.

Jack Knott and Johnny Rigney were the respecitve winning pitchers as the Chicago White Sox swept a doubleheader from the Boston Red Sox 4-1 and 8-0 before 13,000 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

70 years ago
1944

Hit parade
Variety reported that the most popular songs in the U.S.A. were:
1 I'll Be Seeing You
2 Long Ago and Far Away
3 Amor

War
Canadian and British troops in France started Operation Goodwood/Atlantic, to secure Vaucelles and Colombelles, and prepare the breakthrough to Falaise. They advanced another 5 miles south of Caen and captured 12 towns and villages. U.S. troops captured the Italian west coast port of Livorno, while Polish forces took the east coast port of Ancona. Soviet forces advanced to within 8 1/2 miles of Lvov, Poland.

Politics and government
The British government announced the appointment of Field Marshal Viscount Gort as commander-in-chief for Palestine and high commissioner for Transjordan.

In his keynote address on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention at Chicago Stadium, Oklahoma Governor Robert Kerr asked for continued support of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. U.S. Senator Harry Truman was named chairman of the Missouri delegation.

Labour
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington upheld the National War Labor Board's contention that its directives were not subject to court review.

The New York Court of Appeals ruled that the Railway Mail Association was a labour union and could not bar Negroes from membership.

Business
Pullman, Inc. announced that its directors had voted to give up operation of its sleeping car business and to retain its manufacturing units.

60 years ago
1954

Music
The single That's All Right/Blue Moon of Kentucky by Elvis Presley was released on Sun Records. It was Mr. Presley's first single.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: The Streak--Ray Stevens (6th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Sugar Baby Love--The Rubettes (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Joe Flynn, 49. U.S. actor. Mr. Flynn was best known for playing Captain Binghamton in the television comedy series McHale's Navy (1962-1966). He died of an apparent heart attack while swimming.

Politics and government
Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, hospitalized for treatment of phlebitis complicated by internal bleeding, temporarily delegated his powers as ruler to his designated successor, Juan Carlos de Borbon.

Scandal
U.S. Representative Frank Brasco (Democrat--New York) was convicted of conspiracy to take bribes in return for procuring a Post Office contract for a Mafia-controlled truck company. The one-count indictment charged that Mr. Brasco and his uncle, the late Joseph Brasco, had copnspired to receive $27,500 in 1968 to win a mail-hauling contract for a truck company owned by John Masiello, identified by federal authorities as a major Mafia figure in Westchester County, New York. Frank Brasco's first trial had ended in a hung jury.

John Doar, majority counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee's inquiry into the possible impeachment of President Richard Nixon, urged the committee to recommend impeachment, and submitted 29 potential articles of impeachment.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Toronto (2-1-1) 15 @ Saskatchewan (2-1-1) 36

Saskatchewan quarterbacks Ron Lancaster, Jim Lindsey, and Randy Mattingly all threw touchdown passes, and George Reed rushed for 2 more Roughrider TDs before a power failure with less than 10 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter ended the game at Taylor Field in Regina.

Baseball
Dick Bosman pitched a no-hitter, with only his own throwing error in the 4th inning preventing him from pitching a perfect game, as the Cleveland Indians blanked the Oakland Athletics 4-0 before 24,302 fans at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland.

25 years ago
1984

Politics and government
In San Francisco, the Democratic National Convention unanimously nominated Geraldine Ferraro as its candidate for Vice-President of the United States. Mrs. Ferraro became the first woman to be nominated by a major party in the United States for such a high office. Accepting the nomination, she said, "America is a land where dreams can come true for all our citizens...There are no doors we cannot unlock. We will place no limit on achievement. If we can do this, we can do anything. Walter Mondale, accepting the Democratic party’s presidential nomination, castigated the administration of President Ronald Reagan on a variety of issues. He called for a "new realism" in public life, and took another bold step by warning that taxes would have to go up: "Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won’t tell you. I just did."

In France, the Communist Party withdrew from the Socialist-led coalition government. Laurent Fabius, who had replaced Pierre Mauroy as Premier two days earlier, named a new cabinet.

Crime
The McDonald’s restaurant chain contributed $1 million to pay burial costs and assist survivors of the previous day’s massacre of 21 people at and near a McDonald’s restaurant in San Ysidro, California.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Minä olen muistanut--Kim Lönnholm (10th week at #1)

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Eternal Flame--Bangles (8th week at #1)

Died on this date
Kazimierz Sabbat, 76. Polish politician. Mr. Sabbat was Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile in 1976 and President of the government-in-exile from 1986 until his death.

Politics and government
General Wojciech Jaruzelski was elected President of Poland by the country’s new parliament. The vote was 270-233, with 34 abstentions.

Labour
The Siberian mine strikes were settled after workers won promises from the government for better pay, better living and working conditions, and "full economic and legal independence."

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported an increase in consumer prices in June of 0.2%, the smallest increase in 16 months.

Disasters
United Airlines Flight 232, a DC-10 jetliner en route from Denver to Chicago, crashed during an arranged emergency landing at Sioux City, Iowa municipal airport. 112 were killed, while 184 survived. While the plane was at 37,000 feet, an engine in the tail exploded and heavily damaged the plane’s hydraulic system. For the next 41 minutes the pilot, Al Haynes, struggled to control the craft as he brought it into Sioux City for the emergency landing. Just before touchdown, the right wingtip touched the ground; the plane flipped over and crashed in a fireball. Because the plane broke up--the forward coach section landed in a cornfield--many passengers had easy means of fleeing the wreckage. A 700-person rescue team was prepared for the landing. The cause of the engine explosion was not immediately determined.

Football
CFL
Toronto (1-1) 21 @ Ottawa (0-2) 17

This was the final game for Ottawa receiver Eugene Goodlow, who had led the CFL in receptions and yards receiving with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1981 and had played with the New Orleans Saints of the NFL from 1983-1987 before attempting a comeback in the CFL in 1989.



Baseball
Joe Carter hit 3 home runs in a game for the second time this season to lead the Cleveland Indians to a 10-1 win over the Minnesota Twins before 22,504 fans at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. It was Mr. Carter’s fourth career 3-home run game‚ tying Lou Gehrig's American League record‚ and also gave him a major league record-tying 5 homers in 2 games. Mr. Carter drove 6 runs in the game, while teammate Albert Belle hit his first major league home run.

20 years ago
1994

Law
The United States Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved federal judge Stephen Breyer, a nominee of President Bill Clinton, as the latest member of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the trade deficit had increased slightly in May to $9.17 billion.

10 years ago
2004

Died on this date
Zenkō Suzuki, 93. Prime Minister of Japan, 1980-1982. Mr. Suzuki succeeded Masayoshi Ōhira as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and Prime Minister upon Mr. Ōhira's death during the 1980 national election campaign. Mr. Suzuki elected not to run for re-election as president of the LDP, and was succeeded by Yasuhiro Nakasone.