October 25, 2014

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Grace Padaca!

250 years ago
1764

Married on this date
John Adams and Abigail Smith. Mr. Adams, then a lawyer in Braintree, Massachusetts, was the 2nd Vice President of the United States (1789-1797), serving under President George Washington, and succeeded Mr. Washington to become 2nd President of the United States (1797-1801). Mrs. Adams was known for the many letters she wrote.

160 years ago
1854

War
In the Crimean War, Russian and British forces fought the Battle of Balaclava, featuring the Charge of the Light Brigade.

150 years ago
1864

Born on this date
John Francis Dodge. U.S. automobile executive. Mr. Dodge and his brother Horace founded Dodge Brothers in 1914. The company was sold to Chrysler Corporation. John Dodge died of influenza and pneumonia on January 14, 1920 at the age of 55.

Alexander Gretchaninov. Russian-born U.S. composer. Mr. Gretchaninov's compositions included five symphonies. He moved to France in 1925 and then to the United States in 1939, eventually becoming an American citizen. Mr. Gretchaninov died on January 3, 1956 at the age of 91.

130 years ago
1884

Football
ORFU
Round 3
Toronto 24 @ Hamilton 4

Baseball
World Series
Providence Grays 12 @ New York Metropolitans 2 (Providence won three-game series 3-0)

Old Hoss Radbourne pitched his third complete game victory in as many days as the Grays whipped the Metropolitans in front of just 300 freezing fans at the Polo Grounds. Jim Becannon took the loss on the mound for New York. The Grays had actually clinched the championship with their win in the second game the day before.

125 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Abel Gance. French film director. Mr. Gance was best known for his silent films J'accuse (1919); La Roue (1923); and Napoléon (1927), and the sound film Austerlitz (1960). He died on November 10, 1981 at the age of 92.

Smoky Joe Wood. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Wood played for the Boston Red Sox (1908-1915) and Cleveland Indians (1917-1922). He came to the major leagues as a pitcher, and compiled a record of 115-57, with an earned run average of 2.03. Mr. Wood's best season was 1912, when he was 34-5 with 10 shutouts, and won 3 games in the World Series as the Red Sox defeated the New York Giants. He came back too soon from a thumb injury in 1913 and hurt his pitching arm, shortening his career, but he still managed to post a 14-5 record in 1915 and led the American League with an ERA of 1.49 as the Red Sox again won the World Series. Mr. Wood held out for the 1916 season and joined the Indians in 1917, moving to the outfield in 1918, and helping Cleveland to win the World Series in 1920. His last season was his best, when he batted .297 with 8 home runs and 92 runs batted in. Mr. Wood finished his major league career with an average of .283 with 24 home runs and 325 runs batted in in 695 games. He died on July 27, 1985 at the age of 95.

Baseball
World Series
Brooklyn Bridegrooms 1 @ New York Giants 2 (11 innings) (Best-of-eleven series tied 3-3)

Monte Ward singled Jim Slattery home with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning as the Giants edged the Bridegrooms before 2,556 fans at the Polo Grounds. Brooklyn pitcher Adonis Terry had been leading 1-0 going into the 9th inning when the Giants tied the game on a single by Mr. Ward, 2 stolen bases, and a single by Roger Connor. Hank O’Day went the distance on the mound for New York to earn the win.

90 years ago
1924

Politics and government
The "Zinoviev letter"--a letter ostensibly from Soviet Communist official Grigory Zinoviev to the Communist Party of Great Britain--was published in the London newspaper Daily Mail, just four days before national Parliamentary elections.

75 years ago
1939

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Sylvia Smith!

Football
CRU
Canadian university
Western finals
Saskatchewan 0 @ British Columbia 16 (First game of two-game total points series)

Jim Harmer Milt Angus, and Mr. Joplin scored touchdowns for the Thunderbirds as they shut out the Huskies.

70 years ago
1944

Radio
The Blue Network filed applications with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission requesting permission to change its name to American Broadcasting Company, Inc.

War
British forces in Greece entered Dhomokos, making their greatest one-day advance in pursuit of the fleeing Germans. Soviet forces outflanked Warsaw on the northwest and advanced toward the confluence of the Vistula and Narew Rivers. Soviet troops entered northern Norway and liberated the Barents Sea port of Kirkenes and 30 other villages. The Hungarian city of Nagykároly was occupied by Soviet and Romanian forces.

A Chinese government spokesman charged that Communist Chinese troops had attacked Nationalist forces in northern China because of remarks by Marshal Yen Hsishan.

Disasters
The U.S. submarine USS Tang was sunk by her own malfunctioning torpedo. 78 men were lost, and the 9 survivors were picked up by the Japanese frigate CD-34 and imprisoned for the rest of World War II. 13 men escaped the sub using the Momsen Lung, the only time it was ever used.

Diplomacy
The U.K., U.S.A., and other American republics announced the resumption of diplomatic relations with Italy.

World events
Nazi SS leader Heinrich Himmler ordered a crackdown on the Edelweiss Pirates, a loosely organized youth culture in Nazi Germany that had assisted army deserters and others to hide from the Third Reich.

Politics and government
The newly-installed Guatemalan junta of President Major Francisco Javier Arana blocked the funds and attached the property of exiled former Presidents Jorge Ubico and Federico Ponce and Alfred Denby, an American.

New York Governor and Republican Party U.S. presidential candidate Thomas Dewey accused President Franklin D. Roosevelt of sponsoring a fund-raising idea known as the One Thousand Club, whose members would contribute $1,000 each for the Democratic Party campaign.

Transportation
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt directed the Maritime Commission to prepare a plan for improving the U.S. merchant marine with modern cargo and passenger ships at the end of World War II.

Terrorism
The Inner Zionist General Council and National Council of Palestine Jews adopted resolutions deploring recent acts of violence in Palestine by small Jewish political extremist groups.

Oil
Sun Oil President J. Howard Pew attacked the British-American oil pact as a "blank cheque" to the government that would involve the U.S. oil industry in a "vicious cartel system."

Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Said, in a radio broadcast, said that his government refused to grant oil concessions to the U.S.S.R. because to do so would give the appearance of yielding to the pressure of foreign troops in Iran.

Football
CRU
MASSFL
Semi-Final
Central Navigation School (Rivers) 15 @ Canadian Army (Winnipeg) 5

Buddy Meier scored a touchdown and 2 converts as the Pathfinders defeated the Grenades at Osborne Stadium. Doug McCuaig scored the other CNS touchdown. Army quarterback Fritz Hanson rushed 92 yards for the Grenades' touchdown.

60 years ago
1954

On television tonight
Sherlock Holmes, starring Ronald Howard and H. Marion Crawford
Tonight's episode: The Case of Lady Beryl



Football
CRU
WIFU
Winnipeg (8-6-2) 12 @ Edmonton (11-5) 21
Saskatchewan (10-4-2) 15 @ British Columbia (1-15) 9

Rollin Prather, Jackie Parker, and Bernie Faloney scored touchdowns for the Eskimos as they defeated the Blue Bombers before 17,000 fans at Clarke Stadium to clinch first place in the Western Interprovincial Football Union for the second straight season. Tom Casey and Jesse Thomas scored Winnipeg touchdowns.

Ken Carpenter scored 2 touchdowns and Joe Aguirre added 2 converts and a field goal as the Roughriders defeated the Lions before 10,775 fans at Empire Stadium in Vancouver in a game that was called by the referee with 6:11 remaining in the game because of heavy fog. Len Meltzer scored B.C.'s only touchdown when Mr. Aguirre was short on a field goal attempt and Jim Chambers fielded the ball and lateralled to Mr. Meltzer, who returned it 115 yards for the major score, aided by the poor visibility caused by the fog. When the fog made the game unplayable in the 4th quarter, the officials stopped play and waited out a 30-minute delay before finally calling the game. It was the last game of the regular season, and meant nothing in the standings. The Roughriders were scheduled to play the first game of the 2-game, total points semi-finals in Winnipeg just four days later, so it made no sense to suspend the game and resume play at a later date.

50 years ago
1964

Football
CFL
Ottawa (7-5-1) 21 @ Montreal (6-7) 23

Nat Craddock scored a touchdown in the 3rd quarter and Jerry Philp caught a touchdown pass from George Bork on a broken play with less than 4 minutes remaining in the game as the Alouettes overcame a 21-10 halftime deficit to edge the Rough Riders before 18,055 fans at Molson Stadium. The win gave Montreal the third and last playoff spot in the Eastern Football Conference, eliminating the Toronto Argonauts from playoff contention.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: I Shot the Sheriff--Eric Clapton (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Rock Your Baby--George McCrae (9th week at #1)

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
Edmonton's top 30 (CHED)
1 Wake Me Up Before You Go Go--Wham
2 On the Dark Side--John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band
3 Purple Rain--Prince and the Revolution
4 Strut--Sheena Easton
5 Desert Moon--Dennis DeYoung
6 Better Be Good to Me--Tina Turner
7 I Just Called to Say I Love You--Stevie Wonder
8 Blue Jean--David Bowie
9 Lucky Star--Madonna
10 All Through the Night--Cyndi Lauper
11 Out of Touch--Daryl Hall and John Oates
12 Had a Dream (Sleeping with the Enemy)--Roger Hodgson
13 Let's Go Crazy--Prince and the Revolution
14 Who Wears These Shoes?--Elton John
15 What About Me--Kenny Rogers, Kim Carnes and James Ingram
16 No More Lonely Nights--Paul McCartney
17 Cover Me--Bruce Springsteen
18 I'm So Excited--Pointer Sisters
19 The War Song--Culture Club
20 Hard Habit to Break--Chicago
21 Get it While You Can--Gary O
22 Alpahabet Town--Gerry Cott
23 Bob 'Till You Drop--Rick Springfield
24 Drive--The Cars
25 The Wild Boys--Duran Duran
26 Penny Lover--Lionel Richie
27 I Can't Hold Back--Survivor
28 Sea of Love--The Honeydrippers
29 Girls with Guns--Tommy Shaw
30 Teacher Teacher--.38 Special

Theatre
Eleusinian Rites, Mysteries, and Drama Soirees provided the entertainment for the Engineers’ Wives Society’s annual dinner at the Royal Glenora Club in Edmonton. Reviews were unanimously positive (although it must be admitted that the audience had been drinking) for material that included the legendary "Deranged Dermatologist" skit, which, for some unknown and baffling reason, failed to make the artists famous.

World events
The European Economic Community announced that it was donating £1.8 million to help combat the famine in Ethiopia.

Terrorism
U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz said that the United States should adopt a policy of responding militarily to future acts of terrorism. He warned that such responses could involve the deaths of American servicemen and innocent civilians.

Economics and finance
The U.S. administration of President Ronald Reagan reported that the federal budget deficit for the 1984 fiscal year was $175.3 billion, $20.1 billion less than the record deficit of the previous year.

Crime
Italian authorities said that three Bulgarians and four Turks would be tried for the 1981 assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II. It was reported that Judge Ilario Martella would also order Mehmet Ali Agca, who had fired at the pope, to stand trial on new charges. Mr. Agca would also be the principal prosecution witness, and his credibility was expected to be challenged by the defense in view of frequent contradictions in his story of what happened. Only three of the accused men were actually in Italian custody. Italian state prosecutor Antonio Albano had stated in June that he doubted that Bulgarians would have become involved in an assassination plot without the approval of the Soviet Union.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Lambada--Kaoma (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Lambada--Kaoma (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Mary McCarthy, 77. U.S. authoress. Miss McCarthy was best known for her novels The Company She Keeps (1942) and The Group (1963).

Politics and government
With political unrest in Czechoslovakia on the rise, President Ladislav Adamec rejected any dialogue between the government and those "who act for the liquidation of the socialist system...and the Communist Party."

The United States House of Representatives voted 231-191 to override President George Bush’s veto of a spending bill that reinstated funding for Medicaid abortions in cases of rape or incest. Mr. Bush supported federal funding only if the mother’s life were in danger. The vote fell short of the 2/3 required to override the veto, so the veto stood.

Disasters
The U.S. Congress approved an aid package of $4.15 billion for California as a result of the previous week’s earthquake.

Baseball
Nippon Series
Kintetsu Buffaloes 0 @ Yomiuri Giants 5 (Kintetsu led best-of-seven series 3-1)

Isao Koda was the winning pitcher as the Giants limited the Buffaloes to just 3 hits as they averted elimination before 45,825 fans at the Tokyo Dome.

20 years ago
1994

Died on this date
Mildred Natwick, 89. U.S. actress. Miss Natwick was primarily a stage actress, beginning her career of Broadway in 1932. She appeared in supporting roles in several movies directed by John Ford, and was nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting performance in Barefoot in the Park (1967). Miss Natwick and Helen Hayes co-starred in the television series The Snoop Sisters (1973-1974), for which Miss Natwick won an Emmy Award.

Kara Hultgreen, 29. U.S. military officer. Miss Hultgreen was a United States Navy lieutenant who became the Navy's first female carrier-based pilot. She also became the first female carrier-based pilot to die when she was killed attempting to land her F-14 Tomcat on the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln off the coast of San Diego. Miss Hultgreen became a symbol of the folly of political correctness in trying to force women into combat roles, and applying different standards than are applied to males in order to achieve social "equality."

Crime
Susan Smith, a white woman from Union, South Carolina, claimed that a Negro carjacker had driven off with her two sons. She later confessed to drowning the children, and was convicted of murder.

Economics and finance
Cuban dictator Fidel Castro announced that transactions using the American dollar would be banned.

Baseball
Nippon Series
Yomiuri Giants 2 @ Seibu Lions 1 (10 innings) (Yomiuri led best-of-seven series 2-1)

The Giants scored a run in the top of the 10th inning to break a 1-1 tie as they edged the Lions before 31,838 fans at Seibu Lions Stadium in Tokorozawa.

10 years ago
2004

Defense
The New York Times reported that about 380 tons of powerful explosives had disappeared from the Al Qaqaa military installation in Iraq sometime after the beginning of the U.S.-led war in Iraq in 2003.