July 2, 2016

1,150 years ago
866

War
The Franks, led by Robert the Strong were defeated by a joint Breton-Viking army in the Battle of Brissarthe in the northern part of present-day France.

450 years ago
1566

Died on this date
Nostradamus, 62. French seer. Michel de Nostredame, who Latinized his name to Nostradamus, was best known for his Almanacs (annually from 1550-1566) and Les Propheties (1555-1568). He wrote quatrains which have been interpreted as prophesying major world events, often disasters. Mr. Nostradamus claimed to use astrology in coming up with his predictions, but modern research suggests that he borrowed from existing end-time prophecies. Mr. Nostradamus has been credited with prophesying cataclysmic events of the 20th century, but such views have been criticized as reading the fulfillment into the prophecies after the events had occurred, and many of his prophecies have been as vague enough to be subject to various interpretations. Mr. Nostradamus himself rejected the label of "prophet."

425 years ago
1591

Died on this date
Vincenzo Galilei, 71 (?). Italian composer. Mr. Galilei, the father of physicist and astronomer Galileo Galilei, was a lutanist and composer of numerous pieces for voice and lute. He did pioneering research into acoustics, and has been credited with influencing his son's experimentation in physics.

240 years ago
1776

Politics and government
The American Continental Congress adopted the Lee Resolution that "these United Colonies are, and of right, ought to be, Free and Independent States." The wording of the formal Declaration of Independence was not approved until July 4.

110 years ago
1906

Born on this date
Hans Bethe. German-born U.S. physicist. Dr. Bethe began his career in his native country, but left after the Nazis came to power in 1933, and within two years had settled in the United States, becoming a professor at Cornell University. He made important contributions to astrophysics, quantum electrodynamics and solid-state physics, and was awarded the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his contributions to the theory of nuclear reactions, especially his discoveries concerning the energy production in stars." Dr. Bethe worked on the development of the atomic bomb and the hydrogen bomb, but later spoke out against nuclear weapons, while advocating the peaceful use of nuclear energy. He continued to publish scientific papers well into his 90s; physicist Freeman Dyson, one of his students, referred to Dr. Bethe as the "supreme problem-solver of the 20th century." Dr. Bethe died on March 6, 2005 at the age of 98.

100 years ago
1916

Born on this date
Ken Curtis. U.S. actor and singer. Mr. Curtis, born Curtis Gates, sang with the orchestras of Tommy Dorsey and Shep Fields before joining the Sons of the Pioneers from 1949-1953. He was best known for playing Festus Haggen in the television Western series Gunsmoke from 1963-1975. Mr. Curtis died on April 28, 1991 at the age of 74.

90 years ago
1926

Died on this date
Émile Coué, 69. French psychologist and pharmacist. Émile Coué de la Châtaigneraie was a pharmacist in Troyes from 1882-1910 who discovered the placebo effect among his clients, leading him to become a pioneer in promoting autosuggestion for self-improvement; he and his wife Lucie founded La Société Lorraine de Psychologie appliquée (The Lorraine Society of Applied Psychology) in 1913. Mr. Coué wrote the book La Maîtrise de soi-même par l'autosuggestion consciente (Mastery of One’s Self through Conscious Autosuggestion) (1920), but is best remembered for the saying, which he encouraged people to repeat to themselves as a mantra, "Tous les jours à tous points de vue je vais de mieux en mieux (Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better)." Repetition of this phrase became known as La méthode Coué (The Coué method), or Couéism. Although Mr. Coué was more popular in Europe than in North America in his own time, he exerted a major influence on North American success/motivation speakers of the later 20th century, including W. Clement Stone, Norman Vincent Peale, and Robert Schuller.

Politics and government
Arthur Meighen's second tenure as Prime Minister of Canada lasted only three days, as his Conservative government was defeated in the House of Commons by one vote on a non-confidence motion. Governor General Lord Byng had no option but to dissolve Parliament; a federal election was called for September 14, 1926.

75 years ago
1941

War
The Royal Canadian Air Force was authorized to enlist women; the RCAF was followed by the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Navy. Pilots with the American Eagle Squadron shot down three German fighters and damaged two others during a British Royal Air Force raid near Lille, France.

Defense
28 U.S. state governors, meeting in Boston, adopted a resolution pledging full support to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his effort "to preserve the freedom of men and the institutions of free men." American Peace Mobilization and the Congress of Insustrial Organizations National Maritime Union announced in New York that they now supported aid to the U.K. and U.S.S.R.; both had opposed Lend-Lease. The U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee tentatively approved new and additional taxes designed to raise $3.5 billion in additional revenue to help pay for the defense program. Mr. Roosevelt directed War Secretary Edward L. Stimson to return the North American Aviation plant in Inglewood, California to its owners.

Diplomacy
U.S. Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles declared that the United States welcomed Uruguay's proposal that any republic engaged in a foreign war be regarded as a non-belligerent.

Protest
Several people were injured when police broke up an anti-Fascist demonstration in Trinidad, Uruguay.

Crime
Sir John Henry Delves was acquitted in Nairobi of a charge of killing the Earl of Erroll.

Baseball
Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees extended his hitting streak to 45 games--breaking the major league record set by Willie Keeler of the Baltimore Orioles in 1897--with a home run off Dick Newsome of the Boston Red Sox as the Yankees beat the Red Sox 8-4 in 95-degree heat before 8,682 fans at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees scored 6 runs in the 5th inning.

The Philadelphia Athletics scored a run in the bottom of the 8th inning, 3 in the 9th, and 1 in the 10th as they came back from a 5-0 deficit to defeat the Washington Nationals 7-6 before 15,000 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

Bobo Newsom pitched a 3-hit shutout and Rudy York doubled home Pat Mullin in the 1st inning for the game's only run as the Detroit Tigers edged the Chicago White Sox 1-0 before 22,555 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Losing pitcher "Bullfrog Bill" Dietrich allowed just 5 hits and 1 earned run in 8 innings.

70 years ago
1946

At the movies
The Stranger, directed by Orson Welles and starring Mr. Welles, Edward G. Robinson, and Loretta Young, opened in theatres in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles.





Radio
The British government extended the British Broadcasting Corporation's charter for two years, reaffirming its determination not to allow commercial programs on the air.

War
At the Tokyo trial of accused Japanese war criminals, former Prime Minister and Japanese Navy commander Admiral Keisuke Okada testified that Japan had a "gentleman's agreement" with the United States permitting Japanese forces to move into Manchuria in 1931.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State James Byrnes and U.K. Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin abandoned their fight for Italian control of Trieste, and agreed to the city's internationalization, but insisted that the zone be administered by the United Nations Security Council.

U.S. President Harry Truman conferred with four Jewish Agency leaders, including Rabbi Stephen Wise, who protested against the United Kingdom's "brutal aggression" in Palestine.

Politics and government
General Lucius Clay of the U.S. military government in Germany announced a general political amnesty for all German war criminals up to 27 years of age except for active Nazi Party members and supporters.

Protest
Riots in Ahmadabad, India between Hindus and Muslims resulted in 33 dead and several hundred injured.

Labour
A wildcat strike of 5,000 Congress of Industrial Organizations United Auto Workers members hit Chrysler Corporation's Plymouth Division plant in Detroit after 93 workers were required to take an extra half-hour for lunch without pay.

60 years ago
1956

Music
Elvis Presley was at RCA Victor's studios in New York, where the songs recorded included Hound Dog; Don't Be Cruel; and Anyway You Want Me (That's How I Will Be).

Television
Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick sold World Series and major league All-Star Game broadcast rights to NBC for $3,250,000.

Defense
U.K. Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd claimed that the Middle East arms balance was "rather in favour of Israel."

Protest
The Soviet Communist Party Central Committee charged that "the anti-people's demonstrations" in Poznań, Poland were financed by the United States. The United States Senate passed a resolution praising Polish workers for their "courage...in resisting tyranny."

Labour
The Peruvian White Collar Workers Federation ended a general strike when the government released jailed union leaders.

50 years ago
1966

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Paint It, Black/Long Long While--The Rolling Stones (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France: Ton Nom--Salvatore Adamo (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Tema--I Giganti

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Sloop John B--The Beach Boys (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Paperback Writer--The Beatles

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Paperback Writer--The Beatles (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Strangers in the Night--Frank Sinatra

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Paperback Writer--The Beatles (2nd week at #1)
2 Strangers in the Night--Frank Sinatra
3 Paint It, Black--The Rolling Stones
4 Hanky Panky--Tommy James and the Shondells
5 Red Rubber Ball--The Cyrkle
6 You Don't Have to Say You Love Me--Dusty Springfield
7 Cool Jerk--The Capitols
8 I Am a Rock--Simon and Garfunkel
9 Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind--The Lovin' Spoonful
10 Sweet Talkin' Guy--The Chiffons

Singles entering the chart were I Saw Her Again by the Mamas and the Papas (#45); The Work Song by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass (#57); I Want You by Bob Dylan (#59); Trains and Boats and Planes by Dionne Warwick (#70); Sweet Dreams by Tommy McLain (#75); Pretty Flamingo by Manfred Mann (#78); Lonely Soldier by Mike Williams (#79); Stop! Get a Ticket by the Clefs of Lavender Hill (#89); Teenager's Prayer by Joe Simon (#91); With a Child's Heart by Stevie Wonder (#94); Shake Your Hips by Slim Harpo (#96); Past, Present and Future by the Shangri-Las (#97); I Need Love by Barbara Mason (#99); La Bamba (Part 1) by Trini Lopez (#100); and Such a Sweet Thing by Mary Wells (also #100).

Defense
The French military conducted its fifth nuclear test and first in the Pacific region, exploding a nuclear test bomb codenamed Aldébaran in Moruroa, French Polynesia.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Edmonton Eskimos Intrasquad Game
Green 18 Gold 0

Mr. Traylor and Ken Sigaty scored touchdowns for Gold as they blanked Green at Clarke Stadium. Larry Zeno kicked a convert, Tommy-Joe Coffey kicked a field goal, and Randy Kerbow punted for a single.

40 years ago
1976

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Fernando--ABBA (5th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Let Your Love Flow--Bellamy Brothers (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Let Your Love Flow--Bellamy Brothers (2nd week at #1)

Asiatica
North and South Vietnam officially reunited as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Law
In Gregg v. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-2 that the death penalty was not inherently cruel or unusual.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Saskatchewan (2-0) 25 @ Edmonton (0-2) 20

30 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): The Final Countdown--Europe (6th week at #1)

Died on this date
Peanuts Lowrey, 68. U.S. baseball player and coach. Harold Lee Lowrey, nicknamed by an uncle because of his small size as a child, was an outfielder with the Chicago Cubs (1942-1943, 1945-1949); Cincinnati Reds (1949-1950); St. Louis Cardinals (1950-1954); and Philadelphia Phillies (1955), batting .273 with 37 home runs and 479 runs batted in in 1,401 games. He set a major league record in 1952 with 7 consecutive pinch hits, and led the majors with 21 pinch hits in 1953. Mr. Lowrey was a coach with five major league teams from 1960-1981.

Rodrigo Rojas De Negri, 19. Chilean photographer. Mr. Rojas died four days after being burned alive during a street demonstration in Santiago against the Chilean dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. The government claimed that Mr. Rojas had accidentally been burned by a molotov cocktail that he was carrying, while others claimed that Mr. Rojas had been beaten and set afire by military personnel.

Baseball
Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox fell short of an American League record-tying 15th consecutive victory to start the season when the Toronto Blue Jays scored 3 runs in the 8th inning to defeat the Red Sox 4-2 before 27,493 fans at Fenway Park in Boston. Winning pitcher Jimmy Key allowed 8 hits and 2 earned runs in 7 2/3 innings.

Juan Nieves pitched a 5-hit shutout and the Milwaukee Brewers scored an unearned run in the top of the 4th inning to defeat the Baltimore Orioles 1-0 before 19,250 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Losing pitcher Ken Dixon allowed just 4 hits in pitching a complete game, with the only run coming in the 4th inning when Rick Manning led off by reaching first base on an error by Baltimore first baseman Eddie Murray, advanced to third on a single by Jim Gantner, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Rick Cerone.

The Chicago White Sox scored 3 runs in the top of the 1st inning and the California Angels responded with 4 in the bottom of the inning, while the rest of the game was scoreless, as the Angels won 4-3 before 27,596 fans at Anaheim Stadium. Winning pitcher Mike Witt pitched a 5-hit complete game.

The Chicago Cubs scored a run in the bottom of the 8th inning and defeated the Montreal Expos 1-0 in the completion of a suspended game from the previous day, and Davey Lopes hit a solo home run with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th to give the Cubs a 5-4 win in the regularly-scheduled game before 23,101 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

The Los Angeles Dodgers scored a run in the top of the 10th inning, but pinch hitter Tony Perez doubled home Kal Daniels and Ron Oester with 1 out in the bottom of the 10th to give the Cincinnati Reds a 5-4 win before 20,429 fans at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

25 years ago
1991

Died on this date
Lee Remick, 55. U.S. actress. Miss Remick was known for her striking blue eyes and her performances in such movies as A Face in the Crowd (1957); Anatomy of a Murder (1959); The Days of Wine and Roses (1962); and The Omen (1976). She died of kidney cancer.

Law
The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that psychiatrists could not give medication against the wishes of patients; this was challenged by professionals and relatives of the mentally ill.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Toronto (0-2) 25 @ Hamilton (1-1) 28 (OT)
Edmonton (1-1) 21 @ Calgary (2-0) 25

20 years ago
1996

Space
Canadian Space Agency astronaut and NASA Payload Specialist Dr. Robert Thirsk, on U.S. space shuttle Columbia mission STS-78, joined the second 72-hour periods of the Sleep and Circadian Rhythms Study. It was the first-ever comprehensive study of sleep, 24-hour circadian rhythms, and task performance in a microgravity environment.

10 years ago
2006

Died on this date
Jan Murray, 89. U.S. comedian. Mr. Murray, born Murray Janofsky, hosted numerous television game shows and appeared on numerous other television programs.