July 3, 2016

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Nastya!

150 years ago
1866

War
The Austro-Prussian War was decided by the Battle of Königgrätz, resulting in Prussia taking over as the prominent German nation from Austria.

140 years ago
1876

Transportation
The Intercolonial Railway completed its final link from Halifax to Rivière du Loup, Quebec, and was now open from Québec City to Halifax.

130 years ago
1886

Transportation
Karl Benz officially unveiled the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first purpose-built automobile.

Technology
The New-York Tribune became the first newspaper to use a linotype machine, eliminating typesetting by hand.

Baseball
Future college football coach Amos Alonzo Stagg pitched Yale University to victory over Harvard University in the deciding game of the U.S. college championship.

Law
Squamish Chief Joe Capilano and other indigenous representatives presented a petition to King Edward VII in London concerning British Columbia native land rights.

120 years ago
1896

Born on this date
Doris Lloyd. U.K.-born U.S. actress. Miss Lloyd appeared in many radio and television shows (including a number of episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour), and more than 150 movies from 1920 to 1967. Her movies included Waterloo Bridge (1931); Tarzan the Ape Man (1932); A Study in Scarlet (1933); Tovarich (1937); The Letter (1940); The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942); The House of Fear (1945); Three Strangers (1946); and The Sound of Music (1965). Miss Lloyd died on May 21, 1968 at the age of 71.

100 years ago
1916

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, John Kundla! U.S. basketball coach. Mr. Kundla coached the Minneapolis Lakers from 1947-1959, leading them to the championship of the National Basketball League in 1948; the Basketball Association of America in 1949; and the National Basketball Association in 1950 and 1952-1954. He coached the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers from 1959-1968. Mr. Kundla was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Died on this date
Hetty Green, 81. U.S. businesswoman and financier. Mrs. Green parlayed an inheritance into a fortune through wise investments. She was infamous for her miserliness, and was known as the "Witch of Wall Street." Mrs. Green reportedly died of apoplexy after arguing with a maid over the virtues of skimmed milk. She left a fortune of as much as $200 million (several billion dollars in 2016 terms), making her perhaps the richest woman in the world at the time.

75 years ago
1941

Died on this date
Friedrich Akel, 69. Elder of State of Estonia, 1924. Dr. Akel, an ophthalmologist, served as Estonia's foreign minister three times, and was Elder (Head) of State from March-December 1924. He was imprisoned by the U.S.S.R. secret police force NKVD in October 1940, and was shot to death in Tallinn.

War
British and Free French forces captured Tadmur in central Syria after a 13-day siege. U.S.S.R. dictator Josef Stalin, in a nationwide radio broadcast, urged total "scorched earth" resistance to the German invasion, including the formation of guerrilla units behind enemy lines.

Diplomacy
The Chinese government notified Germany and Italy that it had broken diplomatic relations with them as of July 2 because of their recognition of the regime in Nanking led by Wang Ching-wei.

Following the policy of the United States, the Costa Rican government declared its non-belligerency rather than neutrality in the European war.

Defense
U.S. Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall submitted a semi-annual report recommending that Congress remove restrictions on sending troops overseas and empower the Army to retain draftees, National Guardsmen, and reserve officers indefinitely. The Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies shortened its name to the Committee to Defend America. The Swedish government sued Vultee Aircraft Corporation in New York for failure to deliver 144 Vultee pursuit planes ordered in 1940.

Education
The U.S. National Education Association adopted a resolution opposing the employment of any teacher who advocated changing the form of government of the United States by unconstitutional means.

Scandal
A U.S. federal grand jury indicted Wilson & Company, Armour & Company, Swift & Company, two trade associations and seven individuals for conspiring to fix the prices of slaughtered hogs.

Disasters
An earthquake struck the Andean provinces of Mendoza and San Juan in Argentina, killing at least three people.

70 years ago
1946

War
The Belgrade court trying Yugoslavian Chetnik leader Draja Mikhailovich for collaboration with the Nazis during World War II refused to allow American or British witnesses to appear for the defendant or to admit a statement from German General Alfred Jodl that Mr. Mikhailovich had been regarded by the Germans as an enemy.

Terrorism
Palestine High Commissioner Sir Alan Cunningham commuted to life imprisonment the death sentences of Joseph Simkhon and Isaac Ashbel, members of the Irgun Zvai Leumi captured in a raid on a British Army camp.

Politics and government
Union Nationale candidate Charles French won a Quebec provincial by-election in the riding of Compton, receiving 6,146 votes to 3,541 for Liberal candidate Waymer Laberee and 623 for Aurélien Quintin of the Bloc populaire. The by-election had been necessitated by the death of Liberal MLA W.J. Duffy. The UN had emphasized the policy of provincial autonomy promoted by Premier Maurice Duplessis.

Science
The U.S. Senate passed the Kilgore-Magnuson bill, creating the National Science Foundation.

Law
The American Bar Association meeting in Chicago set up a committee to pass on the qualifications of candidates for the federal bench and to take action to oust unfit justices.

Labour
A strike began at Exploration Company's Nickel Plate operation in Kelowna, British Columbia; the strike lasted until December 11, 1946.

U.S. President Harry Truman signed the Hobbs anti-racketeering bill, barring labour interference with interstate commerce.

60 years ago
1956

At the movies
Somebody Up There Likes Me, starring Paul Newman and Pier Angeli, opened in theatres. The film was a biography of boxer Rocky Graziano.



On television tonight
The $64,000 Question, on CBS

Danish explorer Peter Freuchen, noted for his expeditions to Greenland and other Arctic areas, was a contestant, and won the top prize of $64,000.

War
U.S.S.R. Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko presented a resolution to the United Nations Disarmament Commission calling for member states to make a general renunciation of war and the use of atomic and hydrogen weapons.

Defense
At a Commonwealth Conference in London, South African Prime Minister Johannes Strijdom proposed that the Commonwealth and other European colonial powers form a defense alliance against any Soviet thrust into Asia.

Politics and government
South Vietnam's Constituent Assembly approved a draft constitution providing for a strong executive government with a six-year presidential term and four-year terms for legislative deputies.

Diplomacy
The United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a measure requiring the President to submit non-treaty international agreements to the Senate.

Crime
The United States Congress completed action on a bill providing heavy penalties, including death, for sabotage of a commercial airliner.

Journalism
Daily Worker foreign editor Joseph Clark charged that "an explanation is long overdue from the Soviet leaders about the physical annihilation of the top Soviet Jewish writers and poets" in the 1940s.

50 years ago
1966

Protest
31 demonstrators in London were arrested after their protest against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War turned violent.

40 years ago
1976

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Ramaya--Afric Simone (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): Arms of Mary--Sutherland Brothers and Quiver

#1 single in the U.K.: You to Me are Everything--Real Thing (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Silly Love Songs--Wings (5th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Afternoon Delight--Starland Vocal Band (2nd week at #1)
2 Silly Love Songs--Wings
3 More, More, More (Part 1)--Andrea True Connection
4 Kiss and Say Goodbye--The Manhattans
5 Misty Blue--Dorothy Moore
6 Get Up and Boogie (That's Right)--Silver Convention
7 Shop Around--Captain & Tennille
8 Moonlight Feels Right--Starbuck
9 Love is Alive--Gary Wright
10 Let Her In--John Travolta

Singles entering the chart were Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee (#47); You Should Be Dancing by the Bee Gees (#65); Say You Love Me by Fleetwood Mac (#93); Lowdown by Boz Scaggs (#94); Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman by the Deadly Nightshade (#96); Roots, Rock, Reggae by Bob Marley and the Wailers (#98); Teddy Bear by Red Sovine (#99); and Foxy Lady by Crown Heights Affair (#100). Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman was a version of the title song of the television comedy series.

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Roxy Roller--Sweeney Todd (2nd week at #1)
2 More, More, More (Part 1)--Andrea True Connection
3 Never Gonna Fall in Love Again--Eric Carmen
4 Shop Around--Captain & Tennille
5 Misty Blue--Dorothy Moore
6 Get Up and Boogie (That's Right)--Silver Convention
7 Takin' it to the Streets--The Doobie Brothers
8 The Whole World's Goin' Crazy--April Wine
9 Silly Love Songs--Wings
10 Moonlight Feels Right--Starbuck

Singles entering the chart were I Love to Love by Tina Charles (#78); You Can't Dance by Jackson Hawke (#94); Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel by Tavares (#95); Sophisticated Lady by Natalie Cole (#96); Another Rainy Day in New York City by Chicago (#97); Let 'Em In by Wings (#98); Livin' Ain't Livin' by Firefall (#99); and I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Talking by the Supremes (#100).

Politics and government
King Juan Carlos I of Spain named Adolfo Suarez Gonzalez as Prime Minister to replace Carlos Arias Navarro, who had resigned on July 1.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Calgary (0-1-1) 25 @ Toronto (0-1-1) 25

30 years ago
1986

Died on this date
Rudy Vallée, 84. U.S. singer and actor. Mr. Vallée was a clarinetist and saxophonist before achieving success as a crooner from the late 1920s through the late 1930s, often singing through a megaphone, which became his trademark. He had a hit single in 1931 with an early version of As Time Goes By, and it became a hit again upon its re-release in 1943. Mr. Vallée's movies included The Vagabond Lover (1929) and The Palm Beach Story (1942). He made a brief comeback as a singer in the late 1960s, and died 25 days before his 85th birthday.

Americana
President Ronald Reagan presided over a ceremony in New York Harbor that saw the relighting of the renovated Statue of Liberty.



Football
CFL
Ottawa (2-0) 18 @ Hamilton (0-2) 2
British Columbia (1-1) 13 @ Edmonton (2-0) 36

The Eskimos took a 33-3 halftime lead and coasted to victory over the defending Grey Cup champion Lions at Commonwealth Stadium. B.C. wide receiver Merv Fernandez, playing his second game as punter in relief of injured Lui Passaglia, broke his hand in the 2nd quarter in attempting to tackle Tom Richards at the end of a 56-yard return, and missed the remainder of the game and the next 7 games. It was the last game for Bobby Ackles as the Lions' general manager before he joined the front office of the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys; he was kind enough to autograph an old team picture for me after the game.

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Senza una donna--Zucchero featuring Paul Young (3rd week at #1)

Business
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney began the process leading to the privatization of Petro-Canada.

The Ontario Court of Appeal rejected Air Canada's bid to stop the $8-million sale of Air Toronto to Pacific Western Airlines Corporation; the two airlines had been struggling for ownership for 14 months.

Crime
An Ontario judge sentenced a youth to 16 months' detention for setting a $30-million tire fire in Hagersville, Ontario in February 1990; three others were also found guilty and got shorter sentences.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Ottawa (1-1) 32 @ Winnipeg (2-0) 45

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, continued the second of two integrated 72-hour Sleep and Circadian Rhythms Studies. He answered questions from students at three different schools in Canada, and performed left leg muscle strength, power and endurance tests in the Spacelab using the Torque Velocity Dynamometer. French Payload Specialist Dr. Jean-Jacques Favier put on head and torso sensors and resumed the Torso Rotation Experiment designed by Dr. Douglas Watt of McGill University to help identify the causes of motion sickness during space flight and develop countermeasures.

Britannica
The Stone of Scone was returned to Scotland.

Politics and government
Boris Yeltsin captured 54.4% of the vote to win the runoff election for President of Russia. Communist Party candidate Gennady Zyuganov took 40.7% of the vote. 75 million Russians voted--a 67% turnout.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (1-1) 29 @ Ottawa (0-2) 14