July 8, 2016

300 years ago
1716

War
Danish and Norwegian forces defeated Swedish forces in the naval Battle of Dynekilen during the Great Northern War.

240 years ago
1776

Americana
Colonel John Nixon gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence to a crowd gathered at Independence Square in Philadelphia. Church bells were rung after the proclamation of the Declaration, possibly including the Liberty Bell.

140 years ago
1876

Abominations
One white man and six Negro freedmen were murdered by a mob of white men in Hamburg, South Carolina. The Negroes were associated with the Republican Party, and their attackers were Democrats. 94 white men were indicted, none actually prosecuted.

125 years ago
1891

Married on this date
Future U.S. President Warren G. Harding married Florence K. DeWolfe in Marion, Ohio.

120 years ago
1896

Politics and government
Sir Charles Tupper resigned as Canada's 6th Prime Minister; he had held the position since May 1, 1896, after serving as Canada's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He was replaced as Prime Minister by Liberal Party leader Wilfrid Laurier, ending 18 years of Conservative Party government.

80 years ago
1936

Died on this date
Thomas Meighan, 57. U.S. actor. Mr. Meighan was a leading man in silent and sound films from 1914-1934; his movies included The Miracle Man (1919); The Racket (1928); and The Mating Call (1928). He died after a two-year battle with cancer.

75 years ago
1941

Diplomacy
U.S. Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles, Argentine Ambassador to the U.S.A. Felipe Espil, and Brazilian Ambassador to the U.S.A. conferred in Washington on means to settle the border dispute between Ecuador and Peru.

Defense
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt told a press conference that the United States would defend those areas where her vital interests lay, whether or not they were in the Western Hemisphere.

Scandal
The New York State Board of Pardons announced that former New York Stock Exchange President Richard Whitney would be paroled from Sing Sing prison on August 11, 1941 after serving three years and four months of his 1938 sentence for grand larceny.

Baseball
Major League All-Star Game @ Briggs Stadium, Detroit
National League 5 @ American League 7

Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox hit a 3-run home run off Claude Passeau of the Chicago Cubs with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the American League the win before 54,674 fans. Pittsburgh Pirates' shortstop Arky Vaughan became the first player to hit 2 home runs in an all-star game, homering in the 7th and 8th innings. Mr. Williams and Mr. Vaughan each batted in 4 runs.







70 years ago
1946

Hit parade
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Gypsy--The Ink Spots (8th week at #1)
--Dinah Shore
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
2 Prisoner of Love--Perry Como
--The Ink Spots
3 They Say it's Wonderful--Perry Como
--Frank Sinatra
4 Doin' What Comes Natur'lly--Dinah Shore and Spade Cooley and his Orchestra
--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra
--Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra
5 Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside)--Dinah Shore
--Andy Russell
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
6 Cement Mixer (Put-ti Put-ti)--Alvino Rey and his Orchestra
--Charlie Barnet and his Orchestra
7 I'm a Big Girl Now--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
8 Surrender--Perry Como
--Woody Herman and his Orchestra
9 Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop--Tex Beneke with the Glenn Miller Orchestra
--Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra
10 One More Tomorrow--Frankie Carle and his Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were the version of Doin' What Comes Natur'lly by Freddy Martin and his Orchestra; Salute to Glenn Miller by the Modernaires with Paula Kelly (#29); Remember Me, with versions by Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra, and Bing Crosby (#33); Baby, You Can Count on Me by Charlie Barnet and his Orchestra (#34); and From This Day Forward by Frank Sinatra (#39). From This Day Forward was the other side of Something Old Something New, charting at #22.

On the radio
The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Gale Gordon and Carl Harbord, on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Derringer Society

Died on this date
Aleksandr Vasilevich Aleksandrov, 63. U.S.S.R. composer. Mr. Aleksandrov wrote the Soviet national anthem, which is now--with different lyrics--the Russian national anthem. He died while on tour in Berlin.

War
Nationalist Chinese forces occupied the transportation centre of Hsuanhuatien, threatening to trap 60,000 Communist troops in the province of Hupeh.

Defense
U.S. President Harry Truman signed a $4,119,659,300 Navy appropriations bill.

Literature
New York police seized 130 copies of Memoirs of Hecate County by Edmund Wilson, condemned as obscene by the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice.

Diplomacy
Representatives of 51 nations attended the opening session of the League of Red Cross Societies in Oxford, England.

Scandal
U.S. Representative Andrew May (Democrat--Kentucky) publicly repudiated his earlier admission of procuring government orders for Cumberland Lumber Company, claiming he was a victim of "sinister attacks."

Economics and finance
The U.S.A., U.K., and Canada abolished their blacklists of firms and individuals who had aided the Axis.

60 years ago
1956

Died on this date
Giovanni Papini, 75. Italian writer. Mr. Papini was an essayist, literary critic, poet and novelist. He subscribed to various philosophies during his life, but was best known as a supporter of the Italian Fascist regime of Duce Benito Mussolini in the 1930s.

Gerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart, 55. Dutch politician and diplomat. Mr. van Heuven Goedhart was the Netherlands' Minister of Justice from 1944-1945 and a Senator from 1947-1951 before accepting the position of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which he held from 1951 until his death.

Exploration
The U.S.S.R. announced plans for a joint North Polar expedition with Sweden and Norway, to be conducted in the autumn of 1956.

Scandal
The Pacific Coast Conference penalized the University of Southern California for violating conference limits on financial aid to athletes by declaring the school ineligible for the Rose Bowl for two years and fining it $63,400.

50 years ago
1966

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Paperback Writer--The Beatles

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Paperback Writer--The Beatles (4th week at #1)
2 The Pied Piper--Crispian St. Peters
3 Red Rubber Ball--The Cyrkle
4 Brainwashed--David Clayton-Thomas
5 Strangers in the Night--Frank Sinatra
6 I Saw Her Again--The Mamas and the Papas
7 Hungry--Paul Revere & the Raiders
8 One Too Many Mornings--The Beau Brummels
9 I Love Onions--Susan Christie
10 A Groovy Kind of Love--The Mindbenders
Pick hit of the week: Friday's Child--Nancy Sinatra
New this week: 5 D (Fifth Dimension)--The Byrds
The Answer Lies Within--Neil Sedaka
You Just Can't Quit--Rick Nelson
You You You--Mel Carter

World events
King Mwambutsa IV of Burundi was deposed by his son Prince Charles Ndizi, who became King Ntare V; Mwambutsa IV, 54, had been on the throne since December 1915.

Labour
A machinists' union struck against five major U.S. airlines after negotiations broke down.

40 years ago
1976

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Saskatchewan (3-0) 35 @ Montreal (2-1) 7
Ottawa (1-2) 37 @ Calgary (1-1-1) 39
Edmonton (0-3) 11 @ British Columbia (2-1) 18

Cyril McFall's field goal with 2 seconds remaining in the game gave the Stampeders their win over the Rough Riders in the first game this blogger ever attended at McMahon Stadium.

30 years ago
1986

Died on this date
Hyman Rickover, 86. Polish-born U.S. military officer. Admiral Rickover moved to the United State with his family at the age of 6. He entered the United States Naval Academy in 1918, graduating in 1922. Adm. Rickover was known as the "Father of the Nuclear Navy," directing the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlling its operations for three decades as director of the U.S. Naval Reactors office. He was perhaps best known for his association with nuclear-powered submarines. The Navy, under Adm. Rickover's leadership, never experienced a nuclear reactor accident. Adm. Rickover later stated a desire that all nuclear-powered vessels be sunk, but had no regrets about building them, because they were necessary for national security. Adm. Rickover attracted opposition within the service, and was forced into retirement on January 31, 1982, four days after his 82nd birthday. His 63 years of active duty service remain a record for the U.S. armed forces, and he was one of four people to receive two Congressional Gold Medals.

Skeeter Webb, 76. U.S. baseball player. James Laverne Webb was an infielder with the St. Louis Cardinals (1932); Cleveland Indians (1938-1939); Chicago White Sox (1940-1944); Detroit Tigers (1945-1947); and Philadelphia Athletics (1948), batting .219 with 3 home runs and 166 runs batted in in 699 games. He was the Tigers' regular shortstop when they won the World Series in 1945, batting .199 during the regular season and .185 (5 for 27) in their seven-game win over the Chicago Cubs in the World Series. Mr. Webb's father-in-law Steve O'Neill was the Detroit manager in 1945.

Politics and government
Kurt Waldheim was inaugurated as President of Austria.

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Beat Emotion--Tomoyasu Hotei

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Lensin matalalla--Eppu Normaali

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Wind of Change--Scorpions (6th week at #1)

Died on this date
James Franciscus, 57. U.S. actor. Mr. Franciscus was known for his starring roles in the television series Naked City (1958-1959); The Investigators (1961); Mr. Novak (1963-1965); and Longstreet (1971-1972). He died of emphysema.

Politics and government
A Gallup Poll reported that 69% of Canadians wanted Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to resign; 80% in Ontario and 54% in Mr. Mulroney's home province of Québec favoured his resignation.

Abominations
Joseph Burke a former teacher for the Roman Catholic Christian Brothers order, was sentenced to 25 months in prison for abusing boys under his care at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John's, Newfoundland in the 1970s.

20 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Forever Love--Gary Barlow

#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Killing Me Softly--The Fugees (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Killing Me Softly--The Fugees (2nd week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Ahead by a Century--The Tragically Hip (2nd week at #1)
2 You Learn--Alanis Morissette
3 Give Me One Reason--Tracy Chapman
4 Fastlove--George Michael
5 The Only Thing that Looks Good on Me is You--Bryan Adams
6 Killing Me Softly--The Fugees
7 You Still Touch Me--Sting
8 Flood--Jars of Clay
9 Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)--Hootie & the Blowfish
10 Theme from Mission: Impossible--Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen, Jr.

Singles entering the chart were Tucker's Town by Hootie & the Blowfish (#83); You're Makin' Me High by Toni Braxton (#87); Don't Look Back in Anger by Oasis (#90); Free to Decide by the Cranberries (#93); Someday by All-4-One (#94); Forever by Mariah Carey (#95); Waiting for Wednesday by Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories (#97); Whatever You Need by Damhait Doyle (#98); and Mother Mother by Tracy Bonham (#99).

Died on this date
Irene Prador, 84. Austrian-born actress. Miss Prador, born Irene Peiser, emigrated to France in 1933 and later worked in the U.K. and Germany, appearing in plays, films, and television programs in a career spanning more than 50 years. She was the older sister of actress Lilli Palmer, and died in Berlin, eight days before her 85th birthday.

Crime
Three young children and four adults were attacked by a man with a machete at an infant school in Wolverhampton, England.

Disasters
Hurricane Bertha struck the Caribbean islands and eastern United States.

10 years ago
2006

Died on this date
June Allyson, 88. U.S. actress. Miss Allyson, born Eleanor Geisman, was known for her husky voice and for playing wholesome, supportive wives or girlfriends in movies such as The Stratton Story (1949); Battle Circus (1953); The Glenn Miller Story (1954); and Strategic Air Command (1955).