August 1, 2016

725 years ago
1291

Europeana
The Old Swiss Confederacy was formed with the signature of the Federal Charter.

150 years ago
1866

Died on this date
John Ross, 75. U.S. Indian leader. Mr. Ross, the son of a Cherokee mother and Scottish father, served in various leadership positions, including principal chief, with the Cherokee Nation from 1819 until his death.

Canadiana
The British Parliament passed the act uniting the colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island.

140 years ago
1876

Americana
Colorado entered the Union as the 38th state.

125 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Karl Kobelt. President of the Swiss Confederation, 1946, 1952. Mr. Kobelt, a member of the Free Democratic Party, was a member of the Swiss Federal Council (1940-1954), and was also in charge of the Military Department during his time as President. He died on January 5, 1968 at the age of 76.

110 years ago
1906

Baseball
Harry McIntire of the Brooklyn Superbas pitched a no-hitter for 10 innings, but gave up a hit in the 11th inning and a run in the 13th, losing 1-0 to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Washington Park in Brooklyn.

90 years ago
1926

Edmontonia
A herd of escaped circus elephants stampeded down Jasper Avenue.

80 years ago
1936

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Louis Hector and Harry West, on MBS
Tonight’s episode: The Lion's Mane

Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games opened in Berlin, with German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler in attendance.



75 years ago
1941

Economics and finance
In Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, wartime rationing forced the Prince Albert Restaurant Association to raise coffee prices from 5¢ per cup to 6¢ per cup.

70 years ago
1946

Died on this date
Andrey Vlasov, 44. U.S.S.R. military officer. Lieutenant General Vlasov joined the Soviet Red Army in 1919; he fought in the Battle of Moscow in World War II, and was captured attempting to lift the siege of Leningrad in 1942. Lt. Gen. Vlasov then defected to the Germans and headed the Russkaya osvoboditel'naya armiya (ROA) (Russian Liberation Army) until near the end of the war, when he switched back and ordered the ROA to aid the Prague uprising against the Germans. He was captured by Soviet forces, and hanged for treason in Moscow with 11 other ROA officers.

Politics and government
U.S. President Harry Truman signed the congressional acts that established the Atomic Energy Commission and the Fulbright Scholarship program.

50 years ago
1966

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Juanita Banana--Luis Aguilé (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): More Than Yesterday--Gregory and the Cadets (2nd week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Sweet Pea--Tommy Roe
2 Pretty Flamingo--Manfred Mann
3 Hungry--Paul Revere & the Raiders
4 I Saw Her Again--The Mamas and the Papas
5 Wild Thing--The Troggs
6 Lil' Red Riding Hood--Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
7 Hanky Panky--Tommy James and the Shondells
8 Little Girl--Syndicate of Sound
9 Please Tell Me Why--The Dave Clark Five
10 The Pied Piper--Crispian St. Peters

Singles entering the chart were They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! by Napoleon XIV (#30); It's a Dirty Shame by the Esquires (#87); I'm a Loner by the Jaybees (#89); Lady Jane by the Rolling Stones (#91); Blowin' in the Wind by Stevie Wonder (#92); Get Away by Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames (#93); Working in the Coal Mine by Lee Dorsey (#94); Wildwood Days by Bobby Curtola (#95); I Believe I'm Going to Make It by Joe Tex (#97); Make Me Belong to You by Barbara Lewis (#98); Summertime by Billy Stewart (#99); and The Tip of My Finger by Eddy Arnold (#100). Lady Jane was the B-side of Mother's Little Helper, charting at #32.

Crime
Charles Whitman, 25, an engineering student at the University of Texas at Austin and a former United States Marine, murdered his wife and mother and then shot and killed 16 people and wounded 33 more in or from the tower on the 27th floor of the university's Main Building before being fatally shot.



Abominations
Purges of intellectuals and imperialists became the official policy of the People's Republic of China at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.

Politics and government
Army Chief of Staff Colonel Yakubu Gowon assumed control of the new military government in Nigeria. Col. Gowon was a Muslim Hausa from the northern part of the country.

40 years ago
1976

Auto racing
Formula One driver Niki Lauda of Austria was in critical condition in hospital after crashing at the German Grand Prix and suffering severe burns. He survived and returned to racing, winning the world driving championship in 1977 and 1984. The 1976 race at Nurburgring was won by James Hunt of the United Kingdom.

30 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Lessons in Love--Level 42 (4th week at #1)

At the movies
Howard the Duck, one of the biggest turkeys of the 1980s, opened in theatres. Newspaper ads for the movie said that you could phone 1-900-410-DUCK for 85c per call plus tolls to hear a message from Howard the Duck, with a new message every day.



Football
CFL
Winnipeg (3-2) 37 @ Montreal (1-4) 10
Toronto (4-2) 35 @ Edmonton (4-1) 34

Tom Clements quarterbacked the Blue Bombers to touchdowns on their first two possessions as they beat the Alouettes before 14,127 fans at Olympic Stadium.

A single from a missed field goal attempt by Lance Chomyc on the final play of the game gave the Argonauts the win over the Eskimos before 38,674 fans at Commonwealth Stadium. A dull first half saw Toronto ahead 12-6, but the Eskimos took the lead when Stephen Jones returned Mr. Chomyc's second-half kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown, converted by Tom Dixon (Edmonton play-by-play broadcaster Bryan Hall was late coming back from a commercial break at the end of halftime and missed calling the play). Chris Skinner scored 2 touchdowns for the Eskimos, while Toronto quarterback Condredge Holloway connected with rookie slotback Darrell K. Smith for 2 touchdowns. Former Eskimo Chris Woods made his only Edmonton appearance as an Argonaut an impressive one, catching 6 passes for 159 yards. The CFL Players' Association hadn't officially approved the introduction of overtime for regular season games in 1986, so it wasn't sure if the teams would have played two 5-minute overtime periods, but Hector Pothier of the Eskimos told me that they probably would have.



Baseball
Bert Blyleven pitched a 2-hitter and set a club record for a single game with 15 strikeouts to become the 15th pitcher in major league history to record 3,000 career strikeouts as the Minnesota Twins beat the Oakland Athletics 10-1 before 14,855 fans at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. Kirby Puckett hit for the cycle for the Twins.



The Baltimore Orioles scored 5 runs in the 6th inning as they defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 7-3 before 34,370 fans at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.

Don Mattingly hit a 2-run home run with 1 out in the 9th inning to break a 3-3 tie and give the New York Yankees a 5-3 win and a split of their twi-night doubleheader with the Cleveland Indians before 64,934 fans at Cleveland Stadium. The Indians won the opener 4-3.

Pete O'Brien hit a home run in each game to help the Texas Rangers sweep a twi-night doubleheader over the Milwaukee Brewers 7-2 and 8-6 before 19,482 fans at County Stadium in Milwaukee.

Dwight Gooden and Roger McDowell combined for a 5-hitter as the New York Mets defeated the Montreal Expos 3-1 before 47,883 fans at Shea Stadium in New York. Mr. Gooden allowed 4 hits and 1 earned run in 5 innings, striking out 7, as he improved his record for the season to 11-4.

Jeff Stone hit a solo home run with 1 out in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs before 25,892 fans at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

The Los Angeles Dodgers scored all their runs in the first 3 innings as they beat the Cincinnati Reds 9-5 before 46,078 fans at Dodger Stadium. Greg Brock hit a grand slam to climax a 5-run 1st inning for the Dodgers.

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Everything I Do (I Do it for You)--Bryan Adams (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Chris Short, 53. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Short played with the Philadelphia Phillies (1959-1972) and Milwaukee Brewers (1973), compiling a record of 135-132 with an earned run average of 3.43 in 501 games. He was at his best from 1964-1968, winning 20 games in 1966. Mr. Short suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm in November 1988, and remained in a coma until his death.

Football
CFL
Toronto (3-1) 41 @ British Columbia (3-1) 52 (OT)

Ray Ethridge's 94-yard kickoff return for a B.C. touchdown in overtime was the key play in an exciting game before a capacity crowd of 53,527 at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver.





20 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Killing Me Softly--The Fugees (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Tadeusz Reichstein, 99. Polish-born Swiss chemist. Dr. Reichstein succeeded in synthesizing vitamin C and shared the 1950 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Philip Hench and Edward Kendall "for their discoveries relating to the hormones of the adrenal cortex, their structure and biological effects," which culminated in the isolation of cortisone. Dr. Reichstein died 12 days after his 99th birthday.

Mohamed Farrah Aidid, 61. Somali warlord. General Aidid led a faction that opposed President Mohamed Siad Barre's regime in the early 1990s. Gen. Aidid declared himself President of Somalia in June 1995, but was not internationally recognized as such. He died of a heart attack eight days after being wounded in a clash with rival factions.

Olympics
Michael Johnson of the United States won the gold medal in the men's 200-metre run in a world record time of 19.32 seconds before 82,884 fans at Olympic Stadium in Atlanta, becoming the first man to win the 200-metre and 400-metre events in the same Olympics. Three days earlier, Mr. Johnson had run the 400 metres in 43.49 seconds.



Football
CFL
Montreal (2-4) 31 @ Toronto (5-1) 40

Doug Flutie rushed for 2 touchdowns and passed for another to lead the Argonauts over the Alouettes before 20,302 fans at SkyDome. Norman Bradford rushed for 184 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Alouettes.