August 14, 2016

225 years ago
1791

World events
Slaves from plantations in Saint-Domingue held a Vodou ceremony led by houngan Dutty Boukman at Bois Caïman; it was a prelude to the Haitian Revolution, which began a week later.

200 years ago
1816

Britannica
The United Kingdom formally annexed the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, administering the islands from the Cape Colony in South Africa.

125 years ago
1891

Died on this date
Sarah Polk, 87. U.S. First Lady, 1845-1849. Sarah Childress met future President James K. Polk when she was 12 and he was 19, and they married on January 1, 1824. They had no children, perhaps as a result of bladder stone surgery which made Mr. Polk sterile, but raised a nephew for a few years. Mrs. Polk helped her husband prepare his speeches, and advised him on various matters. Mr. Polk died just three months after leaving the White Houe, and Mrs. Polk lived as a widow for 42 years until her death, three weeks before her 88th birthday.

100 years ago
1916

Born on this date
Fumio Fujimura. Japanese baseball player. Mr. Fujimura was a pitcher and infielder with the Osaka and Hanshin Tigers (1936-1938, 1943-1956, 1958), compiling a pitching record of 34-11 with an earned run average of 2.43, and batting .300 with 224 home runs and 1,126 runs batted in. He also managed the Tigers in 1946 and 1955-1957. Mr. Fujimura was the Japanese Baseball League's Most Valuable Player in 1949, when he hit .332 with 46 homers and 142 RBIs. In 1950 he led the Central League with a .362 average, and his 191 hits stood as a Nippon Professional Baseball record for a single season until Ichiro Suzuki surpassed it in 1994. Mr. Fujimura was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974, and the Tigers eventually retired his jersey #10. Mr. Fujimura died on May 28, 1992 at the age of 75.

Wellington Mara. U.S. football executive. Mr. Mara was the son of Tim Mara, who founded the New York Giants of the National Football League in 1925. Wellington began working with the organization at an early age, and became president in 1965. The Giants won six NFL titles and two Super Bowls during his years with the team. Wellington Mara died of cancer on October 25, 2005 at the age of 89.

War
Romania declared war on Austria-Hungary.

90 years ago
1926

Died on this date
John H. Moffitt, 83. U.S. politician. Mr. Moffitt was a sergeant in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and received the Medal of honor for heroism in the Battle of Gaines's Mill in 1862. A Republican, he represented New York's 21st District in the United States House of Representatives from 1887-1891.

80 years ago
1936

Died on this date
Rainey Bethea, 37 (?). U.S. criminal. Mr. Bethea, a Negro, confessed to the June 7, 1936 rape and murder of Lischia Edwards, 70. He was convicted only of the rape, thus providing for a public hanging. Mr. Bethea was hanged before a crowd of 20,000 outside Daviess County Jail in Owensboro, Kentucky. The hangman, Arthur Hash, was drunk at the time. It was the last public execution in the United States.

Disasters
A train and truck collided at Louiseville, Quebec, killing 22 people.

Olympics
The U.S.A. won the first gold medal for men's basketball, defeating Canada 19-8 in the final at Berlin. The game was played on a tennis court of clay and sand, in a driving rainstorm that turned the court into mud. Joe Fortenberry and three other players from McPherson, Kansas scored 18 of the Americans' points.

75 years ago
1941

Died on this date
Paul Sabatier, 86. French chemist. Dr. Sabatier was awarded a share of the 1912 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his method of hydrogenating organic compounds in the presence of finely disintegrated metals."

Diplomacy
Details of the Atlantic Charter--an agreement between the U.K. (then at war with Nazi Germany) and U.S.A. (then not at war with any nation)--emerged after several days of secret meetings between British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin Roosevelt.

Crime
Japanese Vice Premier Baron Kiichiro Hiranuma was shot and seriously wounded at his home in Tokyo by Naohiko Nishiyama, who posed as an autograph seeker.

Defense
U.K. Supply Minister Lord Beaverbrook said in Washington that Britain would end the "menace to democracy" if the United States would provide "the largest possible" quantities of planes, tanks, and food. The U.S. Senate passed the House of Representatives-amended bill extending Army service by 18 months.

Politics and government
U.S. Price Administrator Leon Henderson said that he would not accept a report from the House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities about any employee of the Office of Price Administration because committee chairman Rep. Martin Dies (Democrat--Texas) "is not a responsible member of Congress."

Labour
Several hundred American Federation of Labor machinists voted to end their strike at the Curtiss-Wright propeller plant in Caldwell, New Jersey.

The Congress of Industrial Organizations United Auto Workers convention voted to amend its constitution to bar from union office members of any "Communist, Fascist or Nazi organization which owes its allegiance to any foreign government, directly or indirectly."

70 years ago
1946

War
A court in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia sentenced to death Vojtech Tuka, Slovakian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister during the country's Nazi occupation during World War II.

The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration announced that Communist attacks on Taiyuan in the province of Shansi and Kaifeng in the province of Honan were forcing the virtual suspension of relief activities in those areas.

Diplomacy
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georgi Kulishey requested co-belligerent status for his country at the Paris Peace Conference and the cancellation of all or part of Bulgaria's reparations obligations.

Argentine Migration Director Santiago Peralta reported that under a 50-year program to raise the country's population, he was permitting 1,000 Norwegian collaborationists to settle in the country, and was negotiating the entry of 200,000 followers of the Polish government-in-exile and their families.

Politics and government
Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek promised to end Kuomintang rule of China and to institute constitutional government "without delay" in return for Communist assurances that they would observe the truce agreement; restore communications; and integrate their forces into the Chinese National Army.

Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge Joseph McCarthy defeated Senator Bob La Follette, Jr. for the state's Republican party nomination for the November 1946 U.S. Senatorial election.

Agriculture
U.S. President Harry Truman signed a bil establishing the Farmers Home Corporation to administer agricultural loans.

60 years ago
1956

Died on this date
Bertolt Brecht, 58. German playwright. Mr. Brecht was a Marxist who was one of the major figures in 20th century theatre. He was best known for The Threepenny Opera (1928). Mr. Brecht died of a heart attack.

Diplomacy
Hanoi radio said that North Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Van Dong had asked the U.S.S.R. and U.K. for a new Geneva conference on Indochina unless South Vietnam agreed to discuss general elections for the entire country.

U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower named State Department Director General Raymond Hare as U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, succeeding Harry Byroade, who was reported to advocate a pro-Arab American foreign policy.

The U.S.S.R. claimed in a note to the United States that an "exhaustive inquiry" had shown that there were no U.S. Army Air Air Forces or naval aviation personnel being held in Soviet territory.

The French cabinet approved Prime Minister Guy Mollet's threat to "impose" internationalization of the Suez Canal on Egypt by force, if necessary.

Oil
The U.S. Office of Defense Mobilization established a Middle East Emergency Committee to plan U.S. production and distribution in the event of curtailment of supplies from the Middle East.

50 years ago
1966

Music
The Beatles continued their final concert tour with a performance at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland.

Space
Four days after launch, Lunar Orbiter 1 became the first American satellite to enter lunar orbit.

40 years ago
1976

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Non si puo' morire dentro--Gianni Bella (6th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): Kiss and Say Goodbye--The Manhattans

#1 single in the U.K.: Don't Go Breaking My Heart--Elton John and Kiki Dee (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Don't Go Breaking My Heart--Elton John and Kiki Dee (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Don't Go Breaking My Heart--Elton John and Kiki Dee (2nd week at #1)
2 Afternoon Delight--Starland Vocal Band
3 Let 'Em In--Wings
4 Got to Get You Into My Life--The Beatles
5 You Should Be Dancing--Bee Gees
6 Kiss and Say Goodbye--The Manhattans
7 Get Closer--Seals and Crofts
8 You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine--Lou Rawls
9 Play That Funky Music--Wild Cherry
10 I'm Easy--Keith Carradine

Singles entering the chart were Music is My Life by Helen Reddy (#83); Rock'n Me by Steve Miller (#86); Disco Duck (Part 1) by Rick Dees and his Cast of Idiots (#88); Funny How Time Slips Away by Dorothy Moore (#92); Get the Funk Out Ma Face by the Brothers Johnson (#93); You are the Woman by Firefall (#97); Anything You Want by John Valenti (#99); and The Princess and the Punk by Barry Mann (#100). Music is My Life was the B-side of I Can't Hear You No More, charting at #63.

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Got to Get You Into My Life--The Beatles
2 Afternoon Delight--Starland Vocal Band
3 Let 'Em In--Wings
4 You Should Be Dancing--Bee Gees
5 Don't Go Breaking My Heart--Elton John and Kiki Dee
6 Moonlight Feels Right--Starbuck
7 Baby, I Love Your Way--Peter Frampton
8 The Boys are Back in Town--Thin Lizzy
9 A Fifth of Beethoven--Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band
10 You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine--Lou Rawls

Singles entering the chart were If You Want a Love Affair by the Mighty Pope (#88); Teddy Bear by Red Sovine (#90); Peter and Lou by Valdy (#92); The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot (#94); Who Wants to Buy a Song by Brutus (#95); Still the One by Orleans (#96); If You Leave Me Now by Chicago (#97); I Can't Hear You No More by Helen Reddy (#98); Don't Stop Believin' by Olivia Newton-John (#99); and We're All Alone by Frankie Valli (#100).

Personal
This blogger and his parents spent the night in Columbus, Ohio, where a hot air balloon festival was taking place.

Energy
U.S. President Gerald Ford signed a bill that raised the price of U.S. oil and encouraged energy conservation.

Baseball
Lenny Randle singled home pinch runner Dave Moates with 1 out in the top of the 10th inning to give the Texas Rangers a 4-3 win over the Cleveland Indians before a Cleveland Stadium crowd of 13,640, which included this blogger and his parents. Texas right fielder Jeff Burroughs batted 4 for 4 with a home run and 3 runs batted in, and led off the 10th with a base on balls before Mr. Moates was sent in to run for him. Texas third baseman Danny Thompson batted 2 for 3 with 2 bases on balls. Boog Powell homered for Cleveland.

The Baltimore Orioles scored 2 runs in the 1st inning and 6 in the 2nd and held on for an 8-6 win over the Chicago White Sox in the first game of a doubleheader before 16,514 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Lee May's grand slam was the big blow of the 2nd inning. The White Sox scored 2 runs in the 9th and had runners on second and third bases with 1 out, but were unable to score the tying runs. In the second game, the White Sox scored 4 runs in the top of the 1st, but Mark Belanger singled home 2 runs in the bottom of the 2nd and Reggie Jackson hit a grand slam in the 5th as the Orioles withstood another 9th-inning rally to win 6-5 and complete the sweep. When Mr. Jackson hit his grand slam, he yelled at pitcher Ken Brett, who had brushed him back earlier; on Mr. Jackson's next plate appearance 2 innings later, Clay Carroll was on the mound and threw at him, prompting Mr. Jackson to throw his bat at the pitcher. A 10-minute brawl ensued, and Mr. Jackson and Chicago first baseman Lamar Johnson were ejected. The White Sox scored a run in the 9th and had Jorge Orta on second base with 2 out, but Ralph Garr grounded out to end the game.

The Kansas City Royals scored 7 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning and coasted to a 15-3 rout of the Detroit Tigers before 27,333 fans at Royals Stadium. Kansas City first baseman John Mayberry had a single, double, and home run, driving in 5 runs, while third baseman George Brett added 4 RBIs.

Roy White had a home run, 2 doubles, and a single to help the New York Yankees edge the Minnesota Twins 5-4 before 19,005 fans at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. Ken Holtzman allowed 8 hits and 4 earned runs in pitching a complete game victory.

Sal Bando drove in 3 runs with a double and single as the Oakland Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox 7-3 before 7,066 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Fred Lynn drove in all the Boston runs with a solo home run in the 4th inning and a 2-run double in the 9th off Vida Blue, who allowed 5 hits and 3 earned runs in pitching a complete game. Boston starting pitcher Ferguson Jenkins allowed 7 hits and 5 runs--all earned--in 4 innings. The game was played in 1 hour 56 minutes.

The Milwaukee Brewers overcame a 3-0 deficit with a run in the 7th inning and 3 in the 9th as they beat the California Angels 4-3 before 15,452 fans at Anaheim Stadium. Mike Overy made his major league debut with the Angels, coming in to pitch with his team leading 3-2 and with nobody out and George Scott on first base. Mr. Overy retired Mike Hegan, but then surrendered a 2-run home run to Darrell Porter, which made the difference in the game.

The first three New York Mets' batters drew bases on balls, leading to 2 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning, which proved to be enough as the Mets edged the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 before 27,029 fans at Shea Stadium in New York. Nino Espinosa and Skip Lockwood combined to limit the Reds to 7 hits and 1 earned run, while losing pitcher Pat Zachry allowed 4 hits and 5 bases on balls in 5 innings as his record for the season dropped to 11-4.

Ray Burris pitched a 4-hit shutout to win the pitchers' duel over Doug Rau as the Chicago Cubs blanked the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 before 20,126 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago in a game that was played in 1 hour 49 minutes. It was the second straight game in which Mr. Rau didn't receive any run support, coming five days after losing a 2-0 game in Pittsburgh in which Pittsburgh's John Candelaria had pitched a no-hitter.

The San Diego Padres scored 4 runs in the 5th inning as they beat the Montreal Expos 7-2 before 14,889 fans at Jarry Park in Montreal. Winning pitcher Randy Jones allowed 6 hits and 2 earned runs in 7 innings to improve his 1976 record to 19-7.

Harry Rasmussen pitched a 4-hit shutout to win the pitchers' duel over Andy Messersmith as the St. Louis Cardinals blanked the Atlanta Braves 4-0 before 14,467 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in a game that was played in 1 hour 55 minutes.

The Philadelphia Phillies scored 6 runs in the 4th inning and coasted to a 13-2 win over the San Francisco Giants before 38,368 fans at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Winning pitcher Steve Carlton allowed 6 hits and 2 earned runs in 8 innings as he improved his record for the season to 14-4.

The Pittsburgh Pirates scored a run in the 8th inning and 2 unearned runs in the 9th to defeat the Houston Astros 5-4 before 9,721 fans at the Astrodome. Bob Watson provided all the Houston scoring with a grand slam in the 6th.

30 years ago
1986

Football
CFL
Montreal (2-5) 10 @ Calgary (4-4) 21

Jeff Tedford, who relieved Rick Johnson at quarterback after Mr. Johnson had thrown 4 interceptions, completed a touchdown pass to Jamie Harris to clinch victory for the Stampeders as they beat the Alouettes before 28,062 fans at McMahon Stadium.



25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): (Everything I Do) I Do it for You--Bryan Adams

Died on this date
Douglas Kiker, 61. U.S. author and journalist. Mr. Kiker wrote several novels and worked as director of information for the Peace Corps (1961-1963) and as a reporter with the New York Herald Tribune (1963-1966), but was best known as a correspondent with the National Broadcasting Corporation from 1966 until his death from an apparent heart attack in his sleep while on vacation. He won a Peabody Award for his coverage of the Black September in Jordan conflict in 1970.

Baseball
Dave Winfield hit his 400th career major league home run to lead the California Angels past the Minnesota Twins 7-4 before 26,242 fans at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis.

Danny Tartabull's grand slam with 2 out in the top of the 11th inning broke a 1-1 tie and gave the Kansas City Royals a 5-1 win over the New York Yankkes before 18,780 fans at Yankee Stadium.

Chito Martinez hit 2 home runs and Mike Mussina allowed 3 hits and 2 earned runs in 8 innings to get his first major league win as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Texas Rangers 10-2 before 32,231 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

The Chicago White Sox scored 5 runs in the 4th inning and held on to edge the Detroit Tigers 9-8 before 21,114 fans at Tiger Stadium.

Ellis Burks walked and scored on a sacrifice fly by Tony Pena in the 7th inning to break a 1-1 tie and give the Boston Red Sox a 2-1 win over the Cleveland Indians before 10,636 fans at Cleveland Stadium. Joe Hesketh allowed 6 hits and 1 earned run in 7 innings to win the pitchers' duel over Greg Swindell.

Mike Gallego's single with 1 out in the 9th inning broke up Randy Johnson's bid for a no-hitter, but Mr. Johnson settled for a 1-hitter as the Seattle Mariners blanked the Oakland Athletics 4-0 before 25,419 fans at the Kingdome in Seattle.

Brian Barnes allowed just 2 hits in 8.1 innings to win the pitchers' duel over Greg Maddux as the Montreal Expos blanked the Chicago Cubs 2-0 before 34,817 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Ray Lankford's 2-run triple climaxed a 3-run 8th inning as the St. Louis Cardinals came from behind to beat the New York Mets 5-4 before 31,399 fans at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

20 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Killing Me Softly--The Fugees (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Sergiu Celibidache, 84. Romanian-born orchestra conductor. Mr. Celibidache was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (1945-1952) and Munich Philharmonic Orchestra (1979-1996), and worked with radio orchestras in Stockholm, Stuttgart, and Paris. Mr. Celibidache was a Zen Buddhist who was always looking for a "transcendent experience" in his conducting; he didn't think that was possible outside the concert hall, leading him to refuse to release his many recordings during his lifetime.

Tom Mees, 46. U.S. sportscaster. Mr. Mees began his broadcasting career at radio station WILM in Wilmington, Delaware in 1972; after six years there and a year at WECA-TV in Tallahassee, Florida, he became one of the first people to appear on the air with the cable network ESPN when ht began broadcasting in 1979. Mr. Mees worked as a lead anchor and called play-by-play for college basketball and college football as well as the network's coverage of the National Hockey League, United States Football League, and Canadian Football League. He accidentally drowned in his next door neighbour's swimming pool; although he didn't know how to swim, he reportedly dove in to try to save his 4-year-old daughter.

Solomos Solomou, 26. Cypriot protester. Mr. Solomou, a Greek Cypriot refugee, died after being shot in the head by a Turkish officer while trying to climb a flagpole in order to remove a Turkish flag from its mast in the United Nations Buffer Zone near Deryneia, Cyprus.

Politics and government
The Republican National Convention in San Diego nominated U.S. Senator Bob Dole (Kansas) for President of the United States and former Congressman (New York) and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Jack Kemp for Vice President in the November 1996 election.

Crime
In Mexico, a Japanese electronics executive was released by his kidnappers after his company paid a $2-million ransom.

10 years ago
2006

Died on this date
Bruno Kirby, 57. U.S. actor. Mr. Kirby, born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, Jr., was known for his supporting performances in television programs and in movies such as Good Morning, Vietnam (1987); When Harry Met Sally... (1989); and City Slickers (1991). He died of leukemia.

War
61 Sri Lankan Tamils were killed in a Sri Lankan Air force bombing at Chencholai.

Israel halted its offensive against Hezbollah guerrillas as a United Nations-imposed cease-fire went into effect after a month of warfare that killed more than 900 people.