August 18, 2016

175 years ago
1841

Born on this date
William Halford. U.K.-born U.S. military officer. Lieutenant Halford, a native of Gloucestershire, joined the United States Navy in 1869. He was serving aboard the USS Saginaw when she ran aground near Kure Atoll in 1870. Lt. Halford and three other officers took the ship's boat and sailed 1,500 miles to Honolulu, braving difficult conditions through 31 days. The others were drowned in the heavy surf, but Lt. Halford reached land, and was able to obtain help for the Saginaw,earning the Medal of Honor. Lt. Halford served in the Navy until retiring in 1903, and returned to service during World War I in 1917, and was still active when he died on February 7, 1919 at the age of 77.

170 years ago
1846

War
U.S. forces led by General Stephen W. Kearny captured Santa Fe, New Mexico.

130 years ago
1886

Transportation
Canadian Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald drove in the last spike of the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway (E&N) at Cliffside Station in Nanaimo, British Columbia.

125 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Wally Gerber. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Gerber was a shortstop with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1914-1915); St. Louis Browns (1917-1928); and Boston Red Sox (1928-1929), batting .257 with 7 home runs and 476 runs batted in in 1,522 games. He batted .248 in 1,055 games in 8 seasons in the minor leagues (1910-1917, 1930). Mr. Gerber umpired in the Mid-Atlantic League (1935-1938), and was men's supervisor with the Columbus (Ohio) Recreation Department (1939-1949). He died after a heart attack on June 19, 1951 at the age of 59.

Disasters
A major hurricane struck Martinique, leaving 700 dead.

Baseball
The Milwaukee Brewers, formerly of the Western League, played their first game in the American Association, beating the St. Louis Browns 7-2.

120 years ago
1896

Born on this date
Jack Pickford, 36. Canadian-born U.S. movie producer and actor. Mary Pickford's younger brother, born John Charles Smith in Toronto, used his family's influence to become an adolescent actor, and later, producer. He joined the U.S. Navy in World War I, but was accused of accepting bribes from wealthy recruits to help keep them out of combat. He was reportedly given a general, instead of dishonourable, discharge, because of his family's influence. Mr. Pickford's first wife, Hollywood star and former Ziegfeld girl Olive Thomas, died in 1920 from swallowing a whole bottle of mercury biochloride (then commonly used as a treatment for syphilis)while the couple was visiting Paris. It was never clearly established whether her death was an accident or a suicide. Mr. Pickford's two subsequent marriages were unsuccessful, and bouts of syphilis, drug use, and drinking ultimately led to his death.

110 years ago
1906

Born on this date
Marcel Carné. French film director. Mr. Carné had a career that ran from the late 1920s to the late 1970s; his best-known film was Les Enfants du paradis (Children of Paradise) (1945). Mr. Carné died on October 31, 1996 at the age of 90.

80 years ago
1936

Boxing
Joe Louis (25-1) knocked out former world heavyweight champion Jack Sharkey (37-13-3) at 1:02 of the 3rd round of their bout at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was Mr. Sharkey's last fight.





75 years ago
1941

War
The Soviet government announced that Kingisepp, 70 miles southwest of Leningrad, had been evacuated, indicating that German forces had crossed the Luga River. The Finnish command reported the capture of Kurkijoki, 95 miles north of Leningrad.

Diplomacy
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Joseph Grew protested against restrictions placed upon Americans who wished to leave Japan. A Japanese news agency reported that Denmark had granted recognition to the Japanese-sponsored Chinese government in Nanking.

Defense
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced that agreements had been concluded under which the Pan American Airways system would ferry warplanes from the United States to British forces in the Middle East via West Africa. Mr. Roosevelt signed the bill extending Army service by 18 months.

Terrorism
Four youths were arrested on charges of throwing three bombs in a labour dispute in Havana, injuring at least 12 people.

Technology
Dr. C.E. Kenneth Mees of Eastman Kodak Company announced that the company had perfected Kodachrome colour prints for use by the general public in taking still photographs.

Disasters
At least 13 men were killed when fire destroyed the freighter Panuco and its pier in Brooklyn, New York.

70 years ago
1946

World events
British troops used tear gas and fire hoses to force 640 Jewish refugees aboard the troop ship Empire Heywood for transport to internment camps in Cyprus.

Law
At the Paris Peace Conference, Australian Foreign Minister Herbert Evatt proposed that all pending treaties provide for an International Court of Human Rights.

Politics and government
The government of Ecuador ended all political and military restrictions imposed after the 1944 revolution.

Education
A world conference of teachers in Endicott, New York advocated the introduction of universal history and geography textbooks to eliminate national bias.

Science
Dr. Roger Adams of the University of Illinois was awarded the Priestly Medal--the highest honour in American chemistry--for his work in inorganic chemistry.

Disasters
Nine people perished when 14 houses burned down in Petite-Rivière, Québec.

Seven people were killed and 50 injured when a tornado struck Mankato, Minnesota.

60 years ago
1956

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Moonglow and Theme from "Picnic"--Morris Stoloff and the Columbia Pictures Orchestra

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Heimweh--Freddy Quinn (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)--Doris Day (2nd week at #1)

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel--Elvis Presley (Best Seller--1st week at #1); My Prayer--The Platters (Disc Jockey--1st week at #1; Top 100--2nd week at #1); I Almost Lost My Mind--Pat Boone (Jukebox--4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Hound Dog--Elvis Presley
2 My Prayer--The Platters
3 The Flying Saucer (Parts 1 and 2)--Buchanan and Goodman
4 Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)--Doris Day
5 Be-Bop-A-Lula--Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps
6 Allegheny Moon--Patti Page
7 Canadian Sunset--Hugo Winterhalter and his Orchestra with Eddie Heywood
--Andy Williams
8 I Want You, I Need You, I Love You--Elvis Presley
9 The Wayward Wind--Gogi Grant
10 Theme Song from Song for a Summer Night (Parts 1 and 2)--Mitch Miller and his Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were Honky Tonk (Parts 1 and 2) by Bill Doggett (#46) and Earthbound by Sammy Davis, Jr. (#50).

Diplomacy
Egyptian President Gamal Nasser reiterated his declaration that Egypt would not accept international control of the Suez Canal as outlined in preliminary U.S. proposals at the London conference.

West German Refugee Minister Theodor Oberlander said that 330,000 German in Soviet-bloc and Balkan states had applied for repatriation to West Germany.

Disasters
30 people were killed when a typhoon struck Japan and Okinawa.

Track and field
Parry O'Brien broke his own world record in the shot put with a throw of 61 feet 4 1/2 inches at a meet in Pasadena, California.

Football
WIFU
British Columbia (1-0) 17 @ Calgary (0-1) 14
Saskatchewan (0-1) 3 @ Edmonton (1-0) 15

Rollie Miles and Earl Lindley scored touchdowns for the Eskimos in their win over the Roughriders at Clarke Stadium. Future Edmonton Mayor Bill Smith was one of the Eskimos playing his first regular season game.

50 years ago
1966

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby--The Beatles

Music
The Beatles continued their final concert tour with a performance at Suffolk Downs Racetrack in Boston.

War
The Battle of Long Tan ensued after a patrol from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment clashed with a Viet Cong force in the province of Phước Tuy.

Football
CFL
Winnipeg (3-1) 11 @ British Columbia (1-3) 7

Kenny Ploen completed a pass to Art Perkins for the game's only touchdown in the 3rd quarter as the Blue Bombers defeated the Lions before 33,697 fans at Empire Stadium in Vancouver.

40 years ago
1976

Died on this date
Walt Irwin, 78. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Irwin played in 4 games with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1921 as a pinch hitter and pinch runner, striking out in his only plate appearance, and scoring 1 run.

Arthur Bonifas; Mark Barrett. U.S. military officers. Captain Bonifas and First Lieutenant Barrett were attacked by North Korean soldiers in the Korean Demilitarized Zone at Panmunjom while trimming a poplar tree that partially blocked the view of United Nations observers. The North Koreans picked up axes that had been dropped by South Koreans who were part of the work party, and bludgeoned the American officers to death.

Football
CFL
Hamilton (1-4) 11 @ Toronto (3-2) 14

Anthony Davis rushed for a touchdown and accounted for 104 combined yards to help the Argonauts defeat the Tiger-Cats before 49,724 fans at Exhibiton Stadium. Hamilton kicker Ken Clark was short on a 46-yard field goal attempt on the last play of the game.

Baseball
This blogger and his parents were among the 29,065 fans at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati to see the Cincinnati Reds defeat the Atlanta Braves 4-1. Jack Billingham pitched a 5-hit complete game to improve his 1976 record to 11-8. Cincinnati catcher Johnny Bench was caught stealing in the 1st inning, ending his streak of 23 consecutive stolen base attempts.

Every man in the lineup had at least 1 hit--and Dave Parker batted 4 for 4--as the Pittsburgh Pirates routed the San Francisco Giants 12-1 before 3,817 fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in a game that was called because of rain after 7½ innings.

The Philadelphia Phillies scored all their runs in the 3rd inning as they edged the Montreal Expos 5-4 before 28,483 fans at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

Pinch hitter Manny Mota doubled home Bill Russell with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 3-2 win over the New York Mets before 25,578 fans at Dodger Stadium. Mr. Mota's hit came against Tom Seaver, who allowed 7 hits and just 1 earned run in 8 2/3 innings as his 1976 record dropped to 9-9.

Roy White's second home run of the game, with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning, gave the New York Yankees an 8-6 win over the Texas Rangers before 23,358 fans at Yankee Stadium. Mr. White also doubled in 5 at bats, scoring 3 runs and driving in 5.



Jim Slaton allowed just 4 hits in 8 2/3 innings and Jack Heidemann singled home 2 runs with 2 out in the bottom of the 8th inning as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Oakland Athletics 3-1 before 13,013 fans at County Stadium in Milwaukee. Vida Blue allowed 8 hits and 3 earned runs in pitching a complete game and taking the loss.

30 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Papa Don't Preach--Madonna (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Rock Me Amadeus--Falco

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): (Everything I Do) I Do it for You--Bryan Adams

#1 single in Switzerland: (Everything I Do) I Do it for You--Bryan Adams (3rd week at #1)

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Wind of Change--Scorpions (7th week at #1)
2 Bobby Brown--Frank Zappa
3 Sailing on the Seven Seas--OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark)
4 Gypsy Woman (La Da Dee La Da Da)--Crystal Waters
5 The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in his Kiss)--Cher
6 Jesus Loves You--Bow Down Mister
7 Losing My Religion--R.E.M.
8 (Everything I Do) I Do it for You--Bryan Adams
10 Senza una donna (Without a Woman)--Zucchero & Paul Young
9 Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)--Roxette

Singles entering the chart were Love and Understanding by Cher (#23); and Keep Your Love Alive by Bilgeri (#29).

20 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Chains--DLT (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Killing Me Softly--The Fugees (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Killing Me Softly--The Fugees (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Scotland (OCC): Wannabe--Spice Girls (4th week at #1)

10 years ago
2006

Football
CFL
Edmonton (3-6) 28 @ British Columbia (7-3) 30

Korey Banks and Barron Miles returned interceptions for touchdowns to help the Lions defeat the Eskimos before 33,589 fans at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver. Troy Davis rushed for 2 Edmonton touchdowns, and Ricky Ray completed a 16-yard pass to Jason Tucker for the other Edmonton TD. Edmonton kicker Sean Fleming kicked his 500th career field goal with 1:51 remaining in the game to close the gap to 2 points and had a chance to kick the winning FG on the last play, but holder Jason Johnson fumbled the snap.