June 19, 2017

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Michael Martin!

150 years ago
1867

Died on this date
Maximilian I, 34. Emperor of Mexico, 1864-1867. Maximilian, a native of Vienna and a younger brother of Austrian Emperor Franz Josef I, accepted an offer from French Emperor Napoleon III to rule Mexico on his behalf. Republican forces led by deposed President Benito Juárez continued to oppose Maximilian, and the civil war resulted in Maximilian's capture in Santiago de Querétaro on May 16, 1867. Emperor Maximilian, along with Generals Miguel Miramón and Tomás Mejía, was executed by a firing squad, 17 days before his 35th birthday.

Tomás Mejía Camacho, 46; Miguel Miramón, 34. Mexican military officers. Generals Mejía and Miramón led forces loyal to Emperor Maximilian during the Mexican civil war in the 1860s. General Miramón was anti-constitutional President of Mexico from 1859-1860, but few recognized his legitimacy. The two generals and Emperor Maximilian were executed by a firing squad.

Disasters
12 men were killed and several injured by a falling wall when the American Varieties Theatre in Philadelphia caught fire.

Horse racing
Ruthless, with Gilbert W. Patrick up, won the 1st running of the Belmont Stakes at Jerome Park Racetrack, Fordham, New York in a time of 3:05. The distance was 1 5/8 miles--⅛ mile longer than the later distance of 1½ miles. DeCourcey placed second, with Rivoli third in a four-horse field.

140 years ago
1877

Born on this date
Charles Coburn. U.S. actor. Mr. Coburn was a popular character actor who began his career in theatre in his native Macon, Georgia and appeared in almost 100 movies and television programs. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The More the Merrier (1943), and received Academy Award nominations for his supporting performances in The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) and The Green Years (1946). Mr. Coburn died of a heart attack on August 30, 1961 at the age of 84.

100 years ago
1917

Born on this date
Joshua Nkomo. Vice President of Zimbabwe, 1987-1999. Mr. Nkomo was the founder (in 1961) and leader of the terrorist organization Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). He feuded with the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and its leader, Robert Mugabe, before allowing ZAPU to merge with ZANU in 1987. In return, Mr. Nkomo was named Vice President under President Mugabe, and held the position until his death on July 1, 1999 at the age of 82.

Britannica
King George V changed the Royal Family's German-sounding surname, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, to Windsor.

War
Arthur Currie succeeded English commander Julian Byng as commander of the Canadian Corps.

80 years ago
1937

Died on this date
J. M. Barrie, 77. U.K. author. Sir James Matthew Barrie was a novelist and playwright who was best known for creating the character Peter Pan. He died of pneumonia.

75 years ago
1942

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane!

The lead singer of the 1960s pop group Spanky and Our Gang was born in Peoria, Illinois.

Died on this date
Ahmad II, 80. Bey of Tunis, 1929-1942. Ahmad Bey succeeded his cousin Muhammad Vi as Bey (ruler) of Tunisia, which was then under French rule. He went along with restrictions imposed by the Vichy French regime during World War II. Ahmad II was succeeded by his cousin Muhammad VII.

War
Dispatches from Rome and Berlin claimed that Axis troops in Libya had surrounded Tobruk. Allied bombers attacked Japanese forces at Rabaul, New Britain.

Defense
The Cuban government granted the United States the right to anti-submarine facilities in Cuba and an air training centre near Havana.

70 years ago
1947

Aviation
Colonel Albert Boyd piloted a Lockheed P-80R jet to a world speed record of 623.8 miles per hour at Muroc, California.

Economics and finance
U.K. Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin returned to London from his Paris conference with French Foreign Minister Georges Bidault, warning that British "appeasement" of the U.S.S.R. was at an end, and indicated that the United Kingdom would accept Marshall Plan aid as quickly as possible, with or without Soviet participation.

Labour
70,000 French bank employees struck for productivity bonuses, bringing most financial operations in the country to a halt.

The Congress of Industrial Organizations National Maritime Union ended a four-day national strike in the United States after agreeing to accept a one-year extension of the 48-hour week and to resume wage negotiations with employers.

60 years ago
1957

Defense
The United Kingdom announced the detonation of another hydrogen bomb in its Pacific test area.

Politics and government
A new Iraqi cabinet, led by pro-Western Senator Ali Jawdat, was proclaimed by royal decree, to succeed that of Prime Minister Nuri as-Said.

U.S.S.R. Communist Party First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev presented a petition signed by 70 members of the Central Committee of the party, calling for discussion by the entire Central Committee of the Presidium split between the factions supporting Mr. Khrushchev and former Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov.

Boxing
Joe Brown (77-19-8-2) retained his world lightweight title with a technical knockout of Orlando Zulueta (65-28-11) in the 15th round at Denver Coliseum. It was the only knockout loss for Mr. Zulueta in 128 professional fights.

50 years ago
1967

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Marionetas en la Cuerda (Puppet on a String)--Sandie Shaw (6th week at #1)

On television tonight
Coronet Blue, starring Frank Converse, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Rebels

40 years ago
1977

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: It Doesn't Matter Anymore--Mark Williams (3rd week at #1)

Golf
Hubert Green won the U.S. Open at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma with a 2-under-par total of 278, 1 stroke ahead of Lou Graham. First prize money was $45,000.

30 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)--Whitney Houston (2nd week at #1)

Abominations
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law requiring any public school teaching the theory of evolution to teach creation science as well.

Terrorism
The Basque separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) committed one of its most violent attacks, killing 21 people and injuring 45 with a car bomb attack at the Hippercor shopping mall in Barcelona.

Disasters
Japanese investigators issued their final report on the 1985 crash in Japan of a Boeing jet that had killed 520 people. The investigators said that faulty repairs by Boeing employees were responsible for the crash. The report said that the repair crew had placed a single line of rivets, rather than a double line as required, in a rear bulkhead when repairing a broken tail section. In flight, the bulkhead, which separated the pressurized and unpressurized sections of the cabin, ruptured, destroying the jet’s vertical tail fin and its four hydraulic control systems and causing the plane to careen for more than half an hour before hitting the side of a mountain. The report cited Japan Air Lines and the Japanese Ministry of Transport for not detecting cracks in the bulkhead during routine inspections. Boeing said it accepted the report’s findings.

25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Rhythm is a Dancer--Snap! (5th week at #1)

Personal
This blogger continued his Quebec vacation, arriving in Montreal.

Economics and finance
Russian President Boris Yeltsin concluded a visit to Ottawa by signing a deal to buy one million more tonnes of Canadian wheat, worth an estimated $200 million.

Education
Alberta francophones won the right to control their own school boards and set curriculum, after a 10-year battle and a 1990 Supreme Court of Canada ruling in their favour "where numbers warrant."

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Edmonton (0-1) 33 @ Toronto (1-0) 48

Baseball
Moises Alou singled home Marquis Grissom and scored on a double by John Vander Wal in the top of the 1st inning as the Montreal Expos allowed a run in the bottom of the 1st and shut down the Pittsburgh Pirates after that to win 2-1 before 22,091 fans at Three Rivers Stadium. Ken Hill won the pitchers' duel over Doug Drabek.

Vince Coleman singled home Dick Schofield with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the New York Mets a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals before 12,889 fans at Shea Stadium in New York.

Pinch hitter Damon Berryhill singled home Deion Sanders with 1 out in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Atlanta Braves a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds before 43,042 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

Luis Gonzalez led off the bottom of the 12th inning with a home run to giver the Houston Astros a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers before 18,406 fans at the Astrodome.

Gary Sheffield led off the top of the 10th inning with a home run to break a 2-2 tie as the San Diego Padres edged the San Francisco Giants 3-2 before 17,654 fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

Mike Devereaux hit a grand slam in the 2nd inning to help the Baltimore Orioles defeat the New York Yankees 10-7 before 45,579 fans at Oriole Park in Baltimore. Danny Tartabull's 3-run homer climaxed a 5-run 3rd inning for the Yankees.

Albert Belle's 3-run home run was the big blow of a 5-run 3rd inning as the Cleveland Indians held on to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-3 before 19,111 fans at County Stadium in Milwaukee.

The Kansas City Royals scored 4 runs in the 2nd inning and 6 in the 5th as they beat the Toronto Blue Jays 11-4 before 23,942 fans at Royals Stadium. Gregg Jefferies led the Royals with a home run and 5 runs batted in.

Greg Briley led off the game with a home run, and there was no further scoring as the Seattle Mariners edged the Minnesota Twins 1-0 before 26,892 fans at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. Dave Fleming pitched a 4-hit shutout to improve his record for the season to 10-2, winning the pitchers' duel over Kevin Tapani, who allowed just 4 hits in 8 1/3 innings.

Rob Deer's 3-run home run with 2 out climaxed a 5-run 13th inning as the Detroit Tigers defeated the Chicago White Sox 8-3 before 39,066 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

Terry Steinbach hit a 3-run home run in the top of the 1st inning and the Oakland Athletics added 6 runs in the 6th as they beat the California Angels 12-8 before 30,513 fans at Anaheim Stadium.

20 years ago
1997

Hit parade
#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): MMMBop--Hanson (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Mato--Apulanta (2nd week at #1)

Business
The longest trial in the history of English civil law ended with the McDonald's fast food chain winning a partial victory in a lawsuit against British environmental pamhleteers Helen Steel and Dave Morris.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Saskatchewan (1-1) 17 @ Edmonton (1-1) 18

10 years ago
2007

Died on this date
Terry Hoeppner, 59. U.S. football player and coach. Mr. Hoeppner was a safety with the Detroit Wheels (1974) and Charlotte Hornets (1974-1975) in the World Football League. He spent 13 seasons as an assistant coach at Miami University in Ohio before serving as head coach at Miami (1999-2004) and Indiana University (2005-2006), compiling a record of 57-39. His best season as a head coach was 2003, when the RedHawks, led by quarterback Ben Roethlisbeger, were 13-1 and won the GMAC Bowl. Mr. Hoeppner was on medical leave when he died of brain cancer.

Terrorism
78 people were killed and 218 injured in a bombing at al-Khilani Mosque in Baghdad.