July 13, 2017

230 years ago
1787

Politics and government
The United States Continental Congress adopted the Northwest Ordinance, making effective the Ordinance of 1784, drafted by Thomas Jefferson. The Northwest Ordinance determined the government of the Northwest Territory, north of the Ohio River and west of New York. 5,000 male voters could establish a legislature; 60,000 inhabitants could obtain statehood. The Ordinance guaranteed freedom of religion and support for schools, and barred slavery.

125 years ago
1892

Born on this date
Léo-Pol Morin. Canadian musician and composer. Mr. Morin, a native of Cap-Saint-Ignace, Quebec, was a classical pianist who was known for his performances of music by modern French composers. Using the pseudonym James Callihou, he composed works based on French-Canadian and Inuit folklore and music. Mr. Morin's compositions included Suite canadienne (1945) and Trois Esquimaux pour piano. He was killed in a car accident in the Laurentian Mountains near Montreal on May 29, 1941 at the age of 48.

Economics and finance
The Stewart Free Silver Coinage Bill was defeated in the United States House of Representatives by a vote of 154-136.

75 years ago
1942

War
German U-Boats sank three more merchant ships in the Gulf of St. Lawrence near Rimouski, Québec; Québec outcry for protection forced a secret session of the Canadian House of Commons. U.S. Attorney General Francis Biddle announced the arrest of 14 people as direct contacts with German saboteurs who had recently landed in Florida and Long Island. Following an outbreak of sabotage in the occupied zone, Gestapo authorities in Paris announced that they would execute all male relatives over age 18 of any French saboteur who did not surrender himself within 10 days. Soviet forces conceded German advances at Rzhev, 130 miles northwest of Moscow, and at Voronezh, Boguchar, and Lisichansk on the southern front. Chinese troops recaptured Tsingtien, 23 miles up the Wu River from Wenchow.

70 years ago
1947

Literature
The New York Herald Tribune reported that Gentleman's Agreement by Laura Z. Hobson was the best-selling fiction book, and Inside U.S.A. by John Gunther was the best-selling non-fiction book.

Politics and government
The Nicaraguan government of acting President Benjamín Lacayo Sacasa threatened all Communists and other political suspects with summary execution.

Economics and finance
Switzerland signed a one-year trade pact with the Soviet zone of Germany.

Labour
Communists Sukeji Yoshida and Togo Kameda were elected secretary-general and vice chairman, respectively, of Japan's 1.25-million member Congress of Industrial Unions, in Tokyo.

Disasters
A Douglas DC-3 flying to Puerto Rico crashed near Melbourne, Florida, killing 21 passengers.

60 years ago
1957

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Round and Round--Perry Como; The Four Lads (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Banana Boat Song--Harry Belafonte

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): All Shook Up--Elvis Presley

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Love Letters in the Sand--Pat Boone (6th week at #1)
2 Bye Bye Love--The Everly Brothers
3 (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear--Elvis Presley
4 So Rare--Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra
5 It's Not for Me to Say--Johnny Mathis
6 I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter--Billy Williams
7 Searchin'--The Coasters
8 A Teenager's Romance--Ricky Nelson
9 Old Cape Cod--Patti Page
10 Dark Moon--Gale Storm
--Bonnie Guitar

Singles entering the chart were Rockin' Shoes by the Ames Brothers (#43); Let the Four Winds Blow by Roy Brown (#48); Flying Saucer the 2nd by Buchanan and Goodman (#49); Diana by Paul Anka (#52); Moonlight Love (Clair de Lune) by Roger Williams (#54); To the Aisle, with versions by the Five Satins, and Roy Hamilton (#57); and Cool Shake by the Del Vikings (#59). Rockin' Shoes was the B-side of Tammy, charting at #36 with the version by Debbie Reynolds. The Roy Hamilton single was title The Aisle.

Diplomacy
North Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, in a letter to South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, proposed discussions on the reunification of Vietnam by elections.

Politics and government
Puerto Rican Governor Louis Munoz Marin pardoned 13 Puerto Rican nationalists, including Dolores Lolita Lebron, who had been convicted in 1954 of conspiracy to overthrow the government by force.

Economics and finance
The French government informed the Organization for European Economic Cooperation that it had been forced to suspend free trade with OEEC members in an effort to stem the growing French foreign trade deficit.

Education
The Virginia Court of Appeals invalidated the state's Pupil Placement Act of 1956, which empowered a three-member board to reassign all pupils to their segregated schools.

50 years ago
1967

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): A Whiter Shade of Pale--Procol Harum (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): A Whiter Shade of Pale--Procol Harum (6th week at #1)

Law
Malcolm Lindsay was appointed Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, succeeding George McLellan.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Calgary (2-0) 15 @ Montreal (0-1) 9

Peter Liske completed 2 touchdown passes to Terry Evanshen to lead the Stampeders over the Alouettes at Molson Stadium. Quarterback Dave Lewis rushed 14 yards for the Montreal touchdown.

40 years ago
1977

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Ma Baker--Boney M.

War
Somalia declared war on Ethiopia, starting the Ogaden War.

World events
North Korea shot down a U.S. Army helicopter that had inadvertently strayed into North Korean airspace, killing three crewmen and wounding and capturing a fourth. After unusually amicable negotiations at a meeting of the Military Armistice Commission, the surviving crewman and the bodies of the three dead men were turned over to the United States.

Crime
A U.S. federal grand jury in Detroit convicted Filipina nurses Filipina Narcisco and Leonora Perez of five nonfatal poisonings at the Veterans Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1975. The nurses were convicted of acting together to poison one patient and separately to poison two persons each by injecting a muscle relaxant into the patients' intravenous medication tubes. Although murder charges had originally been brought against the nurses, they were thrown out for lack of evidence.

Disasters
Amidst a period of financial and social turmoil, New York City experienced an electrical blackout caused by lightning strikes. The blackout began at 9:30 P.M. and lasted nearly 25 hours, resulting in widespread fires and looting.

Football
CFL
Montreal (1-0) 27 @ Ottawa (0-1) 17

30 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)--Whitney Houston (5th week at #1)

25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Abba-esque--Erasure (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Alex Wojciechowicz, 76. U.S. football player. Mr. Wojciechowicz, one of Fordham University's "Seven Blocks of Granite," was the first draft choice of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League in 1938. He played center and linebacker with the Lions from 1938-1946 and the Philadelphia Eagles from 1946-1950. He was voted All-Pro in 1939 and 1944, and played on the NFL championship teams with the Eagles in 1948 and 1949. Mr. Wojciechowicz was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.

Politics and government
The Israeli Knesset voted 67-53 to approve Labour Party leader Yitzhak Rabin as the country’s new Prime Minister. Labour had taken just 44 seats in the June 23 general election, but that was more than any other party, and Mr. Rabin was able to put together a coalition controlling 62 of the Knesset’s 120 seats.

20 years ago
1997

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): MMMBop--Hanson (7th week at #1)

#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): I'll Be Missing You--Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112 (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): MMMBop--Hanson (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: MMMBop--Hanson (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Miguel Ángel Blanco, 29. Spanish politician. Mr. Blanco, a member of the Partido Popular (Popular Party) and Councillor for Ermua since 1995, died several hours after being shot, and three days after being kidnapped by members of the Basque separatist organization Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA).

10 years ago
2007

Scandal
Canadian media tycoon Conrad Black was found guilty on three counts of mail fraud and one of obstruction of justice at his trial in Chicago; he was acquitted of nine other counts. Three former Hollinger executives John Boultbee, Peter Atkinson, and Mark Kipnis were also found guilty of fraud charges.

Football
CFL
Edmonton (1-1-1) 19 @ Winnipeg (1-1-1) 15
British Columbia (3-0) 42 @ Saskatchewan (2-1) 12

Ricky Ray completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Kamau Peterson with 3:20 remaining in regulation time, converted by Sean Fleming, to give the Eskimos their win over the Blue Bombers before 29,533 fans at Canad Inns Stadium. The winning score was set up by a 47-yard rush by Ron "Goldie" McClendon, who rushed 7 times for 57 yards and caught 8 passes for 50.