July 23, 2017

150 years ago
1867

Europeana
Poland was absorbed as a province of the Russian Empire.

Protest
2 men were killed and 37 wounded in a radical riot in Rodgersville, Tennessee.

125 years ago
1892

Born on this date
Haile Selassie. Emperor of Ethiopia, 1930-1974. Emperor Haile Selassie, born Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael, was appointed Regent Plenipotentiary by Empress Zewditu in 1916, and succeeded her as head of state in 1930. Emperor Haile Selassie spent the years 1936-1941 in exile in England while Ethiopia was under Italian occupation. He was deposed by a military coup in September 1974, and was imprisoned in the Grand Palace until his death on August 27, 1975 at the age of 83.

Crime
Anarchist Alexander Berkman attempted to assassinate coke magnate Henry Clay Frick at Mr. Frick's office in downtown Pittsburgh. Mr. Berkman was upset with Mr. Frick's handling of the ongoing strike by members of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers at the Carnegie Steel Company plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania.

100 years ago
1917

Born on this date
Ray Scarborough. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Scarborough played with the Washington Nationals (1942-1943, 1946-1950); Chicago White Sox (1950); Boston Red Sox (1951-1952); New York Yankees (1952-1953); and Detroit Tigers (1953), compiling a record of 80-85 with a 4.13 ERA in 318 games. His best season was 1948, when he was 15-8, 2.82. Mr. Scarborough was with the Yankees when they won the World Series in 1952. He worked as a pickle salesman in his hometown of Mount Olive, North Carolina in the off-season, and died on July 1, 1982, 22 days before his 65th birthday.

90 years ago
1927

Radio
The first station of the Indian Broadcasting Company went on the air in Bombay.

75 years ago
1942

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Alla!

Died on this date
Valdemar Poulsen, 72. Danish engineer. Mr. Poulsen made significant contributions to early radio technology. He invented a magnetic wire recorder called the telegraphone in 1898. In 1903, he invented the first continuous wave radio transmitter--the Poulsen arc transmitter--which was used in some of the first broadcasting stations until the early 1920s.

Nikola Vaptsarov, 32. Bulgarian poet. Mr. Vaptsarov was a machinist who published only one book--Motor Songs (1940)--and was best known as a Communist activist against King Boris III, and later against occupying German forces. He was captured by German authorities in March 1942 and, with 11 others, was executed by firing squad immediately after being tried and convicted.

War
The Canadian House of Commons approved the third reading of the amendment to the National Mobilization Act authorizing overseas service for conscripts.e German offensives Operation Edelweiss and Operation Braunschweig began. Allied bombers made five attacks on the new Japanese base near Buna in southeastern New Guinea.

Abominations
The Nazi-operated Treblinka extermination camp opened northeast of Warsaw as part of Operation Reinhard. American correspondents who arrived in Portuguese East Africa from Japan reported Japanese atrocities and torture.

70 years ago
1947

War
The U.S.S.R. rejected a U.S. invitation to an 11-power conference on the Japanese peace treaty.

Dutch Prime Minister Louis Beel rejected arbitration of the current conflict in Indonesia, claiming that the 1946 Lingadjati agreement gave the Netherlands sovereignty over the islands during the interim period preceding independence.

Diplomacy
Albania accepted a United Nations request that the Corfu Channel dispute with the United Kingdom be referred to the International Court of Justice.

Defense
The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission dropped discussion of nuclear arms control after four months of debate. In its second report to Congress, the AEC revealed plans to set up proving grounds in the Pacific Ocean "for routine experiments and tests of atomic weapons."

Politics and government
Mae O'Connor, widow of Liberal MLA Dennis O'Connor, became the first female candidate in a Québec election, losing to John Gillies Rennie (Union Nationale) in a provincial by-election in Huntingdon.

Protest
A general strike called by opponents of the government disrupted business and transport in Costa Rica, while political riots caused 8 deaths and 56 injuries in several cities.

Economics and finance
A French-Argentine trade pact was signed in Paris, with Argentine First Lady Eva Peron signing for Argentina.

Labour
Wisconsin Governor Oscar Rennebohm signed a law banning public utility strikes.

Scandal
American Federation of Labor International Union of Operatiing Engineers Vice President Joseph Fay began serving an 8 1/2-16 year prison term in New York for extortion and conspiracy after the state Supreme Court denied his appeal for a suspended or reduced sentence.

60 years ago
1957

Died on this date
Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, 60. Italian nobleman and author. Don Giuseppe Tomasi, the last Prince of Lampedusa, served with the Italian Army in World War I, and was an Austro-Hungarian prisoner of war; he inherited his title upon the death of his father in 1934. Don Giuseppe Tomasi died of lung cancer, but didn't become widely known until the posthumous publication of his novel Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) (1958), which was made into a movie in 1963.

Space
Dr. John Keyston, Vice-Chairman of the Canadian Defence Research Board, said in an interview with Canadian Press reporter Dave McIntosh, that 1958 may well go down as one of the two or three most important dates in man's history, because that was when the United States was scheduled to launch an Earth satellite: "It means that man will no longer be earthbound." He said that construction of a spaceship to carry man to the moon--"a flight of about two weeks"--was too big a project to be handled privately; it would require billions of dollars, and only a major nation could undertake such a cost.

"But if you ask me when man will reach the moon, I would say in this century. It is not as far away as some people seem to think.

"The first step would be an unmanned rocket to circle the moon and obtain information about it. Then a manned rocket would circle it. Then there would be a landing, though the first explorers might never return. Then there would be space travel between the earth and the moon.

"There are no insuperable problems. Space travel is mostly just a matter of money. Take the atomic bomb. In the ordinary course of events the first one might not have been developed for 25 years, but the U.S. poured billions of dollars and thousands of scientists into the project and it took them only three years to make one...

..."It probably would take two years for a flight to Mars--a year out and a year back. The moon would be a good staging area for a flight to Mars."

Defense
U.K. Defense Minister Duncan Sandys told the House of Commons that Britain was already capable of manufacturing both hydrogen bombs and nuclear warheads for ballistic missiles. The U.S. Army draft call for September was cut to 8,000, the lowest figure since early 1956.

Education
The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ordered the racial integration of Dallas public schools "with all deliberate speed."

Economics and finance
Lloyd's Register of Shipping reported that Japan was the world's leading shipbuilding nation in the second quarter of 1957, with 97 ships totalling 502,873 tons being launched from Japanese shipyards and 93 ships totalling 600,293 tons completed. The United Kingdom was next with 72 ships (369,250 tons) launched, and 81 (445,170 tons) completed. West Germany launched 104 ships, but total tonnage was less than Japan, at 311,875, with 97 (264,957 tons) completed. Sweden was fourth, with 22 (185,321 tons) launched, 19 (183,380 tons) completed. The Netherlands moved ahead of the United States into fifth place with 54 ships (138,920 tons) launched, 49 (119,208) completed.

Labour
Regional bus strikes in England began turning violent on the fourth day of the walkout by drivers.

Oil
British-owned Shell and British Petroleum announced their decision to dispose of all holdings in Israel except an oil refinery at Haifa.

Disasters
Peking radio reported 557 deaths in floods along the Yi, Shu, and Yellow Rivers in China.

Hockey
NHL
The Detroit Red Wings traded left wing Ted Lindsay and goaltender Glenn Hall to the Chicago Black Hawks for left wing Johnny Wilson, centre Forbes Kennedy, goaltender Hank Bassen, defenceman Bill Presston, and an undisclosed, but reportedly considerable, amount of cash. Mr. Lindsay was believed to have been traded because of his attempts to start a National Hockey League players' association.

50 years ago
1967

Music
The Monkees performed at Convention Hall in Philadelphia.

Diplomacy
French President Charles de Gaulle debarked at Anse-au-Foulon; that night Québec Premier Daniel Johnson held an official dinner to honour him.

Protest
In Detroit, one of the worst riots in United States history began on 12th Street in the predominantly Negro ghetto. It ultimately killed 43 people, injured 342, and burned about 1,400 buildings.

Disasters
A fire at the Canadian Film Institute in Beaconsfield, Quebec destroyed one million feet of film, including early footage of the Canadian Pacific Railway; the first colour footage shot in Canada; and footage of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa before 1910.

Sport
The Pan-American Games opened in Winnipeg, with 28 nations competing in two-weeks of events.

Baseball
Jim Wynn hit 2 home runs, including a shot to the bullpen in deep center field, to help the Houston Astros defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-5 in the first game of a doubleheader before 22,925 fans at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The Pirates routed the Astros 15-2 in the second game as Manny Sanguillen made his major league debut behind the plate for Pittsburgh, batting 1 for 5 with a run, and making 8 putouts and an assist, participating in 2 double plays, and allowing a passed ball.



Milt Pappas and Ted Abernathy combined to pitch a 2-hitter for the Cincinnati Reds as they edged the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 before 13,063 fans at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Terry Harmon made his major league debut with the Phillies, coming in as a pinch runner for Doug Clemens in the 8th inning and being erased on a force play.

Felipe Alou hit a home run in each game, but his Atlanta Braves lost a doubleheader to the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 and 8-3 before 35,334 fans at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Former Cardinal catcher Bob Uecker homered for Atlanta in the second game.

Jim Ray Hart hit 2 home runs to help the San Francisco Giants defeat the Chicago Cubs 5-2 in the first game of a doubleheader before 34,922 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Mr. Hart added another homer in the second game, which the Cubs won 6-3.

The Baltimore Orioles scored 4 runs in the top of the 11th inning--the final 2 coming on a sacrifice fly when left fielder Hank Allen casually returned the ball--to break a 3-3 tie and defeat the Washington Senators 7-3 before 26,012 fans at District of Columbia Stadium.

Tony Conigliaro hit a home run in each game to help the Boston Red Sox sweep a doubleheader from the Cleveland Indians 8-5 and 5-1 before 13,786 fans at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland.

John Hiller allowed 4 hits and 2 runs--both earned--in 2 1/3 innings of relief, but still got his first major league win as the Detroit Tigers defeated the New York Yankees 7-3 to earn a split of their doubleheader before 34,623 fans at Tiger Stadium. Mr. Hiller singled in the final 2 runs of a 4-run 4th inning. The Yankees won the first game 4-2.

Joe Horlen and Gary Peters were the respective winning pitchers as the Chicago White Sox swept a doubleheader from the Kansas City Athletics 8-4 and 1-0 before 22,174 fans at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City. Jim Nash allowed only 3 hits in pitching a complete game loss in the second game, but 2 of the hits came in the 2nd inning, when Jim King led off with a double and Ron Hansen followed with a single to drive Mr. King home with the only run.

40 years ago
1977

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Ti Amo'--Umberto Tozzi

#1 single in Switzerland: Yes Sir, I Can Boogie--Baccara (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): Yes Sir, I Can Boogie--Baccara

#1 single in Ireland: Sam--Olivia Newton-John

#1 single in the U.K (BMRB): I Feel Love--Donna Summer

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Looks Like We Made It--Barry Manilow

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I'm in You--Peter Frampton
2 Undercover Angel--Alan O'Day
3 Looks Like We Made It--Barry Manilow
4 I Just Want to Be Your Everything--Andy Gibb
5 Da Doo Ron Ron--Shaun Cassidy
6 Jet Airliner--Steve Miller Band
7 My Heart Belongs to Me--Barbra Streisand
8 Whatcha Gonna Do?--Pablo Cruise
9 Do You Wanna Make Love--Peter McCann
10 (Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher--Rita Coolidge

Singles entering the chart were Cold as Ice by Foreigner (#76); Hard Rock Cafe by Carole King (#79); Little Darling (I Need You) by the Doobie Brothers (#81); Edge of the Universe by the Bee Gees (#82); Keep it Comin' Love by K.C. and the Sunshine Band (#85); Nobody Does it Better by Carly Simon (#86); Down the Hall by the Four Seasons (#91); I Believe You by Dorothy Moore (#92); Cat Scratch Fever by Ted Nugent (#96); The "Star Wars Stars" by the Force (#97); Indian Summer by Poco (#98); I'm Dreaming by Jennifer Warnes (#99); and Sheena is a Punk Rocker by the Ramones (#100). Nobody Does it Better was from the movie The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Da Doo Ron Ron--Shaun Cassidy
2 Undercover Angel--Alan O'Day
3 Jet Airliner--Steve Miller Band
4 Margaritaville--Jimmy Buffett
5 I'm in You--Peter Frampton
6 Knowing Me, Knowing You--ABBA
7 I Just Want to Be Your Everything--Andy Gibb
8 Looks Like We Made It--Barry Manilow
9 Got to Give it Up Pt. 1--Marvin Gaye
10 You Won't Dance with Me--April Wine

Singles entering the chart were How Much Love by Leo Sayer (#90); Here Comes Summer by Wildfire (#91); Don't Stop by Fleetwood Mac (#92); Christine Sixteen by Kiss (#93); So You Win Again by Hot Chocolate (#94); Rock and Roll Never Forgets by Bob Seger (#95); Strawberry Letter 23 by the Brothers Johnson (#96); Everybody Ought to Be in Love by Paul Anka (#97); I Believe in Love by Kenny Loggins (#98); Ride Me by Wenzday (#99); and Mr. Love by Vehicle (#100).

War
Libya claimed that Egyptian forces had struck deep inside her borders.

Terrorism
An all-Negro jury in Washington, D.C. Superior Court convicted 12 Hanafi Muslims, who had seized three buildings in March, of various charges, including conspiracy, armed kidnapping, and second-degree murder. Hanafi leader Hamaas Abdul Khaalis and two of his followers were convicted of the murder of Howard University reporter Maurice Williams. Mr. Khaalis was also convicted of 24 counts of armed kidnapping, assault, and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. In all the 12 defendants were found guilty of 139 counts listed in the 373-count indictment.

Baseball
Dave Collins and Larry Cox each hit home runs to help the Seattle Mariners defeat the Oakland Athletics 10-3 before 12,216 fans, including this blogger and his parents, at the Kingdome in Seattle. Gary Wheelock pitched a 9-hit complete game victory.

Ralph Garr's 3-run home run was the big blow as the Chicago White Sox scored 6 runs in the 6th inning on their way to a 10-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays before 24,263 fans at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Ken Kravec pitched an 8-hit complete game victory.

Rico Carty drove in 4 runs with a home run and a single to help the Cleveland Indians edge the Boston Red Sox 9-8 before 35,592 fans at Fenway Park in Boston. The Indians began the game by hitting for the "cycle" against Boston starting pitcher Reggie Cleveland: Duane Kuiper led off with a single; Buddy Bell tripled; Larvell Blanks doubled; and Andre Thornton homered, knocking Mr. Cleveland out of the box. Fred Lynn hit 2 home runs and drove in 4 runs for the Red Sox.

Bump Wills doubled, advanced to third base on a single by Jim Sundberg, and scored on Mike Hargrove's fourth single of the game to break a 0-0 tie in the top of the 13th inning as the Texas Rangers edged the Baltimore Orioles 1-0 before 10,738 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Winning pitcher Adrian Devine allowed 1 hit in 4 innings in relief of Gaylord Perry, who allowed 4 hits in 9 innings. Jim Palmer started on the mound for Baltimore and allowed 7 hits in 11 innings before being relieved by Dick Drago, who took the loss.

Pinch hitter Jim Fregosi singled home 2 runs to climax a 4-run 7th-inning rally as the Pittsburgh Pirates came back from a 4-0 deficit to edge the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 before 28,625 fans at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Mr. Fregosi's hit immediately followed an infield single by pinch hitter Jerry Hairston to load the bases. The Reds scored all their runs in the top of the 5th, with Joe Morgan's 2-run home run giving Cincinnati a 4-0 lead. Rennie Stennett hit a solo home run in the bottom of the inning to get the Pirates on the scoreboard.

Rod Gilbreath singled and came around to score to begin a 4-run 8th-inning rally to tie the score, and led off the 9th with a home run to break the tie as the Atlanta Braves edged the Chicago Cubs 5-4 before 26,224 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Eddie Solomon started on the mound for Atlanta, but was relieved by Don Collins after walking the first 3 batters.



Heity Cruz doubled home pinch runner Mike Phillips with 1 out in the bottom of the 11th inning to tie the score, and Jerry Mumphrey followed with a single to score Mr. Cruz with the winning run as the St. Louis Cardinals edged the Houston Astros 4-3 before 29,444 fans at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Mr. Phillips entered the game to run for Ken Reitz, who led off the inning with a double.

Winning pitcher Larry Christenson helped his cause with a home run to lead off the 3rd inning and Mike Schmidt hit 2 triples and drew 3 bases on balls as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants 6-3 before 7,958 fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Dave Johnson and Bob Boone also homered for Philadelphia, while Willie McCovey homered for San Francisco.



Wayne Garrett tripled home 3 runs and scored on a squeeze bunt by Stan Bahnsen as the Montreal Expos scored 4 runs in the 2nd inning and held on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 before 42,835 fans at Dodger Stadium. Mr. Bahnsen allowed 4 hits and 4 earned runs in 7 1/3 innings to get the win over Don Sutton, who allowed 10 hits and 6 earned runs in 5+ innings. Mr. Sutton was relieved by Lance Rautzhan, who allowed 1 hit, 1 base on balls, and had 1 strikeout in 2 innings in his first major league game.

30 years ago
1987

Albertana
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre at Porcupine Hills, Alberta was officially opened by the Duke and Duchess of York. First excavated in 1938, it was designated a provincial historic site in 1979 and a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981. It was named for young Peigan boy who was crushed by the buffalo because he wanted to watch the animals as they plunged over the cliff.

Protest
More than 200 people were killed and 100 wounded in the Haitian farming town of Jean-Rabel in a clash between wealthy landowners and a land-reform group. The subsequent official report said that the reformers had attacked first, killing 10 people. Hundreds of the reformers were then killed or wounded when attacked with machetes and clubs by supporters of the landowners.

Defense
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev formally presented a new concession to the arms-control talks in Geneva. Mr. Gorbachev said that the U.S.S.R. could accept worldwide elimination of intermediate nuclear forces, and offered to forego basing warheads anywhere in its territory, including Soviet Asia, if the United States would do the same.

25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Ain't No Doubt--Jimmy Nail

Europeana
Abkhazia declared her independence from Georgia.

Politics and government
Czech Prime Minister Václav Klaus and Slovak Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar agreed to a plan for the division of Czechoslovakia into two independent states by the end of September.

Defense
Canadian Defence Minister Marcel Masse announced a 13-year, $4.4-billion purchase of 50 new EH-101 high-tech military helicopters to replace the aging Sea Kings.

Religion
A Vatican commission, led by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, established that limiting certain rights of homosexual people and non-married couples is not equivalent to discrimination on grounds of race or sex.

Football
CFL
Hamilton (1-2) 39 @ Toronto (1-2) 30
Calgary (3-0) 37 @ British Columbia (0-3) 19

The Tiger-Cats, down 20-10 at halftime, outscored the Argonauts 29-10 in the 2nd half before 30,899 fans at SkyDome. Earl Winfield, who had caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Damon Allen in the 1st quarter, started the Hamilton comeback in the 4th quarter with a 77-yard punt return for a touchdown. After a 53-yard field goal by Toronto’s Lance Chomyc with 4:22 remaining reduced the Tiger-Cats’ led to 26-23, Terry Wright returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown with 2:28 left to increase the lead to 36-23 after Paul Osbaldiston’s convert. The Argonauts struck back with a 41-yard touchdown pass from Rickey Foggie to Mike “Pinball” Clemons, converted by Mr. Chomyc with 1:30 remaining, but Mr. Allen completed a pass to Nick Mazzoli for 82 yards, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by Orville Lee with 42 seconds left. David Lucas scored Hamilton’s other touchdown on a 55-yard pass from Mr. Allen in the 3rd quarter. Mr. Foggie completed a 46-yard touchdown pass to Raghib “Rocket” Ismail in the 1st quarter and rushed 1 yard for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter. Mr. Foggie completed 21 of 43 passes for 342 yards and rushed 15 times for 110 yards.

Doug Flutie passed for 400 yards and rushed for 3 touchdowns to lead the Stampeders to their win over the Lions before 31,053 fans at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver. Daryl Hall scored the other Calgary touchdown on a 74-yard interception return in the 2nd quarter. Danny Barrett started at quarterback for the Lions and completed touchdown passes to Mr. Flutie’s brother Darren and Mike Trevathan.

20 years ago
1997

Politics and government
Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic was sworn in as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

10 years ago
2007

Died on this date
Ernst Otto Fischer, 88. German chemist. Dr. Fischer shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Geoffrey Wilkinson "for their pioneering work, performed independently, on the chemistry of the organometallic, so called sandwich compounds."