July 6, 2017

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Ancamaria!

630 years ago
1387

Born on this date
Blanche I. Queen consort of Sicily, 1402-1409; Queen of Navarre, 1425-1441. Blanche I, the second daughter of King Charles III of Navarre, became Queen consort of Sicily upon her marriage to King Martin I, who died in 1409. Blanche continued as regent of Sicily until 1415, when Sicily was annexed to Aragon. She married John, Duke of Peñafiel, the second son of Ferdinand I of Aragon, in 1419, and acceded to the throne of Navarre upon the death of her father. John became King of Navarre in her right as John II, and continued as King after her death on April 1, 1441 at the age of 53.

240 years ago
1777

War
After a bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne, American forces retreated from Fort Ticonderoga, New York.

190 years ago
1827

War
The Treaty of London (1827), signed by the United Kingdom, France, and Russia, declared the intention of the three Allied powers to mediate between the Greeks and the Ottoman Turks in hostilities that had existed between the two since 1821.

150 years ago
1867

Diplomacy
Egyptian King Ishmael Pasha arrived in London.

130 years ago
1887

Politics and government
David Kalākaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, was forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, transferring much of the king's authority to the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

125 years ago
1892

Politics and government
Dadabhai Naoroji was elected as the first Indian Member of Parliament in Britain.

Labour
7 guards and 11 workers and spectators were shot to death and many were wounded when conflict erupted between 3,800 striking workers at the Carnegie Steel Works in Homestead, Pennsylvania and 300 Pinkerton’s security agents.

100 years ago
1917

War
Arabian troops led by T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") and Auda ibu Tayi captured Aqaba from the Ottoman Empire during the Arab Revolt.

80 years ago
1937

War
In the Spanish Civil War, the Battle of Brunete began with Spanish Republican troops going on the offensive against the Nationalists to relieve pressure on Madrid.

75 years ago
1942

War
The German submarine U-132 sank three ships from convoy QS-15 in the St. Lawrence River near Rimouski, Quebec. The Soviet Information Bureau in Moscow reported that German troops had driven 120 miles eastward from Kursk to a point west of Voronezh, an important industrial and rail city on the Moscow-Rostov railway just east of the Don River.

World events
Anne Frank and her family sought refuge from the Nazis, going into hiding in the "Secret Annexe" above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse.

Politics and government
Puerto Rican Resident Commissioner Bolivar Pagan introduced a bill into the U.S. House of Representatives authorizing Puerto Ricans to elect their own government.

Law
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt vetoed a bill to deprive all persons found guilty of war fraud of their U.S. citizenship, on grounds that even a misdemeanor could cause revocation.

Baseball
Major League All-Star Game @ Polo Grounds, New York
American League 3 National League 1

The AL scored 3 runs in the top of the 1st inning and held on to defeat the NL before 34,178 fans in the first All-Star Game to be played completely at night. Lou Boudreau of the Cleveland Indians led off the game with a home run and Tommy Henrich of the New York Yankees followed with a double off NL starting pitcher Mort Cooper of the St. Louis Cardinals. With 2 out, Rudy York of the Detroit Tigers hit a home run to make the score 3-0. The NL’s only run came in the 8th inning when pinch hitter Mickey Owen of the Brooklyn Dodgers hit a home run. Spud Chandler of the Yankees pitched the first 4 innings and was credited with the win, while Al Benton of the Tigers pitched the final 5 innings for the AL. Mr. Cooper pitched 3 innings and took the loss. Mr. York won the Arch Ward Trophy as the game’s most valuable player.





70 years ago
1947

Abominations
Muslim and Christian Arabs meeting in Haifa adopted a resolution to ostracize any Palestinian Arab who sold land to a Jew.

Defense
The AK-47 assault rifle went into production in the U.S.S.R.

Politics and government
Spanish voters ratified President Generalissimo Francisco Franco's proposed law of succession by a 12-1 majority in a national referendum, the country's first vote in 11 years.

60 years ago
1957

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Round and Round--Perry Como; The Four Lads (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Heimatlos--Freddy Quinn (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Gamblin' Man--Lonnie Donegan

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Love Letters in the Sand--Pat Boone (5th week at #1)
2 Bye Bye Love--The Everly Brothers
3 So Rare--Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra
4 (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear--Elvis Presley
5 It's Not for Me to Say--Johnny Mathis
6 A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation)--Marty Robbins
7 Dark Moon--Gale Storm
--Bonnie Guitar
8 Searchin'--The Coasters
9 I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter--Billy Williams
10 I Like Your Kind of Love--Andy Williams

Singles entering the chart were Loving You by Elvis Presley (#37); Tammy, with versions by the Ames Brothers, and Debbie Reynolds (#45); Build Your Love (On a Strong Foundation) by Johnnie Ray (#47); Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On by Jerry Lee Lewis (#48); You're Cheatin' Yourself (If You're Cheatin' on Me) by Frank Sinatra (#50); Lovesick Blues by Sonny James (#52); Passing Strangers by Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine (#55); and Next Stop Paradise by Teddy Randazzo (#59). Loving You was the title song of the movie, and was the B-side of (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear. Both versions of Tammy were the from the movie Tammy and the Bachelor (1957).

Americana
The Harry S. Truman Library, housing the former U.S. President's 3.5 million papers and personal mementoes, was turned over to the United States government at dedication ceremonies in Independence, Missouri.

War
The French Army began withdrawing part of its forces remaining in Morocco for duty in Algeria.

Defense
The last British troops left Jordan under agreements abrogating the Anglo-Jordanian defense pact.

Politics and government
The Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee, in a message to its U.S.S.R. counerpart, expressed the hope that the ouster of the faction led by former Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov "will help further the unity and consolidation of the Soviet Communist Party."

Disasters
20 migrant farm workers were killed and 17 injured in a truck collision near Fayetteville, North Carolina; it was the highest death toll of any U.S. truck accident to date.

Tennis
Althea Gibson became the first Negro to win a Grand Slam event, defeating Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2 to win the women's singles final at Wimbledon (see also here and here). In the men's doubles final, Gardner Mulloy and Budge Patty defeated Neale Fraser and Lew Hoad 8-10, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, as Mr. Mulloy, 42, became the oldest man to win a Wimbledon championship.

50 years ago
1967

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): A Whiter Shade of Pale--Procol Harum (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): A Whiter Shade of Pale--Procol Harum (5th week at #1)

War
Nigerian forces invaded Biafra, beginning the Nigerian Civil War.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Montreal Alouettes intrasquad game
Red 21 White 21

Dave Lewis threw touchdown passes to Chester Bell, Manley Sarnowsky, and Phil Brady, and also punted for 2 singles, to rally White to a tie before 8,000 fans at Molson Stadium.

40 years ago
1977

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): So You Win Again--Hot Chocolate

Diplomacy
West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt began an eight-day visit to Canada and the United States for talks with Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

Scandal
Canadian Solicitor General Francis Fox announced the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Certain Activities of the RCMP, to be headed by Justice David McDonald.

Football
CFL
Fred Sgambati resigned, effective July 15, as director of league services, to return to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a sportscaster.

Pre-season
Ottawa (1-1-1) @ Toronto (0-2-1)

The game betweeen the Rough Riders and the Argonauts at Exhibition Stadium was postponed to the following night because of a severe electrical storm.

30 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)--Whitney Houston (4th week at #1)

Football
CFL
Jackie Parker resigned as head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos because of the toll the job was taking on his health. Mr. Parker had assumed the position midway through the 1983 season, and had guided the Eskimos through a rebuilding process culminating in a Western Division championship in 1986. He resigned the day after the Eskimos had defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 36-33 to improve their 1987 record to 2-0. Mr. Parker had been head coach of the British Columbia Lions in 1969-1970, and compiled a career CFL head coaching record of 50-38-1. He was succeeded as head coach of the Eskimos by Joe Faragalli, who had lost his job as head coach of the Montreal Alouettes on June 24 when the club folded the day before they were scheduled to open the regular season.

25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Abba-esque--Erasure (3rd week at #1)

Terrorism
Four people were killed when a bomb exploded near the motorcade of Danielle Mitterand, wife of French President Francois Mitterand, who was on a visit to a Kurdish stronghold in northern Iraq. Mme. Mitterand survived unharmed.

Protest
The French government employed the army and police to confront truck drivers who were blocking the nation's major roads in a protest over new driving license laws.

20 years ago
1997

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): MMMBop--Hanson (6th week at #1)

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

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): MMMBop--Hanson (2nd week at #1)

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

Space
The U.S. rover Sojourner rolled onto the Martian surface to begin exploration of the planet.

Football
CFL
Toronto (2-0) 20 @ Hamilton (0-2) 15

10 years ago
2007

Football
CFL
Edmonton (0-1-1) 9 @ British Columbia (2-0) 29

Paul McCallum kicked 5 field goals and converted touchdowns by Joe Smith and Jason Clermont as the Lions easily beat the Eskimos before 32,893 fans at B.C. Place Stadium. Sean Fleming kicked 3 field goals for the Eskimos.