August 3, 2017

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Inka!

675 years ago
1342

War
The Siege of Algeciras commenced during the Spanish Reconquista.

525 years ago
1492

Exploration
Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain, hoping to discover the East Indies by sailing westward with three ships: Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria.

150 years ago
1867

Born on this date
Stanley Baldwin. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1923-1924; 1924-1929; 1935-1937. Mr. Baldwin represented Bewdley in the House of Commons from 1908-1937, and led the Conservative Party from 1923-1937. He was the only Prime Minister to serve under three monarchs--George V, Edward VIII, and George VI, and was in office during the crisis leading up to the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936. Mr. Baldwin retired in 1937 and was ennobled as Earl Baldwin of Bewdley. He died on December 14, 1947 at the age of 80.

Transportation
The Dunderberg arrived at Cherbourg, 13 days 17 hours after departing New York.

Health
32,074 deaths from cholera were reported in Italy from January through July.

110 years ago
1907

Born on this date
Ernesto Geisel. 29th President of Brazil, 1974-1979. General Geisel was President during Brazil's military government; he adopted slightly more liberal democratic policies than his immediate predecessors, and a more pragmatic foreign policy. Gen. Geisel died on September 12, 1996 at the age of 89.

Business
Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis fined Standard Oil of Indiana a record $29.4 million for illegal rebating to freight carriers; the conviction and fine were later reversed on appeal.

100 years ago
1917

Born on this date
Les Elgart. U.S. musician. Mr. Elgart was a trumpeter who performed in the bands of Raymond Scott, Charlie Spivak, and Harry James in the 1940s. He and his brother Larry, a saxophonist, formed their own band and had success recording albums of "easy listening" music in the 1950s and '60s. Les Elgart died on July 29, 1995, five days before his 78th birthday.

75 years ago
1942

Died on this date
Richard Willstätter, 69. German chemist. Dr. Willstätter was awarded the 1915 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his researches on plant pigments, especially chlorophyll." He as Jewish and retired in 1924 as a protest against increasing anti-Semitism, and emigrated to Switzerland in 1939. Dr. Willstätter died of a heart attack 10 days before his 70th birthday.

War
The Royal Canadian Navy Corvette HMCS Sackville sank a German U-boat in the Atlantic Ocean, one of four RCN kills in five weeks. Radio Moscow reported that the U.S.S.R., U.K., and U.S.A. had reached agreement regarding a second front in 1942. German troops were reported driving steadily toward the Kuban River, 50 miles above the Maikop oil centre. U.S. planes attacked the Japanese headquarters and other installations in Linchwan, Kiangsi Province, while Chinese ground troops attacked the city at several points.

Journalism
U.S. Representative Elmer Hollander (Democrat--Pennsylvania) said that the New York Daily News and Washington Times Herald were "America's number one and number two exponents of the Nazi propaganda line," and should be investigated.

Labour
The U.S. Justice Department filed suit in Chicago against American Federation of Musicians President James Petrillo for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.

70 years ago
1947

Died on this date
Vic Willis, 71. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Willis played with the Boston Beaneaters (1898-1905); Pittsburgh Pirates (1906-1909); and St. Louis Cardinals (1910), compiling a record of 249-205 with an earned run average of 2.63 in 513 games, batting .166 with 1 home run and 84 runs batted in in 531 games. He had eight seasons of 20 or more wins, and three seasons of 20 or more losses; his 29 losses in 1905 remains the major league record. Mr. Willis was 25-13 in his rookie year in helping the Beaneaters win the National League pennant, and was 22-11 in 1909 in helping the Pirates win the World Series, losing 3-2 to the Chicago Cubs on June 30 in the first game ever played at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, but winning 11 consecutive games at one point. He was 0-1 with a 4.63 ERA in 2 games as the Pirates defeated the Detroit Tigers 4 games to 3. Mr. Willis has been offically credited with a no-hitter in a 7-1 win for the Beaneaters over the Washington Senators on August 7, 1899, but local newspaper accounts in both Boston and Washington credited Bill Dinneen with a single leading off the 6th inning. Mr. Willis managed a hotel in Newark, New Jersey, and died from a stroke.

War
Acting on orders from the Dutch government, Governor General Hubertus van Mook ordered his forces in Indonesia to cease fire in compliance with the United Nations Security Council resolution. He also expressed willingness to accept U.S. mediation of the conflict.

Diplomacy
Bulgarian Premier Georgi Dimitrov returned to Sofia after concluding agreements with Yugoslavia for a customs union; abolition of visas; and coordination of foreign policy.

Politics and government
Nicaraguan voters elected a 49-man Constituent Assembly to name a new President and revise the constitution.

Religion
The Baptist World Alliance congress in Copenhagen ended with a manifesto on religious freedom and a promise to support the United Nations.

60 years ago
1957

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Round and Round--Perry Como; The Four Lads (7th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Banana Boat Song--Harry Belafonte (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): All Shook Up--Elvis Presley (4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear--Elvis Presley (2nd week at #1)
2 Bye Bye Love--The Everly Brothers
3 It's Not for Me to Say--Johnny Mathis
4 I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter--Billy Williams
5 Love Letters in the Sand--Pat Boone
6 (Main Theme) Around the World--Victor Young and his Orchestra
--Mantovani and his Orchestra
7 So Rare--Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra
8 Old Cape Cod--Patti Page
9 Searchin'--The Coasters
10 Tammy--Debbie Reynolds
--The Ames Brothers

Singles entering the chart were Love Me to Pieces by Jill Corey (#36); That'll Be the Day by the Crickets (#42); Swinging Sweethearts by Ron Goodwin and his Orchestra (#43); June Night by the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra (#45); Honeycomb by Jimmie Rodgers (#46); What Will I Tell My Heart (#47)/When I See You (#49) by Fats Domino; Mr. Lee by the Bobbettes (#51); Just Between You and Me by the Chordettes (#54); and Bon Voyage by Janice Harper (#58).

Defense
U.K. military leaders disclosed that British ground forces and armoured cars had been sent to reinforce the Trucial Oman Scout forces loyal to Said bin Tamur, Sultan of Muscat and Oman.

Politics and government
Ahead of independence from the United Kingdom, rulers of the nine federated Malay states and two settlements elected Tunku Abdul Rahman, a British-educated Malay prince, to a five-year term as Malayan constitutional monarch.

The U.S.S.R. and Yugoslavia announced agreement on "concrete forms of cooperation" between the countries' Communist Parties.

Baseball
The Piitsburgh Pirates fired manager Bobby Bragan and named coach Danny Murtaugh to replace him for the rest of the season. The Pirates were in seventh place in the eight-team National League with a record of 36-67.

50 years ago
1967

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): All You Need is Love--The Beatles

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Toronto (3-1) 26 @ Montreal (0-3) 22

Bill Symons rushed for touchdowns of 2 and 40 yards to help the Argonauts defeat the Alouettes at Molson Stadium. Roger Murphy, Don Lisbon, and Carroll Williams scored Montreal touchdowns. This was the last Canadian Football League pre-season game to take place after the start of the regular season, as Western Football Conference teams had begun play two days earlier.

40 years ago
1977

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): I Feel Love--Donna Summer (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Alfred Lunt, 84. U.S. actor and director. Mr. Lunt and his wife Lynn Fontanne appeared in more than 20 plays together, and were among the biggest stars on Broadway in New York from the 1920s through the 1960s. He died nine days before his 85th birthday.

Makarios III, 63. 1st President of Cyprus, 1960-1974; 1974-1977. Makarios III was Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus from 1950-1977 and served three terms as the country's first President. He was deposed and lived in exile for five months during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, but was restored to power and remained in office until his death from a heart attack 10 days before his 64th birthday.

Terrorism
Two bombs attributed to the Puerto Rican organization FALN exploded in midtown Manhattan, New York City, killing one person and injuring seven more. A series of bomb threats that day led to the evacuation of 100,000 workers from a dozen office buildings around Manhattan, causing millions of dollars in business losses.

Environment
U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed into law a bill to regulate strip mining of coal.

Technology
Tandy Corporation announced the TRS-80, one of the world's first mass-produced personal computers.

Football
CFL
Toronto (1-3) 11 @ Ottawa (1-2) 41
British Columbia (3-1) 30 @ Calgary (1-3) 26

Jerry Tagge's touchdown pass to Al Charuk with 18 seconds remaining in the game gave the Lions their win over the Stampeders in an excellent game at McMahon Stadium.

30 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): He's Gonna Step on You Again--The Party Boys (2nd week at #1)

Scandal
U.S. Congressional hearings into Iran-Contra--the sale of arms to Iran with the proceeds given to the anti-Sandanista Contras in Nicaragua--concluded, with none of the 29 witnesses tying President Ronald Reagan directly to the diversion of arms-sales profits to Nicaraguan rebels.

25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): This Used to Be My Playground--Madonna

Music
The album Summer in Paradise by the Beach Boys was released in the United States on Brother Records and in Canada on Attic Records. It sold so few copies that it reportedly caused Navarre, the independent company that distributed the album in the U.S.A., to go bankrupt.

20 years ago
1997

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): I'll Be Missing You--Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112

#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): I'll Be Missing You--Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112 (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): I'll Be Missing You--Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112 (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: I'll Be Missing You--Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112 (3rd week at #1)

Abominations
Guerrillas massacred a total of 116 people in two Algerian villages--40 in Oued El-Had and 76 in Mezouara.

10 years ago
2007

Died on this date
John Gardner, 80. U.K. author. Mr. Gardner was mainly a writer of spy and thriller novels, including novels continuing the James Bond series and a series featuring Boysie Oakes, Mr. Gardner's own creation. He also wrote three novels featuring Professor Moriarty, the villain of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories.

Crime
Former Deputy Director of the Chilean secret police Raúl Iturriaga was captured in Viña del Mar after two months on the run following a conviction for kidnapping.

Football
CFL
Winnipeg (3-2-1) 22 @ Hamilton (1-5) 43