November 9, 2017

300 years ago
1717

Born on this date
Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye. Canadian explorer and trader. Mr. La Vérendrye, his three brothers, and father Pierre pushed the fur trade and exploration west from the Great Lakes. The La Vérendrye brothers and two colleagues were thought to be the the first Europeans to have crossed the northern Great Plains and seen the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming. Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye was six days past his 44th birthday when he was among the casualties of the ship Auguste when it sank off the coast of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia on November 15, 1761.

150 years ago
1867

Politics and government
The Tokugawa shogunate handed power back to the Emperor of Japan, starting the Meiji Restoration.

130 years ago
1887

Defense
The United States took possession of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, with the U.S. Navy having exclusive rights to maintain a coaling and repair station.

125 years ago
1892

Born on this date
Mabel Normand. U.S. actress. Miss Normand was a popular leading lady in silent comedy films with the Mack Sennett studio in the 1910s. She appeared with Charlie Chaplin in 12 movies and with Fatty Arbuckle in another 17. Her career declined in the 1920s, and she was linked to several scandals before her death from tuberculosis at the age of 37 on February 23, 1930.

Politics and government
Edgar Dewdney was installed as Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia.

120 years ago
1897

Born on this date
Harvey Hendrick. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Hendrick played football and baseball at Vanderbilt University before playing first base and outfield with seven major league teams from 1923-1934, batting .308 with 48 home runs and 413 runs batted in in 922 games. His best season was 1929, when he batted .354 with 14 homers and 82 RBIs with the Brooklyn Robins. As a rookie in 1923, Mr. Hendrick was a member of the New York Yankees when they won their first World Series championship, and batted 0 for 1 in the World Series. Mr. Hendrick committed suicide by shooting himself on October 29, 1941, 11 days before his 44th birthday.

110 years ago
1907

Football
CRU
IRFU
Ottawa (2-4) 0 @ Montreal (5-1) 25

ORFU
Final
(Montreal) Westmount 4 @ Peterboro 25

ARU
Calgary (1-1) 5 @ Edmonton (2-0) 23

Canadian university
Ottawa (3-1-1) 0 @ McGill (2-3) 23
Queen's (1-3-1) 5 @ Toronto (3-2) 20

Percy Hardisty scored a touchdown and 3 converts to help the Capitals defeat Calgary to win the Alberta Rugby Union championship.

80 years ago
1937

Died on this date
Ramsay MacDonald, 71. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1924, 1929-1935. Mr. MacDonald was one of the founders of the British Labour Party; he was first elected to the House of Commons in 1906, and became leader of the party in 1914. He became the first Prime Minister from the Labour Party when he led a minority government from January-November 1924, but Labour was defeated in the 1924 general election, and Mr. MacDonald was Leader of the Opposition until 1929, when the general election resulted in a Labour government, with Liberal support. The onset of the depression resulted in a decline of support for the Labour government, but Mr. MacDonald formed a National Government, which included Conservatives and Liberals, and which won a majority in the 1931 general election, but led many members of the Labour Party to regard Mr. MacDonald as a traitor to the party. Mr. MacDonald was known for his interest in foreign policy, and was criticized as an appeaser of Germany's Nazi regime. Mr. MacDonald's health declined, and he resigned as Prime Minister in 1935 in favour of former Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, a Conservative. Mr. MacDonald died while at sea on a voyage to improve his health.

War
The Chinese Army withdrew from the Battle of Shanghai against invading Japanese forces.

Law
Québec Police undertook their first action to uphold Québec Premier Maurice Duplessis' Padlock Law (Act Respecting Communistic Propaganda) against subversive organizations, locking the doors of the Communist Party newspaper Clarté. The statute allowed the attorney general to close any building used for propagating "communism or bolshevism;" the Act was declared unconstitutional, as an invasion of the federal field of criminal law, by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1957.

70 years ago
1942

Died on this date
Charles Courtney Curran, 81. U.S. artist. Mr. Curran painted over 1,500 pictures, mainly of women in various settings.

Edna May Oliver, 59. U.S. actress. Miss Oliver, born Edna May Nutter, was a character actress who was known for comic roles, often playing sarcastic spinsters. She starred in the first three movies of the Hildegarde Withers series of detective films (1932-1935), and appeared in serious parts in A Tale of Two Cities (1935) and David Copperfield (1935). Miss Oliver died of an intestinal ailment on her 59th birthday.

War
Allied European Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower named General H.H. Giraud as the leader of the French movement to prevent Axis aggression in North Africa and would organize a French North African army. U.S. troops penetrated east and west of Oran, Algeria. American torpedo boats attacked three Japanese destroyers in Indispensable Strait and scored a hit on one, while U.S. planes destroyed six Japanese landing craft west of the American positions on Guadalcanal.

Diplomacy
Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King and Mexican President Manuel Avila Camacho announced that their respective countries were breaking diplomatic relations with the Vichy French regime.

Law
In his first case as a lawyer before the U.S. Supreme Court, former Republican Party U.S. presidential nominee Wendell Willkie defended California Communist Party leader William Schneiderman against a lower court ruling cancelling his naturalization papers.

Agriculture
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a 1941 congressional act penalizing farmers 49c per bushel for all wheat grown in excess of their marketing quotas.

70 years ago
1947

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring John Stanley and Alfred Shirley, on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Cadaver in the Roman Toga

World events
Former Siamese dictator Luang Pibul Songgram overthrew the government of Prime Minister Luang Dhamrong Nawasawat in a bloodless coup in Bangkok.

The Ecuadorian Army reported the suppression of an armed revolt in Quito.

Academia
China signed an exchange pact with the United States, promising an annual payment of $1 million for 20 years to cover the cost of educating Chinese and American students in universities of both countries.

Basketball
PBLA
Chicago (6-0) 51 @ Tulsa (5-2) 48

60 years ago
1957

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Around the World--Bing Crosby; Nat "King" Cole (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Köhlerliesel--Die Heimatsänger (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): That'll Be the Day--The Crickets (3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Jailhouse Rock--Elvis Presley
2 Wake Up Little Susie--The Everly Brothers
3 Chances Are--Johnny Mathis
4 Silhouettes--The Rays
5 You Send Me--Sam Cooke
6 Be-Bop Baby--Ricky Nelson
7 Honeycomb--Jimmie Rodgers
8 My Special Angel--Bobby Helms
9 Fascination--Jane Morgan
10 Melodie d'Amour (Melody of Love)--The Ames Brothers

Singles entering the chart were Raunchy by Bill Justis and his Orchestra (#43); Rock and Roll Music by Chuck Berry (#46); Bony Moronie by Larry Williams (#48); Kisses Sweeter than Wine by Jimmie Rodgers (#50); Love Me Forever by the Four Esquires (#55); Never Be Afraid by Bing Crosby (#58); and Could This Be Magic by the Dubs (#60).

Defense
South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, ending a four-day state visit to India, said that his country, although under Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) protection, would not join any military alliance.

Politics and government
The U.S. Senate Government Operations Committee staff report urged a major overhaul of U.S. scientific and technological programs, criticizing "unnecessary duplication and waste of scientific personnel" in current government-sponsored projects.

Football
IRFU
Toronto (4-10) 27 @ Montreal (6-8) 0
Ottawa (8-6) 12 @ Hamilton (10-4) 13

WIFU
Semi-Finals
Winnipeg 13 @ Calgary 13 (First game of 2-game total points series)

ORFU
Finals
London 8 @ Kitchener-Waterloo 14 (Kitchener-Waterloo led best-of-three series 1--0)

The Stampeders led 13-4 after 3 quarters, but Kenny Ploen threw a touchdown pass to Frank Gilliam, Mr. Ploen converted, and Gerry James scored 2 singles on missed field goal attempts to give the Blue Bombers the tie at Mewata Stadium.

Royal Bailey and Syl O'Hara scored touchdowns and Mike Norcia and Bob Celeri added singles for the Dutchmen as they beat the Lords at Seagram Stadium in Waterloo. Ed Dearmon scored the London touchdown, converted by Don Wright; Jim Thompson added a single.

50 years ago
1967

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Kitaguni no Futari (In a Lonesome City)--Jackey Yoshikawa and his Blue Comets (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
Dragnet 1968, starring Jack Webb and Harry Morgan, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Big Ad



Died on this date
Charles Bickford, 76. U.S. actor. Mr. Bickford was a character actor in plays, movies, and television programs in a career spanning 56 years. He was nominated for Academy Awards for his supporting performances in The Song of Bernadette (1943); The Farmer's Daughter (1947); and Johnny Belinda (1948). Mr. Bickford died of pneumonia and a blood infection.

Space
Apollo 4, the first test of the Saturn V rocket, lifted off from Cape Kennedy, Florida; the unmanned spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean eight hours later ( see video and hear audio).



Journalism
The first issue of Rolling Stone magazine was published.

Disasters
14 people were killed and 70 injured when a Milan-to-Palermo express train ran into a herd of buffalo and then hit another train.

40 years ago
1977

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): The Name of the Game--ABBA

Died on this date
Fred Haney, 81. U.S. baseball player, coach, and manager. Mr. Haney was a third baseman with the Detroit Tigers (1922-1925); Boston Red Sox (1926-1927); Chicago Cubs (1927); and St. Louis Cardinals (1929), batting .275 with 8 home runs and 228 runs batted in in 622 games. In a 16-year minor league career from 1918-1938, Mr. Haney batted .304 with 31 homers in 1,741 games. He managed the St. Louis Browns (1939-1941); Pittsburgh Pirates (1953-1955); and Milwaukee Braves (1956-1959), compiling a record of 629-757 (.454). He led the Braves to the World Series championship in 1957 and the National League pennant in 1958. Earlier, Mr. Haney had managed the Hollywood Stars to the Pacific Coast League pennant in 1949. Mr. Haney served as the first general manager of the Los Angeles and California Angels of the American League from 1961-1968.

War
Israeli planes conducted heavy bombing raids over southern Lebanon, ostensibly in reprisal for a recent attack on Nahariya in northern Israel. The Lebanese government reported that more than 100 people, most of them civilians, had been killed. Israeli officials claimed that the targets were Palestinian guerrilla enclaves near Tyre, held responsible for the attack on Nahariya.

Diplomacy
Seven U.S. Senators visited Panama to inspect the Panama Canal and see how Panamanians regarded the new treaties with the United States.

Law
U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed legislation revising federal mine-safety regulations.

Hockey
NHL
Vancouver 6 @ St. Louis 8

30 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): La Bamba--Los Lobos (7th week at #1)

Politics and government
U.S. Senator Bob Dole of Kansas announced his intention to enter the contest for the 1988 Republican Party nomination for President of the United States.

25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): It Will Make Me Crazy--Felix

20 years ago
1997

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): Something About the Way You Look Tonight/Candle in the Wind 1997--Elton John (6th week at #1)

#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Something About the Way You Look Tonight/Candle in the Wind 1997--Elton John (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Something About the Way You Look Tonight/Candle in the Wind 1997--Elton John (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Something About the Way You Look Tonight/Candle in the Wind 1997--Elton John (8th week at #1)

Died on this date
Carl G. Hempel, 92. German-born U.S. philosopher. Dr. Hempel, began his career in Germany, but emigrated to the United States in 1937. He became a major figure in the field of logical empiricism.

Football
CFL
East Final
Montreal 30 @ Toronto 37

West Final
Saskatchewan 31 @ Edmonton 30

Doug Flutie completed a short pass to Mike "Pinball" Clemons, who turned it into a 58-yard touchdown with 40 seconds remaining in regulation time, breaking a 30-30 tie as the Argonauts defeated the Alouettes in an exciting game before 30,085 fans at SkyDome. Chris Wright returned a punt 70 yards for one of the Montreal touchdowns.



Quarterback Reggie Slack's second touchdown of the game, with 26 seconds remaining in regulation time, was converted by Paul McCallum, giving the Roughriders a 31-22 lead, clinching victory over the Eskimos before 38,258 fans at Commonwealth Stadium. On the first play after the kickoff, Edmonton quarterback Danny McManus connected with Robert Gordon for a 58-yard gain to the Saskatchewan 1-yard line, and Henry "Gizmo" Williams rushed 1 yard for the touchdown with 7 seconds left. Mr. McManus completed a 2-point convert pass to Darren Flutie, but the Eskimos failed to recover a short kickoff. Saskatchewan dominated the early part of the game, taking a 24-9 lead in the 2nd quarter, but the Eskimos dominated the action thereafter until Mr. Slack's last-minute drive. The Eskimos made numerous mistakes that cost them the game: they were stopped on a third-down gamble near the Saskatchewan goal line; allowed Curtis Mayfield to return a punt for a touchdown--the only kick return touchdown allowed by the Eskimos all year--and took considerably more penalties than was usual for them, including one that wiped out a punt return touchdown by Mr. Williams. It was the last game for Ron Lancaster after seven years as Edmonton's head coach, and the last game in an Edmonton uniform for Messrs. McManus, Flutie, Gordon, Eddie Brown, Glenn Rogers, Jr., Mark Farraway, and centre Rod Connop, who ended a 16-year Hall of Fame career.



10 years ago
2007

Law
The German Bundestag passed the data retention bill, mandating storage of citizens' telecommunications traffic data for six months without probable cause.