July 23, 2018

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Alla!

225 years ago
1793

Died on this date
Roger Sherman, 72. U.S. politician. Mr. Sherman represented Connecticut in the Continental Congress (1774-1781, 1784), U.S. House of Representatives (1789-1791); and U.S. Senate (1791-1793). He was a Founding Father and the only man to have signed all four great state papers of the United States: the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution.

War
Forces of the Kingdom of Prussia re-conquered Mainz from France.

130 years ago
1888

Born on this date
Raymond Chandler. U.S. author. Mr. Chandler was one of the major figures in the genre of "hard-boiled" detective fiction. He created the private investigator Philip Marlowe, who was the main character in novels such as The Big Sleep (1939); Farewell, My Lovely (1940); and The Long Goodbye (1953), all of which were made into movies. Mr. Chandler also wrote or co-wrote the screenplays for Double Indemnity (1944); The Blue Dahlia (1946); and Strangers on a Train (1951), the first two of which earned him Academy Award nominations. He drank himself to death on March 26, 1959 at the age of 70.

120 years ago
1898

Politics and government
Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto was named as Governor General of Canada, to succeed the Earl of Aberdeen. The Earl of Minto took office on November 12.

110 years ago
1908

Politics and government
The Second Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire began, shortly after the Young Turk Revolution which forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the constitutional monarchy by the revival of the Ottoman Parliament, the General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire, and the restoration of the constitution of 1876.

Olympics
Bobby Kerr of Canada won the gold medal in the men's 220-yard sprint at the Summer Olympic Games in London.

100 years ago
1918

Born on this date
Pee Wee Reese. U.S. baseball player and broadcaster. Harold Peter Henry Reese, nicknamed for both his size in his early years and his skill at playing marbles, was a shortstop with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1940-1942 and 1946-1958, batting .269 with 126 home runs and 885 runs batted in in 2,166 games. He led the National League in bases on balls (104) in 1947; runs (132) in 1949; and in stolen bases (30) in 1952, and helped the Dodgers to seven NL pennants and a World Series championship in 1955. Mr. Reese was known for his public display of support for teammate Jackie Robinson when Mr. Robinson was beginning his career as the first Negro major leaguer in the modern era. Mr. Reese broadcast baseball on television and radio from 1960-1972. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984, and died of cancer on August 14, 1999 at the age of 81.

90 years ago
1928

Crime
Stanley Durmaj, 21, and three cronies were all sentenced in Chicago to life in prison for killing movie theatre usherette Pearl Eggleston, 17, in an attempted robbery.

75 years ago
1943

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Greek Interpreter

Died on this date
Lewis Trueman, 53. U.S. judge. District Judge Trueman and four other people were shot to death in Ogden, Utah by Austin Cox, 38, whose wife had recently been granted a divorce by Judge Trueman.

Archibald Brown, 47. U.K. crime victim. Mr. Brown, a paraplegic, was blown up by a grenade placed under the seat of his Bath chair in Rayleigh, Essex, England in what became known as the Rayleigh bath chair murder. His 19-year-old son Eric later confessed to the murder and was declared insane.

War
The Italian War Ministry ordered all men aged 21-36 into the Army before August 15 in order to double the country's three-million man force. The Loyal Edmonton Regiment and the Calgary Highlanders joined the Allied forces in Italy. The British destroyers HMS Eclipse and HMS Laforey sank the Italian submarine Ascianghi in the Mediterranean after she torpedoed the cruiser HMS Newfoundland. U.S. forces completed the occupation of western Sicily, capturing the port of Marsala and the naval base of Trapani.

Health
Cuban dispatches reported epidemics of typhoid and malaria in the provinces of Oriente, Santa Clara, and Habana.

70 years ago
1948

Died on this date
D.W. Griffith, 73. U.S. movie director and producer. David Wark Griffith pioneered modern cinematic techniques, and was more responsible than anyone else for the creation of the feature film. He was best known for The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916). Mr. Griffith's movies were expensive, and too many financial failures shortened his career. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

John West. U.S. criminal. Mr. West, an ex-convict, was killed, and Robert Davis was captured by Ohio State Police, ending a two-week spree in which the pair had killed six people.

World events
The Egyptian government imposed a state of emergency in Cairo to prevent anti-American and anti-British outbreaks following the stoning and death of tourist Stephen Haas, a realtor of Philadelphia.

General Lucius Clay of the U.S. military government in Germany announced plans to double the size of the Berlin airlift by assigning more large-capacity U.S. C-54 transport planes to Germany.

Politics and government
The U.S. Progressive National Convention opened at Municipal Auditorium in Philadelphia.

U.K. authorities in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore outlawed the Malayan Communist Party as the "directing force" of recent nationalist disturbances.

Economics and finance
Financial experts from countries represented in the Organization for European Economic Cooperation, meeting in Paris, announced a plan for mutual convertability of European currencies to facilitate trade within Europe.

Hoping to attract more tourists and foreign sales, the Mexican government devalued the peso from 4.85 to 5.75-5.76 pesos to the U.S. dollar.

Soviet authorities in Germany announced plans to issue a new currency for their occupation zone, called the Deutsche Mark.

U.S. President Harry Truman named former U.S. Price Administrator Paul Porter as his special assistant in anti-inflation matters.

60 years ago
1958

War
1,100 armed nationalists of the minority Mon racial group surrendered to the Burmese government.

Terrorism
Cyprus Governor Sir Hugh Foot announced that British troops had arrested 1,450 Greek and 44 Turkish Cypriots in a 48-hour roundup of known or suspected terrorists.

Protest
Venezuelan labour unions staged a general strike in an attempt to head off an attempt by Defense Minister Jesus Maria Castro Leon and general staff officers to overthrow the government of President General Wolfgang Larrazabal.

Politics and government
Gordon Gray took office as U.S. presidential national security officer.

Transportation
The government of Canada nationalized Canadian Pacific Ferries.

Boxing
Joe Brown (88-19-11-1) retained his world lightweight title with a 15-round unanimous decision over Kenny Lane (53-6) at Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston.

Football
CFL
WIFU
Pre-season
Winnipeg Blue Bombers intrasquad game
Blue 21 Gold 13

Saskatchewan Roughriders intrasquad game
Green 13 White 6

British Columbia Lions intrasquad game
Orange 28 White 7

Frank Tripucka directed Green to their win over White at Taylor Field in Regina. Halfback Sully Glasser suffered a heart attack during the game, ending his 13-year career.

George Herring directed Orange to their win over White in a 2-quarter game before 3,549 fans at Empire Stadium in Vancouver. Jerry Gustafson, who had quarterbacked the Lions in 1956 and missed the 1957 season while serving in the U.S. Army, played poorly in attempting a comeback and quit the team after the game.

50 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): A Man Without Love (Quando M'innamoro)--Engelbert Humperdinck (6th week at #1)

Died on this date
Henry Hallett Dale, 93. U.K. pharmacologist and physiologist. Sir Henry shared the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Otto Loewi "for their discoveries relating to chemical transmission of nerve impulses."

Terrorism
The only successful hijacking of an El Al aircraft (so far) took place when a Boeing 707 carrying 10 crew and 38 passengers was taken over by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The aircraft was en route from Rome, to Lod, Israel, and was hijacked to Algiers.

Protest
A two-day gun battle in Cleveland between police and a Black Power group began, which in turn sparked three days of rioting.

40 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Rivers of Babylon--Boney M. (3rd week at #1)

Golf
Jack Nicklaus won the Philadelphia Classic with a total score of 270. First prize money was $50,000.

Baseball
With 2 out and nobody on base in the top of the 8th inning, Garry Templeton, Jerry Mumphrey, and George Hendrick hit consecutive singles to break a 0-0 tie as the St. Louis Cardinals shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 before 48,184 fans, including this blogger and his parents, at Dodger Stadium. Pete Vuckovich pitched a 3-hitter to win the pitchers' duel over Don Sutton, who allowed 7 hits and 2 earned runs as they both pitched complete games. On the game's first pitch, Mr. Templeton hit a fly ball to shallow left field, and Los Angeles left fielder Dusty Baker and shortstop Bill Russell collided. Mr. Baker caught the ball for the out, but both players were out of the lineup for the rest of the game. The game was preceded by a 4-inning oldtimers' game between the 1959 Dodgers and National League players of that era. The players included Sandy Koufax, Jim Gilliam, Willie Mays, and Stan Musial.

Pete Rose drove in Rick Auerbach with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 14th inning to break a 4-4 tie as the Cincinnati Reds edged the Montreal Expos 5-4 before 28,391 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

The Philadelphia Phillies scored a total of 10 runs in the middle 3 innings as they routed the Houston Astros 13-2 before 30,554 fans at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Steve Carlton allowed 8 hits and 2 earned runs in 8 innings to get the win, while driving in 2 runs.



Larry McWilliams and Gene Garber combined for a 4-hit shutout as the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 3-0 before 10,684 fans at Shea Stadium in New York.



Aurelio Rodriguez drew a bases loaded walk with 2 out to tie the score and Jason Thompson scored on a passed ball as the Detroit Tigers scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to defeat the California Angels 4-3 in the first game of a doubleheader at Tiger Stadium. In the second game, Don Baylor walked with 1 out in the top of the 9th, stole second base, and scored on a 2-out single by Dave Chalk to break a 3-3 tie as the Angels won 4-3. Nolan Ryan pitched a 4-hitter and struck out 11 batters towin the pitchers' duel over Jim Slaton, as both pitched complete games.

The Kansas City Royals scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning and went on to beat the Boston Red Sox 7-3 before 39,425 fans at Royals Stadium. Marty Pattin allowed 1 hit and no runs in 6 1/3 innings of relief to get the win, while Jim Wright, who allowed 5 hits and 4 earned runs in just 1/3 inning, took the loss.

The Milwaukee Brewers outscored the Texas Rangers 6-5 in the 3rd inning as they went on to beat the Rangers 17-8 before 11,615 fans at Arlington Stadium. Larry Hisle had a home run, 3 singles, 3 runs, and 4 runs batted in for the Brewers, while Sal Bando added a home run, double, single, 4 runs, and 5 RBIs.

30 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Tell Me--Nick Kamen (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Fast Car--Tracy Chapman

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Push It--Salt-n-Pepa

#1 single in France (SNEP): Nuit de folie--Début de Soirée (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You--Glenn Medeiros (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You--Glenn Medeiros (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Hold On to the Nights--Richard Marx

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Pour Some Sugar on Me--Def Leppard
2 The Flame--Cheap Trick
3 Hold on to the Nights--Richard Marx
4 Roll With It--Steve Winwood
5 New Sensation--INXS
6 Mercedes Boy--Pebbles
7 Dirty Diana--Michael Jackson
8 Hands to Heaven--Breathe
9 Make Me Lose Control--Eric Carmen
10 Sign Your Name--Terence Trent D'Arby

Singles entering the chart were Another Part of Me by Michael Jackson (#67); One Good Woman by Peter Cetera (#79); What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy) by Information Society (#81); Look Out Any Window by Bruce Hornsby and the Range (#83); Inside Outside by Cover Girls (#87); The Right Stuff by Vanessa Williams (#88); Make it Last Forever by Keith Sweat with Jacci McGhee (#89); and Summergirls by Dino (#90).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 New Sensation--INXS
2 The Flame--Cheap Trick
3 Foolish Beat--Debbie Gibson
4 Together Forever--Rick Astley
5 Roll With It--Steve Winwood
6 In Your Soul--Corey Hart
7 Make it Real--The Jets
8 One More Try--George Michael
9 Lost in You--Rod Stewart
10 Dirty Diana--Michael Jackson

Singles entering the chart were Monkey by George Michael (#72); My Secret Place by Joni Mitchell (#76); Ain't Good Lovin' by Diamond in the Rough (#84); Baby Boom Baby by James Taylor (#90); Let it Begin Tonight by Liberty Silver (#92); Just Got Paid by Johnny Kemp (#94); Dancing Under a Latin Moon by Candi (#96); Similar Features by Melissa Etheridge (#97); and (Get Started) Start a Fire by Graham Parker (#99).

Personal
This blogger was in Calgary to attend the 10th anniversary reunion of the 1978 graduating class of Henry Wise Wood High School. The guys who had the most hair in 1978 seemed to have the least in 1988. There had been many pretty girls at Henry Wise Wood when I went there, and they looked even better 10 years later. Even those of average looks in 1978 looked great in 1988; of course, by the time I had the nerve to ask any of them out, they were almost all taken.

Politics and government
General Ne Win, Burma's leader since 1962, announced his resignation as chairman of the country's ruling party. Addressing the party on the opening day of its congress, Ne Win attributed his resignation to a lack of trust in the government following student-led riots in March and June.

Football
CFL
Edmonton (1-1) 15 @ Saskatchewan (2-0) 26

Dave Ridgway tied his own single-game record with 8 field goals, and the Roughriders added a safety touch as they beat the Eskimos at Taylor Field in Regina. Rookie Edmonton defensive back Danny Taylor scored the game's only touchdown on a 41-yard interception return. It was the first regular season game for Jim Sandusky in an Edmonton uniform since being acquired from the British Columbia Lions in a trade for quarterback Matt Dunigan. It was also the first regular season game as an Eskimo for quarterback Greg Vavra, who dressed in place of injured starter Damon Allen, with Tracy Ham now elevated to the starting role. Mr. Vavra had seen pre-season action for the Eskimos in 1983 and then gone to the Calgary Stampeders for 2 years; had dressed for 2 pre-season games for the Eskimos in 1986 and then played 2 seasons with the Lions; and had joined the Eskimos yet again in 1988.



25 years ago
1993

World events
The Azerbaijani town of Agdam was occupied by Armenian separatists.

Politics and government
The U.K. Government of Prime Minister John Major won a vote that insured the British Parliament's final approval of the Treaty on European Union.

Economics and finance
The Russian Duma voted in favour of extraordinary measures that threatened to disrupt the economy and undermine the transfer of public property to private interests. President Boris Yeltsin was expected to veto or ignore the actions.

Swimming
Carlos Costa became the first disabled person, and the youngest man, to make the 32 1/2-mile crossing of Lake Ontario; the 20-year-old swimmer had both legs amputated above the knees.

Football
CFL
Ottawa (1-2) 18 @ Winnipeg (2-1) 21

Matt Dunigan threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Allan Boyko, converted by Troy Westwood, with 4 seconds remaining in regulation time to give the Blue Bombers the win over the Rough Riders before 19,030 fans on a rainy night at Winnipeg Stadium. Ottawa led 11-7 after 3 quarters and increased it to 18-7 early in the 4th quarter on a 26-yard TD pass from Tom Burgess to Wayne Walker, converted by Terry Baker. The Blue Bombers scored their first touchdown of the game with 8:12 remaining on a 34-yard interception return by linebacker Greg Battle.

20 years ago
1998

Football
CFL
Hamilton (3-1) 23 @ Montreal (3-1) 21
Edmonton (3-1) 30 @ Toronto (1-3) 27 (OT)

Sean Fleming's 21-yard field goal on the final play of the 2nd overtime period gave the Eskimos their win over the Argonauts at SkyDome. Troy Mills rushed 21 times for 121 yards for the Eskimos and caught 3 passes for 43 yards for the Eskimos, and accounted for all 62 yards in their drive to the winning field goal. Edmonton quarterback Jimmy Kemp completed touchdown passes to Joseph Rogers and Jamie Richardson; for Mr. Richardson, it was his only CFL touchdown.

10 years ago
2008

Died on this date
Kurt Furgler, 84. President of the Swiss Confederation, 1977, 1981, 1985. Mr. Furgler, a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party, was a member of the Federal Council from 1972-1986, serving as Minister of Justice and Police (1972-1982) and Minister of Economic Affairs (1983-1986) in addition to his three terms as President. He supported equal rights for women, and integration of Switzerland within Europe.