August 18, 2018

180 years ago
1838

Exploration
The six-ship United States Exploring Expedition, exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands, weighed anchor at Hampton Roads, Virginia.

150 years ago
1868

Space
A total solar eclipse, visible in India, occurred, known as "The King of Siam's eclipse" because Siamese King Rama IV (Mongkut) had predicted it two years earlier. French astronomer Pierre Janssen observed the eclipse, and discovered helium.

140 years ago
1878

Journalism
P. G. Laurie published the first issue of the Saskatchewan Herald in Battleford.

125 years ago
1893

Born on this date
Ernest MacMillan. Canadian conductor and composer. Sir Ernest, an organ prodigy in his early years, was principal of the Toronto (now Royal) Conservatory of Music from 1926-1942, and conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1931-1956. He died on May 6, 1973 at the age of 79.

Burleigh Grimes. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Grimes played the Pittsburgh Pirates (1916-1917, 1928-1929, 1934); Brooklyn Robins (1918-1926); New York Giants (1927); Boston Braves (1930); St. Louis Cardinals (1930-1931, 1932-1933); Chicago Cubs (1932-1933); and New York Yankees (1934), compiling a record of 270-212 with an earned run average of 3.53 in 616 games. He had five seasons with 21 or more wins, and led the NL with 22 wins in 1921 and tied for the league lead with 25 in 1928. Mr. Grimes was famous as the last remaining pitcher to legally throw a spitball; the pitch was outlawed in 1920, but designated active pitchers were allowed to continue using it. Mr. Grimes managed the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1937-1938, compiling a record of 131-171. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964, and died on December 6, 1985 at the age of 92.

100 years ago
1918

Born on this date
Cisco Houston. U.S. musician. Gilbert Houston, who took his nickname from the town of Cisco, California, was a folk singer and songwriter who was primarily known for his close friendship with Woody Guthrie. Mr. Houston died of stomach cancer on April 29, 1961 at the age of 42.

80 years ago
1938

Transportation
The Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting New York with Ontario over the St. Lawrence River, was dedicated at Gananoque, Ontario by Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

75 years ago
1943

Literature
Betty Smith's novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was published by Harper & Brothers.

War
U.K. Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden arrived in Quebec City to attend the Allied war conferences. Allied North African headquarters announced that all resistance in Sicily had stopped and that through August 10 135,000 Axis prisoners had been taken and 32,000 enemy soldiers had been killed or wounded. U.S. warships made their first direct attacks on the Italian mainland, shelling bridges and power stations at Gioia Tauro and Palmi on the southwest coast. The Soviet Red Army resumed its offensive in Ukraine, capturing more than 50 villages and killing 3,500 Germans. A second series of attacks on the Japanese airfield at Wewak completed its destruction, wiping out 215 of the original 225 planes there.

70 years ago
1948

Diplomacy
The U.S.S.R. vetoed Ceylon's United Nations membership in the Security Council, claiming that Ceylon was still dominated by the United Kingdom.

The Danube Conference in Belgrade ended with the passage of a U.S.S.R.-sponsored agreement for exclusive eastern European control of the Danube waterway. U.S. representatives abstained in the final vote, but attacked the agreement as a Soviet attempt to impose "political and economic enslavement" on the Danube region.

Maria Provaznikova, leader of the Czech women's Olympic team, sought asylum in the United States and denounced Czech government purges of the national youth organization.

Politics and government
The French cabinet asked the United Kingdom, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands to participate in a conference on the creation of a European parliament.

Protest
U.S. Negro civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph quit the League for Non-Violent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation after U.S. President Harry Truman promised to end segregation in the armed forces. Bayard Rustin and othe civil rights leaders vowed to continue their civil disobedience campaign.

Technology
Republic Steel Corporation announced the development of a machine which cast molten steel into semi-finished shapes, shortening the steel-making process and saving $3 per ton in production.

Business
The Studebaker assembly line in Hamilton, Ontario rolled off its first vehicle, a blue Champion four-door sedan. The plant, a former anti-aircraft gun factory purchased from the Canadian government, had 400 employees, and produced cars until March 16, 1966.

The U.S. War Assets Administration announced an agreement to sell one of the world's largest blast furnace and coke oven facilities in Cleveland to Kaiser-Frazer Corp. for $14.2 million.

Labour
The U.S. National Labor Relations Board ruled that hiring halls operated by the National Maritime Union in the Great Lakes region were illegal under the Taft-Hartley Act. The ruling invalidated a provisional agreement between the NMU and Atlantic and Gulf Coast shippers allowing continued operation of unon hiring halls.

Sport
Australia won its fifth consecutive Test of the 1948 Ashes series, becoming the first Test cricket team to go undefeated in England, earning the Australian team the nickname "The Invincibles."

Football
WIFU-ORFU
Pre-season
Toronto (2-0) 1 @ Saskatchewan (0-1) 0

Johnny Lake punted for the game's only point as the Beaches Indians edged the Roughriders at Taylor Field in Regina.

60 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare)--Domenico Modugno (Best Seller--1st week at #1; Hot 100--1st week at #1)

Literature
Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita was published in the United States.

Diplomacy
Following three days of talks in Cairo, United Arab Republic President Gamal Nasser and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Faisal issued a joint communique condemning "the presence of any foreign forces on the territory of any Arab state."

Defense
Both houses of the United States Congress unanimously passed a joint resolution to award a special gold medal to U.S. Navy Admiral Hyman Rickover for his part "in directing the development and construction of the world's first nuclear-powered ships."

Politics and government
The U.S. House of Representatives defeated Democratic-sponsored bills providing for labour reform, slum clearance, and creation of a federal food stamp program.

Society
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis overruled a federal district court's decision to allow a 2 1/2-year stay of racial integration at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Swimming
Brojen Das of East Pakistan swam across the English Channel in a competition, as the first Bengali and the first Asian to do so. He came first among 39 competitors.

Boxing
Floyd Patterson (34-1) retained his world heavyweight title when challenger Roy Harris (23-1) failed to come out for the 13th round at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles.



Rory Calhoun (36-5-1) scored a technical knockout of George Mercer (3-6-1) at 1:26 of the 6th round of a light heavyweight bout in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Football
CFL
WIFU
The Calgary Stampeders signed quarterback Cotton Davidson, recently released by the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League. Mr. Davidson had played with the Colts in 1954 and 1957, spending the 1955 and 1956 seasons in the United States Army.

British Columbia (0-2) 0 @ Calgary (1-0) 42
Saskatchewan (1-1) 6 @ Edmonton (1-1) 40

Nobby Wirkowski threw touchdown passes to Chuck Holloway and Lynn Bottoms and rushed for a touchdown of his own to lead the Stampeders to their rout of the Lions before 15,138 fans at Mewata Stadium. Jim Bakhtiar, Jack Gotta, and Ernie Warlick also scored touchdowns, with Doug Brown adding 3 converts and a field goal. It was the first Canadian Football League game for, among others, Messrs. Holloway, Bakhtiar, Brown, and Calgary tackle Don Luzzi.

Jackie Parker completed 12 of 16 passes and threw touchdown passes to Don Stiller, Jim Letcavits, and Joe-Bob Smith to lead the Eskimos to their rout of the Roughriders before 18,000 fans at Clarke Stadium. Mr. Smith also caught a touchdown pass from Don Getty, while Johnny Bright rushed 11 times for 167 yards, including a 90-yard touchdown. Ron Adam completed a pass to Jack Hill for the Saskatchewan touchdown.

50 years ago
1968

Died on this date
Arthur Marshall, 86. U.S. composer. Mr. Marshall was a composer and performer of ragtime music in the first two decades of the 20th century.

Golf
Julius Boros won the Westchester Golf Classic in Harrison, New York with a total score of 272. First prize money was $50,000.

Football
CFL
Calgary (3-1) 31 @ Winnipeg (0-4) 0

Peter Liske completed 20 of 38 passes for 313 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Stampeders as they routed the Blue Bombers before 14,500 fans at Winnipeg Stadium.

40 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Rivers of Babylon--Boney M. (6th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Rivers of Babylon--Boney M. (17th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): En chantant--Michel Sardou (5th week at #1)

Music
The album Who Are You by the Who was released on MCA Records. It was the group's last album with drummer Keith Moon, who died 20 days later.

Crime
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Assassinations concluded five days of public hearings on the April 4, 1968 assassination of Negro civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Convicted assassin James Earl Ray testified before the committee during the last three days, denying his guilt and claiming that he had been framed by a man named "Raoul." Rep. Louis Stokes (Democrat--Georgia), cross-examined Mr. Ray and exposed numerous contradictions in Mr. Ray's defense. The committee also called on Coy Dean Cowden who had told Mr. Ray's lawyer, Mark Lane, that he had seen Mr. Ray 6 1/2 blocks from the assassination site at the time of ths shooting. Mr. Cowden retracted the alibi and said that he had been in Beaumont, Texas at the time.

Labour
Policemen in Memphis, Tennessee ended a 9-day wildcat strike when they accepted a new contract. Firemen, who had joined the strike on August 14, also accepted a new contract and returned to work. 1,500 National Guard troops had policed the city during the strike.

Disasters
At least 102 women and children were killed when two sightseeing buses were swept into a typhoon rain-swollen river during a landslide in Honshu, Japan.

An Egyptian airliner plunged into the Mediterranean Sea north of Port Said, killing all 40 people aboard.

30 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Gimme Hope Jo'anna--Eddy Grant (11th week at #1)

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Im Nin'alu--Ofra Haza

Politics and government
At the U.S. Republican National Convention at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, U.S. Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana was officially nominated as the party's candidate for Vice President of the United States of America in the November 1988 election. Referring to himself as "one humble Hoosier," Sen. Quayle rejected Democratic Party presidential nominee Michael Dukakis's assertion that the campaign was about competence rather than ideology, saying that competence "makes the trains run on time but doesn't know where they're going."

Hockey
NHL
Guy Lafleur, who had starred with the Montreal Canadiens from 1971-1984 before retiring, signed with the New York Rangers.

Football
CFL
British Columbia (3-3) 27 @ Ottawa (1-5) 20

25 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): What's Up?--4 Non Blondes (2nd week at #1)

At the movies
Manhattan Murder Mystery, co-written and directed by Woody Allen and starring Mr. Allen, Alan Alda, Angelica Huston, and Diane Keaton, opened in theatres.

Terrorism
Egypt's new security chief survived an assassination attempt by Muslims in a bombing attack in the centre of Cairo. 4 people were killed and at least 15 wounded.

Law
A judge in Florida upheld a lawsuit by a teenager who had been switched at birth to sever contact with the biological parents.

Transportation
Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell and Prince Edward Island Premier Catherine Callbeck pledged to go ahead with the proposed bridge across the Northumberland Strait connecting Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, despite last-ditch attempts to block the project.

Bowling
Walter Ray Williams, Jr., the most dominant Professional Bowlers Association star since Mark Roth in 1978 and a five-time world horseshoe champion as well, rolled four perfect games in the Greater Harrisburg (Pennsylvanis) Open, tying the mark of seven in a year by Amleto Monacelli in 1989.

Football
CFL
Edmonton (4-3) 45 @ Toronto (1-7) 14
Winnipeg (4-3) 28 @ British Columbia (6-2) 48

The Eskimos set a CFL single-game record with 13 sacks as they routed the Argonauts before 20,563 fans at SkyDome. Edmonton quarterback Damon Allen rushed for a touchdown, handed off to Michael Soles for another, and passed to Eddie Brown for 3 touchdowns. Mike "Pinball" Clemons of the Argonauts returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown. Edmonton running back Blake Marshall carried once for -1 yard in what turned out to be the final game of his 7-year CFL career.

Danny Barrett rushed for 2 touchdowns and passed for 2 more as the Lions jumped to a 21-0 lead and beat the Blue Bombers before 28,541 fans at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver. B.C. scored the game's first touchdown when Ray Alexander blocked a Troy Westwood field goal attempt and Less Browne returned it 85 yards. Winnipeg linebacker Corian Freeman scored a TD when he returned an interception 96 yards in the 4th quarter.

20 years ago
1998

Protest
Micmacs at the Listuguj First Nation, Québec ended a three-week standoff with the Québec government over timber rights.

10 years ago
2008

War
French International Security Assistance Force troops were ambushed by Afghan militants outside the village of Spēṟ Kunday in eastern Afghanistan's Uzbin Valley.

Politics and government
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf resigned under threat of impeachment.