July 13, 2020

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Liz Nelson and Mildred Berrio!

760 years ago
1260

War
The Livonian Order suffered its greatest defeat in the 13th century in the Battle of Durbe against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in what is now Latvia.

430 years ago
1590

Born on this date
Clement X. Roman Catholic Pope, 1670-1676. Clement X, born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, obtained a doctorate in law before being ordained a priest in 1624. He held posts such as papal nuncio to Naples and Superintendent of the Papal Exchequer before being appointed by Clement IX as a cardinal in 1669 and succeeding him as Pope. His achievements included the establishment of a see at Quebec. Pope Clement X died of gout on July 22, 1676, nine days after his 86th birthday, and was succeeded by Innocent XI.

130 years ago
1890

Died on this date
John C. Frémont, 77. U.S. military officer, explorer, and politician. Major General Frémont led four expeditions into the American West, and was military Governor of California in 1847 before being convicted of mutiny and insubordination. When California achieved statehood, Mr. Frémont represented the state in the United States Senate from 1850-1851. He was the Republican Party's first candidate for President of the United States, losing to Democratic candidate James Buchanan in 1856. Mr. Fremont commanded the Department of the West in 1861-1862 and served as Governor of Arizona Territory from 1878-1881.

125 years ago
1895

Born on this date
Sidney Blackmer. U.S. actor. Mr. Blackmer was a stage and screen actor for more than 50 years. He won a Tony Award in 1950 for his performance in Come Back, Little Sheba, and portrayed Theodore Roosevelt in more than a dozen films, including Teddy, the Rough Rider (1940). Perhaps Mr. Blackmer's most memorable performance--to this blogger, at least--was that of fictitious U.S. President William Lyon Selby in an episode of The Outer Limits titled The Hundred Days of the Dragon (1963). He died on October 6, 1973 at the age of 78.

120 years ago
1900

Born on this date
George Lewis. U.S. musician. Mr. Lewis, born Joseph Louis Francois Zenon, was a jazz clarinetist in New Orleans who founded the New Orleans Stompers in the 1920s, and also played with other bands, most notably that of Bunk Johnson in the 1930s and '40s. Mr. Lewis took over the leadership of Mr. Johnson's band upon the latter's retirement; the band's performances were well-received, and their recordings reached England, influencing clarinetists such as Monty Sunshine and Acker Bilk. Mr. Lewis led the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in the 1960s until his death on December 31, 1968 at the age of 68.

Footsie Blair. U.S. baseball player. Clarence Vick Blair was a second baseman with the Chicago Cubs (1929-1931), batting .273 with 10 home runs and 96 runs batted in in 246 games. He played more than 1,200 games in 14 seasons in the minor leagues (1924-1928, 1932-1941), and managed the Jackson Senators of the Class B Southeastern League (1939-1941). Mr. Blair died on July 1, 1982, 12 days before his 82nd birthday.

Baseball
Buck Ewing, in his first season as manager of the New York Giants, resigned as the team occupied 8th and last place in the National League with a 21-41 record. He was succeeded by shortstop George Davis, and the Giants responded with a 14-1 win over the Brooklyn Superbas.

Harry Wolverton hit 3 triples and 2 singles as the Philadelphia Phillies whipped the Pittsburgh Pirates 23-8 in a game called after 8 innings at Exposition Park in Pittsburgh.

110 years ago
1910

Born on this date
Lien Gisolf. Dutch athlete. Miss Gisolf set several world records in women's high jump competition, and won a silver medal at the 1928 Summer Olympic Games in Amsterdam, becoming the first Dutch athlete to win an Olympic medal. She won a silver medal at the 1930 Women's World Games in Prague, but lost interest in high jumping after finishing fourth at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and played field hockey after that. Miss Gisolf died on May 30, 1993 at the age of 82.

Loren Pope. U.S. author and academic adviser. Mr. Pope founded the College Placement Bureau in 1965, and wrote several books advising prospective students on what colleges they should consider attending. He died on September 23, 2008 at the age of 98.

90 years ago
1930

Soccer
The first World Cup began in Montevideo, with France defeating Mexico 4-1 in the first game.

Baseball
With some help from the Massachusetts Sunday baseball law, the Boston Braves swept a doubleheader from the Chicago Cubs before 31,160 fans at Braves Field. The Braves won the opener 2-1, with Socks Seybold outduelling Sheriff Blake. The Braves led 3-0 after 8 innings in the second game when the Cubs scored 4 in the top of the 9th to take a 4-3 lead. The Braves had runners on second and third bases with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th when police informed the umpire that it was now 6 P.M., and the game had to end. The score reverted to 3-0, with Bob Smith winning over Guy Bush.

Charlie Engle led off the top of the 7th inning with a single and scored on a ground out by Paul Waner for the game's only run as the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the Brooklyn Robins 1-0 before 18,000 fans at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Larry French (9-11) pitched a 9-hit shutout to win the pitchers' duel over Jumbo Elliott (6-3), who allowed 4 hits.

Lyn Lary led off with a home run to begin a 3-run 6th inning for the New York Yankees as they took a 6-2 lead and withstood a 3-run 9th inning rally to defeat the Chicago White Sox 7-5 before 10,000 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The White Sox had the bases loaded with 2 out in the 9th, but Carl Reynolds grounded into a force play to end the game. Blondy Ryan made his major league debut with the White Sox, running for Buck Crouse at first base in the bottom of the 9th, and advancing to second base.

80 years ago
1940

At the movies
Pony Express Days, a short film directed by B. Reeves Eason, and starring George Reeves, David Bruce, Frank Wilcox, and J. Farrell McDonald, opened in theatres.

Diplomacy
Malaya's acting Governor said that the United Kingdom was attempting to mediate the Sino-Japanese War.

A Chinese government spokesman in Chungking explained that U.S. aid was necessary to prevent Britain from surrendering to Japan's demand that the Burma Road be closed.

To facilitate the entrance of refugee children in to the United States, the U.S. State Department announced that they would be admitted on visitor's visas without reference to national quotas.

Politics and government
The official vote count in Mexico's July 7 presidential election gave Manuel Avila Camacho a victory by a wide margin over challenger Juan Andreu Almazan. The latter's supporters, who refused to register their votes with the official ballot boards, claiming Mr. Almazan had won the election.

U.S. Vice President John Nance "Cactus Jack" Garner, Postmaster General James Farley, and Senator Burton K. Wheeler (Montana) refused to quit the race for the 1940 Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States in face of pressure to make President Franklin D. Roosevelt's renomination unanimous.

Technology
Radio Corporation of America received a patent for a television system to be used in detecting approaching aircraft.

Charles H. Cartwright and Arthur F. Turner announced the invention of non-reflecting glass for use in microscopes, periscopes, and other optical devices.

Baseball
The Chicago White Sox swept a doubleheader from the Boston Red Sox 5-0 and 7-0 before 16,700 fans at Fenway Park in Boston, with Ted Lyons and Jack Knott the respective winning pitchers.

Joe DiMaggio hit 2 home runs in the first game and another in the second as the New York Yankees swept a doubleheader from the St. Louis Browns 10-4 and 12-6 before 17,045 fans at Yankee Stadium.

The St. Louis Cardinals swept a doubleheader from the New York Giants 7-6 and 4-3 before 3,056 fans at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Johnny Mize of the Cardinals hit for the cycle in the first game.

75 years ago
1945

Died on this date
Alla Nazimova, 66. Russian-born U.S. actress. Miss Nazimova, born Marem-Ides Leventon, began her career in her native country before moving to New York City in 1905. She became known on Broadway for her work in the plays of Ibsen, Chekhov and Turgenev, and also appeared in silent films in the 1910s and '20s. Miss Nazimova was reputed to be a bisexual, and the rumoured hostess of debauched parties at her Hollywood, California mansion. She died of a heart attack.

War
Chinese forces claimed recapture of another former U.S. air base near Kanhsien in the province of Kiangsi.

Diplomacy
The United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the United Nations Charter without reservation or amendment.

Politics and government
Ben Chifley was voted leader of the Australian Labour Party and took office as Prime Minister, replacing Frank Forde, who had held the position for only a week after the death of John Curtin.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities assigned an agent to discover whether there was any basis for rumours of subversive activities in Hollywood.

Economics and finance
The U.S. House of Representatives approved the expansion of the Import-Export Bank's lending authority to $3.5 billion and sent the measure to the Senate.

The U.S. War Production Board relaxed its restrictions on sheet and strip steel for the third quarter to facilitate the reconversion of small businesses.

Labour
The executive board of the Congress of Industrial Organizations adopted a resolution asking U.S. President Harry Truman to revise the national wage policy to eliminate wages below 65c per hour.

70 years ago
1950

At the movies
David Harding, Counterspy, directed by Ray Nazarro, and starring Willard Parker, Audrey Long, and Raymond Greenleaf, opened in theatres.



War
With North Korean forces now occupying nearly half of South Korea, four U.S. battalions completed their withdrawal across the Kun River, previously the main defense line above the U.S. field headquarters and provisional South Korean capital in Taejon. Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Command General Douglas MacArthur placed all U.S. ground forces in Korea under the command of U.S. 8th Army chief General Walton Walker.

Diplomacy
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru sent notes to U.S.S.R. dictator Josef Stalin and U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson urging the two great powers to restore peace in Korea and prevent the war from spreading. He also urged the admission of the Chinese Communists to the United Nations Security Council.

Defense
U.S. Defense Secretary Louis Johnson issued a uniform code of security regulations governing the release of information on troop and naval movements by the armed services.

Radio
U.S. President Harry Truman asked Congress for an additional $89 million to strengthen the Voice of America for a "campaign of truth" against Communist propaganda.

Politics and government
The French National Assembly approved Prime Minister René Pleven's new government, which combined Socialists with the centre and moderate right.

Law
The U.S. Federal Court of Claims awarded the Ute Indians of Utah and Colorado $37.1 million for land taken from them between 1891 and 1938.

Crime
Federal officials in Detroit freed Haywood Patterson after Michigan Governor G. Mennen Williams refused to extradite him to Alabama. Mr. Patterson, one of the Negro "Scottsboro Boys" who had been convicted--on perjured testimony--of raping of two white women in 1931, had been arrested in Detroit by Federal Bureau of Investigation officials on a fugitive warrant on June 27.

60 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Blue Hawaii--Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Joy Davidman, 45. U.S.-born U.K. poet and authoress. Miss Davidman was a child prodigy who became a Communist in her youth, and wrote the collection Letters to a Comrade (1938). She married author William Lindsay Gresham in 1942 and had two sons by him; they both became disillusioned with Communism, and she eventually converted to Christianity, partly through the apologetic writings of C.S. Lewis. While Mr. Gresham professed Christian belief for a time, he eventually gravitated toward occultism, and the couple, divorced in 1954. Miss Davidman settled in England with her two sons, and published Smoke on the Mountain: An Interpretation of the Ten Commandments (1954). She fell in love with Mr. Lewis, while he regarded her as an intellectual friend. When her visa was about to expire in 1956, he agreed to marry her in order for her to remain in Britain. Miss Davidman soon developed bone cancer, and Mr. Lewis realized that he had developed a love for her. The couple married in 1957, and remained so until her death from cancer. The relationship between Miss Davidman and Mr. Lewis was dramatized in the made-for-television movie (1985) and theatrical movie (1993) Shadowlands.

Politics and government
At the U.S. Democratic National Convention at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy (Massachusetts) won the nomination as the party's 1960 U.S. presidential candidate on the first ballot, taking 806 of 1,523.5 votes (52.9%); U.S. Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson (Texas) was second with 409 votes (26.84%). Sen. Kennedy was the first senator to receive the presidential nomination of either the Democratic or Republican Party since 1920.



Baseball
Major League All-Star Game (Game 2) @ Yankee Stadium, New York
National League 6 American League 0

Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants had 3 hits, including a home run, while Eddie Mathews of the Milwaukee Braves and Stan Musial and Ken Boyer of the St. Louis Cardinals also homered for the NL before only 38,362 fans. The game was played just 2 days after the first All-Star Game of 1960, which had been played in Kansas City.



50 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Up Around the Bend/Run Through the Jungle--Creedence Clearwater Revival

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Keiko no Yume wa--Yoru Hiraku (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Un Rayo De Sol--Los Diablos (7th week at #1)

On the radio
The Challenge of Space, on Springbok Radio
Tonight’s episode: The Plague

Died on this date
Leslie Groves, 73. U.S. military officer. Lieutenant General Groves joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1918 and held several positions before being appointed in 1942 to direct the Manhattan Project, the development of the atomic bomb. He directed the project until 1947, and then headed the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, which had been created to control the military aspects of nuclear weapons. Lt. Gen. Groves resigned in 1948 after being told by General Dwight D. Eisenhower that he would never be appointed Chief of Engineers, and went on to become a vice president at Sperry Rand Corporation. Lt. Gen. Groves died of a heart attack.

Protest
U.S. Senator Edward Brooke (Republican--Massachusetts) flew to New Bedford, Massachusetts to help seek an end to a week-long racial conflict between whites and Negroes in which three youths had been shot and three others wounded.

Society
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation branded the Black Panther party as the country’s "most dangerous and violence-prone of extremist groups" in a fiscal 1970 report. The Weatherman faction of Students for a Democratic Society was described as "a principal force guiding the country’s violence-prone young militants."

War
A U.S. House of Representatives Government Operations subcommittee called for an immediate investigation by the United States into conditions at the Con Son prison in South Vietnam. Two Representatives who visited the prison had charged that inmates were being kept in "tiger cage" punishment cells.

Science
Research was said to challenge the widely held belief that the chemical DNA was the total blueprint needed in forming cells. Scientists had found that in some cases the chemical RNA, thought to be a messenger for the DNA, could itself make a cell produce DNA.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Calgary (2-0) 26 @ Ottawa (0-3) 17
Saskatchewan (2-0) 22 @ Winnipeg (1-2) 21

40 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Funkytown--Lipps Inc.

#1 single in Switzerland: Funkytown--Lipps Inc. (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Seretse Khama, 59. Prime Minister of Bechuanaland, 1965-1966; President of Botswana, 1966-1980. Sir Seretse was a lawyer in the British protectorate of Bechuanaland who led his country's independence movement. He grew up in South Africa, but his marriage to a white woman in 1949 led to his exile from South Africa and Bechuanaland for several years. Sir Seretse founded the Bechuanaland Democratic Party in 1961, and became Prime Minister when the BDP won the 1965 general election. When the country gained its independence as Botswana in 1966, Sir Seretse became its first President. He instituted economic and legal reforms, and the country's circumstances improved dramatically. Sir Seretse died of pancreatic cancer, 12 days past his 59th birthday, after several years of declining health.

Auto racing
CRL
Johnny Rutherford won the Red Roof Inns 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio; it was his third win of the season, and turned out to be the fifth and last race for the Championship Racing League, a points-sanctioning merger between the United States Auto Club (USAC) and Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART).

30 years ago
1990

World events
Several thousand refugees who had been allowed to emigrate from Albania arrived in Italy.

Politics and government
The day after Russian President Boris Yeltsin told the 28th Congress of the Communist party of the Soviet Union in Moscow that he was leaving the party, the mayors of Moscow and Leningrad also left the party.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that producer prices had risen 0.2% in June.

Society
The day after the U.S. House of Representatives had voted in favour, the United States Senate overwhelmingly approved the Americans with Disabilities Act, which barred discrimination against people with physical or mental disabilities.

Football
CFL
Calgary (0-0-1) 38 @ British Columbia (0-0-1) 38

Calgary quarterback Danny Barrett rushed for 3 touchdowns to lead the Stampeders to a 27-15 lead, but former Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie, who had relieved starting quarterback Rickey Foggie in the 2nd quarter, rallied the Lions and connected on a touchdown pass with Ray Alexander with 1 second left. Lui Passaglia’s convert sent the game into overtime, during which the teams exchanged field goals. It was the first CFL game for Mr. Flutie, as well as for former New York Jets’ star defensive end Mark Gastineau, who blocked a Mark McLoughlin field goal attempt. The game also marked the regular season debut of Wally Buono as a head coach in the Canadian Football League. He had served as an assistant with the Stampeders and had succeeded to the top job upon the departure of head coach Lary Kuharich, who was making his debut as head coach of the Lions. 34,233 were in attendance at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver.



25 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): One of Us--Pandora

Weather
The temperature in Chicago reached a record 106 F.

Defense
U.S. President Bill Clinton accepted the latest recommendation of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission that 79 military bases be closed and 26 others consolidated. The Defense Department estimated that these steps would save $1.6 billion per year. Directly or indirectly, the closings and consolidations would cause the loss of more than 90,000 jobs held by military personnel and civilians. President Clinton deplored that most job losses were in only two states--California and Texas. Congress was now required to vote on the issue.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that prices charged by manufacturers and farmers for finished goods had declined 0.1% in June.

Football
CFL
Calgary (3-0) 57 @ Ottawa (1-2) 7
Shreveport (0-3) 29 @ Winnipeg (1-2) 37
Toronto (1-2) 34 @ British Columbia (3-0) 35

The Stampeders scored 5 of their 8 touchdowns in the 2nd quarter as they routed the Rough Riders before 24,861 fans at Frank Clair Stadium.

Mike Mallett recovered 2 Shreveport fumbles for touchdowns as the Blue Bombers beat the Pirates before 20,449 fans at Winnipeg Stadium.

Lui Passaglia kicked his third field goal of the game, from 47 yards, with 2:32 remaining in regulation time, and then kicked a 28-yard FG with 9 seconds left to give the Lions their win over the Argonauts before 24,276 fans at B.C. Place Stadium in Vsncouver. The highlight for Toronto was a 95-yard kickoff return by Darrick Branch for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter.

20 years ago
2000

Terrorism
George Speight, leader of the rebels holding hostages in the Fijian parliament building, released ousted Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and the remaining 26 other hostages after the military refused to continue negotiations.

Diplomacy
Vietnam signed a trade pact with the United States, a year after a similar accord had been rejected by the country’s Communist regime. Under the agreement, U.S. tariffs on Vietnamese products would fall from around 40% to under 3%. The U.S. Congress still had to approve the agreement and grant normal trade relations with Vietnam.

Medicine
A report presented to the International AIDS Conference in Durban said that drugs given to expectant mothers and newborn babies could reduce HIV transmission from mother to child.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (0-2) 28 @ British Columbia (2-0) 30

Jon Baker’s 44-yard field goal with 1:36 remaining in the 4th quarter gave the Lions the win before 28,736 fans at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver. The Lions had led 27-14 in the third quarter before the Roughriders rallied behind the quarterbacking of Henry Burris. Mr. Burris completed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Marsh and led drives that set up 2 field goals by Paul McCallum as Saskatchewan took the lead with 2:45 remaining. Mr. Burris completed 22 of 39 passes for 315 yards and 2 touchdowns, but surrendered 4 interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by Raphael Ball. Mr. Marsh caught 11 passes for 159 yards; Mike Adams led the Lions with 5 receptions for 104 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown catch from Damon Allen.

10 years ago
2010

Died on this date
George Steinbrenner, 80. U.S. shipping and sports executive. Mr. Steinbrenner worked for his family-owned shipping company before becoming chairman and chief executive officer of American Shipbuilding Company in 1967. He owned the Cleveland Pipers basketball team, moveing them from the amateur National Industrial Basketball League to the new professional American Basketball League, winning the ABL championship in 1961-62, the league's only complete season. Mr. Steinbrenner purchased majority control of the New York Yankees in January 1973, and owned the team through 7 World Series championships and 11 American League pennants. He was noted for hiring, firing, and often rehiring personnel, and for doing whatever it took to make the Yankees successful. Mr. Steinbrenner was convicted in 1974 of making illegal contributions to U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign, but was pardoned by President Ronald Reagan in 1989. Mr. Steinbrenner served a suspension (1990-1993) from day-to-day management of the Yankees because of his association with gambler Howard Spira. Mr. Steinbrenner handed control of the Yankees to his sons Hal and Hank after the 2007 season, and spent most of his time in Tampa. He died of a heart attack after several years of declining health, nine days after his 80th birthday.

Baseball
Major League All-Star Game @ Angel Stadium of Anaheim
National League 3 American League 1

Brian McCann doubled home 3 runs with 1 out in the top of the 7th inning as the NL overcame a 1-0 deficit to defeat the AL before 45,408 fans.