July 6, 2020

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Ancamaria!

1,380 years ago
640

War
Muslim forces commanded by Amr ibn al-A'as defeated Byzantine forces commanded by Theodore in the Battle of Heliopolis in Egypt.

525 years ago
1495

War
French forces commanded by King Charles VIII defeated forces of the Holy League led by Francesco Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua in the Battle of Fornovo in Italy. It was the first major battle of the Italian Wars.

460 years ago
1560

War
The Treaty of Edinburgh was signed by representatives of Scotland and England, formally concluding the Siege of Leith.

120 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Frederica Sagor Maas. U.S. screenwriter. Mrs. Maas wrote, by herself and with her husband Ernest Maas, stories and screenplays for silent movies, often uncredited. She quit the movie business at the age of 50 and eventually became an insurance broker. Mrs. Maas published a well-received autobiography, The Shocking Miss Pilgrim: A Writer in Early Hollywood (1999), and died on January 5, 2012 at the age of 111.

Politics and government
The U.S. Democratic National Convention concluded at Convention Hall in Kansas City, Missouri. Former U.S. Representative William Jennings Bryan (Nebraska), the party's U.S. presidential nominee in 1896, was renominated on the first ballot. Adlai Stevenson (Illinois), who had served as U.S. Vice President to President Grover Cleveland (1893-1897), was nominated on the first ballot as the vice presidential candidate.

110 years ago
1910

Born on this date
René Le Grevès. French cyclist. Mr. Le Grevès won a silver medal in the team pursuit at the 1932 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and competed professionally from 1933-1939. He died after a skiing accident on February 25, 1946 at the age of 35.

100 years ago
1920

Born on this date
Jay Avrea. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Avrea was 0-0 with an earned run average of 3.38 in 2 games with the Cincinnati Reds in 1950. He was 52-53 in 187 games in 6 seasons in the minor leagues (1940, 1947-1951). Mr. Avrea died on June 26, 1987, 10 days before his 67th birthday.

Politics and government
At the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, the Democratic National Convention concluded with the nomination of Ohio Governor James Cox on the 44th ballot as the party's candidate for President of the United States in the November election, with Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt as the vice presidential nominee. Three-time (1896, 1900, 1908) presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan was once again a candidate, but failed to muster the required two-thirds support. The convention lasted for eight days and adopted a platform supporting both the League of Nations and women's suffrage.



Baseball
The New York Yankees scored 14 runs in the 5th inning as they routed the Washington Nationals 17-0 at American League Park in Washington. Carl Mays (10-7) pitched a 3-hitter in getting an easy win, while batting 2 fo 5 with a sacrifice, run, and 3 runs batted in. Joe Lucey made his major league debut with the Yankees, playing the last 3 innings at second base, batting 0 for 1 and making 1 assist.

Happy Felsch hit a solo home run with 2 out in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Chicago White Sox a 5-4 win over the Cleveland Indians at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Each team scored a run in the 10th. Jim Bagby (15-4) allowed 14 hits and 5 earned runs in a complete game loss.

Turner Barber had 5 hits and Charlie Hollocher added 4 for the Chicago Cubs as they amassed 23 hits in a 12-8 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. St. Louis leadoff hitter Jack Smith had 4 of the Cardinals' 15 hits.

80 years ago
1940

On the radio



War
A Gallup Poll revealed a 5% decrease in support by U.S. voters since June 14 for American entry into the European war.

Australiana
Story Bridge, a major landmark in Brisbane, as well as Australia's longest cantilever bridge, was formally opened.

Italiana
Italy proposed a law to encourage repatriated Italians from abroad to colonize the nation's African possessions.

Diplomacy
British authorities temporarily suspended air and sea traffic to Indochina.

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt urged a Monroe Doctrine for Europe and Asia so that all nations could determine their own fate.

The United States Justice Department ordered an examination of 18,000 aliens in the U.S. to determine how many may be agents of foreign governments.

Politics and government
At a meeting in Hyde Park, New York lasting three hours, U.S. President Roosevelt revealed to Postmaster General James Farley, under a pledge of secrecy, plans for his third term as President.

Science
Enrico Fermi obtained a patent for a method of transforming one chemical element into another by bombardment of atoms with neutrons.

Defense
Charles L. Kee reported the invention of a control and bombing device which improved the accuracy of bombers.

Economics and finance
The Japanese government issued a decree prohibiting the manufacture and sale of luxuries because of defense needs.

75 years ago
1945

War
Radio reports from London said that the Norwegian government had announced in Oslo that it had been in a state of war against Japan since December 7, 1941, but that the formal announcement had been withheld until the return of the government to home soil. U.S. Superfortresses dropped 4,000 tons of incendiary bombs on targets at Kofu, Chiba, and Akashi on the Japanese island of Honshu, destroying 43%-65% of the target areas. Chinese leader Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek predicted that the coming year would bring great results, including a landing in Japan.

Diplomacy
The U.S.A., U.K., and U.S.S.R. agreed upon three principles governing war crimes trials: 1) the accused shall have a fair hearing; 2) they can develop their own defense; 3) the trials shall not be subjected to obstructionist tactics by the defense.

French leader General Charles de Gaulle accepted U.S. President Harry Truman's invitation to visit Washington.

Polish leaders in London said they would not surrender documents or Polish property to anyone.

Nicaragua officially ratified the United Nations Charter.

Defense
U.S. Navy Admiral Jonas Ingram told Brazil that all naval bases in that country occupied by the United States would be returned to Brazil by July 8.

Politics and government
The day after the death of Australian Prime Minister John Curtin, Frank Forde was sworn in as Prime Minister, with a leadership contest to be decided a week later.

Argentine President Edelmiro Farrel called elections for the end of the year, promising they would be absolutely free.

The All-India Congress submitted to U.K. Viceroy Wavell 15 a list of 15 candidates from which its representatives to the proposed reorganized Indian government were to be chosen.

The U.S. administration of President Harry Truman announced that Fred Vinson would replace Henry Morgenthau as Secretary of the Treasury.

Religion
The Vatican excommunicated Most Rev. Don Carlos Duarte de la Costa, bishop of Maura in Brazil, for preaching revolutionary practices.

Baseball
Tommy Holmes set a modern National League record by hitting safely in 34 straight games as he hit a single, double, and home run in the first game, and 3 doubles in the second game, helping the Boston Braves sweep a doubleheader from the Pittsburgh Pirates 13-5 and 14-8 before 8,025 fans at Braves Field.

The Washington Nationals scored 5 runs in the top of the 1st inning and coasted to a 6-3 win over the St. Louis Browns in the first game of a doubleheader before 13,801 fans at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Alex Carrasquel pitched 7 scoreless innings in relief of Sandy Ullrich as the Nationals completed the sweep with a 5-2 win in the second game.

70 years ago
1950

War
North Korean forces stepped up the pace of their advance, taking the towns of Pyongtaek, Chungiu, and Umsong.

Defense
New York Governor Thomas Dewey called on the administration of U.S. President Harry Truman to admit that Communist aggression had been "winning the Cold War" for five years and to institute an "all-out program" to enable the United States to "match and then outstrip Soviet production of arms."

Radio
Claiming that the U.S.A. was "tragically" behind the Communists in the use of international radio, Radio Corporation of America board chairman David Sarnoff urged the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to recommend development of a $200-million ring of American radio stations to encircle the U.S.S.R. and its satellites and outdo the Soviets in wireless propaganda.

Labour
The American Federation of Labor Switchmen's Union ended a 12-day strike against four Western and Midwestern railroads after U.S. President Truman called the walkout unjustified and threatened drastic action.

60 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Blue Hawaii--Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Aneurin Bevan, 62. U.K. politician. Mr. Bevan, a native of Wales, was a member of the Labour Party, and represented Ebbw Vale in the House of Commons (1929-1960). He was Minister of Health in the government of Prime Minister Clement Attlee (1945-1951), and introduced the National Health Service. Mr. Bevan served as Minister of Labour from January-April 1951, but resigned in a policy dispute. He unsuccessfully contested the Labour Party leadership in 1955, but served as Deputy Leader of the party from May 1959 until his death from stomach cancer on July 6, 1960 at the age of 62.

50 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Cottonfields--The Beach Boys

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Keiko no Yume wa--Yoru Hiraku (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Un Rayo De Sol--Los Diablos (6th week at #1)

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

Died on this date
Harry Wolter, 85. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Wolter was an outfielder and pitcher with the Cincinnati Reds (1907); Pittsburgh Pirates (1907); St. Louis Cardinals (1907); Boston Red Sox (1909); New York Highlanders/Yankees (1910-1913); and Chicago Cubs (1917), batting .270 with 12 home runs and 167 runs batted in in 588 games. He was 4-6 with an earned run average of 3.75 in 11 games as a pitcher. Mr. Wolter played more than 952 games in 9 seasons in the minor leagues (1905-1920, 1927); with the Los Angels, he led the Pacific Coast League in batting in 1914 (.328) and 1915 (.359). He coached at Stanford University for 26 years (1916, 1923-1943, 1946-1949). Mr. Wolter died of heart disease, five days before his 86th birthday.

War
Israel's chief of staff, General Haim Bar-Lev, reported that Soviet missile experts had been involved in knocking down three Israeli planes in the Suez Canal area during the previous six days, and that Israel's planes had damaged 7 of the 12 batteries of improved SAM-2 missiles installed at the end of June. He said that the SAM-2s had taken the plane toll, and that they wre within the 20-mile limit held vital for the defense of Israel air and ground positions on the canal's east bank. Consequently, he asserted, the new system was endangering the balance of power along the canal.

Politics and government
Italy’s four-party government led by Prime Minister Mariano Rumor resigned after only three months in power over a dispute on co-operation with the Communists.

Law
A U.S. federal appeals court declared unconstitutional a Massachusetts law forbidding the sale of birth-control devices to unmarried people.

Defense
U.S. Selective Service director Curtis Carr told local draft boards that the beliefs of an applicant for conscientious objector status must be sincere and deeply held, but not necessarily comprehensible to local board members.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Edmonton (1-0) 37 @ British Columbia (0-1) 19

This was the first Canadian Football League game played on artificial turf--in this case, Tartan Turf at Empire Stadium. Dave Cutler, the Eskimos’ kicker who was being challenged for his job by Peter Kempf, who had come out of retirement, kicked 4 field goals, including one from 57 yards, after Mr. Kempf was unable to find his kicking shoe. It was the first pre-season game for rookie Edmonton head coach Ray Jauch.

Baseball
Ron Santo hit a 2-run home run to lead the Chicago Cubs past the Montreal Expos 3-2 in the first game of a doubleheader before 19,473 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago, then drove in 8 runs on 2 homers and a bases-loaded walk in the second game as the Cubs won 14-2.

Tommie Agee hit for the cycle to help the New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-3 before 36,801 fans at Shea Stadium in New York. Jim McAndrew (4-6) was the winning pitcher over Jerry Reuss (1-2).

Felix Millan batted 6 for 6 with a double and triple, scored 2 runs, and drove in 4 to help the Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 12-4 before 10,918 fans at Atlanta Stadium.

With 2 out and none on base, the Los Angeles Dodgers erupted for 5 runs in the top of the 10th inning to break a 5-5 tie as they defeated the Houston Astros 10-8 before 17,744 fans at the Astrodome. With 2 out and non on base in the bottom of the 10th, the Astros rallied for 3 runs and had the potential tying run at bat, but pinch hitter Gary Geiger flied out to right field to end the game.

40 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Stomp!--The Brothers Johnson (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Funkytown--Lipps Inc. (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Gail Patrick, 69. U.S. actress and television producer. Miss Patrick, born Margaret LaVelle Fitzpatrick, appeared in more than 60 movies, including My Man Godfrey (1936); Stage Door (1937); and My Favorite Wife (1940). She retired from acting in 1948, and in the 1950s co-founded and served as president of Paisano Productions, making her the only female producer of television programs at that time. The company's most notable program was Perry Mason (1957-1966). Miss Patrick was vice president of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (1960-1962) and was president of its Hollywood chapter. She won numerous awards for her business and civic activities, and died 16 days after her 69th birthday, after a four-year battle with leukemia.

Walt Craddock, 48. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Craddock played with the Kansas City Athletics (1955-1956, 1958), compiling a record of 0-7 with an earned run average of 6.49 in 29 games. He was 58-53 in 155 games in 6 seasons in the minor leagues (1954-1960), and tied for the International League lead in wins in 1957 when he was 18-8 with the Buffalo Bisons.

Society
U.S. Border patrol agents found the bodies of 13 illegal aliens from El Salvador in Arizona’s Organ Pipe National Monument; they had died of dehydration in temperatures of 115 F. Investigators said that the Salvadorans had entered Mexico as part of a group of 45 late in June and had split into two groups in San Luis Rio Colorado, south of the Arizona border. The group that attempted to cross the Organ Pipe Desert carried only 20 gallons of water when it set out, according to one account. The Salvadorans had paid the smugglers $1,200 each for the illegal passage. Three women survivors said they were raped by a Salvadoran smuggler, who died in the heat. Three Mexicans and another Salvadoran were charged with the smuggling.

Religion
Pope John Paul II continued his tour of Brazil with visits to Curitiba and Todos los Santos Bay.

Law
The Electronic Frontier Foundation was founded in San Francisco by John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow, and Mitch Kapor.

Disasters
A Chinese offshore drilling rig collapsed in the Bo Hai Gulf during a storm, killing 70 people.

Baseball
Steve Carlton (14-4) struck out 7 batters as his Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-3 before 17,769 fans at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Mr. Carlton’s strikeouts gave him a career total of 2,836, 4 more than Mickey Lolich’s previous major league record for lefthanders.

Omar Moreno singled home Ed Ott with the winning run with 1 out in the bottom of the 20th inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the Chicago Cubs 5-4 before 25,994 fans at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Pirates were leading 4-3 with 2 out in the 9th inning when Cliff Johnson hit a solo home run off Bert Blyleven to tie the score. Jim Bibby (11-1) pitched 3 scoreless innings in relief to get the win.

The Montreal Expos scored 5 runs in the top of the 10th inning to break a 4-4 tie as they beat the New York Mets 9-4 before 21,880 fans at Shea Stadium in New York. Woodie Fryman (3-3) pitched 2 innings of relief to get the win, and singled home the final run.

The San Francisco Giants scored 3 runs in the top of the 10th inning to break a 4-4 tie as they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4 before 46,244 fans at Dodger Stadium. Pinch hitter Willie McCovey drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the 8th inning to give the Giants a 4-3 lead in the 2,588th and last game of his 22-year Hall of Fame major league career.

Steve Trout (4-8) pitched a 5-hitter to outduel Mike Norris (10-6), who pitched a 4-hitter, as the Chicago White Sox shut out the Oakland Athletics 2-0 in the first game of a doubleheader before 16,436 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago. With 2 out and nobody on base in the bottom of the 9th inning, Todd Cruz bunted for a single and pinch hitter Greg Pryor hit a home run to give the White Sox a 5-4 win to complete the sweep. The teams combined for 7 home runs, all except Mr. Pryor's coming with the bases empty.

30 years ago
1990

Politics and government
Although his Socialist Party had won parliamentary elections in June, Bulgarian President Petar Mladenov resigned his office. Student protesters had set up a tent city in Sofia to protest his rule.

Protest
Riot police closed off the embassy district in the Albanian capital of Tirana and attacked 10,000 demonstrators. Thousands of Albanians were seeking refuge in foreign embassies.

Defense
Two days of North Atlantic Treaty Organization meetings concluded in London with the approval of some shifts in strategy that reflected the easing of tensions in Europe. The leaders agreed to scale back the number of troops in a front-line position. NATO’s leaders, including U.S. President George Bush, declared that their nuclear arms were "truly weapons of the last resort," essentially renouncing the possibility of using nuclear weapons in response to an attack by conventional forces. The United States said that it would be willing to withdraw all of its nuclear-tipped artillery shells if the Soviet Union did the same. The leaders invited Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and other leaders of the dissolving Soviet bloc to address NATO.

Abominations
Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer vetoed a bill that banned all abortions except to save the life of the mother. Mr. Roemer said that he vetoed the bill because it made no exception for victims of rape or incest.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate had edged downward to 5.2% in May, but added that few new jobs had been created and that the labour force was increasing only slowly.

Disasters
A burst pipe at the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa damaged 100 atlases dating between 1490-1600; 2,000 books; and a collection of 150-year-old manuscripts.

Baseball
Whitey Herzog, in his 11th season as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, resigned with the team in 6th and last place in the National League East Division with a record of 33-47. It turned out to be the end of Mr. Herzog’s 18-year major league managerial career; he finished with a regular season record of 1281-1125-1, a winning percentage of .532. Mr. Herzog piloted the Kansas City Royals to divisional pennants in 1976-1978 and the St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series win in 1982 and a National League pennant in 1987. Red Schoendienst, who had managed the team from 1965-1980 (resigning after 37 games in 1980) took over as Mr. Herzog’s temporary replacement.

25 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Scatman's World--Scatman John (2nd week at #1)

War
Bosnian Serbs under the command of General Ratko Mladić began an attack on the Bosnian town of Srebrenica and killed more than 8000 Bosniaks in what United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali called "the worst crime on European soil since the Second World War."

Economics and finance
The U.S. Federal Reserve Board cut the federal funds rate--the interest rate charged by banks on overnight loans to each other--from 6%-5.75%, the first cut in a key interest rate since 1992.

The United States Commerce Department reported that the index of leading economic indicators had declined for the fourth straight month, dropping 0.2% in May--the longest slide since a six-month decline during the 1989 recession.

Business
Dennis Bennie sold Delrina Corporation to Symantec Corporation in a U.S.$415-million deal that would cost the jobs of almost 25% of the software company's 730 employees.

Football
CFL
Ottawa (1-1) 24 @ Toronto (1-1) 37

20 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Władysław Szpilman, 88. Polish musician and composer. Mr. Szpilman was a concert pianist who wrote works for piano, songs, orchestral works, and film scores. As a Jew, he was interned in the Warsaw Ghetto and later at the Treblinka death camp during World War II, but was able to survive, and resumed his career after the war. Mr. Szpilman was the subject of the movie The Pianist (2002).

Weather
A heat wave sent temperatures in southeastern Europe to over 40 C., killing 25 people and melting roads in Turkey.

Radio
The American Sportscasters Association named Los Angeles Dodgers’ legend Vin Scully as the best sportscaster of the 20th century. Howard Cosell finished second‚ followed by baseball broadcasters Mel Allen and Red Barber.

Tennis
Venus Williams of the United States defeated her sister Serena 6-2, 7-6 in a women’s singles semi-final match at Wimbledon. Venus advanced to the final against Lindsay Davenport.

Football
CFL
Toronto (1-0) 36 @ Saskatchewan (0-1) 28

The game at Taylor Field marked a successful regular season debut for John Huard as head coach of the Argonauts, and an unsuccessful debut for Danny Barrett as head coach of the Roughriders.

Baseball
Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Orel Hershiser announced his retirement. In an 18-year major league career with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1983-1994, 2000); Cleveland Indians (1995-1997); San Francisco Giants (1998); and New York Mets (1999), Mr. Hershiser posted a record of 204-150, a percentage of .576. In 1988 he was 23-8, set a major league record of 59 consecutive scoreless innings, and finished the regular season with 6 straight shutouts. He won the deciding games of both the National League Championship Series (with a shutout) and the World Series.

In a 12-6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds before 43,287 fans at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, St. Louis Cardinals' catcher Keith McDonald hit a home run in the 2nd inning, joining Bob Nieman of the St. Louis Browns in 1951 as the only two players in major league history to hit home runs in each of their first two major league at bats. St. Louis left fielder Ray Lankford hit a pair of solo home runs, while Cincinnati outfielder Alex Ochoa drove in 4 runs with a pair of doubles.

Down by 7 runs, the New York Yankees scored 8 runs in the 2nd inning and held on for a 13-9 win over the Baltimore Orioles before 44,104 fans at Yankee Stadium. Each team drew 9 bases on balls, and Baltimore starting pitcher Sidney Ponson walked 4 straight batters in the 2nd inning. Ed Yarnall started on the mound for New York and allowed 5 hits and 5 runs--all earned--in 1+ innings, walking 2 batters and striking out none in the seventh and last game of his 2-year major league career.

The Minnesota Twins scored a run in the bottom of the 8th inning and 5 in the 9th, but still lost 8-7 to the Boston Red Sox before 10,326 fans at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. Cristian Guzman was on second base with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th, but Matt Lawton grounded out to second base to end the game.

10 years ago
2010

Died on this date
Harvey Fuqua, 80. U.S. singer, songwriter, and producer. Mr. Fuqua led two different doo-wop singing groups known as the Moonglows, best known for the hit singles Sincerely (1955) and The Ten Commandments of Love (1958). He was a songwriter and producer with Motown Corporation in the 1960s, was a producer with RCA Records in the '70s, and founded Resurging Artist Records in 2000. Mr. Fuqua died of a heart attack.