June 26, 2020

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Beth Stover!

280 years ago
1740

War
A combined force of Spanish, free Negroes, and allied Indians defeated a British garrison in the Battle of Fort Mose near St. Augustine, Florida during the War of Jenkins' Ear.

210 years ago
1810

Died on this date
Joseph-Michel Montgolfier, 69. French inventor and aviator. Mr. Montgolfier and his brother Jacques-Étienne co-invented the hot air balloon in 1782, and conducted the first powered ascent. They also invented a process to manufacture transparent paper, and Joseph-Michel invented the self-acting hydraulic ram in 1796.

190 years ago
1830

Died on this date
George IV, 67. King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover, 1820-1830. The eldest son of King George III was born at St. James's Palace in London. He began serving as Regent in 1811 when King George III's porphyria left him incompetent to govern, and acceded to the throne when George III died on January 29, 1820. King George IV's extravagant lifestyle helped to set current standards in fashion, but his behaviour, which included barring his wife Queen Caroline from the coronation, made him very unpopular with the public, and brought the monarchy into disrepute. His health declined greatly in the later years of his reign, with his weight reportedly reaching 500 pounds. King George IV was succeeded on the throne by his younger brother William IV.

150 years ago
1870

Americana
The first section of the Atlantic City Boardwalk opened.

Christmas was declared a federal holiday in the United States.

140 years ago
1880

Born on this date
Mitchell Lewis. U.S. actor. Mr. Lewis appeared in more than 175 movies--often in uncredited roles--from 1914 until his death. His films included Ben-Hur (1925); A Tale of Two Cities (1935); and The Wizard of Oz (1939). Mr. Lewis died on August 24, 1956 at the age of 76.

130 years ago
1890

Baseball
The Philadelphia Quakers scored 14 runs in the 6th inning as they whipped the Buffalo Bisons 30-12 in a Players League game at Olympic Park in Buffalo. The Bisons made 10 errors; as a result, only 6 of the runs against losing pitcher Lady Baldwin were earned.

100 years ago
1920

Born on this date
Jean-Pierre Roy. Canadian-born U.S. baseball pitcher and sportscaster. Mr. Roy, a native of Montreal, played 3 games with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1946, posting a record of 0-0 with an earned run average of 9.95. He played for numerous teams in the minor leagues in the U.S.A., Canada, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic (1940-1955), with his best season being 1945, when he was 25-11 with a 3.72 ERA with the Montreal Royals of the AA International League. Mr. Roy broadcast games of the Royals in the late 1950s, and called games on radio (1969-1973) and television (1969-1983) for the Montreal Expos. He eventually became an American citizen, and died in Florida on October 31, 2014 at the age of 94.

Baseball
Rip Collins (3-1) pitched a 1-hitter as the New York Yankees routed the Boston Red Sox 14-0 before 38,000 fans at Yankee Stadium. Eddie Foster's double leading off the 2nd inning was the only Boston hit.

The Chicago White Sox scored 7 runs in the 4th inning as they overcame an early 2-0 deficit and defeated the Cleveland Indians 12-7 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

Walton Cruise singled home Ray Powell with the bases loaded and 2 out in the bottom of the 3rd inning for the game's only run as the Boston Braves edged the Brooklyn Robins 1-0 in the first game of a doubleheader before 8,000 fans at Braves Field. Charlie Pick was thrown out at home plate trying to score on the play for the third out of the inning. An error by Brooklyn shortstop Bill McCabe kept the Boston rally going, resulting in the run being unearned. Joe Oeschger (5-4), who had pitched 26 innings in a 1-1 tie against the Robins earlier in the season, pitched a 3-hitter. Sherry Smith (3-4) allowed 7 hits and no earned runs in 7 innings. The Braves scored 3 runs in each of the 3rd and 5th innings as they won the second game 7-2 to complete the sweep. Dana Fillingim (7-8) pitched a 6-hit complete game victory, and batted 2 for 4.

The Pittsburgh Pirates fell behind 4-0 in the 2nd inning but scored a run in the 3rd, 2 in the 6th, and 6 in the 8th to defeat the Chicago Cubs 9-4 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh right fielder Billy Southworth batted 5 for 5 with a triple, 2 runs, 2 runs batted in, and a stolen base. Walter Barbare entered the game for Pittsburgh in the 2nd inning as a pinch hitter and remained in the game at second base, batting 4 for 4 with a run and an RBI. Hippo Vaughn (9-4) allowed 17 hits and 9 runs--8 earned--in a complete game loss.

Jesse Haines (8-6) and Bill Doak (8-7) were the respective winning pitchers as the St. Louis Cardinals swept a doubleheader from the Cincinnati Reds 5-0 and 4-3 at Redland Field. Mr. Haines pitched a 3-hitter in a game that was played in 1 hour 37 minutes. Dutch Ruether (11-5) and Dolf Luque (4-2) were the respective losing pitchers.

Lou Gehrig hit a grand slam in the 8th inning to lead New York City’s School of Commerce to a 12-8 win over Chicago’s Lane Technical High School in a high school championship game at Cubs Park in Chicago.

80 years ago
1940

Diplomacy
Under the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the U.S.S.R. presented an ultimatum to Romania requiring it to cede Bessarabia and the northern part of Bukovina to the Soviet Union.

In a personal message to U.S.S.R. dictator Josef Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill warned of the dangers to the Soviet Union of German hegemony in Europe.

Politics and government
General Auguste Nogues, French commander in North Africa, announced that Moroccan forces would support the French regime in Vichy.

The Republican National Convention at Philadelphia Convention Hall adopted a platform calling for U.S. non-intervention in foreign wars.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved a graduated excess war profits tax, ranging from 10%-75%.

The U.S. Export-Import Bank extended a $20 million loan to Argentina.

75 years ago
1945

War
A force of 510 U.S. Superfortresses and 148 fighter escorts attacked industrial targets on Japan's Honshu and Shikoku islands, including the cities of Nagoya and Osaka.

Diplomacy
The United Nations Charter was signed by 50 countries at the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco.

Economics and finance
The United States Congress approved retention of 3c first-class postage for another two years.

Law
The United States Justice Department said that 12 of the 24 German-American Bundists freed by the Supreme Court would now be held as dangerous enemy aliens.

70 years ago
1950

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: An Encore, starring Don Hanmer

War
U.S. President Harry Truman authorized the Air Force and Navy to enter the Korean War. First Lieutenant William Hudson became the first American to destroy an enemy airplane in the war when he downed a YAK-9 over Kimpo, South Korea. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director Roscoe Hillenkoetter told the Senate Appropriations Committee that North Korea had been expected to invade South Korea for the past year, but that nobody could predict the exact hour.

Politics and government
General Ali Razmara, chief of Iran's general staff, submitted a new cabinet to the Shah, following the resignation of Prime Minister Ali Khan Mansur.

Economics and finance
New York Stock Exchange prices declined as Korean War news caused panicky investors to unload 3.9 million shares, the largest number in 10 years.

60 years ago
1960

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Escape to Sonoita, starring Burt Reynolds, Murray Hamilton, and Venetia Stevenson

This was the last episode of the season.



At the movies
All the Fine Young Cannibals, directed by Michael Anderson, and starring Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood, Susan Kohner, George Hamilton, and Pearl Bailey, opened in theatres in the United Kingdom.





Died on this date
Henrik Shipstead, 79. U.S. politician. Dr. Shipstead, a dentist by trade, was a Republican before and after joining the Farmer-Labor Party. He represented Minnesota in the United States Senate (1923-1947), and was known for opposing U.S. involvement in world affairs. Dr. Shipstead warned that Communists were inflitrating the Farmer-Labor Party in the late 1930s, and was re-elected as a Republican in 1940, losing the Republican Party primary in 1946.

Africana
The former British Protectorate of British Somaliland gained its independence as Somaliland.

Asiatica
Madagascar gained its independence from France.

Baseball
Ron Santo, playing his first 2 major league games, batted 3 for 7 and drove in 5 runs as the Chicago Cubs swept a doubleheader from the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6 and 7-5 before 36,378 fans at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The Pirates scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning of the first game and had Bill Virdon on third base on a triple with 2 out, but Dick Groat flied out to left field to end the game.

Tony Gonzalez hit a solo home run off Ernie Broglio (5-4) with 1 out in the bottom of the 12th inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the first game of a doubleheader before 19,998 fans at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. John Buzhardt (4-5) pitched a 5-hit complete game victory. Larry Jackson pitched the first 10 innings for the Cardinals, allowing 10 hits and 2 earned runs. Hal Smith doubled home a run in the 5th and hit a 3-run homer in the 9th as the Cardinals overcame a 3-0 deficit to win the second game 4-3. Mr. Broglio (6-4) allowed 1 hit in 3 scoreless innings to get the win over Chris Short (4-3), who allowed 7 hits and 4 earned runs in 8+ innings.

Don Buddin hit a home run in each game, but his Boston Red Sox lost a doubleheader to the Chicago White Sox 4-3 and 21-7 before 37,281 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Billy Pierce (6-3) pitched a 5-hit complete game victory in the first game, driving in 2 runs and scoring the deciding run. The White Sox scored 7 runs in the first 3 innings and erupted for 11 in the 4th in the second game, as each Chicago starter had at least 1 hit. Early Wynn (4-6) allowed 10 hits and 7 earned runs, but pitched a complete game victory.

Whitey Ford (4-5) pitched a 4-hitter and scored the game's first run after drawing a base on balls to lead the New York Yankees to a 6-2 win over the Cleveland Indians in the first game of a doubleheader before 57,621 fans at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. New York right fielder Roger Maris batted 0 for 4, but drove in 2 runs with a sacrifice fly and a ground out. Hank Foiles singled with 1 out in the bottom of the 11th inning, and scored with 2 out when pinch hitter Bob Hale doubled and Mr. Maris made an error, giving the Indians a 7-6 win in the second game. Mr. Maris batted 3 for 5 with 2 home runs and 4 runs batted in. Winning pitcher Jim Perry (8-3) allowed 3 hits and 1 run--earned--in 6.2 innings in relief of Mudcat Grant.

Pedro Ramos (4-9) and Bill Fischer (3-3) were the respective winning pitchers as the Washington Senators swept a doubleheader from the Detroit Tigers 4-2 and 7-4 before 21,873 fans at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. The Senators scored 4 runs in the top of the 1st inning of the second game, and Mr. Fischer led off the 2nd inning with his only major league home run for the eventual deciding run.

Jim Gentile hit a single in the 4th inning, a 3-run home run in the 6th, and a grand slam in the 7th to lead the Baltimore Orioles over the Kansas City Athletics 9-2 before 9,612 fans at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City. Gene Woodling added a 2-run homer for the Orioles in the 9th. Chuck Estrada (8-3) had a no-hitter going for 7 innings, but Bill Tuttle singled to lead off the 8th, and Andy Carey homered with 1 out to get the Athletics on the scoreboard. They were the only Kansas City hits.

50 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Star Crossed Lovers--Craig Scott (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): 21 Years--Dermot Hegarty (2nd week at #1)

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Daughter of Darkness--Tom Jones (3rd week at #1)
2 Come Softly to Me--Percy Sledge
3 I Don't Believe in If Anymore--Roger Whittaker
4 Knock Knock Who's There--Mary Hopkin
5 Yellow River--Christie
6 Carol Ok--Chris Andrews
7 All Kinds of Everything--Dana
8 When Julie Comes Around--The Cuff Links
9 Spider Spider--Tidal Wave
10 Working on a Good Thing--Outlet

Singles entering the chart were I Can't Tell the Bottom from the Top by the Hollies (#19); and Nobody's Fool by Jim Reeves (#20).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Mama Told Me (Not to Come)--Three Dog Night
2 Question--The Moody Blues
3 My Baby Loves Lovin'--White Plains
4 Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)--Melanie with the Edwin Hawkins Singers
5 I'm Gonna Capture You--Terry Jacks
6 The Long and Winding Road/For You Blue--The Beatles
7 Hitchin' a Ride--Vanity Fare
8 Soolaimón (African Trilogy II)--Neil Diamond
9 Get Ready--Rare Earth
10 Baby Hold On--The Grass Roots

Singles entering the chart were Tighter, Tighter by Alive and Kicking (#28); I Just Can't Help Believing by B.J. Thomas (#29); and Gimme Dat Ding by the Pipkins (#30).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKVN)
1 My Baby Loves Lovin'--White Plains
2 Mama Told Me (Not to Come)--Three Dog Night
3 The Long and Winding Road/For You Blue--The Beatles
4 Are You Ready?--Pacific Gas & Electric
5 A Song of Joy (Himno a la Alegria)--Miguel Rios
6 Question--The Moody Blues
7 Get Ready--Rare Earth
8 Ride Captain Ride--Blues Image
9 Mississippi--John Phillips
10 Gimme Shelter--Merry Clayton

Singles entering the chart were Ohio by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (#28); Cinnamon Girl by Neil Young with Crazy Horse (#29); and United We Stand by the Brotherhood of Man (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 The Long and Winding Road--The Beatles (4th week at #1)
2 Gimme Dat Ding--The Pipkins
3 Mississippi--John Phillips
4 My Baby Loves Lovin'--White Plains
5 Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)--Melanie with the Edwin Hawkins Singers
6 A Song of Joy (Himno a la Alegria)--Miguel Rios
7 Crazy Jane--Tom Northcott
8 Big Yellow Taxi--Joni Mitchell
9 Soolaimón (African Trilogy II)--Neil Diamond
10 Up Around the Bend--Creedence Clearwater Revival

War
Israel and Egypt fought the third day of what was described as the biggest battle in the Middle East since the Six-Day War in June 1967.

Protest
Riots broke out in Londonderry, Northern Ireland after Mid-Ulster Member of Parliament Bernadette Devlin, 23, was arrested. Miss Devlin had been free on appeal of her conviction for her role in the Bogside riots of 1969, but turned herself into police to begin serving a six-month prison sentence after the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal rejected her application.

Politics and government
Alexander Dubcek, who as Czechoslovakian Communist Party leader in 1968 had been largely responsible for the "Prague Spring" liberal reforms, was expelled from the party by the central committee after 32 years of membership, making him virtually an "unperson" in a Communist land. The committee also announced that Mr. Dubcek had been ousted two days earlier as Czechoslovakia’s Ambassador to Turkey. The "Prague Spring" was crushed in August 1968 when Soviet tanks invaded Czechoslovakia.

Bahjat al Talhouni resigned as Prime Minister of Jordan.

Baseball
Frank Robinson hit 2 consecutive grand slams, in the 5th and 6th innings, to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 12-2 win over the Washington Senators before 13,194 fans at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. Winning pitcher Dave McNally (11-5) pitched a 7-hit complete game, batting 0 for 2 but drawing 3 bases on balls and scoring 2 runs. Don Buford also homered for Baltimore, while Rick Reichardt hit consecutive solo home runs in the 7th and 9th innings to account for the Washington scoring.

Steve Kealey (1-0) of the California Angels picked up his only win of the season when he entered the game against the Kansas City Royals before 9,677 fans at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City in the 5th inning with his team trailing 2-1 with nobody out. Mr. Kealey induced Amos Otis to hit into a triple play--third baseman Chico Ruiz to second baseman Sandy Alomar to first baseman Billy Cowan--and was then lifted for a pinch hitter. The Angels scored 4 runs in the top of the 6th to take a 5-2 lead, and held on to win 5-4. Kansas City second baseman Cookie Rojas batted 4 for 4 with a run batted in, while California catcher Joe Azcue was 4 for 5 with a home run, double, and 2 RBIs.

Gus Gil doubled to lead off the bottom of the 15th inning, Mike Hershberger drew a base on balls, and Dave May singled home Mr. Gil to give the Milwaukee Brewers a 3-2 win over the Oakland Athletics before 11,506 fans at County Stadium in Milwaukee. Bob Humphreys (1-1) allowed 2 hits in 3 scoreless innings to get the win in relief of Skip Lockwood, who allowed 5 hits and 2 earned runs in 12 innings.

Coco Laboy's solo home run with 1 out in the bottom of the 8th inning proved to be the deciding run as the Montreal Expos edged the New York Mets 6-5 before 21,012 fans at Jarry Park in Montreal. Ken Singleton led off the 9th with his first major league homer to pull the Mets to within 1 run, and the Mets had runners on first and third bases with 2 out, but pinch hitter Ron Swoboda popped out to second base to end the game. Montreal right fielder Rusty Staub batted 3 for 4 with a home run, 2 runs, and 2 runs batted in.

Lee May led off the top of the 9th inning with a single and scored from second base on a 1-out single by Tommy Helms to break a 2-2 tie as the Cincinnati Reds edged the Houston Astros 3-2 before 24,710 fans at the Astrodome. Joe Pepitone hit a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game for Houston and the Astros had the potential tying run on second base with 1 out in the 9th, but Wayne Granger relieved Wayne Simpson and earned his 16th save of the season. Mr. Simpson (11-1) allowed 4 hits and 2 earned runs in 8+ innings.

40 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (Hot Press): What's Another Year--Johnny Logan (6th week at #1)

War
Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Co Thack denied that Thailand’s territorial integrity had been violated by the invasion of Vietnamese troops three days earlier, and claimed that the troops had attacked only after Thai soldiers had "escorted" insurgents four miles inside Cambodian territory. Thai Foreign Minister Siddhi Savetsila said that the attack had driven more than 100,000 Cambodian refugees into Thailand.

30 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Sydän tyhjää lyö--Eppu Normaali

Diplomacy
South African terrorist Nelson Mandela addressed the United States Congress, thanking the U.S. for imposing sanctions against the South African government, and urging that they be maintained until "irreversible" reforms were established. Some members boycotted the speech, objecting, in part, to Mr. Mandela’s refusal to criticize fellow thugs Yasser Arafat, Fidel Castro, and Muammar Gaddafi, all of whom supported his cause.



Politics and government
Four more Quebec Members of Parliament--Louis Plamondon (Progressive Conservative--Richelieu); Benoit Tremblay (PC--Rosemount); Nic Leblanc (PC--Longeueil); and Jean Lapierre (Liberal--Shefford) announced that they were leaving their parties to work exclusively for Quebec interests in the Canadian House of Commons, bringing to seven the number of MP s who had defected in the aftermath of the failure of the Meech Lake Canadian constitutional accord. The four new independent MP s predicted that more would follow them to join a "Quebec first" party led by former PC cabinet minister Lucien Bouchard, who had quit the government in May. In Montreal, Jacques Parizeau and Mr. Bouchard discussed creating a federal Quebec separatist party. A Parti Quebecois poll conducted in his Montreal riding said that 66% would support any candidate backed by Mr. Bouchard.

Martial Asselin was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec, succeeding Gilles Lamontagne.

Law
Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney appointed Antonio Lamer as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, replacing the retiring Brian Dickson.

Canadian Justice Minister Kim Campbell introduced gun control legislation banning automatic assault weapons, with a five-year jail term to anyone convicted of converting a weapon to automatic fire.

The United States Senate voted 58-42 in favour of an amendment to the Constitution that would ban desecration of the American flag, but the total was short of the two-thirds majority required for the approval of an amendment.

Scandal
In Toronto, Justice Charles Dubin released his 638-page report on drug use in sport. Calling the situation a "moral crisis," he recommended cutting funding to Canadian athletes exposed as users of banned drugs.

Economics and finance
U.S. President George Bush, who had campaigned for President in 1988 against raising taxes, issued a statement in which he listed "tax revenue increases" as one of the necessary components of any plan to reduce the nation’s budget deficits. He indicated that a compromise with Congress on the budget was not possible without agreeing to some sort of revenue increase. Democratic party congressional leaders praised Mr. Bush’s flip-flop, but many Republicans were incensed. One letter, signed by more than half of the Republicans in the House of Representatives, called a tax increase "unacceptable."

25 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: The Colour Inside--Ti.Pi.Cal.

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Scatman's World--Scatman John

#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): '74–'75--The Connells (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Mief!--Die Doofen

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?--Bryan Adams (5th week at #1)
2 Let Her Cry--Hootie & the Blowfish
3 December--Collective Soul
4 Water Runs Dry--Boyz II Men
5 Leave Virginia Alone--Rod Stewart
6 I Believe--Blessid Union of Souls
7 No More "I Love You's"--Annie Lennox
8 Secret Garden--Bruce Springsteen
9 Can't Stop Lovin' You--Van Halen
10 Lightning Crashes--Live

Singles entering the chart were Downtown by Neil Young (#70); Total Eclipse of the Heart by Nikki French (#76); Only Wanna Be with You by Hootie & the Blowfish (#82); Tell Me What I Think by Spirit of the West (#86); and Unloved by Jann Arden (#90).

World events
Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani deposed his father Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, in a bloodless coup.

Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak survived an assassination attempt in Addis Ababa. Mr. Mubarak was on his way to a summit meeting of the Organization of African Unity when gunmen in a jeep, joined by comrades on rooftops and on the street, fired at his limousine with automatic weapons. Mr. Mubarak was not injured, but two Ethiopian police officers and two of the assailants were killed, and others were wounded. Terrorists seeking to overthrow Mr. Mubarak and establish an Islamic state in Egypt were suspected in the attack.

Politics and government
Progressive Conservative leader Mike Harris sworn in as Premier of Ontario, replacing Bob Rae of the New Democratic Party. The PCs had won 82 out of 130 seats in the legislature in the provincial election on June 8. Mr. Harris's cabinet of 19 was the smallest in Ontario in 30 years.

U.S. Representative Greg Laughlin (Texas) switched his association from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party, after Republican leaders promised to create a seat on the Ways and Means Committee for him. Mr. Laughlin, a conservative, said that his philosophy could not be found "in the agenda of the House Democratic leadership." Also in Texas, 18 state and local Democratic officeholders joined the Republican Party.

20 years ago
2000

Medicine
Two teams of scientists--one in the United States led by Dr. J. Craig Venter, president of Celera Genomics; and the other in Britain led by Dr. Francis Collins, director of the human genome project at the National Institutes of Health--announced that they had determined the structure of the human genome. The teams had been racing for years to be the first to claim success. Though neither team had completed its work, the scientists decided to report their breakthrough together. Drs. Venter and Collins appeared at a joint announcement at the White House attended by U.S. President Bill Clinton and (bay satellite) British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Dr. James Watson, co-discoverer of DNA, also attended the ceremony. The breakthrough consisted in the success in naming the sequence of the "bases," or rungs, between the strands of DNA of each chromosome. The bases consist of chemical units--adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine.

Diplomacy
International inspectors Martti Ahtisaari and Cyril Ramaphosa said that they had seen Irish Republican Army weapons "safely and adequately" stored in bunkers, and were satisfied that they would not be used.

Baseball
Alex Cabrera hit a 2-run home run as a pinch hitter in his first major league at bat as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Houston Astros 6-1 before 31,388 fans at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix. Mr. Cabrera hit the home run off Yorkis Perez in the bottom of the 8th inning, and remained in the game at first base, making 1 putout.

The San Diego Padres scored 8 runs in the 2nd inning en route to a 9-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers before 26,417 fans at Dodger Stadium. Orel Hershiser (1-5) started on the mound for Los Angeles and allowed 6 hits and 8 runs--all earned--in 1.2 innings, walking 3 batters and striking out 1, hitting a batter and throwing a wild pitch in the 521st and last game of his 18-year major league career.

10 years ago
2010

Died on this date
Algirdas Brazauskas, 77. President of Lithuania, 1992-1998; Prime Minister of Lithuania, 2001-2006. Dr. Brazauskas held various offices in Lithuania's Communist Party and government from 1965-1987. He was First Secretary of Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania (1988-1989), and led his party's split from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Dr. Brazauskas was Chairman of Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (January-March 1990). In an independent post-Soviet Lithuania, he was Speaker of the Seimas (1992-1998), serving as acting President from November 1992-February 1993 and as elected President from 1993-1998. Dr. Brazauskas retired from politics, but came out of retirement to serve as Prime Minister, retiring when the Labour Party left the governing coalition. He died of lymphatic cancer.

Diplomacy
The two-day 36th G8 summit concluded at Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ontario.

The two-day G20 summit opened at Metro Toronto Convention Centre.