July 24, 2021

610 years ago
1411

War
Scottish clansmen led by Donald of Islay, Lord of the Isles, and Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar, fought the Battle of Harlaw near Inverurie, Scotland. The result was a draw, although the Earl of Mar could claim a strategic victory, since Aberdeen was saved.

320 years ago
1701

Americana
Antoine de Cadillac and his lieutenant Alphonse de Tonty, with 100 men, started building Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit behind a 3-metre high picket fence; the trading post on the St. Clair River between Lakes Erie and Huron became a major commercial crossroad, eventually known as Detroit.

200 years ago
1821

Born on this date
William Poole. U.S. boxer and gangster. Mr. Poole, nicknamed "Bill the Butcher," founded the Washington Street Gang--later known as the Bowery Boys--in New York City in the 1840s. He was a bareknuckle boxer whose illegal fights went largely unrecorded; he was known for his dirty fighting style, and was also a skilled knife fighter. Mr. Poole was an opponent of New York's Tammany Hall political machine, and was the local leader of the anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic Know Nothing Party. He was 33 when he died on March 8, 1855, several days after being shot by two enforcers of John Morrissey, his Tammany Hall arch rival.

175 years ago
1846

Communications
The first Canadian demonstration of the electric telegraph took place at Toronto city hall.

120 years ago
1901

Crime
U.S. author O. Henry was released from prison in Columbus, Ohio after serving three years for embezzlement from a bank.

110 years ago
1911

Archaeology
Hiram Bingham III rediscovered Machu Picchu, "the Lost City of the Incas" in Peru.

Education
The first conference of francophone educators in New Brunswick took place at Saint-Louis-de-Kent.

Baseball
A team of American League stars defeated the Cleveland Naps 5-3 at League Park in Cleveland in an exhibition game that raised $12,914 to benefit the family of Addie Joss, the Naps' star pitcher who had died of meningitis three months earlier.
Smokey Joe Wood of the Boston Red Sox and Walter Johnson of the Washington Nationals pitched for the all-stars, while Cy Young went the distance on the mound for the Naps. An article about the game by David Markson titled A Day for Addie Joss appeared in the August 1975 issue of The Atlantic Monthly.

100 years ago
1921

Born on this date
Giuseppe Di Stefano. Italian singer. Mr. Di Stefano, nicknamed "Pippo" and "The Golden Voice," was an opeatic tenor who sang professionally from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s, inspiring other tenors such as Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras. He was beaten and robbed at his home and Kenya in December 2004, and was in a coma for some time. Mr. Di Stefano never completely recovered, and died on March 3, 2008 at the age of 86.

Billy Taylor. U.S. musician. Dr. Taylor was a jazz pianist and composer who performed on his own and with others in a career spanning more than 60 years. He obtained a doctorate in music in 1975 and served as an ambassador for jazz, hosting radio and television programs, teaching young people, forming his own record label to document his music, and serving as artistic director for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Dr. Taylor received numerous awards, including a Grammy, an Emmy, and two Peabody Awards. He died of a heart attack on December 28, 2010 at the age of 89.

Baseball
The Philadelphia Phillies, with a record of 25-62, fired Wild Bill Donovan as manager and replaced him with Kaiser Wilhelm. They also traded outfielder Irish Meusel to the New York Giants for catcher Butch Henline, outfielder Curt Walker, pitcher Jesse Winters, and cash.

80 years ago
1941

Died on this date
Willis Hawley, 77. U.S. politician. Mr. Hawley, a Republican, represented Oregon's 1st District in the United States House of Representatives from 1907-1933. He was best known as the co-sponsor of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930.

War
The U.S.S.R. claimed that the 5th German Infantry Division had been destroyed at Smolensk. The British government announced that three million more men must register for the armed forces or war work. U.S. War Secretary Henry Stimson accused Senator Burton K. Wheeler (Democrat--Montana) with sending cards to soldiers urging them to write to President Franklin D. Roosevelt "against our entry into the European war." Mr. Stimson added that this action "comes very near the line of subversive activities...if not treason."

Japanese warships and transports were reported off Carn Rahn Bay in French Indochina.

Ecuador claimed that one of her military officers had seen more than 3,000 Japanese officers and soldiers in the Peruvian front line as border fighting between Ecuador and Peru continued.

Diplomacy
Argentina approved the Havana Convention of 1940.

World events
The Bolivian government dismissed Major Elias Belmonte Pabon, military attache to Germany, for allegedly plotting with Germany against Bolivia.

Defense
U.S. War Secretary Henry Stimson asked the Senate to declare an emergency and authorize the President to extend indefinitely military service terms. U.S. President Roosevelt hinted that the United States may stop shipping oil to Japan in view of "what looks like an act of aggression."

Business
Merrill Lynch, E.A. Pierce & Cassett and Fenner & Beane, the two largest brokers on the New York Stock Exchange, announced that they would merge.

Labour
A wildcat strike of 700 workers took place at the Aluminium Company of Canada's plant at Arvida, Quebec; 4,500 workers walked out the following day.

U.S. Office of Production Management Associate Director Dr. Sidney Hillman announced that the American Federation of Labor building trades unions had agreed not to strike defense projects.

75 years ago
1946

War
Chinese Communist released seven U.S. Marines who had been seized in Manchuria on July 13.

Terrorism
A British White Paper accused Haganah, Irgun Zvai Leumi, and the Stern Gang of planned sabotage in Palestine under the direction of the Jewish Agency.

Science
Dow Chemical Company President Willard Dow received the 1946 Chemistry Industry Medal from the Society of the Chemical Industry.

Labour
General Electric signed a contract with the Congress of Industrial Organizations United Electrical, Radio and Machine workers providing for an 18½c hourly wage increase; improved job security; vacations; and higher starting pay for 100,000 workers.

70 years ago
1951

On television tonight
Suspense, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Incident at Story Point, starring Donald Buka, Russell Hardie, and Rusty Lane

At the movies
Pickup, co-written, produced, and directed by Hugo Haas, and starring Mr. Haas, Beverly Michaels, Allan Nixon, Howland Chamberlain, and Jo-Carroll Dennison, opened in theatres.



Theatre
Billboard presented its Donaldson Awards to Darkness at Noon and Guys and Dolls as the best play and best musical, respectively, of the 1950-51 season.

Defense
Western European defense officials, meeting in Paris, recommended the conclusion of a 50-year agreement to pool national forces into a European Army.

Scandal
The U.S. General Accounting Office told the House of Representatives Select Committee that the government had paid at least $20 million in extra fees to colleges and universities that overcharged veterans for tuition, books, and equipment.

Disasters
The Mississippi River crested at 41.8 feet near Cape Girardeau, Missouri after three weeks of flooding in parts of Kansas and Missouri.

60 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Exodus--Dúo Dinámico (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Nous les amoureux--Jean-Claude Pascal (4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Tossin' and Turnin'--Bobby Lewis (3rd week at #1)
2 The Boll Weevil Song--Brook Benton
3 Quarter to Three--U.S. Bonds
4 Yellow Bird--Arthur Lyman Group
5 I Like it Like That (Part 1)--Chris Kenner
6 Hats Off to Larry--Del Shannon
7 Raindrops--Dee Clark
8 Dum Dum--Brenda Lee
9 Together--Connie Francis
10 Let's Twist Again--Chubby Checker

Singles entering the chart were School is Out by U.S. Bonds (#52); Let the Four Winds Blow by Fats Domino (#56); Hurt by Timi Yuro (#66); I'm a Telling You by Jerry Butler (#73); As If I Didn't Know by Adam Wade (#78); I Never Knew by Clyde McPhatter (#90); Tears on My Pillow by the McGuire Sisters (#92); I Just Don't Understand by Ann-Margret (#97); Mr. Happiness by Johnny Maestro with the Coeds (#98); and Here in My Heart by Al Martino (#99).

Terrorism
Wilfredo Roman Oquendo, a naturalized American citizen of Cuban origin, hijacked an Eastern Airlines Electra en route from Miami to Tampa, forcing pilot W.E. Buchanan at gunpoint to fly to Havana. Following a U.S. request for return of the plane and those aboard, all of the 33 passengers except Mr. Oquendo and the five crewman were returned to the United States, but Cuba held the plane. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation filed kidnapping and other charges against Mr. Oquendo.

Economics and finance
Louis Rasminsky appointed Governor of the Bank of Canada; he replaced James Coyne, who had recently resigned in a dispute with Prime Minister John Diefenbaker over monetary policy.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Hamilton (0-2) 27 @ British Columbia (1-1) 38

Green defeated White 31-7 at Taylor Field in Regina in the Saskatchewan Roughriders' second intrasquad game of 1961.

Baseball
Relief pitcher Jim Golden singled home the final 2 runs for the Los Angeles Dodgers as they defeated the Baltimore Orioles 6-2 in the annual Hall of Fame Game at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York.

50 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): Joy to the World--Three Dog Night (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Pensieri e parole--Lucio Battisti (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep--Middle of the Road (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Get it On--T. Rex

Australia's Top 10 (Go-Set)
1 Eagle Rock--Daddy Cool (3rd week at #1)
2 Too Young to Be Married--The Hollies
3 Mozart: Symphony No. 40 In G Minor K.550 1° Movement (Allegro Molto)--Waldo de Los Rios
4 It Don't Come Easy--Ringo Starr
5 Brown Sugar--The Rolling Stones
6 Hot Love--T. Rex
7 (Where Do I Begin) Love Story--Andy Williams
8 I Don't Know How to Love Him--Helen Reddy
9 Chick-A-Boom (Don't Ya Jes' Love It)--Daddy Dewdrop
10 Toast and Marmalade for Tea--Tin Tin

Singles entering the chart were It's Too Late by Carole King (#38); Sweet, Sweet Love by Russell Morris (#44); Sweet and Innocent by Donny Osmond (#46); Theme from Love Story by Francis Lai (#48); How Can You Mend a Broken Heart by the Bee Gees (#49); Seasons of Change by Fraternity (#53); Super Star by Colleen Hewitt (#54); Camp by Sir Henry and his Butlers (#57); and Deeper and Deeper by Freda Payne (#60).

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Manuela--Jacques Herb
2 Zou Het Erg Zijn Lieve Opa--Wilma met Vader Abraham
3 Co Co--The Sweet
4 Che Sará--José Feliciano
5 Rumba Tamba--Martin Wulms and his Orchestra
6 My Darling Helena!--The Walkers
7 Chicago--Graham Nash
8 Get Down and Get with It--Slade
9 Concerto d'Aranjuez--Los Mayas
10 Double Barrel--Dave & Ansil Collins

Singles entering the chart were Watching the River Flow by Bob Dylan (#29); Hello Buddy by the Tremeloes (#36); Lady Rose by Mungo Jerry (#37); I'm a Believer by Neil Diamond (#38); Espagñola - Speesie Treesie by Wim Schell (#39); and Get it On by Chase (#40).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)--Raiders
2 It's Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move--Carole King
3 You've Got a Friend--James Taylor
4 Don't Pull Your Love--Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
5 Mr. Big Stuff--Jean Knight
6 Treat Her Like a Lady—Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
7 Draggin' the Line--Tommy James
8 How Can You Mend a Broken Heart--The Bee Gees
9 Take Me Home, Country Roads--John Denver with Fat City
10 Sooner or Later--The Grass Roots

Singles entering the chart were It's Summer by the Temptations (#68); Tired of Being Alone by Al Green (#76); I Likes to Do It by the People's Choice (#88); Come Back Home by Bobby Goldsboro (#89); Where You Lead by Barbra Streisand (#90); We are Neighbors by the Chi-Lites (#92); You're the One for Me by Joe Simon (#95); Mare, Take Me Home by Matthews' Southern Comfort (#96); When You Get Right Down to It by Ronnie Dyson (#99); and Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep by Mac and Katie Kissoon (#100).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)--Raiders
2 Don't Pull Your Love--Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
3 Mr. Big Stuff--Jean Knight
4 You've Got a Friend--James Taylor
5 It’s Too Late—Carole King
6 Draggin' the Line--Tommy James
7 How Can You Mend a Broken Heart--The Bee Gees
8 Treat Her Like a Lady—Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
9 I Don't Want to Do Wrong--Gladys Knight & the Pips
10 Funky Nassau - Part I--Beginning of the End

Singles entering the chart were I Just Want to Celebrate by Rare Earth (#66); Where You Lead by Barbra Streisand (#73); Good Enough to Be Your Wife by Jeannie C. Riley (#79); Got to Have Your Lovin' by King Floyd (#84); Hymn 43 by Jethro Tull (#86); Nobody (Tellin’ Me ’Bout My Baby) by Charles Wright and the 103rd Street Band (#88); Indian Summer by Audience (#89); Crazy Love by Helen Reddy (#92); Reason to Believe by Rod Stewart (#94); Funky L.A. by Paul Humphrey and his Cool Aid Chemists (#97); and I Love the Way You Love by Betty Wright (#99).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)--Raiders (2nd week at #1)
2 It’s Too Late—Carole King
3 Don't Pull Your Love--Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
4 You've Got a Friend--James Taylor
5 Mr. Big Stuff--Jean Knight
6 Draggin' the Line--Tommy James
7 That's the Way I've Always Heard it Should Be--Carly Simon
8 She's Not Just Another Woman--8th Day
9 How Can You Mend a Broken Heart--The Bee Gees
10 Treat Her Like a Lady—Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose

Singles entering the chart were It's Summer by the Temptations (#65); I Just Want to Celebrate by Rare Earth (#69); Got to Have Your Lovin' by King Floyd (#74); Crazy Love by Helen Reddy (#76); Indian Summer by Audience (#82); Them Changes by Buddy Miles (#87); I Ain't Got Time Anymore by the Glass Bottle (#91); You've Got to Earn It by the Staple Singers (#92); Reason to Believe by Rod Stewart (#94); How Did We Lose it Baby by Jerry Butler (#95); Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep by Mac and Katie Kissoon (#96); We are Neighbors by the Chi-Lites (#97); and Make it with You by Ralfi Pagan (#99).

Canada’s Top 10 (RPM)
1 It’s Too Late—Carole King (3rd week at #1)
2 Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)--Raiders
3 Don't Pull Your Love--Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
4 Signs--Five Man Electrical Band
5 You've Got a Friend--James Taylor
6 Sweet City Woman--Stampeders
7 Where Evil Grows--The Poppy Family
8 When You're Hot, You're Hot--Jerry Reed
9 Draggin' the Line--Tommy James
10 She's Not Just Another Woman--8th Day

Singles entering the chart were Love the One You're With by the Isley Brothers (#64); Hot Pants (She Got to Use What She Got to Get What She Wants) by James Brown (#71); Saturday Morning Confusion by Bobby Russell (#73); Hey Hey What a Beautiful Day by Don Scardino (#94); Melting Pot by Booker T. & the M.G.'s (#95); Country Princess by Rick Neufeld (#96); Come Back Home by Bobby Goldsboro (#97); Cryin' the Blues by the Seeds of Time (#98); Maggie by Redbone (#99); and You're the Reason by the Ebonys (#100).

Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music
1 Never Ending Song of Love--Delaney & Bonnie & Friends
2 It's Too Late--Carole King
3 Don't Pull Your Love--Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
4 Sweet City Woman--Stampeders
5 Draggin' the Line--Tommy James
6 Talking in Your Sleep--Gordon Lightfoot
7 Moon Shadow--Cat Stevens
8 You've Got a Friend--James Taylor
9 I Love You Lady Dawn--The Bells
10 Sooner or Later--The Grass Roots
Pick hit of the week: Witch Queen of New Orleans--Redbone

40 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in France (IFOP): Bette Davis Eyes--Kim Carnes

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Bette Davis Eyes--Kim Carnes (2nd week at #1)
2 Stand and Deliver--Adam & the Ants
3 More and More--Joe Dolan
4 Kids in America--Kim Wilde
5 In the Air Tonight--Phil Collins
6 Turn Me Loose--Loverboy
7 Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart)--Ottawan
8 Nightmare--Peach
9 When I'm Gone--Albert Hammond
10 Angel of the Morning--Juice Newton

The only single entering the chart was Tequila Sheila by Mac Davis (#19).

Football
CFL
Calgary (2-1) 25 @ Saskatchewan (1-2) 16

30 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Senza una donna--Zucchero featuring Paul Young (6th week at #1)

Died on this date
Isaac Bashevis Singer, 87. Polish-born U.S. author. Mr. Singer emigrated to the United States in 1935, and wrote journalism and fiction, entirely in Yiddish. He was awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his impassioned narrative art which, with roots in a Polish-Jewish cultural tradition, brings universal human conditions to life." Mr. Singer died after a series of strokes.

Crime
Québec police found over 270 barrels of hashish floating in the St. Lawrence River, after smugglers tried to transfer the drugs from a tug onto life rafts; over 25 people from Vermont, Holland, and the Philippines were later arrested.

Football
CFL
Calgary (3-0) 42 @ Ottawa (0-3) 28

This was the third and final regular season game for Ottawa fullback Bart Hull. The son of Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull and brother of Hockey Hall of Famer Brett Hull suffered a knee injury that ended his season, and he failed to make it onto a CFL roster in subsequent attempts.

Baseball
Brian Hunter, just called up to the Atlanta Braves from the team's International League affiliate in Richmond, hit a home run in the Braves' 7-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates before 26,508 fans at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, the Richmond Braves were finishing a suspended game against the Pawtucket Red Sox. Mr. Hunter had hit a home run for Richmond before the game had been suspended, giving him home runs for the Richmond Braves and Atlanta Braves on the same day.

Jose Oquendo singled home Felix Jose with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the St. Louis Cardinals a 4-3 win over the Houston Astros before 29,182 fans at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

The Los Angeles Dodgers scored a run in each of the last 2 innings to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 before 36,127 fans at Dodger Stadium.

25 years ago
1996

Died on this date
Virginia Christine, 76. U.S. actress. Virginia Christine Ricketts, who later took the surname Kraft, appeared in plays, radio programs, movies, and television programs, usually in supporting roles. She was best known for playing Mrs. Olson in more than 100 television commercials for Folger's Coffee from 1965-1986. Miss Christine died of cardiovascular disease.

Scandal
Dallas Cowboys' receiver Michael Irvin was suspended for the first five games of the 1996 season by National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue after pleading no contest to a charge of cocaine possession.

Olympics
Canadian swimmer Marianne Limpert won a silver medal in the women's 200-metre individual medley at the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Football
CFL
Winnipeg (2-3) 10 @ Montreal (2-3) 36



20 years ago
2001

Politics and government
Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the last Czar of Bulgaria when he was a child, was sworn in as Prime Minister of Bulgaria, becoming the first monarch in history to regain political power through democratic election to a different office.

Terrorism
14 Tamil Tiger commandos attacked the Bandaranaike Airport in Sri Lanka 11 civilian and military aircraft were destroyed, and 15 damaged. All 14 commandos were shot dead, while seven soldiers from the Sri Lanka Air Force were killed. In addition, three civilians and an engineer died. This incident slowed the Sri Lankan economy.

10 years ago
2011

Died on this date
Skip Thomas, 61. U.S. football player. Alonzo Thomas, nicknamed "Dr. Death," was a cornerback at the University of Southern California and then with the Oakland Raiders (1972-1977), returning 17 interceptions for 222 yards and 1 touchdown, and helping the Raiders win the 1977 Super Bowl. He died of a heart attack.

Dan Peek, 60. U.S. musician. Mr. Peek was a singer-songwriter and guitarist with the soft rock band America (1972-1977), and was best known for writing the songs Lonely People (1975) and Today's the Day (1976). He indulged in numerous sins of the flesh, but renounced them and left the band after returning to the Christian faith he professed. Mr. Peek moved into contemporary Christian music, achieving commercial success with the album and single All Things are Possible (1979). He recorded occasionally until his death in his sleep from fibrinous pericarditis.

Frank Dietrich, 45. German politician. Mr. Dietrich, a member of the Christian Democratic Union, was a member of the final East German Volkskammer (March-October 1990) before German reunification, and a member of the Landtag of Brandenburg (1990-1994), holding various positions.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (1-3) 27 @ Montreal (3-1) 24