August 2, 2021

325 years ago
1696

Born on this date
Mahmud I. Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, 1730-1754. Mahmud the Hunchback took over the throne after the Patrona Halil rebellion. He maintained good relations with the Mughal and Safavid Empires until his death on December 13, 1754 at the age of 58, after a period of declining health.

150 years ago
1871

Born on this date
John French Sloan. U.S. artist. Mr. Sloan was a painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Ashcan School, painting scenes of everyday life in New York City. He later specialized in nudes and portraits. Mr. Sloan died of cancer on September 7, 1951 at the age of 80.

130 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Arthur Bliss. U.K. composer. Sir Arthur composed various choral and orchestral works. He became music director of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the 1940s, and served as Master of the Queen's Music from 1953 until his death on March 27, 1975 at the age of 83.

120 years ago
1901

Born on this date
Charlie Caldwell. U.S. baseball pitcher and baseball, basketball, and football coach. Mr. Caldwell played with the New York Yankees (1925), posting a 0-0 record with an earned run average of 16.88 in 3 games. He coached baseball at Williams College (1931-1944) and Princeton University (1945-1946), compiling a record of 118-96. Mr. Caldwell coached basketball at Williams College (1929-39), compiling a record of 78-66. He played back at center at Princeton (1922-1924)--helping the Tigers win the national championship in his first season--and was an assistant at Princeton (1925-1927) before serving as head coach at Williams (1928-1944) and Princeton (1945-1956), compiling a record of 145-67-9. He led the Tigers to consecutive 9-0 records in 1950 and 1951 and an 8-1 record in 1952. Mr. Caldwell died on November 7, 1957 at the age of 56, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1961.

Baseball
Cy Young (20-5) pitched a 7-hit shutout for the Boston Americans as they routed the Philadelphia Athletics 16-0 before 2,700 fans at Columbia Park in Philadelphia. The Americans amassed 22 hits against losing pitcher Bill Bernhard (6-6), who pitched a complete game, with only 6 of the 16 runs against him being earned, as the Athletics made 8 errors. Bob McKinney, who entered the game for Philadelphia as a substitute for third baseman Lave Cross, batted 0 for 1 and made an error on his only fielding chance in his second and last major league game.

110 years ago
1911

Born on this date
Ann Dvorak. U.S. actress. Miss Dvorak, born Anna McKim, began her career as a child in actress in silent films, and was popular in the 1930s in movies such as Scarface (1932); Three on a Match (1932); and G Men (1935). She died of stomach cancer on December 10, 1979 at the age of 68.

100 years ago
1921

Born on this date
Alan Whicker. Egyptian-born U.K. journalist. Mr. Whicker worked with the British Army's Film and Photo Unit in World War II and was a journalist during the Korean War before joining the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1957, hosting the documentary television program Whicker's World (1958-1994). He died from bronchial pneumonia on July 12, 2013, three weeks before his 92nd birthday.

Died on this date
Enrico Caruso, 48. Italian singer. Mr. Caruso was one of the most famous operatic tenors in history, playing 74 roles in Europe and North America in a career spanning 25 years. He was also one of the first recording stars, making almost 250 recordings from 1902-1920. Mr. Caruso's health seriously declined in his last year, and he died in a hotel in Naples, reportedly from peritonitis arising from a burst subphrenic abscess.

Scandal
The trial of the Black Sox, the Chicago White Sox players accused of conspiring to fix the outcome of the 1919 World Series in favour of the Cincinnati Reds, ended with all the accused being acquitted. That night, the accused and the jurors celebrated together in an Italian restaurant.

80 years ago
1941

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Daddy--Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye (vocal refrain by the Kaye Choir) (5th week at #1)

War
The U.S.S.R. reported fighting in the Byelaya Tserkov sector of Ukraine for the first time, indicating that the Germans had broken through the Stalin line south of Kiev. Philippine President Manuel Quezon ordered up 10 Philippine infantry reserve regiments totalling 15,000 men to be inducted into the U.S. Army on September 1.

Peru announced that sporadic fighting had occurred at two points on the Peruvian-Ecuadorian border during the day despite the truce that had begun two days earlier.

Diplomacy
U.S. acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles issued a formal statement denouncing the Vichy government for signing an agreement with Japan for the "joint defense" of Indochina. In a note to U.S.S.R. Ambassador to the U.S.A. Konstantin Umansky, Mr. Welles pledged economic assistance to the Soviet Union in the interest of U.S. national defense.

The Peruvian government informed the German legation that German diplomatic pouches would be subject to customs registry, because German officials had used them for carrying non-official correspondence.

World events
The Norwegian government announced that Reich Commissioner Josef Terboven had been given authority to declare a state of emergency in order to preserve peace in Norway.

Defense
A Gallup Poll reported that 51% of Americans recently questioned favoured a U.S. check on Japanese expansion even at the risk of war.

Economics and finance
U.S. Lend-Lease Administrator Edward Stettinius placed copper under 100% priority control.

Labour
American Federation of Labor construction employees at two government munitions plants at Weldon Springs, Missouri failed to report for work in a dispute over overtime pay.

75 years ago
1946

At the movies
Black Angel, directed by Roy William Neill, and starring Dan Duryea, June Vincent, Peter Lorre, and Broderick Crawford, opened in theatres.



Politics and government
Camille Huysmans formed a provisional Belgian cabinet composed of Socialists, Liberals, and Communists.

U.S. President Harry Truman signed the congressional reorganizational bill, which reduced House of Representatives standing committees, required lobbyists to register, and provided that four major committees would meet each year to draw up a national budget. House and Senate leaders appointed an 18-member Permanent Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy. President Truman appointed William Clayton as Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs.

A group of Georgia voters filed a federal suit attacking the constitutionality of the unit election system under which Eugene Talmadge had won the Democratic Party gubernatorial nomination. Athens, Tennessee Sheriff Pat Mansfield surrendered impounded ballot boxes to armed war veterans in a ballot count dispute following a Democratic primary contest between a GI reform slate and the local entrenched political machine. The vote count showed a large victory for the veterans.

Law
The U.S. Senate voted 60-2 in favour, and sent to President Truman, the Morse resolution, giving the World Court jurisdiction in international disputes involving the United States.

Transportation
Bermuda dropped its 38-year ban on private automobiles.

Medicine
The U.S. nuclear plant at Oak Ridge, Tennessee sold one millicurie of Carbon 14 to the Barnard Free Skin and Cancer Hospital in St. Louis for use in cancer research. It was the first sale of radioactive isotopes to a private institution.

Oil
The U.S. House of Representatives sustained President Truman's veto of the tidelands oil bill.

Disasters
The steamer Vitya sank in Lake Nyassa, Tanganyika, drowning 295 followers of the Aga Khan travelling to a celebration of his golden jubilee.

70 years ago
1951

War
North Korean radio rejected U.S. demands for a truce along the present front, charging that the "American ruling class" did not want peace in Korea.

Diplomacy
A 28-nation conference on refugees ended in Geneva with an agreement protecting stateless persons from discrimination and ensuring them the same legal rights as other foreigners in countries of refuge.

Politics and government
The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers changed the Council's structure to accommodate new supranational organizations such as the European Coal and Steel Community.

Crime
U.S. federal narcotics agents in New York arrested Prohibition-era bootlegger Irving Wexler aka Waxey Gordon and three associates on charges of violating narcotics laws.

Oil
U.S. special representative Averell Harriman's mediation efforts produced a British-Iranian agreement to continue negotiations in the dispute over Iran's decision to nationalize its oil industry. The U.S. Defense Production Administration asked 19 oil companies with overseas operations to participate in a voluntary agreement aimed at offsetting the possible loss of Iranian oil.

Labour
The U.S.A. and Mexico signed a migrant labour treaty in Mexico City that was expected to bring 300,000 Mexicans to work on U.S. harvests in 1951.

60 years ago
1961

Died on this date
Walter Morris, 81. U.S. baseball player, manager, and executive. Mr. Morris was a shortstop with the St. Louis Cardinals (1908), batting .178 with no home runs and 2 runs batted in in 23 games. He played over 900 games in 12 seasons in the minor leagues (1902-1913). He managed in the minor leagues for 8 years (1908-1932), and helped to organize 13 minor leagues, serving as president of six of them (1916-1950).

Harry Gardner, 74. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Gardner played with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1911-1912), compiling a 1-1 record with an earned run average of 4.46 in 14 games, batting .214 with no home runs or RBIs. He played over 408 games in 15 seasons in the minor leagues (1908-1924), winning at least 159 and losing at least 141.

Politics and government
Leslie Frost announced his resignation as Premier of Ontario after 10 years in office.

Cyrille Adoula, a Socialist, received a near-unanimous vote of confidence from the reconvened Congolese parliament in Leopoldville, the day after President Joseph Kasavubu had designated him as Congo's new premier. Antoine Gizenga, leader of a rival Soviet-backed regime that he had set up in Stanleyville along with other supporters of assassinated Premier Patrice Lumumba earlier in the year, was named First Vice Premier in Mr. Adoula's cabinet.

Diplomacy
U.S. President John F. Kennedy reaffirmed United States support for membership of Nationalist China (Taiwan) in the United Nations and opposition to the admission of Communist China to the UN. The statement was contained in a joint communique issued by President Kennedy and Nationalist Chinese Vice President and Premier General Chen Cheng after two days of talks at the White House.

Football
CFL-NFL
Pre-season
St. Louis Cardinals (1-0) (NFL) 36 @ Toronto Argonauts (CFL) (2-2) 7

Former Montreal Alouettes' quarterback Sam Etcheverry played just 2 minutes and 25 seconds for the Cardinals, but produced 2 touchdowns. Veteran Nobby Wirkowski, playing quarterback for the Argonauts in place of veteran Tobin Rote, suffered a career-ending knee injury. 24,736 attended the game at CNE Stadium.

Baseball
Bob Cerv hit a ground ball to shortstop Wayne Causey with the bases loaded and 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning, but catcher Joe Pignatano dropped the ball in a collision with Roger Maris, allowing Mr. Maris to score the winning run as the New York Yankees edged the Kansas City Athletics 6-5 in the first game of a doubleheader before 23,616 fans at Yankee Stadium. The Athletics had tied the game on a 2-run homer by Haywood Sullivan in the top of the 9th. Mickey Mantle hit his 40th home run of the season off former teammate Art Ditmar (2-6) in the 1st, tying him for the major league lead with Mr. Maris, as the New York Yankees won the second game 12-5. Winning pitcher Ralph Terry (7-1) allowed 9 hits and 5 earned runs in 8 innings.



Hal Naragon and Bill Tuttle each hit 2 run doubles with 2 out in the top of the 9th inning as the Minnesota Twins overcame a 1-0 deficit and withstood a 2-run rally in the bottom of the 9th to defeat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 in the first game of a doubleheader before 14,379 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Pinch hitter Dave Philley singled home Jim Busby from third base with 2 out in the bottom of the 8th inning to break a 3-3 tie as the Orioles won the second game 4-3. The Twins had runners on first and second bases with 2 out in the 9th, but Julio Becquer grounded out to second base to end the game.

The Los Angeles Angels scored 2 runs in the top of the 8th inning to tie the score, but the Boston Red Sox scored 5 in the bottom of the 8th as they won 7-2 in the first game of a doubleheader before 11,865 fans at Fenway Park in Boston. Chuck Schilling hit a solo home run with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th to give the Red Sox an 8-7 win in the second game to complete the sweep.

Jim Landis hit a home run in each game for the Chicago White Sox as they split a doubleheader before 15,079 fans at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, losing the first game 3-2 and winning the second game 8-4.

Charlie Maxwell hit a 3-run home run with 2 out in the bottom of the 6th inning to enable the Detroit Tigers to overcome a 3-1 deficit and defeat the Washington Senators 4-3 in the first game of a doubleheader before 27,010 fans at Tiger Stadium. Bud Zipfel hit his first major league home run--a solo blast with 1 out in the top of the 11th inning--to break a 2-2 tie and the Senators added 3 more runs to win the second game 6-2.

Jim O'Toole (11-8) and Joey Jay (15-6) were the respective winning pitchers as the Cincinnati Reds swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 and 3-2 before 19,286 fans at Crosley Field in Cincinnati to move into first place in the National League, 1 game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Frank Thomas singled home Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron and scored on a single by Joe Torre as the Milwaukee Braves scored 3 runs in the top of the 8th inning to overcome a 2-1 deficit and defeat the Chicago Cubs 4-2 in the first game of a doubleheader before 19,587 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Carlton Willey (4-5) pitched a 6-hit complete game victory over Glen Hobbie (7-12). George Altman singled home Jerry Kindall and Richie Ashburn with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning of the second game to tie the score 7-7, and that was the score when the game was called because of darkness after 11 innings, to be replayed on September 3. Billy Williams hit a solo home run to give the Cubs their 2-1 lead in the first game, and hit a pair of solo homers in the second game. Hank Aaron's grand slam with 2 out in the 7th gave the Braves a 7-4 lead in the second game.

Joe Cunningham's 3-run home run with 1 out in the bottom of the 7th inning enabled the St. Louis Cardinals to defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 before 12,048 fans at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Larry Jackson (7-8) pitched an 8-hit complete game victory.

Juan Marichal (8-7) pitched a 1-hitter, striking out 11 batters and walking 2, and Felipe Alou drove in 4 runs with a pair of home runs as the San Francisco Giants shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-0 before 45,249 fans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Tommy Davis's single leading off the 5th was the only Los Angeles hit. Johnny Podres (13-3) took the loss.

50 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Eagle Rock--Daddy Cool (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Watashi no Jōkamachi--Rumiko Koyanagi (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Fin de Semana--Los Diablos (2nd week at #1)

Space
Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and Jim Irwin concluded 18 hours and 37 minutes of exploration of the Moon's surface, the longest lunar exploration to date. In the first lunar landing mission to focus specifically on science and the first to use the lunar rover vehicle, the astronauts retrieved 226 pounds of lunar material. The lunar module Falcon, which had landed on July 30 near Hadley Rille in Mare Imbrium, then left the Moon to rejoin the command module Endeavour.





Diplomacy
The U.S. State Department announced that it would support United Nations membership for the People's Republic of China, effectively ending more than 20 years of American opposition to Communist Chinese membership in the UN.

Politics and government
Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, expressing his government's intention not to defray the costs of the military intervention in Montreal during the FLQ terrorist crisis in 1970. The soldiers remained on Quebec soil from the middle of October 1970 until the beginning of January 1971, a few days after the arrest of the main members of the cell "Chénier."

Football
CFL
Ottawa (2-0) 28 @ Winnipeg (0-2) 22

40 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Stars on 45--Stars on 45 (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Bette Davis Eyes--Kim Carnes (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Stefanie Clausen, 61. Danish diver. Miss Clausen won a gold medal in the women's 10-metre platform competition at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp.

Kieran Doherty, 25. U.K. politician and terrorist. Mr. Doherty was a volunteer with the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and was serving sentences in Maze Prison for car hijacking, and possession of firearms and explosives, when he was elected to the Teachta Dála in June 1981 as a candidate for the Anti H-Block in the riding of Cavan-Monaghan. He had begun a hunger strike on May 22, and died on the 73rd day of his strike.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (2-2) 43 @ Montreal (1-4) 23

30 years ago
1991

Football
CFL
Calgary (4-0) 21 @ Hamilton (0-4) 11
Ottawa (0-4) 19 @ Winnipeg (2-2) 26

The Rough Riders' loss to the Blue Bombers at Winnipeg Stadium was the last game for Steve Goldman as Ottawa's head coach. He had been hired in 1989, and was fired after compiling a regular season record of 11-29. His replacement was former Saskatchewan Roughriders' and Edmonton Eskimos' head coach Joe Faragalli.

Baseball
Texas Rangers' relief pitcher Mike Jeffcoat became the first American League pitcher to drive in a run in a regular season game since the introduction of the designated hitter in 1973 when he doubled in a run in the 9th inning of the Rangers' 15-1 rout of the Milwaukee Brewers before 22,323 fans at County Stadium in Milwaukee. Mr. Jeffcoat became the first AL pitcher to have a hit in a regular season game since Ferguson Jenkins of the Rangers had gone 1 for 2 on October 2, 1974. Texas first baseman Rafael Palmeiro batted 4 for 5 with 2 doubles, a home run, 3 runs, and 4 runs batted in.

Tim Teufel hit a grand slam and Darrin Jackson had 2 singles, a double, and a homer to help the San Diego Padres rout the Atlanta Braves 13-3 before 34,466 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

Dickie Thon led off the top of the 11th inning with his second home run of the game to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 6-5 win over the Montreal Expos before 18,638 fans at Olympic Stadium. Montreal shortstop Bret Barberie batted 3 for 4 with 2 solo homers.

Ryne Sandberg hit a 2-run home run with none out in the top of the 10th inning to give the Chicago Cubs a 4-2 win over the New York Mets before 35,361 fans at Shea Stadium in New York.

The St. Louis Cardinals scored 2 runs in the 7th inning and 2 in the 9th as they overcame a 3-0 deficit to edge the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 before 36,228 fans at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

The Houston Astros blew a 7-0 lead, allowed 8 straight runs--including 2 in the top of the 9th inning-and then rallied for 2 in the bottom of the 9th to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-8 before 26,079 fans at the Astrodome.

25 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): e.p.--Gyllene Tider (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Lemon Tree--Fool's Garden

At the movies
Emma, written and directed by Douglas McGrath, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, and based on the novel by Jane Austen, opened in theatres.



Died on this date
Michel Debré, 84. Prime Minister of France, 1959-1962. Mr. Debré held various offices in the Fifth Republic and was its first Prime Minister, serving under President Charles de Gaulle. Mr. Debré is regarded as the "father" of the present French Constitution.

Football
CFL
British Columbia (1-5) 30 @ Hamilton (4-2) 25

Damon Allen threw 3 touchdown passes to lead the Lions over the Tiger-Cats before 20,551 fans at Ivor Wynne Stadium. Mr. Allen's former Edmonton Eskimo teammate Matt Dunigan started at quarterback for Hamilton, but suffered a career-ending concussion. He was replaced by Anthony Calvillo, who completed a pass to Earl Winfield for a 49-yard gain to the B.C. 6-yard-line on the last play of the game.

10 years ago
2001

Died on this date
Ronald Townson, 68. U.S. singer. Mr. Townson was a choir singer and director before becoming an original member of the pop group the Versatiles in 1965, who changed their name to the 5th Dimension in 1966, and had a string of hit singles from 1967-1973. Mr. Townson left the group in 1976 to attempt a solo career, but rejoined them in 1980, remaining until 1997. He died of kidney failure after a four-year battle with kidney disease.

Football
CFL
Edmonton (3-2-0-1) 24 @ Hamilton (3-2) 14



10 years ago
2011

Economics and finance
The U.S. Senate passed, and President Barack Obama signed, legislation to avoid an unprecedented national default.