July 30, 2021

250 years ago
1771

Died on this date
Thomas Gray, 54. U.K. historian and poet. Professor Gray taught at the University of Cambridge's Pembroke College and published ony 13 poems, but his poetry was so highly regarded that he was offered the position of Poet Laureate, which he declined. He was best known for Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1751).

210 years ago
1811

Died on this date
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, 58. Mexican revolutionary leader. Don Miguel Hidalgo was a Roman Catholic priest who, in 1810-1811, led a rebellion of poor farmers and civilians against European-born Spaniards who had overthrown the Spanish viceroy. Don Miguel Hidalgo attracted almost 90,000 followers, but they were untrained and poorly-armed, and were defeated by 6,000 well-armed Spanish troops in the Battle of Calderón Bridge in January 1811. Dom Miguel Hidalgo and his troops fled northward, but he was betrayed, captured, and convicted of treason. He was executed by firing squad and decapitated in Chihuahua City. Dom Miguel Hidalgo is now regarded as the Padre de la Patria (Father of the Nation).

150 years ago
1871

Disasters
The Staten Island Ferry Westfield II's boiler exploded while the ferry was sitting in its slip at South Ferry in Manhattan, killing 45-91 people, and injuring 78-200.

140 years ago
1881

Born on this date
Smedley Butler. U.S. military officer. Major General Butler served with the United States Marine Corps in the Spanish-American War, the Philippines, Mexico, Central America, Haiti, China, and in World War I. He won the Medal of Honor twice and was the most decorated Marine in history at the time of his death. Maj. Gen. Butler made headlines with accusations that prominent businessmen had tried to recruit him as part of a coup to topple U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. In his later years, Maj. Gen. Butler became a prominent critic of American military actions, with a speech later published as the booklet War is a Racket (1935). He died of cancer on June 21, 1940 at the age of 58.

130 years ago
1891

Law
The right of Canadians to appeal to Her Majesty in Privy Council was granted, from a decision of the Supreme Court of the North West Territories.

120 years ago 1901 Born on this date
Pit Lépine. Canadian hockey player. Alfred Lépine, a native of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, was a centre with the Montreal Canadiens from 1925-1938, scoring 241 points on 143 goals and 98 assists in 526 regular season games and 7 goals and 5 assists in 41 playoff games. He scored 5 goals in one game on December 14, 1929, and was a member of the Canadiens' Stanley Cup championship teams in 1929-30 and 1930-31. Mr. Lépine coached the Canadiens in 1939-40, but the team finished 7th and last in the National Hockey League with a record of 10-33-5, and he was fired and replaced by Dick Irvin. Mr. Lépine died in Sainte-Rose, Quebec on August 2, 1955, three days after his 54th birthday, after a series of strokes.

100 years ago
1921

Born on this date
Grant Johannesen. U.S. musician and teacher. Mr. Johannesen was a concert pianist who specialized in the music of French composers and performed internationally; he was especially popular in Moscow. Mr. Johannesen was director of the Cleveland Institute of Music (1974-1985) and was a frequent soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Utah Symphony. He died on March 27, 2005 at the age of 83 while visiting friends in Germany.

80 years ago
1941

Died on this date
Mickey Welch, 82. U.S. baseball pitcher. "Smiling Mickey," born Michael Walsh, pitched with the Troy Trojans (1880-1882) and New York Gothams and Giants (1883-1892), compiling a record of 307-210 with an earned run average of 2.71. He appeared in 565 games as a pitcher and 59 games as an outfielder. Mr. Welch had nine seasons of 20 or more wins, and was the third pitcher in major league history to record 300 career wins. He batted .224 with 12 home runs and 202 runs batted in in 607 games. Mr. Welch was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.

Hugo Celmiņš, 67. Prime Minister of Latvia, 1924-1925, 1928-1931. Mr. Celmiņš, a member of the Latvian Farmers' Union, was an agronomist and agrarian reformer who became Mayor of Riga in 1931 after the defeat of his government. He was arrested and deported to the U.S.S.R. after the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, and was shot and buried in the mass graves of Kommunarka shooting ground in Moscow Oblast.

War
Soviet Ambassador to Poland Ivan Maisky and Polish Prime Miniser General Wladyslaw Sikorksy signed an agreement in London ending the state of war betweeen the U.S.S.R. and Poland. 14 Japanese transports carrying 13,000 soldiers landed at Saigon, French Indochina. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands said in London that her country would defend the Netherlands East Indies.

Diplomacy
The United States protested to Japan over the bombing of the U.S. gunboat Tutuila and American embassy property near the Chinese capital of Chungking.

U.S. special envoy Harry Hopkins arrived in Moscow and met with Soviet dictator Josef Stalin to discuss U.S. Lend-Lease aid for the U.S.S.R.

Politics and government
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated Dr. Rexford Tugwell as Governor of Puerto Rico.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Treasury Department granted a license permitting the Japanese liner Tatuta Maru to withdraw funds to refuel; the vessel then docked in San Francisco with 100 American passengers.

U.S. President Roosevelt asked Congress in a special message for power to establish ceilings for prices and rents to prevent "the disaster of unchecked inflation."

Business
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ordered United Gas Improvement Company to drop 13 non-utility subsidiaries.

75 years ago
1946

Diplomacy
The Paris Peace Conference released draft peace treaties for Italy, Finland, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary without reaching agreement on Danube River navigation rights.

U.S. President Harry Truman signed a joint congressional resolution authorizing the United States to join the United Nations Educational, Scientidic and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Terrorism
Tel Aviv was placed under a 22-hour-per-day curfew as British troops began a house-to-house search for terrorists.

Politics and government
The Workers' League captured all five seats on the Legislative Council in the Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla general election.

Crime
U.S. Attorney General Tom Clark reported that President Harry Truman had ordered a Justice Department investigation of the July 25 murder of four Negroes in Georgia. Mississippi authorities arrested six white men on the charges of flogging Leon McTatie, a Negro, to death on July 22.

70 years ago
1951

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Fingers

Literature
The Way of Man by Martin Buber, a collection of stories about Hasidism, was published in the United States by Wilcox and Follett.

War
Pro-Communist sources in Hong Kong reported the expulsion of General Li Mi's Nationalist Chinese guerrillas from Yunan Province.

The United Nations Special Commission on Prisoners of War began efforts to trace 2.5 million POWs and civilians (Germans, Japanese, and Italians) who had disappeared in the U.S.S.R. after World War II.

Defense
General Albert Wedemeyer, adviser on Far Eastern affairs, retired from the U.S. Army.

Politics and government
Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion's Mapai party retained its plurality in the Knesset, taking 45 of 120 seats in the Israeli general election. Mapai's total was a decrease of 1 from the 1949 election. The General Zionists, led by Israel Rokach, were second with 20 seats, an increase of 13 from 1949.

King Paul dissolved the Greek Parliament in preparation for general elections.

The U.S. State Department Loyalty Board cleared John Patton Davies, Jr. of security charges and restored him to his post on the policy planning staff.

Labour
A seven-week strike of 2,100 United Auto Workers of America members at the Cleveland forging plant of the Aluminum Company of America ended when strikers ratified an agreement providing for a 3c hourly wage increase.

60 years ago
1961

World events
The Soviet Union made public, in the party newspaper Pravda, its third party program, the first since 1919. It predicted that in the period of 1961-1970 the U.S.S.R. would surpass the U.S.A. in per capita production; the Soviet people's standard of living and technical and cultural standards would improve substantially; everyone would live in easy circumstances; all collective and state farms would become highly productive and profitable enterprises; the demand of Soviet people for well-appointed housing would mainly be satisfied; hard physical work would disappear; and the U.S.S.R. would have the world's shortest working day. From 1971-1980 the material and technical basis of Communism would be created; there would be an abundance of material benefits for the whole population; Soviet society would come close to the stage where it could introduce the principle of distribution according to need; and there would be a gradual transition to one form of ownership--public ownership. It would be possible to provide, at public expense: free medical services; free maintenance and education of children in schools; free maintenance of disabled people; rent-free housing; free public transport; free lunches by public catering; and free water, gas, and heating.

Golf
Tommy Bolt was suspended indefinitely by the Professional Golfers' Association for using "vile language" in the locker room at the PGA Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois. Mr. Bolt had withdrawn from play during the rain-delayed second round because of back pain. In the tournament itself, Jerry Barber made up a 4-stroke deficit in the last 3 holes to shoot an even par 70 in the final round, tying for the lead with Don January and forcing an 18-hole playoff the next day.



50 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Me and You and a Dog Named Boo--Lobo (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Butterfly--Danyel Gérard (10th week at #1)

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Funny Funny--The Sweet (5th week at #1)
2 Mozart: Symphony No. 40 In G Minor K.550 1° Movement (Allegro Molto)--Waldo de Los Rios
3 Long Days and Lonely Nights--Lincoln
4 It Don't Come Easy--Ringo Starr
5 When Love Comes Knocking at Your Door--The Dealians
6 Rain, Rain, Rain--Gentle People
7 Me and You and a Dog Named Boo--Lobo
8 Hold On (To What You Got)--Peanutbutter Conspiracy
9 The Seagull's Name was Nelson--Des & Dawn
10 Sea Cruise--Johnny Rivers

Singles entering the chart were Co-Co by the Sweet (#19); and The Banner Man by Blue Mink (#20).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 How Can You Mend a Broken Heart--The Bee Gees
2 Don't Pull Your Love--Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
3 Draggin' the Line--Tommy James
4 Sweet City Woman--Stampeders
5 Take Me Home, Country Roads--John Denver with Fat City
6 You've Got a Friend--James Taylor
7 Liar--Three Dog Night
8 What the World Needs Now is Love/Abraham, Martin and John--Tom Clay
9 Sooner or Later--The Grass Roots
10 Mr. Big Stuff--Jean Knight

Singles entering the chart were Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey by Paul & Linda McCartney (#16); Moon Shadow by Cat Stevens (#27); Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) by Marvin Gaye (#28); Saturday Morning Confusion by Bobby Russell (#29); and Rain Dance by the Guess Who (#30).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKVN)
1 Don't Pull Your Love--Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds (2nd week at #1)
2 Take Me Home, Country Roads--John Denver with Fat City
3 Sweet City Woman--Stampeders
4 How Can You Mend a Broken Heart--The Bee Gees
5 Never Ending Song of Love--Delaney & Bonnie & Friends
6 Mr. Big Stuff--Jean Knight
7 Sooner or Later--The Grass Roots
8 Beginnings--Chicago
9 Resurrection Shuffle--Ashton, Gardner & Dyke
10 Sweet Hitch-Hiker--Creedence Clearwater Revival

Singles entering the chart were What the World Needs Now is Love/Abraham, Martin and John by Tom Clay (#32); Whatcha See is Whatcha Get by the Dramatics (#36); Smiling Faces Sometimes by the Undisputed Truth (#37); I Just Want to Celebrate by Rare Earth (#38); and Ride with Me by Steppenwolf (#39).

Died on this date
Thomas Hollway, 64. Australian politician. Mr. Hollway was involved in state politics in Victoria, originaly with the United Australia Party and later with its successor, the Liberal Party. He represented Ballarat (1932-1952) and Glen Iris (1952-1955) in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, and was Deputy Premier (1943-1945) and Premier of Victoria (1947-1950, 1952). Mr. Hollway led a coalition government with the Country Party and then a minority government in his first term as Premier before Country Party leader John McDonald, with Labour Party support, defeated his government. Mr. Hollway's second government lasted less than four days--70 hours--in late October 1952, and ended when his request for a dissolution of the Legislature was rejected by Governor Sir Dallas Brooks, who then turned the govenment over to Mr. McDonald. Mr. Hollway split with the Liberal Party in 1952 and formed the Electoral Reform League; he was elected under that banner in 1952, and retired from politics after losing his seat in the 1955 state election. Mr. Hollway drank himself to death.

Space
Apollo 15 Commander David Scott and Lunar Module Pilot Jim Irwin landed on the Moon in the lunar module Falcon near Hadley Rille, while Command Module Pilot Al Worden orbited in Endeavor.



Disasters
All Nippon Airways Flight 58, a Boeing 727 en route from Sapporo to Tokyo, and a Japanese Air Force F-86 collided over Morioka, Iwate, killing 162 people.

Football
CFL
Calgary (1-0) 21 @ Saskatchewan (1-1) 0

Hugh McKinnis set a Stampeder record for longest rush with an 89-yard touchdown as the Stampeders blanked the Roughriders at Taylor Field in Regina.

Baseball
The Cleveland Indians, in 6th and last place in the American League East Division with a record of 42-61, fired Alvin Dark as manager and replaced him with Johnny Lipon.

The Baltimore Orioles edged the Kansas City Royals 1-0 before 6,828 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore in a game called because of rain with 1 out in the bottom of the 5th inning. Winning pitcher Jim Palmer (12-6) gave up 2 hits, while losing pitcher Dick Drago (12-6) retired every batter except Frank Robinson, who hit a home run with 2 out in the 1st inning for the game's only run. The 13 batters faced by Mr. Drago is the lowest number possible for a pitcher to face in order to pitch a complete game. The game was played in 48 minutes.

Pinch hitter Tony Taylor doubled home Bill Freehan, Kevin Collins, and Dick McAuliffe with 1 out in the bottom of the 8th inning to enable the Detroit Tigers to come back from a 3-0 deficit and defeat the California Angels 4-3 before 19,410 fans at Tiger Stadium. Mr. Taylor was thrown out attempting to stretch his hit into a triple.

The Minnesota Twins scored 6 runs in the 5th inning to take a 9-1 lead, but the New York Yankees rallied for 10 runs in the last 4 innings to win 11-9 before 19,233 fans at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. Gene Michael singled home Horace Clarke with 1 out in the 9th to break a 9-9 tie, and Thurman Munson followed with a double to score Mr. Michael.

Bob Bailey batted 2 for 3 with 2 doubles, a base on balls, and 2 runs batted in to help the Montreal Expos defeat the Houston Astros 7-4 in the first game of a twi-night doubleheader before 23,654 fans at Jarry Park in Montreal. Jesus Alou hit a 2-run home run--his first homer of the season--iin the 2nd inning for Houston, and singled home Cesar Geronimo with the bases loaded and 1 out in the 10th inning to break a 5-5 tie as the Astros came back from a 4-0 deficit to win the second game 6-5. Montreal right fielder Rusty Staub batted 3 for 4 with 2 home runs and 3 runs batted in in the second game, while Larry Howard hit his first homer of the season, a 3-run blast, to climax a 4-run 4th inning to tie the score 4-4.

Gary Gentry (9-8) pitched a 4-hitter for the New York Mets as they shut out the Chicago Cubs 4-0 before 30,638 fans at Shea Stadium in New York. Bill Hands (9-12) took the loss.

Bob Gibson (9-9) pitched a 6-hit complete game and hit a solo home run in the 7th inning that proved to be the deciding run as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 before 26,461 fans at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Chris Short (6-12) took the loss. The Phillies scored 2 runs in the 9th and had Denny Doyle on first base with 2 out, but Larry Bowa grounded out to second base to end the game.

Gaylord Perry (10-8) pitched an 8-hitter and singled to lead off a 4-run 6th inning for the San Francisco Giants as they beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2 before 10,088 fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Willie McCovey singled home 2 runs in the 6th and was then replaced by pinch runner Dave Kingman, who remained in the game at first base, batting 0 for 1, making 3 putouts and an assist, and starting and ending a double play in his first major league game. Willie Stargell hit his 34th home run of the season in the top of the 6th to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

The Los Angeles Dodgers scored 4 runs in the 7th inning and 3 in the 8th to break a 1-1 tie and defeat the Cincinnati Reds 8-2 before 20,848 fans at Dodger Stadium. Jim Lefebvre singled home Dick Allen for the go-ahead run in the 7th, and Tom Haller followed with a 3-run home run. Mr. Lefebvre tripled home 3 runs in the 8th. Mr. Allen batted 3 for 3 with a base on balls, home run, and 3 runs. Don Sutton (10-10) pitched a 6-hit complete game victory, while Gary Nolan (8-12) took the loss.

Ralph Garr singled home Oscar Brown from third base, stole second base, and scored from there on a single by Mike Lum as the Atlanta Braves scored 2 runs in the 10th inning to break a 1-1 tie and defeat the San Diego Padres 3-1 before 6,669 fans at San Diego Stadium.

40 years ago
1981

Protest
As many as 50,000 demonstrators, mostly women and children, took to the streets in Łódź to protest food ration shortages in Communist Poland.

Football
CFL
Winnipeg (3-1) 21 @ Toronto (0-5) 18

30 years ago
1991

Music
Luciano Pavarotti gave a free concert in London's Hyde Park to celebrate his 30 years in opera.



25 years ago
1996

Died on this date
Claudette Colbert, 92. French-born U.S. actress. Miss Colbert, born Emilie Chauchoin, won the Academy Award as Best Actress for It Happened One Night (1934), and was nominated for Oscars for her starring performances in Private Worlds (1935) and Since You Went Away (1944).

Magda Schneider, 87. German actress. Miss Schneider acted in movies from the 1930s through the 1950s, and was German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler's favourite actress. She was the mother of actress Romy Schneider.

Crime
Statistics Canada reported that the violent crime rate in Canada had dropped for the third straight year to 995 incidents per 100,000 population.

Business
Montreal-based retailer Consumers Distributing went bankrupt.

Olympics
Alison Sydor of Canada won the silver medal in the women's mountain bike event, a 9-kilometre cross-country course at the Georgia International Horse Park near Atlanta.

10 years ago
2011

Died on this date
Bob Peterson, 79. U.S. basketball player. Mr. Peterson was a forward with the University of Oregon (1950-52) before playing in the National Basketball Association with the Baltimore Bullets (1953); Milwaukee Hawks (1953); and New York Knickerbockers (1954-56), scoring 479 points (4.7 per game), with 389 rebounds (3.8 per game) and 78 assists (0.8 per game) in 103 games. He died of cancer.

Married on this date
Queen Elizabeth II's eldest granddaughter Zara Phillips, daughter of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, married former rugby union footballer Mike Tindall at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh.

Football
CFL
Calgary (3-2) 22 @ Saskatchewan (1-4) 18