375 years ago
1644
War
The Qing dynasty Manchu forces led by Emperor Shunzhi captured Beijing during the collapse of the Ming dynasty.
270 years ago
1749
World events
The Conspiracy of the Slaves in Malta was discovered, three weeks before the rebellion of Muslim slaves was scheduled to take place.
220 years ago
1799
Born on this date
Alexander Pushkin. Russian poet, novelist, and dramatist. The author of such works as the novel Eugene Onegin (1825-1832) and play Boris Godunov (1831), Mr. Pushkin was killed in a duel in St. Petersburg on June 6, 1837 at the age of 37.
Died on this date
Patrick Henry, 63. U.S. politician. Mr. Henry was an American Founding Father, who served as a delegate from Virginia to the First (1774) and Second (1775) Continental Congresses. At the Second Virginia Convention in 1775, he famously said, "Give me liberty or give me death!" Mr. Henry served two terms as Governor of Virginia (1776-1779, 1784-1786), and devoted the late 1780s to opposing ratification of the United States Constitution. He died of stomach cancer, eight days after his 63rd birthday.
210 years ago
1809
Politics and government
Sweden promulgated a new Constitution, which restored political power to the Riksdag of the Estates after 20 years of enlightened absolutism. At the same time, Charles XIII was elected to succeed Gustav IV as King of Sweden.
190 years ago
1829
Died on this date
Shanawdithit, 28 (?). Newfoundland artist. Shanawdithit was the last known survivor of the Beothuk people. She and two friends were captured by Newfoundland traders in 1823 at Badger Bay; after her friends died of tuberculosis, she served in the house of Scottish entrepreneur William Cormack, and gave valuable information about her people to the Beothuk Institution in St. John's. Shanawdithit died of tuberculosis.
175 years ago
1844
Britannica
The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in London.
160 years ago
1859
Australiana
Queensland was established as a separate colony from New South Wales.
130 years ago
1889
Disasters
The Great Seattle Fire destroyed the entire central business district of the city.
125 years ago
1894
Labour
Governor Davis H. Waite ordered the Colorado state militia to protect and support the miners engaged in the Cripple Creek miners' strike.
110 years ago
1909
Born on this date
Isaiah Berlin. Latvian-born U.K. scholar. Sir Isaiah was born into a Jewish family moved moved to Russia in 1915, and to England in 1921. He spent most of his life at the University of Oxford, where he taught social and political theory, and gained a reputation as the world's greatest thinker, especially in such areas as liberty and values. Sir Isaiah died on November 5, 1997 at the age of 88.
World events
French troops capture Abéché (in modern-day Chad) and install a puppet sultan in the Ouaddai Empire.
100 years ago
1919
Born on this date
Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington. U.K. politician. Lord Carrington entered the House of Lords in 1945, and served in the Conservative governments of Prime Ministers Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan, Alec Douglas-Home, Edward Heath, and Margaret Thatcher. He was Foreign Secretary from 1979-1982, resigning on April 5, 1982, three days after the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands. Lord Carrington was Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization from 1984-1988, and Father of the House of Lords from 2007 until his death on July 9, 2018 at the age of 99.
Europeana
The Republic of Prekmurje ended when it was incorporated into the newly established Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
Transportation
The Canadian National Railways Corporation was created by a federal Order-in-Council, merging several railways--including the Intercolonial, Grand Trunk, and Canadian Northern--to become the largest railway system in Canada.
Economics and finance
The Canadian government passed an Act to amend the Currency Act, 1910, setting the weight of the 1¢ coin at 50 grains.
90 years ago
1929
Politics and government
The Liberal Party of Premier Jimmy Gardiner was reduced to a plurality in the Saskatchewan provincial election. They won 28 of 63 seats in the Legislative Assembly, a decrease of 22 from the most recent election in 1925. The Conservatives, led by James Anderson, increased their total from 3 to 24, while the Progressive Party dropped from 6 to 5, and 6 independent candidates were elected. Mr. Gardiner attempted to lead a minority government, but soon lost a non-confidence motion and was forced to turn over the government to a Conservative-Progressive-independent coalition.
Transportation
The Canadian National Railway (CNR) took over more failed private rail corporations: the Kent Northern Railway; Inverness Railway & Coal Company; Montréal & Southern Railway; Québec Oriental Railway; Atlantic Railway, Québec & Western Railway; and Saint John and Québec Railway.
80 years ago
1939
Died on this date
Simmy Murch, 58. U.S. baseball player and coach. Mr. Murch was an infielder with the St. Louis Cardinals (1904-1905) and Brooklyn Superbas (1908), batting .141 with no home runs and 1 run batted in in 23 games. He played at least 1,039 games in the minor leagues from 1902-1912. Mr. Murch coached at Middlebury College for three years and then at Phillips Exeter Academy from 1923 until his death.
Declared dead on this date
New York Supreme Court Justice Joseph Force Crater, known as the "Missingest Man in New York", was declared legally dead. He was 41 when he was last seen leaving a restaurant in New York City on August 6, 1930.
Baseball
The New York Giants blasted the Cincinnati Reds 17-3 before 7,405 fans at the Polo Grounds in New York, setting a major league record in the 4th inning by hitting 5 home runs after 2 were out. The fourth home run of the inning was an inside-the-park homer by pitcher Frank Salvo--his only major league home run. Burgess Whitehead, Mr. Salvo, and Jo-Jo Moore hit their homers consecutively.
Pinch hitters Chuck Klein and Pinky Whitney hit consecutive singles to drive in the last 2 runs of a 3-run rally in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 9-8 win over the Chicago Cubs before 1,000 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. The Phillies released Mr. Klein after the game, and he was signed the next day by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
75 years ago
1944
Died on this date
John Hix, 36. U.S. cartoonist. Mr. Hix began writing and drawing the newspaper cartoon feature Strange as it Seems, a competitor to Ripley's Believe it or Not!, in 1928. The feature, like its rival, also became a radio feature and a series of short films. Declining health led Mr. Hix to turn over the drawing chores to Kick Kirby in the early 1940s, although Mr. Hix continued to write it until his death from a heart attack, 11 days before his 37th birthday. His brother Ernest, who was already running the business end of the organization, continued the feature.
War
Thousands of British, Canadian, and American troops began landing on the beaches of Normandy in southern France as the culmination of Operation Overlord, a major offensive against German forces. This blogger's father was on the Royal Canadian Navy minesweeper HMCS Georgian. Canadian casualties that day were less than expected: 715 wounded, 359 dead. The Canadians advanced further inland on that first day than either the British or the Americans. Allied forces swept forward along a 70-mile front in an effort to smash German armies fleeing northward from Rome.
Sport
Sports officials across the United States, including all major league baseball team owners, cancelled games and events as the Allied forces began D-Day operations in Normandy.
70 years ago
1949
On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring John Stanley and George Spelvin (Wendell Holmes), on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Red Death
This was the last episode of the series for both John Stanley and Wendell Holmes, and the last to be broadcast on the Mutual Broadcsting System. When the 1949-1950 season started a few months later, the series had returned to ABC after a two-year absence, and Ben Wright and Eric Snowden were the stars.
Edmontonia
The Greyhound bus depot opened downtown at 2 P.M.
The Starlite, Edmonton’s first drive-in theatre, opened at the corner of 87th Avenue and 156th Street (kitty-corner from the present location of Meadowlark Mall). There was such a huge volume of traffic that not everyone who drove there was able to get in. The Starlite closed shortly after midnight on November 11, 1970.
Society
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee passed an anti-lynching bill, the first civil rights measure to gain committee approval during the current session.
Kansas' 69-year ban on the sale of liquor ended.
Americana
The U.S. House of Representatives passed and sent to the Senate a measure authorizing the nationalization of 85,000 resident Asians.
Economics and finance
U.S. President Harry Truman named future U.S. high commissioner for Germany John McCloy to serve as head of the Economic Cooperation Administration in Germany.
Prices on the New York Stock Exchange dropped to their lowest level since May 21, 1947.
60 years ago
1959
Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): (Now and Then There’s) A Fool Such as I--Elvis Presley (4th week at #1)
#1 single in Italy: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters (11th week at #1)
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Die Gitarre und das Meer--Freddy Quinn (7th week at #1)
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): (Now and Then There’s) A Fool Such as I/I Need Your Love Tonight--Elvis Presley (6th week at #1)
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Battle of New Orleans--Johnny Horton (2nd week at #1)
2 Kansas City--Wilbert Harrison
3 Personality--Lloyd Price
4 Quiet Village--Martin Denny
5 Dream Lover--Bobby Darin
6 Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)--Edward Byrnes & Connie Stevens
7 A Teenager in Love--Dion and the Belmonts
8 The Happy Organ--Dave "Baby" Cortez
9 Only You (Loin de Vous)--Franck Pourcel's French Fiddles
10 Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home)--The Impalas
Singles entering the chart were There Goes My Baby by the Drifters (#72); There is Something on Your Mind by Big Jay McNeely and Band (#81); Gotta New Girl by Bobby Day (#83); A Prayer and a Juke Box by Little Anthony and the Imperials (#90); Since You've Been Gone by Clyde McPhatter (#91); With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming, with versions by Patti Page; and Enoch Light and the Light Brigade (#94); Zooba! by Don Ralke (#97); Separate Ways by Sarah Vaughan (#98); Like Young by Andre Previn and David Rose (#99); Mama's Place by Bing Day; and Sing Along by Jimmy Dean (also #100).
On the radio
The Sign of Four: Part 4, starring Richard Hurndall as Sherlock Holmes and Bryan Coleman as Dr. Watson, on BBC Light Programme
Died on this date
Charles Culp Burlingham, 100. U.S. lawyer. Mr. Burlingham led the investigation leading to New York Mayor Jimmy Walker's resignation in 1932.
World events
Riflemen fired at the presidential palace in Managua in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Nicaraguan President Luis Somoza.
Economics and finance
Leaders of seven French West African states agreed to form a customs union and share customs revenues.
Czechoslovakia formalized the first purchase of Communist Chinese industrial machinery to be sold in Europe.
Horse racing
Sword Dancer, who had placed second in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, won the 91st running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park, New York in a time of 2:28 2/5. Bagdad placed second. Winning jockey Bill Shoemaker had ridden Tomy Lee to victory in the Kentucky Derby.
Baseball
The Los Angeles Dodgers called shortstop Maury Wills up from the AAA Spokane Indians of the Pacific Coast League, where he was hitting .313 with 25 stolen bases.
50 years ago
1969
Hit parade
Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 In the Ghetto--Elvis Presley (2nd week at #1)
2 Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet--Henry Mancini, his Orchestra and Chorus
3 Bad Moon Rising/Lodi--Creedence Clearwater Revival
4 Get Back/Don't Let Me Down--The Beatles with Billy Preston
5 Heather Honey--Tommy Roe
6 I Threw it All Away--Bob Dylan
7 Where's the Playground Susie--Glen Campbell
8 Israelites--Desmond Dekker and the Aces
9 Goodbye--Mary Hopkin
10 The Windmills of Your Mind--Dusty Springfield
Singles entering the chart were The Ballad of John and Yoko/Old Brown Shoe by the Beatles (#22); Grazing in the Grass by the Friends of Distinction (#29); and Love Me Tonight by Tom Jones (#30).
Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Get Back--The Beatles with Billy Preston (4th week at #1)
2 In the Ghetto--Elvis Presley
3 Gitarzan--Ray Stevens
4 Goodbye--Mary Hopkin
5 Atlantis--Donovan
6 Hair--The Cowsills
7 Where's the Playground Susie--Glen Campbell
8 Love (Can Make You Happy)--Mercy
9 One--Three Dog Night
10 More Today than Yesterday--The Spiral Starecase
Died on this date
Miles Dempsey, 72. U.K. military officer. General Sir Miles served in both World Wars, but particularly distinguished himself in World War II, when he commanded the British Army's XIII Corps for the invasions of Sicily and Italy in 1943, and commanded the Second Army during the Battle of Normandy. He was the first British Army commander to cross the Rhine River. General Sir Miles was Commander in Chief of Middle East Land Forces during the Palestine Emergency from 1946 until his retirement in 1947. He died of stomach cancer on the 25th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy.
Politics and government
Romanian President Nicolae Ceaucescu warned the conference of 75 Communist parties in Moscow that it was threatened with failure because speakers were criticizing other Communist parties. The Romanians were attending the conference on the understanding that no interference in other parties’ affairs would be tolerated.
Journalism
On the second anniversary of the beginning of the Six-Day War, the Soviet Communist party newspaper Pravda warned Arab extremists that "political methods" were the only way to regain lands seized by the Israelis. The article condemned the use of force by Arab commandos.
Law
Testimony before a United States federal court in Houston indicated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had tapped the telephones of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black Muslim leader Elijah Muhammad subsequent to President Lyndon Johnson’s 1965 order to halt all wiretaps except those authorized by the Attorney General for "national security" reasons.
The suggestion of the U.S. draft director, Lt. Gen. Lewis B. Hershey, that antiwar protesters be reclassified by their local boards, was barred by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The court did uphold the reclassification of those who destroyed their draft cards.
Football
AFL
New York Jets’ quarterback Joe Namath announced his retirement from football after being threatened with a suspension for allegedly allowing his restaurant, Bachelors III, to become a hangout for gamblers.
40 years ago
1979
Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Dance Away--Roxy Music
Died on this date
Jack Haley, 80. U.S. actor. Mr. Haley began his career in vaudeville and was known for performing in musical comedies. He was best known for playing the Tin Woodman in the movie The Wizard of Oz (1939). Mr. Haley died of a heart attack.
Labour
British Columbia longshoremen started a 13-day strike, disrupting prairie wheat shipments.
Baseball
The Montreal Expos set a team record by scoring 11 runs in one inning--8 before the first out was recorded--on their way to a 12-2 win over the Atlanta Braves before 5,618 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in the Wednesday night Expos Baseball telecast on CBC. Winning pitcher Ross Grimsley batted 2 for 4 with a double, a run, and 2 runs batted in.
Danny Ainge tripled home Alfredo Griffin with 1 out in the top of the 9th inning and scored on a fielder's choice as the Toronto Blue Jays broke a 3-3 tie and held on to defeat the California Angels 5-4 before 18,835 fans at Anaheim Stadium. Bobby Grich hit a solo home run with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th, but pinch hitter Willie Davis flied out to center field to end the game. Jesse Jefferson allowed 10 hits and 3 earned runs in pitching a complete game for his first win of the season after 5 losses.
30 years ago
1989
Politics and government
In a straight party vote, Representative Tom Foley (Democrat--Washington) was elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, replacing Jim Wright (Texas), who had recently resigned.
Business
The planned friendly merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications was thrown off course when Paramount Communications Corporation made a $10.7 billion cash offer for Time. The move outraged Time executives, whose chairman, J. Richard Munro, said that it raised "serious questions" about the "integrity and motives" of Paramount chairman Martin Davis.
Basketball
NBA
Finals
Los Angeles Lakers 97 @ Detroit 109 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Isiah Thomas scored 24 points, Joe Dumars scored 22, and Vinnie Johnson added 19 as the Pistons defeated the defending champion Lakers before 21,454 fans at the Palace at Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Magic Johnson and James Worthy each scored 17 points for Los Angeles.
25 years ago
1994
Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Without You--Mariah Carey (4th week at #1)
Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 I'll Remember--Madonna (4th week at #1)
2 Sleeping in My Car--Roxette
3 The Most Beautiful Girl in the World--The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Love Symbol)
4 Misled--Celine Dion
5 Baby, I Love Your Way--Big Mountain
6 You Mean the World to Me--Toni Braxton
7 Don't Turn Around--Ace of Base
8 I'll Take You There--General Public
9 If You Go--Jon Secada
10 I Swear--All-4-One
Singles entering the chart were I Need Your Love by Boston (#49); Bad Intentions by Robbie Robertson (#68); Smelling the Drama by Live (#80); Fall Down by Toad the Wet Sprocket (#83); Stay (I Missed You) by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories (#85); Twist and Shout by Chaka Demus and Pliers featuring Jack Radics and the Taxi Gang (#89); Gentlemen Who Fell by Milla (#94); Get Off This by Crocker (#95); Simple Brain by the Waltons (#96); and Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden (#98). Stay (I Missed You) was from the movie Reality Bites (1994).
Died on this date
Barry Sullivan, 81. U.S. actor. Mr. Sullivan appeared in plays, television programs, and more than 100 movies, including The Bad and the Beautiful (1952); Queen Bee (1955); and Light in the Piazza (1962). He died of respiratory failure.
War
Canadians joined a contingent of 35,000 World War II Allied veterans (and even some Germans) commemorating the 50th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of France.
Protest
Six people seeking asylum in England escaped from an immigration centre in Oxfordshire after an overnight protest on the roof.
20 years ago
1999
Died on this date
Manuel Ramos, 56. Mexican boxer. Mr. Ramos was a heavyweight who compiled a record of 26-29-3 in a professional career from 1963-1977. He won 13 straight fights from 1966-1968, including decisions over former contender Eddie Machen in 1966 and former World Boxing Association world champion Ernie Terrell in 1967. Mr. Ramos' winning streak ended when he challenged Joe Frazier for the version of the world heavyweight championship recognized by the athletic commissions of New York and several other states, losing by technical knockout to Mr. Frazier in 2 rounds in 1968. Mr. Ramos lost his last 15 fights, and was 1-19-1 in his last 21 bouts.
Tennis
Andre Agassi of the United States defeated Andre Medvedev of Ukraine in the men's final of the French Open in four sets, becoming the fifth man to win all four Grand Slam events--the Australian, the French and the United States Opens, and Wimbledon. The others who have won all four: Rod Laver of Australia, Fred Perry of the United Kingdom, Roy Emerson of Australia and Don Budge of the United States.
10 years ago
2009
Died on this date
Jean Dausset, 92. French immunologist. Dr. Dausset shared the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Baruj Benacerraf and George Snell "for their discoveries concerning genetically determined structures on the cell surface that regulate immunological reactions."
Jim Owens, 82. U.S. football player and coach. Mr. Owens played end with the University of Oklahoma Sooners (1946-1949) and the Baltimore Colts (1950). After six seasons as an assistant coach to Bear Bryant at the University of Kentucky and at Texas A&M University (1950-1956), he became head coach at the University of Washington (1957-1974), where he compiled a record of 99-82-6, leading the Huskies to the national championship in 1960 and conference championships in 1959 and 1963. His later years were plagued by racial unrest on the team, and in 1969 he suspended four Negro players for refusing to take a loyalty oath to him, the team, and the university. When a statue of Mr. Owens was unveiled at the U of W campus in 2003, Mr. Owens apologized for whatever hurt he may have caused Negro players. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982, and died after a period of declining health.
Horse racing
Summer Bird, with Kent Desormeaux up, won the 141st running of the Belmont Stakes before 52,861 fans at Belmont Park, New York in a time of 2:27.54, 2¾ lengths ahead of Dunkirk, with Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird a neck behind Dunkirk in the 10-horse field.
Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Pittsburgh 0 @ Detroit 5 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 3-2)
In Their Voices: Revolutionary War Pension Applications – Drury Walden
-
Between 1818 and 1836, the Federal government passed a series of Pension
Acts related to the Revolutionary War. As soldiers, many were poorly paid
and some...
2 days ago
