July 17, 2014

260 years ago
1754

Academia
Kings College opened in New York City. The Anglican school later became Columbia University.

220 years ago
1794

Abominations
Ten days prior to the end of the French Revolution's Reign of Terror, 16 Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne were guillotined for refusing to obey the Civil Constitution of the Clergy of the Revolutionary government, which mandated the suppression of their convent.

175 years ago
1839

Born on this date
Ephraim Shay. U.S. inventor. Mr. Shay invented the Shay locomotive for hauling logs in 1880 or 1881. He died on April 19, 1916 at the age of 76.

125 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Erle Stanley Gardner. U.S. author. Mr. Gardner was a lawyer who became bored with the practice of law and began writing fiction. He was best known for creating the crime-solving lawyer Perry Mason. 135 million copies of Mr. Gardner's books were in print at the time of his death on March 11, 1970 at the age of 80.

90 years ago
1924

Baseball
Jesse Haines pitched a no-hitter as the St. Louis Cardinals blanked the Boston Braves 5-0 before 15,000 fans at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Only 1 of the St. Louis runs was earned.

80 years ago
1934

Baseball
New York Giants’ pitcher Roy Parmelee helped his cause with a grand slam in the 7th inning as the Giants beat the Chicago Cubs 5-3 at the Polo Grounds in New York.

70 years ago
1944

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Sinister Wind Bells

Died on this date
William James Sidis, 46. U.S. mathematician and anthropologist. Mr. Sidis, the son of a psychiatrist, was a child prodigy who entered Harvard University at the age of 11, lecturing in mathematics and obtaining his bachelor's degree at the age of 16. He left Harvard after being physically threatened by other students, and taught mathematics at what is now Rice University, leaving before obtaining a graduate degree. Mr. Sidis was a pacifist who opposed American involvement in World War I. He wrote pamphlets and books on various subjects, including early settlement of the Americas, and had a strange fascination with streetcar transfers. Many of Mr. Sidis' works were published under pseudonyms, and it's unknown exactly how many works he published. He led a very private life, which ended with his death from a cerebral hemorrhage.

War
Royal Canadian Air Force Spitfire pilot Charley Fox fired on the staff car of German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel at Beny-sur-Mer, France, sending the "Desert Fox" to hospital with major head injuries. Mr. Fox reported that he had strafed an unknown black car, and later learned that one of the passengers was Field Marshal Rommel; the Americans also claimed to have hit Rommel's car, but German reports specifically mentioned a Spitfire rather than an American P-47. Field Marshal Rommel was soon afterwards implicated in the assassination plot against Adolf Hitler; he was allowed to commit suicide, and his death was announced as a result of injuries from Mr. Fox's air attack. In 2004, Mr. Fox was officially credited with injuring Field Marshal Rommel, although he expressed some regret about the attack, as Field Marshal Rommel was supposedly planning to secretly negotiate an earlier end to the war with the Allies. The Royal Canadian Navy, now controlling all Battle of the Atlantic escort forces, escorted World War II's largest convoy of 167 ships into the Atlantic Ocean, meeting no opposition from German U-boats. Napalm incendiary bombs were dropped for the first time by American P-38 pilots on a fuel depot at Coutances, near Saint-Lô, France. U.S. troops established themselves in the outskirts of Saint-Lô, while advancing units pushed into the city.

Politics and government
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt declined to dictate the renomination of Henry Wallace for Vice President in the November 1944 election, leaving the choice to delegates to the Democratic National Convention. United Mine Workers Journal endorsed Republican Party candidate Thomas Dewey for President.

The United States War Department said that 20 states had authorized the use of the federal ballot by their citizens in the armed services.

Japanese Navy Minister Admiral Shigetaro Shimada was replaced by Admiral Naokuni Nomura.

Disasters
Two ships laden with ammunition for the war exploded in Port Chicago, California, near San Francisco Bay, killing 320.

60 years ago
1954

Hit Parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Young at Heart--Frank Sinatra (3rd week at #1)

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Little Things Mean a Lot--Kitty Kallen (Best Seller--7th week at #1; Disc Jockey--6th week at #1; Jukebox--4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Three Coins in the Fountain--The Four Aces
--Frank Sinatra
2 Little Things Mean a Lot--Kitty Kallen
3 Hernando's Hideaway--Archie Bleyer
4 The Happy Wanderer--Frank Weir and his Orchestra
--Henri Rene's Musette
5 The Little Shoemaker--The Gaylords
--Hugo Winterhalter and his Orchestra
6 Sh-Boom--The Crew-Cuts
--The Chords
7 If You Love Me (Really Love Me)--Kay Starr
--Vera Lynn
8 I Understand Just How You Feel--The Four Tunes
--June Valli
9 Wanted--Perry Como
10 Young at Heart--Frank Sinatra

Singles entering the chart were Mink Schmink by Eartha Kitt (#23); Boulevard of Nightingales by Tony Martin (#37); and Cinnamon Sinner by Tony Bennett (#39).

50 years ago
1964

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): It's Over--Roy Orbison (3rd week at #1)

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 A Hard Day's Night--The Beatles
2 Thank You Girl--The Beatles
3 As Long as I'm Sure of You--Bobby Curtola
4 Can't You See that She's Mine--The Dave Clark Five
5 Lucky Star--Rick Nelson
6 Memphis--Johnny Rivers
7 C'mon Everybody--Elvis Presley
8 All My Loving--The Beatles
9 Dang Me--Roger Miller
10 A World Without Love--Peter and Gordon
Pick hit of the week: Ringo's Theme (This Boy)--George Martin and his Orchestra
New this week: Maybe I Know--Lesley Gore
Such a Night--Elvis Presley
Wah-Wahini--The Rip Chords
Hawaii--Gene Pitney
Ain't She Sweet--The Beatles
I'll Cry Instead--The Beatles

Wah-Wahini was the B-side of One Piece Topless Bathing Suit. Hawaii was the B-side of It Hurts to Be in Love. Ain't She Sweet was recorded when Pete Best was the Beatles' drummer; the B-side, Nobody's Child, was credited to The Beatles with Tony Sheridan, with the Beatles backing up Mr. Sheridan's vocal. I'll Cry Instead was intended for the soundtrack of the movie A Hard Day's Night, but was left out; the song appeared in a short prologue when the movie was re-released in 1982.

Auto racing
Donald Campbell of the United Kingdom, driving his car Bluebird CN7, set the world land speed record for wheel-powered vehicles, averaging 403.10 miles per hour at Lake Eyre, Australia. Craig Breedlove of the United States had set the all-vehicle record of 407.447 mph in the turbojet-powered Spirit of America at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on August 5, 1963.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland: Sugar Baby Love--The Rubettes

Died on this date
Dizzy Dean, 64. U.S. baseball pitcher. Jay Hanna Dean, one of the most colourful players in major league history, played with the St. Louis Cardinals (1930, 1932-1937); Chicago Cubs (1938-1941); and St. Louis Browns (1947), compiling a record of 150 wins and 83 losses. From 1932-1936 he was one of the major leagues' best pitchers, winning 120 games. Mr. Dean became the most recent National League pitcher to win 30 games in a season when he went 30-7 in 1934 and won 2 more games in the World Series as the "Gashouse Gang" Cardinals defeated the Detroit Tigers in 7 games. Mr. Dean's career began to go downhill in the 1937 All-Star Game when a line drive by Earl Averill of the Cleveland Indians broke his big toe. Mr. Dean returned to action too soon, changed his pitching motion in an attempt to minimize the pain from the injury, and damaged his arm beyond repair. Mr. Dean became a broadcaster of baseball games on radio and television after his playing career, and was known and loved for mangling the English language. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953.

Dorothy Household, 47. U.K. terrorism victim. Ms. Household was killed and 41 others, including 8 children, were injured--some seriously--when a bomb exploded in the Tower of London.

World events
Two days after being deposed as President of Cyprus in a coup by the Cypriot National Guard, Archbishop Makarios flew from Malta to London to rally international support. He and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit met with British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and Foreign Secretary James Callaghan in an attempt to ease the situation.

Politics and government
Portuguese leader General Antonio da Spinola named a new cabinet in which half the posts went to military officers, most of whom belonged to the Armed Forces Movement which had overthrown the dictatorship of Prime Minister Marcello Caetano in April.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Montreal (4-0) 41 @ Hamilton (1-3) 10

WFL
Birmingham (2-0) 32 @ New York (1-1) 29
Florida (2-0) 18 @ Detroit (0-2) 14
Jacksonville (1-1) 22 @ Chicago (2-0) 25
Philadelphia (1-1) 0 @ Houston (1-1) 11
Hawaii (0-2) 31 @ Southern California (1-1) 38

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Big in Japan--Alphaville (6th week at #1)

Diplomacy
The U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. initialled an agreement to modernize the "hot line" between their capitals. The agreement provided for a high-speed facsimile transmission system that would triple the speed of word transmission and could transmit graphic material such as maps and charts.

In West Germany during a week-long six-nation tour to build support for his government, Salvadoran President Jose Napoleon Duarte obtained the West German government’s agreement to lift its five-year ban on aid to El Salvador.

Politics and government
At the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, Rev. Jesse Jackson delivered an emotional appeal on behalf of "the desperate, the damned, the disinherited, the disrespected, and the despised." Rev. Jackson said that if "I have caused anyone discomfort, created pain or revived someone’s fears, that was not my truest self." This was in apparent reference to Rev. Jackson’s comments earlier in the campaign when he called New York City "Hymietown," an anti-Jewish slur. Delegates rejected Rev. Jackson's platform planks, calling for reductions in military spending, and an end to runoff primaries in the South.

Pierre Mauroy resigned as Premier of France.

The Sandanista government of Nicaragua announced that Daniel Ortega, coordinator of the junta, would be its candidate in the presidential election.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): The Look--Roxette (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): The Look--Roxette (4th week at #1)

Canada's top 10 (RPM):
1 Good Thing--Fine Young Cannibals (3rd week at #1)
2 Express Yourself--Madonna
3 Baby Don't Forget My Number--Milli Vanilli
4 If You Don't Know Me by Now--Simply Red
5 Buffalo Stance--Neneh Cherry
6 This Time I Know it's for Real--Donna Summer
7 The Doctor--The Doobie Brothers
8 Satisfied--Richard Marx
9 Batdance--Prince
10 I Drove All Night--Cyndi Lauper

Singles entering the chart were Joy and Pain by Rob Base and D.J. EZ Rock (#77); It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be by Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston (#79); All the Things I Wasn't by the Grapes of Wrath (#85); Don't Wanna Lose You by Gloria Estefan (#86); Headed for a Heartbreak by Winger (#89); Slavery by Annette Ducharme (#91); Different Drummer by Tom Cochrane & Red Rider (#92); and Night Train by Guns n' Roses (#94).

Died on this date
Itubwa Amram, 66. Nauruan politician. Rev. Amram was Nauru's first native-born pastor, and represented Aiwo in the Nauruan Parliament from 1968-1971, serving as the Parliament's Speaker for that period. He was defeated in his bid for re-election.

Music
The Jeff Healey Band performed at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton. It was a great concert, but the band was ear-splittingly loud. The opening act was a group from Calgary called the Blasters. This blogger paid $22 for his ticket.

Diplomacy
Diplomatic relations between Poland and Vatican City were restored.

U.S. President George Bush, fresh from the G7 summit in Paris, visited the Netherlands.

Defense
The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit--better known as the Stealth Bomber--made its first flight from United States Air Force Plant 42 at Palmdale, California.

Labour
Miners at 8 mines in the Donetsk Basin in Ukraine walked out on their jobs. Walkouts which had begun in Siberia a week earlier had now spread to the surrounding Kuznetsky Basin, a major coal region. The strikes became a factor in the debate over U.S.S.R. President Mikhail Gorbachev’s program of perestroika, or restructuring.

Baseball
The Toronto Blue Jays swept the first doubleheader ever played at SkyDome in Toronto, defeating the California Angels 6-4 and 5-4 before 48,641 fans. David Wells, pitching in relief, was the winning pitcher in both games, with Tom Henke picking up the saves in both games.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: I Swear--All-4-One (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Eins, zwei, polizei--Mo-Do (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: 7 Seconds--Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry

#1 single in the U.K. (Chart Information Network): Love is All Around--Wet Wet Wet (8th week at #1)

Died on this date
Jean Borotra, 95. French tennis player. Mr. Borotra was one of the "Four Musketeers" from France who dominated tennis in the 1920s and '30s. He won, as both a singles and doubles competitor, a total of 13 grand slam titles, and was a finalist 9 other times, while winning a bronze medal in the men's doubles event at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris in 1924. Mr. Borotra died 27 days before his 96th birthday.

Golf
Nick Price won the British Open at Turnberry Golf Resort in South Ayrshire, Scotland with a 12-under-par score of 268, 1 stroke ahead of Jesper Parnevik. First prize money was £110,000 ($178,200).



Soccer
FIFA World Cup
Final @ Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
Brazil 3 Italy 2 (penalty kicks)

After 120 minutes of scoreless play before a crowd of 94,194, Brazil won the first World Cup to be decided on penalty kicks. Roberto Baggio of Italy missed a free shot into the net from 12 yards to decide the game after Dunga had scored what ultimately became the winning goal.



Hockey
NHL
Two days after quitting as head coach of the Stanley Cup champion New York Rangers because of an alleged violation of his contract, Mike Keenan became head coach of the St. Louis Blues.

10 years ago
2004

Politics and government
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei submitted his resignation to leader Yasser Arafat following days of unrest in the Gaza Strip. Mr. Arafat refused to accept the resignation.

Football
CFL
Hamilton (3-2) 30 @ Edmonton (2-3) 51