June 13, 2015

1,975 years ago
40

Born on this date
Gnaeus Julius Agricola. Roman military officer and politician. General Agricola held several positions, but was best known for his work in Britain. He served from 58-62, and again from 69-73, when he commanded the Legio XX Valeria Victrix. Gen. Agricola was appointed a patrician in 73 and governed Gallia Aquitania (73-76). He was appointed Governor of Britain in 77, and introduced Romanizing measures and reforms. Gov. Agricola achieved military victory over Caledonian forces in 83, but was recalled by Emperor Domitian in 85, and never held another military or civil post. Gen. Agricola died on August 23, 93 at the age of 53; unsubstantiated rumours attributed his death to poison administered by Emperor Domitian.

275 years ago
1740

War
Georgia Governor James Oglethorpe began the Siege of St. Augustine, an attempt to take Spanish Florida.

225 years ago
1790

Born on this date
José Antonio Páez. 1st President of Venezuela, 1830-1835; 9th President of Venezuela, 1839-1843; 19th President of Venezuela, 1861-1863. General Páez fought with Simon Bolivar for Venezuela's independence from Spain, and later led Venezuela's breakaway from Gran Colombia. He died in exile in New York on May 6, 1873 at the age of 82.

150 years ago
1865

Born on this date
William Butler Yeats. Irish poet. Mr. Yeats was awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation." He died on January 28, 1939 at the age of 73.

130 years ago
1885

Baseball
The Chicago White Stockings beat the Detroit Wolverines 17-9 at West Side Park in Chicago. George Wood hit for the cycle for Detroit.

125 years ago
1890

Politics and government
The British Columbia provincial election resulted in the re-election of the government of Premier John Robson.

120 years ago
1895

Education
The government of Manitoba ignored the federal order of March 21 to restore the rights of Roman Catholics to denominational schools.

Transportation
The new Sault Ste. Marie Canal opened in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

Golf
J.H. Taylor shot 78 in the final round to win the British Open at the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland with a total score of 322, 4 strokes ahead of Sandy Herd. It was the second British Open title for Mr. Taylor. First prize money was £30.

Auto racing
The Paris–Bordeaux–Paris, sometimes called the first automobile race in history or the "first motor race", concluded. Émile Levassor finished first, covering the 1,748 kilometres in 48 hours 42 minutes, with Louis Rigoulot second. However, they were driving two-seater cars, and Paul Koechlin, who came in third, 11 hours behind Mr. Levassor, was declared the winner.

110 years ago
1905

Baseball
Christy Mathewson pitched his second career major league no-hitter to lead the New York Giants over the Chicago Cubs 1-0 at West Side Park in Chicago.

100 years ago
1915

Born on this date
Don Budge. U.S. tennis player. Mr. Budge was ranked the top player in the world from 1937-1940 and 1942. In 1938 he became the first player, male or female, to win the Grand Slam--Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open--in a single year. Mr. Budge died on January 26, 2000 at the age of 84, several weeks after being seriously injured in an auto accident.

80 years ago
1935

Boxing
Jim Braddock (45-23-4), the "Cinderella Man," won a 15-round decision over Max Baer (40-8) at Madison Square Garden Bowl in Long Island City, New York to win the world heavyweight title.



75 years ago
1940

On the radio



War
The Canadian brigade left England for France to form a defense line across the Brittany peninsula. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill again flew to Tours, where French officials asked if the U.K. would release them from the pledge not to seek a separate peace with Germany. Mr. Churchill said that he could not, but added that he understood France's predicament.

Diplomacy
U.K. Ambassador to the U.S.S.R. Sir Stafford Cripps arrived in Moscow for talks with Soviet leaders.

U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull condemned "ruthless bombings of civilian population" in a comment on Japanese attacks on Chungking.

Defense
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a $1.308-billion Navy appropriations bill, providing for construction of 22 warships.

Public and private air raid shelters were under construction in Jerusalem.

Politics and government
Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King named J. L. Ralston as Defence Minister, three days after the death of Norman Rogers in a plane crash.

In a response to threatened government action, German Minister to Uruguay Otto Longmann said that the Nazi Party there had been dissolved.

Baseball
The Cleveland Indians petitioned owner Alva Bradley to remove Ossie Vitt as manager. Mr. Bradley declined, with the team 2 games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox. The Indians then beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2 in 10 innings at League Park in Cleveland, as winning pitcher Al Smith pitched a complete game, allowing 13 hits.

The Chicago Cubs hit 4 home runs and edged the Boston Red Sox 10-9 in a 7-inning Hall of Fame exhibition game in Cooperstown. Ted Williams hit 2 home runs for the Red Sox.

70 years ago
1945

War
A joint U.S.-U.K. statement said that the United Nations and neutral countries had lost 4,770 merchant ships aggregating 21.14 million tons from September 3, 1939-May 8, 1945.

French troops evacuated Syria as the government in Damascus requested a conference sponsored by the United States and United Kingdom to settle the dispute between France and the Levantine countries.

Diplomacy
At the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco, the Yalta voting procedure for the Security Council was adopted by a vote of 40-2.

U.S. President Harry Truman announced that plans for a U.S.-U.K.-U.S.S.R. summit were complete, and that the objective of the meeting would be to prepare for a peace conference.

60 years ago
1955

Economics and finance
Mir Mine, the first diamond mine in the U.S.S.R., was discovered in eastern Siberia.

50 years ago
1965

Died on this date
Martin Buber, 87. Austro-Hungarian-born Israeli philosopher and theologian. Mr. Buber was an existentialist known for his philosophy of dialogue, as expressed in his book Ich und Du (I and Thou) (1923).

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: The Newcastle Song--Bob Hudson (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Paloma Blanca--George Baker Selection

#1 single in Switzerland: I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do--ABBA (4th week at #1)

Baseball
The Cleveland Indians traded veteran pitcher Gaylord Perry to the Texas Rangers for pitchers Jim Bibby, Jackie Brown, Rick Waits, and $100,000. Mr. Perry was 6-9 with an earned run average of 3.55 with Cleveland in 1975, but had lost 7 of his lat 9 decisions, and wasn't getting along with manager Frank Robinson. Mr. Bibby was 2-6 with a 5.00 ERA in 12 games with Texas in 1975; Mr. Brown was 5-5 with a 4.22 ERA in 17 games; Mr. Waits was 5-4 with a 4.84 ERA in 11 games with the Spokane Indians of the AAA Pacific Coast League, and he was transferred to the Oklahoma City 89ers of the AAA American Association. The Indians were in Texas for a weekend series against the Rangers at Arlington Stadium.

The Texas Rangers sold shortstop Ed Brinkman to the New York Yankees. Mr. Brinkman had batted 0 for 2 in 1 game with the Rangers after being acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals on June 4 in a trade for center fielder Willie Davis. To make room for Mr. Brinkman, the Yankees sold relief pitcher Mike Wallace to the Cardinals; he was 0-0 with an earned run average of 15.75 in 3 games in 1975, and was assigned by the Cardinals to the Tulsa Oilers of the AAA American Association.

The Cincinnati Reds scored 5 runs in the 8th inning and 7 in the 9th as they beat the Chicago Cubs 18-11 before 17,488 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Reds amassed 24 hits, including 5 by center fielder Cesar Geronimo.

Pat Dobson pitched a 5-hit complete game to lead the New York Yankees over the Chicago White Sox 2-1 before 26,485 fans at Shea Stadium in New York. The win improved Mr. Dobson's record for 1975 to 7-5, while losing pitcher Claude Osteen allowed 7 hits and 2 earned runs in 7+ innings to fall to 1-6. New York center fielder Elliott Maddox tore cartilage in his knee when he slipped on wet grass while catching Bill Melton's sacrifice fly for the second out of the 9th inning. Mr. Maddox was batting .307 with 1 home run and 23 runs batted in in 55 games in 1975 at the time of his injury, and 3 for 4 in this game. He didn't play again for almost 15 months, and was never the same player.

The Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals split a doubleheader before 25,311 fans at Royals Stadium. The Red Sox scored 6 runs in the last 4 innings to win the first game 10-4. Rick Wise pitched a 10-hit complete game for the win, allowing 10 hits and 3 earned runs. Kansas City third baseman George Brett batted 3 for 5 with a single, double, and triple, 2 runs, and a run batted in. The Red Sox started the game with a base on balls and 4 straight singles off Paul Splittorff, prompting Kansas City manager Jack McKeon to replace his starting pitcher with Steve Mingori. The Royals overcame the 4-0 deficit and won 6-5, aided by home runs from Frank White, Tony Solaita, George Brett, and Amos Otis, all of them against Boston starting and losing pitcher Dick Pole. The home runs by Messrs. Brett and White came back-to-back with 1 out in the 8th inning, and Mr. Otis's inside-the-park homer was the winning run.

The Tidewater Tides took advantage of 7 errors to defeat the Pawtucket Red Sox 9-3 in an International League game. Pawtucket shortstop Steve Dillard made 5 errors: 3 in the 1st inning on a booted ground ball and 2 throwing errors; 1 in the 4th; and 1 in the 8th. Second baseman Kim Andrew made the other 2 errors: 1 in the 1st inning and the other in the 4th.

30 years ago
1985

Hit parade
Canada's Top 30
1 Everybody Wants to Rule the World--Tears for Fears
2 Things Can Only Get Better--Howard Jones
3 Angel--Madonna
4 A View to a Kill--Duran Duran
5 Walking on Sunshine--Katrina and the Waves
6 Would I Lie to You?--Eurythmics
7 In My House--Mary Jane Girls
8 Axel F--Harold Faltermeyer
9 Black Cars--Gino Vannelli
10 Suddenly--Billy Ocean
11 The Search is Over--Survivor
12 Raspberry Beret--Prince and the Revolution
13 Everythng She Wants--Wham!
14 Sussudio--Phil Collins
15 The Goonies 'R Good Enough--Cyndi Lauper
16 If You Love Somebody Set Them Free--Sting
17 Never Surrender--Corey Hart
18 Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody--David Lee Roth
19 Strange Animal--Gowan
20 Tokyo Rose--Idle Eyes
21 Crazy in the Night--Kim Carnes
22 Tough All Over--John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band
23 Smooth Operator--Sade
24 Everytime You Go Away--Paul Young
25 Say You're Wrong--Julian Lennon
26 Invisible--Alison Moyet
27 Walk of Life--Dire Straits
28 Go to Pieces--Paul Janz
29 Smuggler's Blues--Glenn Frey
30 Sentimental Street--Night Ranger

At the movies
Prizzi's Honor, directed by John Huston, and starring Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, and Anjelica Huston, opened in theatres.



Law
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that almost all laws in Manitoba were constitutionally invalid because they were written in English only.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Montreal (2-0) 37 @ Ottawa (0-2) 22

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Black Velvet--Alannah Myles (4th week at #1)

Protest
Riot police in Bucharest attacked a downtown tent city that had become the headquarters of anti-government protesters, most of them students, and drove out 200 people. Thousands of students then rioted, burning the central police headquarters. Security forces killed 4 people, and more than 200 were injured. Romanian President-elect Ion Iliescu appealed to the working class to save the country from a "fascist rebellion."

Tass reported that the death toll in fighting between ethnic Kirghiz and Uzbeks in Kirghizia that had begun on June 4 now stood at 148.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, testifying before a House of representatives committee, expressed his irritation with a statement by Israeli officials that the U.S. Middle East peace plan was irrelevant. In a remark directed at the Israelis, he said, "When you’re serious about peace, call us," and gave the White House phone number.

Politics and government
Marion Barry, currently on trial on various drug charges, announced that he would not seek a fourth term as mayor of Washington, D.C.

Baseball
Steve Avery, in his major league debut, gave up 8 runs in 2 1/3 innings as the Atlanta Braves fell 13-4 to the Cincinnati Reds before 23,567 fans at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Winning pitcher Tom Browning pitched an 8-hit complete game.

Trevor Wilson of the San Francisco Giants had a no-hitter for 8 innings, giving up just a single to Mike Pagliarulo to lead off the 9th as the Giants blanked the San Diego Padres 6-0 before 31,455 fans at Jack Murphy-San Diego Stadium for their 14th win in their last 15 games.

20 years ago
1995

War
The Bosnian government said that troops were being deployed near Sarajevo to protect the capital from weapons seized by Serbs. The Serbs released most of the remaining United Nations peacekeepers they had been holding hostage since late May.

Russian officials claimed that their forces had captured the last stronghold of Chechen rebels.

Law
The Gun Control Act passed in the Canadian House of Commons by a vote of 192-63; the controversial gun-control legislation called for eventual registration of all firearms.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 0.3% in May.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
British Columbia (0-1) 22 @ Edmonton (1-0) 23

10 years ago
2005

Died on this date
David Diamond, 89. U.S. composer. Mr. Diamond wrote 11 symphonies and numerous chamber pieces. His best known work was Rounds (1944). Mr. Diamond died 26 days before his 90th birthday.

Lane Smith, 69. U.S. actor. Mr. Smith was best known for playing U.S. President Richard Nixon in the made-for-television movie The Final Days (1989).

Scandal
U.S. pop singer Michael Jackson was acquitted on all 14 charges of molesting 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo at his Neverland ranch (see also here).