June 6, 2015

150 years ago
1865

Died on this date
William Quantrill, 27. U.S. and C.S. military officer. Captain Quantrill served in the United States Army, but joined the Confederate States Army during the U.S. Civil War, and was the leader of a guerrilla organization known as Quantrill's Raiders. He died 27 days after being shot in the back in a Union Army ambush in Kentucky and paralyzed from the chest down.

125 years ago
1890

Born on this date
Ted Lewis. U.S. musician. Mr. Lewis, born Theodore Leopold Friedman, was a clarinetist who led one of the most popular bands of the 1920s and 1930s. He died on August 25, 1971 at the age of 71.

120 years ago
1895

Canadiana
Governor General the Earl of Aberdeen unveiled the John A. Macdonald Memorial in Dominion Square in Montreal.

100 years ago
1915

Born on this date
Vincent Persichetti. U.S. composer. Mr. Persichetti wrote nine symphonies and numerous pieces for piano, his principal instrument. He was a prominent music teacher and wrote many pieces for music students. Hymns and Responses for the Church Year is standard for church choirs. Mr. Persichetti died on August 24, 1987 at the age of 72.

90 years ago
1925

Business
Walter Chrysler founded the automobile manufacturing firm Chrysler Corporation as a reorganization of Maxwell Motor Company.

80 years ago
1935

At the movies
The 39 Steps, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll, received its premiere screening in London.

Died on this date
Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy, 72. U.K. military officer; Governor-General of Canada, 1921-1926. Viscount Byng was a Field Marshal who distinguished himself in World War I, including service as commander of the Canadian Corps at Vimy Ridge in 1917. As Governor General of Canada, Baron Byng was notable for his role in the "King-Byng Affair," in which he denied Prime Minister Mackenzie King's request for a dissolution of Parliament in 1926.

75 years ago
1940

War
French forces held up the German advance south of Amiens and Peronne.

Diplomacy
Italian officials warned the United States to stay out of the European war or face the possibility of an invasion.

Politics and government
Speaking to the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, U.S. Attorney General Robert Jackson explained the need for additional funds to combat fifth column activities.

New York City District Attorney Thomas Dewey claimed to have a minimum of 400-450 delegates pledged to support his bid for the 1940 Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. The Republican National Convention was scheduled to held in Philadelphia later in the month.

Economics and finance
U.S. Works Progress Administration chief F.C. Harrington gave priority to 73 military orders.

Journalism
The Chilean government restricted radio broadcasters and newspapers from publishing accounts of the European war.

Americana
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill providing funds for the Library of Congress to purchase sound recordings for the blind.

70 years ago
1945

War
Brazil declared war on Japan, leaving Colombia as the only Latin American nation still at peace with Japan. U.S. forces in Okinawa took the Naha airfield and overran the Chinen Peninsula. With the capture of the border town of Chugching, Chinese troops reported reaching the French Indochinese border.

World events
It was reported from Berlin that a high Soviet military official had claimed that the charred remains of German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler had been found in the Reich Chancellery bunker.

Moscow newspapers published a map delineating the U.S.S.R.'s version of the part of Germany it would occupy--roughly half the country.

Crime
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested six people on charges of conspiring to violate a law dealing with unauthorized possession or transmittal of defense data. They were: Lieutenant Andrew Roth, U.S. Naval Reserve; Emmanuel Larsen and John Service, both of the U.S. State Department; journalists Philip Jaffe and Kate Mitchell of Amerasia magazine; and free-lance journalist Mark Gayn. Office of Strategic Services agents had raided the offices of Amerasia on March 11, 1945 and found hundreds of classified documents from the Department of State, Navy, and OSS.

Labour
The U.S. National War Labor Board approved the new wage contract between the United Mine Workers of America and anthracite coal operators.

Medicine
The U.S. National Tuberculosis Association awarded the 1945 Trudeau Medal to Dr. Florence Sabin for her work on tuberculosis pathology.

60 years ago
1955

On television tonight
Sherlock Holmes, starring Ronald Howard and H. Marion Crawford
Tonight's episode: The Case of the Impromptu Performance



50 years ago
1965

Auto racing
USAC
Parnelli Jones won the 100-mile Rex Mays Classic at the Milwaukee Mile.

Baseball
Whitey Ford won the pitchers' duel over Tommy John as the New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox 6-1 in the first game of a doubleheader before 33,029 fans at Yankee Stadium in a game that was completed in 1 hour and 57 minutes. The Yankees completed the sweep with a 12-0 rout in the second game as Al Downing pitched a 3-hit shutout, singled in a run, and scored a run, while Tom Tresh batted 4 for 5 with 3 home runs, 4 runs, and 5 runs batted in.

Rudy May pitched a 7-hit shutout to win a duel of rookie pitchers over Jim Palmer as the Los Angeles Angels blanked the Baltimore Orioles 3-0 before 6,819 fans at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Roberto Clemente had 2 doubles and a triple in the first game and hit his first home run of the season in the second game as the Pittsburgh Pirates swept a doubleheader from the New York Mets 5-3 and 3-0 before 16,387 fans at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

Ray Culp threw 135 pitches in pitching a 5-hit complete game victory and Tony Gonzalez drove in 2 runs with singles as the Philadelphia Phillies edged the Chicago Cubs 2-1 in the first game of a doubleheader before 16,845 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Johnny Callison hit 3 of the Phillies' 5 home runs as they edged the Cubs 10-9 in the second game to complete the sweep. The first 5 Philadelphia runs came in the top of the 1st inning after the first two batters had been retired. The Phillies led 8-6 after 8 innings but scored 2 in the top of the 9th, only to have the Cubs come back with 3 in the bottom of the inning. Ron Santo then reached first base on an error with 1 out, but Ernie Banks lined into a double play to end the game. Billy Williams homered for the Cubs in both games.

Don Drysdale pitched a 6-hit shutout to improve his record for the season to 10-3 and hit his 2nd home run of the season as the Los Angeles Dodgers blanked the Milwaukee Braves 4-0 in the first game of a doubleheader before 17,175 fans at County Stadium in Milwaukee. Gene Oliver hit 2 home runs for the Braves as they won the second game 6-4. Hector Valle made his major league debut with the Dodgers as their catcher in the second game, batting 1 for 4, singling and scoring in the 7th inning.

Lee Maye's 3-run home run was the big blow of a 5-run 1st inning as the Houston Astros routed the St. Louis Cardinals 10-1 before 20,878 fans at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Jim Gentile hit his first home run in a Houston uniform and Jim Wynn also homered for the Astros. St. Louis starting pitcher Ray Sadecki lasted just 1/3 inning, allowing 4 hits and 5 runs--4 earned--in taking the loss, which was typical of the way things were going for the defending World Series champions.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: The Newcastle Song--Bob Hudson

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Fox on the Run--Sweet (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do--ABBA (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Larry Blyden, 49. U.S. actor and game show host. Mr. Blyden, born Ivan Lawrence Blieden, acted in numerous Broadway plays, winning a Tony Award for his performance in a revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1972). He hosted several television game shows, including What's My Line? (1972-1975). He had recently taped a pilot for a game show called Showoffs when he died six days after being involved in a car crash while on vacation in Morocco. The circumstances of Mr. Blyden's death, 17 days before his 50th birthday, were unclear.

Politics and government
The United Kingdom held its first national referendum on remaining in the European Economic Community (EEC). Voters approved membership by a 2-1 margin.

Diplomacy
An arms embargo against South Africa was vetoed by France, the United Kingdom, and the United States in the United Nations Security Council.

Baseball
Dwight Evans drove in 6 runs on his first major league grand slam and a 2-run homer as the Boston Red Sox outlasted the Minnesota Twins 13-10 before 18,120 fans at Fenway Park in Boston. Luis Tiant started on the mound for Boston and allowed 10 hits and 7 runs--all earned--in 5 innings, but was still credited with the win.

Nolan Ryan, bidding for his second straight no-hitter, was more than halfway there, but allowed a single by Hank Aaron with 2 out in the 6th inning and another single by George Scott in the 8th, settling for a 2-hit shutout as the California Angels blanked the Milwaukee Brewers 6-0 before 29,513 fans at Anaheim Stadium.

Frank Robinson hit a pair of 3-run home runs to lead the Cleveland Indians over the Texas Rangers 7-5 before 12,308 fans at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland.

Mickey Lolich struck out 4 batters to become the major league career leader for lefthanded pitchers, pitching 6 innings for the win as the Detroit Tigers routed the Oakland Athletics 11-2 before 6,536 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mr. Lolich brought his career total to 2,586, 3 more than Warren Spahn. Detroit designated hitter Willie Horton batted 3 for 5, driving in 4 runs with a single and 3-run home run.

Bob Forsch pitched a 2-hitter and had 2 hits of his own as the St. Louis Cardinals blanked the Houston Astros 6-0 before 12,955 fans at the Astrodome. All the scoring took place in the 6th inning. Ken Reitz hit a 3-run home run to open the scoring, and Willie Davis, playing his first game in a St. Louis uniform since being acquired two days earlier in a trade with the Texas Rangers, batted 2 for 5 with a single, double, run, and run batted in.

30 years ago
1985

Hit parade
Canada's Top 18
1 Everybody Wants to Rule the World--Tears for Fears
2 Things Can Only Get Better--Howard Jones
3 Angel--Madonna
4 Suddenly--Billy Ocean
5 Walking on Sunshine--Katrina and the Waves
6 Everything She Wants--Wham!
7 A View to a Kill--Duran Duran
8 Would I Lie to You?--Eurythmics
9 In My House--Mary Jane Girls
10 Axel F--Harold Faltermeyer
11 Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody--David Lee Roth
12 Black Cars--Gino Vannelli
13 Smooth Operator--Sade
14 Say You're Wrong--Julian Lennon
15 Invisible--Alison Moyet
16 The Search is Over--Survivor
17 Go to Pieces--Paul Janz
18 Raspberry Beret--Prince and the Revolution

World events
The grave of "Wolfgang Gerhard" was opened in Embu, Brazil; the exhumed remains were later proven to be those of Dr. Josef Mengele, the "Angel of Death" at the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz in Poland during World War II. Dr. Mengele was thought to have drowned while swimming in February 1979.

Football
CFL
Green beat Gold 17-13 in the Edmonton Eskimos’ intrasquad game before about 2,500 fans at Commonwealth Stadium. Rookie Tom Dixon kicked 3 field goals for Green--including one from 51 yards--and punted for a 50.3-yard average. Neil Lumsden scored the only Gold touchdown on a short rush. Dave Cutler converted and added 39- and 45-yard field goals. Anthony Edgar rushed 1 yard for the only Green touchdown in the 4th quarter, converted by Mr. Dixon. The game marked the first appearance in an Eskimo uniform for Green quarterback Damon Allen--who rushed 4 times for 74 yards, while completing just 3 of 9 passes for 39 yards--and the only game for my friend Harold Riemer, an offensive tackle who had been drafted from the University of Alberta. Harold didn’t make the team, but he returned to the U of A to finish his university football career, and has gone on to an academic career.

Baseball
Jim Clancy of the Toronto Blue Jays and Dan Petry of the Detroit Tigers each pitched 10 shutout innings as the Blue Jays eventually won 2-0 in 12 innings before 36,384 fans at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Mr. Clancy lost a no-hitter when Tom Brookens singled to lead off the 9th.

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Black Velvet--Alannah Myles (3rd week at #1)

Literature
Canadian author John Ralston Saul won the Italian book award, the Premio Litterario Internazionale Citta di Modena, for his adventure novel The Paradise Eater, published in English in 1988.

Politics and government
The Newfoundland House of Assembly rescinded approval of the Meech Lake constitutional accord. The provincial government of Premier Clyde Wells essentially killed the Accord, which needed unanimous provincial assent.

Baseball
The New York Yankees fired Bucky Dent as manager and replaced him with Stump Merrill, manager of their International League farm team in Columbus. Under Mr. Dent, the Yankees had a record of 18-31 in 1990 and were in last place in the American League East Division.

Cecil Fielder hit 3 home runs to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 6-4 win over the Cleveland Indians before 13,213 fans at Cleveland Stadium. It was the second time in 1990 that Mr. Fielder had hit 3 homers in a game.

20 years ago
1995

Business
Belgian brewing company Omterbrew offered $2.7 billion for John Labatt Ltd., owner of the Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Argonauts, the SkyDome, and Labatt's brewery.

10 years ago
2005

Died on this date
Dana Elcar, 77. U.S. actor. Mr. Elcar was a character actor who was best known for playing Peter Thornton in the television series MacGyver (1985-1992).

Anne Bancroft, 73. U.S. actress. Miss Bancroft, born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano, was best known for winning the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Miracle Worker (1962) and for playing Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (1967).

Law
In Gonzales v. Raich, the United States Supreme Court upheld a federal law banning cannabis, including medical marijuana.

Hockey
AHL
The Edmonton Road Runners announced that they were requesting permission from the American Hockey League to suspend operations. The club was affiliated with the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League, but had moved from Toronto for the 2004-05 season with the expectation of the NHL season being wiped out by a lockout. That expectation proved true, but with the increasing likelihood of a settlement and an NHL season for 2005-06, there wouldn't be room for two professional teams in Edmonton.