June 30, 2016

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Lucia Rios!

1,720 years ago
296

Religion
Marcellinus succeeded Caius as Christian Bishop of Rome.

150 years ago
1866

Politics and government
The New Brunswick legislature approved Confederation, and voted funds for the Intercolonial Railway.

130 years ago
1886

Transportation
Artillery, church bells, brass bands and locomotive whistles celebrated the arrival of the Pacific Express from Montréal in Winnipeg, en route to Calgary, Alberta and Port Moody, British Columbia. The Canadian Pacific Railway's first through passenger train to the Pacific coast left Montreal on June 28.

Politics and government
Premier William Wilfred Sullivan led his Conservative Party to a fifth consecutive majority government in the Prince Edward Island provincial election. The Conservatives took 18 of the 30 seats in the House of Assembly, with the Liberals winning the other 12. The Liberals gained 3 seats, and the Conservatives lost 3.

125 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Man Mountain Dean. U.S. wrestler. Mr. Dean, born Frank Simmons Leavitt, wrestled professionally in the 1920s and '30s, eventually growing a long, full beard and adopting his ring name. He was one of the first professional wrestlers to emphasize showmanship as part of his persona. Mr. Dean died of a heart attack at the age of 61 on May 29, 1953.

Ed "Strangler" Lewis. U.S. wrestler. Mr. Lewis, born Robert Herman Julius Friedrich, won the world heavyweight championship six times in a professional career that spanned 40 years. He died on August 8, 1966 at the age of 75.

110 years ago
1906

Health
The United States Congress passed the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act.

80 years ago
1936

Literature
The novel Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell was published by Macmillan.

Diplomacy
Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia appealed to the League of Nations for aid against Italy's invasion of his country.

Labour
The Canadian Department of National Defence ceased administering federal and provincial work-camps; DND had performed this duty since May 1, 1933.

75 years ago
1941

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square--Vera Lynn; West End Players (2nd month at #1)

At the movies
Panggilan Darah (Call of Blood), starring Dhalia and Soerip, received its premiere screening at the Orion Theatre in Batavia, Dutch East Indies.

Died on this date
Aleksander Tõnisson, 66. Estonian military commander. Kindralmajor (Major General) Tõnisson was a commander of Estonian forces during Estonia's war of independence against the U.S.S.R. in 1940. He was arrested by Soviet authorities and eventually executed.

Yefim Fomin, 32. U.S.S.R. politician. Mr. Fomin was a Communist commissar who participated in the defense of Brest Fortress against the invasion of German forces from June 22-30, 1941. When the Germans finally overcame the resistance, Mr. Fomin was identified as a Jew and a Communist, and was immediately shot.

War
The German command announced the capture of Lwow--capital of western Ukraine--and Libau on the Latvian coast. German columns were reportedly encircling Minsk. U.S.S.R. dictator Josef Stalin was named chairman of a Russian Defense Council "to accelerate mobilization." The Canadian government of Prime Minister Mackenzie King government introduced Bill 80 in the House of Commons, sanctioning his promise not to bring in conscription for overseas service; it passed on July 23, 1941 by a vote of 141-45. U.S. Navy Secretary Frank Knox told the conference of U.S. state governors in Boston that "the time to use our navy to clear the Atlantic of the German menace is at hand...Now is the time to strike." Chinese Foreign Minister Dr. Kuo Tai-Chi stated in Chungking that China would not consider any "specious offer of peace terms or a negotiated peace" which would involve the sacrifice of her "essential rights and interests."

Americana
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated a library in Hyde Park, New York, containing six million items bearing his name, and housing his private papers.

Diplomacy
The Vichy French government severed diplomatic relations with the U.S.S.R.

Mexican Ambassador to the U.S.A. Francisco Catillo Najera presented U.S. Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles with a cheque for $1 million as partial payment of the claims of American citizens whose property in Mexico had been expropriated since 1927.

Argentina rejected Uruguay's proposal that any American republic engaged in a foreign war be regarded as a non-belligerent.

Politics and government
The New York City Board of Higher Education voted unanimously to dismiss John Kenneth Ackley, suspended City College of New York registrar, who, five days earlier, had been convicted of Communist activity and interference with the state's Rapp-Coudert Committee. The trial committee of the Board had recommended Mr. Ackley's dismissal.

Crime
Two American Federation of Labor Teamsters union officials and five alleged racketeers were arrested in New York on charges of extorting $2.5 million from trucking concerns and wholesale milk dealers.

70 years ago
1946

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): A Friend of Yours--Bing Crosby; Frank Sinatra (2nd month at #1)

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: First Person Singular, starring Mary Wilsey and Carl Frank

This was the first of four specials broadcast in 1946 before the program became a weekly series in 1949.

War
As the truce in Manchuria expired, Nationalist forces in China were ordered to retaliate against Communist moves.

Politics and government
In state assembly elections in U.S.-occupied Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg, and Hesse, the Christian Social Union won over the German Social Democratic Party. In U.S.S.R.-occupied Saxony, 77% of voters approved a referendum for the nationalization of large industrial plants.

The U.S. State Department revealed that it was transferring control of cultural affairs in Germany, Japan, Austria, and Korea to the War Department.

In elections in Ecuador for a national constituent assembly, conservatives won 33 seats; dissident liberals 20; independents 6; dissident leftists 2; and democrats 1.

Lord Woolton succeeded Ralph Assheton as chairman of the British Conservative Party.

Economics and finance
Chief of United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration German operations Sir Frederick Morgan announced that 714,187 refugees in the western occupation zone would be rescreened to eliminate those ineligible for aid.

The day after U.S. President Harry Truman vetoed the bill that would have extended the Office of Price Administration for one year, the OPA expired, and food subsidies ended at midnight.

The Mexican Supreme Court ruled that no U.S. company could sue directly for reimbursement for the expropriation of oil properties.

60 years ago
1956

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Rock and Roll Waltz--Kay Starr (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): (We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock--Bill Haley and his Comets

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): I'll Be Home--Pat Boone (4th week at #1)

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): The Wayward Wind--Gogi Grant (Best Seller--3rd week at #1; Disc Jockey--2nd week at #1; Jukebox--1st week at #1; Top 100--2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Wayward Wind--Gogi Grant (3rd week at #1)
2 Moonglow and Theme from "Picnic"--Morris Stoloff and the Columbia Pictures Orchestra
--George Cates and his Orchestra
3 I Almost Lost My Mind--Pat Boone
4 I'm in Love Again--Fats Domino
5 Standing on the Corner--The Four Lads
6 I Want You, I Need You, I Love You--Elvis Presley
7 Ivory Tower--Cathy Carr
--Gale Storm
--Otis Williams and the Charms
8 On the Street Where You Live--Vic Damone
9 Born to Be with You--The Chordettes
10 Transfusion--Nervous Norvus

Singles entering the chart were My Prayer by the Platters (#37); Ready Teddy (#42)/Rip it Up (#49) by Little Richard; and Boppin' the Blues by Carl Perkins (#47).

Protest
Warsaw radio reported that the workers' revolt in Poznan had been suppressed after three days of heavy fighting, with 48 demonstrators killed.

Diplomacy
The Argentine government ordered U.S.S.R. embassy naval attache Aleksandr Morosov to leave the country.

Politics and government
Egyptian Prime Minister Gamal Nasser named a new cabinet, including Mahmoud Fawzi as Foreign Minister.

Labour
Steelworkers in the United States began a nationwide strike against 100 companies, affecting 90% of American steel production, in a dispute over the duration of their new contract.

Disasters
A Trans World Airlines Super Constellation and a United Airlines DC-7 collided above the Grand Canyon in Arizona and crashed, killing all 128 on board both airliners in the worst commercial air disaster to date.

Boxing
Pascual Perez (35-0-1) retained his world flyweight title with a knockout of Oscar Suarez (45-5-3) in the 11th round in Montevideo.

50 years ago
1966

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Paperback Writer--The Beatles (2nd week at #1)

Defense
The United States withdrew its forces from Evreux Air Force Base, beginning the withdrawal of American forces from France.

40 years ago
1976

Died on this date
Firpo Marberry, 77. U.S. baseball pitcher. Frederick Marberry was nicknamed in honour of Luis Angel Firpo, an Argentine boxer who fought Jack Dempsey for the world heavyweight title in 1923. Mr. Marberry played with the Washington Nationals (1923-1932, 1936); Detroit Tigers (1933-1935); and New York Giants (1936), compiling a record of 148-88 with an earned run average of 3.63 and 101 saves in 551 games. He was the first prominent relief pitcher, and the first to record 20 saves in a season (22 in 1926), and to appear in 50 games in a season (1924). Mr. Marberry was a key member of the Nationals' only World Series championship team in 1924, and helped the Nationals (1925) and Tigers (1934) win American League pennants.

Personal
This blogger departed Yellowknife with his parents to move to Calgary, ending an enjoyable eight-year stay.

Politics and government
The two-day Conference of Communist and Workers Parties of Europe concluded in East Berlin.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Montreal (1-0) 25 @ Hamilton (0-1) 1

30 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Addicted to Love--Robert Palmer (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Conga--Miami Sound Machine

Society
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Bowers v. Hardwick that states can outlaw homosexual acts between consenting adults.

Baseball
Bo Jackson, winner of the Heisman Trophy in 1985 as the most outstanding college football player in the United States, played his first game of professional baseball, batting 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts with the Memphis Chicks of the AA Southern League.

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Are You Ready?--AC/DC

#1 single in Switzerland: Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)--De La Soul (2nd week at #1)

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in his Kiss)--Cher (3rd week at #1)
2 Wind of Change--Scorpions
3 The One and Only--Chesney Hawkes
4 Bobby Brown--Frank Zappa
5 Jesus Loves You--Bow Down Mister
6 Gypsy Woman (La Da Dee La Da Da)--Crystal Waters
7 Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)--Roxette
8 Secret Love--Bee Gees
9 Last Train to Trancentral--The KLF
10 How to Dance--Bingoboys featuring Princessa

Singles entering the chart were Gypsy Woman (La Da Dee La Da Da); Just a Groove by Nomad (#29); and Touch Me (All Night Long) by Cathy Dennis (#30).

20 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Tha Crossroads--Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Coco Jamboo--Mr. President (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Coco Jamboo--Mr. President (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Scotland (OCC): Killing Me Softly--The Fugees (5th week at #1)

Music
Neil Young premiered his album Broken Arrow with Crazy Horse via the internet; the CD was slated for release on July 2, 1996, two days after its internet debut.

Ronnie Hawkins hosted a schizophrenia fund-raiser in Peterborough, Ontario, with a surprise appearance by Willie Nelson and Ringo Starr (in actual fact two impersonators). No one in the crowd of 400 questioned the pair's authenticity; Mr. Hawkins revealed the hoax the following day.

10 years ago
2006

Football
CFL
Toronto (1-2) 19 @ British Columbia (2-1) 26