June 29, 2020

500 years ago
1520

Died on this date
Moctezuma II, 54 (?). Tlatoani (ruler) of the Aztec Empire, 1502-1520. Moctezuma II, aka Montezuma, succeeded Ahuitzotl on the throne, and used military conquests to enable the Aztec Empire to reach its greatest size, incorporating the Zapotec and Yopi people into the empire. Moctezmuma II was ruling during the time of first contact with Europeans, and was killed in the fight against the forces of Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. Moctezuma II was succeeded as Tlataoni by his younger brother Cuitláhuac.

170 years ago
1850

Religion
Autocephaly was officially granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to the Church of Greece.

150 years ago
1870

Born on this date
Joseph Carl Breil. U.S. singer and composer. Mr. Breil was an operatic tenor and then a choir director in the 1890s and 1900s. He was one of the first composers to write scores for specific silent films, including The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916). Mr. Breil wrote several operas, and died of heart disease on January 23, 1926 at the age of 55, shortly after suffering a nervous breakdown following the failure of his opera Der Asra (1925).

140 years ago
1880

Born on this date
Harry Frazee. U.S. theatrical producer and baseball executive. Mr. Frazee bought the Boston Red Sox shortly after their 1916 World Series victory, and owned them until 1923. The Red Sox won the World Series championships in 1918, but Mr. Frazee sold star pitcher and outfielder Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in January 1920, and reportedly used the proceeds to finance the musical play No, No, Nanette, while the Red Sox didn't win another World Series until 2004. Mr. Frazee died of kidney disease on June 29, 1929, 25 days before his 49th birthday.

Franciana
France annexed Tahiti.

125 years ago
1895

Died on this date
Thomas Henry Huxley, 70. U.K. biologist. Professor Huxley was regarded as perhaps the best comparative anatomist of his time, but was best known as the premier public advocate of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, earning him the nickname "Darwin's Bulldog." He was credited with coining the term "agnosticism" in 1889. Prof. Huxley died of a heart attack after contracting influenza and pneumonia.

Floriano Peixoto, 56. 2nd President of Brazil, 1891-1894. Marshal Peixoto, nicknamed "The Iron Marshal," served in the Paraguayan War, and served as President of Mato Grosso Province (1884-1885) and Minister of War (1890-1891) before taking office as Vice President in February 1891. He acceded to the presidency in November 1891 upon the resignation of President Deodoro da Fonseca. Marshal Peixoto ran a centralized and authoritarian regime, and had to deal with several military rebellions. He resigned the presidency in November 1894, and died from cirrhosis of the liver.

120 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. French aviator and author. Mr. Saint-Exupéry, one of France's best-known pilots in the 1920s and '30s, wrote a number of books, the best-known of which was the novella Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) (1943). While flying with the Free French Air Force he disappeared off the French coast near Marseilles while on a reconnaissance mission on July 31, 1944 at the age of 44, and was presumed dead.

110 years ago
1910

Born on this date
Frank Loesser. U.S. songwriter. Mr. Loesser wrote lyrics for popular songs such as Two Sleepy People and Heart and Soul, and wrote music and lyrics to musicals, including Guys and Dolls (1950) and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961). He won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for Baby, It's Cold Outside, which was used in the movie Neptune's Daughter (1949). Mr. Loesser was a heavy smoker who died of lung cancer on July 28, 1969, 29 days after his 59th birthday.

Burgess Whitehead. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Whitehead was a second baseman and third baseman with the St. Louis Cardinals (1933-1935); New York Giants (1936-1937, 1939-1941); and Pittsburgh Pirates (1946), batting .266 with 17 home runs and 245 runs batted in in 924 games. He helped the Cardinals win the World Series in 1934 and the Giants win National League pennants in 1936 and 1937, batting .135 with no homers and 2 RBIs in 12 World Series games. A near-fatal attack of appendicitis early in 1938 led to a nervous breakdown; Mr. Whitehead missed the entire season, and his career never quite recovered. He played 754 games in 6 seasons in the minor leagues (1931-1933, 1942, 1947-1948). Mr. Whitehead was the last surviving member of the 1934 Cardinals, and died of a heart attack on November 25, 1993 at the age of 83.

100 years ago
1920

Born on this date
Ray Harryhausen. U.S.-born animator. Mr. Harryhausen invented the stop-motion model animation technique known as "Dynamation," and had a career in motion pictures from the late 1940s to the early 1980s. He worked on films such as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) and Jason and the Argonauts (1963), and influenced many subsequent directors and animators. Mr. Harryhausen became a dual citizen of the United States and United Kingdom, and lived in London from 1960 until his death on May 7, 2013 at the age of 92.

Politics and government
The governing Liberal Party of Premier Tobias Norris was reduced to a plurality of seats in the Legislative Assembly in the Manitoba provincial election. The Liberals led with 21 of 55 seats, down from 40 in the most recent election in 1915. 12 "farmer" candidates, not running as a party, comprised the second-largest bloc of those elected. The Democratic Labour Party (9); Socialist Party (1); and Social Democratic Party (1), all led by Fred Dixon, comprised an 11-seat bloc. The Conservative Party, led by Richard Willis, took 8 seats, an increase of 3 from 1915, although Mr. Willis wasn't elected. 3 independent candidates were elected. The labour support came mainly from Winnipeg, where a single transferable vote system was used. Edith Rogers, a Liberal candidate in Winnipeg, became the first woman elected to the Manitoba Legislature.

80 years ago
1940

Died on this date
Paul Klee, 60. Swiss painter. Mr. Klee's paintings reflected expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He died of scleroderma.

Diplomacy
Mexico presented the United States government with $1 million as partial payment for American lands expropriated since August 30, 1927.

Politics and government
Hassan Sabry Pasha formed a coalition cabinet in Egypt which included all parties except the Waldists.

U.S. Senator Edwin Johnson (Democrat--Colorado) said that only fellow Senator Burton K. Wheeler (Democrat--Montana) could defeat Republican candidate Wendell Willkie in the 1940 election for President of the United States.

Law
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Alien Registration Act, providing for compulsory registration and fingerprinting of all aliens.

U.S. President Roosevelt signed a law granting the U.S. Supreme Court the authority to prescribe rules of pleading, practice, and procedure with respect to criminal cases in the district courts.

Energy
Westinghouse Laboratories announced the discovery that gamma rays could release energy from uranium.

Track and field
Cornelius Warmerdam set a world record of 15 feet 1 1/8 inches (4.60 metres) in the pole vault at the U.S. National Amateur Athletic Union meet in Fresno, California.

75 years ago
1945

War
U.S. bombers attacked the Japanese naval base at Sasebo on the island of Kyushu. The port of Shiogama was closed by mines dropped from the air.

Abominations
Carpathian Ruthenia was annexed by the U.S.S.R. as the result of an agreement signed with Czechoslovakia.

The Panamanian cabinet approved a break in relations with Spain, effective for as long as Spain was governed by the regime of Generalissimo Francisco Franco.

Defense
Acting U.S. Secretary of State Joseph Grew revealed that the United States had leased bases in Newfoundland in June 1941 for 99 years.

Politics and government
After failing to agree on a list of ministers for the new Indian cabinet, the All-India Congress and Moslem League notified British Viceroy Viscount Wavell to recess the Simla Conference until July 14, 1945.

Chinese Communists approved the visit of a seven-member non-partisan commission to Yenan for the purpose of discussing Communist-Nationalist differences.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed and sent to the Senate President Harry Truman's presidential succession bill.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Office of Price Administration said that used 1942 automobiles could be sold on an unrationed basis beginning July 2, 1945.

70 years ago
1950

War
U.S. B-29 bombers went into action against Communist targets in South Korea. The United States denied Communist claims that the North Korean capital of Pyongyang had been bombed. Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Command General Douglas MacArthur made a one-day flying trip to South Korea to get a first-hand view of the military situation and to confer with South Korean President Syngman Rhee. U.S. President Harry Truman told a news conference that the U.S. was not at war in Korea, but was only executing a police action; he authorized a naval blockade of Korea.

Diplomacy
The U.S.S.R. sent United Nations Secretary-General Trygve Lie a note denouncing the Security Council's resolution imposing military sanctions against North Korea.

Defense
The U.S. Senate passed and sent to the House of Representatives a bill authorizing expansion of the Air Force from 48 to 70 groups.

Politics and government
Bolivian President Mamerto Urriolagoitia swore in a new cabinet.

Soccer
In perhaps the biggest upset in soccer history, the United States team, composed mostly of amateurs with jobs such as mailmen or carpenters, defeated England 1-0 in a first-round World Cup match before 10,151 fans at Estádio Independência in Belo Horizonte, Brazil (see video).

Baseball
The New York Yankees called up pitcher Whitey Ford from the Kansas City Blues of the American Association. In 12 games with the Blues, the 21-year-old had a record of 6-3 with an earned run average of 3.22. With the Binghamton Triplets of the Eastern League in 1949, Mr. Ford had led the league with 151 strikeouts and an earned run average of 1.61 while compiling a 16-5 record.

In an effort to thwart the major leagues’ signing of Negro players, J.B. Martin, president of the Chicago Giants of the Negro American League, instructed manager Ted Radcliffe to begin signing white players. Mr. Radcliffe promptly signed teenagers Lou Chirban‚ Lou Clarizio and Al Dubetts. Later in the year Mr. Radcliffe signed Stanley Miarka and Frank Dyall, but all the white players had short Negro League careers.

The Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Athletics 22-14 before 2,808 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, establishing an American League record for the greatest number of runs scored by 2 teams in a single game. There were 21 bases on balls in the game, but only 1 home run, by Ted Williams of the Red Sox, who also singled and drove in 6 runs. Every Boston starter had at least 1 hit. It was the third time in June that the Red Sox had scored 20 or more runs in a game. Philadelphia leadoff hitter Bob Dillinger batted 5 for 6 with 2 doubles, 3 runs, and 3 runs batted in.

The Washington Nationals scored 6 runs in the 4th inning as they overcame a 5-1 1st-inning deficit to defeat the New York Yankees 12-7 before 9,262 fans at Yankee Stadium. Washington center fielder Irv Noren drove in 4 runs with a fly ball and a 3-run home run. Sid Hudson (8-5) pitched an 8-hit complete game victory, allowing 3 earned runs.

The New York Giants scored 4 runs in the 8th inning and 3 in the 9th as they beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 11-5 before 14,229 fans at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. New York third baseman Hank Thompson batted 3 for 5 with a double, run, and 4 runs batted in, while Brooklyn third baseman Jackie Robinson was 4 for 5 with 2 solo home runs.

Buddy Kerr singled home Walker Cooper and Sibby Sisti with 1 out in the bottom of the 7th inning, enabling the Boston Braves to edge the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 before 13,980 fans at Braves Field. Vern Bickford (7-6) pitched an 8-hit complete game to win the pitchers' duel over Ken Heintzelman (1-6), who allowed 6 hits in a complete game.

In an American Association game in Milwaukee, Bama Rowell of the Minneapolis Millers lofted a fly ball to right field in the 4th inning, and ended up with a double when two nighthawks pecked at the ball in flight and deflected its path away from Brewers’ outfielders Bob Jaderlund and Bob Addis.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Blue Hawaii--Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra

At the movies
Strangers When We Meet, produced and directed by Richard Quine, and starring Kirk Douglas, Kim Novak, Ernie Kovacs, Barbara Rush, and Walter Matthau, opened in theatres in limited release; it opened in general release the next day.





Died on this date
Frank Patrick, 74. Canadian hockey player and coach. Mr. Patrick, a native of Ottawa, grew up in Montreal, and moved to Nelson, British Columbia in 1907 with his family in order to establish a lumber company. He was a defenceman with several amateur and professional clubs from 1903-1904, but was best known for his years with the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (1911-18, 1922-24), coaching and playing with the team, leading the Millionaires to the Stanley Cup championship in 1915. Mr. Patrick coached the Boston Bruins (1934-36), leading them to the Stanley Cup playoffs in both seasons. He was responsible for innovations such as the blue line, penalty shot, and boarding penalty. Mr. Patrick was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 1950, and died in Vancouver of a heart attack, four weeks after the death of his brother and fellow Hall of Fame member Lester Patrick.

Television
The British Broadcasting Corporation opened its new Television Centre.

Protest
Inmates of Bordeaux prison, north of Montreal, rioted for two hours.

Boxing
Pete Rademacher (7-3-1) scored a technical knockout over LaMar Clark (42-2) at 2:27 of the 10th round of a heavyweight bout at Derks Field in Salt Lake City.

50 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Everything is Beautiful--Ray Stevens (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Keiko no Yume wa--Yoru Hiraku (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Un Rayo De Sol--Los Diablos (5th week at #1)

On the radio
The Challenge of Space, on Springbok Radio
Tonight’s episode: Mission Abort

War
The last of 18,000 American ground troops, except for a few advisers, pulled out of Cambodia the day before the deadline set by U.S. President Richard Nixon.

Law
The U.S. Indian Claims Commission ruled that the Navajo and Hopi tribes were the owners of more than 2 million acres of land in northern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico. Commission chairman Jerome Kuykendall urged prompt proceedings to evaluate the lands awarded to the Indians.

Society
Bishop Stephen Spottswood, chairman of the board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said in a keynote address to the organization that the administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon had a calculated anti-Negro policy.

Boxing
Sonny Liston (50-4) scored a technical knockout over Chuck Wepner (20-5-2) at the end of the 9th round of a heavyweight bout at the Armory in Jersey City, New Jersey. The fight was stopped by the ring doctor because of multiple cuts on Mr. Wepner’s face. The former world champion praised Mr. Wepner after the fight as the gamest man he ever fought. It turned out to be the last bout for Mr. Liston, who reportedly went home to Las Vegas with no pay because he’d bet his share of the purse on the recent Jerry Quarry-Mac Foster bout, and unfortunately put his money on Mr. Foster.



40 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Stomp!--The Brothers Johnson (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Funkytown--Lipps Inc. (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Jorge Basadre, 77. Peruvian historian and politician. Dr. Basadre wrote many books about the independent history of Peru, most notably Historia de la República del Perú (History of the Republic of Peru) (1939-1968), which eventually reached 16 volumes in six editions. He served as Peru's Minister of Education from July-October 1945 and 1956-1958.

Politics and government
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir became the first woman to be democratically elected as a nation's head of state when she was elected President of Iceland, receiving 33.8% of the vote to 32.3% for runner-up Guðlaugur Þorvaldsson.

30 years ago
1990

Died on this date
Irving Wallace, 74. U.S. writer. Mr. Wallace wrote novels such as The Chapman Report (1960); The Prize (1962); and The Word (1972), and collaborated with his son David Wallechinsky on three volumes of The People's Almanac (1975-1981) and with his daughter Amy Wallace and Mr. Wallechinsky on three volumes of The Book of Lists (1977-1983).

Diplomacy
The Lithuanian parliament agreed to suspend its declaration of independence for 100 days in exchange for an agreement by the Soviet government to negotiate on the issue and end economic sanctions.

Politics and government
Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa said that he would work with Parti Quebecois leader Jacques Parizeau to establish a non-partisan commission to consider Quebec's political future in the wake of the recent collapse of the Meech Lake Canadian constitutional accord.

Scandal
Progressive Conservative member of Parliament Gilles Bernier (Beauce) and former PC MP Richard Grise (Chambly) were charged by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with two counts of fraud and breach of trust in connection with two contracts, whereby they hired each other's relatives for bogus jobs. Mr. Bernier was acquitted in April 1994, while Mr. Grise pled guilty to two counts of breach of trust and was fined $5,000.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Ottawa (1-0) 26 @ Saskatchewan (0-2) 23

Baseball
Dave Stewart pitched the first no-hitter at SkyDome in Toronto as the Oakland Athletics blanked the Toronto Blue Jays 5-0 before 49,817 fans.



The second no-hitter of the day was pitched by Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-0 before 38,583 fans at Dodger Stadium. With a runner on base and 1 out in the 9th inning, Pedro Guerrero of the Cardinals hit a grounder up the middle; Mr. Valenzuela reached out with his glove and deflected the ball to shortstop Alfredo Griffin, who started a double play to end the game. It was the first time since the double no-hitter pitched by Fred Toney of the Cincinnati Reds and Hippo Vaughn of the Chicago Cubs on May 2, 1917 that two no-hitters had been pitched in the major leagues on the same day.



Ron Kittle led off the bottom of the 2nd inning with his 14th home run of the season, providing all the scoring as the Chicago White Sox edged the New York Yankees 1-0 before 30,137 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Winning pitcher Jack McDowell allowed 4 hits in 7 innings to get the win, while Bobby Thigpen pitched the 9th inning to get his 26th save of the season. Losing pitcher Chuck Cary allowed 6 hits and 1 earned run in 7+ innings. It was the first major league game for New York designated hitter Kevin Maas, who had a single in 3 at bats.

25 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Scatman's World--Scatman John

Died on this date
Lana Turner, 74. U.S. actress. Miss Turner, born Julia Jean Turner, was a popular star of the 1940s and '50s in such movies as The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946); The Bad and the Beautiful (1952); Peyton Place (1957); and Imitation of Life (1959). Her tempestuous private life hit a low point in 1958 when her 14-year-old daughter Cheryl Crane killed Miss Turner's lover, mobster Johnny Stompanato, when Mr. Stompanato was apparently attacking Miss Turner. The killing was ruled a justifiable homicide.

Music
This blogger was in attendance as the Beach Boys performed the first concert ever held at Edmonton's new, as yet unnamed baseball park. The concert took place after the Edmonton Trappers defeated the Calgary Cannons 4-1 in a Pacific Coast League game. Unfortunately, the show was a disappointment. The band played behind second base, making it difficult to see them from the stands. A guitar amplifier blew out during one of the songs, and the songs consisted almost entirely of just the standard package of hits, although they did perform the title song of their 1992 album Summer in Paradise.

Space
The U.S. space shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-71, and the Russian space station Mir docked, forming the largest man-made satellite ever to orbit the Earth.



Journalism
The New York Times and the Washington Post both said that they were considering publishing the manifesto of the Unabomber, who had already killed 3 people and injured 22 others with bombs sent through the mail. The Times, on June 28, and the Post, on June 29, had received copies of the Unabomber's 35,000-word manuscript titled Industrial Society and its Future, in which he attacked technological advances and called the Industrial Revolution a disaster for humans. The terrorist threatened to continue his attacks unless his manuscript was published.

Economics and finance
The United States Senate and House of Representatives approved a plan that projected $894 billion in reductions of projected spending increases and $245 billion in tax cuts over seven years.

Disasters
The Sampoong Department Store collapsed in the Seocho District of Seoul, killing 501 and injuring 937.

Football
CFL
Memphis (0-1) 18 @ Calgary (1-0) 24

Mark McLoughlin kicked 5 field goals and converted a 3-yard touchdown pass from Doug Flutie to Dave Sapunjis as the Stampeders defeated the Mad Dogs before 25,071 fans at McMahon Stadium in the first regular season game for the expansion Memphis club, and the first game as a CFL head coach for Pepper Rodgers. The Mad Dogs' first touchdown came on a 50-yard pass from Damon Allen to Joe Horn.



20 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Vittorio Gassman, 77. Italian actor. Mr. Gassman appeared in plays, films, and television programs from the early 1940s through the 1990s. His movies included War and Peace (1956) and Il Mattatore (1960). Mr. Gassman died of a heart attack in his sleep.

Disasters
Hundreds of refugees feeling religious conflict in Indonesia were drowned when their overloaded ship sank in stormy waters.

10 years ago
2010

Television
Talk show host Larry King announced he would step down from his CNN show in the autumn after 25 years on the air.