August 27, 2009

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Brenda Kiema!

340 years ago
1669

Born on this date
Anne Marie d'Orléans. Queen consort of Sicily, 1713-1720; Queen consort of Sardinia, 1720-1728. Anne Marie was 14 when she married her third cousin Victor Amadeus II, then Duke of Savoy. When Victor Amadeus II received the Kingdom of Sicily as a result of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, Anne Marie became Queen consort, and the couple retained their titles when he exchanged Sicily for Sardinia in 1720. Queen Anne Marie died on August 26, 1728, the day before her 59th birthday.

200 years ago
1809

Born on this date
Hannibal Hamlin. 15th Vice President of the United States, 1861-1865. Mr. Hamlin, a Democrat until switching to the Republican Party in 1856, represented Maine's 6th District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1843-1847, and in the United States Senate from 1848-1857, 1857-1861, and 1869-1881. He was Governor of Maine from January 8-February 25, 1857, but had a change of heart and returned to the Senate. Mr. Hamlin was Vice President with President Abraham Lincoln during Mr. Lincoln's first term as President, and served in the militia during the U.S. Civil War. Mr. Lincoln chose Andrew Johnson as his running mate for the 1864 election, and Mr. Hamlin left federal politics before serving two more terms in the Senate. He was U.S. Ambassador to Spain from 1881-1882, and died on July 4, 1891 at the age of 81.

150 years ago
1859

Oil
Edwin Drake drilled the first successful U.S. oil well near Titusville, Pennsylvania.

120 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Stephen Early. U.S. journalist and bureaucrat. Mr. Early worked with Stars and Stripes, Associated Press, and Paramount News before serving as White House Press Secretary for Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) and Harry Truman (1950). He was Deputy Secretary of Defense (1949-1950). Mr. Early died on August 11, 1951, 16 days before his 62nd birthday, and a week after suffering a heart attack.

Baseball
Jocko Milligan had 4 hits and 6 runs batted in to lead the St. Louis Browns to a 19-1 rout of the Kansas City Cowboys in an American Association game at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
C. S. Forester. U.K. author. Cecil Scott Forester, born Cecil Louis Troughton Smith, was best known for the novel The African Queen (1935) and his 12 novels published from 1937-1962 about Horatio Hornblower, a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic Wars. He died on April 2, 1966 at the age of 66.

Byron Foulger. U.S. actor. Mr. Foulger was a character actor who specialized in playing milquetoast characters in plays, radio programs, movies, and television programs from the 1920s until his death from heart problems on April 4, 1970 at the age of 70.

Baseball
Rookie outfielder Emmett Heidrick had a double and 3 singles, 2 stolen bases, and was hit by a pitch to lead the St. Louis Perfectos to a 16-2 win over the Washington Senators at League Park in St. Louis.

100 years ago
1909

Born on this date
Lester Young. U.S. musician. Mr. Young, nicknamed "Prez," was a jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist who became one of the most influential jazz saxophonists ever. He achieved prominence with the Count Basie Orchestra from 1933-1940, with brief interludes as a member of the bands of Fletcher Henderson and Andy Kirk. Heavy drinking eventually affected Mr. Young's performances, although he made a successful comeback in the late 1950s. Mr. Young went on a European tour in 1959, but reportedly drank heavily and ate almost nothing. He cut the tour short and died on March 15 at the age of 49, hours after returning to New York. Mr. Young was known for his close musical association with singer Billie Holiday, and she died just four months later.

Sylvère Maes. Belgian cyclist. Mr. Maes raced professionally from 1933-1941 and 1946-1948, and won the Tour de France in 1936 and 1939. He died of cancer on December 5, 1966 at the age of 57.

80 years ago
1929

Died on this date
Herman Potočnik, 36. Austrian engineer. Dr. Potočnik, who wrote under the pseudonym Hermann Noordung, was known for addressing the issue of long-term human habitation of space, particularly in his only book, Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums - der Raketen-Motor (The Problem of Space Travel - The Rocket Motor) (1928). He conceived a design for a space station, and was regarded as a founder of astronautics. Dr. Potočnik suffered from chronic illness, and died of pneumonia in Vienna.

70 years ago
1939

Aviation
Erich Warsitz piloted the German turbojet-powered Heinkel He 178, the world's first jet aircraft, on its first flight.

60 years ago
1949

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Far Away Places--Bing Crosby; The Joe Loss Orchestra (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard) (Best Seller): Some Enchanted Evening--Perry Como (5th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Some Enchanted Evening--Perry Como (5th week at #1)
--Bing Crosby
2 You're Breaking My Heart--Vic Damone
--The Ink Spots
3 Baby, it's Cold Outside--Dinah Shore and Buddy Clark
--Margaret Whiting and Johnny Mercer
--Don Cornell and Laura Leslie
4 Again--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra
--Doris Day and the Mellomen
5 Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
6 The Huckle-Buck--Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra
--Frank Sinatra
7 I Don't See Me in Your Eyes Anymore--The Stardusters with Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra
--Perry Como
8 Room Full of Roses--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Dick Haymes
--Eddy Howard and his Orchestra
9 A Wonderful Guy--Margaret Whiting
10 Yes, Yes, In Your Eyes--Eddy Howard and his Orchestra
--Carmen Cavallaro and his Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were Someday (You’ll Want Me to Want You), with versions by Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra; and the Mills Brothers (#34); and (Where are You) Now that I Need You by Doris Day (#35).

On the radio
Tales of Fatima, starring Basil Rathbone, on CBS
Tonight’s episode: Intent to Kill

World events
The Bolivian government reported a revolt by Communist and Fascist groups in the country's southern provinces.

Defense
The U.S. Senate passed a House of Representatives-approved measure permitting expansion of the Air Force to 70 groups with 24,000 aircraft.

Protest
War veterans broke up a scheduled open-air concert by singer Paul Robeson in Peekskill, New York, causing eight injuries.







Scandal
Accused "five percenter" James Hunt, hospitalized in New York, signed an affidavit for presentation to the U.S. Senate subcommittee investigating influence-peddling in Washington, denying accusations against him.

Medicine
Biochemist Russell Marker reported isolation of the hormone cortisone, important in the treatment of arthritis, from the tropical yam.

Labour
Former Mexican League baseball players Max Lanier and Fred Martin dropped their $2.5 million suit against baseball for banning them from the major leagues after jumping to the Mexican League in 1946.

16,000 Congress of Industrial Organizations United Rubber Workers members struck against B.F. Goodrich Company for a wage increase and pension plan.

Disasters
A hurricane completed a two-day passage through southern Florida, inflicting $40 million in property damage.

Football
CRU
IRFU
Ottawa (1-0) 7 @ Montreal (0-1) 6

WIFU
Saskatchewan (0-1) 8 @ Winnipeg (1-0) 13

14,958 fans were at Royals Stadium to see the Rough Riders edge the Alouettes in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union season opener.

The Blue Bombers’ win over the Roughriders at Osborne Stadium was worth just one point in the standings. As a way of attempting to allow for the imbalance in the schedule created by the Edmonton Eskimos’ reentry into the Western Interprovincial Football Union, two of the Winnipeg-Saskatchewan games and two of the Edmonton-Calgary games were worth just one point. Winnipeg and Saskatchewan played each other 6 times during the season, while playing each of the other teams 4 times. Similarly, Calgary and Edmonton played each other 6 times, while playing 4 games against each of the other teams. A capacity crowd of 6,500 witnessed the game at Osborne Stadium.

Baseball
Ralph Kiner hit his eighth home run in the last 14 games, and the Pittsburgh Pirates took advantage of 5 errors to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-2 before 6,070 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Ernie "Tiny" Bonham pitched an 8-hit complete game victory to improve his 1949 record to 7-4, and singled home 2 runs in a 5-run 4th inning, in the 231st and last game of his 10-year major league career. He was taken to hospital shortly after the game, and was operated on for appendicitis; complications set in, and he died on September 15 at the age of 36.

Stan Musial hit a pair of solo home runs to help the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the New York Giants 5-2 in the first game of a doubleheader before 28,878 fans at the Polo Grounds in New York. Fred Martin (4-0) pitched a 5-hitter and allowed no earned runs to win over Dave Koslo (8-9), who pitched an 8-hit complete game. Ron Northey's 3-run homer was the big blow of a 5-run 3rd inning as the Cardinals won the second game 11-2 to complete the sweep, with Harry Brecheen (11-9) pitching a 6-hitter and doubling home a run.

Jeff Heath led off the bottom of the 9th inning with a home run as a pinch hitter to tie the score, and homered with 2 out in the bottom of the 10th to give the Boston Braves a 7-6 win over the Cincinnati Reds before 5,520 fans at Braves Field. Boston catcher Del Crandall was ejected by home plate umpire Jocko Conlan for arguing a ball call on just the second batter of the 1st inning.

Bobby Brown tripled home 3 runs with the bases loaded and 1 out in the top of the 7th inning and scored on an outfield fly by Charlie Silvera as the New York Yankees broke a 0-0 tie and shut out the Cleveland Indians 4-0 before 60,887 fans at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, with Tommy Byrne (11-7) pitching a 2-hitter to win over Early Wynn (10-4).

50 years ago
1959

On television tonight
The Lawless Years, starring James Gregory, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Poison Ivy Story



Diplomacy
Large crowds cheered U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower as he arrived in London for talks with U.K. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

Defense
The British Foreign Office said that the United Kingdom would continue its ban on nuclear tests without a time limit as long as the Geneva test-ban talks remained "useful discussions."

Football
CFL
WIFU
Edmonton (2-1) 16 @ Winnipeg (2-2) 1

Homer Floyd and Jackie Parker scored touchdowns for the Eskimos in their win over the Blue Bombers at Winnipeg Stadium, with Mr. Parker making 1 of 2 convert attempts. Tommy-Joe Coffey added a field goal, his first points in the Canadian Football League.

40 years ago
1969

Died on this date
Ivy Compton-Burnett, 85. U.K. authoress. Dame Ivy wrote novels about family life among the late Victorian or Edwardian upper middle class in England. Her novels included Manservant and Maidservant (1947) and Mother and Son (1955).

Erika Mann, 63. German actress and writer. Miss Mann, the daughter of novelist Thomas Mann, appeared in plays in the 1920s and '30s. She had a close personal and working relationship with her brother Klaus, and they united in opposing the Nazi regime in Germany. Erika fled Germany in 1935, and worked in London during World War II as a journalist, making broadcasts in German for the British Broadcasting Corporation. She lived in the United States after World War II, and moved to Switzerland in 1952. Miss Mann died in Zurich of a brain tumour.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (4-1) 14 @ Winnipeg (2-3) 16
Toronto (4-1) 24 @ Edmonton (1-4) 12

Winnipeg quarterback Wally Gabler, in his first start since being traded from the Toronto Argonauts, led the Blue Bombers to one of the decade’s biggest upsets. He completed just 7 of 16 passes, but Amos Van Pelt ran 32 yards for a Blue Bomber touchdown, while Pierre Guindon converted and added 2 field goals. George Reed scored the only Saskatchewan touchdown on a 3-yard rush. The win moved the Blue Bombers into sole possession of third place in the CFL’s Western Conference. Tom Wilkinson, in his first appearance in Edmonton, rushed for one touchdown and passed to Bill Symons for another. Dick Thornton scored the other Argonaut touchdown on an interception return. Corey Colehour scored an early touchdown for the Eskimos on a quarterback sneak. Dave Cutler's convert attempt was blocked by Allan Ray Aldridge, but Mr. Cutler added 2 field goals in the third quarter, both of which resulted from interceptions by Joe Hernandez.

Baseball
Phil Niekro pitched a 6-hitter to improve his 1969 record to 18-11 and scored the only run as the Atlanta Braves edged the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 before 11,454 fans at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Mr. Niekro doubled to lead off the 6th inning and scored on a single by Tony Gonzalez. Losing pitcher Dock Ellis (9-14) allowed 5 hits and 1 earned run in 8 innings.

Alex Johnson doubled home Pete Rose and Bobby Tolan in the 1st inning and hit a solo home run in the 5th to help the Cincinnati Reds defeat the Chicago Cubs 6-3 before 31,867 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago, handing the Cubs their seventh loss in their last eight games, and reducing their lead in the National League East Division to 2 games over the New York Mets. Chicago center fielder Oscar Gamble batted 1 for 3 with a base on balls and a run, and made 1 putout in his first major league game.

Pinch hitter Jim Davenport singled home Bobby Bonds with the bases loaded and 1 out in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the San Francisco Giants an 8-7 win over the Philadelphia Phillies before 4,973 fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. San Francisco first baseman Willie McCovey batted 3 for 4 with a home run, base on balls, 2 runs, and 4 runs batted in, while Philadelphia right fielder Johnny Callison was 3 for 5 with a double, triple, home run, and 4 RBIs.

The Houston Astros scored 4 runs against Bob Gibson (16-9) in the top of the 10th inning to break a 1-1 tie and defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 before 21,310 fans at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Mr. Gibson recorded 10 strikeouts, and the last 2 runs were unearned.

Jerry Koosman (12-8) pitched a 2-hitter to outduel Clay Kirby (3-18) as the New York Mets beat the San Diego Padres 4-1 before 5,525 fans at San Diego Stadium. One of the hits by the Padres was a home run by Ollie Brown in the 1st inning. John Sipin struck out as a pinch hitter for Mr. Kirby in the 8th inning; it was the 68th and last major league game for Mr. Sipin, who went on to become one of the first ex-major leaguers to have a long career in Japan.

With 2 out and nobody on base in the bottom of the 9th inning, George Scott and Russ Gibson singled, pinch hitter Dick Schofield walked to load the bases, and Syd O'Brien singled home Mr. Scott to give the Boston Red Sox a 4-3 win over the Kanas City Royals before 20,717 fans at Fenway Park in Boston. Vicente Romo (5-9) pitched a 9-hit complete game to win over Jim Rooker (4-11), who also allowed 9 hits in a complete game.

Rick Reichardt tripled home 3 runs with 2 out in the top of the 10th inning to break a 1-1 tie as the California Angels beat the Cleveland Indians 4-1 before 9,940 fans at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland.

Mike Kilkenny (4-4) pitched a 3-hitter to win the pitchers' duel over Catfish Hunter (9-12), who allowed 4 hits and 2 earned run in 7 innings, as the Detroit Tigers shut out the Oakland Athletics 2-0 before 19,887 fans at Tiger Stadium.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Up There Cazaly--Two-Man Band

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Kanpaku Sengen--Masashi Sada (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Gloria--Umberto Tozzi (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Louis Mountbatten, 79. U.K. military officer and statesman. Earl Mountbatten, an uncle of Prince Philip and second cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II, was Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia Command (1943–1946); First Sea Lord (1955-1959); and Chief of the Defence Staff (1959-1965). He was the last Viceroy of India (1947) and the first Governor-General of independent India (1947–1948). Lord Mountbatten, along with his grandson Nicholas, 14, and crew member Paul Maxwell, 15, was killed when a bomb planted by Irish Republican Army terrorists exploded aboard his fishing boat a mile off the coast of County Sligo in northwestern Ireland. Four other passengers were seriously injured, one of whom, Doreen, Lady Brabourne, 83, died the next day.

Terrorism
Hours after the murder of Lord Mountbatten, 18 British soldiers were killed in two booby-trap bomb attacks by the Irish Republican Army at Warrenpoint, South Down, 35 miles south of Belfast, close to the border with the Irish Republic.

World events
The Soviet jetliner carrying Ludmila Vlasova, wife of dancer Aleksandr Godunov, who had defected to the United States four days earlier, was allowed to leave the United States after Miss Vlasova assured American officials (in an "uncoercive environment") that she was leaving of her own free will. The plane had been detained for two days.

Diplomacy
In the first broadcast address by an American leader to the Chinese people, U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale said that "a strong and secure and modernizing China" was in the American interest in the coming decade. He disclosed that the U.S.A. was prepared to extend $2 billion in trade credits to China over five years. The two countries signed an extended cultural exchange pact and a protocol under which the U.S.A. would help China develop hydroelectric power. Mr. Mondale and Chinese Deputy Premier Deng Xiaoping also had lengthy discussions about the situation in Cambodia.

Labour
Teachers struck across the United States as students returned from vacation. Disputes were reported from six Midwestern states as well as New Orleans, and Oklahoma City.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Toy Soldiers--Martika (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Lambada--Kaoma

10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Hélder Câmara, 90. Brazilian clergyman. Dom Câmara was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Olinda and Recife from 1964--1985, and was one of Latin America's most prominent proponents of liberation theology (i.e., Marxism disguised as Christianity).

Space
It was reported in the journal Science that, for the first time ever, liquid water had been found in an object from space. In 1998 a meterorite had fallen to earth in Monahans, Texas. Scientists put its age at 4.5 billion years. Halite crystals, or salt crystals, similar to those formed on earth by evaporating water, were visible; scientists found tiny pockets of briny water inside the crystals.

Labour
Major league baseball umpires were warned by the league presidents that they would be fired if they struck the following week. There had been talk of a strike over baseball's refusal to allow 22 umpires to withdraw their resignations‚ which were effective on September 2.

Football
CFL
Toronto (4-4) 5 @ Montreal (5-2) 20
Hamilton (4-4) 30 @ Edmonton (2-6) 23 (OT)

19,761 fans were on hand at Molson Stadium to watch Barron Miles return an interception 101 yards for an Alouette touchdown in their win over the Argonauts. Toronto quarterbacks Jay Barker and Jim Ballard failed to generate much offense. The other touchdown came on a 12-yard run by quarterback Tracy Ham.

Hamilton quarterback Danny McManus rushed 2 yards for a touchdown at 3:03 of the first overtime period to give the Tiger-Cats their win over the Eskimos. The score was set up by a Kyle Walters interception of a Dan Crowley pass at midfield, returned to the Edmonton 31, followed by 4 rushing plays by Ronald Williams for 29 yards. Mr. Crowley was in the game because starting quarterback Marcus Crandell had injured his ankle making a bad play on a roll-out late in the 4th quarter. Eskimo receiver Fred Bailey, in the game of his career, appeared to have given the Eskimos a win when he scored on a 57-yard pass from Mr. Crandell with 2:55 left in the 4th quarter. Jon Baker’s convert gave the Eskimos a 23-20 lead, but Mr. McManus drove the Tiger-Cats to the Eskimo 1-yard line before Paul Osbaldiston tied the game with an 8-yard field goal with 19 seconds left. Ronald Williams carried 25 times for 136 yards and caught 4 passes for 25 to lead the Tiger-Cat attack. Danny McManus completed 25 of 34 passes for 395 yards; 8 of the completions went to Darren Flutie for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns. Fred Bailey caught 8 for 162 yards, and amassed 200 more in kickoff returns, including 60 on the opening kickoff. This blogger was one of the 34,180 in attendance, and it might have been the longest game I’ve ever been to. The game started shortly after 8 P.M., and finally ended at about 11:45. It was a beautiful night at Commonwealth Stadium, and during the slow stretches, one could observe the moon gradually working its way across the sky. Eskimo defensive back Kavis Reed, a good friend of this blogger, suffered a career-ending neck injury in the first quarter. he was down for a long time, but was able to get to his feet and make his way to the bench before being taken to hospital.



Baseball
The Cleveland Indians obtained veteran designated hitter Harold Baines from the Baltimore Orioles for pitcher Juan Aracena and a player to be named later. Mr. Baines was batting .322 with 24 home runs and 81 runs batted in in 107 games with Baltimore in 1999. Mr. Aracena was 2-0 with an earned run average of 3.28 in 32 games with the Columbus Red Stixx of the Class A South Atlantic League and 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 5 games with the Kinston Indians of the Class A+ Carolina League in 1999 before being traded; his contract was assigned to the Frederick Keys of the Carolina League. Pitcher Jimmy Hamilton, 0-2 with a 3.73 ERA and 2 saves in 25 games with the Akron Aeros of the AA Eastern League and 1-2 with a 5.18 ERA in 26 games with the Buffalo Bisons of the AAA International League, was sent to the Orioles on August 31 to complete the deal.

Harold Baines, in his last game in a Cleveland uniform, singled home Roberto Alomar and Manny Ramirez in the 1st inning, and the runs stood up for a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays before 43,303 fans at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. Dave Burba allowed 6 hits and 1 earned run in 8 innings to improve his 1999 record to 11-7, with Michael Jackson pitching a scoreless 9th inning to get his 30th save of the season. Losing pitcher Roland Arrojo (4-9) pitched an 8-hit complete game. The Devil Rays had runners on second and third bases with 2 out in the 9th, but pinch hitter Terrell Lowery grounded out to shortstop to end the game. Tampa Bay third baseman Wade Boggs batted 0 for 3, with no fielding chances, and was removed for a pinch runner after drawing a base on balls in the 9th inning of the 2,440th and last game of his 18-year Hall of Fame major league career.

The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Montreal Expos 4-1 before 8,257 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, as Cincinnati pitchers Ron Villone (7-4) and Danny Graves ended the 31-game hitting streak of Montreal right fielder Vladimir Guerrero.

Pinch hitter Wiki Gonzalez singled home Reggie Sanders with the bases loaded and 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to conclude a 3-run rally, giving the San Diego Padres an 8-7 win over the Milwaukee Brewers before 18,607 fans at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.