June 10, 2016

1,150 years ago
866

Born on this date
Uda. Emperor of Japan, 887-897. Uda, born Sadami, acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Kōkō. His reign was marked by a long struggle to assert the power of the Imperial Family against the Fujiwara clan. Emperor Uda abdicated in 897 in favour of his son Daigo, and became a Buddhist priest in 900. Uda died on September 3, 931 at the age of 65.

420 years ago
1596

Exploration
Dutch explorers Willem Barents and Jacob van Heemskerk discovered Bear Island, Norway.

230 years ago
1786

Disasters
A landslide dam on the Dadu River created by an earthquake 10 days earlier collapsed, killing 100,000 in the Chinese province of Sichuan.

225 years ago
1791

Politics and government
The British Parliament passed the Constitutional Act to meet the demands of the Loyalists and give the inhabitants of Québec the same rights as other British subjects in North America; the Act divided the province of Québec into two new provinces--Lower Canada and Upper Canada; provided for an appointed legislative council and an elected legislative assembly, gave power over taxation given to the assembly, and gave the Governor power to withhold assent to bills passed by the legislative council and assembly. The act also declared that the Roman Catholic faith should continue to be respected, but makes provisions for lands (clergy reserves) to be set aside to support the Protestant clergy in each province. The Act received Royal Assent on June 19, and went into effect on December 26, 1791.

200 years ago
1816

Disasters
Snow began falling in the St. Lawrence Valley; 12 inches of snow accumulated near Quebec City by June 16. It was caused by global cooling from the April 10, 1815 explosion of the Indonesian volcano Mount Tambora, which threw about 25 cubic miles of rock and dust into the stratosphere. 1816 became known as the year without a summer in North America and Europe, with snow and frost in June, and widespread crop failures.

130 years ago
1886

Disasters
Mount Tarawera in New Zealand erupted, killing 153 people and burying the famous Pink and White Terraces. Eruptions continued for three months creating a large, 17-kilometre-long fissure across the mountain peak.

125 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Al Dubin. Swiss-born U.S. songwriter. Mr. Dubin, with Joe Burke, co-wrote Tiptoe Through the Tulips with Me, one of the most popular songs of 1929. He then teamed up with Harry Warren, and the two wrote such songs as Shuffle Off to Buffalo; We're in the Money; I Only Have Eyes for You; and Lullaby of Broadway. Mr. Dubin was a heavy drinker, and died in hospital at the age of 53 on February 11, 1945, three days after collapsing on the street after overdosing on a prescription of barbiturates.

110 years ago
1906

Died on this date
Richard Seddon, 60. Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1893-1906. Mr. Seddon, a native of England, moved to Australia at the age of 16 in 1862, and to New Zealand four years later. He was first elected to the N.Z. House of Representatives in 1879 as an independent, joining the Liberal Party in December 1890. Mr. Seddon took over the leadership of the Liberal Party and became Prime Minister upon the death of Prime Minister John Ballance in 1893. Mr. Seddon held various cabinet posts in addition to the office of Prime Minister, and his autocratic style earned him the nickname "King Dick." He was still in office when he died of a heart attack aboard the ship Oswestry Grange while returning from a trip to Australia, 12 days before his 61st birthday. Mr. Seddon was succeeded as Prime Minister by William Hall-Jones. Mr. Seddon's son Thomas won a by-election for his father's seat in the House of Representatives. Richard Seddon remains the longest-serving N.Z. Prime Minister to date.

100 years ago
1916

War
The Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire was declared by Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca.

80 years ago
1936

Movies
The Russian animation studio Soyuzmultfilm--then known as Soyuzdetmultfilm--was founded in Moscow.

75 years ago
1941

Died on this date
Henry Wise Wood, 81. U.S.-born Canadian agrarian theorist. Mr. Wood, a native of Missouri, moved to Carstairs, Alberta in 1905. He was President of the United Farmers of Alberta from 1916-1931, and served as an adviser to the UFA when they formed the provincial government from 1921-1934. Henry Wise Wood Senior High School in Calgary, of which this blogger is an alumnus, is named in his honour.

War
British headquarters announced that U.K. and Free French forces had advanced to within 15 miles of Damascus. French Prime Minister François Darlan, in a broadcast from Vichy, appealed to the French people to help him conciliate Germany and thus obtain better peace terms.

Crime
Charles "The Bug" Workman was sentenced to life imprisonment after pleading guilty to the October 24, 1935 murder of gangster Dutch Schultz.

Labour
A Gallup Poll reported 76% of people questioned saying that defense strikes should be forbidden. North American Aviation strikers at the company's plant in Inglewood, California voted at a mass meeting to return to work; more than 5,000 of the day shift's 7,000 workers returned to their jobs. Alcoa and Congress of Industrial Organizations officials accepted the National Defense Mobilization Board's proposals to settle a one-day strike at the company's Cleveland plants, but 4,000 CIO United Auto Workers of America members began a strike at the Bohn Aluminum and Brass Corporation in Detroit.

70 years ago
1946

Hit parade
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Gypsy--The Ink Spots (4th week at #1)
--Dinah Shore
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
2 Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside)--Dinah Shore
--Andy Russell
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
3 Prisoner of Love--Perry Como
--The Ink Spots
4 Cement Mixer (Put-ti Put-ti)--Alvino Rey and his Orchestra
--Charlie Barnet and his Orchestra
5 All Through the Day--Frank Sinatra
--Perry Como
6 I'm a Big Girl Now--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
7 Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop--Tex Beneke with the Glenn Miller Orchestra
--Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra
8 Sioux City Sue--Bing Crosby and the Jesters
9 They Say it's Wonderful--Perry Como
--Frank Sinatra
10 Doin' What Comes Natur'lly--Dinah Shore with Spade Cooley and his Orchestra
--Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra

New singles entering the chart were All the Time, with versions by Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra; and Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians (#20); The Whiffenpoof Song (Baa! Baa! Baa!) by Tex Beneke with the Glenn Miller Orchestra (#29); Ashby De La Zooch, with versions by Tommy Tucker Time; and the Merry Macs (#33); Surrender, with versions by Perry Como; and Woody Herman and his Orchestra (#34); and Amado Mio by Dick Haymes (#41). Both versions of All the Time were the other side of Love on a Greyhound Bus, charting at #13. The Whiffenpoof Song (Baa! Baa! Baa!) was the B-side of Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop. Amado Mio was originally from the movie Gilda (1946).

On the radio
The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Gale Gordon and Art Gilmore, on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Black Museum

Died on this date
Jack Johnson, 68. U.S. boxer. Mr. Johnson was the first Negro to hold the world heavyweight title, defeating Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia on December 26, 1908. Mr. Johnson's victory, and his flamboyant lifestyle--which included sexual relationships with white women--inspired much outrage, and launched an era of "White Hope" contenders for the title. Mr. Johnson easily defeated all comers, most famously former world champion Jim Jeffries, who came out of a five-year retirement in 1910 to fight Mr. Johnson. Mr. Johnson scored a 15-round knockout, becoming the only man to knock Mr. Jeffries down. U.S. authorities instigated charges against Mr. Johnson for violating the Mann Act, which prohibited transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes. Mr. Johnson then fled the United States, and spent the next several years abroad. He defended his title in Havana against white American Jess Willard on April 5, 1915, and was knocked out in the 26th round. Mr. Johnson returned to the United States in 1920 to serve his prison sentence, and was released in 1921; he continued to box for years after that, but was never a serious title contender again. Mr. Johnson recorded an official professional record of 71-11-11-3; he had many unofficial fights. He was killed in a car accident on a highway in North Carolina while driving angrily away from a diner that had refused to serve him.

William Whitcomb. U.S. industrialist. Mr. Whitcomb, president of the Great Northern Paper Company, was shot dead in his office in Boston.

War
General Draja Mikhailovich, Chetnik leader, and 23 others went on trial in Belgrade on charges of treason and collaboration with the Germans and Italians during World War II. In Nuremberg, former Nazi Netherlands Commissioner Arthur Seyss-Inquart testified that he had objected to Gestapo shootings but could not prevent them.

Politics and government
Italy officially replaced its monarchy with a republic, eight days after 54.3% of voters in a referendum had favoured a republic. King Umberto II was exiled to Portugal after just 40 days on the throne.

The dominant Popular Republican Movement endorsed Foreign Minister Georges Bidault for the office of Prime Minister of France.

The U.S. Supreme Court voted 4-3 against an appeal for reapportionment of Illinois congressioanl districts, ruling that "it is hostile to democracy to involve the judiciary in the politics of the people."

Law
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a naturalized citizen may be deprived of his citizenship if he violated his oath of allegiance.

Robert Jackson, chief U.S. prosecutor in the trials of accused Nazi war criminals in Nuremberg, charged that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black had participated in decisions involving a former law partner.

Business
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld fines totalling $225,000 against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co., and American Tobacco Co. for violation of antitrust laws.

Labour
Brazil reported that only 3,000 of 50,000 men who had been sent to the upper Amazon River during World War II to extract rubber for the Allies had returned, with the fate of the others remaining unknown.

60 years ago
1956

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Decoy, starring Robert Horton, Cara Williams, and Jack Mullaney

50 years ago
1966

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Dedicated Follower of Fashion--The Kinks (2nd week at #1)

Edmonton's top 10 (CJCA)
1 I Am a Rock--Simon and Garfunkel
2 Monday, Monday--The Mamas and the Papas
3 Tippy Toeing--The Harden Trio
4 Paint It, Black--The Rolling Stones
5 Peter Rabbit--Dee Jay and the Runaways
6 Paperback Writer--The Beatles
7 Green Grass--Gary Lewis and the Playboys
8 Brainwashed--David Clayton-Thomas
9 Shapes of Things--The Yardbirds
10 Gloria--The King Beezz
Pick hit of the week: Red Rubber Ball--The Cyrkle
New this week: Not Responsible--Tom Jones
La Bamba--Trini Lopez
Pretty Flamingo--Manfred Mann
I'll Try Lovin' You Less--John Davidson
Where Were You When I Needed You--The Grass Roots

40 years ago
1976

Died on this date
Adolph Zukor, 103. Austro-Hungarian-born U.S. film producer. Mr. Zukor moved to the United States at the age of 16 and became a successful furrier. He established Famous Players Film Company in 1912, merging it into Paramount Pictures in 1916. Mr. Zukor was president of Paramount until 1936, and remained as an executive until his retirement in 1959.

War
The Arab League agreed to send a peacekeeping force to Lebanon to enforce a new truce for the war-torn country.

Energy
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau raised the export price of natural gas to the United States by 21%.

30 years ago
1986

Died on this date
Merle Miller, 77. U.S. author. Mr. Miller wrote several novels and teleplays, and was an editor with Time and Harper's Magazine. He was best known for Plain Speaking (1974), an "oral biography" of former U.S. President Harry Truman, compiled from interviews conducted in the early 1960s. Mr. Miller died of peritonitis after an operation for a ruptured appedix.

Terrorism
Patrick Magee was convicted of planting the bomb that killed five people and almost killed most of the cabinet of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at a Conservative Party conference at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England in 1984.

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Anata ni aete yokatta (あなたに会えてよかった)--Kyōko Koizumi

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)--De La Soul

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Wind of Change--Scorpions (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
David Croll, 91. Russian-born Canadian politician. Mr. Croll immigrated to Canada with his family at the age of 5. He served as Mayor of Windsor, Ontario from 1931-1934 and 1939-1940. A Liberal, Mr. Croll was a Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament from 1934-1943. He then entered federal politics, and represented the Toronto riding of Spadina from 1945-1955. He was denied a cabinet post because of anti-Jewish prejudice in Quebec, as Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent thought the appointment of a Jew to a cabinet post would cost the Liberal Party seats in that province. Mr. St. Laurent appointed Mr. Croll to the Senate in 1955, making him the first Jewish member of the Upper House. Mr. Croll was the author of the Report of the Special Senate Committee on Poverty (1971), and also chaired the Senate's special committee on aging. Mr. Croll was appointed at a time when Senators were appointed for life, and he died at the Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa several hours after attending an afternoon session.

Crime
Jaycee Dugard, 11, was abducted by Phillip and Nancy Garrido while walking home from school in South Lake Tahoe, California. Jaycee was held by the couple in Antioch, California for 18 years before she was found by authorities in August 2009.

20 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Danza de los limones--Juan Antonio canta (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Lemon Tree--Fools Garden (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Macarena--Los Del Rio (2nd week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)--Hootie & the Blowfish (3rd week at #1)
2 Give Me One Reason--Tracy Chapman
3 Always Be My Baby--Mariah Carey
4 Because You Loved Me--Céline Dion
5 You Learn--Alanis Morissette
6 Ahead by a Century--The Tragically Hip
7 Dreamer's Dream--Tom Cochrane
8 Everything Falls Apart--Dog's Eye View
9 The Only Thing that Looks Good on Me is You--Bryan Adams
10 Fastlove--George Michael

Singles entering the chart were Let it Flow by Toni Braxton (#80); Counting Blue Cars by Dishwalla (#82); Change the World by Eric Clapton (#94); I'm Getting Used to You by Selena (#96); One by One by Cher (#97); Just Scream by Tom Cochrane (#98); and Take Me to Your Leader by the Newsboys (#99). Change the World was from the movie Phenomenon (1996).

Died on this date
Jo Van Fleet, 81. U.S. actress. Miss Van Fleet had a distinguished career on stage and screen, often playing characters who were older than she was. She won a Tony Award for her starring performance in The Trip to Bountiful (1954), and an Academy Award for her supporting performance in East of Eden (1955).

War
Peace talks between the British government and the Irish Republican Army began in Northern Ireland without the participation of Sinn Féin.

Abominations
The Québec government of Premier Lucien Bouchard reintroduced the "language police" - l'Office québécois de la langue française - to police various language laws and regulations.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Colorado 1 @ Florida 0 (3 OT) (Colorado won best-of-seven series 4-0)

Uwe Krupp scored unassisted at 4:31 of the 3rd overtime period at Miami Arena to give the Avalanche their first Stanley Cup championship. Colorado goalie Patrick Roy stopped all 63 shots he faced for the shutout, while teammate Joe Sakic was named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs.



Football
CFL
Pre-season
British Columbia (1-0) 35 @ Winnipeg (0-2) 29
Saskatchewan (0-1) 15 @ Calgary (1-0) 28

10 years ago
2006

Horse racing
Jazil, with Fernando Jara up, won the 138th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park, New York in a time of 2:27.86. Bluegrass Cat placed second and Sunriver finished third in the 10-horse field.



Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Carolina 1 @ Edmonton 2 (Carolina led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Ryan Smith scored with 2:15 left in regulation time to break a 1-1 tie as the Oilers edged the Hurricanes at Rexall Place.