July 28, 2014

650 years ago
1364

War
Troops of the Republic of Pisa and the Republic of Florence clashed in the Battle of Cascina in Italy.

220 years ago
1794

Died on this date
Maximilien de Robespierre, 36. French politician. Mr. Robespierre was one of the Jacobin leaders of the French Revolution and held various positions, most notably as a member of the Committee of Public Safety during the "Reign of Terror" (1793-1794), when he used his influence to suppress opposition. The excesses of the Reign of Terror provoked a reaction that resulted in the arrest of Mr. Robespierre and some of his supporters. He and 21 "Robespierrists" were guillotined in Paris.

Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, 26. French politician. Mr. Saint-Just was a Jacobin leader during the French Revolution and a member of the Committee of Public Safety from 1793 until his arrest, which took place the day before his execution by guillotine in Paris.

170 years ago
1844

Born on this date
Gerard Manley Hopkins. U.K. poet. Rev. Hopkins was a Jesuit priest who was known for his melancholy poems about nature and religion. He died of typhoid fever on June 8, 1889 at the age of 44, after several years of declining health.

Died on this date
Joseph I, 76. King of Naples and Sicily, 1806-1808; King of Spain and the Indies, 1808-1813. Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte, born Giuseppe Buonaparte, was the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, who made him King of Naples and Sicily and then as Jose I, King of Spain and the Indies. He abdicated the latter throne after French forces were defeated by a British-led coalition in the Battle of Vitoria in 1813. Joseph governed Paris for several years and spent most of the period from 1817-1832 in the United States before returning to Europe and dying in Florence.

160 years ago
1854

Defense
USS Constellation, the last all-sail warship built by the United States Navy, was commissioned.

150 years ago
1864

War
In the U.S. Civil War, Confederate troops made a third unsuccessful attempt to drive Union forces from Atlanta in the Battle of Ezra Church in Fulton County, Georgia.

100 years ago
1914

Born on this date
Carmen Dragon. U.S. composer and conductor. Mr. Dragon conducted the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra for many years. He and Morris Stoloff shared the Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture for Cover Girl (1944). Mr. Dragon was the father of Daryl Dragon, the Captain of the duo Captain and Tennille, who had a string of hits on the pop charts from 1975-1980. Carmen Dragon died on March 28, 1984 at the age of 69.

War
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia after Serbia rejected the conditions of an ultimatum sent by Austria on July 23 following the June 28 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary's declaration began World War I.

Baseball
The Cleveland Naps traded pitcher Vean Gregg to the Boston Red Sox for pitchers Fritz Coumbe and Rankin Johnson and catcher Ben Egan. Mr. Gregg had won 20 or more games in each of his first 3 seasons from 1911-1913, but had come down with a sore arm in 1914. He was still able to post a 9-3 record with Cleveland in 1914 before being traded to Boston.

80 years ago
1934

Died on this date
Marie Dressler, 65. Canadian-born U.S. actress. Miss Dressler, born Leila Marie Koerber in Cobourg, Ontario, won the Academy Award for Best Actress of 1930-1931 for Min and Bill (1930). Other notable movies of hers included Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914); Anna Christie (1930); and Dinner at Eight (1933). Miss Dressler died of cancer.

Literature
The July 28, 1934 edition of Collier's included The Thirty Thousand Dollar Bomb, second of the Mr. Wong stories by Hugh Wiley.

Baseball
Chuck Dressen replaced Bob O’Farrell as manager of the Cincinnati Reds, who currently sat eighth and last in the National League with a record of 31-60. For Mr. Dressen, it was the beginning of a 16-year managerial career that would total 1,990 regular season games.

75 years ago
1939

Died on this date
William James Mayo, 78. U.S. physician and surgeon. Dr. Mayo and his brother Charles were sons of William Worrall Mayo, a physician in Rochester, Minnesota. The brothers joined their father's practice, and all three worked together at Saint Mary's Hospital when it was established in 1889. They were among seven founders of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester in 1919. Dr. W.J. Mayo died of stomach cancer, 29 days after his 78th birthday.

Archaeology
During an excavation of a ship burial at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, England, archaeologists discovered a helmet likely belonging to King Rædwald of East Anglia.

Baseball
Ken Chase of the Washington Nationals gave up 2 hits in the 9th inning to lose his bid for a no-hitter, but held on to beat Bob Feller and the Cleveland Indians 2-0 before 5,000 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Skeeter Webb had the first Cleveland hit. Mr. Chase improved his record for the season to 5-13, while Mr. Feller fell to 15-5.

70 years ago
1944

War
Soviet units in Poland captured Brest-Litovsk and Przemysl.

Protest
Crowds of nationalist demonstrators in Buenos Aires stoned U.K.-owned commercial establishments and were held off from the U.S. embassy by police.

Politics and government
New York Governor and Republican Party U.S. presidential candidate Thomas Dewey said that he opposed the renomination of Rep. Hamilton Fish for the November 1944 election for the U.S. House of Representatives because Mr. Fish had charged that "Jews are more or less for the New Deal, unfortunately."

60 years ago
1954

Died on this date
Jim Bagby, Sr., 64 U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Bagby played with the Cincinnati Reds (1912); Cleveland Indians (1916-1922); and Pittsburgh Pirates (1923), compiling a record of 127-89 with an earned run average of 3.11 in 316 games, and batting .218 with 2 home runs and 60 runs batted in in 325 games. His best season was 1920, when he was 31-12 with a 2.89 ERA in 48 games, leading the American League in games; complete games (30); innings pitched 339 2/3); hits allowed (338); and winning percentage (.721), while batting .252 with 1 home run and 14 RBIS in 49 games. Mr. Bagby helped the Indians win their first World Series in 1920, and was 1-1 in 2 games in the Series against the Brooklyn Robins, with a 1.80 ERA. He was the winning pitcher in game 5, and hit a 3-run homer, becoming the first pitcher to hit a home run in World Series competition. Mr. Bagby played 14 seasons in the minor leagues from 1910-1930, winning at least 132 games. His son Jim, Jr. was a major league pitcher from 1938-1947.

50 years ago
1964

Space
The United States launched the probe Ranger 7 toward the moon. Its mission was to send back high-resolution photographs of the lunar surface before crashing.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Saskatchewan (0-2) 18 @ Winnipeg (1-2) 19

40 years ago
1974

Died on this date
Truman Bradley, 69. U.S. broadcaster. Mr. Bradley provided colour commentary on CBS radio broadcasts of baseball games in the 1930s and narrated a number of radio programs. He acted in several movies and hosted the television program Science Fiction Theatre from 1955-1957.

Don McCafferty, 53. U.S. football coach. Mr. McCafferty was an end with the New York Giants in 1946 before embarking on a coaching career. He spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach at Kent State University, followed by 11 seasons (1959-1969) as an assistant coach with the Baltimore Colts under head coaches Weeb Ewbank and Don Shula. When Mr. Shula went to the Miami Dolphins in 1970, Mr. McCafferty replaced him as head coach of the Colts, and led the team to the Super Bowl championship, becoming the first rookie head coach to win a Super Bowl. The Colts made the playoffs again in 1971, but when they got off to a poor start in 1972, Mr. McCafferty was fired when he refused to bench veteran quarterback Johnny Unitas. Mr. McCafferty became head coach of the Detroit Lions in 1973, leading them to a 6-7-1 record. He was preparing for another season when he died of a heart attack after mowing the lawn at his home. Rick Forzano replaced him as head coach of the Lions.

Defense
Spetsgruppa A, aka Alpha Group, The U.S.S.R.'s elite special force, was formed.

Disasters
At least 69 people were killed and 10 seriously injured when a bus collided with a truck 250 miles south of Belem, Brazil.

Football
WFL
Chicago (4-0) 53 @ Hawaii (1-3) 29

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Self Control--Raf (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT Top 30): Wake Me Up Before You Go Go--Wham! (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Wake Me Up Before You Go Go--Wham! (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Hole in My Shoe--neil

#1 single in the U.K.: Two Tribes--Frankie Goes to Hollywood (7th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): When Doves Cry--Prince (4th week at #1)

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 When Doves Cry--Prince (3rd week at #1)
2 Ghostbusters--Ray Parker, Jr.
3 Dancing in the Dark--Bruce Springsteen
4 State of Shock--The Jacksons with Mick Jagger
5 Eyes Without a Face--Billy Idol
6 Jump (For My Love)--The Pointer Sisters
7 The Reflex--Duran Duran
8 Infatuation--Rod Stewart
9 Almost Paradise...Love Theme from Footloose--Mike Reno and Ann Wilson
10 Sad Songs (Say So Much)--Elton John

Singles entering the chart were Only When You Leave by Spandau Ballet (#76); Reach Out by Giorgio Moroder (featuring Paul Engemann) (#85); 99 1/2 by Carol Lynn Townes (#87); I Didn't Mean to Turn You On by Cherrelle (#88); Go Insane by Lindsey Buckingham (#89); and We're Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister (#90).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Sister Christian--Night Ranger
2 Self Control--Laura Branigan
3 Oh Sherrie--Steve Perry
4 When Doves Cry--Prince
5 Almost Paradise...Love Theme from Footloose--Mike Reno and Ann Wilson
6 Dancing in the Dark--Bruce Springsteen
7 Ghostbusters--Ray Parker, Jr.
8 State of Shock--The Jacksons with Mick Jagger
9 Jump (For My Love)--Pointer Sisters
10 Legs--ZZ Top

Singles entering the chart were Rock Me Tonite by Billy Squier (#42); Only When You Leave by Spandau Ballet (#43); Go for Soda by Kim Mitchell (#46); Missing You by John Waite (#47); I Can Dream About You by Dan Hartman (#48); Don't Tell Me by Blancmange (#49); and If Ever You're In My Arms Again by Peabo Bryson (#50).

Diplomacy
The U.S.A. sent a new draft for a joint statement on proposed talks with the U.S.S.R. on banning space weapons to Moscow.

Olympics
U.S. President Ronald Reagan officially opened the Games of the XXIII Olympiad at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Gina Hemphill, granddaughter of 1936 Olympics star Jesse Owens, circled the track with the torch, and Rafer Johnson, the 1960 decathlon champion, lit the flame.

Football
CFL
Winnipeg (3-1) 42 @ Hamilton (1-3-1) 20
Montreal (1-3) 7 @ British Columbia (3-1) 22

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Das Omen (Teil I)--Mysterious Art (5th week at #1)

World events
Israeli commandos abducted Sheik Abdul Karim Obeid, a spiritual leader of the Party of God, a Shiite Muslim group in southern Lebanon. An Israeli army statement said that Sheik Obeid had been "arrested" for planning attacks against Israel.

Football
CFL
Hamilton (3-0) 34 @ Saskatchewan (2-1) 17

The game at Taylor Field in Regina was interrupted by a thunderstorm which knocked out power and caused a lengthy delay.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Wizards of the Sonic--WestBam

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Riverdance--Bill Whelan (13th week at #1)

Music
35,000 people attended the first Lollapalooza festival in Molson Park in Barrie, Ontario featuring Smashing Pumpkins, the Beastie Boys, and George Clinton; rain turned the park into a sea of mud.

Labour
The Supreme Court of Canada refused an appeal of a lower court ruling awarding retired National Hockey League players an estimated $45 million from the league in surplus pension funds.

Football
CFL
Ottawa (2-2) 53 @ Hamilton (0-4) 25
Baltimore (2-2) 32 @ Winnipeg (2-2) 39

Baseball
Kenny Rogers of the Texas Rangers pitched a perfect game as the Rangers blanked the California Angels 4-0 before 46,581 fans at the Ballpark in Arlington. Center fielder Rusty Greer saved the masterpiece with a diving catch with none out in the top of the 9th inning.



10 years ago
2004

Died on this date
Francis Crick, 88. U.K. biologist. Dr. Crick co-discovered the DNA molecule with James Watson in 1953. Drs. Crick and Watson and Maurice Wilkins shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material."

Terrorism
At least 70 people were killed when a suicide bomb was detonated outside a police station in Baquba, Iraq.

War
Iraqi forces and foreign troops attacked an insurgent stronghold south of Baghdad, killing 35 terrorists.

Politics and government
At the FleetCenter in Boston, the Democratic National Convention nominated U.S. Senator John Kerry (Massachusetts) as its candidate for President of the United States in the November 2004 election.

World events
After 24 years of service in Afghanistan, the humanitarian group Medecins sans Frontieres announced that it planned to leave the country because the Afghan government had failed to prosecute the suspect in the murder of five of its aid workers.

Economics and finance
Ignoring a proposal from a legislative committee, New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord forced insurance companies in the province to offer inexpensive, no-frills options and to tighten regulations in an attempt to bring down rates.