What Happened on August 3

Owens Captures First of Four Gold Medals as Berlin Games Open

Negro star crushes Nazi myth of Aryan supremacy with record 100-metre dash.

BERLIN, Aug. 3 — Four Olympic records in four events. That is the measure of Jesse Owens, the Negro star from Ohio State University who today won the 100-metre dash in 10.3 seconds, his first of four gold medals at the Eleventh Olympiad. Before 100,000 spectators in the newly built Reichssportfeld, Owens tore down the cinder track leaving a field of the world's fastest runners in his wake. His victory dealt a sharp blow to the Nazi regime's carefully cultivated propaganda of Aryan racial superiority. Adolf Hitler, who had opened the Games on August 1, was not in the stadium to greet the champion. A myth has grown that the Führer deliberately snubbed Owens. In fact, Hitler had shaken hands only with German victors on the first day and thereafter left before the medal ceremonies, a practice Olympic officials asked him to abandon. Owens, 22, arrived in Berlin as a member of the American team carrying enormous expectations. He had already set three world records in a single afternoon in May 1935 at the Big Ten championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Today he met those expectations with a performance of breathtaking power. The 100-metre final was never in doubt. Owens exploded from the blocks and held his form through the tape, finishing a full metre ahead of teammate Ralph Metcalfe, who took bronze. The Netherlands' Tinus Osendarp earned silver. But the most remarkable moment of Owens' Berlin campaign was still to come. In the Olympic village, a young German shoemaker named Adi Dassler of Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik visited Owens and persuaded him to wear the firm's track shoes. Owens agreed, and Dassler's spikes carried him through the long jump, 200 metres, and the 4x100-metre relay — each producing a new Olympic record. These are the first Olympic Games to be televised, with cameras transmitting images to receivers set up in public halls across Berlin. They are also the first to feature a torch relay, with a flame borne from Olympia in Greece to the stadium. Owens will run the 200-metre final on August 5 and the long jump on August 6. The relay final falls on the final day of track and field. If he wins all four, he will match the feat of American Alvin Kraenzlein, who won four golds at the 1900 Paris Games. A crowd of 100,000 roared as the Stars and Stripes rose over the Reichssportfeld for the medal ceremony. Owens stood on the top step, his face unreadable beneath the laurel wreath, as the band played "The Star-Spangled Banner." Hitler's box was empty. The Dassler shoes drew little public notice at the time but would later become the foundation of the Adidas sporting goods empire. The games continue through August 16. For now, Owens owns the morning of the Eleventh Olympiad. Dassler's visit marked the beginning of a business that would outfit champions for decades. The shoes Owens wore were handmade, six inches long of leather and spikes, and the young German shoemaker who brought them to the village was building a business that would one day span the globe. Owens’ remaining three events will test his legs and his lungs. He has never lost a race he finished. The German crowd applauded Owens warmly, a reception that undercut the regime’s racial dogma more effectively than any protest. Owens himself later said he felt no hostility from the athletes or spectators in Berlin. His four golds would stand for 48 years until Carl Lewis matched the feat in 1984. The long jump, which Owens will contest Friday, pits him against Germany’s Luz Long, who befriended the American during qualifying. That friendship became one of the lasting images of these divided Games.

Krishnamurti Dissolves Order of the Star at Ommen Camp

OMMEN, Netherlands, Aug. 3 — Jiddu Krishnamurti, the young Indian believed by many Theosophists to be the coming World Teacher, today dissolved the Order of the Star, the organisation founded to support his mission.

Speaking at the annual Star Camp here, Krishnamurti said he had reached his decision after careful consideration during the past two years. He said truth was "a pathless land" and urged followers to avoid all spiritual authority, including his own. He repudiated the Theosophical Society's hierarchy of spiritual masters and the very notion of organised discipleship.

Chartered Jet Crashes in Moroccan Mountains, Killing 188

A chartered jet crashed into a mountain peak near the Atlantic resort city of Agadir today, killing all 188 people aboard. The aircraft struck the rugged terrain in clear weather, according to Moroccan aviation officials. The accident is the deadliest ever involving that type of long-range jetliner.

Fossil Shows Dinosaur Combat Preserved in Stone

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia, Aug. 3 — It is the most dramatic fossil ever found: a Velociraptor and a Protoceratops locked in mortal combat, preserved exactly as they died some 75 million years ago. The discovery, announced today, provides the first direct evidence of predatory or agonistic behavior in non-avian dinosaurs.

A six-member paleontological team, including Altangerel Perle of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, unearthed the specimen today at the Tugriken Shire locality in the Gobi Desert's Djadochta Formation.

The Fighting Dinosaurs specimen preserves a Protoceratops andrewsi and a Velociraptor mongoliensis intertwined. The smaller Velociraptor's sickle claws are embedded near the Protoceratops' throat; the horned herbivore's beak clamps onto the predator's arm. Both animals died in the same instant.

How did the pair become so perfectly preserved? Scientists have offered three hypotheses: a sudden flood drowned them, a dune collapsed and buried them, or a violent sandstorm entombed the struggling animals. The Gobi Desert, which yields well-preserved fossils, has not yet given up its secret.

The specimen dates from the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, between 75 and 71 million years ago. The Velociraptor, a feathered dinosaur about the size of a turkey, has long been known from fragmentary remains.

Tandy Unveils TRS-80; Era of Home Computer Dawns

Radio Shack enters the microcomputer market with a $399 machine.

NEW YORK, Aug. 3 — The age of the personal computer, long awaited by hobbyists and engineers, arrived in earnest today as the Tandy Corporation, parent of the Radio Shack chain, announced its TRS-80 microcomputer at a press conference here.

The machine, priced at $399 or $599 with a 12-inch monitor and tape recorder, represents a dramatic leap for a firm whose previous costliest product was a $500 stereo. The TRS-80 uses a Zilog Z80 8-bit microprocessor and comes with 4 KB of DRAM standard.

King Edward Takes Calais After Long Siege

French port falls to English; foothold secured in northern France.

CALAIS, Aug. 3 — King Edward III of England, his army unopposed since the great victory at Crécy, has taken this French port city after an eleven-month siege, ending the Crécy campaign with a prize of lasting value. The port gives England a permanent foothold on French soil. Edward’s host will winter at Calais before any further move into France. The city, seized after the capitulation of its starving garrison, will remain English for more than two centuries, until French forces retake it in 1558.

Arrah Siege Raised; Eyre Breaks Rebel Lines

Major Vincent Eyre's force ended the eight-day siege of 68 defenders by more than 10,000 rebels.

ARRAH, Aug. 3 — Major Vincent Eyre, leading the 5th Fusiliers from Buxar, today reached the fortified outbuilding here and ended its eight-day siege, dispersing the rebel force that had surrounded 68 defenders with more than 10,000 men.

Mauritania's President Ousted in Military Coup

Soldiers seize power while Taya attends Saudi king's funeral.

NOUAKCHOTT, Aug. 3 — Soldiers seized government buildings and state media today, announcing a coup that overthrew President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya while he attended the funeral of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.

Italy Begins Assault on British Somaliland

Invasion forces cross border in 16-day campaign.

Italian troops advanced north from Mogadishu toward the frontier today. Their columns marked the start of a 16-day campaign to conquer British Somaliland. The invasion lasted from 3 to 19 August 1940. General Godwin-Austen ordered withdrawal after a failed counter-attack toward Mirgo Pass.

Bloodshed at Wheatland: Strike Erupts Into Riot, Four Dead

Constable shot as martial law quiets California hop fields.

The first major farm-labor confrontation in California history turned violent as a strike at Wheatland erupted into a riot. The clash left four men dead, including a constable who was shot. Martial law was later imposed to quell the unrest in the hop fields.

Macedonian Rebels Proclaim Kruševo Republic

Ottoman forces mass to crush Ilinden uprising.

SALONICA, August 3 — Rebels have proclaimed a republic in the town of Kruševo. The declaration came as Ottoman forces massed to suppress the uprising. The fighting involved about 15,000 irregulars and 40,000 Ottoman soldiers. Ottoman troops have reportedly razed villages in the region. Goce Delchev, a key rebel leader, was killed in May.

Sky Tower Opens in Auckland, Tallest Structure in Southern Hemisphere

328-metre tower features revolving restaurant and sky jump.

AUCKLAND, August 3 — Gordon Moller, the architect who designed the new Sky Tower, today saw his creation open to the public as part of the SkyCity Auckland casino complex. The 328-metre tower was built by Fletcher Construction with engineering from Beca Group.