Mao Zedong, chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and the de facto leader of China’s 800 million people, died at the age of 82 from a heart attack at 12:10 in the morning, ten minutes after he was disconnected from life support. Mao had suffered the first of two heart attacks on September 2, followed by another two days later and fell into a coma on September 7. The Chinese Communist Party waited until 4:00 in the afternoon to announce Chairman Mao’s death and made the statement, “Mao Zedong passed away at 0010 hours on September 9 because of worsening of his illness and despite all treatment, although meticulous medical care was given him in every away after he fell ill.” The announcement was preceded by several notices that an important broadcast would be made at 4:00 PM. The brief announcement over public loudspeakers and on radio and television of the death of the Chairman of the Communist Party sent China’s people into mourning for the man who had guided a largely backward country to a pre-eminent place.
Chinese-American relations will not be set back by Mao’s death, Secretary of State Kissinger told a news conference. But, he added, whenever a major figure disappears there is no certainty about what might follow. Moscow’s relations with Peking may relax somewhat In the wake of the death of Chairman Mao, but some Soviet experts on China feel that a generation may have to pass before there is any substantial changes.
China’s political situation seems more uncertain than ever following the death of Chairman Mao. Analysts believe that a transitional collective leadership centered on the new Prime Minister, Hua Kuo-feng, may emerge.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved a compromise defense funding bill of $104.4 billion for fiscal 1977, which would limit spending on the B-1 bomber to $87 million a month through February 1. The total B-1 program, if carried out, is expected to cost about $25 billion. The measure now goes to the Senate for final action and is expected to be signed by President Ford even though it provides $3.6 billion less than he requested.
Russia’s grain harvest will be about 10 million tons larger than previous estimates, according to the latest forecasts by the Agriculture Department. The department experts said the Soviet Union would therefore import less grain from the United States.
All 47 passengers and five crew on Aeroflot Flight 7957, and all 18 people on Aeroflot Flight 31, were killed when the two airplanes collided in mid-air over the Black Sea at an altitude of 5,700 meters (18,700 ft). Flight 7957 was an Antonov An-24 and had departed Donetsk in Ukraine at 12:56 local time, while Flight 31, a Yakovlev Yak-40 had left Rostov in Russia at 12:47 on a multi-stop flight. Both aircraft were cleared for landing at the same runway in Sochi’s Adler Airport when they ran into each other at 1:51 in the afternoon.
Irish Republican Prime Minister Liam Cosgrave won a three-vote majority on a measure before the Parliament in Dublin that would give police the power to hold Irish Republican Army terrorist suspects for seven days without charge instead of the current 48 hours. Cosgrave is trying to push through legislation to implement the state of emergency declared last week in a drive to curb the IRA. A string of amendments to his proposals is slowing down the legislation, however.
British Prime Minister James Callaghan announced that he would delay an official visit to Canada because of a threatened national seamen’s strike. Callaghan was to have left today on a nine-day tour, his first visit to North America since becoming prime minister in April. If the seamen were to strike, he would have to postpone his visit indefinitely, informed sources said. The threatened strike was over a pay claim that would breach a national agreement to restrain wage increases. Britain’s economic strategy faces a serious threat from a seamen’s strike called for Saturday. The government and its allies within the labor movement held urgent meetings to find ways to avert the walkout that could seriously damage the government’s voluntary system of wage restraints.
The Bonhomme Richard, John Paul Jones’s flagship, which sank after a victorious battle with the H.M.S. Serapis, may have been found off the English coast. An expedition using a ship normally employed in searching for oil pinpointed with sonar and a magnetometer what is believed to be the remains of the privateer.
East Germany eased restrictions on West Germans in their personal dealings with the East. Bonn’s special envoy to East Berlin, Guenter Gaus, said that seven of 25 points put forward by the West Germans had been accepted by Dep. East German Foreign Minister Kurt Nier during a brief meeting. The concessions included a speeding up of controls on West Germans traveling short distances across the frontier by train.
Portugal’s Premier Mario Soares, saying his nation is near economic collapse, announced a series of tough austerity measures. Included were plans for wage and price controls, rationing of some goods, higher taxes on imports and credit policies to cut consumption and stimulate production and exports.
An Indian Airlines Boeing 737 on a flight from New Delhi to Bombay was hijacked to Lahore, Pakistan, the Indian national news agency Samachar reported. Samachar said one of the 77 passengers aboard was armed with a pistol and forced the pilot to change course. Flight controllers at New Delhi reportedly lost contact with the plane soon after take-off. No further details were available.
North Korean Vice President Kim Dong Gyu accused President Ford of provoking the August 18 incident, which led to the slaying of two U.S. Army officers at Panmunjom, to win votes in the November election, the government controlled news agency said. In a National Day speech in the capital of Pyongyang, Kim, 61, said Ford provoked the fight “to boost his sagging prestige… and remain in the Presidency.”
The VHS (Video Home System) recorder and its videocassette system, which would become the standard for home video recording, was introduced at a press conference at the Hotel Okura in Tokyo by the president of JVC (Japan Victor Company) with the unveiling of the HR-3300, branded as the “VIDSTAR” in the West. The machine would go on sale on October 31, 1976, at the initial price of 310,000 Japanese yen ($1,060, equivalent to $5,100 in 2021) and be released in the United States on August 23, 1977.
New Zealand government establishes the country’s first centralized electronic database through the Wanganui Computer Act, raising questions about the state’s ability to gather information on its citizens
More than 100 people were killed, and almost 300 injured, in the collision of two passenger trains in the west African nation of Cameroon.
Black Rhodesian leader Rev. Ndabaningi Sithole said he had withdrawn from the nationalist umbrella organization, the African National Council (ANC), and resumed his post as president of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU). Sithole told a news conference in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, that ANC “had never worked.” Sithole’s move left Bishop Abel Muzorewa as president of the ANC and he said that at least four others claimed the ZANU presidency.
Fifteen people died as the police opened fire on demonstrators in a group of non-white townships around Cape Town. It was the worst single day’s death toll in years for “colored” people, as South Africa calls those of mixed ancestry. The deaths shocked many whites, some of whom have attempted to bring the country’s 2.3 million colored into an alliance against the country’s blacks.
Independents and moderates, without whose support no Republican has been elected President since World War II, are supporting Jimmy Carter over President Ford, according to a poll taken by the New York Times and CBS News. The poll also showed, however, that an unusually large number of voters were still undecided.
President Ford has decided to sign the “sunshine” law opening meetings and records of about 50 federal agencies to public scrutiny, White House officials said. The President was said to fully support the provisions of the law, which covers all departments with multiple leadership and exempts only meetings that deal with national defense or security, trade secrets, criminal proceedings and matters of personal privacy. Detailed minutes or transcripts would have to be kept of all closed meetings.
Abortion is a serious problem for him, Mr. Carter said, but the issue might backfire on any presidential candidate who attempted to exploit it. Mr. Carter was presumably referring to a suggestion by Mr. Ford that he intended to make abortion a central campaign issue. The Democratic candidate also took issues with Mr. Ford’s assertion that there was no safe way to curtail defense spending.
The abortion question, a key issue in the presidential campaign. threatened to hold up indefinitely final congressional passage of the $56.6 billion money bill for the departments of Labor and Health, Education and Welfare. House and Senate conferees met for two hours without reaching agreement on a House provision barring use of any funds in the bill “to pay for abortions or to promote or encourage abortions.” They agreed to meet again next week. The provision, twice adopted by the House and twice rejected by the Senate, would bar the use of Medicaid funds to help pay for an estimated 300,000 abortions for low-income women.
Sweeping tax revisions would result front a bill agreed on by Senate-House conferees after they had adopted the first major estate tax reforms in 35 years. The bill, it was estimated, would provide about $1.6 billion in new revenue to the Treasury in fiscal 1977. The large bill includes new taxes for those who use various tax “shelters.”
An inadequate defense would result from Pentagon budget cuts and the lowering of troop levels overseas, President Ford told B’nai B’rith. Departing from a prepared text, Mr. Ford read notes sharply critical of Jimmy Carter’s national security proposals given to the same audience Wednesday.
A worker contaminated with radioactivity in a chemical explosion has been released from a hospital with no apparent permanent ill effects, medical authorities said. Marvin Klundt, 43, was scheduled to return to work today as a nuclear chemical operator at the Hanford Atomic Reservation at Richland, Washington, where the explosion occurred Aug. 31. However, Harold McCluskey, 64, a nuclear processing operator, remains under care for contamination and other injuries. A Hanford doctor indicated it might be another month or more before he is released. The chemical explosion happened during a process used to refine americium, a highly toxic and radioactive element, from radioactive wastes.
A House Ethics Committee request for another $100,000 to complete its investigation of how CBS correspondent Daniel Schorr got a copy of a secret report had a temporary setback. The House Administration voted 8 to 7 to tell the ethics panel to seek another funding route, using money it has for work other than the Schorr inquiry. The ethics group originally asked for $350,000 and got $150,000 to determine who leaked the report on CIA activities to Schorr, who gave it to the Village Voice newspaper of New York City. which published most of it. Schorr and some Village Voice employees have been subpoenaed. Schorr has said he will appear before the Ethics Committee but will not tell who gave him the report.
The public is being exposed to unnecessary risk by the Food and Drug Administration’s handling of the use of the artificial sweetener saccharin. In a report requested by Sen. Gaylord Nelson (D-Wisconsin), the General Accounting Office said the FDA in 1972 issued an interim regulation covering the use of saccharin after questions were raised about its potential to cause cancer. The GAO said the questions were not expected to be resolved for two more years and allowing the interim regulation to remain in effect “could expose the public to unnecessary risk.” The GAO recommended that the FDA “reevaluate the justification for saccharin’s continued use pending the resolution of the safety questions.”
The Senate has confirmed the nominations of Joseph R. Fogarty and Margita E. White as members of the Federal Communications Commission. Mrs. White was approved for a two-year term, ending July 1, 1978, and Fogarty for seven years, ending July 1, 1983. President Ford first named Mrs. White, director of White House communications, for the longer term and Fogarty, a lawyer for the Senate Commerce Committee, for the shorter one. But the two terms were switched in a compromise in the face of strong opposition over a possible conflict of interest because Mrs. White’s husband, a tax attorney, is in a law firm that handles cases before the FCC.
Denying he took a bribe, Lieutenant Frederick Borman, a 1974 West Point graduate, said he thought the accusation against him might have been made to embarrass his father, former astronaut Frank Borman, who had been named to head a panel investigating the cheating scandal at West Point. Lieutenant Borman was accused of taking $1,200 to change his vote on an honor-code board by two cadets accused of cheating.
Chrysler’s 1977 cars were introduced in Detroit with a forecast by company officials that compact cars will become the “family car” of the 1980’s. Chrysler also said that it would make a special short-term effort to sell more of its bigger cars, thereby joining the Ford Motor Company in trying to capitalize on what is seen as a continuing demand for larger automobiles.
Radar images of Venus, obtained by American astronomers, have revealed the first relatively clear picture of what the cloud-enveloped planet looks like. The images showed a possible lava flow the size of Oklahoma, an impact basin similar to those on the moon and evidence of earth-like mountain-building processes.
Major League Baseball:
A leadoff homer by George Hendrick in the seventh inning provided the Cleveland Indians with a 4–3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Pat Dobson (14–11) received credit for his fourth straight decision over the Orioles with help from Dave LaRoche, who relieved in Baltimore’s half of the seventh and earned his 17th save. Rico Carty knocked in the Indians’ first two runs with a single in the first and Buddy Bell homered in the third, but the Orioles tied the score in the fourth when Bobby Grich and Reggie Jackson singled and Ken Singleton hit for the circuit.
After 6 ⅓ innings of perfection, Rick Wise (12–10) settled for a two-hitter while pitching the Red Sox to a 5–0 victory over the Tigers. Wise breezed through the first 19 batters before Phil Mankowski and Ben Oglivie singled in succession. Jim Rice gave Wise the only run he needed by crashing a homer in the second inning. Carlton Fisk singled in the fourth to extend his batting streak to 18 games.
Alex Taveras, making his debut at second base with the Astros, committed an error in the 11th inning to set up the run that enabled the Reds to gain a 4–3 victory. The Astros took a 3-0 lead in the first two innings, but the Reds picked up a run in the eighth and tied the score in the ninth when Joe Morgan singled after the Reds had loaded the bases with hits by Cesar Geronimo, Dave Concepcion and Pete Rose. With one away in the 11th, Ken Griffey grounded to Taveras, who threw wildly, allowing the runner to reach second. After an intentional pass to Morgan, Griffey tried to steal third and was thrown out. Morgan advanced on the play and scored the deciding run when pinch-hitter Bob Bailey singled. The Reds used five pitchers with the victory going to Rawly Eastwick (11–5).
George Brett singled with two out in the 10th inning for his fifth hit of the game to drive in Dave Nelson and gave the Royals a 6–5 victory over the Angels. Frank White flied out and Bob Stinson struck out before Nelson, Jim Wohlford and Brett singled in succession to snap the Royals’ four-game losing streak.
Breaking a tie with a two-run homer in the seventh inning, Gary Thomasson lifted the Giants to a 4–2 victory over the Dodgers. Bobby Murcer drove in the Giants’ first two runs with a double in the first and single in the sixth. The Dodgers pulled even in the sixth. Reggie Smith led off with a homer. Steve Garvey was safe on an error and Ron Cey singled. After a sacrifice, Garvey scored on a wild pitch. Chris Speier was on base with a single when Thomasson smashed his winning homer. John Montefusco (15–12) got the win.
Thurman Munson and Chris Chambliss, the Yankees’ leaders in run production, each hit a homer in a 4–2 victory over the Brewers. Munson’s solo shot for his 93rd RBI tied the score at 2–2 in the third inning. The Yankees went ahead in the fifth when Fred Stanley singled, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and crossed the plate on a single by Roy White. Chambliss capped the scoring with a homer in the sixth for his 90th RBI.
Rollie Fingers put down a threat in the eighth inning and picked up his 20th save as the Athletics edged the White Sox, 2–1. The A’s, after scoring in the second on a double by Joe Rudi and single by Gene Tenace, added what proved to be the deciding tally in the third on a pass to Bill North, a balk and single by Don Baylor. Jorge Orta homered for the White Sox in the sixth. Fingers, the A’s fourth pitcher of the game, took over after Orta and Lamar Johnson singled and Chet Lemon sacrificed in the eighth. After issuing an intentional pass to Jack Brohamer, Fingers retired Bucky Dent on a pop fly and struck out Brian Downing.
The Phillies, winning for only the second time in the last 13 games, defeated the Cubs, 4–2, and increased their lead to five lengths over the idle Pirates in the East Division race. The Phillies scored all their runs in the second inning. Garry Maddox singled, Bob Boone walked and Jim Lonborg (15–9) moved the runners along with a sacrifice bunt. An infield hit by Larry Bowa scored one run and a single by Dave Cash added another. When Joe Wallis threw wildly from the outfield, the third run crossed the plate. The Phils’ last marker then counted on a wild pitch. Jim Lonborg, who gained his 15th victory, had one shaky inning, giving up the Cubs’ runs in the sixth. Rick Monday and Bill Madlock walked around a single by Wallis to load the bases and Larry Biittner then drove in two runs with a single.
A single by Tito Fuentes with two out and the bases loaded in the ninth inning scored Doug Rader and brought the Padres a 4–3 victory over the Braves. Rader singled for his third hit of the game and moved up on a sacrifice by Fred Kendall. Hector Torres drew an intentional pass and was forced by Merv Rettenmund as Rader took third. Following a walk to Johnny Grubb, Fuentes ended the game with his single.
Lynn McGlothen (12–13) drove in three runs with a single and double and allowed only four hits while pitching the Cardinals to a 6–1 victory over the Expos. Keith Hernandez, Garry Templeton and Lou Brock shared the spotlight with McGlothen. Hernandez rapped three hits and Templeton smashed his first major league homer. Brock stole his 50th base of the season, extending his own major league record to 12 straight years with 50 or more thefts.
Rod Carew smashed a grand-slam homer to back up the three-hit pitching of Dave Goltz (12–13) as the Twins defeated the Rangers, 6–0, for their fifth straight victory. Steve Foucault, pitching for the Rangers in relief of Jim Umbarger, issued three passes to load the bases in the seventh inning. Carew was summoned as a pinch-hitter for Bob Randall and, after Steve Hargan replaced Foucault, Carew hit the reliever’s second pitch over the center field wall. The grand slam was the third of the season for Carew, who had never hit one in any previous year in his major league career.
Cleveland Indians 4, Baltimore Orioles 3
Detroit Tigers 0, Boston Red Sox 5
Cincinnati Reds 4, Houston Astros 3
California Angels 5, Kansas City Royals 6
San Francisco Giants 4, Los Angeles Dodgers 2
Milwaukee Brewers 2, New York Yankees 4
Chicago White Sox 1, Oakland Athletics 2
Chicago Cubs 2, Philadelphia Phillies 4
Atlanta Braves 3, San Diego Padres 4
Montreal Expos 1, St. Louis Cardinals 6
Minnesota Twins 6, Texas Rangers 0
Stock prices dropped, with the Dow Jones industrial average off 6.07 points, finishing at 986.87. Bond prices eased slightly despite the good reception given new issues.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 986.87 (-6.07, -0.61%)
Born:
Mattias Öhlund, Swedish National Team and NHL defenseman (Olympics, 1998, 2002, 2006 [Gold medal], 2010; NHL All-Star, 1999; Vancouver Canucks, Tampa Bay Lightning), in Piteå, Sweden.
Hanno Möttölä, Finnish NBA center and small forward (Atlanta Hawks), in Helsinki, Finland.
Frank Moreau, NFL running back (Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars), in Pineville, Louisiana.
Emma de Caunes, French film actress (“Mr. Bean’s Holiday”, “A Brother…”); in Paris, France.
Humayun Khan, Dubai-born Muslim U.S. Army Captain and war hero killed in the Iraq War; in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (d. 2004).
Kristoffer Rygg, Norwegian heavy metal vocalist and musician (Ulver; Arcturus), in Oslo, Norway.
Died:
Mao Zedong, 82, Chinese revolutionary and Chairman of the Communist Party of China (1949-1976), of a heart attack.
History Diaries 