April 26, 2008

530 years ago
1478

World events
The so-called "Pazzi Conspiracy" against the Medici family for control of Tuscany was put into action in Florence. On Sunday, during High Mass at the Duomo before a crowd of 10,000, Giuliano de' Medici was stabbed 19 times by a gang that included a priest, and bled to death on the cathedral floor. His brother Lorenzo escaped with serious, but non life-threatening wounds. The coup d'état attempt failed, and a mob seized and killed the conspirators. Jacopo de' Pazzi was defenestrated, finished off by the mob, and dragged naked through the streets and thrown into the Arno River. To quote Alfred Hitchcock (out of context), "They were quite droll in those days."

180 years ago
1828

War
Russia declared war on Turkey to support Greece's independence.

120 years ago
1888

Born on this date
Anita Loos. U.S. authoress. Miss Loos, who wrote short stories, non-fiction, and screenplays, was best known for her comic novel Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1925). She died on August 18, 1981 at the age of 93.

90 years ago
1918

Born on this date
Fanny Blankers-Koen. Dutch athlete. Mrs. Blankers-Koen, nicknamed "The Flying Housewife," won four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games in London: Womens' 100-metre run; 200-metre run; 80-metre hurdles; and 4 x 100-metre relay. She won two gold medals in the 1946 European Championships and three more in the 1950 European Championships. In 1999, Mrs. Blankers-Koen was voted "Female Athlete of the Century" by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). She died of Alzheimer's disease on January 25, 2004 at the age of 85.

Abominations
Women in Nova Scotia were awarded the right to vote and hold provincial office.

Labour
American Federation of Labor President Samuel Gompers took advantage of his visit to Canada to promote labour participation in the war effort. After addressing the House of Commons in Ottawa, Mr. Gompers ended his tour of a few days with a visit to Montreal, speaking at the Canadian Club of Montreal and the workers at the Monument National. Several labour movements denounced the presence of the President of the AFL, calling it an interference in Canadian affairs.

80 years ago
1928

Died on this date
Mrs. W.T. Hobart, 68. U.S. missionary. Mrs. Hobart, a Methodist from Flushing, New York, was killed by a sniper during the Chinese civil war at Taian, near Tsinan.

Aviation
Baron von Huenefeld, Captain Koehl, and Major Fitzmaurice of the German Junker Bremen, which had been stranded on Greenly Island for 13 days since landing there on an attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean from Dublin to New York, were taken to Lake St. Agnes, Murray Bay by a Ford relief plane. The Bremen was left at Greenly Island.

Adventure
Toichio Araki, who had left Tokyo heading east on April 6, arrived in London. Ryvkichi Matsui, who had left Tokyo the same day as Mr. Araki, but heading west, arrived in Berlin.

Britannica
Madame Tussaud's waxwork exhibition opened in London.

Business
The Pennsylvania Railroad announced that it had acquired, for about $63 million the Delaware & Hudson Company’s stock of the Wabash and Lehigh Valley Lines.

75 years ago
1933

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Richard Gordon and Leigh Lovell, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Typewritten Will

Abominations
Jewish students were barred from school in Germany.

70 years ago
1938

World events
Austrian Jews were required to register property above 5,000 Reichsmarks.

60 years ago
1948

War
U.S. President Harry Truman ordered the release of Ernest Burger and George Dasch, German saboteurs who had landed in the United States in 1942 and had subsequently offered information on fellow conspirators to U.S. authorities. The two were to be deported to Germany.

Diplomacy
King Abdullah el Hussein of Transjordan claimed control of all Palestine after British withdrawal, offering Jews a national area as part of their citizenship rights.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Commerce Secretary Averell Harriman as U.S. special envoy to European states participating in the Marshall Plan.

Politics and government
The Jewish National Council in Tel Aviv announce the creation of a provisional cabinet, to assume control over Jewish areas of Palestine following British withdrawal. David Ben-Gurion was designated as Prime Minister and Defense Minister, with Moshe Shertok as Foreign Minister.

U.S. President Truman named General Francis Newcomer Governor of the Panama Canal Zone.

Economics and finance
The first Germans to take part in a post-World War II international conference arrived in Paris to advise the Organization of European Economic Cooperation on German participation in the Marshall Plan.

Crime
A court in Ljublijana sentenced 11 Yugoslavian officials to death and 4 others to imprisonment as Anglo-American spies.

Law
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter named William T. Coleman as his law clerk, the first Negro lawyer to be awarded such a post.

Energy
The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission announced plans to construct a $9-million cyclotron, the world's largest, at the University of California at Berkeley.

50 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Catch a Falling Star--Perry Como (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): March from the River Kwai and Colonel Bogey--Mitch Miller and his Orchestra (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Hello, le soleil brille--Annie Cordy (7th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Whole Lotta Woman--Marvin Rainwater (2nd week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 He's Got the Whole World (In His Hands)--Laurie London (2nd week at #1)
2 Twilight Time--The Platters
3 Witch Doctor--David Seville
4 Tequila--The Champs
5 Lollipop--The Chordettes
--Ronald and Ruby
6 Return to Me--Dean Martin
7 Wear My Ring Around Your Neck--Elvis Presley
8 Who's Sorry Now--Connie Francis
9 All I Have to Do is Dream--The Everly Brothers
10 Book of Love--The Monotones

Singles entering the chart were Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry (#33); You by the Aquatones (#39); Rumble by Link Wray and his Ray Men (#43); Torero by Renato Carosone (#52); That Crazy Feeling by Kenny Rogers (#54); When the Boys Talk About the Girls by Valerie Carr (#58); Talk to Me, Talk to Me by Little Willie John (#60); and Sick and Tired by Fats Domino (also #60).

Defense
U.S. delegate Henry Cabot Lodge submitted to the United Nations Security Council an American proposal for the establishment of an international inspection zone in the Arctic to guard against "massive surprise attack" by U.S. or U.S.S.R. bombers and missiles.

Captain W.W. Hollister of the Naval Ordnance Test Station at China Lake, California announced than an unmanned rocket sled at the testing grounds had attained a record ground speed of 2,704 miles per hour.

Politics and government
Cuban President Fulgencio Batista again suspended constitutional guarantees for 45 days.

Germanica
Following a meeting with West German Chancellof Konrad Adenauer, U.S.S.R. First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan told a Bonn news conference that the 1955 Geneva Conference agreements on German reunification through free elections could no longer be considered effective or binding.

Transportation
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Royal Blue, one of the first major railway electrification systems in the United States, made its final run.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
Edmonton’s top 10 (CJCA)
1 Love is All Around--The Troggs
2 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly--Hugo Montenegro, his Orchestra and Chorus
3 Honey--Bobby Goldsboro
4 Jennifer Eccles--The Hollies
5 Lady Madonna--The Beatles
6 Summertime Blues--Blue Cheer
7 Call Me Lightning--The Who
8 The Unknown Soldier--The Doors
9 Young Girl--The Union Gap
10 Take Time to Know Her--Percy Sledge
Pick of the Week: Mony Mony--Tommy James and the Shondells
New this week: Baby, Make your Own Sweet Music--Jay and the Techniques
I am the Man for You, Baby--Edwin Starr
Tip-Toe Thru' the Tulips with Me--Tiny Tim
Chain Around the Flowers--The Lewis and Clarke Expedition

War
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan warned that the Jordan Valley would become a battlefield if Jordan did not curb the saboteurs currently plaguing Israel.

Defense
The United States performed an underground nuclear test--Boxcar--a 1-megaton device at the Nevada test site.

Politics and government
Siaka P. Stevens took office as Prime Minister of Sierra Leone, eight days after Army mutineers had seized power in a coup.

Marvin Watson took office as U.S. Postmaster General, succeeding Lawrence O'Brien.

Protest
Student protesters at Columbia University took over a fifth building since the beginning of unrest two days earlier. Classes were cancelled and the campus was sealed off after 250 Negro high school students invaded the area shouting "Black Power." The protesters now numbered about 700. The university administration announced suspension of work on a gymnasium in Morningside Park, the proposed construction of which had ostensibly sparked the protests in the first place.

In Columbus, Ohio, student protesters seized the administration building at Ohio State University.

Energy
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau granted long-term interest-free loan to Ghana, Togo, and Dahomey for an electric power grid; it was the largest Canadian project in Africa.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Boston 127 @ Los Angeles 119 (Boston led best-of-seven series 2-1)

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Night Fever--Bee Gees (2nd week at #1)

Diplomacy
Arkady N. Shevchenko, a top-ranking Soviet official in the United Nations Secretariat who had defected on April 10, applied for asylum in the United States and announced that he was resigning his UN post. He had originally tried to retain his post even after his defection, but the U.S.S.R. insisted that he be replaced.

Politics and government
Hans Brunhart took office as Prime Minister of Liechtenstein.

Scandal
Former United States Budget Director Bert Lance was charged by the Securities Exchange Commission with civil fraud and "unsafe and unsound banking practices and financial irregularities." Also charged were the Calhoun First National Bank and the National Bank of Georgia, the two banks that Mr. Lance had headed before joining the Carter administration. Mr. Lance and the banks settled the complaint as soon as it was filed by promising not to violate, in the future, the laws cited in the complaint, but neither denied nor admitted guilt.

Crime
Michael Townley, a 35-year-old American, was charged in Washington, D.C., with conspiracy in the 1976 murder of Orlando Lelelier, former Chilean ambassador to the United States. Mr. Townley had been extradited from Chile on April 8.

Economics and finance
April 26 marked the end of a 10-day (starting April 13) trading period at the New York Stock Exchange that saw a record 431.88 million shares traded, and a 62-point rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Business
The Quebec National Assembly passed a resolution deploring the vote by stockholders of Sun Life Assurance Company to move their head office from Montreal to Toronto.

Basketball
NBA
Western Conference
Semi-Finals
Portland 98 @ Seattle 100 (Seattle led best-of-seven series 3-1)

25 years ago
1983

Died on this date
Bronislau Kaper, 81. Polish-born U.S. composer. Mr. Kaper grew up in Poland, but moved to Berlin as a student, and fled to France when the Nazis took power in Germany in 1933. When Hollywood mogul Louis B. Mayer was on vacation in 1935, he heard one of Mr. Kaper’s songs, and brought the composer to America, signing him for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Mr. Kaper wrote the music for over 100 movies, including San Francisco (1936); Gaslight (1944); The Stranger (1946); Green Dolphin Street (1947); Act of Violence (1949); Them! (1954); The Brothers Karamazov (1958); Home From the Hill (1960); and Lord Jim (1965). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) for The Chocolate Soldier (1941), and won the Oscar for Music (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) for Lili (1953). Mr. Kaper received two Oscar nominations for the 1962 version of Mutiny on the Bounty: Music (Original Song) for Love Song From Mutiny on the Bounty (Follow Me); and Music (Score--Substantially Original). For many moviegoers and critics, Mr. Kaper’s score for Mutiny on the Bounty was the best part of the film. He also wrote the theme music for the CBS television series The F.B.I., which ran from 1965-1974.

Education
The 18-member National Commission on Excellence in Education, created by United States Secretary of Education Terrel Bell in 1981, issued its report, A Nation at Risk. The panel said that the decline of the schools "threatens our very future as a nation and a people." The report found that students were falling behind their contemporaries in other industrialized nations in academic skills. Arguing that excellence was less expensive than mediocrity, the report called on the public to provide the money needed to turn the situation around. The panel recommended that schools put more emphasis on English, mathematics, science, social studies, and compute science; that the school day and the school year be lengthened; that teachers be rewarded for merit rather than seniority; and that colleges raise their admission standards.

Economics and finance
The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke 1,200 for the first time.

Politics and government
San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein won an overwhelming victory in a recall election.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Prince of Wales Conference Finals
New York Islanders 5 @ Boston 2 (New York led best-of-seven series 1-0)

20 years ago
1988

Politics and government
In the Manitoba provincial election, the governing New Democratic Party, under Premier Gary Doer, lost to the Progressive Conservatives, led by Gary Filmon. The PCs took 25 seats; the Liberals, led by Sharon Carstairs, took 20 seats to become the official Opposition; and the NDP was reduced to 12 seats. Mr. Doer was elected to his party's leadership during the provincial election campaign after Howard Pawley resigned the day after the NDP government was defeated in an attempt to pass the budget.

In the contests for the 1988 United States presidential nominations, Vice-President George Bush mathematically clinched the Republican nomination with a victory in the Pennsylvania primary. He now had 1,144 pledged delegates, 5 more than the minimum needed. Michael Dukakis won the Democratic primary, taking 67% of the vote to Jesse Jackson’s 27%. For the first time, Mr. Dukakis had opened a large lead over Rev. Jackson: 1,250 delegates to 850, with 2,081 needed in order to clinch the nomination.

Labour
A strike of about 15,000 workers began at the Lenin steel mill near Krakow, Poland.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Prince of Wales Conference
Division Finals
Boston 4 @ Montreal 1 (Boston won best-of-seven series 4-1)
New Jersey 3 @ Washington 1 (New Jersey led best-of-seven series 3-2)

The Bruins' win over the Canadiens at the Montreal Forum marked the first time in 45 years (and 18 series) that the Bruins had taken a playoff series from the Canadiens.

Basketball
NBA
The National Basketball Association approved the addition of a third referee for games in the 1988-89 season.

Baseball
New York Mets’ first baseman Keith Hernandez hit a pair of home runs and drove in 7 runs during a 13-4 rout of the Atlanta Braves before 10,405 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The 7 RBIs gave Mr. Hernandez 1,000 for his major league career. The Mets broke a 4-4 tie with 2 runs in the 7th inning and 7 in the 8th. Davey Johnson became the second manager to record 400 victories in his first 4 years (Al Lopez was the first). Dwight Gooden pitched a 10-hit complete game to improve his record for the season to 5-0.

Mike Scott allowed 3 hits and 1 earned run in 8 innings to improve his 1988 record to 4-0 as the Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 before 13,152 fans at the Astrodome.

John Smiley allowed 4 hits in 8 2/3 innings and batted 2 for 3, singling in the winning run in the 5th inning, to win the pitchers' duel over Rick Reuschel as the Pittsburgh Pirates shut out the San Francisco Giants 2-0 before 11,738 fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

Carmelo Martinez hit a home run with 2 out in the bottom of the 7th inning for the game's only run as the San Diego Padres edged the St. Louis Cardinals 1-0 before 15,553 fans at Jack Murphy-San Diego Stadium. Eric Show allowed 10 hits in pitching a shutout, but didn't walk a batter, and the Padres executed 4 double plays. St. Louis starting pitcher John Tudor allowed 4 hits in 6 innings, but was relieved by Randy O'Neal, who took the loss.

Mark McGwire hit a 3-run home run in the 8th inning to break a 1-1 tie and singled in another run in the 9th as the Oakland Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-1 before 21,280 fans at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Mr. McGwire's homer came off David Wells, who had just entered the game in relief of Dave Stieb, who was charged with the loss. Storm Davis allowed 4 hits and 1 earned run in 7 innings to get the win.

Don Slaught led off the bottom of the 8th inning with a home run that broke a 4-4 tie and held up as the winning run as the New York Yankees edged the Kansas City Royals 5-4 before 20,364 fans at Yankee Stadium. Losing pitcher Charlie Leibrandt allowed just 4 hits and 1 base on balls, but 3 of the hits were home runs, and all 5 baserunners ended up scoring.

Jeff Robinson pitched a 6-hitter and Gary Pettis drove in 3 runs with a pair of singles as the Detroit Tigers blanked the California Angels 6-0 before 11,973 fans at Tiger Stadium.

Joe Carter hit 2 home runs and batted in 5 runs, and Brook Jacoby and Jay Bell each added 3 RBIs as the Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners 12-6 before 6,690 fans at Cleveland Stadium. Tom Candiotti pitched a complete game victory, with 10 strikeouts, despite allowing 12 hits and 6 earned runs.

Juan Guzman pitched a 3-hitter to win the pitchers' duel over Chris Bosio as the Texas Rangers defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 before 27,941 fans at Arlington Stadium.

10 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Juan José Gerardi Conedera, 75. Guatemalan clergyman. Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Gerardi, a leading Guatemalan human rights activist, was bludgeoned to death with a concrete slab, two days after a report he'd compiled on atrocities during Guatemala's 36-year civil war was made public. Three Army officers were eventually convicted of his murder, and a priest was convicted as an accomplice.

Diplomacy
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien arrived in Havana to start an official visit to Cuba, which lasted until April 28.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Eastern Conference
Quarter-Finals
New Jersey 1 @ Ottawa 2 (OT) (Ottawa led best-of-seven series 2-1)
Washington 3 @ Boston 2 (2OT) (Washington led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Western Conference
Quarter-Finals
Dallas 1 @ San Jose 4 (Dallas led best-of-seven series 2-1)
Colorado 5 @ Edmonton 4 (OT) (Colorado led best-of-seven series 2-1)
Detroit 2 @ Phoenix 3 (Phoenix led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Alexei Yashin scored at 2:47 of the 1st overtime period to give the Senators their win over the Devils at Corel Centre.

Sergei Gonchar scored 2 goals for the Capitals in the 2nd period, and Joe Juneau scored at 6:31 of the 2nd overtime period as they edged the Bruins at Fleet Center.

Adam Deadmarsh and Claude Lemieux each scored 2 goals for the Avalanche, and Joe Sakic scored at 15:25 of the 1st overtime period as they edged the Oilers at Edmonton Coliseum.

Basketball
NBA
Playoffs
Eastern Conference
First Round
New Jersey 91 @ Chicago 96 (Chicago led best-of-five series 2-0)
New York 96 @ Miami 86 (Best-of-five series tied 1-1)

Western Conference
First Round
Portland 99 @ Los Angeles Lakers 108 (Los Angeles led best-of-five series 2-0)
Minnesota 98 @ Seattle 93 (Best-of-five series tied 1-1)