April 3, 2008

225 years ago
1783

Born on this date
Washington Irving. U.S. writer and diplomat. The New York City native’s best-known works include A History of New York (1809) (published under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker), which has been called the first great book of comic literature written by an American; the stories Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow; and a five-volume biography of George Washington, which Mr. Irving finished shortly before his death in 1859. Mr. Irving also served as American minister to Spain from 1842-1846.

140 years ago
1868

Died on this date
Franz Berwald, 71. Swedish composer. Dr. Berwald, an orthopedist by profession, was a Romantic composer who wrote four symphonies, as well as chamber music, vocal works, tone poems, and concertos. His music was largely ignored during his lifetime, but was better appreciated after his death.

120 years ago
1888

Crime
Emma Elizabeth Smith, a prostitute, was assaulted and robbed by two or three men in the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London. She was able to walk home, but then was taken to London Hospital, where it was discovered that a blunt object had been inserted into her vagina, rupturing her peritoneum. She died of peritonitis the next day. Ms. Smith's murder was the first of 11 murders of women in Whitechapel from 1888-1891 that were gathered into a single police file. Five murders later in the year were attributed to "Jack the Ripper."

110 years ago
1898

Born on this date
George Jessel. U.S. entertainer. Mr. Jessel had a career spanning more than 70 years; he was known for his comic roles on stage and for his ability as a banquet host, earning the nickname "Toastmaster General of the United States." He starred in The Jazz Singer (1925) on Broadway and was the original choice to star in the movie version, but turned down the role when his salary demands weren't met. Mr. Jessel produced 24 movie musicals from the 1940s through the '60s, appeared in small roles in several movies, and hosted several television programs. He died of a heart attack on May 23, 1981 at the age of 83.

Disasters
An avalanche in Chilkoot Pass, Yukon killed 88 men during the Klondike gold rush.

80 years ago
1928

Died on this date
James Ambrose Gallivan, 61. U.S. politician. Mr. Gallivan was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts from 1915-1921, and from 1923 until his death. A Democrat from South Boston, he was first elected to the House in 1914, and was successful in every subsequent election except 1920. Mr. Gallivan was known for his picturesque language, and packed the galleries whenever he spoke. He was mourned by colleagues from both sides of the House.

75 years ago
1933

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins ended one of the most gruelling series in Stanley Cup history at Maple Leaf Gardens. The best-of-five semi-final was tied at 2 games apiece, with the winner having to open the Stanley Cup finals the next night in New York against the Rangers. Three of the first four games had gone to overtime. After three periods of regulation play and five periods of overtime, the score stood at 0-0. That's 160 minutes of hockey, and several hours of real time. The two teams were so exhausted that a number of suggestions to decide the outcome wer made, including removing the goalies, reducing the number of players on the ice, calling the game and starting over the next night, or tossing a coin. The players approved the coin toss, but the remaining fans howled in protest when the teams assembled at centre ice. The game resumed; Andy Blair of the Maple Leafs intercepted an Eddie Shore pass, and passed to little-used Ken Doraty, who went in and snapped the puck past Tiny Thompson in the Boston goal. The winning tally came at 4:46 of the sixth overtime period. To this day, the only NHL game to last longer is the playoff game between the Montreal Maroons and Detroit Red Wings in 1936, which ended at 16:30 of the sixth overtime period.

60 years ago
1948

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard) (Best Seller): Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)--Peggy Lee (4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Now is the Hour (Maori Farewell Song)--Bing Crosby (3rd week at #1)
--Gracie Fields
--Margaret Whiting
--Eddy Howard and his Orchestra
--Charlie Spivak and his Orchestra
2 Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)--Peggy Lee
3 I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover--Art Mooney and his Orchestra
--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra
--The Three Suns
--Uptown String Band
4 Beg Your Pardon--Francis Craig and his Orchestra
--Frankie Carle and his Orchestra
--Larry Green and his Orchestra
5 Because--Perry Como
6 Sabre Dance--Woody Herman and his Orchestra
7 But Beautiful--Frank Sinatra
--Margaret Whiting
8 Golden Earrings--Peggy Lee
9 Serenade of the Bells--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Jo Stafford
--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra
10 Ballerina--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
--Bing Crosby with the Rhythmaires
--Buddy Clark

Singles entering the chart were Baby Face by Art Mooney and his Orchestra (#20); Deck of Cards by "T" Texas Tyler (#24); Ok'l Baby Dok'l, with versions by Xavier Cugat and his Orchestra; and the Pied Pipers (#27); and There Ought to Be a Society (For the Prevention of Cruelty to Poor Unfortunate Lovers) by Kay Kyser and his Orchestra (#34).

At the movies
Close-Up, directed by Jack Donohue, and starring Alan Baxter, Virginia Gilmore, and Richard Kollmar, received its premiere screening in New York City.



Economics and finance
U. S. President Harry Truman signed the Marshall Plan, which aided the recovery of war-torn Europe. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, Communist leaders credited the Marshall Plan with helping to prevent many European countries from going Communist.

50 years ago
1958

At the movies
Nasser Asphalt (Wet Asphalt), directed by Frank Wisbar, and starring Horst Buchholz, Martin Held, and Gert Fröbe, opened in theatres in West Germany.

Born on this date
Alec Baldwin. U.S. actor. Mr. Baldwin, the oldest of four acting brothers, appeared in several television series in the early 1980s, including The Doctors and Knots Landing. His movies have included Beetlejuice (1988); The Hunt for Red October (1990); The Shadow (1994); and Ghosts of Mississippi (1996).

Died on this date
Jaan Kärner, 66. Estonian poet and author. Mr. Kärner wrote in various genres from the early 1920s through the early '40s, but was best known for his nature poetry. He lived in the U.S.S.R. during the German occupation of Estonia during World War II, but returned to Estonia after it was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1944. Mr. Kärner went insane in 1946.

Carlos Eduardo Castañeda, 61. Mexican-born U.S. historian. Dr. Castañeda emigrated to Texas with his family in 1908. He specialized in the history of the Spanish borderlands of the United States, especially Texas. He worked as an investigator for the Fair Employment Practices Committee during World War II, advocating for equal rights for Mexican-Americans. Dr. Castañeda's works included the seven-volume Our Catholic Heritage in Texas (1936-1958).

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Lady Madonna--The Beatles (2nd week at #1)

Australia's top 10 (Go-Set)
1 Love is Blue (L'Amour est Bleu)--Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra (2nd week at #1)
2 Simon Says--1910 Fruitgum Company
3 Green Tambourine--The Lemon Pipers
4 Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)--John Fred and his Playboy Band
5 Bottle of Wine--The Fireballs
6 The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde--Georgie Fame
7 Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)--Johnny Farnham
8 The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)--Manfred Mann
9 Woman, Woman--The Union Gap
10 Delilah--Tom Jones

Singles entering the chart were Kiss Me Goodbye by Petula Clark (#22); Cinderella Rockefella by Esther and Abi Ofarim (#27); and The Legend of Xanadu by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich (#31).

Africana
The United States of Central Africa, formed by Congo (Kinshasa), Chad and the Central African Republic the day before, changed its name to the Union of Central African States.

Defense
At Wellington, New Zealand, the 13th annual Ministerial Council meeting of Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) closed with a communiqué endorsing the limitation of bombing in North Vietnam, but warning that Communist aggression in southeast Asia must be halted.

Politics and government
Martin Luther King, Jr., in Memphis,Tennessee, delivered his "I’ve been to the mountaintop" speech to striking sanitation workers. It turned out to be the last public address he ever gave.
An excerpt:

It really doesn't matter what happens now.... some began to... talk about the threats that were out -- what would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers.... Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place, but I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. And so I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.



According to close friend Ralph Abernathy, "Dr." King then spent his last full night alive in an adulterous liaison with several prostitutes, at least one of whom he beat up.

Economics and finance
19,290,000 shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange, breaking the record of 17,730,000 set two days earlier.

Disasters
Tornadoes in northern Arkansas killed 6 and caused extensive damage.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Stayin' Alive--Bee Gees

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Southpaw--Pink Lady

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Te Amo--Umberto Tozzi (6th week at #1)

Died on this date
Ray Noble, 74. U.K. musician. Mr. Noble led the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra in Britain (with Al Bowlly as vocalist), and led several bands in the U.S.A. Among his more notable compositions were The Very Thought of You; Cherokee; and Love is the Sweetest Thing. He had success in the late 1940s with Buddy Clark as vocalist. Their version of Linda (written by Jack Lawrence in honour of Linda Eastman--the future Linda McCartney) was the 4th biggest hit single of 1947 in the United States, according to Billboard.

Winston Sharples, 69. U.S. musician and composer. Mr. Sharples was a pianist and bandleader in the 1920s, but was best known for composing music for more than 700 cartoons for Paramount and Famous Studios from the 1930s through the 1960s.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Jimmy Carter ended his visit to Africa with a brief stop in Liberia as a gesture to the Liberian people. He returned to Washington later in the day.

Politics and government
Two of the three black nationalist groups in Rhodesia participating with Prime Minister Ian Smith in the transition to black majority rule rejected the American and British proposal to convene a meeting that would include Patriotic Front guerrillas.

Law
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-0 that federal judges could not block the construction of nuclear power plants by imposing extreme safety standards.

Economics and finance
U.S. Steel Corporation rolled back a steel price increase that had been denounced four days earlier by President Carter as "excessive" and "inflationary." On March 29, U.S. Steel had announced that it was increasing the price of steel 2.2% or $10.50 U.S. per ton to "cover the cost of the new coal labor contract." The president’s Council on Wage and Price Stability had argued that the coal miners’ settlement would add no more than $4 per ton to the cost of steel. U.S. Steel reduced the increase to $5.50 per ton.

25 years ago
1983

Football
Among the United States Football League games that day, the Philadelphia Stars routed the Washington Federals 34-3 on the national ABC telecast; the Los Angeles Express edged the Oakland Invaders 10-7.

Hockey
The National Hockey League regular season ended. Among the games that day were a 4-4 tie between the Montreal Canadiens and the league-leading Boston Bruins, and a 3-3 tie between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): One Tree Hill--U2 (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Milton Caniff, 81. U.S. cartoonist. Mr. Caniff created the adventure comic strips Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon. He produced Terry and the Pirates from 1934-1946, but left that strip because he didn’t own the rights to it. When he was offered ownership of his own strip, he created Steve Canyon, which began running in January 1947, the month after he’d finished his association with Terry and the Pirates. Mr. Caniff produced the Steve Canyon strip until his death. Other comic strips produced by Mr. Caniff include: Mister Gilfeather (1932-1933); The Gay Thirties (1933-1934); Dickie Dare (1933-1934) and Male Call (1943-1946). Mr. Caniff was one of the founders of the National Cartoonists Society, and served as its president in 1948 and 1949. He was honoured with the Reuben award as the nation’s top cartoonist in 1947 and 1972, and was named to the Society’s Hall of Fame in 1981. The Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award is named in his honour.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz travelled to the Middle East in an attempt to persuade the leaders of Israel and Jordan to begin direct negotiations toward Middle East peace.

Hockey
NHL
Montreal 4 Buffalo 4
New Jersey 4 Chicago 3 (OT)


10 years ago
1998

Scandal
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency accused dismissed spy Douglas Groat of sending two foreign nations secret U.S. information after failing in an attempt to extort $500,000 U.S. from the CIA in exchange for his loyalty.