May 10, 2008

1,770 years ago
238

Died on this date
Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus, aka Maximinus Thrax (Maximinus the Thracian), Maximinus I. Roman Emperor (235-238). Maximinus has been described in several ancient sources as the first barbarian emperor of Rome, and the first never to set foot in Rome. His rule is often considered to mark the beginning of the Crisis of the 3rd Century, the period from 235-284 in which the Roman Empire crumbled and nearly collapsed. Maximinus, his son, and his ministers were assassinated by Praetorian guards in his camp. Their heads were cut off, placed on poles, and carried to Rome by cavalrymen.

210 years ago
1798

Died on this date
George Vancouver, 40. U.K. explorer. Captain Vancouver, one of the Royal Navy’s best navigators, was famous for exploring the west coast of North America, as well as the southwest coast of Australia. Cities in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the American state of Washington are named after him, as is the largest island off the mainland of British Columbia.

190 years ago
1818

Died on this date
Paul Revere, 83. U.S. patriot. Mr. Revere was famous for his "midnight ride" during the battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, when he served as a messenger, warning John Hancock and Samuel Adams of movements of the British army. Mr. Revere later became a prominent silversmith and foundryman in Boston. He’s not to be confused with the founder of the 1960s music group Paul Revere and the Raiders.

120 years ago
1888

Born on this date
Max Steiner. Austrian-born composer and conductor. Mr. Steiner, a native of Vienna, was a child prodigy as a pianist and composer, and conducted an operetta when he was 12. He worked in theatrical productions in continental Europe and Britain in the years leading to World War I, but was interned in England as an enemy alien when World War I began in 1914. Mr. Steiner was allowed to emigrate to the United States, and spent 15 years on Broadway in New York before going to Hollywood in 1929, and sound was coming into motion pictures. He composed over 300 film scores for RKO Pictures and Warner Brothers Pictures from 1929-1965 and received 24 Academy Award nominations, winning for The Informer (1935); Now, Voyager (1942); and Since You Went Away (1944). Mr. Steiner's most famous scores included Gone with the Wind (1939) and A Summer Place (1959). He died of congestive heart failure on December 28, 1971 at the age of 88, after years of declining health and poor eyesight.

110 years ago
1898

Baseball
Amos Rusie of the New York Giants set down the Brooklyn Bridegrooms on 1 hit, winning 5-0.

100 years ago
1908

Born on this date
Carl Albert. U.S. politician. Mr. Albert, a Democrat, represented Oklahoma's 3rd District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947-1977. He was House Majority Whip (1955-1962); House Majority Leader (1962-1971); and Speaker of the House (1971-1977). Mr. Albert served with the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, acting as a prosecutor with the Judge Advocate General Corps, and rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He died on February 4, 2000 at the age of 91.

Society
Mother’s Day as it is known today was created by Anna Jarvis in honour of her mother Ann, an Appalachian homemaker who, starting in 1858, had attempted to improve sanitation through what she called Mother’s Work Days. The first modern Mother's Day was celebrated in Grafton, West Virginia in the church where the elder Ann Jarvis had taught Sunday School.

90 years ago
1918

War
The British Royal Navy launched the Second Ostend Raid, an attempt to block the channels accessing the Belgian port of Ostend, which the Germans had been using as the base for their U-boat activities since 1918. The raid was unsuccessful, due to heavy German resistance and British navigational difficulties in poor weather. The cruiser HMS Vindictive was sunk as a blockship in the operation.

Baseball
Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitcher Earl Hamilton had a 6-0 record with an 0.83 ERA after beating the New York Giants. He then enlisted in the U.S. Navy.

80 years ago
1928

Died on this date
Ed Stein, 58. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Stein compiled a record of 110 wins and 78 losses with the Chicago White Stockings (1890-1891) and Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1892-1896, 1898). His best seasons were 1892 (27-16, 2.84 earned run average) and 1894 (27-14).

J.J. Rooney. U.S. military aviator. U.S. Navy Lieutenant Rooney was killed in an attempt to land a plane on the deck of the aircraft carrier Lexington, off Oceanside, California.

Television
W2XB (more popularly known as WGY) in Schenectady, New York, the first television station in the United States, began regular broadcasting, as newscaster Kolin Hager delivered farm and weather reports three times weekly. I don’t know who had a set to watch it on.

Politics and government
G.R. Van Namee, campaign manager for Democratic Party U.S. presidential candidate Al Smith, told the U.S. Senate Committee at New York City that contributions to date were $103,310, expenditures $92,090, of which $41,500 went to California. The largest contributor was contractor W.F. Kenny, who gave $20,000 and lent $70,000.

Aviation
The TC-5, a 200-foot Army non-rigid dirigible, landed on the afterdeck of the American Trader, outbound, outside Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and picked up a passenger, who was taken to the Naval Air Station at Lakehurst, New Jersey.

Crime
After 13 months in the death house at Sing Sing, Robert Weiner, convicted of complicity in the murder of warden Peter Mallon in the Tombs outbreak of November 3, 1926, was discharged by Judge Mancuso in General Sessions, following reversal of his conviction by the Court of Appeals.

Baseball
The New York Giants traded right fielder George Harper to the St. Louis Cardinals for catcher Bob O'Farrell. The trade made room for 19-year-old Mel Ott to take over in right field, a spot he went on to hold for 18 years.

75 years ago
1933

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Richard Gordon and Leigh Lovell, on NBC

War
Paraguay formally declared war on Bolivia. Fighting in the Chaco War, so-called because it was fought for control over the Gran Chaco area of South America, had begun in 1932.

Abominations
Nazis staged public book burnings in Germany.

Labour
The Deutsche Arbeitsfront (German Labour Front), the amalgamated National Socialist trade union organization, was formed, replacing the free unions that had been outlawed by Chancellor Adolf Hitler eight days earlier. DAF's leader was Robert Ley, who stated that its aim was "to create a true social and productive community." Theoretically the DAF existed to act as a medium through which workers and owners could mutually represent their interests. However, in reality it was a means by which workers were controlled, ensuring wage demands were not made too often.

Suriname worker's union leader A. de Come was banished to the Netherlands.

60 years ago
1948

War
Egyptian irregular forces launched their first attack at Kfar Darom, Israel.

Diplomacy
Former U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited The Hague.

50 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Catch a Falling Star--Perry Como (6th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): March from the River Kwai and Colonel Bogey--Mitch Miller and his Orchestra (5th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Hello, le soleil brille--Annie Cordy (9th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Whole Lotta Woman--Marvin Rainwater (4th week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Witch Doctor--David Seville
2 Twilight Time--The Platters
3 All I Have to Do is Dream--The Everly Brothers
4 Wear My Ring Around Your Neck--Elvis Presley
5 He's Got the Whole World (In His Hands)--Laurie London
6 Return to Me--Dean Martin
7 Chanson d'Amour--Art and Dotty Todd
8 Book of Love--The Monotones
9 Tequila--The Champs
10 Oh Lonesome Me--Don Gibson

Singles entering the chart were (It’s Been a Long Time) Pretty Baby by Gino and Gina (#50); Boppin' in a Sack by the Lane Brothers (#53); El Rancho Rock by the Champs (#56); Stroll Me by Kay Starr (#57); Try the Impossible by Lee Andrews and the Hearts (#60); and I Wonder Why by Dion and the Belmonts (also #60).

At the movies
Mon Oncle, produced, directed, co-written by, and starring Jacques Tati, opened in theatres in France.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): The Legend of Xanadu--Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich (2nd week at #1)

Edmonton’s top 10 (CJCA)
1 Love is All Around--The Troggs
2 Honey--Bobby Goldsboro
3 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly--Hugo Montenegro, his Orchestra and Chorus
4 The Unknown Soldier--The Doors
5 Me, the Peaceful Heart--Lulu
6 Call Me Lightning--The Who
7 Lady Madonna--The Beatles
8 Take Time to Know Her--Percy Sledge
9 Delilah--Tom Jones
10 Master Jack--Four Jacks and a Jill
Pick of the Week: If I were a Carpenter--Four Tops
New this week: Turn Around, Look at Me--The Vogues
Sugar Cane--Tommy Roe
Bring a Little Lovin’--Los Bravos
Climb Every Mountain--The Hesitations

Turn Around, Look at Me didn’t catch on for about another three months. The song had been released as a single by Glen Campbell in 1961, but hadn’t been a big hit for him.

At the movies
What's So Bad About Feeling Good?, produced and directed by George Seaton, and starring George Peppard and Mary Tyler Moore, opened in theatres.

Died on this date
Philippa Bevans, 55. U.K.-born U.S. actress. Miss Bevans, mainly a stage actress, made her Broadway debut in Stepdaughters of War in 1930. Her last Broadway appearance was in the comedy What Did We Do Wrong? in 1967. Miss Bevans appeared in the movies The Notorious Landlady (1962); The World of Henry Orient (1964); The Group (1966); and Madigan (1968).

Scotty Beckett, 38. U.S. actor. Mr. Beckett was a popular child actor in the 1930s, appearing in the Our Gang comedy movies, as well as Anthony Adverse (1936); The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936); Marie Antoinette (1938); My Favorite Wife (1940); Kings Row (1942); The Jolson Story (1946); Battleground (1949); and The Happy Years (1950). However, like many a child star before and since, his life spiralled downwards into drug use, drunkenness, and crime. Mr. Beckett committed suicide with an overdose of barbiturates.

War
Talks aimed at negotiating a peaceful settlement to the war in Vietnam began in Paris. The United States was represented by Ambassador-at-Large Averell Harriman as delegation chief, with Cyrus Vance as his deputy. The North Vietnamese were represented by Xuan Thuy, former foreign minister, currently Minister of State and secretary of the Central Committee of the North Vietnamese Communist party, with Col. Ha Van Lau, former liaison officer with the International Control Commission of North Vietnam as his advisor. The first two days of talks were confined to discussions of procedure.

Politics and government
In Baltimore, Maryland's 49-vote Democratic delegation agreed to cast a unit vote for Vice President Hubert Humphrey in the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Baseball
Detroit’s Denny McLain defeated the Washington Senators 12-1 at District of Columbia Stadium, as the Tigers passed the first-place Baltimore Orioles. Detroit remained in the lead for the rest of the season.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Night Fever--Bee Gees (4th week at #1)

At the movies
The End, directed by Burt Reynolds and starring Mr. Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, and Sally Field, opened in theatres.

World events
Former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro was buried in a simple, private ceremony, the day after his body had been found in an abandoned car in Rome. Party and government leaders, who had refused to negotiate with the Red Brigade terrorists who had kidnapped Mr. Moro, were barred from the funeral at the family’s request.

Protest
The government of Iran condemned anti-government rioters as an "unholy alliance" of Muslim extremists and Communists.

Economics and finance
Robert Strauss, U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s inflation adviser, said that the President was deeply disappointed with organized labour’s rejection of his request for voluntary wage-price guidelines to fight inflation. The AFL-CIO said that the emphasis should be on price controls rather than on wages.

Basketball
NBA
Eastern Conference
Finals
Washington 94 @ Philadelphia 107 (Washington led best-of-seven series 3-2)

Western Conference
Finals
Denver 91 @ Seattle 105 (Seattle led best-of-seven series 2-1)

25 years ago
1983

On television tonight
The last episode of the situation comedy series Laverne and Shirley aired on ABC. I stopped watching it in 1976, so I wasn’t aware that the show was still going that long.

Politics and government
South Africa's ruling National Party suffered setbacks in special parliamentary elections.

Oddities
Lee Chin Yong performed 170 continuous chin-ups in Seoul.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
New York Islanders 2 @ Edmonton 0 (New York led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Billy Smith picked up the shutout in goal for the Islanders at Northlands Coliseum in the first Stanley Cup final game ever played in Edmonton. Andy Moog, in goal for the Oilers, gave up just one goal; the second was scored into an empty net.

20 years ago
1988

Politics and government
Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis won Democratic party U.S. presidential primaries in West Virginia and Nebraska.

French President Francois Mitterand ended two years of sharing power with Jacques Chirac when he named Michel Rocard as the new Prime Minister.

Labour
Most of the striking shipyard workers in Gdansk, Poland returned to their jobs.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Prince of Wales Conference
Finals
New Jersey 1 @ Boston 7 (Boston led best-of-seven series 3-2)

Basketball
NBA
Eastern Conference
Semi-Finals
Chicago 82 @ Detroit 93 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Western Conference
Semi-Finals
Dallas 115 @ Denver 126 (Denver led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Utah 101 @ Los Angeles Lakers 97 (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)

Baseball
Mark Langston of the Seattle Mariners struck out 16 batters in a 4-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, equalling the 1988 major league high set the previous day by Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox in a 2-0 three-hitter over the Kansas City Royals.

The Oakland Athletics lost 8-2 to the Detroit Tigers, ending their winning streak at 14 games.

10 years ago
1998

World events
Members of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, voted to accept the Good Friday peace agreement, effectively acknowledging the north-south border. It marked a major shift in modern republicanism-- previously, Sinn Fein had regarded participation in a Northern Ireland body as a tacit acceptance of partition. The agreement came at the party's annual conference, which included about 30 IRA prisoners granted special leave to vote. The British and Irish governments welcomed the decision to formally approve the peace agreement signed at Stormont in April to create the Northern Ireland Assembly and new cross-border institutions. The Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, said he now looked forward to an overwhelming 'yes' vote in referendums on the deal later this month. The British government praised the Sinn Fein leader, Gerry Adams, saying the decision marked a final realization that violence did not pay. Sinn Fein also voted to amend its constitution to allow members to sit in a new Northern Ireland Assembly after Mr Adams told his members they had a real chance to influence the strategy of the party and the way towards a united Ireland.

Transportation
Scores of Boeing 737 jets in the United States were grounded for safety checks after Federal Aviation Administration inspectors found fuel pump damage in some planes. Some flights were cancelled as a result.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Eastern Conference
Semi-Finals
Montreal 3 @ Buffalo 6 (Buffalo led best-of-seven series 2-0)

Western Conference
Semi-Finals
St. Louis 1 @ Detroit 6 (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)

Basketball
NBA
Eastern Conference
Semi-Finals
Chicago 94 @ Charlotte 80 (Chicago led best-of-seven series 3-1)
Indiana 118 @ New York 107 (Indiana led best-of-seven series 3-1)

Western Conference
Semi-Finals
Seattle 100 @ Los Angeles Lakers 112 (Los Angeles led best-of-seven series 3-1)
Utah 82 @ San Antonio 73 (Utah led best-of-seven series 3-1)