June 7, 2008

390 years ago
1618

Died on this date
Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, 40. English politician. Baron De La Warr was Colonial Governor of Virginia from 1609 until his death. He employed "scorched earth" tactics to defeat the Powhatan Indians who were a danger to the English settlers, and returned to England in 1611, retaining the title of Governor while leaving deputy Sir Samuel Argall in charge of the colony. Accusations from the settlers of tyranny on the part of Sir Samuel prompted Baron De La Warr to return to Virginia, but he died at sea en route. The state of Delaware and the Delaware Indians are named in his honour.

380 years ago
1628

Politics and government
The Petition of Right, a major English constitutional document, was granted Royal Assent by King Charles I and became law.

220 years ago
1788

Protest
Citizens of Grenoble threw roof tiles onto royal soldiers, an event sometimes credited as the beginning of the French Revolution.

170 years ago
1838

War
A group of 200 rebel refugees marched through Lewiston, New York, on their way to Clark's Point, intending to cross the Niagara River to attack Queenston, Upper Canada, which was defended by a small company of the First Frontier Light Infantry under Captain Lewis Palmer. Rumours flew that U.S. soldiers were on the way to intercept them, and on the order to embark, only 23 men obeyed, but then they dispersed before making the crossing.

160 years ago
1848

Born on this date
Paul Gauguin. French artist. Mr. Gauguin, a native of Paris, worked as a stockbroker before sailing to Tahiti, where he painted his most famous works.

80 years ago
1928

Died on this date
Otto Wiehle. U.S. man. Mr. Weihle killed himself in Chicago in a homemade electric chair.

Crime
A workman in Tokyo attempted to stab Japanese Prime Minister Baron Glichi Tanaka at the railway station.

Energy
U.S. President Calvin Coolidge killed by "pocket veto" (failure to sign in 10 days, Congress having adjourned) the Muscle Shoals bill calling for U.S. government operation of the $150-million power plant on the Tennessee River in Alabama.

75 years ago
1933

Basketball
The Edmonton Grads suffered a rare defeat in the North American championship series, losing the title to a team from Durant, Oklahoma.

70 years ago
1938

Aviation
The Douglas DC-4E made its first test flight.

Disasters
The Chinese Nationalist government destroyed dikes holding the Yellow River in an attempt to halt the rapid advance of Japanese forces, causing a flood that killed at least 400,000 people.

60 years ago
1948

Died on this date
Louis Lumière, 83. French film director, producer, and screenwriter. Louis and his brother Auguste were among the first filmmakers in history, and patented an improved cinematogaph, allowing for simultaneous viewing by multiple parties.

War
United Nations mediator Folke Bernadotte offered Palestinian Jews and Arabs a truce based on the following terms: limited Jewish immigration and no movement of fresh Arab troops into Palestine; access to Jerusalem and Jaffa for Red Cross relief teams; and a ban on stockpiling of military supplies.

Politics and government
Edvard Beneš resigned as President of Czechoslovakia, officially for reasons of health. He refused to sign the Ninth-of-May Constitution, making his nation a Communist state.

The London conference of U.K., U.S., and Western European representatives published its recommendations on Germany, including the creation of a West German federal state and stationing of Western troops in Germany "until the peace of Europe is secured."

The Conservative Party, led by Premier George Drew, won a second consecutive majority of seats in the Provincial Parliament in the Ontario provincial election. The Conservatives won 53 of 90 seats, down from their previous total of 66. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, by Ted Jolliffe, improved from 8 seats to 21 to become the official Opposition, while a Liberal and Liberal-Labour coalition, led by Farquhar Oliver, held steady at 14 seats, as did the Labour-Progressive Party, led by A.A. MacLeod, with 2. Mr. Drew lost his own seat in the riding of High Park to CCF candidate Bill Temple; instead of seeking a seat in a by-election, Mr. Drew opted to enter federal politics and run for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.

Society
The U.S. Supreme Court handed down two decisions upholding the legality of "quick" Florida and Nevada divorces in other states.

Academia
U.S. Army General (Retired) Dwight D. Eisenhower took office as President of Columbia University.

Religion
Former actor Harry Browne was elected president of the Mother Church, First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston.

Business
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a Justice Department charge that the purchase of Columbia Steel Company by Consolidated Steel Corporation violated antitrust laws.

50 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): He's Got the Whole World (In His Hands)--Laurie London (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): March from the River Kwai and Colonel Bogey--Mitch Miller and his Orchestra (9th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Hello, le soleil brille--Annie Cordy (13th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Who's Sorry Now--Connie Francis (4th week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 All I Have to Do is Dream--The Everly Brothers (4th week at #1)
2 Witch Doctor--David Seville
3 Return to Me--Dean Martin
4 Twilight Time--The Platters
5 The Purple People Eater--Sheb Wooley
6 Big Man--The Four Preps
7 Secretly--Jimmie Rodgers
8 Wear My Ring Around Your Neck--Elvis Presley
9 Jennie Lee--Jan & Arnie
10 Do You Want to Dance--Bobby Freeman

Singles entering the chart were Dream by Betty Johnson (#50); Moonlight Bay by the Drifters (#53); Young and Warm and Wonderful, with versions by Tony Bennett, and Roger Williams (#55); No Chemise, Please by Gerry Granahan (#58); Willie and the Hand Jive by the Johnny Otis Show (#60); and The Prettiest Girl in School by Randy Starr (also #60).

War
After two days of relative calm, nationalist guerrillas launched a wave of sabotage and terrorist attacks throughout Algeria.

Politics and government
The Cuban government of President Fulgencio Batista again suspended constitutional guarantees for 45 days, and continued news censorship.

Disasters
Reports from Calcutta said that 52 people had been killed in a landslide in the Lohit region of northeastern India.

Five officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police disappeared in Lake Simcoe, Ontario.

Horse racing
Cavan, with Pete Anderson up, won the 90th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park, New York in a time of 2:30 1/5. Tim Tam, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, chipped a bone in his ankle and placed second.



40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Young Girl--The Union Gap (2nd week at #1)

Edmonton’s top 10 (CJCA)
1 I Love You--People
2 Delilah--Tom Jones
3 Yummy Yummy Yummy--Ohio Express
4 Master Jack--Four Jacks and a Jill
5 Mony Mony--Tommy James and the Shondells
6 Honey--Bobby Goldsboro
7 Mrs. Robinson--Simon and Garfunkel
8 Blue Bonnie Blue--49th Parallel
9 How'd We Ever Get This Way--Andy Kim
10 Angel of the Morning--Merrilee Rush
Pick Hit of the Week: Reach Out of the Darkness--Friend and Lover
New this week: Candyman--The Candymen
Charlie the Fer de Lance--The First Edition
Sealed with a Kiss--Gary Lewis and the Playboys
Some Things You Never Get Used To--Diana Ross and the Supremes
Safe in My Garden--The Mamas and the Papas

Reach Out of the Darkness appeared on both the Verve Folkways and Verve Forecast labels. The record number was the same for both: 5069.

At the movies
Work is a Four-Letter Word, starring David Warner and Cilla Black, opened in theatres in London.

Died on this date
Dan Duryea, 61. U.S. actor. Mr. Duryea had a movie career spanning more than a quarter-century; he appeared in numerous Westerns, but was best known for his supporting roles, usually as a villain, in films noir such as Scarlet Street (1945) and Black Angel (1946). He starred in the television adventure series China Smith (1952-1956). Mr. Duryea died of cancer.

Protest
4,000 striking workers and 200 militant students battled police at the nationalized Renault automobile assembly plant in Flins, France, resulting in a dozen injuries.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Rivers of Babylon--Boney M. (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
R.G.W. Norrish, 80. U.K. chemist. Dr. Norrish shared the 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Manfred Eigen and George Porter "for their studies of extremely fast chemical reactions, effected by disturbing the equilibrium by means of very short pulses of energy."

Charles Moran, 72. U.S. auto racing driver. Mr. Moran drove the 1928 24-hour Bol d'Or race at Baldoux without relief, finishing fourth. He became the first American to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1929, and participated in the 1930 Indianapolis 500, starting 19th but finishing 27th after crashing on lap 23. Mr. Moran retired from racing in 1932 and became an automotive engineer, but returned to race sports cars from 1949 through the 1950s.

War
Western diplomats in Nairobi were reporting that Somali soldiers were again fighting in Ethiopia's Ogaden region, three months after withdrawing in the face of an Ethiopian offensive aided by Soviet and Cuban forces.

Diplomacy
In a commencement speech at the United States Naval Academy, U.S. President Jimmy Carter warned the U.S.S.R. to end confrontation with the U.S., saying that "competition without restraint and without shared rules will escalate into greater tensions." He attacked the Soviet definition of detente, which, he said, "seems to mean a continuous aggressive struggle for political advantage and increased influence." President Carter called on the Soviet Union to conclude a new strategic arms limitation agreement and to work together with the U.S. in bringing about black rule in Rhodesia and South-West Africa. He accused the U.S.S.R. of military buildup; exploiting internal African conflicts; of human rights abuses; and of attempting "to export a totalitarian and repressive form of government." Mr. Carter pointed out the weaknesses of the Soviet economic system and added that the weakness of Soviet agriculture forced the government to import food from the U.S. and other nations.

Scandal
A U.S. federal grand jury in Miami indicted 22 union officials and shipping company executives on 70 counts of racketeering, illegal kickbacks, embezzlement and other illegal activities. Arrests were made in Miami, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Charleston, Mobile, and New York. International Longshoremen's Association officials were charged with attempting to control business activity on the docks through payoffs, kickbacks, extortion, and intimidation. The union officials were charged with obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars over a 10-year period by threatening to cause labour problems. The investigation, which had been underway for three years, was continuing in New York, and more indictments were expected to follow.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Washington 105 @ Seattle 99 (Washington won best-of-seven series 4-3)

Bobby Dandridge scored 19 points, while Wes Unseld and Tom Henderson each added 15 to help the Bullets defeat the SuperSonics before 14,098 fans at Seattle Center Coliseum to win their first--and so far, only--National Basketball Association championship. Marvin Webster led Seattle with 27 points, with Jack Sikma adding 21.



20 years ago
1988

Died on this date
Martin Sommer, 73. German war criminal. SS Hauptscharführer Sommer was a guard at the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps and was known as the "Hangman of Buchenwald" for acts such as crucifying priests upside down. Even the SS regarded Hauptscharführer Sommer as being too cruel, and he was demoted and sent to the eastern front, where he lost his right arm and leg, and was held as a prisoner of war by the Soviets until 1950. He was then upgraded to war criminal, and transferred to West German custody in 1955. Mr. Sommer was finally convicted of war crimes in 1958, and spent the rest of his life in prison.

Space
The U.S.S.R. mission Soyuz TM-5, with a crew of Commander Anatoly Solovyev, Flight Engineeer Viktor Savinykh, and Research Cosmonaut Aleksandr Aleksandrov, launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and docked with space station Mir for a three-month stay.

Diplomacy
Three days of talks began between the Sandanista government of Nicaragua and Contra rebels.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Detroit 105 @ Los Angeles Lakers 93 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Adrian Dantley scored 34 points and Isiah Thomas added 19 to lead the Pistons over the Lakers before a capacity crowd of 17,505 at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Magic Johnson led Los Angeles with 28 points, and Byron Scott added 25.



10 years ago
1998

Died on this date
James Byrd, Jr., 49. U.S. crime victim. Mr. Byrd, a Negro, was murdered in Jasper, Texas by three white supremacists, who chained him behind a pickup truck and dragged him along an asphalt road.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Utah 54 @ Chicago 96 (Chicago led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Michael Jordan scored 24 points to lead the Bulls to a rout of the Jazz before 23,844 fans at United Center. Karl Malone led the Jazz with 22 points, but no other Utah player scored more than 8 as the Jazz set a record for the fewest points scored in a playoff game, and a record--broken by the Bulls a year later--for the fewest points scored in a National Basketball Association game since the introduction of the 24-second clock in the 1954-55 season.