April 10, 2009

1,130 years ago
879

Died on this date
Louis II, 32. King of West Francia, 877-879. Louis the Stammerer acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Charles the Bald. He suffered from poor health, and died while leading a military campaign against invading Viking forces. King Louis was succeeded by his sons Carloman II and Louis III as co-sovereigns.

390 years ago
1619

Died on this date
Thomas Jones, 68-69 (?). English-born Irish clergyman. Mr. Jones, a Protestant, was both Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1605 until his death.

200 years ago
1809

War
The War of the Fifth Coalition began when forces of the Austrian Empire invade Bavaria.

100 years ago
1909

Died on this date
Algernon Charles Swinburne, 72. U.K. poet. Mr. Swinburne was a poet of the decadent school; a drunkard and masochist until he was in his mid-40s, he eventually settled into social respectability, although his literary output declined. Mr. Swinburne died five days after his 72nd birthday.

90 years ago
1919

Society
Quebeckers voted 78.62% in favour in a referendum on this question: "Should the sale of light beer, cider and wines be allowed?" Quebec's subsequent prohibition law, effective on May 1, 1919, only applied to spirits, but 90% of Quebec municipalities were already prohibiting its sale locally.

Aviation
Harry Hawker and MacKenzie Grieve made the first airplane flight in Newfoundland at St. John's in a test for a transatlantic attempt.

75 years ago
1934

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Detroit 0 @ Chicago 1 (2 OT) (Chicago won best-of-five series 3-1)

Mush March scored at 10:05 of the 2nd overtime period at Chicago Stadium to give the Black Hawks their first Stanley Cup championship. Chicago goalie Chuck Gardiner was the star, earning the shutout for his seventh win in eight playoff games. Sadly, it proved to be the last game for Mr. Gardiner; two months later he was dead of a brain hemorrhage brought on by a tonsillar infection at the age of 29.

60 years ago
1949

Literature
The New York Herald Tribune listed The Big Fisherman by Lloyd C. Douglas and Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth and Ernestine Carey as the best-selling fiction and non-fiction books, respectively.

Radio
The International Radio Conference in Mexico City ended after the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. refused to sign a proposed agreement on the use of shortwave frequencies.

Politics and government
The Western Allies presented their proposed German occupation statute to the West German Parliamentary Council in Bonn, which objected to provisions for continued Allied supervision of German foreign trade and industrial research.

Science
The Stalin Prizes for scientific research in the U.S.S.R. went to physicists Sergei Vernov of the University of Moscow and George Latyshev of the University of Leningrad, and to Tromim Lysenko, leader of the officially-favoured environmentalist school of genetics.

Labour
Rivalry between leftist and conservative factions at an International Longshoremen's and Warehouseman's Union convention in San Francisco resulted in the nomination of Thomas George to challenge leftist Harry Bridges as union president. It was the first attempt in eight years to unseat Mr. Bridges.

Golf
Sam Snead shot his second consecutive 5-under-par 67 round to win the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Mr. Snead finished with a 6-under-par total score of 282, 3 strokes ahead of Johnny Bulla and Lloyd Mangrum. First prize money was $2,750. Mr. Snead became the first Masters winner to receive a green jacket.



Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Toronto 3 @ Detroit 1 (Toronto led best-of-seven series 2-0)

Sid Smith scored a natural hat trick for the Maple Leafs as they beat the Red Wings at Olympia Stadium. Pete Horeck scored for Detroit with 14:10 remaining in regulation time to spoil Toronto goalie Turk Broda's bid for a shutout.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Side Saddle--Russ Conway (3rd week at #1)

At the movies
Gidget, directed by Paul Wendkos, and starring Sandra Dee, James Darren, and Cliff Robertson, opened in theatres.

Died on this date
Leonard Shockley, 17. U.S. criminal. Mr. Shockley, a Negro, was executed in the gas chamber in Maryland for the January 16, 1958 murder of shopkeeper Sarah Hearne, which took place when he was 16. His brother Harold, then 23, accompanied him, and was sentenced to life imprisonment, but was eventually released. Leonard Shockley became the last person under the age of 18 to be executed in the United States.

Married on this date
Crown Prince Akihito of Japan and commoner Michiko Shoda were married in a Shinto ceremony in Tokyo.

World events
An Indian plane was shot down when it strayed over the border into Pakistan. Indian Defense Minister Krishna Menon claimed the plane was photographing Indian territory.

French police arrested 465 Algerian nationalist "agitators" in Lyons, Marseilles, and other French cities.

Crime
Virginia Governor J. Lindsay Almond, Jr. (Democrat), denounced by segregationists for advocating a moderate line on racial integration, escaped unhurt when a gunman fired at him as he left the Executive Mansion in Richmond.

Protest
Police dispersed followers of the newly-formed Uganda Nationalist Movement as they marched in Kampala to support demands for a boycott of non-African businesses.

Energy
Canada's first privately-owned nuclear research reactor went into operation, at McMaster University in Hamilton.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): My Son John--The Rebels

On television tonight
Dragnet 1969, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Frauds: DR-36



Died on this date
Harley Earl, 75. U.S. automotive designer and executive. Mr. Earl, the son of a coach builder, was the chief designer at General Motors and became vice president of the company in a career at GM spanning more than 30 years. He's perhaps best remembered for introducing tail fins, which became popular on GM cars and those of other cars in the 1950s and '60s. Mr. Earl died of a stroke.

Alvin Bentley, 50. U.S. politician and diplomat. Mr. Bentley, a Republican, served with the United States Foreign Service (1942-1950) before entering politics. He represented Michigan's 8th District in the U.S. House of Representatives (1953-1961), and was best known for being one of five Congressmen who were wounded in an armed attack on the House by five Puerto Rican terrorists on March 1, 1954. Mr. Bentley unsuccessfully ran for the Senate in 1960 and the House of Representatives in 1962. His health took a turn for the worse when he was required to use a wheelchair after some form of corrective surgery, and he died of an "inflammation affecting the central nervous system" while on vacation in Tucson, Arizona.

World events
A coup attempt against Central African Republic President Jean-Bédel Bokassa, led by Health Minister Alexandre Banza, was foiled; Mr. Banza was executed two days later.

War
Communist negotiators accused U.S. President Richard Nixon's administration of spreading false rumours of private meetings at the Vietnam War peace talks in Paris.

Defense
United States President Richard Nixon, in an address to the 15 North Atlantic Treaty Organization foreign ministers at a ceremony celebrating the alliance’s 20th anniversary, proposed new machinery for closer consultation within the alliance.

Politics and government
French President Charles de Gaulle, in a 50-minute television address, said that he would resign if the nation rejected his proposals for regional reform and Senate transformation in a referendum to be held later in the month.

Academia
Harvard University President Nathan Pusey called in 400 state and local policemen to end the occupation of University Hall by 300 student militants. 197 were arrested and 37 injured in the resulting melee.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Quarter-Finals
Oakland 3 @ Los Angeles 4 (Best-of-seven series tied 3-3)

Semi-Finals
Boston 2 @ Montreal 3 (OT) (Montreal led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Derek Sanderson scored twice to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead after 2 periods, but John Ferguson scored with 6:32 remaining in regulation time to get Montreal on the scoreboard, Jean Beliveau scored the tying goal with 56 seconds left, and Ralph Backstrom scored 42 seconds into the 1st overtime period to give the Canadiens the win at the Montreal Forum.

30 years ago
1979

Terrorism
A bomb exploded in Tel Aviv, killing 1 and injuring 36. Israeli jets retaliated against two guerrilla bases in Lebanon.

Politics and government
"White Roll" elections for the House of Assembly in Zimbabwe Rhodesia resulted in the Rhodesian Front, led by Ian Smith, winning all 28 seats contested. Voting in the "Common Roll" elections, in which every adult in the country had a vote, concluded on April 21.

Labour
A tentative settlement was reached in the 10-day strike by 300,000 Teamsters that had idled most of the trucking industry in the United States.

Disasters
A tornado landed in Wichita Falls, Texas, killing 42 people.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Preliminary Round
Vancouver 3 @ Philadelphia 2 (Vancouver led best-of-three series 1-0)
Los Angeles 1 @ New York Rangers 7 (New York led best-of-three series 1-0)
Toronto 2 @ Atlanta 1 (Toronto led best-of-three series 1-0)
Pittsburgh 4 @ Buffalo 3 (Pittsburgh led best-of-three series 1-0)

On the Hockey Night in Canada national telecast, Walt McKechnie scored both Toronto goals in the 2nd period of the Maple Leafs' win over the Flames at the Omni.



25 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): 99 Luftballons--Nena (2nd week at #1)

Politics and government
Former U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale won the Pennsylvania primary in the contest for the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States in the November 1984 election, taking 47% of the vote to 35% for U.S. Senator Gary Hart (Colorado) and 17% for Rev. Jesse Jackson, who captured the majority of votes in Philadelphia.

Hockey
NHL
Ken Morrow scored in overtime to give the New York Islanders a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers at Nassau County Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, and a victory in the fifth and deciding game of their best-of-five first-round Stanley Cup playoff series. Don Maloney of the Rangers had sent the game into overtime with a goal with just 1:12 remaining in regulation time.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): She Drives Me Crazy--Fine Young Cannibals (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Like a Prayer--Madonna (5th week at #1)

10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Jean Vander Pyl, 79. U.S. actress. Mhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flintstonesiss Vander Pyl appeared in radio and television programs, but was best known as a voice actress in Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and especially for providing the voice of Wilma Flintstone in The Flintstones (1960-1966). She died of lung cancer.