April 23, 2009

1,410 years ago
599

War
Maya King Uneh Chan of Calakmul attacked rival city-state Palenque in southern Mexico, defeating Queen Yohl Ik'nal and sacking the city.

220 years ago
1789

Americana
President-elect George Washington and his wife Martha moved into the first executive mansion, the Franklin House in New York City.

190 years ago
1819

Born on this date
Edward Stafford. Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1856-1861, 1865-1869, 1872. Sir Edward, a native of Edinburgh, moved to New Zealand in 1843. As an independent politician he represented Nelson (1855-1868) and Timaru (1868-1878) in the New Zealand Parliament. As Prime Minister, Sir Edward took measures to define the relationships between the various levels of government, and pursued positive relations with the Māori. He retired from politics in 1878 and spent most of his later life in England, dying in London on February 14, 1901 at the age of 81.

125 years ago
1884

Born on this date
Edwin C. Hill. U.S. journalist. Mr. Hill was a newscaster with CBS, NBC, and ABC radio, hosting The Human Side of the News (1932-1952). He narrated the syndicated radio program Freedom U.S.A. (1952). Mr. Hill died on February 12, 1957 at the age of 72.

120 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Karel Doorman. Dutch military officer. Rear-Admiral Doorman served with the Royal Netherlands Navy from 1906 until his death on February 28, 1942 at the age of 52, when the cruiser he was commanding, De Ruyter, was struck by a Japanese torpedo during the Battle of the Java Sea, and he chose to go down with the ship.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Bertil Ohlin. Swedish economist and politician. Dr. Ohlin taught at the Stockholm School of Economics for many years, and with Eli Heckscher, developed the Heckscher-Ohlin theorem regarding international trade. Dr. Ohlin and James Meade shared the 1977 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences "for their pathbreaking contribution to the theory of international trade and international capital movements." Dr. Ohlin represented Stockholm Municipality in the Swedish Parliament from 1938-1970, and led the People's Party from 1944-1967. He served as Sweden's Minister for Trade (1944-1945) and President of the Nordic Council (1959-1969). Dr. Ohlin died on August 3, 1979 at the age of 80.

Minoru Shirota. Japanese microbiologist. In the 1920s, Dr. Shirota identified the strain of lactic acid bacteria now known as Lactobacillus paracasei Shirota. In 1935 he founded the company Yakult Honsha in 1935 to sell beverages containing the strain, branded Yakult. Dr. Shirota died on March 10, 1982 at the age of 82.

70 years ago
1939

Baseball
Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox batted 4 for 5 and hit his first major league home run, off Bud Thomas of the Philadelphia Athletics. The Athletics scored 6 runs in the top of the 8th inning to overcome an 8-6 deficit, and won 12-8 before 12,000 fans at Fenway Park in Boston.

Schoolboy Rowe pitched a 4-hitter and batted 2 for 5 with a triple and a run to lead the Detroit Tigers over the Cleveland Indians 8-0 at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland.

The Chicago White Sox scored 3 runs in each of the first 2 innings en route to a 17-4 rout of the St. Louis Browns before 12,000 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Chicago first baseman Joe Kuhel batted 4 for 5 with a double, 2 runs, and 5 runs batted in.

Heinie Mueller singled home Pinky May and Del Young with 2 out in the bottom of the 12th inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 5-4 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers before 8,000 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Hugh "Losing Pitcher" Mulcahy started on the mound for the Phillies and allowed the Dodgers to score a go-ahead run in the top of the 12th before being relieved, but the rally by his teammates prevented another loss from being added to his record.

60 years ago
1949

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Rambling Rose--Perry Como; Tony Pastor (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard) (Best Seller): Cruising Down the River--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra (5th week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Cruising Down the River--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra (5th week at #1)
--Blue Barron and his Orchestra
--Jack Smith and the Clark Sisters
2 Far Away Places--Bing Crosby
--Perry Como
3 Forever and Ever--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra
--Perry Como
4 Sunflower--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra
--Jack Fulton
5 So in Love--Gordon MacRae
--Dinah Shore
6 Galway Bay--Bing Crosby
7 Powder Your Face with Sunshine (Smile! Smile! Smile!)--Evelyn Knight and the Stardusters
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
8 Red Roses for a Blue Lady--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
9 Down by the Station--Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
10 "A" You're Adorable (The Alphabet Song)--Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae
--Perry Como with the Fontane Sisters

Singles entering the chart were If You Stub Your Toe on the Moon by Bing Crosby (#35); Caravan by Billy Eckstine (#36); and Someone Like You by Doris Day (#38).

On the radio
Pat Novak For Hire, starring Jack Webb, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Sam Tolliver and the Packages from the Ship

Tales of Fatima, starring Basil Rathbone, on CBS
Tonight’s episode: Country Killing

War
Nationalist Chinese President Li Tsung-jen flew to Canton in southern China, promising to coordinate resistance for a "fight to the end" against the Communists. Communist underground members joined with students in attempting to maintain public order and prevent looting.

Diplomacy
Israeli President Chaim Weizmann, speaking in New York, reiterated Israel's refusal to permit the internationalization of Jerusalem, but agreed to international control over holy places in the city.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities released testimony and documents provided by Izydor Modelski, former Polish military attache in Washington, describing Poland's U.S. embassy as a spy headquarters directed by a Soviet general.

Defense
70,000 U.S. troops ended six days of maneuvers in Bavaria, practing defense of the area against an invasion from Czechoslovakia.

Politics and government
Cochin China's Territorial Assembly voted for union with Vietnam, repudiating French plans for a semi-autonomous Cochinchinese state.

Academia
The Illinois Seditious Activities Investigation Committee completed three days of hearings on alleged subversive activities at the University of Chicago and Roosevelt University. U. of C. Chancellor Robert Hutchins criticized the inquiry for attempting to establish "guilt by association" and contributing to the "miasma of thought control that is now spreading over the country."

Horse racing
Olympia, with Eddie Arcaro, won the Wood Memorial in Jamaica, New York.

50 years ago
1959

On television tonight
The Lawless Years, starring James Gregory, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Immigrant



Died on this date
Egon Reinert, 50. German politician. Mr. Reinert, President of the Saar since 1957, died of injuries received in a car accident.

Married on this date
Gene Krupa, U.S. jazz drummer, married Patricia Bowler in Yonkers, New York.

War
Peking radio dispatches reported that Chinese troops had defeated rebel forces in southeastern Tibet and had closed Tibet's frontiers with India and Bhutan.

Defense
U.S.S.R. Premier Nikita Khrushchev rejected U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's call for an agreement to suspend nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere to an altitude of 50 kilometres.

Oil
Oil ministers from nine Arab countries and emirates concluded the first Arab Petroleum Congress in Cairo with a call for increased Arab participation in oil transport, refining, and marketing, and an increased share in the industry's profits.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Get Back--The Beatles with Billy Preston

Australia's top 10 (Go-Set)
1 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da/While My Guitar Gently Weeps--The Beatles (6th week at #1)
2 Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)--Peter Sarstedt
3 Dizzy--Tommy Roe
4 Adios Amor--Jose Feliciano
5 Indian Giver--1910 Fruitgum Co.
6 Edge of Reality/If I Can Dream--Elvis Presley
7 Build Me Up Buttercup--The Foundations
8 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells
9 Stand by Your Man--Tammy Wynette
10 Games People Play--Joe South

Singles entering the chart were Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#25); Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures) by the 5th Dimension (#31); Goodbye by Mary Hopkin (#35); and Gentle on My Mind by Dean Martin (#37).

War
Federal Nigerian forces reported the capture of Umuahia, administrative headquarters of Biafra, and the last major centre held by the secessionist regime. The Biafrans still controlled about 2,500 square miles of territory, including the vital airstrip at Uli-Ihiala.

North Korea, which had been congratulated by North Vietnam on "its glorious achievement" in shooting down an American reconnaissance plane over the Sea of Japan on April 15, denounced the continuing reconnaissance flights, and threatened to shoot down any U.S. planes that "intruded."

World events
Lebanon declared a state of emergency after at least 7 people were killed and scores injured in clashes between security forces and demonstrators protesting restrictions on Palestinian commandos.

Crime
The jury that convicted Sirhan Sirhan of murder in the June 1968 assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy sentenced Mr. Sirhan to die in a gas chamber.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Boston 118 @ Los Angeles 120 (Los Angeles led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Jerry West scored 53 points, but it was Wilt Chamberlain's field goal with 23 seconds remaining in regulation time that was the deciding score as the Lakers edged the Celtics at the Forum in Inglewood, California.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Heart of Glass--Blondie (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Miserarete--Judy Ongg (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Sólo Pienso en Tí--Víctor Manuel

Died on this date
Blair Peach, 33. N.Z.-born U.K. teacher and activist. Mr. Peach, who had moved to Britain in 1969 and was active in the Socialist Workers' Party (SWP), Socialist Teachers' Association and the local branch of the National Union of Teachers, suffered fatal head injuries when he was knocked unconscious during an Anti-Nazi League demonstration in Southall, London, against a National Front election meeting in the town hall.

Diplomacy
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic and political ties with Egypt, but backed off from a complete economic break.

Politics and government
The Progressive Conservative Party, led by Angus MacLean, won the Prince Edward Island provincial election, taking 21 seats in the Legislative Assembly to 11 for the governing Liberal Party of Premier Bennett Campbell. The Liberals had held a 17-15 majority after the 1978 election, but then-Premier Alex Campbell had resigned and Legislative Assembly Speaker Russell Perry was not allowed to cast votes in his role, leaving the parties deadlocked 15-15, and prompting Bennett Campbell, who had succeeded Alex Campbell, to call another election to restore the Liberal majority.

Rev. Ndabaningi Sithole, defeated by Bishop Abel Muzorewa's United African National Council in the April 21 Zimbabwe Rhodesian elections, said that his Zimbabwe African National Union would not accept the results due to "gross irregularities" in the balloting.

Hockey
WHA
Avco World Trophy
Semi-Finals
Winnipeg 6 @ Quebec 3 (Winnipeg led best-of-seven series 1-0)

25 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): 99 Luftballons--Nena (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Thriller--Michael Jackson (10th week at #1)

Died on this date
Ruby Goldstein, 76. U.S. boxer and referee. Mr. Goldstein, nicknamed "The Jewel of the Ghetto," was a bantamweight, lightweight, and welterweight who compiled a record of 55-6 with 39 knockouts in a professional career from 1924-1937. He became a prominent referee in the 1950s, officiating bouts such as the first world heavyweight title bout between Floyd Patterson and Ingemar Johansson in 1959, and the world welterweight title bout between Benny "Kid" Paret and Emile Griffith in 1962. Mr. Griffith pummelled Mr. Paret with numerous punches to the head in the 12th inning while Mr. Paret was unconscious but being propped up by the ropes. Mr. Paret died 10 days later, and Mr. Goldstein, hitherto the most respected referee in boxing, was heavily criticized for not stopping the fight earlier. He previously had a reputation for stopping fights early, and refereed just one more bout. Mr. Goldstein died of throat cancer. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1994, and is also a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame.

Medicine
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Margaret Heckler announced that federal resaerchers had identifed HTLV-3 as the virus that caused Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and had developed a test that could reliably detect it in blood donated for various uses, including the treatment of hemophilia. The researchers thought that a vaccine would be ready for testing within two years.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Wild Thing--Tone Lōc

#1 single in Switzerland: Like a Prayer--Madonna (4th week at #1)

Scandal
The Roman Catholic Church in Newfoundland set up a five-member panel to inquire into the sexual abuse of children during the 1970's at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John's.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Montreal 2 @ Boston 3 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 3-1)

Basketball
NBA
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers, the league's career scoring leader, played his final regular season game, scoring 10 points as the Lakers defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 121-117 at the Forum in Inglewood, California. It was Mr. Abdul-Jabbar's 1,560th league game, and his teammates gave him a white Rolls-Royce.

10 years ago
1999

Defense
In Washington, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization began three days of celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding. The event drew heads of government from the 19 member nations. They issued a communique renewing their insistence that Serbia withdraw their forces from Kosovo, and that refugees under international protection be returned safely. NATO is a classic example of an organization that had outlived its usefulness. It was created as a defensive alliance against an aggressive Soviet Union. However, instead of disbanding when the Soviet Union ceased to exist, NATO expanded and became an aggressive alliance. Like the firemen in Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451, NATO was, and continues to be, in the business of starting wars instead of preventing them.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Semi-Finals
Edmonton 2 @ Dallas 3 (Dallas led best-of-seven series 2-0)