April 26, 2009

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Lynn Weiss!

1,510 years ago
499

Died on this date
Xiaowen, 31. Emperor of Northern Wei, 471-499. Xiaowen, born Tuoba Hong, was only 13 years younger than his father Emperor Xianwen, who abdicated in 471 and handed the throne to his 4-year-old son, while the actual power was wielded by Grand Empress Dowager Feng, who died in 490. Emperor Xiaowen pursued a policy of sinicization that caused problems and led to plots against him, which he succeeded in suppressing. Emperor Xiaowen died after two years of declining health, and was succeeded on the throne by his son Xuanwu.

690 years ago
1319

Born on this date
Jean II. King of France, 1350-1364. Jean II, nicknamed "John the Good," was a monarch of the House of Valois, who was captured by the English during the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 and was held prisoner in London until 1360, when he was freed in an exchange of hostages, who included his son Louis. When Louis escaped in 1363, Jean thought the action dishonourable, and voluntarily returned to England, where he soon took ill and died on April 8, 1364, 18 days before his 45th birthday.

190 years ago
1819

Canadiana
Upper Canada established the Negro settlement of Oro Township, northeast of Barrie, for Negro loyalists, former slaves, and War of 1812 veterans of Captain Runchey's Company for Coloured Men, which had fought at Stoney Creek, Queenston Heights, Lundy's Lane and St. Davids.

Americana
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which later became one of the worlds largest fraternal orders, was founded in Baltimore by Thomas Wildey and four other men.

140 years ago
1869

Economics and finance
William Mulock and three partners decided to apply for a charter for the Dominion Bank; it was issued later that year, and provided for an authorized capital of $1 million, with $400,000 to be paid up. Business began on February 1, 1871, in temporary premises above a paint store, at 40 King Street East in Toronto.

120 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Ludwig Wittgenstein. Austro-Hungarian-born U.K. philosopher. Dr. Wittgenstein worked primarily in logic, and the philosophies of mathematics, mind, and language. He was a a contemporary of Bertrand Russell and Karl Popper, and taught at the University of Cambridge from 1939-1947. Dr. Wittgenstein died on April 29, 1951, three days after his 62nd birthday. His book Philosophical Investigations, considered a classic in the field, was published in 1953.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Oscar Rabin. Latvian-born U.K. musician. Mr. Rabin moved to England with his family when he was a child. He was a jazz bass saxophonist who in the 1920s formed and led the Oscar Rabin Band, a British dance band that continued after Mr. Rabin's death on June 20, 1958 at the age of 59.

100 years ago
1909

Born on this date
Marianne Hoppe. German actress. Miss Hoppe was a leading lady in plays and films in Germany in a career spanning more than 60 years from the 1920s through the 1980s. She died on October 23, 2002 at the age of 93.

Died on this date
Mike "Doc" Powers, 38 or 39. U.S. baseball player. Dr. Powers, a licensed physician, was a catcher with the Louisville Colonels (1898-1899); Washington Senators (1899); Philadelphia Athletics (1901-1905, 1905-1909); and New York Highlanders (1905), batting .216 with 4 home runs and 199 runs batted in in 647 games. He was injured on April 12, 1909 during the first major league game ever played in Philadelphia's Shibe Park, when he ran into a wall chasing a popup, and suffered an intestinal injury. He was operated on the next day, but failed to recover, and became the first major league player to die from the results of an on-field injury.

Law
Saint John, New Brunswick Magistrate Ritchie ruled that electricity was indeed a commodity. Charles Kerr of the Bijou Moving Picture Theatre was found guilty of stealing electricity by tapping into the Saint John Railway Company.

60 years ago
1949

On television tonight
Suspense, on CBS
Tonight's episode: A Night at an Inn, starring Boris Karloff, Anthony Ross, and Jack Manning



War
Chinese Communist forces occupied the rail junction of Soochow in their drive on Shanghai. U.S. and U.K. ships based in the city's harbour left their berths to avoid entrapment by the Communists.

Defense
U.S. Navy Secretary John Sullivan resigned in protest against Defense Secretary Louis Johnson's cancellation of plans to complete the proposed "supercarrier" USS United States.

Asiatica
Transjordan's name was officially changed to Jordan, reflecting incorporation of the Arab areas of central Palestine.

World events
The Council of States in the U.S. zone of Germany passed a law compensating Nazi victims for losses suffered through confiscation of property or expulsion from professions.

Crime
A U.S. federal grand jury in New York investigating subversive activities issued a report charging that current public inquiries were alerting offenders, and recommending secret inquiries and elimination of the statute of limitations for espionage.

Aviation
William Barris and Richard Reidel landed their twin-engine Sunkist Lady in Fullerton, California after setting a world flight endurance record of 1,008 hours, 1 minute, 50 seconds.

Science
Merle Tuve of the Carnegie Institution was awarded the U.S. National Academy of Sciences $3,500 Constock Prize in Washington for the development of the proximity fuse and work in nuclear physics.

60 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in France (IFOP): L'Eau vive--Guy Béart

Space
The U.S.S.R. disclosed plans for development of an Earth observation satellite equipped with optical and television cameras.

World events
The Panamanian government reported the suppression of an attempted guerrilla invasion from Cuba.

Politics and government
Moderates and conservatives, many of them Fourth Republic political leaders, outpolled Gaullist candidates to win control of the first Senate of the French Fifth Republic.

Economics and finance
African National Congress leader Albert Luthuli said in Cape Town that South African blacks would begin a boycott of Afrikaans Nationalist businesses in June.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)--Peter Sarstedt (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells (6th week at #1)

#1 single in France: Le métèque--Georges Moustaki

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Eloise--Barry Ryan (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Liebesleid--Peter Alexander (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Boom Bang-a-Bang--Lulu (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Israelites--Desmond Dekker and the Aces

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Goodbye--Mary Hopkin
2 Why--The Cats
3 5th Symphony Beethoven--Ekseption
4 The Walls Fell Down--The Marbles
5 The Last Seven Days--Gloria
6 Don Juan--Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich
7 Ensemble--Mireille Mathieu
8 Seasons in the Sun--The Fortunes
9 Get Back--The Beatles featuring Billy Preston
10 River Deep - Mountain High--Ike & Tina Turner

Singles entering the chart were Get Back; Man of the World by Fleetwood Mac (#35); Have My Love by Pepper and Soul (#36); Sweet Cherry Wine by Tommy James and the Shondells (#37); Suzanne by Herman Van Veen (#39); and Dizzy by Tommy Roe (#40).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)--The 5th Dimension (3rd week at #1)
2 You've Made Me So Very Happy--Blood, Sweat & Tears
3 It's Your Thing--The Isley Brothers
4 Hair--The Cowsills
5 Only the Strong Survive--Jerry Butler
6 Twenty-Five Miles--Edwin Starr
7 Galveston--Glen Campbell
8 Time is Tight--Booker T. & the M.G.'s
9 Dizzy--Tommy Roe
10 Sweet Cherry Wine--Tommy James and the Shondells

Singles entering the chart were Too Busy Thinking About My Baby by Marvin Gaye (#67); Oh Happy Day by the Edwin Hawkins Singers featuring Dorothy Morrison (#72); Day is Done by Peter, Paul and Mary (#83); Heather Honey by Tommy Roe (#87); Love is Just a Four-Letter Word by Joan Baez (#88); Mr. Walker, It's All Over by Billie Jo Spears (#89); I Shall Be Released by the Box Tops (#90); From Both Sides Now by Dion (#91); Greensleeves by Mason Williams (#93); Seven Years by the Impressions (#94); I Can't Say No to You by Betty Everett (#95); I've Been Loving You Too Long by Ike & Tina Turner (#96); Home to You by Earth Opera (#97); and Never Gonna Let Him Know by Debbie Taylor (#98).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)--The 5th Dimension (4th week at #1)
2 Hair--The Cowsills
3 It's Your Thing--The Isley Brothers
4 You've Made Me So Very Happy--Blood, Sweat & Tears
5 Only the Strong Survive--Jerry Butler
6 Twenty-Five Miles--Edwin Starr
7 Dizzy--Tommy Roe
8 The Boxer--Simon & Garfunkel
9 Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'--Crazy Elephant
10 Hawaii Five-O--The Ventures

Singles entering the chart were Heather Honey by Tommy Roe (#64); Marley Purt Drive by Jose Feliciano (#77); Black Pearl by Sonny Charles & the Checkmates, Ltd. (#82); One by Three Dog Night (#84); I Shall Be Released by the Box Tops (#86); I Don't Want to Hear it Anymore by Dusty Springfield (#87); I Want to Love You Baby by Peggy Scott and Jo Jo Benson (#88); Seven Years by the Impressions (#92); I was a Boy (When You Needed a Man) by Billy Shields (#96); Pretty World by Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (#98); Love is Just a Four-Letter Word by Joan Baez (#99); and We Can't Go on This Way by Unchained Mynds (#100).

Calgary's top 10
1 Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In--The 5th Dimension
2 Hair--The Cowsills
3 Sweet Cherry Wine--Tommy James and the Shondells
4 Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'--Crazy Elephant
5 Tricia Tell Your Daddy--Andy Kim
6 Indian Giver--1910 Fruitgum Co.
7 Things I'd Like to Say--The New Colony Six
8 Wishful Sinful--The Doors
9 Dizzy--Tommy Roe
10 Mendocino--Sir Douglas Quintet
Pick hit of the week: The Boxer--Simon and Garfunkel

Died on this date
Morihei Ueshiba, 85. Japanese martial artist. Mr. Ueshiba founded and developed the martial art known as aikido.

War
The United States Defense Department announced that the battleship New Jersey, which had been diverted to eastern waters after an American reconnaissance plane had been shot down by North Korea over the Sea of Japan on April 15, would be returned to the United States. It was disclosed that the task force had been reduced from 20 ships to one carrier and seven destroyers, and that the other 21 vessels were returning to ports in Japan and the Philippines.

Protest
100 Negro students were jailed in Charleston, South Carolina after they attempted to march down the city's main thoroughfare in support of striking hospital workers. The arrests brought to 200 the total arrested in Charleston, whose streets were patrolled by National Guardsmen and state troopers.

Soccer
English FA Cup
Final @ Wembley Stadium, London
Manchester City 1 Leicester City 0



30 years ago
1979

War
United Nations peace forces arranged a cease-fire between Israelis and Palestinian guerrillas in southern Lebanon, ending four days of intense fighting.

Diplomacy
United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim arrived in Hanoi to aid negotiations for Vietnam-China disengagement.

Personal
This blogger visited the University of Alberta campus for the first time, and spent several hours in the company of old friends from Yellowknife who were still in residence.

Hockey
The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 in the opening game of their Stanley Cup semi-final playoff series at the Montreal Forum.

The Edmonton Oilers defeated the New England Whalers 6-2 at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton in the opening game of their Avco World Trophy semi-final series. This blogger had the pleasure of meeting Johnny McKenzie of the Whalers in an elevator at the Chateau Lacombe. Mr. McKenzie's long career, which included Stanley Cup wins with the Boston Bruins in 1970 and 1972, ended with this series.

25 years ago
1984

Hockey
The Montreal Canadiens defeated the New York Islanders 4-2 at Nassau County Coliseum in Uniondale, New York to take a 2 games to 0 lead in their third-round (Prince of Wales Conference final) Stanley Cup series.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Like a Prayer--Madonna (6th week at #1)

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

Died on this date
Lucille Ball, 77. U.S. actress and producer. Miss Ball appeared in a number of movies in the 1930s and '40s before achieving stardom in the radio comedy series My Favorite Husband (1948-1951). She then became one of television's biggest stars with the series I Love Lucy (1951-1957); The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1957-1960); The Lucy Show (1962-1968); and Here's Lucy (1968-1974). With her first husband, Desi Arnaz, Miss Ball founded Desilu studios, which she began running in 1962, with great success.

Ihei Aoki. Japanese bureaucrat. Mr. Aoki was the secretary to Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita, who had announced the previous day that he would resign over allegations of improper dealings with Recruit Company. Mr. Aoki believed to be a middleman in financial dealings between Mr. Takeshita and Recruit Company, committed suicide.

Journalism
The Chinese People's Daily published the April 26 Editorial, which inflamed the nascent Tiananmen Square protests.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the gross national product had grown at an annual rate of 5.5% in the first quarter of 1989.

Disasters
The deadliest tornado in world history struck central Bangladesh, killing upwards of 1,300, injuring 12,000, and leaving as many as 80,000 homeless.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Chicago 4 St. Louis 2

10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Faye Throneberry, 67. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Throneberry, the older brother of legendary first baseman Marv Throneberry, was an outfielder with the Boston Red Sox (1952, 1955-1957); Washington Senators (1957-1960); and Los Angeles Angels (1961), batting .236 with 29 home runs and 137 runs batted in in 521 games. He played in 466 games in 7 seasons in the minor leagues from 1950-1963. Mr. Throneberry died of heart disease.

Diplomacy
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat received a letter from U.S. President Bill Clinton urging him not to act unilaterally on Palestinian statehood, but also giving a signal of support for eventual statehood.

Politics and government
India's President, Kocheril Narayanan, dissolved parliament and called for a general election within six months.

Hockey
The Toronto Maple Leafs edged the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 in Philadelphia to take a 2 games to 0 lead in their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.