April 29, 2009

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, April Stevens and Irina Zabelina!

130 years ago
1879

Born on this date
Thomas Beecham. U.K. orchestra conductor. Sir Thomas may have been the first British conductor to achieve international success. He co-founded the London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras, conducting the latter from 1946 until his death. Sir Thomas conducted the Seattle Symphony Orchestra in the early 1940s, and was also associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé Orchestras. Sir Thomas was known for promoting the music of Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Sibelius, and others such as Berlioz and Delius, who were otherwise ignored in Britain. Sir Thomas died of a heart attack on March 8, 1961 at the age of 81.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Duke Ellington. U.S. musician. Edward Kennedy Ellington was a jazz pianist and bandleader who became one of the most influential figures in the history of American popular music, with a career spanning 50 years. His notable recordings included the singles Mood Indigo (1931); It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) (1932); and Take the "A" Train (1941). Mr. Ellington composed scores for movies such as Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and Paris Blues (1961), and won 14 Grammy Awards--three posthumously. He died of lung cancer and pneumonia on May 24, 1974, 25 days after his 75th birthday.

100 years ago
1909

Born on this date
Tom Ewell. U.S. actor. Mr. Ewell, born Samuel Yewell Tompkins, was best known for his starring role in the play (1952) and film (1955) The Seven Year Itch. He died on September 12, 1994 at the age of 85.

70 years ago
1939

Soccer
English FA Cup
Final @ Wembley Stadium, London
Portsmouth 4 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1



Baseball
The Washington Nationals scored 3 runs in the top of the 1st inning and held on to defeat the New York Yankees 3-1 before 11,473 fans at Yankee Stadium. Ken Chase pitched a complete game for the victory, allowing 9 hits and striking out 7. Lefty Gomez started on the mound for the Yankees, allowing 9 hits in 8 innings in taking the loss. New York first baseman Lou Gehrig batted 1 for 3 with a base on balls and made 13 putouts. His single in the 4th inning was the 2,721st and last hit of his major league career.

60 years ago
1949

On television tonight
Your Show Time, hosted and narrated by Arthur Shields, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Mysterious Picture, starring Marc Daniels, Hugo Haas, and Mark Stevens

World events
Maier Bobrovsky, the first Soviet Jew to be granted an emigration visa to Israel, arrived in Prague on his way to the Middle East.

Transportation
The U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board issued the nation's first four charters for regular air freight service.

Economics and finance
Italy established formal trade relations with West Germany by signing a 1-year, $60-million commercial agreement.

50 years ago
1959

Died on this date
Kenneth Anderson, 67. Indian-born U.K. military officer and politician. General Sir Kenneth served in both world wars, and was best known for commanding the British First Army during Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa and the subsequent Tunisian Campaign. He served as Governor of Gibraltar from 1947-1952. General Sir Kenneth died of pneumonia.

Charles Mergendahl, 40. U.S. author. Mr. Mergendahl wrote about a dozen novels, but was best known for The Bramble Bush (1958), which was an expose in the vein of the recently-published Peyton Place (1956). Mr. Mergendahl died of a reported fall at his New York home, although it has been speculated that he may have committed suicide; his death occurred just a month after the beginning of filming of The Bramble Bush.

Diplomacy
Western foreign ministers, beginning two days of talks in Paris, reached a tentative agreement on a "package" German settlement plan based on continuation of the four-power Berlin occupation; a non-aggression pact between East and West Germany; and the creation of an East-West commission to examine proposals for ensuring European security.

Politics and government
The Iraqi Communist Party issued a manifesto demanding the inclusion of Communists in Prime Minister Abdul Karim el-Kassem's cabinet along with other "loyal democratic parties and forces."

Environment
The University of California Radiation Laboratory released a detailed report of U.S. high-altitude nuclear tests carried out the previous summer under Project Argus.

Disasters
A Spanish airliner crashed near Cuenca, Spain, killing 28 passengers and crewmen.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Sorry Suzanne--The Hollies (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
John Foti, 41. Canadian wrestler. Mr. Foti, born John Fotie in Regina, moved to Hamilton as a teenager, and began his professional career in Ontario and New York in the mid-1950s before going back to western Canada, working with Stampede Wrestling through the 1960s. When he wasn't wrestling, Mr. Foti was a skilled oil painter, mainly of landscapes and nature scenes. Mr. Foti fought such notable wrestlers as Whipper Billy Watson and Lou Thesz, but he became a heavy drinker, and by the late 1960s was regarded as unreliable. He committed suicide in Calgary with an overdose of sleeping pills on a night he was scheduled to wrestle in Regina.

War
Israeli helicopter-borne commandos attacked the Nag Hammadi dam and bridge, Idfu bridge, and the high-voltage power station near Luxor, Egypt.

Politics and government
Former French Prime Minister Georges Pompidou announced his candidacy for President to succeed the departed Charles de Gaulle, and was immediately endorsed by the Union for the Defense of the Republic, the Gaullist party.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
St. Louis 1 @ Montreal 3 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 2-0)

Dick Duff's powerplay goal at 9:07 of the 2nd period proved to be the winner as the Canadiens beat the Blues at the Montreal Forum. Larry Keenan scored on a powerplay with 10:40 remaining in regulation time to break up Rogie Vachon's bid for a shutout.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Los Angeles 88 @ Boston 89 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)

With 7 seconds remaining in regulation time and the Lakers leading by 1 point, Elgin Baylor was ruled to have stepped out of bounds with the ball, turning the ball over to the Celtics. Sam Jones then scored a field goal at the final buzzer to give Boston the win. Jerry West of the Lakers led all scorers with 40 points, while teammate Wilt Chamberlain scored just 8 points, missing 9 of 11 free throws, although he grabbed 31 rebounds. John Havlicek led the Celtics with 21 points, with Larry Siegfried adding 20.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Heart of Glass--Blondie

#1 single in Switzerland: One Way Ticket--Eruption (2nd week at #1)

Politics and government
Concentration of People's Forces candidate Jaime Roldós Aguilera was elected President of Ecuador in that country's first free elections since imposition of military rule in 1972. The second round of voting gave him 68.5% of the vote to 31.5% for Social Christian Party candidate Sixto Durán Ballén. After the first round of voting on July 16, 1978, Mr. Aguilera was leading with 27.7% of the vote.

Health
A U.S. National Academy of Sciences study predicted 2,000 fatalities linked to atomic energy in the United States by 2000, with one in every 1,000 Americans likely to develop cancer from combined radiation sources.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Like a Prayer--Madonna (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Like a Prayer--Madonna (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Eternal Flame--Bangles (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Megamix--Boney M. (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Eternal Flame--Bangles (3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Like a Prayer--Madonna (2nd week at #1)
2 I'll Be There for You--Bon Jovi
3 Funky Cold Medina--Tone Loc
4 She Drives Me Crazy--Fine Young Cannibals
5 Heaven Help Me--Deon Estus (with George Michael)
6 The Look--Roxette
7 Second Chance--Thirty Eight Special
8 Real Love--Jody Watley
9 After All--Cher and Peter Cetera
10 Forever Your Girl--Paula Abdul

Singles entering the chart were Pop Singer by John Mellencamp (#54); Baby Don't Forget My Number by Milli Vanilli (#62); I Won't Back Down by Tom Petty (#75); For the Love of Money by BulletBoys (#87); Who Do You Give Your Love To? by Michael Morales (#88); Down Boys by Warrant (#90); and The Mayor of Simpleton by XTC (#92).

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Like a Prayer--Madonna (2nd week at #1)
2 I'll Be There for You--Bon Jovi
3 Funky Cold Medina--Tone Loc
4 She Drives Me Crazy--Fine Young Cannibals
5 Heaven Help Me--Deon Estus (with George Michael)
6 The Look--Roxette
7 Second Chance--Thirty Eight Special
8 Girl You Know it's True--Milli Vanilli
9 Forever Your Girl--Paula Abdul
10 Real Love--Jody Watley

Singles entering the chart were Pop Singer by John Cougar Mellencamp (#60); Baby Don't Forget My Number by Milli Vanilli (#65); This Time I Know it's for Real by Donna Summer (#70); I Won't Back Down by Tom Petty (#75); Now You're in Heaven by Julian Lennon (#80); The Mayor of Simpleton by XTC (#85); Anything Can Happen by Was (Not Was) (#88); and Down Boys by Warrant (#95).

Society
U.S. pro-life advocate and former abortionist Dr. Bernard Nathanson spoke at Universiade Pavilion in Edmonton and screened the documentary film The Silent Scream. The following day's edition of the Edmonton Journal didn't give the event the coverage it deserved, despite the large crowd in attendance. The Journal put its article on Dr. Nathanson's presentation deep inside the paper--appropriately, on the page where the birth and death announcements appeared.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Philadelphia 4 @ Pittsburgh 1 (Philadelphia won best-of-seven series 4-2)

10 years ago
1999

World events
At the urging of Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leaders abandoned the plan to declare statehood on May 4, in advance of Israeli elections.

War
NATO forces bombed the Yugoslavian army headquarters and Defense Ministry in Belgrade.

Crime
The 18-year-old girlfriend of Columbine High School killer Dylan Kliebold admitted that she had bought the rifle and two shotguns used in the April 20 attack at gun shows.

Baseball
The Anaheim Angels scored 7 runs in the first inning en route to a 17-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Andy Sheets drove in 5 of the Angels' runs.