April 12, 2010

1,770 years ago
240

Asiatica
Shapur I was crowned king of the Sasanian Empire in Iran.

190 years ago
1820

World events
Alexander Ypsilantis was declared leader of Filiki Eteria, a secret organization to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece.

Politics and government
Lord Dalhousie, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia and former commander of the Duke of Wellington's 7th Division in the Peninsular War, was appointed Governor General of British North America; he arrived at Quebec on June 19 to take up his duties.

170 years ago
1840

Born on this date
Edmond Audran. French composer. Mr. Audran was a church organist who wrote sacred music, but was best known for comic operas that were successful in Paris and the West End of London, most notably La mascotte (1880). He died on August 17, 1901 at the age of 61, after several years of physical and mental illness.

160 years ago
1850

Died on this date
Adoniram Judson, 61. U.S. missionary. Mr. Judson was the first North American Protestant missionary to go to Burma, where he spent almost all of his 37 years on the mission field. He inspired the founding of the first Baptist association in America and inspired many Americans to become missionaries or support them. It took many years of work, but eventually thousands of Burmese people came to saving faith in Jesus Christ, and about 100 Baptist churches had been founded by the time of Mr. Judson's death. Mr. Judson's translation of the Bible into Burmese remains the most popular translation in that nation, now known as Myanmar.

130 years ago
1880

Born on this date
Addie Joss. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Joss spent his entire major league career with the Cleveland Bronchos/Naps (1902-1910), compiling a record of 160-97 with an earned run average of 1.89 in 286 games; his career ERA remains second behind Ed Walsh’s 1.82 as the lowest in major league history. He tied for the American League lead in wins in 1907 (27) and led the AL in earned run average in 1904 (1.59) and 1908 (1.16). Mr. Joss pitched no-hitters in 1908 and 1910; the first, a perfect game on October 2, 1908, was one of the most memorable pitching duels in history; the Naps edged the Chicago White Sox 1-0 at League Park in Cleveland, with Mr. Walsh allowing 4 hits and striking out 15 batters in taking the loss. Mr. Joss frequently suffered from illness and injuries, and began to experience fatigue in 1909; his 1910 season was cut short by a torn ligament in his right elbow. He attended spring training in 1911, but took ill, and went home to Toledo when the Naps played there. Mr. Joss was diagnosed with tubercular meningitis, and died on April 14, two days after his 31st birthday. A team of AL all-stars played an exhibition game against the Naps at League Park on July 24, 1911, with the proceeds going to Mr. Joss’s family. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1978, and probably would have been admitted sooner but for the Hall’s rule that a member must have played a minimum of 10 years in the major leagues.

100 years ago
1910

Defense
SMS Zrínyi, one of the last pre-dreadnought battleships built by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, was launched.

75 years ago
1935

Boxing
Joe Louis (18-0) scored a technical knockout of Roy Lazer (38-3-2)at 2:28 of the 3rd round of a heavyweight bout at Chicago Stadium.

70 years ago
1940

At the movies
Rebecca, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, opened in theatres.



War
British troops invaded the Faroe Islands, a Danish possession between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. The move was meant to counterbalance the April 9 invasion of Denmark by Germany, and had the objective of strengthening British control of the North Atlantic. European Allies declared the Danish merchant marine the property of the enemy and began seizing Danish vessels in foreign ports.

Diplomacy
Argentine Foreign Minister Jose Maria Castillo said that Argentina would not recognize the German occupation of Norway and Denmark.

Defense
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt conferred with Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Harold Stark on methods to speed up naval construction.

Politics and government
The United States Senate passed and sent to President Franklin D. Roosevelt the bill for reapportionment of the House of Representatives based on the current census.

Forces supporting New York City District Attorney Thomas Dewey for the 1940 Republican Party nomination for President of the United States gained control of the New York State Republican Committee, naming Edwin Jaeckle as chairman and taking the first step to ousting Kenneth F. Simpson as the state's national committeeman.

Transportation
The Japanese news agency Domei announced that Japan would reopen the Pearl River, closed since 1938, to world commercial traffic on April 20, 1940.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Reciprocal Trade Agreement Act, extending the original act of 1937 for another three years.

Medicine
Dr. Paul Ehrlich of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York reported finding a five-day chemical treatment for syphilis.

60 years ago
1950

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Ben Wright and Eric Snowden, on ABC

The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Martin Gabel, on ABC

War
U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson reported the abandonment of plans to evacuate 2,000 foreigners, including 300 Americans, from Shanghai due to Chinese Nationalist plans to mine the mouth of the Yangtze River.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved Sir Owen Dixon of Australia as UN mediator in Kashmir. He was given four months to arrange a Kashmir plebiscite.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Harry Truman welcomed Chilean President Gabriel González Videla in Washington at the start of Mr. González's 20-day "good neighbor" visit to the United States.

Law
The Pakistani Constituent Assembly abolished the British Privy Council's jurisdiction as the last court of appeal in Pakistan, making the Pakistani Federal Court the country's highest tribunal.

Crime
U.S. President Truman granted a full pardon to former Boston Mayor, Governor of Massachusetts, and Congressman James Curley, 75, who had been convicted of mail fraud in 1946.

Health
The World Health Organization and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) announced plans to give penicillin injections to Haiti's entire population of 3.5 million in May in the first attempt ever made to eradicate venereal diseases from a nation.

Economics and finance
The U.S.S.R. accused Italy of holding up deliveries of Italian assets in Eastern Europe due to the Soviet Union as World War II reparations. Italy replied that the U.S.S.R. refused to recognize the full value of the properties.

The President's Council of Economic Advisers reported improvement in virtually every phase of the American economy during the first quarter of 1950.

50 years ago
1960

On television tonight
Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, hosted by John Newland, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Encounter, starring Robert Douglas and Barbara Stuart



Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Montreal 5 @ Toronto 2 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 3-0)

Phil Goyette led the Canadiens with 2 goals in their win over the Maple Leafs at Maple Leaf Gardens. Other Montreal goals were scored by Henri Richard, Maurice "Rocket" Richard, and Don Marshall. Rocket Richard’s goal was the 82nd of his playoff career--then a record--and the last of his NHL career. He scooped the puck out of the net and saved it after scoring.



Baseball
Cleveland Indians’ general manager Frank Lane traded first baseman Norm Cash to the Detroit Tigers for third baseman Steve Demeter. Mr. Cash had batted .240 with 4 home runs and 16 runs batted in in 58 games with the Chicago White Sox in 1959, and had been traded to Cleveland in the off-season. He played the next 14 seasons with the Tigers and hit 373 home runs for them, while Mr. Demeter played just 4 games with the Indians.

The Cincinnati Reds opened the season with a 9-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies before 30,075 fans at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, and Eddie Sawyer promptly resigned as manager of the Phillies, saying, "I'm 49 years old and I want to live to be 50." He had managed the club from 1948-1952--winning a pennant in 1950--and had returned to the position in 1958. Mr. Sawyer was replaced by coach Andy Cohen for one game before Gene Mauch assumed the position of manager. The Phillies scored 2 runs in each of the first 2 innings to take a 4-0 lead, but the Reds scored 5 in the bottom of the 2nd off losing pitcher Robin Roberts (0-1) to take the lead.

Sam Jones (1-0) pitched a 3-hitter to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals before 42,269 fans in the first major league game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. One of the 3 hits off Mr. Jones was a solo home run by Leon Wagner, the first home run in the new park. Larry Jackson (0-1) allowed 7 hits and 3 runs--1 earned--in taking the loss.





Pinch hitter Chuck Essegian’s home run off Bob Elston (0-1) with 2 out in the bottom of the 11th inning gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs before an opening day crowd of 67,550 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Including the previous year’s World Series, it was Mr. Essegian’s third straight pinch homer. Don Drysdale (1-0) went the distance for the win, allowing 7 hits and striking out 14.

40 years ago
1970

Died on this date
Rainey Pool, 54. U.S. crime victim. Mr. Pool, a one-armed Negro sharecropper, was beaten to death by a mob of white men near a nightclub in Louise, Mississippi. Joe Watson, who pleaded guilty in 1999 and testified in exchange for a reduced sentence, gave a written statement at the time saying that whites at the club believed that Mr. Pool had taken something from one of the trucks in the bar’s parking lot. No evidence ever supported this contention. Mr. Watson said that he and Hal Crimm loaded the body into the back of Mr. Watson’s pickup truck, drove to the Sunflower River Bridge, and tossed Mr. Pool into the river. The written statement was thrown out after Mr. Watson said that he hadn’t been read his rights, and the highway patrolman he confessed to was never called to testify. In 1999 James "Doc" Caston, 66, Charles Caston, 64, and Hal Crimm, 50, were sentenced to 20 years in prison for their part in the killing.

Space
Apollo 13 continued on course toward the Moon. As reported by John Noble Wilford of The New York Times:

The Apollo 13 astronauts cruised quietly and smoothly toward the moon today, passing the halfway point in their outbound voyage before sharpening their aim with a short blast of the spaceship's rocket.

The rocket was fired at 8:54 P.M. Eastern Standard Time after Apollo 13 had traveled 139,000 miles since its launching yesterday from Cape Kennedy, Florida.

With the computer-triggered 3.4 second burn of the spacecraft's main rocket, the vehicle was aimed to go into a lunar orbit with a low altitude of 69 miles.

Education
Florida Governor Claude Kirk bowed to the authority of a U.S. federal court and announced that he would reinstate the Manatee County school board and direct it to put into effect a court-ordered integration plan. The court had ordered Gov. Kirk to pay a fine of $10,000 per day unless he released control of the school system.

Disasters
15 people were killed and 30 injured when a bus and train collided near Adelaide, Australia.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Quarter-Finals
Chicago 4 @ Detroit 2 (Chicago won best-of-seven series 4-0)
Boston 2 @ New York 4 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)
St. Louis 0 @ Minnesota 4 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)
Pittsburgh 3 @ Oakland 2 (OT) (Pittsburgh won best-of-seven series 4-0)

The Black Hawks won all 4 games of their series by 4-2 scores. The loss was the last game for Sid Abel as coach of the Red Wings.

Minnesota goalie Cesare Maniago earned the first shutout of the 1970 playoffs as the North Stars blanked the Blues at Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington.

Michel Briere scored at 8:28 of the 1st overtime period to complete the series sweep for the Penguins. It turned out to be the last Stanley Cup game ever played at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, and the last playoff game the Seals ever played. They became the California Golden Seals early the following season, and were the Cleveland Barons from 1976-1978. After the 1977-78 season the team was merged with the Minnesota North Stars.

30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Matador--Garland Jeffreys

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Dance Yourself Dizzy--Liquid Gold

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl--The Detroit Spinners

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Sajang É--Massada (2nd week at #1)
2 Visite--Lenny Kuhr & Les Poppys
3 You and Me--Spargo
4 Matador--Garland Jeffreys
5 Pearlydumm--BZN
6 Song for the Children--Oscar Harris
7 Willy Alberti Bedankt--André Van Duin
8 Take that Look Off Your Face--Marti Webb
9 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
10 With You I'm Born Again--Billy Preston & Syreeta

Singles entering the chart were American Dream by the Dirt Band (#24); Ooh La La, I'm Falling by Babe (#36); Hands Off...She's Mine by the Beat (#37); Jongen by Zangeres Zonder Naam (#38); and Don't Push It Don't Force It (Let it Happen Naturally) by Leon Haywood (#39).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd (4th week at #1)
2 Call Me--Blondie
3 Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl--Spinners
4 Ride Like The Wind--Christopher Cross
5 Too Hot--Kool & The Gang
6 Special Lady--Ray, Goodman & Brown
7 With You I'm Born Again--Billy Preston & Syreeta
8 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
9 I Can't Tell You Why--Eagles
10 Off the Wall--Michael Jackson

Singles entering the chart were Hurt So Bad by Linda Ronstadt (#46); I Don't Want to Walk Without You by Barry Manilow (#81); Headed for a Fall by Firefall (#82); Love Stinks by the J. Geils Band (#83); Goin' On by the Beach Boys (#84); Steal Away by Robbie Dupree (#85); You've Got What I Need by Shooting Star (#88); Say Goodbye to Little Jo by Steve Forbert (#89); and I was Looking for Someone to Love by Leif Garrett (#98).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Call Me--Blondie
2 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd
3 Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl--Spinners
4 Ride Like The Wind--Christopher Cross
5 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
6 How Do I Make You--Linda Ronstadt
7 Too Hot--Kool & The Gang
8 Special Lady--Ray, Goodman & Brown
9 Fire Lake--Bob Seger
10 I Can't Tell You Why--Eagles

Singles entering the chart were I Don't Want to Walk Without You by Barry Manilow (#83); Steal Away by Robbie Dupree (#84); Love Stinks by the J. Geils Band (#86); She's Out of My Life by Michael Jackson (#87); It's a Night for Beautiful Girls by the Fools (#88); Headed for a Fall by Firefall (#89); Say Goodbye to Little Jo by Steve Forbert (#90); Don't Push It Don't Force It by Leon Haywood (#97); and Catching the Sun by Spyro Gyra (#98).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd (5th week at #1)
2 Call Me--Blondie
3 Ride Like The Wind--Christopher Cross
4 Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl--Spinners
5 Fire Lake--Bob Seger
6 Lost in Love--Air Supply
7 How Do I Make You--Linda Ronstadt
8 I Can't Tell You Why--Eagles
9 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
10 Special Lady--Ray, Goodman & Brown

Singles entering the chart were I Don't Want to Walk Without You by Barry Manilow (#75); Steal Away by Robbie Dupree (#83); White Hot by Red Rider (#84); She's Out of My Life by Michael Jackson (#85); Headed for a Fall by Firefall (#86); Lady by the Whispers (#87); Say Goodbye to Little Jo by Steve Forbert (#90); Catching the Sun by Spyro Gyra (#92); Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone by the Manhattan Transfer (#96); Rock Lobster by the B-52's (#97); Real Love by the Cretones (#98); and I Can Survive by Triumph (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd (4th week at #1)
2 On the Radio--Donna Summer
3 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
4 Refugee--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
5 Ladies Night--Kool & The Gang
6 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
7 Janine--Trooper
8 Romeo's Tune--Steve Forbert
9 An American Dream--The Dirt Band
10 Desire--Andy Gibb

Singles entering the chart were Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer by Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes (#90); I Still Reach for You by Dan Hill (#92); Heart Hotels by Dan Fogelberg (#94); I Can't Help It by Andy Gibb & Olivia Newton-John (#96); Borrowed Time by Styx (#98); and Carrie by Cliff Richard (#100).

Died on this date
William Tolbert, 66. 20th President of Liberia, 1971-1980. A member of the True Whig Party, Mr. Tolbert served as Liberia’s Vice President from 1952-1971, and then succeeded William Tubman as President. In contrast to Mr. Tubman’s pro-American foreign policy, Mr. Tolbert pursued a more non-aligned policy, establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba, People’s Republic of China, U.S.S.R., and other Eastern Bloc countries. He severed relations with Israel during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, but supported the U.S. during the Vietnam War. He was chairman of the Organisation of African Unity from July 1979 until his death. Mr. Tolbert ended Liberia’s 101-year-old practice of being a one-party state in 1978 when he recognized the Progressive Alliance of Liberia as a legitimate opposition party. Riots on April 14, 1979 over the price of rice, which resulted in over 40 civilian deaths, negatively affected Mr. Tolbert’s credibility. On March 9, 1980 he had PPP leader Gabriel Bacchus Matthews and the rest of the PPP leadership arrested on charges of treason. Discontent mounted, leading to a coup d’etat.

World events
Liberian President William Tolbert and 27 others were killed in a coup d'etat by 17 Liberian Army non-commissioned officers and enlisted men. Master Sergeant Samuel Doe assumed leadership of the country. Sgt. Doe said in a radio broadcast that "the rampant corruption and continuous failure by the government to effectively handle the affairs of the Liberian people left the enlisted men no alternative." He immediately released members of the opposition Progressive People’s Party, who had been arrested and imprisoned on March 9 after calling for a general strike to force Mr. Tolbert out of office.

Canadiana
British Columbia resident Terry Fox, 21, who had lost his right leg to cancer a few years earlier, began his Marathon of Hope run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. He started in Newfoundland and headed west.

Disasters
Transbrasil Flight 303, a Boeing 727 en route from São Paulo, crashed on approach to Hercílio Luz International Airport in Florianópolis, Brazil; 55 of the 58 people on board were killed.

Hockey
Stanley Cup
Preliminary Round
Boston 1 @ Pittsburgh 4 (Pittsburgh led best-of-five series 2-1)
Buffalo 3 @ Vancouver 1 (Buffalo won best-of-five series 3-1)
New York Islanders 6 @ Los Angeles 0 (New York won best-of-five series 3-1)

Baseball
In the NBC Game of the Week, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Houston Astros 6-5 in 17 innings before 24,609 fans at the Astrodome. Nolan Ryan, in his first start with the Astros, hit his first career major league home run, a 3-run blow off Don Sutton in the 4th inning.

The Milwaukee Brewers tied a major league record with 2 grand slams in one inning (the 2nd) as they whipped the Boston Red Sox 18-1 before 16,962 fans at County Stadium in Milwaukee. Cecil Cooper hit a grand slam off Mike Torrez, and then Don Money hit one off Chuck Rainey.

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Oi beibi/Tuhansien sulojen maa--Raptori (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): The By-road to Glenroe--Mick Lally (2nd week at #1)

Politics and government
Lothar de Maiziere, leader of the Christian Democratic Union, became Premier of East Germany. In coalition with the Social Democratic Party, he led East Germany’s first freely-chosen government. The Party of Democratic Socialism, successor to the Communist Party, was not included in the coalition. Meeting under its new leadership, parliament asked for forgiveness from Jews and the U.S.S.R. for the policy of genocide practiced by the Nazis in World War II. Parliament also acknowledged that East Germany shared the guilt for invading Czechoslovakia in 1968, and it pledged "unequivocal recognition" of Poland’s current border.

Environment
H.J. Heinz Company, Van Camp Seafood Company, and Bumble Bee Seafoods Inc., which produced a combined 70% of canned tuna sold in the United States, announced that they would no longer buy tuna that had been caught in nets that also trapped dolphins. An estimated 80,000-100,000 dolphins perished each year when trapped in the nets that were used to catch tuna.

Hockey
Stanley Cup
Division Semi-Finals
Toronto 3 @ St. Louis 4 (St. Louis won best-of-seven series 4-1)
Minnesota 1 @ Chicago 5 (Chicago led best-of-seven series 3-2)
Winnipeg 3 @ Edmonton 4 (Winnipeg led best-of-seven series 3-2)
Los Angeles 1 @ Calgary 5 (Los Angeles led best-of-seven series 3-2)

10 years ago
2000

Diplomacy
The 2 P.M. deadline for 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez to be returned from relatives in Florida to his father in Cuba passed, with negotiations continuing.

Crime
A jury in Cleveland unanimously rejected the claim of Sam Reese Sheppard, the son of Dr. Sam Sheppard, that his father had been wrongfully convicted for the 1954 murder of Dr. Sheppard’s wife. Dr. Sheppard was acquitted in a retrial in 1966 and died on April 6, 1970 at the age of 46.

Hockey
Stanley Cup
Conference Quarter-Finals
Ottawa 0 @ Toronto 2 (Toronto led best-of-seven series 1-0)
San Jose 3 @ St. Louis 5 (St. Louis led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Edmonton 1 @ Dallas 2 (Dallas led best-of-seven series 1-0)