April 24, 2010

210 years ago
1800

Americana
The Library of Congress was established.

150 years ago
1860

Born on this date
Marau. Queen consort of Tahiti, 1877-1880. Marau, the daughter of Jewish English merchant Alexander Salmon and Princesss Oehau, married future King Pōmare V in 1875, and became queen consort when he acceded to the throne upon the death of his mother, Queen Pōmare IV. King Pōmare V gave Tahiti to France and abdicated the throne in 1880; he and Queen Marau were divorced in 1887. She died on February 2, 1935 at the age of 74.

130 years ago
1880

Born on this date
Gideon Sundback. Swedish-born U.S. engineer. Mr. Sundback was known for his work on the development of the zipper. He died from a heart condition on June 21, 1954 at the age of 74.

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Elizabeth Goudge. U.K. authoress. Miss Goudge wrote novels, short stories, children's books, and non-fiction, and won the Carnegie Medal for British children's books for The Little White Horse (1946). She died on April 1, 1984, 24 days before her 84th birthday.

90 years ago
1920

Academia
The Association of Professional Engineers of New Brunswick was incorporated.

Energy
The New Brunswick Electric Power Commission was established by Order-In-Council.

70 years ago
1940

War
Germany claimed unrestricted control over areas of occupied Norway and declared war on the Norwegian government. Germany responded in a conciliatory manner to the Swedish protest over the flight of German bombers over Swedish air space, but did not promise to end the practice. Pope Pius XII sent a message to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini urging him to keep Italy out of the European war.

Politics and government
Josef Terboven was named Reichskommissar for Norway, even before the German occupation of Norway had been completed.

Education
New York Governor Herbert Lehman signed the McCaffrey bill, providing for a Bill of Rights Week in the state's public schools.

60 years ago
1950

On the radio
Murder By Experts, hosted and narrated by Bret Halliday, on MBS
Tonight's episode: Conspiracy

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Man Who Couldn't Remember, starring Roger De Koven, Jack Palance, and Tom Walsh

Literature
The Grand Alliance by Winston Churchill, the third volume of his World War II memoirs, was published in Boston by Houghton, Mifflin.

Out of My Later Years, by Albert Einstein, a collection of essays, was published by the New Philosophical Library.

World events
In a blow to the United Nations plan for the internationalization of Jerusalem, Jordan's Parliament voted to add Jordanian-occupied central Palestine to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. King Abdullah signed documents putting the act into effect.

Defense
Stuart Symington, turning over his post as U.S. Air Force Secretary to Thomas Finletter, told reporters that the Air Force's combat effectiveness had declined because of budgetary restrictions during the past six months. He urged expansion of the Air Force to 70 air groups from the present 48.

Law
A U.S. district court of appeal in Los Angeles ruled that a California state law restricting land ownership by aliens was invalid because it conflicted with provisions of the United Nations Charter on Human Rights.

50 years ago
1960

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Forty Detectives Later, starring James Franciscus, Jack Warden, and George Mitchell

Died on this date
Max von Laue, 80. German physicist. Dr. Laue was awarded the 1914 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his discovery of the diffraction of X-rays by crystals", an important step in the development of X-ray spectroscopy." He was interned in England by Allied authorities for several months at the end of 1945, but was returned to Germany early in 1946, and continued his career until his death, 16 days after being injured in a car accident.

Television
French language station CBWFT began broadcasting as Radio-Canada Winnipeg.

Baseball
The New York Yankees scored 8 runs before the first out was made in the 1st inning and went on to a 15-9 win over the Baltimore Orioles before 19,460 fans at Yankee Stadium. Albie Pearson and Billy Klaus hit grand slams for the Orioles in the 8th and 9th innings, respectively.



The Boston Red Sox scored 3 runs in the top of the 9th inning and had runners on first and second bases with 2 out, but Ron Jackson struck out to end the game as the Red Sox lost 11-10 to the Washington Senators before 9,682 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington. The Red Sox outhit the Senators 20-13.

40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Let it Be--The Beatles (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): All Kinds of Everything--Dana (6th week at #1)

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Love is a Beautiful Song--Dave Mills (4th week at #1)
2 Ma Belle Amie--Tee Set
3 Carol Ok--Chris Andrews
4 Hitchin' a Ride--Vanity Fare
5 Bridge Over Troubled Water--Simon & Garfunkel
6 Wand'rin' Star--Lee Marvin
7 Travelin' Band--Creedence Clearwater Revival
8 Spider Spider--Tidal Wave
9 Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)--Edison Lighthouse
10 Let's Work Together--Canned Heat

The only single entering the chart was Elizabethan Reggae by Boris Gardiner (#20).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 American Woman/No Sugar Tonight--The Guess Who
2 Little Green Bag--George Baker Selection
3 Something's Burning--Kenny Rogers and the First Edition
4 Let it Be--The Beatles
5 Shilo--Neil Diamond
6 Vehicle--The Ides of March
7 Love or Let Me Be Lonely--The Friends of Distinction
8 Up the Ladder to the Roof--The Supremes
9 Come Running--Van Morrison
10 Everything is Beautiful--Ray Stevens

Singles entering the chart were What is Truth by Johnny Cash (#23); Up Around the Bend by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#25); You're the One--Part I by Little Sister (#28); Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand) by Diana Ross (#29); and Daughter of Darkness by Tom Jones (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Let it Be--The Beatles (6th week at #1)
2 Spirit in the Sky--Norman Greenbaum
3 Shilo--Neil Diamond
4 Mr. Monday--The Original Caste
5 House of the Rising Sun--Frijid Pink
6 No Sugar Tonight/American Woman--The Guess Who
7 Little Green Bag--George Baker Selection
8 Woodstock--Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
9 Something's Burning--Kenny Rogers and the First Edition
10 Instant Karma (We All Shine On)--John Ono Lennon (with the Plastic Ono Band)

Space
With the launch of Dong Fang Hong I, the People’s Republic of China became the fifth nation to orbit a satellite, sending a payload weighing 381 pounds around the Earth at the rate of one revolution every 114 minutes and playing "The East is Red."

Africana
The Gambia became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Dawda Jawara as its first President.

World events
Three Haitian Coast Guard cutters began intermittently shelling Port-au-Prince in an apparent revolt against the government of President Francois Duvalier.

Protest
A month of anti-ROTC protests on the Stanford University campus at Palo Alto, California climaxed with fires which destroyed the work of 10 visiting scholars and caused $50,000-$100,000 worth of damage to the university’s center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences.

Religion
Pope Paul VI became the first pontiff to visit the island of Sardinia.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Los Angeles 112 @ New York 124 (New York led best-of-seven series 1-0)

The Knickerbockers, trailing 92-89 after 3 quarters, outscored the Lakers 35-20 in the 4th quarter before 19,500 fans at Madison Square Garden. Willis Reed led New York with 37 points, while grabbing 16 rebounds and adding 5 assists. Jerry West led Los Angels with 33 points.

30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (Hot Press): Take that Look Off Your Face--Marti Webb (5th week at #1)

World events
After diplomatic efforts to secure the release of the hostages from the U.S. embassy in Iran, the United States attempted the military rescue mission Operation Eagle Claw, which ended in failure and tragedy. Eight helicopters and six Hercules transport planes left Egypt, but because of mechanical problems, only six of the helicopters arrived at the designated rendezvous at Dasht-i-Kavir, 200 miles southeast of Tehran. One of the helicopters that landed had damage that prevented it taking off again; the mission required a minimum of six helicopters, and with only five functional, U.S. President Jimmy Carter called off the mission. During the withdrawal, one of the helicopters collided with one of the transport planes, killing eight men and injuring five others. All surviving men left in the five remaining transport planes, leaving the five helicopters and eight dead men behind.

600 Cuban-American boat owners had reached Key West, Florida in preparation to set sail for Mariel, Cuba to pick up Cubans attempting to flee to the United States.

Diplomacy
Japan announced that it was following the European Economic Community and Canada in imposing diplomatic sanctions against Iran.

Politics and government
Republican Congressman and U.S. presidential candidate John Anderson, who had freed his delegates to the Republican National Convention a week earlier, announced that he would run for the presidency as an independent because the nation needed a choice in the November election: "Too many people in our nation are disillusioned with the prospective choices our party structures are offering."

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Quarter-Finals
Montreal 2 @ Minnesota 5 (Best-of-seven series tied 3-3)

20 years ago
1990

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Goodbye

This episode, the last to feature the character of Kevin Arnold’s math teacher, Mr. Collins, was reported to be series star Fred Savage’s favourite episode.

Space
The U.S. space shuttle Discovery blasted off to begin mission STS-31, with a crew of five and the Hubble Space Telescope aboard.





Diplomacy
U.S. President George Bush announced an indefinite delay in imposing sanctions against the U.S.S.R. for cutting off the flow of oil to Lithuania, saying he did not want to add fuel to "an already volatile situation." Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis called the situation a modern Munich, a reference to European appeasement of German dictator Adolf Hitler in 1938.

Scandal
Michael Milken, the former "junk bond king" at the U.S. securities firm Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc., pled guilty in U.S. District Court in New York to six counts relating to securities fraud, and agreed to pay a total of $600 million in fines and restitution. Under the agreement, more serious charges were dropped, and a case against his brother Lowell Milken was also dropped. Counts to which Michael Milken pled guilty to included conspiracy; aiding and abetting the filing of a false statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and assisting the filing of a false tax return. He still faced the possibility of going to prison.

Health
Gruinard Island, Scotland was officially declared free of the anthrax disease after 48 years of quarantine.

10 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Nguyen Thi Hiep. Vietnamese-born convicted criminal. Mr. Hiep, who moved to Montreal in 1982 and eventually became a Canadian citizen, was executed by Vietnamese authorities after being convicted of smuggling heroin. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy said that Mr. Hiep may have been duped into transporting drugs.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Conference Quarter-Finals
Toronto 4 @ Ottawa 2 (Toronto won best-of-seven series 4-2)