May 27, 2010

890 years ago
1120

Europeana
Richard III of Capua was anointed as Prince, two weeks before his untimely death.

400 years ago
1610

Died on this date
François Ravaillac, 31 or 32. French assassin. Mr. Ravaillac was a Roman Catholic schoolteacher who claimed, in 1609, claimed to have experienced a vision instructing him to persuade King Henry IV to convert the Huguenots to Catholicism. He was unable to meet the king, and when King Henri decided to invade the Spanish Netherlands, Mr. Ravaillac interpreted this as a war against the Papacy. On May 14, 1610, when King Henri's carriage was blocked by traffic in Paris, Mr. Ravaillac fatally stabbed him. Mr. Ravaillac, who claimed to have acted alone, was tortured and then executed by drawing and quartering.

320 years ago
1690

Died on this date
Giovanni Legrenzi, 63. Italian composer. Rev. Legrenzi was a Roman Catholic priest and church organist who wrote 19 operas, as well as liturgical vocal and instrumental music. He was influential in the development of late Baroque music in northern Italy. Rev. Legrenzi died from a colic-related illness, perhaps kidney stones.

240 years ago
1770

Died on this date
Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, 69. Queen consort of Denmark and Norway, 1730-1746. Sophie Magdalene, the daughter of Christian Heinrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach, married the future King Christian VI of Denmark and Norway in 1721, and was Queen consort from his accession to the throne until his death. She died after years of declining health.

170 years ago
1840

Died on this date
Niccolò Paganini, 57. Italian musician and composer. Mr. Paganini was the most famous violinist of his time, and his technique and compositions have influenced violinists to this day.

150 years ago
1860

Born on this date
Manuel Teixeira Gomes. 7th President of Portugal, 1923-1925. Mr. Teixeira Gomes was Portuguese Minister to the United Kingdom from 1911-1918 and 1919-1923. He was an unsuccessful Partido Democrático (Democratic Party) candidate for President in 1919, but was elected as an independent in 1923. Mr. Teixeira Gomes was the target of constant opposition from the Nationalist Party, and resigned, under the pretext of poor health, on December 11, 1925. He went into exile six days later, and died in French Algeria on October 18, 1941 at the age of 81.

War
Giuseppe Garibaldi began his attack on Palermo, Sicily as part of the Italian unification.

125 years ago
1885

Baseball
The New York Giants whipped the Buffalo Bisons 24-0. Winning pitcher Mickey Welch pitched a 5-hitter and scored 5 runs. Every New York player got a hit and scored a run.

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Lotte Toberentz. German accused war criminal. Miss Toberentz was an officer with the Berlin police department (1930-1940), and was head of the Uckermark concentration camp for girls (1942-1945) and Lagerführerin (camp leader) of the Ravensbrück concentration camp (1944-1945). She was charged with mistreating Allied female prisoners at both facilities, but was acquitted at the Third Ravensbrück Trials in Hamburg in 1948. However, Miss Toberentz had been in charge of German girls, and her activities in this regard weren't included in the charges. She worked with West German criminal police after her acquittal, and further interrogations in the 1950s and '60s regarding her wartime activities resulted in no further charges. Details of Miss Toberentz's later life, including her date of death, are unknown.

War
The British 1st Cavalry Brigade, commanded by Colonel T.C. Porter, advanced against South African Republic troops under Commandant General Louis Botha, beginning the Battle of Johannesburg.

100 years ago
1910

Died on this date
Robert Koch, 66. German microbiologist and physician. Dr. Koch was awarded the 1905 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his investigations and discoveries in relation to tuberculosis." He was known as the "father of bacteriology," and gave experimental support for the concept of infectious disease. Dr. Koch died seven weeks after suffering a heart attack.

Auto racing
AAA
Championship Car Series
Tom Kincaid won the 100-mile Prest-O-Lite Trophy Race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Charlie Merz finished second and Leigh Lynch third in the 13-car field.

90 years ago
1920

Baseball
The Pittsburgh Pirates claimed outfielder Wally Hood from the Brooklyn Robins. He was batting .143 (2 for 14) with no home runs and 1 run batted in in 7 games with Brooklyn in 1920.

Babe Ruth hit his 9th and 10th home runs of the season to lead the New York Yankees to a 6-1 win over the Boston Red Sox before 10,000 fans at Fenway Park in Boston. Yankees’ starting pitcher Bob Shawkey (5-5) was ejected after the 4th inning for getting into a fight with umpire George Hildebrand; Mr. Hildebrand reportedly got the better of the fight. Carl Mays relieved and pitched 5 scoreless innings to get the save.

Gene Paulette singled with 1 out in the top of the 11th inning and scored on a double by Ralph Miller to break a 4-4 tie as the Philadelphia Phillies edged the Brooklyn Robins 5-4 before 6,000 fans at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. George Smith (4-3) pitched a 9-hit complete game victory.

The St. Louis Cardinals scored 10 runs in the first 3 innings and offset a 6-run 6th inning with a 6-run 7th as they beat the Cincinnati Reds 16-9 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Every St. Louis starter scored at least 1 run. Bill Doak (5-3) allowed 8 hits and 8 runs--all earned--in 5.2 innings, but still got the win.

80 years ago
1930

At the movies
Hell's Angels, directed by Howard Hughes, and starring Jean Harlow, Ben Lyon, and James Hall, received its premiere screening at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.







Americana
The 1,046-foot (319 metre) Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, opened to the public.

70 years ago
1940

On the radio



War
German planes inflicted heavy losses on British forces evacuating Dunkirk, France. German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's forces cut off nearly half of the French forces in Flanders in small pockets around Lille.

Abominations
In the Le Paradis massacre, 99 soldiers from a Royal Norfolk Regiment unit were shot after surrendering to German troops; 2 survived.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Jay Pierpoint Moffat as U.S. minister to Canada.

Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas reaffirmed his nation's neutrality in international affairs.

Defense
The U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee began preparation of new tax measures for defense purposes.

Labour
The United States Senate passed and sent to the House of Representatives a civil liberties bill devised by Sen. Bob La Follette, Jr. (Progressive--Wisconsin) that would bar use of certain tactics, such as employment of strikebreakers, against labour.

Sport
New York Yankees' center fielder Joe DiMaggio received the Golden Laurel as the outstanding U.S. athlete of 1939.

60 years ago
1950

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Hop Scotch Polka--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians; Art Mooney and his Orchestra

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): "The Third Man" Theme--Anton Karas (Best Seller--5th week at #1); If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake--Eileen Barton with the New Yorkers (Disc Jockey--10th week at #1); "The Third Man" Theme--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians (Jukebox--4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 "The Third Man" Theme--Anton Karas (6th week at #1)
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
2 Bewitched--Bill Snyder and his Orchestra
--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra
--Doris Day
--Larry Green and his Orchestra
--Jan August & Jerry Murad’s Harmonicats
3 My Foolish Heart--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra
--Billy Eckstine
--Mindy Carson
4 It Isn’t Fair--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
5 If I Knew You Were Comin’ (I’d’ve Baked a Cake)--Eileen Barton with the New Yorkers
--Georgia Gibbs
6 Sentimental Me--The Ames Brothers
--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra
--Ray Anthony and his Orchestra
7 Dearie--Ray Bolger and Ethel Merman
--Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
8 Hoop-Dee-Doo--Perry Como
--Kay Starr
--Doris Day
9 The Old Piano Roll Blues--Hoagy Carmichael and Cass Daley
--Lawrence "Piano Roll" Cook
10 Daddy’s Little Girl--The Mills Brothers
--Dick Todd

Singles entering the chart were Down the Lane, with versions by Russ Morgan and his Orchestra; and Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae (#31); I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine by Patti Page (#38); and Stars and Stripes Forever by Franlie Laine (#40).

War
Chinese Nationalists abandoned the Wanshan Islands southwest of Hong Kong to Communist invaders.

Diplomacy
The U.S.A. ordered the C.S.S.R. to close its New York consulate by June 10 because of Czech treatment of U.S. diplomats in Czechoslovakia.

World events
The Guatemalan Congress voted a Roman Catholic Holy Year amnesty for most political and other prisoners.

A court in Salonika sentenced Communist Vassillos Constandinides to death for faking an interview with Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in an attempt to incite trouble between Greece and the U.S.S.R.

Politics and government
U.S. Commerce Secretary Charles Sawyer announced that he had asked William Remington, accused by Elizabeth Bentley of passing secrets to the Soviets, to resign from the department "in the interest of good administration" or be fired.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Cathy's Clown--The Everly Brothers (5th week at #1)

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CBS
Tonight's episode: , starring

Died on this date
James Montgomery Flagg, 82. U.S. artist. Mr. Flagg was an illustrator with Collier's, The Saturday Evening Post, and other magazines, but was best known for his poster of Uncle Sam, with the caption "I Want You for U.S. Army," which originally appeared on the cover of the July 6, 1916 issue of Leslie's Weekly with the caption “What Are You Doing for Preparedness?,” and was revived for use as a recruiting poster when the U.S. became involved in both World Wars.

World events
A military coup in Turkey removed President Celâl Bayar and the rest of the democratic government from office.

Baseball
The Baltimore Orioles beat the New York Yankees 3-2 before 7,387 fans at Yankee Stadium behind the 6-hit pitching of Hoyt Wilhelm (2-2). In order to reduce the number of passed balls resulting from Mr. Wilhelm’s knuckleballs, Baltimore manager Paul Richards had devised an oversized (and legal) catcher’s mitt, half again as large and 40 ounces heavier than the usual mitt. Clint Courtney allowed no passed balls in his first game using the new mitt. Marv Breeding doubled home 2 runs and scored on a single by Gene Woodling as the Orioles scored all their runs in the 5th inning off Art Ditmar (2-1).

Camilo Pascual (5-4) of the Washington Senators struck out 13 batters, but lost 4-3 to the Boston Red Sox before 5,208 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Winning pitcher Tom Brewer (3-4) pitched an 8-hit complete game, with 8 strikeouts.

Ed Bailey hit a grand slam off Ken MacKenzie with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Cincinnati Reds a 9-5 win over the Milwaukee Braves before 11,364 fans at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Vada Pinson’s second triple of the game was followed by 2 intentional bases on balls to bring Mr. Bailey to the plate. Eddie Mathews hit a pair of homers for the Braves, who took a 5-0 lead in the 5th.

40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Question--The Moody Blues

Politics and government
Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike, a former prime minister, led a leftist United Front of her Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the Trotskyist Lama Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), and the Communist Party to an overwhelming victory in the Ceylonese general election, taking 116 of 151 seats in the House of Representatives. The SLFP won 91 seats, an increase of 50 from its total in the most recent election in 1965. The LSSP won 19 seats, and the Communists 6. The opposition was led by the United National Party, with 17 seats.

Economics and finance
The Dow-Jones industrial index of 30 blue-chip stocks on the New York Stock Exchange jumped 32.04 points--the largest one-day advance ever recorded--as the stock market fought to recover from one of its deepest slumps. The index closed at 663.20.

30 years ago
1980

World events
South Korean troops regained full control of Kwangju, a city of 800,000 and capital of the province of South Chomman that ha been seized by rebels six days earlier. In less than two hours, nearly 300 dissidents were arrested, and 19 were killed in the military operation that ended he worst outbreak of violence in South Korea since the Korean War in the early 1950s.

Former Ugandan President Milton Obote, who had been ousted in a coup led by Idi Amin, returned to the country after nine years in exile in Tanzania, and was reported to be readying a campaign to regain the presidency.

Politics and government
Former California Governor Ronald Reagan clinched the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States as he won primaries in Arkansas, Kentucky, and Nevada. President Jimmy Carter won the Democratic primaries in all three states and was very close to clinching the nomination, but U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy continued in the campaign.

Law
A jury at the inquest of Blair Peach, a London teacher who had been killed during a demonstration against the neo-Nazi National Front the year before returned a verdict of death by misadventure.

Health
The Food and Nutrition Board of the U.S. National Research Council announced that it had found no evidence to recommend that healthy people reduce their consumption of cholesterol or fat. In the previous decade, 18 major organizations involved with health and nutrition issues had advised a reduction in cholesterol and fat as means of lessening the risk of heart disease and other fatal diseases. The new report, titled Toward Healthful Diets, cited seven large-scale studies in which diets were modified to alter the incidence of heart disease, and there was only a "marginal decrease" in the rate of heart attacks, "but no effect on overall mortality." The report did recommend a substantial reduction in salt intake to prevent high blood pressure and emphasized the importance of controlling body weight.

Art
Summer in the Arctic by Frederick Varley solds for $170,000, a record for a Canadian painting at a Sotheby Parke Bernet auction in Toronto.

Olympics
The International Olympic Committee announced that at least 85 nations would compete in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, despite the U.S. campaign for a boycott of the games because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The IOC said that 85 nations had accepted invitations to compete; 29 had rejected invitations; and 27 had not responded by the May 24 deadline. The only western European nations to join the boycott were West Germany; Liechtenstein; Norway; and Monaco. Other countries joining the boycott were Canada; China; Japan; Israel; and Turkey.

Football
CFL
The Edmonton Eskimos traded veteran quarterback Bruce Lemmerman to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for running back Neil Lumsden. Mr. Lemmerman, who had played in just one regular season game in the previous two years, played in just 8 games for the Tiger-Cats and retired before the season was over. Mr. Lumsden played 6 years for the Eskimos and was a major part of Grey Cup championship teams from 1980-1982. In 1981 he was voted the outstanding Canadian in the Grey Cup.

Soccer
NASL
Edmonton 1 Memphis 0 (SO)

25 years ago
1985

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): We are the World--USA for Africa (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Boy no Theme--Momoko Kikuchi

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): We are the World--USA for Africa (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Bob Readick, 59. U.S. actor. Mr. Readick, the son of actor Frank Readick, was a child when he followed his father into radio, and appeared in 7,000 programs by the time he reached the age of 23 in 1950; the two appeared as father and son in the soap opera This is Nora Drake (1950). Bob Readick appeared in several Broadway plays, and movies such as The Canterville Ghost (1944), but was probably best known for succeeding Bob Bailey as star of the radio program Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar for 26 episodes (December 1960-June 1961). Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Philadelphia 3 @ Edmonton 5 (Edmonton led best-of-five series 3-1)

Wayne Gretzky scored 2 goals as the Oilers came back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Flyers at Northlands Coliseum.



Basketball
NBA
Finals
Los Angeles Lakers 114 @ Boston 148 (Boston led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Kevin McHale and Scott Wedman each scored 26 points as the Celtics routed the Lakers before 14,890 fans at Boston Garden in the "Memorial Day Massacre." Mr. Wedman was successful on all 11 of his field goal attempts, but missed both his free throws. Los Angeles center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored just 12 points.



20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Vogue--Madonna

#1 single in Switzerland: The Power--Snap! (4th week at #1)

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Ding Dong--Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung (5th week at #1)
2 Black Velvet--Alannah Myles
3 I Promised Myself--Nick Kamen
4 Hey, Wickie--Der Schreckliche Sven & die tollkühnen Plattenreiter
5 Hier kommt Kurt--Frank Zander
6 Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor
7 The Power--Snap!
8 Das erste Mal tat's noch weh--Stefan Waggershausen & Viktor Lazlo
9 Infinity (1990's...Time for the Guru)--Guru Josh
10 Vogue--Madonna

The only single entering the chart was A Dreams a Dream by Soul II Soul (#27).

Died on this date
Robert B. Meyner, 81. U.S. politician. Mr. Meyner, a Democrat, was Governor of New Jersey from 1954-1962.

Politics and government
Cesar Gaviria Trujillo, the nominee of the ruling Liberal Party and an opponent of the drug cartels, was elected President of Colombia. 2,000 people, including three presidential candidates, had been killed during the campaign, and the threat of more violence had kept the turnout down to 46%. Mr. Gaviria, a former minister of finance and minister of government, received 48% of the vote, and was the only one of the four surviving candidates to support extraditing drug traffickers to the United States, while the other candidates advocated negotiating with drug traffickers. In his victory speech, Mr. Gaviria vowed to end terrorism, and he criticized industrialized countries for not doing enough to reduce drug consumption.

Protest
Civil unrest began flaring up in Armenia.

Auto racing
Arie Luyendyk won the Indianapolis 500. His average speed of 185.981 miles per hour is still a record.



Baseball
John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves came within 2 outs of a no-hitter before giving up a double to Len Dykstra. Mr. Smoltz finished with a 2-hitter as the Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-1 before 27,139 fans at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

10 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, 82. U.K. politician and diplomat. Mr. MacLehose, a native of Scotland, was a career diplomat who held several ambassadorial posts before serving as Governor of Hong Kong (1971-1982). In the latter office, he instituted legal, economic, and educational reforms, created a committee to root out corruption, and became involved in negotiations with China to hand Hong Kong over to China upon the expiration of the U.K.'s 99-year lease in 1997. He was made a life peer as Baron MacLehose of Beoch after his governorship ended.

Maurice "Rocket" Richard, 78. Canadian hockey player. One of the greatest and most exciting players in history, the Rocket, a native of Montreal, starred with the Montreal Canadiens from 1942-60. In 1944-45 he set a record with 50 goals in 50 games. He became the first National Hockey League player to score 500 career goals; he scored his 500th goal in 1957, and finished with 544 goals and 422 assists for 966 points in 978 regular season games. Mr. Richard's 82 Stanley Cup playoff goals (in 133 games) were a career record until it was broken by Wayne Gretzky; in 1945 he scored all 5 goals as the Canadiens defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1 in a playoff game. Mr. Richard was the first coach of the Quebec Nordiques in the World Hockey Association, but resigned after just 2 regular season games in the fall of 1972, posting a 1-1 record. He worked in various endeavours, and held an ambassadorial position with the Canadiens. Mr. Richard was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961, and died after a two-year battle with abdominal cancer.

Agriculture
Scottish farmers who had accidentally planted genetically modified seeds said they would fight for compensation after the U.K. government advised them to dig up the crop.

Soccer
English FA Cup Final @ Wembley Stadium, London
Chelsea 1 Aston Villa 0

Roberto Di Matteo's goal in the 73rd minute provided all the scoring as Chelsea won their second Final in four years, before 78,217 fans in the last FA Cup Final to be played at the original Wembley Stadium.