April 16, 2011

190 years ago
1821

Born on this date
Ford Madox Brown. French-born U.K. artist. Mr. Brown was a painter of portraits and historical and moral subjects in a career spanning more than 50 years. His last major work was The Manchester Murals, 12 paintings for Manchester Town Hall depicting the city's history. Mr. Brown died on October 8, 1893 at the age of 62.

160 years ago
1851

Born on this date
Ponnambalam Ramanathan. Ceylonese politician. Sir Ponnambalam was a lawyer who was an unofficial member (1879-1892, 1911-1924) and an official member (1924-1930) of the Legislative Council of Ceylon and Solicitor-General of Ceylon (1892-1906). He died on November 26, 1930 at the age of 79.

140 years ago
1871

Born on this date
John Millington Synge. U.K. author, poet, and playwright. Mr. Synge, a native of Ireland, wrote mainly about working class Roman Catholics in rural Ireland. He was best known for his play The Playboy of the Western World (1907). Mr. Synge died of Hodgkin's disease on March 24, 1909, 23 days before his 38th birthday.

Farran Zerbe. U.S. numismatist. Mr. Zerbe began collecting coins as a child, and joined the American Numismatic Association (ANA) in 1900. He served as chief numismatist (person responsible for selling government coins) at the World's Fairs in St. Louis (1904), Portland (1905), and San Francisco (1915), and was president of the ANA in 1908-1909. Mr. Zerbe's 1908 purchase of the ANA's journal The Numismatist for himself instead of on behalf of the ANA earned him the enmity of other numismatists. He sold his coin collection to Chase National Bank in 1928, and served as its curator until his retirement in 1939. Mr. Zerbe died on December 25, 1949 at the age of 78, and was inducted into the Numismatic Hall of Fame in 1969.

130 years ago
1881

Law
In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fought his last gun battle, against A.J. Peacock and Al Updegraff, resuting in the wounding of Mr. Updegraff.

120 years ago
1891

Politics and government
New Brunswick abolished the Legislative Council, the provincial Upper House.

100 years ago
1911

Born on this date
Guy Burgess. U.K. traitor. Mr. Burgess, a British Foreign Office official, was one of the Cambridge Five spies who passed Western secrets to the U.S.S.R. during the early years of the Cold War. He and fellow traitor Donald Maclean escaped to the Soviet Union in 1951 after Mr. Maclean came under suspicion in Britain. Mr. Burgess was a sodomite who drank himself to death on August 30, 1963 at the age of 52.

70 years ago
1941

War
An estimated 400 German planes pounded London for eight hours in the heaviest "reprisal" raid of the European war. The German command said that the 2nd Serbian Army had capitulated; the U.K. conceded that Serbian resistance had ended. The Italian-German Tarigo convoy was attacked and destroyed by British ships in the Mediterranean Sea.

Diplomacy
Canadian Prime Miniser Mackenzie King met U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House in Washington to discuss hemispheric defense issues, and how Canada could earn more U.S. dollars for American purchases.

Defense
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt invoked the Neutrality Act against Hungary for "having without justification attacked Yugoslavia." Under a new order released by the U.S. Adjutant General's Office, all soldiers would be subject to overseas duty, if necessary, whether or not they had volunteered specifically for such service.

Politics and government
The Ustaše, a Croatian ultranationalist organization is put in charge of the Independent State of Croatia by the Axis powers after Operation 25 was effected. Ante Pavelich was named Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.

Economics and finance
U.S. Federal Price Administator Leon Henderson froze iron and steel prices at their first-quarter levels following a general 10c hourly wage increase granted to more than 525,000 steel workers.

Labour
U.S. Office of Production Management Director William Knudsen called jurisdictional strikes "plain stupid," and denounced strikes that took advantage of the defense program as "criminal."

60 years ago
1951

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Witness, starring Dane Clark, Howard Smith, and Florence Stanley

War
U.S. Senator Albert Gore (Democrat--Tennessee) proposed that the United States use atomic weapons to make a strip of Korean territory between Communist and United Nations lines radioactive and "dehumanized" in order to halt fighting on the peninsula.

Defense
U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur left Tokyo after farewell ceremonies before a crowd of 230,000.

Scandal
A U.S. federal court in Baltimore sentenced former Air Force General Bennett Meyers to a year in prison and a $15,000 fine for income tax evasion, the result of charges growing out of the 1949 "five percenter" scandal.

Economics and finance
The U.S.S.R. announced the completion of the latest five-year economic plan, claiming a 75% gain in industrial production.

Baseball
The Pittsburgh Pirates scored a run in the 2nd inning and 3 in the 3rd and held on to defeat the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 in the major league season opener before 30,441 fans at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Snow began falling in the bottom of the 1st inning. Roy McMillan made his major league debut with the Reds when he entered the game with 2 out in the 9th inning as a pinch runner for Dixie Howell, who singled. Bobby Adams then drew a base on balls, but Bob Usher flied out to right field to end the game. Cliff Chambers (1-0) was the winning pitcher over Ewell Blackwell (0-1).

50 years ago
1961

Abominations
In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro declared that he was a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba was going to adopt Communism.
Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Chicago 5 @ Detroit 1 (Chicago won best-of-seven series 4-2)

Ab McDonald scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal at 18:49 of the 2nd period at Olympia Stadium. It was the Black Hawks’ third Stanley Cup win, their first since 1938, and their last until 2010.





40 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): The Pushbike Song--The Mixtures

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Hey Tonight--Creedence Clearwater Revival

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 A Summer Prayer for Peace--The Archies (3rd week at #1)
2 Have You Ever Seen the Rain--Creedence Clearwater Revival
3 Home--Dave Mills
4 Silver Moon--Michael Nesmith & the First National Band
5 Knock Three Times--Dawn
6 My Sweet Lord--George Harrison
7 She’s a Lady--Tom Jones
8 Rose Garden--Lynn Anderson
9 Pushbike Song--The Mixtures
10 Do It--Neil Diamond

Singles entering the chart were The Song of My Life by Petula Clark (#18); Las Vegas by Tony Christie (#19); and Another Day by Paul McCartney (#20).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 I was Wondering--The Poppy Family
2 I Am...I Said--Neil Diamond
3 Another Day--Paul McCartney
4 Oh What a Feeling--Crowbar
5 Joy to the World--Three Dog Night
6 She's a Lady--Tom Jones
7 Chick-A-Boom (Don't Ya Jes' Love It)--Daddy Dewdrop
8 A Country Boy Named Willy--Spring
9 Free--Chicago
10 Timothy--The Buoys

Singles entering the chart were Albert Flasher/Broken by the Guess Who (#25); Sweet and Innocent by Donny Osmond (#27); Hats Off to the Stranger by Lighthouse (#28); Love Her Madly by the Doors (#29); and Me and You and a Dog Named Boo by Lobo (#30).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKVN)
1 Another Day/Oh Woman, Oh Why--Paul McCartney (3rd week at #1)
2 A Country Boy Named Willy--Spring
3 Power to the People--John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
4 One Toke Over the Line--Brewer and Shipley
5 Lucky Man--Emerson, Lake & Palmer
6 Me and My Arrow--Nilsson
7 I was Wondering--The Poppy Family
8 Pushbike Song--The Mixtures
9 Friends--Elton John
10 Sweet Mary--Argent

Singles entering the chart were Love Her Madly by the Doors (#23); Music is Love by David Crosby (#28); Rock 'n Roll Lover Man by Northwest Company (#29); and Crazy Love by Rita Coolidge (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 She’s a Lady--Tom Jones (2nd week at #1)
2 Where Evil Grows--The Poppy Family
3 Patricia--Ronnie Hawkins
4 I Am...I Said--Neil Diamond
5 Jodie--Joey Gregorash
6 A Country Boy Named Willy--Spring
7 Another Day--Paul McCartney
8 Tillicum--Syrinx
9 Joy to the World--Three Dog Night
10 If--Bread

Joey Gregorash replaced the legendary Don Percy as morning man at CKY radio in Winnipeg when Mr. Percy went to CFRN in Edmonton in 1981. This blogger won a $25 gift certificate on Mr. Gregorash’s show during a visit to Winnipeg in May 1982. Tillicum was the theme from a CTV documentary series called Here Come the Seventies.

Died on this date
William D. "Spike" Eckert, 62. U.S. military officer; Commissioner of Major League Baseball, 1965-1968. A lieutenant general in the United States Air Force, Mr. Eckert worked as a management consultant to the aviation industry and served on the boards of directors of several corporations. Lt. Gen. Eckert, a compromise choice of the owners of the 20 major league teams, succeeded Ford Frick as Commissioner of Major League Baseball on November 17, 1965. The owners thought it would be desirable to have a commissioner who had a background and connections with business. Although he has been credited with improving the efficiency of major league baseball and helping to promote the game abroad, Gen. Eckert was regarded as ineffective in dealing with substantial business issues, lost the confidence of the owners, and was forced to resign at the end of the 1968 season as the threat of a players' strike loomed. Lt. Gen. Eckert died while playing tennis in the Bahamas.

30 years ago
1981

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Quarter-Finals
Edmonton 2 @ New York Islanders 8 (New York led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Calgary 0 @ Philadelphia 4 (Philadelphia led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Minnesota 4 @ Buffalo 3 (OT) (Minnesota led best-of-seven series 1-0)
New York Rangers 3 @ St. Louis 6 (St. Louis led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Rick St. Croix earned the shutout for the Flyers over the Flames at the Spectrum, while Paul Holmgren’s goal at 3:30 of the 1st period proved to be the winner.

Steve Payne scored 22 seconds into overtime to give the North Stars their win over the Sabres at War Memorial Auditorium.

20 years ago
1991

Died on this date
David Lean, 83. U.K. film director. Sir David was best known for large-scale epic films such as The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957); Lawrence of Arabia (1962); Doctor Zhivago (1965); Ryan's Daughter (1970); and A Passage to India (1984). He was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning for The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia.

Economics and finance
The Canadian Manufacturers Association (CMA) said that Canadians would save $6.5 billion a year if 500 or so interprovincial trade barriers were removed.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Semi-Finals
Detroit 2 @ St. Louis 3 (St. Louis won best-of-seven series 4-3)
Edmonton 5 @ Calgary 4 (OT) (Edmonton won best-of-seven series 4-3)

The Blues’ win at St. Louis Arena climaxed a comeback from a 3 games-to-1 deficit.

Esa Tikkanen scored the winning goal for the Oilers at 6:58 of the 1st overtime period at Olympic Saddledome.



10 years ago
2001

Died on this date
Robert Osterloh, 82. U.S. actor. Mr. Osterloh was a character actor in movies and television from 1948-1968, playing minor roles in movies such as The Dark Past (1948) and White Heat (1949) and television series such as The Untouchables (1959).

Michael Ritchie, 62. U.S. movie director, producer, and screenwriter. Mr. Ritchie directed movies such as Downhill Racer (1969); The Candidate (1972); Smile (1975); The Bad News Bears (1976); and Fletch (1985). He died from complications of prostate cancer.

War
India and Bangladesh began a five-day border conflict, but were unable to resolve the disputes about their border.