May 24, 2011

660 years ago
1351

Died on this date
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman, 53-54 (?). Sultan of Morocco, 1331-1348. Abu al-Hasan acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Abu Sa'id Uthman II. He captured Gibraltar from the Castilians in 1333, but an attempt to take Tarifa ended in defeat in 1340. Abu al-Hasan's attempts to further impose his authority over Arab tribes resulted in a revolt, and he was deposed by his eldest son Abu Inan Faris in 1348. Abu al-Hasan died in exile.

390 years ago
1621

Germanica
The Protestant Union, a coalition of Protestant German states formed on May 14, 1608, was formally dissolved.

150 years ago
1861

Born on this date
Gerald Strickland. Prime Minister of Malta, 1927-1932. Baron Strickland was Governor of Tasmania (1904-1909), Western Australia (1909-1913), and New South Wales (1913-1917) before returning to Malta. He became the leader of what became the Constitutional Party, and served as Prime Minister until the constitution was suspended as a result of conflict between the government and Roman Catholic ecclesiastical authorities. Baron Strickland died on August 22, 1940 at the age of 79.

Died on this date
James W. Jackson, 36-37. C.S. secessionist. Mr. Jackson was the proprietor of the Marshall House inn in Alexandria, Virginia; he flew a variation of the Confederate flag from the roof of his inn, and it was easily visible to Union troops. He was bayoneted by Union Army Private Francis Brownell during the Union occupation of Alexandria, immediately after Mr. Jackson had fatally shot Union Colonel Elmer Ellsworth. Mr. Jackson became a martyr for the Confederate cause.

Elmer E. Ellsworth, 24. U.S. military officer. Colonel Ellsworth studied law under Abraham Lincoln, and worked on Mr. Lincoln's 1860 U.S. presidential campaign. He was a colonel of National Guard Cadets in Chicago in the late 1850s, and was given command of the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment when the American Civil War began in 1861. Col. Ellsworth was leading an attempt to seize a Confederate flag from the roof of the Marshall House inn during the Union Army's occupation of Alexandria, Virginia when he was fatally shot by James W. Jackson. Col. Ellsworth was the first Union officer to die in the Civil War, and he lay in state in the White House.

War
Union troops occupied Alexandria, Virginia.

130 years ago
1881

Disasters
The excursion steamer Victoria, a flat-bottomed stern-wheeler, flipped over and sank in the Thames River near Riverside Park in London, Ontario, with the loss of 181 lives.

120 years ago
1891

Born on this date
William F. Albright. Chilean-born U.S. archaeologist. Dr. Albright, the son of Methodist missionaries, was a professor of Semitic Languages at Johns Hopkins University (1930-1958) and Director of the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem (1922–1929, 1933–1936). He founded the field of biblical archaeology, and did important work at sites in Israel such as Gibeah (Tell el-Fûl, 1922) and Tell Beit Mirsim (1926, 1928, 1930, 1932). Dr. Albright died on September 19, 1971 at the age of 80.

110 years ago
1901

Canadiana
In Hamilton, Ontario, Clementina Fessenden, a schoolteacher and the mother of radio pioneer Reginald Fessenden, originated a public holiday called Victoria Day to honour the British Empire by celebrating the Queen’s birthday.

75 years ago
1936

Died on this date
Red Ryan, 41. Canadian criminal. Norman J. Ryan was a bank robber in the 1920s who was sentenced to Kingston Penitentiary, where he became a model prisoner. Mr. Ryan seemed to be such a good example of reform that he was released in 1935, and had a radio program on Toronto station CFRB, where he denounced the criminal lifestyle. While publicly claiming to have reformed, Mr. Ryan had privately resumed his old ways, and went on a 10-month bank robbery spree across Ontario, which ended when he and partner Harry Checkley were killed in a gunfight with police while attempting to rob a liquor store in Sarnia. Sarnia police constable Jack Lewis, 33, was also killed.

70 years ago
1941

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Amapola (Pretty Little Poppy)--Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra with Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell (9th week at #1)

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Bob Dylan!

The legendary singer-songwriter was born Robert Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota.

War
The British cruisers HMS Norfolk and Suffolk made contact with the German battleship Bismarck and cruiser Prinz Eugen in the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland; in the ensuing Battle of the Denmark Strait, the British battle cruiser HMS Hood was sunk with the loss of 1,415 men, and only 3 survivors, while the German ships escaped. A German communique claimed that German troops had occupied the western part of Crete.



Defense
The Battle of Oahu, an exercise involving 35,000 U.S. troops and army bombers, ended in Hawaii after the enemy invaders were theoretically destroyed. U.S. Senator James Mead (Democrat--New York) urged that the United States negotiate with France for temporary bases on French islands in the Western Hemisphere, or seize them if necessary.

Politics and government
Sources in Ankara reported that Emir Abdul Illah, deposed regent of Iraq and uncle of King Feisal, had returned to Iraq under British protection, and was planning to establish a new government in opposition to Prime Minister Rashid Ali Ben Gailani.

Religion
Vatican officials said that German authorities had issued a decree banning all Roman Catholic periodicals and newspapers after June 1, 1941.

Labour
Congress of Industrial Organizations members of North American Aviation Inc. of Inglewood, California voted 5,829-210 to strike to back their wage demands; the company had over $120 million in defense contracts.

Track and field
Les Steers of Oregon set a world record in the high jump of 6' 10 7/8" in the Los Angeles Coliseum Relays.

60 years ago
1951

Died on this date
Thomas N. Heffron, 78. U.S. movie director. Mr. Heffron directed 69 silent films from 1913-1923, including The Man from Mexico (1914); Are You a Mason? (1915); and The House of a Thousand Candles (1915).

Literature
Barbary Shore by Norman Mailer was published in New York by Rinehart.

War
Advancing South Korean troops crossed the 38th Parallel at Kaesong, while U.S. forces moved toward the Hwachon Reservoir on the central front.

Defense
Reinforcement of U.S. land forces in Western Europe began as 5,000 men of the Army's 4th Division embarked from New York for Bremerhaven, West Germany.

Society
The Washington, D.C. Municipal Court of Appeals ruled that racial segregation in the city's restaurants was illegal.

Medicine
The American Medical Association reported that the United States had a record 209,040 physicians in December 1950, up 2,208 over the same period in 1949.

Baseball
The New York Giants called up center fielder Willie Mays from the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association. Mr. Mays was batting .477 with 8 home runs and 30 runs batted in in 35 games with the Millers in 1951.

50 years ago
1961

Diplomacy
Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion arrived in Ottawa to start a four-day visit to Canada.

U.S. Vice President Lyndon Johnson, who had been on a tour of Asian nations since May 9, returned home via Athens and Bermuda. In Bermuda he said that the outcome of the struggle against Communism "will depend on not only the determination and resolve of the free peoples of Asia, but upon the steps we take to help them preserve their liberties." Commenting on the Communist resolve to overwhelm southeast Asia, Mr. Johnson said, "Let me emphasize that new military strength and techniques appear to be essential if the peoples of Asia are to beat back these immediate assaults upon their independence and national integrity."

Protest
Freedom Riders were arrested in Jackson, Mississippi after disembarking from their bus, for "disturbing the peace."

40 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): She's a Lady--Tom Jones (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Mata Au Hi Made--Kiyohiko Ozaki (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Qué Será (Che Sará)--José Feliciano (2nd week at #1)

30 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Being with You--Smokey Robinson (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Stars on 45--Stars on 45

Died on this date
Roy Brown, 55 or 60. U.S. singer. Mr. Brown was a blues and rhythm and blues singer who had 13 songs on the Billboard rhythm and blues chart from 1948-1951, reaching #1 with Long About Midnight (1947) and Hard Luck Blues (1950), but was best known for Good Rocking Tonight (1947), which has been called by many the first rock and roll record. Mr. Brown's career declined through the remainder of the 1950s except for a brief comeback in 1957, as his versions of Party Doll and Let the Four Winds Blow were hits. He worked as an encyclopedia salesman before experiencing a revival of interest in his music in the 1970s, and he enjoyed a successful performing career until his death from a heart attack, shortly before his induction into the Blues Hall of Fame.

Jaime Roldós Aguilera, 40. President of Ecuador, 1979-1981. Mr. Roldós, his wife Maria, Defense Minister Major General Marco Subia Martinez, and two military aides were killed in a plane crash near the Peruvian border. Mr. Roldós was the youngest president in the western hemisphere and had been elected by the largest majority in Ecuadorian history; he implemented human rights reforms during his presidency, leading to conspiracy theories regarding the plane crash.

Terrorism
Four leftist extremists hijacked a Turkish airliner, with 91 passengers and crew aboard, from the airport in Ankara and forced it to fly to Bulgaria. The hijackers threatened to kill five U.S. bankers aboard unless they were paid $100,000 and 47 prisoners in Turkish jails were released. When the plane landed at Burgas, Bulgaria, 17 passengers--all of them Turkish citizens--were released, and two others escaped.

Auto racing
Bobby Unser won the Indianapolis 500 for the third time, but runner-up Mario Andretti protested that Mr. Unser had illegally passed cars while coming out of the pit area under a yellow flag on lap 149.



25 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Live to Tell--Madonna (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Living Doll--Cliff Richard and the Young Ones (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Wonderful World--Sam Cooke

Wonderful World was originally a hit in North America in 1960.

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): The Chicken Song--Spitting Image (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: The Chicken Song--Spitting Image

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Greatest Love of All--Whitney Houston (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Greatest Love of All--Whitney Houston
2 Live to Tell--Madonna
3 Why Can’t This Be Love--Van Halen
4 West End Girls--Pet Shop Boys
5 What Have You Done for Me Lately--Janet Jackson
6 Addicted to Love--Robert Palmer
7 On My Own--Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald
8 If You Leave--Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
9 Bad Boy--Miami Sound Machine
10 All I Need is a Miracle--Mike & the Mechanics

Singles entering the chart were Like a Rock by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band (#56); Dreams by Van Halen (#58); Mountains by Prince and the Revolution (#61); Secret Separation by the Fixx (#75); You Should Be Mine (The Woo Woo Song) by Jeffrey Osborne (#80); Divided Hearts by Kim Carnes (#81); Headed for the Future by Neil Diamond (#83); Fire with Fire by Wild Blue (#84); Peter Gunn by the Art of Noise featuring Duane Eddy (#85); One Step Closer to You by Gavin Christopher (#86); We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off by Jermaine Stewart (#88); I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Loveby Stephanie Mills (#89); and Female Intuition by Mai Tai (#90).

Canada’s Top 10 (RPM)
1 Live to Tell--Madonna
2 West End Girls--Pet Shop Boys
3 The Power of Love--Jennifer Rush
4 Greatest Love of All--Whitney Houston
5 Addicted to Love--Robert Palmer
6 If You Leave--Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
7 Let’s Go All the Way--Sly Fox
8 Manic Monday--Bangles
9 What Have You Done for Me Lately--Janet Jackson
10 Tender Love--Force M.D.’s

Singles entering the chart were Crush on You by the Jets (#86); If Your Heart Isn’t in It by Atlantic Starr (#90); One Hit (To the Body) by the Rolling Stones (#93); If She Knew What She Wants by the Bangles (#95); Headed for the Future by Neil Diamond (#96); Why Don’t You Take It by FM (#98); and Where Do the Children Go by the Hooters (#99).

Died on this date
Yakima Canutt, 90. U.S. cowboy, stuntman, and director. Enos Edward Canutt began a successful career as a rodeo rider as a teenager, winning numerous trophies in the late 1910s and early '20s, while appearing in bit parts in several movies before moving into stunt work. He worked on more than 300 films in a career spanning more than 40 years. In the 1940s he began directing films, and often worked as a second unit director of movies such as Ben-Hur (1959) and El Cid (1961). Mr. Canutt died of cardiac arrest.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Montreal 4 @ Calgary 3 (Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-1)

Montreal goalie Patrick Roy was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs’ most valuable player after the Canadiens defeated the Flames at Olympic Saddledome.



20 years ago
1991

Died on this date
Gene Clark, 46. U.S. musician. Mr. Clark was a guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and was one of the founding members of the rock group the Byrds from 1964-1966. He then left the group and had a lengthy solo career, with little commercial success. In the late 1970s, he reunited with former Byrd bandmates Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman, and the trio had some success as McGuinn, Clark and Hillman. Mr. Clark abused drink and drugs for much of his life, and also had other health problems; he died of a bleeding ulcer, and also had throat cancer at the time of his death.

World events
Israel conducted Operation Solomon, evacuating Ethiopian Jews to Israel.

Economics and finance
U.S. President George Bush got the United States Senate to approve "fast track" talks for the North American Free Trade Accord; Mr. Bush was empowered to deal without amendments from Congress.

10 years ago
2001

Politics and government
U.S. Senator James Jeffords (Vermont) left the Republican Party to sit as an independent, giving the Democratic Party control of the Senate.

Disasters
23 people were killed and hundreds injured at a wedding party in Jerusalem when a dance floor collapsed.