April 7, 2012

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Bill Stoneman!

150 years ago
1862

War
Union forces under the command of General U.S. Grant defeated Confederate forces in the Battle of Shiloh in the U.S. Civil War.

80 years ago
1932

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Toronto 6 New York Rangers 2 @ Boston (Toronto led best-of-five series 2-0)

Madison Square Garden was unavailable for hockey because of a circus, so the Rangers—the home team—elected to have the game played on the “neutral” ice of Boston Garden.

70 years ago
1942

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Detroit 4 @ Toronto 2 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 2-0)

60 years ago
1952

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Pit, starring Norman Rose and Murvyn Vye

50 years ago
1962

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: Quando, Quando, Quando--Tony Renis (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Wonderful Land--The Shadows (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Johnny Angel--Shelley Fabares

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Slow Twistin'--Chubby Checker (with Dee Dee Sharp)
2 Good Luck Charm--Elvis Presley
3 Don't Break the Heart That Loves You--Connie Francis
4 Johnny Angel--Shelley Fabares
5 Hey! Baby--Bruce Channel
6 Mashed Potato Time--Dee Dee Sharp
7 Let Me In--The Sensations
8 Twistin' the Night Away--Sam Cooke
9 Love Letters--Ketty Lester
10 Lover Please--Clyde McPhatter

Singles entering the chart were Old Rivers by Walter Brennan (#84); King of Clowns by Neil Sedaka (#90); Village of Love by Nathaniel Mayer and the Fabulous Twilights (#91); Itty Bitty Pieces by James Ray (#92); Colinda by Rod Bernard (#94); Ain't That Loving You by Bobby Bland (#96); What am I Supposed to Do by Ann-Margret (#97); Blues (Stay Away from Me) by Ace Cannon (#98); Doctor Feel-Good by Dr. Feelgood and the Interns (#99); and Most People Get Married by Patti Page (#100).

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
New York 1 @ Toronto 7 (Toronto won best-of-seven series 4-2)

Dave Keon scored 2 goals and 2 assists and Dick Duff added 2 goals and 1 assist as the Maple Leafs routed the Rangers at Maple Leaf Gardens.

40 years ago
1972

Died on this date
Sheik Abeid Amani Karume, 66. 1st President of Zanzibar, 1964; Vice-President of Tanzania, 1964-1972. A socialist dictator who had come to power in a violent revolution, Sheik Karume was assassinated by a four-man team of commandos.

August Zaleski, 89. Polish politician. A senator from 1928-1935, Mr. Zaleski was President of the Polish government-in-exile from 1947 until his death. He died in London

World events
U.K. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw freed 73 Roman Catholic prisoners who had been interned or detained on suspicion of being terrorists. The Maidstone, the prison ship where they had been held, was also shut down.

Diplomacy
Soviet officials in Stockholm refused to issue a visa to a Swedish Academy representative who wanted to go to Moscow to present the 1970 Nobel Prize for Literature to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Terrorism
Richard F. McCoy, 29, a U.S. veteran of the war in Vietnam, hijacked a United Airlines jetliner over western Colorado, ordering the plane to San Francisco from its Denver-Los Angeles route. The 85 passengers were let off in San Francisco in return for $500,000. Mr. McCoy then ordered the plane to fly to Utah, where he bailed out over Provo with the ransom money.

Boxing
Bob Foster (47-5) retained his world light heavyweight title with a technical knockout of Vicente Rondon (36-6-1) at 2:55 of the 2nd round at Convention Hall in Miami Beach, Florida.

30 years ago
1982

War
France, West Germany, Belgium, and Austria joined the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the U.K. in banning the sale of arms and military equipment to Argentina. Great Britain threatened to sink any Argentine ship that came within 200 miles of the Falkland Islands after April 11.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division semi-finals
Vancouver 5 @ Calgary 3 (Vancouver led best-of-five series 1-0)

Los Angeles 10 @ Edmonton 8 (Los Angeles led best-of-five series 1-0)



25 years ago
1987

Died on this date
Maxine Sullivan, 75. U.S. singer. Miss Sullivan was a jazz singer who performed for more than 40 years, but was best known for her swing version of Loch Lomond (1937). She died after suffering a seizure.

20 years ago
1992

Died on this date
Irvin “Ace” Bailey, 88. Canadian hockey player. Mr. Bailey starred with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1925-1933, but his career was ended by a near-fatal hit from Boston Bruins’ defenseman Eddie Shore. Mr. Bailey was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975.

Defense
Iraq agreed to destroy its nuclear weapons complex at Al-Atheer. The International Atomic Energy Agency complained that it was still unable to obtain details of Iraq’s nuclear weapons program.

Diplomacy
The United States and the nations of the European Community recognized the independence of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The U.S.A. also recognized Croatia and Slovenia as independent nations.

Politics and government
Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton won the New York primary for the 1992 Democratic Party primary for President of the United States, taking 41% of the vote to 29% for former U.S. Senator Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts and 26% for former California Governor Jerry Brown. Mr. Clinton also won primaries in Kansas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Economics and finance
The Canadian Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs announced that the 6,699 business and consumer bankruptcies in February rivalled the record of 6,896 set in October 1991.

10 years ago
2002

Died on this date
John Agar, 81. U.S. actor. Mr. Agar was best known for his 1945 marriage to legendary child star Shirley Temple. He was a heavy drinker and drunk driver, and the marriage ended in divorce in 1950. Mr. Agar appeared in several movies with John Wayne, including Fort Apache (1948); She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and Sands of Iwo Jima (1949). He later appeared in such classics as The Brain from Planet Arous (1957) and Attack of the Puppet People (1958). Mr. Agar died of complications from emphysema.

Terrorism
12 people were killed and dozens injured when two bombs exploded in rapid succession in a nightclub in Villavicencio, Colombia.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell departed on a peacemaking trip to the Middle East.