April 19, 2012

130 years ago
1882

Died on this date
Charles Darwin, 73. U.K. naturalist. Mr. Darwin proposed that all species in life have evolved from common ancestors through a process of natural selection, and that man himself had evolved from lower orders of animals. The author of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life (1859) and The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex (1871) is now presumably a believer in the Biblical account of creation.

60 years ago
1952

Hit Parade
#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Wheel of Fortune--Kay Starr (Best Seller--6th week at #1; Disc Jockey--6th week at #1); Juke Box--4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Blue Tango--Leroy Anderson and his "Pops" Concert Orchestra
--Hugo Winterhalter and his Orchestra
2 Wheel of Fortune--Kay Starr
--Bobby Wayne
--Eddie Wilcox Orchestra with Sunny Gale
3 The Blacksmith Blues--Ella Mae Morse
4 Cry--Johnnie Ray and the Four Lads
5 Any Time--Eddie Fisher
6 Tell Me Why--The Four Aces
--Eddie Fisher
7 A Guy is a Guy--Doris Day
8 Please, Mr. Sun--Johnnie Ray
9 Perfidia--The Four Aces
10 I'll Walk Alone--Don Cornell

Singles entering the chart were Try by Stan Freberg (#31); There are Such Things by Ray Anthony and his Orchestra (#34); Sleepless by Tony Bennett (#38); My Hero by the Four Aces (#39); and What's the Use? by Johnnie Ray (#40). Try was a spoof of Cry.

50 years ago
1962

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Wonderful Land--The Shadows (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Frank Willey, 48. Canadian golfer. Mr. Willey, a club pro in Edmonton, was apparently beaten to death with a golf club in a house under construction in the Edmonton neighbourhood of Braemar, where he had gone to keep an appointment with two men, ostensibly for the purpose of selling them clubs. Edmontonians were invited to search for Mr. Willey, but his body was never found. The two men who had gone to the house to meet him were convicted several months later of Mr. Willey’s murder. One was sentenced to death, but had the sentences commuted to life in prison, while the other was judged insane and committed to Alberta Hospital.

Hockey
Stanley Cup
Finals
Chicago 4 @ Toronto 8 (Toronto led best-of-seven series 3-2)

Bob Pulford scored 3 goals and Frank Mahovlich added 2 goals and 2 assists as the Maple Leafs beat the Black Hawks at Maple Leaf Gardens. Ab McDonald scored 2 goals for Chicago.

40 years ago
1972

World events
A report issued by Lord Chief Justice Lord Widgery largely exonerated the British Army of blame in the shooting deaths of 14 Roman Catholic civilians participating in a protest march in Londonderry, Northern Ireland on January 30, 1972.

30 years ago
1982

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): What About Me--Moving Pictures (5th week at #1)

Radio
Wes Montgomery, who had left CHED in Edmonton in 1980 after 15 years as morning man, returned to the station to host the “Electric Lunch” from 12 noon-1 P.M.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Boston 2 @ Quebec 7 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)
Vancouver 5 @ Los Angeles 4 (Vancouver led best-of-seven series 3-1)

25 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Don't Dream it's Over--Crowded House

#1 single in Switzerland: Respectable--Mel & Kim (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France: Viens boire un p'tit coup à la maison--Licence IV (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Maxwell Taylor, 85. U.S. military officer and diplomat. General Taylor joined the United States Army in 1922, and served as commander of the 101st Airborne Division ("The Screaming Eagles") in World War II. He held the posts of Governor of the Ryukyu Islands (April-June 1955); Chief of Staff of the Army (1955-1959); Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1962-1964); United States Ambassador to South Vietnam (1964-1965); and Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board (1968-1970). Gen. Taylor has been criticized for advocating increased American military involvement in Vietnam, contrary to the views of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Andy O'Brien, 77. Canadian journalist. Mr. O'Brien, a native of Renfrew, Ontario, and the son of a trainer of hockey and baseball teams, was a sportswriter with the Montreal Standard, Montreal Star, and Weekend magazine, and wrote several books, in a career spanning more than 40 years. He covered 12 Olympic Games, 6 Commonwealth Games, 45 Stanley Cups, and 31 Grey Cups. Mr. O'Brien was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985. He died in Montreal after a long illness.

20 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K.: Deeply Dippy--Right Said Fred (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Frankie Howerd, 75. U.K. comedian. Mr. Howerd starred in the television comedy series Up Pompeii! (1969-1970) and The Frankie Howerd Show (1976).

World events
Three days after the resignation of Mohammed Najibullah, Abdul Rahim Hatif became interim President of Afghanistan.

10 years ago
2002

Died on this date
Reginald Rose, 81. U.S. writer. Mr. Rose was one of the writers responsible for the early years of television being known as the medium’s “Golden Age.” He wrote Twelve Angry Men, which aired on the television drama program Studio One in 1954, and became a successful movie in 1957. Mr. Rose also created the courtroom series The Defenders, which won many awards during its run from 1961-1965. He died from complications of heart failure.

Diplomacy
The inter-Congolese dialogue in Sun City, South Africa ended without an agreement on an interim government to end the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Law
New constitutions were announced for each of the entities comprising Bosnia-Herzegovina (the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska).

Science
Science magazine published an article describing the discovery of a new order of insect, Mantophasmatodiea. The wingless mantislike insect order, found in the mountains of Namibia, was the first insect order to be discovered since 1914.

Weather
An American scientist reported that a Japanese computer built to analyze climate change and track weather and earthquake patterns was far faster than the previous fastest computer, built by IBM.