April 28, 2012

270 years ago
1742

Born on this date
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, 69. U.K. politician. Mr. Dundas, an "independent Whig," was the trusted lieutenant of Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, and was the most powerful politician in Scotland in the latter decades of the 18th century. He held several cabinet posts, including Secretary of State for War (1794-1801) and First Lord of the Admiralty (1804-1805). Mr. Dundas was elevated to the House of Lords in 1802 as 1st Viscount Melville. He died on May 28, 1811, a month after his 69th birthday.

120 years ago
1892

Disasters
12 people perished in a fire at Grand Central Theatre in Philadelphia.

60 years ago
1952

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: For Rent

50 years ago
1962

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: Quando, Quando, Quando--Tony Renis (8th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Wonderful Land--The Shadows (7th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Good Luck Charm--Elvis Presley (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Mashed Potato Time--Dee Dee Sharp
2 Soldier Boy--The Shirelles
3 Stranger on the Shore--Mr. Acker Bilk
4 Johnny Angel--Shelley Fabares
5 Good Luck Charm--Elvis Presley
6 Slow Twistin'--Chubby Checker (with Dee Dee Sharp)
7 Lover Please--Clyde McPhatter
8 Love Letters--Ketty Lester
9 Shout (Part 1)--Joey Dee and the Starliters
10 Young World--Rick Nelson

Singles entering the chart were Teach Me to Twist by Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker (#77); Night Train by James Brown and his Famous Flames (#78); Scotch and Soda by the Kingston Trio (#85); Operator by Gladys Knight and the Pips (#88); Willing and Eager by Pat Boone (#89); (Twistin') White Silver Sands by Bill Black's Combo (#91); Deep in the Heart of Texas by Duane Eddy (#92); Dream by Dinah Washington (#96); and Lemon Tree by Peter, Paul and Mary (#100).

40 years ago
1972

War
The South Vietnamese city of Kontum was almost completely encircled by North Vietnamese forces.

25 years ago
1987

Died on this date
Gus Johnson, 48. U.S. basketball player. One of the first players to make slam-dunk shots, Mr. Johnson played in the NBA from 1963-1972 with the Baltimore Bullets. He was traded to the Phoenix Suns before the 1972-73 season, but was released in mid-season and joined the Indiana Pacers of the ABA, helping them to the league championship in his final season as a professional. Mr. Johnson died of brain cancer; he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

Scandal
Televangelist Rev. Jerry Falwell, who had replaced Rev. Jim Bakker as chairman of the PTL organization when Mr. Bakker had resigned in March because of a sex scandal, announced that the PTL board of directors had cut off all income to Mr. Bakker and his wife Tammy Faye; had obtained the resignation of Rev. Richard Dortch, PTL president and a longtime associate of Mr. Bakker; and stopped payments from a $265,000 fund established for Jessica Hahn, the church secretary with whom Mr. Bakker had had sex in 1980. Mr. Falwell said that PTL was $50 million in debt.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Montreal 3 Quebec 2

20 years ago
1992

Died on this date
Brian Pockar, 32. Canadian figure skater. Mr. Pockar, a native of Calgary, was the Canadian men's champion from 1978-1980. He placed 12th at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, and compted in six world championships, with his best result coming in his last year, when he finished third in 1982. Mr. Pockar was a sodomite who died of AIDS.

Health
The United States Department of Agriculture unveiled its first food pyramid.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup playoffs
Chicago 2 St. Louis 1
Detroit 1 Minnesota 0 (OT)

10 years ago
2002

World events
Israel agreed to end the blockade of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Terrorism
Seven people were killed when a pipe bomb exploded in an outdoor market in Vladikavkaz, capital of the Russia’s North Ossetian Republic.

Weather
A storm system tore through the valleys of the Tennessee and Ohio rivers, producing an exceptionally strong tornado in Maryland, killing four people.