June 1, 2012

220 years ago
1792

Americana
Kentucky was admitted to the Union as the 15th state.

125 years ago
1887

Born on this date
Harry Gardner. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Gardner played with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1911-1912), compiling a 1-1 record with an earned run average of 4.46 in 14 games, batting .214 with no home runs or RBIs. He played over 408 games in 15 seasons in the minor leagues (1908-1924), winning at least 159 and losing at least 141. Mr. Gardner died on August 2, 1961 at the age of 74.

100 years ago
1912

Died on this date
Daniel Burnham, 65. U.S. architect. Mr. Burnham, a proponent of the Beaux-Arts movement, designed many buildings for shopping, but was better known for his skyscrapers, the Plan of Chicago, and especially the World's Columbian Exposition (1892-1893) in Chicago, popularly known as "The White City." He suffered from colitis and diabetes in later years, and both conditions, in addition to food poisoning, contributed to his death, while on vacation with his wife in Heidelberg. They had travelled aboard the White Star Line ship RMS Olympic, which departed for Europe across the Atlantic Ocean in the opposite direction from RMS Titanic, hours before Titanic sank.

75 years ago
1937

Baseball
“Bullfrog Bill” Dietrich pitched a no-hitter as the Chicago White Sox blanked the St. Louis Browns 8-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

60 years ago
1952

Died on this date
John Dewey, 92. U.S. educational philosopher and psychologist. Dr. Dewey taught at the University of Chicago (1894-1904) and Columbia University (1904-1930), and was perhaps the most influential educational theorist of the 20th century, promoting the importance of producing a result rather than the impartation of knowledge. Dr. Dewey was an atheist who believed in the importance of democracy, and supported various "progressive" causes. He was associated with the philosophy of pragmatism, and was one of the founders of functional psychology. He died of pneumonia after years of declining health.

50 years ago
1962

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Changing of the Guard, starring Donald Pleasence, Liam Sullivan, and Darryl Richard

This was the last episode of the season.

40 years ago
1972

Oil
Following the collapse of negotiations between Iraq and Iraq Petroleum Company—a consortium of American, British, French, and Dutch firms—Iraq seized the company.

Syria nationalized all of Iraq Petroleum Company’s assets in Syrian territory.

30 years ago
1982

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Ein bißchen Frieden--Nicole (3rd week at #1)

Terrorism
An organization calling itself the Revolutionary Cells Terrorist Group claimed responsibility for explosions of bombs at four U.S. military bases in West Germany. The RCTG stated that the bombs were set off in protest at U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s visit to Bonn and Berlin later in the month. The bombs, which exploded at 1:30 A.M. in officers’ quarters in Hanau, Gelnhausen, and Bamberg, and an officers’ mess in Frankfurt, caused no injuries, although damage was estimated at $120,000.

Law
Expanding a 1925 decision that police could stop a moving automobile and search it without a warrant if they had reason to believe it contained contraband, the United States Supreme Court ruled that police should be permitted to search not only the automobiles, but any luggage or packages therein. The 1925 decision had excluded closed containers from warrantless searches.

Religion
Pope John Paul II celebrated a mass in Scotland, which was attended by an estimated 1/3 of Scotland’s Roman Catholics.

25 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Slice of Heaven--Dave Dobbyn with Herbs (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Errol Barrow, 67. Premier of Barbados, 1961-1966; Prime Minister of Barbados, 1966-1976, 1986-1987. Mr. Barrow was an aviator with the U.K. Royal Air Force during World War II, and was first elected to the Barbadian Parliament in 1951 as a member of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP). Dissatisfied with the BLP's advocacy of incremental independence for Barbados, Mr. Barrow and several colleagues founded the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) in 1955. He led the DLP to victory in the 1961 general election, and served as Premier until Barbados obtained her independence from Britain in 1966. Mr. Barrow then served as Barbados' first Prime Minister, advocating Caribbean regional integration and opposing outside interference in Caribbean affairs. The DLP was defeated in the 1976 general election, but returned to power 10 years later. Mr. Barrow collapsed and died at his home; he was succeeded as Prime Minister by Erskine Sandiford.

Rashid Karami, 65. Prime Minister of Lebanon, 1955-1956; 1958-1960; 1961-1964; 1965-1966; 1966-1968; 1969-1970; 1975-1976; 1984-1987. Mr. Karami, an independent politician, had a political career of more than 30 years, and was Lebanon's Prime Minister 10 times. He advocated increased political power for the country's Muslim population, and was known as a man that Lebanon's President could call on in a crisis, despite political differences. He was killed and the country’s interior minister and several other people were injured when a bomb exploded in his helicopter during a flight to Beirut from his home town of Tripoli. It was believed that the bomb had been placed in his briefcase or under his seat. The co-pilot made an emergency landing. Mr. Karami had submitted his resignation on May 4, but President Amin Gemayel had not yet formally accepted it.

20 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): You Won't See Me Cry--Wilson Phillips (2nd week at #1)

Economics and finance
The Dow Jones industrial average closed at a new high of 3,413.21.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Pittsburgh 6 @ Chicago 5 (Pittsburgh won best-of-seven series 4-0)

Mario Lemieux scored a goal and 2 assists and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player as he led the Penguins to their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship.

10 years ago
2002

Died on this date
Joseph Garba, 58. Nigerian military officer. General Garba participated in the organization of a bloodless military coup in 1975 that briefly returned Nigeria to civilian rule. He was President of the United Nations General Assembly from 1989-1990.

Defense
In a speech to graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point, U.S. President George W. Bush declared that the Cold War policies of containment and deterrence were outdated and must be replaced by a policy of pre-emptive strikes.