April 17, 2013

1,420 years ago
593

Born on this date
Jomei. Emperor of Japan, 629-641. Jomei, born Tamura, was the grandson of Emperor Bidatsu and the son of Prince Oshisakanohikohito-no-Ōe. Jomei succeeded his great aunt Empress Suiko, and was succeeded by his wife and niece Kōgyoku upon his death on November 17, 641 at the age of 48.

320 years ago
1693

Died on this date
Rutger von Ascheberg, 71. Swedish military officer and politician. Count Ascheberg served in several wars, rising to the rank of field marshal. He was Governor-General of Gothenburg and Bohus and Dalsland (1679-1693); Governor-General of Scania, Halland and Blekinge (1680); and Governor-General of Scania and Halland (1680-1693).

170 years ago
1843

Died on this date
Samuel Morey, 80. U.S. inventor. Mr. Morey achieved 20 patents, and was a pioneer in the technology of steamships and internal combustion engines.

150 years ago
1863

War
In the American Civil War, troops under Union Army Colonel Benjamin Grierson attacked central Mississippi, beginning what became known as Grierson's Raid.

70 years ago
1943

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): I've Heard That Song Before--Harry James and his Music Makers with Helen Forrest (7th week at #1)

60 years ago
1953

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): (How Much is) That Doggie in the Window?--Lita Roza

On television tonight
Tales of Tomorrow, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Rival, starring Anthony Ross and Mary Sinclair

Died on this date
Tom Sharkey, 79. U.S. boxer. "Sailor Tom" was a heavyweight who compiled a record of 49-9-6-1-1 in a professional career from 1893-1904, and is regarded as one of the hardest punchers in history. He won by disqualification over Bob Fitzsimmons on Dec. 2, 1896 in a bout that was billed as being for the world heavyweight title, with James J. Corbett currently inactive. Referee Wyatt Earp's decision to call a foul against Mr. Fitzsimmons after Mr. Sharkey was knocked down was heavily criticized, and the result was decided in court in favour of Mr. Sharkey. Mr. Sharkey lost a 20-round decision to Jim Jeffries in 1898, and a 25-round decision to Mr. Jeffries in 1899 in a challenge for the world title that Mr. Jeffries had won earlier in the year. Mr. Sharkey won by disqualification over Mr. Corbett in 1898, and was knocked out in 2 rounds by Mr. Fitsimmons in 1900.

Baseball
With 2 out in the top of the 5th inning and Yogi Berra on first base, Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees hit a home run to left centre field that glanced off a scoreboard before leaving Griffith Stadium in Washington and landing in a backyard of a house at 434 Oak Street, 565 feet from home plate. Mr. Mantle's blast, off Washington pitcher Chuck Stobbs, remains the longest major league home run ever measured. The Yankees defeated the Nationals 7-3.

50 years ago
1963

Scandal
National Football League Commissioner Pete Rozelle suspended two of the league's star players--halfback Paul Hornung of the Green Bay Packers and defensive tackle Alex Karras of the Detroit Lions--indefinitely for betting on games. The players were reinstated a year later.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Boston 99 @ Los Angeles 119 (Boston led best-of-seven series 2-1)

40 years ago
1973

War
U.S. B-52 and F-11 bombers concluded two days of bombing raids on North Vietnamese positions at Tha Vieng, on the southern edge of the Plain of Jars in Laos. U.S. officials contended that the raids had been carried out at the request of the Laotian government because of North Vietnames violations of the Paris cease-fire accord.

Defense
U.S. Defense Secretary Elliot Richardson defended the previous day's announcement of plans to close or downsize 274 U.S. military bases as a "necessary and timely" economy measure in the wake of the end of U.S. troop involvement in the Vietnam War, and said that further closings or "realignments" in the coming years could save the U.S. government $5 billion over the next decade.

Scandal
U.S. President Richard Nixon revealed that "major developments" had come to light in his own investigation of the June 1972 break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. Mr. Nixon also agreed to permit his aides to testify before the U.S. Senate investigating committee under ground rules that would "preserve the separation of powers without suppressing the facts." He also said that he would immediately fire any government employee indicted in connection with the case. White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler announced that President Nixon's previous statements denying White House staff involvement in the affair were "inoperative."

Hockey
NHL
John McLellan resigned after four seasons as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team made the playoffs twice under Mr. McLellan, but couldn't advance past the quarter-finals, and the strain of the job took a toll on Mr. McLellan's health. In 1972-73 the Maple Leafs finished 6th of 8 teams in the East Division, with a record of 27-41-10. Mr. McLellan eventually accepted a scouting position with the Maple Leafs, while Red Kelly replaced him as coach.

Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Philadelphia 3 @ Montreal 4 (OT) (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)
Chicago 2 @ New York Rangers 1 (Chicago led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Rookie defenseman Larry Robinson's 50-foot slap shot fooled Philadelphia goalie Doug Favell at 6:45 of overtime to give the Canadiens their win over the Flyers at the Montreal Forum.

30 years ago
1983

Died on this date
Peter Potter, 78. U.S. disc jockey and television host. Mr. Potter, a Hollywood disc jockey, was host of Juke Box Jury, one of television’s earliest game shows. The show, which began airing in 1948, had a panel of celebrity guests who would rate a new record as a "hit" or a "miss."

Emil "Dutch" Leonard, 74. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Leonard played 20 years in the major leagues from 1933-1953 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago Cubs. His lifetime record of 191 wins and 181 losses belies the fact that Mr. Leonard played virtually his entire career with bad teams. His best seasons were 1939, when he was 20-8 with Washington, and 1945, when he went 17-7 with the Nationals, posting a 2.13 earned run average. Mr. Leonard was one of four starting pitchers with the 1945 Nationals who threw a knuckleball; the others were Roger Wolff, Mickey Haefner, and Johnny Niggeling. Mr. Leonard led the American League in losses with 19 in 1940 as a member of the Nationals, and led the National League with 17 losses in 1948 when he was with the Phillies. Other notable achievements for Mr. Leonard included leading the National League in saves with 8 with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1935, and leading the American League with 3 shutouts as a National in 1938. Emil "Dutch" Leonard is not to be confused with (and wasn’t related to) Hubert "Dutch" Leonard, who pitched with the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers from 1913-1925.

Felix Pappalardi, 43. U.S. musician. Mr. Pappalardi played bass guitar and sang with the rock group Mountain, whose single Mississippi Queen reached #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1970. He was shot and killed by his wife Gail; she was charged with second-degree murder, but was eventually convicted of criminally negligent homicide.

New Zealandiana
Prince Charles and Princess Diana arrived in New Zealand for a two-week visit.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Edmonton 10 @ Calgary 2 (Edmonton led best-of-seven series 3-0)

The Oilers' rout of the Flames at Olympic Saddledome degenerated into a brawl in the 3rd period, setting the tone for future episodes of the "Battle of Alberta."

Football
USFL
Los Angeles (4-3) 18 @ Tampa Bay (5-2) 13
Washington (1-6) 22 @ New Jersey (2-5) 23



Denver (4-3) 9 @ Birmingham (2-5) 7
Chicago (4-3) 12 @ Michigan (3-4) 17
Boston (5-2) 44 @ Arizona (3-4) 23

Baseball
Nolan Ryan struck out seven Montreal Expos in a 6-3 Houston victory to become only the second pitcher in major league history to record 3,500 career strikeouts.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): One Tree Hill--U2 (4th week at #1)

Diplomacy
During three days of talks in Managua, the Sandanista government of Nicaragua proposed that the Contras enter seven cease-fire zones and begin disarming in June. Contra leaders rejected the idea because they said it contained no government concessions. Adolfo Calero, head of the Contra delegation, expressed doubts that the peace process would work.

Curling
Eigil Ramsfjell of Norway upset previously undefeated Pat Ryan of Canada 5-4 to win the world men’s championship at Lausanne, Switzerland.

Baseball
After 10 consecutive losses the Atlanta Braves won their first game of the season, 3-1 over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Zane Smith was the winning pitcher. Atlanta's 0-10 start was the worst in National League history.

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): Are You Gonna Go My Way--Lenny Kravitz (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Sei Un Mito--883 (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): I Feel You--Depeche Mode (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT): No Limit--2 Unlimited (6th week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Alison--Jordy (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Mr. Blue--René Klijn (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Chart Information Network): Young at Heart--The Bluebells (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Informer--Snow (6th week at #1)

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I Have Nothing--Whitney Houston (2nd week at #1)
2 Informer--Snow
3 Two Princes--Spin Doctors
4 Don't Walk Away--Jade
5 Love Is--Vanessa Williams and Brian McKnight
6 Angel--Jon Secada
7 Nothin' But a "G" Thang--Dr. Dre
8 I'm Every Woman--Whitney Houston
9 If I Ever Lose My Faith in You--Sting
10 Cat's in the Cradle--Ugly Kid Joe

Singles entering the chart were Silence is Broken by Damn Yankees (#65); Romeo by Dolly Parton and Friends (#66); Three Little Pigs by Green Jello (#72); and Good Ol' Days by Levert (#83).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 If I Ever Lose My Faith in You--Sting (2nd week at #1)
2 Two Princes--Spin Doctors
3 Simple Life--Elton John
4 Angel--Jon Secada
5 I Have Nothing--Whitney Houston
6 Bed of Roses--Bon Jovi
7 That's What Love Can Do--Boy Krazy
8 Lost in Your Eyes--The Jeff Healey Band
9 Man on the Moon--R.E.M.
10 Courage--The Tragically Hip

Singles entering the chart were Can't Do a Thing (To Stop Me) by Chris Isaak (#80); If You Believe in Me by April Wine (#83); Nothin' My Love Can't Fix by Joey Lawrence (#85); Flying by Blue Rodeo (#86); I Put a Spell on You by Bryan Ferry (#87); and Harbor Lights by Bruce Hornsby (#93).

Died on this date
Turgut Ozal, 65. 8th President of Turkey, 1989-1993; Prime Minister of Turkey, 1983-1989. Mr. Ozal was founder and leader of the Motherland Party. As Prime Minister, he paved the way for privatization of many state enterprises; as President, he supported the Allied coalition against Iraq in the Gulf War in 1991, and sought to create a Turkic union. Mr. Ozal reportedly died of a heart attack, but his wife Semra charged that he had been poisoned with lemonade. When exhumed in October 2012, his body was found to contain 10 times the normal level of the insecticide DDT.

Crime
A jury convicted Los Angeles police Sergeant Stacey Koon and Officer Laurence Powell guilty of civil rights violations in the 1991 beating of Rodney King. The 1992 acquittals of Messrs. Koon and Powell and two other Los Angeles policemen on criminal charges had touched off Negro riots in Los Angeles.

10 years ago
2003

Died on this date
Robert Atkins, 72. U.S. physician. Dr. Atkins was a cardiologist who created the "Atkins diet," emphasizing protein and fat as primary sources of dietary calories, while controlling carbohydrate consumption. He died nine dayas after suffering severe head trauma after slipping on an icy sidewalk in New York City after a snowstorm.

John Paul Getty, Jr., 70. U.S.-born U.K. philanthropist. Mr. Getty was the eldest son of U.S. oil billionaire J. Paul Getty.

Earl King, 69. U.S. musician. Mr. King was a rhythm and blues singer and songwriter based in New Orleans. His compositions, sometimes credited to the pseudonymous Pearl King, included Come On and I Hear You Knockin'.

H. B. Bailey, 66. U.S. race car driver. Mr. Bailey was a stock car driver who competed in 85 races in the NASCAR circuit from 1962-1993. He never won a race, with his best finish being fifth in the Grand National in 1965.

Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapova, 33. Russian conjoined twins. The twins, who were joined at the hip and shared three legs, were reportedly taken from their mother at birth and kept in an institution.

War
U.S. special forces in Iraq captured Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, half-brother of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and a former intelligence chief.