April 18, 2013

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Mila Levashova!

275 years ago
1738

Academia
The Real Academia de la Historia (Royal Academy of History) was founded in Madrid.

250 years ago
1763

Died on this date
Marie-Josephte Corriveau, 30. Canadian murderess. Ms. Corriveau, better known a "La Corriveau," was hanged near the Plains of Abraham for murdering her second husband Louis Dodier, on January 27, 1763, with a hatchet in his sleep, because of his ill-treatment of her. The corpse of La Corriveau was hung for a month in an iron cage at Lauzon by the Pointe-Levy for passers-by to see.

220 years ago
1793

Journalism
Ontario saw its first newspaper when Louis Roy published the first issue of his broadsheet, the Upper Canada Gazette or American Oracle in Newark. The subscription price was $3.00 per annum; the front page featured a proclamation by Governor Simcoe calling for "the suppression of Vice, Profaneness, and Immorality," and the Speech from the Throne given by King George III on December 13, 1792. Advertisements under twelve lines cost four shillings.

90 years ago
1923

Baseball
74,200 fans attended the first game at Yankee Stadium in New York, and about 25,000 more were turned away. Baseball writer Fred Lieb nicknamed the stadium "The House that Ruth Built," and it was fitting that Yankee right fielder Babe Ruth hit the first home run in the new ballpark, a 3-run blast that helped the Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 4-1 in the season opener. Winning pitcher Bob Shawkey gave up just 3 hits in pitching a complete game. The Yankees scored all their runs in the 3rd inning against losing pitcher Howard Ehmke.

70 years ago
1943

Died on this date
Isoroku Yamamoto, 59. Japanese military officer. Admiral Yamamoto was Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy's combined fleet. He opposed Japan's invasion of Manuchuria in 1931, her invasion of China in 1937, and her attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. During an inspection tour of the Solomon Islands, Admiral Yamamoto was killed when his plane was shot down over Bougainville Island by U.S. P-38 fighter planes in what was known as Operation Vengeance. The death of Admiral Yamamoto was a major blow to Japanese morale in World War II.

60 years ago
1953

Hit Parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): I Went to Your Wedding--Patti Page; Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra (4th week at #1)

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): The Doggie in the Window--Patti Page (Best seller--5th week at #1; Disc Jockey--4th week at #1; Jukebox--3rd week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Doggie in the Window--Patti Page (5th week at #1)
2 I Believe--Frankie Laine
--[Jane Froman]
3 Tell Me a Story--Jimmy Boyd and Frankie Laine
4 Pretend--Nat "King" Cole
5 Your Cheatin' Heart--Joni James
6 Till I Waltz Again with You--Teresa Brewer
7 The Song from Moulin Rouge (Where is Your Heart)--Percy Faith and his Orchestra
8 Wild Horses--Perry Como
9 Tell Me You're Mine--The Gaylords
10 April in Portugal--Les Baxter and his Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were Gomen-Nasai (Forgive Me) by Harry Belafonte (#13, charting with the version by the Tokyo Columbia Orchestra); Somebody Stole My Gal by Johnnie Ray (#24); I'm the King of Broken Hearts by Tony Bennett (#30); The Nearness of You by Bob Manning (#33); and Yes Sir, That's My Baby by Harry Kari and the Six Saki Sippers (#36).

50 years ago
1963

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): How Do You Do It--Gerry and the Pacemakers (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
Twilight Zone, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Incredible World of Horace Ford, starring Pat Hingle, Nan Martin, Ruth White, and Philip Pine

Aviation
The experimental aircraft Northrop X-21A, with National Aeronautics and Space Administration test pilot Jack Wells at the controls, made its first flight.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Detroit 1 @ Toronto 3 (Toronto won best-of-five series 4-1)

Dave Keon scored 2 shorthanded goals and Eddie Shack scored the winning goal with 6:32 remaining in regulation time as the Maple Leafs defeated the Red Wings at Maple Leaf Gardens to win the Stanley Cup for the second straight season. Toronto defenseman Carl Brewer suffered a broken arm late in the game when he attempted to check Detroit's Andre Pronovost along the boards. Johnny Bower won the goaltending duel over Terry Sawchuk.



40 years ago
1973

Politics and government
Cambodian President Lon Nol annunced that his cabinet, headed by Premier Hang Thun Hak, had resigned, and that in the near future a "high political council" consisting of 11 people would be formed.

Scandal
U.S. Attorney General Richard Kleindienst withdrew from the inquiry into the June 1972 break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C. amid reports that many of his close associates might be indicted.

Hockey
WHA
Avco World Trophy
East Division Finals
Cleveland 2 @ New England 3 (New England led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Tim Sheehy scored 2 goals, including the winner with 25 seconds remaining in regulation time, as the Whalers edged the Crusaders at Boston Arena.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Billie Jean--Michael Jackson (2nd week at #1)

Terrorism
An explosion at the U.S. embassy in Beirut killed 63 people and injured at least 100. 16 Americans were among the dead, including the top Middle East analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency. It was believed that the explosives had been ignited from a car or van near the building. A radical Iranian group claimed responsibility, but the government of Iran denied any involvement.

Defense
The defense minister of El Salvador, Jose Guillermo Garcia, resigned after Salvadoran leaders and U.S. military advisers criticized him for not effectively carrying the civil war to the rebels. He was succeeded by Gen. Eugenio Vides Casanova.

Politics and government
United States Senator Fritz Hollings of South Carolina became the fifth declared candidate for the 1984 Democratic party U.S. presidential nomination. While attacking President Reagan’s economic policies, Senator Hollings also warned that simply spending money, as Democrats had done in the past, was not always good policy.

Weather
In striking contrast to 2013, it was a beautiful, hot day in Edmonton, perfect for girl-watching--and the girls were more worth watching in those days.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Boston 6 Buffalo 2
Edmonton 5 @ Calgary 6 (Edmonton led best-of-seven series 3-1)

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): I Should Be So Lucky--Kylie Minogue (6th week at #1)

War
Three U.S. warships bombarded the Sassan Iranian offshore oil platform, and after it was abandoned, U.S. Marines destroyed it. Some Iranians may have been killed during a similar bombardment of the platform off Sirri Island. During a series of Iranian reprisals, a U.S. helicopter gunship disappeared and its two-man crew was presumed lost. Two U.S. vessels repelled an attack by an Iranian missile boat and then sank it. The attacks, approved by President Ronald Reagan, were in response to the discovery of underwater mines in international waters, which President Reagan believed to be the work of Iran.

Iraq reported that it had recaptured the once-important oil port of Fao from Iran.

Diplomacy
Nicaraguan Defense Minister Humberto Ortega said that the Sandanista government would make concessions to the opposition Contras only after a final cease-fire was signed.

World events
John Demjanjuk, who had been extradited to Israel from the United States in 1986, was found guilty of war crimes by an Israeli court in Jerusalem. He had been accused by survivors of the Treblinka, Poland death camp of being "Ivan the Terrible," a guard who had assisted in the persecution of Jews. Mr. Demjanjuk claimed that he was the victim of mistaken identity. A few years after this trial, Mr. Demjanjuk was proven correct when documents released from a Soviet archive indicated that the real "Ivan the Terrible" was an Ivan Marchenko, who looked nothing like Mr. Demjanjuk.

Politics and government
In the contest for the 1988 Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States, Rev. Jesse Jackson won the Delaware caucus vote.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Prince of Wales Conference
Division Finals
Boston 2 @ Montreal 5 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 1-0)
New Jersey 1 @ Washington 3 (Washington led best-of-seven series 1-0)

A delay caused by a power failure prevented the game at the Montreal Forum from being televised, and Chris Cuthbert, who was at the Capital Center in Landover, Maryland to deliver periodic reports on the New-Jersey Washington game, suddenly found himself broadcasting an entire game by himself, including intermissions. Mr. Cuthbert's excellent impromptu performance greatly aided his career.

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Give in to Me--Michael Jackson (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): All that She Wants--Ace of Base (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: No Limit--2 Unlimited (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Young at Heart--The Bluebells (2nd week at #1)

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Prince of Wales Conference
Division Semi-Finals
Buffalo 5 @ Boston 4 (OT) (Buffalo led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Montreal 2 @ Quebec 3 (OT) (Quebec led best-of-seven series 1-0)
New Jersey 3 @ Pittsburgh 6 (Pittsburgh led best-of-seven series 1-0)
New York Islanders 1 @ Washington 3 (Washington led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Clarence S. Campbell Conference
Division Semi-Finals
St. Louis 4 @ Chicago 3 (St. Louis led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Los Angeles 6 @ Calgary 3 (Los Angeles led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Bob Sweeney scored at 11:03 of the 1st overtime period to give the Sabres their win over the Bruins at Boston Garden. Alexander Mogilny scored 2 goals for the Sabres.

The Canadiens led the Nordiques 2-0 with less than 2 minutes remaining in regulation time at Le Colisee, but Martin Rucinsky scored on a powerplay with 1:29 remaining to make the score 2-1, and Joe Sakic scored with 48 seconds remaining to tie the score. Scott Young scored the winning goal at 16:49 of the 1st overtime period.

Basketball
NBA
Cleveland 103 Chicago 94

10 years ago
2003

War
Former Iraqi finance minister Hikmat Mizban Ibrahim al-Azzawi was arrested by U.S. special forces in Iraq, while Emad Husayn Abdullah al-Ani, who had helped to develop a lethal nerve agent in the 1980s, turned himself in to U.S. forces.