April 29, 2013

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, April Stevens and Irina Zabelina!

530 years ago
1483

War
Gran Canaria, the main island of the Canary Islands, was conquered by the Kingdom of Castile after a five-year campaign.

325 years ago
1688

Died on this date
Friedrich Wilhelm (Frederick William), 68. Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, 1640-1688. Friedrich Wilhelm, of the house of Hohenzollern, was popularly known as the Great Elector because of his military and political skill, which eventually resulted in Prussia moving up from duchy to kingdom.

150 years ago
1863

Born on this date
William Randolph Hearst. U.S. media tycoon. Mr. Hearst owned a number of newspapers in major U.S. cities; his expertise at "yellow journalism" was credited with inspiring the Spanish-American War in 1898. Mr. Hearst's large California castle, San Simeon, served as a storage facility for his huge collections of art. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1903-1907, but campaigns for higher offices were unsuccessful. Mr. Hearst carried on a longtime affair with actress Marion Davies and produced large-scale movies for her, but extravaganzas such as Cain and Mabel (1936) were box office flops. Orson Welles' famous movie Citizen Kane (1941) was assumed to be a fictionalized depiction of Mr. Hearst; the Hearst newspapers panned the film, and Mr. Hearst's power was strong enough to limit the film's release. Mr. Hearst died on August 14, 1951 at the age of 88.

110 years ago
1903

Disasters
A 90-million ton wedge of limestone, 1,300 feet high, 4,000 feet wide, 500 feet thick, slid off Turtle Mountain onto the coal mining village of Frank, Alberta at 4:10 am, burying the mine entrance and killing 66-76 people in 100 seconds. 17 men in the mine dug themselves out a day later. Only 12 bodies were recovered.

60 years ago
1953

On the radio
I Was a Communist for the FBI, starring Dana Andrews

On television today
The first U.S. experimental 3D-TV broadcast showed an episode of Space Patrol on Los Angeles ABC affiliate KECA.

At the movies
Turn the Key Softly, co-written and directed by Jack Lee, and starring Yvonne Mitchell, Terence Morgan, Joan Collins, and Kathleen Harrison, opened in theatres in London.



50 years ago
1963

Politics and government
Jack Sissons, Justice of the Territorial Court of the Northwest Territories, criticized the territory's form of government by saying, "We are a colony with practically no self-government. We are in our territorial affairs governed from Ottawa--and on the whole quite indifferently." He was also critical of the proposal to split the N.W.T. into two territories. A permanent federal government presence wasn't established in the Northwest Territories until 1967, when Yellowknife was named the territorial capital. The Northwest Territories eventually shrank in size when the eastern portion became the territory of Nunavut in 1999.

40 years ago
1973

Disasters
Saint John River flooding caused up to $25 million damage in New Brunswick.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Chicago 3 @ Montreal 8 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 1-0)

The Canadiens erupted for 4 goals in a 5-minute span in the 3rd period as they beat the Black Hawks at the Montreal Forum. Chuck Lefley and Jacques Lemaire each scored 2 goals for Montreal. Gary Smith relieved Tony Esposito in goal for Chicago after the final Montreal goal with 5:25 remaining in the game. Ken Dryden was in goal for the Canadiens. This was the last Stanley Cup finals game ever played in April.



WHA
Avco World Trophy
Finals
Winnipeg 2 @ New England 7 (New England led best-of-seven series 1-0)

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Let's Dance--David Bowie (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Too Shy--Kajagoogoo (5th week at #1)

Diplomacy
The Swiss government ordered the Soviet news agency Novosti to close its office in Bern because members of the staff had sought to influence antinuclear and dissident youth movements.

Politics and government
Harold Washington was sworn in as Chicago's first Negro mayor, promising to freeze city hiring and salary increases in order to overcome a fiscal crunch.

Italian Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani resigned, following the decision of the Socialist Party on April 22 to withdraw from the ruling coalition.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the index of leading economic indicators had increased 1.5% in March, the seventh straight monthly gain.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Heart--Pet Shop Boys (2nd week at #1)

Married on this date
Two celebrity weddings took place that day: U.S. actors Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson; and journalist Diane Sawyer and movie director Mike Nichols.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the index of leading economic indicators had risen 0.8% in March.

Basketball
NBA
Playoffs
Eastern Conference
First Round
Milwaukee 107 @ Atlanta 110 (Atlanta led best-of-five series 1-0)
New York 92 @ Boston 112 (Boston led best-of-five series 1-0)

Western Conference
First Round
Seattle 123 @ Denver 126 (Denver led best-of-five series 1-0)
San Antonio 110 @ Los Angeles Lakers 122 (Los Angeles led best-of-five series 1-0)

Baseball
The Baltimore Orioles ended their record 21-game season-opening losing streak by whipping the Chicago White Sox 9-0 on a combined four-hitter by Mark Williamson and Dave Schmidt. The story of the 1988 Orioles is one of those told in the book On a Clear Day They Could See Seventh Place: Baseball’s Worst Teams (1991) by George Robinson and Charles Salzberg.

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Informer--Snow

Died on this date
Michael Gordon, 83. U.S. film director. Mr. Gordon directed such movies as Crime Doctor (1943); Another Part of the Forest (1948); An Act of Murder (1948); Cyrano de Bergerac (1950); Pillow Talk (1959); and Move Over, Darling (1963).

Mick Ronson, 46. U.K. musician. Mr. Ronson played several instruments but was best known as a guitarist, playing with musicians such as David Bowie, Van Morrison, Ian Hunter, and Elton John. He died of liver cancer.

Law
Canadian federal fisheries officials announced that new regulations regarding native fishing rights in federal waters had been drafted. The proposals included provision for commercial fishing licenses and quotas, but did not increase permits to sell fish commercially.

Britannica
It was announced that Buckingham Palace would open to the public for the first time in a bid to raise funds to repair Windsor Castle.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Clarence S. Campbell Conference
Division Semi-Finals
Detroit 7 @ Toronto 3 (Best-of-seven series 3-3)
Vancouver 4 @ Winnipeg 3 (OT) (Vancouver won best-of-seven series 4-2)
Calgary 6 @ Los Angeles 9 (Los Angeles won best-of-seven series 4-2)

The Red Wings scored 6 goals in the 2nd period--3 by Dino Ciccarelli--as they defeated the Maple Leafs at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Greg Adams' second goal of the game, at 4:30 of the 1st overtime period, gave the Canucks their victory over the Jets at Winnipeg Arena.

The Kings scored 9 goals in just 23 shots on goal as they eliminated the Flames at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California.

Basketball
NBA
Playoffs
Eastern Conference
First Round
Charlotte 101 @ Boston 112 (Boston led best-of-five series 1-0)
New Jersey 98 @ Cleveland 114 (Cleveland led best-of-five series 1-0)

Western Conference
First Round
Los Angeles Clippers 94 @ Houston 117 (Houston led best-of-five series 1-0)
San Antonio 87 @ Portland 86 (San Antonio led best-of-five series 1-0)

10 years ago
2003

War
U.S. officials said that the American military presence in Saudi Arabia would be virtually eliminated in the next few months, with all combat troops withdrawn. 400-500 U.S. soldiers would remain for training purposes.

Diplomacy
The U.S. rejected the idea of making economic concessions to North Korea in exchange for a commitment to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

Politics and government
The Palestinian parliament voted to approve the new Prime Minister--Mahmoud Abbas--and government, a key step in moving toward a U.S.-backed peace plan.