April 3, 2013

970 years ago
1043

Britannica
Edward the Confessor was crowned King of England at Winchester.

125 years ago
1888

Crime
Emma Elizabeth Smith, a prostitute, was assaulted and robbed by two or three men in the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London. She was able to walk home, but then was taken to London Hospital, where it was discovered that a blunt object had been inserted into her vagina, rupturing her peritoneum. She died of peritonitis the next day. Ms. Smith's murder was the first of 11 murders of women in Whitechapel from 1888-1891 that were gathered into a single police file. Five murders later in the year were attributed to "Jack the Ripper."

100 years ago
1913

Born on this date
Per Borten. Prime Minister of Norway, 1965-1971. Mr. Borten was a member of the Norwegian Storting (Parliament) from 1949-1977. As leader of the Centre Party he led a four-party coalition government. Mr. Borten served as President of the Odelsting (lower house) from 1961-1965 and 1973-1977. He was an outspoken opponent of Norwegian membership in the European Union. Mr. Borten died on January 20, 2005 at the age of 91.

80 years ago
1933

Aviation
Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, Lord Clydesdale, was chief pilot on the first flight over Mount Everest, flying a Westland PV-3 biplane. The problems endured by the crews at the altitude of over 29,000 feet helped to demonstrate the need for pressurized cabins at high altitudes.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Boston 0 @ Toronto 1 (6 OT) (Toronto won best-of-five series 3-2)

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins ended one of the most gruelling series in Stanley Cup history at Maple Leaf Gardens. The best-of-five semi-final was tied at 2 games apiece, with the winner having to open the Stanley Cup finals the next night in New York against the Rangers. Three of the first four games had gone to overtime. After three periods of regulation play and five periods of overtime, the score stood at 0-0. That's 160 minutes of hockey, and several hours of real time. The two teams were so exhausted that a number of suggestions to decide the outcome wer made, including removing the goalies, reducing the number of players on the ice, calling the game and starting over the next night, or tossing a coin. The players approved the coin toss, but the remaining fans howled in protest when the teams assembled at centre ice. The game resumed; Andy Blair of the Maple Leafs intercepted an Eddie Shore pass, and passed to little-used Ken Doraty, who went in and snapped the puck past Tiny Thompson in the Boston goal. The winning tally came at 4:46 of the sixth overtime period. To this day, the only NHL game to last longer is the playoff game between the Montreal Maroons and Detroit Red Wings in 1936, which ended at 16:30 of the sixth overtime period.

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 (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Conrad Veidt, 50. German actor. Mr. Veidt achieved fame as the star of the expressionistic silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), and made several movies in Hollywood, most notably in The Man Who Laughs (1928). An opponent of the Nazi regime in Germany, Mr. Veidt married a Jewish woman in 1933 and quickly fled to the United Kingdom, where he appeared in such movies as Spy in Black (1939); Contraband (1940); and The Thief of Bagdad (1940). He moved to the United States, where he ended up being cast as Nazis in such movies as All Through the Night (1942); Nazi Agent (1942), and, most memorably, Casablanca (1942). Mr. Veidt died of a heart attack while playing golf at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.

60 years ago
1953

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): She Wears Red Feathers--Guy Mitchell (4th week at #1)

On television tonight
Tales of Tomorrow, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Past Tense, starring Boris Karloff, John McGovern, Katherine Meskill, Allen Nourse, and Robert F. Simon



At the movies
Stolen Identity, an English-language version of Abenteuer in Wien (Adventure in Vienna) (1952), directed by Gunther von Fritsch, and starring Donald Buka, John Camden, and Francis Lederer, opened in theatres in Los Angeles.



50 years ago
1963

At the movies
It Happened at the World's Fair, directed by Norman Taurog, and starring Elvis Presley, Joan O'Brien,a nd Gary Lockwood, opened in theatres.



Space
The United States launched the satellite Explorer 17, whose mission was to conduct measurements of density, pressure, temperature, and composition of Earth's atmosphere.

Hockey
WHL
Quarter-Finals
Seattle 3 @ Edmonton 5 (Edmonton led best-of-three series 1-0)

Mr. Elik scored 3 goals for the Flyers in their win over the Totems at Edmonton Gardens.

40 years ago
1973

Diplomacy
U.S. President Richard Nixon and South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu ended a friendly two-day meeting at San Clemente, California with a promise to Mr. Thieu to continue U.S. economic aid to South Vietnam, but no specific pledge of American intervention if South Vietnam should be imperilled. The joint communique expressed "full consensus" and a promise to work "scrupulously" to carry out provisions of the recent Paris peace accords. Mr. Nixon agreed in te communique that South Vietnam would need more exernal economic aid for the remainder of the year, but made clear that future assistance would be dependent on the approval of the United States Congress.

Politics and government
The United States Senate voted 60-36 to sustain President Richard Nixon's veto of a bill to supply vocational aid to the disabled. Mr. Nixon, who had vetoed the bill on March 27, called it excessively costly and said the bill diverted vocational rehabilitation from the original goals of training the employable.

Technology
Marty Cooper of Motorola called his competitor at Bell Laboratories to let him know that this was the first call made from a cell phone, which Mr. Cooper had just succeeded in inventing.

Disasters
A dozen people died and 10 were severely injured when a landslide struck the Peruvian vilage of Huatun.

30 years ago
1983

Football
USFL
Among the games that day, the Philadelphia Stars routed the Washington Federals 34-3 on the national ABC telecast; the Los Angeles Express edged the Oakland Invaders 10-7.

Hockey
NHL
Among the games on the last day of the regular season were a 4-4 tie between the Montreal Canadiens and the league-leading Boston Bruins, and a 3-3 tie between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): One Tree Hill--U2 (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Milton Caniff, 81. U.S. cartoonist. Mr. Caniff created the adventure comic strips Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon. He produced Terry and the Pirates from 1934-1946, but left that strip because he didn’t own the rights to it. When he was offered ownership of his own strip, he created Steve Canyon, which began running in January 1947, the month after he’d finished his association with Terry and the Pirates. Mr. Caniff produced the Steve Canyon strip until his death. Other comic strips produced by Mr. Caniff include: Mister Gilfeather (1932-1933); The Gay Thirties (1933-1934); Dickie Dare (1933-1934) and Male Call (1943-1946). Mr. Caniff was one of the founders of the National Cartoonists Society, and served as its president in 1948 and 1949. He was honoured with the Reuben award as the nation’s top cartoonist in 1947 and 1972, and was named to the Society’s Hall of Fame in 1981. The Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award is named in his honour.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz travelled to the Middle East in an attempt to persuade the leaders of Israel and Jordan to begin direct negotiations toward Middle East peace.

Hockey
NHL
Montreal 4 Buffalo 4
New Jersey 4 Chicago 3 (OT)

20 years ago
1993

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

#1 single in Italy: Sei un Mito--883

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): I Feel You--Depeche Mode (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT): No Limit--2 Unlimited (4th week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Alison--Jordy (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): No Limit--2 Unlimited (5th week at #1)

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

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Informer--Snow (4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Informer--Snow (2nd week at #1)
2 I Have Nothing--Whitney Houston
3 Nothin' But a "G" Thang--Dr. Dre
4 Don't Walk Away--Jade
5 Ordinary World--Duran Duran
6 Bed of Roses--Bon Jovi
7 I'm Every Woman--Whitney Houston
8 Two Princes--Spin Doctors
9 A Whole New World (Aladdin's Theme)--Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle
10 7--Prince and the New Power Generation

Singles entering the chart were Dedicated by R. Kelly and Public Announcement (#54); Who is It by Michael Jackson (#57); Love Don't Love You by En Vogue (#61); Funky Child by Lords of the Underground (#72); So Close by Dina Carroll (#79); Connected by Stereo MC's (#84); and I'll Never Get Over You (Getting Over Me) by Exposé (#93).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Ordinary World--Duran Duran (5th week at #1)
2 If I Ever Lose My Faith in You--Sting
3 Man on the Moon--R.E.M.
4 Bed of Roses--Bon Jovi
5 Simple Life--Elton John
6 That's What Love Can Do--Boy Krazy
7 Two Princes--Spin Doctors
8 Angel--Jon Secada
9 Hope of Deliverance--Paul McCartney
10 Beautiful Girl--INXS

Singles entering the chart included Who is It by Michael Jackson (#67); Hip Hip Hooray by Naughty by Nature (#81); Easy by Faith No More (#91); and One Last Kiss by Sofia Shinas (#93).

Died on this date
Pinky Lee, 85. U.S. television host. Mr. Lee, born Pincus Leff, was a burlesque comic who became famous as host of the daily children's television program The Pinky Lee Show (1954-1956). He collapsed on the air from exhaustion and a severe sinus attack in 1955, and was forced to take a hiatus as the supporting cast carried on the show without him for several months. Mr. Lee eventually recovered his health, but was unable to re-establish a lasting presence in television.

Sham, 22. U.S. racehorse. Sham finished second in the 1973 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, and probably would have won both races if he hadn't had the misfortune to run against Secretariat, who won the Triple Crown. Although non-winning times weren't recorded, it was believed that Sham's time in the Kentucky Derby was at least as fast as the previous record of exactly 2 minutes set by Northern Dancer in 1964. Secretariat's time of 1:59 2/5 remains the Kentucky Derby record. Sham died six days before his 23rd birthday.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Billl Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin began a two-day summit in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Horse racing
England's Grand National Steeplechase was declared void after 30 of the 39 riders failed to realize a false start had been declared and started around the course.

Basketball
NCAA
Women's Championship
Final @ Atlanta
Texas Tech 84 Ohio State 82

Sheryl Swoopes scored 47 points, a record for one person in either a men's or women's national championship game, to lead the Red Raiders over the Buckeyes at the Omni.

10 years ago
2003

Died on this date
Michael Kelly, 46. U.S. journalist. Mr. Kelly was a reporter with The New York Times, a columnist with The New Yorker and the Washington Post, and an editor with The New Republic, National Journal, and The Atlantic. While covering the U.S. invasion of Iraq, he was riding in a Humvee with U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Wilbert Davis when the vehicle was shot at by Iraqi soldiers, veered off an embankment, and landed in a canal below, killing both men. Mr. Kelly became the first American journalist to be officially killed in action in the Iraq War.

War
U.S. Marines, meeting some resistance, crossed the Tigris River and moved to within 25 miles of Baghdad. Most of Baghdad had lost electrical power.

United Nations officials, based on reports by witnesses, said that at least 966 people had been killed in a dozen Congolese villages in an area rich with minerals. The attacking force was unknown; various factions had been fighting in the region. The UN estimate of the dead was later lowered to 150-350.

Health
Chinese Health Minister Zhang Wenkang claimed that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in China was under control.