April 4, 2013

1,825 years ago
188

Born on this date
Caracalla. Roman emperor 198-217. Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus Augustus ruled jointly with his younger brother Geta until he ordered his murder in 211. As emperor, he was known for instigating massacres and persecutions, as well as granting citizenship to all freemen in the Roman Empire, apparently for the purposes of increasing tax revenue. He was assassinated at the age of 29 by bodyguard Julius Martialis near Carrhae while urinating at a roadside on April 8, 217.

425 years ago
1588

Died on this date
Frederick II, 53. King of Denmark and Norway, 1559-1588. Frederick succeeded his father Christian III on the throne. He unsuccessfully attempted to conquer Sweden in the Scandinavian Seven Years' War (1563-1570), which almost resulted in the loss of Norway. It was commonly believed that King Frederick drank himself to death. He was succeeded on the throne by his eldest son Christian IV.

140 years ago
1873

Britannica
The Kennel Club, the oldest and first official registry of purebred dogs in the world, was founded in London.

125 years ago
1888

Died on this date
Emma Elizabeth Smith, 45 (?). U.K. murder victim. Ms. Smith, a prostitute, was assaulted and robbed by two or three men in the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London early on the morning of April 3. 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 on April 4. Miss 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."

120 years ago
1893

Politics and government
The Ontario Legislature building was opened in Queen's Park, Toronto. Appropriately, it was built on the site of a lunatic asylum.

100 years ago
1913

Born on this date
Jules Léger. Governor General of Canada, 1974-1979. Mr. Léger was a career diplomat with the Canadian Department of External Affairs before assuming the vice-regal post, succeeding Roland Michener. He carried out his duties despite suffering a stroke just six months after taking office. He was succeeded as Governor General by Ed Schreyer. Mr. Léger died on November 22, 1980 at the age of 67.

Muddy Waters. U.S. musician. Born McKinley Morganfield, Mr. Waters was known as the "father of Chicago blues," and was one of the most influential blues artists of the 20th century, inspiring such performers as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and the Rolling Stones. He died on April 30, 1983 at the age of 70.

Frances Langford. U.S. actress. Miss Langford was a singer who appeared on the radio shows of Rudy Vallee and Dick Powell in the 1930s, but is best remembered for her co-starring role in the radio comedy series The Bickersons from 1946-1951. She died on July 11, 2005 at the age of 92.

Died on this date
Emmanouil Argyropoulos, 24 (?). Greek aviator. Mr. Argyropoulos, the first Greek pilot to fly over his homeland, became the first pilot victim of the Hellenic Air Force when his plane, a captured Ottoman Blériot XI crashed from a height of 600 metres over the Langadas region near Thessaloniki during a reconnaissance mission. Also killed was Mr. Argyropoulos' passenger, athlete and poet Konstantinos Manos. The crash marked ht eend of air activity during the Balkan Wars.

90 years ago
1923

Died on this date
John Venn, 88. U.K. logician and philosopher. Mr. Venn introduced the Venn diagram, a diagram that shows all possible logical relations between a finite collection of sets, in 1880.

80 years ago
1933

Disasters
U.S. Navy airship USS Akron was wrecked off the New Jersey coast due to severe weather, killing 73 of the 76 crewmen on board. The loss of life was the greatest of any airship disaster.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Toronto 1 @ New York Rangers 5 (New York led best-of-five series 1-0)

The Maple Leafs were playing just hours after winning their semi-final series against the Boston Bruins 1-0 at home in a game that wasn't decided until 4:06 of the sixth overtime period.

70 years ago
1943

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Boston 3 @ Detroit 4 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 2-0)

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 (2nd week at #1)

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): The Doggie in the Window--Patti Page (Best seller--3rd week at #1; Disc Jockey--2nd week at #1); Till I Waltz Again with You--Teresa Brewer (Jukebox--6th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Doggie in the Window--Patti Page (3rd week at #1)
2 Till I Waltz Again with You--Teresa Brewer
3 I Believe--Frankie Laine
--[Jane Froman]
4 Your Cheatin' Heart--Joni James
5 Tell Me You're Mine--The Gaylords
6 Pretend--Nat "King" Cole
7 Wild Horses--Perry Como
8 Tell Me a Story--Jimmy Boyd and Frankie Laine
9 Gomen-Nasai (Forgive Me)--Columbia Tokyo Orchestra
10 Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes--Perry Como

Singles entering the chart were Dancin' with Someone (Longin' for You) by Teresa Brewer (#28); Hush-A-Bye by Stan Kenton and his Orchestra (#31, charting with the version by Bing Crosby with Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians); and Ramona by the Gaylords (#34).

Died on this date
Rachilde, 93. French authoress and playwright. Rachilde, whose real name was a symbolist novelist, playwright, and essayist who was the most prominent woman associated with the Decadent Movement in late 19th-century France. Her works included the novels Monsieur Vénus (1884); La Marquise de Sade (1887); and La Jongleuse (1900).

Carol II, 59. King of Romania, 1930-1940. After renouncing his claim to the throne while in exile in Greece in 1925 in favour of his son Michael I, Carol returned to Romania on June 7, 1930, reneged on his renunciation, and was proclaimed King the following day. In 1938 he proclaimed his own authoritarian regime, but two years later handed over most of his power to pro-Nazi Prime Minister Ion Antonescu and abdicated in favour of Michael. Carol was exiled to Mexico, but eventually settled in Portugal.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
New York 96 @ Minneapolis 88 (New York led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Baseball
PCL
Ted Beard hit 4 home runs and drove in all his team's runs as the Hollywood Stars edged the hometown San Diego Padres 6-5.

50 years ago
1963

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Summer Holiday--Cliff Richard and the Shadows (3rd week at #1)

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Montreal 0 @ Toronto 5 (Toronto won best-of-seven series 4-1)
Detroit 4 @ Chicago 2 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 3-2)

Dave Keon scored 2 goals and an assist, and goalie Johnny Bower received a standing ovation from the 14,006 fans at Maple Leaf Gardens as the Maple Leafs eliminated the Canadiens. It was the last game in a Montreal uniform for losing goaltender Jacques Plante, who had been with the team for a decade, and had played on 6 Stanley Cup championship teams (1953; 1956-60). He was traded to the New York Rangers in the off-season.

Norm Ullman scored 2 goals and 2 assists to lead the Red Wings over the Black Hawks at Chicago Stadium.

WHL
Quarter-Finals
Edmonton 2 @ Seattle 3 (Best-of-three series tied 1-1)

40 years ago
1973

Americana
The World Trade Center in New York was officially dedicated.

War
A C-141, nicknamed the Hanoi Taxi, made its last of 54 flights of Operation Homecoming, transporting 591 American prisoners of war home from Vietnam.

Terrorism
Two young terrorists killed an Argentine army officer outside his home in Cordoba.

Politics and government
The United States Senate voted 88-6 to set a ceiling of $268 billion on federal spending in 1974. The Senate also voted 70-24 to approve the resolution of Senator Sam Ervin (Democrat--North Carolina) to forbid other presidential efforts to impound or withhold allocated funds beyond a 60-day period unless the President obtained approval by both houses of Congress. Concurrent to Sen. Ervin's resolution, the Senate voted that Congress could bar impoundment within 60 days and order the release of funds.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Quarter-Finals
Buffalo 1 @ Montreal 2 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 1-0)
New York Rangers 6 @ Boston 2 (New York led best-of-seven series 1-0)
St. Louis 1 @ Chicago 7 (Chicago led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Minnesota 3 @ Philadelphia 0 (Minnesota led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Playing the first playoff game in their three-year history, the Sabres scored first at the Montreal Forum on a goal by Craig Ramsay, but the Canadiens rallied to win.

Cesare Maniago earned the shutout as the North Stars blanked the Flyers at the Spectrum.

WHA
Avco World Trophy
East Division Semi-Finals
Philadelphia 2 @ Cleveland 3 (OT) (Cleveland led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Ron Buchanan scored at 10:16 of overtime as the Crusaders edged the Blazers at Cleveland Arena. The Blazers used rookie Yves Archambeault in goal, as regular starter Bernie Parent was refusing to play, claiming that his contract had been violated because performance bonuses hadn't been paid.

West Division
Sudden-death playoff for 4th and final playoff spot in West Division
Minnesota 4 @ Alberta 2

Mel Pearson, Wayne Connelly, Mike Antonovich, and Howie Young scored for the Fighting Saints as they built a 4-0 lead over the Oilers before 6,302 fans at the Stampede Corral in Calgary. Ron Walters and Ken Baird scored for Alberta in the 3rd period. The Oilers and Fighting Saints had finished with identical records of 38-37-3, and Alberta had apparently earned the final playoff spot under the tie-breaking format that had been adopted. Minnesota protested that they hadn't approved the format, and the protest was upheld. There was widespread suspicion that the league sided with the Fighting Saints because they would be playing home playoff games in the 15,100-seat St. Paul Civic Centre, while the Oilers would be playing their home games in the 5,200-seat Edmonton Gardens.

Basketball
NBA
Eastern Conference Semi-Finals
New York 103 Baltimore 96 (New York led best-of-seven series 3-0)
Boston 123 @ Atlanta 113 (Boston led best-of-seven series 2-0)

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Up Where We Belong--Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes (2nd week at #1)

On the radio
In what might have been the only worthwhile program he ever broadcast (certainly the only good one I ever heard), Dick MacLean’s morning talk show on the Edmonton station CFRN featured Ottawa Sun columnist Lubor Zink and fellow traveller Robin Denton arguing the merits of missile deployment. Predictably, Mr. Denton parroted the Soviet line, ranting about U.S. missiles while making no mention of Soviet missiles. Mr. Zink, on the other hand, told the truth.

Died on this date
Gloria Swanson, 84. U.S. actress. The 4’ 11½" Miss Swanson began her screen career in 1915, and spent her early years as an actress in slapstick Mack Sennett comedies. She eventually took on more dramatic roles, and her salary rose accordingly, to $6,500 U.S. per week by 1923. Miss Swanson spent money as fast as she made it; it was estimated that she made $8 million in the 1920s, and spent almost all of it. Miss Swanson’s favourite of her movies was reportedly Madame Sans-Gêne (1925), which is now lost. Another one of her favourites was Beyond the Rocks (1922), her only movie with Rudolf Valentino, which was considered a lost movie until a print was discovered in a private collection in the Netherlands a few years ago. Among her notable movies were Sadie Thompson (1928) and Queen Kelly (1929). Miss Swanson made the transition to sound in the late 1920s and early 1930s, but the kind of characters she usually played went out of fashion. She acted on stage through the 1940s, then made a big comeback on screen with her most memorable role, that of faded silent star Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. (1950). According to the script, Norma Desmond was only 50 years old, but when you watch the movie, it’s hard not to get the impression that the character seems much older. If you’re wondering what movie it is that Norma Desmond is screening in Sunset Blvd., it’s Queen Kelly. Miss Swanson was nominated for the Academy Award for best actress for Sadie Thompson (1928); The Trespasser (1929); and Sunset Blvd. (1950). Her last film role was as herself in Airport 1975 (1974). As her acting roles declined in the 1950s and beyond, Miss Swanson kept busy as a clothes designer, founded Essence of Nature cosmetics, and became a prominent promoter of health foods. She also appeared occasionally as a guest on The Carol Burnett Show. Gloria Swanson was married at least six times and had numerous affairs, the most notable of which was with Joseph P. Kennedy; in fact, it was Mr. Kennedy who financed Queen Kelly.

Space
The U.S. space shuttle Challenger lifted off on its maiden voyage from Cape Canaveral, Florida to begin mission STS-6. The Challenger crew of four consisted of Paul Weitz (commander); Karol Bobko (pilot); Story Musgrave (mission specialist); and Donald Peterson (mission specialist). Mr. Weitz had been aboard the first Skylab mission in 1973. The shuttle carried a 5,000-pound Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, the first of a group that was to handle communications from other space vehicles.



Protest
Four days of anti-American demonstrations in Britain, West Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands concluded. The 200,000 Commies, fellow travellers and useful idiots were opposed to deployment of U.S. Cruise and Pershing missiles. In England, demonstrators formed a chain 14 miles long between a U.S. Air Force base and an armaments factory.

World events
The United States granted political asylum to Hu Na, China's leading female tennis player, who had defected in July 1982. The U.S. Justice Department said that the Immigration and Naturalization Service had granted Hu Na's request because of her "well-grounded fear of persecution" if she returned to China. Hu said she had resisted pressure from Chinese officials to join the Communist party because she feared that she might later get caught up in a political purge.

Labour
Steelworkers at British Steel Corporation went on strike.

Basketball
NCAA
Men's Championship
Final
North Carolina State 54 Houston 52

The Wolfpack, under coach Jim Valvano, upset the Cougars. The Houston squad, nicknamed Phi Slamma Jamma, blew a 52-46 lead with three minutes to play. It was the second title for the Wolfpack; the first came in 1974.



25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): I Should Be So Lucky--Kylie Minogue (4th week at #1)

Scandal
The Arizona Senate convicted Governor Evan Mecham by a vote of 21-9 of obstructing justice, and removed him from office. It had been charged that Mr. Mecham, a fine upstanding Mormon and Republican, had sought to interfere in the investigation of a death threat by an aide to a grand jury witness. The Senate also voted 26-4 to convict Mr. Mecham of an illegal loan of $80,000 in state money to his automobile dealership.

Politics and government
Michael Dukakis won a narrow victory over Jesse Jackson in the Colorado caucus as the contest for the 1988 Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States continued.

Basketball
NCAA
Men's Championship
Final
Kansas 83 Oklahoma 79

Danny Manning grabbed 18 rebounds and scored 31 points, including the last 4 points of the game from the free-throw line in the final seconds, as the Jayhawks, under Coach Larry Brown, upset the Sooners. It was the second title for the Jayhawks; the first came under coach Phog Allen in 1952.



Baseball
Toronto Blue Jays' designated hitter George Bell became the first major league player to hit 3 home runs on opening day as the Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals 5-3 at Royals Stadium. All of Mr. Bell's home runs were hit off Kansas City starting pitcher Bret Saberhagen.

Darryl Strawberry and Kevin McReynolds each hit 2 home runs and their teammamtes added 2 more homers as the New York Mets opened the season with a 10-6 win over the Montreal Expos at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Mr. Strawberry's second home run travelled 535 feet and was believed to be the longest ever hit at Olympic Stadium. The Mets' 6 homers was a single team record for opening day.

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Austria (Ö3): All That She Wants--Ace of Base (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Oh Carolina--Shaggy

#1 single in the U.K.: Young at Heart--The Bluebells (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Alfred Mosher Butts, 93. U.S. architect and game creator. Mr. Butts was unemployed in the early 1930s when he invented the board game Scrabble, which combined crossword puzzles and anagrams. He eventually sold he rights to the game to James Brunot. Mr. Butts also created Alfreds Other Game, a word game which first appeared in 1985.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin concluded two days of talks in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mr. Clinton pledged $1.6 billion in aid to support Mr. Yeltsin's economic reforms. The package included credits for increased food and medical assistance, with funds for industries and technical advisers.

Curling
World men's championship
Final
Canada 8 Scotland 4

The Canadian rink was skipped by Russ Howard, whose rink had previously won the world championship in 1987.

10 years ago
2003

Died on this date
Resortes, 87. Mexican actor. Born Adalberto Martínez Chávez, Resortes was a comic actor who appeared in more than 50 movies and many television programs from the 1940s through the 1980s.

Anthony Caruso, 86. U.S. actor. Mr. Caruso appeared in character roles in many movies and television programs from 1940-1990. He died three days before his 87th birthday.

War
U.S. forces encircled Baghdad and gained control of Saddam International Airport, renaming it Baghdad International Airport. Iraqi television broadcast two tapes of President Saddam Hussein, but the dates of the tapes were unclear. Three U.S. soldiers were killed at a highway checkpoint when two Iraqi women detonated a car bomb in a suicide attack.

World events
Fishermen in Antarctic waters off the coast of New Zealand caught a squid measuring 16 feet and weighing 330 pounds. It was only the second such squid ever caught.

Terrorism
Two days after hijacking a ferry operated by the Cuban govenment, two men surrendered to Cuban authorities.