May 27, 2013

860 years ago
1153

Britannica
Malcolm IV, 12, was crowned King of Scots at Scone, three days after succeeding to the throne upon the death of David I.

310 years ago
1703

World events
The Russian city of St. Petersburg was founded by Czar Peter the Great.

275 years ago
1738

Born on this date
Nathaniel Gorham. U.S. politician. Mr. Gorham was a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress, and served as its president from July 6-November 5, 1786. He attended the Constitutional Convention and signed the Constitution of the United States in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787. He died on June 11, 1796 at the age of 58.

200 years ago
1813

War
In what is now Ontario, General John Vincent retreated to Burlington Heights from Niagara with the rest of his 1,400 British and Canadian militia after two days of bombardment with fire shells, and losing Fort George to American General Henry Dearborn, Winfield Scott and Isaac Chauncey and their force of 7,000 men.

150 years ago
1863

War
In the U.S. Civil War, Union troops commanded by Major General Nathaniel Banks launched their first assault on the Confederate works in the Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana.

130 years ago
1883

World events
Alexander III was crowned Czar of Russia at the Uspensky Sobor of the Kremlin in Moscow.

125 years ago
1888

Baseball
Bill "Adonis" Terry of the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers hurled his second career no-hitter‚ beating the Kansas City Cowboys 4-0 at Washington Park in Brooklyn. Three men walked and two more reached on errors. Mr. Terry no-hit the St. Louis Browns on July 24‚ 1886.

80 years ago
1933

Died on this date
James Loeb, 65. U.S. banker and philanthropist. Mr. Loeb founded and endowed the Loeb Classical Library in 1912, and helped found part of the Juilliard School of Music.

Americana
The Chicago World’s Fair, or Century of Progress Exposition, opened. The theme of the fair was a celebration of science and industry, but fan dancer Sally Rand turned out to be the main attraction.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Federal Securities Act was signed into law requiring the registration of securities with the Federal Trade Commission.

Baseball
The Chicago White Sox tallied 3 in their half of the 8th inning to take an 11-3 lead against New York, only to see the Yankees storm back with 12 runs in the bottom half of the inning, with Bill Dickey's grand slam the big blow. The combined total of 15 runs was a new American League record for one inning. The final read 15-11 for the Yankees.

75 years ago
1938

Baseball
Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers hammered a Frank Gabler pitch into the center field seats at Comiskey Park in Chicago‚ becoming the first slugger to reach the bleachers there. The Tigers beat the White Sox 5-2‚ behind Vern Kennedy's 6-hitter.

60 years ago
1953

On the radio
I Was a Communist for the FBI, starring Dana Andrews
Tonight’s episode: The Elspeth Club

Died on this date
Jesse Burkett, 84. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Burkett was a left fielder with the New York Giants (1890); Cleveland Spiders (1891-1898); St. Louis Perfectos and Cardinals (1899-1901); St. Louis Browns (1902-1904); and Boston Americans (1905), batting .338 with 75 home runs and 952 runs batted in in 2,067 games. He led the National League in batting average in 1895 (.405); 1896 (.410); and 1901 (.376), and still holds the career record of 55 inside-the-park home runs. Mr. Burkett also pitched in 23 major league games--21 in is rookie season--but was less successful, winning 3 games while losing 11. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946.

50 years ago
1963

Died on this date
Gregoris Lambrakis, 51. Greek physician and politician. Mr. Lambrakis, a pacifist and member of the Greek parliament with the United Deomcratic Left, died five days after being clubbed on the head by right-wing extremists Emannouel Emannouilides and Spyro Gotzamanis shortly after finishing delivery of the keynote speech at a rally in Thessaloniki protesting the Vietnam War. Mr. Lambrakis' assassination inspired the novel and movie Z.

Politics and government
The Kenya African National Union, led by Jomo Kenyatta, won a majority in Kenya's first general election, taking 58 seats in the House of Representatives to 28 seats for the Kenya African Democratic Union, led by Ronald Ngala. The result meant that Mr. Kenyatta would become Kenya's first Prime Minister.

Academia
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) opened in Edmonton.

Canadiana
Her Majesty's Theatre in Montreal, which had opened in 1898, closed after 65 years of operation.

40 years ago
1973

On television tonight
Rod Serling's Night Gallery, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Hatred Unto Death/How to Cure the Common Vampire, starring Steve Forrest, Dina Merrill, Fernando Lamas, George Barrows, Richard Deacon, and Johnny Brown

This was the last episode of the series.

Disasters
Two days of tornadoes and heavy rain in several American states concluded with at least 18 deaths: 6 in Alabama; 5 in Kefton, Oklahoma; 3 in Jonesboro, Arkansas; 3 in Kansas, and 1 in Laurel, Mississippi.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Beat It--Michael Jackson

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Bruttosozialprodukt--Geier Sturzflug (4th week at #1)

World events
The Popular Liberation Forces, a Communist guerrilla group, claimed responsibility for the fatal shooting in San Salvador on May 25 of Lieutenant Commander Albert Schaufelberger, deputy commander of the U.S. Military Group. The administration of U.S. President Ronald Reagan announced that it would send at least 100 U.S. military advisers to Honduras to train Salvadoran soldiers in guerrilla warfare. U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz announced that Thomas Enders, assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs, would be replaced by Langhorne Motley, the U.S. ambassador to Brazil.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Ella, Elle L'a--France Gall (2nd week at #1)

Diplomacy
U.S. President Ronald Reagan, on his way to Moscow for a summit with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, stopped in Helsinki, and asserted that the U.S.S.R. was falling short of its commitments when it signed the Helsinki accord on human rights in 1975.

Defense
The United States Senate voted 93-5 to ratify the intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) treaty.

Basketball
NBA
Western Conference
Finals
Los Angeles Lakers 94 @ Dallas 106 (Los Angeles led best-of-seven series 2-1)

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Tribal Dance--2 Unlimited (3rd week at #1)

Terrorism
A bomb exploded outside an art gallery in Florence, killing six people and damaging dozens of works of art.

Crime
A U.S. Navy court-martial sentenced airman Terry Helvey to life in prison in the beating death of Radioman Allen Schindler. The Navy released papers showing that Mr. Helvey had stalked his sodomite victim.

Economics and finance
The Canadian House of Commons passed legislation bringing Canada into the proposed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The United States House of Representatives voted in favour of President Bill Clinton's program to lower the budget deficit by raising taxes of almost all except the poor, with new steps to reduce spending.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Clarence S. Campbell Conference
Finals
Toronto 4 @ Los Angeles 5 (OT) (Best-of-seven series tied 3-3)

Wayne Gretzky scored at 1:41 of the 1st overtime period to give the Kings their win over the Maple Leafs at Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California. Wendel Clark scored 3 goals for Toronto, with his third goal tying the score with 1:21 remaining in regulation time.

10 years ago
2003

War
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged that deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein may have ordered the destruction of all his biological and chemical weapons before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Defense
25 Canadian peacekeepers announced that they were suing the Canadian Armed Forces for $60 million because of psychological stress suffered while on duty. The lawsuit alleged that the government of Canada did not offer enough counseling for depression and trauma.

Economics and finance
The World Trade Organization said that Canada's softwood lumber royalties were not an unfair subsidy, as claimed by U.S. lumber interests.