April 15, 2014

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Harold Riemer and Danielle Wessel!

250 years ago
1764

Died on this date
Madame de Pompadour, 42. French mistress. Born Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Madame de Pomapdour was the mistress of King Louis XV. She was a patron of the arts and Enlightenment philosophers, and was blamed by her critics for the Seven Years' War. Madame de Pompadour died of tuberculosis.

200 years ago
1814

War
In Kingston, Upper Canada, two warships, the Prince Regent and the Princess Charlotte, were launched from the Kingston Navy Dockyard for use in the War of 1812.

125 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Thomas Hart Benton. U.S. artist. Mr. Benton, a native of Neosho, Missouri and longtime resident of Kansas City, Missouri, was a major figure in the Regionalist movement, and was known for his paintings of everyday life in the United States, particularly the Midwest. He died on January 19, 1975 at the age of 85.

A. Philip Randolph. U.S. civil rights activist. Mr. Randolph, a socialist, organized and served as president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925, which was the first labour union in the U.S.A. whose membership was predominantly Negro. He was successful in pressuring U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to ban racial discrimination in defense industries during World War II, and President Harry Truman to desegregate the armed services after the war. Mr. Randolph led the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, culminating in Rev. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Mr. Randolph died on May 16, 1979, 31 days after his 90th birthday.

Died on this date
Father Damien, 49. Belgian clergyman. Father Damien, born Jozef De Veuste, was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1864; in 1873 he began working among the quarantined lepers on the island of Moloka'i, ministering to their physical needs as well as teaching them the Roman Catholic faith. Fr. Damien eventually developed leprosy himself, and died of the disease; he was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.

120 years ago
1894

Born on this date
Bessie Smith. U.S. singer. Miss Smith, nicknamed "The Empress of the Blues," was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and '30s, with hit recordings such as Downhearted Blues (1923); St. Louis Blues (1925); and I Ain't Got Nobody (1926). She died on September 26, 1937 at the age of 43, several hours after suffering critical injuries in a car accident on a highway between Memphis, Tennessee and Clarksdale, Mississippi. Miss Smith was taken by ambulance to the G. T. Thomas Afro-American Hospital in Clarksdale, where her right arm was amputated, and she died without regaining consciousness. The circumstances surrounding Miss Smith's death led to the false story that she had been refused admission to a white hospital.

Nikita Khrushchev. First Secretary of the Communist Party of the U.S.S.R., 1953-1964; Premier of the U.S.S.R, 1958-1964. Mr. Khrushchev, "The Butcher of the Ukraine," won a power struggle against rivals Lavrenti Beria, Georgy Malenkov, and Nikolai Bulganin after the death in 1953 of dictator Josef Stalin. Under Mr. Khrushchev, Soviet forces invaded Hungary in 1956 to suppress a popular uprising against that country's Communist government, and the U.S.S.R. became the first country to place a satellite in Earth orbit with the launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957. Mr. Khrushchev delivered a "secret speech" at the Communist Party congress in 1956 denouncing Mr. Stalin's cult of personality, and engaged in the public "kitchen debate" with U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon in 1959. Mr. Khrushchev is perhaps best remembered for allegedly banging his shoe on his desk at the United Nations General Assembly on October 12, 1960 in protest at comments by Philippine delegate Lorenzo Sumulong. Mr. Khrushchev was removed from power in a bloodless coup by party comrades on October 14, 1964, and lived quietly in retirement. He began dictating his memoirs; copies were smuggled out of the country, and the first volume was published in 1970 under the title Khrushchev Remembers. Mr. Khrushchev died on September 11, 1971 at the age of 77.

90 years ago
1924

Americana
Rand McNally published its first road atlas.

70 years ago
1944

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Bésame Mucho (Kiss Me Much)--Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra with Bob Eberly and Kitty Kallen (Best Seller--7th week at #1); Mairzy Doats--The Merry Macs (Jukebox--5th week at #1)

War
Soviet forces took Lyubimovka, only 3 miles north of Sevastopol. U.S. Vice President Henry Wallace was reportedly going to China to reassure Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek that the delay of an all-out Allied effort to take Burma was only temporary.

Diplomacy
U.S. Army Lieutenant General George Patton, in a talk at the opening of a soldiers' club in England, said "it is the destiny of the U.S. and Great Britain to rule the world."

Politics and government
A conference in Naples of leaders of six opposition parties voted 4-1 to cooperate with the government of Prime Minister Pietro Badoglio upon the retirement of King Victor Emmanuel III.

Brazilian President Getulio Vargas said that democracy in Brazil would be restored after World War II.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Civil Service Commission reported that 72% of the 2,797,000 federal employees within the U.S. in October 1943 were on war agency rolls.

60 years ago
1954

Baseball
Bob Turley pitched a 7-hit complete game and Clint Courtney and Vern Stephens hit home runs as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 3-1 before 46,354 fans in the first major league game at Memorial Stadium and the first major league game in Baltimore since 1902.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): My Coo Ca Choo--Alvin Stardust (6th week at #1)

Canadiana
A group of nine Quebec women won the $1 million first prize in the first Olympic Lottery Canada draw.

Politics and government
Lucien Lamoureux presided over his 3,010th House of Commons session, becoming the Speaker with the longest service in Canadian history.

Crime
Newspaper heiress Patty Hearst, kidnapped from her Berkeley, California apartment on February 4 by members of the Symbionese Liberation Army terrorist group, was identified as one of nine participants in a San Francisco bank robbery. Federal Bureau of Investigation study of the photographs of the robbery concluded that she may have acted under duress.

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Relax--Frankie Goes to Hollywood (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Zu nah am Feuer--Stefan Waggershausen and Alice

Died on this date
Tommy Cooper, 63. U.K. comedian and magician. Mr. Cooper, a native of Wales, was popular on stage and television, wit his popularity peaking in the late 1960s and early '70s. He smoked and drank heavily, leading to a serious decline in his health and career by the late '70s. Mr. Cooper suffered a fatal heart attack while performing on Live from Her Majesty's, which was televised nationally, 27 days after his 63rd birthday.



Weather
It was a beautiful day in Edmonton, with the temperature reaching 77 F.

Canadiana
A fleet of tall ships left St.-Malo, France on a race to Canada, celebrating the 450th anniversary of Jacques Cartier's discovery of Quebec.

Religion
The inaugural World Youth Day was held in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Like a Prayer--Madonna

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Like a Prayer--Madonna (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Eternal Flame--Bangles

#1 single in France (SNEP): Pour toi Arménie--Charles Aznavour and various artists (10th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Eternal Flame--Bangles

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 She Drives Me Crazy--Fine Young Cannibals (5th week at #1)
2 Like a Prayer--Madonna
3 Das Phantom der Oper--Alexander Goebel & Luzia Nistler
4 You Got It--Roy Orbison
5 Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart--Marc Almond featuring Gene Pitney
6 Listen to the Voices--Labi Siffre
7 In the Air Tonight ('88 Remix)--Phil Collins
8 Looking for Freedom--David Hasselhoff
9 Twist in My Sobriety--Tanita Tikaram
10 The Way to Your Heart--Soulsister

Singles entering the chart were Looking for Freedom; The Way to Your Heart; Don't Cry for Louie by Vaya Con Dios (#16); I Only Wanna Be with You by Samantha Fox (#21); Four Letter Word by Kim Wilde (#23); Love Train by Holly Johnson (#24); and Komm gib mir deine Hand by Die Pinguine (#29).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 She Drives Me Crazy--Fine Young Cannibals
2 The Look--Roxette
3 Like a Prayer--Madonna
4 Eternal Flame--Bangles
5 Girl You Know it's True--Milli Vanilli
6 Stand--R.E.M.
7 Funky Cold Medina--Tone Loc
8 Superwoman--Karyn White
9 You Got It--Roy Orbison
10 Your Mama Don't Dance--Poison

Singles entering the chart were Through the Storm by Aretha Franklin and Elton John (#56); Miss You Like Crazy by Natalie Cole (#75); Little Jackie Wants to Be a Star by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam (#81); Giving Up on Love by Rick Astley (#89); Stop by Sam Brown (#93); Closer than Friends by Surface (#95); and Cuddly Toy (Feel for Me) by Roachford (#97).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 She Drives Me Crazy--Fine Young Cannibals
2 The Look--Roxette
3 Like a Prayer--Madonna
4 Girl You Know it's True--Milli Vanilli
5 Eternal Flame--Bangles
6 Stand--R.E.M.
7 I'll Be There for You--Bon Jovi
8 Superwoman--Karyn White
9 My Heart Can't Tell You No--Rod Stewart
10 Heaven Help Me--Deon Estus (with George Michael)

Singles entering the chart were Through the Storm by Aretha Franklin and Elton John (#68); Little Jackie Wants to Be a Star by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam (#75); Veronica by Elvis Costello (#80); I'll Be You by the Replacements (#83); You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet by Figures on a Beach (#84); Miss You Like Crazy by Natalie Cole (#85); Closer than Friends by Surface (#87); and Let Me In by Eddie Money (#90).

Died on this date
Hu Yaobang, 73. Chinese politician. Hu was a leading figure in the Chinese Communist Party, serving as party chairman (1981-1982) and General Secretary (1982-1987). He was a close comrade of Deng Xiaoping. He was considered liberal by the standards of the party, and was removed as General Secretary in favour of Zhao Ziyang after widespread student protests took place in 1987.

Protest
Upon Hu Yaobang's death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 began in the People's Republic of China.

Disasters
A human crush occurred at Hillsborough Stadium, home of the Sheffield Wednesday football club, in the English FA Cup Semi-Final in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, resulting in the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Semi-Finals
Smythe Division
Vancouver 3 @ Calgary 4 (OT) (Calgary won best-of-seven series 4-3)
Edmonton 3 @ Los Angeles 6 (Los Angeles won best-of-seven series 4-3)

Jim Peplinski scored in overtime at the Olympic Saddledome as the Flames, who had won 3 of the first 4 games of the series, averted their usual annual playoff choke.

Wayne Gretzky was the star, leading the Kings to victory over his former team at the Forum in Inglewood, California, ending the Oilers' attempt to win the Stanley Cup for the third straight year.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Without You--Mariah Carey (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Streets of Philadelphia--Bruce Springsteen (4th week at #1)

War
16 Canadian peacekeepers were detained as part of an ongoing campaign of harassment of United Nations forces in Bosnia.

Economics and finance
Representatives of 117 nations gathered in Marrakesh, Morocco to sign the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) treaty, ending the long and contentious Uruguay round of talks and paving the way for the creation of the World Trade Organization.

10 years ago
2004

Politics and government
The African National Congress took about 70% of the vote in South Africa's general election, and Thabo Mbeki retained the presidency.

The United States agreed to a plan to replace the Iraqi Governing Council with a caretaker government when sovereignty was to transfer to Iraq on June 30, 2004.

Defense
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, making a rare visit to a miltary base, announced that Canada would acquire three new support ships for the navy at a total cost of $2.1 billion.

Scandal
Canadian Member of Parliament Svend Robinson (NDP) admitted that he had been under stress for a few months and that "something just snapped," and that he had stolen an expensive ring from a jewellery store in Ottawa to give to his sodomite lover.

Environment
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told the governors of 31 states that the air quality in their states did not meet federal health standards.