April 19, 2014

475 years ago
1539

Diplomacy
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V signed the Treaty of Frankfurt with Lutherans, represented by Philip Melancthon.

325 years ago
1689

Died on this date
Christina, 62. Queen of Sweden, 1632-1654. The only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II, Christina succeeded to the throne at the age of 6 when her father was killed in the Battle of Lutzen. She abdicated her throne in favour of her cousin Charles X and converted from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism in 1654, spending her later years in Rome.

175 years ago
1839

Diplomacy
The Convention of 1839, signed by Concert of Europe, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Kingdom of Belgium, established Belgium as a kingdom and guaranteed its neutrality.

125 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Otto Georg Thierack. German politician. Mr. Thierack joined the Nazi Party in 1932, and was Justice Minister of Saxony, Vice President of the Reich Court (1935-1936), and President of the Volksgerichtshof (People's Court) (1936-1942) before serving as Reich Minister of Justice from 1942-1945. He was responsible for mass executions, which led to his arrest by Allied authorities at the end of World War II. Mr. Thierack committed suicide by poisoning himself on October 26, 1946 at the age of 57 before he could be brought before the Nuremberg Judges' Trial.

120 years ago
1894

Born on this date
Elizabeth Dilling. U.S. writer and activist. Mrs. Dilling was an anti-Communist activist who was best known for her book The Red Network—A Who's Who and Handbook of Radicalism for Patriots (1934). Her criticism of Communism included criticism of Jews, which tended to limit her influence to the Midwestern United States. Mrs. Dilling opposed American involvement in World War II, which led to her being one of 28 people being charged with conspiracy to commit insubordination in the armed forces. The trial dragged on from 1942-1944, and a mistrial was declared when Judge Edward Eicher died. The charges were dismissed in 1946, and Mrs. Dilling's influence waned until her death on May 26, 1966 at the age of 72.

110 years ago
1904

Disasters
The great Toronto fire started in the evening, and raged for two days, fed by high winds. The city's 200 firefighters called on crews from London, Niagara Falls, Hamilton, Peterborough, and Buffalo for help, but bitter cold and a lack of adequate water pressure made the fire hoses almost ineffective. No people or horses died, but the fire caused an estimated $12 million damage and destroyed 104 buildings, leaving 14 acres of the city's business core in ice-covered ruins.

100 years ago
1914

Died on this date
Charles Sanders Peirce, 74. U.S. mathematician and philosopher. Mr. Peirce was educated as a chemist, but was better known as a logician who became known as the "Father of Pragmatism." He had a difficult personality, exacerbated by a form of neuralgia that caused great pain, which made him powerful enemies and prevented his advancement in academia.

70 years ago
1944

War
More than 1,000 Allied planes attacked French railway junctions at Noisy-le-Sec, Juvisy, Rouen, and Tergnier. Nazi troops launched strong counterattacks in the southeastern corner of Poland. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said that the future of Rome rested with the Germans, who were using the city for purely military reasons. After breaking down Japanese roadblocks, Allied forces drove Japanese troops beyond the Imphal plane in the Indian state of Manipur.

Diplomacy
Bolivian Labour Minister Victor Andarade said that U.S. failure to recognize Bolivia had nullified plans to increase tin production.

Economics and finance
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to extend Lend-Lease until June 30, 1945.

Politics and government
Maine Governor Sumner Sewall signed a bill permitting the use of the U.S. federal ballot and liberalizing sections of the absentee voting law in order to permit U.S. armed services personnel to vote.

Journalism
Panama City reported that all newspapers in El Salvador except the government organ Diario Nuevo had been suspended.

Crime
A special court commission found Hans Max Haupt sane. Mr. Haupt, father of a Nazi saboteur who had been executed, was ordered by U.S. Federal Court Judge Barnes to stand trial on May 15 on charges of treason.

Society
Representatives of 14 U.S. state alcohol control commissions, meeting in New York City, urged a resumption of the production of alcoholic beverages.

Track and field
St.-Barnabé, Quebec native Gérard Côté won the Boston Marathon for the second straight year and the third time in his career, in a time of 2:28:28.6.

Football
NFL
The Boston Yanks franchise was activated, and the Cleveland Rams resumed operations after a one-year hiatus.

60 years ago
1954

Law
The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan recognized Urdu and Bengali as the national languages of Pakistan.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: The Air That I Breathe--The Hollies (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Seasons in the Sun--Terry Jacks

30 years ago
1984

Medicine
French researchers reported the discovery of LAV, a virus that appeared to cause Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Physicians responded with cautious optimism, noting that the virus had been found in blood samples of 80%-90% of AIDS patients whose blood had been tested.

Australiana
Advance Australia Fair was proclaimed as Australia's national anthem, and green and gold as the national colours.

Law
Brian Dickson was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada; his predecessor, Bora Laskin, had died on March 26.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the economy had grown at an annual rate of 8.3% during the first quarter of 1984, a sharp increase from the 5% rate in the last quarter of 1983.

Business
CP Air bought Halifax-based Eastern Provincial Airways.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Like a Prayer--Madonna (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Like a Prayer--Madonna (3rd week at #1)

At the movies
The Return of the Musketeers, directed by Richard Lester, and starring Michael York, Oliver Reed, and many others, opened in theatres in Europe. The film was a sequel to The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974), both of which had been directed by Mr. Lester, with many of the original cast members reprising their roles.

Died on this date
Daphne du Maurier, 81. U.K. authoress. The daughter of actor Gerald du Maurier, Miss du Maurier was known for novels such as Jamaica Inn (1936); Rebecca (1938); and Frenchman's Creek (1941), and novelettes such as The Birds (1952).

Disasters
A gun turret exploded on the USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors. The U.S. Navy battleship was participating in a naval exercise about 300 miles north of Puerto Rico, and the crew was loading the guns when the explosion occurred.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Boston 2 @ Montreal 3 (OT) (Montreal led best-of-seven series 2-0)

20 years ago
1994

Politics and government
Zulu Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party, dropped his demand that the South African "homeland" of KwaZulu be declared a sovereign monarchy, and agreed to participate in South Africa's first universal-suffrage elections scheduled for April 26-28.

Crime
A U.S. District Court jury in Los Angeles awarded $3,816,535.45 in compensatory damages to Negro criminal Rodney King, who had been beaten by Los Angeles police in 1991. Mr. King, the plaintiff, had turned down a pretrial offer of $1.25 million. The four police officers had been acquitted of criminal charges in 1992, but two of them had been sentenced to prison for violating Mr. King's civil rights.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit in February had been $9.71 billion.

10 years ago
2004

At the movies
Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, co-written and directed by Rowdy Herrington, and starring Jim Caviezel, Claire Forlani, Jeremy Northam, Malcolm McDowell, and Aidan Quinn, received its premiere screening in Beverly Hills, California.



Died on this date
Norris McWhirter, 78. U.K. author. Mr. McWhirter and his twin brother Ross co-created the Guinness Book of World Records in 1955 and updated it until Ross was murdered by the Irish Republican Army in 1975. Norris carried on alone as editor for another 10 years. Norris McWhirter was also a champion of freedom in the United Kingdom and behind the Iron Curtain, co-founding the National Association for Freedom.

Politics and government
In a reversal of his previous position, U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair declared that there would be a referendum on the European Union constitution. Most polls had shown strong opposition among Britons to the proposed constitution.