April 23, 2014

1,000 years ago
1014

Died on this date
Brian Boru, 73 (?). High King of Ireland, 1002-1014. Brian became High King of Ireland upon the surrender of Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill. He was killed in the Battle of Clontarf, just north of Dublin, although there are conflicting reports about the actual cause of death. Upon Brian's death, Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill was restored to the throne.

450 years ago
1564

Born on this date
William Shakespeare. English playwright and poet. Mr. Shakespeare, the most famous playwright in history, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon. It's not certain that he was born on April 23 (he was baptized on April 26), but since he died on April 23, 1616, and April 23 is St. George's Day, it's a tradition to celebrate Mr. Shakespeare's birthday on that date.

225 years ago
1789

Americana
President-elect George Washington and his wife Martha moved into the first executive mansion, the Franklin House in New York City.

130 years ago
1884

Born on this date
Edwin C. Hill. U.S. journalist. Mr. Hill was a newscaster with CBS, NBC, and ABC radio, hosting The Human Side of the News (1932-1952). He narrated the syndicated radio program Freedom U.S.A. (1952). Mr. Hill died on February 12, 1957 at the age of 72.

125 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Karel Doorman. Dutch military officer. Rear-Admiral Doorman served with the Royal Netherlands Navy from 1906 until his death on February 28, 1942 at the age of 52, when the cruiser he was commanding, De Ruyter, was struck by a Japanese torpedo during the Battle of the Java Sea, and he chose to go down with the ship.

90 years ago
1924

Britannica
King George V opened the Empire Exhibition at Wembley, London. The radio broadcast of the event was heard in Canada.

75 years ago
1939

Baseball
Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox batted 4 for 5 and hit his first major league home run, off Bud Thomas of the Philadelphia Athletics. The Athletics scored 6 runs in the top of the 8th inning to overcome an 8-6 deficit, and won 12-8 before 12,000 fans at Fenway Park in Boston.

Schoolboy Rowe pitched a 4-hitter and batted 2 for 5 with a triple and a run to lead the Detroit Tigers over the Cleveland Indians 8-0 at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland.

The Chicago White Sox scored 3 runs in each of the first 2 innings en route to a 17-4 rout of the St. Louis Browns before 12,000 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Chicago first baseman Joe Kuhel batted 4 for 5 with a double, 2 runs, and 5 runs batted in.

Heinie Mueller singled home Pinky May and Del Young with 2 out in the bottom of the 12th inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 5-4 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers before 8,000 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Hugh "Losing Pitcher" Mulcahy started on the mound for the Phillies and allowed the Dodgers to score a go-ahead run in the top of the 12th before being relieved, but the rally by his teammates prevented another loss from being added to his record.

70 years ago
1944

War
Operation Persecution resulted in Allied occupation of the Hollandia area of New Guinea. U.S. forces occupied Ujelang Atoll of the Marshall Islands. German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler and deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini concluded two days of conferences at Mr. Hitler's headquarters and reached "un shakeable decision...to bring the war against the Bolshevists...the Jews...and the plutocrats...to a successful conclusion."

Politics and government
Greek Prime Minister-in-exile Sofoklis Venizelos resigned, and King George II of the U.K. asked George Papandreou to form a new government. The Greek government was in exile in England during the Nazi occupation of Greece in World War II.

60 years ago
1954

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): I See the Moon--The Stargazers (6th week at #1)

Baseball
Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hit his first major league home run, off Vic Raschi of the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Braves won 7-5 in 14 innings. Rookie St. Louis outfielder Wally Moon batted 5 for 5.

50 years ago
1964

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Twist and Shout--The Beatles

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): A World Without Love--Peter and Gordon

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Toronto 4 @ Detroit 3 (OT) (Best-of-seven series tied 3-3)

Bobby Baun, who had been taken off the ice with a suspected leg fracture in the 3rd period, returned to score the winning goal at 1:43 of the 1st overtime period as the Maple Leafs edged the Red Wings at Olympia Stadium. Bob Pulford scored 2 goals for Toronto, and Billy Harris also scored for the Maple Leafs. Paul Henderson, Pit Martin, and Gordie Howe scored for Detroit.



Baseball
Ken Johnson (2-1) of the Houston Colt .45s became the first major league pitcher to pitch a 9-inning no-hitter and lose the game. With 1 out in the top of the 9th inning, Mr. Johnson made a throwing error on a ground ball by Pete Rose, enabling Mr. Rose to reach second base. Mr. Rose went to third on a ground out by Chico Ruiz, and scored the game's only run when Houston second baseman Nellie Fox made an error on a ground ball hit by Vada Pinson, as Mr. Johnson and the Colt .45s lost 1-0 to the Cincinnati Reds before 5,246 fans at Colt Stadium. Winning pitcher Joe Nuxhall (1-1) allowed 5 hits in going the distance for the shutout. Houston right fielder John Weekly batted 0 for 4 and made 1 putout in the 53rd and last game of his 3-years major league career.



40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Quelque chose et moi--Gérard Lenorman (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Cy Williams, 85. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Williams was an outfielder with the Chicago Cubs (1912-1917) and Philadelphia Phillies (1918-1930), batting .292 with 251 home runs and 1,005 runs batted in in 2,002 games. He tied for the National League lead in home runs (12) in 1916, and led in 1920 (15) and 1923 (41), tying for the lead again with 30 in 1927. Mr. Williams was a lefthanded batter whose swing was suited to the short distance to the right field fence in Philadelphia's Baker Bowl. Opposing teams eventually employed the "Williams shift," moving defensive players to the right side of the field when Mr. Williams was at bat. Mr. Williams was the first National League player to hit 200 career home runs.

Politics and government
Israel's governing Labour Party chose Itzkak Rabin, commander of Israeli forces in the Six-Day War in 1967, to form a new coalition government, 13 days after the resignation of Golda Meir as Prime Minister.

Environment
The Ontario Ministry of the Environment temporarily closed the Falconbridge Nickel mine in Sudbury, as the air pollution index reached 102. It was the first industrial closure in Ontario for this reason.

Scandal
U.S. Representative Shirley Chisholm (Democrat--New York) was virtually absolved by the U.S. Justice Department of charges that she and her campaign committee had misused funds in her 1972 campaign for the Democratic party nomination for President of the United States. The charges of violations of the federal disclosure law had been brought in the fall of 1973 by the U.S. General Accounting Office.

Disasters
All 107 people aboard a Pan Am Boeing 707 jet were killed when it crashed in the mountainous regions of Bali in Indonesia.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
New York Rangers 2 @ Philadelphia 5 (Philadelphia led best-of-seven series 2-0)
Boston 3 @ Chicago 4 (OT) (Chicago led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Ross Lonsberry assisted on a goal in the 1st period and scored 2 goals and an assist in the 3rd period as the Flyers defeated the Rangers before 17,007 fans at the Spectrum. Bobby Clarke, Ed Van Impe, and Rick MacLeish scored the other Philadelphia goals. Jack Egers and Brad Park scored for New York. Bernie Parent won the goaltending duel over Ed Giacomin, who was briefly replaced by Gilles Villemure. Mr. Villemure was in goal for just a few seconds before play was stopped again, and Mr. Giacomin returned to action. For Mr. Villemure, it was his only playing time of the 1974 playoffs.

Jim Pappin scored at 3:48 of the 1st overtime period to give the Black Hawks their win over the Flyers before 16,666 fans at Chicago Stadium. The Bruins led 3-1 until Stan MIkita, who had assisted on Bill White's goal in the 2nd period, scored with 8:22 remaining in the 3rd period to make the score 3-2 and scored the tying goal with 42 seconds left in regulation time. Carol Vadnais, Gregg Sheppard, and Ken Hodge scored for Boston.

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): 99 Luftballons--Nena (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Thriller--Michael Jackson (10th week at #1)

Died on this date
Ruby Goldstein, 76. U.S. boxer and referee. Mr. Goldstein, nicknamed "The Jewel of the Ghetto," was a bantamweight, lightweight, and welterweight who compiled a record of 55-6 with 39 knockouts in a professional career from 1924-1937. He became a prominent referee in the 1950s, officiating bouts such as the first world heavyweight title bout between Floyd Patterson and Ingemar Johansson in 1959, and the world welterweight title bout between Benny "Kid" Paret and Emile Griffith in 1962. Mr. Griffith pummelled Mr. Paret with numerous punches to the head in the 12th inning while Mr. Paret was unconscious but being propped up by the ropes. Mr. Paret died 10 days later, and Mr. Goldstein, hitherto the most respected referee in boxing, was heavily criticized for not stopping the fight earlier. He previously had a reputation for stopping fights early, and refereed just one more bout. Mr. Goldstein died of throat cancer. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1994, and is also a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame.

Medicine
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Margaret Heckler announced that federal resaerchers had identifed HTLV-3 as the virus that caused Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and had developed a test that could reliably detect it in blood donated for various uses, including the treatment of hemophilia. The researchers thought that a vaccine would be ready for testing within two years.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Wild Thing--Tone Lōc

#1 single in Switzerland: Like a Prayer--Madonna (4th week at #1)

Scandal
The Roman Catholic Church in Newfoundland set up a five-member panel to inquire into the sexual abuse of children during the 1970's at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John's.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Montreal 2 @ Boston 3 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 3-1)

Basketball
NBA
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers, the league's career scoring leader, played his final regular season game, scoring 10 points as the Lakers defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 121-117 at the Forum in Inglewood, California. It was Mr. Abdul-Jabbar's 1,560th league game, and his teammates gave him a white Rolls-Royce.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): The Power of Love--Celine Dion

#1 single in Italy: Streets of Philadelphia--Bruce Springsteen

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Sister Golden Hair--Spanic

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): The Most Beautiful Girl in the World--The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Love Symbol) (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT): Without You--Mariah Carey

#1 single in France (SNEP): Streets of Philadelphia--Bruce Springsteen (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Without You--Mariah Carey (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): The Most Beautiful Girl in the World--The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Love Symbol)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Bump n' Grind--R. Kelly (3rd week at #1)
2 The Sign--Ace of Base
3 Without You/Never Forget You--Mariah Carey
4 Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm--Crash Test Dummies
5 So Much in Love--All-4-One
6 The Most Beautiful Girl in the World--The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Love Symbol)
7 The Power of Love--Celine Dion
8 Whatta Man--Salt-N-Pepa with En Vogue
9 Streets of Philadelphia--Bruce Springsteen
10 Now and Forever--Richard Marx

Singles entering the chart were Regulate by Warren G & Nate Dogg (#57); I Swear by All-4-One (#72); I Got Cha Opin by Black Moon (#93); Bizarre Love Triangle by FRENTE! (#94); Leaving Las Vegas by Sheryl Crow (#95); Love on My Mind by Xscape (#98); and Regular Thang by Ovis (#100). Regulate was from the movie Above the Rim (1994).

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Most Beautiful Girl in the World--The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Love Symbol)
2 The Sign--Ace of Base
3 Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm--Crash Test Dummies
4 Without You/Never Forget You--Mariah Carey
5 Baby, I Love Your Way--Big Mountain
6 Streets of Philadelphia--Bruce Springsteen
7 So Much in Love--All-4-One
8 Whatta Man--Salt-N-Pepa with En Vogue
9 Now and Forever--Richard Marx
10 Return to Innocence--Enigma

Singles entering the chart were Never Forget You; Misled by Celine Dion (#64); I Swear by All-4-One (#74); I Wish by Gabrielle (#76); Stay (I Missed You) by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories (#84); Anything by SWV (#87); Regulate by Warren G. and Nate Dogg (#88); and Low by Cracker (#89).

War
Serb forces in Bosnia began to pull back from the Muslim enclave of Gorazde, even while continuing to shell the town.

Defense
Admiral Jeremy Boorda formally succeeded Admiral Frank Kelso as U.S. Chief of Naval Operations. Adm. Kelso had opted for early retirement as a result of the scandal surrounding the 1991 Tailhook convention in Las Vegas, where female Navy personnel accused male personnel of sexual assault and harassment. The law required that the United States Senate approve of Adm. Kelso's retirement with a 4-star rank, and on April 19, the Senate had voted 54-43 to approve Adm. Kelso's 4-star rank.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Semi-Finals
Pittsburgh 1 @ Washington 4 (Washington led best-of-seven series 3-1)
Boston 2 @ Montreal 5 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)
Toronto 4 @ Chicago 5 (Toronto led best-of-seven series 2-1)

10 years ago
2004

Diplomacy
The United States and Libya resumed diplomatic relations.