May 12, 2014

650 years ago
1364

Academia
Jagiellonian University, the oldest university in Poland, was founded in Kraków.

325 years ago
1689

Defense
King William III of England joined the League of Augsburg in an attempt to halt French expansion under King Louis XIV.

275 years ago
1739

Born on this date
Johann Baptist Wanhal. Boehmian-born Austrian composer. Mr. Wanhal was an organist who wrote at least 73 symphonies, 95 sacred works, 100 string quartets, and numerous other instrumental and vocal works. He died on August 20, 1813 at the age of 74.

150 years ago
1864

War
In the U.S. Civil War, the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House took place in Virginia between Union forces led by General U.S. Grant and Confederate forces led by General Robert E. Lee. There were almost 32,000 total casualties in "the Bloody Angle," making it the costliest battle of Gen. Grant's Overland Campaign.

125 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Otto Frank. German-born Swiss banker. Mr. Frank served as a lieutenant with the Imperial German Army during World War I before becoming a banker. When the Nazis took power in Germany in 1933, Mr. Frank fled with his family to the Netherlands. German forces occupied the country in 1940, and Mr. Frank and his family went into hiding; they were betrayed and discovered in 1944, and interned at the Auschwitz prison camp in Poland. Mr. Frank was separated from his wife Edith and daughters Anne and Margot, and when he was liberated in 1945, he discovered that he was the family's sole survivor. Family friend Miep Gies had saved Anne's diary and papers, and gave them to Mr. Frank, who transcribed and oversaw the publication of The Diary of a Young Girl (1947). Mr. Frank eventually remarried and settled in Basel, Switzerland, where he died of lung cancer on August 19, 1980 at the age of 91.

100 years ago
1914

Born on this date
Howard K. Smith. U.S. journalist. Mr. Smith was a correspondent with CBS from 1941-1961, covering World War II and postwar events in Europe. He was with ABC from 1962-1979, and anchored the ABC Evening News from 1969-1975. Mr. Smith died on February 15, 2002 at the age of 87.

James Bacon. U.S. journalist. Mr. Bacon covered the Hollywood beat for Associated Press, and later for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner. He also appeared in many movies in bit parts, usually playing a reporter. Mr. Bacon died on September 18, 2010 at the age of 96.

70 years ago
1944

Died on this date
Max Brand, 51. U.S. author. Mr. Brand, whose real name was Frederick Schiller Faust, wrote several hundred books under various pseudonyms, but was best known for Western novels under the name Max Brand. He created the characters Destry and Dr. Kildare. Mr. Faust was a war correspondent during World War II, and was mortally wounded by shrapnel while travelling with American soldiers in Italy.

War
A joint Allied statement to Finland, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria warned them to "get out of the war" and "cease aiding Germany." More than 1,000 U.S. planes bombed five synthetic oil plants at Merseburg Lutzendorf and Halle, Germany, and Zeitz and Bruex, Czechoslovakia. Japanese forces cut the Chinese retreat route by slicing the east-west Lung-Hai railway 48 miles west of Loyang.

Politics and government
U.S. Representative Martin Dies (Democrat--Texas), chairman of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, announced that he would not be a candidate in the November 1944 election because of illness and a desire to return to private life.

Labour
Packard Motor Company shut down its Detroit plants because of a strike of foremen and the refusal of the armed forces to accept products "in absence of inspection supervision."

40 years ago
1974

Died on this date
Wayne Maki, 29. Canadian hockey player. Mr. Maki played with the Chicago Black Hawks (1967-1969); St. Louis Blues (1969-1970); and Vancouver Canucks (1970-1972), scoring 136 points on 57 goals and 79 assists in 246 games. His older brother Chico played with the Black Hawks from 1960-1976. Wayne Maki was best known for a stick-swinging duel with Boston Bruins' defenceman Ted Green in a pre-season game in Ottawa on September 21, 1969, which resulted in a near-fatal injury to Mr. Green and criminal charges--later dismissed--against both players. Mr. Maki had his best season with the expansion Canucks in 1970-71, scoring 63 points on 25 goals and 38 assists. He got off to a poor start in 1972-73, scoring just 3 goals in 26 games, and was sent home from a road trip in December 1972 after complaining of severe headaches. Tests revealed a malignant brain tumor. One of the people who wrote Mr. Maki to wish him well was Ted Green, and the two reportedly became friends.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Boston 1 @ Philadelphia 4 (Philadelphia led best-of-seven series 2-1)

WHA
Avco World Trophy
Finals
Houston 3 @ Chicago 2 (Houston led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Boston 102 @ Milwaukee 87 (Boston won best-of-seven series 4-3)

Dave Cowens scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and John Havlicek added 16 points as the Celtics defeated the Bucks before 10,938 fans at Milwaukee Arena to win their 12th National Basketball Association championship, their first in 5 years, and the first since the retirement of Hall of Fame center Bill Russell. Milwaukee center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 26 points. The game was the last in the 14-year Hall of Fame NBA career of Milwaukee guard Oscar Robertson, and the last appearance for the Bucks in the finals to date.

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Love of the Common People--Paul Young (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT Top 30): Hello--Lionel Richie (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Ik voel me zo verdomd alleen--Danny de Munk

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): The Reflex--Duran Duran

#1 single in the U.K.: The Reflex--Duran Duran (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Hello--Lionel Richie

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Hello--Lionel Richie
2 Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)--Phil Collins
3 Love Somebody--Rick Springfield
4 To All the Girls I've Loved Before--Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson
5 Let's Hear it for the Boy--Deniece Williams
6 Hold Me Now--Thompson Twins
7 You Might Think--The Cars
8 Footloose--Kenny Loggins
9 Oh Sherrie--Steve Perry
10 Head Over Heels--Go-Go's

Singles entering the chart were It's a Miracle by Culture Club (#45); Almost Paradise (Love Theme from Footloose) by Mike Reno and Ann Wilson (#70); No Way Out by Jefferson Starship (#81); Obscene Phone Caller by Rockwell (#83); The Ghost in You by Psychedelic Furs (#88); Little Lady by Duke Jupiter (#89); and Hurt by Re-Flex (#90). Almost Paradise (Love Theme from Footloose) was from the movie Footloose (1984).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)--Phil Collins (4th week at #1)
2 To All the Girls I've Loved Before--Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson
3 Hello--Lionel Richie
4 Hold Me Now--Thompson Twins
5 Footloose--Kenny Loggins
6 They Don't Know--Tracey Ullman
7 Girls Just Want to Have Fun--Cyndi Lauper
8 You Might Think--The Cars
9 Rockit--Herbie Hancock
10 Miss Me Blind--Culture Club

Singles entering the chart were Let's Hear it for the Boy by Deniece Williams (#42); The Heart of Rock and Roll by Huey Lewis and the News (#45); and A Fine Fine Day by Tony Carey (#49).

Education
The government of Ontario began to extend provincial funding to Roman Catholic high schools.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Edmonton 1 @ New York Islanders 6 (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Looking for Freedom--David Hasselhoff (7th week at #1)

At the movies
Palais Royale, starring Kim Cattrall, Matt Craven, and Dean Stockwell, went into general release. It had first been shown at the Festival of Festivals in Toronto on September 10, 1988.

Scandal
Ben Johnson, who, while representing Canada at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, had been stripped of his gold medal and world record in the men's 100-metre run after testing positive for a banned substance, admitted to the Dubin Inquiry that he had used anabolic steroids to enhance his performance.

Disasters
A train derailment in San Bernardino, California killed four people. 13 days later, an underground gasoline pipeline, which had been damaged during cleanup operations from the derailment, exploded and killed two more people.

Baseball
Rick Reuschel allowed 6 hits and 1 earned run in 8 2/3 innings, improving his 1989 record to 6-2 and picked up his 200th career major league win, as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Montreal Expos 2-1 before 15,851 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The Expos scored a run in the bottom of the 9th, but with Goose Gossage on the mound in relief of Mr. Reuschel, Otis Nixon was caught attempting to steal second base for the final out of the game. Pascual Perez allowed 8 hits and 1 earned run in 8 innings in taking the loss, dropping to 0-5 for the season.

An error by relief pitcher Roger McDowell led to 2 unearned runs in the top of the 12th inning to break a 2-2 tie as the San Diego Padres defeated the New York Mets 4-3 before 32,530 fans at Shea Stadium in New York. The Mets scored an unearned run in the bottom of the 12th and had a runner on first base with 2 out, but Mookie Wilson grounded out to end the game.

Pinch hitter Billy Beane doubled with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning and Dave Henderson followed with a home run to give the Oakland Athletics a 5-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers before 30,743 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Inside Your Dreams--U96

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Riverdance--Bill Whelan (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Erik Erikson, 91. German-born U.S. psychologist. Professor Erikson was a developmental psychologist who believed that people develop through eight stages of life, and was one of the few developmental psychologists whose theories covered a person's life span instead of focusing on childhood. He was famous for coining the phrase "identity crisis."

Si Johnson, 87. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Johnson played with the Cincinnati Reds (1928-1936); St. Louis Cardinals (1936-1938); Philadelphia Phillies (1940-1943, 1946); and Boston Braves (1946-1947), compiling a record of 101-165 with an earned run average of 4.09 in 492 games. He played most of his career with teams that provided him with poor batting support, and twice led the National League in losses. Mr. Johnson was 81-55 in 187 games in 5 seasons in the minor leagues, and was 22-12 with the Rochester Red Wings of the International League in 1939. He was the Braves' pitching coach and batting practice pitcher when they won the National League pennant in 1948.

John Smith, 55. U.K. politician. Mr. Smith was leader of the Labour Party from 1992 until his death from a heart attack. At the time of Mr. Smith's death, Labour was expected to unseat the governing Conservative Party in the next British election, which would have enabled Mr. Smith to become Prime Minister. He was succeeded as Labour Party leader by deputy leader Margaret Beckett, who served on an interim basis until Tony Blair was elected leader two months later.

Easy Goer, 8. U.S. racehorse. Easy Goer won 14 of 20 races, and was the named the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt in 1988, but was best known for his rivalry with Sunday Silence in the 1989 Triple Crown. Easy Goer finished second behind Sunday Silence in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, and then defeated Sunday Silence by 8 lengths in the second-fastest Belmont Stakes in history. He was retired to stud after the 1990 season, and died of a sudden reaction to an unknown allergen.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
San Jose 2 @ Toronto 3 (OT) (Best-of-seven series tied 3-3)