June 4, 2014

975 years ago
1039

Died on this date
Conrad II, 49 (?). Holy Roman Emperor, 1027-1039. Conrad II, the son of a nobleman, was elected to succeed Henry II as Holy Roman Emperor when the latter died childless. Conrad II founded the Salian dynasty of emperors, building the Roman Catholic Church as a centre of imperial power, and presiding over an era of relative peace. He died of gout, and was succeeded by his son Henry III.

620 years ago
1394

Born on this date
Philippa. Queen of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, 1405-1430. Philippa, the daughter of King Henry IV of England, married Eric of Pomerania by proxy in 1405, thus acceding to her titles. She died on January 5, 1430 at the age of 35, after a period of declining health.

Died on this date Mary de Bohun, 24-26 (?). English royal family member. Mary, the daughter of a nobleman, married the future King Henry IV in 1380, and gave birth to the future King Henry V in 1386. She died giving birth to their daughter Philippa, five years before Henry IV acceded to the throne.

260 years ago
1754

Defense
British Colonel George Washington and his men continued construction of Fort Necessity in Pennsylvania.

170 years ago
1844

Politics and government
General Antonio López de Santa Anna returned to office as President of Mexico, succeeding Gen. Valentin Canalizo.

125 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Beno Gutenberg. German born U.S. seismologist. Dr. Gutenberg, who emigrated to the United States in 1930, was a colleague of Charles Richter and helped him develop the Richter scale for measuring the magnitude of earthquakes. Dr. Richter died on January 25, 1960 at the age of 70.

120 years ago
1894

Born on this date
La Bolduc. Canadian musician. La Bolduc, born Mary Rose-Anne Travers in Newport, Quebec, played various instruments, and was a singer-songwriter who became known as the "Queen of Canadian Folk Singers." She was mainly popular in Quebec in the 1930s, and was known for her upbeat comedic songs. La Bolduc died in Montreal on February 20, 1941 at the age of 46, after a long battle with cancer.

100 years ago
1914

Born on this date
Lloyd Marshall. U.S. boxer. Mr. Marshall was a middleweight and light heavyweight who compiled a record of 70-25-4 in a professional career from 1936-1951. His peak years were during World War II, when world titles were frozen, and he never fought for an official title. Mr. Marshall fought future world champions such as Jake LaMotta, Joey Maxim, Archie Moore, and Ezzard Charles, winning a 10-round unanimous decision over Mr. LaMotta in 1944. He was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2010. Mr. Marshall died on August 4, 1997 at the age of 83.

Journalism
A jury in Edmonton took 45 minutes to find The Edmonton Journal not guilty of libel in a suit brought by Mayor William McNamara. Mr. McNamara had brought suit over an article on November 28, 1913 which stated that he was to be summoned into court to face two charges: passing a stationary streetcar, and obstructing traffic. It was further said that after the number of his car had been taken, Mr. McNamara had entered into conversation with police officer Clarke and had abused the officer. J.D. Hyndman and Mr. Milner represented the defendant, Canadian Newspapers.

75 years ago
1939

Died on this date
Tommy Ladnier, 39. U.S. musician. Mr. Ladnier was a jazz trumpeter in the 1920s and '30s who performed with such artists as Lovie Austin, King Oliver, Fletcher Henderson, and Noble Sissle. He died of a heart attack, a week after his 39th birthday.

World events
The MS St. Louis, a ship carrying 963 Jewish refugees, was denied permission to land in Florida after already being turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, more than 200 of its passengers later died in Nazi concentration camps.

70 years ago
1944

War
The U.S. Fifth Army entered Rome, leading to the liberation of the city during World War II. Resistance in Rome ended by 9:45 P.M.; Germany announced that Rome had been abandoned because German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler did not want to see it destroyed. Allied Bomber Command started operations against railheads and coastal batteries as a prelude to the D-Day invasion of Normandy. A hunter-killer group of the United States Navy captured the German submarine U-505; the first time a U.S. Navy vessel had captured an enemy vessel at sea since the 19th century.

World events
A state of siege was declared in Honduras "to preserve public peace," and the government of President Tiburcio Carías Andino banned all public meetings and demonstrations.

Politics and government
The American Socialist Party convention in Reading, Pennsylvania nominated Norman Thomas as its candidate for President of the United States in the November 1944 election, with former Pennsylvania Representative Darlington Hoopes as his vice presidential running mate. It was the fifth such nomination for Mr. Thomas.

Society
The Atlanta Georgian reported that the Ku Klux Klan had disbanded and that Imperial Wizard James Colescott had left Atlanta.

Football
AAFC
The All-America Football Conference was founded by Chicago Tribune sports editor Arch Ward.

60 years ago
1954

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Secret Love--Doris Day (6th week at #1)

Diplomacy
French and Vietnamese officials signed treaties in Paris according independence to Vietnam.

50 years ago
1964

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Love Me Do--The Beatles

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): You're My World (Il Mio Mondo)--Cilla Black (2nd week at #1)

Baseball
Sandy Koufax pitched his third no-hitter in as many seasons as the Los Angeles Dodgers blanked the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Pot pour rire Mr le Président--Patrick Green & Olivier Lejeune

Baseball
One of the worst promotions in baseball history took place at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, when Ten-Cent Beer Night, which attracted more than 25,000 fans, resulted in thousands of drunken yahoos running onto the field, and the Indians forfeiting the game to the visiting Texas Rangers, just after the home team had tied the game 5-5 with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning (see also here).

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Hello--Lionel Richie

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Olvídame y Pega La Vuelta--Pimpinela

Music
The album Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen was released on Columbia Records.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): If You Don't Know Me by Now--Simply Red

#1 single in Switzerland: The Look--Roxette (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Dik Browne, 71. U.S. cartoonist. Mr. Browne drew, and Mort Walker wrote, the comic strip Hi and Lois (1954-1988), and wrote and drew the comic strip Hägar the Horrible (1973-1988). Both strips continued after Mr. Browne's retirement in 1988. Mr. Browne won several awards, and died of cancer.

Space
A Titan 4, launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida became the largest unmanned United States rocket ever to go into space. Including the payload, the rocket was 204 feet long. The rocket's payload was not announced, but some experts said it was a satellite designed to warn of nuclear attack. The rocket was the first of a fleet of Titan 4's designed to lift military payloads.

Protest
Several hundred people were killed in clashes between Chinese army troops and pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. The Chinese Army's crushing of student protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing concluded with approximately 5,000 dead, 10,000 injured, and hundreds of students and workers arrested. The massacre was one of the first world events to demonstrate the usefulness of fax machines, as students were able to use the technology to send reports around the world of the Chinese government's actions. More recent accounts offer a different perspective as to what really happened.

Politics and government
The round of Poland's first free elections in more than 40 years indicated humiliating rejection of the ruling Communists. The elections concluded with runoffs on June 18.

Shiite leaders chose President Ali Khameini to succeed Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as Supreme Leader of Iran. U.S. President George Bush said that he hoped Iran would cease being a "terrorist state" and assume a "responsible role in the world community."

Disasters
A natural gas explosion near Ufa, Russia, killed 575 people as two trains passing each other threw sparks near a leaky pipeline.

Sri Lankan officials said that floods and landslides caused by heavy rains had killed 171 people in central Sri Lanka.

Baseball
The Toronto Blue Jays, trailing the Boston Red Sox 10-0 after 6 innings, rallied to win 13-11 in 12 innings for their 12th consecutive victory at Fenway Park in Boston, before 33,760 fans. Boston pinch hitter Marty Barrett fouled off 13 or 14 pitches in one plate appearance, then grounded out, and seriously injured his knee when he landed awkwardly on first base. Xavier Hernandez, the second of five Toronto pitchers, allowed 8 hits and 5 runs--2 earned--with 3 bases on balls and 2 strikeouts in his first major league game.

The New York Yankees scored 6 runs in the 3rd inning and 4 in the 4th to take a 10-0 lead, and held on to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 12-9 before 52,179 fans at County Stadium in Milwaukee.

Winning pitcher Mike Scott drove in Milt Ramirez with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 13th inning to give the Houston Astros a 7-6 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers before 30,311 fans at the Astrodome. The teams had played a 7-hour 14-minute 22-inning game the night before. In this game, Mike Scioscia's grand slam was the big blow of a 5-run inning for Los Angeles in the top of the 1st. The scored a run in the 3rd to take a 6-0 lead, but Louie Meadows hit a grand slam as part of a 5-run 5th inning for Houston. The Astros tied the game when Craig Biggio hit a solo home run with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): The Most Beautiful Girl in the World--The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Love Symbol) (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Change--Molella

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Hooked on a Feeling--Tony Wilson (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): The Most Beautiful Girl in the World--The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Love Symbol) (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT): I Like to Move It--Reel 2 Real featuring the Mad Stuntman

#1 single in France (SNEP): Streets of Philadelphia--Bruce Springsteen

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): The Most Beautiful Girl in the World--The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Love Symbol)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Love is All Around--Wet Wet Wet

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 I Swear--All-4-One (3rd week at #1)
2 I'll Remember--Madonna
3 The Sign--Ace of Base
4 Return to Innocence--Enigma
5 The Most Beautiful Girl in the World--The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Love Symbol)
6 Baby I Love Your Way--Big Mountain
7 Don't Turn Around--Ace of Base
8 Regulate--Warren G & Nate Dogg
9 You Mean the World to Me--Toni Braxton
10 Back & Forth--Aaliyah

Singles entering the chart were Funkdafied by Da Brat (#65); Fantastic Voyage by Coolio (#75); Fall Down by Toad the Wet Sprocket (#87); Selling the Drama by Live (#90); The Place Where You Belong by Shai (#92); I'll Remember You by Atlantic Starr (#94); and I Believe by the Sounds of Blackness (#99). The Place Where You Belong was from the movie Beverly Hills Cop III (1994).

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I Swear--All-4-One (2nd week at #1)
2 I'll Remember--Madonna
3 The Most Beautiful Girl in the World--The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Love Symbol)
4 You Mean the World to Me--Toni Braxton
5 I'm Ready--Tevin Campbell
6 Baby, I Love Your Way--Big Mountain
7 The Sign--Ace of Base
8 Return to Innocence--Enigma
9 If You Go--Jon Secada
10 Don't Turn Around--Ace of Base

Singles entering the chart were Take it Back by Pink Floyd (#89); When Can I See You by Babyface (#85); I Need Your Love by Boston (#87); and Prayer for the Dying by Seal (#89).

Died on this date
Peter Thorneycroft, 84. U.K. politician. Mr. Thorneycroft, a Conservative, represented Stafford (1938-1945) and Monmouth (1945-1966) in the House of Commons and held various cabinet posts, including Chancellor of the Exchequer (1957-1958) and Minister of/Secretary of State for Defence (1962-1964). He was elevated to the House of Lords in 1967 as Baron Thorneycroft, and was Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1975-1981.

Derek Leckenby, 51. U.K. musician. Mr. Leckenby was the lead guitarist with the rock group Herman's Hermits in the 1960s and '70s. He died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, three weeks after his 51st birthday.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
New York Rangers 5 @ Vancouver 1 (New York led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Glenn Anderson's powerplay goal was the winner as the Rangers scored the game's last 5 goals at Pacific Coliseum.