May 23, 2014

Married on this date
Happy Anniversary, Polly and Maurice Pratt!

220 years ago
1794

Born on this date
Ignaz Moscheles. Bohemian musician and composer. Mr. Moscheles was a piano virtuoso who spent much of his life in Leipzig. He wrote numerous piano and orchestral works, but was eventually eclipsed in influence by his pupil Felix Mendelssohn, whose work he championed. Mr. Moscheles remained active until his death on March 10, 1870 at the age of 75.

190 years ago
1824

Born on this date
Ambrose Burnside. U.S. military officer and politician. Major General Burnside joined the U.S. Army in 1847, and served with the Union Army in the American Civil War, conducting successful campaigns in North Carolina and East Tennessee, as well as countering the raids of Confederate General John Hunt Morgan, but suffering disastrous defeats in the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of the Crater. He was a member of the Democratic Party from 1858-1865, but switched his allegiance to the Republican Party in 1866, serving as Governor of Rhode Island (1866-1869) and representing Rhode Island in the U.S. Senate from 1875 until his sudden death from "neuralgia of the heart" (Angina pectoris) on September 13, 1881 at the age of 57. Maj. Gen. Burnside's distinctive facial hairstyle was originally referred to as "burnsides," and later as "sideburns."

170 years ago
1844

Born on this date
`Abdu'l-Bahá. Head of the Baháʼí Faith, 1892-1921. `Abdu'l-Bahá, born ʻAbbás, was the son of Baháʼí Faith founder Baháʼu'lláh, and succeeded his father as head of the faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá spent many years as a political prisoner of the Ottoman Empire, but was freed as a result of the Young Turk Revolution in 1908. He then made several trips to the West to spread the Baháʼí Faith before World War I. `Abdu'l-Bahá was largely confined to Haifa during the war, and was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his help in averting famine following the war. `Abdu'l-Bahá is regarded as the last of three central figures of the religion; his talks and writings, including Tablets of the Divine Plan, are regarded as a source of Baháʼí sacred literature. He died on November 28, 1921 at the age of 77.

Religion
A merchant of Shiraz, known as the Báb, announced that he was a Prophet, and founded a religious movement that would later be brutally crushed by the Persian government. The Báb is considered to be a forerunner of the Bahá'í Faith, and Bahá'ís celebrate the day as a holy day.

100 years ago
1914

Born on this date
Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth. U.K. economist. Miss Ward was a lifelong Roman Catholic whose religious views influenced her economic views. She advised major Western leaders, urging them to share their countries' prosperity with backward countries. Miss Ward was an early advocate of sustainable development, and has been credited by some with coining the term "spaceship Earth." She was married to Sir Robert Jackson, an Australian administrator of the United Nations; they separated in the early 1970s, but she used his surname when she was given a life peerage in 1976. Baroness Jackson died on May 31, 1981, eight days after her 67th birthday.

80 years ago
1934

Died on this date
Clyde Barrow, 25; Bonnie Parker, 23. U.S. criminals. Bonnie and Clyde, serial bank robbers, were ambushed and gunned down by police on a rural road in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

Labour
The strike by the American Federation of Labor against the Electric Auto-Lite company in Toledo, Ohio culminated in the beginning of the "Battle of Toledo", a five-day melée between 1,300 troops of the Ohio National Guard and 6,000 picketers.

75 years ago
1939

Disasters
The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sank off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect were rescued the following day.

70 years ago
1944

War
The First Canadian Corps started breaking through the Hitler Line across Liri Valley, near Monte Cassino, Italy; British and Canadians occupied Pontecorvo. U.K. and U.S. troops on the Anzio beachhead began a drive on all sides of the perimeter, gaining four miles and extending the length of the beachhead to 24 miles.

Politics and government
Final returns of the Icelandic referendum favoured the creation of a republic on June 17, when the country would sever ties held with Denmark since 1381.

Delegates to the Texas Democratic convention split over instructing delegates to the national convention on the nomination of Franklin D. Roosevelt for a fourth term as President of the United States, and his supporters bolted.

Religion
The 1944 Churchmen Award for "promotion of good will and better understanding of all people" was awarded to U.S. financier Bernard Baruch.

Sport
The University of Chicago notified the Big Ten that it was withdrawing from all athletic competition.

50 years ago
1964

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Can't Buy Me Love/You Can't Do That--The Beatles (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France: La Plus Belle Pour Aller Danser--Sylvie Vartan (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): E' l'uomo per me--Mina (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Oh My Darling Caroline--Ronny (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Juliet--The Four Pennies (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): My Guy--Mary Wells (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Love Me Do--The Beatles
2 My Guy--Mary Wells
3 Hello, Dolly!--Louis Armstrong
4 Do You Want to Know a Secret--The Beatles
5 Chapel of Love--The Dixie Cups
6 Love Me with All Your Heart (Cuando Calienta El Sol)--The Ray Charles Singers
7 Bits and Pieces--The Dave Clark Five
8 A World Without Love--Peter and Gordon
--[Bobby Rydell]
9 (Just Like) Romeo and Juliet--The Reflections
10 It's Over--Roy Orbison

Singles entering the chart were Tell Me Why by Bobby Vinton (#65); I'll Touch a Star by Terry Stafford (#68); I Get Around (#69)/Don't Worry Baby (#75) by the Beach Boys; I Don't Wanna Be a Loser by Lesley Gore (#76); Everybody Knows by Steve Lawrence (#77); Yesterday's Gone by the Overlanders (#78, charting with the version by Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde); The French Song (Quand Le Soleil Dit Bonjour Aux Montagnes) by Lucille Starr (#80); The Girl's Alright with Me by the Temptations (#82); Party Girl by Bernadette Carroll (#83); The World I Used to Know by Jimmie Rodgers (#87); Beans in My Ears by the Serendipity Singers (#89); Rules of Love by the Orlons (#93); Kick That Little Foot Sally Ann by Round Robin (#94); One Girl by Garnet Mimms (#98); Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying by Gerry and the Pacemakers (#99); and Something You Got by Alvin Robinson (#100).

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Any Dream Will Do--Joe Cuddy (3rd week at #1)

At the movies
Barbara, directed by Julián Soler, and starring Hilda Aguirre and Edmundo Arias, opened in theatres in Mexico.



Law
New Brunswick became the first Canadian province with a common law background to draft statutes in both English and French.

30 years ago
1984

Disasters
9 people were killed immediately and another 7 died later from injuries in an explosion at a water treatment plant in Abbeystead, near Lancaster, England.

25 years ago
1989

Died on this date
Karl Koch, 23. West German computer hacker. Mr. Koch was one of several hackers involved in selling hacked information from United States military computers to the Soviet secret police force KGB. He confessed to authorities under an amnesty from prosecution, but was found burned to death outside his car. Mr. Koch's death was ruled a suicide, but many believe he was murdered.

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

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Without You--Mariah Carey (2nd week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 I'll Remember--Madonna (2nd week at #1)
2 Love Sneakin' Up on You--Bonnie Raitt
3 Baby, I Love Your Way--Big Mountain
4 Misled--Celine Dion
5 The Most Beautiful Girl in the World--The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Love Symbol)
6 Sleeping in My Car--Roxette
7 I'll Take You There--General Public
8 Keep Talking--Pink Floyd
9 You Mean the World to Me--Toni Braxton
10 Round Here--Counting Crows

Singles entering the chart were Crazy by Aerosmith (#73); Wild Night by John Mellencamp with Me’shell Ndegeocello (#78); Anytime You Need a Friend by Mariah Carey (#82); Even if My Heart Would Break by Kenny G and Aaron Neville (#84); (Meet) The Flintstones by the B.C.-52's (#88); Praying for Rain by Junkhouse (#92); Can't Turn Back the Years by Phil Collins (#93); God by Tori Amos (#94); and Throwin' it All Away by RealWorld (#97).

Died on this date
Al Baldwin, 71. U.S. football player. Mr. Baldwin was an offensive end and defensive back with the Buffalo Bills (1947-1949); Green Bay Packers (1950); Ottawa Rough Riders (1951-1952); and Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1953). His best season was 1948, when he caught 54 passes for 916 yards and 8 touchdowns, and scored the Bills' only touchdown in their 40-7 loss to the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference championship game. Mr. Baldwin scored the AAFC's last touchdown, catching a 23-yard pass from Frankie Albert for the winning score for the All-Stars as they beat the Browns 12-7 in the 1949 AAFC All-Star Game. Mr. Baldwin helped the Rough Riders win the 1951 Grey Cup, and caught a pass from Tom O'Malley for the final Ottawa touchdown in a 21-14 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Ray Candy, 42. U.S. wrestler. Mr. Candy, born Ray Canty, worked under various names with various promotions in the United States, Japan, and Puerto Rico from 1973-1990. He was working with a trucking firm in Decatur, Georgia when he died of a heart attack.