April 10, 2015

375 years ago
1640

Died on this date
Agostino Agazzari, 61. Italian composer and theorist. Mr. Agazzari was an organist who was known for his sacred music and madrigals, as well as the drama Eumelio (1606). He wrote Del sonare sopra il basso (1607), one of the earliest and most important works on basso continuo.

225 years ago
1790

Americana
The U.S. patent system was formed.

200 years ago
1815

Disasters
The Mount Tambora volcano in Indonesia began the largest volcanic eruption ever recorded, lasting until July 15. The eruption ultimately killed 71,000 people and affected Earth's climate for the next two years.

150 years ago
1865

Born on this date
Jack Miner. U.S.-born Canadian conservationist. Mr. Miner, a native of Westlake, Ohio, moved to Ontario with his family at the age of 13. He was a hunter who became a naturalist. He helped to save the Canada Goose, banding over 40,000, as well as 50,000 wild ducks in order to study their migratory habits. He founded the Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary at Kingsville, Ontario, on Lake Erie, which was declared an official Crown reserve n 1917. Mr. Miner died in Kingsville on November 3, 1944 at the age of 79.

War
A day after his surrender to Union forces to end fighting in the U.S. Civil War, Confederate General Robert E. Lee addressed his troops for the last time.

130 years ago
1885

Baseball
In an exhibition game between the two St. Louis teams, Dave Foutz threw a no-hitter as the Browns of the American Association defeated the Maroons of the National League 7-0.

100 years ago
1915

Born on this date
Harry Morgan. U.S. actor and director. Mr. Morgan, born Harry Bratsberg, had a long career as a character actor in movies, radio, and television, but was best known for portraying Officer Bill Gannon in the television series Dragnet (1967-1970) and Colonel Sherman Potter in the television series M*A*S*H (1975-1983) and AfterMASH (1983-1984). He died on December 7, 2011 at the age of 96.

90 years ago
1925

Literature
The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was first published in New York City by Charles Scribner's Sons.

75 years ago
1940

Died on this date
Friedrich Bonte, 43. German military officer. Kapitän zur See Bonte commanded the naval flotilla transporting troops to Narvik during Operation Weserübung, the German invasion of Norway. He was aboard the flagship destroyer Wilhelm Heidkamp when it was hit by a torpedo from a British destroyer, and he was killed with most of the crew.

War
German advances in Norway were met with continued resistance. British naval forces reportedly won a major victory off Narvik, sinking five German destroyers; two British destroyers were lost. Luftwaffe bombers sank a British destroyer off Bergen, while British bombers sank a German cruiser in the city's harbour. The U.K. and France warned Belgium that a German invasion may be imminent, and urged immediate preventive action.

Diplomacy
Belgium declared her continued neutrality in European affairs.

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt met with Danish Foreign Minister Henrik de Kauffmann to discuss the fate of Greenland.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt froze the assets of the Danish and Norwegian governments in the United States. The two countries had been invaded by German forces the previous day.

Chinese leader Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek appointed a 10-man commission to propose solutions to rapid inflation in China.

Agriculture
The United States Agriculture Department predicted a winter wheat crop of 426 million bushels, the smallest since 1933.

Politics and government
Oren Root, Jr. announced a drive to gain nationwide popular support for New York lawyer Wendell Willkie to be the Republican Party's candidate for President of the United States in the November 1940 election.

70 years ago
1945

Theatre
The New York Drama Critics' Circle selected The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams as the Best American Play of the 1944-1945 season.

War
U.S. forces in Germany captured Hanover, while British troops reached the outskirts of Bremen. U.S. troops captured former German Chancellor and former Nazi Vice Chancellor Franz von Papen. Soviet forces seized all of Vienna west and south of the Danube River except for the island between the river and the Danube Canal. U.S. Marines cleared most of Motubu Peninsula on the northern half of Okinawa, capturing the naval base at Unten Harbor.

Diplomacy
U.S. delegates to the World Security Conference agreed to decide on questions of policy by majority rule; support the Security Council voting procedure; and support the U.S.S.R.'s claim to three votes.

Law
International jurists agreed on The Hague as the seat of the new World Court.

Academia
Professor Albert Einstein retired from the faculty of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University and received the title of Professor Emeritus.

Economics and finance
The United States Senate voted to extend the Lend-Lease Act for another year after June 30, 1945.

Agriculture
The United States Agriculture Department forecast a record winter wheat crop of about 862,515,000 bushels.

60 years ago
1955

Died on this date
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, 73. French clergyman and philosopher. Father Teilhard was a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest who trained as a paleontologist and geologist and believed in evolution, rejecting the biblical account of creation. Fr. Teilhard was involved in the discovery of Peking Man in the 1920s and '30s, and has been accused of involvement in the Piltdown Man hoax of 1912. He conceived what he called the Omega Point, a point where man would merge into godhood; such views have earned Fr. Teilhard the nickname "Father of the New Age."

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Montreal 1 @ Detroit 5 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 3-2)

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Fort Wayne 91 @ Syracuse 92 (Syracuse won best-of-seven series 4-3)

George King made a free throw with 12 seconds remaining to give the Nationals the lead, and then stole the ball from Fort Wayne's Andy Phillip with 3 seconds remaining to clinch the Nationals' only NBA championship at Onondaga County War Memorial. The Pistons led 41-24 early in the 2nd quarter before allowing the Nationals to rally. Mr. Phillip was reportedly believed by teammate George Yardley to have thrown the game. However, Syracuse's Paul Seymour admitted to bumping Mr. Phillip to force the turnover, but no foul was called. Mr. Yardley himself turned the ball over with a palming violation with 18 seconds remaining in regulation time.

50 years ago
1965

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Rock and Roll Music/Honey Don't--The Beatles (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France: La Nuit--Salvatore Adamo

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Un anno d'amore--Mina (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Downtown--Petula Clark (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Letkiss--Gudrun Jankis; Stig Rauno; Dutch College Swing Band (8th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): For Your Love--The Yardbirds; The Minute You're Gone--Cliff Richard

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): I'm Telling You Now--Freddie and the Dreamers

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I'm Telling You Now--Freddie and the Dreamers
2 Can't You Hear My Heartbeat--Herman's Hermits
3 Stop! In the Name of Love--The Supremes
4 Shotgun--Jr. Walker and the All Stars
5 Game of Love--Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders
6 King of the Road--Roger Miller
7 The Birds and the Bees--Jewel Akens
8 I Know a Place--Petula Clark
9 Nowhere to Run--Martha & the Vandellas
10 Goldfinger--Shirley Bassey
--[John Barry and his Orchestra]

Singles entering the chart were Just Once in My Life by the Righteous Brothers (#60); It's Growing by the Temptations (#64); She's About a Mover by the Sir Douglas Quintet (#66); Goodbye My Lover Goodbye by the Searchers (#70); It's Got the Whole World Shakin' by Sam Cooke (#75); She's Coming Home by the Zombies (#76); Dream On Little Dreamer by Perry Como (#82); Nothing Can Stop Me by Gene Chandler (#83); See You at the "Go-Go" by Dobie Gray (#86); Out in the Streets by the Shangri-Las (#90); It's Gonna Be All Right by Gerry & the Pacemakers (#91); A Woman Can Change a Man by Joe Tex (#92); Dear Dad by Chuck Berry (#94); Venice Blue (Que C’est Triste Venise) by Bobby Darin (#95); The Minute You're Gone by Cliff Richard (#98); (The Bees Are For The Birds) The Birds are for the Bees by the Newbeats (#99); and The Barracuda by Alvin Cash and fhe Crawlers (#100).

On television tonight
Sherlock Holmes, starring Douglas Wilmer and Nigel Stock, on BBC 1
Tonight's episode: The Beryl Coronet

Died on this date
Linda Darnell, 41. U.S. actress. Miss Darnell, born Monetta Eloyse Darnall, achieved success in the 1940s in movies such as Fallen Angel (1945); Forever Amber (1947); Unfaithfully Yours (1948); A Letter to Three Wives (1949); and No Way Out (1950). Drinking and other personal problems contributed to a decline in her career, and she died the day after falling asleep on a couch while smoking, suffering serious burns to most of her body in the resulting fire.

Lloyd Casner, 36. U.S. auto racing driver. Mr. Casner competed several times in 24 Hours of Le Mans in France. He was killed when he crashed a new Maserati during testing for the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Transportation
A $1,000,000 air terminal opened at London, Ontario.

Disasters
The German freighter Transatlantic sank at Trois-Rivières Quebec after colliding with the Dutch ship Hermes; 3 sailors were killed.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Bye Bye Baby--Bay City Rollers (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Marjorie Main, 85. U.S. actress. Miss Main, born Mary Tomlinson, was best known for playing Ma Kettle in a series of 10 Ma and Pa Kettle movie comedies in the 1940s and '50s.

Walker Evans, 71. U.S. photographer. Mr. Evans was known for his work with the U.S. Farm Security Administration (FSA) during the Depression in the 1930s.

Fred Vant Hull, 54. Canadian-born U.S. football player. Mr. Vant Hull, a native of Winnipeg who moved to Minneapolis, played 8 games as a guard with the Green Bay Packers in 1942. He was stricken with polio in 1949 and was paralyzed in all four limbs from then on.

Politics and government
Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and provincial premiers concluded a two-day meeting in Ottawa, failing to agree on future domestic oil and natural gas prices.

Golf
Lee Elder, 40, became the first Negro to compete in the Masters after the Augusta National club changed its policies to allow all PGA Tour winners of the previous year to qualify. Mr. Elder had won the Monsanto Open in 1974; he shot 74 and 78 in the first two rounds of the Masters and missed the cut.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Preliminary Round
New York Rangers 8 @ New York Islanders 3 (Best-of-three series tied 1-1)
Los Angeles 2 @ Toronto 3 (OT) (Best-of-three series tied 1-1)
Boston 3 @ Chicago 4 (OT) (Best-of-three series tied 1-1)
Pittsburgh 5 @ St. Louis 3 (Pittsburgh won best-of-three series 2-0)

Bill Fairbairn scored on a powerplay and then scored shorthanded 51 seconds later as the Rangers scored 4 goals in the 1st period and routed the Islanders befroe 14,865 fans in the first playoff game ever played at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale.

Dave Dunn scored with 11:15 remaining in regulation time to tie the score, and Blaine Stoughton scored at 10:19 of the 1st overtime period to give the Maple Leafs their win over the Kings before 16,000 fans at Maple Leaf Gardens in the national Hockey Night in Canada telecast. Dave Keon assisted on both the tying and winning goals as the Maple Leafs picked up their first playoff win in three years. Mike Murphy scored both Los Angeles goals, his second and third of the series.

Ivan Boldirev opened the scoring 3:15 into the game and ended the scoring at 7:33 of overtime as the Black Hawks edged the Bruins before 16,666 fans at Chicago Stadium. Bobby Orr assisted on the first 2 Boston goals in the 2nd period, and scored his first goal of the series at 1:31 of the 3rd period to tie the score 3-3.

Colin Campbell scored shorthanded with 15:27 remaining in regulation time and Vic Hadfield scored with 3:48 remaining as the Penguins defeated the Blues before 16,017 fans at St. Louis Arena to become the first team ever to win a preliminary round series. Pittsburgh goalie Gary Inness made 39 saves.

WHA
Avco World Trophy
Quarter-Finals
Phoenix 2 @ Quebec 6 (Quebec led best-of-seven series 2-0)
Cleveland 5 @ Houston 8 (Houston led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Serge Bernier scored 2 goals and an assist and Marc Tardif added a goal and 4 assists as the Nordiques beat the Roadrunners before 10,546 fans at Le Colisee.

Mark Howe scored 3 goals and an assist as the Aeros defeated the Crusaders before 7,317 fans at Sam Houston Coliseum. Paul Shmyr scored 2 goals for Cleveland.

Basketball
NBA
Playoffs
First Round
Houston 96 @ New York 106 (Best-of-three series tied 1-1)
Seattle 106 @ Detroit 122 (Best-of-three series tied 1-1)

Conference Semi-Finals
Buffalo 113 @ Washington 102 (Buffalo led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Walt Frazier scored 26 points and Jim Barnett came off the bench to add 15 points at key times as the Knickerbockers defeated the Rockets before 19,694 fans at Madison Square Garden.

George Trapp scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Pistons defeated the SuperSonics before 10,490 fans at Cobo Arena. Dave Bing also scored 24 points for Detroit. Tom Burleson led Seattle with 22 points, while the Detroit defense held Seattle's Spencer Haywood to 10 points.

Bob McAdoo scored 35 points and Randy Smith and Gar Heard each added 24 as the Braves beat the Bullets before 17,140 fans at Capital Center in Landover, Maryland.

ABA
Playoffs
First Round
Kentucky 101 @ Memphis 80 (Kentucky led best-of-seven series 3-0)
San Antonio 103 @ Indiana 113 (OT) (Indiana led best-of-seven series 3-0)

Dan Issel scored 21 points and the Kentucky defense came within 1 point of a league record for fewest points allowed in a playoff game as the Colonels beat the Sounds before 5,414 fans at Mid-South Coliseum. Tom Owens of Memphis led all scorers with 33 points.

George McGinnis scored 42 points and added 24 rebounds and 9 assists as the Pacers outscored the Spurs 16-6 in overtime before 12,217 fans at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. George Gervin led San Antonio with 37 points, including a 20-foot jump shot field goal with 9 seconds remaining in regulation time to tie the score.

Baseball
George Foster hit 2 home runs as the Cincinnati Reds came back from a 5-0 deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-6 before 20,550 fans at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

Pinch hitter Tony Taylor doubled home Alan Bannister with the winning run in the top of the 11th inning as the Philadelphia Phillies edged the New York Mets 3-2 before 5,964 fans at Shea Stadium in New York.

The St. Louis Cardinals took advantage of errors by pitcher Dale Murray and third baseman Pete Mackanin to score 5 unearned runs in the 7th and 8th innings to defeat the Montreal Expos 7-2 before 11,086 fans at Bucsh Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Woodie Fryman, making his first appearance with Montreal, allowed 2 earned runs in 6 innings and left with the score tied 2-2.

Bobby Murcer, in his first game with the San Francisco Giants since being acquired in a trade with the New York Yankees for Bobby Bonds, doubled and scored the winning run as the Giants edged the San Diego Padres 2-0 in 11 innings before 19,823 fans at San Diego Stadium in the season opener for both teams.

Willie Stargell hit 2 home runs and Richie Hebner and Manny Sanguillen also homered as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 8-4 before 19,239 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago in the season opener for both teams.

Jim Palmer pitched a 3-hit shutout as the Baltimore Orioles routed the Detroit Tigers 10-0 in the season opener for both teams before 40,139 fans at Tiger Stadum. Ken Singleton, in his first game as an Oriole after being acquired in a trade with the Montreal Expos, walked to lead off the game. After a single by Tommy Davis, Lee May, playing his first game with Baltimore after being acquired in a trade with the Houston Astros, hit a 3-run home run off Detroit starting pitcher Joe Coleman. Baltimore left fielder Don Baylor had 4 singles and drove in 3 runs. Detroit first baseman Nate Colbert, playing his first game after being acquired in a trade with the San Diego Padres, had a single in 3 at bats.

Mike Norris pitched a 3-hit shutout in his first major league game as the defending World Series champion Oakland Athletics blanked the Chicago White Sox 9-0 before 4,730 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Oakland center fielder Billy North batted 3 for 3 with 2 runs, 2 runs batted in, and 2 stolen bases.

Jim Spencer hit a 3-run home run to help the Texas Rangers defeat the Minnesota Twins 5-4 before 5,066 fans at Arlington Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Rick Waits pitched a 7-hit complete game and Mike Cubbage had 3 hits, including a home run, as the Spokane Indians defeated the Sacramento Solons 7-2 before 8,729 fans at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento in the Pacific Coast League season opener for both teams.

Jim Todd pitched 8 shutout innings and Charlie Chant had a single and double, 2 runs, and a run batted in, as the Tucson Toros defeated the Albuquerque Dukes 4-2 before 3,135 fans in Tucson in the Pacific Coast League season opener for both teams.

The Salt Lake City Gulls scored 5 runs in the 4th inning to break a 2-2 tie as they beat the Phoenix Giants 12-4 before only 913 fans, the smallest home crowd in the Giants' 10-year history, on a cold night in Phoenix in the Pacific Coast League season opener for both clubs.

Randy Beach hit a triple, double, and single in his first Pacific Coast League game to help the Tacoma Twins defeat the Hawaii Islanders before 3,180 fans in Tacoma in the season opener for both clubs.

30 years ago
1985

Boxing
Mike Tyson (2-0) scored a technical knockout of Trent Singleton (1-4) just 58 seconds into their heavyweight bout at Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany, New York.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup playoffs
Division Semi-Finals (1st game in each best-of-five series)
Boston 5 Montreal 3
Winnipeg 5 Calgary 4 (OT)
Los Angeles 2 @ Edmonton 3 (OT)

25 years ago
1990

Abominations
The Canadian House of Commons voted 144-114 to approve the Goods and Services Tax (GST), effective January 1, 1991. Alberta MPs David Kilgour and Alex Kindy broke ranks with the Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and voted against the tax. The provincial legislature of British Columbia voted unanimously to oppose the new tax.

Diplomacy
Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney met U.S. President George Bush in Toronto for talks on acid rain and East-West relations.

Environment
The International Joint Commission said that Canada and the U.S.A. must stop dumping toxic substances into the Great Lakes, with disease and birth defects a serious threat.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Semi-Finals
Edmonton 3 @ Winnipeg 4 (2 OT) (Winnipeg led best-of-seven series 3-1)
Calgary 4 @ Los Angeles 12 (Los Angeles led best-of-seven series 3-1)
St. Louis 2 @ Toronto 4 (St. Louis led best-of-seven series 3-1)
Chicago 0 @ Minnesota 4 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)

The Kings were leading the Flames 7-0 when CBC in Calgary decided to cut away from the telecast. For some reason, many Calgary fans were upset by this, and phoned in their protests.

Baseball
U.S. President George Bush, a guest of Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, became the first U.S. President to throw out a first ball outside the United States, which he did at SkyDome in Toronto. The Blue Jays won their home opener 2-1 over the Texas Rangers before a crowd of 49,673, as Dave Stieb pitched 6 scoreless innings to win the pitchers' duel over Charlie Hough.

20 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: Baby Baby--Corona (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): You Belong to Me--JX

#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Self Esteem--The Offspring

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Conquest of Paradise--Vangelis (9th week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 I Know--Dionne Farris
2 Believe--Elton John
3 Strong Enough--Sheryl Crow
4 O Siem--Susan Aglukark
5 The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead--Crash Test Dummies
6 Murder Incorporated--Bruce Springsteen
7 You Lose You Gain--John Bottomley
8 No More "I Love You's"--Annie Lennox
9 Gel--Collective Soul
10 She's a River--Simple Minds

Singles entering the chart were Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman? by Bryan Adams (#72); Tell Me When by the Human League (#75); Down by the Water by PJ Harvey (#91); Mr. Personality by Gillette (#92); On and On by Crash Vegas (#94); Connection by Elastica (#95); Sick of Myself by Matthew Sweet (#96); Here and Now by Letters to Cleo (#97); and Come On by Barry White (#98).

Died on this date
Morarji Desai, 99. Prime Minister of India, 1977-1979. Mr. Desai was affiliated with several parties and held several positions before leading the Janata Party to victory and becoming India's first Prime Minister from a party other than the Congress Party.

Terrorism
The Palestinian National Authority announced that a member of Islamic Jihad had been sentenced to 15 years in prison for recruiting young men as suicide bombers.

Politics and government
U.S. Senator Bob Dole (Kansas) announced that he would seek the 1996 Republican Party nomination for President of the United States.

U.S. Representative Nathan Deal (Georgia) announced that he was switching parties from the Democrats to the Republicans.

10 years ago
2005

Died on this date
Iakovos, 93. Ottoman-born U.S. clergyman. Archbishop Iakovos, born Demetrios Koukouzis, was ordained a Greek Orthodox deacon in 1934, and was ordained a priest in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1940. He became primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America in 1959, supporting ecumenism and Negro civil rights. Archbishop Iakovos clashed with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I after he supported a move by 29 bishops towards the administrative unification of Eastern Orthodox churches in America, and resigned in 1996.

Al Lucas, 26. U.S. football player. Mr. Lucas was a defensive tackle with the Carolina Panthers in 2000-2001 before playing in the Arena Football League with the Tampa Bay Storm (2003) and Los Angeles Avenges (2004-2005). He was fatally injured in the 1st quarter of a home game at Staples Center against the New York Dragons when he tackled New York kickoff returner Corey Johnson, and Mr. Dillon's knee hit Mr. Lucas's helmet. Mr. Lucas was knocked unconscious, and attempts to revive him on the field were unsuccessful; he was taken to hospital, but was pronounced dead. Cause of death was ruled to be blunt force trauma and an upper spinal cord injury.