April 17, 2015

225 years ago
1790

Died on this date
Benjamin Franklin, 84. U.S. Founding Father. A signer of the Declaration of Independence, Mr. Franklin invented the lightning rod; bifocals; the Franklin stove; a carriage odometer; and the glass harmonica. He formed the first lending library in America and the first fire department in Pennsylvania, and was Postmaster General under the Continental Congress from 1775-1776. As a diplomat, he secured the alliance with France that helped to ensure the success of the American revolution. Mr. Franklin was said to have flown a kite in a thunderstorm in order to prove that lightning was electricity--and as the old joke says, thereby proved the existence of wind.

175 years ago
1840

Died on this date
Hannah Webster Foster, 80 or 81. U.S.-born writer. Mrs. Foster wrote journalism and non-fiction, but was best known for her novel The Coquette; or, The History of Eliza Wharton (1797),a fictionalized account of the true story of Elizabeth Whitman, who had died shortly after giving birth to a stillborn, illegitimate child at an inn in Danvers, Massachusetts in 1788. Mrs. Foster was married to Rev. John Foster; after his death in 1829, she moved to Montreal to be with her daughters.

160 years ago
1855

Canadiana
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island was incorporated as a city.

140 years ago
1875

Born on this date
Aleksander Tõnisson. Estonian military commander. Kindralmajor (Major General) Tõnisson was a commander of Estonian forces during Estonia's war of independence against the U.S.S.R. in 1940. He was arrested by Soviet authorities and eventually executed on June 30, 1941 at the age of 66.

125 years ago
1890

Born on this date
Art Acord. U.S. cowboy and actor. Mr. Acord won the World Steer Wrestling (Bulldogging) Championship at the Pendleton Round-Up in 1912 and 1916, and appeared as an actor and stuntman in more than 100 movies, mostly Westerns. His films included The Squaw Man (1914) and Cleopatra (1917). Heavy drinking led to a decline in Mr. Acord's career, and he committed suicide in Chihuahua, Mexico by taking poison on January 4, 1931 at the age of 40.

Baseball
The Players League--a major league intended to compete with the National League and American Association--was launched‚ with each club run by an 8-man board of 4 players and 4 backers. Gate receipts will be divided evenly between the home and visiting teams. The first $10‚000 profit was to go to the backers‚ the next $10‚000 was to be shared by all the players‚ and anything over that was to be divided between clubs and players.

120 years ago
1895

War
The Treaty of Shimonoseki between China and Japan was signed. This marked the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, and the defeated Qing Empire was forced to renounce its claims on Korea and to concede the southern portion of the Fengtien province, Taiwan, and the Pescadores Islands to Japan.

110 years ago
1905

Law
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled 5-4 in Lochner v. New York that the "right to free contract" was implicit in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

75 years ago
1940

War
From their newly acquired bases in Norway, German planes raided Scapa Flow.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull issued a strong U.S. reply to the Japanese warning of two days earlier about the Netherlands East Indies. Mr. Hull said that any intervention in the affairs of the NEI "would be prejudicial to the cause of stability, peace and security...in the entire Pacific area."

Politics and government
The Japanese embassy in Shanghai revealed a proposal designed to provide Japan with control of the International Settlement Council.

Journalism
Australian Governor General Lord Gowrie announced that Communist publications would be censored, and those opposing the war effort would be prosecuted.

Economics and finance
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission President William M. Martin said that the broad scope of government power hindered government-industry cooperation.

70 years ago
1945

War
Canadian troops cleared the Germans out of Apeldoorn, Netherlands. After capturing Halle, U.S. troops entered the outskirts of Leipzig. Brazilian forces liberated the Italian town of Montese from Nazi forces. The Allies reported that half of Tokyo's useful military and industrial targets had been wiped out.

Diplomacy
Indian activist Mohandas Gandhi said that the delegation named to represent India at the San Francisco conference to found the United Nations was "worse than no representation."

Scandal
A Los Angeles court ruled that movie actor and director Charlie Chaplin was the father of 18-month-old Carol Ann, the daughter of aspiring actress Joan Berry. Mr. Chaplin had been acquitted in 1944 of violating the Mann Act when he had been charged with transporting the underage Miss Berry across a state line for immoral purposes.

Baseball
The Chicago Cubs scored a run in the bottom of the 9th inning to edge the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago in the season opener for both teams. Paul Derringer pitched a 7-hit complete game for the win. Red Schoendienst made his major leage debut with St. Louis, tripling and scoring a run, and making an error in left field.

The Cincinnati Reds, trailing the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0, scored 6 runs in the bottom of the 5th inning, but blew the lead and had to score a run in the bottom of the 11th to edge the Pirates 7-6 before 30,126 fans at Crosley Field in Cincinnati in the season opener for both teams. Cincinnati center fielder Dain Clay hit a grand slam in the 5th inning.

Russ Derry hit a solo home run in the 3rd inning and a grand slam in the 7th as the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 8-4 before 13,923 fans at Yankee Stadium in the season opener for both teams.

Joe Kuhel batted 4 for 5 with 4 runs and 5 runs batted in, while George Binks batted 4 for 5 with a run and 2 RBIs as the Washington Nationals defeated the Philadelphia Athletics 14-8 before 7,846 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia in the season opener for both teams.

Milt Byrnes batted 3 for 4 with 2 doubles, a run, and 2 runs batted in as the defending American League champion St. Louis Browns beat the Detroit Tigers 7-1 before 4,167 fans at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis in the season opener for both teams. Sig Jakucki pitched a 6-hit complete game to win the pitchers' duel over Hal Newhouser, who allowed 8 hits and 5 runs--4 earned--in 6 innings. Pete Gray, who had lost his right arm above the elbow in a childhood accident, made his major league debut, batting second for the Browns and playing left field. He singled once in 4 at bats and scored a run, while making no putouts or assists in the field. The game was played in 1 hour and 45 minutes.

50 years ago
1965

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Rock and Roll Music/Honey Don't--The Beatles (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France: La Nuit--Salvatore Adamo (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Un anno d'amore--Mina (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Downtown--Petula Clark (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Rock and Roll Music/No Reply--The Beatles

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Ticket to Ride--The Beatles

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): I'm Telling You Now--Freddie and the Dreamers (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I'm Telling You Now--Freddie and the Dreamers (2nd week at #1)
2 Game of Love--Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders
3 Stop! In the Name of Love--The Supremes
4 Shotgun--Jr. Walker and the All Stars
5 I Know a Place--Petula Clark
6 Can't You Hear My Heartbeat--Herman's Hermits
7 Tired of Waiting for You--The Kinks
8 The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap)--Shirley Ellis
9 King of the Road--Roger Miller
10 Go Now!--The Moody Blues

Singles entering the chart were Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter by Herman's Hermits (#31); True Love Ways by Peter and Gordon (#72); Ticket to Ride by the Beatles (#76); Tommy by Reparata and the Delrons (#79); Shakin' All Over by the Guess Who (#81); What Do You Want with Me by Chad & Jeremy (#82); Sad Tomorrows by Trini Lopez (#84); Just a Little by the Beau Brummels (#86); I Gotta Woman (Part 1) by Ray Charles (#89); Apples and Bananas by Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra (#93); Try to Remember by Roger Williams (#97); Baby, Please Don't Go by Them (#98); Boo-Ga-Loo by Tom and Jerrio (#99); and Al's Place by Al Hirt (#100).

On television tonight
Sherlock Holmes, starring Douglas Wilmer and Nigel Stock, on BBC 1
Tonight's episode: The Bruce-Partington Plans

Disasters
1 person was killed and 47 injured when a Canadian Pacific Railway passenger train derailed near Terrace Bay, Ontario.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Chicago 2 @ Montreal 3 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Yvan Cournoyer scored the winning goal for the Canadiens in their win over the Black Hawks at the Montreal Forum.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Bye Bye Baby--Bay City Rollers (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, 86. 2nd President of India, 1962-1967. Vice President ot India, 1952-1962. Professor Radhakrishnan, a Brahmin, was one of India's most eminent Hindu philosophers before becoming a diplomat and then a politician, independent of any political party.

War
Khmer Rouge rebel troops captured the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, ending the country's five-year civil war.

Scandal
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary John Connally was acquitted of bribery charges.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Quarter-Finals
Philadelphia 2 @ Toronto 0 (Philadelphia led best-of-seven series 3-0)
Pittsburgh 6 @ New York Islanders 4 (Pittsburgh led best-of-seven series 3-0)
Buffalo 4 @ Chicago 5 (OT) (Buffalo led best-of-seven series 2-1)
Montreal 4 @ Vancouver 1 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Rick MacLeish passed to Gary Dornhoefer for the winning goal 3:08 into the 1st period and scored himself in the 2nd period, while Bernie Parent made 31 saves as the Flyers shut out the Maple Leafs before 16,485 fans at Maple Leaf Gardens. The Maple Leafs had 9 powerplays, including a 2-man advantage in the 1st period, but were unable to score.

J. Bob Kelly scored 2 goals as the Penguins built a 3-0 lead in the 2nd eriod and held on to defeat the Islanders before 14,865 fans at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale. Each team scored 3 times in the 3rd period, and the teams combined for 4 goals in the final 2:19 of regulation time. With Pittsburgh leading 4-2, Bert Marshall scored for New York at 17:41 to make it 4-3. Syl Apps scored at 18:15 to make it 5-3, but Jude Drouin scored his second goal of the period with 52 seconds remaining to narrow the gap to 5-4. Lowell MacDonald scored the final goal into an empty net with 12 seconds left.

Stan Mikita scored at 2:31 of the 1st overtime period to give the Black Hawks their win over the Sabres before 16,666 fans at Chicago Stadium. Chicago led 3-2 after the 1st period and 4-3 after the 2nd period, but Jim Schoenfeld scored to tie the game with 11:37 remaining in regulation time. The win proved to be the last for the Black Hawks in Stanley Cup competition until 1980.

Jim Roberts, Bob Gainey, and Jacques Lemaire scored in the 2nd period as the Canadiens overcame a 1-0 1st-period deficit to defeat the Canucks before 15,570 fans in the first home playoff game in the Canucks' five-year history. John Gould scored for Vancouver 3:15 into the game. Guy Lafleur scored the final goal at 6:34 of the 3rd period. Ken Dryden made 36 saves to win the goaltending duel over Gary Smith.

WHA
Avco World Trophy
Quarter-Finals
Phoenix 2 @ Quebec 4 (Quebec won best-of-seven series 4-1)
Cleveland 1 @ Houston 3 (Houston won best-of-seven series 4-1)

Marc Tardif scored with 5:40 remaining in regulation time to break a 2-2 tie and Serge Bernier scored into an empty net with 34 seconds left as the Nordiques eliminated the Roadrunners before 9,495 fans at Le Colisee.

Gordie Howe scored just 27 seconds into the game and Larry Lund scored later in the 1st period as the Aeros eliminated the Crusaders before 6,825 fans at Sam Houston Coliseum. Gerry Pinder scored for Cleveland in the 2nd period to make the score 2-1, but Ted Taylor scored an insurance goal in the 3rd period.

Basketball
NBA
Playoffs
Conference Semi-Finals
Second Round
Golden State 105 @ Seattle 96 (Golden State led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Rick Barry scored 33 points to lead the Warriors over the SuperSonics before 14,082 fans at Seattle Center Coliseum. Tom Burleson led Seattle with 25 points.

Baseball
Pitcher Juan Marichal announced his retirement from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mr. Marichal played with the San Francisco Giants from 1960-1973, and was one of the best pitchers of the 1960s, with six seasons of 20 or more wins. He was involved in the decade's most notorious incident of on-field violence when he clubbed Dodgers' catcher Johnny Roseboro over the head with his bat during a game on August 22, 1965, when the teams were in the heat of the National League pennant race. Mr. Marichal was with the Boston Red Sox in 1974, but missed most of the season because of injury. The Dodgers signed him on March 15, 1975, but in 2 games he posted a record of 0-1 with an earned run average of 13.50, allowing 11 hits and 5 bases on balls in 6 innings. Mr. Marichal retired the day after starting against the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium and allowing 6 hits and 4 runs--all earned--in 2 1/3 innings. He left the major leages with a career record of 243-142--a winning percentage of .631--and an earned run average of 2.89.

Carl Morton pitched a complete game and scored the winning run on a single by Mike Lum with 2 out in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Atlanta Braves edged the Houston Astros 2-1 before 3,123 fans at Atlanta Stadium.

The New York Mets scored 6 runs in the top of the 1st inning and 5 in the 6th as they beat the St. Louis Cardinals 14-7 before 12,004 fans at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Lynn McGlothen started on the mound for St. Louis but lasted just 2/3 inning, allowing 5 hits, 2 bases on balls, and 6 runs--all earned. New York starting pitcher Jerry Koosman singled in 2 runs in the 1st inning before allowing 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st. He was relieved by Harry Parker with 1 out in the 2nd. Rusty Staub had 2 doubles and a single, 2 runs, and 3 runs batted in for the Mets, while Ted Simmons hit a pair of 2-run home runs for the Cardinals.

The Montreal Expos scored 5 runs in the top of the 9th inning and withstood a 3-run rally in the bottom of the 9th as they beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-4 before 5,667 fans at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Dave McNally pitched 8 2/3 innings for the win before Dale Murray came in to get the final out.

Willie Crawford's ground ball went between the legs of first baseman Dan Driessen for an error, bringing home Jim Wynn with the winning run with 2 out in the bottom of the 11th inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 before 27,835 fans at Dodger Stadium to complete a 3-game sweep of their series. Steve Garvey had a double and 4 singles for the Dodgers, and singled just prior to Mr. Crawford's grounder in the 11th.

Rick Monday hit a home run and batted in 5 runs as the Chicago Cubs edged the Philadelphia Phillies 10-9 before 6,259 fans at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

The Texas Rangers scored 6 runs in the 5th inning as they beat the Chicago White Sox 7-3 before just 1,295 fans at White Sox Park. Deron Johnson hit his first home run in a Chicago uniform, a 2-run blast off Steve Foucault in the 9th inning.

30 years ago
1985

Law
Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into effect. It reads:

(1) Everyone has the right to equality before the law and to equal protection of the law without discrimination because of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age or sex.

(2) This section does not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged persons or groups.

25 years ago
1990

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Unnatural

Died on this date
Ralph Abernathy, 64. U.S. clergyman and activist. Rev. Abernathy was a Baptist minister who was a close friend and associate of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rev. Abernathy succeeded Rev. King as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference after Rev. King's assassination in 1968 and led the SCLC until 1977.

Diplomacy
U.S. President George Bush warned that if the U.S.S.R. imposed an economic embargo on Lithuania, the United States would consider "appropriate responses."

Environment
Canadian Environment Minister Lucien Bouchard released draft rules forcing 90 pulp and paper mills to install secondary waste treatment plants. It was estimated that 50% of all waste was dumped into Canadian waters. The new rules would cost industry $5 billion.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 0.5% in March, equalling the increase reported for February.

20 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: Baby Baby--Corona (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop)--Scatman John

#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Self Esteem--The Offspring (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Conquest of Paradise--Vangelis (10th week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Believe--Elton John
2 I Know--Dionne Farris
3 O Siem--Susan Aglukark
4 No More "I Love You's"--Annie Lennox
5 Murder Incorporated--Bruce Springsteen
6 You Lose You Gain--John Bottomley
7 The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead--Crash Test Dummies
8 Strong Enough--Sheryl Crow
9 In the House of Stone--Martin Page
10 Wonderdrug--Jann Arden

Singles entering the chart were Bedtime Story by Madonna (#93); You Can Never Ask Too Much (Of Love) by Take 6 (#94); Red Light Special by TLC (#95); Hold On by Alan Frew (#96); Too Busy Thinking About My Baby by the Manhattan Transfer (with Phil Collins) (#97); and Heart of Gold by Lawrence Gowan (#98).

10 years ago
2005

Died on this date
James Houston, 83. Canadian author and illustrator. Mr. Houston, a native of St. Catharines, Ontario, spent much of his life in the eastern Arctic, where he drew and painted images of the Inuit and the landscape, and drew attention to Inuit carvings. He wrote almost 30 books of fiction and non-fiction for children and adults; his novel The White Dawn (1971) was made into a movie in 1974. Mr. Houston eventually settled in the United States, and died in Connecticut.