April 2, 2015

175 years ago
1840

Born on this date
Émile Zola. French writer. Mr. Zola wrote novels and short stories, but was perhaps best known for J'Accuse...! (1898), an open letter to French President Félix Faure, accusing the French army of obstruction of justice and antisemitism in the 1893 conviction and imprisonment on Devil's Island of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jew, of passing military secrets to Germany. Mr. Zola died at the age of 62 on September 29, 1902, of carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty chimney, a death that some have said was murder.

150 years ago
1865

War
In the U.S. Civil War, the Siege of Petersburg was broken in the Third Battle of Petersburg in Virginia by Union Army troops capturing trenches and breaking Confederate States Army lines, forcing the Confederates under General Robert E. Lee to retreat.

Politics and government
Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet fled the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

130 years ago
1885

Abominations
At least nine people, including two Roman Catholic priests and an Indian agent, were slain at Frog Lake, north of Lloydminster, Northwest Territories in what became known as the Frog Lake massacre.

75 years ago
1940

Diplomacy
U.K. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain warned that Britain could not accept a legalistic interpretation of the rights of neutral nations, when Germany was threatening neutrals with invasion. Mr. Chamberlain said that the U.K. would enforce an economic blockade against Germany on the high seas.

Mustapha Nahas Pasha, president of the Wafd Party in Egypt, demanded that British soldiers leave the country and the U.K. government immediately settle all issues with the Egyptian government as soon as the European war ended.

Law
Police emergency measures in Brazil that had been imposed on March 25 to subdue alleged public disorder were limited.

Politics and government
In a key New York City Democratic Party primary election, supporters of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated those of Vice President John Nance "Cactus Jack" Garner for seats to the Democratic National Convention in the contest for the party's 1940 nomination for President of the United States. Mr. Roosevelt also won the Wisconsin Democratic primary, while New York City District Attorney Thomas Dewey won the Wisconsin Republican Party primary.

Labour
The U.S. House of Representatives Labor Committee approved two amendments to the National Labor Relations Act: one to protect craft unions, and another to permit companies to petition for elections where two competing unions existed.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Toronto 1 @ New York Rangers 2 (OT) (New York led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Alf Pike scored the winning goal at 15:30 of the 1st overtime period at Madison Square Garden to give the Rangers their win over the Maple Leafs, as Dave Kerr won the goaltending duel over Turk Broda.

70 years ago
1945

Hit parade
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 My Dreams are Getting Better All the Time--Les Brown and his Orchestra (vocal chorus by Doris Day)
--Phil Moore Four
--Johnny Long and his Orchestra and Dick Robertson
2 Rum and Coca-Cola--The Andrews Sisters
--Abe Lyman and his Orchestra
--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
3 Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive--Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers with Paul Weston and His Orchestra
--Artie Shaw and his Orchestra
--Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters
4 I'm Beginning to See the Light--Harry James and his Orchestra
--Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra
5 A Little on the Lonely Side--Frankie Carle and his Orchestra
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
6 Dream--The Pied Pipers
--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra
7 More and More--Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra
--Perry Como
8 Candy--Johnny Mercer, Jo Stafford and the Pied Pipers with Paul Weston and His Orchestra
--Dinah Shore
9 Don't Fence Me In--Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Kate Smith
--Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights
10 Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night in the Week)--Frank Sinatra
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were the version of My Dreams are Getting Better All the Time by Johnny Long and his Orchestra and Dick Robertson; There! I've Said it Again by Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra (vocal refrain by Vaughn Monroe and the Norton Sisters) (#25); Stuff Like That There by Betty Hutton (#35); Carle Boogie by Frankie Carle and his Orchestra (#37); and Laura, with versions by Woody Herman and his Orchestra and Freddy Martin and his Orchestra (#38).

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Amateur Mendicant Society

War
British and Canadian gains in both the Netherlands and Germany threatened to topple the whole German position in the region. U.S. forces cut across Okinawa to the east coast at Tobara on Awase Harbor, thus splitting the island in half. Resistance was still reported as relatively light.

Diplomacy
Diplomatic relations resumed between the U.S.S.R. and Brazil.

Politics and government
James Byrnes resigned as U.S. Direactor of War Mobilization because victory "is not far distant."

Nasrullah Entezan resigned as Iranian Foreign Minister.

Football
NFL
Frank Sinkwich of the Detroit Lions was awarded the Joe L. Carr Trophy as the National Football League's most valuable player for 1944. Mr. Sinkwich, a tailback, had rushed for 563 yards and 6 touchdowns; completed 58 of 148 passes for 1,060 yards and 12 touchdowns; returned 11 punts for 148 yards and 6 kickoffs for 144 yards; punted 45 times for a 41.0 average; and kicked 24 converts and 2 field goals as the Lions won their last 5 games to finish with a 6-3-1 record, tied for second place with the Chicago Bears in the West Division, behind the Green Bay Packers.

60 years ago
1955

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Mr Sandman--The Four Aces; The Chordettes

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Give Me Your Word--Tennessee Ernie Ford (6th week at #1)

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): The Ballad of Davy Crockett--Bill Hayes (Best Seller--2nd week at #1); Sincerely--The McGuire Sisters (Disc Jockey--8th week at #1; Jukebox--5th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Ballad of Davy Crockett--Bill Hayes (2nd week at #1)
2 Melody of Love--Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra
--David Carroll and his Orchestra
--The Four Aces
3 Tweedlee Dee--Georgia Gibbs
--LaVern Baker and the Gliders
4 Sincerely--The McGuire Sisters
5 The Crazy Otto--Johnny Maddox and the Rhythmasters
6 Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So)--Perry Como
--The Crew-Cuts
7 Open Up Your Heart (And Let the Sunshine In)--Cowboy Church Sunday School
8 How Important Can it Be?--Joni James
--Sarah Vaughan
9 Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)--The Penguins
--The Crew-Cuts
10 Dance with Me Henry (Wallflower)--Georgia Gibbs

Singles entering the chart were Theme from "Medic" by Victor Young and his Singing Strings (#26); Two Hearts by Pat Boone (#31); Cool Water by Frankie Laine (#32); Close Your Eyes by the Five Keys (#33); Do, Do Do (What Your Heart Says) by Tony Martin (#35); The Water Tumbler Tune by Henri Rene and his Orchestra (#41); The Breeze and I (Andalucia) by Caterina Valente (#42); When I Let You Go by Jerry Vale (#44); and I'm Sincere by Alan Dale (#48). Theme from "Medic" was the title theme of the television series. Two Hearts was Mr. Boone's first hit.

Transportation
The Angus L. Macdonald Bridge, linking Halifax and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, opened.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Fort Wayne 84 @ Syracuse 87 (Syracuse led best-of-seven series 2-0)

Dolph Schayes scored 24 points to lead the Nationals over the Pistons at Onondaga County War Memorial. Red Rocha sank a 25-foot field goal with 7 seconds left in regulation time to clinch the win for Syracuse.

50 years ago
1965

Hit parade
Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter--Herman's Hermits
2 The Birds and the Bees--Jewel Akens
3 Can't You Hear My Heartbeat--Herman's Hermits
4 Do You Wanna Dance?--The Beach Boys
5 I Know a Place--Petula Clark
6 Eight Days a Week--The Beatles
7 I'm Tellin' You Now--Freddie & the Dreamers
8 King of the Road--Roger Miller
9 Ferry Cross the Mersey--Gerry & the Pacemakers
10 (Here They Come) From All Over the World--Jan & Dean
Pick hit of the week: Little Sidewalk Surfer Girl--The Hondells
New this week: I'm Not Satisfied--J.B. and the Playboys
In the Meantime--Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames
Bluebirds Over the Mountain--The Shondells
Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte--Patti Page
She's Comin' Home--The Zombies
Do the Freddie--Chubby Checker

Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte was a version of the title song of the movie.

Economics and finance
Two days after the Canadian House of Commons approved the Canada Pension Plan, agreement was obtained from provincial governments.

40 years ago
1975

Music
Queen, with Kansas as the opening act, performed before an audience of 5,000 at the Kinsmen Field House in Edmonton.

Canadiana
Construction of the CN Tower in Toronto was completed. It reached a height of 1,815.4 feet (555.33 metres), becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure.

War
Thousands of civilian refugees fled from the South Vietnamese province of Quảng Ngãi in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops.

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Kiss Me Now (今すぐＫｉｓｓ　Ｍｅ)--Lindberg (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor (5th week at #1)

Politics and government
The Supreme Soviet passed a law establishing the rules for secession. One would require a 2/3 approval in a referendum, and if this majority was obtained, a republic would have to wait 10 years before trying again. The parliament of Estonia declared that the law did not apply to Estonia. Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis said that the timing of Lithuania’s declaration of independence was open to discussion, and he called for talks with the Soviet leadership.

Crime
Donald James Reimer was sentenced in Winnipeg to life in prison for causing the deaths of three people while driving drunk; his sentence was the toughest penalty ever for that crime, and it was to be appealed.

Environment
The Ontario Law Reform Commission recommended forcing polluters to compensate the public for damaging the environment.

20 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Cotton Eye Joe--Rednex (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Old Pop in an Oak--Rednex (10th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Conquest of Paradise--Vangelis (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Harvey Penick, 90. U.S. golf coach. Mr. Penick coached at the University of Texas from 1931-1963, leading the Longhorns to 21 Southwest Conference championships. His students included Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw, Davis Love, Jr., and Kathy Whitworth. Mr. Penick was inducted into the Golf Hall of Fame in 2002.

Hannes Alfvén, 86. Swedish physicist and engineer. Dr. Alfvén was awarded a share of the 1970 Nobel Prize in Physics "for fundamental work and discoveries in magneto-hydrodynamics with fruitful applications in different parts of plasma physics."

Terrorism
An explosion in a building in the city of Gaza killed 8 people and injured 30 others. Among the dead was a leader of the terrorist organization Hamas. The police chief for the Palestinian Authority said that members of Hamas had been making a bomb when it accidentally went off.

Labour
Two days after U.S. Federal District Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor had issued an injunction to reinstate the collective bargaining agreement that had been in place before major league baseball players had gone on strike after games of August 11, 1994, the owners accepted the players' offer to return to the field. Replacement players were either reassigned to the minor leagues or released outright.

Basketball
NCAA
Women's Championship @ Target Center, Minneapolis
Final
Connecticut 70 Tennessee 64

All- Americans Rebecca Lobo and Jen Rizzotti led Connecticut as they finished the season with a 35-0 record, the best in women's Division I history to date.



10 years ago
2005

Died on this date
John Paul II, 84. Roman Catholic Pope, 1978-2005. Karol Wojtyla, a native of Wadowice, Poland, became a priest in 1946; a bishop in 1958; a cardinal in 1967; and was chosen in October 1978 to succeed John Paul I, who had died in September after just over a month as pope. John Paul II was the most-travelled pope in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. He has been credited with providing leadership in the movement to bring down Communism behind the Iron Curtain and dictatorships elsewhere. While affirming traditional Roman Catholic doctrine, John Paul II pursued friendly relations with other religions, as exemplified by the World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi, Italy in 1986, and Day of Prayer for Peace in the World, also in Assisi, in 2002. John Paul II and his predecessor Pope John XXIII (1958-1963) were canonized on April 27, 2014.