April 25, 2015

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Suzie Martin!

720 years ago
1295

Died on this date
Sancho IV, 36. King of Castile, León and Galicia, 1284-1295. Sancho "the Brave" acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Alfonso X. He suppressed opposition from the nobility and imprisoned his brother Juan, whom he later pardoned and released. King Sancho IV died from an illness--possibly tuberculosis--and died 17 days before his 37th birthday. He was succeeded by his 9-year-old son Ferdinand IV.

200 years ago
1815

Politics and government
George Murray was appointed provisional Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, serving until July 1, 1815.

170 years ago
1845

Canadiana
Queen Victoria declared Fredericton, New Brunswick a city; despite a population of only 4,000, ancient ecclesiastic law required that the centre of any new Church of England diocese be a city.

125 years ago
1890

Died on this date
Crowfoot, 59 or 60. Canadian Indian chief. Crowfoot, aka Isapo-Muxika, was chief of the Siksika (Blackfoot) First Nation in the part of the Northwest Territories that is now in southern Alberta. He played a key role in the negotiations with the government of Canada that produced Treaty 7.

100 years ago
1915

War
The Battle of Gallipoli began with the invasion of the Turkish Gallipoli Peninsula by Australian, British, French and New Zealand troops, landing at Anzac Cove and Cape Helles.

75 years ago
1940

War
Two Canadian Army battalions were held back in Scotland, on the way to join British force bound for Norway. Japan was reportedly sending 60,000 men into the southern part of the Chinese province of Shansi to halt a Chinese advance.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared Norway a belligerent, making Norwegian purchases in the U.S.A. subject to the cash and carry provisions of the Neutrality Law, and prohibiting Americans from travelling on Norwegian ships.

The U.S. State Department announced that Bertel Kuniholm would be the next U.S. representative to Iceland.

Abominations
Women were allowed to vote and run for office in Quebec provincial elections, 22 years after women were granted the federal vote, and after Premier Adélard Godbout succeeded in getting the Roman Catholic clergy to drop their opposition.

Europeana
Merkið, the flag of the Faroe Islands, was approved by the British occupation government.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 0.5% increase in the wholesale price index for the first time in 1940.

70 years ago
1945

Died on this date
Huldreich Georg Früh, 41. Swiss composer. Mr. Früh's compositions included a concerto grosso (1935); Maori-Lieder für Singstimme und Kammerorchester (Maori songs for song voice and chamber orchestra) (1938); the ballet music Promenade (1939); the festival performance music Der neue Columbus (New Columbus) (1939) and the oratorio Der junge David (Young David) (1944).

War
The Royal Canadian Air Force's No. 6 Group made its last bombing raid over Germany. U.S. President Harry Truman conferred with his military leaders, cabled U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and informed Soviet dictator Josef Stalin of German S.S. leader Heinrich Himmler's offer of capitulation on the entire western front; all agreed that only unconditional surrender would be accepted. Elements of the U.S. 1st Army and the 1st Ukrainian Army made contact at Torgau on the Elbe River, 75 miles south of Berlin, cutting the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany in two, a milestone in the approaching end of World War II in Europe. The German occupation army surrendered and left northern Italy after a general partisan insurrection by the Italian resistance movement; the puppet fascist regime dissolved, and Duce Benito Mussolini was captured after trying to escape to Switzerland. The last German troops retreated from Finland's soil in Lapland, ending the Lapland War.

Abominations
American Congressmen who visited the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany reported that the daily death quota was 80 and that Soviet officers had been burned alive.

Diplomacy
Representatives of 50 nations gathered in San Francisco to begin the United Nations Conference on International Organization. Via a telephone hookup, U.S. President Harry Truman appealed to delegates to achieve a just and lasting peace. French President Charles de Gaulle said that the UN conference could not deal with world problems until it dealt with France.

Economics and finance
U.S. War Production Board Chairman Krug said that the board was ready to end controls as soon as possible and that probably one-third of them would be removed over the next four months.

Labour
Labour delegates from the U.S.A., U.K., U.S.S.R., and France met at the opening of the World Trade Union Conference in Oakland, California to make relevant suggestions to the nearby United Nations conference in San Francisco.

60 years ago
1955

On television tonight
Sherlock Holmes, starring Ronald Howard and H. Marion Crawford
Tonight's episode: The Case of the Baker Street Nursemaids



50 years ago
1965

Crime
Michael Andrew Clark, 16, killed three and wounded six others, shooting from a hilltop along Highway 101 just south of Orcutt, California, before shooting and killing himself as police arrived.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Montreal 1 @ Chicago 5 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)

The Black Hawks took advantage of rusty Montreal goalie Charlie Hodge as they beat the Canadiens before 20,000 fans at Chicago Stadium. Mr. Hodge was suddenly pressed into action when regular goalie Gump Worsley pulled a leg muscle in the pre-game warmup. Montreal coach Toe Blake was incensed at the work of referee Vern Buffey, who assessed 14 minor penalties and a misconduct to the Canadiens while handing out only 9 minors to the Black Hawks. Mr. Blake stepped onto the ice at the end of the game and would have gone after Mr. Buffey had not two Montreal trainers restrained him.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Los Angeles 96 @ Boston 129 (Boston won best-of-seven series 4-1)

Sam Jones and Bill Russell each scored 22 points and K.C. Jones added 20 as the Celtics routed the Lakers before 13,909 fans at Boston Garden to win their seventh straight NBA championship. Mr. Russell also grabbed 30 rebounds. Jerry West of Los Angeles led all scorers with 33 points. The Celtics scored 20 straight points at the start of the 4th quarter.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Free and Easy--Helen Reddy (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Shame, Shame, Shame--Shirley (And Company) (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Ding-A-Dong--Teach-In (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Mike Brant, 28. Cypriot-born Israeli singer. Mr. Brant, born Moshé Michaël Brand, spoke only Hebrew but sung in French and English, and became popular in France in the early 1970s, as well as in Israel. He suffered from periodic bouts of depression, and jumped to his death from the window of his Paris apartment.

Yellowknifiana
School was out for everyone in Yellowknife that Friday afternoon, as Prince Charles was visiting the city. Local air cadet Ken Powless was mong those who met His Royal Highness.

World events
As North Vietnamese forces closed in on the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon, the Australian Embassy was closed and evacuated, almost 10 years to the day since the first Australian troop commitment to South Vietnam.

Politics and government
Prince Norodom Sihanouk was named President for life by the new government of the Khmer Republic, formerly Cambodia.

The Socialist Party, led by Mario Soares, won 115 of 247 seats in the General Assembly in the first free elections in Portugal in 50 years. The Socialist total was considerably more than the other two main non-Communist parties. The Communist Party captured 12.5% of the vote, winning 30 seats.

Society
The Alberta Conference of Physically Disabled Persons, with 40-60 delegates in attendance, opened at the Edmonton Plaza Hotel.

Hockey
WHA
Avco World Trophy
Semi-Finals
Houston 4 @ San Diego 0 (Houston led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Basketball
NBA
Conference Semi-Finals
Buffalo 96 @ Washington 115 (Washington won best-of-seven series 4-2)

The Bullets led 28-13 and coasted to victory over the Braves at Capital Center in Landover, Maryland. Phil Chenier led Washington with 39 points, while Bob McAdoo led Buffalo with 36 points. Mendy Rudolph suffered a blot clot in his lung and had to be carried off the court, ending his 22-year career as an NBA referee.

ABA
Semi-Finals
Kentucky 97 @ St. Louis 103 (Kentucky led best-of-seven series 2-1)
Denver 126 @ Indiana 109 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)

30 years ago
1985

Hockey
IIHF
Men’s World Championship @ Prague
U.S.S.R. 9 Canada 1

NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Montreal 3 @ Quebec 1 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)
Philadelphia 2 @ New York Islanders 6 (Philadelphia led best-of-seven series 3-1)
Chicago 7 @ Minnesota 6 (2 OT) (Chicago led best-of-seven series 3-1)
Edmonton 8 @ Winnipeg 3 (Edmonton won best-of-seven series 4-0)

Darryl Sutter scored at 1:57 of the 2nd overtime period to give the Black Hawks their win over the North Stars at Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington.

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Vogue--Madonna

Died on this date
Dexter Gordon, 67. U.S. musician. Mr. Gordon was a jazz tenor saxophonist whose career spanned almost 50 years. He also appeared in a number of movies as musician and/or actor, including Unchained (1955); Round Midnight (1986); and Awakenings (1990). Mr. Gordon died of kidney failure.

Space
The U.S. space shuttle Discovery deployed the 12.5-ton Hubble Space Telescope as part of mission STS-31. The $1.5-billion telescope, which had a 94.5-inch mirror, was put into orbit 381 miles above Earth.

Politics and government
Violeta Barrios de Chamorro was inaugurated as President of Nicaragua. She announced that she would retain General Humberto Ortega Saavedra, brother of outgoing President Daniel Ortega, as chief of the armed forces. A leader of the rebel Contras declared that the Contras would not demobilize as long as Gen. Ortega remained in power.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Boston 1 @ Montreal 4 (Boston led best-of-seven series 3-1)
New York Rangers 3 @ Washington 4 (OT) (Washington led best-of-seven series 3-1)

Baseball
The California Angels defeated the Boston Red Sox 3-1 before 19,843 fans at Fenway Park in Boston, behind the pitching of Kirk McCaskill. The only run came on an inside-the-park home run by 41-year-old Bill Buckner, for whom it was his last major league homer.

20 years ago
1995

Died on this date
Alexander Knox, 88. Canadian-born U.K. actor. Mr. Knox, a native of Strathroy, Ontario and graduate of the University of Western Ontario, was a successful stage actor in North America and the United Kingdom. He appeared in 70 films, but was best known for his starring role as U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in Wilson (1944), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Actor.

Ginger Rogers, 83. U.S. actress. Miss Rogers, born Virginia Katherine McMath, won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kitty Foyle (1940), but was probably better known for dancing with Fred Astaire in 10 films, including Flying Down to Rio (1933); Top Hat (1935); Swing Time (1936); and Shall We Dance (1937).

Art Fleming, 70. U.S. actor and television personality. Mr. Fleming, born Arthur Fleming Fazzin, appeared in 48 movies, but was best known as the original host of the television quiz show Jeopardy! (1964-1975, 1978-1979). He died of pancreatic cancer, six days before his 71st birthday.

Politics and government
The Progressive Conservatives, led by Premier Gary Filmon, were re-elected in the Manitoba provincial election, capturing 31 of 57 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The New Democratic Party, led by Gary Doer, won 23 seats, and the Liberal Party, led by Paul Edwards, won 3 seats. The PCs received approximately 42.87% of the vote, to 32.81% for the NDP and 23.72% for the Liberals.

Terrorism
Brothers Terry and James Nichols were charged with conspiring with Timothy McVeigh to build explosives in connection with the April 19 bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, which had killed 169 people.

Baseball
The Los Angeles Dodgers withstood a 4-run 9th-inning rally to edge the Florida Marlins 8-7 before 42,125 fans at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami in the first regular season action in the major leagues since the beginning of the players' strike after games of August 11, 1994. Raul Mondesi led the Los Angeles attack with 2 home runs and a double, 2 runs, and 4 runs batted in.

10 years ago
2005

Diplomacy
Bulgaria and Romania signed accession treaties to join the European Union.

Africana
The final piece of the Obelisk of Axum was returned to Ethiopia after being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937.

Disasters
107 people were killed in the Amagasaki rail crash in Japan.