April 26, 2015

150 years ago
1865

Died on this date
John Wilkes Booth, 26. U.S. actor and assassin. Mr. Booth, the son of actor Junius Booth and brother of actors Junius Booth, Jr. and Edwin Booth, became a popular actor in his own right in the late 1850s and 1860s. His sympathies with the Confederacy during the U.S. Civil War eventually led to his involvement in a conspiracy to assassinate U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. He fled Washington for Maryland and then Virginia after fatally shooting Mr. Lincoln on April 14, 1865, where he was cornered in a barn and shot to death by Union soldier Boston Corbett. Mr. Booth died two weeks before his 27th birthday.

War
In the U.S. Civil War, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered his army to Union General William Tecumseh Sherman at the Bennett Place near Durham, North Carolina.

100 years ago
1915

Diplomacy
China rejected Japan's Twenty-One Demands.

90 years ago
1925

Politics and government
Paul von Hindenburg defeated Wilhelm Marx in the second round of the German presidential election to become the first directly elected head of state of the Weimar Republic.

80 years ago
1935

Hockey
NHL
Frank Boucher of the New York Rangers was given permanent possession of the Lady Byng Trophy for the most sportsmanlike player in the National Hockey League, having won it for 7 of its 11-year history. The NHL purchased a new trophy to be awarded the following year.

75 years ago
1940

Died on this date
Carl Bosch, 65. German chemist. Dr. Bosch shared the 1931 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Friedrich Bergius for their contributions to the invention and development of chemical high pressure methods." Dr. Bosch helped to found the chemical company IG Farben in 1925. IG Farben became infamous for making the poison gas used in Nazi death camps during World War II, but Dr. Bosch was an opponent of the Nazis, and reportedly turned to drink after he was relieved of various positions after the Nazis came to power in Germany.

Literature
Dodd, Mead & Company and Redbook magazine named Hildreth--Her Story by Mrs. Harlow Estes as the winner of the $10,000 prize as the best first novel by any author in 1939.

War
German forces broke Allied defenses at Roeros, Norway. British sources in Hong Kong reported that Japan had taken full control of Lappa Island, a Portuguese possession.

Diplomacy
The United Kingdom and France acceded to U.S. pressure to keep the inconveniences of their blockade to a minimum.

The Allies and Switzerland agreed that the latter could obtain supplies for her own use under a guarantee that they would not go to Germany.

Terrorism
Terrorists bombed the office of the American-owned Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury.

World events
64 people received prison sentences in Brazil for being Communist propagandists.

70 years ago
1945

At the movies
Blood on the Sun, starring James Cagney and Sylvia Sidney, opened in theatres.



Died on this date
Pavlo Skoropadskyi, 71. Hetman of Ukraine, 1918. General Skoropadskyi became Hetman (head of state) of Ukraine on April 29, 1918 as the result of a coup. he was removed from power in November 1918 in a subsequent uprising. General Skoropadskyi died a week before his 72nd birthday.

Sigmund Rascher, 36. German physician. Dr. Rascher was a member of the SS who conducted inhumane medical experiments at Dachau concentration camp during World War II. When a claim that his wife had become pregnant after the age of 48 was proven false, SS leader Heinrich Himmler felt betrayed, and had Dr. Rascher and his wife imprisoned in Buchenwald concentration camp. When Buchenwald was evacuated in April 1945, Dr. Rascher was moved with other prisoners to Dachau, where he was executed by firing squad, three days before the camp was liberated by Allied forces.

War
U.K. forces in Germany captured Bremen, while to the south Allied forces advanced toward the German redoubt in Bavaria. Allied forces in Italy captured Verona and Parma. German forces recaptured the German city of Bautzen from Soviet and Polish forces in the last noteworthy success of the Wehrmacht. Filipino troops of the 66th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Commonwealth Army, USAFIP-NL and the American troops of the 33rd and 37th Infantry Division, United States Army, were liberated in Baguio City and fought against Japanese forces under General Tomoyuki Yamashita.

World events
French Marshal Henri-Philippe Petain was arrested at the Franco-Swiss border and taken to Paris to await trial on charges of treason.

Diplomacy
At the first plenary session of the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco, U.S. Secretary of State Edward Stettinius said that the world body should work out only a charter. U.S.S.R. Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov said that the lessons of the League of Nations must be remembered. U.K. Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden asked that a charter be drafted my May 24, 1945.

Politics and government
Communist Luis Prestes said that he would be a candidate in the forthcoming Brazilian presidential election.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Harry Truman asked Commerce Secretary Henry Wallace to investigate alege misuse of patents to support monopolies.

Labour
U.S. Stabilization Director William Davis granted the National War Labor Board discretionary authorization to set rigid standards on "fringe" wage adjustments.

50 years ago
1965

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): La Luna y el Toro--Mikaela

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Ticket to Ride--The Beatles

On television tonight
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Second Wife, starring June Lockhart, John Anderson, and Alice Backes

Londonia
A concert by the Rolling Stones at London Gardens in London, Ontario was shut down by police after 15 minutes due to rioting. It remains the group's only appearance in London.

Economics and finance
The Canadian federal budget of Finance Minister Walter Gordon included a 10% cut in personal income tax.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Piange il telefono--Domenico Modugno

#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): Paloma Blanca--George Baker Selection (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: Bye Bye Baby--Bay City Rollers (6th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): (Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song--B.J. Thomas

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 (Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song--B.J. Thomas
2 Philadelphia Freedom--The Elton John Band
3 He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)--Tony Orlando and Dawn
4 Jackie Blue--The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
5 Chevy Van--Sammy Johns
6 Emma--Hot Chocolate
7 Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance)--Leo Sayer
8 What am I Gonna Do with You--Barry White
9 Supernatural Thing (Part I)--Ben E. King
10 L-O-V-E (Love)--Al Green

Singles entering the chart were Old Days by Chicago (#72); The Way We Were/Try to Remember by Gladys Knight and the Pips (#73); Give the People What They Want by the O'Jays (#78); Thank You Baby by the Stylistics (#79); Baby That's Backatcha by Smokey Robinson (#82); The Hustle by Van McCoy & the Soul City Symphony (#91); Let There Be Music by Orleans (#92); One More Tomorrow by Henry Gross (#94); Anytime (I'll Be There) by Frank Sinatra (#96); (Just Like) Romeo and Juliet by Sha Na Na (#97); Love Will Keep Us Together by the Captain & Tennille (#98); Dynomite (Part 1) by Bazuka (#99); and Me and Mrs. Jones by Ron Banks and the Dramatics (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Philadelphia Freedom--The Elton John Band (2nd week at #1)
2 I Don't Like to Sleep Alone--Paul Anka
3 Lady Marmalade--LaBelle
4 Lovin' You--Minnie Riperton
5 Poetry Man--Phoebe Snow
6 It's a Miracle--Barry Manilow
7 (Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song--B.J. Thomas
8 Emma--Hot Chocolate
9 Chevy Van--Sammy Johns
10 He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)--Tony Orlando and Dawn

Singles entering the chart were Anytime (I'll Be There) by Frank Sinatra (#84); Where is the Love by Betty Wright (#85); Watching the World Go By by Les Emmerson (#86); Julie by Ian Thomas (#87); Rescue Me by Cher (#88); Bloody Well Right by Supertramp (#90); Touch Me Baby by Tamiko Jones (#91); Remember What I Told You by Tavares (#92); Come on Over by Chilliwack (#93); Black Superman (Muhammad Ali) by Johnny Wakelin and the Kinshasa Band (#94); Misty by Ray Stevens (#95); A Hurricane is Coming Tonight by Carol Douglas (#96); Spirit of the Boogie by Kool & The Gang (#97); Love Won't Let Me Wait by Major Harris (#98); Sandy by the Hollies (#99); and Magic by Pilot (#100).

Winnipeg's Top 30 (CFRW)
1 I Don't Like to Sleep Alone--Paul Anka (2nd week at #1)
2 Lovin' You--Minnie Riperton
3 Philadelphia Freedom--The Elton John Band
4 Shame, Shame, Shame--Shirley (And Company)
5 No No Song--Ringo Starr
6 You are So Beautiful--Joe Cocker
7 Chevy Van--Sammy Johns
8 (Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song--B.J. Thomas
9 Don't Call Us, We'll Call You--Sugarloaf/Jerry Corbetta
10 Jackie Blue--The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
11 Stand by Me--John Lennon
12 Lady Marmalade--LaBelle
13 Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance)--Leo Sayer
14 In the Mood--Rush
15 The Immigrant--Neil Sedaka
16 Black Water--The Doobie Brothers
17 How Long--Ace
18 Autobahn--Kraftwerk
19 Loves Me Like a Brother--The Guess Who
20 Have You Never Been Mellow--Olivia Newton-John
21 Poetry Man--Phoebe Snow
22 Pinball Wizard--Elton John (LP track)
23 Essence of Joan--Andy Kim
24 (Make Me Do) Anything You Want--A Foot in Coldwater
25 Roll on Down the Highway--Bachman-Turner Overdrive
26 It's a Miracle--Barry Manilow
27 Sister Golden Hair--America
28 Julie--Ian Thomas
29 Killer Queen--Queen
30 Lady--Styx

Winnipeg's Top 30 (CKRC)
1 I Don't Like to Sleep Alone--Paul Anka
2 Philadelphia Freedom--The Elton John Band
3 Jackie Blue--The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
4 (Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song--B.J. Thomas
5 Lovin' You--Minnie Riperton
6 Emma--Hot Chocolate
7 He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)--Tony Orlando and Dawn
8 Shame, Shame, Shame--Shirley (And Company)
9 I Can Dance--Shooter
10 You are So Beautiful--Joe Cocker
11 Stand by Me--John Lennon
12 No No Song--Ringo Starr
13 Killer Queen--Queen
14 Lady Marmalade--LaBelle
15 Bad Time--Grand Funk
16 Black Water--The Doobie Brothers
17 What am I Gonna Do with You--Barry White
18 Pinball Wizard--Elton John (LP track)
19 Have You Never Been Mellow--Olivia Newton-John
20 In the Mood--Rush
21 Back Up (Against Your Persuasion)--Black & Ward
22 Let the Phone Ring--Jim Mancel
23 Misty--Ray Stevens
24 Don't Call Us, We'll Call You--Sugarloaf/Jerry Corbetta
25 Rainy Day People--Gordon Lightfoot
26 Sail on Sailor--The Beach Boys
27 Only Yesterday--Carpenters
28 Poetry Man--Phoebe Snow
29 How Long--Ace
30 Cum Hear the Band--April Wine

Died on this date
Cedric J. Lowe, 45. U.K.-born Canadian historian. Professor Lowe was chairman of the history department at the University of Alberta. He was killed in a car accident near Sherwood Park, Alberta, when his car was hit by a Fire Department station wagon that was on its way to a fire. The station wagon, driven by Wayne Stanyer, had its siren and lights on.

Music
9,000 people paid $8-$10 for tickets to attend the Kinsmen Club's Night of Solid Gold at Edmonton Coliseum, with the Diamonds, the Angels, the Shirelles, the Drifters, the Original Coasters, Chubby Checker, and Chuck Berry as the artists. According to Joe Sornberger of the Edmonton Journal, the calibre of entertainment was rather mediocre until Mr. Berry closed the show, and he was easily the best performer on the bill.

Politics and government
A one-day conference held by the British Labour Party to debate Britain's membership in the European Economic Community resulted in a vote by almost a 2-1 margin to leave the EEC. A national referendum on the issue was scheduled for June 5, 1975.

Diplomacy
North Korean dictator Kim Il-sung concluded his week-long visit to China.

Boxing
Clyde Gray (49-3-1) scored a technical knockout of Sammy Rookard (13-12) at 2:16 of the 3rd round of a scheduled 10-round welterweight bout at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. On the undercard, Larry Holmes (13-0) knocked out Robert Yarborough (8-8-3) at 2:58 of the 4th round of a heavyweight bout.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Quarter-Finals
New York Islanders 1 @ Pittsburgh 0 (New York won best-of-seven series 4-3)

Ed Westfall scored the game's only goal with 4:17 remaining in regulation time at Pittsburgh Civic Arena as the Islanders became only the second team to lose the first three games of a Stanley Cup series and win the next four (the Toronto Maple Leafs accomplished the feat against the Detroit Red Wings in the 1942 finals). Glenn Resch won the goaltending duel over Gary Inness in a game that was broadcast across Canada on CBC radio. This blogger was rooting for the Penguins.

WHA
Avco World Trophy
Semi-Finals
Quebec 6 @ Minnesota 1 (Quebec led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Baseball
Frank Tanana and Don Kirkwood combined to pitch a 1-hit shutout as the California Angels edged the Oakland Athletics 1-0 before 26,188 fans at Anaheim Stadium. Mr. Tanana pitched 6 1/3 innings for the win and allowed the only Oakland hit, a single by Ray Fosse in the 6th inning. Mickey Rivers singled home Orlando Ramirez in the 3rd inning for the game' only run. Losing pitcher Ken Holtzman allowed just 6 hits in pitching a complete game.

The Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles split a twi-night doubleheader before 18,603 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. In the first game, Gaylord Perry pitched a 5-hit shutout as the Indians won 3-0. In the second game, the Indians scored a run in the top of the 9th inning to take a 2-1 lead, and Cleveland starting pitcher Dick Bosman retired the first two Baltimore batters in the bottom of the 9th, but when Ken Singleton singled and went to third base on a single by Elrod Hendricks, Tom Buskey came in to relieve Mr. Bosman. Pinch hitter Jim Northrup then singled home Mr. Singleton, with Mr. Hendricks stopping at second base. Designated hitter Al Bumbry then singled home Mr. Hendricks to give the Orioles a 3-2 win. Mike Torrez allowed 7 hits in pitching a complete game for the win.

30 years ago
1985

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Live is Life--Opus (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): We are the World--USA For Africa (4th week at #1)

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Oi beibi/Tuhansien sulojen maa--Raptori (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): The By-road to Glenroe--Mick Lally (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Carlos Pizarro Leongómez, 38. Colombian politician. Mr. Pizarro, a candidate for the presidency of Colombia who was affiliated with the leftist movement M-19, was shot while travelling aboard an Avianca Airlines flight that had just left Bogota. The gunman was immediately shot by Mr. Pizarro's bodyguards. Mr. Pizarro was the third presidential candidate to be killed during the current campaign. Colombian drug lords issued a statement the next day condemning the killing, which they had been suspected of.

Politics and government
British Columbia Premier Bill Vander Zalm told a Canadian House of Commons committee that the best solution to the impasse over the Meech Lake constitutional accord might be to start the discussions again from scratch.

Disasters
An earthquake in the central Chinese province of Qinghai killed 115 people.

Hockey
IIHF
Men’s World Championship
Canada 3 U.S.S.R. 3

NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Chicago 3 @ St. Louis 2 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)

20 years ago
1995

Crime
It was learned that the Unabomber (Ted Kaczynski) had sent four letters from the Oakland, California area. One was to The New York Times, in which the writer claimed to be an anarchist and said, "The people we are out to get are the scientists and engineers," adding that his goal was the destruction of the "worldwide industrial system."

10 years ago
2005

Died on this date
Mason Adams, 86. U.S. actor. Mr. Adams was a prolific actor in radio programs and as the voice-over on television commercials, but was perhaps best known for portraying managing editor Charlie Hume in the television series Lou Grant (1977-1982).

Maria Schell, 79. Austrian actress. Miss Schell appeared in such movies as Gervaise (1956); The Brothers Karamazov (1958); The Hanging Tree (1959); The Mark (1961); and The Odessa File (1974).

World events
Under international pressure, Syria withdrew the last of its 14,000-man military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29-year military occupation of that country.