May 16, 2015

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Polly Pratt and Jessie Larocque!

1,725 years ago
290

Died on this date
Wu, 53 or 54. Emperor of China, 266-290. Wu, born Sima Yan, became the first emperor of the Jin dynasty after forcing the abdication of Emperor Cao Huan. Emperor Wu was viewed as kind and generous but wasteful, and his practice of empowering his male relatives had the effect of destabilizing the empire, and produced the War of the Eight Princes after his death following a period of illness.

240 years
1775

War
American forces commanded by Benedict Arnold captured Fort St-Jean, Quebec from the British.

180 years ago
1835

Transportation
The Erie & Ontario and Hamilton & Port Dover Railways were incorporated.

130 years ago
1885

Transportation
The Canadian Pacific Railway completed the Lake Superior segment to Fort William, Ontario.

125 years ago
1890

Politics and government
The Fourth Session of the Sixth Dominion Parliament was prorogued in Ottawa after passing several acts, including one making the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) a department in its own right.

Transportation
The Canadian Parliament authorized James Ross, Herbert Holt, William Mackenzie, and Donald Mann to construct a rail line from Calgary to Edmonton, and from Calgary to the Boundary; it became part of Canadian Northern Railway.

Economics and finance
Royal assent was given to the Dominion Bank Act to regulate the management of banks in Canada. The act forbade them to issue notes of a lower denomination than $5, and compelled all their notes to be multiples of $5.

Business
The Canadian Parliament passed a bill by Clarke Wallace (Liberal-Conservative--York West) to incorporate the Grand Orange Lodge of British America.

90 years ago
1925

Horse racing
Flying Ebony, with Earl Sande up, won the 51st running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville in a time of 2:07 3/5. Captain Hal placed second and Son of John third in the field of 20 horses.

75 years ago
1940

War
German units in France advanced beyond Montcornet and Auesnes. French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud addressed the French Assembly, promising "revolutionary" steps to deal with the German breakthrough. U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill met in Paris with French leaders and promised that more fighter squadrons would be thrown into the battle.

Diplomacy
Sources in Rome indicated that Italian Duce Benito Mussolini was cool to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's suggestion that Italy stay out of the European war.

Japanese Ambassador to the United States Kensuki Horinouchi indicated after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull that Japan, France, U.K., and U.S.A. were in agreement that the status quo of the Netherlands East Indies should be maintained.

James Cromwell resigned as U.S. Minister to Canada.

American and Canadian officials joined in ground-breaking ceremonies for a bridge across the Niagara Falls gorge.

Politics and government
The first session of the 19th Parliament of Canada opened in Ottawa; the session would continue until November 5, 1940.

Defense
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress for appropriations to increase airplane production to 50,000 a year.

Archaeology
Dr. H.J. Spinden reported that recent decipherment of Mayan relics in Mexico indicated a civilization 1,250 years in advance of Europe in astronomy and mathematics.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill permitting the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to make direct loans to individuals developing any strategic material in war time.

Batavia, capital of the Netherlands East Indies, became the headquarters for Dutch corporations for the duration of World War II.

70 years ago
1945

War
The United States Army disclosed that soldiers over 42 years of age were being sent home from the European front. Yugoslavian troops continued occupation of Trieste, imposing military rule and a curfew, and renaming streets, although Allied troops patrolled the city, and Allied headquarters in Rome announced that "an Allied naval force is now operating in Trieste." Chinese forces claimed to have smashed the Japanese effort to take the U.S. air base at Chinkiang in the province of Hunan.

Law
The United Nations War Crimes Commission called a meeting of member governments for May 31 in London to set up procedures and begin substantive operations.

Norwegian Chief Justice Paal Berg said that former Nazi puppet President Vidkun Quisling would be tried by a special jury of three judges and four laymen.

Politics and government
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill told the House of Commons that it was the Allied intention to have Germans rule themselves under Allied directions.

Economics and finance
The U.S. War Production Board revoked controls on 1,200 common civilian items, permitting their production but not supplying the necessary iron and steel.

The U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee approved a three-year extension of the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act and sent it to the floor for debate.

60 years ago
1955

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



Died on this date
James Agee, 45. U.S. writer. Mr. Agee won a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for his novel A Death in the Family (1957). His best-known work of non-fiction was probably Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (1941). Mr. Agee was one of the most influential film critics of the 1940s, and wrote screenplays for The African Queen (1951) and The Night of the Hunter (1955). He was a heavy drinker and smoker, and died of a heart attack while in a taxi en route to a doctor's appointment.

Boxing
Rocky Marciano (48-0) retained his world heavyweight championship with a technical knockout of Don Cockell (66-12-1) at 54 seconds of the 9th round at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.



40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: My Eyes Adored You--Frankie Valli (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Fox on the Run--Sweet (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Ding-A-Dong--Teach-In (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Al Helfer, 63. U.S. sportscaster. Mr. Helfer, nicknamed "Mr. Radio Baseball," broadcast games for five different major league teams, but was best known for calling the Game of the Day for the Mutual Broadcasting System in the 1950s, travelling to a different city each day.

Asiatica
India annexed Sikkim after the mountain state held a referendum in which the popular vote was in favor of merging with India.

Society
The United States Congress appropriated $405 million for the resettlement of South Vietnamese refugees in the United States.

Adventure
Japanese climber Junko Tabei became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Boxing
Muhammad Ali (47-2) retained his world heavyweight title with a technical knockout of Ron Lyle (30-3-1) at 1:08 of the 11th round at Las Vegas Convention Center. On the undercard, Larry Holmes (14-0) knocked out Ernie Smith (3-4) at 1:45 of the 3rd round of a scheduled 8-round heavyweight bout.



Baseball
The San Diego Padres traded veteran starting pitcher Sonny Siebert to the Oakland Athletics for utility infielder Ted Kubiak. Mr. Siebert had a record of 3-2 with an earned run average of 4.33 in 6 games with the Padres in 1975, and was batting .375 (3 for 8). Mr. Kubiak, a member of the Athletics' World Series championship teams from 1972-1974, was batting .250 with no home runs and 4 runs batted in in 20 games with Oakland in 1975.

Al Oliver's 2-run home run in the top of the 9th inning provided the winning margin as the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 before 44,111 fans at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles pitcher Don Sutton, who pitched a complete game and recorded 10 strikeouts in taking the loss, had a perfect game for 7 1/3 innings before allowing 3 consecutive singles for the first Pittsburgh run.

St. Louis center fielder Luis Melendez dropped a fly ball by Willie Montanez with the bases loaded and none out in the bottom of the 10th inning, allowing the San Francisco Giants to defeat the Cardinals 4-3 before 5,764 fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The Cardinals had a chance to take the lead in the top of the 9th, but pinch runner Ted Martinez stopped between third base and home plate on a fly ball hit by Ron Fairly to San Francisco center fielder Von Joshua with 1 out, and then decided to head for home, where Mr. Montanez's relay to catcher Dave Rader nipped him for the third out of the inning.

Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa, and Larry Christenson each hit 2-run home runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning as the Philadelphia Phillies scored 6 runs on their way to a 12-8 win over the Atlanta Braves before 18,710 fans at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mr. Christenson started on the mound for the Phillies, but lasted just 4 innings, allowing 7 hits and 5 runs--all earned. Vic Correll hit 2 home runs for the Braves.

Bobby Grich hit a home run off Frank Tanana with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Baltimore Orioles a 1-0 win over the California Angels in the first game of a doubleheader before 9,233 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Jim Palmer allowed 9 hits in pitching the shutout; Mr. Tanana allowed 8 hits and struck out 8 in pitching a complete game. In the second game, Tommy Harper hit a 2-run homer in the top of the 1st inning and a solo home run in the 7th to give the Angels a 3-2 win. Don Baylor hit a 2-run homer for the Orioles in the bottom of the 1st inning. Ed Figueroa allowed 3 hits and struck out 8 in pitching a complete game for the win, while losing pitcher Mike Cuellar allowed 5 hits in also pitching a complete game.

The Chicago White Sox scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to defeat the Cleveland Indians 3-2 before 5,794 fans at White Sox Park. Cleveland starting pitcher Jim Kern allowed just 3 hits, but was relieved by Tom Buskey after Bill Melton led off the bottom of the 9th with a single. Tom Buskey relieved Mr. Kern, but allowed a run to score on singles by Deron Johnson and Tony Muser before being relieved by Dave LaRoche, who struck out the only batter he faced. Dennis Eckersley then relieved Mr. LaRoche, but he hit pinch hitter Buddy Bradford with a pitch with the bases loaded, forcing in the tying run. Mr. Eckersley then walked Jorge Orta, forcing in Mr. Muser with the winning run.

Vida Blue pitched a 7-hit complete game to improve his record for 1975 to 8-1 as the Oakland Athletics beat the New York Yankees 4-2 before 24,539 fans at Shea Stadium in New York.

30 years ago
1985

Died on this date
Margaret Hamilton, 82. U.S. actress. Miss Hamilton was best known for playing the Wicked Witch of the West in the movie The Wizard of Oz (1939).

Crime
South Wales miners Dean Hancock and Russell Shankland, both 21, were sentenced to life in prison in Cardiff Crown Court for the November 1984 murder of taxi driver David Wilkie, who died when a 46-pound block of concrete was hurled from a bridge and landed on his cab as he was driving miner David Williams to the Merthyr Vale pit. The sentences were later reduced on appeal.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Clarence S. Campbell Conference Finals
Edmonton 8 @ Chicago 2 (Edmonton won best-of-seven series 4-2)

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Vogue--Madonna (4th week at #1)

On television tonight
Hands of a Murderer, starring Edward Woodward as Sherlock Holmes and John Hillerman as Dr. Watson, on CBS

I didn’t think this made-for-television movie was one of the better efforts at presenting the Master on TV, and the casting was wrong. John Neville, who had played Sherlock Holmes in the movie A Study in Terror (1965) and on stage at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton in William Gillette’s play Sherlock Holmes in 1975, was cast as Sherlock’s brother Mycroft. Mr. Neville should have been cast as Sherlock Holmes and Mr. Woodward as Mycroft.



Died on this date
Sammy Davis Jr., 64. U.S. entertatiner. Mr. Davis was a dancer, singer, and actor in a career that spanned more than 50 years. He was part of Frank Sinatra's "Rat Pack" in the 1960s. Mr. Davis appeared in numerous movies and television programs, and his hit records included The Candy Man, which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1972.

Jim Henson, 53. U.S. puppeteer and producer. Mr. Henson created the puppet characters the Muppets, who made numerous appearances on television in the 1950s and '60s before becoming regular characters on the children's television program Sesame Street when that show began broadcasting in 1969. Mr. Henson subsequently created the programs The Muppet Show (1976-1981) and Fraggle Rock (1983-1987), and his characters starred in several Muppet movies. Mr. Henson died when struck by a sudden bacterial infection.

World events
The Lithuanian government suspended enforcement of its independence laws.

Health
The British government attempted to reassure the public that British beef was safe to eat, despite concern over mad cow disease.

Environment
Fire broke out at Quebec's largest tire dump (3 million tires) in St.-Amable, near Montreal; it raged for four days before being put out.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 0.2% in April, the smallest rise since the previous September.

20 years ago
1995

Terrorism
Shoko Asahara, leader of the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo, was captured in a raid on the cult's compound in Kamikuishiki and charged with murder and attempted murder in connection with the March 20, 1995 attacks with nerve gas in the Tokyo subway system that had killed 12 people and injured more than 5,000. 40 other cult members, 26 of whom were in custody, were also charged in the gas attacks. The cultists were also suspected in a sarin gas attack in Matsumoto in June 1994 that had killed 7 and injured 200.

Scandal
U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown became the third member of the cabinet of President Bill Clinton to face investigation by an independent counsel. Attorney General Janet Reno asked a panel of federal judges to appoint a counsel to investigate ther personal finances of Mr. Brown, and said that a Justice Department inquiry had found reasonable grounds for further investigation.

Economics and finance
U.S. officials announced that tariffs of 100% would be imposed on 13 Japanese-made luxury car models manufactured by Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Toyota. The cars accounted for about one-eighth of all Japanese cars old in the United States. The U.S. had been seeking without success to open Japanese markets for cars and car parts to foreign competition.

10 years ago
2005

Died on this date
Andrew Goodpaster, 90. U.S. military officer. General Goodpaster was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) from July 1, 1969 and Commander in Chief of the United States European Command (CINCEUR) from May 5, 1969 until his retirement December 17, 1974.

Abominations
Kuwait's National Assembly voted 35–23 to permit women's suffrage.

Journalism
Newsweek magazine retracted a story that claimed investigators had found evidence that the Quran had been desecrated by interrogators at the U.S. naval prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The story had sparked deadly protests in Afghanistan.