May 18, 2015

540 years ago
1475

Born on this date
Afonso. Portuguese royal family member. Prince Afonso, the only son of King João II, married Isabella of Aragon in 1490 and was heir apparent to the throne, but was killed in an equestrian accident on July 13, 1491 at the age of 16.

450 years ago
1565

War
The Great Siege of Malta began, in which Ottoman forces attempted and fail to conquer Malta.

250 years ago
1765

Disasters
Fire destroyed one-quarter of the town of Montreal.

120 years ago
1895

Born on this date
Augusto César Sandino. Nicaraguan rebel leader. Mr. Sandino led a guerrilla rebellion from 1927-1933 against U.S. military occupation of Nicaragua. He was assassinated on February 21, 1934 at the age of 38 by National Guard forces of General Anastasio Somoza García, who seized power in a coup two years later. The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), which deposed Gen. Somoza in 1979 and ruled Nicaragua until 1990, was named in honour of Mr. Sandino.

75 years ago
1940

Television
Robert Lorenzon developed a system of broadcasting and receiving in natural colour.

Diplomacy
Under Panama's leadership, the 21 American republics issued a declaration stating that Germany's invasion of the Low Countries was "unjustified and cruel."

56 aliens were deported from New York City to Italy, France, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Romania.

Politics and government
Supporters of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt won the Oregon primary for the 1940 Democratic Party presidential nomination, putting Mr. Roosevelt 45 votes short of a majority of delegates at the Democratic National Convention.

Disasters
Earthquakes in Imperial Valley, California killed five people.

Horse racing
Corydon won the Withers Stakes at Belmont Park, New York.

70 years ago
1945

War
Chinese forces regained Foochow, as independent sources indicated that Japanese forces were abandoning the city without a fight. U.S. Army troops in the Philippines took the northern anchor of the Shimbu line east of Manila at the Ipo dam.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Harry Truman expressed a desire to meet French leader General Charles de Gaulle and a willingness to give France an occupation zone in Germany.

The United States Justice Department announced that former German-American Bund leader Fritz Kuhn would be deported to Germany as an undesirable alien.

Journalism
U.S. director of censorship Byron Price lifted many restrictions on dissemination of news by press and radio in the U.S., European, and Atlantic areas, but announced a new code for the Pacific and Asian areas.

Economics and finance
U.S. Director of War Mobilization Fred Vinson announced a program designed to give civilians more beef and pork, but warned that the effects would not be felt for some time.

60 years ago
1955

Died on this date
Mary McLeod Bethune, 79. U.S. educator. Mrs. Bethune founded Daytona Educational and Industrial School for Negro Girls in Daytona Beach, Florida; the school is now known as Bethune-Cookman College. In 1936, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Mrs. Bethune director of the Division of Negro Affairs, National Youth Administration, then the highest U.S. government position ever held by a Negro woman.

At the movies
Kiss Me Deadly, directed by Robert Aldrich, and starring Ralph Meeker as Mike Hammer, opened in theatres.

War
Operation Passage to Freedom, the evacuation of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam following the end of the First Indochina War, ended.

50 years ago
1965

Space
The United States confirmed the launches of eight satellites by a single rocket on March 9 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Diplomacy
Queen Elizabeth II began a 10-day visit to West Germany, becoming the first British monarch to visit the country since King George V had visited Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1913.

40 years ago
1975

Died on this date
Leroy Anderson, 66. U.S. composer. Mr. Anderson was the master of the short composition for orchestra, with such works as The Syncopated Cat (1946); Fiddle-Faddle (1947); Sleigh Ride (1948); The Typewriter (1950); Blue Tango (1952); and Bugler's Holiday (1954) becoming part of the standard repertoire of lighter classical music.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Buffalo 1 @ Philadelphia 2 (Philadelphia led best-of-seven series 2-0)

Bobby Clarke's powerplay goal with 13:17 remaining in remaining in regulation time broke a 1-1 tie and enabled the Flyers to edge the Sabres before 17,007 fans at the Spectrum. Reg Leach opened the scoring for Philadelphia at 8:24 of the 2nd period, and Buffalo defenceman Jerry Korab tied the score at 2:18 of the 3rd. The Sabres managed just 19 shots on Philadelphia goalie Bernie Parent, while the Flyers had 24 shots on Buffalo goalie Gerry Desjardins.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Golden State 101 @ Washington 95 (Golden State led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Rick Barry scored 24 points and Phil Smith, who came off the bench to replace the foul-plagued Butch Beard and played the entire 2nd half, scored 20, to lead the Warriors over the Bullets before 19,035 fans at Capital Center in Landover, Maryland. Elvin Hayes led the Bullets with 29 points and Phil Chenier added 20, but the Bullets were hurt by the absence of Kevin Porter, who fouled out after scoring 15 points. It was the 15th time in 1974-75, including playoffs, that Mr. Porter had fouled out of a game.



ABA
Finals
Kentucky 109 @ Indiana 101 (Kentucky led best-of-seven series 3-0)

Artis Gilmore scored 41 points and grabbed 28 rebounds as the Colonels, trailing 81-73 after 3 quarters, outscored the Pacers 36-20 in the 4th quarter before 17,388 fans at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. Billy Knight led Indiana with 28 points, making 13 of 15 field goal attempts; George McGinnis, who spent much of the 2nd half on the bench with foul trouble, scored 19 points for the Pacers.

Baseball
The St. Louis Cardinals traded utility infielder and outfielder Ted Martinez to the Oakland Athletics for pitcher Steve Staniland and a player to be named later. In 16 games with the Cardinals in 1975, Mr. Martinez was batting .190 with no home runs and 2 runs batted in. Mr. Staniland was with the Modesto Athletics of the Class A California League at the time of the trade, and had a record of 2-2 with an earned run average of 3.29 in 6 games; he was assigned to the St. Petersburg Cardinals of the Class A Florida State League.

Catfish Hunter pitched a 4-hit complete game as the New York Yankees scored 8 runs in the first 4 innings and routed the Oakland Athletics 9-1 before a Shirt Day crowd of 53,248 at Shea Stadium in New York.

Nolan Ryan allowed just 2 hits in 8 2/3 innings and improved his record for the season to 8-1 as the California Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-1 before 11,137 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

Tom Grieve singled home Willie Davis with 1 out in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Texas Rangers a 7-6 win over the Detroit Tigers before 12,862 fans at Arlington Stadium. Mr. Grieve should have already made the second out of the inning, but Detroit right fielder Leon Roberts dropped Mr. Grieve's foul pop fly for an error, giving him another chance. The score was tied 3-3 after 9 innings and the Tigers scored 3 in the top of the 10th, only to have the Rangers come back with 3 to tie the game.

30 years ago
1985

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): We are the World--USA for Africa (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): We are the World--USA for Africa (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): We are the World--USA for Africa (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): The Unforgettable Fire--U2 (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: 19--Paul Hardcastle (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Don't You (Forget About Me)--Simple Minds

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Don't You (Forget About Me)--Simple Minds
2 We are the World--USA for Africa
3 Crazy for You--Madonna
4 One Night in Bangkok--Murray Head
5 Everything She Wants--Wham!
6 Some Like it Hot--Power Station
7 Smooth Operator--Sade
8 Rhythm of the Night--Debarge
9Everybody Wants to Rule the World--Tears for Fears
10 Axel F--Harold Faltermeyer

Singles entering the chart were Raspberry Beret by Prince and the Revolution (#28); A View to a Kill by Duran Duran (#38); The Goonies 'R' Good Enough by Cyndi Lauper (#42); Square Rooms by Al Corley (#84); Little by Little by Robert Plant (#86); People are People by Depeche Mode (#87); Find a Way by Amy Grant (#88); and Alone Again by Dokken (#90). A View to a Kill was the title song of the movie. The Goonies 'R' Good Enough was from the movie The Goonies (1985).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 We are the World--USA for Africa (3rd week at #1)
2 Crazy for You--Madonna
3 Tears are Not Enough--Northern Lights
4 Rhythm of the Night--DeBarge
5 Don't You (Forget About Me)--Simple Minds
6 One Night in Bangkok--Murray Head
7 Obsession--Animotion
8 Nightshift--Commodores
9 Some Like it Hot--Power Station
10 Everything She Wants--Wham!

Singles entering the chart were A View to a Kill by Duran Duran (#69); Cannonball by Supertramp (#75); Crazy in the Night (Barking at Airplanes) by Kim Carnes (#79); Everytime You Go Away by Paul Young (#88); Never Ending Story by Limahl (#91); Oh Girl by Boy Meets Girl (#93); and You Give Good Love by Whitney Houston (#95).

Horse racing
Tank’s Prospect, with Pat Day up, won the 110th running of the Preakness Stakes before 81,235 fans at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore in a time of 1:53 1/5 (see video). Chief's Crown placed second and Eternal Prince third. It was the first win in a Triple Crown race for Mr. Day. The time was regarded for many years as a record for the race until a 2012 re-examination of video of the 1973 Preakness proved that Secretariat had run the race in 1:53.

Soccer
English FA Cup Final @ Wembley Stadium, London
Manchester United 1 Everton 0 (ET)

Norman Whiteside scored the game’s only goal in the 10th minute of extra time before 100,000 fans.



25 years ago
1990

Died on this date
Jill Ireland, 54. U.K. actress. Miss Ireland was known for acting in television with her first husband, David McCallum, and in movies with her second husband, Charles Bronson. She died after a long and public battle with breast cancer.

Music
Laurel Masse, a member of the Manhattan Transfer from 1972-1979, performed for the first of two nights at the Yardbird Suite in Edmonton. I had the pleasure of meeting her, and she was kind enough to autograph some old albums for me.

Politics and government
Canadian Senator Lowell Murray (Progressive Conservative--Prince Edward Island), acting as Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's emissary, began meeting provincial premiers individually to lobby for passage of the Meech Lake Constitutional Accord.

Transportation
In France, a modified TGV train achieved a rail world speed record of 515.3 kilometres per hour (320.2 miles per hour).

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Edmonton 7 @ Boston 2 (Edmonton led best-of-seven series 2-0)

Jarri Kurri scored 3 goals to lead the Oilers over the Bruins at Boston Garden.



Baseball
The Chicago Cubs blanked the Houston Astros 7-0 before 22,972 fans at the Astrodome in a game that saw Chicago second baseman Ryne Sandberg’s record errorless streak end at 123 games and 584 chances.

Paul O’Neill’s home run with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning gave the Cincinnati Reds a 1-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals before 34,968 fans at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Norm Charlton won in relief over Ken Dayley.

20 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Ristinolla--Movetron (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Elisha Cook, Jr., 91. U.S. actor. Mr. Cook was a character actor who usually played hoodlums and losers. His best-known role was as the "gunsel" in The Maltese Falcon (1941). Mr. Cook's other movies included Phantom Lady (1944); The Big Sleep (1946); and Shane (1953).

Billy Arnold, 68. U.S. boxer. Mr. Arnold was a welterweight and middleweight contender in the mid-1940s, beginning his professional career while he was a teenager. He won his first 25 fights, 23 by knockout. His first loss was to former world welterweight champion Fritzie Zivic in a controversial 8-round decision on January 5, 1945. Mr. Arnold was a 6-1 favourite in his next fight, on March 9, 1945 against Rocky Graziano at Madison Square Garden in New York. Mr. Arnold started the fight well, but Mr. Graziano knocked him out in the 3rd round, and the careers of the two men went in opposite directions. Mr. Arnold's career never recovered, and he retired in 1948 at the age of 22 after losing his last 5 fights; his career record as a professional was 38-9-1.

Elizabeth Montgomery, 62. U.S. actress. Miss Montgomery, the daughter of actor Robert Montgomery, was best known as the star of the television comedy series Bewitched (1964-1972).

Alexander Godunov, 45. U.S.S.R.-born U.S. dancer. Mr. Godunov was the premier danseur with the Bolshoi Ballet in the 1970s. While on tour in the United States with the Bolshoi Ballet in 1979, he defected to the United States, provoking a brief international incident. Mr. Godunov died of hepatitis as a result of heavy drinking.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the trade deficit stood at $9.12 billion in March.

Business
Gerald Schwartz's Onex Corporation launched a hostile $2.3-billion takeover bid for 148-year-old Canadian brewing giant John Labatt Ltd.

10 years ago
2005

Space
A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirmed that Pluto had two additional moons, Nix and Hydra.