May 2, 2015

275 years ago
1740

Born on this date
Elias Boudinot. U.S. politician. Mr. Boudinot was a lawyer and landholder in New Jersey who, as a Whig, was elected to the New Jersey provincial assembly in 1775. He represented New Jersey in the Continental Congress (1778, 1781-1783), and was President of the Continental Congress (1782-1783). Mr. Boudinot represented New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives (1789-1795), and was Director of the United States Mint (1795-1805). He was a devout Presbyterian, supported missionary work, and became president of the American Bible Society in 1816. Mr. Boudinot died on October 24, 1821 at the age of 81.

130 years ago
1885

Africana
The Congo Free State was established by King Léopold II of Belgium.

War
Cree and Assiniboine warriors won the Battle of Cut Knife near Battleford, Northwest Territories, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.

Journalism
The popular American magazine Good Housekeeping went on sale for the first time.

100 years ago
1915

At the movies
The Chalice of Courage, directed by Rollin S. Sturgeon, and starring William Duncan, Myrtle Gonzalez, Natalie DeLontan, and George Holt, opened in theatres in New York City.

Died on this date
Clara Immerwahr, 44. German chemist. Dr. Immerwahr became the fist woman in Germany to earn a doctorate in chemistry. She married future Nobel Laureate Fritz Haber in 1901, and often contributed to his work, without recognition. Dr. Immerwahr was a women's rights activist and a pacifist whose beliefs were very much at odds with those of her husband, who not only wanted her to be subservient, but who supported the German war effort to the extent of supervising the first deployment of poison gas on the battlefield. On April 22, 1915, Dr. Immerwahr spoke out against her husband's work; 10 days later, she committed suicide by shooting herself at the age of 44. The day after her death, Dr. Haber left for the first gas attack against Russian troops on the Eastern Front.

75 years ago
1940

War
The United States Chamber of Commerce, meeting in Washington, adopted a resolution asking the United States Congress to keep America out of war. Allied forces abandoned their landing ports in southern and central Norway, thereby giving Germany possession of all Norway south of Steinkjer. King Haakon VII of Norway and his family fled via the port of Molde.

Diplomacy
Mexican newspapers revived a 1911 claim that parts of El Paso, Texas belonged to Mexico.

Technology
The Paris office of Press Wireless, Inc. put into operation a new method of transmitting photographs by radio.

Politics and government
The United States Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution against the proposed merger of the Civil Aviation Administration and Air Safety Board.

Labour
The United States Chamber of Commerce asked the United States Congress to do away with the National Labor Relations Administration and the Wage-Hour Law, alleging that they inhibited economic growth.

Religion
Pope Pius XII canonized Maria Euphrasia Pelletier and Gemma Galgani.

70 years ago
1945

Died on this date
Joe Corbett, 69. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Corbett, the younger brother of heavyweight boxing champion "Gentleman Jim" Corbett, played with the Washington Senators (1895); Baltimore Orioles (1896-1897); and St. Louis Cardinals (1904), compiling a record of 32-18 with an earned run average of 3.42. He was 24-8 with an ERA of 3.11 in 1897, but quit the Orioles in a dispute with manager Ned Hanlon, and spent the next five years as a sportswriter with the San Francisco Call.

Wilhelm Burgdorf, 50. German military officer. General of the Infantry Burgdorf was a commander and staff officer in the Wehrmacht during World War II. In October 1944, he assumed the role of the Chief of the Army Personnel Office and Chief Adjutant to Fuehrer Adolf Hitler. Gen. Burgdorf played a role in the forced suicide of Gen. Erwin Rommel in October 1944, and committed suicide by shooting himself in the Fuehrerbunker in Berlin, two days after the suicide of Mr. Hitler, and the day after the suicide of Mr. Hitler's successor, Josef Goebbels.

Hans Krebs, 47. German military officer. General of Infantry Krebs served in the Wehrmacht during World War II, and was the last Chief of Staff of the Oberkommando des Heeres (High Command) (OKH) during the final phase of the war (April 1-May 1, 1945). He attempted to open surrender negotiations with invading Soviet forces, but was unsuccessful, and committed suicide with Gen. Burgdorf, shooting himself in the Fuehrerbunker in Berlin.

Martin Bormann, 44. German politician. Mr. Bormann held various positions in the Nazi regime from 1933-1945, including head of the Parteikanzlei (Nazi Party Chancellery) and personal secretary to Fuehrer Adolf Hitler. He and SS Doctor Ludwig Stumpfegger were killed while trying to escape from invading Soviet forces in Berlin. Rumours persisted for years that Mr. Bormann had escaped to another country, but his remains were eventually discovered and identified.

Ludwig Stumpfegger, 34. German physician. Dr. Stumpfegger was a doctor with the SS during World War II and became Fuehrer Adolf Hitler's personal surgeon in October 1944. He was killed with Martin Bormann while trying to escape from invading Soviet forces in Berlin.

War
German forces surrendered Berlin to Soviet forces at 3 P.M. Soviet soldiers hoisted their red flag over the Reichstag building. The U.S. 82nd Airborne Division liberated Wöbbelin concentration camp in Germany, finding ,1000 dead prisoners, most of whom had starved to death. The war in Italy and part of Austria ended at noon under terms of a German unconditional surrender signed April 29 in Caserta by General Heinrich von Vietinghoff. British troops captured Wismar on the Baltic, cutting off the Kiel area and the Danish peninsula. British forces in Burma landed on both sides of the Rangoon River, 20 miles south of Rangoon. U.S. troops in the Philippines entered Davao on Mindanao Island.

World events
Former French Prime Minister Pierre Laval arrived in Barcelona on a Luftwaffe plane and was interned by the Spanish government pending a decision on turning him over to the Allies.

Law
U.S. President Harry Truman named Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert Jackson as chief U.S. counsel on the international military tribunal to be set up by the Allies to try war criminals.

Politics and government
U.S. President Harry Truman announced the resignation of Postmaster General Frank Walker and the appointment of Robert Hannegan as his successor, effective June 30, 1945.

Economics and finance
Because of changing war conditions, U.S. President Harry Truman asked Congress to reduce the 1946 federal budget accordingly.

The U.S. Office of Price Administration filed suit in New York against the Dairymen's League Cooperative Association to restrain it from violating ceiling price regulations.

Labour
The World Trade Union Conference demanded official recognition, for consultative purposes, from the United Nations Conference on International Organization 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 Perfect Husband



Theatre
The 1955 Pulitzer Prize for Drama was awarded to Tennessee Williams for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

50 years ago
1965

Died on this date
Wally Hood, 70. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Hood was an outfielder with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1920, 1921-1922) and Brooklyn Robins (1920), batting .238 with 1 home run and 5 runs batted in in 67 games. He played more than 1,600 games in 13 seasons in the minor leagues (1916-1930), mostly in the Pacific Coast League. Mr. Wood batted over .300 for six straight seasons in the PCL (1920, 1922-1926), and umpired in the league from 1935-1943. He died of an apparent heart attack, and was inducted into the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame in 2014.

War
U.S. President Lyndon Johnson committed 14,000 troops to the Dominican Republic "to prevent another Communist state in this hemisphere."

Communications
The European Broadcasting Union and American, Canadian. and Mexican networks began regular use of the Intelsat I "Early Bird" communications satellite with a special television transmission to countries in North America and western Europe.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Free and Easy--Helen Reddy (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Shame, Shame, Shame--Shirley (And Company) (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Ding-A-Dong--Teach-In (3rd week at #1)

Music
The 2-record compilation album Spirit of America by the Beach Boys was released on Capitol Records. It consisted of songs previously released from 1962-1969, and was a follow-up to the 1974 2-record compilation album Endless Summer.

Energy
The New Brunswick government of Premier Richard Hatfield started building the $900-million Point Lepreau nuclear power station, to provide 30% of New Brunswick's electricity on completion in 1980.

Baseball
The Chicago Cubs traded pitcher Burt Hooton to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitchers Geoff Zahn and Eddie Solomon. Mr. Hooton, who had joined the Cubs late in the 1971 season, was 0-2 with an earned run average of 8.18 in 3 games in 1975. Mr. Zahn was 0-1 with an ERA of 9.00 in 2 games with the Dodgers in 1975. Mr. Solomon was 3-0 with an ERA of 4.00 in 3 games with the Albuquerque Dukes of the Pacific Coast League; he was assigned to the Wichita Aeros of the American Association.

The Texas Rangers scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to overcome a 3-0 deficit and defeat the California Angels 4-3 before 10,513 fans at Arlington Stadium. The rally began when Jeff Burroughs struck out to lead off, but reached first base on a wild pitch by Bill Singer. The winning run scored when Frank Tanana was brought in from the bullpen with the bases loaded and 1 out, and threw a wild pitch to bring in Joe Lovitto with the winning run.

30 years ago
1985

Died on this date
Larry Clinton, 75. U.S. musician. Mr. Clinton played trumpet and other instruments before becoming an arranger and then a bandleader. He was popular in the late 1930s and early 1940s, with his biggest hit being My Reverie (1938). Mr. Clinton interrupted his career to serve with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He resumed his musical career after the war, often leading a studio band accompanying pop singers.

Attilio Bettega, 32. Italian auto racing driver. Mr. Bettega was a rally driver who was killed during the fourth stage of the Tour de Corse in Corsica when he lost control of his Lancia and crashed into a tree which ruptured into the driver's seat and killed him instantly. Mr. Bettega's co-driver Maurizio Perissinot survived the crash uninjured.

Politics and government
In the Ontario provincial election, the governing Progressive Conservative Party, led by Premier Frank Miller, lost their majority, dropping from 70 seats in the provincial parliament to 52. The Liberals, led by David Peterson, took 48 seats, while the New Democratic Party, led by Bob Rae, won 25 seats and held the balance of power. Mr. Miller had been Premier for just over three months, replacing Bill Davis, who had held the office since 1971. The PCs had been in power since 1943.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Quebec 3 @ Montreal 2 (OT) (Quebec won best-of-seven series 4-3)

Peter Stastny scored at 2:22 of the 1st overtime period to give the Nordiques their win over the Canadiens at the Montreal Forum.



25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Vogue--Madonna (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
William L. Dawson, 90. U.S. composer and choir director. William Levi Dawson, a Negro, was a classical trombonist before embarking on a teaching career at Tuskegee Institute (1931-1956) in Alabama, where he developed the Tuskegee Institute Choir into an internationally-recognized ensemble. As a composer, he was mainly known for arrangements and variations of spirituals, as well as Negro American Symphony (1934, revised 1952).

David Rappaport, 38. U.K.-born U.S. actor. Mr. Rappaport, a dwarf, appeared in such movies as Time Bandits (1981) and The Bride (1985), and starred in the television series The Wizard (1986-1987). He suffered from depression, and committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest.

Crime
400 police officers from New York, Quebec, and Ontario moved to restore order at the Akwesasne Indian reserve near Cornwall, Ontario, where a nine-hour gun battle the day before between pro- and anti-gambling factions had left two dead.

Diplomacy
Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis said in a letter to French and West German leaders that Lithuania would consider suspending some pro-independence laws if that would get talks with the Kremlin underway.

Economics and Finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that leading economic indicators had risen 0.9% in March.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Conference Finals
Chicago 2 @ Edmonton 5 (Edmonton led best-of-seven series 1-0)

20 years ago
1995

Died on this date
Michael Hordern, 83. U.K. actor. Sir Michael appeared in numerous plays, movies, radio, and television programs in a career that ran from the 1930s through the 1990s.

John Bunting, 77. Australian diplomat. Sir John was High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1975-1977 after holding numerous other posts.

War
During the Croatian War of Independence, the Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina fired cluster bombs at Zagreb, killing 7 and wounding over 175 civilians.

Diplomacy
The United States government announced that Cuban boat people seeking asylum would henceforth be returned to Cuba, but most of the 21,000 Cubans detained at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba would be admitted to the U.S.A. These policies were pursuant to an agreement worked out with Cuba in September 1994. The U.S. had agreed to accept 20,000 refugees a year. U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno said that Cubans could now apply for asylum at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.

10 years ago
2005

Died on this date
Wee Kim Wee, 89. 4th President of Singapore, 1985-1993. Mr. Wee was a longtime journalist before moving into diplomacy and then politics. He retired after two terms as President.