May 3, 2015

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Pud Smith!

1,525 years ago
490

Born on this date
K'an Joy Chitam I. Ruler of Palenque, 529-565. K'an Joy Chitam I was an ajaw of the Maya city state of Palenque in what is now southern Mexico, taking the throne after an interregnum of more than four years. He died on February 6, 565 at the age of 74, and was succeeded by Ahkal Moʼ Nahb II.

320 years ago
1695

Born on this date
Henri Pitot. French physicist and engineer. Mr. Pitot was a hydraulic engineer who invented the Pitot tube, and designed the Aqueduc de Saint-Clément near Montpellier and the extension of Pont du Gard in Nîmes. He died on December 27, 1771 at the age of 76.

300 years ago
1715

Space
A total solar eclipse was visible across northern Europe and northern Asia, as predicted by English astronomer Edmond Halley to within 4 minutes accuracy.

200 years ago
1815

War
Joachim Murat, King of Naples, was defeated by Austrian forces in the Battle of Tolentino, the decisive engagement of the Neapolitan War.

120 years ago
1895

Born on this date
Cornelius Van Til. Dutch-born U.S. theologian. Dr. Van Til moved with his family to Indiana at the age of 10. He graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary, and served as a minister with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church for more than 40 years. Dr. Van Til was one of the founders of Westminster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, and taught there for 43 years. He has been credited as the originator of presuppositional apologetics, and argued that there is no neutral common ground between Christians and non-Christians because their presuppositions, their ultimate principles of interpretation, are different, but common ground can be found because Christians act inconsistently with their presuppositions. Dr. Van Til died on April 17, 1987, 16 days before his 92nd birthday. He has had a tremendous influence on Christian reconstructionists/theonomists such as Rousas Rushdoony and Greg Bahnsen.

100 years ago
1915

Born on this date
Stu Hart. Canadian wrestler and wrestling promoter. Mr. Hart, a native of Saskatoon, moved to Edmonton as a teenager, where he began his career as an amateur wrestler. He was a lineman with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Western Interprovincial Football Union in 1938-1939. Mr. Hart served in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II, and began a successful career as a professional wrestler after the war, founding Stampede Wrestling in Calgary in 1948. He purchased a mansion there, the basement of which was used as a training school for wrestlers and became known as the "Dungeon." Mr. Hart and his wife Helen had 12 children, with all the sons becoming wrestlers or referees, and all the daughters marrying wrestlers. Stampede Wrestling television broadcasts were seen around the world, making the program and its participants internationally famous. Mr. Hart sold Stampede Wrestling to Vince McMahon in 1984, but the hart family reacquired the operation a year later. Mr. Hart died on October 16, 2003 at the age of 88.

Literature
Canadian Army Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a physician from Guelph, Ontario, composed his poem In Flanders Fields in 20 minutes, while overlooking the grave of a fellow officer at Ypres, Belgium. It was first published in the December 1915 edition of Punch magazine.

90 years ago
1925

Died on this date
Clément Ader, 84. French engineer and inventor. Mr. Ader improved on the telephone in 1878 and in 1881 invented the théâtrophone, a system of telephonic transmission where listeners received a separate channel for each ear, enabling stereophonic perception of the actors on a set; it was this invention which gave the first stereo transmission of opera performances, over a distance of 2 miles. He was best known for his prototype aircrafts, especially the Avion III, a steam-powered aircraft that failed to impress the French military when it was given a trial in 1897.

75 years ago
1940

At the movies
Saps at Sea, directed by Gordon Douglas, and starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, opened in theatres. It was Laurel and Hardy's last film with Hal Roach Studios.



War
Allied forces in Norway evacuated Namsos and abandoned the Steinkjer line to Norwegian troops commanded by Colonel O.B. Getz, who asked the German High Command for an armistice.

Law
More than 200 French Communists were sent to islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the French cost for internment.

Politics and government
In a speech in Washington, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt challenged would-be Democratic Party presidential candidates to stop criticizing his New Deal economic policies and offer constructive policies.

Protest
27 of the 85 women on the advisory committee for the New York World's Fair resigned in protest against the Fair's chosen theme, "For Peace and Freedom."

Oil
The Mexican Petroleum Distribution Agency announced a $54-million contract with three U.S. companies for the purchase of Mexican oil.

Boxing
Buddy Baer (52-4) scored a technical knockout of Nathan Mann (54-8-4) at 1:36 of the 7th round of a heavyweight bout at Madison Square Garden in New York. Mr. Mann was knocked down twice in the 7th round.

70 years ago
1945

War
The First Canadian Army took Oldenburg, and Canadian paratroopers linked up with Soviet forces in Wismar, Germany. The German prison ships SS Cap Arcona, SS Thielbek, and SS Deutschland were sunk by the British Royal Air Force in Lübeck Bay. Brazilian War Minister Eurico Gaspar Dutra said that Brazilian troops in Italy would return home immediately. As British forces linked up with Soviet forces on a 65-mile front south of Hamburg, the city surrendered to the British without battle. U.K. forces occupied Trieste and Gorizia, formerly Italian cities claimed by Yugoslavia. The Burmese capital of Rangoon was secured by the British 14th Army, with most of the Japanese forces fleeing; its fall virtually brought the Burmese campaign to an end. Japanese forces began their fifth massed kamikaze attack on the U.S. 5th Fleet off Okinawa, with 125 kamikaze planes sinking 6 American vessels and damaging 6 others.

Diplomacy
The four main committees at the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco started work on the United Nations Charter.

Labour
U.S. Solid Fuels Administrator Harold Ickes seized 363 Pennsylvania coal mines on an order from President Harry Truman, and told the miners to return to work by May 7.

50 years ago
1965

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Venecia Sin Tí (Que C'Est Triste Venise)--Charles Aznavour

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Ticket to Ride--The Beatles (2nd week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 I'm Tellin' You Now--Freddie & the Dreamers
2 Silhouettes--Herman's Hermits
3 Me and You--The Regents
4 Game of Love--Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders
5 Ticket to Ride--The Beatles
6 Out in the Streets--The Shangri-Las
7 Walk That Walk--David Clayton-Thomas
8 It's Not Unusual--Tom Jones
9 Concrete and Clay--Unit Four Plus Two
10 Talk About Love--Adam Faith

Singles entering the chart were Let's Do the Freddie by Chubby Checker (#28); Reelin' and Rockin' by the Dave Clark Five (#30); Iko Iko by the Dixie Cups (#31); Remember the Face by the Allan Sisters (#32); Crying in the Chapel by Elvis Presley (#33); Tommy by Reparata and the Delrons (#34); He Belongs to Yesterday by Pat Hervey (#35); She's About a Mover by Sir Douglas Quintet (#36); and Mr. Tambourine Man by the Byrds (#40).

On television tonight
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Night Fever, starring Colleen Dewhurst, Tom Simcox, and Joe De Santis

Music
The Beach Boys were at Western Recording Studios in Hollywood, California, where they recorded the song Then I Kissed Her.

Diplomacy
Prince Norodom Sihanouk announced that Cambodia was ending diplomatic relations with the United States.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Piange il telefono--Domenico Modugno (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): Paloma Blanca--George Baker Selection (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: Oh Boy--Mud

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)--Tony Orlando and Dawn

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)--Tony Orlando and Dawn
2 (Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song--B.J. Thomas
3 Jackie Blue--The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
4 Philadelphia Freedom--The Elton John Band
5 Chevy Van--Sammy Johns
6 Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance)--Leo Sayer
7 Shining Star--Earth, Wind & Fire
8 How Long--Ace
9 Walking in Rhythm--Blackbyrds
10 I Don't Like to Sleep Alone--Paul Anka

Singles entering the chart were Sadie by the Spinners (#78); Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me) by the Doobie Brothers (#82); Why Can't We Be Friends? by War (#88); Rockin' Chair by Gwen McCrae (#90); Blanket on the Ground by Billie Jo Spears (#95); Lizzie and the Rainman by Tanya Tucker (#96); 99 Miles from L.A. by Albert Hammond (#98); Judy Mae by Boomer Castleman (#99); and Mister Magic by Grover Washington, Jr. (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 I Don't Like to Sleep Alone--Paul Anka
2 Philadelphia Freedom--The Elton John Band
3 Lady Marmalade--LaBelle
4 It's a Miracle--Barry Manilow
5 (Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song--B.J. Thomas
6 Emma--Hot Chocolate
7 Chevy Van--Sammy Johns
8 He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)--Tony Orlando and Dawn
9 Jackie Blue--The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
10 Rainy Day People--Gordon Lightfoot

Singles entering the chart were Disco Queen by Copperpenny (#85); Play a Little Bit Longer by Shirley Eikhard (#96); Old Days by Chicago (#97); I Need My Woman by Craig Ruhnke (#98); Ooo Baby Baby by Tinker's Moon (#99); and Wildfire by Michael Murphey (#100).

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

Winnipeg's Top 30 (CKRC)
1 I Don't Like to Sleep Alone--Paul Anka (2nd week at #1)
2 Jackie Blue--The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
3 Philadelphia Freedom--The Elton John Band
4 Emma--Hot Chocolate
5 (Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song--B.J. Thomas
6 He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)--Tony Orlando and Dawn
7 Lovin' You--Minnie Riperton
8 Stand by Me--John Lennon
9 Killer Queen--Queen
10 Bad Time--Grand Funk
11 Pinball Wizard--Elton John (LP track)
12 I Can Dance--Shooter
13 Shame, Shame, Shame--Shirley (And Company)
14 No No Song--Ringo Starr
15 What am I Gonna Do with You--Barry White
16 You are So Beautiful--Joe Cocker
17 Lady Marmalade--LaBelle
18 Black Water--The Doobie Brothers
19 Only Yesterday--Carpenters
20 How Long--Ace
21 Let the Phone Ring--Jim Mancel
22 Misty--Ray Stevens
23 Sail on Sailor--The Beach Boys
24 Rainy Day People--Gordon Lightfoot
25 Sister Golden Hair--America
26 In the Mood--Rush
27 Old Days--Chicago
28 Cum Hear the Band--April Wine
29 Magic--Pilot
30 Julie--Ian Thomas

Horse racing
Foolish Pleasure, with Jacinto Vasquez up, won the 101st running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville in a time of 2:02. Avatar placed second, with Diabolo third.



Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Buffalo 2 @ Montreal 8 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)

Guy Lafleur and Yvon Lambert each scored 2 goals as the Canadiens routed the Sabres before 18,453 fans in the Montreal Forum. Bob Gainey, Jacques Lemaire, Guy Lapointe, and Glen Sather scored the other Montreal goals. For Mr. Sather, who scored the game's final goal with 2:08 remaining in the 3rd period, his goal was his first and only in Stanley Cup play, coming in his 70th playoff game. Don Luce opened the scoring for Buffalo in the 3rd period, and Jerry Korab scored in the 3rd period. Montreal defenceman Larry Robinson and Buffalo defenceman Bill Hajt were ejected as the result of a bench-clearing brawl with 3:27 remaining in the 2nd period.

WHA
Avco World Trophy
Finals
Quebec 2 @ Houston 6 (Houston led best-of-seven series 1-0)

The Aeros scored 4 goals in the 1st period and coasted to victory over the Nordiques before 8,062 fans at Sam Houston Coliseum. Gord Labossiere and Larry Lund scored 70 seconds apart to give Houston a 2-0 lead just 2:36 into the game, and Gordie Howe and Terry Ruskowski scored to make the score 4-0. Don Larway made it 5-0 in the 2nd period, and Marc Tardif scored for Quebec before the end of the period. Mr. Labossiere scored again at 1:45 of the 3rd period, and Bobby Guindon scored the second Quebec goal exactly 2 minutes later to close the scoring.

Basketball
NBA
Conference Finals
Washington 90 @ Boston 101 (Washington led best-of-seven series 2-1)

John Havlicek scored 26 points, Dave Cowens 24, and Jo Jo White 21 as the Celtics beat the Bullets before 15,320 fans at Boston Garden. Paul Silas added 10 points for Boston and grabbed 25 rebounds. Elvin Hayes led Washington scorers with 23 points.

ABA
Western Division Finals
Indiana 104 @ Denver 93 (Indiana won best-of-seven series 4-3)

George McGinnis scored 40 points--9 in the final 4 minutes--as the Pacers eliminated the Nuggets before 7,041 fans at Denver Auditorium Arena. Billy Keller scored 23 points for Indiana, and Billy Knight added 19. Bobby Jones led Denver scorers with 20 points. Mack Calvin, who had been an offensive star with the Nuggets for most of the season, missed all 8 of his field goal attempts, scoring just 5 points on free throws and making 5 assists.

Baseball
Dave Cash batted 2 for 3 in the first game and 4 for 6 in the second game as the Philadelphia Phillies swept a twi-night doubleheader from the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2 and 4-3 in 11 innings before 44,501 fans at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mr. Cash singled home pinch runner Terry Harmon with the winning run in game 2.

Woodie Fryman pitched a 1-hitter for his third straight shutout as the Montreal Expos blanked the New York Mets 3-0 before 38,803 fans at Shea Stadium in New York. A double by John Stearns with 2 out in the 5th inning was the only hit off Mr. Fryman, who extended his scoreless innings streak to 29 2/3, a Montreal club record.

Gary Nolan pitched a 5-hit complete game for his first major league win in three years as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves 6-1 before 27,091 fans at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Mr. Nolan had missed almost all of the 1973 and 1974 seasons because of arm problems. Cincinnati's Pete Rose started the game at third base, moving to left field in the 7th inning as John Vukovich came in to play third base. Mr. Vukovich had been the Reds' starting third baseman for most of the first month of the season, but his weak hitting led Cincinnati manager Sparky Anderson to move the versatile Mr. Rose from left field to third base, allowing both George Foster and Ken Griffey to play in the outfield, with Dan Driessen in reserve.

Frank Robinson's pinch-hit single drove home Buddy Bell with the first of 6 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning as the Cleveland Indians defeated the Baltimore Orioles 6-1 before 17,714 fans at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. Fritz Peterson pitched a 5-hit complete game for the victory. Baltimore starting pitcher Ross Grimsley had a shutout for 7 innings until allowing the first 3 batters of the 8th to reach base. He was relieved by Wayne Garland, who allowed 1 hit, 2 bases on balls, and 3 earned runs in 2/3 inning.

Bill Melton hit his first home run of the season in the 4th inning and doubled home Carlos May with none out in the bottom of the 10th to give the Chicago White Sox a 4-3 win over the Oakland Athletics before 17,874 fans at White Sox Park. It was the second consecutive and last game in which pinch running specialists Matt Alexander, Don Hopkins, and Herb Washington all appeared for the Athletics.

Randy Stein came within 2 outs of a no-hitter, settling for a 4-hit complete game victory as the Rochester Red Wings defeated the Pawtucket Red Sox 4-2 in an International League game at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket. Dave Coleman broke up the no-hitter with a double, the first of four consecutive hits that produced 2 runs. Mr. Stein also singled in the eventual winning run in the 6th inning; the win improved his record for the season to 2-1 and lowered his earned run average from 8.31 to 5.73. He walked 5 batters and struck out 6.

30 years ago
1985

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Live is Life--Opus (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): We are the World--USA For Africa (5th week at #1)

Hockey
IIHF Men's World Championship @ Prague
Final
C.S.S.R. 5 Canada 3

The silver medal was Canada's highest finish in the championships since 1962.

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Oi beibi/Tuhansien sulojen maa--Raptori (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): The By-road to Glenroe--Mick Lally (5th week at #1)

Politics and government
Members of the Latvian parliament met to discuss independence from the Soviet Union.

Abominations
Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney announced plans to build a Goods and Services tax processing centre in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, creating 500 new jobs by 1992. The centre would replace some of the jobs lost by the scheduled 1992 closing of the Canadian Armed Forces base in Summerside.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of Canada overturned a Manitoba Court of Appeal decision and ruled that "battered wife syndrome" was a justifiable defense against the charge of murder. The case involved a 22-year-old Winnnipeg woman who shot her husband with a rifle in 1986 after he had threatened to kill her. The Supreme Court ruled that the woman had acted in self-defense after three years of repeated beatings. The mentally and morally retarded feminist hag "Justice" Bertha Wilson wrote the judgement, none of which I’ll bother quoting.

Medicine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug AZT for treating children aged 3 months to 12 years who had symptoms of AIDS or who were infected with the AIDS virus. Government officials estimated that there were as many as 20,000 children in the United States who were infected with the virus.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Conference Finals
Washington 3 @ Boston 7 (Boston led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Baseball
New York Yankees' rookie Mike Blowers, handed the starting job at third base, tied an American League record for third basemen by making 4 errors in the Yankees’ 10-5 loss to the Cleveland Indians before 15,169 fans at Yankee Stadium.

20 years ago
1995

War
Opposing forces in the Croatian War of Independence agreed to a cease-fire.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the index of leading economic indicators had fallen o.5% in March, the largest decline in two years.

Hockey
IIHF
World Men's Championship
Canada 4 U.S.A. 1

10 years ago
2005

Politics and government
Iraq's first democratically elected government was sworn in, with Ibrahim al-Jaafari as Prime Minister.