April 1, 2016

1,020 years ago
996

Died on this date
John XV. Roman Catholic Pope, 985-996. John XV, son of a Roman presbyter, succeeded John XIV as Pope. He became the first pope to canonize a saint when he canonized Bishop Ulrich of Augsburg in 993. A dispute over the deposition of Archbishop Arnulf of Reims by French churchmen in 991 was a precursor to the investiture controversy between kings and popes. Pope John XV died from a fever and was succeeded by Gregory V.

575 years ago
1441

Died on this date
Blanche I, 53. Queen consort of Sicily, 1402-1409; Queen of Navarre, 1425-1441. Blanche I, the second daughter of King Charles III of Navarre, became Queen consort of Sicily upon her marriage to King Martin I, who died in 1409. Blanche continued as regent of Sicily until 1415, when Sicily was annexed to Aragon. She married John, Duke of Peñafiel, the second son of Ferdinand I of Aragon, in 1419, and acceded to the throne of Navarre upon the death of her father. John became King of Navarre in her right as John II, and continued as King after her death.

240 years ago
1776

War
American General Benedict Arnold was relieved at Québec by General David Wooster. Ships carrying 1,124 United Empire Loyalists--many with the British Army--arrived at Halifax from Boston; in all, 40,000 Americans remained loyal.

190 years ago
1826

Technology
Samuel Morey received a patent for a compressionless "Gas or Vapor Engine."

125 years ago
1891

Business
The Wrigley Company was founded in Chicago.

90 years ago
1926

Hockey
Stanley Cup
Finals @ Montreal Forum
Victoria Cougars (WHL) 0 @ Montreal Maroons (NHL) 3 (Montreal led best-of-five series 2-0)

Clint Benedict posted his second straight shutout in goal for the Maroons.

80 years ago
1936

Asiatica
Odisha, formerly known as Kalinga or Utkal, became a state in India.

75 years ago
1941

War
The Eritrean capital of Asmara surrendered to British troops; the United Kingdom claimed that 130,000-150,000 Italian troops and civilains were trapped in central Ethiopia. Mexico, Venazuela, Peru, and Ecuador seized 23 Axis merchant ships, 16 Italian and 7 German; seven of the ships were seat afire by their crews. The Royal Canadian Navy armed merchant cruiser Prince Henry intercepted two German ships off Peru; the ships were scuttled. U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull defended the seizure of 69 Italian, German, and Danish ships as entirely legal; U.S. Attorney General Robert H. Jackson announced that 875 Axis seamen would be prosecuted on sabotage charges. The Blockade Runner Badge for the German Kriegsmarine was instituted.

Abominations
Between 200 and 2,000 Romanian civilians were massacred by Soviet border troops.

Diplomacy
The Yugoslavian government reported that Italian Duce Benito Mussolini had offered to mediate the German-Yugoslav dispute. German radio charged that atrocities had been committed against German nationals in Yugoslavia.

Defense
U.S. Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles and Mexican Ambassador to the United States Francisco Castillo Najera signed an agreement providing for reciprocal use of airfields to strengthen hemispheric defense plans. The U.S. House of Representatives completed congressional action on a Senate resolution opposing the transfer of Western Hemisphere possessions to non-American powers.

World events
A military coup in Iraq overthrew the regime of 'Abd al-Ilah and installed Rashid Ali al-Gaylani as Prime Minister.

Labour
Despite an appeal from U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 400,000 soft coal miners went on strike in 12 states. 8,000 members of the Congress of Industrial Organizations United Auto Workers closed the River Rouge plant of Ford Motor Company with a sit-down strike, claiming that several union men had been discharged. Wisconsin Governor Julius Heil ordered Allis-Chalmers to close its Milwaukee plant after 32 workers were injured in a battle between police and 3,500 strikers.

70 years ago
1946

Hit parade
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Oh! What it Seemed to Be--Frankie Carle and his Orchestra (3rd week at #1)
--Frank Sinatra
--Dick Haymes and Helen Forrest
--Charlie Spivak and his Orchestra
2 Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief--Betty Hutton
--Les Brown and his Orchestra
3 Personality--Johnny Mercer
4 You Won't Be Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart)--Les Brown and his Orchestra
--Perry Como
5 Symphony--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra with Clyde Rogers
--Bing Crosby
--Benny Goodman and his Orchestra
--Jo Stafford
6 I'm Always Chasing Rainbows--Perry Como
--Dick Haymes and Helen Forrest
7 Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra with Vaughn Monroe and the Norton Sisters
--Woody Herman and his Orchestra
8 One-zy, Two-zy (I Love You-zy)--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra
--Phil Harris and his Orchestra
9 Shoo Fly Pie (And Apple Pan Dowdy)--Stan Kenton and his Orchestra
--Dinah Shore
10 Day by Day--Frank Sinatra

Singles entering the chart were Sioux City Sue by Bing Crosby and the Jesters (#27); Madame Butterball by the Pied Pipers (#44); and Coax Me a Little Bit, with versions by Dinah Shore; and the Andrews Sisters (#48). Madame Butterball was the other side of In the Moon Mist, charting at #35.

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on MBS
Tonight's episode: The April Fool's Day Adventure

Died on this date
Noah Beery, Sr., 64. U.S. actor. Mr. Beery, the older brother of actor Wallace Beery and father of actor Noah Beery, Jr., was a character actor who appeared in over 200 movies, including The Mark of Zorro (1920); The Vanishing American (1925); Beau Geste (1926); and She Done Him Wrong (1933). He died of a heart attack at his brother's home while they were celebrating Wallace's birthday and rehearsing a radio drama they were to appear in that night.

Americana
The auction of the late U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's stamp collection concluded with total sales estimated at $211,000.

Asiatica
The Malayan Union, a federation of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca, came into existence with Kuala Lumpur as its capital and Sir Edward Gent as Governor.

Defense
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill providing for a peacetime Navy of 500,000 men and 100,000 Marines, and also called for burial of an unknown soldier of World War II at Arlington National Cemetery.

U.S. Secretary of State James Byrnes informed Cuba that on May 20, 1946 the United States would give up its wartime bases in Cuba. U.S. Army General Albert Wedemeyer announced that U.S. forces in the China theatre would disband on May 1, 1946.

Politics and government
Nationalist Chinese leader Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek said that Communist demands for control of Manchuria would not be considered until the government completed occupation of the area.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a lower court ruling sustaining the right of Negroes to vote in primary elections in Georgia.

Representative B. Carroll Reece (Tennessee) was elected national chairman of the U.S. Republican Party.

Transportation
U.S. President Harry Truman named James M. Landis as chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board to succeed L. Welch Pogue, whose resignation was to take effect on June 8, 1946.

Agriculture
The U.S.S.R. rejected an invitation to join 18 nations in an emergency conference on cereal supplies on April 3 in London.

Economics and finance
To encourage colonization, the Quebec government of Premier Maurice Duplessis adopted a policy of bonuses for land clearing, increasing the premium paid to the settler for land clearing from $ 15 to $ 20 per acre. Organizational credits were also added to this bonus.

Business
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a controversial clause of the 1935 utility holding company act, which compelled public utilities to confine themselves to a single, integrated system.

Labour
A nationwide strike of 400,000 United Mine Workers of America soft coal miners began after the failure of U.S. Labor Department mediation in a wage dispute.

Disasters
An 8.6-magnitude earthquake near the Aleutian Islands created a tsunami that struck the Hawaiian Islands and killed 159, mostly in Hilo.

Baseball
The Mexican League, an eight-team circuit backed by the $60-million fortune of Jorge Pasquel, signed catcher Mickey Owen of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Other American players who had already signed with ML teams were pitcher Sal Maglie, second baseman George Hausmann, and first baseman Roy Zimmerman, all of whom had played with the New York Giants in 1945.

60 years ago
1956

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Help Wanted, starring John Qualen, Lorne Greene, and Madge Kennedy

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Philadelphia 83 @ Fort Wayne 84 (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)

50 years ago
1966

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: A Must to Avoid--Herman's Hermits (2nd week at #1)

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Lovedrops--Barry Allen
2 Nowhere Man--The Beatles
3 Daydream--The Lovin' Spoonful
4 19th Nervous Breakdown--The Rolling Stones
5 The Ballad of the Green Berets--SSgt Barry Sadler
6 These Boots are Made for Walkin'--Nancy Sinatra
7 I Fought the Law--Bobby Fuller Four
8 Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)--Cher
9 Homeward Bound--Simon & Garfunkel
10 Time Won't Let Me--The Outsiders
Pick hit of the week: Leaning on the Lamp Post--Herman's Hermits
New this week: I'm Comin' Home, Cindy--Trini Lopez
The Ballad of Irving--Frank Gallop
Time--The Pozo-Seco Singers
Friends and Mirrors--Bobby Russell
Mame--Al Hirt

Leaning on the Lamp Post was from the movie Hold On! (1966); the movie's title song was the B-side.

Died on this date
Brian O'Nolan, 54. Irish author. Mr. O'Nolan wrote several novels in English under the pseudonym Flann O'Brien, and wrote newspaper columns and a novel in Irish under the pseudonym Myles na gCopaleen. He's regarded as a key figure in modernist and postmodern literature in Ireland. Mr. O'Nolan was a drunkard for much of his life, suffered from throat cancer, and died of a heart attack.

Defense
Wolseley Barracks in London, Ontario was renamed Canadian Forces Base London.

40 years ago
1976

Died on this date
Max Ernst, 84. German-born painter and sculptor. Mr. Ernst was a pioneer of the Dada movement and surrealism. He spent much of his life in France, and died the day before his 85th birthday.

Humour
The Jovian–Plutonian gravitational effect, soon revealed as an April Fools' Day hoax, was first reported by British astronomer Patrick Moore on BBC Radio 2.

Communications
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau gave the Canadian Radio and Television Commission authority to regulate all forms of broadcasting, and changed its name to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

Economics and finance
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau raised the federal minimum wage to $2.90 per hour.

Business
Apple Inc. was formed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in Cupertino, California.

Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) took over operations from six bankrupt railroads in the northeastern United States.

30 years ago
1986

World events
Communist Party of Nepal (Mashal) cadres attacked a number of police stations in Kathmandu, seeking to incite a popular rebellion in what was known as Sector Kanda.

Crime
The U.S. President’s Commission on Organized Crime reported that organized crime took in revenues of $41.6 billion-$106 billion annually. The commission, in its third and final report, said that racketeers cost the country about $6.5 billion per year in lost tax revenues. Other data showed that organized crime caused a loss of 414,000 jobs and lifted consumer prices 0.3%. The commission noted that at least four motorcycle gangs and at least five ethnic secret societies flourishing in prisons had become organized crime groups. It urged states to emulate the federal government in permitting electronic surveillance, granting immunity for witnesses, and requiring the surrender of income from criminal endeavours. Nine of the commission’s 18 members criticized the commission’s reports, asserting that important issues had been left unexplained because of inept management.

Oil
Oil prices fell below $10 per barrel. U.S. Vice-President George Bush, who was scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia several days hence, said, "it is essential that we talk about stability" in world oil prices.

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Oh! Yeah!/Love Story wa Totsuzen ni--Kazumasa Oda (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Se mustamies--Hausmylly (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Martha Graham, 96. U.S. dancer and choreographer. Miss Graham was probably the most influential American modern dancer of the 20th century. She formed her own company in 1926, and her dance technique is still taught today. Miss Graham choregraphed ballets from the mid-1920s until her death.

World events
A coalition of Kurdish insurgent groups appealed to the United States and other western nations to help the Kurds, whose insurgency was being beaten down by Iraqi government forces.

Basketball
NCAA
Men's Championship Final @ Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis
Duke 72 Kansas 65

After five trips to the Final Four under Coach Mike Krzyzewski since 1986, Duke finally won its first NCAA championship. Christian Laettner led the Blue Devils with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and was named the Final Four's Most Valuable Player.



20 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Jesus to a Child--George Michael (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Firestarter--The Prodigy (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Children--Robert Miles (2nd week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Ironic--Alanis Morissette
2 1979--Smashing Pumpkins
3 I Want to Come Over--Melissa Etheridge
4 Follow You Down--Gin Blossoms
5 Missing--Everything But the Girl
6 Nobody Knows--The Tony Rich Project
7 Birmingham--Amanda Marshall
8 Wonderwall--Oasis
9 Don't Cry--Seal
10 Jesus to a Child--George Michael

Singles entering the chart were Always Be My Baby by Mariah Carey (#87); Everything Falls Apart by Dog's Eye View (#89); Heroine by Wild Strawberries (#90); This is the Stuff by Carolyn Arends (#92); Don't Leave Me Alone by Amy Sky (#95); Don't Wanna Lose You by Lionel Richie (#97); and Brown Shoe by Junkhouse (#98).

Died on this date
Jean Le Moyne, 83. Canadian journalist and politician. Mr. Le Moyne was known for his book Convergences (1961). He was appointed to the Canadian Senate by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1982, and represented Rigaud as a Liberal from 1982-1988.

John McSherry, 51. U.S. baseball umpire. Mr. McSherry was an umpire in the National League from 1971-1996, working in eight NL Championship Series and the 1977 and 1987 World Series. He was officially listed at 6' 2" and 328 pounds, but some sources said his weight was closer to 400 pounds; he was considered the umpire most likely to die of a heart attack on the diamond. Mr. McSherry was working behind home plate in the season opener between the Montreal Expos and Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, when he called time out after just seven pitches and motioned for the second base umpire to replace him; he started to walk off the field, and collapsed with a heart attack. Mr. McSherry was pronounced dead at the hospital an hour later. There were 2 out and nobody on base in the top of the 1st inning when the game was called, and play was not resumed.



Defense
Detachment London, formerly Canadian Forces Base London, closed. It had been downsized from a base to a detachment of CFB Toronto in 1992.

Business
The Bank of Tokyo and Mitsubishi Bank merged to create the world's largest bank, with assets of US$722.4 billion.

10 years ago
2006

Died on this date
In Tam, 83. Prime Minister of Cambodia, 1973. Mr. In, a member of the Democratic Party, had a long career in politics, and was part of the revolution that removed Price Norodom Sihanouk from power in 1970. Mr. In increasingly opposed the coup's leader, Lon Nol, and ran against him for president in 1972, losing an election that was regarded as rigged by many observers. Mr. In served as Prime Minister from May-December 1973, but was forced into retirement, and fled the country when the Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975. Mr. In received asylum in the United States, and died in Arizona.

Law
The Serious Organised Crime Agency, dubbed the "British FBI", was created in the United Kingdom.