April 21, 2016

200 years ago
1816

Born on this date
Charlotte Bronte. U.K. authoress. Miss Brontë was the older sister of novelists Emily and Anne Brontë. Charlotte was best known for her novel Jane Eyre (1847). Charlotte Brontë died with her unborn child from an illness contracted during pregnancy on March 31, 1855, three weeks before her 39th birthday.

180 years ago
1836

War
Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeated Mexican troops led by General Antonio López de Santa Anna in the Battle of San Jacinto, assuring Texas' independence.

160 years ago
1856

Labour
Stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne, Australia marched from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight-hour day.

100 years ago
1916

Born on this date
Eldon Rathburn. Canadian composer. Mr. Rathburn, a native of Queenstown, New Brunswick, wrote scores for over 250 films during a 30-year career with the National Film Board of Canada. He died on August 31, 2008 at the age of 92.

90 years ago
1926

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada!

75 years ago
1941

War
German forces claimed to have destroyed five British troop transports in seas off Greece. British battleships shelled Tripoli for 40 minutes at daybreak. Bishop Henry Hobson, head of the U.S. Fight for Freedom Committee, said that the United States should send troops to Europe to defeat Germany if they were needed.

Defense
Japanese newspapers reported that the U.S.A., U.K., China, India, Australia, and the Netherlands East Indies had concluded a secret military and naval pact to strengthen their Far east defenses and to oppose Japanese expansion southward.

Diplomacy
Ankara radio announced that King Peter II of Yugoslavia had arrived in Jersualem by plane.

Politics and government
Emmanouil Tsouderos became Prime Minister of Greece, and promised a "fight to the end."

General Isaias Medina Angarita and Romulo Gallegos, candidates for the Venezuelan presidency, agreed to drop their election campaigns and let the Congress choose between them.

Texas Governor W. Lee O'Daniel appointed Andrew Jackson Houston, 86, son of General Sam Houston, to serve in the United States Senate until June 28, 1941, when a successor would be elected to fill the remainder of the term of Morris Sheppard, who had died on April 9, 1941. Mr. Houston was a Democrat.

Economics and finance
U.S. Treasury officials presented their recommendations to the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee for raising $3.6 billion in additional revenues in 1942.

Labour
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appealed to soft coal operators and the United Mine Workers of America to reopen mines closed since April 1, 1941.

70 years ago
1946

Died on this date
John Maynard Keynes, 62. U.K. economist. Mr. Keynes was one of the most influential economists in history. In his book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936), he argued that aggregate demand (total spending) determined the overall level of economic activity, and that inadequate aggregate demand could lead to periods of high unemployment. Mr. Keynes argued in favour of state intervention in the economy in order to moderate "boom and bust" cycles. Keynesian economics continues to be controversial today.

Television
CBS disclosed that tests of colour television over coaxial cables between New York and Washington had proven successful.

Aviation
U.S. Army Captain Martin Smith flew an Army P-80 jet fighter from New York to Washington in 29.15 minutes, averaging over 450 miles per hour to set a world speed record.

War
The deputy foreign ministers of the U.S.A., U.S.S.R., U.K., and France ended attempts in London to draw up draft peace treaties for Italy and the Balkan states without reaching agreement on major issues.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Harry Truman refused to endorse any position on the Palestine question, preferring to wait for United Nations action on the matter.

Defense
The Egyptian government reported that 60,000 British troops had evacuated Egypt in the past month, leaving about 100,000 still there.

Politics and government
2,000 Communist and Socialist delegates, claiming to represent one million party members in the Soviet zone of Germany, approved the merger of their parties into the Socialist Unity Party.

60 years ago
1956

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Memories are Made of This--Dean Martin (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Tiritomba--Margot Eskens (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): The Poor People of Paris--Winifred Atwell (3rd week at #1)

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Heartbreak Hotel--Elvis Presley (Best Seller--1st week at #1); The Poor People of Paris--Les Baxter, his Chorus and Orchestra (Disc Jockey--5th week at #1; Jukebox--2nd week at #1; Top 100--5th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Heartbreak Hotel--Elvis Presley
2 The Poor People of Paris--Les Baxter, his Chorus and Orchestra
3 Blue Suede Shoes--Carl Perkins
4 Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)--Perry Como
5 Why Do Fools Fall in Love--The Teenagers
--Gale Storm
--The Diamonds
6 Lisbon Antigua--Nelson Riddle and his Orchestra
7 A Tear Fell--Teresa Brewer
8 Rock Island Line--Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group
8 I'll Be Home--Pat Boone
--The Flamingos
9 Juke Box Baby--Perry Como
10 (You've Got) The Magic Touch--The Platters

Singles entering the chart were Little Girl of Mine by the Cleftones (#35); Standing on the Corner by the Four Lads (#38); To Love Again by the Four Aces (#41); The Happy Whistler by Don Robertson (#42); Flamenco Love by Don Costa and his Orchestra (#44); Walk Hand in Hand by Tony Martin (#48); and Out of the Picture by the Crew-Cuts (#49).

On television tonight
The Honeymooners, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Loudspeaker



Died on this date
Charles MacArthur, 60. U.S. writer. Mr. MacArthur was known for the plays The Front Page (1928); Twentieth Century (1932); and Ladies and Gentlemen (1939), all written with Ben Hecht, and screenplays for films such as The Scoundrel (1935); Gunga Din (1939); and Wuthering Heights (1939). He won an Academy Award for his screenplay for The Scoundrel. Mr. MacArthur was married to actress Helen Hayes from 1928 until his death, and they were the parents of actor James MacArthur.

Labour
The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) was formed in Toronto from a merger of the Canadian Congress of Labour and the Trades and Labour Congress.

Boxing
Former world heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles (92-17-1) scored a technical knockout of Don Jasper (19-8-1) at 2:46 of the 9th round before 3,275 fans at Windsor Arena in Windsor, Ontario.

50 years ago
1966

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Somebody Help Me--The Spencer Davis Group (2nd week at #1)

On television today
The British Parliament was televised for the first time as Queen Elizabeth II opened the fourth Parliament of her reign.

Died on this date
Sepp Dietrich, 75. German military officer. Waffen-SS Oberst-Gruppenführer Dietrich was Fuehrer Adolf Hitler's chauffeur and bodyguard, but advanced his position as a result of the Night of the Long Knives on June 30, 1934. He commanded the 6th Panzer Army during the Battle of the Bulge in late 1944-early 1945. Mr. Dietrich was imprisoned from 1945-1955 for war crimes and from 1957-1958 for his role in the Night of the Long Knives.

Religion
Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie visited Jamaica, an event now celebrated by Rastafarians as Grounation Day.

40 years ago
1976

Hockey
WHA
Avco World Trophy
U.S. Championship Quarter-Finals
Indianapolis 0 @ New England 3 (New England led best-of-seven series 2-1)
San Diego 6 @ Houston 8 (Houston led best-of-seven series 1-0)

30 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Chain Reaction--Diana Ross

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Si Tú Eres Mi Hombre y Yo Tu Mujer (The Power of Love)--Jennifer Rush (3rd week at #1)

Politics and government
The Liberal Party, led by Joe Ghiz, took 21 of 32 seats in the legislature in the Prince Edward Island provincial election, ending the seven-year government of the Progressive Conservatives under Premier James Lee. The Liberals took 50.4% of the vote to 45.6% for the Progressive Conservatives, who won the remaining 11 seats.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Montreal 4 @ Hartford 1 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 2-1)
Washington 6 @ New York Rangers 3 (Washington led best-of-seven series 2-1)

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Trippin'--Push Push (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Joyride--Roxette (3rd week at #1)

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Joyride--Roxette (4th week at #1)
2 No Coke--Dr. Alban
3 Secret Love--Bee Gees
4 Blue Hotel--Chris Isaak
5 Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C & C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams
6 Should I Stay or Should I Go--The Clash
7 How to Dance--Bingoboys featuring Princessa
8 Crazy--Seal
9 Sister Soul & Mr. Beat--Beat 4 Feet featuring Kim Cooper
10 Kränk di net--Jazz Gitti & her Disco Killers

Singles entering the chart were Bussi, Bussi by Andy & Bernd (#25); and Highwire by the Rolling Stones (#27).

Politics and government
Canadian Liberal Party leader Jean Chrétien urged a Canadian constitutional referendum in early 1992; he suggested giving a veto to four regions - Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario and the West - and the allocation of power to the government that could handle it best.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Boston 3 @ Montreal 2 (Boston led best-of-seven series 2-1)
Pittsburgh 3 @ Washington 1 (Pittsburgh led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Football
CFL
The Toronto Argonauts signed Universty of Notre Dame receiver and kick returner Raghib "Rocket" Ismail to a contract for $18.2 million over four years. Mr. Ismail was expected to be the number one choice in the upcoming National Football League draft.

20 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Hey Girl (This is Our Time)--CDB

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Macarena--Los Del Rio (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Children--Robert Miles (10th week at #1)

#1 single in Scotland (OCC): Ooh Aah...Just a Little Bit--Gina G (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Jimmy Snyder, 77. U.S. oddsmaker. "Jimmy the Greek," born Dimetrios Georgios Synodinos, began running a weekly betting line on professional football in Las Vegas in 1956. He was best known for the 12 seasons from 1976-1987 on the CBS pre-game panel program The NFL Today. Mr. Snyder was fired by the network in January 1988 for making racially offensive remarks.

Dzhokhar Dudayev, 52. 1st President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, 1991-1996. General Dudayev, an Air Force officer, became President and unilaterally declared the independence of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria from the U.S.S.R. in October 1991. He was killed by two laser-guided missiles when he was using a satellite phone, and a Russian reconnaissane plane detected his location and intercepted his call. General Dudayev was succeeded as President by Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev.

War
United Nations troops arrived and took control of the Liberian capital of Monrovia.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Conference Quarter-Finals
Philadelphia 4 @ Tampa Bay 5 (OT) (Tampa Bay led best-of-seven series 2-1)
New York Rangers 2 @ Montreal 1 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 2-1)
Toronto 2 @ St. Louis 3 (OT) (St. Louis led best-of-seven series 2-1)
Detroit 1 @ Winnipeg 4 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 2-1)
Chicago 7 @ Calgary 5 (Chicago led best-of-seven series 3-0)

10 years ago
2006

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Conference Quarter-Finals
Tampa Bay 1 @ Ottawa 4 (Ottawa led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Edmonton 2 @ Detroit 3 (2 OT) (Detroit led best-of-seven series 1-0)
San Jose 3 @ Nashville 4 (Nashville led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Anaheim 1 @ Calgary 2 (Calgary led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Kirk Maltby scored 2 goals, including the winner, as the Red Wings edged the Oilers at Joe Louis Arena. The Predators scored all their goals on the powerplay as they edged the Sharks at Gaylord Entertainment Center. Darren McCarty scored 9:45 into overtime as the Flames edged the Mighty Ducks at Pengrowth Saddledome.