April 3, 2016

325 years ago
1691

Died on this date
Jean Petitot, 83. Swiss artist. Mr. Petitot was an enamel portrait painter who spent most of his career working for the courts of France and England.

110 years ago
1906

Born on this date
Fats Pichon. U.S. musician. Walter Pichon was a jazz pianist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader who was born in New Orleans, but played with various bands in New York City, New Jersey, and Boston in the early-mid-1920s before returning to his birthplace. He led his own band in the 1930s, and spent many years as the house pianist at The Old Absinthe House on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Mr. Pichon recorded several singles from 1929-1956, and an album in 1956. He died on February 25, 1967 at the age of 60.

100 years ago
1916

Born on this date
Herb Caen. U.S. journalist. Mr. Caen wrote a column of local interest and events for the San Francisco Chronicle for most of the period from 1938 until his death on February 1, 1997 at the age of 80. He wrote his column for the San Francisco Examiner from 1950-1958.

90 years ago
1926

Hockey
Stanley Cup
Finals @ Montreal Forum
Victoria Cougars (WHL) 3 @ Montreal Maroons (NHL) 2 (Montreal led best-of-five series 2-1)

80 years ago
1936

Died on this date
Richard Hauptmann, 36. German-born U.S. criminal. Mr. Hauptmann served in the German Army during World War I, and illegally entered the United States in 1923 by stowing away on an ocean liner. He worked as a carpenter until his arrest in 1934 for the 1932 kidnapping and murder of 1-year-old Charles Lindbergh, Jr., son of the famous aviator. Mr. Hauptmann was convicted in 1935, and was executed in the electric chair at New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. Some insist that Mr. Hauptmann was framed, or at least not given the benefit of an adequate defense.

75 years ago
1941

Died on this date
Pál Teleki, 61. Prime Minister of Hungary, 1920-1921, 1939-1941. Count Teleki held various cabinet posts in addition to the office of Prime Minister. During his second term as Prime Minister, he attempted to maintain Hungarian autonomy and non-alignment at the beginning of World War II, but committed suicide after hearing that German troops were marching through Hungary on their way in to Yugoslavia. Count Teleki signed many anti-Jewish laws, and thus remains a controversial figure.

War
British troops evacuated Bengazi, Libya before advancing German and Italian forces commanded by Erwin Rommel. British Royal Air Force bombers attacked the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau at Brest, France. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sent a message to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin warning that Germany was preparing an invasion of Russia. U.S. Senator Burton K. Wheeler (Democrat--Montana) named 10 Senators and Representatives to the executive committee of a congressional group of 75 members who intended to campaign against U.S. entry into the European war.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull again rejected German and Italian protests against the American seizure of 69 German, Italian, and Danish ships, and asked Italy to recall the Italian naval attache in Washington because of his connection with the sabotage of Italian ships in American waters.

Defense
All 11 first-string players of the Boston University football team volunteered for service in the U.S. Naval Air Corps.

Crime
Gabriel Avila Camacho, brother of Mexican President Manuel Avila Camacho, was arrested in Mexico City on a charge of shooting and killing Manuel Cacho in a political argument.

Academia
The New York state legislature approved a $247,000 appropriation for the expenses of the Rapp-Coudert joint legislative committee investigating subversive activities in the schools.

Health
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced that a heatless permanent hair-waving preparation known as the Willat method contained the poison ammonium hydrogen sulfide; all stocks were ordered to be seized.

Labour
U.S. Federal Judge Arthur Tuttle issued an injunction restraining Congress of Industrial Organizations United Auto Workers from barring non-strikers from Ford Motor Company's plant in River Rouge, Michigan.

The Texas Senate passed and sent to Governor W.L. O'Daniel a bill making it a felony for any person to engage in violence during a strike or to try to stop any employee from going to work.

70 years ago
1946

Died on this date
Thomas Dixon, Jr., 82 U.S. author. Mr. Dixon, this blogger's favourite politically-incorrect novelist was born in Shelby, North Carolina. A brilliant student, he was an actor, lawyer, politician, and clergyman before becoming a novelist. A theatrical production of Uncle Tom's Cabin enraged Mr. Dixon, so he determined to set the record straight regarding the American South and Reconstruction. He presented his perspective on the South and racial issues in the novels The Leopard's Spots (1902); The Clansman (1905); The Traitor (1907); The Sins of the Father (1912); The Black Hood (1924); and The Flaming Sword (1939). The Leopard's Spots and The Clansman were the inspiration for the movie The Birth of a Nation (1915), while The Flaming Sword was prophetic of the racial upheavals of the 1960s and beyond. Mr. Dixon also wrote novels critical of socialism, including The One Woman (1903); Comrades (1909); and The Root of Evil (1911). Go here and scroll down to Mr. Dixon's name for free downloads of some of his novels. I particularly recommend Comrades--which has a similar story line to George Orwell's Animal Farm, but is much funnier--and The Clansman, which may be the most politically incorrect novel ever written.

Masaharu Homma, 58. Lieutenant General Homma was Japanese commander in the Philippines early in 1942; he was held responsible for the actions of men under his command during the Bataan Death March in 1942, and was executed by firing squad near Manila.

Defense
Soviet delegate to the United Nations Andrei Gromyko claimed that the U.S.S.R. had negotiatied a withdrawal of Soviet troops from Iran; the claim was denied by Iran.

Diplomacy
The Argentine government said that it would approve George Messersmith as the U.S. Ambassador to Argentina.

Politics and government
Discussions between French officials and Vietnamese nationalists began in Dalat on the status of Vietnam within the French union.

Transportation
Canada agreed to acquire the Canadian section of the Alaska Highway, including telephone systems, buildings and other assets, for $108 million (1,221 miles at $88,000 a mile). The 2,450-kilometre-long highway originally cost US$140 million to build, as a wartime supply route in case of Japanese invasion of North America.

Labour
Two railroad arbitration boards in Chicago granted a 16c hourly wage increase to 1.22 million railroad employees.

60 years ago
1956

Disasters
40 people were killed and 685 injured in an outbreak of 47 tornadoes in the Great Plains, parts of the South, and the upper Midwestern United States. The Hudsonville and Standale areas of Michigan were devastated.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Detroit 1 @ Montreal 5 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 2-0)

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Fort Wayne 96 @ Philadelphia 100 (Philadelphia led best-of-seven series 2-1)

The Warriors outscored the Pistons 25-14 in the 3rd quarter as they overcame a 51-48 halftime deficit before 11,698 fans at Philadelphia Arena. Philadelphia's Paul Arizin led all scorers with 27 points.

40 years ago
1976

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Ancora tu--Lucio Battisti

#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): Fernando--ABBA

#1 single in the U.K.: Save Your Kisses for Me--The Brotherhood of Man (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Disco Lady--Johnnie Taylor

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Lonely Night (Angel Face)--Captain and Tennille
2 Disco Lady--Johnnie Taylor
3 Dream Weaver--Gary Wright
4 Right Back Where We Started From--Maxine Nightingale
5 Sweet Thing--Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
6 Dream On--Aerosmith
7 Money Honey--Bay City Rollers
8 Let Your Love Flow--Bellamy Brothers
9 December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)--The Four Seasons
10 Only Sixteen--Dr. Hook

Singles entering the chart were Fallen Angel by Frankie Valli (#77); Love Really Hurts Without You by Billy Ocean (#78); Falling Apart at the Seams by Marmalade (#83); Anytime (I'll Be There) by Paul Anka (#84); Tell the World How I Feel About 'Cha Baby by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes (#87); Happy Days by Pratt & McClain with Brother Love (#88); When Love Has Gone Away by Richard Cocciante (#93); Don't Stop it Now by Hot Chocolate (#95); and Hey Baby by Ted Nugent (#100). Happy Days was a version of the title song of the television comedy series.

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Dream Weaver--Gary Wright
2 December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)--The Four Seasons
3 Money Honey--Bay City Rollers
4 Only Sixteen--Dr. Hook
5 Action--Sweet
6 Anyway You Want--Charity Brown
7 Bohemian Rhapsody--Queen
8 All by Myself--Eric Carmen
9 Love is the Drug--Roxy Music
10 Lonely Night (Angel Face)--Captain and Tennille

Singles entering the chart were Shout it Out Loud by Kiss (#82); I Thought it Took a Little Time (But Today I Fell in Love) by Diana Ross (#85); Mozambique by Bob Dylan (#86); Get Up and Boogie (That's Right) by Silver Convention (#87); Venus by Frankie Avalon (#89); Yes I Can by Valdy (#92); Living for the Weekend by the O'Jays (#93); You Girl by Major Hoople's Boarding House (#94); New Orleans by the Staple Singers (#95); You Say You're Free by Dan Hill (#96); Locomotive Breath by Jethro Tull (#99); and You Can't Do That by Octavian (#100).

Died on this date
Claude-Henri Grignon, 81. Canadian author. Mr. Grignon was best known for his novels Le Secret de Lindbergh (1929) and Un Homme et son péché (1933).

Hockey
NHL
Washington 5 @ Pittsburgh 4
Pierre Larouche of the Penguins scored his 50th goal of the season in the loss to the Capitals at Civic Arena.

30 years ago
1986

Hit parade
Edmonton's Top 30 (CHED)
1 Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)--Glass Tiger
2 Kiss--Prince and the Revolution
3 Secret Lovers--Atlantic Starr
4 Nikita--Elton John
5 R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.--John Cougar Mellencamp
6 Manic Monday--Bangles
7 Eurasian Eyes--Corey Hart
8 This Could Be the Night--Loverboy
9 Sanctify Yourself--Simple Minds
10 What You Need--INXS
11 How Will I Know--Whitney Houston
12 Let's Go All the Way--Sly Fox
13 These Dreams--Heart
14 Feel it Again--Honeymoon Suite
15 West End Girls--Pet Shop Boys
16 Sara--Starship
17 People See Through You--Bruce Cockburn
18 Harlem Shuffle--Rolling Stones
19 Bad Boy--Miami Sound Machine
20 Calling America--Electric Light Orchestra
21 Tender Love--Force M.D.’s
22 She Sells Sanctuary--The Cult
23 If I Was--Midge Ure
24 Flippin' to the A Side--Cats Can Fly
25 Addicted to Love--Robert Palmer
26 I Can’t Wait--Stevie Nicks
27 Overjoyed--Stevie Wonder
28 Why Can’t This Be Love--Van Halen
29 If You Leave--Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
30 A Good Heart--Feargal Sharkey

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CITV
Tonight’s episode: Shadow Play, starring Peter Coyote; Grace Note, starring Julia Migenes

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Joyride--Roxette (4th week at #1)

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight’s episode: Separate Rooms

Died on this date
Charles Goren, 90. U.S. bridge player and author. Mr. Goren was a leading bridge player from the 1920s through the 1950s, and became famous as the leading expert on the game, writing several bestselling books and a widely-syndicated newspaper column. He died 30 days after his 90th birthday.

Graham Greene, 86. U.K. author. Mr. Greene was known for novels and screenplays reflecting a serious Roman Catholic perspective, and often involving international intrigue. His works included Brighton Rock (1938); The Confidential Agent (1939); The Ministry of Fear (1943); The Fallen Idol (1948); The Third Man (1949); The End of the Affair (1951); and The Quiet American (1955).

War
U.S. President George Bush said that the coalition that had won the Persian Gulf war "did not go there to settle all the internal affairs of Iraq." The United Nations Security Council approved a resolution establishing a permanent cease-fire in the Persian Gulf war that would require Iraq to destroy all its chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons; destroy all but its short-term missiles; and renounce international terrorism.

Business
Montreal-based Redpath Industries announced plans to market the new product Sucralose, a potential rival to Nutrasweet; unlike the latter, Sucralose didn't break down at high temperatures in baking.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Semi-Finals
Buffalo 5 @ Montreal 7 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Hartford 5 @ Boston 2 (Hartford led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Washington 1 @ New York Rangers 2 (New York led best-of-seven series 1-0)
New Jersey 3 @ Pittsburgh 1 (New Jersey led best-of-seven series 1-0)

20 years ago
1996

Died on this date
Ron Brown, 54. U.S. politician. Mr. Brown was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1989-1993, when he became Secretary of Commerce in the administrtion of President Bill Clinton. Mr. Brown was under investigation by an independent counsel for corruption and had reportedly admitted to Mr. Clinton that the case against him was strong, when he was conveniently killed, with 34 others, in the crash of a United States Air Force jet in Croatia.

Crime
Suspected "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski, suspected of killing 2 people and injuring 23 others, was captured at his cabin in Montana, United States.

World events
The United States accused Libya of building underground facilities for the manufacture of chemical weapons; Libya claimed to be building a water irrigation system.

Scandal
Members of the Canadian Armed Forces were ordered to spend the entire day searching for documents that may aid the inquiry into the beating death several years earlier of a Somali teenager at the Canadian compound in that country.

Disasters
A United States Air Force airplane carrying U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown crashed in Croatia, killing all 35 on board.

Hockey
NHL
Edmonton 0 @ Anaheim 1

Basketball
NBA
Minnesota (24-49) 103 @ Vancouver (12-60) 105

The Grizzlies outscored the Timberwolves 33-19 in the 4th quarter to overcome a 12-point deficit before 16,216 fans at Pacific Coliseum and snap a 23-game losing streak, one loss short of the record of 24 set by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1982.

10 years ago
2006

World events
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor pled not guilty before an international war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone.