April 9, 2016

1,525 years ago
491

Died on this date
Zeno, 65-66 (?). Emperor of the Roman Empire, 474-475; Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, 476-491. Zeno was born Tarasis in Isauria (now part of Turkey), and was thus regarded by the Romans as a barbarian. He was a military leader before succeeding his father Leo I as Emperor in February 474, with his 7-year-old son Leo II as co-Emperor. Leo II died in November 474, leaving Zeno as sole Emperor. He was deposed in 475, but was restored to the throne after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476. Zeno put down several revolts and issued the Henotikon (482) in an attempt to mediate the debate between the Chalcedonian and Miaphysite views about the nature of Christ. Zeno died of dysentery or epilepsy, and was succeeded as Emperor by Flavius Anastasius, a favured member of the imperial court.

775 years ago
1241

War
Mongol forces defeated the Polish and German armies in the Battle of Liegnitz (aka the Battle of Legnica).

170 years ago
1846

Born on this date
Paolo Tosti. Italian-born composer. Sir Paolo was mainly known for his light, expressive songs. He began his career in his native Italy, but moved to England in 1875. Sir Paolo began teaching at the Royal Academy of Music in 1894 and became a British subject in 1906, but returned to Italy in 1913, and died in Rome on December 2, 1916 at the age of 70.

100 years ago
1916

War
German forces launched their third offensive of the Battle of Verdun.

90 years ago
1926

Died on this date
Zip the Pinhead, 83. American freak show performer. William Henry Johnson had a tapered head, and joined Emburgh's Circus in New Jersey, but was later sold to P.T. Barnum, where he became famous as Zip the Pinhead. He was exhibited as a "missing link," and spent the rest of his life as a sideshow attraction. Mr. Johnson may not have had the limited mental capacity characteristic of most microcephalics.

80 years ago
1936

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Detroit 3 @ Toronto 4 (Detroit led best-of-five series 2-1)

Buzz Boll scored 31 seconds into overtime to give the Maple Leafs their win over the Red Wings at Maple Leaf Gardens.

75 years ago
1941

Died on this date
Morris Sheppard, 65. U.S. politician. Mr. Sheppard, a Democrat, represented Texas in the United States House of Representatives from 1902-1913 and in the Senate from 1913 until his death from a brain hemorrhage. He was chairman of the Senate Military Affairs Committee and was an author of the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution, thus earning the nickname "the father of national Prohibition."

War
German troops captured Salonika, Greece. The British Royal Air Force made a heavy night raid on Berlin, while German bombers pounded Birmingham. U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill appealed for more American merchant ships, declaring that only more escorts for convoys could win the Battle of the Atlantic. 50 more Italian seamen were indicted in Tampa, Florida on charges of sabotage. The U.S. State Department disclosed that Italy had requested the recall of an assistant military attache at the U.S. embassy in Rome, apparently in retaliation for the ouster of the Italian naval attache in Washington.

Defense
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the transfer of 10 U.S. Coast Guard cutters to the United Kingdom for convoy purposes.

Diplomacy
The Ecuadorian government wired all other governments that Ecuador was willing to settle her boundary controversy with Peru by arbitration.

Economics and finance
Brazilian President Getulio Vargas issued a decree forbidding foreign-owned banks from accepting deposits after July 1, 1946.

Edward Clayton Eicher, a member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission since 1938, was elected chairman to succeed Jerome Frank.

William McChesney Martin, Jr. announced his resignation as president of the New York Stock Exchange, effective April 16, 1941.

Golf
Professional Golfers' Association President Tom Walsh announced the creation of the Golf Hall of Fame, with the first members being Bobby Jones, Francis Ouimet, Walter Hagen, and Gene Sarazen.

70 years ago
1946

Defense
The U.S. Senate Military Affairs Committee submitted to the full Senate a bill to unify the armed forces into a Department of Common Defense under a civilian head. The U.S. House of Representatives Military Affairs Committee voted to extend the draft of men aged 18-30 until February 15, 1947, with fathers and farmers exempted.

Crime
Lieutenant Nikolai Redin of the Russian Purchasing Commission in Seattle, arrested by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation on March 26, was indicted on charges of espionage.

Agriculture
The Kansas City, Missouri wheat market received the smallest amount of grain in 43 years as growers held back wheat in the hope of higher prices.

Economics and finance
Canada granted France a $242.5-million credit at 3% annual interest.

U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Hugh Dalton presented the House of Commons with a $15-billion budget for 1946-47, down 31% from the previous year.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed and sent to President Harry Truman the veterans temporary housing bill.

Business
A consent decree signed in a U.S. District Court in New York ended American participation in what the U.S. Justice Department charged was a a world match cartel formed by Swedish, British, and American producers.

Labour
The Congress of Industrial Organizations United Farm and Metal Workers settled an 80-day strike of 30,000 International Harvester Company workers with agreement on an 18c hourly wage increase.

American Federation of Musicians President James Petrillo demanded in contract negotiations with major film studios that they virtually triple their staffs of musicians and increase the annual wage by 100% to $10,400.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Boston 3 @ Montreal 6 (Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-1)

Toe Blake scored with 8:54 remaining in regulation time to break a 3-3 tie, and the Canadiens scored twice more as they defeated the Bruins at the Montreal Forum to win the Stanley Cup for the second time in the previous three years.

50 years ago
1966

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): These Boots are Made for Walkin'--Nancy Sinatra (6th week at #1)

#1 single in France: Mon Crédo--Mireille Mathieu (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Nessuno mi può giudicare--Caterina Caselli (9th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): 19th Nervous Breakdown--The Rolling Stones (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): These Boots are Made for Walkin'--Nancy Sinatra (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore--The Walker Brothers (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): (You’re My) Soul and Inspiration--The Righteous Brothers

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Daydream--The Lovin' Spoonful
2 (You’re My) Soul and Inspiration--The Righteous Brothers
3 The Ballad of the Green Berets--SSgt Barry Sadler
4 19th Nervous Breakdown--The Rolling Stones
5 Nowhere Man--The Beatles
6 Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)--Cher
7 California Dreamin'--The Mamas and the Papas
8 Homeward Bound--Simon & Garfunkel
9 Secret Agent Man--Johnny Rivers
10 634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)--Wilson Pickett

Singles entering the chart were Leaning on the Lamp Post by Herman's Hermits (#62); Monday, Monday by the Mamas and the Papas (#69); Let's Start All Over Again by Ronnie Dove (#79); Searching for My Love by Bobby Moore and the Rhythm Aces (#85); When a Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge (#87); The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore) by the Walker Bros. (#89); Wang Dang Doodle by Ko Ko Taylor (#92); Too Slow by the Impressions (#95); Follow Me by Lyme and Cybelle (#96); Love Me with All of Your Heart by the Bachelors (#97); I'm Living in Two Worlds by Bonnie Guitar (#98); Baby I Need You by the Manhattans (#99); Distant Drums by Jim Reeves (#100); Band of Gold by Mel Carter (also #100); and He Cried by the Shangri-Las (also #100).

Politics and government
Abdullah Yafi took office as Prime Minister of Lebanon for the seventh time, and completed his cabinet.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Toronto 0 @ Montreal 2 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 2-0)

40 years ago
1976

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Mississippi--Pussycat (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Mississippi--Pussycat (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Fernando--ABBA (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Phil Ochs, 35. U.S. musician. Mr. Ochs performed classical music as a youth, but eventually became a folk singer and songwriter, and was one of the angriest writers and performers of protest songs in the 1960s. His best-known songs included Draft Dodger Rag; I Ain't Marching Anymore; and the romantic ballad Changes. Mr. Ochs became increasingly disillusioned with the direction of the United States as the years passed, and this, combined with drug use, heavy drinking, and writer's block, contributed to his suicide by hanging.

At the movies
Family Plot, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Karen Black, Bruce Dern, Barbara Harris, and William Devane, opened in theatres, two weeks after receiving its world premiere screening at the Los Angeles Film Festival (Filmex). It was the 53rd and last feature film directed by Mr. Hitchcock.





All the President's Men, based on the bestselling book by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, and starring Robert Redford as Mr. Woodward and Dustin Hoffman as Mr. Bernstein, opened in theatres.



War
Syrian troops entered Lebanon in an attempt to force a political solution to the Lebanese civil war.

Environment
Parks Canada formally established Auyuittuq National Park Reserve in what is now Nunavut; the lands had been set aside in 1972.

Crime
Peter Hain, President of the British Young Liberals, was acquitted of stealing £490 from a branch of Barclays bank in October 1975. The charge was the result of a case of mistaken identity, although Mr. Hain suspected that he was framed because of his anti-apartheid activities.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Preliminary Round
Pittsburgh 0 @ Toronto 4 (Toronto won best-of-three series 2-1)
St. Louis 1 @ Buffalo 2 (OT) (Buffalo won best-of-three series 2-1)

Wayne Thomas posted the shutout in goal for the Maple Leafs as they eliminated the Penguins at Maple Leaf Gardens. Don Luce scored at 14:27 of the 1st overtime period to give the Sabres their win over the Blues at War Memorial Auditorium.

WHA
Avco World Trophy
O'Keefe Cup Semi-Finals
Edmonton 3 @ Winnipeg 7 (Winnipeg led best-of-seven series 1-0)

U.S. Championship Preliminary
Cleveland 3 @ New England 5 (New England led best-of-five series 1-0)
San Diego 2 @ Phoenix 3 (OT) (Phoenix led best-of-five series 1-0)

30 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Brother Louie--Modern Talking (6th week at #1)

Terrorism
Four days after 60 Americans were among the 200 people injured when a bomb exploded at a discotheque in West Berlin, West Germany expelled two Libyan diplomats. At a press conference, U.S. President Ronald Reagan described Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi as the "mad dog of the Middle East" and said that he had, in effect, declared war on the United States, which would defend itself.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Semi-Finals
Boston 1 @ Montreal 3 (Montreal led best-of-five series 1-0)
Toronto 5 @ Chicago 3 (Toronto led best-of-five series 1-0)
Vancouver 3 @ Edmonton 7 (Edmonton led best-of-five series 1-0)

25 years ago
1991

Died on this date
Forrest Towns, 77. U.S. runner and coach. Mr. Towns won a gold medal in the men's 110-metre hurdles at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin in world record time. He broke the record at that distance three times, holding the record until 1950. Mr. Towns was track and field coach at the University of Georgia from 1938-1975, and was inducted into the U.S. Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1975.

World events
Following a unanimous vote of its parliament, Georgia became the fifth republic to opt for independence from the U.S.S.R. Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev warned that the economy was "coming apart" and that "institutions of power are paralyzed."

War
The United Nations Security Council authorized a 1,440-member peacekeeping force to patrol the Iraq-Kuwait border.

Diplomacy
During a trip to the Middle East, U.S. Secretary of State James Baker began two days of meetings with Israeli officials and with a delegation of Palestinians from occupied territories.

Economics and finance
Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari concluded a three-day visit to Ottawa to promote the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Politics and government
Gilbert Chartrand, a member of the Canadian House of Commons from the Quebec riding of Verdun—Saint-Paul, defected from the Bloc Québecois back to the Progressive Conservatives, saying the Bloc wanted the destruction of Canada; he was also concerned by the Parti Québecois' decision to support the Bloc.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Semi-Finals
Montreal 4 @ Buffalo 6 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)
Boston 3 @ Hartford 4 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)
Pittsburgh 1 @ New Jersey 4 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)
New York Rangers 2 @ Washington 3 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)

20 years ago
1996

Died on this date
Richard Condon, 81. U.S. author. Mr. Condon was known for his novels about corruption and abuse of power. His best known works were The Manchurian Candidate (1959) and four novels about a family of New York gangsters named Prizzi (1982-1994).

10 years ago
2006

Died on this date
Billy Hitchcock, 89. U.S. baseball player, coach, manager, and executive. Mr. Hitchcock was a utility infielder with the Detroit Tigers (1942, 1946, 1953); Washington Nationals (1946); St. Louis Browns (1946); Boston Red Sox (1948-1949); and Philadelphia Athletics (1950-1952), batting .243 with 5 home runs and 257 runs batted in in 703 games. He served as third base coach with the Tigers from 1955-1960, managing the team for one game in 1960. Mr. Hitchcock managed the Baltimore Orioles (1962-1963) and Atlanta Braves (1966-1967), compiling a career record of 274-261. He was a scout with the Montreal Expos from 1968-1971, and was President of the AA Southern League from 1971-1980. The SL championship trophy is named after Mr. Hitchock, and he was given the King of Baseball Award for 1980 for his contribution to the game.

Golf
Phil Mickelson shot a 3-under-par 69 to win the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia with a 7-under-par total score of 281, 2 strokes ahead of Tim Clark; it was the second Masters win for Mr. Mickelson. First prize money was $1,260,000.



Football
CFL
The Canadian Football League's board of governors suspended operations for the Ottawa Renegades; the franchise had lost $3.8 million in 2005 and was expected to lose an additional $2.3 million-$5.8 million in 2006. The players were subsequently dispersed through the league in a dispersal draft; the coaches, led by head coach John Jenkins, were left to fend for themselves. The league had already released a schedule for 2006 that included the Renegades, and was forced to devise a revised schedule.