May 19, 2016

720 years ago
1296

Died on this date
Celestine V, 80-81 (?). Roman Catholic Pope, 1294. Celestine V, born Pietro Angelerio, became a Benedictine monk at the age of 17, and preferred an ascetic lifestyle, living in caves and founding the Celestine order in 1244. He was elected Pope in the last non-conclave papal election, two years after the death of Nicholas IV. Pope Celestine V preferred to resume his ascetic lifestyle, and resigned after five months in office, a week after issuing an edict asserting a pope's right to resign. His successor, Boniface VIII, imprisoned Celestine V to prevent his possible installation as an antipope. Celestine V died in prison, and was canonized by Pope Clement V in 1313.

620 years ago
1396

Died on this date
John I, 45. King of Aragon, Valencia, and Majorca, 1387-1396. John I "the Hunter" acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Peter IV. King John abandoned his father's Anglophile foreign policy in favour of a Francophile policy, and supported Avignon Pope Clement VII. John I died when he fell from his horse while hunting, and was succeeded on the throne by his younger brother Martin.

480 years ago
1536

Died on this date
Anne Boleyn, 29. Queen of England, 1533-1536. Miss Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, was beheaded after being convicted on charges of adultery and incest. She gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth I in 1533, but the king was greatly disappointed at the birth of a daughter instead of a son, and Miss Boleyn’s miscarriage of a son shortly before her death.

170 years ago
1846

Exploration
Thomas Brunner and Charles Heaphy, guided by Kehu (Hone Mokekehu) of Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri, reached Māwhera pā on New Zealad's South Island.

140 years ago
1876

Education
The British Columbia legislature passed the Schools Act; males were taxed at $3 per year to support public schools.

125 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Oswald Boelcke. German military aviator. Hauptmann Boelcke was known as the "Father of Air Fighting Tactics," and was the first to formalize rules of air fighting. He shot down 40 enemy aircraft during World War I, the highest total by a German ace prior to "Red Baron" Manfred von Richtofen, whom he mentored. Hauptmann Boelcke was killed during an air battle on October 28, 1916 at the age of 25, when he accidentally made contact with the plane of a fellow German, which damaged his plane and caused it to crash. He hadn't had time to properly fasten his safety belt, and he never wore a helmet, which caused his injuries to be fatal.

110 years ago
1906

Died on this date
Gabriel Dumont, 68. Canadian Métis leader. Mr. Dumont was adjutant general in the provisional Métis government declared in the District of Saskatchewan in 1885, and commanded the Métis forces in the North-West Rebellion of 1885.

75 years ago
1941

War
The Duke of Aosta, Italian commander in Ethiopia, surrendered to British forces, ending the British conquest of Ethiopia and bringing the total of Italian prisoners to 230,000. The Iraqi government claimed that 30 British armoured cars and trucks had been destroyed and 2 British gunboats damaged in the Tigris Rivers south of Basra.

Defense
The U.S. Navy Department announced that U.S. Navy Captain William Quigley had been appointed chief of staff of the Peruvian Navy.

Diplomacy
U.S. Representative Francis Case (Republican--South Dakota) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives authorizing Secretary of State Cordell Hull to negotiate for the purchase of French islands in the Western Hemisphere.

Europeana
Danish sources reported that the Icelandic Althing (Parliament) had cancelled Iceland's permanent union with Denmark and had declared the island's independence.

Academia
The New York Board of Higher Education announced the suspension of five more teachers and seven clerks at City College of New York on charges of Communist Party membership and refusal to cooperate with the Rapp-Coudert committee investigation.

Economics and finance
U.S. Assistant Treasury Secretary John L. Sullivan, addressing the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, urged that the Excess Profits Tax Act of 1940 be revised to raise at least $1.096 billion in excess profits from defense programs.

Labour
Congress of Industrial Organizations United Mine Workers of America and hard coal operators agreed in New York to a two-year contract providing wage increases for 91,000 miners who would return to their jobs on May 20, ending a one-day strike.

70 years ago
1946

Died on this date
Booth Tarkington, 76. U.S. author. Mr. Tarkington wrote novels, short stories, and plays, usually about his native Indiana. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novels The Magnificent Ambersons (1918) and Alice Adams (1921). Mr. Tarkington was also known for his humourous Penrod series of novels.

War
General Tu Li-ming announced that Nationalist Chinese forces had recaptured the Manchurian city of Szepingkai from the Chinese Communists.

A Manila newspaper reported that the Communist Hukbalahap movement had established a "state within a state" in central Luzon, resulting in 600 dead in clashes with Philippine military police.

Politics and government
Reports from La Paz indicated that Bolivian President Gualberto Villaroel's dictatorial government, having failed to win popular support in elections on May 5, was waging a campaign of political terror to stay in power.

World events
British authorities permitted 1,014 Jewish refugees from La Spezia, Italy to disembark in Haifa.

Defense
U.S. Senators David Walsh (Democrat--Massachusetts) and Carl Vinson (Democrat--Georgia) stated in a letter to Navy Secretary James Forrestal that Congress would not approve unification of the armed forces.

Academia
U.S. War Reconversion Director John W. Snyder reported to President Harry Truman that of 2,080,000 people who would seek admission to colleges in the fall of 1946, only one million could be accommodated.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Office of Price Administration estimated that since July 1945 it had lifted price ceilings on 3,000 commodities with an annual sales volume of $10 million.

60 years ago
1956

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Mack the Knife (A Theme from the Threepenny Opera)--Louis Armstrong

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Steig in das Traumboot der Liebe--Caterina Valente & Silvio Francesco as Club Indonesia

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): No Other Love--Ronnie Hilton (2nd week at #1)

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Heartbreak Hotel--Elvis Presley (Best Seller--5th week at #1; Disc Jockey--2nd week at #1; Jukebox--3rd week at #1; Top 100--3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Heartbreak Hotel--Elvis Presley (5th week at #1)
2 Moonglow and Theme from "Picnic"--Morris Stoloff and the Columbia Pictures Orchestra
--George Cates and his Orchestra
3 Blue Suede Shoes--Carl Perkins
4 (You've Got) The Magic Touch--The Platters
5 Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)--Perry Como
6 Ivory Tower--Cathy Carr
--Otis Williams and the Charms
7 The Poor People of Paris--Les Baxter, his Chorus and Orchestra
8 Long Tall Sally--Little Richard
--Pat Boone
9 Why Do Fools Fall in Love--The Teenagers
--Gale Storm
--The Diamonds
10 The Wayward Wind--Gogi Grant

Singles entering the chart were (How Little It Matters) How Little We Know (#34)/Five Hundred Guys (#50) by Frank Sinatra; A Little Love Can Go a Long, Long Way by the Dream Weavers (#38); Portuguese Washerwomen by Joe "Fingers" Carr (#41); I Want You, I Need You, I Love You by Elvis Presley (#46); and Treasure of Love by Clyde McPhatter (also #50).

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



Horse racing
Fabius, with Bill Hartack up, won the 81st running of the Preakness Stakes before 30,714 fans at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore in a time of 1:58 2/5. Kentucky Derby winner Needles placed second and Inside Tract finished third in the 9-horse field.



50 years ago
1966

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Pretty Flamingo--Manfred Mann (3rd week at #1)

40 years ago
1976

Diplomacy
The U.S.S.R. recognized Canada's proposed 370-kilometre (200-nautical mile) fishing zone.

Defense
South Africa established a 1,000-mile buffer zone against guerrilla attacks allegedly launched from Namibia.

Politics and government
The United States Senate created a permanent Select Committee on Intelligence having exclusive jurisdiction over the Central Intelligence Agency; it would share jurisdiction over other U.S. intelligence organizations with other committees.

30 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Living Doll--Cliff Richard featuring the Young Ones (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Love Missile F1-11--Sigue Sigue Sputnik

War
South African troops launched raids on cities in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana in an attempt to destroy bases being used by the African National Congress.

Law
The U.S. Firearm Owners Protection Act was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Trippin'--Push Push (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Joyride--Roxette (7th week at #1)

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Joyride--Roxette (8th week at #1)
2 How to Dance--Bingoboys featuring Princessa
3 Secret Love--Bee Gees
4 No Coke--Dr. Alban
5 The One and Only--Chesney Hawkes
6 Crazy--Seal
7 Rhythm of My Heart--Rod Stewart
8 The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in his Kiss)--Cher
9 Sister Soul & Mr. Beat--Beat 4 Feet featuring Kim Cooper
10 Should I Stay or Should I Go--The Clash

The only single entering the chart was My Side of the Bed by Susanna Hoffs (#20).

World events
With the local Serb population boycotting the referendum, Croatians voted in favour of independence from Yugoslavia.
Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Pittsburgh 1 @ Minnesota 3 (Minnesota led best-of-seven series 2-1)



20 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): California Love--2Pac featuring Dr. Dre (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Children--Robert Miles (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Children--Robert Miles (13th week at #1)

#1 single in Scotland (OCC): Ooh Aah...Just a Little Bit--Gina G (7th week at #1)

Died on this date
John Beradino, 79. U.S. baseball player and actor. Mr. Beradino, born Giovanni Berardino, was a second baseman and shortstop with the St. Louis Browns (1939-1942, 1946-1947, 1951); Cleveland Indians (1948-1950, 1952); and Pittsburgh Pirates (1950, 1952), batting .249 with 36 home runs and 387 runs batted in in 912 games. He was a member of the Indians' World Series championship team in 1948. While playing as Johnny Berardino, he began appearing in bit parts in movies, but achieved stardom playing Dr. Steve Hardy in the soap opera General Hospital from 1963-1996. Mr. Beradino died 18 days after his 79th birthday.

Space
The U.S. space shuttle Endeavour lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida to begin the 10-day mission STS-77, with a six-man crew commanded by John Casper and including Canadian Marc Garneau.



Protest
Royal Canadian Mounted Police stormed an armed barricade to end a five-week standoff at the Waterhen reserve in Manitoba; 32 were arrested.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Western Conference Finals
Colorado 3 @ Detroit 2 (OT) (Colorado led best-of-seven series 1-0)

10 years ago
2006

Died on this date
Freddie Garrity, 69. U.K. musician and actor. Mr. Garrity was the lead singer of the pop group Freddie and the Dreamers, who had a major hit single with I'm Tellin' You Now in 1965. After the group disbanded several years later, Mr. Garrity appeared in several British television comedy programs. He died after a long battle with emphysema.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Western Conference Finals
Edmonton 3 @ Anaheim 1 (Edmonton led best-of-seven series 1-0)