May 22, 2016

770 years ago
1246

Germanica
With the support of Pope Innocent IV, Landgrave of Thuringia Henry Raspe was elected anti-king of the Kingdom of Germany in opposition to King Conrad IV.

250 years ago
1766

Disasters
An earthquake registering an estimated 7.1 Ms struck Constantinople and was followed by a tsunami that caused significant damage.

200 years ago
1816

Protest
A mob in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England rioted over high unemployment and rising grain costs; the rioting spread to Ely the next day.

190 years ago
1826

Exploration
The British Royal Navy sloop HMS Beagle, under the command of Captain Pringle Stokes, departed Plymouth on its maiden voyage, accompanying HMS Adventure on a hydrographic survey of Tierra Del Fuego and Patagonia.

175 years ago
1841

Born on this date
Catulle Mendès. French writer. Mr. Mendès wrote several novels and collections of poetry, as well as plays and libretti for operas. Mr. Mendès died on February 8, 1909 at the age of 67. His body was found in the railway tunnel of the Paris suburb of Saint-Germain, and it was believed that he'd accidentally opened his train compartment door while the train was still moving, but others thought he'd committed suicide.

160 years ago
1856

Crime
U.S. Representative Preston Brooks (Democrat--South Carolina) beat Senator Charles Sumner (Free Soil--Massachusetts) with a cane in the hall of the United States Senate for a speech Sen. Sumner had made attacking Southerners who sympathized with the pro-slavery violence in Kansas ("Bleeding Kansas"). The attack was almost fatal, and Sen. Sumner's injuries were so severe that he was unable to return to work for nearly three years.

125 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Johannes R. Becher. German writer and politician. Mr. Becher was a novelist and poet who joined the Communist Party of Germany before World War II, escaped to Paris shortly after the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, and emigrated to the U.S.S.R. in 1935. He settled in East Berlin after World War II, and was a member of the Volkskammer. Mr. Becher died on October 11, 1958 at the age of 67.

Eddie Edwards. U.S. musician. Mr. Edwards was a trombonist with the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, who made the first jazz recordings in 1917. Mr. Edwards later led his own band, and died on April 9, 1963 at the age of 71.

110 years ago
1906

Aviation
The Wright brothers were granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their "Flying-Machine."

90 years ago
1926

Politics and government
Chiang Kai-shek replaced Communists in the Kuomintang of China, the ruling party in the Republic of China.

75 years ago
1941

War
Sources in Ankara reported that British troops in Iraq had advanced from Fallujah to within 20 miles of Baghdad, driving 10,000-12,000 Iraqi troops before them. As German troops continued to land on Crete, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill disclosed that the Royal Air Force had been forced to abandon its Cretan airports because they were badly damaged. U.K. Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden declared that if the Vichy French regime actively assisted Germany, "we shall naturally hold ourselves free to attack the enemy wherever he may be found."

Defense
U.S. War Secretary Henry Stimson denounced the Neutrality Act as a violation of the U.S.A.'s most important tradition of foreign policy, freedom of the seas. U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover disclosed that the FBI was mobilizing 150,000 local and state law enforcement officers on a voluntary basis to aid in the drive against fifth column agents. 100 American writers--including Stephen Vincent Benet, Edna Ferber, Thomas Mann, Upton Sinclair, and Hendrik Willem van Loon, issued a manifesto urging "all aid and at once--whatever that may have to mean" to the United Kingdom.

Labour
U.S. Navy trucks driven by sailors and Marines carried non-striking American Federation of Labor shipyard workers through picket lines at two yards in San Francisco; the local Congress of Industrial Organizations protested to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Health
The American Social Hygiene Association reported that tests administered to 1,897,599 people over a five-year period indicated that 3 out of every 100 adults in the United States had syphilis.

70 years ago
1946

Died on this date
Karl Hermann Frank, 48. German bureaucrat. SS Obergruppenführer Frank, a Sudeten German, was Reich Minister for Bohemia and Moravia during the Nazi regime's occupation during World War II. He was hanged using the Austro-Hungarian "pole method" before 5,000 onlookers in the courtyard of Pankrác Prison in Prague for his role in organizing the massacres of the people of the Czech villages of Lidice and Ležáky in 1942.

Crime
Former Canadian Research Council engineer Edward W. Mazerall was found guilty in Ottawa of revealing secret information to the U.S.S.R.

Diplomacy
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Tom Connally (Democrat--Texas) protested the efforts of the foreign ministers of the U.S.A., U.S.S.R., U.K., and France to write peace treaties before convocation of a general peace conference.

Defense
U.K. Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin announced plans to demobilize 200,000 Polish troops under British control in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy.

Politics and government
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida completed his new conservative cabinet, and took office with Allied approval.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Harry Truman signed the emergency housing bill, providing $400 million in subsidies for building materials.

Labour
The U.S. House of Representatives blocked efforts to revive the Fair Employment Practices Commission.

60 years ago
1956

At the movies
Invitation to the Dance, written and directed by Gene Kelly, and starring Mr. Kelly, Tamara Toumanova, Igor Youskevitch, and Tommy Rall, opened in theatres.



50 years ago
1966

On television tonight
Perry Mason, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Case of the Final Fade-Out, with guest stars Dick Clark, James Stacy, Estelle Winwood, and Jackie Coogan

This was the 271st and final episode of the series, which was in its ninth season. Erle Stanley Gardner, author of the Perry Mason novels, appeared as the judge.

40 years ago
1976

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Ancora tu--Lucio Battisti (8th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): Baretta's Theme--Sammy Davis, Jr. (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: Fernando--ABBA (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Silly Love Songs--Wings

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Welcome Back--John Sebastian (2nd week at #1)
2 Silly Love Songs--Wings
3 Fooled Around and Fell in Love--Elvin Bishop
4 Love Hangover--Diana Ross
5 Shannon--Henry Gross
6 Get Up and Boogie (That's Right)--Silver Convention
7 Happy Days--Pratt & McClain with Brother Love
8 Misty Blue--Dorothy Moore
9 Boogie Fever--Sylvers
10 Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again--Barry Manilow

Singles entering the chart were Young Hearts Run Free by Candi Staton (#81); A Fifth of Beethoven by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band (#88); Number One by Billy Swan (#92); Fool for the City by Foghat (#95); Jukin' by Atlanta Rhythm Section (#99); and It Should Have Been Me by Yvonne Fair (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Shout it Out Loud--Kiss
2 Shannon--Henry Gross
3 Boogie Fever--Sylvers
4 Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)--Fleetwood Mac
5 Bohemian Rhapsody--Queen
6 Love is the Drug--Roxy Music
7 Lorelei--Styx
8 Welcome Back--John Sebastian
9 Young Blood--Bad Company
10 Show Me the Way--Peter Frampton

Singles entering the chart were Don't Stop it Now by Hot Chocolate (#89); Moonlight Feels Right by Starbuck (#90); Tell Me by Airlift (#91); I.O.U. by Jimmy Dean (#92); I Want You by Marvin Gaye (#93); That's Where the Happy People Go by the Trammps (#94); Baretta's Theme by Rhythm Heritage (#95); Today's the Day by America (#96); It Makes Me Giggle by John Denver (#97); Midnight Love Affair by Tony Orlando and Dawn (#98); Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk) by Parliament (#99); and Better Days by Melissa Manchester (#100).

Died on this date
Oscar Bonavena, 33. Argentine boxer. Mr. Bonavena, nicknamed "Ringo," was Argentine heavyweight champion from 1965-1966 and a leading contender for the world heavyweight title in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He lost a split decision to future world champion Joe Frazier in 1966, but became the first man to knock Mr. Frazier down. Mr. Bonavena participated in the World Boxing Association heavyweight championship elimination tournament in 1967, winning a unanimous decision over Karl Mildenberger, before losing a unanimous decision to Jimmy Ellis. Mr. Bonavena suffered a technical knockout in the 15th round to Muhammad Ali in December 1970 in Mr. Ali's second fight since coming out of his forced retirement. Mr. Bonavena compiled a professional record of 59-8-1 and had won his last seven fights--albeit against undistinguished competition--when he was shot to death by security guard Willard Brymer at the Mustang Ranch bordello in Virginia City, Nevada.

30 years ago
1986

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Calgary 0 @ Montreal 1 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 3-1)

Claude Lemieux scored the game's only goal with 8:50 remaining in regulation time as the Canadiens edged the Flames at the Montreal Forum. Patrick Roy made only 15 saves to get the shutout in goal, while Calgary goalie Mike Vernon made 23 saves.





25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Wind of Change--Scorpions (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Shripad Amrit Dange, 91. Indian politician. Mr. Dange was a longtime Communist who was Chairman of the Communist Party of India (1962-1978), and respresented Bombay Central (1957-1962) and Bombay Central South (1967-1970) in the Lok Sabha. Increasing rifts in the Communist Party led to his expulsion in 1981, so he became leader of the new All India Communist Party, which failed to achieve electoral success, and merged into the United Communist Party of India in 1987.

Society
The United Nations Development Program 1991 report found Canada to be the second-best country in which to live after Japan; the report praised the education and health systems.

Baseball
John Wathan, who had managed the Kansas City Royals since 1987, was fired, with the team off to a 15-22 start for 1991. Coach Bob Schaefer replaced him for one game--and won--before Hal McRae assumed the job on a permanent basis. The team’s best season under Mr. Wathan was 1989, when the Royals posted a record of 92-70, second in the American League West Division, 7 games behind the Oakland Athletics.

20 years ago
1996

World events
The Burmese military regime jailed 71 supporters of activist Aung San Suu Kyi in a bid to block a pro-democracy meeting.

10 years ago
2006

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Eastern Conference Finals
Buffalo 3 @ Carolina 4 (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)