May 31, 2016

320 years ago
1696

Died on this date
Heinrich Schwemmer, 75. German composer. Mr. Schwemmer wrote vocal works, especially sacred songs for weddings and funerals.

150 years ago
1866

War
John O'Neill led 850 Fenian raiders across the Niagara River at Buffalo, New York/Fort Erie, Ontario as part of an effort to free Ireland from the United Kingdom. Canadian militia and British regulars repulsed the invaders in over the next three days, at a cost of 9 dead and 38 wounded to the Fenians' 19 dead and about 17 wounded.

100 years ago
1916

Born on this date
Bernard Lewis. U.K.-born U.S. historian. Dr. Lewis is probably the most influential post-World War II Western historian of Islam and its relations with the West, and is also known as an historian of the Ottoman Empire. His books include The Arabs in History (1950); Islam and the West (1993); and What Went Wrong?: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East (2002).

War
In the Battle of Jutland in the North Sea near the coast of Denmark's Jutland Peninsula, the British Grand Fleet under the command of John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe and David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty engaged the Imperial German Navy under the command of Reinhard Scheer and Franz von Hipper. It was the largest naval battle of World War I, and proved indecisive.

90 years ago
1926

Auto racing
Frank Lockhart, a rookie, won the Indianapolis 500 in a race that was stopped after 400 miles (160 laps) because of rain; 28 cars competed.



75 years ago
1941

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square--Vera Lynn; West End Players (1st month at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Amapola (Pretty Little Poppy)--Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra with Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell (10th week at #1)

War
A Luftwaffe air raid on Dublin claimed 38 lives. The United Kingdom completed the re-occupation of Iraq, and returned 'Abd al-Ilah to power as regent for King Faisal II.

Horse racing
Whirlaway, with Eddie Arcaro aboard, won his second straight Triple Crown race, winning the 67th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore in a time of 1:58 4/5. King Cole placed second and Our Boots finished third; only three horses participated.



70 years ago
1946

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): A Friend of Yours--Bing Crosby; Frank Sinatra (1st month at #1)

Society
The Cooperative Committee on Japanese Canadians, composed of over 30 organizations--including the major churches, labour unions, civil liberties and professional associations, the National Council of Women and the Canadian Jewish Congress--was founded to persuade the federal government of Prime Minister Mackenzie King to rescind its order to deport all Japanese-Canadians to Japan.

60 years ago
1956

Hit parade
#1 single in France (IFOP): Amour, Castagnettes et Tango--Lucienne Delyle (5th week at #1)

Scandal
The University of Kansas at Lawrence expelled 58 students for participation in a panty raid on the Alpha Chi Omega sorority house at nearby Baker University.

50 years ago
1966

Died on this date
Nguyen Thi Can, 19. South Vietnamese protester. Miss Can died two days after she became the fifth Buddhist in three days to set fire to herself in protest against the South Vietnamese regime of President General Nguyen van Thieu.

World events
Former Congolese Prime Minister Évariste Kimba and former cabinet ministers Jérôme Anany, Emmanuel Bamba, and André Mahamba were arrested on the orders of President Joseph Mobutu, and publicly accused of taking part in a plot to overthrow Mr. Mobutu.

40 years ago
1976

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Fernando--ABBA (9th week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Beautiful Sunday--Daniel Boone (11th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Save Your Kisses for Me--The Brotherhood of Man (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Jacques Monod, 66. French biologist and geneticist. Dr. Monod shared the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with François Jacob and Andre Lwoff "for their discoveries concerning genetic control of enzyme and virus synthesis."

Elmer George, 47. U.S. auto racing driver. Mr. George participated in 64 AAA and USAC Championship Car races from 1956-1963, winning at Syracuse in 1957 and driving in the Indianapolis 500 in 1957, 1962, and 1963. He was director of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway radio network in the 1960s and '70s, and was married to Mari Hulman George, daughter of Tony Hulman, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Four weeks after Mari had filed for divorce and hours after the 1976 Indianapolis 500, Mr. George drove to the farm of Guy Trollinger, a horse trainer and Mari's alleged boyfriend. Mr. Trollinger shot Mr. George to death, but a grand jury ruled that Mr. Trollinger had acted in self-defense, and charges against Mr. Trollinger were dropped.

Labour
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau averted a national strike by 2,200 air traffice controllers over the use of French in Québec air traffic control.

30 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Live to Tell--Madonna (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): J'aimie Le Vie--Sandra Kim

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Wonderful World--Sam Cooke (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Rollin' Home--Status Quo

#1 single in the U.K.: The Chicken Song--Spitting Image (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Greatest Love of All--Whitney Houston (3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Greatest Love of All--Whitney Houston (2nd week at #1)
2 Live to Tell--Madonna
3 Why Can’t This Be Love--Van Halen
4 On My Own--Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald
5 West End Girls--Pet Shop Boys
6 What Have You Done for Me Lately--Janet Jackson
7 I Can’t Wait--Nu Shooz
8 If You Leave--Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
9 All I Need is a Miracle--Mike & the Mechanics
10 Be Good to Yourself--Journey

Singles entering the chart were Invisible Touch by Genesis (#39); Love Touch by Rod Stewart (#48); Opportunities by Pet Shop Boys (#68); and Take it Easy by Andy Taylor (#82).

Canada’s Top 10 (RPM)
1 Live to Tell--Madonna (2nd week at #1)
2 Greatest Love of All--Whitney Houston
3 West End Girls--Pet Shop Boys
4 The Power of Love--Jennifer Rush
5 If You Leave--Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
6 Addicted to Love--Robert Palmer
7 What Have You Done for Me Lately--Janet Jackson
8 Let’s Go All the Way--Sly Fox
9 Tender Love--Force M.D.’s
10 Bad Boy--Miami Sound Machine

Singles entering the chart included Invisible Touch by Genesis (#84); Like a Rock by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band (#90); The Best of Me by David Foster and Olivia Newton-John (#92); Love Touch by Rod Stewart (#96); and You Should Be Mine by Jeffrey Osborne (#100).

Died on this date
James Rainwater, 68. U.S. physicist. Dr. Rainwater shared the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physics with Aage Bohr and Ben Roy Mottelson "for the discovery of the connection between collective motion and particle motion in atomic nuclei and the development of the theory of the structure of the atomic nucleus based on this connection."

Auto racing
Bobby Rahal won the Indianapolis 500, which had been postponed from the previous weekend because of rain.



25 years ago
1991

War
People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) President José Eduardo dos Santos and National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) President Jonas Savimbi signed the Bicesse Accords in Lisbon, ending a 16-year civil war and laying out a transition to multi-party democracy in Angola under the supervision of the United Nations' United Nations Angola Verification Mission II (UNAVEM II).

Politics and government
Chief George Martin of Kahnesatake Mohawk Reserve in Quebec failed to block members from voting 526-21 for direct election of a new band council.

Basketball
NBA
Pat Riley, who had coached the Los Angeles Lakers to four National Basketball Association titles in the 1980s, was named head coach of the New York Knickerbockers.

Baseball
The San Diego Padres traded shortstop Garry Templeton to the New York Mets for utility infielder Tim Teufel. Mr. Templeton, who had been traded to the Padres in 1982 for shortstop Ozzie Smith, was batting .193 with 1 home run and 6 runs batted in in 32 games with the Padres in 1991, while Mr. Teufel was batting just .118 in 20 games with the Mets.

Mike Hampton pitched a no-hitter for the San Bernardino Spirit of the Class A California League as they shut out the Visalia Oaks 6-0 in San Bernardino. Troy Mooney pitched a 7-inning no-hitter for the Augusta Pirates of the Class A South Atlantic League as they edged the Savannah Cardinals 1-0.

20 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Until it Sleeps--Metallica

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Man Utd Man--Men Utd featuring the Absolutely's (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Timothy Leary, 75. U.S. psychologist. Dr. Leary was a lecturer in clinical psychology at Harvard University when he began experimenting with psychedelic drugs, and urged their use in altering behaviour and reaching a higher state of consciousness. He was fired from Harvard in 1963--ostensibly for failing to deliver required lectures--and became one of the major figures of the 1960s counterculture. Dr. Leary was famous for uttering the slogan, "Turn on, tune in, drop out." He spent several years in prison, and then resumed his career as an advocate of psychedelic drugs. In later years, Dr. Leary was an avowed pagan, and advocated human colonization of space. He died of prostate cancer, and was cremated, after initially indicating interest in having his body cryogenically preserved.

Elsbeary Hobbs, 59. U.S. singer. Mr. Hobbs sang bass with the Drifters from June 1958-November 1960, and was with them when they recorded hits such as This Magic Moment and Save the Last Dance for Me. He died of lung cancer.

10 years ago
2006

Died on this date
Raymond Davis, Jr., 91. U.S. physicist and chemist. Dr. Davis and Masatoshi Koshiba were awarded a share of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics "for pioneering contributions to astrophysics, in particular for the detection of cosmic neutrinos."

Lula Mae Hardaway, 76. U.S. songwriter. Mrs. Hardaway was the mother of musician Stevie Wonder, and co-wrote many of his early hit songs, including I was Made to Love Her and Signed, Sealed, Delivered--I'm Yours.

Health
A ban on smoking came into effect in Ontario and Quebec in all unventilated workplaces and public places.