May 21, 2017

475 years ago
1542

Died on this date
Hernando de Soto, 46 (?). Spanish explorer. Mr. de Soto led the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and probably Arkansas), and was the first European known to have crossed the Mississippi River. He died on the river's banks of a fever.

225 years ago
1792

Disasters
Mount Unzen, near the city of Shimabara, Nagasaki, on Japan's southernmost main island of Kyūshū, erupted, creating a megatsunami that killed 14,524 people.

150 years ago
1867

Disasters
30 people were killed when the steamship Wisconsin burned near Cape Vincent in Lake Ontario. Seven people were killed when the steamship Santiago de Cuba, en route from Nicaragua to New York, ran ashore at Atlantic City, New Jersey.

125 years ago
1892

Opera
Pagliacci by Ruggiero Leoncavallo received its premiere performance at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan, with Arturo Toscanini conducting.

100 years ago
1917

Born on this date
Raymond Burr. Canadian-born U.S. actor. A native of New Westminster, British Columbia, Mr. Burr was known for his starring roles in the television drama series Perry Mason (1957-1966) (winning two Emmy Awards) and Ironside (1967-1975). His most famous movie performances were as the district attorney in A Place in the Sun (1951) and as the murderer in Rear Window (1954). Mr. Burr's distinctive voice can be heard occasionally in old radio shows, most notably as Inspector Hellman in Pat Novak for Hire (1949). He died on September 12, 1993 at the age of 76.

War
The Imperial War Graves Commission was established through royal charter to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations military forces.

Disasters
The Great Atlanta fire of 1917 caused $5.5 million in damages, destroying 300 acres, including 2,000 homes, businesses and churches and displacing about 10,000 people, but leading to only one fatality (due to heart attack).

90 years ago
1927

Aviation
The day after taking off from Roosevelt Field near New York City, Charles Lindbergh landed his Spirit of St. Louis at Le Bourget Field near Paris, completing the first nonstop solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean.



80 years ago
1937

Science
The Soviet station North Pole-1 became the first scientific research settlement to operate on the drift ice of the Arctic Ocean.

75 years ago
1942

War
The U.S.S.R. reported that Marshal Semyon Timoshenko's tanks and troops had broken the German lines guarding Kharkov and advanced into an open battlefield. Thousands of Japanese troops landed in the Min River near the Fukien Province capital of Foochow, and met heavy Chinese resistance.

Technology
Standard Oil Company of New Jersey announced new methods of producing synthetic rubber and 100% octane aviation fuel.

70 years ago
1947

Died on this date
Flora Thompson, 70. U.K. authoress. Mrs. Thompson was a postal clerk who was best known for her novels about country life in England: Lark Rise (1939); Over to Candleford (1941); and Candleford Green (1943). The three novels were collected and published as the trilogy Lark Rise to Candleford (1945). Mrs. Thompson died of a heart attack.

Diplomacy
Brazilian President Eurico Gaspar Dutra and Argentine President Juan Peron exchanged friendship pledges as they dedicated a new Uruguay River bridge linking the two countries.

Politics and government
A 10-man U.S.-U.S.S.R. commission met in Seoul to renew talks on the establishment of a provisional Korean government.

The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee approved the Mundt bill authorizing the creation of a State Department Office of Information and Education Exchange to continue U.S. overseas cultural programs and broadcasts.

Economics and finance
France signed trade agreements in Paris with the British and American zones of Germany.

Protest
Strikes and riots broke out in Lyon, Lille, and other French cities as workers demanded more bread, higher wages, and an end to government economic controls.

Labour
4,000 foremen struck at the Ford Motor Company plant in River Rouge, Michigan, demanding that the Foremen's Association of America be made the sole bargaining agent for all supervisory workers.

U.S. Controller General Lindsay Warren warned that federal employees who struck against the government would forfeit their jobs and undelivered pay.

Crime
An all-white jury in Greenville, South Carolina acquitted 28 white men accused of participating in the February 17, 1947 lynching of Negro Willie Earle.

60 years ago
1957

World events
The Haitian Army, headed by Chief of Staff General Leon Cantave, dissolved the Haitian Executive Council and took over the government following a general strike in Port-au-Prince which shut down all essential services.

Defense
The Israeli government of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion announced its adherence to the Eisenhower Doctrine despite threats by left-wing ministers to resign from the cabinet.

Economics and finance
The French National Assembly rejected a government tax increase bill intended to raise more revenues for the war in Algeria and check France's foreign trade deficit.

The Baghdad Pact Economic Committee, meeting in Karachi, Pakistan, approved plans for the creation of a road, rail, and communications network linking all member states.

Labour
The American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations Executive Council elected Teamsters union Secretary-Treasurer John English to succeed Dave Beck as a council member and AFL-CIO vice president. Mr. Beck had been dismissed the previous day for misusing union funds; Mr. English was Mr. Beck's severest critic in the union.

Crime
New York Yankees' outfielder Hank Bauer was charged in New York with felonious assault on the citizens' arrest of Bronx delicatessen owner Edwin Jones, who alleged that Mr. Bauer had struck him at the Copacabana nightclub in the early hours of May 16, leaving Mr. Jones with a broken nose and broken jaw. Mr. Bauer denied the charge.

40 years ago
1977

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Amarsi un po'--Lucio Battisti (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Swiss Lady--Pepe Lienhard Band (8th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): You're My World--Guys 'n' Dolls

#1 single in Ireland: Have I the Right?--Dead End Kids

#1 single in the U.K (BMRB): I Don't Want to Talk About It/The First Cut is the Deepest--Rod Stewart

Rhodesia's Top 10 (Lyons Maid)
1 Fairytale--Dana (4th week at #1)
2 Love Me--Yvonne Elliman
3 If You Leave Me Now--Chicago
4 Don't Leave Me this Way--Thelma Houston
5 Blue Water--Julian Laxton Band
6 Isn't She Lovely--David Parton
7 Don't Cry for Me Argentina--Julie Covington
8 Afternoon Delight--Starland Vocal Band
9 Living Next Door to Alice--The Dreamers
10 Wild Side of Life--Status Quo

Singles entering the chart were We Got Love by Linda & the Funky Boys (#17); and That's Rock 'n' Roll by Shaun Cassidy (#19).

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Sir Duke--Stevie Wonder

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 When I Need You--Leo Sayer (3rd week at #1)
2 Sir Duke--Stevie Wonder
3 I'm Your Boogie Man--K.C. and the Sunshine Band
4 Southern Nights--Glen Campbell
5 Dreams--Fleetwood Mac
6 Got to Give it Up Pt. 1--Marvin Gaye
7 Hotel California--Eagles
8 Couldn't Get it Right--Climax Blues Band
9 Lido Shuffle--Boz Scaggs
10 Angel in Your Arms--Hot

Singles entering the chart were My Heart Belongs to Me by Barbra Streisand (#68); All You Get from Love is a Love Song by the Carpenters (#78); The Pretender by Jackson Browne (#80); Good Thing Man by Frank Lucas (#82); Burnin' Sky by Bad Company (#94); Enjoy and Get it On by ZZ Top (#96); The Pride (Part 1) by the Isley Brothers (#98); and Some Broken Hearts Never Mend by Don Williams (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 When I Need You--Leo Sayer
2 Southern Nights--Glen Campbell
3 Right Time of the Night--Jennifer Warnes
4 Hotel California--Eagles
5 Lido Shuffle--Boz Scaggs
6 Angel in Your Arms--Hot
7 I've Got Love on My Mind--Natalie Cole
8 I'm Your Boogie Man--K.C. and the Sunshine Band
9 So In to You--Atlanta Rhythm Section
10 Sir Duke--Stevie Wonder

Singles entering the chart were Life in the Fast Lane by the Eagles (#88); Back Together Again by Daryl Hall and John Oates (#89); Peace of Mind by Boston (#90); Knowing Me, Knowing You by ABBA (#91); Give a Little Bit by Supertramp (#92); This Girl (Has Turned Into a Woman) by Mary MacGregor (#93); Down to the Station by B.W. Stevenson (#94); Looks Like We Made It by Barry Manilow (#96); I Wanna Do it to You by Jerry Butler (#97); Dancin' by Crown Heights Affair (#98); Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel (#99); and (Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher by Rita Coolidge (#100).

Diplomacy
After three days of meetings in Geneva, U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and U.S.S.R. Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko issued a communique agreeing that progress had been made in attempting to end a three-month impasse in negotiations toward a new strategic arms limitation (SALT) treaty, but acknowledged that major issues remained unresolved.

Defense
U.S. President Jimmy Carter reassigned Major General John Singlaub, chief of staff of American forces in Korea, for criticizing Mr. Carter's pledge to withdraw 32,000 ground troops from South Korea. Maj. Gen. Singlaub had been quoted by the Washington Post as saying that the withdrawal "on the schedule suggested" would "lead to war."

Politics and government
In nationwide referenda in Australia, voters approved three of four proposed constitutional changes. The approved changes provided for filling Senate vacancies by members of the same political party; retirement ages for federal judges; and voting rights at constitutional referenda for residents of Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory. A proposal to hold simultaneous elections for both houses of Parliament failed because it didn't receive majorities in a majority of states, although 62.3% of the total vote was in favour; it was strongly opposed in the less populous states. A voluntary referendum to decide the national anthem resulted in Advance Australia Fair receiving 2,940,854 votes, followed by Waltzing Matilda (1,918,206); God Save the Queen (1,257,341); and Song of Australia (652,858).

Horse racing
Seattle Slew, with Jean Cruguet up, followed his Kentucky Derby victory by winning the 102nd running of the Preakness Stakes before 77,346 fans at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore in a time of 1:54 2/5, 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Iron Constitution, with Run Dusty Run third, 3 1/2 lengths behind the winner (see video).

Boxing
Miguel Angel Cuello (21-0) scored a technical knockout of Jesse Burnett (17-4-1) in the 9th round at Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco to win the vacant World Boxing Council world light heavyweight championship.

Soccer
English FA Cup Final @ Wembley Stadium, London
Manchester United 2 Liverpool 1

All three goals were scored in a brief span in the 2nd half in the last FA Cup Final ever broadcast in Canada on CBC radio.

Baseball
The Cincinnati Reds traded pitcher Santo Alcala to the Montreal Expos for two players to be named later. Mr. Alcala was 1-1 with an earned run average of 5.63 in 7 games with the Reds in 1977 after going 11-4, 4.70 in 30 games in his rookie year of 1976. Six days later, the Expos sent minor league pitchers Shane Rawley and Angel Torres to Cincinnati to complete the deal.

Merv Rettenmund hit a 3-run home run in the top of the 21st inning to break an 8-8 tie and give the San Diego Padres an 11-8 win over the Montreal Expos before 16,892 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal in the longest major league game ever played in Canada. With 2 out in the bottom of the 21st, Warren Cromartie and Del Unser singled, but Tony Perez grounded out to pitcher Rick Sawyer to end the game. Mr. Sawyer pitched 8 scoreless innings of relief to get the win.

Johnny Bench hit a 2-run home run and Pete Rose and Dan Driessen also drove in 2 runs each to help the Cincinnati Reds edge the New York Mets 8-7 befrore 34,406 fans at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

The Boston Red Sox scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 10-9 before 25,405 fans at Fenway Park in Boston. The winning run scored when, with none out, Carlton Fisk on second base and Dwight Evans on first, Butch Hobson grounded to Milwaukee third baseman Sal Bando, who threw to second baseman Don Money to force out Mr. Evans as Mr. Fisk reached third. Mr. Evans threw a shoulder block into Mr. Money on the play, knocking the ball loose for an error that allowed Mr. Fisk to score. Sam Hinds made his major league debut on the mound for the Brewers, relieving starting pitcher Moose Haas in the 2nd inning and allowing 5 hits and 2 runs--both earned--in 5 1/3 innings, walking 2 batters and striking out 3.

Eddie Murray singled home Larry Harlow with 2 out in the top of the 12th inning to break a 3-3 tie and give the Baltimore Orioles a 4-3 win over the New York Yankees before 19,968 fans at Yankee Stadium.

The Cleveland Indians scored 5 runs in the top of the 12th inning to break a 7-7 tie and defeat the Kansas City Royals 12-7 before 20,114 fans at Royals Stadium. Tom Hall, the fourth of five Kansas City pitchers, allowed no hits or runs in 1 1/3 innings in the 368th and last game of his 10-year major league career.

The Toronto Blue Jays scored 3 runs in the 2nd inning and 5 in the 3rd, and held on to defeat the Texas Rangers 9-6 before 20,351 fans at Arlington Stadium. Lew Beasley, who had been in the minor leagues for almost a decade, finally made his major league debut with the Rangers, playing the 6th and 7th innings in right field and driving in a run with a sacrifice fly in his only plate appearance.

The Seattle Mariners scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th inning to defeat the Oakland Athletics 7-6 before 3,320 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Lee Stanton led the Mariners by batting 4 for 5 with a home run and 3 runs batted in.

30 years ago
1987

On television tonight
Our World, hosted by Linda Ellerbee and Ray Gandolf, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Long Winter, Short Spring: 1937



The Twilight Zone, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Joy Ride, starring Rob Knepper; Shelter Skelter, starring Joe Mantegna; Private Channel, starring Scott Coffey

25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Deeply Dippy--Right Said Fred (4th week at #1)

Diplomacy
Canadian External Affairs Minister Barbara McDougall announced that Canada was opening diplomatic relations with former U.S.S.R. republics Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Prince of Wales Conference Finals
Pittsburgh 5 @ Boston 1 (Pittsburgh led best-of-seven series 3-0)

Basketball
NBA
Eastern Division Finals
Cleveland 107 Chicago 81

20 years ago
1997

Hit parade
#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Star People '97--George Michael

Weather
26 centimetres of heavy, wet snow were dumped on Edmonton. So many tree branches were broken that the monetary amount of the damage was the highest in the city's history, even more than the tornado of July 31, 1987.