May 6, 2017

240 years ago
1777

War
British General John Burgoyne arrived in Québec as field commander of the British forces against the American rebels.

150 years ago
1867

War
Forces commanded by Emperor Maximilian attempted to cut their way through the Liberal lines at Queretaro, Mexico, and were repulsed.

Politics and government
The Haitian National Assembly met in Port-au-Prince for the purpose of drafting a new constitution.

140 years ago
1877

War
Chief Crazy Horse of the Oglala Lakota surrendered to United States troops in Nebraska, while Dakota Sioux Chief Sitting Bull led 5,000 of his followers into Canada to ask for protection from Queen Victoria and petition land for a reserve.

120 years ago
1897

Economics and finance
The first reports of gold finds in the Klondike were published in Edmonton.

110 years ago
1907

Horse racing
Pink Star, with Andy Minder up, won the 33rd running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville in a time of 2:12 3/5 seconds, 2 lengths ahead of Zal, with Ovelando third.

100 years ago
1917

Born on this date
Kal Mann. U.S. songwriter. Mr. Mann, born Kalman Cohen, wrote the lyrics for a number of pop and rock and roll songs in the 1950s and '60s, including (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear; Butterfly; You Can't Sit Down; and Let's Twist Again. He died of Alzheimer's disease on November 28, 2001 at the age of 84.

Baseball
Bob Groom pitched 2 innings of hitless relief to get a save in the first game of a doubleheader and followed with a no-hitter in the second game as the St. Louis Browns swept a doubleheader from the Chicago White Sox 8-4 and 3-0 before 20,000 fans at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. It was the second straight day in which a was no-hitter pitched by the Browns against the White Sox; Ernie Koob had accomplished the feat the day before in a 1-0 win. Ivan Bigler played his only major league game in the first game, entering as a pinch runner for the Browns in the 7th inning.

90 years ago
1927

At the movies
7th Heaven, directed by Frank Borzage, and starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, received its premiere screening at the Cathay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles.



80 years ago
1937

Disasters
The German airship Hindenburg, making its first flight of the season, burst into flames as it landed at Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 35 passengers and crew members and one member of the ground crew (see also here). The disaster effectively ended the age of travel by airship.





75 years ago
1942

War
15,000 Americans and Filipinos on Corregidor Island and at Forts Drum, Hughes, and Frank in Manila Bay surrendered to Japanese forces. Advance Japanese troops drove deeper into China along the Burma Road, bypassing the city of Wangting. U.K. Royal Air Force planes bombed Stuttgart for the second consecutive day. A United Press report said that German authorities had executed 30 French civilians in Caen for an attack upon a train and 10 in Romorantin for an attack on a German soldier. British forces continued to advance toward the city of Diego Suarez and the naval base of Antsirane on the east coast of Madagascar despite stiff French opposition.

World events
600 delegates and Zionist leaders from 18 countries attended the opening of the Biltmore Conference at the Biltmore Hotel in New York City. The conference was for the purpose of demanding "that Palestine be established as a Jewish Commonwealth."

Journalism
The Argentine government suspended the pro-Nazi Buenos Aires newspaper Pampero.

70 years ago
1947

War
A British military court in Venice condemned German Field Marshal Albert Kesselring to death for war crimes.

Diplomacy
The United Nations General Assembly's Political and Social Committee voted to hear both the Jewish Agency and Arab Higher Committee in the current Palestine debate.

Defense
Admiral Ernest King (Retired), chief of U.S. naval operations during World War II, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee in opposition to the armed forces merger bill.

Society
The New York Supreme Court struck down an Albany school board order forbidding singer Paul Robeson from performing in a school auditorium.

Economics and finance
Canada ratified a trade agreement with Mexico.

Abominations
Dropping of wartime price controls in Canada caused a rise in the price of candy bars.

Labour
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that a returned veteran was entitled to regain his specific pre-war job regardless of interim company reorganization or the job's increased income value.

The U.S. National Federation of Telephone Workers gave up its demand for a national collective contract after New York and Northwest Bell workers ended their strike and settled separately with American Telephone & Telegraph.

Health
An outbreak of infant diarrhea in Philadelphia was checked after causing 27 deaths among children less than a year old.

60 years ago
1957

Hit parade
#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): All Shook Up--Elvis Presley (Best Seller--5th week at #1; Disc Jockey--3rd week at #1; Jukebox--3rd week at #1; Top 100--4th week at #1)

Literature
Columbia University trustees announced the awarding of the following 1957 Pulitzer Prizes: Drama--Long Day's Journey Into Night by Eugene O'Neill; History--Russia Leaves the War by George Kennan; Biography--Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy. The also awarded a prize to columnist James Reston for "distinguished national correspondence."

Politics and government
Italian Prime Minister Antonio Segni and hs coalition cabinet, in power since July 6, 1956, resigned after Deputy Prime Minister Giuseppe Saragat and three other Social Democrats withdrew.

Diplomacy
The Arab League boycott headquarters in Damascus blacklisted the U.S. tanker Kern Hills from all Arab ports for transporting oil to Elath through the Gulf of Aqaba.

In an address to the Overseas Press Club in New York, U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy (Democrat--Massachusetts) accused the administration of President Dwight Eisenhower of "timidity and indecision" in supporting the independent Communist regime in Poland against the U.S.S.R.

Defense
British delegate Allan Noble presneted a three-stage plan for an ultimate ban on nuclear tests to the United Nations Disarmament subcommittee meeting in London.

Transportation
British Transport Minister Harold Watkinson told the House of Commons that he would press plans for alternate routes to the Suez Canal.

Crime
The Argentine government announced that it had broken up an $8-million-per-year white slavery ring in the Buenos Aires area, with the arrest of eight Argentinians and eight Frenchmen.

Scandal
The American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations Ethical Practices Committee in Washington charged in a staff report that Teamsters union President Dave Beck and several other Teamsters officials had profiteered in their offices and failed to act against corruption.

Health
Four Pittsburgh phyicians reported to the American Society for Clinical Investigation's annual meeting in Atlantic City that high protein intake contributes to heart and artery disease.

50 years ago
1967

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Somethin' Stupid-- Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra

#1 single in France: J'aime les filles--Jacques Dutronc

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Un mondo d'amore--Gianni Morandi (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Penny Lane--The Beatles

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Puppet on a String--Sandie Shaw (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Puppet on a String--Sandie Shaw (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Puppet on a String--Sandie Shaw (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Somethin' Stupid-- Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra (4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Somethin' Stupid--Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra (2nd week at #1)
2 The Happening--The Supremes
3 A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You--The Monkees
4 Sweet Soul Music--Arthur Conley
5 Happy Together--The Turtles
6 I Think We're Alone Now--Tommy James and the Shondells
7 Jimmy Mack--Martha and the Vandellas
8 You Got What it Takes--The Dave Clark Five
9 Don't You Care--The Buckinghams
10 On a Carousel--The Hollies

Singles entering the chart were Tramp by Otis and Carla (#67); It's All Over Now by the Casinos (#77); Do it Again a Little Bit Slower by Jon & Robin and the In Crowd (#80); Let Yourself Go by James Brown and the Famous Flames (#81); Misty Blue by Eddy Arnold (#83); Everybody Loves a Winner by William Bell (#86); Here We Go Again by Ray Charles (#91); Love Me Forever by Roger Williams (#93); Time, Time by Ed Ames (#94); I Could Be So Good to You by Don and the Goodtimes (#97); Just Look What You've Done by Brenda Holloway (#98); She Shot a Hole in My Soul by Clifford Curry (#99); and Little Bit o' Soul by the Music Explosion (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Somethin' Stupid--Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra
2 I'm a Man--The Spencer Davis Group
3 Canada--The Young Canada Singers
4 Happy Jack--The Who
5 Jimmy Mack--Martha and the Vandellas
6 Don't You Care--The Buckinghams
7 Sweet Soul Music--Arthur Conley
8 Half Past Midnight--The Staccatos
9 You Got What it Takes--The Dave Clark Five
10 The Happening--The Supremes

Singles entering the chart were Him or Me - What's it Gonna Be? by Paul Revere and the Raiders (#63); Respect by Aretha Franklin (#76); Mirage by Tommy James and the Shondells (#84); The Oogum Boogum Song by Brenton Wood (#89); Creeque Alley by the Mamas and the Papas (#91); Another Day, Another Heartache by the 5th Dimension (#92); Too Many Fish in the Sea & Three Little Fishes by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels (#93); Can't Seem to Make You Mine by the Seeds (#96); Six O'Clock by the Lovin' Spoonful (#97); Lay Some Happiness on Me by Dean Martin (#98); Diamonds and Gold by Willie and the Walkers (#99); and All I Need by the Temptations (#100).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CFUN)
1 Release Me (And Let Me Love Again)--Engelbert Humperdinck
2 You Got What it Takes--The Dave Clark Five
3 Somethin' Stupid-- Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra
4 Sweet Soul Music--Arthur Conley
5 Somebody to Love--Jefferson Airplane
6 The Happening--The Supremes
7 Happy Jack--The Who
8 Blue's Theme--The Arrows
9 The Love I Saw in You was Just a Mirage--Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
10 On a Carousel--The Hollies

Singles entering the chart were Here Comes My Baby by the Tremeloes (#29); My Girl Josephine by Jerry Jaye (#37); Live by the Merry-Go-Round (#43); Lay Some Happiness on Me by Dean Martin (#45); Up to Now by Trini Lopez (#48); Bowling Green by the Everly Brothers (#49); and Mirage by Tommy James and the Shondells (#50).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Live--The Merry-Go-Round
2 Can't Seem to Make You Mine--The Seeds
3 You Got What it Takes--The Dave Clark Five
4 Yellow Balloon--The Yellow Balloon
5 Sunshine Girl--The Parade
6 Blue's Theme--The Arrows
7 At the Zoo--Simon and Garfunkel
8 The Happening--The Supremes
9 I was Kaiser Bill's Batman--Whistling Jack Smith
10 Him or Me - What's it Gonna Be?--Paul Revere and the Raiders

Singles entering the chart were Respect by Aretha Franklin (#23); Too Many Fish in the Sea & Three Little Fishes by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels (#26); It's All Over by the Casinos (#28); Mirage by Tommy James and the Shondells (#29); and I Could Be So Good to You by Don and the Goodtimes (#30).

Horse racing
Proud Clarion, with Bobby Ussery up, won the 93rd running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville in a time of 2:00 3/5 seconds, a length ahead of Barb's Delight, with Damascus third.



40 years ago
1977

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Ain't that Just the Way--Barbi Benton

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Lay Back in the Arms of Someone--Smokie (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France: Les chansons françaises--La Bande à Basile (6th week at #1)

Labour
The U.S. Labor Department reported that the national unemployment rate had fallen in April from 7.3% to 7%--the lowest level in 29 months--while the total number of people employed reached 90 million for the first time, scoring the second consecutive monthly gain of more than 500,000 jobs.

Hockey
IIHF
World Championships
U.S.S.R. 8 Canada 1

30 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): You're the Voice--John Farnham (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
William Casey, 74. U.S. bureaucrat. Mr. Casey was director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1981-1987.

Music
Composer R. Murray Schafer, a native of Sarnia, Ontario, won the inaugural Glenn Gould Prize, a $50,000 award for contributions to music. Mr. Schafer was awarded the prize over 35 nominees from 22 countries.

Politics and government
Parliamentary elections in South Africa gave the government of President P.W. Botha a slightly increased majority, while the Conservative Party displaced the Progressive Federal Party as the second-largest party. Black people had not been permitted to vote, while members of Asian and other mixed-race minorities were to choose their members of parliament at a later date.

Scandal
The Assemblies of God dismissed Jim Bakker, televangelist and former chairman of the PTL “ministry,” and Richard Dortch, former PTL president, as ministers. Mr. Bakker was cited for his “sexual encounter” with secretary Jessica Hahn in 1980 and for “his alleged misconduct involving bisexual activity.” Mr. Dortch was dismissed for concealing “the immoral conduct of a fellow minister” and for his apparent role in a “coverup,” a reference to the fact that he had negotiated a financial settlement (a fund of $265,000) for Miss Hahn.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Prince of Wales Conference Finals
Montreal 5 @ Philadelphia 2 (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)

25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): To Be with You--Mr. Big (6th week at #1)

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Back to the Lake

Died on this date
Marlene Dietrich, 90. German-born U.S. actress and singer. Miss Dietrich became a star in her native land with her appearance in The Blue Angel (1930), and then moved to Hollywood, where her movies included Morocco (1930); Blonde Venus (1932); Desire (1936); Destry Rides Again (1939); A Foreign Affair (1948); Witness for the Prosecution (1957); Touch of Evil (1958); and Judgement at Nuremberg (1961). Miss Dietrich was an opponent of Germany's Nazi regime and aided the Allied effort in World War II. She narrated the documentary Black Fox: The True Story of Adolf Hitler, which won the Academy Award as best documentary feature of 1962. Miss Dietrich was known for performing the songs Falling in Love Again and Lili Marlene. She died of kidney failure.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Detroit 4 @ Chicago 5 (Chicago led best-of-seven series 3-0)
Vancouver 2 @ Edmonton 5 (Edmonton led best-of-seven series 2-1)

20 years ago
1997

Died on this date
Mel Steiner, 80. U.S. baseball player and umpire. Mr. Steiner was an outfielder in the minor leagues from 1940-1950 with only moderate success, but made the major leagues as an umpire, working in 1,917 regular season games in the National League from 1961-1972, as well as the 1966 and 1972 World Series, the 1969 National League Championship Series, and Major League All-Star Games in 1962 and 1968.

Economics and finance
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown granted the Bank of England independence from political control, the most significant change in the bank's 300-year history.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Conference Semi-Finals
New Jersey 2 @ New York Rangers 3 (New York led best-of-seven series 2-1)
Detroit 5 @ Anaheim 3 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 3-0)

10 years ago
2007

Died on this date
Curtis Harrington, 80. U.S. film and television director. Mr. Harrington directed such films as Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965) and Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1971), and directed made-for-television movies and episodes of various television programs in the 1970s.

Politics and government
Union pour un mouvement populaire (UMP) candidate Nicolas Sarkozy was elected President of France, defeating Parti socialiste (PS) candidate Ségolène Royal 53.1%-46.9% in the second round of voting.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Conference Semi-Finals
Buffalo 5 @ New York Rangers 4 (Buffalo won best-of-seven series 4-2)

Jochen Hecht scored the winning goal for the Sabres as they eliminated the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.