April 14, 2018

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Laura O'Leary!

1,825 years ago
193

Politics and government
Septimius Severus was proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans).

440 years ago
1578

Born on this date
Philip III/II. King of Spain, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia, 1598-1621. King Felipe III of Spain and Filipe II of Portugal acceded to his thrones upon the death of his father Philip I/II. Felipe III/Filipe II reigned when the Spanish Empire was at its height; he achieved temporary peace with the Dutch, and military success during the early years of the Thirty Years' War, but he was criticized for relying too much on chief minister Francisco Gómez de Sandoval, 1st Duke of Lerma, and his kingdom was declared bankrupt in 1607. King Felipe III/Filipe II took ill after leaving Portugal in 1619, and never recovered. He died from a pulmonary embolism on March 31, 1621, two weeks before his 43rd birthday, as the result of prolonged immobilzation, and was succeeded by his son Felpe IV/Filipe III.

190 years ago
1828

Literature
Noah Webster copyrighted the first edition of his dictionary.

Disasters
The 18-gun sloop Acorn sank off Halifax, with the loss of 115 men.

125 years ago
1893

Born on this date
Ben Tincup. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Tincup, a member of the Cherokee Nation, played with the Philadelphia Phillies (1914-1915, 1918) and Chicago Cubs (1928), compiling a record of 8-11 with an earned run average of 3.10 in 48 games. He played 24 seasons in the minor leagues from 1912-1942, winning at least 250 games and losing at least 195. Mr. Tincup played 13 seasons (1919-1931) with the Louisville Colonels of the AA American Association. He was an umpire in the American Association (1933); manager in the minor leagues (1937-1938); coach with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1940); scout with the Boston Braves (1946-1948), Pittsburgh Pirates (1949-1953), and Philadelphia Phillies (1956-1958); and a coach with the New York Yankees (1960-1961). Mr. Tincup died on July 5, 1980 at the age of 87.

90 years ago
1928

Aviation
Flying from Athens to Le Bourget Field with only one stop at Marseilles to recharge their gas tanks, Dieudonne Costes and Joseph Lebrix came home to Paris from their world tour to receive a reception second only to that accorded to Charles Lindbergh the previous year. The trip began on October 10, 1927 when the two flyers departed for Senegal in their 600-horsepower Breguet.

Adventure
A Danish Boy Scout named Fallenhull, an apprentice at the General Motors plant, who was sent around the world by the newspaper Pohtiken, returned to Copenhagen after a 44-day journey through Great Britain, Canada, Japan, Manchuria, Siberia, Russia, Poland, and Germany.

Ottawana
Fire destroyed Ottawa's historic Russell House Hotel, which had closed in 1925 after being eclipsed by the Chateau Laurier. Canadian Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier lived there for ten years, and Governor General Lord Stanley offered a trophy to the top Canadian hockey team in its dining room. The government of Canada expropriated the site and used the land to expand Elgin Street and create Confederation Square.

Disasters
Earthquakes rocked southern Bulgaria from the Black Sea to Philippopolis, killing 20 and destroying 3,000 houses in Cirpan and elsewhere.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
New York Rangers 2 @ Montreal Maroons 1 (New York won best-of-five series 3-2)

Frank Boucher's second goal of the game, with 4:44 remaining in regulation time, gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead and proved to be the winner as they won their first Stanley Cup championship. Merlyn Phillips scored with 3:44 remaining to make the score 2-1. With the Rangers leading 1-0, a Maroons’ goal was disallowed as offside by referee Mike Rodden. The Montreal crowd exploded in wrath against Mr. Rodden, and then against National Hockey League president Frank Calder, who had approved Mr. Rodden as referee. Mr. Calder had to lock himself in an office after the game while police held off the fans. Hockey was great in those days.

75 years ago
1943

Hit parade
Variety reported the most popular songs in the U.S.A. as:

1 I've Heard that Song Before
2 That Old Black Magic
3 Don't Get Around Much Anymore

War
U.S. Office of War Information Director Elmer Davis said in Washington that 35 psychological warfare experiments were in North Africa directing propaganda at enemy troops and populations behind the lines. British troops in Tunisa took Djebel el Ang and Heidous, 26 miles west of Tunis, while French forces took Djebel Sefsouf.

Diplomacy
German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler and Romanian Prime Minister Ion Antonescu conferred at Mr. Hitler's headquarters on "Eastern European" problems.

Labour
The U.S. War Manpower Commission said that it would meet the need for 6.4 million workers in 1943 by drafting two million women; calling older workers from retirement; and shifting three million others from non-essential jobs.

70 years ago
1948

Literature
Former U.S. Secretary of War and Secretary of State Henry Stimson's memoir On Active Service was published in New York by Harper.

Diplomacy
Following the Colombian government's imposition of martial law in order to suppress violent protests, the International Conference of American States resumed in a school building on the outskirts of Bogota.

Law
The British House of Commons passed a bill eliminating the death penalty in murder cases for a trial period of five years.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Harry Truman urged Congress to appropriate $4.2 billion for the first year of the European Recovery Program, with Economic Cooperation Administrator Paul Hoffman authorized an additional $16.9 million in emergency aid.

Scandal
The U.S. Senate War Investigating Committee issued its final report on World War II military aircraft purchases, charging that Howard Hughes had maintained an "obviously corrupt" association with General Bennett Meyers, wartime assistant head of Air Force procurement.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Toronto 7 @ Detroit 2 (Toronto won best-of-seven series 4-0)

Ted Kennedy and Harry Watson each scored 2 goals for the Maple Leafs as they completed the sweep of the Red Wings at Olympia Stadium to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship. Mr. Watson's first goal, at 11:13 of the 1st period, made the score 3-0 and proved to be the Cup-winning goal. Toronto captain Syl Apps scored his 4th goal of the playoffs at 4:26 of the 2nd period to make the score 4-1; Mr. Apps announced his retirement after the game, ending his 10-year Hall of Fame National Hockey League career.

60 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Tequila--The Champs (Best Seller--5th week at #1; Top 100--5th week at #1); He's Got the Whole World (In His Hands)--Laurie London (Disc Jockey--1st week at #1)

Died on this date
Red Smyth, 67. U.S. baseball player. James Daniel Smyth was an outfielder with the Brooklyn Robins (1915-1917) and St. Louis Cardinals (1917-1918), batting .191 with no home runs and 12 runs batted in in 128 games. He played at least 7 seasons in the minor leagues from 1912-1919, with a recorded batting average of .307 with 13 home runs in 713 games.

John Freeman, 57. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Freeman was an outfielder who played 4 games with the Boston Red Sox in 1927, batting 0 for 2, with no fielding chances. He played 36 games with the Atlanta Crackers of the Class A Southern Association in 1927, batting .246 with no home runs.

Space
The Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 fell from Earth orbit and disintegrated in the atmosphere after a mission duration of 162 days. This was the first spacecraft to carry a living animal, a female dog named Laika, who likely lived only a few hours.

Crime
Uganda National Congress Chairman Joseph Kiwanuka was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison for bribing a bus driver to assassinate King Mutesa II, the Kabaka of Buganda, and four other Ugandan tribal and political leaders.

Defense
The Japanese government informed the United States that increased Japanese naval forces would require the use of Japanese naval bases now run by the U.S. Navy.

Politics and government
Mississippi Governor J.P. Coleman vetoed a bill to keep Negroes from voting by giving a court-appointed registrar control of voter registration.

Labour
Polish Communist Party First Secretary Wladyslaw Gomulka ordered factory workers' councils brought under party control and banned industrial strikes.

Baseball
The Baltimore Orioles released pitcher Art Houtteman, and he was promptly signed by the Detroit Tigers. He began the 1957 season with the Cleveland Indians, posting a record of 0-0 with an earned run average of 6.75 in 3 games before joining the Orioles, where he was 0-0 with a 16.71 ERA in 5 games.

Pedro Ramos pitched a 5-hit complete game and added 2 hits, a run, and a run batted in to lead the Washington Senators over the Boston Red Sox 5-2 before 26,675 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington in the major league regular season opener. It was the first major league game for Washington center fielder Albie Pearson, who batted 0 for 3 with a base on balls and made 2 putouts. Jackie Jensen hit a 2-run home run in the 3rd inning to give the Red Sox an early lead, while Jim Lemon hit a solo homer to get the Senators on the scoreboard in the 4th.

50 years ago
1968

Died on this date
Al Benton, 57. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Benton played with the Philadelphia Athletics (1934-1935); Detroit Tigers (1938-1942, 1945-1948); Cleveland Indians (1949-1950); and Boston Red Sox (1952), compiling a record of 98-88 with an earned run average of 3.66 in 455 games. He led the American League in 1940 with 17 saves, and was second in the AL in ERA in 1941 (2.97) and 1945 (2.02). He helped the Tigers win the World Series in 1945, posting a 0-0 record with a 1.93 ERA in 3 games. Mr. Benton was killed in an explosion at a motel in Lynnwood, California.

Space
The U.S.S.R. launched the satellite Cosmos 212.

War
North Korean soldiers ambushed a U.S. Army truck 1,000 yards below the demilitarized zone, killing two American and two South Korean soldiers, and wounding two American soldiers.

Protest
A student rally in West Berlin ended in violent clashes between police and protesters. Students blocked the city's main thoroughfare, the Kurfurstendamm, in protest at the April 11 shooting of one of their leaders, Rudi Dutschke. Mr. Dutschke was shot three times outside the offices of the German Socialist Students Federation (SDS), and was still in serious condition in hospital. Students chanted Mr. Dutschke's name interspersed with shouts of "Murderer Springer"--a reference to millionaire publisher Axel Springer. Students blamed Mr. Springer's papers for inflaming public opinion against them and said that the man who shot Mr. Dutschke was influenced by views expressed in a Springer publication.

Golf
Bob Goalby won the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia with an 11-under-par score of 277, 1 stroke ahead of Roberto DeVicenzo. Mr. DeVicenzo, who had apparently shot a 7-under-par 65 in the final round, actually shot the same total as Mr. Goalby, but on the 17th hole of the final round, his playing partner Tommy Aaron erroneously marked a par score of 4 on Mr. DeVicenzo's scorecard instead of the birdie 3 that he had actually shot. Mr. DeVicenzo failed to notice the error and signed the scorecard after the round; according to the rules, he was required to accept the higher score for the hole. The debacle inspired Mr. DeVicenzo to come up with one of the year’s most memorable quotes: "What a stupid I am!" First prize money was $20,000.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Quarter-Finals
Chicago 2 @ New York 1 (Chicago led best-of-seven series 3-2)

Rookie Bobby Schmautz scored the winning goal on a 90-foot shot as the Black Hawks edged the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

CPHL
Adams Cup
Semi-Finals
Tulsa 6 @ Oklahoma City 4 (Tulsa won best-of-seven series 4-3)

Basketball
NBA
Eastern Division Finals
Philadelphia 110 @ Boston 105 (Philadelphia led best-of-seven series 3-1)

ABA
Eastern Division Finals
Minnesota 105 @ Pitsburgh 114 (Pittsburgh won best-of-seven series 4-1)

Baseball
Nolan Ryan allowed 3 hits in 6 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out 8 batters to get his first major league win as the New York Mets shut out the Houston Astros 4-0 before 15,290 fans at the Astrodome. Houston second baseman Joe Morgan suffered a serious knee injury when hit by New York's Tommie Agee on a play at second base, and played only 5 more games in the next month before missing the rest of the season.

Ernie Banks' 3-run home run climaxed a 4-run 1st inning for the Chicago Cubs as they overcame a 3-run deficit and edged the St. Louis Cardinals 7-6 before 8,343 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Roger Maris hit a 3-run homer for the Cardinals in the top of the 1st and added a solo homer in the 8th. Mike Shannon hit a 2-run home run for St. Louis in the 4th. Hal Gilson made his major league debut on the mound for St. Louis, allowing 1 hit in pitching 2 scoreless innings to finish the game.

Jim Bunning pitched a 5-hitter for his first win in a Pittsburgh uniform to win the pitchers' duel over Claude Osteen as the Pirates shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 before 27,136 fans at Dodger Stadium. Donn Clendenon doubled home 2 runs in the 1st inning, and Gene Alley homered in the 3rd. Jim Fairey made his major league debut in left field for Los Angeles, batting 0 for 4 and making 1 putout.

Every man in the San Francisco starting lineup had at least 1 hit as the Giants routed the Philadelphia Phillies 13-2 in the first game of a doubleheader before 18,314 fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Willie Mays led the 20-hit Giant attack with a home run, 3 singles, 2 runs, and 4 runs batted in; Jesus Alou added 2 doubles, a single, a run, and 3 RBIS, while Jim Ray Hart homered and singled, with 2 runs and 3 RBIs, and Willie McCovey had a double and 2 singles, with 3 runs and a run batted in. The Giants broke the game open with 8 runs in the 5th inning. Mr. Hart accounted for all the San Francisco scoring in the 2nd game with a solo home run and a 2-run homer as the Giants completed the sweep with a 3-1 win. Ray Sadecki pitched a 6-hit complete game with 10 strikeouts to win the pitchers' duel over Chris Short.

Harmon Killebrew tripled home 2 runs as part of a 4-run 4th inning for the Minnesota Twins as they withstood a 3-run 9th-inning rally to defeat the New York Yankees 4-3 before 12,410 fans at Yankee Stadium. Dean Chance allowed 5 hits and 3 runs--2 earned--in 8 1/3 innings to get the win. The Yankees had runners on second and third bases with 1 out in the 9th when Bobby Cox made his major league debut as a pinch hitter, striking out. Ruben Amaro then came to bat and grounded into a force play at third to end the game. New York center fielder Joe Pepitone suffered a hairline fracture of his elbow making a throw in the 4th inning.

Ron Hansen doubled home 3 runs in the 4th inning, singled home another run in the 6th, and scored on Billy Bryan's subsequent 3-run home run as the Washington Senators beat the Oakland Athletics 8-1 before 7,276 fans at District of Columbia Stadium. Frank Howard hit a solo home run for the Senators in the 8th.

Bill Freehan singled home Dick McAuliffe with the bases loaded and none out in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Detroit Tigers a 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox before 8,744 fans at Tiger Stadium. Tommy Davis and Buddy Bradford hit home runs for the White Sox.

40 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): It's a Heartache--Bonnie Tyler (6th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Das Lied der Schlümpfe--Vader Abraham & Die Schlümpfe (4th week at #1)

#1 single in France: Magnolias Forever--Claude François (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Joe Gordon, 63. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Gordon was the starting second baseman for the New York Yankees from 1938-1943 and 1946. He played exactly 1,000 games for the Yankees, and had exactly 1,000 hits as a Yankee. Mr. Gordon was voted the Most Valuable Player in the American League in 1942, when he was fourth in the league in batting average (.322), and fourth in runs batted in (103). He finished his career with the Cleveland Indians from 1947-1950. Mr. Gordon played in 6 World Series, and played for the winning team in 5 of them (New York Yankees, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1943; Cleveland Indians, 1948). He had the superstition of never using the same bat twice in a row, even if he'd just hit a home run. Mr. Gordon was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.

War
Israeli troops continued their withdrawal from Lebanon, and Nepalese UNIFIL troops replaced them in one area.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and British Foreign Secretary David Owen met in Tanzania with Rhodesian Patriotic Front guerrilla leaders and with British and United Nations officials who would administer Rhodesia during a period of transition to black rule under the Anglo-American plan. Mr. Vance and Mr. Owen also met in Tanzania with leaders of Tanzania, Angola, Botswana, Zambia, and Nigeria. Patriotic Front leaders Joshua Nkomo and Robert Mugabe accepted the Anglo-American invitation to an all-party conference but only on the condition that they be given the dominant role in the transitional government.

Politics and government
In Salisbury, Rhodesia, an 18-member Council of Ministers was sworn in. The Council was composed of 9 ministries, each headed jointly by one black minister, and one white.

Protest
Thousands of Georgians demonstrated in Tbilisi against Soviet attempts to change the constitutional status of the Georgian language.

Hockey
WHA
Avco World Trophy
Quarter-Finals
Edmonton 4 @ New England 6 (New England led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Birmingham 3 @ Winnipeg 9 (Winnipeg led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Basketball
NBA
Playoffs
Eastern Conference
First Round
Cleveland 107 @ New York 109 (New York won best-of-three series 2-0)
Washington 107 @ Atlanta 103 (Washington won best-of-three series 2-0)

Western Conference
First Round
Phoenix 90 @ Milwaukee 94 (Milwaukee won best-of-three series 2-0)
Seattle 99 @ Los Angeles 105 (Best-of-three series tied 1-1)

30 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Together Forever--Rick Astley (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): On kesäyö/Viimeinen laulu--Topi Sorsakoski & J. Karjalainen (2nd week at #1)

Politics and government
According to an article in The New York Times, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sought and won a vote of confidence from the Politburo after facing an apparent challenge from Yegor Ligachev, the second-ranking member of the Kremlin hierarchy. Mr. Ligachev had reportedly praised a newspaper article a month earlier that had rejected Mr. Gorbachev’s reforms.

Diplomacy
Pakistan and Afghanistan signed agreements in Geneva providing for the withdrawal of Soviet troops, the establishment of a non-aligned Afghan state, and repatriation of millions of Afghan refugees, most of them living in Pakistan. The United States and Soviet Union agreed to refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, the agreement did not include a cease-fire, and leaders of the Afghan resistance said they fight on to overthrow the Soviet-backed government. In a separate understanding, the United States and U.S.S.R. reserved the right to supply arms to their Afghan allies if the other side continued to do so. The Soviet withdrawal was to take place between May 15, 1988 and February 15, 1989.

Defense
The U.S. frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts hit an underwater mine in the Persian Gulf during Operation Earnest Will, the protection of Kuwaiti-owned oil tankers from Iranian attacks. Ten sailors were injured, and the frigate was towed to Dubai for repairs.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the deficit in merchandise trade had increased from $12.44 billion in January to $13.83 billion in February.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Prince of Wales Conference
Division Semi-Finals
Montreal 2 @ Hartford 1 (Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-2)
Boston 5 @ Buffalo 2 (Boston won best-of-seven series 4-2)
New York Islanders 5 @ New Jersey 6 (New Jersey won best-of-seven series 4-2)
Washington 7 @ Philadelphia 2 (Best-of-seven series tied 3-3)

Clarence S. Campbell Conference
Division Semi-Finals
Detroit 5 @ Toronto 3 (Detroit won best-of-seven series 4-2)

The Devils, leading 6-1 with 12 1/2 minutes remaining in the 3rd period, withstood a 4-goal rally to eliminate the Islanders at Brendan Byrne Arena.

25 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): No Limit--2 Unlimited (8th week at #1)

Society
A new study found that 1% of men were homosexual, as opposed to the 10% figure reported by Alfred Kinsey in 1948.

20 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Maurice Stans, 90. U.S. politician. Mr. Stans was Director of the Bureau of the Budget (1958-1961) under President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Secretary of Commerce (1969-1972) in the administration of President Richard Nixon. He was very successful at raising money for Mr. Nixon’s re-election campaign in 1972; the $61 million he raised in donations helped to fund the Watergate "dirty tricks." Mr. Stans eventually pled guilty to five counts of violating campaign finance laws. He later raised $30 million in donations for the Nixon library. Mr. Stans died of congestive heart failure, 23 days after his 90th birthday.

Angel Francisco Breard, 32. Paraguayan criminal. Mr. Breard, convicted in 1992 of the attempted rape and capital murder of Ruth Dickie, was executed by lethal injection in Virginia despite pleas for clemency from the International Court of Justice and the Paraguayan government. The U.S. Supreme Court denied clemency.

Law
In a ruling that was seen as a setback to affirmative action, a U.S. appeals court voided a government program that required radio and television stations to seek minority job applicants.

10 years ago
2008

Died on this date
Tommy Holmes, 91. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Holmes was an outfielder with the Boston Braves (1942-1951) and Brooklyn Dodgers (1952), batting .302 with 88 home runs and 581 runs batted in in 1,320 games. His best season was 1945, when he was second in the National League in batting average (.345), and led the NL in hits (224), home runs (28), and doubles (47). Mr. Holmes might have been the most popular player the Boston Braves ever had, and he managed them in 1951-1952, compiling a record of 61-69.

Curling
Canada (Kevin Martin) won the gold medal at the World Men's Championship in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Eastern Conference
Quarter-Finals
Pittsburgh 4 @ Ottawa 1 (Pittsburgh led best-of-seven series 3-0)

Western Conference
Quarter-Finals
Detroit 3 @ Nashville 5 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 2-1)
Minnesota 3 @ Colorado 2 (OT) (Minnesota led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored at 11:58 of the 1st overtime period to give the Wild their win over the Avalanche at Pepsi Center in Denver.