May 10, 2018

1,780 years ago
238

Died on this date
Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus, aka Maximinus Thrax (Maximinus the Thracian), Maximinus I. Roman Emperor, 235-238. Maximinus has been described in several ancient sources as the first barbarian emperor of Rome, and the first never to set foot in Rome. His rule is often considered to mark the beginning of the Crisis of the 3rd Century, the period from 235-284 in which the Roman Empire crumbled and nearly collapsed. Maximinus, his son, and his ministers were assassinated by Praetorian guards in his camp. Their heads were cut off, placed on poles, and carried to Rome by cavalrymen.

525 years ago
1493

Died on this date
Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll, 60 (?). Scottish politician. The Earl of Argyll was Lord High Chancellor of Scotland from 1483-1487 and from 1489 until his death.

250 years ago
1768

Journalism
John Wilkes was imprisoned in King's Bench Prison in London for writing an article for The North Briton severely criticizing King George III. This action provoked rioting in London.

220 years ago
1798

Died on this date
George Vancouver, 40. U.K. explorer. Captain Vancouver, one of the Royal Navy’s best navigators, was famous for exploring the west coast of North America, as well as the southwest coast of Australia. Cities in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the American state of Washington are named after him, as is the largest island off the mainland of British Columbia.

200 years ago
1818

Died on this date
Paul Revere, 83. U.S. patriot. Mr. Revere was famous for his "midnight ride" during the battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, when he served as a messenger, warning John Hancock and Samuel Adams of movements of the British army. Mr. Revere later became a prominent silversmith and foundryman in Boston. He’s not to be confused with the founder of the 1960s music group Paul Revere and the Raiders.

175 years ago
1843

Born on this date
Benito Pérez Galdós. Spanish author. Mr. Pérez Galdós was a realist novelist who wrote 31 novels, 46 Episodios Nacionales (National Episodes), 23 plays, and the equivalent of 20 volumes of shorter fiction, journalism and other writings. The Episodios Nacionales were novels about famous episodes in Spanish history. In Spain, Mr. Pérez Galdós is regarded as he equal of Charles Dickens and Leo Tolstoy. He went blind in his later years, and died on January 4, 1920 at the age of 76.

150 years ago
1868

Died on this date
Henry Bennett, 59. U.S. politician. Mr. Bennett, first elected as a Whig, represented New York's 22nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1849-1853. He represented New York's 21st District from 1853-1859, first as a Whig, then as a member of the Opposition Party (1855-1857), then as a Republican (1857-1859).

130 years ago
1888

Born on this date
Max Steiner. Austrian-born composer and conductor. Mr. Steiner, a native of Vienna, was a child prodigy as a pianist and composer, and conducted an operetta when he was 12. He worked in theatrical productions in continental Europe and Britain in the years leading to World War I, but was interned in England as an enemy alien when World War I began in 1914. Mr. Steiner was allowed to emigrate to the United States, and spent 15 years on Broadway in New York before going to Hollywood in 1929, and sound was coming into motion pictures. He composed over 300 film scores for RKO Pictures and Warner Brothers Pictures from 1929-1965 and received 24 Academy Award nominations, winning for The Informer (1935); Now, Voyager (1942); and Since You Went Away (1944). Mr. Steiner's most famous scores included Gone with the Wind (1939) and A Summer Place (1959). He died of congestive heart failure on December 28, 1971 at the age of 88, after years of declining health and poor eyesight.

125 years ago
1893

Law
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Nix v. Hedden that a tomato was a vegetable, not a fruit, under the Tariff Act of 1883.

Economics and finance
The Imperial Institute building was opened in London by Queen Victoria.

Horse racing
Lookout, with E. Kunze up, won the 19th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville in a time of 2:39 1/4. Plutus placed second and Boundless finished third in a 6-horse field.

120 years ago
1898

Baseball
Amos Rusie of the New York Giants set down the Brooklyn Bridegrooms on 1 hit, winning 5-0 at the Polo Grounds in New York.

110 years ago
1908

Born on this date
Carl Albert. U.S. politician. Mr. Albert, a Democrat, represented Oklahoma's 3rd District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947-1977. He was House Majority Whip (1955-1962); House Majority Leader (1962-1971); and Speaker of the House (1971-1977). Mr. Albert served with the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, acting as a prosecutor with the Judge Advocate General Corps, and rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He died on February 4, 2000 at the age of 91.

Society
Mother’s Day as it is known today was created by Anna Jarvis in honour of her mother Ann, an Appalachian homemaker who, starting in 1858, had attempted to improve sanitation through what she called Mother’s Work Days. The first modern Mother's Day was celebrated in Grafton, West Virginia in the church where the elder Ann Jarvis had taught Sunday School.

100 years ago
1918

Born on this date
John Martin. U.K. military officer and politician. Vice Admiral Martin served in the Royal Navy (1938-1973); he participated in the evacuation of Dunkirk (1940) and the invasion of Sicily (1943). He was Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey (1974-1980), and died on May 31, 2011, three weeks after his 93rd birthday.

Baseball
Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitcher Earl Hamilton pitched a 4-hitter, allowing 1 earned run in a 4-2 win over the New York Giants at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Mr. Hamilton had a 6-0 record with a 0.83 ERA for 1918 after the game, and then enlisted in the U.S. Navy.

The Cincinnati Reds scored 3 runs in the top of the 8th and another in the 9th to edge the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Snipe Conley pitched 2 innings of scoreless relief to get the win and improve his 1918 record to 2-0, and sacrificed in his only plate appearance in the 65th and last game of his 3-year major league career.

The Chicago White Sox scored 2 runs in the top of the 11th inning to break a 3-3 tie as they defeated the Philadelphia Athletics 5-3 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. George Burns hit 2 home runs for Philadelphia, the first of which immediately followed a homer by Tilly Walker in the 1st inning.

90 years ago
1928

Died on this date
Ed Stein, 58. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Stein compiled a record of 110 wins and 78 losses with the Chicago White Stockings (1890-1891) and Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1892-1896, 1898). His best seasons were 1892 (27-16, 2.84 earned run average) and 1894 (27-14).

J.J. Rooney. U.S. military aviator. U.S. Navy Lieutenant Rooney was killed in an attempt to land a plane on the deck of the aircraft carrier Lexington, off Oceanside, California.

Television
W2XB (more popularly known as WGY) in Schenectady, New York, the first television station in the United States, began regular broadcasting, as newscaster Kolin Hager delivered farm and weather reports three times weekly. I don’t know who had a set to watch it on.

Politics and government
G.R. Van Namee, campaign manager for Democratic Party U.S. presidential candidate Al Smith, told the U.S. Senate Committee at New York City that contributions to date were $103,310, expenditures $92,090, of which $41,500 went to California. The largest contributor was contractor W.F. Kenny, who gave $20,000 and lent $70,000.

Aviation
The TC-5, a 200-foot Army non-rigid dirigible, landed on the afterdeck of the American Trader, outbound, outside Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and picked up a passenger, who was taken to the Naval Air Station at Lakehurst, New Jersey.

Crime
After 13 months in the death house at Sing Sing, Robert Weiner, convicted of complicity in the murder of warden Peter Mallon in the Tombs outbreak of November 3, 1926, was discharged by Judge Mancuso in General Sessions, following reversal of his conviction by the Court of Appeals.

Baseball
The New York Giants traded right fielder George Harper to the St. Louis Cardinals for catcher Bob O'Farrell. Mr. Harper was batting .228 with 2 home runs and 7 runs batted in in 19 games with the Giants in 1928, while Mr. O'Farrell was batting .212 with no homers and 4 RBIs in 16 games with St. Louis. The trade made room on the New York roster for 19-year-old Mel Ott to take over in right field, a spot he went on to hold for 18 years.

75 years ago
1943

War
British troops in Tunisia advanced 12 miles south of Creteville and hammered at the German rearguard southeast of Hamman Lif in an effort to close the Cap Bon Peninsula. French troops drove up from the southwest to Djebel Oust. German forces accepted the Allied demand for unconditional surrender at Cap Bon, surrendering 25,000 additional troops.

Defense
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to appropriate an additional $4.934 billion for naval aviation.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that exports in March had broken the June 1919 record of $928 million and reached $931 million.

Business
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the power of the Federal Communications Commission to prohibit ownership of more than one radio network by a company and to bar exclusive network contracts.

70 years ago
1948

War
Egyptian irregular forces launched their first attack at Kfar Darom, Israel.

Diplomacy
Former U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited the Congress of Europe in The Hague, which ended after delegates unanimously passed a resolution urging European governments to establish a European Deliberative Assembly to advise on the economic and political unon of Europe.

Politics and government
United Nations-supervised elections in the U.S. zone of Korea resulted in victory for Syngman Rhee's conservative National Society for the Rapid Realization of Independence, which won a slight majority of the 192 representatives chosen.

The Republic of China implemented "temporary provisions" granting President Chiang Kai-shek extended powers to deal with the Communist uprising; they remained in effect until 1991.

Democrats from seven southern U.S. states met in Jackson, Mississippi to plan a separate Southern Democratic convention, to be held if the national party renominated President Harry Truman or refused to repudiate his civil rights program.

Canadiana
Penticton, British Columbia was incorporated as a city.

Law
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled for the second time that real estate agreements aimed at excluding racial minorities were unenforceable.

Economics and finance
A 10-nation agreement on regional development of the Amazon River basin was signed in Iquitos, Peru. The signatories, who agreed to participate in a new International Institute of the Amazon Forests, included Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, and the U.S.A.

Labour
Three U.S. railroad brotherhoods called off a scheduled national strike after U.S. President Truman ordered the Army to seize the railroads "for the protection of our citizens."

Basketball
BAA
The Basketball Association of America expanded to 12 teams as the Minneapolis Lakers, Rochester Royals, Indianapolis Kautskys, and Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons jumped to the BAA from the National Basketball League.

60 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Catch a Falling Star--Perry Como (6th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): March from the River Kwai and Colonel Bogey--Mitch Miller and his Orchestra (5th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Hello, le soleil brille--Annie Cordy (9th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Whole Lotta Woman--Marvin Rainwater (4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Witch Doctor--David Seville
2 Twilight Time--The Platters
3 All I Have to Do is Dream--The Everly Brothers
4 Wear My Ring Around Your Neck--Elvis Presley
5 He's Got the Whole World (In His Hands)--Laurie London
6 Return to Me--Dean Martin
7 Chanson d'Amour--Art and Dotty Todd
8 Book of Love--The Monotones
9 Tequila--The Champs
10 Oh Lonesome Me--Don Gibson

Singles entering the chart were (It’s Been a Long Time) Pretty Baby by Gino and Gina (#50); Boppin' in a Sack by the Lane Brothers (#53); El Rancho Rock by the Champs (#56); Stroll Me by Kay Starr (#57); Try the Impossible by Lee Andrews and the Hearts (#60); and I Wonder Why by Dion and the Belmonts (also #60).

At the movies
Mon Oncle, produced, directed, co-written by, and starring Jacques Tati, opened in theatres in France.



War
Lebanese Army units entered Tripoli after rival Muslim factions began to fight among themselves.

Defense
Spain informed Morocco that all Spanish troops would be withdrawn from Villa Bens in the former Southern Protectorate.

U.S.S.R. Premier Nikita Khrushchev agreed to U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's proposal that experts study the technical aspects of implementing an agreement to end nuclear tests.

Diplomacy
U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon visited Ecuador without incident.

Arriving in Budapest with Polish delegation, Polish Communist Party First Secretary Wladyslaw Gomulka expressed regret over "the tragic events" of the 1956 Hungarian revolution, but maintained his support of Soviet intervention.

Medicine
The Saskatchewan Cancer and Medical Research Institute was opened in Saskatoon.

Economics and finance
The People's Republic of China suspended all trade relations with Japan, charging that Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi harboured a "hostile attitude."

50 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): The Legend of Xanadu--Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich (2nd week at #1)

Edmonton’s Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Love is All Around--The Troggs (4th week at #1)
2 Honey--Bobby Goldsboro
3 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly--Hugo Montenegro, his Orchestra and Chorus
4 The Unknown Soldier--The Doors
5 Me, the Peaceful Heart--Lulu
6 Call Me Lightning--The Who
7 Lady Madonna--The Beatles
8 Take Time to Know Her--Percy Sledge
9 Delilah--Tom Jones
10 Master Jack--Four Jacks and a Jill
Pick of the Week: If I were a Carpenter--Four Tops
New this week: Turn Around, Look at Me--The Vogues
Sugar Cane--Tommy Roe
Bring a Little Lovin’--Los Bravos
Climb Every Mountain--The Hesitations

Bring a Little Lovin' was from the movie Bravos II.

At the movies
What's So Bad About Feeling Good?, produced and directed by George Seaton, and starring George Peppard and Mary Tyler Moore, opened in theatres.

Died on this date
Philippa Bevans, 55. U.K.-born U.S. actress. Miss Bevans, mainly a stage actress, made her Broadway debut in Stepdaughters of War in 1930. Her last Broadway appearance was in the comedy What Did We Do Wrong? in 1967. Miss Bevans appeared in the movies The Notorious Landlady (1962); The World of Henry Orient (1964); The Group (1966); and Madigan (1968).

Scotty Beckett, 38. U.S. actor. Mr. Beckett was a popular child actor in the 1930s, appearing in the Our Gang comedy movies, as well as Anthony Adverse (1936); The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936); Marie Antoinette (1938); My Favorite Wife (1940); Kings Row (1942); The Jolson Story (1946); Battleground (1949); and The Happy Years (1950). However, like many a child star before and since, his life spiralled downwards into drug use, drunkenness, and crime. Mr. Beckett committed suicide with an overdose of barbiturates.

War
Talks aimed at negotiating a peaceful settlement to the war in Vietnam began in Paris. The United States was represented by Ambassador-at-Large Averell Harriman as delegation chief, with Cyrus Vance as his deputy. The North Vietnamese were represented by Xuan Thuy, former foreign minister, currently Minister of State and secretary of the Central Committee of the North Vietnamese Communist party, with Col. Ha Van Lau, former liaison officer with the International Control Commission of North Vietnam as his advisor. The first two days of talks were confined to discussions of procedure.

Diplomacy
Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba arrived in Ottawa to begin a state visit.

Protest
Students in Paris began erecting barricades in the Latin Quarter, flying red flags and throwing fire bombs.

Politics and government
The U.S. Senate confirmed Wilbur Cohen to succeed John W. Gardner as U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.

In Baltimore, Maryland's 49-vote Democratic delegation agreed to cast a unit vote for Vice President Hubert Humphrey in the contest for the Democratic Party U.S. presidential nomination.

Baseball
Denny McLain pitched a 7-hit complete game to improve his record for the season to 5-0 as the Detroit Tigers routed the Washington Senators 12-1 before 9,504 fans at District of Columbia Stadium to pass the first-place Baltimore Orioles. Detroit remained in the lead for the rest of the season. Al Kaline led the Detroit attack with a single, double, home run, 3 runs, and 6 runs batted in. Frank Howard homered for the Senators in the 1st inning.

Sonny Siebert pitched a 3-hitter and the Cleveland Indians scored 9 runs in the first 3 innings as they shut out the Baltimore Orioles 12-0 before 10,964 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Vic Davalillo hit a 3-run home run in the 1st inning, and Joe Azcue hit a 3-run homer in the 3rd.

Roy White led off the bottom of the 8th inning with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Andy Kosco to break a 1-1 tie as the New York Yankees edged the Boston Red Sox 2-1 before 19,620 fans at Yankee Stadium. Stan Bahnsen allowed 5 hits and 1 earned run in 8 2/3 innings to win the pitchers' duel over Gary Waslewski, who allowed 8 hits and 2 earned runs in pitching a complete game.

Luis Aparicio led off the top of the 9th inning with a single, stole second base, advanced to third on a ground out by Pete Ward, and scored on a single by Duane Josephson to break a 1-1 tie as the Chicago White Sox edged the Oakland Athletics 2-1 before 7,688 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Ron Swoboda's 3-run home run climaxed a 4-run 7th inning as the New York Mets overcame a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Chicago Cubs 5-1 before 3,258 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Tommie Agee hit his first home run as a Met in the 8th inning. Jerry Koosman allowed 2 hits and 1 earned run in 6 innings to get the win, improving his 1968 record to 5-1, while Chicago ace Ferguson Jenkins fell to 4-2.

40 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Night Fever--Bee Gees (4th week at #1)

At the movies
The End, directed by Burt Reynolds and starring Mr. Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, and Sally Field, opened in theatres.



World events
Former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro was buried in a simple, private ceremony, the day after his body had been found in an abandoned car in Rome. Christian Democratic Party and government leaders, who had refused to negotiate with the Red Brigade terrorists who had kidnapped Mr. Moro, were barred from the funeral at the family’s request.

Protest
The government of Iran condemned anti-government rioters as an "unholy alliance" of Muslim extremists and Communists.

Labour
Robert Strauss, U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s inflation adviser, said that the President was deeply disappointed with organized labour’s rejection of his request for voluntary wage-price guidelines to fight inflation. The AFL-CIO said that the emphasis should be on price controls rather than on wages.

Basketball
NBA
Eastern Conference
Finals
Washington 94 @ Philadelphia 107 (Washington led best-of-seven series 3-2)

Western Conference
Finals
Denver 91 @ Seattle 105 (Seattle led best-of-seven series 2-1)

30 years ago
1988

Politics and government
Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis won Democratic Party U.S. presidential primaries in West Virginia and Nebraska.

French President Francois Mitterand ended two years of sharing power with Jacques Chirac when he named Michel Rocard as the new Prime Minister.

Labour
Most of the striking shipyard workers in Gdansk, Poland returned to their jobs.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Prince of Wales Conference
Finals
New Jersey 1 @ Boston 7 (Boston led best-of-seven series 3-2)

Basketball
NBA
Eastern Conference
Semi-Finals
Chicago 82 @ Detroit 93 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Western Conference
Semi-Finals
Dallas 115 @ Denver 126 (Denver led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Utah 101 @ Los Angeles Lakers 97 (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)

Baseball
The Baltimore Orioles released outfielder Tito Landrum, ending his 9-year major league career. In 13 games with Baltimore in 1988, he was batting .125 with no home runs and 2 runs batted in.

The New York Yankees released first baseman Chris Chambliss, ending his 17-year major league career as a player, while he continued as a coach. Mr. Chambliss, the Yankees' regular first baseman from 1974-1979, had recently come out of retirement. His only 1988 appearance took place on May 8, striking out as a pinch hitter.

Mark Langston of the Seattle Mariners struck out 16 batters and walked none in a 4-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays before 28,290 fans at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.

The New York Yankees scored 7 runs in the 3rd inning on their way to a 17-3 rout of the Chicago White Sox before 18,118 fans at Yankee Stadium. New York first baseman Don Mattingly hit a single, double, and 3-run home run, scoring 3 runs and driving in 4, while teammates Claudell Washington, Don Slaught, and Rafael Santana each batted in 3. Carlton Fisk hit a 3-run homer for the White Sox in the 4th. John Candelaria pitched a 5-hit complete game victory, and didn't allow an earned run. John Pawlowski, the second of three Chicago pitchers, allowed 8 hits and 6 runs--all earned--in 2 2/3 innings, striking out 2 batters and walking 1 in the 8th and last game of his 2-year major league career.

Larry Herndon hit a 3-run home run and Luis Salazar added 3 hits, including a home run, as the Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics 8-2 before 23,341 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, ending the Athletics' winning streak at 14 games.

Kirk Gibson's solo home run with 2 out in the top of the 14th inning broke a 5-5 tie as the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Chicago Cubs 6-5 before 12,985 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

25 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Informer--Snow (2nd week at #1)

Diplomacy
European governments rejected the plan of U.S. President Bill Clinton to support arms for the Muslim-dominated regime in Bosnia and to approve a threat to mount an air strike against Bosnian Serb targets.

Disasters
156 workers were killed and 500 injured when the Kader Toy Factory in Thailand collapsed in flames.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kader_Toy_Factory_fire

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Prince of Wales Conference
Division Finals
New York Islanders 3 @ Pittsburgh 6 (Pittsburgh led best-of-seven series 3-2)

Basketball
NBA
Western Conference
Semi-Finals
Houston 90 @ Seattle 99 (Seattle led best-of-seven series 1-0)

20 years ago
1998

War
Members of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, voted to accept the Good Friday peace agreement, effectively acknowledging the north-south border. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/10/newsid_2523000/2523383.stm

Transportation
Scores of Boeing 737 jets in the United States were grounded for safety checks after Federal Aviation Administration inspectors found fuel pump damage in some planes. Some flights were cancelled as a result.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Eastern Conference
Semi-Finals
Montreal 3 @ Buffalo 6 (Buffalo led best-of-seven series 2-0)

Western Conference
Semi-Finals
St. Louis 1 @ Detroit 6 (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)

Basketball
NBA
Eastern Conference
Semi-Finals
Chicago 94 @ Charlotte 80 (Chicago led best-of-seven series 3-1)
Indiana 118 @ New York 107 (Indiana led best-of-seven series 3-1)

Western Conference
Semi-Finals
Seattle 100 @ Los Angeles Lakers 112 (Los Angeles led best-of-seven series 3-1)
Utah 82 @ San Antonio 73 (Utah led best-of-seven series 3-1)

10 years ago
2008

Married on this date
Jenna Bush, daughter of U.S. President George W. Bush, married Henry Hager at the Bush family ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Western Conference
Finals
Dallas 1 @ Detroit 2 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 2-0)

Basketball
NBA
Eastern Conference
Semi-Finals
Boston 84 @ Cleveland 108 (Boston led best-of-seven series 2-1)
Detroit 90 @ Orlando 89 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 3-1)