April 17, 2019

1,975 years ago
44

Born on this date
Evaristus. Judean-born Roman clergyman. Evaristus was the Christian Bishop of Rome from circa 99 until his death circa 107 at the age of 63. He reportedly divided Rome into several titles, assigning a priest to each.

1,275 years ago
744

Died on this date
Al-Walid II, 35 (?). Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, 743-744. Al Walid II became Caliph upon the death of his uncle Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. Al Walid II had a reputation for immorality, which led to a plot against him, and his death in battle in Jordan at the hands of forces led by Sulayman ibn Hisham. Al-Walid II was succeeded as Caliph by his cousin Yazid III.

675 years ago
1344

Died on this date
Constantine II. King of Armenia, 1342-1344. Constantine II succeeded his cousin Leo IV. He was killed in an uprising, and was succeeded by his distant cousin Constantine III.

670 years ago
1349

Died on this date
Hasan II. King of Mazandaran, 1344-1349. Hasan II succeeded his brother Sharaf al-Muluk. Hasan II was murdered in his bath by the sons of nobleman Kiya Afrasiyab, who then took power, ending the Bavand dynasty.

500 years ago
1519

Born on this date
Frans Floris. Flemish artist. Mr. Floris was a painter and printmaker who was mainly known for his history paintings, allegorical scenes and portraits, and was a major figure in the genre known as Romanism. He died after a brief illness on October 1, 1570 at the age of 51.

170 years ago
1849

Born on this date
William R. Day. U.S. politician and jurist. Mr. Day was Assistant U.S. Secretary of State from 1897-1898, and Secretary of State from April-September 1898, negotiating the end of the Spanish-American War. He served on the U.S. Circuit Court for the Sixth Circuit and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit from 1899-1903, and was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1903-1922, where he was known for siding with the majority against trusts. Mr. Day died on July 9, 1923 at the age of 74.

150 years ago
1869

Mexicana
President Benito Juarez declared Morelos to be a state of Mexico.

140 years ago
1879

Born on this date
Henri Tauzin. French hurdler. Mr. Tauzin won the silver medal in the men's 400-metre hurdles competition at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris in 1900. He died on October 11, 1918 at the age of 39.

130 years ago
1889

Canadiana
Saint John and Portland agreed to merge, becoming one City of Saint John, New Brunswick.

120 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Aleksander Klumberg. Estonian decathlete. Mr. Klumberg won the bronze medal in the decathlon at the Summer Olympic Games in paris in 1924, and trained the national athletics teams of Poland and Estonia. He was arrested by the U.S.S.R. secret police force NKVD in 1944, and interned in a prison camp until 1956. Mr. Klumberg died on February 10, 1958 at the age of 58.

110 years ago
1909

Born on this date
Alain Poher. President of France, 1969, 1974. Mr. Poher, a member of various centrist parties, was a Senator from 1946-1948 and 1952-1995. He was President of the Senate from 1968-1992, and served briefly as interim President of France following the retirement of Charles de Gaulle and the death of Georges Pompidou. Mr. Poher was President of the European Parliament from 1966-1969. He died on December 9, 1996 at the age of 87.

100 years ago
1919

Born on this date
Chavela Vargas. Costa Rican- born Mexican singer. Miss Vargas moved to Mexico at the age of 17, and achieved fame as a singer of rancheras, peaking in popularity from the 1950s through the 1970s. Heavy drinking impaired her career, but she eventually stopped drinking, and returned to prominence before her death on August 5, 2012 at the age of 93.

Gilles Lamontagne. Canadian politician. Mr. Lamontagne, a Liberal, was Mayor of Quebec City from 1965-1977. He represented Langelier in the Canadian House of Commons from 1977-1984, and then served as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec from 1984-1990. He died on June 14, 2016 at the age of 97.

90 years ago
1929

Died on this date
Clifford Sifton, 68. Canadian politician. Sir Clifford, a native of Middlesex County, Canada West, was a Liberal who was first elected to the Manitoba Legislative Assembly in 1888, and served as the province's Attorney General (1891-1896). He moved into federal politics in 1896, and represented Brandon in the House of Commons (1896-1911). Sir Clifford was Minister of the Interior (1896-1905) in the cabinet of Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, and oversaw a tremendous increase in immigration, especially to the prairie provinces. He resigned from the cabinet over the issue of publicly funded religious education in the new provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and eventually retired from politics as a result of increasing deafness. Sir Clifford died in New York City, where he was visiting a heart specialist. His brother Arthur was Premier of Alberta (1910-1917).

Married on this date
U.S. baseball player Babe Ruth, star outfielder with the New York Yankees, married actress and model Claire Merritt Hodgson at St. Gregory's Roman Catholic Church in New York City. The marriage was the second for both; Mr. Ruth's first wife Helen had died in a fire three months earlier.



Baseball
The New York Yankees' scheduled season opener against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium was postponed because of rain.

The Philadelphia Athletics scored all their runs in the first 5 innings as they opened their season with a 13-4 win over the Washington Nationals before 25,000 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Eddie Rommel (1-0) relieved ineffective starter Carroll Yerkes and allowed 6 hits in 7.2 scoreless innings of relief to get the win.

Harry Heilmann drove in 5 runs with a pair of doubles and Harry Rice batted 4 for 6 with a double and a run to help the Detroit Tigers rout the Cleveland Indians 15-3 before 20,000 fans at League Park in Cleveland. George Uhle (1-0) pitched a 10-hit complete game victory and batted 3 for 5 with 3 runs and a run batted in.

The Chicago Cubs scored 5 runs in each of the 1st and 8th innings as they routed the Pittsburgh Pirates 15-2 before 8,000 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Pat Malone (1-0) pitched a 6-hit complete game victory and batted 2 for 4 with a run.

80 years ago
1939

Boxing
Joe Louis (38-1) retained his world heavyweight title with a knockout of Jack Roper (61-40-10) at 2:20 of the 1st round at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles.



75 years ago
1944

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Singular Contents of the Ancient British Barrow

Died on this date
Dimitrios Psarros, 50 or 51. Greek military officer and resistance leader. Lieutenant Psarros founded the National and Social Liberation (EKKA) movement. He was captured, shot, stabbed, and beheaded as forces of the Communist-controlled Greek People's Liberation Army ELAS) attacked the smaller National and Social Liberation resistance group, which surrendered.

War
Soviet troops swept another 12 miles across Crimea, taking the highway junction of Varnutka. Allied forces cut a Japanese roadblock on the Kohima-Dimapur road, 4 miles north of Kohima in the Indian state of Manipur. U.S. War Secretary Henry Stimson said the U.S. Army would require a minimum of 750,000 men during the remainder of 1944.

World events
The trial of 30 alleged seditionists, who were charged with plotting to establish a Nazi government in the United States, opened in Washington, D.C.

Mexican labour leader Vicente Lombardo Toledano said that the April 12 assassination attempt on President Avila Camacho had been plotted by a Fascist group hoping to establish an Argentine-model government.

Diplomacy
To prevent leakage of invasion plans, the British government of Prime Minister Winston Churchill imposed unprecedented restrictions on all foreign envoys except for those of the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R.

Politics and government
The Italian government of Prime Minister Marshal Pietro Badoglio resigned, and King Victor Emmanuel III asked him to form a new ministry representing all parties.

The South Carolina General Assembly passed hundreds of bills repealing laws governing primary elections in order to remove such elections from te jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Aviation
A Lockheed Constellation piloted by Howard Hughes and Jack Frye flew from Burbank, California to Washington, D.C. in the record time of 6 hours, 58 minutes at an average speed of 355 miles per hour.

Economics and finance
U.S. automobile magnate Henry Ford said that the Ford Motor Company would give employment preference to war veterans as they were demobilized.

70 years ago
1949

Died on this date
Bernard Pares, 82. U.K. historian. Sir Bernard was an expert on Russia, teaching at the University of Liverpool for many years and then at the University of London. He was an observer to the Russian Army during World War I, served at the British embassy in Petrograd, and delivered lectures to White troops, and was knighted for services to British-Russian relations.

War
Chinese Communists issued an ultimatum to the Nationalist government demanding unopposed crossing the Yangtze River; formation of a Communist-dominated coalition government; integration of Nationalist forces into the Communist army; and punishment of President Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and other Nationalist leaders.

Europeana
At midnight, 26 Irish counties officially left the British Commonwealth. A 21-gun salute on O'Connell Bridge, Dublin, ushered in the Republic of Ireland.

Politics and government
Acting President Felipe Molas López was elected to a full term as President of Paraguay.

Economics and finance
Italian Prime Minister Alcide de Gasperi issued a land reform program calling for redistribution of three million acres among landless peasants.

Roman Catholic welfare agencies in the United States attacked the national health insurance system proposed by the administration of President Harry Truman as "practically a government monopoly," and urged federal aid to expand voluntary insurance programs.

Basketball
NBL
Finals
Oshkosh 70 @ Anderson 72 (Anderson led best-of-five series 2-0)

60 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Side Saddle--Russ Conway (4th week at #1)

Space
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced the creation of a research group headed by physicist Robert Jastrow to prepare for and carry out "scientific explorations of the moon's surface and environment."

War
French Army headquarters in Algiers reported that 1,600 Muslim guerrillas had been killed and 460 captured in a three-week French offensive south of Oran.

Diplomacy
Addressing the American Society of Newspaper Editors convention in Washington, Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro asserted that Cuba would maintain its membership in the Inter-American Mutual Defense pact, and denied that his regime was Communist-influenced.

Politics and government
The Communist Chinese People's Consultative Conference renamed several purged rightist leaders to secondary government posts.

Scandal
Former assistant U.S. tax commissioner Daniel Bollich and attorney Max Halperin were acquitted in New York of charges that they had fixed tax cases for business firms accused of fraud.

Economics and finance
Romanian envoy Silvio Brucan requested the resumption of negotiations on Romanian claims to $25 million in assets seized by the United States during World War II.

50 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): My Son John--The Rebels (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
Dragnet 1969, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Intelligence: DR-34

This was the last episode of the season.



Defense
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee warned that the United States, by its very military presence in Spain, had assumed a "quasi-commitment" to defend the regime of dictator Francisco Franco, possibly even in a civil war.

Politics and government
The Czechoslovak Communist Party, yielding to Soviet pressure, removed Alexander Dubček, the leader of Czechoslovakia's liberalizing movement, from power. The party's central committee named Gustav Husak, leader of the Slovak party, to succeed Mr. Dubček as first secretary.

Bernadette Devlin, 21, was elected as Britain's youngest ever female MP and the country's third youngest ever. She won as an independent Unity candidate in the Northern Ireland riding of Mid-Ulster. Miss Devlin termed her win a "moral victory" for Ulster's civil rights movement. Her opponent was the widow of a Protestant Unionist, whose death had prompted the by-election.

Crime
A jury found Sirhan Sirhan guilty of first degree murder in the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy the previous June. Mr. Sirhan, a Jordanian immigrant, was also convicted on five counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill five people who stood near Mr. Kennedy.

Economics and finance
It was reported that the gross national product of the United States rose by $16 billion in the first quarter of 1969. The rise reflected almost entirely higher spending by business and consumers--the two sectors supposed to be restrained by higher taxes and tight money.

Sylvia Ostry was appointed director of the Economic Council of Canada.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Montreal 0 @ Boston 5 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 2-1)
Los Angeles 2 @ St. Louis 3 (St. Louis led best-of-seven series 2-0)

Phil Esposito scored 2 goals, including the winner at 3:37 of the 1st period,and Gerry Cheevers made 34 saves for his third shutout of the playoffs as the Bruins blanked the Canadiens at Boston Garden.

Gary Sabourin scored his second goal of the game with 5:29 remaining in regulation time to break a 2-2 tie as the Blues edged the Kings at St. Louis Arena.

Baseball
Bill Stoneman of the Montreal Expos pitched a no-hitter to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-0, in just the franchise's ninth game in existence, before a crowd of 6,496 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The no-hitter was Mr. Stoneman's first complete game in the major leagues. Rusty Staub was the hitting hero for the Expos, going 4 for 5 with 3 doubles and a home run, with 3 runs batted in.

Al Oliver's 3-run home run off Cal Koonce in the bottom of the 8th inning provided insurance runs as the Pittsburgh Pirates shut out the New York Mets 4-0 before 8,097 fans at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Jim Bunning allowed 3 hits in 6 innings to get the win, and Ron Kline pitched 3 hitless innings to earn a save. Don Cardwell allowed 4 hits and 1 earned run in 7 innings in taking the loss.

Bill Hands allowed 3 hits in 8+ innings to get the win and Phil Regan pitched the 9th inning to get the save as the Chicago Cubs shut out the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 before 11,350 fans at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Billy Williams doubled home 2 runs with 2 out in the 8th inning to provide insurance runs. Dave Giusti allowed 7 hits and 3 earned runs in 7 2/3 innings to take the loss.

With 2 out and nobody on base in the bottom of the 10th inning, the New York Yankees loaded the bases and Joe Pepitone hit a grand slam to give the Yankees a 7-3 win over the Washington Senators in the first game of a doubleheader before 6,883 fans at Yankee Stadium. The Senators tied the game in the 9th on a 2-run home run by Mike Epstein. Mel Stottlemyre pitched an 8-hit complete game victory. The Senators scored 3 runs in the last 2 innings to win the second game 5-2.

The Detroit Tigers scored 3 runs in the top of the 9th inning to break a 4-4 tie and held on to defeat the Cleveland Indians 7-6 before 2,284 fans at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. With 2 out and nobody on base in the bottom of the 9th, Chuck Hinton singled and Tony Horton followed with a 2-run home run. Pinch hitter Duke Sims then drew a base on balls, but Don McMahon relieved Mike Kilkenny and retired Max Alvis on a ground ball to shortstop to end the game.

40 years ago
1979

On television tonight
The Paper Chase, on CBS
Tonight's episode: A Case of Detente

Died on this date
Joe Conzelman, 89. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Conzelman played with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1913-1915, compiling a record of 6-8 with an earned run average of 2.92 in 54 games.

Defense
United States Defense Secretary Harold Brown told the Senate that despite the loss of two listening posts in Iran, Soviet compliance with a new Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT) pact could be "adequately" verified within a year.

Labour
United Auto Workers president Douglas Fraser blasted U.S. federal wage guidelines, saying that they did not require equal sacrifices from employers, and suggested that the union not consider them in upcoming contract talks.

Baseball
Pinch hitter Dave Cash led off the bottom of the 12th inning with a base on balls, advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Andre Dawson, and scored on a single by Rodney Scott to give the Montreal Expos a 5-4 win over the New York Mets before 7,912 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

The Philadelphia Phillies scored 5 runs in the 3rd inning and 6 in the 5th as they routed the Pittsburgh Pirates 13-2 before 7,739 fans at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Philadelphia leadoff hitter Bake McBride was 5 for 6 with 2 home runs and 5 runs batted in, while Garry Maddox added a grand slam.

The Los Angeles Dodgers scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to break a 6-6 tie as they beat the Houston Astros 10-6 before 27,635 fans at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles first baseman Steve Garvey drove in 3 runs with a pair of home runs, while Steve Yeager's 2-run homer broke the tie in the 8th.

Dave Winfield singled home Ozzie Smith with none out in the bottom of the 8th inning to break a 3-3 tie as the San Diego Padres edged the San Francisco Giants 4-3 before 16,734 fans at San Diego Stadium.

Fred Lynn hit a 2-run home run with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 6-5 win over the Milwaukee Brewers before 16,053 fans at Fenway Park in Boston.

Ron Guidry pitched a 3-hitter and Reggie Jackson led off the bottom of the 7th inning with a home run to break a 1-1 tie as the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-1 before 20,135 fans at Yankee Stadium.

Nolan Ryan pitched a 4-hitter and struck out 10 batters for the California Angels as they shut out the Minnesota Twins 6-0 before 37,529 fans at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington.

Jim Essian singled home Mitchell Page with 2 out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Oakland Athletics a 6-5 win over the Seattle Mariners at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Losing pitcher Odell Jones pitched a complete game despite allowing 13 hits. This blogger was able to pick up the Seattle broadcast of the game on KIRO, and all through the game, the broadcast team of Dave Niehaus and Ken Wilson kept remarking about the small size of the crowd. They weren't exaggerating, because attendance was announced as 653.

30 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Like a Prayer--Madonna

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Like a Prayer--Madonna (6th week at #1)

Scandal
The U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee, consisting of six Republicans and six Democrats, released a report that held, unanimously, that there was reason to believe that House Speaker Jim Wright (Democrat--Texas) had violated House rules. The 69 separate instances cited by the committee related to the acceptance of gifts and outside income, and were the legislative equivalent of an indictment. Mr. Wright said, "I know in my heart I have not violated any rules."

Economics and finance
U.S. President George Bush announced a package of economic aid to Poland, including elimination of U.S. tariffs on some Polish goods; loans to Poland (subject to Congressional approval); and an effort to expand the role of U.S. companies in Poland.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Boston 2 @ Montreal 3 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 1-0)

25 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Gangsta Lean--DRS (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Streets of Philadelphia--Bruce Springsteen (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Without You--Mariah Carey

#1 single in the U.K. (Chart Information Network): The Most Beautiful Girl in the World--The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Love Symbol)

Died on this date
Roger Wolcott Sperry, 80. U.S. neuropsychologist and neurobiologist. Dr. Sperry was shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine with David Hunter Hubel and Torsten Nils Wiesel for his work in split-brain research.

Curling
Canada captured both the men's and women's world championships at Eisstadion in Oberstdorf, Germany. The Sandra Peterson rink from Regina defeated Christine Cannon's Scottish rink 5-3 to win the women's title, while Rick Folk of British Columbia edged Jan-Olov Nässén's Swedish rink 3-2 in the men's final.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Semi-Finals
Washington 5 @ Pittsburgh 3 (Washington led best-of-seven series 1-0)
New York Islanders 0 @ New York Rangers 6 (Rangers led best-of-seven series 1-0)

IIHF Women's World Championship @ Herb Brooks Arena, Lake Placid, New York
Final
Canada 6 U.S.A. 3

The championship was the third straight for Canada.

20 years ago
1999

Terrorism
At least 45 people were injured--at least 4 seriously--in the explosion of a nail bomb outside a market in Brixton, south London. This and two subsequent explosions were the work of David Copeland, 22, a right-wing extremist.

Politics and government
Atal Behari Vajpayee, who had supported India's 1998 entry into the world nuclear club, resigned as that country's Prime Minister after losing a non-confidence vote in parliament 270-269. His party was hurt by its advocacy of India as a predominantly Hindu state.

Hockey
NHL
Montreal 3 Toronto 2

10 years ago
2009

Canadiana
Canada Citizenship Act amendments restored or awarded citizenship to thousands of so-called "lost Canadians."