June 5, 2019

200 years ago
1819

Died on this date
Bodawpaya, 74. King of Burma, 1782-1819. Bodawpaya, born Maung Shwe Waing, became king of the Konbaung dynasty after deposing his nephew Phaungkaza Maung Maung, son of his oldest brother Naungdawgyi. Bodawpaya added Arakan to his territory and successfully invaded Assam, but was unsuccessful in attempts to conquer Siam. He fathered 62 sons and 58 daughters by about 200 consorts. Bodawpaya claimed to be the next Buddha or Maitreya, but the claim was rejected by the Sangha (leaders of the Buddhist community). He was succeeded on the throne by his grandson Bagyidaw.

170 years ago
1849

Politics and government
Denmark became a constitutional monarchy by the signing of a new constitution.

140 years ago
1879

Politics and government
Premier Sir Oliver Mowat led his governing Liberal Party to a third consecutive majority of seats in the Provincial Parliament in the Ontario Provincial election. The Liberals won 57 of 88 seats, an increase of 7 from their total in the most recent election in 1875. The Conservatives, led by W.R. Meredith, won 29 seats; 2 Conservative independent candidates were elected.

125 years ago
1894

Born on this date
Roy Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet. Canadian-born U.K. newspaper magnate. Lord Thomson, a native of Toronto, began acquiring newspapers in Ontario in the 1930s, and eventually moved to the United Kingdom, where his holdings included The Scotsman, The Sunday Times, and The Times. He died on August 4, 1976 at the age of 82.

120 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Otis Barton. U.S. diver and inventor. Mr. Barton was a deep-sea diver who invented the bathysphere and the benthoscope. He died on April 15, 1992 at the age of 92.

Died on this date
Antonio Luna, 32. Filipino military officer. General Luna became Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on January 22, 1899, shortly before the beginning of hostilities in the Philippine–American War. He was assassinated by rebellious officers.

110 years ago
1909

Aviation
40,000 people were in attendance to witness the beginning of a balloon race, the first event ever held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The balloon Universal City won the competition, landing 382 miles away, in Alabama, after spending more than a day aloft.

100 years ago
1919

Born on this date
Richard Scarry. U.S. author. Mr. Scarry was an author and/or illustrator of more than 300 books for children from 1949 until his death on April 30, 1994 at the age of 74.

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 Skull and Bones

War
The people of Rome took to the streets to welcome Allied troops who had liberated them from Nazi occupation. Soldiers of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, part of the British 6th Airborne Division's 3rd brigade, make an advance overnight, landing before D-Day. "C" company landed in the most easterly drop-zone near Varville, blowing up a bridge across the Divette River, destroying a German strong-point and then moving back four miles to the village of le Mesnil.

Diplomacy
Polish Prime Minister Stanislaw Mikolajczyk arrived in Washington at the invitation of the United States for conversations with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and State Secretary Cordell Hull concerning Poland's boundary dispute with the U.S.S.R.

Politics and government
King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy transferred most of his powers to his son Crown Prince Umberto.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Senate approved a bill extending wartime price, wage, and rent controls through 1945.

Business
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that insurance companies were engaged in interstate commerce and subject to the Sherman Antitrust Act and federal regulation.

70 years ago
1949

On the radio
Pat Novak For Hire, starring Jack Webb, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Agnes Bolton

Died on this date
J. Ernest Gendreau, 69. Canadian physician. Dr. Gendreau founded the Radium Institute of Cancer Research in Montreal.

Transportation
Canada and the United States concluded a commercial aviation agreement giving Canadian airlines new routes through the United States in return for continued American use of the Gander, Newfoundland airfield for transatlantic flights.

Baseball
Commissioner Happy Chandler lifted the suspension of 18 major league players who had jumped to the Mexican League beginning in 1946.

60 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): (Now and Then There's) A Fool Such As I/I Need Your Love Tonight--Elvis Presley (4th week at #1)

Politics and government
The first government of Singapore was sworn in, led by Prime Minister Lee Yuan Kew.

Arguing that he could not leave office during current East-West negotiations in Geneva on Germany's future, West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer told a television audience that he would not relinquish the chancellorship.

Crime
A U.S. federal grand jury in Miami indicted seven people on charges of conspiring to smuggle arms from Miami to the Dominican Republic.

50 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Get Back--The Beatles with Billy Preston

Space
The United States launched OGO-6, a multi-science satellite with 24 of its 25 experiments working as part of the Orbiting Geophysical Observatory series.

Society
A group of scholars appointed by the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence reported that Americans had become a "rather bloody-minded people in both action and reaction."

40 years ago
1979

Religion
Pope John Paul II appealed to Poland’s Communist regime to recognize "fundamental human rights and religious liberty," and urged Church leaders to seek normalization of relations with the government.

Law
The United States Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that a state could hire veterans in preference to non-veterans without discriminating against women. The court also acted to reaffirm the ban against the use of illegally obtained evidence in trials.

Disasters
The Canadian Great Lakes freighter Cartiercliffe Hall, hauling corn from Minnesota to Quebec, caught fire and burned on Lake Superior; 6 crew members were killed, and 19 survivors were rescued by crews from the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City.

30 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Now You're in Heaven--Julian Lennon

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Mas y mas--La Union

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Forever Your Girl--Paula Abdul (2nd week at #1)
2 Rock On--Michael Damian
3 Everlasting Love--Howard Jones
4 Real Love--Jody Watley
5 Pop Singer--John Mellencamp
6 After All--Cher and Peter Cetera
7 Like a Prayer--Madonna
8 Soldier of Love--Donny Osmond
9 I Won't Back Down--Tom Petty
10 Satisfied--Richard Marx

Singles entering the chart were So Alive by Love and Rockets (#75); Lay Your Hands on Me by Bon Jovi (#77); Crazy About Her by Rod Stewart (#79); What You Don't Know by Expose (#86); Waiting Game by Swing Out Sister (#87); Praying to A New God by Wang Chung (#89); Brother of Mine by Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (#93); Pop Song '89 by R.E.M. (#97); and Do You Believe by One 2 One (#99).

Protest
The Tank Man halted the progress of a column of advancing tanks for over half an hour after the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing.



Politics and government
Results of the first round of voting in Poland's parliamentary elections showed the trade union movement Solidarity taking 70-80% of the vote.

Transportation
The Canadian government announced sweeping cuts to VIA Rail.

Economics and finance
Leading United States banks cut their prime interest rate by ½ percentage point, to 11%.

Baseball
The Baltimore Orioles selected Louisiana State University pitcher Ben McDonald with the first pick in the annual major league amateur draft.

The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3 before 48,378 fans in the first game ever played at SkyDome in Toronto. Toronto first baseman Fred McGriff hit the first home run in the new stadium, connecting off winning pitcher Don August with a man on base in the 2nd inning. Jimmy Key pitched a complete game in taking the loss.

25 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: The Most Beautiful Girl in the World--The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Love Symbol)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Without You--Mariah Carey (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: The Most Beautiful Girl in the World--The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Love Symbol)

#1 single in the U.K. (Chart Information Network): Love is All Around--Wet Wet Wet (2nd week at #1)

Religion
The Presbyterian Church in Canada's General Assembly adopted Canada's Residential Schools Apology.

20 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Mel Tormé, 83. U.S. singer and songwriter. Mr. Tormé was a jazz singer who was nicknamed "The Velvet Fog" because of his smooth singing style in a career spanning more than 60 years. He wrote over 250 songs, the best-known of which was The Christmas Song (1946).

Horse racing
Lemon Drop Kid, with José Santos up, won the 131st running of the Belmont Stakes before 85,818 fans at Belmont Park, New York in a time of 2:27.88, a head ahead of Vision and Verse. Charismatic, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, finished third, 2½ lengths behind the winner.



10 years ago
2009

Protest
After 65 straight days of civil disobedience, at least 31 people were killed in clashes between security forces and indigenous people near Bagua, Peru.