April 1, 2020

800 years ago
1220

Born on this date
Go-Saga. Emperor of Japan, 1242-1246. Go-Saga, born Kunihito-shinnō, was a son of Emperor Tsuchimikado, and acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne upon the death of his second cousin Shijō. Emperor Go-Saga abdicated in favour of his son Go-Fukakusa, and became a cloistered emperor, dying on March 12, 1272, 15 days before his 52nd birthday.

680 years ago
1340

Died on this date
Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg, 47 or 48 (?). German royal family member. Gerhard III, a member of the Schauenburg family, ruled Holstein-Rendsburg and a large part of Denmark during the interregnum of 1332–1340. While attempting to suppress a rebellion in North Jutland, Gerhard III was assassinated in his bedroom by Danish squire Niels Ebbesen, and was succeeded as Count by his son Henry II.

130 years ago
1890

Died on this date
David Wilber, 69. U.S. politician. Mr. Wilber, a Republican, represented New York's 20th (1873-1875); 21st (1879-1881); and 24th (1887-1890) Districts in the U.S. House of Representatives. He died in office after several years of ill health.

Alexander Mozhaysky, 65. Russian military officer and engineer. Rear Admiral Mozhaysky served with the Imperial Russian Navy from 1841-1882. He began work on designing heavier-than-air craft in 1876, but an attempt at flight in 1884 was unsuccessful. Rear Admiral Mozhaysky's achievements with regard to flight control and propulsion are regarded as considerable, considering the limited technology available to him. He died 11 days after his 65th birthday.

120 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Stefanie Clausen. Danish diver. Miss Clausen won a gold medal in the women's 10-metre platform competition at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp. She died on August 2, 1981 at the age of 61.

110 years ago
1910

Born on this date
Harry Carney. U.S. musician. Mr. Carney was a jazz saxophonist and clarinetist who performed with Duke Ellington's orchestra from 1927 until his death on October 8, 1974 at the age of 64, four months after the death of Mr. Ellington.

100 years ago
1920

Born on this date
Toshiro Mifune. Chinese-born Japanese actor. Mr. Mifune appeared in almost 170 feature films, but was best known for the 16 he made with director Akira Kurosawa, including Rashomon (1950); Seven Samurai (1954); and Yojimbo (1961). He died on December 24, 1997 at the age of 77.

War
Soviet troops used superior forces to attack Finns stationed at Salmijaervi, near Petchenga, while the Finnish government received a telegram from U.S.S.R. Commissar for Foreign Affairs M. Tchilcherin breaking off all negotiations.

Hockey
Stanley Cup
Finals
Seattle Metropolitans (PCHA) 1 Ottawa Senators (NHL) 6 @ Toronto (Ottawa won best-of-five series 3-2)

The Senators erupted for 5 goals in the 3rd period--3 by Jack Darragh--to beat the Metropolitans. Bobby Rowe opened the scoring for Seattle 10 minutes into the 1st period, but Buck Boucher tied the score 4 minutes later. Eddie Gerard and Frank Nighbor scored the other Ottawa goals. The last 3 goals were scored in the span of 1½ minutes, beginning at the 13-minute mark. The game, played under NHL rules, took place at Arena Gardens because of poor ice conditions in Ottawa.

90 years ago
1930

At the movies
Der blaue Engel (The Blue Angel), directed by Josef von Sternberg, and starring Emil Jannings and Marlene Dietrich, received its premiere screening in Berlin.





Oddities
Chicago Cubs’ catcher Gabby Hartnett held onto a ball dropped from the Goodyear blimp hovering at an altitude of 550 feet. Mr. Hartnett topped Gabby Street's feat of hanging onto a ball dropped from the Washington Monument‚ a height of 504 feet.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Montreal Canadiens 3 @ Boston 0 (Montreal led best-of-three series 1-0)

Albert Leduc's goal at 8:43 of the 2nd period proved to be the winner as the Canadiens shut out the Bruins at Boston Garden. Sylvio Mantha scored at 13:17 of the 2nd period, and Pit Lepine closed the scoring at 6:27 of the 3rd period, as George Hainsworth posted the shutout to win the goaltending duel over Tiny Thompson.

80 years ago
1940

On the radio



Politics and government
The Japanese community nominated five members to the Shanghai Council of International Settlement with the express intention of gaining control.

United Mine Workers of America President John L. Lewis threatened to form a third party in the United States unless the Democrats nominated a presidential candidate acceptable to "labor and the common people."

Law
In an address to the U.S. Attorneys Conference in Washington, U.S. Attorney General Robert H. Jackson said that government prosecutors must use extreme care in protecting civil liberties.

Economics and finance
U.S. Senator Arthur Vandenberg (Republican--Michigan), in a radio broadcast to a Nebraska Republican Party rally, urged an end to New Deal farm policies.

Track and field
The U.S. Track Writers' Association named Greg Rice as the outstanding athlete of the 1940 indoor season.

75 years ago
1945

War
Allied forces in Germany encircled the Ruhr, where an estimated 30,000 German troops were trapped. Soviet Red Army troops captured Sopron, Hungary, and drove on across the border into Austria to take Trausersdorf. United States troops landed on Okinawa in the Ryukyu Island group, 360 miles south of Japan. By the end of the day, 50,000 troops had landed on an 8-mile stretch of the island's southwest coast, and penetrated 3 miles inland, capturing two airfields. Japanese resistance was unexpectedy light.

Diplomacy
Argentina declared that all German and Japanese residents must register with the police and would be restricted.

Labour
United Mine Workers of America President John L. Lewis agreed to urge miners to keep the mines open for a 30-day extension of the present contract on condition that any wage adjustments be retroactive to April 1.

70 years ago
1950

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): The Four Winds and the Seven Seas--Bing Crosby; Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Music! Music! Music!--Teresa Brewer with the Dixieland All Stars (Best Seller--3rd week at #1); If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake--Eileen Barton with the New Yorkers (Disc Jockey--2nd week at #1); Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy--Red Foley (Jukebox--8th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Music! Music! Music!--Teresa Brewer (2nd week at #1)
2 Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy--Red Foley
--Bing Crosby
3 I Said My Pajamas (And Put on My Pray’rs)--Tony Martin and Fran Warren
4 If I Knew You Were Comin’ (I’d’ve Baked a Cake)--Eileen Barton with the New Yorkers
--Georgia Gibbs
5 Rag Mop--The Ames Brothers
--Ralph Flanagan and his Orchestra
--Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra
--Johnnie Lee Wills and his Boys
6 There’s No Tomorrow--Tony Martin
7 Daddy’s Little Girl--Dick Todd
--The Mills Brothers
8 It Isn’t Fair--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
9 The Cry of the Wild Goose--Frankie Laine
10 Dearie--Ray Bolger and Ethel Merman
--Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians

Singles entering the chart were Sentimental Me by the Ames Brothers (#20); C'es Si Bon (It’s So Good) by Johnny Desmond (#22); Spaghetti Rag, with versions by Jack Fina and his Orchestra; Ray Anthony and his Orchestra; and Frankie Carle and his Orchestra (#36); Satan Wears a Satin Gown by Frankie Laine (#39); and Wanderin' by Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra (#40). Sentimental Me was originally the B-side of Rag Mop, and was also released as an A-side.

Died on this date
Recep Peker, 61. Prime Minister of Turkey, 1946-1947. Mr. Peker, a member of the Republican People's Party (CHP), held various cabinet posts in a parliamentary career of almost 30 years. Despite being Prime Minister during a period of multi-party rule, he opposed a multi-party system, and supported an authoritarian one-party state.

Charles R. Drew, 45. U.S. physician and surgeon. Dr. Drew conducted research into blood transfusions, using his knowledge to develop large-scale blood banks early in World War II, saving the lives of thousands of Allied soldiers. A Negro, he was appointed director of the first American Red Cross Blood Bank in February 1941, but resigned a year later in protest against the organization's' policy of excluding the blood of Negroes from plasma-supply networks. Several hours after performing an operation, Dr. Drew was driving while suffering from fatigue, and died shortly after suffering severe leg injuries in a car accident.

World events
Police in French Algeria arrested 59 members of a nationalist underground army.

Diplomacy
Jordan, threatened with expulsion from the Arab League for negotiating separately with Israel, agreed at a meeting in Cairo that no Arab state would make a separate agreement with Israel.

Defense
Defense ministers of North Atlantic Treaty Organization nations, meeing in The Hague, approved an overall plan for integrated defense against attack. Associated Press reported that U.S. and U.K. military leaders arranged to bar British War Secretary John Strachey, accused of pro-Communist sympathies, from access to top NATO defense secrets.

Medicine
The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission's first cancer research center began operating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Labour
The Yugoslavian government began a large-scale transfer of white-collar workers to basic industries.

The Communist-backed Latin American Labor Confederation ended a four-day conference in Montevideo with plans to strengthen its position in Latin American countries by campaigning for better living conditions, world peace, and independence of labour from U.S. influence.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
New York 3 @ Montreal 2 (New York led best-of-seven series 2-0)
Detroit 0 @ Toronto 2 (Toronto led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Buddy O'Connor scored a powerplay goal with 8:02 remaining in regulation time to tie the score, and Ed Slowinski scored the winning goal with 6:26 remaining as the Rangers overcame a 2-1 1st-period deficit to defeat the Canadiens at the Montreal Forum.

Joe Klukay and Max Bentley scored in the 2nd period for the Maple Leafs as they shut out the Red Wings at Maple Leaf Gardens, with Turk Broda earning his second shutout of the series in goal.

Baseball
The Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League opened their season against the Portland Beavers clad in shorts‚ rayon shirts‚ and knee socks. "These suits will give us more speed‚" predicted manager Fred Haney, but the outfits were used only occasionally during the season.

60 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): My Old Man's a Dustman--Lonnie Donegan (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CBS
Tonight’s episode: Execution, starring Albert Salmi and Russell Johnson

Space
The United States launched Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS) 1, the world’s first weather satellite, whose purpose was to photograph cloud cover. It transmitted the first television picture from space.

Law
Clifford W. Harvison was appointed Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; he served until October 31, 1963.

Transportation
Trans-Canada Air Lines began jetliner service to and from Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.

Energy
The government of Canada approved a National Energy Board recommendation for natural gas exports to the United States.

50 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Bridge Over Troubled Water--Simon & Garfunkel (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
Then Came Bronson, starring Michael Parks, on NBC
Tonight's episode: What's an Ark Without Centaurs?

This was the 26th and last episode of the series.

War
North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launched a spring offensive in South Vietnam, shelling 115 targets, including 11 provincial capitals, with repeated hits on Saigon. 13 ground assaults were also part of the offensive, which killed 38 Americans.

Abominations
The U.S. Army formally accused Captain Ernest Medina of being "responsible" for the My Lai massacre of March 16, 1968, in which unarmed civilians were gunned down by American soldiers.

Politics and government
The government of Canada transferred governing of the eastern and upper Arctic from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to the Northwest Territories government.

Health
U.S. President Richard Nixon signed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law, requiring that a prominent warning by the surgeon general be placed on cigarette packages, and banning cigarette advertisements from radio and television. The law was to take effect on January 2, 1971.

Business
The first of over 670,000 American Motors Corporation Gremlins were released into North America to compete with foreign imported cars.

Labour
A 41% pay increase over two years ended the New York tugboat strike after two months, making it the longest tug strike in the history of the port.

The first contract covering table-grape pickers in the United States was signed in Los Angeles, signalling the end of a strike and national boycott against table grapes supplied by nonunion pickers.

Disasters
61 people were killed and 21 injured when a Moroccan jet crashed and exploded on approaching the Casablanca airport.

Hockey
CHL
Adams Cup
Semi-Finals
Omaha 4 @ Fort Worth 5 (Best-of-seven series tied 3-3)
Tulsa 5 @ Iowa 3 (Iowa led best-of-seven series 3-2)

Baseball
In Cactus League action in Tucson, Arizona, the former Seattle Pilots, now officially the Milwaukee Brewers, defeated the Cleveland Indians 9-4. Gene Brabender was the winning pitcher, while Dick Ellsworth took the loss. Danny Walton hit a home run for the Brewers, who were still listed in newspaper summaries as representing Seattle, although an agreement approved the day before by American League owners, and that evening by bankruptcy referee Sidney Volinn, had transferred the team to Milwaukee.

40 years ago
1980

Hit parade
Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd (5th week at #1)
2 Sun of Jamaica--Goombay Dance Band
3 I Have a Dream--ABBA
4 The Ballad of Lucy Jordan--Marianne Faithfull
5 Rapper's Delight--Sugarhill Gang
6 Lucifer--The Alan Parsons Project
7 Que sera mi vida (If You Should Go)--Gibson Brothers
8 Confusion--Electric Light Orchestra
9 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
10 Wie frei willst du sein?--Howard Carpendale

Singles entering the chart were Coward of the County; Wie frei willst du sein?; San Francisco Bay by Smokie (#11); and Ladies' Night by Kool and The Gang (#18).

World events
Six men in a bus crashed through the gates of the Peruvian embassy in Cuba in an attempt to obtain asylum; a Cuban guard was killed in the incident.

Diplomacy
Iranian President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr announced that the Iranian government would take control of the hostages in the U.S. embassy in Tehran if the United States promised not to make threats against Iran.

Politics and government
In the race for major party nominations for President of the United States, primaries took place in Wisconsin and Kansas. Former California Governor Ronald Reagan won the Republican primary in Wisconsin with 40% of the vote and 28 delegates to the Republican National Convention, while George Bush took 31% but no delegates, because of a winner-take-all basis for each district. Rep. John Anderson took 28% and 6 delegates. Mr. Reagan also won in Kansas. President Jimmy Carter won the Democratic primary in Wisconsin with 56% of the vote and 49 delegates to U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy’s 30% and 26 delegates. California Governor Jerry Brown took 13%, and announced his withdrawal from the campaign. Mr. Carter also won in Kansas.

Art
Bill Reid's sculpture The Raven and the First Men was unveiled by Prince Charles at the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver. Made by the Haida sculptor in yellow cedar, it was lowered by crane through a skylight into a special hall designed by Arthur Erickson.

Humour
Radio-Canada in Moncton, New Brunswick announced that Sugarloaf Mountain, a long dormant volcano for hundreds of millions of years, was suddenly erupting. Many in the region became alarmed, before they realized that it was only an April Fool’s joke.

Labour
Mentally disabled workers in Carleton Place, Ontario became the first in a sheltered workshop in Canada to go on strike; they won a raise in weekly salary to $10 from $7.50.

Hockey
NHL
Edmonton 0 @ Vancouver 5

30 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Don't Make Me Over--Sybil (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor (6th week at #1)

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor (5th week at #1)
2 Get Up! (Before the Night is Over)--Technotronic
3 Got to Get--Rob 'n' Raz featuring Leila K.
4 The Message is Love--Arthur Baker and the Backbeat Disciples featuring Al Green
5 Bakerman--Laid Back
6 Pump ab das Bier--Werner
7 Dub Be Good to Me--Beats International
8 Dangerous--Roxette
9 Touch Me--49ers
10 Sit and Wait--Sydney Youngblood

Singles entering the chart were Dub Be Good to Me; Opposites Attract by Paula Abdul (#18); Un' estate italiana by Edoardo Bennato & Gianna Nannini (#22); I Wish it Would Rain Down by Phil Collins (#26); and The Power by Snap! (#27).

Politics and government
The government of Canada signed a final land claim agreement with Yukon First Nations, giving them surface title to 41,000 square kilometres of land, plus mineral rights and $232 million cash.

Protest
Up to 1,000 inmates at Strangeways Prison in Manchester, England ran amok in a riot over overcrowding.

25 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): Here's Johnny!--Hocus Pocus (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Sarajevo's børn - Gi dem et håb--Various artists

#1 single in Flanders (VRT): Het isj nie moeilijk, het isj gemakkelijk--Kamiel Spiessens

#1 single in France (SNEP): Zombie--The Cranberries (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Alice, Who the X is Alice--Gompie (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Don't Stop (Wiggle Wiggle)--Outhere Brothers

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Take a Bow--Madonna (6th week at #1)
2 Candy Rain--Soul for Real
3 Creep--TLC
4 Red Light Special--TLC
5 Strong Enough--Sheryl Crow
6 Run Away--Real McCoy
7 This is How We Do It--Montell Jordan
8 Baby--Brandy
9 Big Poppa/Warning--The Notorious B.I.G.
10 You Gotta Be--Des'ree

Singles entering the chart were Joy by BLACKstreet (#79); Purple Medley by Prince (#84); Total Eclipse of the Heart by Nicki French (#88); Wonderful by Adam Ant (#90); Your Loving Arms by Billie Ray Martin (#91); Shy Guy by Diana King (#92); Feel So High by Des'ree (#93); The Keeper of the Stars by Tracy Byrd (#95); and Safe + Sound by DJ Quik (#98). Shy Guy was from the movie Bad Boys (1995).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Take a Bow--Madonna (7th week at #1)
2 Candy Rain--Soul for Real
3 Red Light Special--TLC
4 Run Away--Real McCoy
5 If You Love Me--Brownstone
6 Strong Enough--Sheryl Crow
7 Big Poppa/Warning--Notorious B.I.G.
8 I Know--Dionne Farris
9 Baby--Brandy
10 Creep--TLC

Singles entering the chart were Can't Stop Lovin' You by Van Halen (#72); White Lines by Duran Duran (#79); I'd Rather Be Alone by IV Xample (#80); Ask of You by Raphael Saadiq (#81); Here and Now by Letters to Cleo (#85); Until the End of Time by Foreigner (#86); Close to You by Fun Factory (#87); Down by the Water by PJ Harvey (#89); I'll Be Around by Rappin’ 4-Tay featuring the Spinners (#90); Let Her Cry by Hootie & the Blowfish (#91); and Grapevine by Brownstone (#93).

Died on this date
Jack M. Warner, 78 or 79. U.S. movie executive. Mr. Warner was the son of Jack Warner of the Warner Brothers studio. Jack M. Warner worked in Warner Brothers' short subject department and produced several feature films before being fired by his father in 1958 after becoming estranged.

20 years ago
2000

Politics and government
The Liberal Party pulled out of Japan’s coalition government, and within hours, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi was hospitalized.

Crime
The Enigma coding machine, used by the Germans to encode messages during World War II, was stolen from the Bletchley Park Museum in Buckinghamshire, southeastern England.

10 years ago
2010

Died on this date
John Forsythe, 92. U.S. actor. Mr. Forsythe, born Jacob Freund, appeared in movies such as The Trouble with Harry (1955) and Topaz (1969), but was better known for his roles in television series such as Bachelor Father (1957-1962); Charlie's Angels (1976-1981); and Dynasty (1981-1989).

Tzannis Tzannetakis, 81. Prime Minister of Greece, 1989. Mr. Tzannetakis was a military officer who resigned the day after a military junta seized power in 1967, and was imprisoned from 1969-1971 for his resistance activity. When democracy was restored to Greece in 1974, Mr. Tzannetakis joined New Democracy. He was elected to Parliament in 1977, and was Minister for Public Works (1980-1981). When neither New Democracy nor the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) could form a government in 1989, Mr. Tzannetakis was a compromise candidate, serving as Prime Minister from July-2, October 12, while also serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was Deputy Prime Minister from 1990-1993, and remained in Parliament until his retirement in 2007.

Law
The Supreme Court of Canada upheld the Prince Edward Island Appeal Court decision that found the province had no duty of care toward children sent by family members or guardians to the P.E.I. Protestant Orphanage, founded in 1928 and shut down in 1976. In 2002, 57 survivors banded together to seek damages from the province, for decades of beatings and sexual abuse.

Abominations
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police issued a formal apology and provided an undisclosed financial settlement to Zofia Cisowski, mother of Robert Dziekanski, who was tasered to death at Vancouver International Airport in 2007. The force also donated $20,000 to a scholarship in her son's name.

Crime
Louis Woodcock and Tyshaun Barnett, both Negroes, were guilty of manslaughter and aggravated assault in the December 26, 2005 shooting of 15-year-old Jane Creba, caught in a gun battle between rival drug gangs on Yonge Street in Toronto. Jeremiah Valentine and Jorrell Simpson-Rowe had already been sentenced to life in prison for second-degree murder.