April 5, 2020

850 years ago
1170

Born on this date
Isabella of Hainault. Queen consort of France, 1180-1190. Isabella, the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut, and Margaret I, Countess of Flanders, was married to King Philippe II at the age of 10. She gave birth to the future King Louis VIII in 1187, but had a difficult second pregnancy, and died on March 15, 1190, three weeks before her 20th birthday and the day after giving birth to twin sons, one of whom died the day of his birth, the other three days later.

310 years ago
1710

Law
The Statute of Anne received royal assent, establishing the Copyright law of the United Kingdom.

230 years ago
1790

Politics and government
The first town meeting in Upper Canada was held at Grimsby, marking the start of local self-government in the province.

210 years ago
1810

Born on this date
Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baronet Rawlinson. U.K. military officer, archaeologist, and politician. Sir Henry was a British East India Company officer in Persia, India, and Ottoman Arabia from the late 1820s through the mid-1850s. While in Baghad in the 1840s, he studied cuneiform, and became known as the Father of Assyriology. Sir Henry spent most of his last 40 years in London. A Liberal, he represented Reigate (1858) and Frome (1865-1868) in the House of Commons, and was President of the Royal Geographical Society (1871-1873, 1874-1876). Sir Henry died on March 5, 1895, a month before his 85th birthday.

140 years ago
1880

Baseball
Five northern white professionals, led by pitcher Tim Keefe, defeated nine local Negro professionals 17-3 in an exhibition game in New Orleans.

125 years ago
1895

Born on this date
Mike O'Dowd. U.S. boxer. Mr. O'Dowd compiled a record of 93-39-6-1 in a professional career from 1913-1923; he was world middleweight champion from 1917-1920 and held New York State Athletic Commission from 1922-1923. Mr. O'Dowd was the only current world champion to serve in the armed forces in World War I, and retired after being knocked out in his last fight by Jock Malone--the only knockout defeat of his career. Mr. O'Dowd died on July 28, 1957 at the age of 62.

Scandal
British playwright Oscar Wilde lost his criminal libel case against John Douglas, Marquess of Queensberry, who had accused the writer of homosexual practices. Under the Libel Act 1843, the Marquess of Queensberry's acquittal rendered Mr. Wilde legally liable for the considerable expenses the Marquess had incurred in his defense, which left Mr. Wilde bankrupt.

120 years ago
1900

Died on this date
Osman Nuri Pasha, 67 or 68. Ottoman military officer. Osman Nuri Pasha began his military career in 1852 as a lieutenant in the cavalry, and eventually rose to the rank of field marshal. He was best known for leading outnumbered Ottoman forces in a defense against Russian and Romanian troops in the Siege of Plevna in 1877. Osman Nuri Pasha served as Ottoman Minister of War on four occasions, and was still active at the time of his death.

Archaeology
Archaeologists in Knossos, Crete discovered a large cache of clay tablets with hieroglyphic writing in a script that they called Linear B.

110 years ago
1910

Born on this date
Sven Andersson. Swedish politician. Mr. Andersson, a member of the Social Democratic Party, was a member of Gothenburg City Council (1939-1940), and was first elected to Parliament in 1941. He was Minister of Communications (1951-1957); Minister of Defence (1957-1973); and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1973-1976), and was known as a strong anti-Communist and defense hawk. Mr. Andersson died on September 21, 1987 at the age of 77.

100 years ago
1920

Born on this date
Barend Biesheuvel. Prime Minister of the Netherlands, 1971-1973. Mr. Biesheuvel was a member of the Anti-Revolutionary Party who sat in the House of Representatives (1956-1963, 1967-1971, 1972-1973) and the European Parliament (1961-1963), taking the leadership of his party in 1963 and serving as Deputy Prime Minister before succeeding Piet de Jong as Prime Minister, leading a coalition cabinet that pursued economic policies of deficit reduction and privatizations. Mr. Biesheuvel retired from politics in 1973, and died of cardiovascular disease on April 29, 2001 at the age of 81.

Arthur Hailey. U.K.-born author. Mr. Hailey was known for bestselling novels such as In High Places (1962); Hotel (1965); and Airport (1968). He died on November 24, 2004 at the age of 84.

War
In the Murmansk region, Soviet troops captured several villages 40 miles to the west of Petchenga. Their enemies had abandoned their arms and fled towards the Finnish and Norwegian frontiers.

80 years ago
1940

Died on this date
Jay O'Brien, 57. U.S. bobsledder. Mr. O'Brien was a member of the team that won the silver medal in the five-man event at the 1928 Winter Olympic Games in St. Moritz, and the gold medal in the four-man competition at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. He died of a heart attack.

Theatre
Theatre Club, Inc. awarded Life with Father, by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, its annual prize as the best play written by an American.

War
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain declared his confidence in victory over Germany was growing. The Allies had improved their relative position since the war had begun, he added, declaring that German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler had "missed the bus."

Defense
Domei news agency reported that Portuguese troops were withdrawing from the island of Lappa on Japan's request.

Diplomacy
Chile and Argentina agreed to submit the Beagle Channel boundary dispute to U.S. arbitration.

The U.S. State Department named 35 educators for service in Latin America under the terms of the 1936 Inter-American Cultural Relations Agreement.

Politics and government
Germany announced that Krakow would succeed Warsaw as the capital of Poland.

Law
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt indicated his opposition to the Walter-Logan bill, which would permit the court review of rulings by federal quasi-judicial agencies.

Economics and finance
The United States Senate approved and sent to President Franklin D. Roosevelt a bill authorizing the president to negotiate reciprocal trade agreements for the next two years.

Horse racing
Bogakar won the Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree, England.

75 years ago
1945

Died on this date
Karl-Otto Koch, 47. German SS officer. SS Standartenführer Koch served with the Imperial German Army in World War I, and joined the Nazi Party and the SS in 1931. He commanded several concentration camps from 1935-1942, including Buchenwald (1937-1941) and Majdanek (1941-1942). SS Standartenführer Koch was transferred from Buchenwald amidst allegations of corruption, sexual offenses, and a murder. He was dismissed from his post at Majdanek after 86 Soviet prisoners of war escaped in August 1942. SS Standartenführer Koch was eventually convicted of incitement to murder and embezzlement, and he was executed by firing squad for disgracing the SS. His wife Ilse was also a war criminal.

Heinrich Borgmann, 32. German military officer. Oberst im Generalstab Borgmann joined the Wehrmacht in 1932, and earned decorations for his service in Poland, France, and the Eastern Front during World War II. He was seriously injured in the assassination attempt against Fuehrer Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944, but eventually recovered. However, Oberst Borgmann was killed during a low-level air attack on his staff car.

Literature
The Collected Poetry of W.H. Auden was published.

War
The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz would lead all Army and Navy forces respectively against Japan. The U.S.S.R. denounced her neutrality pact with Japan, ostensibly because of Japan's aid to Germany. British troops advancing from the south reached within about 30 miles of Bremen. Soviet units reached the southern city limits of Vienna. U.S. troops attacked below German-held Massa on the Italian Tyrrhenian coast, and gained 2 miles.

Defense
Yugoslavian leader Marshal Josip Broz Tito signed an agreement with the U.S.S.R. to allow "temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory."

The U.K. published a secret protocol to the Polish treaty of 1939 in which Britain pledged assistance to Poland against German aggression only.

Politics and government
Japanese Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso's cabinet resigned, and Emperor Hirohito ordered Admiral Baron Kantaro Suzuki to form a new government.

Diplomacy
John Foster Dulles accepted an appointment as an adviser to the U.S. delegation at the conference in San Francisco to found the United Nations.

Law
The new police chief of Rio de Janeiro promised to permit legitimate strikes and respect religious freedom in the city.

Labour
The U.S. National War Labor Board warned United Mine Workers of America coal miners that unless work stoppages were halted at 200 mines the government would seize the operations.

70 years ago
1950

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Ben Wright and Eric Snowden, on ABC
Tonight’s episode: The Human Tiger

The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Martin Gabel, on ABC

Beyond Tomorrow, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Requiem, starring Everett Sloane

This was the first regular episode of the short-lived science fiction series.

Died on this date
Charles "Mad Dog Gargotta, 49 or 50; Charles Binaggio, 41. U.S. gangsters. Mr. Gargotta was a top enforcer for the Kansas City, Missouri Mafia, while Mr. Binaggio was a Kansas City Mafia boss who was a rival of the Pendergast machine in Kansas City Democratic Party politics. The two men were gunned down at the First Ward Democratic Club near downtown Kansas City. The murders were never solved, and the resulting concern led to the establishment of the U.S. Senate's Kefauver Commission investigating organized crime in the United States.

War
Chinese Nationalists charged that the U.S.S.R. was sending warplanes and pilots to Communist China with the object of preparing an attack on Nationalist-held islands.

The Indonesian government announced the arrest of Sultan Hamid II, President of West Borneo, as the behind-the-scenes leader of guerrillas commanded by R.P.P. Westerling.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson said that he hoped West Germany would join the European Council, but opposed German rearmament.

Defense
The U.S. Navy submarine USS Pickerel completed the longest voyage yet travelled by a submarine without surfacing--5,200 nautical miles from Hong Kong to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The voyage had begun on March 16.

Society
The U.S. Senate passed a liberalized bill on displaced persons, raising the number of European refugees to be admitted to the United States from 205,000 to 344,000.

Medicine
Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit reported the successful transplantation of part of an aorta, saving the life of a 57-year-old heart patient.

Disasters
The world's largest flying boat, the U.S. Navy's Marshall Mars, burned and sank after crash-landing in the Pacific Ocean near Oahu; the seven-man crew escaped.

60 years ago
1960

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Carleton Hobbs and Norman Shelley, on BBC Light Programme
Tonight’s episode: The Greek Interpreter

On television tonight
Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, hosted by John Newland, on ABC
Tonight's episode: I Saw You Tomorrow, starring John Hudson, Narda Onyx, and Rosemary Murphy



Basketball
NBA
Finals
St. Louis 102 @ Boston 127 (Boston led best-of-seven series 3-2)

Tom Heinsohn scored 34 points and Bill Sharman added 26 for the Celtics as they outscored the Hawks in every quarter before 13,909 fans at Boston Garden. Cliff Hagan led the Hawks with 28 points, and Bob Pettit added 23.

Baseball
The Chicago White Sox traded first baseman Don Mincher and catcher Earl Battey to the Washington Senators for first baseman Roy Sievers. Mr. Mincher had batted .272 with 22 home runs and 92 runs batted in in 137 games with the Charleston ChaSox of the Class A South Atlantic League in 1959, while Mr. Battey had batted .219 with 2 homers and 7 RBIs in 26 games with the White Sox. Mr. Sievers batted .242 with 21 home runs and 49 RBIs in 115 games with the Senators in 1959.

40 years ago
1970

Died on this date
Karl von Spreti, 62. West German diplomat. Count von Spreti, West Germany’s ambassador to Guatemala, was kidnapped on March 31 by a band of terrorists calling themselves the Rebel Armed Forces, and was shot to death by them after the Guatemalan government of President Julio Mendez Montenegro rejected their demands for the release of 22 prisoners and $700,000 in exchange for the ambassador’s safe return.

Terrorism
Japan Air Lines Flight 351, the Boeing 727 jetliner that had been hijacked five days earlier on a flight from Tokyo to Seoul returned to Tokyo with a crew of three and Shinjiro Yamamura, Japan’s Vice-Minister of Transportation, aboard. The nine hijackers remained in North Korea, where broadcasts proclaimed that the students were "strangers who came uninvited." The 83-hour hijacking set a world record as the longest, surpassing the 45-hour incident in January when a Brazilian Caravelle jet was diverted to Cuba from Uruguay.

Diplomacy
West German Chancellor Willy Brandt began an eight-day visit to the United States.

Hockey
NHL
Detroit 5 @ New York 9
Montreal 2 @ Chicago 10
Toronto 1 @ Boston 3
Minnesota 5 @ Pittsburgh 1

Going into the final day of the regular season, the New York Rangers could beat out the defending Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens if they won and the Canadiens lost, and if the Rangers scored more goals. A New York win coupled with a Montreal loss would give the teams identical records, with the next tie-breaker being goals for. The 9 goals that the Rangers scored--3 by Dave Balon, 2 each by Rod Gilbert, Jack Egers, and Ron Stewart--gave them 2 more than Montreal (including the 2 scored that night by the Canadiens). So determined were the Rangers to score the required number of goals to make the playoffs that they ended the game with 65 shots on goal. Leading 9-3, the Rangers pulled goalie Ed Giacomin for a sixth attacker in an attempt to add some insurance, but gave up 2 empty net goals instead. At Chicago Stadium, the Black Hawks were leading 5-2 with less than 9 minutes remaining when Montreal coach Claude Ruel pulled goaltender Rogie Vachon for a sixth attacker in an attempt to get the goals that he now knew they needed. The Canadiens failed to score, however, and the Black Hawks scored 5 goals into the empty net. Pit Martin scored 3 goals and Bobby Hull 2 for Chicago; others were scored by Jim Pappin, Eric Nesterenko, Cliff Koroll, Dennis Hull, and Gerry Pinder. Yvan Cournoyer and Jean Beliveau scored for Montreal. The Canadiens and Rangers finished with identical records of 38 wins, 22 losses, and 16 ties for 92 points. The Rangers were awarded the fourth and final playoff spot in the East Division, having scored 246 goals to the Canadiens’ 244. For the Canadiens, it marked the first time in 22 years that they’d failed to make the playoffs. With both the Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs missing the playoffs, it marked the first year in hockey history in which there wasn’t a single Canadian team in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The farcical ending to the season prompted a change in the tie-breaking procedure in subsequent years. At Boston Garden, Johnny McKenzie, Derek Sanderson, and Ken Hodge scored for the Bruins, while Dave Keon scored for the Maple Leafs. For Marv Edwards, who had also played against the Bruins the night before, it marked the 25th and final game in a Maple Leaf uniform for the 34-year-old minor league veteran and NHL rookie goaltender.

40 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Crying--Don McLean (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Going Underground--The Jam (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Going Underground/Dreams of Children--The Jam (3rd week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Sajang É--Massada
2 Pearlydumm--BZN
3 Visite--Lenny Kuhr & Les Poppys
4 Matador--Garland Jeffreys
5 With You I'm Born Again--Billy Preston & Syreeta
6 You and Me--Spargo
7 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
8 Song for the Children--Oscar Harris
9 Willy Alberti Bedankt--André Van Duin
10 Crying--Don McLean

Singles entering the chart were Young Girl by Sue Saad & the Next (#30); Special Lady by Ray, Goodman & Brown (#31); Anne by Kayak (#33); The Second Time Around by Shalamar (#34); Atomic by Blondie (#35); Spirits Having Flown by the Bee Gees (#36); and Boat on the River by Styx (#39).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd (3rd week at #1)
2 Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl--Spinners
3 Call Me--Blondie
4 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
5 Too Hot--Kool & The Gang
6 Him--Rupert Holmes
7 Ride Like The Wind--Christopher Cross
8 Special Lady--Ray, Goodman & Brown
9 Desire--Andy Gibb
10 How Do I Make You--Linda Ronstadt

Singles entering the chart were Biggest Part of Me by Ambrosia (#60); Lucky Me by Anne Murray (#82); When the Feeling Comes Around by Jennifer Warnes (#83); White Hot by Red Rider (#84); The Good Lord Loves You by Neil Diamond (#85); We Live for Love by Pat Benatar (#88); Can't Put a Price on Love by the Knack (#89); Solitaire by Peter McIan (#90); Don't Push It Don't Force It by Leon Haywood (#93); and Scandal by RCR (#94).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd (3rd week at #1)
2 Call Me--Blondie
3 Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl--Spinners
4 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
5 Longer--Dan Fogelberg
6 How Do I Make You--Linda Ronstadt
7 Ride Like The Wind--Christopher Cross
8 Too Hot--Kool & The Gang
9 Him--Rupert Holmes
10 Special Lady--Ray, Goodman & Brown

Singles entering the chart were Hurt So Bad by Linda Ronstadt (#57); Starting Over Again by Dolly Parton (#84); We Live for Love by Pat Benatar (#85); Can't Put a Price on Love by the Knack (#87); White Hot by Red Rider (#88); Can't Put a Price on Love by the Knack (#87); We were Meant to Be Lovers by Photoglo (#90); Don't Cry for Me Argentina by Festival (#97); and Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone by the Manhattan Transfer (#98).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd (4th week at #1)
2 Call Me--Blondie
3 Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl--Spinners
4 Ride Like The Wind--Christopher Cross
5 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
6 Too Hot--Kool & The Gang
7 How Do I Make You--Linda Ronstadt
8 Fire Lake--Bob Seger
9 I Can't Tell You Why--Eagles
10 Special Lady--Ray, Goodman & Brown

Singles entering the chart were Biggest Part of Me by Ambrosia (#42); Hurt So Bad by Linda Ronstadt (#54); Lucky Me by Anne Murray (#82); Should've Never Let You Go by Neil Sedaka and Dara Sedaka (#83); Can't Put a Price on Love by the Knack (#86); Can't Put a Price on Love by the Knack (#88); Don't Push It Don't Force It by Leon Haywood (#89); We Live for Love by Pat Benatar (#90); Standing Ovation by GQ (#97); and We were Meant to Be Lovers by Photoglo (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd (3rd week at #1)
2 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
3 On the Radio--Donna Summer
4 Ladies Night--Kool & The Gang
5 Refugee--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
6 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
7 Janine--Trooper
8 Romeo's Tune--Steve Forbert
9 An American Dream--The Dirt Band
10 Yes, I'm Ready--Teri DeSario with K.C.

Singles entering the chart were Pilot of the Airwaves by Charlie Dore (#83); And the Beat Goes On by the Whispers (#94); Lost in Love by Air Supply (#96); Doin' it Right by Powder Blues Band (#97); Save Me by Queen (#98); Set Me Free by Utopia (#99); and Train in Vain by the Clash (#100).

World events
Thousands of Cubans began jamming the grounds of the Peruvian embassy in Havana after Cuba had withdrawn its guards from outside the compound and word spread that those inside the compound could leave the island if they could obtain visas from another country.

Politics and government
In the U.S. presidential campaign, President Jimmy Carter won the Democratic Party primary in Louisiana, while former California Governor Ronald Reagan won the Republican primary.

30 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Oi beibi/Tuhansien sulojen maa--Raptori (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): The By-road to Glenroe--Mick Lally

Politics and government
South African President F.W. de Klerk and recently-freed black nationalist leader Nelson Mandela met in Cape Town and agreed that talks would soon be held between the government and the African National Congress.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Montreal 1 @ Buffalo 4 (Buffalo led best-of-seven series 1-0)
New York Islanders 1 @ New York Rangers 2 (Rangers led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Hartford 4 @ Boston 3 (Hartford led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Washington 5 @ New Jersey 4 (OT) (Washington led best-of-seven series 1-0)

25 years ago
1995

Died on this date
Christian Pineau, 90. French politician. Mr. Pineau was a banker before becoming a leader in the French Resistance during World War II, and survived internment at Buchenwald concentration camp. A Socialist, he held several cabinet posts from 1945-1958, including Foreign Minister (1956-1958). Mr. Pineau was designated as Prime Minister in February 1955, but held office for just two days, as he proved unable to form a government that could obtain the approval of the National Assembly.

Economics and finance
The U.S. dollar stood at 1.3733 German marks in New York, a near-record low.

The United States House of Representatives voted 246-188 to approve a bill that would cut taxes for individuals and corporations.

20 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Kevin Speight, 40; Christopher Loftus, 37. U.K. soccer fans. Messrs. Speight and Loftus were fans of the English club Leeds United who had travelled to Istanbul for a UEFA Cup semi-final match in Istanbul against the Turkish club Galatasaray. Violence between supporters of the two clubs erupted in downtown Istanbul, and the two men were stabbed to death.

Politics and government
Yoshiro Mori, secretary general of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, was chosen party leader, and the Diet elected him Prime Minister. Mr. Mori replaced Keizo Obuchi, who had been hospitalized with a stroke four days earlier.

Diplomacy
Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard, on an official visit to France, issued joint declarations with French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin on the double theme of cultural diversity and the information society.

Scandal
U.S. Labor Secretary Alexis Herman was cleared of wrongdoing after an investigation by independent counsel Ralph Lancaster. Among other charges, Ms. Herman had been accused of taking kickbacks from a consulting firm for agreeing to help bring government business to the company.

10 years ago
2010

Died on this date
David G. Simons, 87. U.S. physician. Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Simons served with the U.S. Air Force, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross for reaching an altitude of 19 miles in an aluminum capsule suspended from a helium balloon as part of the USAF's Project Manhight in 1957. He authored more than 200 publications on trigger points and related treatments for chronic myofascial pain.

Vitaly Sevastyanov, 74. U.S.S.R. cosmonaut and politician. Mr. Sevastyanov was an engineer who helped to design the Vostok spacecraft. He joined the cosmonaut corps in 1967, and served as flight engineer on the Soyuz 9 (1970) and Soyuz 18 (1975) missions, while training as a member of the backup crew for numerous other missions. Mr. Sevastyanov retired from the cosmonaut corps in 1993, and was elected to the State Duma in 1994. He died after a long illness.

Disasters
29 coal miners were killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia.

In a televised rescue, 115 Chinese coal miners were freed after spending eight days trapped in a flooded mine, surviving an accident that had killed 38.