May 3, 2020

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Pud Smith!

1,530 years ago
490

Born on this date
K'an Joy Chitam I. Ruler of Palenque, 529-565. K'an Joy Chitam I was an ajaw of the Maya city state of Palenque in what is now southern Mexico, taking the throne after an interregnum of more than four years. He died on February 6, 565 at the age of 74, and was succeeded by Ahkal Moʼ Nahb II.

750 years ago
1270

Died on this date
Béla IV, 63. King of Hungary, 1235-1270. Béla IV acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Andrew II. He survived a Mongol invasion in 1241-1242, but the resulting damage led King Béla to initiate reforms and a defensive alliance. He also supported Christian missionary efforts among the pagan Cumans. King Béla IV died after an illness of several months, and was succeeded by his eldest son Stephen V.

610 years ago
1410

Died on this date
Alexander V. Roman Catholic antipope, 1409-1410. Alexander V, born Pietro Filargo in Crete, became Archbishop of Milan in 1402, and was created a cardinal by Pope Innocent VII in 1405. His political maneuvers as a promoter of the Council of Pisa (1409) incurred the wrath of Pope Gregory XII, who stripped him of his offices of archbishop and cardinal. The cardinals at the Council of Pisa elected Mr. Filargo to what they assumed was a vacant office, and crowned him as Alexander V, not realizing that he was actually an antipope. Alexander V was recognized as pope by most European states, but he died suddenly in the presence of Cardinal Baldassare Cossa in Bologna.

325 years ago
1695

Born on this date
Henri Pitot. French physicist and engineer. Mr. Pitot was a hydraulic engineer who invented the Pitot tube, and designed the Aqueduc de Saint-Clément near Montpellier and the extension of Pont du Gard in Nîmes. He died on December 27, 1771 at the age of 76.

190 years ago
1830

Transportation
The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway opened in the English county of Kent; it was the first steam-hauled passenger railway to issue season tickets and include a tunnel.

160 years ago
1860

Europeana
Karl XV of Sweden and Norway was crowned King of Sweden in Stockholm.

Politics and government
The U.S. Democratic National Convention adjourned at South Carolina Institute Hall in Charleston without nominating a ticket for the 1860 U.S. presidential election. U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas (Illinois) led after all 57 ballots with a solid majority of votes, but was short of the two-thirds majority necessary to win the nomination. The delegates voted to reconvene in Baltimore on June 18.

Scandal
The Woodstock (New Brunswick) Journal alerted readers to its discovery that local politician and postmaster Charles Connell was replacing Queen Victoria's head on the province's proposed new five-cent stamp with his own face; the stamp was released, and Mr. Connell resigned in disgrace.

150 years ago
1870

Born on this date
Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. U.K. royal family member. Princess Helena Victoria was the daughter of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Helena, daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Princess Helena Victoria never married, and worked with various charitable organizations. Sh died on March 13, 1948 at the age of 77, after several years of declining health.

125 years ago
1895

Born on this date
Cornelius Van Til. Dutch-born U.S. theologian. Dr. Van Til moved with his family to Indiana at the age of 10. He graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary, and served as a minister with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church for more than 40 years. Dr. Van Til was one of the founders of Westminster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, and taught there for 43 years. He has been credited as the originator of presuppositional apologetics, and argued that there is no neutral common ground between Christians and non-Christians because their presuppositions, their ultimate principles of interpretation, are different, but common ground can be found because Christians act inconsistently with their presuppositions. Dr. Van Til died on April 17, 1987, 16 days before his 92nd birthday. He has had a tremendous influence on Christian reconstructionists/theonomists such as Rousas Rushdoony and Greg Bahnsen.

120 years ago
1900

Horse racing
Lieut. Gibson, with Jimmy Boland up, won the 26th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville in a time of 2:06.5, 3 lengths ahead of Florizar, with Thrive finishing third.

110 years ago
1910

Born on this date
Norman Corwin. U.S. author. Mr. Corwin was best known for writing dramas for radio that tackled social issues. His most famous broadcasts, for CBS, were We Hold These Truths (December 15, 1941) and On a Note of Triumph (May 8, 1945). He also wrote screenplays, one of which (Lust for Life), (1956) was nominated for an Academy Award. Among those who cited Mr. Corwin as an inspiration were Rod Serling, Gene Roddenberry, and Norman Lear. Mr. Corwin died on October 18, 2011 at the age of 101.

90 years ago
1920

Born on this date
Dan Bankhead. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Bankhead played in the Negro Leagues with the Birmingham Black Barons and the Memphis Red Sox from 1940-1947 before being signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and becoming the first Negro pitcher in the major leagues. He hit a home run in his first major league plate appearance on August 26, 1947, becoming not only the first Negro pitcher in the major leagues, but the first to hit a home run. Mr. Bankhead had limited success in the major leagues, compiling a record of 9-6 with an earned run average of 6.52 in 52 games in 1947 and 1950-1951. He played in the Mexican League with Monterrey (1953-1955); Aguila (1956, 1959); Puebla (1960-1963); and Reynosa (1966), compiling a record of 29-18 with a 4.67 ERA in 134 games, and batting .293 with 24 home runs and 161 runs batted in. Mr. Bankhead died of cancer on May 2, 1976, the day before his 56th birthday.

John Lewis. U.S. musician. Mr. Lewis was a jazz pianist and composer who performed with the bands of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker before co-founding the Modern Jazz Quartet in 1951. His compositions included the score for the movie Odds Against Tomorrow (1959). Mr. Lewis died of prostate cancer on March 29, 2001 at the age of 80.

War
Relying on Red Army troops in neighbouring Azerbaijan, the Bolsheviks attempted to stage a coup d'etat in Georgia.

Baseball
Two days after playing a record 26 innings, the Brooklyn Robins and Boston Braves played 19 innings before 3,500 fans at Braves Field. The Braves won 2-1, getting consecutive singles by John Sullivan, Walter Holke, and Tony Boeckel with 1 out in the bottom of the 19th to push across the winning run. Dana Fillingim (1-2) went the distance, allowing 12 hits and no earned runs, to get the win over Sherrod Smith (0-1), who allowed 13 hits and 2 earned runs. The Robins had played 58 innings in their last 3 games.

The Detroit Tigers got their first win of the season after opening with 13 straight losses, scoring all their runs in the 4th inning as they defeated the Cleveland Indians 5-1 at Navin Field in Detroit behind the pitching of Dutch Leonard (1-2). Guy Morton (0-1) allowed 5 hits and 4 runs--2 earned--in 3+ innings to take the loss; he was relieved by Tim Murchison, who allowed 3 hits and 1 unearned run in 4 innings, making 2 assists, and striking out in his only plate appearance in the third and last game of his 2-year major league career.

90 years ago
1930

Auto racing
AAA
Championship Car Series
Bill Cummings won the first race of the season, a 100-mile race on the dirt track at Langhorne Speedway in Pennsylvania. Deacon Litz finished second and Freddie Winnai third in the 15-car field.

80 years ago
1940

At the movies
Saps at Sea, directed by Gordon Douglas, and starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, opened in theatres. It was Laurel and Hardy's last film with Hal Roach Studios.



War
Allied forces in Norway evacuated Namsos and abandoned the Steinkjer line to Norwegian troops commanded by Colonel O.B. Getz, who asked the German High Command for an armistice.

Law
More than 200 French Communists were sent to islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the French cost for internment.

Politics and government
In a speech in Washington, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt challenged would-be Democratic Party presidential candidates to stop criticizing his New Deal economic policies and offer constructive policies.

Protest
27 of the 85 women on the advisory committee for the New York World's Fair resigned in protest against the Fair's chosen theme, "For Peace and Freedom."

Oil
The Mexican Petroleum Distribution Agency announced a $54-million contract with three U.S. companies for the purchase of Mexican oil.

Boxing
Buddy Baer (52-4) scored a technical knockout of Nathan Mann (54-8-4) at 1:36 of the 7th round of a heavyweight bout at Madison Square Garden in New York. Mr. Mann was knocked down twice in the 7th round.

75 years ago
1945

War
The First Canadian Army took Oldenburg, and Canadian paratroopers linked up with Soviet forces in Wismar, Germany. The German prison ships SS Cap Arcona, SS Thielbek, and SS Deutschland were sunk by the British Royal Air Force in Lübeck Bay. Brazilian War Minister Eurico Gaspar Dutra said that Brazilian troops in Italy would return home immediately. As British forces linked up with Soviet forces on a 65-mile front south of Hamburg, the city surrendered to the British without battle. U.K. forces occupied Trieste and Gorizia, formerly Italian cities claimed by Yugoslavia. The Burmese capital of Rangoon was secured by the British 14th Army, with most of the Japanese forces fleeing; its fall virtually brought the Burmese campaign to an end. Japanese forces began their fifth massed kamikaze attack on the U.S. 5th Fleet off Okinawa, with 125 kamikaze planes sinking 6 American vessels and damaging 6 others.

Diplomacy
The four main committees at the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco started work on the United Nations Charter.

Labour
U.S. Solid Fuels Administrator Harold Ickes seized 363 Pennsylvania coal mines on an order from President Harry Truman, and told the miners to return to work by May 7.

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 Magic Carpet

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

War
The Nationalist Chinese government in Taiwan announced the abandonment of Hainan Island, claiming that its forces had killed 17,000 Communists in their unsuccessful attempt to resist the invasion.

Diplomacy
United Nations Secretary-General Trygve Lie proposed a visit to Moscow in an effort to start a movement to "bring the Cold War to an end."

U.S. President Harry Truman welcomed Pakistani Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan in Washington at the start of Mr. Khan's three-week tour of the United States.

Defense
The U.S. Navy announced that officers of the grounded USS Missouri would be punished by loss of standing on rank of promotion lists.

Society
The Communist Chinese government outlawed polygamy and the sale of women.

Crime
The U.S. Senate approved a $150,000 investigation of interstate crime, prompted by the shooting of Kansas City racketeer Charlie Binaggio.

Medicine
The Association of American Physicians, meeting in Atlantic City, admitted its first female member, Dr. Helen B. Taussig.

60 years ago
1960

On television tonight
Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, hosted by John Newland, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Delia, starring Lee Philips, Barbara Lord, and Murray Matheson



Theatre
The Fantasticks, with music by Harvey Schmidt and libretto and lyrics by Tom Jones, opened at Sullivan Street Playhouse in New York City, eventually becoming the world's longest-running musical, with 17,162 performances over almost 42 years. The opening night cast included Jerry Orbach, Rita Gardner, Kenneth Nelson, and Mr. Jones.

Diplomacy
Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker attended the Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference in London; he proposed Colombo Plan aid to Africa.

Europeana
The Anne Frank House museum opened in Amsterdam.

50 years ago
1970

Died on this date
Cal Drummond, 52. U.S. baseball umpire. Mr. Drummond worked 1,357 regular season games in the American League, in addition to the 1966 World Series and the first All-Star Game in 1961. On June 10, 1969, he was struck by a foul tip in a game in Baltimore, suffered a blood clot in his brain, spent two weeks in a coma, and required two operations. Mr. Drummond was on a rehabilitation assignment in the American Association, when, during a game between Oklahoma City and Iowa in Des Moines on May 2, 1970, he left in the 7th inning complaining of dizziness, and collapsed on the bench, dying in hospital four hours later. He was due to rejoin the American League the next day. The cause of death was said to be a cerebral hemorrhage near the location of the original injury.

Protest
The second night of violence by anti-Vietnam War protesters at Kent State University resulted in Ohio Governor James Rhodes ordering a 600-man contingent of National Guard troops to the campus to restore order. The order came after the Kent State ROTC building was burned to the ground.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Boston 6 @ St. Louis 1 (Boston led best-of-seven series 1-0)

St. Louis goalie Jacques Plante was hospitalized with a severe concussion when he was hit on the forehead by a slapshot off the stick of Boston’s Fred Stanfield that was deflected by Phil Esposito. Mr. Plante’s mask was credited with averting a tragedy; it turned out to be his last game with the Blues.



40 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): You and Me--Spargo (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Call Me--Blondie (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Geno--Dexys Midnight Runners

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 You and Me--Spargo (3rd week at #1)
2 Sun of Jamaica--Goombay Dance Band
3 Song for the Children--Oscar Harris
4 American Dream--The Dirt Band
5 The End of the Show--The Cats
6 Visite--Lenny Kuhr & Les Poppys
7 I'm in the Mood for Dancing--Nolan Sisters
8 Special Lady--Ray, Goodman & Brown
9 Take that Look Off Your Face--Marti Webb
10 Stomp--The Brothers Johnson

Singles entering the chart were I See a Boat on the River by Boney M. (#30); What's Another Year by Johnny Logan (#32); De Lafaard Van de Stad by Gerard Schoonbeek (#33); Amsterdam by Maggie MacNeal (#34); You Name It...I'll Do It by Chips (#35); Runnin' with the Devil by Van Halen (#36); and Pata Pata by Osibisa (#37).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Call Me--Blondie (3rd week at #1)
2 Ride Like The Wind--Christopher Cross
3 Lost in Love--Air Supply
4 With You I’m Born Again--Billy Preston & Syreeta
5 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd
6 Fire Lake--Bob Seger
7 You May Be Right--Billy Joel
8 I Can't Tell You Why--Eagles
9 Sexy Eyes--Dr. Hook
10 Hold on to My Love--Jimmy Ruffin

Singles entering the chart were Against the Wind by Bob Seger (#54); Little Jeannie by Elton John (#65); Theme from New York, New York by Frank Sinatra (#76); Answering Machine by Rupert Holmes (#82); It's Not a Wonder by Little River Band (#84); Midnight Rendezvous by the Babys (#87); Gone Too Far by Eddie Rabbitt (#88); Just for the Moment by Ray Kennedy (#89); and Real Love by the Cretones (#98). Theme from New York, New York was a version of the theme from the movie.

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Call Me--Blondie (4th week at #1)
2 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd
3 Ride Like the Wind--Christopher Cross
4 Lost in Love--Air Supply
5 With You I’m Born Again--Billy Preston & Syreeta
6 Fire Lake--Bob Seger
7 Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer--Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes
8 Sexy Eyes--Dr. Hook
9 Special Lady--Ray, Goodman & Brown
10 You May Be Right--Billy Joel

Singles entering the chart were Against the Wind by Bob Seger (#57); Little Jeannie by Elton John (#63); Theme from New York, New York by Frank Sinatra (#76); It's Not a Wonder by Little River Band (#87); Midnight Rendezvous by the Babys (#88); Ashes by Now by Rodney Crowell (#96); and The Good Lord Loves You by Neil Diamond (#98).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 Call Me--Blondie (3rd week at #1)
2 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd
3 Ride Like The Wind--Christopher Cross
4 Lost in Love--Air Supply
5 With You I’m Born Again--Billy Preston & Syreeta
6 Sexy Eyes--Dr. Hook
7 You May Be Right--Billy Joel
8 Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer--Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes
9 Special Lady--Ray, Goodman & Brown
10 Off the Wall--Michael Jackson

Singles entering the chart were Against the Wind by Bob Seger (#42); Little Jeannie by Elton John (#68); Theme from New York, New York by Frank Sinatra (#70); Here Comes My Girl by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (#84); Power by the Temptations (#89); All Night Thing by Invisible Man's Band (#90); and Ashes by Now by Rodney Crowell (#99).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Call Me--Blondie
2 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd
3 Fire Lake--Bob Seger
4 An American Dream--The Dirt Band
5 I Can't Tell You Why--Eagles
6 Refugee--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
7 You May Be Right--Billy Joel
8 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
9 Money--The Flying Lizards
10 Cars--Gary Numan

Singles entering the chart were Love Stinks by the J. Geils Band (#86); Coming Up (Live at Glasgow) by Paul McCartney & Wings (#91); Say Goodbye to Little Jo by Steve Forbert (#92); Echo Beach by Martha & the Muffins (#93); Nyet, Nyet Soviet (Soviet Jewellery) by B.B. Gabor (#98); I Pledge My Love by Peaches & Herb (#99); and A Certain Girl by Warren Zevon (#100).

Terrorism
Arab Iranian terrorists who had seized the Iranian embassy in London three days earlier released two hostages.

Horse racing
Genuine Risk, with Jacinto Vásquez up, became the first filly since Regret in 1915 to win the Kentucky Derby, winning the 106th running of the race before 131,859 fans at Churchill Downs in Louisville in a time of 2:02, 1 length ahead of Rumbo, with Jaklin Klugman third.



Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Buffalo 4 @ New York Islanders 7 (New York led best-of-seven series 3-0)

Baseball
The Texas Rangers defeated the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 before 25,402 fans at Arlington Stadium as Ferguson Jenkins (2-2) pitched an 8-hit complete game to become the fourth pitcher to win 100 games in each major league. He won 149 games in the National League before joining the Rangers in 1974. Losing pitcher Jim Palmer (2-2) was relieved by Sammy Stewart after allowing 3 hits and 2 runs--both earned--in 1.1 innings.

Rennie Stennett led off the top of the 9th inning with a single and Milt May followed with a run-scoring double to break a 2-2 tie as the San Francisco Giants edged the Montreal Expos 3-2 before 18,622 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. San Francisco first baseman Willie McCovey hit his 521st and last career major league home run, and only home of the season, off Scott Sanderson to lead off the 4th inning and open the scoring.



30 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Oi beibi/Tuhansien sulojen maa--Raptori (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): The By-road to Glenroe--Mick Lally (5th week at #1)

Politics and government
Members of the Latvian parliament met to discuss independence from the Soviet Union.

Abominations
Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney announced plans to build a Goods and Services tax processing centre in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, creating 500 new jobs by 1992. The centre would replace some of the jobs lost by the scheduled 1992 closing of the Canadian Armed Forces base in Summerside.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of Canada overturned a Manitoba Court of Appeal decision and ruled that "battered wife syndrome" was a justifiable defense against the charge of murder. The case involved a 22-year-old Winnnipeg woman who shot her husband with a rifle in 1986 after he had threatened to kill her. The Supreme Court ruled that the woman had acted in self-defense after three years of repeated beatings. The mentally and morally retarded feminist hag "Justice" Bertha Wilson wrote the judgement, none of which I’ll bother quoting.

Medicine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug AZT for treating children aged 3 months to 12 years who had symptoms of AIDS or who were infected with the AIDS virus. Government officials estimated that there were as many as 20,000 children in the United States who were infected with the virus.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Conference Finals
Washington 3 @ Boston 7 (Boston led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Baseball
New York Yankees' rookie Mike Blowers, handed the starting job at third base, tied an American League record for third basemen by making 4 errors in the Yankees’ 10-5 loss to the Cleveland Indians before 15,169 fans at Yankee Stadium.

25 years ago
1995

War
Opposing forces in the Croatian War of Independence agreed to a cease-fire.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the index of leading economic indicators had fallen o.5% in March, the largest decline in two years.

Hockey
IIHF
World Men's Championship
Canada 4 U.S.A. 1

20 years ago
2000

At the movies
This blogger attended a preview screening of Up at the Villa, directed by Philip Haas, and starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Sean Penn. It opened in limited release in theatres two days later.



Died on this date
Ed Chapman, 94. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Chapman had a 0-0 record with an earned run average of 8.00 in 6 games with the Washington Nationals in 1933, batting 0 for 3. He played at least 14 seasons in the minor leagues from 1927-1940, winning at least 135 games and losing at least 111 in at least 346 games, while hitting at least 12 home runs in at least 409 games.

John O'Connor, 80. U.S. clergyman. Cardinal O'Connor, who was appointed Roman Catholic archbishop of New York in 1984, was one of the Roman Catholic Church's most influential figures, and was a strong opponent of abortion, while taking liberal positions on international affairs. He died of a brain tumour.

War
Israelis and their allies, the South Lebanon Army, began attacking Hezbollah guerrilla bases.

Popular culture
The game of geocaching began, with the first cache placed, and the coordinates from a GPS posted on Usenet.

Technology
An email message whose subject line was "ILOVEYOU" began spreading through computer systems. When a file attached to the message was downloaded, a worm destroyed files and sent itself to addresses on the email program’s address list. Experts traced the origin of the virus to the Philippines. Damage caused by the virus was estimated at $10 billion.

Business
The London Stock Exchange and Germany's Deutsche Boerse confirmed a merger, creating the world's second largest stock market. The combined firms were to be called iX, standing for International Exchanges.

Crime
Canadian Member of Parliament Jack Ramsay (Canadian Alliance--Crowfoot) was sentenced to nine months in prison for the attempted rape of a 14-year-old girl. The incident occurred in 1969 when Mr. Ramsay was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer in Melfort, Saskatchewan.

Labour
14 current major league baseball players who crossed picket lines during the strike of 1994-1995 and became replacement players during spring training in 1995 were denied admission to the Major League Baseball Players Association.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Conference Semi-Finals
Toronto 3 @ New Jersey 2 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)
Colorado 3 @ Detroit 2 (OT) (Colorado led best-of-seven series 3-1)

Baseball
The Colorado Rockies amassed 24 hits, led by Todd Helton’s 5 for 5 performance, as they beat the Montreal Expos 16-7 before 40,096 fans at Coors Field in Denver. All 9 men in the Rockies’ starting lineup had at least 1 hit and 1 run batted in.

Marvin Benard singled to lead off the bottom of the 11th inning, Barry Bonds drew a base on balls, and Jeff Kent followed with a home run to give the San Francisco Giants an 8-5 win over the New York Mets before 40,930 fans at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco.

The Oakland Athletics made 10 hits and scored 8 runs in the 7th inning as they defeated the Kansas City Royals 14-5 before 13,344 fans at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Jason Giambi led off the inning with a home run and singled later in the 7th, while Ben Grieve singled and doubled in the inning, and Terrence Long and Eric Chavez also homered in the 7th.

10 years ago
2010

Died on this date
Peter O'Donnell, 90. U.K. author. Mr. O'Donnell was best known for creating the comic strip Modesty Blaise in 1963. Using the pseudonym Madeleine Brent, he wrote romance novels, and won the Romance Novel of the Year Award for Merlin's Keep (1977). Mr. O'Donnell died 22 days after his 90th birthday, after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.

Guenter Wendt, 86. German-born U.S. engineer. Mr. Wendt served with the Luftwaffe during World War II and emigrated to the United States in 1949, working with McDonnell Aircraft. He served as Pad Leader for all American manned space flights from 1961-1975 except Apollo 1, ensuring that the spacecraft instrumentation and controls were prepared for launch, and directing the completion the close-out procedures prior to liftoff. Mr. Wendt was the last person the astronauts saw before they entered the spacecraft, and came to be regarded by them as a good luck charm. He died from congestive heart failure and a stroke.

Business
Shaw Communications paid about $2 billion to acquire 11 of Canwest Global's over-the-air television stations and specialty cable channels HGTV, MovieTime, and Showcase.