May 7, 2020

220 years ago
1800

Died on this date
Niccolò Piccinni, 72. Italian composer. Mr. Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of his time, writing more than 80 operas, as well as symphonies, sacred music, and chamber music. He spent a number of years in Paris, including four years under house arrest in the 1780s after being accused of being a revolutionary. Mr. Piccinni returned to Italy after the French Revolution in 1789, but returned to France in 1798, and died in Passy, near Paris.

180 years ago
1840

Born on this date
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Russian composer. Mr. Tchaikovsky was one of the most famous composers of the Romantic era; his six symphonies and ballet music are part of the standard repertoire. Mr. Tchaikovsky died on November 6, 1893 at the age of 53, nine days after conducting the premiere of his Sixth Symphony; his death was attributed to cholera as the result of drinking poisoned water, but some theorized that he committed suicide.

Disasters
A tornado that touched down in eastern Louisiana and crossed the Mississippi River into Natchez, Mississippi, killed 317 people, most of them in boats on the river.

150 years ago
1870

Canadiana
The Hudson's Bay Company delivered a signed deed of surrender to the British Colonial Office in London, officially transferring Rupert's Land to Canada; the title sold for £200,000 and 1/20th of the fertile belt.

140 years ago
1880

Born on this date
Mickey Doolin. U.S. baseball player and coach. Dr. Doolin, born Michael Doolittle, was a shortstop and second baseman with the Philadelphia Phillies (1905-1913); Baltimore Terrapins (1914-1915); Chicago Whales (1915); Chicago Cubs (1916); New York Giants (1916); and Brooklyn Robins (1918), batting .230 with 15 home runs and 554 runs batted in in 1,728 games. He was known as the best defensive shortstop in the National League during his time with the Phillies, and joined the Whales just in time to help them win the Federal League pennant. Dr. Doolin was a coach with the Cubs (1926-1929) and Cincinnati Reds (1930-1932), and was a dentist until his retirement in 1947. He died of peritonitis on November 1, 1951 at the age of 71, following a ruptured appendix.

Politics and government
The government of Canada created the Department of Indian Affairs under the Minister of the Interior, who was also the Superintendent of Indian Affairs.

Communications
The Great North Western Telegraph Company was founded in Winnipeg.

Baseball
George Gore batted 6 for 6 and scored 5 runs to lead the Chicago White Stockings to a 20-7 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Lakefront Park in Chicago.

125 years ago
1895

Radio
Russian physicist Alexander Stepanovich Popov presented the paper On the Relation of Metallic Powders to Electric Oscillations, which described his lightning detector, to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society in St. Petersburg. Most Eastern sources regard Popov's lightning detector as the first radio receiver, although there is no evidence that Mr. Popov sent any type of message on this occasion.

110 years ago
1910

Auto racing
AAA
Championship Car Series
Tom Kincaid won the 200-mile Atlanta Automobile Association Trophy race at Atlanta Motordrome, a 2-mile dirt track; it was the last of four Atlanta Races that season, and the fourth in three days. Herbert Lytle finished second and Ralph DePalma third in the 7-car field.

100 years ago
1920

Born on this date
Rendra Karno. Indonesian actor. Mr. Karno, born Raden Soekarno, appeared in more than 50 movies from 1941-1980, and appeared in plays under the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies during World War II. He died on November 27, 1985 at the age of 65.

War
Polish troops led by Józef Piłsudski and Edward Rydz-Śmigły and assisted by a symbolic Ukrainian force captured Kiev, only to be driven out by the Red Army counter-offensive a month later.

Diplomacy
Soviet Russia recognized the independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in the Treaty of Moscow, only to invade the country six months later.

Art
The Art Gallery of Ontario opened the exhibition titled The Group of Seven, with landscape paintings by Canadian artists Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald, and Fred Varley. Initial reviews were favourable, but the exhibition was not popular with the public, and only three of over 100 works were purchased.

Baseball
The Washington Nationals scored all their runs in the first 2 innings and held on to defeat the New York Yankees 6-5 before 3,000 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Washington first baseman Joe Judge batted 5 for 5 with a double and 2 runs.

90 years ago
1930

Disasters
The 7.1 Mw Salmas earthquake shook northwestern Iran and southeastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing as many as 3,000 people.

Baseball
The Pittsburgh Pirates scored 6 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning en route to a 16-8 win over the New York Giants at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh first baseman Gus Suhr batted 3 for 3 with a double, triple, 2 bases on balls, 3 runs, and 4 runs batted in. Ralph Judd, the fourth and last Pittsburgh pitcher, allowed 5 hits and 4 runs--2 earned--in 4 innings, walking 2 batters and striking out none, while batting 0 for 2 with a run and an RBI in the 21st and last game of his 3-year major league career.

Bob Meusel doubled with 1 out and none on base in the bottom of the 9th inning and George Kelly followed with a double to score Mr. Meusel to give the Cincinnati Reds a 1-0 win over the Boston Braves at Redland Field. Benny Frey (3-0) pitched a 3-hitter to outduel Ben Cantwell (0-3), who allowed 8 hits. The game was played in 1 hour 24 minutes.

Chick Hafey batted in 5 runs with a home run and triple in the 5th inning to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 16-11 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, defeating Grover Cleveland Alexander (0-3). Philadelphia left fielder Lefty O'Doul batted 5 for 5 with 3 doubles, a base on balls, 3 runs, and a run batted in.

80 years ago
1940

Died on this date
George Lansbury, 81. U.K. politician and journalist. Mr. Lansbury was a radical Liberal in his early years, but became a sociaist in the early 1890s. As a member of the Labour Party, he represented Bow and Bromley in the House of Commons (1910-1912, 1922-1940). Mr. Lansbury resigned his seat in 1912 to support women's suffrage; he helped to establish the Daily Herald the same year, and served as its editor. Mr. Lansbury's support for the Russian Revolution in 1917 likely contributed to his failure to be elected in 1918, but he returned to Parliament in 1922. He was denied a place in the cabinet of the first Labour Party government in 1924, but served as First Commissioner of Works from 1929-1931. When Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald formed the National Government in 1931, Mr. Lansbury declined to join, and led what remained of the Labour Party from 1932-1935. He resigned the Labour Party leadership when his pacifism in the face of rising European Fascism was rejected at the party's conference in 1935. Mr. Lansbury spent his last years travelling throughout the United States and Europe promoting pacifism until his death after suffering for several months with stomach cancer.

Politics and government
The Norway Debate in the British House of Commons began, leading to the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston Churchill three days later. Labour Party leader Clement Attlee decried the ineffective foreign policies of Mr. Chamberlain, while Admiral Sir Roger Keyes, a Conservative, criticized the government's handling of the military campaign in Norway. Conservative MP Leo Amery told Mr. Chamberlain, "You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!"

Japanese Home Minister Hideo Kodama forbade the formation of a labour party in Japan on the grounds that it would foster class consciousness and impair national unity in wartime.

Supporters of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt won a landslide victory in the California primary for the 1940 Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States. U.S. Senator Millard Tydings and his followers won the Maryland Democratic primary, campaigning against a third term for Mr. Roosevelt as President. Alabama Democrats elected 22 delegates to the Democratic National Convention to support a "favourite son," Rep. William Bankhead, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill authorizing him to "freeze" assets in the United States of belligerent nations.

Acting U.S. Secretary of State Sumner Welles announced in Washington that the U.S. would sign the agreement establishing the Inter-American Bank.

Baseball
The St. Louis Cardinals rapped out 20 hits, 13 of them for extra bases--including 7 home runs--as they whipped the Brooklyn Dodgers 18-2 before 2,298 fans at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis. Losing pitcher Hugh Casey allowed 15 hits and 13 runs--all earned--in 7 innings. The Dodgers caught a plane to Chicago after the game, becoming the first National League team to fly.

75 years ago
1945

Hit parade
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 My Dreams are Getting Better All the Time--Les Brown and his Orchestra (vocal chorus by Doris Day) (5th week at #1)
--Johnny Long and his Orchestra and Dick Robertson
--Phil Moore Four
2 Candy--Johnny Mercer, Jo Stafford and the Pied Pipers with Paul Weston and His Orchestra
--Dinah Shore
3 I'm Beginning to See the Light--Harry James and his Orchestra
--Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra
--Ella Fitzgerald and the Ink Spots
4 A Little on the Lonely Side--Frankie Carle and his Orchestra
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
5 Dream--The Pied Pipers
--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra
--Frank Sinatra
6 Just a Prayer Away--Bing Crosby
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
7 Laura--Woody Herman and his Orchestra
--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra
8 Sentimental Journey--Les Brown and his Orchestra (vocal chorus by Doris Day)
--Hal McIntyre and his Orchestra
9 There! I've Said it Again--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra (vocal refrain by Vaughn Monroe and the Norton Sisters)
10 Caldonia--Woody Herman and his Orchestra
--Erskine Hawkins and his Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were the version of Dream by Frank Sinatra; and Rodger Young, with versions by Texas "Jim" Robertson; and Burl Ives (#30).

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Purloined Ruby

Theatre
Harvey by Mary Coyle Chase was awarded the Pulitzer Prize as the best American play of 1944.

Literature
A Bell for Adano by John Hersey was awarded the Pulitzer Prize as the best American novel of 1944.

Journalism
James Reston of The New York Times was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting.

War
German General Alfred Jodl signed unconditional surrender terms at Allied Supreme Commander General Dwight Eisenhower's headquarters at a schoolhouse in Rheims, France, ending Germany's participation in World War II, with the document to take effect the next day. Two days after the surrender of German forces in the Netherlands, Canadian soldiers entered Amsterdam; German soldiers fired on Dutch celebrants in Dam Square, killing more than 30 people. Léon Degrelle, leader of the Rexist Party in Belgium from 1935-1945 and a leading collaborator with the Nazis, commandeered a Heinkel plane and flew with a small party from Germany to exile in Spain; the plane crash-landed in the water near San Sebastian, causing serious injuries to Mr. Degrelle and others in the plane.







Crime
Exuberant crowds in Halifax, Nova Scotia, celebrating the end of World War II in Europe, started a riot that lasted for two days.





Diplomacy
Spain and Switzerland severed diplomatic relations with Germany.

U.S.S.R. Foreign Commissar Vyacheslav Molotov told a news conference in San Francisco that the Big Four powers (U.S.S.R., U.S.A., U.K., China) had reached agreement on the world security organization.

World events
Haj Amin el Husseini, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, arrived in Berne, Switzerland aboard a German plane and was deported to France.

Americana
U.S. President Harry Truman and his family moved into the White House in Washington.

Law
Massachusetts Governor Maurice Tobin signed a bill aimed at ending unofficial book censorship in the state.

Baseball
Brooklyn Dodgers' president and general manager Branch Rickey announced the formation of the United Negro Baseball League, consisting of teams in Brooklyn; Chicago; Detroit; Hilldale, Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh; and Toledo.

70 years ago
1950

Literature
The New York Herald Tribune listed The Cardinal by Henry Robinson as the best-selling fiction book, and The Mature Mind by Harry Overstreet as the best-selling non-fiction book.

Diplomacy
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said that India would quit the United Nations if it ousted its Communist members and that many other countries would do likewise in order to remain neutral in the Cold War.

Politics and government
U.S. President Harry Truman began a 16-state "whistle-stop" tour of the West Coast to defend his administration's foreign and economic policies.

Economics and finance
France and Czechoslovakia concluded a $52-million trade agreement.

Hockey
Canadian Junior
Memorial Cup
Final
Regina Pats 3 @ Montreal Canadiens 6

Bill Goold scored 3 goals to lead the junior Canadiens to the Memorial Cup championship before 7,500 fans at the Montreal Forum.

Baseball
Gil Coan’s grand slam off Bob Lemon climaxed a 6-run 7th inning for the Washington Nationals in a 10-5 win over the Cleveland Indians before 23,138 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Al Rosen hit his first 2 major league home runs for the Indians.

Howie Pollet (2-3) pitched a 4-hitter and Enos Slaughter drove in 4 runs with a triple and 3 singles as the St. Louis Cardinals whipped the Boston Braves 15-0 before 22,676 fans at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Johnny Sain (3-2) allowed 11 hits and 5 runs--all earned--in 4.2 innings.

60 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): He'll Have to Go--Jim Reeves (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Scandalo al sole (The Theme from "A Summer Place")--Percy Faith and his Orchestra

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Banjo Boy--Jan & Kjeld (10th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Cathy's Clown--The Everly Brothers (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Stuck on You--Elvis Presley (3rd week at #1)
2 Greenfields--The Brothers Four
3 Night--Jackie Wilson
4 Cathy's Clown--The Everly Brothers
5 Sink the Bismarck--Johnny Horton
6 White Silver Sands--Bill Black's Combo
7 Sixteen Reasons--Connie Stevens
8 The Theme from "A Summer Place"--Percy Faith and his Orchestra
9 Stairway to Heaven--Neil Sedaka
10 Cradle of Love--Johnny Preston

Singles entering the chart were Wonderful World by Sam Cooke (#70); Theme from "The Unforgiven" (The Need for Love) by Don Costa, his Orchestra and Chorus (#76); Happy-Go-Lucky-Me by Paul Evans (#78); Beautiful Obsession by Sir Chauncey and his Exciting Strings (#83); City Lights by Debbie Reynolds (#86); Jump Over by Freddy Cannon (#89); Pennies from Heaven by the Skyliners (#91); Frankie and Johnny by Sylvia Robbins (#94); Pink Chiffon by Mitchell Torok (#96); Our Waltz by Sarah Vaughan (#98); Biology by Danny Valentino (#100); and Coming 'Round the Mountain by David Seville and the Chipmunks (also #100).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CFUN)
1 Got a Girl--The Four Preps
2 Stuck on You--Elvis Presley
3 Cathy's Clown--The Everly Brothers
4 Cradle of Love--Johnny Preston
5 Good Timin'--Jimmy Jones
6 Sixteen Reasons--Connie Stevens
7 Step by Step--The Crests
8 Cherry Pie--Skip & Flip
9 Young Emotions--Ricky Nelson
10 Apple Green--June Valli

Singles entering the chart were Rockin' Red Wing by Sammy Masters (#30); Mr. Lonely by the Videls (#38); Dirty Dirty Feeling (LP track) by Elvis Presley (#39); A Star is Born (A Love Has Gone) by Mark Dinning (#40); Everybody's Somebody's Fool by Connie Francis (#42); He'll Have to Stay by Jeanne Black (#47); Right by My Side by Ricky Nelson (#51); Ooh Poo Pah Doo by Jesse Hill (#52); My Home Town by Paul Anka (#53); Date with an Angel by Kitty Kallen (#54); City Lights by Debbie Reynolds (#56); My Old Man's a Dustman by Lonnie Donegan (#57); Driving Instructor (LP track) by Bob Newhart (#58); Ruby Baby by Ronnie Hawkins (#59); and Bongo Bongo Bongo by Preston Epps (#60).

Diplomacy
U.S.S.R. leader Nikita Khrushchev announced that his nation was holding American pilot Gary Powers, whose U-2 spy plane had been shot down over Soviet territory on May 1.

Horse racing
Venetian Way, with Bill Hartack up, won the 86th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville in a time of 2:02 2/5, 3½ lengths ahead of Bally Ache, with Victoria Park third in the 13-horse field.



Baseball
The Detroit Tigers traded first baseman Gail Harris to the Los Angeles Dodgers for outfielder Sandy Amoros. Mr. Harris was batting 0 for 5 with 2 bases on balls in 8 games wit Detroit in 1960, while Mr. Amoros was hitting .143 (2 for 14) with 3 bases on balls and no home runs or runs batted in in 9 games with Los Angeles in 1960.

Eddie Bressoud’s 3-run inside-the-park-home run off Harvey Haddix climaxed a 6-run 7th innng as the San Francisco Giants came back from a 5-0 deficit and edged the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 before 33,066 fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Pittsburgh manager Danny Murtaugh was ejected by home plate umpire Tony Venzon after arguing that Mr. Bressoud had missed third base on his homer. Pittsburgh first baseman Dick Stuart, who wasn't playing, was ejected by Mr. Venzon with 1 out in the 9th for protesting a third strike call on Don Hoak, and took about three minutes to slowly walk across the field on his way to the locker room.

Catcher Norm Sherry’s home run with 2 out in the bottom of the 11th inning gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies before 24,082 fans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Norm’s brother Larry (3-3) was the winning pitcher, as they became the 10th brother battery combination in major league history. Carl Furillo came to bat as a pinch hitter for Los Angeles with 2 out in bottom of the 8th and singled home Wally Moon to tie the score 2-2; it was the 1,806th and last game of Mr. Furillo's 15-year major league career.

Bill Monbouquette (3-2) pitched a 1-hitter and Frank Malzone drove in 3 runs for the Boston Red Sox as they shut out the Detroit Tigers 5-0 before 11,619 fans at Fenway Park in Boston. Neil Chrisley's double with 1 out in the 1st inning was the only Detroit hit.

Takehiko Bessho became the winningest pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball history as his Tokyo Giants beat the Hanshin Tigers 6-3. The win was the 302nd of Mr. Bessho’s career, one more than Victor Starffin.

50 years ago
1970

Economics and finance
Somalia nationalized all foreign oil companies and banks, promising that compensation would be paid.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
St. Louis 1 @ Boston 4 (Boston led best-of-seven series 3-0)

Baseball
Jim Fairey had a home run and 4 runs batted in to help the Montreal Expos beat the San Francisco Giants 15-8 before 6,505 fans at Jarry Park in Montreal. Willie Mays homered for the Giants. Carl Morton (3-0) was the winning pitcher despite allowing 11 hits and 8 runs--5 earned in 8.2 innings, and batted 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, 2 runs, and a run batted in. Gaylord Perry (3-4) allowed 7 hits and 9 runs--all earned--in 4.1 innings to take the loss.

Wes Parker became the first Los Angeles Dodger to hit for the cycle as the Dodgers beat the New York Mets 7-4 in 10 innings before 16,552 fans at Shea Stadium in New York. His triple drove in the winning runs, and he scored the final run.

Roy White hit 3-run home runs from both sides of the plate and added a single help the New York Yankees defeat the Oakland Athletics 7-3 before 4,272 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.



40 years ago
1980

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Gifty Boateng!

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Philadelphia 107 @ Los Angeles 104 (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)

Darryl Dawkins scored 25 points and Julius Erving added 23 for the 76ers as they withstood a late rally to edge the Lakers before 17,505 fans at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 38 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who trailed 89-74 after 3 quarters and by 20 points in the 4th, but closed to within 105-104 before Bobby Jones scored a field goal with 7 seconds left in regulation time to close the scoring.



30 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Oh Yeah!--Princess Princess (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor (10th week at #1)

Died on this date
Sam Tambimuttu, 57 or 58. Sri Lankan politician. Mr. Tambimuttu, a member of the Tamil United Liberation Front, was elected to Parliament for Batticaloa District in 1989. He was assassinated outside the Canadian High Commission in Colombo, and his wife Kala died nine days later as a result of wounds sustained in the assassination, which was blamed on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, aka Tamil Tigers.

War
A column of Soviet tanks entered the Latvian capital of Riga.

Economics and finance
Canadian Fisheries and Oceans Minister Bernard Valcourt unveiled a $584-million aid package to cut the size of the Atlantic fisheries. The money went mainly to the Newfoundland communities of Trepassy, St. John's, Grand Bank and Gaultois, as well as North Sydney, Canso, and Lockeport, Nova Scotia.

25 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: If You Love Me--Brownstone (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)--Scatman John (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)--Scatman John (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Ray McKinley, 84. U.S. musician. Mr. McKinley was a drummer in a number of jazz bands from the 1930s through the 1960s, most notably the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra and Glenn Miller's Army Air Force Band.

Politics and government
Jacques Chirac, former Prime Minister of France and leader of the Rally for the Republic, defeated Socialist Party candidate Lionel Jospin in a runoff election to become President of France. Mr. Chirac won by a margin of 52.6%-47.4%. Incumbent President Francois Mitterand had decided not to seek re-election after serving two seven-year terms.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
New Jersey 5 @ Boston 0 (New Jersey led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Buffalo 3 @ Philadelphia 4 (OT) (Philadelphia led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Dallas 3 @ Detroit 4 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Vancouver 1 @ St. Louis 2 (St. Louis led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Toronto 5 @ Chicago 3 (Toronto led best-of-seven series 1-0)
San Jose 5 @ Calgary 4 (San Jose led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Basketball
NBA

Eastern Conference Semi-Finals
Indiana 107 @ New York 105 (Indiana led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Chicago 91 @ Orlando 94 (Orlando led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Western Conference First Round
Houston 95 @ Utah 91 (Houston won best-of-five series 3-2)

Reggie Miller scored 8 points--including a pair of 3-point field goals in 5.5 seconds--in 8.9 seconds as the Pacers rallied from a 105-99 deficit to stun the Knickerbockers before 19,763 fans at Madison Square Garden. Mr. Miller scored 31 points, while teammate Rik Smits led all scorers with 31 points.





Horace Grant's slam-dunk field goal with 6.2 seconds remaining clinched victory for the Magic over the Bulls before 16,010 fans at Orlando Arena. Michael Jordan led the Bulls with 19 points

Hakeem Olajuwon scored 33 points and Clyde Drexler added 31 for the Rockets as they outscored the Jazz 31-20 in the 4th quarter to eliminate Utah before 19,911 fans at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

20 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Douglas Fairbanks Jr., 90 U.S. actor and military officer. Mr. Fairbanks, the son of actor Douglas Faribanks, Sr., appeared in movies such as Little Caesar (1931); The Prisoner of Zenda (1937); Gunga Din (1939); and The Corsican Brothers (1941). He became a U.S. Navy captain and diplomat during World War II, and devoted his later years to promoting Anglo-American friendship. Mr. Fairbanks died of a heart attack.

Politics and government
Acting Russian President Vladimir Putin was inaugurated for a full term. His predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, was present, as was former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Mr. Putin appointed First Deputy Premier Mikhail Kasyanov as Premier. Mr. Kasyanov had been finance minister under Mr. Yeltsin.



Diplomacy
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat met and agreed to resume peace talks.

Defense
Two top-secret hard drives, containing data on how to disarm and dismantle nuclear weapons, were discovered missing from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico just as a huge forest fire was closing in on the lab, but the absence of the hard drives wasn't reported by employees to their superior until May 31.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Conference Semi-Finals
Pittsburgh 3 @ Philadelphia 6 (Philadelphia led best-of-seven series 3-2)
San Jose 1 @ Dallas 4 (Dallas won best-of-seven series 4-1)

Baseball
The Houston Astros scored 7 runs in the 10th inning to break a 7-7 tie and defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 14-8 before 52,806 fans at Dodger Stadium. Catcher Mitch Meluskey led the Houston attack with a double and 4 singles.

The Cleveland Indians scored 2 runs with 2 out in the top of the 9th inning to tie the score and 2 in the 12th to break an 8-8 tie as they beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-8 before 19,161 fans at SkyDome in Toronto. Cleveland designated hitter David Justice batted 3 for 5 with 2 home runs, a base on balls, 3 runs, and 5 runs batted in.

Joe Mays (1-4) pitched a 5-hitter for the Minnesota Twins as they blanked the Detroit Tigers 4-0 before 8,333 fans at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, giving Tom Kelly his 1,000th career win as a major league manager.

10 years ago
2010

Science
A draft sequence of the Neanderthal genome was published, demonstrating that today's modern humans have Neanderthal ancestors.

Journalism
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled 8-1 that journalists had no blanket right to shield confidential sources; the National Post and former National Post reporter Andrew McIntosh had sought to quash a search warrant issued in the "Shawinigate" affair in the 1990s, in which Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was accused of profiting from real estate deals and government policies in his hometown of Shawinigan, Quebec.