April 3, 2021

1,220 years ago
801

War
King Louis the Pious captured Barcelona from the Moors after a siege of several months.

330 years ago
1691

Died on this date
Jean Petitot, 83. Swiss artist. Mr. Petitot was an enamel portrait painter who spent most of his career working for the courts of France and England.

170 years ago
1851

Society
U.S. abolitionist Frederick Douglass addressed a cheering crowd of 1,200 in the St. Lawrence Market's grand ballroom in Toronto.

140 years ago
1881

Born on this date
Alcide De Gasperi. Prime Minister of Italy, 1945-1953. Mr. De Gasperi, one of the founders of the Italian People's Party and founder of the Christian Democracy Party, held various cabinet posts before becoming Prime Minister, where his eight years in office set a remarkable standard for postwar Italian politics. Mr. De Gaspari was regarded as one of the founding fathers of the European Union. He died on August 19, 1954 at the age of 73, two months after resigning as leader of the Christian Democrats.

120 years ago
1901

Died on this date
Richard D'Oyly Carte, 56. U.K. impresario and hotelier. Mr. Carte wrote songs, but was best known for founding the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, which staged the comic operas of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan in the Savoy Theatre, which Mr. Carte built. He also built the Savoy Hotel and acquired other hotels, helping to make the business respectable. Mr. Carte died of dropsy and heart disease, a month before his 57th birthday.

110 years ago
1911

Born on this date
Nanette Bordeaux. Canadian-born U.S. actress. Miss Bordeaux, born Hélène Olivine Veilleux in Saint-Georges, Quebec, moved with her family to New York City in the 1930s. She acted under the name Francine Bordeaux before adopting her final name, and appeared in 22 movies from 1938-1957. Miss Bordeaux was best known for playing characters named "Fifi" in Three Stooges short films. She died from acute bronchopneumonia on September 20, 1956 at the age of 45.

Stella Walsh. Polish-born U.S. athlete. "Miss" Walsh, born Stanisława Walasiewicz, moved to the United States with "her" parents at the age of 3, but wasn't an American citizen, and was therefore ineligible to compete for the United States in the Olympics. "She" won the gold medal for Poland in the women’s 100-metre dash at the 1932 Summer Olympics at Los Angeles and the silver medal in the same event in the Summer Olympics at Berlin in 1936. "She" eventually settled in the United States, and was shot to death at the age of 69 on December 4, 1980 during a robbery attempt at a discount store in Cleveland, after which an autopsy proved that "Miss" Walsh, who had male and female chromosomes, was in fact a man.

100 years ago
1921

Born on this date
Robert Karvelas. U.S. actor. Mr. Karvelas was best known for playing Larrabee in the television comedy series Get Smart (1965-1970); he was the cousin of Get Smart star Don Adams. Mr. Karvelas died on December 5, 1991 at the age of 70.

Jan Sterling. U.S. actress. Miss Sterling was nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting performance in The High and the Mighty (1954). Her other movies included Johnny Belinda (1948) and Ace in the Hole (1951). Miss Sterling died on March 26, 2004, eight days before her 83rd birthday.

90 years ago
1931

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Montreal Canadiens 2 @ Chicago 1 (Montreal led best-of-five series 1-0)

Pit Lepine's goal at 2:20 of the 3rd period gave the Canadiens a 2-0 lead and proved to be the winner as they held on to edge the Black Hawks at Chicago Stadium. Vic Ripley scored the Chicago goal at 8:20 of the 3rd period.

80 years ago
1941

Died on this date
Pál Teleki, 61. Prime Minister of Hungary, 1920-1921, 1939-1941. Count Teleki held various cabinet posts in addition to the office of Prime Minister. During his second term as Prime Minister, he attempted to maintain Hungarian autonomy and non-alignment at the beginning of World War II, but committed suicide after hearing that German troops were marching through Hungary on their way in to Yugoslavia. Count Teleki signed many anti-Jewish laws, and thus remains a controversial figure.

War
British troops evacuated Bengazi, Libya before advancing German and Italian forces commanded by Erwin Rommel. British Royal Air Force bombers attacked the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau at Brest, France. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sent a message to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin warning that Germany was preparing an invasion of Russia. U.S. Senator Burton K. Wheeler (Democrat--Montana) named 10 Senators and Representatives to the executive committee of a congressional group of 75 members who intended to campaign against U.S. entry into the European war.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull again rejected German and Italian protests against the American seizure of 69 German, Italian, and Danish ships, and asked Italy to recall the Italian naval attache in Washington because of his connection with the sabotage of Italian ships in American waters.

Defense
All 11 first-string players of the Boston University football team volunteered for service in the U.S. Naval Air Corps.

Crime
Gabriel Avila Camacho, brother of Mexican President Manuel Avila Camacho, was arrested in Mexico City on a charge of shooting and killing Manuel Cacho in a political argument.

Academia
The New York state legislature approved a $247,000 appropriation for the expenses of the Rapp-Coudert joint legislative committee investigating subversive activities in the schools.

Health
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced that a heatless permanent hair-waving preparation known as the Willat method contained the poison ammonium hydrogen sulfide; all stocks were ordered to be seized.

Labour
U.S. Federal Judge Arthur Tuttle issued an injunction restraining Congress of Industrial Organizations United Auto Workers from barring non-strikers from Ford Motor Company's plant in River Rouge, Michigan.

The Texas Senate passed and sent to Governor W.L. O'Daniel a bill making it a felony for any person to engage in violence during a strike or to try to stop any employee from going to work.

75 years ago
1946

Died on this date
Thomas Dixon, Jr., 82 U.S. author. Mr. Dixon, this blogger's favourite politically-incorrect novelist was born in Shelby, North Carolina. A brilliant student, he was an actor, lawyer, politician, and clergyman before becoming a novelist. A theatrical production of Uncle Tom's Cabin enraged Mr. Dixon, so he determined to set the record straight regarding the American South and Reconstruction. He presented his perspective on the South and racial issues in the novels The Leopard's Spots (1902); The Clansman (1905); The Traitor (1907); The Sins of the Father (1912); The Black Hood (1924); and The Flaming Sword (1939). The Leopard's Spots and The Clansman were the inspiration for the movie The Birth of a Nation (1915), while The Flaming Sword was prophetic of the racial upheavals of the 1960s and beyond. Mr. Dixon also wrote novels critical of socialism, including The One Woman (1903); Comrades (1909); and The Root of Evil (1911). Go here and scroll down to Mr. Dixon's name for free downloads of some of his novels. I particularly recommend Comrades--which has a similar story line to George Orwell's Animal Farm, but is much funnier--and The Clansman, which may be the most politically incorrect novel ever written.

Masaharu Homma, 58. Lieutenant General Homma was Japanese commander in the Philippines early in 1942; he was held responsible for the actions of men under his command during the Bataan Death March in 1942, and was executed by firing squad near Manila.

Defense
Soviet delegate to the United Nations Andrei Gromyko claimed that the U.S.S.R. had negotiatied a withdrawal of Soviet troops from Iran; the claim was denied by Iran.

Diplomacy
The Argentine government said that it would approve George Messersmith as the U.S. Ambassador to Argentina.

Politics and government
Discussions between French officials and Vietnamese nationalists began in Dalat on the status of Vietnam within the French union.

Transportation
Canada agreed to acquire the Canadian section of the Alaska Highway, including telephone systems, buildings and other assets, for $108 million (1,221 miles at $88,000 a mile). The 2,450-kilometre-long highway originally cost US$140 million to build, as a wartime supply route in case of Japanese invasion of North America.

Labour
Two railroad arbitration boards in Chicago granted a 16c hourly wage increase to 1.22 million railroad employees.

70 years ago
1951

On television tonight
Suspense, on CBS
Tonight’s episode: Go Home Dead Man, starring Jackie Cooper, Maria Riva, and Barry Macollum



Died on this date
Henrik Visnapuu, 61. Estonian writer. Mr. Visnapuu was one of the most important Estonian poets of the 1920s and '30s, and was a member of the expressionistic and neo-romantic literary group "Siuru." He was also a playwright and journalist, and was culture secretary in the department of the Information Agency of the Estonian state (1935-1944). With Soviet invasion of Estonia looming, Mr. Visnapuu fled to Germany in 1944, and moved to the United States in 1949. He died of a heart attack.

Theatre
The New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for 1950-1951 were announced. Darkness at Noon was named Best American Play, with Billy Budd the Runner-up. The Lady's Not for Burning was named Best Foreign Play, and Guys and Dolls the Best Musical.

Oil
Iraq announced that the Iraq Petroleum Company, owned by an Anglo-American consortium, had agreed to pay higher royalties to protect its drilling concessions.

Economics and finance
A British White Paper on the country's economy said that Britons faced the "unhappy prospect" of more "harsh and unpleasant" austerity during the next three years due to the £4.7-billion rearmament program.

60 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Quince Años Tiene Mi Amor--Dúo Dinámico (4th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Non, je ne regrette rien--Édith Piaf (12th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Blue Moon--The Marcels
2 Apache--Jorgen Ingmann and his Guitar
3 Surrender--Elvis Presley
4 Pony Time--Chubby Checker
5 Dedicated to the One I Love--The Shirelles
6 Don't Worry--Marty Robbins
7 On the Rebound--Floyd Cramer
8 Walk Right Back--The Everly Brothers
9 Runaway--Del Shannon
10 But I Do--Clarence "Frogman" Henry

Singles entering the chart were Welcome Home by Sammy Kaye and his Orchestra (#72); The Continental Walk by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters (#73); Trees by the Platters (#82); What'd I Say by Jerry Lee Lewis and his Pumping Piano (#89); Theme from The Great Imposter by Henry Mancini and his Orchestra (#90); Underwater by the Frogmen (#93); A Scottish Soldier (Green Hills of Tyrol) by Andy Stewart (#94); Bonanza by Al Caiola and his Orchestra (#97); California Sun by Joe Jones (#98); The Next Kiss (Is the Last Goodbye) by Conway Twitty (#99); and Sweet Little Kathy by Ray Peterson (#100).

War
By a vote of 51-10 with 22 abstentions, the United Nations General Assembly granted Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold emergency authority to pay for UN military operations in the Congo for three weeks at the rate of $8 million per month pending adoption of a permanent financing plan.

Diplomacy
The U.S. State Department published a 36-page pamphlet charging that the Cuban regime of Premier Fidel Castro "is steadily and purposefully directed toward a single goal--the transformation of Cuba into a Soviet satellite state." The pamphlet, intended to influence opinion in Latin America, was written in the White House under the personal supervision of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, and was translated into Spanish and Portuguese for wide circulation throughout the hemisphere.

U.S. Vice President Lyndon Johnson represented President John F. Kennedy at ceremonies in Dakar marking the first anniversary of Senegal’s independence from France.

50 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): Have You Ever Seen the Rain--Creedence Clearwater Revival

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Il cuore e' uno zingaro--Nicola Di Bari (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Hot Love--T. Rex

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Hot Love--T. Rex (3rd week at #1)

Australia's Top 10 (Go-Set)
1 The Pushbike Song--The Mixtures (2nd week at #1)
2 My Sweet Lord--George Harrison
3 Knock Three Times--Dawn
4 Eleanor Rigby--Zoot
5 Rose Garden--Lynn Anderson
6 Have You Ever Seen the Rain/Hey Tonight--Creedence Clearwater Revival
7 I Hear You Knocking--Dave Edmunds
8 I'll Be Gone--Spectrum
9 Band of Gold--Freda Payne
10 Apeman--The Kinks

Singles entering the chart were Mr. Bojangles by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (#32); Angel Baby by Dusk (#37); Fresh as a Daisy by Emitt Rhodes (#43); Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin (#55); and All Right Now by Free (#59).

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Du--Peter Maffray (4th week at #1)
2 Mozart - First Movement Symphony No. 40--Waldo De Los Rios
3 Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep--Middle of the Road
4 What is Life--George Harrison
5 Butterfly--Danyel Gerard
6 Another Day--Paul McCartney
7 True Love that's a Wonder--Sandy Coast
8 There's No More Corn on the Brasos--The Walkers
9 Waarheen, Waarvoor...--Mieke Telkamp en De Hi-Five
10 Invitation--Earth and Fire

Singles entering the chart were Dirlada by Polis (#25); Funny, Funny by the Sweet (#27); The Heart of a Woman by Casey and the Pressure Group (#29); Soldiers Prayer by Oscar Harris and The Twinkle Stars (#32); My Little One by the Marmalade (#34); and Mit der Troika in die Grosse Stadt by Ivan Rebroff (#39).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)--The Temptations
2 Me and Bobby McGee--Janis Joplin
3 For All We Know--Carpenters
4 She's a Lady--Tom Jones
5 What's Going On--Marvin Gaye
6 Proud Mary--Ike & Tina Turner
7 Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted--The Partridge Family
8 Help Me Make it Through the Night--Sammi Smith
9 (Where Do I Begin) Love Story--Andy Williams
10 Another Day/Oh Woman, Oh Why--Paul McCartney

Singles entering the chart were Never Can Say Goodbye by the Jackson 5 (#57); Power to the People by John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (#73); 13 Questions by Seatrain (#76); Toast and Marmalade for Tea by Tin Tin (#80); Right on the Tip of My Tongue by Brenda and the Tabulations (#81); Me and You and a Dog Named Boo by Lobo (#82); Oh, Singer by Jeannie C. Riley (#96); Stop! in the Name of Love by Margie Joseph (#97); Freedom by Jimi Hendrix (#99); and I was Wondering by the Poppy Family (#100).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Doesn’t Somebody Want to Be Wanted--The Partridge Family
2 She’s a Lady--Tom Jones
3 Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)--The Temptations
4 Me and Bobby McGee--Janis Joplin
5 Proud Mary--Ike and Tina Turner
6 What’s Going On--Marvin Gaye
7 For All We Know--Carpenters
8 What is Life--George Harrison
9 Another Day--Paul McCartney
10 Oye Como Va--Santana

Singles entering the chart were Never Can Say Goodbye by the Jackson 5 (#29); Power to the People by John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (#58); Love Her Madly by the Doors (#79); Toast and Marmalade for Tea by Tin Tin (#82); Right on the Tip of My Tongue by Brenda and the Tabulations (#87); Lucky Man by Emerson, Lake & Palmer (#93); I was Wondering by the Poppy Family (#95); The Animal Trainer and the Toad by Mountain (#96); Love Makes the World Go Round by Kiki Dee (#97); and You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks by Funkadelic (#99).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted--The Partridge Family
2 She's a Lady--Tom Jones
3 Me and Bobby McGee--Janis Joplin
4 For All We Know--Carpenters
5 Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)--The Temptations
6 Proud Mary--Ike & Tina Turner
7 (Where Do I Begin) Love Story--Andy Williams
8 Help Me Make it Through the Night--Sammi Smith
9 What’s Going On--Marvin Gaye
10 What is Life/Apple Scruffs--George Harrison

Singles entering the chart were Never Can Say Goodbye by the Jackson 5 (#59); Love Her Madly by the Doors (#70); 13 Questions by Seatrain (#88); Warpath by the Isley Brothers (#89); I was Wondering by the Poppy Family (#91); Chirpy, Chirpy, Cheep, Cheep by Lally Stott (#93); Skyscraper Commando by Elephants Memory (#95); Layla by Derek and the Dominoes (#96); and Oh, Singer by Jeannie C. Riley (#99).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 She’s a Lady--Tom Jones
2 Stay Awhile--The Bells
3 Doesn’t Somebody Want to Be Wanted--The Partridge Family
4 What is Life--George Harrison
5 Carry Me--Stampeders
6 Me and Bobby McGee--Janis Joplin
7 For All We Know--Carpenters
8 Oye Como Va--Santana
9 (Where Do I Begin) Love Story--Andy Williams
10 Cried Like a Baby--Bobby Sherman

Singles entering the chart were Celia of the Seals by Donovan (#57); Chick-A-Boom by Big Gee (#71); The Way I Feel by Fotheringay (#91); Lucky Man by Emerson, Lake & Palmer (#93); Bird on a Wire by Joe Cocker (#94); Freedom Train by The Trials of Jayson Hoover (#96); Sweet and Innocent by Donny Osmond (#97); One Step by David Wiffen (#98); Me and My Arrow by Nilsson (#99); and So Let Our Love Begin by Ginette Reno (#100).

Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 Where Evil Grows--The Poppy Family (2nd week at #1)
2 Have You Ever Seen the Rain--Creedence Clearwater Revival
3 What is Life--George Harrison
4 Put Your Hand in the Hand--Ocean
5 She’s a Lady--Tom Jones
6 Joy to the World--Three Dog Night
7 Woodstock--Matthews' Southern Comfort
8 One Toke Over the Line--Brewer and Shipley
9 Temptation Eyes--The Grass Roots
10 Another Day--Paul McCartney
Pick hit of the Week: Jodie--Joey Gregorash

Died on this date
Joseph Valachi, 66. U.S. gangster. Mr. Valachi began his criminal career in New York City as a teenage member of a gang called the Minutemen. He joined the Mafia in 1930, and eventually became a member of what became the Genovese family. Mr. Valachi was convicted of drug trafficking in 1959; he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and in 1962, while in prison together with Vito Genovese, murdered a fellow inmate whom he suspected had been sent by Mr. Genovese to murder him. Mr. Valachi then decided to become a government witness, and in October 1963 testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He became the first member of the Italian-American Mafia to publicly acknowledge its existence, and was credited with popularizing the term cosa nostra. His disclosures didn't lead to the arrest of any Mafia leaders, but he named names and provided details of the Mafia's history, operations, and rituals, and he aided in the solution of several unsolved murders. Mr. Valachi's unpublished memoirs served as the basis for the book The Valachi Papers (1968) by Peter Maas, which was made into a movie in 1972. Mr. Valachi died of a heart attack in prison.

War
American combat deaths in Vietnam for the past week totalled 88, the highest total in nine months. Of these, 33 had died in a North Vietnamese attack on an artillery base in the northern part of the province of Quangtin. The weekly total of U.S. wounded dropped to 347. For the same period, South Vietnam lost 523 dead and 1,178 wounded, both down from the previous week. The number of South Vietnamese and Viet Cong dead for the week dropped to 3,687.

Hockey
IIHF World Championships @ Geneva
Group A
C.S.S.R. (7-2-1) 4 Finland (4-5-1) 2
U.S.S.R. (8-1-1) 6 Sweden (5-4-1) 3

Six different players scored for the U.S.S.R. as they defeated the Swedes and clinched its ninth consecutive world championship.

NHL
Chicago 4 @ Detroit 1
New York 2 @ Montreal 7
Boston 8 @ Toronto 3

Dennis Hull scored his 39th and 40th goals of the season to lead the Black Hawks over the Red Wings. Danny O’Shea added his 13th goal of the season and Stan Mikita his 24th for Chicago. Gordie Howe scored his 23rd goal of the season and the 786th and last of his 25-year career with Detroit. It was Mr. Hockey’s last game as a Red Wing at Olympia Stadium. Tony Esposito won the goaltending duel over Jim Rutherford.

Bobby Sheehan scored 3 goals for the Canadiens, giving him 6 for the season, in their win over the Rangers at the Montreal Forum. Frank Mahovlich scored his 31st, Guy Lapointe his 15th, Jean Beliveau his 25th (and 507th career goal), and Yvan Cournoyer his 36th for Montreal. Ted Irvine scored his 20th goal of the season for the Rangers and Vic Hadfield added his 22nd. Ken Dryden stopped 41 shots to earn his 6th win in as many games for the Canadiens, while Gilles Villemure stopped just 28 of 35 shots in taking the loss. The game was the Quebec telecast of Hockey Night in Canada.

In the national Hockey Night in Canada telecast, former Maple Leaf Wayne Carleton scored 3 goals, giving him 22 for the season, to help the Bruins beat the Maple Leafs at Maple Leaf Gardens. Phil Esposito added to his single-season record with his 72nd and 73rd, while Johnny Bucyk scored his 51st, Fred Stanfield his 24th, and Ken Hodge his 43rd for Boston. Darryl Sittler scored his 10th for Toronto and Billy Macmillan his 22nd. Ed Johnston was in goal for the Bruins, Bernie Parent for the Maple Leafs. Toronto outshot Boston 41-40.

40 years ago
1981

Hit parade #1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): När vi två blir en--Gyllene Tider (17th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Stop the Cavalry--Jona Lewie (2nd week at #1)

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Shaddap You Face--Joe Dolce Music Theatre (5th week at #1)
2 Give Me Back My Love--Maywood
3 Celebration--Kool & The Gang
4 De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da--The Police
5 Spend the Night in Love--The Four Seasons
6 Never Knew Love Like This Before--Stephanie Mills
7 Lady--Kenny Rogers
8 Gypsy Girl--David Scobie
9 I am the Beat--Look
10 Fashion--David Bowie

Singles entering the chart were It's My Turn by Diana Ross (#18); and Here is My Love by Tommy Dee (#20).

Died on this date
Juan Trippe, 81. U.S. aviation executive. Mr. Trippe founded Pan American Airways in 1927 and served as the airline's president until 1968. He was involved with innovations such as cabin pressurization and jumbo jets. Mr. Trippe died shortly after suffering a stroke.

World events
Two days after a military coup had deposed the Thai government of Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda, the rebellion ended, as thousands of troops loyal to Prem moved into Bangkok. Coup leader General Sant Chitpatima escaped by helicopter. Prem promised leniency for the rebels.

Defense
The U.S. State Department issued a warning that any unjustified military action against Poland would not be tolerated.

Technology
The Osborne 1, the first successful portable computer, was unveiled at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unemployment rate in March was at 7.3%, the same level as in February. The total number of unemployed people was 7,764,000, which was taken as a sign that the U.S. economy was reasonably strong. The Bureau also reported that the Producer Price Index had risen 1.3% in March, making the total year’s increase 16.8%, mainly resulting from a rise in prices for oil products.

30 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Joyride--Roxette (4th week at #1)

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight’s episode: Separate Rooms

Died on this date
Charles Goren, 90. U.S. bridge player and author. Mr. Goren was a leading bridge player from the 1920s through the 1950s, and became famous as the leading expert on the game, writing several bestselling books and a widely-syndicated newspaper column. He died 30 days after his 90th birthday.

Graham Greene, 86. U.K. author. Mr. Greene was known for novels and screenplays reflecting a serious Roman Catholic perspective, and often involving international intrigue. His works included Brighton Rock (1938); The Confidential Agent (1939); The Ministry of Fear (1943); The Fallen Idol (1948); The Third Man (1949); The End of the Affair (1951); and The Quiet American (1955).

War
U.S. President George Bush said that the coalition that had won the Persian Gulf war "did not go there to settle all the internal affairs of Iraq." The United Nations Security Council approved a resolution establishing a permanent cease-fire in the Persian Gulf war that would require Iraq to destroy all its chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons; destroy all but its short-term missiles; and renounce international terrorism.

Business
Montreal-based Redpath Industries announced plans to market the new product Sucralose, a potential rival to Nutrasweet; unlike the latter, Sucralose didn't break down at high temperatures in baking.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Semi-Finals
Buffalo 5 @ Montreal 7 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Hartford 5 @ Boston 2 (Hartford led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Washington 1 @ New York Rangers 2 (New York led best-of-seven series 1-0)
New Jersey 3 @ Pittsburgh 1 (New Jersey led best-of-seven series 1-0)

25 years ago
1996

Died on this date
Ron Brown, 54. U.S. politician. Mr. Brown was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1989-1993, when he became Secretary of Commerce in the administrtion of President Bill Clinton. Mr. Brown was under investigation by an independent counsel for corruption and had reportedly admitted to Mr. Clinton that the case against him was strong, when he was conveniently killed, with 34 others, in the crash of a United States Air Force jet in Croatia.

Crime
Suspected "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski, suspected of killing 2 people and injuring 23 others, was captured at his cabin in Montana, United States.

World events
The United States accused Libya of building underground facilities for the manufacture of chemical weapons; Libya claimed to be building a water irrigation system.

Scandal
Members of the Canadian Armed Forces were ordered to spend the entire day searching for documents that may aid the inquiry into the beating death several years earlier of a Somali teenager at the Canadian compound in that country.

Disasters
A United States Air Force airplane carrying U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown crashed in Croatia, killing all 35 on board.

Hockey
NHL
Edmonton 0 @ Anaheim 1

Basketball
NBA
Minnesota (24-49) 103 @ Vancouver (12-60) 105

The Grizzlies outscored the Timberwolves 33-19 in the 4th quarter to overcome a 12-point deficit before 16,216 fans at Pacific Coliseum and snap a 23-game losing streak, one loss short of the record of 24 set by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1982.

20 years ago
2001

Diplomacy
China blamed the United States for the April 1 collision between a Chinese fighter jet and a U.S. spy plane, and called for an apology as an apparent precondition for the release of the spy plane’s 24-man crew.