April 5, 2021

940 years ago
1081

Europeana
Alexios I was crowned Emperor of the Byzantine Empire at Constantinople, bringing the Komnenian dynasty to full power.

400 years ago
1621

Americana
The Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, Massachusetts on a return trip to England.

270 years ago
1751

Died on this date Fredrik I, 74. Prince consort of Sweden, 1718-1720; King of Sweden, 1720-1751. Fredrik, the son of Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, married Princess Ulrika Eleonora in 1715, and became Prince consort when she acceded to the throne upon the assassination of her brother Karl XII. When Queen Ulrika Eleonora abdicated in 1720, Fredrik I was elected by the Swedish Estates as her successor. King Fredrik I was active at the beginning of his reign, but soon lost interest in state affairs. He died 23 days before his 75th birthday without leaving an heir, ending the line of the House of Hesse-Kassel. King Fredrik I was succeeded on the throne by Adolf Fredrik, the first monarch of the House of Holstein-Gottorp.

210 years ago
1811

Born on this date
Jules Dupré. French artist. Mr. Dupré was part of the Barbizon school of landscape painters, whose works featured dramatic sunset effects and stormy skies and seas. He died on October 6, 1889 at the age of 78 from a pulmonary embolism following surgery for a stone.

175 years ago
1846

Born on this date
Henry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of Wellington. U.K. politician. Mr. Wellesley, a Conservative, represented Andover in the House of Commons (1874-1880), and succeeded his uncle as Duke of Wellington. He died on June 8, 1900 at the age of 54.

160 years ago
1861

Politics and government
George Brown and other "Clear Grits" introduced a bill in the Assembly of the Province of Canada calling for "representation by population" (Rep by Pop). The 1841 Act of Union provided for an equal number of Members of Parliament when Canada East (Quebec) had a larger population, but now Canada West (Ontario) had the greater population.

150 years ago
1871

Diplomacy
New Zealand's first overseas diplomatic post was created as Isaac Featherston was appointed as agent-general in London.

Transportation
The Prince Edward Island Assembly authorized the building of a railway across the province; the near bankruptcy of the line forced P.E.I. into Confederation two years later.

130 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Arnold Strode-Jackson. U.K.-born athlete and military officer. Mr. Strode-Jackson participated in several sports while at the University of Oxford, and won the men's 1500 metre run at the Olympic Games in Stockholm in 1912 while competing as a private entry rather than as part of the British team. He served with the King's Royal Rifle Corps in World War I, earning the Distinguished Service Order with three Bars. Brig. Gen. Strode-Jackson was a member of the British delegation at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919; he emigrated to the United States in 1921, served as a Justice of the Peace in Connecticut, and became an American citizen in 1945. Mr. Strode-Jackson returned to the United Kingdom in 1963 after the death of his wife, and died on November 13, 1972 at the age of 81.

Canadiana
The third Dominion Census reported that Canada's population had reached 4,833,239; the three Maritime provinces accounted for 18% of the total.

120 years ago
1901

Born on this date
Doggie Julian. U.S. football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. Alvin Fred Julian played football, basketball, and baseball at Bucknell University (1920-1923). He played end with the Pottsville Maroons of the National Football League (1924), and was a catcher with five minor league baseball teams (1923-1926). Mr. Julian was head football coach at Schuylkill College (1925-1928); Albright College (1929-1930); and Muhlenberg College (1936-1944), compiling a record of 77-63-3, while also coaching the Muhlenberg baseball team (1942-1944), with a record of 16-18. He was best known for coaching basketball at Muhlenberg (1936-45); College of the Holy Cross (1945-48); and Dartmouth College (1950-66), compiling a record of 379-332, and leading Holy Cross to the national championship in 1947. Mr. Julian coached the Boston Celtics (1948-50), but was fired after compiling a record of 47-81. He was still coaching Dartmouth when he suffered a stroke in December 1966, and died in a nursing home on July 28, 1967 at the age of 66. Mr. Julian was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1968 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame as a charter member in 2006.

Melvyn Douglas. U.S. actor. Mr. Douglas, born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, won the Academy Award for best Supporting Actor for Hud (1963) and again for Being There (1979). Other notable films of his included Ninotchka (1939); Billy Budd (1962); Hotel (1967); I Never Sang for My Father (1970); and his last completed film, Ghost Story (1981). Mr. Douglas also won a Tony Award for his starring performance in The Best Man (1960) and an Emmy Award for his starring performance in the CBS Playhouse drama Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night (1967). He died from pneumonia and cardiac complications on August 4, 1981 at the age of 80, before completing the filming of his scenes for the movie The Hot Touch (1982).

Chester Bowles. U.S. politician and diplomat. Mr. Bowles had a successful career in advertising, co-founding the firm Benton & Bowles in 1929. A Democrat, he was Governor of Connecticut from 1949-1951; represented Connecticut's 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1959-1961; and served as U.S. Under Secretary of State from January-December 1961 and U.S. Ambassador to India from 1951-1953 and 1963-1969. Mr. Bowles died on May 25, 1986 at the age of 85.

Curt Bois. German actor. Mr. Bois, born Kurt Boas, was a character actor who began appearing in silent movies as a child, and had a career spanning more than 80 years. He fled Germany and went to the United States in 1934, appearing in movies such as Casablanca (1942) and Caught (1949). Mr. Bois returned to Germany in 1950, and appeared in numerous theatrical films and made-for-television movies. He won the European Film Award for his supporting performance in Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of Desire) (1987). Mr. Bois died on December 25, 1991 at the age of 90.

110 years ago
1911

Born on this date
Johnny Revolta. U.S. golfer. Mr. Revolta turned professional in 1929, and was the head professional at Evanston Golf Club in Skokie, Illinois (1935-1966). He won 29 professional tournaments, including 11 on the Profesional Golfers' Association tour. Mr. Revolta's best seaosn was 1935, when he won the PGA Championship and the Western Open. He was known as the best bunker player of his time. Mr. Revolta died on March 3, 1991 at the age of 79.

Hédi Amara Nouira. Prime Minister of Tunisia, 1970-1980. Mr. Nouira was governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia from 1958 until his appointment as Prime Minister. He liberalized the Tunisian economy during the 1970s, but was forced to retire from politics in 1980 after suffering a stroke. Mr. Nouira died on January 25, 1993 at the age of 81.

100 years ago
1921

Born on this date
Christopher Hewett. U.K.-born actor. Mr. Hewett appeared in more than 100 plays with the Oxford Repertory and several films from 1943 until he moved to New York in 1954. He appeared in Broadway plays and directed plays elsewhere, while appearing in several television programs. Mr. Hewett was best known for playing the title character in the television comedy series Mr. Belvedere (1985-1990). He died from complications of diabetes on August 3, 2001 at the age of 80.

Died on this date
Alphons Diepenbrock, 58. Dutch composer. Dr. Diepenbrock was educated as a classicist and was a self-taught composer, with choral works comprising most of his more than 150 compositions. He was also a conductor, known for performing works by contemporary composers such as Mahler, Fauré, and Debussy.

Baseball
Lou Gehrig hit 2 tremendous home runs in as many at bats for Columbia University as they lost 4-3 to the Hartford Senators in an exhibition game. The Senators later signed Mr. Gehrig for a 12-game stint with the team.

90 years ago
1931

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Montreal Canadiens 1 @ Chicago 2 (2 OT) (Best-of-five series tied 1-1)

Johnny Gottselig scored the winning goal at 4:50 of the 2nd overtime period before a Chicago Stadium crowd of 18,000, a record attendance at the time for a hockey game.

80 years ago
1941

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Amapola (Pretty Little Poppy)--Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra with Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Franciszek Kleeberg, 53. Polish military officer. General Kleeberg served in World War I with the Austro-Hungarian Army and later with the Polish Legion; he commanded a regiment in the Polish–Soviet War (1919-1921). Gen. Kleeberg led the final defense of Warsaw against invading German forces in October 1939, but was forced to surrender. He was captured and imprisoned in Oflag IV-B Koenigstein, where he lost his sight and his ability to walk before dying in the camp hospital.

War
British imperial forces captured Adowa, while South African troops in Ethiopia crossed the Awash River and struck to within 80 miles of Addis Ababa. The Chinese government claimed that Chinese forces had won "the greatest victory of the war" the previous week in a battle near Nanchang, Japan's main army base in central China. Uruguay took possession of two Italian and two Danish ships in her ports.

Diplomacy
The Soviet news agency Tass announced that the U.S.S.R. had signed a five-year non-aggression and friendship pact with Yugoslavia.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Dr. Gil Luis Lopez and Colombian Foreign Minister Dr. Luis Lopez de Mesa signed a treaty defining the borders between the countries, ending a 100-year dispute.

The new Iraqi government of Rashid Ali-Bey Gailani pledged that iraq would respect all international treaties, "especially the Anglo-Iraq treaty."

Labour
U.S. Office of Production Management Director William Knudsen assailed "organizational and jurisdictional strikes," and urged government-supervised bargaining elections and cooling-off periods.

Football
NFL
Club owners, meeting in Chicago, elected Elmer Layden Commissioner-President of the National Football League.

75 years ago
1946

Died on this date
Vincent Youmans, 47. U.S. songwriter. Mr. Youmans wrote the music for songs for numerous Broadway musicals; his songs included Tea for Two. Mr. Youmans died after a long battle with tuberculosis.

Literature
The Snake Pit by Mary Jane Ward was published.

War
At the Nuremberg trials of accused Nazi war criminals, German Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel admitted that the March 1939 attack on Czechoslovakia was an act of treachery, but said it was necessary to keep Poland from seizing Czech coal mines and steel mills.

Diplomacy
Romania severed diplomatic relations with Spain, while Poland established relations with the Spanish Republican government in exile.

U.S. Secretary of State James Byrnes urged a new conference of U.S., U.K., U.S.S.R., and French foreign ministers in Paris to work for some agreement on European peace treaties.

Defense
Iranian Prime Minister Ahmad Ghavam Salataneh and U.S.S.R. Ambassador to Iraq Ivan Sadchikov completed an agreement in Tehran promising withdrawal of Soviet troops from Iran by May 6, 1946. Soviet troops left the island of Bornholm, Denmark after an 11-month occupation.

Labour
Workers' delegates at an International Labor Organization conference in Mexico City expelled the Argentine representative, claiming he did not come from a "free and independent labour movement."

The U.S. Senate passed and sent to the House of Representatives a bill raising the minimum wage to 65c per hour.

70 years ago
1951

At the movies
The Thing from Another World, directed by Christian Nyby, and starring Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, and Douglas Spencer, opened in theatres in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio.



War
Israel planes bombed Syrian border fortifications in retaliation for the previous day's shooting of seven Israeli policemen by Syrian soldiers.

The U.S. House of Representatives heard a letter from Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Command General Douglas MacArthur, who again urged a U.S.-supported Nationalist Chinese invasion of the Chinese mainland to relieve Communist pressure in Korea.

Crime
In New York, U.S. Federal Judge Irving Kaufman sentenced Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to death for transmitting U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. Co-conspirator Morton Sobell was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

World events
The Costa Rican government announced the arrest of 48 suspects for participating in an alleged revolutionary plot directed by former President Rafael Angel Calderon Guardia from exile in Mexico.

Diplomacy
French President Vincent Auriol began a three- day visit to Ottawa; he addressed the Senate and House of Commons.

Labour
U.S. President Harry Truman persuaded organized labour to end its boycott of the government's defense agencies.

60 years ago
1961

Died on this date
Nikolai Kryukov, 53. U.S.S.R. composer. Mr. Kryukov was known for writing more than 60 film scores from 1932-1960. He had recently suffered a heart attack when he committed suicide by throwing himself under an electric train at the Belorussky railway station.

Diplomacy
Cuban Foreign Minister Raul Roa, responding in New York to the previous day’s publication by the U.S. State Department of a pamphlet accusing Cuban Premier Fidel Castro of transforming his country into a Soviet satellite state, charged that the pamphlet was a "formalization of the undeclared war that the United States is making against us." Mr. Roa accused the U.S.A. of supporting a "so-called liberation army of 4,000 to 5,000 counter-revolutionaries, mercenaries and adventurers" being trained in Florida and Guatemala to invade Cuba.

U.S. President John F. Kennedy and U.K. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, along with others including U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk and U.K. Foreign Secretary Sir Alec Douglas-Home, continued talks in Washington.

U.S. Vice President Lyndon Johnson went from Dakar, Senegal to Geneva for a briefing on the U.S.A.-U.K.-U.S.S.R. nuclear test ban talks, and then went to Paris for ceremonies marking the 10th anniversary of SHAPE, the principal military arm of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
St. Louis 108 @ Boston 116 (Boston led best-of-seven series 2-0)

Bob Cousy score 26 points and added 14 assists for the Celtics as they beat the Hawks before 13,909 fans at Boston Garden. Frank Ramsey scored 24 points for Boston, Ton Heinsohn 23, and Sam Jones 22, while Bill Russell grabbed 28 rebounds. Cliff Hagan led St. Louis scorers with 40 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, while Bob Pettit had 30 points and 19 rebounds.

50 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Rose Garden--Lynn Anderson

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Shiretoko Ryojô--Tokiko Kato (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep--Middle of the Road (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
José Cubiles, 76. Spanish musician. Mr. Cubiles was a classical pianist and conductor who performed as a soloist and with chamber ensembles. He performed most of Joaquín Turina's major works for solo piano, and was the solist in the world premiere of Manuel de Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain (1916). Mr. Cubiles conducted the principal Spanish orchestras, and began teaching at Madrid Royal Conservatory in 1926, eventually serving as the institution's director (1962-1964).

World events
The People’s Liberation Front, frustrated at the failure of Ceylon’s leftist government to move further leftward faster, launched a rebellion. The Ceylonese government deployed tanks and planes against the militant Marxists, who attacked 25 government buildings in the capital of Colombo and other cities. The PLF, with 20,000 youths led by unemployed college graduates, also called its members "Che Guevarists." A plot to assassinate Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike at the start of the uprising reportedly fell through.

Politics and government
U.S. House of Representatives majority leader Hale Boggs (Democrat--Louisiana) demanded in a speech on the floor of the Senate that Federal Bureau of Investigation director J. Edgar Hoover be fired from the post he had held for 47 years. Rep. Boggs charged that the FBI had tapped the telephones of Congressmen. House minority leader Gerald Ford (Republican--Michigan) challenged Rep. Boggs to prove his charges, and said that the U.S.A. was "fortunate" to have had both the FBI, and Hoover "as its head many years." U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell termed Rep. Boggs’ charges "slanderous falsehoods, the most vicious kind of name-calling."

Adventure
Canadian Fran Phipps, the wife of legendary northern bush pilot Weldy Phipps, became the first woman to reach the North Pole. Northwest Territories Commissioner Stuart Hodgson had wanted his wife Pearl to have that honour, but Mrs. Phipps beat her to it.

Energy
The Gentilly-1 experimental nuclear power station started operations near Trois-Rivières, Québec; the first CANDU reactor was also the world's first to be fueled by natural uranium, and cooled by ordinary water.

Football
CFL
The Toronto Argonauts announced the signing of former University of Notre Dame star quarterback Joe Theismann, the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1970. Mr. Theismann had verbally agreed to sign with Toronto, but had then signed a contract with the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He delayed mailing the contract to Miami because he couldn’t find a stamp, and in the meantime, Argonauts’ head coach Leo Cahill persuaded him to live up to his original agreement.

Russ Jackson, who had retired after quarterbacking the Ottawa Rough Riders to consecutive Grey Cup wins in 1968 and 1969, announced that he would not be coming out of retirement to join the British Columbia Lions. Mr. Jackson had spent his entire 12-year career with Ottawa from 1958-1969, and had retired to continue his off-field career as an educational administrator. It was reported that the Rough Riders were demanding that Lions’ receiver Jim Young, who had won the Schenley award as the CFL’s outstanding Canadian player in 1970, be part of any deal sending the rights to Mr. Jackson to B.C.

Baseball
Dick Bosman (1-0) pitched a 6-hitter to lead the Washington Senators to an 8-0 win over the Oakland Athletics in the American League season opener before 45,061 fans at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington. Losing pitcher Vida Blue (0-1) gave up 4 runs in less than 3 innings. Newly-acquired centre fielder Curt Flood, attempting a comeback with the Senators after a full year out of baseball, drew 2 bases on balls and added a bunt single.

The Atlanta Braves took advantage of 6 Cincinnati errors--3 by shortstop Woody Woodward--as they beat the defending National League champion Reds 7-4 in the National League season opener before 51,702 fans at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Atlanta second baseman Felix Millan batted 4 for 4 with a triple, base on balls, 2 runs, and a run batted in. Relief pitcher Cecil Upshaw (1-0), who had missed the entire 1970 season after almost losing the ring finger on his pitching hand when it got caught in a low-hanging sign, was the winning pitcher.

In the other major league season opener, the Houston Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-2 before 22,421 fans at the Astrodome. Larry Dierker (1-0) was the winning pitcher over Bill Singer (0-1).

40 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): The Bridge--Deane Waretini

#1 single in Switzerland: Fade to Grey--Visage (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Bob Hite, 38. U.S. musician. Mr. Hite, nicknamed "The Bear," played guitar, harmonica, and flute, and shared lead vocals with the blues-rock group Canned Heat from 1965 until his death, which occurred between sets at the Palomino Club in North Hollywood, California, when he snorted some heroin given to him by a fan, and slipped into a coma, from which he did not emerge.

World events
100 officers who had participated in an April 1 coup intending to oust Thai Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda were put under temporary detention pending trial by a military court.

War
The number of dead in clashes between Syrian troops and Christian militiamen in Beirut and Zahle, Lebanon since April 1 had reached 136 dead and 500 wounded.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 4 @ Quebec 2
New York 2 @ Philadelphia 0

The Maple Leafs defeated the Nordiques at Le Colisee to take the 16th and last playoff spot on the last day of the regular season.

30 years ago
1991

Died on this date
William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle, 81. Governor-General of Australia, 1961-1965. Major Sidney served with the Grenadier Guards of the British Army in World War II and was awarded the Victoria Cross for leading a handful of men in the defense of the Anzio beachhead in February 1944. A Conservative, he represented Chelsea in the House of Commons (1944-1945) before being elevated to the House of Lords upon the death of his father. Viscount De L'Isle was Secretary of State for Air (1951-1955) in the government of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and became the last non-Australian to serve as Governor-General of Australia.

John Tower, 64. U.S. politician. Mr. Tower, a member of the United States Senate (Republican--Texas) from 1961-1985, had served as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and was nominated to be Secretary of Defense by U.S. President George Bush in 1989. The Senate rejected Mr. Tower’s nomination, primarily because of allegations of drinking and womanizing. Mr. Tower was among 23 people killed when a commercial plane crashed in Brunswick, Georgia.

Jay Miller, 57. U.S. basketball player. Mr. Miller was a forward at the University of Notre Dame (1962-65) before playing with the St. Louis Hawks (1967-68); Milwaukee Bucks (1968); Los Angeles Stars (1969); and Indiana Pacers (1969-70). He scored 649 points (5.5 per game) with 205 rebounds (1.8 per game) and 47 assists (0.4 per game) in 117 regular season games and 36 points (2.6 per game) with 25 rebounds (1.8 per game) and 2 assists (0.1 per game) in 14 playoff games. Mr. Miller was with the Pacers when they won the American Basketball Association championship in 1970.

Manley "Sonny" Carter, 43. U.S. astronaut. A captain in the United States Navy, Mr. Carter was a Mission Specialist aboard the U.S. space shuttle Discovery on mission STS-33 in 1989, and had been assigned as a Mission Specialist for mission STS-42. He was one of the people killed in the plane crash that killed former U.S. Senator John Tower.

World events
The United Nations Security Council condemned Iraq’s suppression of Kurds and other dissidents. The Iraqi government offered amnesty to Kurds who had joined the rebellion, but Kurdish leaders said they didn’t trust the offer. As the refugee tide from Iraq into Iran and Turkey approached one million, U.S. President George Bush ordered an airlift of food and supplies to the refugees.

Disasters
An Atlantic Southeast Airlines EMB 120 crashed in Brunswick, Georgia, killing all 23 aboard including U.S. Sen. John Tower and astronaut Sonny Carter.

25 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): California Love--2Pac featuring Dr. Dre (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Aon Focal Eile--Richie Kavanagh (3rd week at #1)

Crime
Mark Chahal, a Sikh, broke into a wedding party in Vernon, British Columbia and killed nine people--his estranged wife, her siser (the bride-to-be), and seven other relatives--before killing himself.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Semi-Finals
Buffalo 4 @ Montreal 5 (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)
Hartford 3 @ Boston 4 (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)
Washington 3 @ New York Rangers 0 (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)
New Jersey 4 @ Pittsburgh 5 (OT) (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)

20 years ago
2001

Crime
Dutch truck driver Perry Wacker was sentenced by an English court to 14 years in prison for his part in the deaths of 58 illegal Chinese immigrants, who had been found suffocated in the back of Mr. Wacker’s truck when it was inspected on arrival in Dover from Belgium.

Baseball
Paul O’Neill’s 1st-inning home run stood up as the only run as the New York Yankees edged the Baltimore Orioles 1-0 before 26,696 fans at Yankee Stadium. Mike Mussina (1-0) pitched 7 2/3 innings to earn the win over Dan Reichert (0-1). It was only the second time in Yankee history that they had won a 1-0 game with a 1st-inning homer; the other time came in 1941, with Phil Rizzuto homering.

10 years ago
2011

Died on this date
Barry Blumberg, 85. U.S. physician and geneticist. Dr. Blumberg shared the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Daniel Carleton Gajdusek "for their discoveries concerning new mechanisms for the origin and dissemination of infectious diseases," in particular, hepatitis B. Dr. Blumberg died shortly after giving the keynote speech at the International Lunar Research Park Exploratory Workshop held at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California.

Ange-Félix Patassé, 74. Prime Minister of the Central African Empire, 1976-1978; President of the Central African Republic, 1993-2003. Mr. Patassé was an agricultural engineer who held numeous cabinet posts under President--later "Emperor" Jean-Bédel Bokassa, and spent some time under house arrest after Emperor Bokassa was deposed in 1979. Mr. Patassé ran unsuccessfully for President in 1981 and went into exile for a time, but returned and was elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1999 in what were regarded as fair elections. His presidency was beset by conflict between northern and southern regions of the country, and while attending a conference in Niger in 2003, he was deposed by rebel leader François Bozizé. Mr. Patassé went into exile in Togo, but returned in December 2008 with the permission of Mr. Bozizé. Mr. Patassé ran against Mr. Bozizé in the January 2011 presidential election, but he was suffering from diabetes, and finished well behind the incumbent in the voting. Mr. Patassé was initially prevented from seeking treatment outside the Central African Republic, but he was eventually allowed to travel. He died in hospital in Douala, Cameron while en route to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.