April 11, 2009

320 years ago
1689

Britannica
William III and Mary II were crowned joint sovereigns of England at Westminster.

190 years ago
1819

Born on this date
Charles Hallé. German-born U.K. musician and conductor. Mr. Hallé, born Karl Halle, was a concert pianist who was a child prodigy, and moved to England after the revolutions of 1848. In 1858 he founded the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which continues today. Mr. Hallé died on October 25, 1895 at the age of 76.

70 years ago
1939

Died on this date
S.S. Van Dine, 50. U.S. author. Mr. Van Dine, whose real name was Willard Huntington Wright, was an art critic who became an author of crime fiction, writing under the name S.S. Van Dine in 12 novels featuring the detective Philo Vance, published from 1926-1939. He created another fictional detective, Dr. Crabtree, a character in 12 short films from 1931-1932. Mr. Van Dine died from a heart condition exacerbated by heavy drinking.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Boston 3 @ Toronto 1 (Boston led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Bobby Bauer, Roy Conacher, and Jack Crawford scored in the 3rd period for the Bruins as they overcame a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Maple Leafs at Maple Leaf Gardens.

60 years ago
1949

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring John Stanley and George Spelvin (Wendell Holmes), on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Adventure of the Mad Miners of Cardiff

Crime
Freda Linton, the last of 20 suspects sought in connection with the 1946 Soviet espionage case, surrendered in Montreal.

Defense
The U.S. Senate passed a House of Representatives-approved measure authorizing $75 million for construction of an Air Force rocket testing range.

Politics and government
The South African Parliament passed a constitutional amendment granting parliamentary representation to South-West Africa, a step toward incorporation of the territory into South Africa.

Basketball
BAA
Finals
Minneapolis 65 @ Washington 74 (Minneapolis led best-of-seven series 3-2)

Kleggie Hermsen and Jack Nichols each scored 13 points to help the Capitols defeat the Lakers before 3,840 fans at Uline Arena. George Mikan of Minneapolis led all scorers with 22 points.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters (9th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Tom Dooley--The Kingston Trio (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Side Saddle--Russ Conway (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Come Softly to Me--The Fleetwoods
2 Venus--Frankie Avalon
3 Pink Shoe Laces--Dodie Stevens
4 It's Just a Matter of Time--Brook Benton
5 (Now and Then There’s) A Fool Such as I--Elvis Presley
6 Never Be Anyone Else But You--Ricky Nelson
7 Charlie Brown--The Coasters
8 I Need Your Love Tonight--Elvis Presley
9 Guitar Boogie Shuffle--The Virtues
10 Since I Don't Have You--The Skyliners

Singles entering the chart were I Still Get a Thrill (Thinking of You) by Joni James (#66); Love Me in the Daytime by Doris Day (#72); Bonaparte's Retreat by Billy Grammer (#77); I Told Myself a Lie by Clyde McPhatter (#80); The Walls Have Ears by Patti Page (#83); I Need Your Lovin' by Roy Hamilton (#88); Very Much in Love by Johnny Mathis (#90); Goodbye Jimmy, Goodbye by Kathy Linden (#93); Two Brothers by David Hill (#94); Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy by Annette (#96); Lonely for You by Gary Stites (#98); and Quiet Village by Martin Denny (#99). Bonaparte's Retreat was the other side of The Kissing Tree, charting at #100.

Died on this date
Clement Jumelle, 42. Haitian politician. Mr. Jumelle was the National Party candidate for President in 1957, but dropped out of the race on election day, believing that the election was rigged in favour of François Duvalier. Mr. Jumelle received 1.1% of the vote, finishing well behind Mr. Duvalier and runner-up Louis Déjoie. Mr. Dumelle died in the Cuban embassy in Port-au-Prince, where he and his wife had recently been granted asylum.

Space
William H. Pickering, Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, announced America's plans for a manned lunar mission "within the next 5 to 10 years". Speaking to a group of Caltech alumni, Pickering said that the Nova rocket, once perfected, would "be able to transport two or three men to the moon and return them to earth."

Americana
President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed a 34-member advisory committee to help plan a national culture centre in Washington.

Politics and government
The U.S. Republican National Committee elected Senator Thruston Morton (Kentucky) as its chairman.

Academia
The South African House of Assembly approved a university segregation bill forbidding racially mixed student bodies at any S.A. college or university.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Toronto 1 @ Montreal 3 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 2-0)

Claude Provost scored with 14:58 remaining in regulation time to break a 1-1 tie, and scored again with 1:27 remaining as the Canadiens defeated the Maple Leafs at the Montreal Forum.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)--The 5th Dimension
2 Galveston--Glen Campbell
3 You've Made Me So Very Happy--Blood, Sweat & Tears
4 Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'--Crazy Elephant
5 Gitarzan--Ray Stevens
6 Hot Smoke & Sasafrass--The Bubble Puppy
7 November Snow--Rejoice
8 Dizzy--Tommy Roe
9 Hair--The Cowsills
10 What Can the Matter Be--The Poppy Family

Singles entering the chart were Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show by Neil Diamond (#27); Morning Girl by Neon Philharmonic (#28); The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel (#29); and Love is All I Have to Give by the Checkmates, Ltd. (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)--The 5th Dimension (2nd week at #1)
2 Galveston--Glen Campbell
3 Things I'd Like to Say--The New Colony Six
4 Long Green--The Fireballs
5 Dizzy--Tommy Roe
6 Time of the Season--The Zombies
7 Mendocino--Sir Douglas Quintet
8 Condition Red--The Goodees
9 Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show--Neil Diamond
10 Hot Smoke & Sasafrass--The Bubble Puppy

Died on this date
Al Kaiser, 82. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Kaiser was an outfielder with the Chicago Cubs (1911); Boston Rustlers/Braves (1911-1912); and Indianapolis Hoosiers (1914), batting .216 with 3 home runs and 38 runs batted in in 155 games. He played at least 172 games in at least 4 seasons in the minor leagues from 1908-1913.

Music
The single Get Back/Don't Let Me Down by the Beatles with Billy Preston was released on Apple Records.

Space
The U.S.S.R. launched Molniya 1-11, eleventh in the Soviet international communications satellite network.

Politics and government
A draft bill making New Brunswick the only officially bilingual province in Canada was adopted unanimously in the Legislative Assembly.

Academia
Using "police brutality" as a rallying cry, the student revolt at Harvard University continued when demonstrators called for a three-day strike. Although the faculty had already voted to deny academic credit for Reserve Officers Training Corps courses, a prime demand of the protesters was abolition of ROTC. Also at issue were reform of the university government, and a black studies program.

Transportation
U.S. President Richard Nixon sharply reduced transpacific airline route awards originally made by his predecessor, Lyndon Johnson. Mr. Nixon cancelled major awards to Continental Airlines, deleted a minor award to Braniff International, allowed Trans World Airlines to flay around the world, and confirmed only part of the route increases for Pan American and Northwest Orient.

Hockey
CHL
Adams Cup
Semi-Finals
Tulsa 3 @ Oklahoma City 5 (Oklahoma City won best-of-seven series 4-3)

Baseball
Gary Bell pitched a 9-hit shutout and doubled home 2 runs in the 6th inning to lead the Seattle Pilots over the Chicago White Sox 7-0 before 14,993 fans at Sick's Stadium in the Pilots' first home game ever. Don Mincher hit a 2-run home run in the 3rd.

Rico Petrocelli scored on a ground out by pinch hitter George Thomas in the top of the 16th inning to break a 1-1 tie as the Boston Red Sox edged the Cleveland Indians 2-1 before 25,596 fans at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. Cleveland first baseman Tony Horton batted 4 for 7, and produced the Indians' run with a home run in the 2nd inning.

The New York Yankees scored 7 runs in the last 2 innings to defeat the Detroit Tigers 9-4 before 14,015 fans at Tiger Stadium. New York first baseman Joe Pepitone batted 4 for 5 with a home run, double, 2 runs, and 3 runs batted in.

Barry Moore allowed 5 hits in 6+ innings, hit 2 singles, and scored the winning run as the Washington Senators shut out the Baltimore Orioles 4-0 before 8,415 fans at Memorial Stadium in Saskatchewan.

Catfish Hunter pitched a 6-hitter for the Oakland Athletics as they shut out the Kansas City Royals 5-0 before 5,505 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Billy Williams singled home Don Kessinger with 2 out in the bottom of the 12th inning to give the Chicago Cubs a 1-0 win over the Montreal Expos before 7,281 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Carl Morton made his major league debut as the Expos' starting pitcher, allowing 6 hits, walking 3 batters, and striking out 3 in 9 scoreless innings, batting 0 for 3.

Mike Shannon doubled home 2 runs with 2 out in the top of the 9th inning to provide the eventual winning margin as the St. Louis Cardinals held on to edge the New York Mets 6-5 before 12,591 fans at Shea Stadium in New York. Cleon Jones hit a 2-run home run with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th for the Mets, but Joe Hoerner struck out Ed Charles to end the game.

Ray Sadecki pitched a 6-hitter and Willie Mays hit his first home run of the season, added a double, and scored 3 runs for the San Francisco Giants shut out the San Diego Padres 8-0 before 15,757 fans at San Diego Stadium.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Bright Eyes--Art Garfunkel

Died on this date
Eddie Wilson, 69. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Wilson played right field with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1936-1937), batting .317 with 4 home runs and 33 runs batted in in 88 games. He played 1,393 games in 13 seasons in the minor leagues from 1929-1941, with at least 66 home runs.

Nino Rota, 67. Italian composer. Mr. Rota, born Giovanni Rota Rinaldi, composed operas, ballets, and other classical works, but was primarily known for his more than 150 film scores. He was primarily associated with director Federico Fellini, but also wrote music for the first two films in The Godfather series, sharing the Academy Award with Carmine Coppola for The Godfather Part II (1974). One of Mr. Rota's most popular scores was for Romeo and Juliet (1968), directed by Franco Zeffirelli. Mr. Rota had a long career as a teacher, directing the Liceo Musicale in Bari, Italy for almost 30 years. He died from a coronary thrombosis.

War
Kampala fell to Tanzanian and Ugandan exile troops; residents cheered as Ugandan President Idi Amin was reported to be fleeing east with the remnants of his army.

Disasters
U.S. President Jimmy Carter appointed an 11-member panel to determine the causes of the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, and to recommend safeguards against future mishaps.

60 died and over 800 were injured as tornadoes swept across northern Texas and southern Oklahoma, devastating four communities.

Hockey
In Western Hockey League junior playoff action, the Lethbridge Broncos defeated the Calgary Wranglers 7-6 in overtime to take a 2 games to 0 lead in their series.

25 years ago
1984

Academia
It was the last day of classes in the winter session at the University of Alberta.

Politics and government
Konstantin Chernenko, general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, was named Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (in effect, President) of the U.S.S.R. in a unanimous vote of the Supreme Soviet. Mr. Chernenko was nominated for the title by Mikhail Gorbachev, who, at 53, was the youngest member of the Politburo, prompting speculation that he was in line to succeed Mr. Chernenko as the next Soviet leader.

20 years ago
1989

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Birthday Boy

Weather
It was the most beautiful day of the year so far in Edmonton.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
In first-round Stanley Cup playoff action, the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-2, while the Boston Bruins defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-1.

10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
William H. Armstrong, 87. U.S. author and teacher. Mr. Armstrong taught history at Kent School in Kent, Connecticut from 1945-1997. He wrote several books on education, but was best known for his children's novel Sounder (1969), which won the 1970 Newbery Medal.

War
NATO released aerial photographs of newly-turned earth in Kosovo that appeared to indicate mass graves, and there were reports from refugees describing mass executions.

Defense
India tested an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

Curling
World Men's Championship @ Harbour Station, Saint John, New Brunswick
Final
Scotland (Hammy McMillan) 6 Canada (Jeff Stoughton) 5

Golf
José María Olazábal shot a 1-under-par 71 in the final round to win the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia for the second time, finishing with an 8-under-par total score of 280, 2 strokes ahead of Davis Love III. First prize money was $720,000.