May 28, 2008

420 years ago
1588

War
The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, set sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel. It took until May 30 for all ships to leave port.

200 years ago
1808

Died on this date
Richard Hurd, 88. English clergyman and writer. The Bishop of Worcester from 1781-1808, Mr. Hurd’s books included Letters on Chivalry and Romance (1762) and An Introduction to the Study of the Prophecies concerning the Christian Church (1772).

Exploration
Simon Fraser left Fort George, British Columbia to travel down the river which is now named for him, on his way to the Pacific Ocean.

125 years ago
1883

Born on this date
Václav Talich. Czech musician and conductor. Mr. Talich was a violinist and violist who took up conducting in his late 20s. He was chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (1919-1941), and was known for performing the works of Czech composers. He ran afoul of the Nazis and Communists in the 1940s, interrupting his career. Mr. Talich established the Czech Chamber Orchestra in 1946, and founded and led the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra (1948-1952). He resumed his association with the Czech Philharmonic in the 1950s, conducting concerts, broadcasts, and recording sessions. Mr. Talich died on March 16, 1961 at the age of 77.

120 years ago
1888

Born on this date
Kaarel Eenpalu. Prime Minister of Estonia, 1938-1939. Born Karl August Einbund, Mr. Eenpalu was an editor of several newspapers, and held numerous political offices beginning in 1920. He was Stae Elder of Estonia' (head of state) from July 19-November 1, 1932, and became the country's first prime minister. When the U.S.S.R. occupied the Baltic republics in June 1940, Mr. Eenpalu was one of a number of polticians who were arrested and deported to Russia. He died in a Soviet prison camp in Vyatka, Kirov Oblast on January 27 or 28, 1942 at the age of 53.

100 years ago
1908

Born on this date
Ian Fleming. U.K. author. Mr. Fleming used his experience as a British intelligence agent to create James Bond. Mr. Fleming wrote 12 James Bond novels, including Dr. No; From Russia, With Love; and Goldfinger. He also wrote the children's book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Ian Fleming died in 1964.

90 years ago
1918

Baseball
Joe Bush pitched a 1-hitter and drove in the lone run for the Boston Red Sox to improve his record for the season to 7-2 as they edged the Chicago White Sox 1-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. The lone Chicago hit was a "flying single" (Harry Casey‚ in the Boston Evening Record) by Happy Felsch‚ which occurred when he threw his bat at the ball on a hit-and-run. Eddie Cicotte allowed 5 hits‚ 3 by Fred Thomas‚ in the loss, not allowing an earned run as his 1918 record fell to 0-7.

Smoky Joe Wood hit a 2-run home run and Steve O'Neill added a solo homer two batters later as the Cleveland Indians scored all their runs in the top of the 7th inning to overcome a 2-0 deficit and edge the New York Yankees 3-2 at the Polo Grounds in New York. Jim Bagby pitched a 7-hit complete game to win the pitchers' duel over Allen Russell.

Joe Gedeon batted 2 for 2 with a double, base on balls, sacrifice, and 2 runs batted in to help the St. Louis Browns edge the Philadelpha Athletics 3-2 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Grover Lowdermilk pitched a 4-hitter to win the pitchers' duel over Scott Perry.

80 years ago
1928

World events
Russian writer Maxim Gorky returned from Italy after an absence of many years, and was received in Moscow by a Nikolai Bukharin, a high Soviet government official, along with thousands of workmen, students, writers, and actors, Communist youth and units of the Red Army, bearing streamers and banners instead of arms.

Religion
The Presbyterian General Assembly at Tulsa, Oklahoma refused to consider union with the Christian, Universalist, and Congregational churches, but authorized a committee to meet the Methodists and consider a union with them.

Baseball
The Philadelphia Athletics bought pitcher George Earnshaw from the Baltimore Orioles of the International League for $50‚000 and 2 players.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Delilah--Tom Jones (6th week at #1)

At the movies
The Detective, directed by Gordon Douglas, and starring Frank Sinatra, Lee Remick, Jacqueline Bisset, and Tony Musante, opened in theatres.



War
U.S. President Lyndon Johnson accused North Vietnam of obstructing the Paris peace talks.

Politics and government
In the contest for the U.S. presidential nominations, Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota won the Oregon Democratic Party primary. Sen. McCarthy took 45% of the vote, with Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York receiving 39%. Sen. Kennedy had come out on top in a pre-primary poll by NBC. Former Vice President Richard Nixon won the Republican Party primary with 73% of the vote. California Governor Ronald Reagan received 23% and New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller took 4% on write-ins.

Boxing
Leotis Martin (26-4) scored a technical knockout of Thad Spencer (32-7) at 2:29 of the 9th round of a heavyweight bout at Royal Albert Hall in London.

Baseball
The American League owners agreed to divide the league into two divisions and reduce its schedule to 156 games. The following divisional alignment was set for the 1969 season: Eastern: Baltimore Orioles; Boston Red Sox; Cleveland Indians; Detroit Tigers; New York Yankees; Washington Senators. Western: California Angels; Chicago White Sox; Kansas City Royals; Minnesota Twins; Oakland Athletics; Seattle Pilots.

Suffering his fourth straight defeat‚ Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals (3-5) dropped a 3-1 decision to Gaylord Perry and the San Francisco Giants.

Jim Maloney fired a 1-hitter at the Los Angeles Dodgers as the Reds won 7-0. A single in the 5th inning by Zoilo Versalles was the only Dodger hit.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Wuthering Heights--Kate Bush (4th week at #1)

On the radio
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater broadcast on CFCN in Calgary was The Gloria Scott, starring Kevin McCarthy as Sherlock Holmes.

World events
The Vietnamese government denied that Chinese residents in that country had been mistreated.

Politics and government
U.S. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski agreed that President Jimmy Carter faced too many limits from Congress on giving aid to friendly African nations.

Auto racing
Al Unser won the Indianapolis 500 for the third time, with an average speed of 161.363 miles per hour. His earlier wins came in 1970 and 1971.



Golf
Jerry Heard won the Atlanta Classic with a score of 269. First prize money was $40,000.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Seattle 93 @ Washington 92 (Seattle led best-of-seven series 2-1)





25 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Beat It--Michael Jackson (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Words--F.R. David (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: Candy Girl--New Edition

#1 single in the U.S.A.: (Billboard): Flashdance...What a Feeling--Irene Cara

Flashdance...What a Feeling was from the movie Flashdance (1983), and ended up winning that year's Academy Award as Best Original Song.

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Beat It--Michael Jackson (3rd week at #1)
2 Let's Dance--David Bowie
3 Rio--Duran Duran
4 Time (Clock of the Heart)--Culture Club
5 She Blinded Me with Science--Thomas Dolby
6 Flashdance...What a Feeling--Irene Cara
7 Puttin' on the Ritz--Taco
8 Overkill--Men at Work
9 Jeopardy--Greg Kihn Band
10 Billie Jean--Michael Jackson

Singles entering the chart were Every Breath You Take by the Police (#44); Come Dancing by the Kinks (#45); and Our House by Madness (#47).

Diplomacy
A three-day summit of western democratic nations, hosted by U.S. President Ronald Reagan, began in Williamsburg, Virginia. The guest nations were Canada, Japan, Britain, West Germany, Italy, and France. Economic issues related to the worldwide recession dominated the talks.

Society
A majority of the board of directors of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) called for the resignation of Margaret Bush Wilson as chairman, and limited her authority.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): I'm Not Scared--Eighth Wonder (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Yé ké yé ké--Mory Kante

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You--Glenn Medeiros

#1 single in France (SNEP): N'importe quoi--Florent Pagny (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): With a Little Help from My Friends--Wet Wet Wet/She's Leaving Home--Billy Bragg featuring Cara Tivey (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): With a Little Help from My Friends--Wet Wet Wet/She's Leaving Home--Billy Bragg featuring Cara Tivey (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): One More Try--George Michael

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 One More Try--George Michael
2 Anything for You--Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
3 Shattered Dreams--Johnny Hates Jazz
4 Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)--Samantha Fox
5 Wishing Well--Terence Trent D'Arby
6 Angel--Aerosmith
7 Everything Your Heart Desires--Daryl Hall John Oates
8 I Don't Want to Live Without You--Foreigner
9 Together Forever--Rick Astley
10 Wait--White Lion

Singles entering the chart were Sign Your Name by Terence Trent D'Arby (#74); The Colour of Love by Billy Ocean (#80); Darlin' Danielle Don't by Henry Lee Summer (#84); You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart by Eurythmics (#85); Wishing I was Lucky by Wet Wet Wet (#86); Fat by "Weird Al" Yankovic (#89); and Little Walter by Tony! Toni! Tone! (#90). Fat was a spoof of Michael Jackson's 1987 hit Bad.

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Always on My Mind--Pet Shop Boys (2nd week at #1)
2 Beds are Burning--Midnight Oil
3 I'm Still Searching--Glass Tiger
4 Wishing Well--Terence Trent D'Arby
5 Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car--Billy Ocean
6 One More Try--George Michael
7 Together Forever--Rick Astley
8 Pink Cadillac--Natalie Cole
9 Shattered Dreams--Johnny Hates Jazz
10 What a Wonderful World--Louis Armstrong

Singles entering the chart were The Flame by Cheap Trick (#71); Lost in You by Rod Stewart (#73); Foolish Beat by Debbie Gibson (#76); Black & Blue by Van Halen (#82); Send Me a Miracle by Paul Janz (#87); and New Sensation by INXS (#95).

Died on this date
Sy Oliver, 77. U.S. musician, composer, and bandleader. Mr. Oliver was a trumpeter and arranger with the band of Jimmie Lunceford in the mid-1930s, and joined Tommy Dorsey's orchestra in 1939 as an arranger. He led his own band in later years. Mr. Oliver co-wrote the song T'ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It).

Diplomacy
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet unanimously approved the intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) treaty.

10 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Phil Hartman, 49. Canadian-born U.S. actor. A native of Brantford, Ontario, Mr. Hartman was a member of the cast of the NBC series Saturday Night Live from 1986-1994 (winning an Emmy Award in 1989 for writing), and provided the voices for a number of characters on The Simpsons from 1991-1998. At the time of his death, Mr. Hartman was a member of the cast of the NBC comedy series NewsRadio, and was posthumously nominated for an Emmy Award. He was shot to death while he slept by his wife Brynn, who shot herself shortly after notifying a friend of the murder.

Defense
Pakistan conducted five underground nuclear tests, responding to India’s tests earlier in the month.

Protest
Students in Indonesia resumed demonstrations, opposing the government’s timetable for holding elections the following year.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Eastern Conference
Finals
Washington 4 @ Buffalo 3 (OT) (Washington led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Peter Bondra and Richard Zednik each scored 2 goals for the Capitals, with Mr. Bondra's second coming at 9:37 of the 1st overtime period as they edged the Sabres at Marine Midland Arena.