TODAY IN HISTORY: Mr. Mister offends Chilean military

In 1946, one of Canada’s most sensational murder cases began when the torso of 40-yearold railway worker John Dick was found in Hamilton, Ont. Police later found Dick’s teeth and bone fragments in the home of his estranged wife, Evelyn, along with the body of her seven-month-old son. Evelyn Dick was sentenced to death for John’s murder, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. She was also convicted of her son’s death and imprisoned until 1958. Her father was sentenced to five years for his part in the crimes.

In 1955, NHL president Clarence Campbell suspended Montreal Canadiens star Maurice Richard for the balance of the season and the playoffs for abusing an official. The decision sparked the “Richard Riot” the next night in Montreal.

In 1971, the Ontario government filed a $25million lawsuit against Dow Chemical of Canada Ltd. for ecological damage to the Great Lakes.

In 1988, at a concert in Chile, Richard Page of L.A. band Mr. Mister (“Broken Wings”) dedicated a version of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” to Chilean artists who had been “frightened to death” by the military regime. As the band left the stage, military censors issued a phoney retraction from Page to the audience.

In 1991, seven members of country singer Reba McEntire’s band and her road manager were among 10 people who died when their private jet crashed in California just north of the Mexican border. McEntire, who had given a private concert in San Diego for IBM employees the night before, was not on the plane.