February 15, 2008

110 years ago
1898

Disasters
The U.S. Navy battleship USS Maine blew up in the harbour of Havana with the loss of 260 lives. Spain was accused of the deed, although that was never proven. The incident (accompanied by the slogan "Remember the Maine!") was one of the causes of the Spanish-American War which broke out two months later.

75 years ago
1933

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Richard Gordon and Leigh Lovell, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Noble Bachelor

Crime
At 9:15 P.M. Eastern Time, while shaking hands with President-elect Franklin Roosevelt at Bayfront Park in Miami, Florida, Anton Cermak, mayor of Chicago, was shot by Giuseppe Zangara, a 5'1" naturalized Italian atheist and registered Republican. Mr. Roosevelt had just finished an eight-minute speech when Mr. Zangara fired five shots. Five others were wounded, one of them, a Mrs. Mabel Gill, seriously. None of the victims were closer than 30 feet to Mr. Roosevelt at the time, but they were only two or three feet away from Mr. Cermak. For the rest of his life, Mr. Roosevelt believed that Mr. Zangara was "a Chicago gangster" who had been sent to kill Mr. Cermak because of the mayor's intention to clean up the city's corruption and violence. On the way to the hospital, Mr. Roosevelt cradled Mr. Cermak's head in his hands, and murmured words of encouragement to him that helped keep Mr. Cermak from going into shock. Mr. Roosevelt also had the car stop twice to pick up other wounded people. Mr. Roosevelt stayed at the hospital for four hours, visited the victims, and returned to the hospital the next day with flowers and baskets of fruit.

60 years ago
1948

On the Radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes on MBS, starring John Stanley and Alfred Shirley.
Tonight's episode: Shoscombe Old Place

50 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): April Love--Pat Boone

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Der lachende Vagabund--Fred Bertelmann (4th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Gondolier--Dalida

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): The Story of My Life--Michael Holliday

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Stroll--The Diamonds (2nd week at #1)
2 Get a Job--The Silhouettes
3 At the Hop--Danny and the Juniors
4 Don't--Elvis Presley
5 Short Shorts--The Royal Teens
6 Sail Along Silvery Moon--Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra
7 Catch a Falling Star--Perry Como
8 Sugartime--The McGuire Sisters
9 I Beg of You--Elvis Presley
10 Oh Julie--The Crescendos

Singles entering the chart were It's Too Soon to Know (#31)/A Wonderful Time Up There (#50) by Pat Boone; Good Golly, Miss Molly by Little Richard (#40); Sweet Little Sixteen by Chuck Berry (#42); The Little Blue Man by Betty Johnson (#57); and Young Dove's Calling by the Couplings (#58).

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Kaette Kita Yopparai--The Folk Crusaders (4th week at #1)

Diplomacy
United States special envoy Cyrus Vance returned to Washington from South Korea and reported to President Lyndon Johnson. Before Mr. Vance left Seoul, a joint statement was issued by him and the South Korean government which noted increasing North Korean belligerency. The statement indicated at least a temporary rejection by the U.S. of South Korean demands for major U.S. strikes against any new North Korean aggression.

Politics and government
Gardner Ackley, Chairman of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers, resigned to accept the position of U.S. Ambassador to Italy. He was succeeded as the Council's Chairman by Art Okun.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that the nation's balance of payments deficit totalled $1.832 billion in the final three months of 1967, and $3.572 billion for the entire year of 1967. Treasury Secretary Henry Fowler described the fourth-quarter deficit as "the worst...since the third quarter of 1950 following the outbreak of the Korean War."

Olympics
Nancy Greene of Rossland, British Columbia, representing Canada, won the gold medal in the women's giant slalom at Grenoble, two days after winning the silver medal in the slalom. Annie Famose of France won the silver medal, and Fernande Bochatay of Switzerland took the bronze.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Take a Chance on Me--ABBA

Boxing
Leon Spinks (7-0-1) won a 15-round split decision over defending champion Muhammad Ali (55-3) at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas to win the world heavyweight title. It was the first time since Jim Braddock's win over Max Baer in 1935 that the world heavyweight championship had changed hands on a decision.



20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): (I've Had) The Time of My Life--Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Richard Feynman, 69. U.S. physicist. Dr. Feynman shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 with Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itro Tomonaga for his contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics. He was one of the pioneers of nanotechnology, and helped to popularize that and other areas of physics through lectures and books.

Olympics
Czechoslovakia defeated the United States 7-5 in men's hockey at the Olympic Saddledome in Calgary.

10 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Georgios Mylonas, 78. Greek politician. Mr. Mylonas, a member of the Greek Centre Union and then New Democracy, was a close aide to Prime Minister George Papandreou; among the cabinet posts he held was that of Culture Minister (1989-1990). Mr. Mylonas was exiled on the island of Amorgos during Greece's military dictatorship (1967-1974), but escaped.

Olympics
At Nagano, Edmonton's Pierre Lueders and Charlottetown native Dave MacEachern, representing Canada, tied with the Italian team for the gold medal in 2-man bobsled. In men's hockey, Canada defeated the United States 4-1. The Sandra Schmirler rink from Regina, representing Canada, won the first gold medal ever presented for women's curling when they defeated Denmark 7-5 in the final. The other members of the rink were Jan Betker, Joan McCusker, Marcia Gudereit, and Atina Ford.

Auto racing
Seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt earned his only Daytona 500 victory.