February 25, 2008

140 years ago
1868

Politics and government
The Earl of Derby retired as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Conservative Party leader on the advice of his doctor, and was succeeded by Benjamin Disraeli.

100 years ago
1908

Born on this date
Frank G. Slaughter. U.S. surgeon and novelist. Dr. Slaughter was practicing at Riverside Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida when he began writing novels that drew on his medical experience. His novels, which sold 60 million copies, included That None Should Die; Surgeon, U.S.A.; and The Scarlet Cord. Several of Dr. Slaughter's novels were made into movies, including The Warrior (released on film as Seminole in 1953); Sangaree; and Doctors' Wives. Dr. Slaughter's last novel, No Greater Love, was published in 1985. He died on May 17, 2001 at the age of 93.

80 years ago
1928

Died on this date
Harry Brooks. U.S. aviator. Mr. Brooks, from Detroit, was flying a Ford one-man airplane from Titusville, Florida to Miami when he fell into the sea off Melbourne, Florida, and was drowned.

Crime
Mail robbers got away with $133,000 in currency when they blew open the door of a Grand Trunk Railway car at Evergreen Park in Chicago.

40 years ago
1968

Politics and government
Archbishop Makarios was re-elected to a second five-year term as President of Cyprus.

Golf
George Knudson won the Tucson Open with a score of 273; first prize money was $20,000.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): E Dirsi Ciao--Matia Bazar

#1 single in Switzerland: Mull of Kintyre--Wings (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland: Take a Chance on Me--ABBA

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Take a Chance on Me--ABBA (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Stayin' Alive--Bee Gees (4th week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 If I Had Words--Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley with the St. Thomas More School Choir (5th week at #1)
2 Take a Chance on Me--ABBA
3 She's Not There--Santana
4 Black Betty--Ram Jam
5 It's a Heartache--Bonnie Tyler
6 Mull of Kintyre--Wings
7 Big City--Tol Hansse
8 I Can't Stand the Rain--Eruption featuring Precious Wilson
9 Daddy Cool - The Girl Can't Help It--The Darts
10 Stayin' Alive--Bee Gees

Singles entering the chart were Denis by Blondie (#14); Fantasy by Earth, Wind & Fire (#28); City to City by Gerry Rafferty (#33); and It's Only a Matter of Time by Breeze (#34).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Stayin' Alive--Bee Gees (4th week at #1)
2 Emotion--Samantha Sang
3 (Love Is) Thicker than Water--Andy Gibb
4 Just the Way You Are--Billy Joel
5 Sometimes When We Touch--Dan Hill
6 Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)--Chic
7 Short People--Randy Newman
8 What's Your Name--Lynyrd Skynyrd
9 We are the Champions--Queen
10 Peg--Steely Dan

Singles entering the chart were We'll Never have to Say Goodbye Again by England Dan & John Ford Coley (#73); Love is Like Oxygen by Sweet (#85); Put Your Head on My Shoulder by Leif Garrett (#86); Fantasy by Earth, Wind & Fire (#87); Let's All Chant by the Michael Zager Band (#88); and It Amazes Me by John Denver (#100).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Stayin' Alive--Bee Gees (2nd week at #1)
2 Short People--Randy Newman
3 We are the Champions--Queen
4 Sometimes When We Touch--Dan Hill
5 Just the Way You Are--Billy Joel
6 (Love Is) Thicker than Water--Andy Gibb
7 Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)--Chic
8 Baby Come Back--Player
9 Emotion--Samantha Sang
10 Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood--Santa Esmeralda

Singles entering the chart were Hot Legs by Rod Stewart (#86); California by Debby Boone (#87); The Closer I Get to You by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway (#91); Thank You for Being a Friend by Andrew Gold (#92); Running on Empty by Jackson Browne (#93); Fooling Yourself by Styx (#94); Baby Hold On by Eddie Money (#98); You Really Got Me by Van Halen (#99); and Disco Inferno by the Trammps (#100).

Hockey
NHL
New York Rangers 6 @ Montreal 3

Hardy Astrom was in goal for the Rangers as they upset the Canadiens at the Montreal Forum on the national Hockey Night in Canada telecast to end the Canadiens' league-record 28-game unbeaten streak. The game proved to be the high point in the NHL career of Mr. Astrom, whose play for the Colorado Rockies two years later led Colorado head coach Don Cherry to dub Mr. Astrom "The Swedish Sieve," and helped to end Mr. Cherry's coaching career.

CHL
Dallas 3 @ Fort Worth 2
Tulsa 6 @ Salt Lake City 5

25 years ago
1983

Died on this date
Tennessee Williams, 71. U.S. playwright. Mr. Williams was one of the best-known playwrights of the 20th century. A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955) each won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Rose Tattoo (1951) won the Tony for Best Play, and The Glass Menagerie (1944) and The Night of the Iguana (1961) each won awards from the New York Drama Critics' Circle. Many of his works, including all of those mentioned above, were made into movies. These included Summer and Smoke; Suddenly, Last Summer; Sweet Bird of Youth; Period of Adjustment; and Orpheus Descending (released on film as The Fugitive Kind). Mr. Williams wrote the screenplay for Baby Doll (1956), and his novella The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone was made into a movie in 1961. Mr. Williams went into a long decline after the early 1960s, and was never able to recapture his earlier success. For example, The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore (1963) closed after just 69 performances on Broadway, and a reworked version a year later lasted just 5 nights. The movie version, titled Boom!, was one of the biggest critical and box office flops of 1968. Mr. Williams died from choking on a plastic bottle cap in his room at the Hotel Elysee in New York. He was apparently in the habit of putting the cap in his mouth while he tilted his head back to put drops in his eyes.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Always on My Mind--Pet Shop Boys (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Heatseeker--AC/DC (3rd week at #1)

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz began a week of meetings with leaders in Middle Eastern capitals.

Politics and government
Roe Tae-woo took office as President of South Korea.

10 years ago
1998

Died on this date
W.O. Mitchell, 83. Canadian writer. His best-known works were the novels Who Has Seen the Wind and Jake and the Kid. The former was made into a movie in 1977, while the latter was a successful radio series on CBC in the 1960s.