February 27, 2008

80 years ago
1928

World events
In Nicaragua, U.S. Marines were ambushed by Sandanista rebels. Five marines were killed, and eight wounded.

Crime
A report made to the National Crime Commission stated that the vastness of the crime problem in the United States was due largely to the inefficiency of the police, and that their inefficiency was due largely to "the lack of average intelligence in the police force, particularly in the supervisory branches."

Oil
U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signed a bill transferring to the Secretary of the Navy jurisdiction over oil and gas leases issued by the Secretary of the Interior on lands in naval petroleum reserves. This was a result of the Teapot Dome scandal of 1923, the trials from which were still taking place in 1928. Albert B. Fall had been the Secretary of the Interior in 1923, and had become the first member of a U.S. cabinet to go to prison.

Disasters
Commander Theodore G. Ellyson, executive officer of the new aircraft carrier Lexington, and two other naval airmen, Lieutenant Commander Hugo Schmidt and Lt. Rogers S. Ransehouse, disappeared while making a flight from Hampton Roads to Annapolis, where Cdr. Ellison's daughter was ill.

75 years ago
1933

World events
In Berlin, the German Reichstag burned down that night. A Dutch Communist named Marinus van der Lubbe, a recent arrival in Germany, was arrested inside the building. Three Bulgarians were subsequently arrested and charged as part of the conspiracy to burn the Reichstag. Mr. van der Lubbe was the only one convicted, and he was beheaded on January 10, 1934. The extent to which others may have been involved is still debated by historians. The most significant result of the fire was a dramatic increase in the political power of Adolf Hitler, who had become Chancellor of Germany less than a month earlier. With elections coming up on March 5, Mr. Hitler asked for, and received from President Paul von Hindenburg, the Reichstag Fire Decree, which Mr. Hindenburg signed into law under section 48 of the Weimar constitution. The decree suspended most civil liberties in Germany, and was used by the Nazis in banning "unfriendly" publications. Thousands of Communists were arrested in the next several days. The Nazis, with their allies in the German National People's Party were able to obtain a majority in the Reichstag, and pass the Enabling Act, giving Mr. Hitler the right to rule by decree. A month after the fire, Mr. Hitler had achieved dictatorial power. You may have noticed that this wasn't the last time that a terrorist act was used as a pretext for suspending civil liberties and giving dictatorial powers to the executive branch of government in a Western "democracy." And of course, those liberties didn't come back anytime soon.

50 years ago
1958

Theatre
Blue Denim, written by James Leo Herlihy and William Noble, directed by Joshua Logan, and starring Warren Berlinger, Carol Lynley, Burt Brinckerhoff, and Chester Morris, opened at the Playhouse Theatre on Broadway in New York.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)--John Fred and his Playboy Band (4th week at #1)

On television tonight
The Invaders, starring Roy Thinnes, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Miracle

Wojeck, starring John Vernon, on CBC
Tonight's episode: The Names of the Games People Play

This episode, about an injured football player, was written by former Toronto Argonaut Gerry O'Flanagan, and featured footage of the Continental Football League's Toronto Rifles, who folded in September 1967, five months before the episode was broadcast.



Died on this date
Frankie Lymon, 25. U.S. singer. Mr. Lymon, lead singer of the Teenagers, was the first teenage rock and roll star, and one of that lifestyle's first casualties. At the age of 13, his soprano lead vocal propelled Why Do Fools Fall in Love to #1 on the U.S. rhythm and blues chart and #6 on the pop chart in the first half of 1956. The follow-up single, I Want You to Be My Girl, hit #13 on the pop chart. The group hit the R&B chart a few more times before splitting up in 1957. Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000. Mr. Lymon had a sporadic and commercially unsuccessful recording career, which wasn't helped when his voice changed with puberty. He became a heroin addict at the age of 15; he eventually kicked the habit, but had a relapse and died of an overdose just as he was resuming his recording career. His final single, I'm Sorry/Seabreeze, recorded shortly before his death, was released later in 1968.

War
U.S. President Lyndon Johnson, speaking in Dallas, declared that the North Vietnamese Tet offensive had failed, and told his audience: "There must be no weakening of will that would encourage the enemy and prolong the bloody conflict." The President said that U.S. and South Vietnamese forces had "answered aggression's onslaught with one strong voice," declaring "'No retreat.'" "That must be our answer, too, here at home. No retreat from the responsibility of the hour and the day."

Boxing
Lionel Rose (28-2), an Australian aborigine, won a 15-round unanimous decision over Fighting Harada (50-4) at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo to win the world bantamweight title.



30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): It's a Heartache--Bonnie Tyler

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Canada Kara no Tegami--Masaaki Hirao & Yōko Hatanaka

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Te Amo--Umberto Tozzi

Died on this date
Robert Sobukwe, 53. South African political activist. An opponent of Apartheid, Mr. Sobukwe formed the Pan Africanist Congress, and was elected its first president in 1959. On March 21, 1960, Mr. Sobukwe led a march to the local police station at Orlando, Soweto in protest against the Pass Law, which required blacks to carry a pass book at all times. Mr. Sobukwe deliberately made himself guilty under the law by being in a place that wasn't allowed for in his papers. The same day in Sharpeville, 69 PAC supporters were killed in what became known as the Sharpeville Massacre. Mr. Sobukwe was convicted of incitement and sentenced to three years in prison. After serving his sentence, he was kept in prison, without trial, on Robben Island. The new General Law Amendment Act, popularly known as the "Sobukwe clause," was passed, allowing the Minister of Justice to renew Mr. Sobukwe's imprisonment annually at his discretion. Mr. Sobukwe was the only person ever imprisoned under this clause. Mr. Sobukwe was released to house arrest (and banned from political activity) in 1969, but was able to complete a law degree in 1975 and begin practicing. He died of lung cancer.

Hockey
CHL
Tulsa 2 @ Salt Lake City 5

25 years ago
1983

On the radio
The Stories of Sherlock Holmes, on Springbok Radio
Tonight's episode: Tragedy at Nettlebed

Track and field
Eamonn Coghlan of Ireland set a world record for the indoor mile at 3:49.78 at the Vitalis/U.S. Olympic Invitational meet in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Mr. Coghlan's record stood until 1997.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: Sì, la vita è tutta un quiz--Renzo Arbore (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): (I've Had) The Time of My Life--Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): (I've Had) The Time of My Life--Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes (6th week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Boys (Summertime Love)--Sabrina (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): I Should Be So Lucky--Kylie Minogue

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): I Should Be So Lucky--Kylie Minogue (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): I Should Be So Lucky--Kylie Minogue (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Father Figure--George Michael

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Father Figure--George Michael
2 What Have I Done to Deserve This?--Pet Shop Boys (with Dusty Springfield)
3 Could've Been--Tiffany
4 She's Like the Wind--Patrick Swayze (featuring Wendy Fraser)
5 Seasons Change--Exposé
6 Never Gonna Give You Up--Rick Astley
7 Hungry Eyes--Eric Carmen
8 I Get Weak--Belinda Carlisle
9 Need You Tonight--INXS
10 Don't Shed a Tear--Paul Carrack

Singles entering the chart were Where Do Broken Hearts Go by Whitney Houston (#49); I Saw Him Standing There by Tiffany (#61); One Step Up by Bruce Springsteen (#67); Are You Sure by So (#82); Wait by White Lion (#86); Kiss and Tell by Bryan Ferry (#87); Naughty Girls (Need Love Too) by Samantha Fox (#89); and Don't Make a Fool of Yourself by Stacey Q (#90).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Pump Up the Volume--M/A/R/R/S
2 Crying--Roy Orbison and k.d. lang
3 Could've Been--Tiffany
4 Need You Tonight--INXS
5 Hazy Shade of Winter--Bangles
6 When a Man Loves a Woman--Luba
7 Candle in the Wind--Elton John
8 The Way You Make Me Feel--Michael Jackson
9 Tell it to My Heart--Taylor Dayne
10 She's Like the Wind--Patrick Swayze (featuring Wendy Fraser)

Singles entering the chart were Out of the Blue by Debbie Gibson (#90); Heaven Knows by Robert Plant (#93); Breakfast at the Circus by David Wilcox (#97); and Big Big World by Parachute Club (#98).

Abominations
In the seaside town of Sumgait in the Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, ethnic Azeris attacked and killed Armenians in what became known as the Sumgait Massacre or Sumgait Pogrom.

War
Iraqi jets bombed Iranian oil refineries.

Olympics
Elizabeth Manley of Ottawa, representing Canada, became the latest woman to become "Canada's Sweetheart" when she surprised everyone with the performance of her life in the long program in the women's figure skating event at the Olympic Saddledome in Calgary. Miss Manley won the long program, and almost won the overall title. The favourite, Katarina Witt of East Germany, held on to win the gold medal; Miss Manley won the silver, and American Debi Thomas won the bronze, becoming the first black athlete ever to win a medal in the Winter Olympics.







10 years ago
1998

Died on this date
J.T. Walsh, 54. U.S. actor. Mr. Walsh was a versatile character actor who appeared in nearly 60 movies. He played John Ehrlichman in Oliver Stone's film Nixon (1995).