February 8, 2008

80 years ago
1928

World events
Mme. Anastasia Tschaikovsky, who claimed to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia, a daughter of Czar Nicholas II of Russia who escaped the massacre of the royal family at Ekaterinburg, arrived in New York City from Europe.

Aviation
French aviators Dieudonne Costes and Joseph Lebrix, continuing their transatlantic flight, took off from Montgomery, Alabama for Washington, D.C. Going through heavy clouds, rain, and fog all the way, they made a perfect landing at Bowling Field after a 7-hour flight.

75 years ago
1933

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

60 years ago
1948

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

Olympics
The RCAF Flyers, representing Canada, defeated the host Swiss team 3-0 on the last day of the Winter Olympics at St. Moritz to win the gold medal in hockey; to win gold, Canada had to win by at least two goals. Goaltender Murray Dowey recorded his fifth shutout in eight games. The coach of the Flyers was Hall-of-Famer Frank Boucher.

40 years ago
1968

War
U.S. commanders in Vietnam reported record American casualties for any single week of the war to date, with 416 killed and 2,757 wounded from January 28 to February 3. South Vietnamese casualties for the same period were 784 killed and 2,230 wounded, with the Communists losing 15,515 men.

Politics and government
Former Democratic Governor of Alabama George Wallace announced his candidacy for president on a third-party ticket. Mr. Wallace said that if he were elected he would keep peace in the streets if it took "30,000 troops...with 2-foot-long bayonets." He also said that he would change the "so-called civil rights laws" which were in reality "an attack on property rights...free enterprise...and local government."

25 years ago
1983

Hockey
NHL
All-Star Game @ Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Clarence S. Campbell Conference 9 Prince of Wales Conference 3

Leading 3-2 after two periods, the Campbell All-Stars broke the game open in the third period before 15,230 fans. Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers scored four goals in the third period, and Oiler teammate Mark Messier assisted on three of them. Both totals were All-Star game records for a single period. Mr. Gretzky was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

20 years ago
1988

Died on this date
Allan Cuthbertson, 67. Australian-born U.K. actor. Mr. Cuthbertson served with the Royal Australian Air Force in World War II, and moved to Britain in 1947. He frequently played military officers in movies such as Tunes of Glory (1960) and The Guns of Navarone (1961). Mr. Cuthbertson's best-known performance was a guest role as Colonel Hall in the Gourmet Night episode of the television comedy series Fawlty Towers (1975).