March 1, 2008

130 years ago
1878

Edmontonia
Edmonton's first official post office, Fort Edmonton station, opened, with Richard Hardisty as postmaster. Previously, the Northwest Mounted Police handled the mail.

90 years ago
1918

Politics and government
Former President Rodrigo Alves, candidate of the Republican Party of São Paulo, won the Brazilian presidential election, taking 99.1% of the vote. Mr. Alves had previously served as President of Brazil from 1902-1906. Delfim Moreira was elected Vice President.

75 years ago
1933

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

At the movies
Murders in the Zoo, directed by A. Edward Sutherland, and starring Charlie Ruggles, Lionel Atwill, Kathleen Burke, and Randolph Scott, received its premiere screening (see film).

50 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): April Love--Pat Boone (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Der lachende Vagabund--Fred Bertelmann (6th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Gondolier--Dalida (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Magic Moments/Catch a Falling Star--Perry Como

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Don't--Elvis Presley
2 Get a Job--The Silhouettes
3 Short Shorts--The Royal Teens
4 Catch a Falling Star--Perry Como
5 Sail Along Silvery Moon--Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra
6 Oh Julie--The Crescendos
7 At the Hop--Danny and the Juniors
8 The Stroll--The Diamonds
9 You are My Destiny--Paul Anka
10 26 Miles (Santa Catalina)--The Four Preps

Singles entering the chart were Sweet Elizabeth by Will Glahe and his Orchestra (#48); Yes, My Darling by Fats Domino (#53); Movin' n' Groovin' by Duane Eddy (#54); Arrividerci, Roma by Roger Williams (#55); Breathless by Jerry Lee Lewis (#56); Your Graduation Means Goodbye by the Cardigans (#59); and College Man by Bill Justis and his Orchestra (#60).

Religion
Samuel Stritch was appointed Pro-Prefect of the Propagation of Faith, and thus became the first U.S. member of the Roman Curia.

Disasters
More than 350 people were killed when the Turkish ferry Uskudar sank in the Sea of Marmara near Istanbul.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
Edmonton's top 10 (CJCA)
1 Love is Blue (L'Amour est Bleu--Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra (4th week at #1)
2 Words--The Bee Gees
3 (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay--Otis Redding
4 Green Tambourine--The Lemon Pipers
5 Itchycoo Park--Small Faces
6 Simon Says--1910 Fruitgum Company
7 he Unicorn--The Irish Rovers
8 I Can Take or Leave Your Loving--Herman's Hermits
9 Spooky--The Classics IV
10 Do What You Gotta Do--Al Wilson
Pick of the Week: Will You Love Me Tomorrow--The 4 Seasons
New this week: Summertime Blues--Blue Cheer
Whisper You Love Me Boy--Chris Clark
Up From the Skies--The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Paper Crown of Gold--The Collection
Ways--The Candymen

At the movies
Day of the Evil Gun, produced and directed by Jerry Thorpe and starring Glenn Ford, Arthur Kennedy, and Dean Jagger, opened in theatres.

Married on this date
U.S. country musician Johnny Cash married singer June Carter.

Politics and government
King Baudouin I of Belgium dissolved his country's parliament in anticipation of new elections after several attempts to form a new government had failed, following the February 7 resignation of the administration of Premier Paul Vanden Boeynant.

Disasters
In Philadelphia, high winds blew off a portion of the covering of the roof off of The Spectrum during a performance of the Ice Capades, closing the arena for a month, and forcing the Flyers, in their first season in the NHL, to play their remaining regular season "home" games on the road. After one game in New York and another in Toronto, the Flyers played at Le Colisee, home of their AHL farm team, the Quebec Aces. The roof was repaired in time for the Flyers to begin the Stanley Cup playoffs in April. The 76ers of the NBA were able to play their home games that month in Convention Hall or the Palestra, but neither facility had an ice rink.

Curling
Hazel Jamieson of Edmonton won the Canadian women's curling championship, her second title in three years.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Take a Chance on Me--ABBA (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Paul Scott, 57. U.K. author, poet, and playwright. Mr. Scott served with the British Army in India in the 1940s, and he drew on his experiences for The Raj Quartet, a series of four novels published from 1969-1975. Mr. Scott died 24 days before his 58th birthday.

Politics and government
The Canadian Parliament revised the Canada Elections Act, ending political party status for seven groups; 12 parties remained officially registered.

Hockey
NHL
Chicago 2 @ Vancouver 3

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Canada (The Record): Pump Up the Volume--M/A//R/R/S (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Joe Besser, 80. U.S. comedian and actor. Mr. Besser was best known as a member of The Three Stooges; he joined the team in the spring of 1956, shortly after the death of Shemp Howard, and left shortly after Columbia Pictures shut down its comedy shorts department on December 20, 1957. Mr. Besser's comic persona was that of a childish, whiny sissy. He played this type of character ("Stinky") in the Abbott and Costello TV show in the early 1950s. By the mid-1950s, Mr. Besser was one of the few performers still making shorts at Columbia, which is why studio executives insisted on his being added to The Three Stooges. His sissy character didn't fit in well with the Stooges' brand of humour (Mr. Besser actually had a clause in his contract that prevented him from being hit too much), and the 16 shorts that The Three Stooges made during this period aren't regarded as being among their best. The films were released between January 31, 1957 (Hoofs and Goofs) and June 4, 1959 (Sappy Bull Fighters). His last "official" appearance as a Stooge came when the team was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in August 1983. Mr. Besser was a regular on The Joey Bishop Show from 1961-1965, and made occasional appearances on Mr. Bishop's late-night show from 1967-1969.

Politics and government
Panama's new President, Manuel Solis Palma, named a new cabinet that was sworn in. The ousted President, Eric Arturo Delvalle, claimed from hiding that he was still head of the government, and issued a proclamation freezing all Panamanian assets outside Panama.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz met with King Hussein of Jordan in London in an attempt to restart the Middle East peace process.

War
Iran protested to the Soviet Union for allegedly supplying Iraq with missiles.

Hockey
NHL
Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers picked up career assist number 1,050 in a game-winning goal against the Los Angeles Kings, becoming the National Hockey League's career assist leader. He broke the 26-year mark of Gordie Howe in only 681 games, vs. Mr. Howe's 1,767 games.