March 3, 2008

Happy Birthday, Sherry!

170 years ago
1838

War
John Maitland and regulars of the 32nd and 83rd Regiments and the Essex Militia crossed the ice of Lake Erie with cavalry from St. Thomas under Captain James Ermatinger; they routed Stephen Van Rensselaer and his 1,000 American supporters of the Upper Canadian rebels, who had captured Pelee Island on February 26; 11 Americans were killed, and several captured.

160 years ago
1848

Politics and government
The Canadian government of Premier Henry Sherwood and Deputy Premier Denis-Benjamin Papineau was defeated 54-20 in a vote of non-confidence; Governor Lord Elgin called on Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine to form a government on March 10.

140 years ago
1868

Born on this date
Émile-Auguste Chartier. French philosopher and journalist. Mr. Chartier, who wrote under the name Alain and was the author of more than 50 books, was a leading theorist of radicalism who stressed the rights of individuals against the state, and warned against all forms of power. Privately, Mr. Chartier expressed right-wing views in his diary during World War II. He died on June 3, 1951 at the age of 83.

130 years ago
1878

War
The Russo-Turkish War ended with Bulgaria regaining its independence from the Ottoman Empire according to the Treaty of San Stefano. A few months later, the Congress of Berlin stripped its status to a vassal principality of the Ottoman Empire.

110 years ago
1898

Born on this date
La Argentinita. Argentine-born dancer and singer. La Argentinita, whose real name was Encarnación López Júlvez, moved with her family to Spain at the age of 3. She and her sister Pilar learned flamenco dancing; Encarnación became internationally popular on her own and as a team with Pilar, performing on stage and making recordings in a career of more than 30 years. Encarnación López died of an abdominal tumour at the age of 47 on September 24, 1945.

100 years ago
1908

Politics and government
The Conservative Party, led by Douglas Hazen, ended 25 years of Liberal Party rule, winning the New Brunswick provincial election. The Conservatives won 31 of 45 seats in the Legislative Assembly, while the Liberals, led by Premier Clifford Robinson, were reduced to 12 seats. Two neutral members were elected in the first New Brunswick election in which party labels were used.

90 years ago
1918

War
The Russian Bolsheviks signed a peace treaty at Brest-Litovsk with Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey.

50 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): #1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Don't/I Beg of You--Elvis Presley (Best Seller--4th week at #1); Sugartime--The McGuire Sisters (Disc Jockey--3rd week at #1); Get a Job--The Silhouettes (Top 100--2nd week at #1)

At the movies
The True Story of Lynn Stuart, directed by Lewis Seiler, and starring Betsy Palmer, Jack Lord, and Barry Atwater, opened in theatres.



War
Celebes insurgent leader Colonel Ventje Sumual announced that his forces had retaken Gerontalo, the centre for 250,000 Gerontalese Muslims, from Indonesian government troops.

United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold named General Carl Carlsson von Horn of Sweden to succeed Gen. E.L.M. Burns of Canada as UN Truce Supervisory Organization chief in Palestine.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles met at the White House with U.S.S.R. Ambassador to the U.S.A. Mikhail Menshikov, reportedly telling Mr. Menshikov that the U.S. would not agree to new Soviet terms for a summit conference unless preparatory meetings were permitted to discuss in detail the questions to be placed on the summit agenda.

World events
1,700 Muslim refugees crossed into the Kasserine area of Tunisia in the wake of a French military sweep of Algeria's Bekkaria region.

Defense
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Army must reverse its actions in giving less than honorable discharges to soldiers because they had allegedly engaged in subversive activities prior to induction.

Politics and government
King Paul of Greece named Constantine Georgakopoulos to head a caretaker cabinet charged with the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies and preparation of new general elections.

Nuri al-Said took office as Prime Minister of Iraq for the eighth time.

The White House made public the terms of an agreement between U.S. President Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon under which Mr. Nixon was to take over the President's duties temporarily as acting President should Mr. Eisenhower become disabled. The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, covering such a situtation, wasn't ratified until 1967.

Scandal
Richard Mack resigned as a member of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission after admitting to the House of Representatives Special Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight that he had received loans and gifts of stock from a friend who was interested in the FCC award of a valuable television channel in Miami.

Boxing
Former middleweight champion Gene Fullmer (44-4) won a 10-round unanimous decision over Milo Savage (42-40-9) at Fairgrounds Coliseum in Salt Lake City.



40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)--Manfred Mann (2nd week at #1

Hockey
NHL
Montreal 2 @ Detroit 5

Montreal centre and captain Jean Beliveau scored his 25th goal of the season in the first period, becoming the second player in NHL history to score 1,000 career points, as the Canadiens lost to the Red Wings at Olympia Stadium. Gordie Howe of the Red Wings, who played that night, was the first player to accomplish the feat, in 1960. Norm Ullman, playing his last game in a Detroit uniform, led the Red Wings with 2 goals (his 29th and 30th of the season) and an assist. Paul Henderson scored his 13th of the season, and Nick Libett scored his first NHL goal to aid the Red Wing cause. Floyd Smith, in his Red Wing finale, added 2 assists. After the game, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings effected a 7-player trade. The Maple Leafs traded left wing Frank Mahovlich, centre Pete Stemkowski, center Garry Unger, and the rights to defenceman Carl Brewer to the Red Wings for centre Norm Ullman, left wing Paul Henderson, and right wing Floyd Smith. Mr. Mahovlich, in his 12th season with the Maple Leafs, had 19 goals and 17 assists in 50 games in Toronto in 1967-68, but the pressure of playing in Toronto had led to him requiring psychiatric treatment, causing him to miss some games. Mr. Stemkowski had 7 goals and 15 assists in 60 games with Toronto in 1967-68, while Mr. Unger had 1 goal and 1 assist in 15 games with Toronto, 1 goal and 3 assists in 5 games with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, and 3 goals and 5 assists in 9 games with the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Professional Hockey League. Mr. Brewer had retired after the 1964-65 season, and had played with the Canadian National Team before joining the Muskegon Mohawks of the International Hockey League for 1967-68. Mr. Ullman, in his 13th season with the Red Wings, had 30 goals and 25 assists in 58 games with Detroit in 1967-68. Mr. Henderson had 13 goals and 20 assists in 50 games with Detroit, while Mr. Smith had 18 goals and 21 assists in 57 games with Detroit in 1967-68. The trade turned out to be a good trade for both teams, at least for the individual players involved. The scoring productivity of all six of the current players improved over the final weeks of the season. The defending Stanley Cup champion Maple Leafs made the trade in a desperate effort to avoid missing the playoffs in the first season of NHL expansion. The player who benefited most from the change of scenery was probably Mr. Mahovlich. The presence in the Detroit organization of his brother Pete was probably another factor helping the Big M's peace of mind; in 13 games as a Red Wing that year, he scored 7 goals and 9 assists. As it turned out, the trade came too late to save the season for the Maple Leafs; they finished 4 points out of the last playoff spot. The Red Wings finished sixth and last in the Eastern Division, 10 points behind the Maple Leafs.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Ti amo--Umberto Tozzi (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Mull of Kintyre--Wings (8th week at #1)

#1 single in France: Ça plane pour moi--Plastic Bertrand (2nd week at #1)

25 years ago
1983

Hit parade
Canada's Top 30

1 Goody Two Shoes--Adam Ant
2 We've Got Tonight--Kenny Rogers & Sheena Easton
3 You Are--Lionel Richie
4 Shame on the Moon--Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
5 Allentown--Billy Joel
6 Stray Cat Strut--The Stray Cats
7 Separate Ways--Journey
8 Billie Jean--Michael Jackson
9 When I'm With You--Sheriff
10 One on One--Daryl Hall and John Oates
11 Mr. Roboto--Styx
12 Back on the Chain Gang--Pretenders
13 All Right--Christopher Cross
14 Hungry Like the Wolf--Duran Duran
15 Baby Come to Me--Patti Austin
16 Do You Really Want to Hurt Me--Culture Club
17 Crazy--Supertramp
18 Breaking Us in Two--Joe Jackson
19 All of My Heart--ABC
20 Cuts Like a Knife--Bryan Adams
21 Shy Boy--Bananarama
22 Everytime I See Your Picture--Luba
23 I've Got a Rock & Roll Heart--Eric Clapton
24 Comin' True--Streetheart
25 I Don't Care Anymore--Phil Collins
26 Who Knows How to Make Love Stay--Doug and the Slugs
27 Make Love Stay--Dan Fogelberg
28 Jeopardy--Greg Kihn Band
29 Change of Heart--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
30 Human Race--Red Rider

Died on this date
Arthur Koestler, 77. Hungarian-born U.K. writer. Mr. Koestler joined the German Communist party in 1931, but left the party seven years later, and became an outspoken anti-Communist. His most famous book, Darkness at Noon, published in 1940, was a novel about the great purge in the Soviet Union under Josef Stalin in the late 1930s. Mr. Koestler was of Jewish ancestry, but disavowed his heritage and became an atheist. His 1976 book The Thirteenth Tribe advanced the idea that Ashkenazi Jews (those of eastern European descent, such as Mr. Koestler) are not descended from the ancient Israelites, but from the Khazars, a Turkish tribe from the Caucasus that converted to Judaism in the 8th Century and later moved into present-day Russia, Ukraine, and Poland. Recent genetic research has contradicted this idea (the reader is encouraged to look it up for himself). Arthur Koestler, a promoter of euthanasia, was suffering from Parkinson's Disease and leukemia, and committed joint suicide with his wife Cynthia by means of a drug overdose.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Always on My Mind--Pet Shop Boys (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Sleepy Sleepers--Nykäsen Matti

Died on this date
Henryk Szeryng, 69. Polish-born musician and diplomat. Mr. Szeryng was a concert violinist who served as liaison officer and interpreter to General Wladyslaw Sikorski, Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile during World War II. Mr. Szeryng was so impressed by Mexico's response to his plea to accept 4,000 Polish refugees in 1941 that he moved to Mexico and became a Mexican citizen in 1946. Mr. Szeryng and pianist Arthur Rubinstein collaborated in concerts and recordings from the 1950s through the 1970s. Mr. Szeryng lived in France for 20 years, and his last five years in Monaco; he died in Germany of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz met with King Hussein of Jordan for the second time in three days in an attempt to stimulate the Middle East peace process. 30 U.S. senators wrote Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, criticizing his rejection of the idea of trading land for peace--giving up the occupied territories--as supported by United Nations Security Council Resolution 242.

Economics and finance
U.S. federal district courts restrained four banks from transferring funds to the Panamanian government.

The United States House of Representatives rejected by a vote of 216-208 a plan advanced by House Speaker Jim Wright for $30.8 million in non-lethal aid to the Contras in Nicaragua.

10 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Fred Friendly, 82. U.S. broadcast executive. Mr. Friendly was President of CBS News in the 1950s and 1960s, and was particularly known for his collaborative efforts with broadcaster Edward R. Murrow. A series of Columbia record albums titled I Can Hear it Now, beginning in 1948, was followed by the radio series Hear it Now in 1951, which soon moved to television as See it Now. Probably the most famous See it Now broadcast was that of March 9, 1954, a critical examination of Senator Joseph McCarthy. The broadcast has been credited by some with helping to turn public opinion against the Wisconsin anti-Communist activist (although a number of anti-McCarthy commentators criticized See it Now the broadcast as unfair and distorted. The circumstances surrounding this broadcast inspired the 2005 movie Good Night and Good Luck; George Clooney played Mr. Friendly. After See it Now ended its run in 1958, Mr. Friendly and Mr. Murrow collaborated on a number of projects for the series CBS Reports; the most famous of these, Harvest of Shame, broadcast in November 1960, concerned the plight of migrant farm workers and is still considered a high point in the history of television journalism. Mr. Friendly produced a number of other programs for CBS Reports in the 1960s, but became increasingly disenchanted with the network brass. He reached his breaking point and resigned from CBS in 1966 when the network ran a scheduled episode of The Lucy Show instead of the first United States Senate hearings investigating American involvement in Vietnam. After leaving CBS, Mr. Friendly worked at the Ford Foundation, taught journalism at Columbia University, and played a major role in the creation of the Public Broadcasting Service.