March 13, 2008

870 years ago
1138

Religion
Roman Catholic Cardinal Cardinal Gregorio Conti was elected Antipope as Victor IV, succeeding Anacletus II.

200 years ago
1808

Died on this date
Christian VII, 59. King of Denmark and Norway, 1766-1808. Christian VII succeeded his father Frederick V on the throne, but was beset by severe mental problems--perhaps schizophrenia--and was king in name only for most of his reign. He died of a stroke, and was succeeded by his son Frederick VI.

80 years ago
1928

Disappeared on this date
Walter G.R. Hinchliffe; Elsie Mackay. British socialites. Capt. Hinchliffe and Miss Mackay, third daughter of Viscount Inchcape, left Cranwell airdrome in England in a monoplane, bound for the United States. They were never heard from again.

World events
Afghanistan's King Amanullah Khan and Queen Surrayya arrived in London, England from Germany, and were welcomed by King George V and Queen Mary.

Politics and government
The Nicaraguan House of Deputies voted 23-17 against U.S. supervision of the Nicaraguan national elections that were to take place later in 1928.

Disasters
The St. Francis dam of the Los Angeles, California water supply, 40 miles north of that city, gave way at 1 A.M., flooding the San Francisquito Canon with 12 billion gallons of water. 450 people were killed as the flood devastated the Santa Clara River valley, destroying property at Newhall, Ventura, Oxnard, Santa Paula, Fillmore, Moorpack, Camarillo, Piru, Salicov, and Bakersfield. At least 400 houses in the upper portion of the valley between Piru and the dam, a distance of 16 miles, were swept away without any sign of their foundations remaining. 300 houses in the southern section of Santa Paula were wrecked and swept into a tangled mess of debris as the waters raced through there to the Santa Clara River bed. More than 30 people were killed at Santa Paula.

70 years ago
1938

On the radio
In Europe, Edward R. Murrow and William L. Shirer put together a multi-site live broadcast about the Anschluss. The Columbia Broadcasting System special, hosted by Bob Trout in New York, included Mr. Shirer in London (with Labour MP Ellen Wilkinson); reporter Edgar Ansel Mowrer of the Chicago Daily News in Paris; reporter Pierre J. Huss of the International News Service in Berlin; and Senator Lewis B. Schwellenbach in Washington, D.C. Another reporter, Frank Gervasi in Rome, was unable to find a transmitter to broadcast reaction from the Italian capital, but phoned his script to Mr. Shirer in London, who read it on the broadcast. The broadcast became the basis for World News Roundup, which still runs each weekday morning and evening on the CBS radio network.

World events
The Anschluss of Austria with Germany immediately came into effect by legislative act (subject to ratification by referendum), the day after the German 8th Army had marched into Austria unopposed. Under the legislation, Austria became the German province of Ostmark, and Arthur Seyss-Inquart (a pro-Nazi Austrian lawyer who had been appointed Interior Minister under pressure from German Chancellor Adolf Hitler) was appointed Governor.

60 years ago
1948

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard) (Best Seller): Manana (Is Soon Enough for Me)--Peggy Lee

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover--Art Mooney and his Orchestra
--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra
--The Three Suns
--Uptown String Band
2 Now is the Hour (Maori Farewell Song)--Bing Crosby
--Gracie Fields
--Margaret Whiting
--Eddy Howard and his Orchestra
3 Manana (Is Soon Enough for Me)--Peggy Lee
4 Beg Your Pardon--Francis Craig and his Orchestra
--Frankie Carle and his Orchestra
--Larry Green and his Orchestra
5 Ballerina--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
--Bing Crosby with the Rhythmaires
--Buddy Clark
6 Serenade of the Bells--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Jo Stafford
--Kay Kyser and his Orchestra
7 Golden Earrings--Peggy Lee
8 How Soon (Will I Be Seeing You)--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
--Bing Crosby and Carmen Cavallaro
--Jack Owens
--Dinah Shore
9 I'll Dance at Your Wedding--Ray Noble and his Orchestra with Buddy Clark
--Peggy Lee
10 But Beautiful--Frank Sinatra
--Margaret Whiting

Singles entering the chart were Thoughtless, with versions by Vic Damone; Doris Day; and Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians (#15); Sabre Dance by Woody Herman and his Orchestra (#21); Saturday Date, with versions by Tex Beneke and his Orchestra, and Kay Kyser and his Orchestra (#32); and Little White Lies by Dick Haymes (#35).

50 years ago
1958

Crime
Nathan Leopold, 53, was released on parole from Stateville Prison in Illinois after serving 33 years for his part in the murder of 14-year-old Bobby Franks in May 1924. Mr. Leopold, then 19, and his friend Richard Loeb, then 18, were precocious Univrsity of Chicago students and devotees of the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche who regarded themselves as supermen who were above the law and conventional morality. They connived the kidnapping and murder of Bobby Franks (an acquaintance of Mr. Loeb's) in order to demonstrate that they could commit the perfect crime. Mr. Leopold and Mr. Loeb were caught soon after the "crime of the century," and hired 67-year-old Clarence Darrow to defend them on capital charges of murder and kidnapping. Mr. Darrow entered guilty pleas for both defendants before Cook County Circuit Court Judge John R. Caverly in order to avoid a jury trial. Mr. Darrow's speech against capital punishment on the final day of the trial succeeded in obtaining sentences of life for murder and 99 years for kidnapping for both clients. Mr. Loeb was murdered by a fellow inmate in January 1936. Mr. Leopold used his years in prison to further his education, eventually mastering 28 languages. After his parole he obtained a teaching position with the University of Puerto Rico. He married a widowed florist in 1961, and died on August 30, 1971. The Leoplold-Loeb killing was fictionalized for theatre by Patrick Hamilton in his 1929 play Rope (the play was set in England, and the names of the characters were changed), which was made into a movie (with an American setting) by Alfred Hitchcock in 1948. The 1959 movie Compulsion employed a documentary approach, although not using the parties' real names. Dean Stockwell and Bradford Dillman played the killers in Compulsion, with Orson Welles (complete with large putty nose) as their lawyer.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Cinderella Rockefella--Esther and Abi Ofarim (3rd week at #1)

Australia's top 10 (Go-Set)
1 Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)--John Fred and his Playboy Band (2nd week at #1)
2 Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)--Johnny Farnham
3 Bottle of Wine--The Fireballs
4 Love is Blue (L'Amour est Bleu)--Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra
5 The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde--Georgie Fame
6 Tin Soldier/I Feel Much Better--Small Faces
7 Woman, Woman--The Union Gap
8 Am I that Easy to Forget--Engelbert Humperdinck
9 You Only Live Twice/Oh Lonesome Me--Nancy Sinatra/Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood
10 Different Drum--Stone Poneys

Singles entering the chart were Sky Pilot (Part Two) by Eric Burdon and the Animals (#29); When I was Six Years Old by Ronnie Burns (#30); and Today by Sandie Shaw (#39).

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): It's a Heartache--Bonnie Tyler (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Hohoemi Gaeshi--The Candies

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Te Amo--Umberto Tozzi (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
John Cazale, 42. U.S. actor. Mr. Cazale appeared in only five feature films--The Godfather (1972); The Conversation (1974); The Godfather, Part II (1974); Dog Day Afternoon (1975); and The Deer Hunter (1978), but all five were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. His best-known role was as Fredo Corleone in the Godfather movies. Mr. Cazale's only other movie appearance was in the 1962 short The American Way. Mr. Cazale was also a distinguished stage actor, and won an Obie award for his performance in The Indian Wants the Bronx in 1967-68. He and Al Pacino became friends as teenagers, and developed a close personal and working relationship. Mr. Cazale was dying of lung cancer when he was hired to act in The Deer Hunter, and his scenes were the first ones filmed. Meryl Streep was also acting in this picture, and the two became engaged during filming.

Economics and finance
The United States and West Germany announced a series of joint actions to stabilize the U.S. dollar, which had been declining in value against other currencies since late February.

25 years ago
1983

Curling
Ontario, skipped by Ed Werenich, defeated Ed Lukowich's Alberta rink 6-3 in the final of the Brier at Sudbury, Ontario. The two skips wore live microphones during the game for the CBC telecast, a Brier first. As Mr. Werenich prepared for his final shot, he said to his front end of Neil Harrison and John Kowaja, ‘I’m just going to throw this, and you guys sweep the piss out of it!’ I liked curling a lot better before they put the mikes on the players.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Heaven is a Place on Earth--Belinda Carlisle (3rd week at #1)

Academia
Gallaudet University, a school for deaf students in Washington, D.C., appointed Irving King Jordan, Jr., dean of arts and sciences, as the university's first deaf president. Non-deaf Elizabeth Ann Zinser had been chosen for the position by the trustees on March 6, sparking student protests (presumably mostly silent protests) that almost shut down the university. Ms. Zinser's appointment was opposed by many faculty and staff members, and she resigned on March 11, noting how deeply feelings ran on the issue.

Curling
Alberta, skipped by Pat Ryan, defeated Saskatchewan 8-7 in the final to win the Brier at Chicoutimi, Quebec. Including playoffs, Mr. Ryan's rink finished with a perfect record of 12 wins and no losses.

10 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Hans von Ohain, 86. German-born U.S. physicist and engineer. Dr. Ohain designed the first operational jet engine in1937, and a leter development powered the world's first flyable all-jet aircraft, the prototype of the Heinkel He 178 (He 178 V1), in 1939. None of his engine designs entered widespread production or operational use, as other German designs eclipsed his. Dr. Ohain was brought to the United States in 1947 as part of Operation Paperclip, and worked for the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. In 1956, he was made the Director of the Air Force Aeronautical Research Laboratory, and by 1975 he was the Chief Scientist of the Aero Propulsion Laboratory there. Dr. Ohain retired from Wright-Patterson in 1979, and taught at the University of Dayton. He held the Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History at the National Air and Space Museum in 1984-85.

World events
South Korean President Kim Dae Jung freed scores of political prisoners and cleared the records of 5.5 million Koreans.

Abominations
The Clinton Administration abandoned U.S. sponsorship of the United Nations' annual resolution criticizing the People's Republic of China's record on human rights.

Scandal
A court martial acquitted U.S. Army Sergeant Major Gene C. McKinney of sexual misconduct, but convicted him on one count of obstructing justice.