March 29, 2008

160 years ago
1848

Weather
An ice jam formed at the source of the Niagara River on the eastern shore of Lake Erie, temporarily stopping the flow of water down Niagara Falls for the first time in recorded history.



125 years ago
1883

Religion
The first Junior Christian Endeavor Society was organized, "to promote an earnest Christian life among its members, to increase their mutual acquaintance, to train them for work in the church, and in every way to make them useful in the service of God and their fellow men."

120 years ago
1888

Died on this date
Charles-Valentin Alkan, 74. French composer. Mr. Alkan was a child prodigy who began playing piano in public at age 7 and began composing at 14. His compositions included Symphony for Solo Piano; Concerto for Solo Piano; and the Grande sonate Les quatre âges. It was long believed that he had been killed when his bookcase had fallen on him, but that has recently been debunked.

100 years ago
1908

Born on this date
Arthur O'Connell. U.S. actor. Mr. O'Connell appeared in numerous movies and television programs in a career spanning more than 40 years, usually in supporting roles. He was best known for his supporting performances in Picnic (1955) and Anatomy of a Murder (1959), for which he received Academy Award nominations. Mr. O'Connell suffered from Alzheimer's disease in later years, appearing only in television commercials for Crest toothpaste. He died on May 18, 1981 at the age of 73.

80 years ago
1928

Politics and government
It was reported that threats of bombing by gangs had put a crimp in political rallies in the primary campaign at Chicago.

75 years ago
1933

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Richard Gordon and Leigh Lovell, on NBC
Tonight's episode: A Scandal in Bohemia

70 years ago
1938

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Toronto 3 @ Boston 2 (OT) (Toronto won best-of-five series 3-0)

Gord Drillon scored 10:04 into overtime to give the Maple Leafs the win over the Bruins at Boston Garden.

50 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): The Twelfth of Never--Johnny Mathis

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Der lachende Vagabund--Fred Bertelmann (10th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Hello, le soleil brille--Annie Cordy (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Magic Moments/Catch a Falling Star--Perry Como (5th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Tequila--The Champs (3rd week at #1)
2 Sweet Little Sixteen--Chuck Berry
3 Who's Sorry Now--Connie Francis
4 Lollipop--The Chordettes
--Ronald and Ruby
5 Catch a Falling Star--Perry Como
6 26 Miles (Santa Catalina)--The Four Preps
7 It's Too Soon to Know--Pat Boone
8 Are You Sincere--Andy Williams
9 Sail Along Silvery Moon--Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra
10 Breathless--Jerry Lee Lewis

Singles entering the chart were Believe What You Say (#43)/My Bucket's Got a Hole in It (#59) by Ricky Nelson; Tumbling Tumbleweeds by Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra (#45); Bluebirds Over the Mountain by Ersel Hickey (#46); Return to Me by Dean Martin (#50); Every Night (I Pray) by the Chantels (#51); Let's Be Lovers by the Playmates (#55); and Walkin' the Low Road by Randy Sparks (#60).

Politics and government
Joseph Bech resigned as Prime Minister of Luxembourg, but remained as Foreign Minister; he was succeeded as Prime Minister by Pierre Frieden.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Why or Where or When--Mr. Lee Grant

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Lady Madonna--The Beatles
2 Valleri--The Monkees
3 Playboy--Gene and Debbe
4 Love is Blue (L'Amour est Bleu)--Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra
5 Too Much Talk--Paul Revere and the Raiders
6 Young Girl--The Union Gap
7 The Unicorn--The Irish Rovers
8 Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition was In)--The First Edition
9 The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde--Georgie Fame
10 Thank U Very Much--The Scaffold
Pick of the Week: Maybe Came Today--Diana Ross & the Supremes
New this week: Rainbow Woman--Lee Hazlewood
Soul Serenade--Willie Mitchell
Master Jack--Four Jacks and a Jill
Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day--Stevie Wonder

The McCartney brothers were prominently featured in the top 10. Paul wrote and sang lead on Lady Madonna, while Mike, who wrote and recorded under the name Mike McGear, was a member of The Scaffold, and co-wrote Thank U Very Much.

At the movies
Madigan, directed by Don Siegel and starring Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Inger Stevens, and Steve Ihnat, received its premiere screening in New York City.



War
Israeli and Jordanian forces fought an eight-hour artillery duel, in which Israel used airplanes, along the Jordan River.

Hockey
CPHL
Adams Cup
Quarter-Finals
Dallas 2 @ Fort Worth 4 (Fort Worth led best-of-five series 1-0)

30 years ago
1978

Diplomacy
U.S. President Jimmy Carter, on a tour of South America, arrived in Brazil, and immediately raised the two issues that had brought U.S.-Brazilian relations to a "30-year low"--human rights and nuclear proliferation. Brazil had abrogated the U.S.-Brazil military assistance treaty the previous year after Mr. Carter had criticized the human rights record of the Brazilian military government under President Ernesto Geisel. The United States had also opposed a Brazilian plan to import a West German uranium-reprocessing plant that could be used in the production of nuclear weapons. Mr. Carter was given a cool reception by the Brazilian government.

Hockey
NHL
Vancouver 1 @ St. Louis 3

20 years ago
1988

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight's episode: My Father's Office

Died on this date
Maurice Blackburn, 73. Canadian composer. Mr. Blackburn worked with the National Film Board of Canada. He and animator Norman McLaren invented the technique of etching sound and image directly onto film.

Ted Kluszewski, 63. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Kluszewski was a first baseman with the Cincinnati Reds/Redlegs from 1947-1957; Pittsburgh Pirates (1958-1959); Chicago White Sox (1959-1960); and Los Angeles Angels (1961), batting .298 with 279 home runs and 1.028 runs batted in in 1,718 games. "Big Klu" was famous for cutting the sleeves off his jerseys in order not to restrict his massive biceps. His best season was 1954, when he hit .326 and led the National League with 49 home runs and 141 RBIs. He drew only 492 bases on balls in his career, but struck out only 365 times. In his only World Series, Mr. Kluszewski batted .391 with 3 homers and 10 RBIs for the White So as they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 6 games in 1959. He also led NL first basemen in fielding percentage for five straight seasons (1951-1955). Mr. Kluszewski was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1962 and had his jersey #18 retired by the team in 1998. He was a batting coach with the Reds during their World Series championship years of 1975 and 1976, and owned a downtown steak house that was a local landmark in Cincinnati.

Politics and government
In the contest for the U.S. presidential nominations, Michael Dukakis won the Democratic primary in Connecticut, while Vice President George Bush won the Connecticut Republican primary. Senator Bob Dole dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination, leaving only Pat Robertson to challenge Mr. Bush.

World events
Two Israeli soldiers who had buried four Arab youths alive were sentenced to prison terms.

Scandal
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Arnold Burns and William Weld, head of the U.S. Justice Department's criminal division, resigned, apparently in displeasure with the legal and ethical controversies surrounding Attorney General Edwin Meese. The two had reportedly informed White House Chief of Staff Howard Baker that prolonged investigations of Mr. Meese had paralyzed the department and undermined its credibility.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the index of leading economic indicators had risen 0.9% in February.