February 21, 2009

180 years ago
1829

Died on this date
Kittur Chennamma, 50. Rani of Kittur, 1824-1829. Rani Chennamma succeeded her husband Raja Mallasarja as ruler of the princely state of Kittur upon his death. She led an armed force against the forces of the British East Indian Company in October 1824 in an attempt to maintain Indian control of Kittur, and led two successful campaigns, but was ultimately defeated in the third round of fighting, and was captured and imprisoned at Bailhongal Fort, where she died. Rani Chennamma is still celebrated as a heroine in Kittur.

160 years ago
1849

Communications
The Pony Express carried the first despatches from Halifax to Digby, Nova Scotia for relay to the Saint John, New Brunswick telegraph.

110 years ago
1899

Died on this date
George Bowen, 77. U.K. colonial administrator. Sir George, a native of Ireland, held various posts in the British Empire, including Governor of Queensland (1859-1868); Governor of New Zealand (1868-1873); Governor of Victoria (1873-1879); Governor of Mauritius (1879-1880); and Governor of Hong Kong (1883-1887). After his term in Hong Kong, he headed a Royal Commission in Malta to devise a constitution for the island; all of its recommendations were adopted. Sir George was then named to Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council.

90 years ago
1919

Died on this date
Kurt Eisner, 51. German politician. Mr. Eisner, a socialist, organized the revolution that toppled the Wittelsbach monarchy in Bavaria in November 1918. He proclaimed the Free Republic of Bavaria on November 8, 1918 and served as Minister President until he was fatally shot in the back by German nationalist Anton Graf von Arco auf Valley while Mr. Eisner was on his way to present his resignation to the Bavarian parliament. His death resulted in the establishment of the Bavarian Soviet Republic, and parliament and government fleeing Munich.

80 years ago
1929

War
In the first battle of the Warlord Rebellion against the Nationalist government of China, a 24,000-strong rebel force led by Zhang Zongchang was defeated at Zhifu by 7,000 Nationalist Republican Army troops.

75 years ago
1934

Died on this date
Augusto César Sandino, 38. Nicaraguan rebel leader. Mr. Sandino led a guerrilla rebellion from 1927-1933 against U.S. military occupation of Nicaragua. He was assassinated by National Guard forces of General Anastasio Somoza García, who seized power in a coup two years later. The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), which deposed Gen. Somoza in 1979 and ruled Nicaragua until 1990, was named in honour of Mr. Sandino.

60 years ago
1949

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring John Stanley and George Spelvin (Wendell Holmes)
Tonight's episode: The Adventure of the Hangman and the Book

Diplomacy
Costa Rica and Nicaragua signed a friendship agreement sponsored by the Pan American Union in Washington, ending their dispute over an invasion of Cost Rica by exiles from Nicaragua the previous December.

Defense
Norwegian Foreign Minister Halvard Lange announced Norway's decision to join the proposed North Atlantic security pact. Greek Foreign Minister Constantin Tsaldaris met in London with U.K. Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin to discuss a proposed Mediterranean defense alliance.

Politics and government
The Hoover Commission on Reorganization of the Executive Branch issued a report on the conduct of foreign affairs, recommending clearer delineation of lines of authority within the U.S. State Department and closer coordination between the State Dept. and other government agencies concerned with foreign operations.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Harry Truman formally presented his social security reform program to Congress, asking for an increase in benefits; a reduction of the women's eligibility age; addition of disability insurance to present old age and survivors' insurance; an increase in payroll taxes; and expansion of the categories of workers covered by social security.

The U.S. Senate passed a House of Representatives-approved measure continuing Truman administration authority to control exports through mid-1951.

Labour
The U.S. National Labor Relations Board ruled that any labour action in support of a secondary boycott was illegal, including posting of boycott notices in union headquarters.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)--Domenico Modugno (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Tom Dooley--Nilsen Brothers (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): One Night/I Got Stung--Elvis Presley (5th week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Stagger Lee--Lloyd Price (2nd week at #1)
2 Donna--Ritchie Valens
3 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters
4 Petite Fleur (Little Flower)--Chris Barber's Jazz Band
5 The Children's Marching Song (Nick Nack Paddy Whack)--Cyril Stapleton and his Orchestra
--Mitch Miller and his Orchestra
6 16 Candles--The Crests
7 The Hawaiian Wedding Song (Ke Kali Nei Au)--Andy Williams
8 Lonely Teardrops--Jackie Wilson
9 I Got a Wife--The Mark IV
10 Peter Gunn--Ray Anthony and his Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were Please Mr. Sun by Tommy Edwards (#74); Hawaiian War Chant (#76)/Trade Winds (#85) by Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra; Wishful Thinking by Little Anthony and the Imperials (#80); Tomboy by Perry Como (#82); I'm Never Gonna Tell (#86)/Because You're Young (#98) by Jimmie Rodgers; I've Got You Under My Skin by Louis Prima and Keely Smith (#88); It Doesn't Matter Anymore (#94)/Raining in My Heart (#100) by Buddy Holly; Catch a Little Moonbeam by the Rinky Dinks (#95); Moonlight Serenade by the Rivieras (#99); and Telling Lies by Fats Domino (also #100). The Rinky Dinks were actually Bobby Darin recording under an alias. Telling Lies was the B-side of When the Saints Go Marching In, charting at #56.

Diplomacy
U.K. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan arrived in Moscow to begin the first visit to Russia by a British Prime Minister since World War II.

The Soviet government, rejecting reports that the U.S.S.R. may let some of its three million Jews emigrate to Israel, said that it would not tolerate any mass emigration which might increase Israel's military potential against the Arab states.

World events
A three-day municipal crisis in Panama City ended when National Guardsmen evicted members of a Citizens' Emergency Committee who had occupied City Hall, charging the City Council with corruption and mishandling of funds.

Politics and government
Republic of Congo Prime Minister Fulbert Youlou proclaimed a new constitution.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 To Susan on the West Coast Waiting--Donovan
2 Mendocino--Sir Douglas Quintet
3 Build Me Up Buttercup--The Foundations
4 Long Line Rider--Bobby Darin
5 Touch Me--The Doors
6 Proud Mary--Creedence Clearwater Revival
7 But You Know I Love You--The First Edition
8 Crossroads--Cream
9 Games People Play--Joe South
10 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells

Singles entering the chart were Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon by Paul Revere and the Raiders (#23); Lovin' Things by the Grassroots (#25); Traces by Classics IV (#26); Run Away Child, Running Wild by the Temptations (#28); Anything You Choose by Spanky and Our Gang (#29); and I Don't Know Why by Stevie Wonder (#30).

Edmonton's top 10 (CJCA)
1 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells (3rd week at #1)
2 I Started a Joke--The Bee Gees
3 Touch Me--The Doors
4 You Showed Me--The Turtles
5 Electric Stories--The 4 Seasons
6 Sweet Cream Ladies--The Box Tops
7 Proud Mary--Creedence Clearwater Revival
8 Indian Giver--1910 Fruitgum Co.
9 Hooked on a Feeling--B.J. Thomas
10 But You Know I Love You--The First Edition

Diplomacy
Sources reported that French President Charles de Gaulle, in Paris for talks with British Ambassador Christopher Soames, had suggested that the Common Market be replaced by a broader free trade area and an inner four-power directorate of France, West Germany, Italy, and Britain. The French government denounced the "sensational" reports.

Politics and government
Pakistani President Mohammad Ayub Khan announced that he had made a "final and irrevocable" decision not to run for re-election in March 1970, leading students to dance in the streets. Four months of political agitation against his rule had resulted in violence resulting in 76 deaths. Mr. Khan had ruled Pakistan since taking power in a coup on October 27, 1958.

Terrorism
Two Israelis were killed and nine injured when a bomb exploded in the Supersol, Jerusalem's largest supermarket. Hundreds of shoppers were in the store, most of them buying food for the Sabbath.

Law
Réjane Laberge-Colas was appointed to Québec Superior Court for the district of Montréal, becoming the first woman named to the bench of a Superior Court in Canada.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Heart of Glass--Blondie (2nd week at #1)

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and Egyptian and Israeli negotiators met at Camp David, Maryland to resume stalled peace talks.

Law
U.S. District Judge Elmo Hunter ruled in Kansas City, Missouri to uphold the right of the National Organization for Women to pursue a convention boycott against states that had not yet ratified the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Missouri Attorney General John Ashcroft had brought suit against NOW in 1978, contending that the boycott violated antitrust law. Judge Hunter ruled that the boycott involved "political opponents, not commercial competitors" and was a legitimate political action. NOW said that Kansas City had lost more than $8 million in convention business and St. Louis $11 million as a result of the drive. Kansas City officials reported a record $228 million in convention business in 1978 despite the boycott.

Hockey
NHL
Minnesota 5 Toronto 1

25 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): My Oh My--Slade (5th week at #1)

Music
The single Head Over Heels/Good for Gone by the Go-Go's was released on I.R.S. Records.

Died on this date
Mikhail Sholokhov, 78. U.S.S.R. author. Mr. Sholokhov, a Soviet Communist, was awarded the 1965 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was best known for his four-volume novel And Quiet Flows the Don (1928-1940).

Politics and government
The Sandanista regime of Nicaragua announced that its national election would be moved up to November 4, 1984.

20 years ago
1989

World events
U.S. President George Bush denounced the fatwa--a legal judgment--issued by Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini against British author Salman Rushdie, whose novel The Satanic Verses (1988) was considered disrespectful to the prophet Mohammed. Mr. Bush said that "inciting murder and offering rewards for its perpetration are deeply offensive to the norms of civilized behavior."

Politics and government
Soltan Ali Keshtmand took office as Prime Minister of Afghanistan, replacing Mohammed Hassam Sharq, who had resigned the previous day.

10 years ago
1999

Died on this ate
Gertrude B. Elion, 81. U.S. biochemist and pharmacologist. Miss Elion shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Sir James Black and George Hitchings "for their discoveries of important principles for drug treatment." Working alone or with Drs. Black and Hitchings, her achievements included development of the first immunosuppressive drug (azathioprine) used for organ transplants; the first successful antiviral drug (acyclovir (ACV)), for the treatment of Herpes infection; and work on the development of azidothymidine (AZT) as a treatment for AIDS.

Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell, 68. U.S. baseball pitcher and politician. Mr. Mizell, who was nicknamed for his birthplace in Alabama, played with the St. Louis Cardinals (1952-1953, 1956-1960); Pittsburgh Pirates (1960-1962); and New York Mets (1962), compiling a record of 90-88 with an earned run average of 3.85 in 268 games. His best season was 1960, when he was 14-8--13-5 after being traded to the Pirates, helping them to the World Series championship. A Republican, Mr. Mizell represented North Carolina's 5th District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1969-1975, losing bids for re-election in 1974 and 1976. He was subsequently appointed to positions in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George Bush. Mr. Mizell died several months after suffering a heart attack at a high school football game in which his son was coaching.

Diplomacy
Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee of India and Pakistani Prime Minister Niwaz Sharif concluded two days of talks to discuss divisions between their nations. Both nations had tested nuclear weapons in 1998. The leaders pledged to reduce the danger of a nuclear war and to notify each other of any future tests. They also agreed that a resolution of the dispute over Kashmir was essential to future peace.

Politics and government
The United Alternative convention in Ottawa, sponsored by the Reform Party, voted to create a new federal political party to fight the governing Liberals; the new party became the Canadian Alliance.