March 18, 2009

780 years ago
1229

World events
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II declared himself King of Jerusalem, in the Sixth Crusade.

400 years ago
1609

Born on this date
Frederik III. King of Denmark and Norway, 1648-1670. Frederik III was the second son of King Christian IV, but became first in line for the throne after his older brother Prince Christian died in 1647. King Frederik III made significant concessions to the nobility in order to be elected King, but after presiding over a victorious war against Sweden in 1659-1660, he instituted an absolute monarchy, which lasted until 1848. King Frederik III died on February 9, 1670 at the age of 60, and was succeeded on the throne by his son Christian V.

190 years ago
1819

Born on this date
James McCulloch. U.K.-born Australian politician. Sir James, a native of Glasgow, moved to Australia in 1853, and sat in the Legislative Council (1854-1856) and the Legislative Assembly (1856-1878), serving four terms as Premier of Victoria (1863-1868, 1868-1869, 1870-1871, 1875-1877). He was regarded as a "cautious liberal," becoming more conservative over time. Sir James died on January 31, 1893 at the age of 73.

175 years ago
1834

Labour
Six farm labourers from Tolpuddle, Dorset, England were sentenced to be transported to Australia for forming a trade union.

160 years ago
1849

Politics and government
William Lyon Mackenzie visited Toronto, where an attempt was made to lynch the former Mayor and rebel.

140 years ago
1869

Born on this date
Neville Chamberlain. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1937-1940. Mr. Chamberlain, a son of cabinet minister Joseph Chamberlain and the younger half-brother of cabinet minister Austen Chamberlain, was a Conservative who represented Birmingham, Ladywoood (1918-1929) and Birmingham, Edgbaston (1929-1940) in the House of Commons. He held various cabinet posts before succeeding the retiring Stanley Baldwin as Prime Minister. Mr. Chamberlain, French Prime Minister Eduard Daladier, Italian Duce Benito Mussolini, and German Fuehrer conferred in Munich late in September 1938, which resulted in the concession of German occupation of the area of Czechoslovakia known as the Sudetenland. Mr. Chamberlain returned home proclaiming "it is peace for our time," and was overwhelmingly popular for having apparently prevented war. His popularity disappeared less than a year later when German forces invaded Poland, and when Allied forces failed to prevent German occupation of Norway and Denmark, Mr. Chamberlain reluctantly resigned in favour of Winston Churchill. Mr. Chamberlain remained in Mr. Churchill's war cabinet as Lord President of the Council, but by July 1940 was in constant pain from what turned out to be terminal bowel cancer. He resigned on September 22, declined a knighthood, and died on November 9, 1940 at the age of 71.

110 years ago
1899

Hockey
Exhibition
Montreal Shamrocks 9 @ Brooklyn Skating Club 7

100 years ago
1909

Born on this date
Ernest Gallo. U.S. vintner. Mr. Gallo and his brother Julio co-founded E & J Gallo Winery in Modesto, California in 1933; the company remains the largest family-owned winery in the United States. Ernest Gallo died on March 6, 2007, 12 days before his 98th birthday.

80 years ago
1929

Transportation
Engineers broke ground for the Windsor-Detroit tunnel under the Detroit River.

60 years ago
1949

On television tonight
Your Show Time, hosted and narrated by Arthur Shields, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Treasure of Franchard, starring Alan Reed

At the movies
The Queen of Spades, directed by Thorold Dickinson, and starring Anton Walbrook, Edith Evans, and Yvonne Mitchell, received its premiere screening in London.



Defense
North Atlantic Treaty nations issued details of the proposed security pact, promising mutual defense in case of an unprovoked attack on any member, and providing for the creation of a North Atlantic Council to consult on threats to regional security. It was the first agreement in which the U.S.A. committed herself in advance to the defense of foreign countries. The 12 member states included Italy and Norway.

A U.S. House of Representatives-approved bill for a joint American-Canadian radar warning system passed the Senate and was sent to President Harry Truman.

Agriculture
The International Wheat Conference in Washington approved a 46-nation agreement regulating the world wheat trade for the next four years. The U.S.S.R. refused to accept the agreement, demanding a larger export quota.

Scandal
Clendenin Ryan, leader of a "clean government" movement in New York, testified before a New York grand jury that he had privately urged the indictment of Mayor William O'Dwyer for fraud. Mr. Ryan claimed that Mr. O'Dwyer was linked to gambler Frank Costello, whom he called "the real boss of New York City."

Science
The U.S. Senate passed and sent to the House of Representatives a bill creating a National Science Foundation to make scientific grants and loans; award scholarships; develop a national research policy; and direct the exchange of scientific information with other countries.

Labour
The Railway Express Agency sued the American Federation of Labor Brotherhood of Railway Clerks for $5 million in damages suffered during their 10-day-old New York slowdown strike.

50 years ago
1959

At the movies
The Diary of Anne Frank, produced and directed by George Stevens, and starring Millie Perkins, Joseph Schildkraut, Richard Beymer, and Shelley Winters, opened in theatres.

World events
The Dalai Lama, with his family and a small number of officials, fled the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.

The Colombian Senate convicted deposed dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla of violating the constitution and "abuse of power" during his four-year rule. A Senate committee was directed to determine his sentence.

Diplomacy
Following meetings with U.S.S.R. Premier Nikita Khrushchev, West German Social Democratic Party leaders Carl Schmidt and Fritz Erler reported that Mr. Khrushchev did not see German unity as probable "in the immediate future" even if agreement was reached on the withdrawal of Western and Soviet forces from Germany.

Israeli United Nations representative Abba Eban protested to the Security Council that the United Arab Republic had impounded Israel-bound cargoes of potash and cement from Liberian and West German freighters.

Americana
The Hawaii Admission Act was signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Politics and government
Moderate candidates of the National United Front won 7 of 12 Legislative Council seats in British Somaliland's first general election. 7 of the seats were uncontested.

Oil
U.S. Senators from Vermont, Oregon, Florida, and Rhode Island attacked the federal oil quota program as favouring oil-producing states at the expense of the rest of the country.

Boxing
Davey Moore (36-5-1) won the world featherweight title when defending champion Hogan "Kid" Bassey (59-12-2) retired after the 13th round at Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells (2nd week at #1)

War
American and South Vietnamese forces launched an offensive around Saigon as the Communists pressed their push with widespread ground and rocket attacks against both military and civilian centres. U.S. forces began secretly bombing the Sihanouk Trail in Cambodia, used by Communist forces to infiltrate South Vietnam.

Egyptian and Israeli forces resumed artillery fire against each other across the Suez Canal.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Tragedy--Bee Gees

#1 single in Switzerland: Chiquitita--ABBA

Diplomacy
Saudi Arabian leaders and King Hussein of Jordan declined to back the Middle East peace treaty after separate talks with United States envoy Zbigniew Brzezinski, but the Saudis pledged not to join any anti-Egypt economic boycott.

Disasters
10 miners died and another was seriously injured in an explosion at Golborne colliery, near Wigan, Lancashire, England. Brian Rawsthorne, the lone survivor, revealed that the blast occurred when electrician Colin Dallimore, who had been working on a bank of switches, tested the circuit, causing a "spark and a bang."

Hockey
NHL
Montreal 3 @ Colorado 1

CIAU
Men's Championship
Final
Alberta 5 Dalhousie 1

25 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Street Dance--Break Machine (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Relax--Frankie Goes to Hollywood (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Charlie Lau, 50. U.S. baseball player and coach. Mr. Lau was a catcher with the Detroit Tigers (1956, 1958-1959); Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves (1960-1961, 1967); Baltimore Orioles (1961-1963, 1964-1967); and Kansas City Athletics (1963-1964), batting .255 with 16 home runs and 140 runs batted in in 527 games. He was a hitting coach with five major league teams, and had tremendous success with the Kansas City Royals in the 1970s, where his pupils included George Brett (American League batting champion, 1976, 1980, 1990) and Willie Wilson (AL batting champion, 1982). Mr. Lau was with the Chicago White Sox when he died of cancer during spring training.

Weather
It was a beautiful day in Edmonton, hitting 42 F.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Esatto--Francesco Salvi (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): You Got It--Roy Orbison (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Belfast Child--Simple Minds (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Pour toi Arménie--Charles Aznavour and various artists (6th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Too Many Broken Hearts--Jason Donovan (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Lost in Your Eyes--Debbie Gibson (3rd week at #1)
2 The Living Years--Mike + the Mechanics
3 Roni--Bobby Brown
4 Girl You Know it's True--Milli Vanilli
5 Paradise City--Guns 'N' Roses
6 Eternal Flame--Bangles
7 My Heart Can't Tell You No--Rod Stewart
8 The Look--Roxette
9 You Got It (The Right Stuff)--New Kids on the Block
10 Don't Tell Me Lies--Breathe

Singles entering the chart were Like a Prayer by Madonna (#38); Real Love by Jody Watley (#73); Everlasting Love by Howard Jones (#77); Somebody Like You by Robbie Nevil (#81); I Only Wanna Be with You by Samantha Fox (#86); Hearts on Fire by Steve Winwood (#87); Rock On by Michael Damian (#89); Do You Believe in Shame? by Duran Duran (#91); and Livin' Right by Glenn Frey (#92). Rock On was from the movie Dream a Little Dream (1989).

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Living Years--Mike + the Mechanics
2 Lost in Your Eyes--Debbie Gibson
3 Roni--Bobby Brown
4 Paradise City--Guns 'N' Roses
5 Eternal Flame--Bangles
6 You Got It (The Right Stuff)--New Kids on the Block
7 My Heart Can't Tell You No--Rod Stewart
8 Girl You Know it's True--Milli Vanilli
9 Walk the Dinosaur--Was (Not Was)
10 You're Not Alone--Chicago

Singles entering the chart were Like a Prayer by Madonna (#40); Somebody Like You by Robbie Nevil (#75); Everlasting Love by Howard Jones (#78); Hearts on Fire by Steve Winwood (#85); Run to Paradise by the Choirboys (#87); Russian Radio by Red Flag (#89); Dear God by Midge Ure (#90); and Real Love by Jody Watley (#92).

Space
The U.S. space shuttle Discovery and its five-member crew commanded by Michael Coats landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, concluding the five-day mission STS-29.

Hockey
CIAU
University Cup
York 5 Wilfrid Laurier 2

10 years ago
1999

Diplomacy
Representatives of ethnic Albanians, who constituted the majority of the population of Kosovo, signed a peace agreement which had been worked out for the future of the rebellious Yugoslavian province.