March 28, 2009

770 years ago
1239

Died on this date
Go-Toba, 58. Emperor of Japan, 1183-1198. Go-Toba, born Takahira-shinnō, was the fourth son of Emperor Takakura, and acceded to the throne at the age of 3 upon the abdication of his brother Antoku. The first shogunate was established in 1192, and Emperor Go-Toba was forced to abdicate, living as a cloistered Emperor until 1221, when he staged a rebellion in an attempt to regain the throne. The rebellion was unsuccessful, and Go-Toba was forced to live the rest of his life in exile.

200 years ago
1809

War
French forces defeated Spanish forces in the Battle of Medellín.

175 years ago
1834

Economics and finance
The United States Senate voted to censure President Andrew Jackson for the removal of federal deposits from the Bank of the United States.

125 years ago
1884

Protest
Three days of rioting began in Cincinnati in response to an unjust jury verdict in a murder trial; when the riots ended on March 30, 56 people were dead, and over 300 injured.



120 years ago
1889

Died on this date
Hanna Johansdotter, 21, or 22. Swedish murder victim. Miss Johansdotter was murdered by her husband Per Nilsson and his mother Anna Månsdotter in Yngsjö, Sweden.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Harold B. Lee. U.S. religious leader. Mr. Lee joined the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1941, eventually serving as President from July 7, 1972 until his death from a pulmonary hemorrhage on December 26, 1973 at the age of 74. He was succeeded as Mormon Church President by Spencer W. Kimball.

Buck Shaw. U.S. football player and coach. Lawrence Timothy Shaw was a tackle and kicker at Creighton University (1918) and the University of Notre Dame (1919-1921), making the All-American team in his final season. He was an assistant coach at North Carolina State University (1924); University of Nevada (1925-1928); and Santa Clara University (1929-1935), taking over as head coach at Santa Clara (1936-1942)--leading the team to Sugar Bowl victories in each of his first two seasons--and the University of California (1945). Mr. Shaw was the first head coach of the San Francisco 49ers of the All-America Football Conference, leading the team through 1954, four years after the team joined the National Football League. His teams were high-scoring and entertaining, but finished second to the Cleveland Browns in all four AAFC seasons. Mr. Shaw was head coach at the United States Air Force Academy from 1956-1957, and took over as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1958-1960. He retired from football after leading the Eagles to the 1960 NFL championship. The new football stadium at Santa Clara Stadium was named in Mr. Shaw's honour in 1962, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of fame in 1972. Mr. Shaw died of cancer on March 19, 1977, nine days before his 78th birthday.

August Anheuser Busch, Jr. U.S. brewer and baseball executive. "Gussie" Busch inherited the family business and served as chairman of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. from 1946-1975, an era during which it became the largest brewery in the world. The company purchased the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team in 1953, and the Cardinals won World Series championships in 1964, 1967, and 1982, and a National League pennant in 1968. Mr. Busch died on September 29, 1989 at the age of 90.

100 years ago
1909

Born on this date
Nelson Algren. U.S. author. Mr. Algren, born Nelson Ahlgren Abraham, was a Chicago-based writer who wrote about "down and out" people in novels such as The Man with the Golden Arm (1949) and A Walk on the Wild Side (1956). He died on May 9, 1981 at the age of 72.

80 years ago
1929

Died on this date
Katharine Lee Bates, 69. U.S. writer. Miss Bates wrote poetry and non-fiction, and taught at Wellesley College for more than 30 years. She's best known for writing the poem that became the lyrics to the song America the Beautiful.

Lomer Gouin, 68. Canadian politician. Sir Lomer, a native of Grondine, Quebec and a Liberal, sat in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1897-1920, and was Premier of Quebec from 1905-1920. He represented Laurier—Outremont in the Canadian House of Commons from 1921-1925, and took office as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec on January 10, 1929, but died nine days after his 68th birthday, less than three months into his term. Sir Lomer was succeeded as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec by Henry George Carroll.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
New York Rangers 0 @ Boston 2 (Boston led best-of-three series 1-0)

70 years ago
1939

War
Nationalist forces commanded by Generalissimo Francisco Franco conquered Madrid after a three-year siege, effectively ending the Spanish Civil War.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Boston 1 @ New York Rangers 2 (Boston led best-of-seven series 3-1)
Detroit 1 @ Toronto 4 (Toronto led best-of-three series 1-0)

60 years ago
1949

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring John Stanley and George Spelvin (Wendell Holmes), on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Adventure of the Elusive Agent, Part 2

Died on this date
Grigoraș Dinicu, 59. Romanian musician and composer. Mr. Dinicu was a violin virtuoso of Roma ancestry, whose career spanned more than 40 years. He wrote mainly for violin and piano, with his violin piece Hora Staccato (1906) being his most popular work. Mr. Dinicu died of laryngeal cancer, six days before his 60th birthday.

Diplomacy
Switzerland joined the International Refugee Organization, increasing its membership to 18.

Politics and government
The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the Boswell Amendment to the Alabama constitution, aimed at preventing Negroes from registering to vote.

Crime
Betty Gannett, Polish-born director of Communist youth activities in the United States, was arrested in New York for the purpose of deportation.

Science
The American Chemical Society awarded the 1949 Priestly Medal to Arthur Lamb of Harvard University.

Economics and finance
The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee approved a measure granting Nationalist China $56 million in economic aid for the coming year with funds left over from the last China aid appropriation.

The U.S. Federal Reserve Board cut stock margin market requirements from 75% to 50% due to the decline in inflationary pressures.

Business
Kaiser-Frazer Corporation announced the biggest cuts in auto prices to date, ranging from $196-$300. The Kaiser family assumed complete control over the firm, as Edgar Kaiser succeeded Joseph Frazer as president.

Labour
463,000 coal miners in the eastern United States returned to work at the order of United Mine Workers of America President John L. Lewis, ending a two-week "memorial" walkout.

Golf
Sam Snead defeated Lloyd Mangrum to win the Greensboro Open in Greensboro, North Carolina.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Tom Dooley--The Kingston Trio (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters (5th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Venus--Frankie Avalon (4th week at #1)
2 It's Just a Matter of Time--Brook Benton
3 Charlie Brown--The Coasters
4 Come Softly to Me--The Fleetwoods
5 Alvin's Harmonica--David Seville and the Chipmunks
6 It's Late--Ricky Nelson
7 Tragedy--Thomas Wayne with the DeLons
8 I've Had It--The Bell Notes
9 Never Be Anyone Else But You--Ricky Nelson
10 The Hawaiian Wedding Song (Ke Kali Nei Au)--Andy Williams

Singles entering the chart were I Need Your Love Tonight (#36)/(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I (#62) by Elvis Presley; Turn Me Loose by Fabian (#53); Guess Who by Jesse Belvin (#74); The Wang Dang Taffy-Apple Tango (Mambo Cha Cha Cha) (#76)/For a Penny (#98) by Pat Boone; Being True to One Another by Tony Bennett (#87); Six Nights a Week by the Crests (#88); Lovey Dovey by Clyde McPhatter (#93); I Miss You So by Paul Anka (#94); and I Never Felt Like This by Jack Scott (#99). I Never Felt Like This was the other side of Bella, charting at #84.

Canada's Top 16
1 Venus--Frankie Avalon
2 Alvin's Harmonica--David Seville and the Chipmunks
3 It's Just a Matter of Time--Brook Benton
4 Charlie Brown--The Coasters
5 Come Softly to Me--The Fleetwoods
6 Never Be Anyone Else But You--Ricky Nelson
7 Tragedy--Thomas Wayne with the DeLons
8 The Hawaiian Wedding Song (Ke Kali Nei Au)--Andy Williams
9 Tomboy--Perry Como
10 Pink Shoe Laces--Dodie Stevens
11 If I Didn't Care--Connie Francis
12 I've Had It--The Bell Notes
13 Petite Fleur (Little Flower)--Chris Barber's Jazz Band
14 No Other Arms, No Other Lips--The Chordettes
15 Peter Gunn--Ray Anthony and his Orchestra
16 Please Mr. Sun--Tommy Edwards

Montreal's Top 10
1 Venus--Frankie Avalon
2 Alvin's Harmonica--David Seville and the Chipmunks
3 Charlie Brown--The Coasters
4 The Hawaiian Wedding Song (Ke Kali Nei Au)--Andy Williams
5 Tragedy--Thomas Wayne with the DeLons
6 It's Just a Matter of Time--Brook Benton
7 Pink Shoe Laces--Dodie Stevens
8 Peter Gunn--Ray Anthony and his Orchestra
9 It's Late--Ricky Nelson
10 Stagger Lee--Lloyd Price

Politics and government
Communist Chinese Premier Chou En-lai ordered the dissolution of the rebelling Tibetan local government, headed by the Dalai Lama, and installed a pro-Communist Preparatory Committee under the leadership of the Panchen Lama.

Protest
A Belgian parliamentary inquiry into recent rioting in Leopoldville blamed Congolese unrest on the failure of white residents to show "understanding of the rapid evolution of part of the African population."

Science
The National Science Foundation established the U.S. Antarctic Research Program, with Albert Crary as chief scientist, to supervise and coordinate federal and non-government Antarctic research.

Labour
The Mexican government arrested 500 leaders of a nationwide railroad strike, including Demetrio Vallejo, head of the Railroad Workers Union.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Boston 2 @Toronto 3 (OT) (Boston led best-of-seven series 2-1)
Montreal 2 @ Chicago 4 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Gerry Ehman scored with 2:52 remaining in regulation time to tie the score, and scored at 5:02 of the 1st overtime period to give the Maple Leafs their win over the Bruins at Maple Leaf Gardens. Bob Pulford opened the scoring for Toronto in the 1st period, but the Bruins took the lead on 2 goals by Vic Stasiuk.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): I Started a Joke--The Bee Gees (2nd week at #1)

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Games People Play--Joe South (2nd week at #1)
2 Indian Giver--1910 Fruitgum Co.
3 Dizzy--Tommy Roe
4 Galveston--Glen Campbell
5 Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon--Paul Revere and the Raiders
6 You Gave Me a Mountain--Frankie Laine
7 You've Made Me So Very Happy--Blood, Sweat & Tears
8 Traces--Classics IV
9 Nothing But a Heartache--The Flirtations
10 Hot Smoke & Sasafrass--The Bubble Puppy

Singles entering the chart were What Can the Matter Be by the Poppy Family (#25); Wishful Sinful by the Doors (#27); Don't Give in to Him by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap (#28); No, Not Much by the Vogues (#29); and Gitarzan by Ray Stevens (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Time of the Season--The Zombies
2 Dizzy--Tommy Roe
3 Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)--The 5th Dimension
4 Indian Giver--1910 Fruitgum Co.
5 Games People Play--Joe South
6 To Susan on the West Coast Waiting--Donovan
7 Condition Red--The Goodees
8 Things I'd Like to Say--The New Colony Six
9 Mendocino--Sir Douglas Quintet
10 Galveston--Glen Campbell

Died on this date
Dwight David Eisenhower, 78. 34th President of the United States of America, 1953-1961. General of the Army Eisenhower was Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during World War II, playing a major role in the Allied victory. His memoir Crusade in Europe (1948) was a bestseller. Gen. Eisenhower served as President of Columbia University before accepting the Republican Party presidential nomination in 1952, easily winning the election against Democratic Party candidate Adlai Stevenson. Within six months of taking office, President Eisenhower achieved a cease-fire in the Korean War. He suffered a heart attack in 1955, but recovered, and easily defeated Mr. Stevenson again in 1956. President Eisenhower presided over an era of domestic prosperity amid Cold War international tension. He Eisenhower died at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington with his wife Mamie and son John at his side. Doctors attributed the immediate cause of death to an episode of congestive heart failure on March 15, although Mr. Eisenhower had been hospitalized since May 14, 1968, two weeks after suffering his fourth heart attack. He suffered three more heart attacks in the hospital, and had surgery for a gastrointestinal obstruction on February 23.

Academia
Held at the initiative of the Movement for Inclusive Schools (MIS) and led by Professor Stanley Gray, more than 10,000 people marched in Montreal, criticizing the position of the French language at McGill University and demanding the creation of a second French-language university, after the Université de Montréal, in the city. Insults were exchanged, slogans such as "French McGill" and "McGill to the people" were shouted , and about 40 arrests were reported. A few months later, the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) opened its doors for the first time.

Religion
Pope Paul VI named 33 new members to the College of Cardinals, raising the total number of cardinals to a record 134. The new American cardinals were John Joseph Wright, Bishop of Pittsburgh (who was called to join the Curia); Terence Cooke, Archbishop of New York; John Deardon, Archbishop of Detroit and president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops; and John Carberry, Archbishop of St. Louis.

Disasters
At least 53 were killed and 350 injured in an earthquake that hit western Turkey.

Hockey
CHL
Adams Cup
Quarter-Finals
Omaha 7 @ Kansas City 2 (Omaha led best-of-five series 1-0)
Dallas 4 @ Houston 1 (Dallas led best-of-five series 1-0)

Semi-Finals
Tulsa 3 @ Oklahoma City 2 (Tulsa led best-of-seven series 1-0)

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): I Will Survive--Gloria Gaynor (2nd week at #1)

Diplomacy
A two-day conference of the Arab League in Baghdad concluded with an agreement to a limited political boycott of Egypt. Libya and the Palestine Liberation Organization walked out after moderates, led by Saudi Arabia, refused to go beyond minimum sanctions.

Politics and government
Great Britain's Labour Party government, under Prime Minister James Callaghan, lost 311-310 on a non-confidence vote in Parliament; a general election was called for May 3.

Environment
An accident caused the release of radiation (also here) from the three-month-old Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, 11 miles south of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission initially minimized the danger from the radiation leak.

25 years ago
1984

Died on this date
Carmen Dragon, 69. U.S. conductor and composer. Mr. Dragon conducted the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra for many years. He and Morris Stoloff shared the Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture for Cover Girl (1944). Mr. Dragon was the father of Daryl Dragon, the Captain of the duo Captain and Tennille, who had a string of hits on the pop charts from 1975-1980.

Labour
An Eaton's store in Brampton, Ontario granted union certification, the first in the company's 115-year history.

Disasters
A series of 24 tornadoes killed 61 people in North and South Carolina. 1,000 people were injured and 3,000 left homeless.

20 years ago
1989

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Fate

Music
Crowded House performed at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton. A highlight was their recent hit Into Temptation. Richard Thompson was the opening act, and put in a fine performance of his own. My main floor, centre F ticket cost $20.75.

10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Franco Gasparri, 50. Italian actor. Mr. Gasparri achieved success as a star of action movies, most notably Mark il poliziotto (Mark of the Cop) (1975) and two sequels. He used a wheelchair and gave up his career after a near-fatal motorcycle accident, and died of respiratory failure.

War
Serbian police and special forces killed about 93 Kosovo Albanians in the village of Izbica, in the Drenica region of central Kosovo.

Hockey
CIAU
Men's Championship
Final
Alberta 6 Moncton 2

Basketball
NCAA
Women's Championship
Final
Purdue 62 Duke 45

Purdue head coach Carolyn Peck became the first Negro woman to coach a national championship team.