March 4, 2009

490 years ago
1519

Born on this date
Hindal Mirza. Mughal prince. Hindal Mirza, born Abu'l-Nasir Muhammad, was the son of Mughal Empire founder Emperor Babur and the younger half-brother of Emperor Humayun, whom he served until his death in battle on November 20, 1551 at the age of 32.

Exploration
Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilization and its wealth.

240 years ago
1769

Born on this date
Muhammad Ali. Ottoman Wāli (viceroy). Muhammad Ali Pasha seized power in Egypt in 1805 and turned it into a regional power within the Ottoman Empire, thus becoming known as the "Father of Modern Egypt." He conducted successful military campaigns, most notably conquering Sudan. Muhammad Ali Pasha died on August 2, 1849 at the age of 80, and was succeeded as Wāli by his grandson Abbas Pasha.

Space
French astronomer Charles Messier first noted the Orion Nebula.

220 years ago
1789

Law
The Constitution of the United States went into effect as the first Congress met in New York City. The United States Bill of Rights was written and proposed to Congress.

200 years ago
1809

Politics and government
James Madison was inaugurated into his first term as the 4th President of the United States. According to Washington Irving, Mr. Madison looked like "a withered little apple-John." George Clinton was inaugurated as Vice President.

180 years ago
1829

Politics and government
Andrew Jackson was inaugurated into his first term as the 7th President of the United States. He used his inaugural address to advocate an ambitious program of domestic improvements. John C. Calhoun was inaugurated as Vice President. Mr. Jackson's inauguration was like that of no U.S. President before or since, as a celebratory mob not only crowded around the U.S. Capitol, but another crowd invaded the White House, trashing the residence in an attempt to meet the new President, who, according to one witness, was "literally nearly pressed to death and almost suffocated and torn to pieces" by the mob. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story said, "I never saw such a mixture. The reign of KING MOB seemed triumphant. I was glad to escape from the scene as soon as possible."

170 years ago
1839

Technology
In Saint John, New Brunswick, James Elliott and Alexander McAvity patented the “Self-contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus” – known today as the Scuba tank.

140 years ago
1869

Politics and government
U.S. Grant was inaugurated into his first term as the 18th President of the United States. Mr. Grant declined to ride in the inaugural with outgoing President Andrew Johnson, owing to an estrangement resulting from political disagreements when Mr. Grant had briefly served as Mr. Johnson's Secretary of War in 1867. Schuyler Colfax was inaugurated as Vice President.

120 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Pearl White. U.S. actress. Miss White appeared in plays and silent films, and was best known as the star of the 20-chapter movie serial The Perils of Pauline (1914). She died of liver disease, perhaps the result of years of heavy drinking, on August 4, 1938 at the age of 49.

Oren Long. U.S. politician. Mr. Long, a Democrat, was the Governor of the Territory of Hawaii from 1951-1953, and represented the state in the United States Senate from 1959-1963. He died on May 6, 1965 at the age of 76, after an attack of asthmatic bronchitis.

Politics and government
Benjamin Harrison was inaugurated as the 23rd President of the United States of America; Levi P. Morton was inaugurated as Vice President. In his inaugural address, Mr. Harrison credited the nation's growth to the influences of education and religion, urged the cotton states and mining territories to attain the industrial proportions of the eastern states, and promised a protective tariff. He said, "If our great corporations would more scrupulously observe their legal obligations and duties, they would have less call to complain of the limitations of their rights or of interference with their operations." Mr. Harrison was the grandson of William Henry Harrison, the 9th President (1841).

110 years ago
1899

Disasters
Cyclone Mahina swept in north of Cooktown, Queensland, Australia with a 39-foot wave that reached up to 3.1 miles inland, killing over 400.

Hockey
CAHL
Ottawa (3-4) 3 @ Montreal Shamrocks (7-1) 7

The Shamrocks' win over Ottawa clinched first place for them, with the Montreal Victorias finishing second at 6-2. As a result, the Stanley Cup was passed from the defending champion Victorias to the Shamrocks.

100 years ago
1909

Politics and government
William Howard Taft, all 5'8" and 325 lbs. of him, was inaugurated as the 27th President of the United States. James S. Sherman was inaugurated as Vice President.

Hockey
ECHA
Montreal Wanderers (9-3) 3 @ Ottawa (10-1) 8

Ottawa Hockey Club clinched first place in the Eastern Canadian Hockey Association with their win over the Wanderers, and the Stanley Cup thus passed to Ottawa from the defending champion Wanderers.

80 years ago
1929

Politics and government
Herbert Hoover was inaugurated as the 31st President of the United States. Charles Curtis was inaugurated as Vice President. At 69, Mr. Curtis he was the oldest Vice President to that point to be inaugurated.

60 years ago
1949

On television tonight
Your Show Time, hosted and narrated by Arthur Shields, on NBC
Tonight's episode: A Capture, starring Jeanne Cagney and Sterling Holloway

Literature
The God-Seeker by Sinclair Lewis was published in New York by Random House.

Diplomacy
The United Nations Security Council approved Israel's application for UN membership and passed it on to the General Assembly for final action.

Defense
Danish Foreign Minister Gustav Rasmussen announced plans to visit Washington and "investigate" the proposed North Atlantic security pact, while the Italian Socialist Party directorate passed a resolution opposing Italian membership in the proposed pact.

U.S. President Harry Truman assigned civil defense planning tasks to the National Security Resources Board, rejecting proposals for the creation of a separate civil defense office.

Politics and government
The Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. announced the replacement of Vyacheslav Molotov as Foreign Minister by Andrei Vishinsky. Former Soviet delegate to the United Nations Andrei Gromyko was promoted to first deputy Foreign Minister, while Mr. Molotov remained Deputy Premier and a member of the Communist Party Politburo.

Crime
Testimony ended in the six-week trial in Washington of Mildred Gillars, popularly known as "Axis Sally," charged with treason for her radio broadcasts from Germany during World War II.

U.S. Federal Judge Harold Medina rejected defense demands for proportional representation of ethnic and political minorities on the jury which would try 11 Communist Party leaders in New York on charges of conspiring to overthrow the government.

U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in New York arrested U.S. Justice Department employee Judith Coplon and Valentin Gubitchev, a Soviet engineer employed by the United Nations, on charges of conspiring to steal U.S. government documents.

Labour
The U.S. Senate Labor Committee approved the Truman administration-sponsored bill intended to replace the Taft-Hartley Act.

50 years ago
1959

Space
The U.S. lunar probe Pioneer 4, launched the previous day, passed within 36,650 miles of the Moon, but not close enough to trigger the probe's photoelectric sensor.



Politics and government
Sudanese Prime Minister General Ibrahim Abboud assumed full power after forcing the resignation of his 12 associates on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

Cyprus Governor Hugh Foot and Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders announced agreement on the establishment of a 10-member transitional committee to plan the transfer of authority from the United Kingdom to a Cypriot government.

Business
Cuba's Council of Ministers placed the Cuban Telephone Company, a wholly-owned International Telephone & Telegraph affiliate, under government management.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da--The Beatles (6th week at #1)

Space
Apollo 9 Lunar Module Pilot Rusty Schweickart was ill with space sickness on the second day of the Earth-orbiting mission.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Richard Nixon, in a televised news conference, called his just-concluded European tour "a condition precedent to an East-West summit," and stressed the need for a U.S.S.R.-U.S. accommodation on major world problems.

Defense
The Pentagon admitted to spending $350 million annually on development and production of weapons for chemical and biological warfare, and that the army regularly shipped lethal nerve gas by rail in 300-gallon canisters. These were among facts kept secret by the army that were disclosed in a private briefing for Congress.

Law
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced plans to replace their remaining dog teams with snowmobiles.

Crime
U.K. twins Ronald and Reginald Kray, two of Britain's most notorious criminals in the 1960s, faced life sentences after being convicted at the Central Criminal Court of the November 1967 murder of Jack "The Hat" McVitie. Among other convictions resulting from the 39-day trial--the longest and most expensive trial in England to date--the twins' older brother Charles and two others were convicted as accessories.

Academia
Scientists on as many as 30 U.S. campuses paused to ponder the uses and misuses of the knowledge they were gathering. The discussions centred on scientists' responsibility for research done at the request of the federal government, which financed 3/4 of university research.

Journalism
A scathing editorial in the Peking press denounced Soviet leaders as imperialists "more gluttonous than the Czars" and further stated that the recent border clash was part of a scheme to recreate the old Czarist empire.

40 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Y.M.C.A.--Village People (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Y.M.C.A.--Village People (7th week at #1)

Died on this date
Freddy Owens. U.S. musician. Mr. Owens was a saxophonist and singer with the rock group Bill Deal & the Rhondels, joining the group in 1971. The group was performing at the Holiday Inn in Richmond, Virginia, when Mr. Owens was murdered by Jeremiah Carr. Mr. Owens was attempting to prevent the escape of Mr. Carr, who had just raped Mrs. Owens.

War
Tanzanian troops invaded Uganda, penetrating to within 50 miles of Kampala, the capital.

Labour
New Orleans police officers ended a two-week strike by returning to work despite rejection of the city's latest contract offer. Mayor Ernest N. Morial said that the city would no longer recognize the police union as a bargaining agent.

Disasters
Torrential rain caused flash floods in southeastern and Gulf Coast states in the U.S.A., claiming several lives.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 4 @ New York Rangers 2

25 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Street Dance--Break Machine (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Relax--Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Died on this date
Ernest Buckler, 75. Canadian author. Mr. Buckler, a native of West Dalhousie, Nova Scotia, was best known for his novel The Mountain and the Valley (1952).

War
The U.S. State Department said that Iraq appeared to be using chemical weapons in her war against Iran. The speaker of the Iranian parliament charged that Iraqi chemical attacks had killed more than 400 Iranian soldiers and injured 1,100 more within the previous week.

Politics and government
U.S. Senator Gary Hart (Colorado) won the Maine caucuses in the contest for the Democratic party nomination for President of the United States in the November 1984 election.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Esatto--Francesco Salvi

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): You Got It--Roy Orbison (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Buffalo Stance--Neneh Cherry (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Pour toi Arménie--Charles Aznavour and various artists (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Belfast Child--Simple Minds (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Lost in Your Eyes--Debbie Gibson
2 The Lover in Me--Sheena Easton
3 Straight Up--Paula Abdul
4 The Living Years--Mike + the Mechanics
5 You Got It (The Right Stuff)--New Kids on the Block
6 Wild Thing--Tone Loc
7 What I Am--Edie Brickell and New Bohemians
8 Roni--Bobby Brown
9 Surrender to Me--Ann Wilson and Robin Zander
10 Paradise City--Guns 'N' Roses

Singles entering the chart were Funky Cold Medina by Tone Loc (#60); Rocket by Def Leppard (#61); Close My Eyes Forever by Lita Ford (Duet with Ozzy Osbourne) (#81); I'll Be There for You by Bon Jovi (#82); Iko Iko by the Belle Stars (#86); Good Life by Inner City (#90); Let the River Run by Carly Simon (#95); and Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler (#97). Iko Iko was from the movie Rain Man (1988). Let the River Run was from the movie Working Girl (1988), and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Wind Beneath My Wings was from the movie Beaches (1988).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Lost in Your Eyes--Debbie Gibson (2nd week at #1)
2 The Lover in Me--Sheena Easton
3 Straight Up--Paula Abdul
4 You Got It (The Right Stuff)--New Kids on the Block
5 Born to Be My Baby--Bon Jovi
6 What I Am--Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
7 The Living Years--Mike + the Mechanics
8 She Wants to Dance with Me--Rick Astley
9 Paradise City--Guns 'N' Roses
10 Roni--Bobby Brown

Singles entering the chart were Rocket by Def Leppard (#62); Funky Cold Medina by Tone Loc (#68); Good Life by Inner City (#75); I Wanna Be the One by Stevie B (#76); Close My Eyes Forever by Lita Ford (with Ozzy Osbourne) (#80); I Can't Face the Fact by Gina Go-Go (#83); This Time by Kiara (with Shanice Wilson) (#85); and Falling Out of Love by Ivan Neville (#87).

Died on this date
Edward Makuka Nkoloso, 69-70. Zambian revolutionist and bureaucrat. Mr. Nkoloso was a schoolteacher who became a leading figure in the resistance against British colonial rule in what was then known as Northern Rhodesia, serving time in prison in 1956 and 1957. In 1960, he founded the Zambia National Academy of Science, Space Research and Philosophy. Mr. Nkoloso was best known outside Zambia for creating the country's space program in 1960, with the ostensible goal of placing an "Afronaut" on Mars. The program was ridiculed in Western nations, and Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda later claimed that the Zambian space program had been meant for fun. Mr. Nkoloso retired from his position in 1972, and obtained a law degree in 1983.

Politics and government
Ed Broadbent announced his resignation as New Democratic Party leader after 14 years; his resignation was to take effect when a new leader was chosen at a convention later in the year.

Business
Time, Inc. and Warner Communications, Inc. agreed to merge. With annual revenues of more than $10 billion, it would be the world's largest media and entertainment company. The companies decided to merge to compete more effectively with international media companies.

Labour
Machinists with Eastern Airlines went on strike, supported by pilots and flight attendants.

Disasters
6 people were killed and 80 injured, some seriously, when a train travelling from Littlehampton to London crashed into a train further ahead that was travelling from Horsham to London, and careened down an embankment into gardens below at Purley in Surrey.

Hockey
NHL
Chicago 3 @ Toronto 3

10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Harry Blackmun, 90. Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1970-1994. Justice Blackmun was a lawyer in Minneapolis before serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit from 1959-1970. He was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by Richard Nixon and was expected to be a conservative voice on the Court, but ended up as the Supreme Court's most liberal voice. Justice Blackmun is best remembered as the author of the majority opinion in Roe v. Wade (1973), which struck down restrictions on abortion throughout the United States. He championed the murder of unborn babies for the rest of his life, which ended just over a year after he fell and broke his hip.

Miłosz Magin, 69. Polish-born musician and composer. Mr. Magin was a popular concert pianist who also composed works for piano, as well as orchestral and vocal works, two symphonies, and a ballet. He died of a heart attack while on tour in Tahiti.

Del Close, 64. U.S. comedian and actor. Mr. Close was a standup and improvisational comedian who performed with various troupes, such as Second City in Chicago and Toronto. He coached many comedians, and had small roles in several movies. Mr. Close died of emphysema, five days before his 65th birthday.

Music
This blogger, with enjoyable female company, attended a concert of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at Winspear Centre for Music, featuring guest piano soloist Dang Thai Son.

Literature
Andrew Morton's book Monica's Story, about the affair between U.S. President Bill Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky, was released. Proceeds from the book and television appearances outside the United States were to be used to pay her legal bills.

Crime
The U.S. Marine pilot of a plane that had snapped a ski-lift cable above a valley in Italy in 1998, causing 20 deaths, was acquitted of charges of involuntary homicide and manslaughter. Lawyers for Captain Richard Ashby had argued at his court martial at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina that poor communications, improper training, faulty safety equipment, and unmarked maps were factors to be considered in his defense. The Italian government and relatives of the victims denounced the verdicts.