March 6, 2009

390 years ago
1619

Born on this date
Cyrano de Bergerac. French author and playwright. Cyrano, born Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac, was a major figure in French libertine literature in the first half of the 17th century. His works included L'Autre Monde: ou les États et Empires de la Lune (Comical History of the States and Empires of the Moon) (1657) and Les États et Empires du Soleil (The States and Empires of the Sun) (1662), both of which were published after his death from uncertain causes on July 28, 1655 at the age of 36. Cyrano is best known as the inspiration for the play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand (1898).

175 years ago
1834

Torontonia
York, Upper Canada (population 10,000) was incorporated as the City of Toronto.

Transportation
The London and Gore (later Great Western) Railroad between Hamilton and London became the first railway to be incorporated in Upper Canada.

200 years ago
1809

Died on this date
Thomas Heyward, Jr., 62. U.S. judge and politician. Mr. Heyward was a delegate to the Continental Congress from South Carolina in 1775, and signed the Declaration of Independence. He was a judge in South Carolina from 1778-1798, except for an 11-month period from August 1780-July 1781 when he was in British detention.

160 years ago
1849

Born on this date
Georg Luger. Austrian gun designer. Mr. Luger designed and patented the parabellum pistol--commonly known as the Luger pistol--in 1898. He died on December 22, 1923 at the age of 74.

120 years ago
1889

Literature
French author Emile Zola's novels were seized and destroyed by Canadian customs officers in Toronto after they were ruled to be obscene.

110 years ago
1899

Died on this date
Kaʻiulani, 23. Crown Princess of Hawaii. Princess Kaʻiulani, born Victoria Kawēkiu Kaʻiulani Lunalilo Kalaninuiahilapalapa Cleghorn, was a daughter of Scottish financier A.S. Cleghorn and Princess Miriam Likelike, the sister of Queen Liliʻuokalani. Princess Kaʻiulani opposed the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy by American commercial interests in 1893, and travelled through the U.S.A., advocating for Hawaiian independence. She was unsuccessful, and died of inflammatory rheumatism after several years of declining health, possibly a thyroid condition.

Business
Bayer registered "Aspirin" as a trademark.

90 years ago
1919

Hockey
Stanley Cup
NHL
Finals
Ottawa 2 @ Montreal 4 (Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-1)

Newsy Lalonde scored his 10th and 11th goals of the series to lead the Canadiens over the Senators at Jubilee Arena. His second goal of the game, 13 minutes into the 2nd period, broke a 1-1 tie.

60 years ago
1949

On the radio
Pat Novak For Hire, starring Jack Webb, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Fleet Lady

Died on this date
Edwin Colpitts, 77. Canadian-born U.S. engineer. Mr. Colpitts, a native of Point de Bute, New Brunswick, moved to the United States in 1895. He was best known for inventing the Colpitts oscillator, and led a team that successfully demonstrated the first transatlantic radio telephone in 1915.

J. Melville Broughton, 60. U.S. politician. Mr. Broughton, a Democrat, was Governor of North Carolina from 1941-1945, and represented the state in the United States Senate from December 31, 1948 until his death from a heart attack after just three months in office.

Politics and government
Supporters of President Gabriel Gonzales Videla won two-thirds of the seats in the Chilean general election. In the 147-seat Chamber of Deputies, the Radical Party led with 34 seats, followed by the Liberal Party (33); Social Christian Conservative Party (31); and Agrarian labour Party (14). IN the 45-seat Senate, 20 seats were up for election; the Liberals led with 6, followed by the Radicals (5); Social Christian Conservatives (3); and Agrarian Labour (3).

Energy
The British government announced the construction of the country's first atomic reactor capable of producing plutonium.

Skiing
Yves Latrelle and Andrea Mead won the men's and women's titles, respectively, at the U.S. National Championships at Big Mountain, Montana.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): As I Love You--Shirley Bassey with Wally Stott and his Orchestra (3rd week at #1)

World events
Asserting that revolutionary justice was based not on "legal" precepts but on the people's "moral" convictions, Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro ordered a second trial for 43 Air Force men acquitted of bombing and strafing Cuban villages.

Defense
Sources in Bonn reported that France and West Germany had agreed to reject "all plans of disengagement" of Western and Soviet forces in Europe.

Politics and government
U.S. District Court Judge Frank Johnson dismissed a U.S. Justice Department suit against Alabama to force Macon County officials to allow 20 "qualified" Negroes to register to vote.

40 years ago
1969

On television tonight
Dragnet 1969, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Burglary: DR-31



Space
Apollo 9 Commander Jim McDivitt and Lunar Module Pilot Rusty Schweickart returned to the lunar module Spider, and Mr. Schweickart took a 40-minute spacewalk between Spider and the command module Gumdrop. In contrast to the umbilical cord that previous spacewalkers had worn, Mr. Schweickart wore a backpack that provided oxygen, an electrical supply, a cooling system, and communication equipment. The backpack was known as the Portable Life Support System (PLSS), commonly referred to as "Pliss." The suit and pack cost more than $250,000. A telecast followed Mr. Schweickart's return to Gumdrop. A photograph of Mr. Scott standing in the open hatch of Gumdrop, with the blue water of the earth in the background, is probably the most famous image from the Apollo 9 mission.

War
The United States Defense Department disclosed that U.S. combat deaths since the beginning of the Paris peace talks on May 10, 1968 reached 9,425 on March 1. In the same period the toll for South Vietnam was 10,893, with 115,027 Communist deaths. Enemy guns bombarded Saigon with their fourth rocket attack of the 12-day-old offensive. It came after U.S. President Richard Nixon said that a continuation of such attacks would bring some sort of "appropriate response." In strong protest against the Communists' post-Tet offensive, U.S. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge told the Communists at the Paris talks that "the consequences of these attacks are your responsibility." The Americans and South Vietnamese broke off the session (the shortest session since the resumption of talks in January) because of the absence of a "favourable atmosphere." United States Army Spec. 4 Edwin Arnett, found guilty of desertion at his court martial two days earlier, was sentenced to four years of hard labour and a dishonourable discharge.

Terrorism
A bomb exploded in a cafeteria at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, injuring 29 and causing heavy damage.

Canadiana
The National Library of Canada in Ottawa mounted a display of former Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier's papers and memorabilia; it was the first exhibit of its kind in Canada.

Disasters
Nine people, eight of them children, were killed when fire swept through a tenement in Jersey City, New Jersey.

30 years ago
1979

War
South African forces attacked guerrilla bases in Angola to halt incursions into South-West Africa (Namibia). The action coincided with South Africa's rejection of a United Nations-sponsored cease-fire to aid transition to majority rule in Namibia.

800 Muslims were reported killed by angry Negroes in Chad, in ethnic strife following an abortive coup in February by Islamic separatists.

Popular Culture
U.S. President Jimmy Carter's brother Billy was admitted to the Betty Ford center for treatment of alcohol dependency (i.e., he drank too much).

Music
Bill Haley arrived at Gatwick Airport in London as he began a tour of England, his first tour in more than two years.

25 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Radio Ga Ga--Queen

Died on this date
Martin Niemöller, 92. German clergyman. Mr. Niemöller was a Lutheran pastor who initially supported Adolf Hitler when the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, but turned against the Nazis when they increasingly adopted anti-Jewish measures. He was one of the founders of the Confessional Church, which opposed Nazification of German Protestant churches. Mr. Niemöller's opposition to the Nazi regime resulted in his imprisonment in Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1937-1945. He became increasingly liberal in his later years, becoming a pacifist and advocate of nuclear disarmament. Mr. Niemöller became President of the World Council of Churches in 1961 and was one of several recipients of the Lenin Peace Prize in 1966.

Billy Collins, 22. U.S. boxer. Mr. Collins, a welterweight, won his first 14 professional fights before fighting Luis Resto on June 16, 1983 on the undercard of the Roberto Duran-Davey Moore light middleweight fight at Madison Square Garden in New York. Mr. Collins lost by a unanimous decision, but the result was changed to no contest after an investigation showed that padding had been removed from Mr. Resto's gloves, making them illegally underweight. More than 20 years later, Mr. Resto admitted that the wraps on his hands had been soaked in plaster of Paris before the fight, making his hands lethal weapons. Mr. Collins suffered serious eye injuries in the bout and was unable to box or work regularly again. He took to drink and crashed his car into a culvert near his home in Antioch, Tennessee, leading to suspicion that he had committed suicide.

Politics and government
The day after formally abrogating the May 1, 1983 agreement with Israel for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon, the Lebanese government formally invited opposition leaders to meet in Lausanne, Switzerland for a new round of reconciliation talks.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)--The Proclaimers (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Real Gone Kid--Deacon Blue (3rd week at #1)

Canadiana
Monique Kavelaars, Miss Teen London, was named Miss Teen Canada 1989. The pageant was telecast on CTV.