March 21, 2010

220 years ago
1790

Politics and government
Thomas Jefferson took office as the U.S.A.'s first Secretary of State.

210 years ago
1800

Religion
With the Roman Catholic Church leadership driven out of Rome during an armed conflict, Pius VII was crowned Pope in Venice, with a temporary papal tiara made of papier-mâché.

130 years ago
1880

Born on this date
Broncho Billy Anderson. U.S. actor, director, and producer. Mr. Anderson, born Maxwell Henry Aronson, was the first star of Western movies, beginning with The Great Train Robbery (1903), in which he played three roles. He and G.K. Spoor founded Essanay Studios in Chicago in 1907, and Mr. Anderson produced and directed hundreds of short films. He appeared in more than 300 shorts, including 148 Westerns, playing "Broncho Billy." Mr. Anderson retired from acting, making the occasional brief comeback. He received an Honorary Academy Award in 1958 as a "motion picture pioneer," and died on January 20, 1971 at the age of 90.

100 years ago
1910

Born on this date
Julio Gallo. U.S. vintner. Mr. Gallo and his brother Ernest founded E & J Gallo Winery in Modesto, California in 1933. The company became the largest exporter of California wines. Julio Gallo was killed in a car accident near his ranch on May 2, 1993 at the age of 83.

70 years ago
1940

Politics and government
Meeting in Nanking, the Japanese-sponsored Central Political Conference resolved that only Wang Ching-wei would be the ruler of China.

French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud created a new five-man war council.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull warned U.S. Minister to Canada James Cromwell against making any further strongly pro-Allied speeches. Two days earlier, Mr. Cromwell, speaking in Toronto, had chided American isolationists for being unrealistic.

World events
U.S. newsman James R. Young was given a six-month suspended sentence after being convicted in Tokyo of violating the Japanese army code by disseminating slanderous material about the Japanese military.

60 years ago
1950

On the radio
Philo Vance, starring Jackson Beck
Tonight’s episode: The Jackpot Murder Case

On television tonight
Suspense, on CBS
Tonight's episode: My Old Man's Badge, starring Barry Nelson and Steve Hill



Radio
The Academy of Radio and Television Arts and Sciences presented its first annual awards to Walter Winchell for radio news and commentary; Jack Benny and Groucho Marx for comedy and variety; Everett Sloane and Helen Hayes for dramatic acting; Milton Berle for television comedy; and Mel Allen for sportscasting.

World events
The first of 65,000 invalid Jews to be transferred to Israel from Europe left refugee camps in Germany.

Diplomacy
The United States abandoned plans to evacuate 2,000 Americans and other foreigners from Shanghai when Communist authorities refused to let two American LST's transfer passengers to the waiting rescue ship Gordon.

Sir Alexander Cadogan announced his retirement as U.K. delegate to the United Nations.

West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer said that his country would welcome union with France, beginning with a customs uion, to combat the threat of Communism in western Europe.

Politics and government
A United Nations report showed that women had full political equality in 52 countries, but lacked it in 22, and were not permitted to hold public office in 12, including Switzerland.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Kenneth Wherry (Republican--Nebraska) renewed his attacks on Secretary of State Dean Acheson, declaring that he was a "bad security risk" and must be ousted from the State Department.

Scandal
U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy (Republican--Wisconsin) accused Owen Lattimore, a specialist in Far Eastern studies at Johns Hopkins University, of being the U.S.S.R.'s "top espionage agent in America," claiming that Mr. Lattimore had served as Alger Hiss's boss in a State Department "espionage ring."

Economics and finance
Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) in Japan General Douglas MacArthur approved a $49-million Japan-Burma trade pact.

The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee cut $1.3 billion in cash and $182 million in contract authority from President Harry Truman's 1951 budget as it sent the nation's first omnibus appropriation bill to the floor of the House.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Ansiedad--Nat King Cole (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): T'aimer follement--Dalida

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 The Theme from "A Summer Place"--Percy Faith and his Orchestra (5th week at #1)
2 He'll Have to Go--Jim Reeves
3 Wild One--Bobby Rydell
4 Handy Man--Jimmy Jones
5 Baby (You've Got What it Takes)--Dinah Washington & Brook Benton
6 What in the World's Come Over You--Jack Scott
7 Puppy Love--Paul Anka
8 Sweet Nothin's--Brenda Lee
9 Teen Angel--Mark Dinning
10 Harbor Lights--The Platters

Singles entering the chart were Shazam! by Duane Eddy and the Rebels (#82); Clementine by Bobby Darin (#86); Night by Jackie Wilson (#90); Wake Me When it's Over by Andy Williams (#92); Words by Pat Boone (#94); and Someday (You’ll Want Me to Want You) by Della Reese (#100).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKWX)
1 Wild One/Little Bitty Girl--Bobby Rydell
2 He'll Have to Go--Jim Reeves
3 The Theme from "A Summer Place"--Percy Faith and his Orchestra
4 Handy Man--Jimmy Jones
5 Puppy Love--Paul Anka
6 Harbor Lights--The Platters
7 Sweet Nothin's--Brenda Lee
8 O Dio Mio--Annette
9 Mama/Teddy--Connie Francis
10 Lady Luck--Lloyd Price and his Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were String Along by Fabian (#26, charting with its other side, About this Thing Called Love); Suddenly by Nicky Dematteo (#41); Teenage Sonata by Sam Cooke (#45); Just One Time by Don Gibson (#47); Step by Step by the Crests (#48); Ruby by Adam Wade (#49); El Matador/Home from the Hills by the Kingston Trio (#51); Big Iron by Marty Robbins (#54); Cindy by Teddy Vann (#55); Cradle of Love by Johnny Preston (#56); It Could Happen to You by Dinah Washington (#57); Funny Honey by the Two Dons (#58); Chattanooga Choo Choo by the Ernie Fields Orchestra (#59); and Pledging My Love by Johnny Tillotson (#60).

Abominations
In what became known as the "Sharpeville Massacre,"69 Negroes were killed and 180 injured when police in the South African township of Sharpeville opened fire on a crowd of 5,000 who were protesting outside the municipal offices against the pass laws, which they claimed were imposed by an apartheid government in an attempt to restrict the movements of Negroes.

Boxing
Sonny Liston (28-1) scored a technical knockout of Cleveland Williams (47-4) at 2:13 of the 2nd round of a heavyweight bout at Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston. Mr. Liston had scored a 3-round TKO of Mr. Williams 11 months earlier.



40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother--Hollies (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France: Laisse-moi t'aimer--Mike Brant (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Chi non lavora non fa l'amore--Adriano Celentano (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Whole Lotta Love--Led Zeppelin (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Wand'rin' Star--Lee Marvin (3rd week at #1)

Australia's Top 10 (Go-Set)
1 Venus--Shocking Blue
2 I Thank You--Lionel Rose
3 Don't Cry Daddy/Rubberneckin'--Elvis Presley
4 Whole Lotta Love--Led Zeppelin
5 Superstar--Murray Head with the Trinidad Singers
6 Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head--Johnny Farnham
7 Smiley--Ronnie Burns
8 All I Have to Do is Dream--Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell
9 Honey Come Back--Glen Campbell
10 Two Little Boys--Rolf Harris

Singles entering the chart were Travelin' Band/Who'll Stop the Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#19); Ma Belle Amie by the Tee Set (#23); When Julie Comes Around by the Cuff Links (#36); Love at First Sight by Sounds Nice (#38); and Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel (#39).

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Let it Be--The Beatles
2 Lay Down--Melanie en the Edwin Hawkins Singers
3 Who'll Stop the Rain--Creedence Clearwater Revival
4 Dear Ann--George Baker Selection
5 Bridge Over Troubled Water--Simon & Garfunkel
6 Mijn Gebed--D.C. Lewis
7 A Song of Joy (Himno a la Alegria)--Miguel Rios
8 No Dogs Allowed--José Feliciano
9 Instant Karma!--Lennon
10 Bitter Tears--The Shuffles

Singles entering the chart were Never Had a Dream Come True by Stevie Wonder (#27); Juanita! by Het Radi Ensemble (#31); To You by Brainbox (#32); and Down South by the Rob Hoeke Boogie Woogie Quartet (#36).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Bridge Over Troubled Water--Simon & Garfunkel (4th week at #1)
2 The Rapper--The Jaggerz
3 Give Me Just a Little More Time--The Chairmen of the Board
4 Instant Karma (We All Shine On)--John Ono Lennon (with the Plastic Ono Band)
5 Rainy Night in Georgia--Brook Benton
6 Let it Be--The Beatles
7 He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother--Hollies
8 Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)--Edison Lighthouse
9 Evil Ways--Santana
10 Didn't I (Blow Your Mind this Time)--The Delfonics

Singles entering the chart were Let it Be; American Woman/No Sugar Tonight by the Guess Who (#46); Turn Back the Hands of Time by Tyrone Davis (#72); Little Green Bag by George Baker Selection (#82); I Could Write a Book by Jerry Butler (#84); Dear Prudence by the 5 Stairsteps (#85); Funky Drummer (Part 1) by James Brown (#86); You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You) by Gladys Knight and the Pips (#87); Nothing Succeeds Like Success by Bill Deal & the Rhondels (#88); I Would Be in Love (Anyway) by Frank Sinatra (#89); Funky Chicken (Part 1) by Willie Henderson and the Soul Explosions (#91); You Keep Tightening Up on Me by the Box Tops (#92); Hitchin' a Ride by Vanity Fare (#93); Children by Joe South (#95); Time to Get it Together by Country Coalition (#99); and I Got a Thing, You Got a Thing, Everybody's Got a Thing by Funkadelic (#100).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Bridge Over Troubled Water--Simon & Garfunkel (4th week at #1)
2 The Rapper--The Jaggerz
3 Rainy Night in Georgia--Brook Benton
4 Instant Karma (We All Shine On)--John Ono Lennon (with the Plastic Ono Band)
5 Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)--Edison Lighthouse
6 Ma Belle Amie--The Tee Set
7 Evil Ways--Santana
8 House of the Rising Sun--Frijid Pink
9 He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother--Hollies
10 ABC--The Jackson 5

Singles entering the chart were American Woman (#66)/No Sugar Tonight (#80) by the Guess Who; Funky Drummer (Part 1) by James Brown (#69); You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You) by Gladys Knight and the Pips (#78); Cryin' in the Streets (Part 1) by George Perkins and the Silver Stars (#79); Buffalo Soldier by the Flamingos (#83); But for Love by Jerry Naylor (#85); July 12, 1939 by Charlie Rich (#87); Woodstock by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (#89); Chicken Strut by the Meters (#92); Deeper (In Love with You) by the O'Jays (#94); Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone by Charley Pride (#95); Hitchin' a Ride by Vanity Fare (#97); Vehicle by the Ides of March (#99); and Come Into My Life by Jimmy Cliff (#100).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 The Rapper--The Jaggerz
2 Rainy Night in Georgia--Brook Benton
3 Bridge Over Troubled Water--Simon & Garfunkel
4 Ma Belle Amie--The Tee Set
5 Instant Karma (We All Shine On)--John Ono Lennon (with the Plastic Ono Band))
6 Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)--Edison Lighthouse
7 House of the Rising Sun--Frijid Pink
8 Give Me Just a Little More Time--The Chairmen of the Board
9 Didn't I (Blow Your Mind this Time)--The Delfonics
10 Evil Ways--Santana

Singles entering the chart were You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You) by Gladys Knight and the Pips (#60); Children by Joe South (#69); American Woman/No Sugar Tonight by the Guess Who (#72); Nothing Succeeds Like Success by Bill Deal & the Rhondels (#78); Capture the Moment by Jay and the Americans (#80); I Could Write a Book by Jerry Butler (#81); If Only I Had My Mind on Something Else by the Bee Gees (#83); But for Love by Jerry Naylor (#85); Hitchin' a Ride by Vanity Fare (#87); My Woman, My Woman, My Wife by Marty Robbins (#88); Greatest Love by Judy Clay (#93); and Funky Chicken (Part 1) by Willie Henderson and the Soul Explosions (#96).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Bridge Over Troubled Water--Simon & Garfunkel (2nd week at #1)
2 Rainy Night in Georgia--Brook Benton
3 Ma Belle Amie--The Tee Set
4 Travelin' Band--Creedence Clearwater Revival
5 The Rapper--The Jaggerz
6 House of the Rising Sun--Frijid Pink
7 Evil Ways--Santana
8 No Time--The Guess Who
9 Give Me Just a Little More Time--The Chairmen of the Board
10 Kentucky Rain--Elvis Presley

Singles entering the chart were Let it Be by the Beatles (#41); ABC by the Jackson 5 (#56); Reflections of My Life by the Marmalade (#74); American Woman by the Guess Who (#84); The Funniest Thing by Dennis Yost and the Classics IV (#85); Get Ready by Rare Earth (#86); Children by Joe South (#87); My Woman, My Woman, My Wife by Marty Robbins (#88); Mr. Monday by the Original Caste (#89); Love Minus Zero - No Limit by Turley Richards (#90); Little Green Bag by George Baker Selection (#91); Capture the Moment by Jay and the Americans (#92); Time to Get it Together by Country Coalition (#93); If Only I Had My Mind on Something Else by the Bee Gees (#94); I Could Write a Book by Jerry Butler (#95); Dear Prudence by the 5 Stairsteps (#96); High Sherrif by Tony Joe White (#97); Turn Back the Hands of Time by Tyrone Davis (#98); Love or Let Me Be Lonely by the Friends of Distinction (#99); and For the Love of Him by Bobbi Martin (#100).

Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 Let it Be--The Beatles
2 Bridge Over Troubled Water--Simon & Garfunkel
3 Instant Karma (We All Shine On)--John Ono Lennon (with the Plastic Ono Band)
4 Come and Get It--Badfinger
5 Arizona--Mark Lindsay
6 Spirit in the Sky--Norman Greenbaum
7 Ma Belle Amie--The Tee Set
8 The Rapper--The Jaggerz
9 Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)--Edison Lighthouse
10 Sparkle and Shine--The Clique
Pick hit of the week: Give Me Just a Little More Time--The Chairmen of the Board

Politics and government
Cheng Heng, president of the Cambodian National Assembly, was sworn in by the assembly as acting chief of state until elections could be held to choose a successor to the deposed Prince Norodom Sihanouk. Cheng Heng, widely believed to be a figurehead, vowed to preserve the nation's neutrality and drive out the Viet Cong.

War
U.S. dead in Vietnam for the week ending March 21 numbered 110, while 390 South Vietnamese wee killed. North Vietnamese and Viet Cong dead numbered 2,301.

Journalism
The Edmonton Journal published its last edition of Astronomical Notebook, a feature prepared by the Queen Elizabeth Planetarium in Edmonton that had run on page 2 every day since April 23, 1968.

Environment
The first Earth Day proclamation was issued by Joseph Alioto, Mayor of San Francisco.

Labour
U.S. President Richard Nixon intervened in the illegal postal strike, promising to meet his "constitutional obligation to see the mails go through" as the strike spread to Detroit, Denver, and Minneapolis. 200,000 workers were out, including half of those in Boston and Los Angeles.

Disasters
An Ecuadorian bus plunged down a precipice outside Ambato, killing 48 and injuring 50.

Sport
Yugoslavian ski jumper Vinko Bogataj tumbled down and off a ramp at the International Ski Flying Championship in Oberstdorf, West Germany. His fall became perhaps the most frequently viewed scene in sports history when ABC's Wide World of Sports for many years made it part of its videotaped opener to illustrate the "agony of defeat."







30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd

#1 single in France (IFOP): One Step Beyond--Madness (2nd week at #1)

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Please Don't Go--KC and the Sunshine Band
2 Do That to Me One More Time--Captain & Tennille
3 Tired of Toein' the Line--Rocky Burnette
4 Ballad of Lucy Jordan--Marianne Faithfull
5 Babe--Styx
6 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd
7 Rapper's Delight--Sugarhill Gang
8 Gloria--Umberto Tozzi
9 Rise--Herb Alpert
10 The Part of Me that Needs You Most--Exile

Singles entering the chart were Carrie by Cliff Richard (#16); and You're Only Lonely by J.D. Souther (#17).

On television tonight
Dallas, on CBS
Tonight's episode: A House Divided

This was the episode that led to the question, "Who shot J.R.?"

Diplomacy
White House Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan went to Panama to attempt to persuade the deposed shah of Iran not to leave the country, attempting to assure him that a dispute between American and Panamanian doctors over treatment of his medical problems (the shah had been diagnosed with an enlarged spleen) had been resolved, and that it was doubtful that Panama would grant Iran's request for extradition. Panamanian President Aristides Royo had stated that no extradition request would be granted, since it was made from political motives, and the deportee would face the death penalty in Iran.

Hockey
NHL
Edmonton 9 Montreal 2

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor (5th week at #1)

Africana
Namibia, formerly known as South-West Africa, became an independent country after being a colony of South Africa since 1920. President Sam Nujoma, a former guerrilla leader, took a moderate stance at the independence celebration, saying he welcomed "inflows of capital and know-how from abroad."

World events
U.S.S.R. President Mikhail Gorbachev banned all sale of firearms in Lithuania and ordered Lithuanians to surrender all firearms to Soviet officials.

Scandal
U.S. federal district court judge Harold Greene ruled that former President Ronald Reagan would not be required to present his presidential diaries to the defense of Adm. John Poindexter, the former national security adviser who was on trial for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s.

Academia
It was the first annual Blue Jeans Day at the University of Alberta, when people were supposed to wear blue jeans to express solidarity with sodomite rights activists. The day probably set a record for the smallest percentage of people wearing blue jeans on campus in many years. I saw one girl, who today would be considered a hate criminal, wearing a t-shirt that read, "Homos don’t tell me what to wear." Many women were wearing skirts, which helped to make the occasion one of the most memorable days in the U of A’s history.

Hockey
NHL
Winnipeg 3 Montreal 2

10 years ago
2000

Diplomacy
Pope John Paul II conducted mass in Amman, visited Wadi Al-Kharrar, Jordan, and then went to Tel Aviv to begin the first official visit of a pope to Israel.

Israel handed over 6.1% of the West Bank to Palestinian control, two days after gaining the approval of the Israeli cabinet. The Palestinian Authority now had at least partial control of about 40% of the West Bank.

U.S. President Bill Clinton, meeting with Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New Delhi, urged India to show restraint in its dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir.

Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji said that China would not negotiate with a governing party in Taiwan that supported independence.

Abominations
U.S. district judge K. Michael Moore upheld a ruling by the Immigration and Naturalization Service that 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez must be returned to his father in Cuba. Elian remained in custody of relatives in Miami as the appeal process began.

Law
A divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government lacked authority to regulate tobacco as an addictive drug.