March 3, 2010

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Sherry!

310 years ago
1700

Died on this date
Rajaram I, 30. Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire, 1689-1700. Rajaram I succeeded his elder half-brother Sambhaji as Chhatrapati (Emperor) of the Maratha Empire, and spent most of his reign in conflict against the Mughal Empire. He did of lung disease, 17 days after his 30th birthday, and was succeeded on the throne by his son Shivaji II.

190 years ago
1820

Politics and government
The U.S. Congress passed the Missouri Compromise, admitting Maine to the Union as a free state and Missouri as a state allowing slavery, maintaining the balance between North and South in the U.S. Senate. President James Monroe signed the Compromise into law three days later.

160 years ago
1850

Died on this date
Oliver Cowdery, 43. U.S. religious leader. Mr. Cowdery was a major figure in the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, popularly known as the Mormon Church. He was the first convert baptized, one of the first LDS apostles, and the Second Elder of the church. Mr. Cowdery was Assistant President when he was excommunicated in 1838 after accusing Mormon founder and President Joseph Smith of having a sexual relationship with a teenage servant girl. Mr. Cowdery became a Methodist, but returned to the LDS fold in 1848, and died after a period of declining health.

150 years ago
1860

Born on this date
John Montgomery Ward. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Ward was a pitcher, outfielder, and shortstop with the Providence Grays (1878-1882); New York Gothams and Giants (1883-1889, 1893-1894); Brooklyn Wonders (1890); and Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1891-1892), batting .275 with 26 home runs and 869 runs batted in in 1,827 games. He pitched from 1878-1884, posting a record of 164-103 with an earned run average of 2.10. Mr. Ward's best season was 1879, when he was 47-19 with an ERA of 2.15, while batting .286 with 2 homers and 41 RBIs. On June 17, 1880 he pitched the second perfect game in major league history as the Grays blanked the Buffalo Bisons 5-0; the game occurred just five days after Lee Richmond had pitched the first perfect game in major league history. Mr. Ward died of pneumonia on March 4, 1925, the day after his 65th birthday; he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964.

130 years ago
1880

Born on this date
Yōsuke Matsuoka. Japanese diplomat and politician. Mr. Matsuoka spent some time in the United States as a youth, but returned to Japan, joining the Foreign Service in 1904, holding various positions through the early 1930s. He led the Japanese delegation to the League of Nations, delivering a speech condemning the League, announcing Japan's withdrawal, and leading the Japanese delegation out of the League's assembly hall. Mr. Matsuoka attempted to form a political party modelled on the National Fascist Party in Italy, but failed to attract much support. He was appointed Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe in 1940, and was one of the major architects of the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy. During 1941, Mr. Matsuoka advocated an invasion of the U.S.S.R., and believed the U.S.A. was trying to provoke war with Japan. Prime Minister Konoe wanted to avoid war with the United States, and maneuvered Mr. Matsuoka's resignation in July 1941. Mr. Matsuoka spent World War II in retirement, but was arrested by Allied authorities after the Japanese surrender in 1945 and charged with war crimes. He died of natural causes in prison on June 26, 1946 at the age of 66, before he could come to trial.

Florence Auer. U.S. actress. Miss Auer appeared in plays and films in a career spanning almost 50 years. She was one of the original "Biograph Girls," starring in films for the Biograph Company. Miss Auer appeared mainly in minor, often uncredited roles after 1925. She died on May 14, 1962 at the age of 82.

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Edna Best. U.K.-born actress. Miss Best was a successful stage actress in Britain and the United States in the 1920s and '30s, and appeared in more than 20 movies, including The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934); Intermezzo: A Love Story (1939); and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947). She appeared in several television programs, and was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance in the Ford Star Jubilee episode This Happy Breed (1956). Miss Best also worked in radio, not only as an actress, but as a director; she directed some episodes of The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in the mid-1940s. Miss Best was married to actor Herbert Marshall from 1928-1940, and died on September 18, 1974 at the age of 74.

100 years ago
1910

Business
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. announced his retirement from managing his businesses so that he could devote all his time to philanthropy.

75 years ago
1935

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Louis Hector and Leigh Lovell, on NBC

70 years ago
1940

War
Soviet forces captured the island of Tuppuransaari, south of Viborg, Finland. Sweden rejected British and French requests that their troops be permitted to cross Swedish territory to aid Finland.

Defense
Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica agreed to permit U.S. military bases on their soil for use in wartime defense of the Panama Canal.

Crime
Five people were killed in an arson attack on the offices of the Communist newspaper Norrskensflamman in Luleå, Sweden.

Economics and finance
Hong Kong sources reported that Japan would monopolize all Chinese industry under the peace pact with Wang Ching-wei, leader of the Japanese-sponsored government in central China.

U.S. Senator Charles McNary (Republican--Oregon) charged in a radio address that President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal policies had made the hardships of the Depression a permanent way of life.

60 years ago
1950

War
Chinese Nationalist planes raided railroad yards and other facilities in Canton, causing 700-1,000 deaths.

Diplomacy
In an advisory opinion requested by the United Nations General Assembly, the International Court of Justice ruled 12-2 that the UN Charter did not permit the General Assembly to admit membership applicants vetoed or otherwise rejected by the Security Council.

French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman and Saar Premier Johannes Hoffman signed an agreement giving France a 50-year lease on Saar coal mines and control of Saar customs and foreign relations. The Saar received autonomy in its domestic affairs.

The U.S. Congress and State Department ruled that 12 Europeans, led by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, were Communists or fellow travellers, and must be denied visas to enter the United States with a peace petition for Congress.

Americana
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 186-146 in favour of making the territory of Alaska the 49th state.

Agriculture
Peking radio reported that land distribution would not start in Communist China until after the 1950 harvest and may be delayed until the fall of 1951 to ensure food supplies.

Boxing
Jersey Joe Walcott (46-16-1) scored a technical knockout of Omelio Agramonte (39-8) at 2:11 of the 7th round of a heavyweight bout at Madison Square Garden in New York.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Er du glad i meg ennå, Karl Johan?--Nora Brockstedt (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Poor Me--Adam Faith

On television tonight
The Untouchables, starring Robert Stack, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Unhired Assassin: Part 2, with guest stars Joe Mantell, Robert Gist, and Robert Middleton

40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Kvällstoppen): Monia--Peter Holm (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye--Steam (5th week at #1)

Diplomacy
U.S. President Richard Nixon was among those in attendance at a farewell dinner in New York City for French President Georges Pompidou, who was concluding his eight-day visit to the United States. The streets outside the location of the dinner were filled with protesters demonstrating against French policy in the Middle East.



Protest
A mob of about 200 whites attacked three buses taking 39 students to a newly-integrated high school in Lamar, South Carolina. The students reached the school safely, although several of them received minor injuries. The mob, which used ax handles, baseball bats, and chains, overturned two of the buses before being dispersed by state police who used tear gas and clubs.

Politics and government
Two more officials of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare resigned in protest against the desegregation policies of the administration of President Richard Nixon. It was reported that more than 100 members of the department’s civil rights office had sent a letter to Mr. Nixon expressing their disappointment over the forced resignation in February of the office’s chief, Leon Panetta.

The months-long dispute between U.S. President Richard Nixon and Congress over appropriations for health and education programs ended when the House of Representatives agreed to accept a Senate version of the bill; Mr. Nixon said he would sign it.

Boxing
Ismael Laguna (62-6-1) of Panama scored a technical knockout of Mando Ramos (28-4) in the 9th round to regain the world lightweight championship at the Sports Arena in Los Angeles. Mr. Laguna had previously held the title briefly in 1965.



Jerry Quarry (34-4-4) knocked out Rufus Brassell (13-2) at 1:32 of the 2nd round of a heavyweight bout at the Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida.

Donato Paduano (18-0) retained his Canadian welterweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over former champion Joey Durelle (61-9-4) at the Montreal Forum. Mr. Paduano had taken the title from Mr. Durelle three months earlier in a 12-round majority decision.

Hockey
NHL
The Toronto Maple Leafs traded veteran defenseman Tim Horton to the New York Rangers for future considerations, which ended up being minor league forwards Guy Trottier and Denis Dupere. Mr. Horton was in his 18th full season with the Maple Leafs, and was the highest-paid player on the team, making $86,000 in 1969-70. The figure was double what he'd made the previous season, when he had threatened to retire to tend to his burgeoning donut restaurant business. Mr. Horton played 1,185 regular season games with Toronto, scoring 109 goals and 348 assists. He played 97 playoff games with the Maple Leafs, scoring 9 goals and 32 assists. Mr. Horton was a member of the Maple Leafs' Stanley Cup championship teams in 1962, '63, '64, and '67. He had made the NHL's first all-star team three times, and the second team three times, and was widely regarded as the league's strongest player. In 59 games with the Maple Leafs in 1969-70 Mr. Horton scored 3 goals and 19 assists. The Maple Leafs were in last place in the Eastern Division, and were looking to stock their roster with younger players. The Rangers were contending for a playoff spot and thought that the 40-year-old Mr. Horton would provide experience and leadership.

30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Daitokai--Crystal King (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd

On television tonight
Family, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Play on Love

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Irishka!

Abominations
Pierre Trudeau returned as Prime Minister of Canada when his Liberal government was sworn in two weeks after defeating Joe Clark’s Progressive Conservative government in a federal election.

Canadiana
Clara Jean Howard, representing Prince Edward Island, was chosen Miss Teen Canada 1980. Connie Johns represented the Northwest Territories.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Jimmy Carter returned to the White House from Camp David and reviewed, for the first time, the text of a United Nations resolution passed unanimously two days earlier calling on Israel to dismantle its settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Mr. Carter reportedly became angry when he discovered that the text still contained many references to Jerusalem. Donald McHenry, chief U.S. delegate to the UN, had voted for the resolution after being told by Secretary of State Cyrus Vance to vote for the resolution if paragraph 7, which implied criticism of Israel’s administration of holy places in Jerusalem, had been deleted. The paragraph was deleted, and Mr. McHenry voted in favour of the resolution. After reading the text, President Carter disavowed the U.S. vote of two days earlier, stating that the fate of Jerusalem should be left to the current Israeli-Egyptian negotiations. Israel had captured the eastern side of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War in 1967, and intended to keep the undivided city as its capital.

World events
Iran’s Revolutionary Council promised the United Nations commission investigating grievances against the deposed shah that "the commission will see all the hostages," three days after an aide to Ayatollah Khomeini had said that the meeting with the hostages in the U.S. embassy would go ahead.

Defense
The USS Nautilus, the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine, was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. She had been launched and commissioned in 1954.

Politics and government
Rodrigue Biron, who had led the Union Nationale since 1976, announced his resignation as leader of the Quebec provincial party, and said that he would vote "Yes" in the upcoming provincial referendum on "sovereignty-association" with Canada. He joined the governing Parti Québécois eight months later.

Disasters
A severe snowstorm over the eastern United States killed at least 20 people.

Hockey
NHL
The Toronto Maple Leafs traded centre Walt McKechnie to the Colorado Rockies for the Rockies’ third-round choice in the 1980 entry draft. After scoring 25 goals and 36 assists the previous season, Mr. McKechnie had scored just 7 goals and 36 assists in 54 games in 1979-80. He had been the Maple Leafs’ first choice in the 1963 amateur draft, but spent several years in the minors before being traded out of the organization in 1967. He bounced around the NHL for a decade before the Maple Leafs acquired him in a trade with the Minnesota North Stars just before the start of the 1978-79 regular season.

25 years ago
1985

Labour
The U.K. National Union of Mineworkers national executive voted 98-91 to end their year-long strike without any deal over pit closures.

Hockey
NHL
Winnipeg 6 Edmonton 3
Vancouver 7 Hartford 6 (OT)

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Un' Estate Italiana--Edoardo Bennato; Gianna Nannini (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Pump Up the Jam--Technotronic (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Get Up! (Before the Night is Over--Technotronic (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Hélène--Roch Voisine (9th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (CIN): Dub Be Good to Me--Beats International

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor (3rd week at #1)
2 Daar Gaat Ze--Clouseau
3 Sacrifice--Elton John
4 I Wish it Would Rain Down--Phil Collins
5 Get Up! (Before the Night is Over)--Technotronic
6 Opposites Attract--Paula Abdul
7 King Kong Five--Mano Negra
8 Fools Gold--The Stone Roses
9 Me So Horny--The 2 Live Crew
10 Look Away--Chicago

Singles entering the chart were How am I Supposed to Live Without You by Michael Bolton (#20); Ik Zat Effe Nie Op Te Lette... by Bertus Staigerpaip (#24); Escapade by Janet Jackson (#30); The Healer by John Lee Hooker featuring Carlos Santana & the Santana Band (#32); Standing Outside in the Rain by Skipper Wise (#33); and The King and Queen of America by Eurythmics (#35).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Escapade--Janet Jackson
2 Dangerous--Roxette
3 Opposites Attract--Paula Abdul (Duet with the Wild Pair)
4 Roam--The B-52s
5 All or Nothing--Milli Vanilli
6 Here We Are--Gloria Estefan
7 Price of Love--Bad English
8 We Can't Go Wrong--The Cover Girls
9 Black Velvet--Alannah Myles
10 No More Lies--Michel'le

Singles entering the chart were How Can We Be Lovers by Michael Bolton (#68); Lambada by Kaoma (#71); A Face in the Crowd by Tom Petty (#73); Whatcha Gonna Do with My Lovin' by Inner City (#92); and Imagination by Xymox (#95).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Dangerous--Roxette
2 Escapade--Janet Jackson
3 Opposites Attract--Paula Abdul (Duet with the Wild Pair)
4 Two to Make it Right--Seduction
5 All or Nothing--Milli Vanilli
6 Tell Me Why--Expose
7 We Can't Go Wrong--Cover Girls
8 What Kind of Man Would I Be?--Chicago
9 Here We Are--Gloria Estefan
10 Roam--The B-52's

Singles entering the chart were Heartbeat by Seduction (#59); 99 Worlds by Peter Wolf (#65); Make it Like it Was by Regina Belle (#68); Advice for the Young at Heart by Tears for Fears (#77); Whip Appeal by Babyface (#81); Sending All My Love by Linear (#82); House of Pain by Faster Pussycat (#83); and How Can We Be Lovers by Michael Bolton (#86).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Opposites Attract--Paula Abdul (Duet with the Wild Pair)
2 Downtown Train--Rod Stewart
3 Dangerous--Roxette
4 Janie's Got a Gun--Aerosmith
5 Escapade--Janet Jackson
6 I Go to Extremes--Billy Joel
7 I Wish it Would Rain Down--Phil Collins
8 What Kind of Man Would I Be?--Chicago
9 All or Nothing--Milli Vanilli
10 How am I Supposed to Live Without You--Michael Bolton

Singles entering the chart were I'll Be Your Everything by Tommy Paige (#74); The Heart of the Matter by Don Henley (#76); Before We Fall by Sheree (#78); Chocolate Box by Bros (#80); Have a Heart by Bonnie Raitt (#82); The Angels by Melissa Etheridge (#84); Heart of Stone by Cher (#86); Battlefield by Paul Carrack (#88); Anything I Want by Kevin Paige (#90); and 99 Worlds by Peter Wolf (#92).

10 years ago
2000

Academia
Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina dropped its decades-old ban on interracial dating leading to marriage. The university had always maintained that its position against interracial dating was based on the Bible. If that were really the case, then they had no business changing the policy, no matter how much society disapproved of it. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled 8-1 on May 24, 1983 that the BJU ban on interracial dating was a form of racial discrimination, and that private institutions that practiced racial discrimination were thus ineligible for federal tax exemptions. The university had lost its tax-exempt status in 1976, and had been sued for $490,000 in back taxes.

The passage of scripture usually cited against interracial marriage is Deuteronomy 7:1-4:

When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:
Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.
For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

The reader will notice that the prohibition was against having friendly relations with seven specific nations because they followed other gods, not because their skin was a different colour. It’s also stated that these seven nations were greater and mightier than Israel; if Israel were to make covenants with and intermarry with these nations, the likely result would be that Israel would be overwhelmed and absorbed by them, and would lose her distinct identity. None of the reasons against intermarriage cited in the passage above are applicable to Bob Jones University.

The New Testament passage most frequently cited against marrying unbelievers is II Corinthians 6:14-17:

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

The passage in II Corinthians couldn’t be more clear (and can be applied to more than just a marriage relationship), but no mention is made of difference in skin colour as being a bar to marriage. To use Deuteronomy 7:1-4 to forbid interracial marriages among Christians is faulty application based on faulty exegesis.

The fact that Bob Jones University did change its dating policy showed that either BJU had been lying for years--i.e., their position hadn’t really been based on the Bible--or that as of March 3, 2000, the university was no longer basing its position on the Bible. Either way, BJU’s actions weakened its claim to be a fundamentalist Christian university.

Politics and government
Quebec Minister of Municipal Affairs Louise Harel unveiled an action plan and a schedule of achievements for municipal mergers planned for the coming year.