March 5, 2010

240 years ago
1770

Died on this date
Crispus Attucks, 47 (?). American labourer. Mr. Attucks, of mixed ethnicity, was either a free man or an escaped slave when he entered into American mythology as the first victim of the Boston Massacre, dying after being shot twice in the chest by British soldiers while brandishing a club.

Protest
British soldiers guarding the Boston Customs House fired into a crowd of protesters, killing 3 civilians and wounding 8 others, 2 of them mortally. The incident became known as the Boston Massacre, and is widely acknowledged as the first act of violence in what became the American Revolution.

160 years ago
1850

Transportation
The Britannia Bridge across the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales was opened.

150 years ago
1860

Europeana
Parma, Tuscany, Modena and Romagna voted in referenda to join the Kingdom of Sardinia.

140 years ago
1870

Born on this date
Frank Norris. U.S. journalist and author. Mr. Norris was a muckraking journalist who was known for his criticism of greed and corporate monopolies in his novels McTeague: A Story of San Francisco (1899); The Octopus: A Story of California (1901); and The Pit (1903). He died of peritonitis following a ruptured appendix on October 25, 1902 at the age of 32.

120 years ago
1890

Born on this date
John Aasen. U.S. actor. Mr. Aasen was a 7'2" sideshow performer who appeared in 14 movies, including Why Worry? (1923); Should Married Men Go Home? (1928); and Bengal Tiger (1936). He died from pneumonia on August 1, 1938 at the age of 48.

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Lilli Jahn. German physician. Dr. Jahn began practicing medicine in 1924. As a Jewess, she was imprisoned in Breitenau in 1943, and sent to the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz in March 1944, where she was murdered circa June 19, 1944 at the age of 44. Dr. Jahn had written several letters to her five children; they were smuggled out of Breitenau and ended up with her son, and weren't publicized until long after her death.

Johanna Langefeld. German war criminal suspect. Mrs. Langefeld was unemployed until the age of 34, and then worked as a guard at a women's prison, joining the Nazi Party in 1937. She served as a guard and supervisor at the Nazi concentration camps for women at Lichtenburg, Ravensbrück, and Auschwitz during World War II, and was fired from the latter for showing excessive sympathy for Polish prisoners. Mrs. Langefeld was arrested by the U.S. Army in December 1945, and was transferred to the Polish judiciary in September 1946. She escaped, with the help of Polish prison staff, three months later, and then hid in a convent and worked in a private home. Sometime around 1957, Mrs. Langefeld returned illegally to live with her sister in Munich, and died in Augsburg on January 26, 1974 at the age of 73.

Hockey
Stanley Cup
Halifax Crescents 2 @ Montreal Shamrocks 10 (Montreal led best-of-three challenge series 1-0)

Arthur Farrell scored 4 goals, Frank Wall 3, and Harry Trihey 2 for the defending champion Shamrocks as they routed the Crescents at Montreal Arena.

100 years ago
1910

Born on this date
Ennio Flaiano. Italian writer. Mr. Flaiano wrote novels, journalism, and drama criticism, but was best known for co-writing 10 screenplays with director Federico Fellini, including La Strada (1854); La Dolce Vita (1960); and 8½ (1963). Mr. Flaiano died of a heart attack on November 20, 1972 at the age of 62.

Momofuku Ando. Taiwanese-born Japanese businessman. Mr. Ando, a native of Japanese Taiwan, founded the company now known as Nissin Foods in 1948. He invented instant noodles, and created the brands Top Ramen and Cup Noodles. Mr. Ando died on January 5, 2007 at the age of 96.

Politics and government
Two provincial by-elections took place in Quebec, with the governing Liberals of Premier Lomer Gouin winning both. Jules Allard won in Drummond, receiving 1,515 votes to 1,241 for Napoléon Garceau. Former Lachute Mayor John Hay won in Argenteuil, defeating Conservative candidate Harry Slater 1,332-1,256.

70 years ago
1940

Music
John Henry: A Railroad Ballad for Orchestra by Aaron Copland received its premiere performance on NBC radio.



Abominations
Six high-ranking members of the Soviet politburo, including General Secretary Josef Stalin, signed an order for the execution of 25,700 Polish intelligentsia, including 14,700 Polish prisoners of war, in what would become known as the Katyn massacre.

War
British naval forces intercepted seven Italian coal-carrying ships from Rotterdam and took them into British ports.

Politics and government
William George Clark of Fredericton was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick.

A Gallup Poll reported that American voters now favoured political candidates who urged economy over those who urged government spending programs.

Economics and finance
Uruguayan President Alfredo Baldomier said that the United States should assist Latin American nations to relieve their dependence on European trade markets.

El Salvador's Finance Ministry announced its intention to establish a branch of the Inter-American Bank in San Salvador.

60 years ago
1950

Died on this date
Edgar Lee Masters, 81. U.S. writer. Mr. Masters, a lawyer by trade, published 21 books of poetry, 12 plays, 6 novels, and 6 biographies, with his best-known work being the poetry anthology Spoon River Anthology (1915).

Roman Shukhevych, 42. Ukrainian paramilitary officer. Mr. Shukhevych was a Ukrainian nationalist who was a general in the paramilitary Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), and one of the organizers of the Halych-Volhyn Massacre (1943-1945), a genocidal massacre of about 100,000 Poles--mostly women and children--in German-occupied Poland and eastern Galicia. Mr. Shukhevych died, supposedly by his own hand, in an armed fight with agents of the MGB (Soviet Ministry of State Security). He was declared a Hero of Ukraine by President Viktor Yushchenko in 2007, but the award was ruled illegal by a court in 2010 on technical grounds. Nevertheless, Mr. Shukhevych remains an unofficial national hero, with many places in Ukraine named in his honour.

Politics and government
Yugoslavian Premier Marshal Josip Broz Tito denied reports that he was negotiating with the U.S.S.R. to rejoin the Cominform.

Economics and finance
Pakistan lifted its ban on trade with South Africa, imposed in 1949 to protest S.A.'s racial policy of apartheid. A similar ban imposed by India remained in effect.

The Nationalist Chinese government withdrew from the Geneva Agreement on Tariffs and Trade due to the government's inability to determine economic policy on the Chinese mainland.

Labour
United Mine Workers of America President John L. Lewis signed a new contract in Washington with coal operators, ending nine months of strikes and shortened work weeks in the soft-coal industry. The agreement raised daily wages from $14.05 to $14.75; increased employer contributions to the UMW welfare and retirement fund; and retained the union shop, subject to court ruling.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Boom Boom Baby--Crash Craddock (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Romantica--Tony Dallara (5th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Banjo Boy--Jan & Kjeld

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

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Theme from "A Summer Place"--Percy Faith and his Orchestra (2nd week at #1)
2 Handy Man--Jimmy Jones
3 He’ll Have to Go--Jim Reeves
4 Teen Angel--Mark Dinning
5 What in the World’s Come Over You--Jack Scott
6 Wild One--Bobby Rydell
7 Beyond the Sea--Bobby Darin
8 Baby (You’ve Got What it Takes)--Dinah Washington & Brook Benton
9 Let it Be Me--The Everly Brothers
10 Running Bear--Johnny Preston

Singles entering the chart were Summer Set, with versions by Monty Kelly and his Orchestra; and Mr. Acker Bilk (#85); Footsteps by Steve Lawrence (#91); Dream Talk by Herb and Betty Warner (#96); Step by Step by the Crests (#97); Lawdy Miss Clawdy by Gary Stites (#99); I Only Want You by the Passions (#100); That Old Feeling by Kitty Kallen (also #100); and Starbright by Johnny Mathis (also #100).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CFUN)
1 Handy Man--Jimmy Jones (2nd week at #1)
2 Wild One--Bobby Rydell
3 Beatnik Fly--Johnny and the Hurricanes
4 Teen Angel--Mark Dinning
5 What in the World's Come Over You--Jack Scott
6 Bad Boy--Marty Wilde
7 Puppy Love--Paul Anka
8 Angela Jones--Johnny Ferguson
9 The Theme from "A Summer Place"--Percy Faith and his Orchestra
10 He'll Have to Go--Jim Reeves

Singles entering the chart were Cherry Pie by Skip and Flip (#40); Guardian Angel by Mitchell Torok (#41); Bongo Boogie by Preston Epps (#42); Up Town by Roy Orbison (#48); (Welcome) New Lovers by Pat Boone (#51); Baby Baby by Jack Scott (#52); Time After Time by Frankie Ford (#53); Forever by the Little Dippers (#54); The Old Lamplighter by the Browns (#55); Summer Set by Monty Kelly and his Orchestra (#56); El Matador by the Kingston Trio (#57); I'll Be Back Home by Don Webb (#58); Footsteps by Steve Lawrence (#59); and Sixteen Reasons by Connie Stevens (#60).

Politics and government
Indonesian President Sukarno dismissed the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR), 1955 democratically elected parliament, and replaced with DPR-GR, the parliament of his own selected members.

Popular culture
Cuban photographer Alberto Korda took his iconic photograph Guerrillero Heroico of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara.

40 years ago
1970

On television tonight
Dragnet 1970, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Missing Persons: The Body



Defense
After 43 nations had deposited instruments of ratification, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, signed by 62 nations in 1968, went into effect. U.S. President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Aleksei Kosygin, presiding over ceremonies in Washington and Moscow respectively, expressed the hope that the pact would lead to steps to curb the U.S.A.-U.S.S.R. arms race.

Society
A group of American civil rights leaders charged that the policy of "benign neglect" toward Negroes advocated by presidential adviser Pat Moynihan exemplified "a calculated, aggressive, and systematic" administration effort to "wipe out" civil rights gains.

Politics and government
The U.S. Democratic National Committee unanimously elected Larry O’Brien national chairman, the post he had left 14 months earlier.

30 years ago
1980

Died on this date
Jay Silverheels, 67. Canadian-born U.S. actor. Mr. Silverheels, born Harold Jay Smith at Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario, was a Mohawk who was an outstanding field and box lacrosse player in the 1930s. While on tour with a box lacrosse team in Los Angeles in 1937, he was invited by actor and comedian Joe E. Brown to do a screen test, and began his acting career. Mr. Smith took his screen name from his nickname as a lacrosse player, and appeared in numerous Western movies, but was best known for playing Tonto in the television series The Lone Ranger (1949-1957) and in two movies (1956, 1958). He suffered a stroke in 1976, and died from complications of another stroke.

Diplomacy
Donald McHenry, chief U.S. delegate to the United Nations, said, "Obviously, my job is going to be made more difficult." His comment came two days after President Jimmy Carter had disavowed a vote cast by Mr. McHenry in favour of a UN resolution requiring Israel to dismantle its settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Agha Shahi rejected a $400-million U.S. aid package, saying that it would detract from rather than enhance Pakistan’s security. Instead, Pakistan would base its foreign policy on close ties to Islamic and non-aligned nations.

Politics and government
U.S. Senator Howard Baker, who had performed poorly in the Massachusetts and Vermont primaries the day before, withdrew from the contest for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States.

Hockey
NHL
Chicago 3 Vancouver 3

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Kiss Me Now (今すぐＫｉｓｓ　Ｍｅ)--Lindberg

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor

Died on this date
Gary Merrill, 74. U.S. actor. Mr. Merrill was known for supporting roles in movies such as Twelve O'Clock High (1949) and All About Eve (1950), and for appearances in numerous television programs. He was married to actress Bette Davis from 1950-1960.

Canadiana
Tonya Goss, Miss Niagara Region, was chosen Miss Teen Canada 1990. She turned out to be the last winner; the pageant was becoming too expensive for the sponsors, and there were no more Miss Teen Canadas after this year.

World events
A day after Negro nationalists believed to be sympathetic to the African National Congress had overthrown the president of the South African "homeland" of Ciskei, South Africa sent soldiers and police into Ciskei. Looting and arson had become widespread, and 27 people had been killed.

Scandal
Eight Canadian flour mills were charged with rigging prices for food aid in the amount of $500 million over 12 years.