March 8, 2010

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Howard H. Aiken. U.S. physicist and computer scientist. Dr. Aiken designed the original concept behind the IBM Mark I computer at Harvard University, which was used in the Manhattan Project during World War II. Dr. Aiken died while on a consulting trip to St. Louis on March 14, 1973, six days after his 73rd birthday.

100 years ago
1910

Born on this date
Claire Trevor. U.S. actress. Miss Trevor, born Claire Wemlinger, appeared in plays, films, radio, and television programs in a career spanning 70 years. She often played "bad girls," winning an Academy Award for her supporting performance in Key Largo (1948), and receiving Oscar nominations for her supporting performances in Dead End (1937) and The High and the Mighty (1954). Miss Trevor won an Emmy Award for her starring performance in the Producers' Showcase episode Dodsworth (1956), and was nominated for an Emmy for her starring performance in the Lux Video Theatre episode Ladies in Retirement (1954). She died of respiratory failure on April 8, 2000, a month after her 90th birthday.

Aviation
French aviatrix Raymonde de Laroche became the first woman to receive a pilot's license.

90 years ago
1920

Asiatica
The Arab Kingdom of Syria, the first modern Arab state to come into existence, was established, with King Faisal I on the throne.

80 years ago
1930

Died on this date
William Howard Taft, 72. 27th President of the United States, 1909-1913; 10th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1921-1930. Mr. Taft, a former judge on the Superior Court of Ohio, served as U.S. Solicitor General (1890-1892) under President Benjamin Harrison, and then moved on to become a United States Circuit Court judge. In 1900 he was appointed chairman of a commission to govern the Philippine Islands, recently acquired by the U.S.A. in the Spanish-American War. In 1904 Mr. Taft was appointed Secretary of War by President Theodore Roosevelt. He succeeded Mr. Roosevelt as the Republican Party nominee for President in 1908, and was easily elected. He was 5'8" and 325 lbs., and a special bathtub had to be installed in the White House to fit him. As President, Mr. Taft's economic policies proved unpopular, and Mr. Roosevelt challenged him for the Republican nomination in 1912. Mr. Taft won, but Mr. Roosevelt then ran for President for the Progressive Party. Mr. Taft finished a weak third in the election behind Democratic nominee Woodrow Wilson and Mr. Roosevelt. He returned to law, becoming a professor at Yale University in 1913 and serving as president of the American Bar Association. Mr. Taft was appointed by President Warren G. Harding as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1921, where he served with distinction, retiring shortly before his death.

Edward Terry Sanford, 64. Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1923-1930. Mr. Sanford was Assistant U.S. Attorney General (1905-1907) and a District Court Judge in Tennessee (1908-1923) before being appointed to the Supreme Court by President Harding. He wrote 130 opinions on the Supreme Court, and often sided with his mentor, Chief Justice Taft. Justice Sanford died of uremic poisoning following a dental extraction, a few hours before the death of Chief Justice Taft.

Baseball
Babe Ruth signed a new contract with the New York Yankees for $160,000 over two years--by far a record for the time. When someone observed that his salary now surpassed President Herbert Hoover's, Mr. Ruth supposedly said, "I had a better year than he did." Yankees’ General Manager Ed Barrow said, "No one will ever be paid more." In 1929 Mr. Ruth had led the American League with 46 home runs and a .697 slugging percentage. His 154 runs batted in were three behind league-leading Al Simmons of the Philadelphia Athletics.

70 years ago
1940

War
A Finnish delegation headed by Prime Minister Risto Ryti left Helsinki for Moscow for peace negotiations. Japanese forces in China captured Shekki, the chief town of the Chungshan district.

Politics and government
U.S. Senator Prentiss Brown (Democrat--Michigan) proposed that every employee of a company receiving federal grants or benefits be barred from making monetary contributions to political campaigns.

Scandal
George Spector, convicted of a bribery conspiracy with former U.S. Federal Judge Martin Morton, surrendered in federal court in New York City.

Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science reported the discovery of pantothenic acid, an essential vitamin for normal growth in animal and plant life.

Economics and finance
The Japanese foreign office stated that the $20-million U.S. loan to China through the Import-Export Bank was an unfriendly act.

A U.S. Federal Reserve Board official predicted that unless long-term credit expansion was obtained, the Board would not be able to cope with inflation.

Labour
American Federation of Labor President William Green called for renewed peace talks with the Congress of Industrial Organizations.

Swimming
The Yale University team set a world record of 3:54.4 for the 400-metre relays.

60 years ago
1950

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Ben Wright and Eric Snowden, on ABC
Tonight’s episode: The Case of the Second Doctor

The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Jackson Beck, on ABC

Music
U.S.S.R. composer Dimitri Shostakovich was awarded the Stalin Prize for his Song of the Forest and music for the film Fall of Berlin.

Abominations
The U.S.S.R. claimed to be in possession of the atomic bomb.

War
Chinese Nationalists reported the elimination of 900 Communists who had landed on Hainan Island two days earlier.

Diplomacy
United Nations Secretary-General Trygve Lie issued a memorandum urging the admission of the People's Republic of China to the UN. U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson responded that the United States would not vote to seat the Chinese Communists, but would accept a majority decision in their favour.

Scandal
U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy (Republican--Wisconsin) began to list 57 Communists whom he claimed the State Department still employed. Among the names were New York Attorney Dorothy Kenyon; Ambassador-at-Large Philip Jessup; and Mrs. Dean Acheson, the wife of the Secretary of State.

Defense
The first shipment of U.S. military supplies to Europe under the $1-billion North Atlantic Treaty aid program--a consignment of three F-6-F fighter planes--was loaded on the French aircraft carrier Dixmunde in Norfolk, Virginia.

Politics and government
General Chen Cheng, Chinese commander in Burma during World War II, became Prime Minister of Nationalist China under President Chiang Kai-shek.

Law
The Mexican Supreme Court ruled that in the future Mexican divorces could be obtained only from judges in the applicant's legal place of residence. The ruling eliminated "quick" divorces for applicants who were not legal residents of Mexico.

Transportation
The British manufacturer Rover unveiled the JET1, the first car powered by a gas turbine engine.

Labour
The French National Assembly passed a bill to outlaw strikes against defense production, following a four-day debate marked by long Communist filibusters and free-for-all fist fights.

United Mine Workers of America President John L. Lewis announced agreement on a new contract for the UMW's 75,000 hard-coal miners, with terms similar to those of the soft-coal contract.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in France (IFOP): T'aimer follement--Johnny Hallyday (4th week at #1)

On television tonight
Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, hosted by John Newland, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Haunting, starring Ronald Howard, Christine White, and Doris Lloyd



Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Linda and Diane Woodhams!

Hockey
NHL
Detroit 3 Montreal 0

Four months after first donning a mask, Montreal goaltender Jacques Plante acceded to coach Toe Blake’s request and played without the mask in this game. After the Canadiens lost, Mr. Plante went back to wearing the mask, and never played without one again.

40 years ago
1970

War
A White House spokesman confirmed that a U.S. Army captain and 26 American civilians had been killed or were missing in Laos as a result of enemy action over the past six years. The spokesman said that this information did not contradict U.S. President Richard Nixon’s assertion that "no American stationed in Laos has ever been killed in ground combat operations," because the captain was "behind the expected line of contact with the enemy," and the others--possibly including some killed in air combat--were not in ground combat.

World events
Machine gun and rifle fire from the roof of a high school near the archiepiscopal palace in Nicosia riddled the helicopter of Archbishop Makarios, President of Cyprus, just missing him and critically wounding his pilot.

Terrorism
Sean Holly, a political secretary at the U.S. embassy in Guatemala, was released unharmed by members of the Communist Rebel Forces, 39 hours after being kidnapped from his car on a main street. He had been held hostage in exchange for the freedom of two jailed guerrillas, who were released by authorities and given asylum in an embassy.

Politics and government
The governing Partido de Concertación Nacional (National Coalition Party) (PCN) retained its majority in the Salvadoran general election, taking 34 of 52 seats, with 59.8% of the popular vote. The Partido Demócrata Cristiano (Christian Democratic Party (PDC) was second with 16 seats. The election, which was reportedly marred by fraud, attracted only 41.6% of eligible voters. The result was seen as a show of support for President Fidel Sánchez Hernández's handling of the five-day border war between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969.

Economics and finance
A White House task force headed by Rudolph Peterson said that present American foreign aid policies and programs should be replaced by efforts to conform to guidelines set by such international agencies as the World Bank. The task force in effect urged the end of the Agency for International Development.

30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): My Sharona--The Knack (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Que Sera Mi Vida--Gibson Brothers (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Atomic--Blondie (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Atomic--Blondie (2nd week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Crying--Don McLean (3rd week at #1)
2 Do That to Me One More Time--Captain & Tennille
3 Que Sera Mi Vida--Gibson Brothers
4 An Englishman in New York--Godley & Creme
5 Save Me--Queen
6 Pearlydumm--BZN
7 I Hear You Now--Jon and Vangelis
8 Brass in Pocket--Pretenders
9 Rock 'n' Roll High School--Ramones
10 Rapper's Delight--Sugarhill Gang

Singles entering the chart were Coward of the County by Kenny Rogers (#28); Ladies Night by Kool & The Gang (#32); I'll Never Love this Way Again by Dionne Warwick (#33); Sajang É by Massada (#34); Visite by Lenny Kuhr & Les Poppys (#35); and I Need a Lover by Pat Benatar (#37).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen (3rd week at #1)
2 Yes, I'm Ready--Teri DeSario with K.C.
3 Longer--Dan Fogelberg
4 Desire--Andy Gibb
5 On the Radio--Donna Summer
6 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd
7 Do That to Me One More Time--Captain & Tennille
8 Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl--Spinners
9 Him--Rupert Holmes
10 The Second Time Around--Shalamar

Singles entering the chart were Do Right by Paul Davis (#76); Think About Me by Fleetwood Mac (#79); Love on a Shoestring by Captain & Tennille (#82); A Lesson in Leavin' by Dottie West (#85); In it for Love by England Dan and John Ford Coley (#86); A Certain Girl by Warren Zevon (#89); Don't Cry for Me Argentina by Festival (#90); Survive by Jimmy Buffett (#91); and I Don't Need You Anymore by Jackie DeShannon (#98). I Don't Need You Anymore was from the soundtrack of the U.S. release version of the Italian movie Together? (1979).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen (3rd week at #1)
2 Longer--Dan Fogelberg
3 Yes, I'm Ready--Teri DeSario with K.C.
4 On the Radio--Donna Summer
5 Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl--Spinners
6 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd
7 Desire--Andy Gibb
8 Rock With You--Michael Jackson
9 Him--Rupert Holmes
10 How Do I Make You--Linda Ronstadt

Singles entering the chart were Outside My Window by Stevie Wonder (#69); Think About Me by Fleetwood Mac (#75); Girl with the Hungry Eyes by Jefferson Starship (#79); Do Right by Paul Davis (#80); Love on a Shoestring by Captain & Tennille (#85); Loving You with My Eyes by Starland Vocal Band (#90); Holiday by Nazareth (#94); Autograph by John Denver (#96); You are My Heaven by Roberta Flack with Donny Hathaway (#97); and Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll, Pt. 1 by Vaughan Mason and Crew (#98).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 On the Radio--Donna Summer
2 Longer--Dan Fogelberg
3 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd
4 Desire--Andy Gibb
5 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
6 Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl--Spinners
7 September Morn--Neil Diamond
8 Yes, I'm Ready--Teri DeSario with K.C.
9 Too Hot--Kool & The Gang
10 Daydream Believer--Anne Murray

Singles entering the chart were Do Right by Paul Davis (#78); Keep the Fire by Kenny Loggins (#82); Love on a Shoestring by Captain & Tennille (#83); Only a Lonely Heart Sees by Felix Cavaliere (#85); Stomp! by the Brothers Johnson (#87); Outside My Window by Stevie Wonder (#89); Don't Cry for Me Argentina by Festival (#96); and White Rhythm and Blues by J.D. Souther (#97).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
2 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
3 Rock with You--Michael Jackson
4 Do That to Me One More Time--Captain & Tennille
5 Ladies Night--Kool & The Gang
6 Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles
7 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd
8 Please Don't Go--KC & the Sunshine Band
9 Escape (The Pina Colada Song)--Rupert Holmes
10 This is It--Kenny Loggins

Singles entering the chart were Too Hot by Kool & The Gang (#95); Kinda Kute by Joe Jackson (#97); Someone's Looking at You by the Boomtown Rats (#98); and It's Not a Wonder by Little River Band (#100).

Diplomacy
A plan to transfer the hostages from the U.S. embassy in Iran failed when the militants occupying the embassy balked at giving them up to Iranian Foreign Minister Sadegh Ghotbzadeh. Mr. Ghotbzadeh and the militants spent the day accusing each other of lying over whether Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini had approved a plan allowing the United Nations commission hearing grievances against the deposed shah to visit the captives.

Politics and government
Former California Governor Ronald Reagan won the South Carolina Republican Party primary for President of the United States with 54% to 30% for U.S. Senator John Connally of Texas.

Music
Jazz Festival '80, featuring stage bands from high schools in northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories, continued at SUB Theatre on the University of Alberta campus in Edmonton.

Labour
A 23-day strike by Chicago firefighters ended after the city and union agreed to turn the dispute over to a fact-finding panel, and if necessary, binding arbitration.

Boxing
Bernardo Mercado (25-2) scored a technical knockout of Earnie Shavers (59-9-1) at 41 seconds of the 7th round of a heavyweight bout at Great Gorge Playboy Club in McAfee, New Jersey.



Hockey
NHL
New York Rangers 2 @ Montreal 5
Pittsburgh 5 Edmonton 4

25 years ago
1985

Terrorism
At least 45 people die and 175 were injured in a car bomb explosion in Beirut.

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Love Shack--The B-52's

Literature
Canadian Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn presented the 51st annual Governor General's Literary Awards. The winners included:
English Non-Fiction: Robert Calder (Willie)
English Fiction: Paul Quarrington (Whale Music)
French Fiction: Louis Hamelin (La Rage)
English Drama: Judith Thompson (The Other Side of the Dark)

Economics and finance
The Canadian House of Commons passed the budget of Finance Minister Michael Wilson. Cuts in transfer payments to the provinces led the governments of British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario to take the federal government to court.

Protest
29 police officers were injured and 60 people were arrested in the London borough of Hackney during a protest over a new community charge, or poll tax, instituted by the British government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that was to replace the previous system of property taxes. Violence also occurred during protests in Bristol and Southampton.

Figure skating
Kurt Browning of Caroline, Alberta defeated Viktor Petrenko of the U.S.S.R. to become the first Canadian to win the world championship in two consecutive years. The competition took place in Halifax, and was the first world championship to take place after compulsory figures had been eliminated. Jill Trenary of the United States won the women’s title.









Hockey
NHL
Toronto 7 Hartford 6

10 years ago
2000

Diplomacy
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat met in the West Bank.

Law
A day after a Quebec Court judge ruled that two Montreal police officers who had been convicted of assault causing bodily harm in the 1993 beating death of taxi driver Richard Barnabe could keep their jobs, the government of Quebec announced that it would change the law so that it could fire officers convicted of criminal offenses.