February 26, 2011

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Fats Domino!

150 years ago
1861

Born on this date
Ferdinand I. Czar of Bulgaria, 1908-1918; Knyaz of Bulgaria, 1887-1908. Ferdinand I, a German prince of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry, was elected Knyaz (ruling prince) of Bulgaria by the Grand National Assembly. He proclaimed Bulgaria's de jure independence from the Ottoman Empire on October 5, 1908, and assumed the title of Czar. Bulgaria sided with the Central Powers in World War I, and in an effort to save the monarchy, Ferdinand abdicated in favour of his son Boris III on October 3, just two days short of 10 years as Czar. Ferdinand I lived the rest of his life in exile in Coburg, Germany, and died on September 10, 1848 at the age of 87.

110 years ago
1901

Died on this date
Chi-hsui; Hsu Cheng-yu. Chinese rebels. Leaders of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, the two were beheaded.

70 years ago
1941

War
The United Kingdom announced the first clash between British and German motorized patrols in Libya. Japan presented a "final mediation plan" for settlement of the border dispute between Thailand and French Indochina. U.S. Senator Burton K. Wheeler (Democrat--Montana) challenged the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to let the American people vote on the issue of American entry into the European war.

Society
The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano reported that the Congregation of the Holy Office had placed the German book Race, Culture and Christianity by P. Koltz on the list of forbidden works for advocating compulsory sterilization and euthanasia for the unfit.

Scandal
U.S. Justice Department official Maurice Milligan reported that the special Washington grand jury investigating alleged violations of federal election laws during the 1940 campaign returned no indictments.

Business
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission officials Gerhard Gesell and Ernest Howe reported that the tremendous assets of the insurance companies were available only for big business.

60 years ago
1951

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Dispossessed, starring June Dayton, Jeffrey Lynn, and Stefan Schnabel

Literature
The novel From Here to Eternity by James Jones was published in New York by Charles Scribners' Sons.

Diplomacy
Reports from India said that General Ngaboo, a Tibetan official captured by Chinese Communist forces at Chamdo in eastern Tibet, had gone to Peking to negotiate with the Chinese Communist government on Tibet's future.

Israel and the United States concluded negotiations for a technical aid agreement.

Politics and government
Sultan Mohammed V of Morocco agreed to French demands that he withdraw support from nationalist politicians in his cabinet and administration, who wanted complete independence from France.

Italian Communist Party leader Palmiro Toglatti returned to Rome from Moscow.

Labour
The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a Wisconsin law prohibiting public utility strikes and requiring conpulsory arbitration of such disputes, ruling that it conflicted with the Taft-Hartley Act.

50 years ago
1961

Died on this date
Mohammed V, 51. Sultan of Morocco, 1927-1953, 1955-1957; King of Morocco, 1957-1961. Mohammed V acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Yusef. He helped to protect Jews during World War II, and supported Moroccan nationalism after the war. On August 20, 1953 Sultan Mohammed was forced into exile in Corsica by French forces that were occupying Morocco. He returned from exile on November 16, 1955 and was again recognized as Sultan after active opposition to the French protectorate. Mohammed successfully negotiated Morocco’s independence from France in 1956, and took the title of King in 1957. He died after unspecified surgery, and was succeeded by his son Hassan II.

Space
The mission of the Soviet satellite Sputnik 7, launched on February 4, ended. Meanwhile, the Communist Party newspaper Pravda published a picture of the probe Venera 1, launched toward Venus from Sputnik 8 on February 12, describing the probe as a heavily-instrumented airtight cylindrical body with two bulges containing scientific equipment and chemical battery blocks. Exclusive of four aerials and solar batteries, it was 80 inches long and 41 inches in diameter. It was stated that equipment aboard Venera 1 was turned on and off by radio command from the ground and that measurements were radioed to large new aerials set up at various sites of the "outer space radio communications centre" of the U.S.S.R.

40 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Knock Three Times--Dawn

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): My Sweet Lord--George Harrison (5th week at #1)

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 No Matter What--Badfinger
2 Knock Three Times--Dawn
3 I Hear You Knocking--Dave Edmunds
4 Rose Garden--Lynn Anderson
5 Look Out Here Comes Tomorrow--The Dealians
6 Gypsy Woman--Brian Hyland
7 Mango Mango--Tidal Wave
8 See Me, Feel Me--The Who
9 Mendocino--Michael Holm
10 Sailing--Fuzz

Singles entering the chart were Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin (#17); and A Summer Prayer for Peace by the Archies (#18).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Rose Garden--Lynn Anderson (2nd week at #1)
2 One Bad Apple--The Osmonds
3 Have You Ever Seen the Rain/Hey Tonight--Creedence Clearwater Revival
4 Stay Awhile--The Bells
5 Watching Scotty Grow--Bobby Goldsboro
6 Amos Moses--Jerry Reed
7 Put Your Hand in the Hand--Ocean
8 Amazing Grace--Judy Collins
9 She's a Lady--Tom Jones
10 Temptation Eyes--The Grass Roots

Singles entering the chart were Oh What a Feeling by Crowbar (#25); Cried Like a Baby by Bobby Sherman (#26); One Toke Over the Line by Brewer and Shipley (#29); and Free by Chicago (#30).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKVN)
1 Have You Ever Seen the Rain/Hey Tonight--Creedence Clearwater Revival
2 One Bad Apple--The Osmonds
3 Watching Scotty Grow--Bobby Goldsboro
4 Woodstock--Matthews' Southern Comfort
5 If You Could Read My Mind--Gordon Lightfoot
6 Me and Bobby McGee--Janis Joplin
7 Born to Wander--Rare Earth
8 Hang on to Your Life--The Guess Who
9 She's a Lady--Tom Jones
10 Amazing Grace--Judy Collins

Singles entering the chart were Eighteen by Alice Cooper (#26); What is Life by George Harrison (#27); Whole Lotta Love by King Curtis and the Kingpins (#28); Oye Como Va by Santana (#29); and Put Your Hand in the Hand by Ocean (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Rose Garden--Lynn Anderson (4th week at #1)
2 Bridget the Midget (The Queen of the Blues)--Ray Stevens
3 One Bad Apple--The Osmonds
4 Wild World--Cat Stevens
5 Stay Awhile--The Bells
6 Knock Three Times--Dawn
7 Put Your Hand in the Hand--Ocean
8 Amos Moses--Jerry Reed
9 Your Song--Elton John
10 Mother--John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

On television tonight
The Interns, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Heart Trouble

Diplomacy
United Nations Secretary-General U Thant signed the UN proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.

Defense
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau began a program to raise the percentage of Francophones in the Canadian Armed Forces to at least 28%.

Crime
The U.S. Army ordered a court-martial for Colonel Oran K. Henderson, former commander of the 11th Brigade, Americal Division, on charges of failing to conduct a "proper and thorough" investigation of the alleged massacre of civilians in the South Vietnamese hamlet of My Lai on March 16, 1968. The legal action against Col. Henderson, on specific charges of dereliction of duty; failure to obey regulations; making a false statement; and false swearing, made him the only officer to be tried, out of 14 originally accused of suppressing information about the incident. The Army at the same time announced that charges had been dropped against Captain Dennis H. Johnson, one of the original 14 officers charged. Capt. Johnson had been accused of failure to obey regulations while attached to an intelligence unit.

Politics and government
The first convention of the Parti québécois opened in Quebec City.

Disasters
A flood that swept through Rio de Janeiro killed more than 130 people and left thousands homeless.

30 years ago
1981

Died on this date
Howard Hanson, 84. U.S. composer. Mr. Hanson was a Neo-Romantic composer who wrote seven symphonies, as well as orchestral, choral, and other works. His Symphony No. 4 (1943) won the Pulitzer Prize, but his Symphony No. 2 "Romantic" (1930) is his most famous work. Mr. Hanson directed the Eastman School of Music (1924-1964), and founded the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra in 1939.

Diplomacy
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher paid her first visit to U.S. President Ronald Reagan at the White House, where she said that the two leaders were determined "to sweep away the restrictions that hold back enterprise."

Economics and finance
After being informed that his advisers had underestimated the growth of federal spending for fiscal 1982, U.S. President Ronald Reagan ordered further cuts in his proposed budget of $3 billion-$6 billion.

Protest
450 students occupied the rector’s offices at a teachers’ college in Olsztyn, Poland, protesting inadequate accommodations.

Religion
Pope John Paul II met with atomic bomb victims and conducted mass in Nagasaki before departing for Anchorage, Alaska, where he conducted mass and met with clergy.

Hockey
NHL
Minnesota 1 @ Boston 5

Rick Middleton scored 2 goals and 2 assists to help the Bruins beat the North Stars at Boston Garden. The teams combined for 409 minutes in penalties--205 for Minnesota, 197 for Boston--in setting a National Hockey League record for a single game that stood for 23 years. The eventual winning goal was scored by Jean Ratelle in the 1st period; it was his 491st and last regular season NHL goal.



25 years ago
1986

At the movies
Fellow bad-movie buff Michael Martin and I went to see Revolution, one of the biggest turkeys of the 1980s. The film played in just one theatre in Edmonton for one week. We were two of eight people at the screening we attended. John Dodd went on opening night to review it for the Edmonton Journal, and he was the only person there. So few people went to see Revolution during its Edmonton run that the staff weren’t bothering to clean the theatre afterward. I don’t think more than 50 people saw Revolution during that week (and in its one-weekend second run many months later).

World events
Having accepted U.S. President Ronald Reagan's offer of exile, former Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, along with his family and supporters--90 people in all--travelled to Clark Air Force Base and then to Guam, before flying on to Hawaii. Incoming Philippines President Corazon Aquino named a 17-member cabinet. Salvador Laurel, who had been named Premier the previous day, had the foreign ministry added to his duties.

Defense
In an address to the nation, U.S. President Ronald Reagan said that his military buildup was threatened "by those who would quit before the job is done." In response, House of Representatives Majority Leader Jim Wright (Democrat--Texas) said that Democrats had always favoured a strong defense, but that they disagreed over "the amount of debt that we are willing to place upon the backs of our children."

Literature
Robert Penn Warren was named the first official poet laureate of the United States. Congress had created the honour in 1985, essentially equating it with the former position of poetry consultant to the Library of Congress. Mr. Warren was the only writer to win Pulitzer Prizes for both poetry (1958--Promises: Poems 1954-1956) and fiction (1947--All the King’s Men). He was selected for the position of poet laureate by Daniel Boorstin, the Librarian of Congress.

Economics and finance
Canadian Finance Minister Michael Wilson tabled a budget for 1986-1987 that raised taxes and reduced government spending in an effort to trim the nation’s deficit.

Disasters
Four NASA managers testified before the presidential commission investigating the January 28 explosion of the U.S. space shuttle Challenger that they had not pressured engineers from rocket parts manufacturer Morton Thiokol Inc. to present a positive launch recommendation, and said they had not considered the assessment by the engineers to be valid.

20 years ago
1991

War
Kuwait City was liberated by the allies after 208 days of Iraqi occupation.

Politics and government
Republican Party candidate J. Fife Symington III defeated Democratic party candidate Terry Goddard 52%-48% in a runoff election to become Governor of Arizona. Neither candidate had obtained the required majority of votes necessary to win in the November 1990 election.

Economics and finance
Canadian Finance Minister Michael Wilson tabled the budget for 1991-1992 to the House of Commons, describing it as "the most difficult" of the seven budgets he had presented. Though total government spending was increased by 5.1% from the previous year, the budget would restrain public servant wages; raise cigarette taxes; increase unemployment insurance premiums; and squeeze federal payments to the provinces. Mr. Wilson projected that the federal budget deficit would be limited to $30.5 billion, the same as the previous fiscal year.

10 years ago
2001

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell continued his visit to the Middle East with meetings with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Saudi Arabian foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal. In Kuwait, Mr. Powell, former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, and U.S. General Norman Schwarzkopf participated in a ceremony observing the 10th anniversary of the liberation of Kuwait City from Iraqi occupation in the Gulf War.

Crime
The three-man international war crimes tribunal meeting at The Hague sentenced Dario Kordic, an ally of the late Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, and Mario Cerkez, a former brigade commander of Croatians in Bosnia, to 25 years and 15 years in prison, respectively, for crimes against humanity. The charges related to the killings of hundreds of Muslims in central Bosnia in 1992 and 1993.

Politics and government
The Israeli Labour Party’s governing body voted to join a unity government.