March 5, 2011

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Olivia Mananquil!

200 years ago
1811

War
In the Battle of Barrosa during the Peninsular War between France and the allied powers of Spain, a French attack on a larger Anglo-Portuguese-Spanish force attmempting to lift the siege on the Spanish city of Cadiz failed. A single British division defeated two Frendh divisions and captured a regimental eagle.

140 years ago
1871

Born on this date
Rosa Luxemburg, 47. German political activists. Miss Luxemburg was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), but split from the SPD and co-founded the Spartacist League and the Communist Party of Germany. She was 47 when she and comrade Karl Liebknecht were executed by the Freikorps on January 15, 1919 when the Spartacist uprising was crushed.

120 years ago
1891

Politics and government
Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald led his governing Conservatives to victory in the seventh Canadian federal election, and his last. The Conservatives won 97 seats, which, combined with 20 seats for Liberal-Conservatives, gave them a majority of the 215 seats in the House of Commons. The Liberals, led by Wilfrid Laurier, won 90 seats. Three independent conservatives were elected, along with 2 independents, one Nationalist, one independent Liberal, and one Nationalist Conservative. The Conservatives and Liberal-Conservatives combined to captured 48.6% of the popular vote, running under the slogan, "The old flag, the old policy, the old leader". In the 1887 election, the Conservatives and Liberal-Conservatives had won 122 seats to 80 for the Liberals, who were then led by Edward Blake.

100 years ago
1911

Born on this date
Subroto Mukerjee. Indian military officer. Air Marshal Mukerjee began his career with the British Royal Air Force, and became of the first members of the Indian Air Force in 1932. He was a squadron commander and station commander in World War II, and was appointed Deputy Air Commander of the Royal Indian Air Force upon India's independence in 1947. Air Marshal Mukerjee was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the IAF in 1954, and was known as the "Father of the Indian Air Force." He was 49 when he died on November 8, 1960; he was having dinner with a friend at a restaurant in Tokyo, and choked to death on a piece of food that lodged in his windpipe.

80 years ago
1931

Politics and government
Viceroy of India Lord Irwin and Indian independence activist Mohandas Gandhi signed a pact at the Viceroy's house in Delhi regarding the demands of the civil disobedience movement.

75 years ago
1936

Movies
The Academy Awards for 1935 were presented at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. The winners included: Best Picture--Mutiny on the Bounty; Best Director--John Ford (The Informer); Best Actor--Victor McLaglen (The Informer); and Best Actress--Bette Davis (Dangerous).



Defense
The prototype of the British advanced monoplane fighter aircraft Supermarine Spitfire made its first flight from Eastleigh Aerodrome, near Southampton, England, with Captain Joseph "Mutt" Summers at the controls.

70 years ago
1941

War
The United Kingdom announced that Ethiopian forces had routed an Italian army of 20,000 in the province of Gojjam and captured the fort of Burye. A German court martial in Amsterdam sentenced 18 Dutch resisters to death and 19 others to prison for espionage and sabotage.

Diplomacy
The United Kingdom severed diplomatic relations with Bulgaria.

Defense
Panamanian President Arnulfo Arias announced that the United States had been given permission to establish air and anti-aircraft bases on Panamanian soil to protect the Panama Canal. The U.S. Senate passed seven amendments to the Lend-Lease bill, ending powers conferred on the President on June 30, 1943, and requiring congressional appropriations for additional aid.

Economics and finance
Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King announced that Bulgaria and Hungary would be subject to "trading with the enemy" regulations.

New York Stock Exchange President William McC. Martin attacked Securities and Exchange Commission members as "ignorant" and partially responsible for the decline in exchange business.

60 years ago
1951

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Man with the Astrakhan Hat, starring James Bender, Peter Capell, Ross Martin, and Paul Stewart

War
The U.S. House of Representatives heard a letter from Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Command General Douglas MacArthur urging a U.S.-supported Nationalist invasion of the Chinese mainland to open a "second front" against the Communists. The American administration of President Harry Truman opposed this policy.

Diplomacy
U.S. Ambassador-at-large Philip Jessup, U.S.S.R. Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, U.K. Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ernest Davies, and French Foreign Office chief Alexandre Parodi opened discussions in Paris on the agenda of another foreign ministers conference.

Politics and government
Socialist author Ignazio Silone said in Rome that the Italian Communist and left Socialist Parties had lost 10,000 members during recent conflicts over adherence to the Soviet policy line.

Radio
U.S. President Truman urged Congress to give Voice of America $97.5 million immediately to complete a network of transmitters sending American propaganda into Communist countries.

Journalism
Argentine Federal Judge Miguel Vignola ordered criminal proceedings brought against La Prensa publisher Alberto Gainza Paz, and police announced that they had shut down the newspaper's plant as urged by the pro-government General Confederation of Labour.

50 years ago
1961

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Carleton Hobbs and Norman Shelley, on BBC Light Programme
Tonight's episode: The Adventure of Black Peter

Defense
King Hassan II of Morocco announced that France had agreed to speed up the evacuation of its six military training schools and air bases in Morocco. Evacuation of the schools and bases had been scheduled to be completed by the end of 1963, but the new agreement set the date for October 1, 1961.

40 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Knock Three Times--Dawn (2nd week at #1)

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

Singles entering the chart were My Sweet Lord by George Harrison (#11); Understanding by Peanutbutter Conspiracy (#18); Just Because I'm a Woman by Dolly Parton (#19); and The Pushbike Song by the Mixtures (#20).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Have You Ever Seen the Rain/Hey Tonight--Creedence Clearwater Revival
2 Stay Awhile--The Bells
3 Rose Garden--Lynn Anderson
4 Watching Scotty Grow--Bobby Goldsboro
5 One Bad Apple--The Osmonds
6 Put Your Hand in the Hand--Ocean
7 Me and Bobby McGee--Janis Joplin
8 She's a Lady--Tom Jones
9 Temptation Eyes--The Grass Roots
10 Woodstock--Matthews' Southern Comfort

Singles entering the chart were Blue Money by Van Morrison (#27); I was Wondering by the Poppy Family (#28); No Love at All by B.J. Thomas (#29); and Timothy by the Buoys (#30).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKVN)
1 Have You Ever Seen the Rain/Hey Tonight--Creedence Clearwater Revival (2nd week at #1)
2 Woodstock--Matthews' Southern Comfort
3 One Bad Apple--The Osmonds
4 Me and Bobby McGee--Janis Joplin
5 Watching Scotty Grow--Bobby Goldsboro
6 She's a Lady--Tom Jones
7 Oh What a Feeling--Crowbar
8 Hang on to Your Life--The Guess Who
9 Proud Mary--Ike & Tina Turner
10 Chairman of the Board--Chairmen of the Board

Singles entering the chart were Another Day by Paul McCartney (#23); One Toke Over the Line by Brewer and Shipley (#26); Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) by the Temptations (#27); Anthem by Homestead (#28); I was Wondering by the Poppy Family (#29); and Free by Chicago (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Rose Garden--Lynn Anderson (5th week at #1)
2 Stay Awhile--The Bells
3 Watching Scotty Grow--Bobby Goldsboro
4 Amos Moses--Jerry Reed
5 Mother--John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
6 Amazing Grace--Judy Collins
7 Bridget the Midget (The Queen of the Blues)--Ray Stevens
8 Like an Eagle--Miguel Rios
9 Your Song--Elton John
10 Children of the Sun--Mashmakhan

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

Died on this date
Allan Nevins, 80. U.S. journalist and historian. Professor Nevins wrote for various newspapers and The Nation, before teaching at Columbia University from 1928-1958, becoming best known for his works of American history and biography. He won Pulitzer Prizes for Biography or Autobiography for Grover Cleveland: A Study in Courage (1932) and Hamilton Fish (1936). Prof. Nevins' major work was Ordeal of the Union (1947-1971), an eight-volume history of the Civil War.

Protest
An intensive search at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara by police who were looking for four U.S. airmen who had been kidnapped the previous day by Turkish leftist terrorists touched off student disorders.

Economics and finance
The government of Canada announced a grant of $5 million to the mining industry. The grant came on top of Noranda Mines' decision to invest $ 19 million in Murdochville, Quebec, which would create 280 permanent jobs.

30 years ago
1981

Died on this date
Yip Harburg, 84. U.S. songwriter. Mr. Harburg, born Isidore Hochberg, was best known for his work in the 1930s, writing the lyrics for songs such as Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?; April in Paris; and It's Only a Paper Moon. He wrote the lyrics for the songs in the movie The Wizard of Oz (1939), and shared the Academy Award with composer Harold Arlen for Best Original Song (Over the Rainbow).

Crime
U.S. President Ronald Reagan announced that the federal government would give nearly $1 million in grants to finance mental health and social programs relating to the case of the missing and murdered Negro boys in Atlanta, 19 of 21 of whom had been found dead in recent months. Two missing children were found safe that day.

25 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Brother Louie--Modern Talking

World events
Philippines President Corazon Aquino, fulfilling a campaign promise, freed two leading Communists who were among more than 500 political prisoners who were being freed.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Ronald Reagan said that unless U.S.S.R. leader Mikhail Gorbachev came to the United States in 1986, he (Mr. Reagan) would not go to the Soviet Union in 1987.

Politics and government
The 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ratified new economic and political programs.

20 years ago
1991

War
Iraq concluded two days of releasing prisoners of war, releasing 45, and said that no more were held. The Red Cross said that at least 7,000 Kuwaitis were unaccounted for. Baghdad radio reported that the annexation of Kuwait had been voided. Israel announced that Scud missiles had killed 2 of its citizens and injured 239. Meanwhile, Shiite Muslims in southern Iraq had rebelled against government control, and fighting in Basra, a major city, was reported. Kuwaiti oil officials said that Iraq had sabotaged Kuwait’s oil refineries; eliminated all above-ground oil storage facilities; and destroyed about half of the centres where oil, gas, and water were separated.

Environment
Canadian Environment Minister Robert de Cotret announced a $25-million plan to cut toxic discharges into the Great Lakes as part of the Green Plan.

Health
259 people were reported to have died since January in an outbreak of cholera in Peru, the first epidemic of the disease in the western hemisphere since the early 19th century.

10 years ago
2001

Crime
Charles Andrew Williams, 15, was arrested after having allegedly shot 15 people, 2 fatally, at a high school in Santee, California. Both of those killed were students, and the wounded included 11 students, a security guard, and a student teacher.

Disasters
35 people were trampled to death during a symbolic ritual in which pilgrims throw stones at pillars representing Satan, part of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca made by Muslims who were retracing the footsteps of the prophet Muhammad.