March 9, 2011

310 years ago
1701

War
Safavid troops retreated from Basra in what is now Iraq, ending a three-year occupation.

200 years ago
1811

War
Paraguayan forces commanded by Colonel Manuel Atanasio Cabañas defeated General Manuel Belgrano's United Provinces of the Río de la Plata forces in the Battle of Tacuarí in southern Paraguay.

170 years ago
1841

Law
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the 35 surviving slaves aboard the Spanish ship Amistad, who had ended up in the United States after revolting against their captors, were free.

160 years ago
1851

Died on this date
Hans Christian Ørsted, 73. Danish physicist and chemist. Dr. Ørsted was credited with the discovery of aluminum, and discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields, which was the first connection found between electricity and magnetism. Ørsted's law and the oersted (Oe) magnetic field unit are named in his honour.

130 years ago
1881

Born on this date
Ernest Bevin. U.K. labour leader and politician. Mr. Bevin, a member of the Labour Party, was General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union (1927-1945) and represented Wandsworth Central (1940-1950) and Woolwich East (1950-1951) in the House of Commons. He was Minister of Labour and National Service (1940-1945) in the wartime coalition government of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Clement Attlee. Mr. Bevin succeeded in maximizing British labour supply in his first cabinet post, while his time as Foreign Secretary was characterized by the independence of India and Pakistan; the end of the British mandate in Palestine; opposition to Communism; and aiding in the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Due to failing health he resigned on March 9, 1951, his 70th birthday, and accepted the appointment as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, but died shortly thereafter, on April 14, 1951.

Politics and government
Lawrence Clarke of Battleford, Northwest Territories became the first member elected to the North-West Council, from the Electoral District of Lorne. 130 years ago
1891

Born on this date
José P. Laurel. 3rd President of the Philippines, 1943-1945. Mr. Laurel, a member of the Nacionalista Party, held various offices from the 1920s through the 1950s. He was President of the Second Philippine Republic, a Japanese puppet state during World War II. Mr. Laurel died on November 6, 1959 at the age of 68.

110 years ago
1901

Politics and government
Naturalized Japanese Canadians won the right to vote as they successfully appealed the British Columbia Elections Act that denied the vote to citizens of Asiatic origin.

80 years ago
1931

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Richard Gordon and Leigh Lovell, on NBC
Tonight’s episode: The Five Orange Pips

70 years ago
1941

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on NBC
Tonight’s episode: The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place

This was the last episode of the season.

War
The Japanese government announced that Japanese forces had withdrawn from the entire south coast of the Chinese province of Kwangtung, having achieved their objective. The Vichy French regime announced that a peace conference in Tokyo had reached a full accord on the Indochina-Thailand frontier dispute.

Defense
The Vichy regime said that France would defend her African colonies alone and in conformity with armistice agreements with Germany.

Diplomacy
The British government of Prime Minister Winston Churchill again rejected former U.S. President Herbert Hoover's plan to feed Belgians, saying it would only "prolong the war."

Politics and government
Chinese Nationalists reported that Communists had requested more political power; Premier Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek accused the Communists of fomenting disunion.

Paul Porter, Arthur C. McDowell, and Leonard Woodcock resigned from the U.S. Socialist Party's national executive committee in protest against party leader Norman Thomas's opposition to Lend-Lease.

Academia
33 members of the faculties of City College of New York and Brooklyn College who were accused of Communism denounced the legislative Rapp-Coudert inquiry as unfair and part of a drive to "plunge" the United States into "the imperialist war."

Skiing
Toni Matt won the U.S. national combined championship at Aspen, Colorado.

60 years ago
1951

On the radio
Hear it Now, hosted by Edward R. Murrow, on CBS

Tonight's program included a biography of a labour union.

World events
El Salvador was placed under a state of siege after the Interior Ministry reported the discovery of a Communist plot to overthrow the government of President Oscar Osorio.

Terrorism
The Iranian group Fadayan Islam threatened to kill Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi and other top officials if the assassin of Prime Minister Alia Razmara ws not freed in three days.

Politics and government
British Prime Minister Clement Attlee appointed Herbert Morrison, leader of the Labour Party's moderate faction, as Foreign Secretary, following the resignation of Ernest Bevin for reasons of health.

The Australian Supreme Court invalidated a law banning the Communist Party.

Defense
The U.S. Senate passed and sent to the House of Representatives the Universal Military Training and Service bill, providing for the drafting of 18-year-olds but limiting U.S. military strength to four million men.

Health
Duke University reported that cancer--primarily leukemia--had become the second-leading cause of death among children.

Business
The Canadian House of Commons approved the incorporation of TransCanada Pipelines to build 3,000 miles of natural gas pipeline from Alberta to Québec.

Boxing
Rex Layne (30-1-2) scored a technical knockout of Bob Satterfield (27-11-1) at 2:56 of the 8th round of a heavyweight bout at Madison Square Garden in New York.



50 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade): Wonderland by Night--Bert Kaempfert and his Orchestra (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Walk Right Back/Ebony Eyes--The Everly Brothers (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
The Untouchables, starring Robert Stack, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Antidote

Space
The U.S.S.R. launched Sputnik 9. The 5-ton satellite, carrying a 13-pound dog, guinea pigs, mice, insects , and seed, went into Earth orbit and returned to the Soviet Union the same day. Soviet reporters said the animals, which had been observed by television during the flight, were in good condition. The Soviet government hailed the flight as a major step in the Soviet man-in-space program, and U.S. space experts said the U.S.S.R. was "about ready to put a man up now."

40 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Kvällstoppen): My Sweet Lord--George Harrison (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Butterfly--Danyel Gérard (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date Cyril VI, 68. Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria, 1959-1971. Cyril VI, born Azer Youssef Atta in Egypt, became a monk in 1927, and succeeded Joseph II, becoming the only Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria in the 20th century who wasn't first a bishop/Metropolitan. He died after a short illness, and was succeeded by Shenouda III. Cyril VI was canonized as a saint by the Coptic Orthodox Church in 2013.

Disasters
The British tanker Ocean Bridge, standing by off the west coast of Spain to aid the stricken tanker British Comet, was ravaged by an explosion touched off by a mysterious fire, and the British Comet, in turn, picked up 49 of the Ocean Bridge’s 50 crewmen, leaving the captain missing.

30 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Counting the Beat--The Swingers (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Machikado Twilight--Chanels

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): What's in a Kiss--Gilbert O'Sullivan (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Fade to Grey--Visage

Terrorism
The Pakistani jetliner that had been hijacked by Pakistani political dissidents to Kabul, Afghanistan on March 2 was flown to Damascus, with 116 passengers and 7 crew members still aboard; one more hostage was released.

Crime
John Lange, known as the M5 Rapist, was sentenced to life in prison in England on 12 counts of rape and concurrent six-year sentences on each of four counts of attempted rape.

Environment
U.S. government specialists said that there was hope that the cleanup of the disabled nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, which had suffered an accident in 1979, could be made with very little risk to workers, but would take until at least 1988.

Labour
450 Polish farmers met in Poznan in the first national congress of their still-unrecognized union.

25 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: West End Girls--Pet Shop Boys (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Jeanny--Falco (8th week at #1)

Space
The Soviet probe Vega 2 got within 5,125 miles of the nucleus of Halley’s Comet. Like Vega 1, which had come within 5,600 miles on March 6, the vehicle was damaged by dust particles and by chunks of debris as large as a fist.

Disasters
NASA announced that the crew cabin of the U.S. space shuttle Challenger, which had exploded shortly after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 28 and killed all seven astronauts aboard, had been found in 100 feet of water.

Curling
The Ed Lukowich rink, representing Alberta, scored a point in the 10th end to defeat Russ Howard's Ontario rink 4-3 in the final of the Labatt Brier at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium in Kitchener, Ontario. Mr. Lukowich had previously won the Brier in 1978.

Hockey
NHL
New Jersey 3 @ Buffalo 4

Gilbert Perreault of the Sabres scored his 500th career goal in their victory over the Devils at War Memorial Auditorium.

20 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): I've Been Thinking About You--Londonbeat (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Se Stiamo Insieme--Riccardo Cocciante

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Sadeness Part I--Enigma (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Take No Crap--Cut 'N' Move

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Wicked Game--Chris Isaak (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Wind of Change--Scorpions

#1 single in the U.K. (CIN): Should I Stay or Should I Go--The Clash

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Crazy--Seal (3rd week at #1)
2 Liefde Voor Muziek--Raymond v/h Groenewoud
3 Because I Love You (The Postman Song)--Stevie B.
4 Knockin' Boots--Candyman
5 The Grease Megamix--John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
6 Do the Bartman--The Simpsons
7 3 A.M. Eternal (Live at the S.S.L.)--The KLF
8 Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C&C Music Factory
9 Wicked Game--Chris Isaak
10 (I Wanna Give You) Devotion--Nomad featuring Mc Mikee Freedom

Singles entering the chart were G.L.A.D. by Kim Appleby (#30); Ik Wil Vannacht Bij Je Slapen by Clouseau (#31); Joyride by Roxette (#32); Games - The Kids Get Hard Mix by NKOTB (#34); Mea Culpa Part II by Enigma (#35); Secret Love by the Bee Gees (#37); and Dance the Night Away/My Heart the Beat by D-Shake (#39).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Someday--Mariah Carey
2 One More Try--Timmy -T-
3 All the Man that I Need--Whitney Houston
4 Where Does My Heart Beat Now--Celine Dion
5 Show Me the Way--Styx
6 All This Time--Sting
7 Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams
8 This House--Tracie Spencer
9 Coming Out of the Dark--Gloria Estefan
10 Wicked Game--Chris Isaak

Singles entering the chart were The Star Spangled Banner by Whitney Houston (#32); Give Peace a Chance by the Peace Choir (#54); Written All Over Your Face by the Rude Boys (#60); I Touch Myself by Divinyls (#78); Call it Rock n' Roll by Great White (#79); More than Ever by Nelson (#81); Don't Treat Me Bad by Firehouse (#86); Highwire by the Rolling Stones (#94); Oooh This I Need by Elisa Fiorillo (#97); and Baby's Coming Back by Jellyfish (#98).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 One More Try--Timmy -T-
2 Someday--Mariah Carey
3 All the Man that I Need--Whitney Houston
4 Where Does My Heart Beat Now--Celine Dion
5 All This Time--Sting
6 Show Me the Way--Styx
7 Coming Out of the Dark--Gloria Estefan
8 Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams
9 The First Time--Surface
10 This House--Tracie Spencer

Singles entering the chart were Here We Go by C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams and Zelma Davis (#69); Highwire by the Rolling Stones (#76); More Than Ever by Nelson (#78); In Your Arms by Little Caesar (#82); Baby’s Coming Back by Jellyfish (#83); Temple of Love by Harriet (#86); Deep, Deep Trouble by the Simpsons (#87); Made Up My Mind by Safire (#88); I Touch Myself by Divinyls (#89); and Alice Everyday by Book of Love (#90).

Canada’s Top 10 (RPM)
1 All This Time--Sting
2 Someday--Mariah Carey
3 All the Man that I Need--Whitney Houston
4 Show Me the Way--Styx
5 Wicked Game--Chris Isaak
6 Waiting for Love--Alias
7 Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams
8 How Long Can a Man Be Strong--The Jeff Healey Band
9 Coming Out of the Dark--Gloria Estefan
10 Don’t Hold Back Your Love--Daryl Hall John Oates

Singles entering the chart were Trust Yourself by Blue Rodeo (#39); Joyride by Roxette (#46); Little Bones by the Tragically Hip (#59); Mercy Mercy Me/I Want You by Robert Palmer (#72); State of the World by Janet Jackson (#76); Easier to Walk Away by Elton John (#77); Take it All by the Outfield (#82); Always Twenty-One by Myles Hunter (#83); Good Texan by the Vaughan Brothers (#88); and Tears in the River by the Bookroom (#99).

Died on this date
Jim Hardin, 47. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Hardin played with the Baltimore Orioles (1967-1971); New York Yankess (1971); and Atlanta Braves (1972), compiling a record of 43-32 with an earned run average of 3.18 in 164 games. His best season was 1968, when he was 18-13 with a 2.51 ERA. Mr. Hardin batted just .103 with 3 home runs and 17 runs batted in, but his second major league home run was a game-winning homer in the bottom of the 9th inning in 1969. Arm troubles shorted Mr. Hardin's career. He became a pilot, and was killed, along wit his two passengers, in a plane crash in Key West, Florida when a propeller failed; it was reported that Mr. Hardin steered the plane to make sure to avoid coming down on a field where children were playing baseball.

World events
The final draft of the treaty designed to preserve the Soviet Union was published. It proposed to transform the nation into a "democratic state, formed as a result of a voluntary union of equal republics," from which any republic could secede. Russian President Boris Yeltsin urged democratic forces to "declare war on the leadership...which has led us into a quagmire."

Protest
At least 30,000 people, mostly university students and young workers, took to the streets of Belgrade in an effort to oust the Serbian government of President Slobodan Milosevic, who ruled through the Serbian Socialist (formerly Communist) Party. Two people were killed in clashes with security forces, and police began to make arrests.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, meeting with Kuwaiti officials, obtained promises that the emirate would move toward a democracy.

Politics and government
The Quebec Liberal Party adopted the Allaire report, calling for the government of Canada to relinquish broad powers to the province, as its platform. The platform, which outraged many pro-federalist members of the party, was adopted by a large majority of the 2,500 delegates present.

10 years ago
2001

War
Albanian rebels in Macedonia killed a policeman and trapped a convoy that included two senior government leaders. The incident occurred a few miles from where U.S. peacekeeping troops had just forced some of the rebels from a town on the Macedonia-Kosovo border.