March 30, 2012

170 years ago
1842

Medicine
Anesthesia was used in an operation for the first time.

100 years ago
1912

Died on this date
Karl May, 70. German author. Mr. May wrote numerous non-fiction travel books, but was best known for his novels set in the American West, featuring the characters Winnetou and Old Shatterhand. He died eight days after delivering a speech in Vienna advocating international peace. No cause of death was specified, but it was suspected that Mr. May had been gradually poisoned by long-time exposure to lead in water.

80 years ago
1932

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Richard Gordon and Leigh Lovell, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Missing Leonardo da Vinci

50 years ago
1962

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Little People, starring Joe Maross and Claude Akins

40 years ago
1972

World events
The United Kingdom ended 51 years of semi-autonomous rule by the government of Northern Ireland and imposed direct rule over the province for at least a year. The move followed a vote of 438-18 in the British House of Commons enabling a bill on direct rule. British Prime Minister Edward Heath appointed House of Commons leader William Whitelaw to the new post of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Roman Catholic moderates expressed satisfaction with the move, while Protestant extremists denounced it. Former Northern Irish Prime Minister Brian Faulkner called the British takeover “betrayal by London.” Irish Prime Minister John Lynch supported the move.

War
In the biggest Communist offensive since 1968, North Vietnamese troops launched a blitz against South Vietnam through the demilitarized zone between the two Vietnams. The North Vietnam forces were equipped with sophisticated new Soviet weapons.

Disasters
Explosions and fire in Petrobas, Brazil’s largest oil refinery, killed at least 21 people and hospitalized 48.

10 were killed and 27 injured when a school bus collided with a freight train in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

30 years ago
1982

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden: Oh Julie--Shakin' Stevens (4th week at #1)

Space
The U.S. space shuttle Columbia, with Jack Lousma and Gordon Fullerton aboard, landed at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, ending the mission after a record 8 days and 5 minutes.

25 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): I Knew You were Waiting for Me--Aretha Franklin and George Michael (3rd week at #1)

Movies
The Academy Awards for 1986 presented, and Platoon was named Best Picture, with its director, Oliver Stone, also winning. Paul Newman, a regular, but unsuccessful nominee for Best Actor, finally won for The Color of Money, while Marlee Matlin was named Best Actress for Children of a Lesser God. Michael Caine and Diane Wiest won Oscars for their supporting performances in Hannah and her Sisters, while Woody Allen won for his original screenplay for that picture. Take My Breath Away, from Top Gun, won in the category of original song, and The Assault, from the Netherlands, was named the year’s best foreign language film.

Died on this date
Clint Murchison, 63. U.S. businessman and sports magnate. Mr. Murchison was the founder and owner of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League.

Art
Vincent Van Gogh’s painting Sunflowers (1889) sold for the equivalent of U.S. $39.9 million, the highest amount yet paid at auction for a work of art. It sold in just 4 minutes and 20 seconds at Christie’s in London, and was won by an anonymous telephone bidder.

Diplomacy
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was guest of honour at a banquet in Moscow, used the opportunity to call on the U.S.S.R. to withdraw their armed forces from Afghanistan and to make progress on human rights. She made public a plan to break the U.S.A.-U.S.S.R. deadlock over the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative, in effect supporting U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s broad interpretation of the 1972 anti-ballistic missile treaty, which, in turn, would facilitate SDI research. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev rejected Mrs. Thatcher’s ABM proposal as “unrealistic” and suggested that the debate over human rights be broadened to include millions of unemployed and homeless people in the west.

20 years ago
1992

Died on this date
Theresa Ann Campo Pearson, 9 days. U.S. infant. The girl was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida without a complete brain or skull. Although her parents knew of her condition while she was a fetus, they had decided that she should be born so that her organs could be donated to other babies. The parents sought to have Theresa declared brain-dead, but on March 26, Florida Circuit Court Judge Estella Moriarty ruled that the baby had a functioning brain stem and could not be declared brain-dead. Two other courts also rejected the parents’ appeals. By the time Theresa died, her organs had deteriorated too much to still be viable for transplant.

10 years ago
2002

Died on this date
Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, 101. U.K. royal. Born Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, she was, from 1936-1952 the Queen Consort of King George VI. Her eldest daughter became Queen Elizabeth II upon the death of King George. The “Queen Mum” was undoubtedly the most popular member of the British royal family.

War
After more than two weeks of secret negotiations, Angolan government military leaders and leaders of the UNITA rebel group signed a preliminary cease-fire agreement.

Sport
In the 148th annual rowing competition between Oxford and Cambridge universities, Oxford won by 2/3 length, reducing Cambridge’s overall lead in the series to 77-70.