May 29, 2012

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Cathy Brown!

90 years ago
1922

Law
With Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes writing the majority opinion, the United States Supreme Court ruled that organized baseball could not be subject to antitrust legislation because it could not be called commerce in the commonly accepted uses of those words. The ruling allowed major league baseball to operate as a virtual cartel.

80 years ago
1932

Protest
The Bonus March of American World War I veterans, desiring early payment—because of Depression conditions—of a bonus that had been promised them, although not due to be paid for a number of years yet—arrived in Washington, D.C.

70 years ago
1942

Music
Bing Crosby first recorded White Christmas, for the movie Holiday Inn (1942).

50 years ago
1962

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Twelve Hour Caper, starring Dick York, Sarah Marshall, and Wendell Holmes

40 years ago
1972

Terrorism
Japanese terrorists who had just debarked from an Air France flight from Rome fired machine guns and lobbied hand grenades at a crowd of 300 in Tel Aviv’s Lod International Airport, killing 28 people and wounding 76.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Richard Nixon left Moscow after a one-week visit; U.S. and Soviet officials issued a declaration of principles and a joint communiqué in which they agreed to extend cooperation and avoid military confrontations.

30 years ago
1982

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K.: House of Fun--Madness

#1 single in the U.S.A.: (Billboard): Ebony and Ivory--Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder (3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Ebony and Ivory--Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder (2nd week at #1)
2 Don't Talk to Strangers--Rick Springfield
3 I've Never Been to Me--Charlene
4 The Other Woman--Ray Parker, Jr.
5 867-5309/Jenny--Tommy Tutone
6 Don't You Want Me--The Human League
7 Titles--Vangelis
8 I Love Rock 'N' Roll--Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
9 Heat of the Moment--Asia
10 Always on My Mind--Willie Nelson

Singles entering the chart were Do I Do by Stevie Wonder (#72); Right Kind of Love by Quarterflash (#79); What Do All the People Know by the Monroes (#80); Abracadabra by Steve Miller Band (#83); Happy Man by Greg Kihn Band (#84); Love Plus One by Haircut One Hundred (#85); Dance wit' Me (Part 1) by Rick James (#86); Cutie Pie by One Way (#87); You Should Hear How She Talks About You by Melissa Manchester (#88); I Predict by Sparks (#89); and I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow (#90).

Canada’s Top 10 (RPM)
1 Ebony and Ivory--Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder (2nd week at #1)
2 867-5309/Jenny--Tommy Tutone
3 I Love Rock 'N' Roll--Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
4 Titles--Vangelis
5 Heat of the Moment--Asia
6 Don't You Want Me--The Human League
7 I've Never Been to Me--Charlene
8 Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)--Elton John
9 Don't Talk to Strangers--Rick Springfield
7 Key Largo--Bertie Higgins
10 Six Months in a Leaky Boat--Split Enz

Singles entering the chart were Dance wit' Me (Part 1) by Rick James (#40); Caught Up in You by .38 Special (#42); Dancing in the Street by Van Halen (#43); Angel in Blue by J. Geils Band (#49); and Always on My Mind by Willie Nelson (#50).

Died on this date
Romy Schneider, 43. Austrian-born French actress. Miss Schneider appeared in European films, including The Trial (1962), before going to Hollywood, where her movies included The Cardinal (1963); The Victors (1963); and What's New, Pussycat? (1965). She eventually settled in France, where she won the César for 1975 as Best Actress for L'important c'est d'aimer. Long beset by problems with alcohol and drugs, Miss Schneider died of cardiac arrest.

Religion
Pope John Paul II met with Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie; for the first time in almost 450 years, the heads of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England had participated together in a church ceremony.

Disasters
Floods and landslides in Hong Kong killed 20 people and left more than 2,000 homeless.

12 were killed and 100 injured as tornadoes swept through southern Illinois.

25 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): La Isla Bonita--Madonna (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Charan Singh, 84. Prime Minister of India, 1979-1980. Mr. Singh was leader of the Bharatiya Lok Dal, part of a coalition government in the late 1970s. He succeeded Morarji Desai as Prime Minister, but resigned without facing parliament, and Bharatiya Lok Dal were defeated in elections several months later. Mr. Singh continued to lead the party until his death.

Phyllis Tate, 76. U.K. composer. Miss Tate wrote works for amateur performers and children, often featuring unusual combinations of instruments.

20 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Rhythm is a Dancer--Snap! (2nd week at #1)

Music
Procol Harum and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, whose performance together (with the Da Camera Singers) on November 18, 1971 had resulted in a bestselling 1972 album, reunited for the first of two concerts at Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, the scene of the earlier concert. The Da Camera Singers weren’t part of the reunion and most of Procol Harum’s membership had changed (I think pianist/singer/composer Gary Brooker may have been the only member left from 1971), but it didn’t matter. It was said that most of those who had attended both the 1971 and 1992 concerts thought the latter was better. I paid $28 for my ticket, and got my money’s worth. No official recording was released, but I had it on good authority that a copy could be obtained if one got in touch with a certain person in the broadcasting industry.

Environment
The U.S. administration of President George Bush announced that it would not sign the biodiversity treaty—agreed to by representatives of 98 nations, one week earlier—because of concerns about how money being spent under the treaty would be dispersed and because U.S. companies developing biotechnology products would not have adequate patent protection.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the gross domestic product in the first quarter of 1992 had increased at an annual rate of 2.4%, somewhat higher than previously reported.

10 years ago
2002

Politics and government
Paul Boateng became the first Negro to be a member of the British cabinet when he was named deputy treasury secretary in the administration of Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Journalism
Mohammad al-Fayed, owner of the British magazine Punch, announced that the magazine was ceasing publication because of lack of revenue and declining subscriptions.