March 26, 2013

350 years ago
1663

Education
Roman Catholic Bishop François de Laval received a royal grant from King Louis XIV of France to found a seminary at Quebec.

125 years ago
1888

Died on this date
Barghash bin Said, 51 (?). Sultan of Zanzibar, 1870-1888. Barghash has been credited with being the last sultan of Zanzibar to rule the island independent of European control. He lost a power struggle with his brother Majid bin Said, the first Sultan of Zanzibar, and spent two years in exile in Bombay. He returned to succeed his brother, becoming the second Sultan of Zanzibar after Majid's death. Barghash was succeeded on the throne by his younger brother Khalifah bin Said, whom Barghhash had imprisoned in 1870 for allegedly trying to overthrow him.

100 years ago
1913

War
The Bulgarian 2nd Army, commanded by Nikola Ivanov and Georgi Vazov, captured the northwestern Turkish city of Adrianople after a siege of almost five months to win the last decisive battle of the First Balkan War.

90 years ago
1923

Died on this date
Sarah Bernhardt, 78. French actress. "The Divine Sarah" was the most famous actress of the 19th century, and perhaps the most famous actress in history. Her stage career covered 60 years, and continued despite the amputation of her right leg in 1915. Miss Bernhardt was one of the first actresses to appear in movies, acting in a number of films from 1900-1923.

Economics and finance
Alberta Premier Herbert Greenfield delivered the budget speech, and announced that his United Farmers of Alberta government had run a deficit of $2 million in 1922.

80 years ago
1933

Died on this date
Eddie Lang, 30. U.S. musician. Mr. Lang, born Salvatore Massaro, was known as the "Father of Jazz Guitar." He played in the bands of Joe Venuti, Adrian Rollini, Roger Wolfe Kahn, and Jean Goldkette before joining the Paul Whiteman Orchestra in 1929. He died after a tonsillectomy.

75 years ago
1938

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Chicago 3 @ Montreal 2 (OT)

Paul Thompson scored 11:49 into overtime to give the Black Hawks the win over the Canadiens at the Montreal Forum.

70 years ago
1943

Died on this date
Ben Lindsey, 73. U.S. judge and social activist. Mr. Lindsey was a juvenile court judge in Denver in the early 1900s, and pioneered the juvenile court system. He advocated other social reforms, but was ousted from the bench in 1927 after 28 years of service, after co-authoring The Companionate Marriage (1927), in which he argued that a couple should be able to live in a childless trial relationship for a year before deciding if they were suitable for each other. Mr. Lindsey moved to California, and was elected to the California Superior Court in 1931.

War
British troops in Tunisia made slight gains against the Mareth Line, while U.S. forces repulsed German attacks in the Garsa and Maknassy sectors. A U.S. Navy light surface force drove off a Japanese flotilla composed of four cruisers, four destroyers, and two cargo ships west of Attu Island.

Politics and government
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the amalgamation of Commodity Credit Corporation, Extension Service, and Food Distribution and Production Administration into an "Administration of Food Production and Distribution" within the Agriculture Department.

Track and field
Gregory Rice broke his own world record in the 2-mile run, with a time of 8 minutes 51 seconds at a track meet in Cleveland.

60 years ago
1953

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Boston 0 @ Detroit 7 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Chicago 1 @ Montreal 3 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Terry Sawchuk was in goal for the Red Wings as they routed the Bruins at Olympia Stadium, picking up his fifth shutout in his last nine playoff games going back to 1952.

Paul Meger scored with 2:06 remaining in regulation time to provide the winning margin as the Canadiens defeated the Black Hawks at the Montreal Forum. Chicago playing coach Sid Abel protested the goal vociferously, arguing that Mr. Meger's shot had hit a goal post and had not gone into the net.

50 years ago
1963

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

At the movies
House of the Damned, produced and directed by Maury Dexter, and starring Ronald Foster, Merry Anders, Richard Crane, and Erika Peters, opened in theatres.





Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Detroit 4 @ Chicago 5 (Chicago led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Montreal 1 @ Toronto 3 (Toronto led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Bobby Hull, playing with a badly-bruised shoulder, scored 2 goals to led the Black Hawks over the Red Wings at Chicago Stadium.

Johnny Bower assisted on one of the Maple Leafs' goals and won the goaltending duel over Jacques Plante as the defending Stanley Cup champion Maple Leafs defeated the Canadiens at Maple Leaf Gardens.

40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): You're So Vain--Carly Simon (6th week at #1)

#1 single in France: Les gondoles à Venise--Sheila & Ringo (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
George Sisler, 80. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Sisler was a first baseman with the St. Louis Browns (1915-1927), Washington Nationals (1928), and Boston Braves (1928-1930), batting .340 with 102 home runs and 1,175 runs batted in in 2,055 games. In 1920 he led the American League in games played (154); at bats (631); hits (257); batting average (.407); and total bases (399); and was second in doubles (49); triples (18); home runs (19); runs batted in (122); and stolen bases (42). In 1922 he led the AL in runs (134); hits (246); batting average (.420); triples (18); and tied for the league lead in stolen bases (51), winning the league's Most Valuable Player Award. A severe attack of sinusitis resulting in double vision prevented him from playing in 1923, and he never hit as well again. His 257 hits in 1920 was a major league record that stood until broken by Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners in 2004. Mr. Sisler also pitched at times, compiling a record of 5 wins and 6 losses in 24 games. He managed the Browns from 1924-1926, compiling a record of 218-241. Mr. Sisler was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. He died two days after his 80th birthday.

Noël Coward, 73. U.K. composer, playwright, and actor. Sir Noël was one of the most talented artists of the 20th century, writing plays such as Easy Virtue (1925), Private Lives (1930), and Blithe Spirit (1941), acting in movies such as In Which We Serve (1942) and The Italian Job (1969), and writing hundreds of songs, including Mad Dogs and Englishmen.

Don Messer, 63. Canadian musician. Mr. Messer, a native of Tweedside, New Brunswick, was Canada's best-known fiddler. He began appearing on CBC radio in 1934, and made his first television appearance in 1956. The Don Messer Show, which soon became Don Messer's Jubilee, aired on CBC from 1959-1969 and on CHCH in Hamilton from 1969-1973. Mr. Messer died of a heart attack in Halifax.

Johnny Drake, 56. U.S. football player. Mr. Drake was the first player ever drafted by the Cleveland Rams (10th overall in the 1st round in 1937), and was a running back with the Rams from 1937-1941, accumulating 1,700 yards rushing and scoring 24 touchdowns. He led the National Football League in rushing touchdowns in 1939 and 1940, with 9 in each season. In 1940 Mr. Drake rushed for 480 yards--second in the league behind Whizzer White of the Detroit Lions--and was named a first team All-Pro. He died the day before his 57th birthday.

Crime
William J. Prater, a former organizer for the United Mine Workers, was convicted by a jury in Erie, Pennsylvania of three counts of first degree murder in the December 1969 slayings of union reform leader Jock Yablonski and his wife and daughter. The conviction came after 6½ hours of deliberation and the prosecutor's assertion that "the person who set the chain of events into motion" was Tony Boyle, former president of the UMW. Mr. Prater was one of seven people charged in the case.

Scandal
The New York Times reported that James McCord, convicted and awaiting sentencing for his role in the June 1972 break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate office complex in Washington, had said that John Dean and Jeb Stuart Magruder, high officials in the administration of President Richard Nixon, had previous knowledge of the Watergate plot.

Society
Women were admitted to the trading floor of the London Stock Exchange for the first time in its 200-year history.

Disasters
At least 20 people were reported dead and thousands homeless in floods along the Caratinga River in central Brazil.

Basketball
NCAA
Men's Championship Final @ St. Louis Arena, St. Louis
California @Los Angeles 87 Memphis State 66

Bill Walton scored 44 points to lead the UCLA Bruins to their 75th consecutive victory over 2 1/2 seasons and their ninth national title in the previous 10 years.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Chante--Les Forbans (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Total Eclipse of the Heart--Bonnie Tyler (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: Is There Something I Should Know?--Duran Duran

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Billie Jean--Michael Jackson (4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Billie Jean--Michael Jackson (3rd week at #1)
2 Do You Really Want to Hurt Me--Culture Club
3 You Are--Lionel Richie
4 Hungry Like the Wolf--Duran Duran
5 Back on the Chain Gang--Pretenders
6 Stray Cat Strut--Stray Cats
7 One on One--Daryl Hall & John Oates
8 Mr. Roboto--Styx
9 Come On Eileen--Dexys Midnight Runners & the Emerald Express
10 Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)--Journey

Singles entering the chart were Let's Dance by David Bowie (#59); Stranger in My House by Ronnie Milsap (#76); If You Wanna Get Back Your Lady by the Pointer Sisters (#78); Wind Beneath My Wings by Lou Rawls (#83); I Melt with You by Modern English (#84); I Eat Cannibals by Total Coelo (#85); Never Give Up by Sammy Hagar (#86); I Couldn't Say No by Robert Ellis Orrall with Carlene Carter (#87); Rio by Duran Duran (#88); Reap the Wild Wind by Ultravox (#89); and The One Thing by INXS (#90).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Billie Jean--Michael Jackson
2 Hungry Like the Wolf--Duran Duran
3 Do You Really Want to Hurt Me--Culture Club
4 We've Got Tonight--Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton
5 Stray Cat Strut--Stray Cats
6 You Are--Lionel Richie
7 Sexual Healing--Marvin Gaye
8 Mr. Roboto--Styx
9 Shy Boy--Bananarama
10 One on One--Daryl Hall & John Oates

Singles entering the chart were Beat It by Michael Jackson (#32); Let's Dance by David Bowie (#45); Sex (I'm A...) by Berlin (#48); Sheriff by the Tenants (#49); and Tears on Your Anorak by the Drivers (#50).

Died on this date
Anthony Blunt, 75. U.K. art historian and traitor. Mr. Blunt was one of the United Kingdom's best-known art historians, and was Surveyor of the King's Pictures (Queen's Pictures after Elizabeth II succeeded George VI on the throne in 1952) from 1945-1972. He was knighted in 1956. In 1979 Sir Anthony was exposed as the "Fourth Man" in a Soviet spy ring that included Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean, and Kim Philby. He and the others had become attracted to Communism and the U.S.S.R. while at Cambridge University in the mid-1930s. After being exposed in November 1979, Mr. Blunt was stripped of his knighthood by Queen Elizabeth.

Hockey
NHL
Among the various Saturday games, the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Calgary Flames 5-2; Toronto Maple Leafs edged the Quebec Nordiques 2-1; Montreal Canadiens beat St. Louis Blues 6-5; and the Edmonton Oilers whipped the Los Angeles Kings 9-3.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: Perdere l'Amore--Massimo Ranieri (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): (I've Had) The Time of My Life--Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes (8th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car--Billy Ocean

#1 single in France (SNEP): Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You--Glenn Medeiros (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Drop the Boy--Bros

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Don't Turn Around--Aswad

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Don't Turn Around--Aswad

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Man in the Mirror--Michael Jackson

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Man in the Mirror--Michael Jackson
2 Never Gonna Give You Up--Rick Astley
3 Father Figure--George Michael
4 Endless Summer Nights--Richard Marx
5 Out of the Blue--Debbie Gibson
6 Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car--Billy Ocean
7 I Get Weak--Belinda Carlisle
8 I Want Her--Keith Sweat
9 Just Like Paradise--David Lee Roth
10 Rocket 2 U--The Jets

Singles entering the chart were Always on My Mind by Pet Shop Boys (#76) and Breakaway by Big Pig (#89).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Never Gonna Give You Up--Rick Astley (2nd week at #1)
2 Father Figure--George Michael
3 Pump Up the Volume--M/A/R/R/S
4 She's Like the Wind--Patrick Swayze (featuring Wendy Fraser)
5 Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car--Billy Ocean
6 I Get Weak--Belinda Carlisle
7 Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart)--Sway
8 Just Like Paradise--David Lee Roth
9 Endless Summer Nights--Richard Marx
10 Man in the Mirror--Michael Jackson

Singles entering the chart were She's Having a Baby by Dave Wakeling (#74); That's When I Need You by the Jitters (#79); I Wanna Be a Flintstone by Screaming Blue Messiahs (#95); Girlfriend by Pebbles (#88); Shattered Dreams by Johnny Hates Jazz (#93); The Language of Love by Tu (#95); Prove Your Love by Taylor Dayne (#96); and Mama Likes to Rock and Roll by Terry Kelly (#97). She's Having a Baby was the title song of the movie.

Politics and government
In the race for the 1988 Democratic Party nomination for president of the United States, Rev. Jesse Jackson scored an upset victory in the Michigan caucuses, taking 55% of the vote to 28% for Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. Mr. Jackson’s victory was the first ever by a Negro presidential candidate in a major industrial state. Missouri Congressman Dick Gephardt, whose criticism of foreign automobile manufacturers had been expected to boost his support in Michigan, polled just 13% of the vote.

10 years ago
2003

Died on this date
Daniel Patrick Moynihan, 76. U.S. politician and sociologist. Mr. Moynihan, a Democrat, was a United States Senator from 1977-2001, and served in the administrations of Republican party Presidents Richard nixon and Gerald Ford as U.S. Ambassador to India (1973-1975) and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (1975-1976). As a sociologist, he was known for writing passionately and knowledgeably about the plight of fatherless boys and the implications of such circumstances for society.

War
The U.S. Army 7th Cavalry reportedly concluded two days of killing Iraqis near Najaf, a city on the way to Baghdad. The Pentagon reported that 4,000 Iraqis had been taken prisoner. More than 1,000 members of the 173rd Airborne Brigade parachuted into northern Iraq, seeking to unite with Kurds opposed to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. A bomb or missile, possibly of American origin, killed at least 17 civilians in Baghdad.

Economics and finance
In an effort to revitalize an industry hit hard by the softwood lumber dispute with the United States, British Columbia announced that it would relax its timber-cutting rules.