March 29, 2013

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Alexandra Duenas Mejia!

375 years ago
1638

Americana
Swedish colonists established the first European settlement in Delaware, naming it New Sweden.

330 years ago
1683

Died on this date
Yaoya Oshichi, 16. Japanese criminal. Miss Oshichi met a temple page named Ikuta Shōnosuke during a fire in December 1682, and fell in love with him. Thinking she might meet him again if another fire occurred, she attempted arson, and was arrested and burned at the stake in Suzugamori.

225 years ago
1788

Died on this date
Charles Wesley, 80. U.K. clergyman and hymnist. Mr. Wesley, the younger brother of Methodist founder John Wesley, was an Anglican minister who wrote the lyrics for over 6,000 hymns, including Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing; and Christ the Lord is Risen Today.

130 years ago
1883

Religion
The first Junior Christian Endeavor Society was organized, "to promote an earnest Christian life among its members, to increase their mutual acquaintance, to train them for work in the church, and in every way to make them useful in the service of God and their fellow men."

125 years ago
1888

Died on this date
Charles-Valentin Alkan, 74. French pianist and composer. Mr. Alkan was a child prodigu who began performing in public at age 7 and began composing at 14. His compositions included Symphony for Solo Piano; Concerto for Solo Piano; and the Grande sonate Les quatre âges. It was long believed that he had been killed when his bookcase had fallen on him, but that has recently been debunked.

120 years ago
1893

Born on this date
Astrid Holm. Danish actress. Mrs. Holm, born Astrid Rasmussen, appeared in plays from the 1910s through the 1940s, and movies in the 1910s and '20s. Her films included Körkarlen (The Phantom Carriage) (1921) and Du skal ære din hustru (Master of the House) (1925). Mrs. Holm died on October 19, 1961 at the age of 68, after years of declining health.

80 years ago
1933

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Richard Gordon and Leigh Lovell, on NBC
Tonight's episode: A Scandal in Bohemia

75 years ago
1938

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Toronto 3 @ Boston 2 (OT) (Toronto won best-of-five series 3-0)

Gord Drillon scored 10:04 into overtime to give the Maple Leafs the win over the Bruins at Boston Garden.

70 years ago
1943

At the movies
Tonight We Raid Calais, directed by John Brahm, and starring Annabella, John Sutton, Lee J. Cobb, and Beulah Bondi, received its premiere screening.



War
After ceremonies in Honolulu attended by nearly 20,000 people, more than 2,600 Japanese-American volunteers left Hawaii to train at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. British forces overran the Mareth Line in southern Tunisia and drove German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps troops toward Gabes in the northwest. Chinese troops recaptured Tiaoyenkow and Hwangchangchiawan, south of the Yangtze River.

Politics and government
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Jonathan Daniels, son of former Navy Secretary Josephus Daniels, as a White House administrative assistant.

Labour
At the call of the Canadian Brotherhood of Railway and Transportation Workers, 3,000 streetcar workers in Montreal went on strike. The conflict caused much inconvenience to Montrealers before a special act of the federal Parliament put an end to it, after 11 days.

Basketball
NCAA
NIT @ Madison Square Garden, New York
Final
St. John's 48 Toledo 27

60 years ago
1953

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Detroit 1 @ Boston 2 (OT) (Boston led best-of-seven series 2-1)
Montreal 1 @ Chicago 2 (OT) (Montreal led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Jack McIntyre scored 12:29 into overtime to give the Bruins the win over the Red Wings at Boston Garden.

Al Dewsbury scored 5:18 into overtime to give the Black Hawks the win over the Canadiens at Chicago Stadium.

50 years ago
1963

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): From a Jack to a King--Ned Miller (4th week at #1)

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 He's So Fine--The Chiffons (2nd week at #1)
2 One Broken Heart for Sale--Elvis Presley
3 Mecca--Gene Pitney
4 Rhythm of the Rain--The Cascades
5 Still--Bill Anderson
6 Pipeline--Chantays
7 Can't Get Used to Losing You--Andy Williams
8 I Will Follow Him--Little Peggy March
9 Tears of Misery--Pat Hervey
10 Surfin' U.S.A.--Beach Boys

Died on this date
Gaspard Fauteux, 64. Canadian politician. Mr. Fauteux, a Liberal, was a member of Quebec's National Assembly from 1931-1935. He represented the Montreal riding of St. Mary in the House of Commons from 1942-1950, and was the Speaker of the House from 1945-1949. Mr. Fauteux served as Quebec's Lieutenant-Governor from 1950-1958.

Space
The mission of the Soviet satellite Cosmos 13, launched eight days earlier, ended.

40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Get Down--Gilbert O'Sullivan

War
The last American troops left South Vietnam, and North Vietnam released the last 67 prisoners of war, bringing the total of POWs released to 587. General Frederick Weyand, the last commander of U.S. forces in the Vietnam War, said in a speech at ceremonies at Tan Son Nhut air base in Saigon, "Our mission has been accomplished. I depart with a strong feeling of pride in what we have achieved, and in what our achievement represents." 8,500 U.S. civilians remained in South Vietnam, most of them technicians helping the South Vietnamese armed forces. Meanwhile, the United States ended Operation Barrel Roll, a covert bombing campaign in Laos to prevent Communist infiltration of South Vietnam.

Scandal
James McCord, recently convicted for his role in the June 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office complex in Washington, testified before Congress in secret hearings that his fellow conspirators had given the impression that they had cleared the operation with high officials in the administration of President Richard Nixon.

Diplomacy
Mexican President Luis Echeverría arrived in Ottawa to begin a three-day visit to Canada.

Crime
A New York State Supreme Court jury convicted H. Rap Brown, former leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and three co-defendants guilty of armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon in the October 16, 1971 holdup of a bar in New York City. After three days of deliberation, the jury deadlocked on the charge of attempted murder of three policemen in the running gun battle that followed the robbery.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Richard Nixon announced that the U.S. government was imposing ceilings on wholesale and retail prices for beef, pork, and lamb for an indefinite period. Saying that the struggle against inflation included his budgetary battles with Congress, Mr. Nixon appealed to the public to support his vetoes of spending bills.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Young Guns (Go for It)--Wham! (2nd week at #1)

25 years ago
1988

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight's episode: My Father's Office

Died on this date
Maurice Blackburn, 73. Canadian composer. Mr. Blackburn worked with the National Film Board of Canada. He and animator Norman McLaren invented the technique of etching sound and image directly onto film.

Ted Kluszewski, 63. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Kluszewski was a first baseman with the Cincinnati Reds/Redlegs from 1947-1957; Pittsburgh Pirates (1958-1959); Chicago White Sox (1959-1960); and Los Angeles Angels (1961), batting .298 with 279 home runs and 1,028 runs batted in in 1,718 games. "Big Klu" was famous for cutting the sleeves off his jerseys in order not to restrict his massive biceps. His best season was 1954, when he hit .326 and led the National League with 49 home runs and 141 RBIs. He drew only 492 bases on balls in his career, but struck out only 365 times. In his only World Series, Mr. Kluszewski batted .391 with 3 homers and 10 RBIs for the White Sox as they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 6 games in 1959. He also led NL first basemen in fielding percentage for five straight seasons (1951-1955). Mr. Kluszewski was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1962 and had his jersey #18 retired by the team in 1998. He was a batting coach with the Reds during their World Series championship years of 1975 and 1976, and owned a downtown steak house that was a local landmark in Cincinnati.

Politics and government
In the contest for the U.S. presidential nominations, Michael Dukakis won the Democratic primary in Connecticut, while Vice President George Bush won the Connecticut Republican primary. Senator Bob Dole dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination, leaving only Pat Robertson to challenge Mr. Bush.

World events
Two Israeli soldiers who had buried four Arab youths alive were sentenced to prison terms.

Scandal
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Arnold Burns and William Weld, head of the U.S. Justice Deaprtment's criminal division, resigned, apparently in displeasure with the legal and ethical controversies surrounding Attorney General Edwin Meese. The two had reportedly informed White House Chief of Staff Howard Baker that prolonged investigations of Mr. Meese had paralyzed the department and undermined its credibility.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the index of leading economic indicators had risen 0.9% in February.

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): All that She Wants--Ace of Base (4th week at #1)

Movies
The Academy Awards for 1992 were presented at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. The winners included: Picture--Unforgiven; Director--Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven); Actor--Al Pacino (Scent of a Woman); Actress--Emma Thompson (Howards End); Supporting Actor--Gene Hackman (Unforgiven); Supporting Actress--Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny).

Politics and government
The Russian Congress of People's Deputies agreed to President Boris Yeltsin's call for a national vote of confidence on his leadership, but accepted it with conditions that threatened an indecisive result.

Catherine Callbeck led her Liberals to a 31-seat landslide in the Prince Edward Island provincial election, becoming the first female premier in Canada to win an election. Progressive Conservative leader Pat Mella won the only opposition seat in the legislature.

Society
Major league baseball owners announced new initiatives, to be enforced by sanctions, to increase hiring of members of minority groups.

10 years ago
2003

War
An Iraqi suicide bomber killed four U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division near Najaf. Iraqi officials praised the attack and promised more.