March 3, 2013

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Sherry and Irishka!

1,540 years ago
473

Politics and government
Gundobad nominated Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire.

150 years ago
1863

Born on this date
Arthur Machen. U.K. author. Mr. Machen, a native of Wales, was known for his supernatural and horror fiction, most notably his novella The Great God Pan (1894). He died on December 15, 1947 at the age of 84.

Law
In the middle of the Civil War, the United States Congress passed a conscription act calling for the registratin of all males aged 20 to 45, including aliens intending to become citizens, by April 1. Exemptions from the draft could be bought for $300 or by finding a substitute for the man drafted.

140 years ago
1873

Law
The United States Congress enacted the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, or lascivious" books through the mail.

100 years ago
1913

Born on this date
Margaret Bonds. U.S. musician and composer. Miss Bonds was a concert pianist who was best known for her choral works, often with words provided by poet Langston Hughes. She died on April 26, 1972 at the age of 59.

Harold J. Stone. U.S. actor. Born Harold Jacob Hochstein, Mr. Stone was one of those character actors whose face was more familiar to viewers than his name. He appeared in movies such as The Harder They Fall (1956); The Wrong Man (1956) and Spartacus (1960), but was known mainly for his many appearances on television, especially in crime shows. Perhaps his most memorable performance was in the episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents titled Lamb to the Slaughter (April 17, 1958), where he played a policeman who unwittingly destroyed the evidence of a murder. Mr. Stone died on November 18, 2005 at the age of 92.

Protest
Thousands of women demanding suffrage marched in Washington, D.C.

90 years ago
1923

Journalism
The first issue of Time magazine was published. On the cover was a portrait of House of Representatives Speaker Joe Cannon (Republican--Illinois), who was retiring after 46 years in Congress.

75 years ago
1938

Oil
Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia.

70 years ago
1943

Disasters
173 people were killed in a crush while trying to enter an air-raid shelter at Bethnal Green tube station in London.

60 years ago
1953

On television tonight
Suspense, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Kiss-Off, starring Jack Palance, Virginia Baker, and Peter Hobbs



Died on this date
James J. Jeffries, 77. U.S. boxer. Mr. Jeffries, nicknamed "The Boilermaker," was world heavyweight champion from 1899 until his retirement in 1905. He came out of retirement in 1910 to challenge Jack Johnson for the title, but suffered his only defeat as a professional, a 15-round technical knockout. In only 23 recorded professional fights, Mr. Jeffries recorded 19 wins, 2 draws, and a no contest. His successful title defense against John Finnegan on April 6, 1900 was the shortest heavyweight title fight ever--Mr. Finnegan was knocked down 3 times and out in just 55 seconds.

Disasters
11 people were killed in the crash of a Canadian Pacific Airlines De Havilland Comet in Karachi, Pakistan.

50 years ago
1963

Music
A benefit for the family of disc jockey "Cactus Jack" Call, featuring shows at 2 P.M., 5:15 P.M., and 8 P.M., was held at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. Mr. Call, a longtime DJ with radio station KCKN, had been killed in a car accident on January 25, 1963 at the age of 39, just a week after moving to KCMK. The performers at the benefit were Patsy Cline; George Jones; George Riddle and the Jones Boys; Billy Walker; Dottie West; Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper; George McCormick; the Clinton Mountain Boys; Cowboy Copas; and Hawkshaw Hawkins. Miss Cline closed the 8 P.M. show with the newly recorded song I'll Sail My Ship Alone, reportedly receiving a thunderous ovation. Miss Cline and Messrs. Copas and Hawkins were killed in a plane crash two days later while flyng from Kansas City to Nashville.

40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K.: Cum on Feel the Noize--Slade

Australia's Top 10 (Go-Set)
1 You're So Vain--Carly Simon
2 I'd Love You to Want Me--Lobo
3 Crocodile Rock--Elton John
4 I Am Woman--Helen Reddy
5 Ben--Michael Jackson
6 Nights in White Satin--The Moody Blues
7 I've Got to Have You--Carly Simon
8 Happy Xmas (War is Over)--John Lennon and Yoko Ono
9 Mad About You--Bruce Ruffin
10 Dreams are Ten a Penny--Kincade

Singles entering the chart were Separate Ways by Elvis Presley (#32) and Summer Breeze by Seals and Crofts (#38).

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Killing Me Softly with His Song--Roberta Flack (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Dueling Banjos--Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell
2 Killing Me Softly with His Song--Roberta Flack
3 Could it Be I'm Falling in Love--The Spinners
4 Crocodile Rock--Elton John
5 Love Train--O'Jays
6 Last Song--Edward Bear
7 Don't Expect Me to Be Your Friend--Lobo
8 Rocky Mountain High--John Denver
9 Daddy's Home--Jermaine Jackson
10 Jambalaya (On the Bayou)--The Blue Ridge Rangers

Singles entering the chart were The Twelfth of Never by Donny Osmond (#76); Gypsy by Abraham's Children (#88); Gudbuy t' Jane by Slade (#89); Sail On, Sailor by the Beach Boys (#96); Teddy Bear Song by Barbara Fairchild (#97); Rosanna by Dennis Yost and Classics IV (#98); Will it Go Round in Circles by Billy Preston (#99); and Girl You Need a Change of Mind (Part 1) by Eddie Kendricks (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Crocodile Rock--Elton John (3rd week at #1)
2 Danny's Song--Anne Murray
3 Oh Babe, What Would You Say--Hurricane Smith
4 You Are What I Am/That Same Old Obsession--Gordon Lightfoot
5 Jambalaya (On the Bayou)--The Blue Ridge Rangers
6 Why Can't We Live Together--Timmy Thomas
7 Don't Expect Me to Be Your Friend--Lobo
8 Gypsy--Abraham's Children
9 Do it Again--Steely Dan
10 Last Song--Edward Bear

Singles entering the chart were The First Cut is the Deepest by Keith Hampshire (#82); While We're Still Young by Paul Anka (#96); Dead Skunk by Loudon Wainwright III (#97); Break Up to Make Up by the Stylistics (#98); Woman from Tokyo by Deep Purple (#99); and Midnight Road by Karl Erikson (#100).

Calgary’s Top 10
1 Killing Me Softly with His Song--Roberta Flack
2 Don't Expect Me to Be Your Friend--Lobo
3 Dancing in the Moonlight--King Harvest
4 Dueling Banjos--Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell
5 Crocodile Rock--Elton John
6 Superfly--Curtis Mayfield
7 Daddy's Home--Jermaine Jackson
8 You're So Vain--Carly Simon
9 Groundhog--Chilliwack
10 Pieces of April--Three Dog Night
Pick hit of the week: Do You Want to Dance--Bette Midler

Disasters
25 people were killed when a Soviet-built ariliner of Bulgaria's Balkan Airlines crashed on approach to Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
Canada's Top 30 (The Record)
1 Goody Two Shoes--Adam Ant
2 We've Got Tonight--Kenny Rogers & Sheena Easton
3 You Are--Lionel Richie
4 Shame on the Moon--Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
5 Allentown--Billy Joel
6 Stray Cat Strut--The Stray Cats
7 Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)--Journey
8 Billie Jean--Michael Jackson
9 When I'm With You--Sheriff
10 One on One--Daryl Hall & John Oates
11 Mr. Roboto--Styx
12 Back on the Chain Gang--Pretenders
13 All Right--Christopher Cross
14 Hungry Like the Wolf--Duran Duran
15 Baby, Come to Me--Patti Austin (with James Ingram)
16 Do You Really Want to Hurt Me--Culture Club
17 Crazy--Supertramp
18 Breaking Us in Two--Joe Jackson
19 All of My Heart--ABC
20 Cuts Like a Knife--Bryan Adams
21 Shy Boy--Bananarama
22 Everytime I See Your Picture--Luba
23 I've Got a Rock and Roll Heart--Eric Clapton
24 Comin' True--Streetheart
25 I Don't Care Anymore--Phil Collins
26 Who Knows How to Make Love Stay--Doug and the Slugs
27 Make Love Stay--Dan Fogelberg
28 Jeopardy--Greg Kihn Band
29 Change of Heart--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
30 Human Race--Red Rider

Died on this date
Arthur Koestler, 77. Hungarian-born U.K. writer. Mr. Koestler joined the German Communist party in 1931, but left the party seven years later, and became an outspoken anti-Communist. His most famous book, Darkness at Noon, published in 1940, was a novel about the great purge in the Soviet Union under Josef Stalin in the late 1930s. Mr. Koestler was of Jewish ancestry, but disavowed his heritage and became an atheist. His 1976 book The Thirteenth Tribe advanced the idea that Ashkenazi Jews (those of eastern European descent, such as Mr. Koestler) are not descended from the ancient Israelites, but from the Khazars, a Turkish tribe from the Caucasus that converted to Judaism in the 8th Century and later moved into present-day Russia, Ukraine, and Poland. Recent genetic research has contradicted this idea (the reader is encouraged to look it up for himself). Arthur Koestler, a promoter of euthanasia, was suffering from Parkinson's Disease and leukemia, and committed joint suicide with his wife Cynthia by means of a drug overdose.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy hosted Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of Great Britain at a dinner in San Francisco.

Defense
The U.S. State Department announced that the number of U.S. military advisers in El Salvador would be increased to 55 from a recent average number of about 35. The White House said that the advisers would avoid combat.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Always on My Mind--Pet Shop Boys (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Sleepy Sleepers--Nykäsen Matti

Died on this date
Henryk Szeryng, 69. Polish-born musician and diplomat. Mr. Szeryng was a concert violinist who served as liaison officer and interpreter to General Wladyslaw Sikorski, Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile during World War II. Mr. Szeryng was so impressed by Mexico's response to his plea to accept 4,000 Polish refugees in 1941 that he moved to Mexico and became a Mexican citizen in 1946. Mr. Szeryng and pianist Arthur Rubinstein collaborated in concerts and recordings from the 1950s through the 1970s. Mr. Szeryng lived in France for 20 years, and his last five years in Monaco; he died in Germany of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz met with King Hussein of Jordan for the second time in three days in an attempt to stimulate the Middle East peace process. Thirty U.S. senators wrote Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, criticizing his rejection of the idea of trading land for peace--giving up the occupied territories--as supported by United Nations Security Council Resolution 242.

Abominations
U.S. District Court Judge Walter Skinner issued a permanent injunction in Boston prohibiting enforcement of a policy by the U.S. administration of President Ronald Reagan that sought to prevent family planning clinics that were receiving federal funds from helping women to obtain abortions. The American Public Health Association, National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had filed suit to block the rules, which were scheduled to become effective that day. Judge Skinner ruled that the rules would "as a whole violate both congressional intent and rights protected by the Constitution."

Economics and finance
U.S. federal district courts restrained four banks from transferring funds to the Panamanian government.

Politics and government
The United States House of Representatives rejected by a vote of 216-208 a plan advanced by House Speaker Jim Wright for $30.8 million in non-lethal aid to the Contras in Nicaragua.

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): No Limit--2 Unlimited (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Eclipse

Died on this date
Carlos Montoya, 89. Spanish musician. Mr. Montoya was one of the world's best-known flamenco guitarists.

10 years ago
2003

Died on this date
Horst Buchholz, 69. German actor. Mr. Buchholz acted mostly in German movies and television shows, but achieved international fame in movies such as The Magnificent Seven (1960); Fanny (1961); and One, Two, Three (1961).

World events
Four North Korean fighter planes intercepted an unarmed U.S. spy plane over the Sea of Japan in international waters and followed the U.S. plane for 22 minutes, approaching as close as 50 feet, before returning home.