March 21, 2014

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Nikki Quitazol and Nadia Marchuk!

210 years ago
1804

Law
Code Napoléon (Napoleonic Code) was adopted as French civil law. It forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs should go to the most qualified.

200 years ago
1814

War
Austrian forces commanded by Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg repelled French troops commanded by Emperor Napoleon I in the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube in France.

175 years ago
1839

Born on this date
Modest Mussorgsky. Russian composer. Mr. Mussorgsky's best-known compositions were the opera Boris Godunov (1869/1874); the tone poem Night on Bald Mountain, aka Night on the Bare Mountain (1867); and the piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition (1874). He drank himself to death on March 28, 1881, a week after his 42nd birthday.

160 years ago
1854

Died on this date
Pedro María de Anaya, 59. President of Mexico, April-May 1847, November 1847-January 1848. General Anaya served in the Mexican-American War, and was known for leading a brave but unsuccessful fight in the Battle of Churubusco (1847). He was taken prisoner by the Americans, but was freed in time to serve two brief terms as President of Mexico. Gen. Anaya was Governor of the Federal District (1949-1853), and died of pneumonia.

150 years ago
1864

Politics and government
The Canadian ministry of John Sandfield Macdonald and A.-A. Dorion resigned after failing to achieve a coalition.

125 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Jock Sutherland. U.K.-born U.S. football player and coach. A native of Scotland, Mr. Sutherland played end with the University of Pittsburgh's national championship teams in 1915 and 1916, and was an all-American in 1917. He coached at Lafayette College (1919-1923) and the University of Pittsburgh (1924-1938), compiling a record of 144-28-14, and winning as many as nine national championships (the number is uncertain because of the variety of polls conducted to decide the champion). Mr. Sutherland coached in the National Football League with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1940-1941) and Pittsburgh Steelers (1946-1947), compiling a record of 28-16-1. The 1947 Steelers finished tied for first place in the Eastern Conference with an 8-4 record, necessitating a playoff for the conference title, which the Eagles won 21-0. Mr. Sutherland suddenly took ill while on a scouting trip in Kentucky, and was transferred first to Cairo, Illinois and then to Pittsburgh for surgery. He died on April 11, 1948 at the age of 59 after an operation to remove a brain tumour, just six days after falling ill.

80 years ago
1934

Died on this date
Lilyan Tashman, 37. U.S. actress. Miss Tashman began her career as a model and vaudevillian in New York before moving to Hollywood. She appeared in 66 silent and sound movies from 1921 until her death from cancer. Miss Tashman's movies included So This is Paris (1926); Bulldog Drummond (1929); and Puttin' on the Ritz (1930).

75 years ago
1939

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Quarter-Finals
Detroit 0 @ Montreal 2 (Montreal led best-of-three series 1-0)
New York Americans 0 @ Toronto 4 (Toronto led best-of-three series 1-0)

Semi-Finals
Boston 2 @ New York Rangers 1 (3 OT) (Boston led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Mel Hill scored at 19:25 of the third overtime period to give the Bruins their win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

70 years ago
1944

War
German troops consolidated their hold on Hungary. The government of Finland announces the rejection of the Soviet armistice terms as being "harsh" and unclear. A Japanese offensive against the Indian state of Manipur was reported 15 miles west of the border. It was announced in Naples that Lieutenant General George Patton had been replaced as commander of the U.S. 7th Army by Major General Alexander Patch.

Politics and government
A puppet regime was reported to have been established in Hungary, led by pro-Nazi Bela Imredy.

Iranian Premier Ali Schelly resigned, and Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi asked former Foreign Minister Mohammed Saed Maraghei to form a new cabinet.

U.S. Senator Edwin Johnson (Democrat--Colorado) said that President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third term had been a great failure and that should he be elected to a fourth term, it would be one of "defeat and frustration."

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull said that U.S. foreign policy was based upon winning the war, international cooperation, and the Atlantic Charter.

The U.S. State Department denied reports from Algiers that it may deal with the pro-Nazi Vichy government in France as well as the French Committee of National Liberation in liberated France.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Toronto 3 @ Montreal 1 (Toronto led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Chicago 2 @ Detroit 1 (Chicago led best-of-seven series 1-0)

50 years ago
1964

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): I Saw Her Standing There/Love Me Do--The Beatles (6th week at #1)

#1 single in France: Et Pourtant--Charles Aznavour (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Una lacrima sul viso--Bobby Solo (5th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): I Want to Hold Your Hand--The Beatles (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Little Children--Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): She Loves You--The Beatles

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 She Loves You--The Beatles
2 I Want to Hold Your Hand--The Beatles
3 Please Please Me--The Beatles
4 Twist and Shout--The Beatles
5 Dawn (Go Away)--The 4 Seasons
6 Fun, Fun, Fun--The Beach Boys
7 Java--Al Hirt
8 Hello, Dolly!--Louis Armstrong
9 My Heart Belongs to Only You--Bobby Vinton
10 Kissin' Cousins--Elvis Presley

Singles entering the chart were Roll Over Beethoven by the Beatles (#75); Forever by Pete Drake (#77); Book of Love by the Raindrops (#83); When Joanna Loved Me by Tony Bennett (#87); Shangri-La by Robert Maxwell and his Orcehstra (#90, with a version by Vic Dana mentioned but not charted); How Blue Can You Get by B.B. King (#94); Make Me Forget by Bobby Rydell (#98); and That's When it Hurts by Ben E. King (#99). Roll Over Beethoven had been released by Capitol Records as a single in Canada, but not in the United States. The Beatles' popularity was so great that thousands of copies were imported into the U.S.A., selling enough copies to make the chart.

Music
Jan & Dean recorded the song The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena). Reportedly, Dean Torrence didn't actually sing on the recording, and it was P.F. Sloan who sang the falsetto parts.

Basketball
NCAA
The University of California at Los Angeles Bruins defeated Duke University 98-83 in the men's championship final, giving head coach John Wooden the first of his 10 national championships. The Blue Devils were coached by Vic Bubas. Gail Goodrich scored 27 points for the Bruins, and Kenny Washington added 26 points and 12 rebounds.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Cross Your Heart--Tina

Died on this date
Candy Darling, 29. U.S. "actress." Born James Slattery, "Miss" Darling lived as a woman, and appeared in several of Andy Warhol's underground movies in the late 1960s and early 1970s. "She" died of lymphoma.

Crime
Ian Ball, 26, was arrested for the previous day's attempt to kidnap Princess Anne in London. Police said they believed the attack had been a "one-man" operation without political motivation.

30 years ago
1984

World events
A Soviet nuclear-powered submarine collided in the dark with the U.S. aircraft carrier Kittyhawk in the Sea of Japan. Neither craft was seriously damaged.

The day after a Soviet oil tanker had struck a mine outside a Niacaraguan port, the U.S.S.R. accused the U.S.A. of complicity in the mining. The U.S. State Department rejected the charges, saying that Nicaragua's Contra rebels had already claimed responsibility.

Defense
U.S. President Ronald Reagan decided to cancel his proposed sale of 1,600 antiaircraft missiles to Jordan and 1,200 antiaricraft missiles to Saudi Arabia.

Economics and finance
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was blamed for the breakdown of negotiations at the European Economic Community summit in Brussels.

Environment
Canada signed an agreement with nine European countries to cut sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, key components of acid rain.

Hockey
NHL
Hartford 3 @ Edmonton 5

This blogger was in attendance as the Oilers beat the Whalers at Northlands Coliseum.

25 years ago
1989

Died on this date
Otis Douglas, 77. U.S. football player and coach. Mr. Douglas played tackle at the College of William and Mary (1929-1930), but didn't begin playing professionally until the advanced age of 35, playing with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1946-1949, helping the Eagles win National Football League championships in his last two seasons. He was head coach at University of Akron (1941-1942); Drexel University (1949); and University of Arkansas (1950-1952), compiling a record of 17-34-4. Mr. Douglas became the head coach of the Calgary Stampeders of the Western Interprovincial Football Union midway through the 1956 season, and led them until his resignation after the third game of the 1960 season. The Stampeders were 22-36-3 under Mr. Douglas, making the playoffs only in 1957, losing in the WIFU semi-finals. Mr. Douglas served as a fitness consultant with the Cincinnati Reds in 1961-1962, and was with them when they won the National League pennant in 1961.

War
Salvadoran President-elect Alfredo Christiani called for a cease-fire in El Salvador's civil war and negotiations with the rebels.

Scandal
Glenn Robinson, a former official with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, testified at the trial of former National Security Council member Oliver North that he and Mr. North had falsified documents to conceal the fact that U.S. Air Force Major General Richard Secord (retired) had paid for a $13,800 security fence at Mr. North's home. Mr. North was facing 12 charges stemming from the mid-1980s Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages scandal.

Sports Illustrated reported allegations tying Cincinnati Reds' manager Pete Rose to baseball gambling.

Edmontonia
This blogger was among those who began work as an enumerator with the City of Edmonton Census and voter enumeration.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 0.4% in February.

Hockey
NHL
Los Angeles 4 Edmonton 3

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Omen III--Magic Affair (2nd week at #1)

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 The Sign--Ace of Base
2 Mr. Jones--Counting Crows
3 Streets of Philadelphia--Bruce Springsteen
4 Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through--Meat Loaf
5 Distant Sun--Crowded House
6 Without You--Mariah Carey
7 Now and Forever--Richard Marx
8 Return to Innocence--Enigma
9 The Power of Love--Celine Dion
10 Because of Love--Janet Jackson

Singles entering the chart were Disarm by Smashing Pumpkins (#69); The Calling by Yes (#78); Completely by Michael Bolton (#80); My Problem is You by Jackson Browne (#87); Sleeping in My Car by Roxette (#91); Blame Your Parents by 54-40 (#92); Moanie by Bootsauce (#93); and Baby, Please Don't Go by John Mellencamp (#95).

Died on this date
Lili Damita, 89. French-born U.S. actress. Born Liliane Marie-Madeleine Carré, Miss Damita appeared in silent movies in France before moving to Hollywood in the late 1920s. Her movies included The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1929); The Cock-Eyed World (1929); This is the Night (1932); and The Match King (1932). Miss Damita was married to Errol Flynn from 1935-1942.

Macdonald Carey, 81. U.S. actor. Mr. Carey appeared in movies such as Wake Island (1942); Shadow of a Doubt (1943); The Great Gatsby (1949); and Blue Denim (1959), but was best known for playing Dr. Tom Horton in the NBC television soap opera Days of Our Lives from 1965-1993, winning Daytime Emmy Awards in 1974 and 1975.

Dack Rambo, 52. U.S. actor. Born Norman Jay Rambeau, Mr. Rambo appeared as a guest star in many television programs and was a member of the cast of the programs The Guns of Will Sonnett (1967-1969); Dirty Sally (1974); and Dallas (1985-1987). He was a bisexual who died of AIDS.

Movies
The Academy Awards for 1993 were presented at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. The winners included: Picture--Schindler's List; Director--Steven Spielberg (Schindler's List); Actor--Tom Hanks (Philadelphia); Actress--Holly Hunter (The Piano); Supporting Actor--Tommy Lee Jones (The Fugitive); and Supporting Actress--Anna Paquin (The Piano).

Defense
The International Atomic Energy Agency demanded that North Korea allow the full inspection of one of North Korea's seven targeted sites to go forward. The U.S.A. signalled its desire for the Team Spirit military exercises with South Korea to go forward. North Korea responded by threatening to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Hockey
NHL
Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings scored his 801st career regular season goal, tying Gordie Howe's National Hockey League record.