March 22, 2014

275 years ago
1739

War
Persian troops led by Nadir Shah occupied Delhi in India and sacked the city, stealing the jewels of the Peacock Throne, and killing 20,000-30,000 Indians.

180 years ago
1834

Economics and finance
The Central Bank of New Brunswick was chartered.

130 years ago
1884

Born on this date
Arthur Vandenberg. U.S. politician. Mr. Vandenberg, a Republican, represented Michigan in the U.S. Senate from 1928 until his death, and was known as the Republican Party's leader in the field of foreign policy. He was an isolationist before December 7, 1941, but changed his mind after the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and has been credited with changing the Republicans from isolationism to internationalism. Sen. Vandenberg served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (1947-1949), and supported President Harry Truman's Cold War policies. He unsuccessfully campaigned for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination in 1940 and 1948, and died of cancer on April 18, 1951, 27 days after his 67th birthday.

120 years ago
1894

Hockey
Stanley Cup
Final
Ottawa Hockey Club 1 @ Montreal Hockey Club 3

Archie Hodgson scored 2 goals and Billy Barlow scored the winning goal 9 minutes into the 3rd quarter as Montreal defeated Ottawa at Victoria Rink to become the first team to win the Stanley Cup on the ice. Chauncy Kirby scored the Ottawa goal. The game was reportedly rough, and Ottawa's Weldy Young, injured in the 2nd half by Montreal's George James, fainted at the end of the game.

100 years ago
1914

Exploration
Canadian ethnolologist Vilhjalmur Stefansson, who had abandoned his ship, the Karluk, when it had become stuck in ice six months earlier, left Martin Point, Alaska with two companions and headed east toward Banks Island.

75 years ago
1939

World events
The Lithuanian government accepted the March 20 ultimatum presented to Lithuanian Foreign Minister Juozas Urbšys by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, and ceded the Klaipėda Region (also known as the Memel Territory) to Germany in the face of a threat of a German military invasion. Germany had been forced to give up the territory after World War I.

70 years ago
1944

Hit parade
Variety reported that the most popular songs in the United States were:
1 Mairzy Doats
2 Bésame Mucho (Kiss Me Much)
3 I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night

War
After two days of fighting, Soviet troops captured the fortified Bug River rail centre of Pervomaisk in northeastern Ukraine. Germans sent new units into battle in the struggle over the Italian town of Cassino. India reported that Japanese troops had crossed India's border into the state of Manipur.

Diplomacy
The U.S.A. and U.K. informed the U.S.S.R. that they would not extend recognition to the new Italian government of Prime Minister Marshal Pietro Badoglio.

Politics and government
Pro-Nazi Bela Imredy was unable to form a new government in Hungary, and a new cabinet was appointed with Field Marshal Doeme Sztojay as Premier and Foreign Minister.

Labour
The U.S. National War Labor Board instructed ins panel considering United States Steel Workers wage demands to take union testimony supporting the 17c hourly increase request.

60 years ago
1954

Economics and finance
The London bullion market reopened; it had been closed since 1939.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Baby Blue--George Baker Selection (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Teenage Rampage--Sweet (6th week at #1)

On television tonight
Senior Year, starring Gary Frank, Glynnis O'Connor, Barry Livingston, Debralee Scott, and Scott Colomby, on CBS

This made-for-television movie, set in the 1950s, was a pilot for the series Sons and Daughters.

Died on this date
Sam Donahue, 56. U.S. musician. Mr. Donahue was a jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, occasional trombonist, and arranger who led his own band and also performed with the bands of Gene Krupa, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Billy May, Woody Herman, and Stan Kenton. During World War II, Mr. Donahue took over the U.S. Navy Band that had been led by Artie Shaw. Mr. Donahue died from pancreatic cancer, four days after his 56th birthday.

Peter Revson, 35. U.S. auto racing driver. Mr. Revson, an heir to the Revlon cosmetics fortune, competed in the Indianapolis 500 from 1969-1973, finishing fifth in 1969 and second in 1971. On the Formula One circuit, he won the British Grand Prix and Canadian Grand Prix in 1973. He was killed in a crash during a test session before the South African Grand Prix.

30 years ago
1984

Died on this date
Jane Gray. Canadian broadcaster. Ms. Gray, Canada's first female broadcaster, began her career in 1924 at radio station CJGC (now CFPL) in London by hosting Canada's first advice program.

Abominations
Teachers at the McMartin preschool in Manhattan Beach, California were charged with satanic ritual abuse of the children in the school. The charges resulted in the longest and costliest criminal trial in American history, and were dropped in 1990 as completely unfounded. The case was one of the first and most prominent examples of the "Satanic panic" that was popular in evangelical Christian circles in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Crime
The second of two trials that had been held concurrently in Fall River, Massachusetts of six men charged in connection with the gang rape of a woman in a bar in New Bedford, Mass. in 1983 concluded. The trials resulted in the convictions of the four of the accused on charges of aggravated rape and the acquittals of two others who had been charged with complicity. The accused, two of whom spoke no English, were Portuguese immigrants, as was the victim. Crowds as large as 10,000, mostly of Portuguese descent, marched in Fall River and New Bedford to protest the convictions.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Like a Prayer--Madonna

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Did I Tell You--Jerry Williams (5th week at #1)

Politics and government
Thomas Rideout was sworn in as Premier of Newfoundland, replacing the retiring Brian Peckford as head of the province's Progressive Conservative government.

Hockey
NHL
Buffalo Sabres' goalie Clint Malarchuk suffered a near-fatal injury during a game when his carotid artery was accidentally slashed by the skate of Steve Tuttle of the St. Louis Blues.

Football
NFL
Pete Rozelle, who had been Commissioner of the National Football League since 1960, announced that he would retire as soon as a replacement could be found.

20 years ago
1994

Died on this date
Walter Lantz, 93. U.S. animator. Mr. Lantz was best known for creating the character Woody Woodpecker in 1940. He also created or popularized the characters Oswald the Lucky Rabbit; Andy Panda; Space Mouse; Chilly Willy; and Homer Pigeon, among others.

Dan Hartman, 43. U.S. musician. Mr. Hartman played bass guitar with the Edgar Winter Group and wrote their hit single Free Ride (1973). As a solo artist, he was known for the hits Instant Replay (1978-1979); Relight My Fire (1979); and I Can Dream About You (1984). Mr. Hartman was a sodomite who died of an AIDS-related brain tumor.

Canadiana
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien dedicated the new Canadian Police Memorial Pavilion, for the Canadian Police Association (CPA) and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP), next to the East Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The granite stone at the base of the pavilion displays the names of officers killed while on duty.

Economics and finance
Using a new formula that combined trade in services with merchandise trade, the United States Commerce Department reported that the U.S. had posted a trade deficit of $6.3 billion in January. Because the U.S. was running a surplus in trade in services, the effect of the new calculation would be to produce lower deficits.

Football
NFL
The National Football League made its first scoring rules change in 75 years, allowing the option of a 2-point conversion after touchdowns. The revision, which all U.S. college divisions had adopted in 1958, brought more strategy to the game.

10 years ago
2004

Died on this date
Ahmed Yassin, 66 or 67. Palestinian terrorist leader. Sheik Yassin, co-founder and leader of the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas, was killed along with two bodyguards and nine civilian bystanders in Gaza City when hit by Israeli Air Force AH-64 Apache-fired Hellfire missiles.