March 3, 2014

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Sherry and Irishka!

730 years ago
1284

Britannica
The Statute of Rhuddlan incorporated the Principality of Wales into England.

120 years ago
1894

Died on this date
Ned Williamson, 36. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Williamson, perhaps more properly known as "Ed," was a third baseman and shortstop with the Indianapolis Blues (1878); Chicago White Stockings (1879-1889) ; and Chicago Pirates (1890), batting .255 with 64 home runs and 667 runs batted in in 1,201 games, helping the White Stockings win five National League pennants in seven years from 1880-1886. He set an NL single-season record in doubles in 1883 (49) and a major league single-season record for home runs in 1884 (27), but those records were mainly the result of the ridiculously small dimensions of Lakefront Park in Chicago; balls hit over the fence that counted as doubles in 1883 were considered home runs in 1884. Mr. Williamson pitched in 12 games from 1881-1887, posting a 1-1 record with an earned run average of 3.34. He suffered a serious knee injury in 1889, shortening his career. Mr. Williamson suffered from a liver ailment and tuberculosis in later years, and died of dropsy.

110 years ago
1904

Technology
Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany became the first person to make a sound recording of a political document, using Thomas Edison's phonograph cylinder.

90 years ago
1924

World events
The thirteen-century-old Islamic caliphate in Turkey was abolished when Caliph Abdul Mejid II of the Ottoman Empire was deposed and expelled from the country with his family. The last remnant of the old regime gave way to the reformed Turkey of Mustafa Kemal, aka Kemal Atatürk.

Italiana
The Free State of Fiume was annexed by the Kingdom of Italy.

75 years ago
1939

Protest
In Bombay, Mohandas Gandhi began a hunger strike in protest against British rule in India.

70 years ago
1944

War
Soviet Red Army units took Maloye Fomkino--five miles east of Pskov; Markovo--seven miles northwest of Pskov; and Pokhvalshchina--seven miles southeast of Pskov. Yugoslavian partisans captured Lastya in southern Bosnia, 20 miles east of Dubrovnik. The Stockholm newspaper Dagen Nyheter reported that the Finnish parliament had voted to reject the Soviet demand that internment of German troops be a condition for peace. American forces continuously assaulted the Japanese on Los Negros Island, inflicting an estimated 3,000 casualties. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said that the U.S.A., U.K., and France had agreed to divide the Italian naval fleet equally.

Diplomacy
Chile announced her recognition of the new Argentine regime of acting President Edelmiro Farrell.

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced that Secretary of State Edward Stettinius would attend the London conferences on war and postwar problems.

Politics and government
A delegation of Senators asked the Puerto Rican Congress to remove Governor Rexford Tugwell because "he has built up a vast bureaucracy seeking government control."

Health
Air Force magazine reported that the drug benzedrene had been used with good results to help weary pilots fight off sleepiness and fatigue on return trips of combat missions.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Bureau of Mines announced the discovery of new steel manufacturing processes that would permit production of high grade steel in 25 states.

Boxing
Bob Montgomery (58-8-3) won a 15-round split decision over Beau Jack (58-9-3) at Madison Square Garden in New York to win the New York State Athletic Commission world lightweight title. It was the third of four fights between the two; Mr. Montgomery had won a 15-round unanimous decision on May 21, 1943 to win the title, and Mr. Jack had regained the belt on November 19, 1943 with a unanimous 15-round decision.

60 years ago
1954

At the movies
The Naked Jungle, directed by Byron Haskin, and starring Charlton Heston, Eleanor Parker, and William Conrad, opened in theatres.



Radio
CHED, Canada's 149th privately-owned station, began broadcasting in Edmonton at 1080 on the AM dial. Broadcasting began with a special opening broadcast at 8 P.M. Don McKay was the general manager of the new station, with Jerry Forbes as production manager. Other personnel included: news director--Al Slaight; news commentator--Guy Vaughan; sports editor--Bart Gibb; chief announcer--Bob McGavin; announcers--Stu Phillips, Phil Floyd, Warner Troyer, Ron Chase, and John Symonds. CHED was on the air 24 hours a day, with an emphasis on concert music and show tunes.

50 years ago
1964

On television tonight
The Fugitive, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Angels Travel on Lonely Roads: Part 2, with guest stars Eileen Heckart, Albert Salmi, Ruta Lee, and Sandy Kenyon

When the title of this episode appears on screen, the word "Lonely" is misspelled as "Lonley."

Music
The Beach Boys were at Your Place or Mine Studios in Los Angeles to record a German-language version of their recent hit In My Room. The German version wasn't released until it appeared on the album Rarities in 1983.

Aviation
The Canadian Parliament approved the change of the name of Trans-Canada Air Lines to Air Canada, effective January 1, 1965.

40 years ago
1974

On television tonight
The National Dream, narrated by Pierre Berton, on CBC

This was the first episode of the eight-part series about the history of the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, based on Mr. Berton's books The National Dream (1970) and The Last Spike (1971). William Hutt played Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald.

Politics and government
Angered by severe criticism from both left and right in the Knesset, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir announced her decision to withdraw from government.

Disasters
In the worst air disaster in history to date, all 346 people aboard a Turkish Airlines DC-10 were killed when it crashed in the forest of Ermenonville, 26 miles northeast of Paris.

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): La Donna Cannone--Francesco De Gregori (9th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT Top 30): Love of the Common People--Paul Young (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): When the Lady Smiles--Golden Earring

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): 99 Red Balloons--Nena

#1 single in the U.K.: 99 Red Balloons--Nena

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Jump--Van Halen (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Jump--Van Halen (2nd week at #1)
2 99 Luftballons--Nena
3 Girls Just Want to Have Fun--Cyndi Lauper
4 Karma Chameleon--Culture Club
5 Thriller--Michael Jackson
6 Nobody Told Me--John Lennon
7 Joanna--Kool & The Gang
8 Let the Music Play--Shannon
9 Somebody's Watching Me--Rockwell
10 I Want a New Drug--Huey Lewis and the News

Singles entering the chart were Miss Me Blind by Culture Club (#37); Hello by Lionel Richie (#55); Leave It by Yes (#67); To All the Girls I've Loved Before by Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson (#80); Don't Answer Me by Alan Parsons Project (#82); A Fine Fine Day by Tony Carey (#83); Runaway by Bon Jovi (#86); We're Going All the Way by Jeffrey Osborne (#89); and Walking in My Sleep by Roger Daltrey (#90).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 99 Red Balloons--Nena
2 Jump--Van Halen
3 Red Red Wine--UB40
4 Talking in Your Sleep--The Romantics
5 Karma Chameleon--Culture Club
6 Thriller--Michael Jackson
7 Nobody Told Me--John Lennon
8 Break My Stride--Matthew Wilder
9 Think of Laura--Christopher Cross
10 Here Comes the Rain Again--Eurythmics

Singles entering the chart were New Song by Howard Jones (#41); Adult Education by Daryl Hall-John Oates (#42); Miss Me Blind by Culture Club (#44); Bang Your Head (Metal Health) by Quiet Riot (#48); and I Want You Back by Sherry Kean (#50).

99 Red Balloons was sung in English; 99 Luftballons, the B-side, was the same song, sung in German.

Politics and government
The New York Times reported an accusation by a former Salvadoran military official that Roberto D'Aubuisson, a candidate for President of El Salvador, was an "anarchic psychopath" who had organized and directed Salvadoran death squads, and that Colonel Oscar Edgardo Casanova, cousin of the country's defense minister, had ordered the 1980 murders of three American nuns and an American lay Roman Catholic worker. The men accused by the informant denied the allegations.

Hockey
NHL
Montreal 3 Calgary 1
New York Islanders 11 @ Toronto 6

The Islanders set a team record for goals in a game as they easily beat the Maple Leafs at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Baseball
Peter Ueberroth, president of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, was elected the sixth commissioner of baseball, to succeed Bowie Kuhn in October. He was given broad power to fine clubs, which Mr. Kuhn had never had during his 15-year term.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart--Marc Almond featuring Gene Pitney

Literature
Canadian author David Adams Richards won the Governor General's Literary Award for his novel Nights Below Station Street (1988).

Scandal
Robert McFarlane, a former National Security Council adviser to U.S. President Ronald Reagan, was sentenced to two years' probation and fined $20,000 for his role in the mid-1980s Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages scandal. The first presidential aide to be sentenced in the affair, Mr. McFarlane had already pled guilty to four misdemeanor counts.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the Index of Leading Economic Indicators had risen 0.6% in January.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Look Who's Talking--Dr. Alban

Defense
Believing that North Korea would meet the International Atomic Energy Agency's demands for inspections of all its nuclear sites, the United States suspended planning for the Team Spirit military exercises with South Korea.

Scandal
Alan Eagleson, Toronto lawyer and former president of the National Hockey League Players Association, was indicted in Boston on 32 counts of embezzlement, fraud and racketeering. He refused to go to the U.S. to face the grand jury, beginning three years of legal wrangling.

10 years ago
2004

Politics and government
U.S. Senator John Edwards (North Carolina) withdrew from the contest for the Democratic party nomination for President of the United States in the November 2004 election.

Business
Belgian brewer Interbrew and Brazilian rival AmBev agreed to merge in an $11.2-billion deal that formed InBev, the world's largest brewer.