March 4, 2014

225 years ago
1789

Law
The Constitution of the United States went into effect as the first Congress met in New York City. The United States Bill of Rights was written and proposed to Congress.

220 years ago
1794

Law
The United States Congress passed the Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution. It reads:

The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.

200 years ago
1814

War
In the War of 1812, American forces defeated British forces in the Battle of Longwoods near what is now Wardsville, Ontario, between London and Thamesville.

175 years ago
1839

Technology
In Saint John, New Brunswick, James Elliott and Alexander McAvity patented the “Self-contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus” – known today as the Scuba tank.

125 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Pearl White. U.S. actress. Miss White appeared in plays and silent films, and was best known as the star of the 20-chapter movie serial The Perils of Pauline (1914). She died of liver disease, perhaps the result of years of heavy drinking, on August 4, 1938 at the age of 49.

Oren Long. U.S. politician. Mr. Long, a Democrat, was the Governor of the Territory of Hawaii from 1951-1953, and represented the state in the United States Senate from 1959-1963. He died on May 6, 1965 at the age of 76, after an attack of asthmatic bronchitis.

Politics and government
Benjamin Harrison was inaugurated as the 23rd President of the United States of America. In his inaugural address, Mr. Harrison credited the nation's growth to the influences of education and religion, urged the cotton states and mining territories to attain the industrial proportions of the eastern states, and promised a protective tariff. He said, "If our great corporations would more scrupulously observe their legal obligations and duties, they would have less call to complain of the limitations of their rights or of interference with their operations." Mr. Harrison was the grandson of William Henry Harrison, the 9th President (1841).

100 years ago
1914

Born on this date
Robert R. Wilson. U.S. physicist. Dr. Wilson worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II and then taught at Cornell University before serving as the first director of what became known as the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (1967-1978). He was also an architect who helped to design the Fermilab and his surroundings. Dr. Wilson died on January 16, 2000 at the age of 85, not long after suffering a stroke.

Baseball
4,000 people showed up to watch the groundbreaking ceremony for Weeghman Park, home of the Chicago Whales of the Federal League, the new rival to the National and American Leagues. When the FL ceased operations after the 1915 season, the Cubs of the NL moved into the ballpark, which eventually became Cubs Park and then Wrigley Field.

70 years ago
1944

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Bésame Mucho (Kiss Me Much)--Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra

Bésame Mucho (Kiss Me Much), featuring vocals by Bob Eberly and Kitty Kallen, was the B-side of My Ideal, which featured vocals by Mr. Eberly.

Died on this date
Louis "Lepke" Buchalter; 47; Louis Capone, 47 or 48; Emanuel "Mendy" Weiss, 37. Messrs. Buchalter, Capone, and Weiss were leading figures in the Mafia hit squad known as Murder, Inc. They had been convicted of the 1936 murder of candy store owner Joseph Rosen in Brooklyn, New York, and were executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in New York after receiving six reprieves.

War
Soviet troops forced the Ingulets River south of Krivoi Rog in Ukraine to capture seven places and broke the last natural German defense line before the Black Sea port of Nikolayev. A group of Flying Fortresses launched the first American bomber attack on Berlin. Allied troops repulsed a German assault at Cisterno, Italy. The Japanese government decreed the mobilization of high school students and the use of school buildings as military storehouses and their yards for vegetable gardens.

Diplomacy
Iraq told U.S. Vice-President Henry Wallace that a U.S. resolution favouring a Jewish Palestine "would be tantamount in the United States declaring war on the Arabs."

U.S. Senator Gerald Nye reported that General George Marshall had told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he favoured a postponement of Jewish immigration into Palestine.

Acting U.S. Secretary of State Edward Stettinius said that the U.S.A. would note recognize the new Argentine regime of acting President Edelmiro Farrell until it took steps to bring Argentina "fully and completely into the realm of hemispheric solidarity."

Politics and government
Oregon Governor Earl Snell appointed Guy Gorden to fill the U.S. Senate seat formerly occupied by Charles McNary, who had died on February 25.

The beginning of the 12th year of the U.S. presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt was marked by special religious services at the White House attended by more than 200 officials.

Movies
U.S. Federal Judge George More ruled that 20th Century Fox Film Corporation's picture Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938) was based on the unpublished novel Love Girl, and that he would appoint a commission to set damage awards for the author, Mrs. Marie Dieckhaus.

50 years ago
1964

Diplomacy
The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution to appoint a mediator and establish a peacekeeping force in Cyprus.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Farewell Aunty Jack--Grahame Bond (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): La Estrella de David--Juan Bau (2nd week at #1)

Politics and government
Edward Heath resigned as British Prime Minister, five days after a general election had given the Labour Party 301 seats in the 635-seat House of Commons to 297 seats for Mr. Heath's governing Conservatives, but short of a majority. Mr. Heath's resignation allowed Labour Party leader Harold Wilson to return to office as Prime Minister--a position he had held from 1964-1970--and to lead the U.K.'s first minority government in 45 years.

Under pressure from Labour Party colleagues, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir reversed her announcement of the previous day that she was withdrawing from government.

Journalism
This was the date of the first regular issue of People magazine, which was then published in the United States as People Weekly.

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Street Dance--Break Machine (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Relax--Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Died on this date
Ernest Buckler, 75. Canadian author. Mr. Buckler, a native of West Dalhousie, Nova Scotia, was best known for his novel The Mountain and the Valley (1952).

War
The U.S. State Department said that Iraq appeared to be using chemical weapons in her war against Iran. The speaker of the Iranian parliament charged that Iraqi chemical attacks had killed more than 400 Iranian soldiers and injured 1,100 more within the previous week.

Politics and government
U.S. Senator Gary Hart (Colorado) won the Maine caucuses in the contest for the Democratic party nomination for President of the United States in the November 1984 election.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Esatto--Francesco Salvi

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): You Got It--Roy Orbison (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Buffalo Stance--Neneh Cherry (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Pour toi Arménie--Charles Aznavour and various artists (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Belfast Child--Simple Minds (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Lost in Your Eyes--Debbie Gibson
2 The Lover in Me--Sheena Easton
3 Straight Up--Paula Abdul
4 The Living Years--Mike + the Mechanics
5 You Got It (The Right Stuff)--New Kids on the Block
6 Wild Thing--Tone Loc
7 What I Am--Edie Brickell and New Bohemians
8 Roni--Bobby Brown
9 Surrender to Me--Ann Wilson and Robin Zander
10 Paradise City--Guns 'N' Roses

Singles entering the chart were Funky Cold Medina by Tone Loc (#60); Rocket by Def Leppard (#61); Close My Eyes Forever by Lita Ford (Duet with Ozzy Osbourne) (#81); I'll Be There for You by Bon Jovi (#82); Iko Iko by the Belle Stars (#86); Good Life by Inner City (#90); Let the River Run by Carly Simon (#95); and Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler (#97). Iko Iko was from the movie Rain Man (1988). Let the River Run was from the movie Working Girl (1988), and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Wind Beneath My Wings was from the movie Beaches (1988).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Lost in Your Eyes--Debbie Gibson (2nd week at #1)
2 The Lover in Me--Sheena Easton
3 Straight Up--Paula Abdul
4 You Got It (The Right Stuff)--New Kids on the Block
5 Born to Be My Baby--Bon Jovi
6 What I Am--Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
7 The Living Years--Mike + the Mechanics
8 She Wants to Dance with Me--Rick Astley
9 Paradise City--Guns 'N' Roses
10 Roni--Bobby Brown

Singles entering the chart were Rocket by Def Leppard (#62); Funky Cold Medina by Tone Loc (#68); Good Life by Inner City (#75); I Wanna Be the One by Stevie B (#76); Close My Eyes Forever by Lita Ford (with Ozzy Osbourne) (#80); I Can't Face the Fact by Gina Go-Go (#83); This Time by Kiara (with Shanice Wilson) (#85); and Falling Out of Love by Ivan Neville (#87).

Died on this date
Edward Makuka Nkoloso, 69-70. Zambian revolutionist and bureaucrat. Mr. Nkoloso was a schoolteacher who became a leading figure in the resistance against British colonial rule in what was then known as Northern Rhodesia, serving time in prison in 1956 and 1957. In 1960, he founded the Zambia National Academy of Science, Space Research and Philosophy. Mr. Nkoloso was best known outside Zambia for creating the country's space program in 1960, with the ostensible goal of placing an "Afronaut" on Mars. The program was ridiculed in Western nations, and Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda later claimed that the Zambian space program had been meant for fun. Mr. Nkoloso retired from his position in 1972, and obtained a law degree in 1983.

Politics and government
Ed Broadbent announced his resignation as New Democratic Party leader after 14 years; his resignation was to take effect when a new leader was chosen at a convention later in the year.

Business
Time, Inc. and Warner Communications, Inc. agreed to merge. With annual revenues of more than $10 billion, it would be the world's largest media and entertainment company. The companies decided to merge to compete more effectively with international media companies.

Labour
Machinists with Eastern Airlines went on strike, supported by pilots and flight attendants.

Disasters
6 people were killed and 80 injured, some seriously, when a train travelling from Littlehampton to London crashed into a train further ahead that was travelling from Horsham to London, and careened down an embankment into gardens below at Purley in Surrey.

Hockey
NHL
Chicago 3 @ Toronto 3

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Without You--Mariah Carey (3rd week at #1)

At the movies
China Moon, directed by John Bailey, and starring Ed Harris and Madeleine Stowe, opened in theatres.

Died on this date
John Candy, 43. Canadian comedian and actor. Mr. Candy, a native of Toronto, was a member of Toronto's Second City sketch comedy troupe who became famous in Canada and the United States as one of the cast of the television comedy programs SCTV (1976-1979) and SCTV Network (1981-1983) before starring in movies such as Stripes (1981); Splash (1984); Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987); Uncle Buck (1989); and Only the Lonely (1991). This blogger first saw him and other Second City members in a CBC television children's program called Dr. Zonk and the Zunkins (1974-1975), which was as bad as its title, and was so bad that it's almost impossible to find any mention of the show in any biographical sketch or obituary of Mr. Candy. Mr. Candy was known for making many cameo appearances and small roles in movies. In The Silent Partner (1978), Mr. Candy was romantically paired with Gail Dahms, a singer best known as the "Turtles girl" for her television commercials for the Canadian confection. His portrayal of eccentric lawyer Dean Andrews in JFK (1991) drew attention to his ability to play roles in "serious" movies, and opened potential opportunities for him. Unfortunately, that potential was never fulfilled, as he died in his sleep in Mexico while filming the comedy Wagons East (1994). Mr. Candy was a lifelong football fan; when Los Angeles conman Bruce McNall bought the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League in 1991, he brought in Mr. Candy and hockey legend Wayne Gretzky as co-owners. Mr. Candy travelled with the team on road trips that season, and did a tremendous amount in helping to promote the team and the CFL as the Argonauts won the Grey Cup that year. Edmonton Eskimos' general manager Hugh Campbell praised Mr. Candy's contribution to the league as an executive. Unfortunately, his role with the team gradually diminished over the next two years as Mr. McNall's interest in the team seemed to decline as he developed financial and legal problems.

Terrorism
Four men were convicted in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on a total of 38 charges related to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City, in which six people had been killed. Prosecutors had charged that Mohammed Salameh had rented the apartment where the chemicals used in the bombing were mixed and had rented the van in which the bomb was transported. Ahmad Ajaj had been accused of bringing bomb-making manuals into the country. Nidal Ayyad was charged with obtaining chemicals used in the bombing. Mahmud Abouhalima had been accused of being present when the chemicals were mixed. Three additional suspects in the plot had not been tried. Ramzi Ahmed Yousef and Abdul Rahman Yasin were at large and were thought to have left the United States. Bilal Alkaisi was to be tried at a later date.

Politics and government
U.S. Senator George Mitchell (Democrat--Maine), the Senate Majority Leader, announced that he would not seek re-election in 1994. Mr. Mitchell, 60, had served in the Senate since 1980 and had been Majority Leader since 1989.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the Index of Leading Economic Indicators had risen 0.3% in January, the sixth straight monthly gain. The U.S. Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate had fallen to 6.5% in February.

10 years ago
2004

Diplomacy
South Africa joined Caribbean nations in calling for an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the recent departure from Haiti of deposed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Mr. Aristide claimed to have been toppled and abducted by U.S. forces.