March 26, 2015

1,425 years ago
590

Politics and government
Emperor Maurice proclaimed his son Theodosius as co-Emperor of the Byzantine Empire.

130 years ago
1885

Movies
The Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company of Rochester, New York manufactured the first commercial motion picture film.

War
Metis leader Gabriel Dumont led an ambush of a force of 98 North West Mounted Police officers and volunteers, led by Superintendent Leif Crozier, at Duck Lake, Northwest Territories, forcing the police to retreat to Prince Albert with 12 dead. It was the first battle of the North West Rebellion (Second Riel Rebellion).

120 years ago
1895

Born on this date
Joe Klugmann. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Klugmann played second base with the Chicago Cubs (1921-1922); Brooklyn Robins (1924); and Cleveland Indians (1926), batting .251 with no home runs and 17 runs batted in in 77 games. He played more than 1,320 games in 14 seasons in the minor leagues (1914, 1921-1933), and managed the Nashville Volunteers of the Southern Association (1931-1932). Mr. Klugmann was a police officer and state official in Missouri in later years, and died on July 18, 1951 at the age of 56.

100 years ago
1915

Hockey
Stanley Cup
Finals
Ottawa Senators (NHA) 3 @ Vancouver Millionaires (PCHA) 12 (Vancouver won best-of-five series 3-0)

The Millionaires routed the Senators at Denman Arena in a game played under PCHA rules to complete the sweep of the first Stanley Cup final series between the champions of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the National Hockey Association. Fred "Cyclone" Taylor led the Millionaires with 6 goals in the series, while teammate Barney Stanley scored 5, including the series winner at 5:30 of the 2nd period.

75 years ago
1940

Died on this date
Richard Squires, 60. Prime Minister of Newfoundland, 1919-1923, 1928-1932. Sir Richard, a Liberal, was first elected to the House of Assembly in 1913, taking the Liberal Party leadership in 1919 and leading the party to victory in the general election. He implemented economic reforms, but resigned as Prime Minister in 1923 amidst accusations of electoral bribery, sitting in the House as an independent member. Sir Richard regained the Liberal Party leadership in 1928 and led the party to another electoral victory, and his wife Helena won a by-election in 1930, becoming the first woman elected to the House. Economic conditions caused by the Depression and further accusations of corruption led to the defeat of the Liberals and of Sir Richard himself in the 1932 general election.

War
In his first address as Prime Minister of France, Paul Reynaud cautioned German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler not to make advances into the Balkans.

Diplomacy
Reports from London indicated that the United Kingdom would not recognize the Japanese-sponsored government in central China led by Wang Ching-wei.

Defense
The U.S. government decided to sell P-46 pursuit planes to the U.K. and France.

The United States Army successfully tested a new means of aerial photography, using bombs exploded above the target area to serve as a light source.

Politics and government
The Liberal Party, under the leadership of Prime Minister Mackenzie King, easily retained power in the Canadian federal election, taking 179 of 245 seats in the House of Commons and more than 51% of the popular vote. Their total was 8 more than in the election of 1935, and was the largest majority since Confederation. The Conservatives, led by R.J. Manion, were reduced to 39 seats. Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, led by J.S. Woodsworth, won 8 seats. Social Credit (7) and New Democracy (3), running together, took 10 seats. Other seats were captured by Liberal-Progressive (3); independent Liberal (2); independent Conservative (1); independent (1); Unity (1); and United Reform Movement (1).

Crime
Seven men from the liner Uruguay were indicted by a federal grand jury in New York City for smuggling aliens into the United States.

70 years ago
1945

Hit parade
U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Rum and Coca-Cola--The Andrews Sisters (5th week at #1)
--Abe Lyman and his Orchestra
--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
2 My Dreams are Getting Better All the Time--Les Brown and his Orchestra (vocal chorus by Doris Day)
--Phil Moore Four
3 Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive--Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers with Paul Weston and His Orchestra
--Artie Shaw and his Orchestra
--Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters
4 Candy--Johnny Mercer, Jo Stafford and the Pied Pipers with Paul Weston and His Orchestra
--Dinah Shore
5 I'm Beginning to See the Light--Harry James and his Orchestra
--Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra
6 Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night in the Week)--Frank Sinatra
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
7 A Little on the Lonely Side--Frankie Carle and his Orchestra
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
8 More and More--Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra
--Perry Como
9 Don't Fence Me In--Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters
--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Kate Smith
--Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights
10 Dream--The Pied Pipers
--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra

The only single entering the chart was I Begged Her by Frank Sinatra (#29).

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Book of Tobit

Died on this date
David Lloyd George, 82. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1916-1922. Mr. Lloyd George, a native of England who moved with his family to their native Wales as a child, was a Liberal Party member of the House of Commons from 1890-1945. He held various cabinet posts before succeeding Herbert Asquith as Prime Minister during World War I. He led a coalition government during the war and played a major role at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. The coalition fell apart in 1922, and the Liberals fell from power, never to regain it. Mr. Lloyd George succeeded Mr. Asquith as Liberal leader in 1926, leading the party unitl 1931. In the 1930s he was viewed as having a favourable attitude toward Germany and German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler. Mr. Lloyd George opposed Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, but declined the offer of a cabinet post when Mr. Chamberlain resigned in favour of Winston Churchill in 1940. Mr. Lloyd George supported a negotiated peace with Germany early in World War II, and was regarded as a defeatist.

Tadamichi Kuribayashi, 53. Japanese military officer. General Kuribayashi commanded the Japanese garrison during the Battle of Iwo Jima; he was killed circa this date while defending the garrison against American troops.

War
Canada's Commonwealth Air Training Program ended after graduating 131,500. Seven Allied armies advanced east of the Rhine River as German resistance became increasingly disorganized. The Battle of Iwo Jima ended as the Pacific island was officially secured by American forces. About 22,000 Japanese troops were killed or captured in the fighting, and more than 4,500 U.S. troops were killed. U.S. troops in the Philippines landed on the east coast of Cebu Island and reached within 2 1/2 miles of Cebu City, facing only moderate opposition from Japanese forces.

Economics and finance
A decree from the government of Argentina put all firms from Axis countries under Argentine military control.

The United States Senate voted to raise the national debt limit $40 billion to $300 billion, and sent the measure to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Opening its food inquiry, the United States Senate Agricultural Committee heard representatives of the meat packing industry charge the Office of Price Administration with being largely responsible for meat shortages because it followed "a social philosophy which regards profit as a sin."

Business
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments on the charge that 20 railroads had conspired to maintain freight rates discriminating against the state of Georgia, as alleged by Georgia Governor Ellis Arnall.

Basketball
NCAA
NIT @ Madison Square Garden, New York
Final
DePaul 71 Bowling Green 54

60 years ago
1955

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): I Need You Now--Eddie Fisher (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Give Me Your Word--Tennessee Ernie Ford (5th week at #1)

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): The Ballad of Davy Crockett--Bill Hayes (Best Seller--1st week at #1); Sincerely--The McGuire Sisters (Disc Jockey--7th week at #1; Jukebox--4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Ballad of Davy Crockett--Bill Hayes
2 Melody of Love--Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra
--David Carroll and his Orchestra
--The Four Aces
3 Sincerely--The McGuire Sisters
4 The Crazy Otto--Johnny Maddox and the Rhythmasters
5 Tweedlee Dee--Georgia Gibbs
--LaVern Baker and the Gliders
6 Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So)--Perry Como
--The Crew-Cuts
7 Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)--The Penguins
--The Crew-Cuts
8 How Important Can it Be?--Joni James
--Sarah Vaughan
9 Open Up Your Heart (And Let the Sunshine In)--Cowboy Church Sunday School
10 Hearts of Stone--The Fontane Sisters
--The Charms

Singles entering the chart were Nobody by Perry Como (#27) and Play Me Hearts and Flowers (I Wanna Cry) by Johnny Desmond (#39).

50 years ago
1965

Hit parade
Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 The Birds and the Bees--Jewel Akens (2nd week at #1)
2 Can't You Hear My Heartbeat--Herman's Hermits
3 Eight Days a Week--The Beatles
4 Ferry Cross the Mersey--Gerry & the Pacemakers
5 King of the Road--Roger Miller
6 Do You Wanna Dance?--The Beach Boys
7 Stop! In the Name of Love--The Supremes
8 Goldfinger--Shirley Bassey
9 (Here They Come) From All Over the World--Jan & Dean
10 I Know a Place--Petula Clark
Pick hit of the week: Little Miss Go-Go--Gary Lewis and the Playboys
New this week: Little Sidewalk Surfer Girl--The Hondells
Crazy Downtown--Allan Sherman
Just Once in My Life--The Righteous Brothers
It's Got the Whole World Shakin'--Sam Cooke
I'll Never Find Another You--The Seekers
Why Did You Choose Me--Barbra Streisand

40 years ago
1975

Defense
The Biological Weapons Convention, signed on April 10, 1972, came into force now that it had been ratified by 22 states.

Politics and government
In the Alberta provincial election, Premier Peter Lougheed led his Progressive Conservative Party to a landslide re-election, taking 69 of 75 seats in the Legislature, an increase of 20 seats from their pre-election total. The PCs' increase came mainly at the expense of the Social Credit opposition, led by Werner Schmidt, who were reduced from 25 seats to 4, with Mr. Schmidt losing his seat. Gordon Taylor was elected as an independent Social Credit in Drumheller, and New Democratic Party leader Grant Notley retained his Spirit River-Fairview seat. In Calgary-Elbow, PC candidate Dave Russell was re-elected, finishing 5,000 votes ahead of Liberal candidate and future Canadian Senator Sharon Carstairs.

Economics and finance
The government of Canada raised the minimum wage for federal employees from $2.20-$2.60 per hour.

Basketball
ABA
St. Louis 116 @ Virginia 99

Marvin Barnes and Freddie Lewis each scored 30 points as the Spirits defeated the Squires before 2,411 fans at Hampton Coliseum.

Baseball
Larry Lintz, Jerry White, and Pepe Mangual each stole second base and came around to score as the Montreal Expos edged the Houston Astros 4-3 in a spring training game before 2,535 fans in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The Los Angeles Dodges scored 10 runs in 5 innings off starting pitcher Jack Billingham and held on to defeat the Cincinnati Reds 10-9 in a spring training game before 4,196 fans in Tampa, Florida. Jimmy Wynn hit a 3-run home run for Los Angeles, while Johnny Bench and Dave Concepcion homered for Cincinnati.

Jim Rooker, Wayne Simpson, and Dave Giusti combined to pitch a 5-hit shutout as the Pittsburgh Pirates blanked the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 in a spring training game in Bradenton, Florida.

30 years ago
1985

Oil
Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney announced that his Progressive Conservative government was ending the National Energy Program and moving to market value for crude, with equal treatment for the oil patch. The NEP was imposed by the Liberal government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1980.

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): 1990--Complex

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor (4th week at #1)

Movies
The Academy Awards for 1989 were presented at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. Awards for Driving Miss Daisy included Best Picture and Best Actress (Jessica Tandy). Other awards included: Best Director--Oliver Stone (Born on the Fourth of July); Best Actor--Daniel Day-Lewis (My Left Foot); Best Supporting Actor--Denzel Washington (Glory); Best Supporting Actress--Brenda Fricker (My Left Foot); and Best Foreign Language Film--Cinema Paradiso.



Protest
In the Negro South African township of Sebokeng, 11 people were killed and hundreds wounded when police fired on a large crowd of demonstrators.

Politics and government
Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney sent New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna's "companion resolution" to the Meech Lake constitutional accord to an all-party House of Commons committee, and began public hearings.

Society
American pro-life speaker Joseph Scheidler gave a talk at the University of Alberta, three days in advance of the appearance of Henry Morgentaler, Canada’s best-known abortionist. This blogger put up a number of posters on campus--in places where permission to put up posters wasn’t required--advertising Mr. Scheidler’s appearance, and within a day all but one of the posters had been torn down; such is the "tolerance" of pro-abortion activists.

20 years ago
1995

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Cotton Eye Joe--Rednex (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Old Pop in an Oak--Rednex (9th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Conquest of Paradise--Vangelis (4th week at #1)

Diplomacy
The Schengen Agreement came into effect, almost 10 years after it had been signed. It was an agreement by Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, West Germany, and France proposing the gradual abolition of border checks at the signatories' common borders.

Labour
The Canadian Parliament passed legislation ordering 30,000 striking railway employees back to work, ending a nation-wide week of chaos for travellers, commuters, and shippers.

Politics and government
Former diplomatic service bureaucrat Alan Keyes announced his intention to seek the 1996 Republican Party nomination for President of the United States, becoming the first Negro to seek the Republican nomination. Mr. Keyes was a Roman Catholic who was known for his opposition to abortion.

10 years ago
2005

Died on this date
Gérard Filion, 95. Canadian journalist. Mr. Filion published the Montreal newspaper Le Devoir from 1947-1963. He was a vocal critic of the Union Nationale government of Premier Maurice Duplessis.

James Callaghan, 92. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1976-1979. Mr. Callaghan, a Labour Party member of the House of Commons from 1945-1987, held the cabinet posts of Chancellor of the Exchequer (1964-1967); Home Secretary (1967-1970); and Foreign Secretary (1974-1976) before succeeding the retiring Harold Wilson as Prime Minister. After Labour's loss to the Margaret Thatcher-led Conservative Party in the 1979 general election, Mr. Callaghan served as Leader of the Opposition until resigning as Labour Party leader in November 1980. He died the day before his 93rd birthday.

Marius Russo, 90. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Russo played with the New York Yankees (1939-1943, 1946), compiling a record of 45-34 with an earned run average of 3.13 in 120 games. He was a member of World Series championship teams in 1939, 1941, and 1943.

David Boone, 53. U.S.-born Canadian football player. Mr. Boone, a native of Detroit, was a defensive end who played in the National Football League with the Minnesota Vikings in 1974 and then went to the Canadian Football League, playing with the British Columbia Lions (1975); Ottawa Rough Riders (1976 pre-season); Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1976); Edmonton Eskimos (1977-1984 pre-season); and Toronto Argonauts (1984). He dressed for the Vikings when they lost Super Bowl IX against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1975, and was a big part of the Eskimos' record string of 5 straight Grey Cups from 1978-1982, making the All-Western All-Star team in 1977, 1979, and 1981, and the All-Canadian team in 1981. Mr. Boone moved to Vancouver, British Columbia after his playing days were over, working in advertising in radio. This blogger had a pleasant conversation with Mr. Boone when he returned to Edmonton in August 2001 for a reunion of the Grey Cup dynasty teams, and I was greatly saddened to hear that he had fatally shot himself outside his house in Port Roberts, Washington. Mr. Boone apparently had suffered from depression for many years, perhaps the result of unreported head injuries from playing football.

Paul Hester, 46. Australian musician. Mr. Hester was best known as the drummer with the band Crowded House from 1986-1994. He left the group midway through their North American tour in 1994, but returned to play with them in their farewell concert in 1996. Mr. Hester suffered from depression and mood swings, and hanged himself from a tree in a park near his home in Melbourne.

Protest
The Taiwanese government of President Chen Shui-bian called on one million Taiwanese to demonstrate in Taipei in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of the People's Republic of China. The law, passed on March 14, 2005, formalized the long-standing policy of the PRC to use "non-peaceful means" against the "Taiwan independence movement" in the event of a declaration of independence. Around 200,000 to 300,000 attended the demonstration.