March 13, 2016

425 years ago
1591

War
Moroccan forces of the Saadi dynasty led by Judar Pasha defeated those of the Songhai Empire in the Battle of Tondibi in Mali, despite being outnumbered by at least five to one.

275 years ago
1741

Born on this date
Joseph II. Holy Roman Emperor, 1765-1790. Joseph II was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I, and the brother of Marie Antoinette. A Roman Catholic, he was known for granting religious tolerance to Protestants and Jews. Joseph II died after a lengthy illness on February 20, 1790, 22 days before his 49th birthday; he left no sons and was succeeded as Emperor by his brother Leopold II.

War
The Battle of Cartagena de Indias, a two-month naval battle that was part of the War of Jenkins' Ear between Great Britain and Spain, began in New Granada (present-day Colombia).

150 years ago
1866

War
The Prince of Wales Regiment and Battery of Artillery left Montreal to repel Fenian invaders.

110 years ago
1906

Died on this date
Susan B. Anthony, 86. U.S. feminist. Miss Anthony was an anti-slavery activist who then moved on to spend most of her life, much of it in partnership with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, agitating for women's suffrage.

100 years ago
1916

Society
Manitobans voted 50,484 to 26,052 in favour of prohibition, making Manitoba the first Canadian province to adopt prohibition of alcoholic beverages.

80 years ago
1936

Died on this date
Francis Bell, 84. Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1925. Sir Francis, a member of the Reform Party, was the first native-born Prime Minister of New Zealand. He held various cabinet posts from 1912 until becoming Prime Minister on May 14, 1925, four days after the death of William Massey. Sir Francis held the office for just 16 days, declining the party's offer to continue, and was replaced by Gordon Coates. Sir Francis died 18 days before his 85th birthday.

75 years ago
1941

War
The Royal Air Force carried out the heaviest British raids of the European war on Berlin, Hamburg, and Bremen. Germany executed 15 Dutchmen convicted of espionage and sabotage.

Defense
The U.S. House of Representatives Deficiency Appropriations subcommittee began hearings on the $7-billion Lend-Lease bill.

Diplomacy
Brazilian President Getulio Vargas ratified the Act of Havana that had been approved at the Pan-American Conference of Foreign Ministers in Havana in July 1940.

Politics and government
German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler issued a secret directive giving the SS administrative control over all territory captured by the Wehrmacht in the planned attack on Russia.

Acting Argentine President Dr. Ramon Castillo appointed Dr. Enrique Ruiz as Foreign Minister and Dr. Carlos Alberto Acevedo as Finance Minister.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt digned an order freezing Hungarian assets in the United States.

Labour
U.S. President Roosevelt recieved a plan from Labor Secretary Frances Perkins and William Knudsen and Sidney Hillman of the Office of Production Management, calling for an 11-member board to mediate strikes in defense industries.

Soft coal operators in the United States rejected the Congress of Industrial Organizations United Mine Workers demand for a $1-per-day wage increase.

U.S. Federal Judge F. Ryan Duffy imposed fines totalling $32,250 in the antitrust suit against the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

Hockey
NHL
Boston 8 @ New York Americans 3
Chicago 2 @ Detroit 3

The Bruins defeated the Americans at Madison Square Garden in New York to clinch first place for the third straight season.

70 years ago
1946

Literature
Editor Bennett Cerf agreed to include 12 poems by Ezra Pound in the new edition of An Anthology of Famous English and American Poetry, after omitting them from the first edition as the work of a presumed fascist.

War
Testifying at his war crimes trial in Nuremberg, former Nazi Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering defended Nazism, Fuehrer Adolf Hitler, concentration camps, the Gestapo, the 1933 Nazi seizure of power, and the suppression of opposition political parties in Germany. Yugoslavian government forces captured royalist Chetnik leader Draja Mikhailovich in a mountain cave; he was wanted by the authorities for wartime collaboration with the Germans.

Soviet forces in Iran entered Karaj, 20 miles from Tehran.

Nationalist Chinese commander General Chao Kung-wu entered Mukden as Soviet troops left.

Dutch and Indonesian leaders began formal negotiations for a peace settlement in Batavia.

Diplomacy
In an interview published in the Soviet newspaper Pravda, U.S.S.R. dictator Josef Stalin called former U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill a "firebrand of war," and compared him with former German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler, further denying that eastern Europe was under Soviet control.

Defense
Speaking at a secret session of the U.S. House of Representatives Military Affairs Committee, Secretary of State James Byrnes outlined a "pessimistic" picture of world conditions, while Secretary of War Patterson and Army Generals Dwight Eisenhower and Carl Spaatz urged extension of the draft to ensure an Army of over one million men.

Politics and government
U.S. President Harry Truman "reluctantly" withdrew his nomination of Edwin Pauley for Undersecretary of the Navy, defending his integrity in spite of "misrepresentations" and "vicious attacks."

Former U.S. Senator Gerald Nye (Republican) failed to gain his party's nomination for a comeback attempt in North Dakota.

Economics and finance
The site committee of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank chose Washington, D.C. for the permanent headquarters.

Labour
General Motors and the Congress of Industrial Organizations United Auto Workers ended a 113-day strike of 175,000 workers with an agreement providing for an 18½c hourly wage increase.

New York dress industry mediator Harry Uviller granted an 8% pay increase to 75,000 American Federation of Labor International Ladies' Garment Workers Union workers.

60 years ago
1956

At the movies
The Price of Fear, directed by Abner Biberman, and starring Merle Oberon, Lex Barker, and Charles Drake, opened in theatres.



40 years ago
1976

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Sandokan--Oliver Onions (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): Love Hurts--Nazareth (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)--Tina Charles (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)--The Four Seasons

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 All by Myself--Eric Carmen
2 December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)--The Four Seasons
3 Dream Weaver--Gary Wright
4 Lonely Night (Angel Face)--Captain and Tennille
5 Love Machine (Part 1)--The Miracles
6 Theme from S.W.A.T.--Rhythm Heritage
7 Sweet Thing--Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
8 Dream On--Aerosmith
9 Love Hurts--Nazareth
10 Disco Lady--Johnnie Taylor

Singles entering the chart were Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again by Barry Manilow (#71); Come on Over by Olivia Newton-John (#83); Young Blood by Bad Company (#84); Shout it Out Loud by Kiss (#89); Here, There and Everywhere by Emmylou Harris (#93); Street Talk by B.C.G. (B.C. Generation) (#99); and Once a Fool by Kiki Dee (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Money Honey--Bay City Rollers
2 Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)--Bee Gees
3 All by Myself--Eric Carmen
4 Theme from S.W.A.T. (Part 1)--The T.H.P. Orchestra
5 Squeeze Box--The Who
6 Love to Love You Baby--Donna Summer
7 Wow--Andre Gagnon
8 Baby Face--Wing and a Prayer Fife and Drum Corps
9 Action--Sweet
10 Lady Bump--Penny McLean

Singles entering the chart were Gimme Some by Jimmy "Bo" Horne (#85); There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World) by the Carpenters (#90); Show Me the Way by Peter Frampton (#92); Linda Write Me a Letter by Choya (#94); Lookin' for a Love by Neil Young (#95); Love Fire by Jigsaw (#96); Fopp by Ohio Players (#97); Looking for a Space by John Denver (#98); and Let Your Love Flow by the Bellamy Brothers (#99). Linda Write Me a Letter was on the Realistic label, which was owned by Radio Shack. The 45 could be obtained at Radio Shack stores for 98c, while the usual price of singles in record stores was $1.29.

Curling
At the Agridome in Regina, Jack MacDuff skipped the first rink from Newfoundland to win the Macdonald Brier, as his rink finished on top of the round-robin standings with a 9-2 record.

30 years ago
1986

Diplomacy
U.S.S.R. leader Mikhail Gorbachev said the Soviet Union would continue its moratorium on nuclear testing indefinitely if the United States would refrain from testing.

Scandal
A member of the government commission headed by former Philippines Senator Jovito Salonga that was investigating former President Ferdinand Marcos said that a Swiss bank account containing $800 million had been tied to Mr. Marcos.

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Joyride--Roxette

World events
In the U.S.S.R.’s first national referendum, nine of the Soviet Union’s 15 republics asked citizens to vote yes or no on the question: "Do you consider it necessary to preserve the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as a renewed federation of equal sovereign republics, in which the rights and freedoms of people of all nationalities will be fully guaranteed?" Only four republics offered the question alone and unaltered, while five altered it or offered more than one ballot question. The result that emerged was less than Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was hoping for. It was reported by the Kremlin that 77% of 136 million voters supported preservation of the Soviet Union.

Politics and government
Serbian Interior Minister Radmilo Bogdanovic, who controlled the riot police, resigned, several days after riot police had moved against 30,000 protesters, mostly students, in Belgrade.

Environment
Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and U.S. President George Bush signed an agreement which they said would end acid rain within 10 years. The air quality agreement committed the countries to curb emissions causing acid rain and to reduce air pollutants.

Exxon Corporation signed a plea bargain with the U.S. government and the state of Alaska relating to charges resulting from the 1989 oil spill from the tanker Exxon Valdez. Exxon agreed to pay a criminal fine of $100 million and to pay $900 million in civil damage to repair damage to the Alaska coast. Exxon also agreed to plead guilty to one count of killing migratory birds, and its subsidiary Exxon Shipping Company accepted a charge of negligent discharge of pollutants and the killing of wildlife.

Figure skating
Lloyd Eisler and Isabelle Brasseur of Canada again won a silver medal for pairs at the world championships at Olympiahalle in Munich.

20 years ago
1996

Died on this date
Krzysztof Kieślowski, 54. Polish movie director and screenwriter. Mr. Kieślowski was known for The Double Life of Véronique (1991)--the most boring movie this blogger has ever seen--and the Three Colors Trilogy (1993-1994). He died during open-heart surgery after a heart attack.

Crime
16 primary school children and one teacher in Dunblane, Scotland were shot dead by Thomas Hamilton, 43, who then committed suicide. See also here.

10 years ago
2006

Died on this date
Robert C. Baker, 84. U.S. food scientist. Dr. Baker, a professor at Cornell University, created the chicken nugget and many other innovations related tp poultry.

Maureen Stapleton, 80. U.S. actress. Miss Stapleton won Tony Awards for her starring performances in The Rose Tattoo (1951) and The Gingerbread Lady (1971); an Emmy Award for the television film Among the Paths to Eden (1967); and the Academy Award for her supporting performance in Reds (1981). She was nominated for Oscars for her supporting performances in Lonelyhearts (1958); Airport (1970); and Interiors (1978). Miss Stapleton was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981.

War
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper paid his first surprise visit to Canadian troops in Kandahar, Afghanistan.