March 27, 2016

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Beth Nyambura!

180 years ago
1836

Abominations
On the orders of General Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican army massacred 342 Texas prisoners of war at Goliad, Texas.

Religion
The first Mormon temple was dedicated, in Kirtland, Ohio.

150 years ago
1866

Born on this date
John Allan. Australian politician. Mr. Allan, a member of the Country Party, represented Rodney in the Victoria Legislative Assembly from 1917-1936, and was Premier of Victoria from 1924-1927. He died on February 22, 1936 at the age of 69.

Law
U.S. President Andrew Johnson vetoed a civil rights bill which later became the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution.

130 years ago
1886

War
The Apache warrior Geronimo surrendered to the U.S. Army, ending the main phase of the Apache Wars.

100 years ago
1916

Born on this date
Heinz-Wilhelm Eck. German military officer. Kapitänleutnant Eck was in command of the Kriegsmarine submarine U-852 when it sank the Greek merchant ship SS Peleus in the South Atlantic Ocean on March 13, 1944. Kapitänleutnant Eck ordered his crew to use hand grenades and fire automatic weapons into the ship in order to sink it, giving the crew of the Peleus no chance of survival. Kapitänleutnant Eck was captured soon after when U-852 was beached in Somaliland, and was taken prisoner. He was convicted as a war criminal and executed by firing squad at Lüneberg Heath, Germany on November 30, 1945 at the age of 29.

Mario Tonelli. U.S. football player. Mr. Tonelli was a running back at the University of Notre Dame before playing with the Chicago Cardinals in 1940, where he rushed 51 times for 148 yards and a touchdown, caught 5 passes for 53 yards, and punted once for 15 yards. He served in the U.S. Army in World War II, was taken prisoner by the Japanese, and survived the Bataan Death march. Mr. Tonelli died on January 7, 2003 at the age of 86.

90 years ago
1926

Died on this date
Kick Kelly, 69. U.S. baseball player, manager, and umpire. John O. Kelly was a catcher with the Syracuse Stars and Troy Trojans in 1879, batting .155 with no home runs and 2 runs batted in in 16 games. He made a significant impact as an umpire, working in 587 games--a career record at the time--in the National League and American Association from 1882-1888. Mr. Kelly helped to pioneer the use of multiple umpires in games, greatly improving the standard of officiating; he was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame's Roll of Honor in 1946. Mr. Kelly managed the Louisville Colonels in 1887-1888, compiling a record of 86-89. He returned to umpiring for the last two months of the 1897 National League season. Mr. Kelly also refereed several noted boxing matches, including two heavyweight title fights.

Georges Vézina, 39. Canadian hockey goaltender. Mr. Vézina, nicknamed the "Chicoutimi Cucumber" because of his cool demeanour, played with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey Association (1910-17) and National Hockey League (1917-25), compiling a record of 173-148-6 in 328 regular season games and 23-15-1 in 39 playoff games, playing every minute. He played with the Canadiens' first two Stanley Cup championship teams in 1915-16 and 1923-24. Mr. Vézina led the NHA in goals against average four times and the NHL three times, and was the first goalie in the NHL to post a shutout, and record an assist. He used the same goaltending stick for his entire career. Mr. Vézina played his last game on November 28, 1925, when he played a scoreless 1st period in the 1925-26 season opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but collapsed just before the 2nd period. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis, which proved fatal. Mr. Vézina was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1945, and the Vézina Trophy--originally awarded to the team allowing the fewest goals in a season, but since 1981 awarded to the outstanding goaltender in the NHL--was created in 1926.

Hockey
Stanley Cup
NHL
Finals
Montreal Maroons 1 @ Ottawa 0 (Montreal won 2-game total goals series 2-1)

The Maroons edged the Senators to win the O'Brien Trophy, given to the National Hocky League champions. The Stanley Cup finals against the defending champion Victoria Cougars began three days later.

75 years ago
1941

World events
Yugoslav Air Corps chief Dusan Simovitch overthrew the regency of Prince Paul and the pro-Axis government of Premier Dragisha Cvetkovitch in a bloodless coup d'etat, and restored King Peter II to the throne. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill promised aid for the new Yugoslav government.

Diplomacy
German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler met Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka in Berlin and secretly urged an attack on Singapore.

U.S. Senator Robert Wagner (Democrat--New York) announced the formation of the American Palestine Committee to support the movement to develop and colonize Palestine with Jewish refugees.

Defense
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the $7-billion Lend-Lease appropriations bill.

Economics and finance
The Japanese government announced that beginning in April the country would have one meatless day per week.

Labour
The U.S. National Defense Mediation Board succeeded in achieving settlements of defense strikes at International Harvester Company, Vanadium Steel Corporation, Universal Cyclops Steel Company, and Condenser Corporation of America. U.S. Representative Hatton Sumners (Democrat--Texas) declared that he would not hesitate for "one split second" to recommend "the electric chair" for enemies of the defense program "in factories or elsewhere."

70 years ago
1946

Died on this date
Eugène Larment, 24. Canadian criminal. Mr. Larment was hanged at Carleton County jail in Ottawa, two months after being convicted of the October 1945 murder of Ottawa police Detective Thomas Stoneman, 37. Mr. Larment was the last person to be hanged in Ottawa.

Diplomacy
U.S.S.R. delegate to the United Nations Andrei Gromyko walked out of a Security Council session after his motion to postpone discussion of the issue of the presence of Soviet troops in Iran until April 10, 1946 was defeated.

Transportation
The provisional International Aviation Organization ended its 23-day conference in Dublin on North Atlantic air routes after establishing procedures for trans-Atlantic travel.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Senate Banking and Currency Commitee approved the nomination of James J. Vardaman to the Federal Reserve Board.

A report of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged gradual elimination of price controls.

Labour
Walter Reuther was elected President of the United Auto Workers by a 124-vote margin at the Congress of Industrial Organizations-affiliated union's convention in Atlantic City.

60 years ago
1956

At the movies
Patterns, written by Rod Serling, directed by Fielder Cook, and starring Van Heflin, Everett Sloane, and Ed Begley, opened in theatres. The film was an expanded version of Mr. Serling's teleplay which had first been broadcast on Kraft Television Theatre on January 12, 1955.



50 years ago
1966

Died on this date
Helen Menken, 64. U.S. actress. Miss Menken, born Helen Meinken, was a stage actress on Broadway from 1917-1937, and a successful performer on radio in later years. She was the first wife of actor Humphrey Bogart; they were married from 1926-1927. Miss Menken died of a heart attack while at a party; she was given a posthumous Tony Award in 1966 "for a lifetime of devotion and dedicated service to the Broadway theatre."

Space
Canada launched a 350-pound instrument package from Churchill, Manitoba into the upper atmosphere to study the aurora borealis; it was the first all-Canadian space project, using a Black Brant rocket.

40 years ago
1976

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Sandokan--Oliver Onions (7th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): The Alternative Way--Anita Meyer

#1 single in the U.K.: Save Your Kisses for Me--The Brotherhood of Man

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)--The Four Seasons (3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Dream Weaver--Gary Wright
2 Lonely Night (Angel Face)--Captain and Tennille
3 Disco Lady--Johnnie Taylor
4 December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)--The Four Seasons
5 Sweet Thing--Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
6 Dream On--Aerosmith
7 Money Honey--Bay City Rollers
8 Right Back Where We Started From--Maxine Nightingale
9 All by Myself--Eric Carmen
10 Let Your Love Flow--Bellamy Brothers

Singles entering the chart were Welcome Back by John Sebastian (#72); Don't Pull Your Love/Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye by Glen Campbell (#75); Can't Hide Love by Earth, Wind and Fire (#77); Hurt by Elvis Presley (#80); Sally by Grand Funk (#85); Spanish Hustle by the Fatback Band (#86); I've Got a Feeling (We’ll Be Seeing Each Other Again) by Al Wilson (#91); That's Where the Happy People Go by the Trammps (#92); Where Did Our Love Go by J. Geils Band (#95); Daylight by Bobby Womack (#97); Double Trouble by Lynyrd Skynyrd (#99); and I'm Mandy Fly Me by 10 C.C. (#100). Welcome Back was the theme from the television comedy series Welcome Back, Kotter. Hurt was the B-side of For the Heart, which did not chart.

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Love to Love You Baby--Donna Summer
2 Theme from S.W.A.T. (Part 1)--The T.H.P. Orchestra
3 Money Honey--Bay City Rollers
4 Wow--Andre Gagnon
5 Action--Sweet
6 December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)--The Four Seasons
7 Only Sixteen--Dr. Hook
8 I Feel Like a Bullet (In the Gun of Robert Ford)--Elton John
9 Bohemian Rhapsody--Queen
10 Anyway You Want--Charity Brown

Singles entering the chart were Right Back Where We Started From by Maxine Nightingale (#88); Lorelei by Styx (#89); Shannon by Henry Gross (#90); Try to Hold On by Bobby Moore (#91); Boogie Fever by the Sylvers (#92); Sweet Love by the Commodores (#93); Come on Over by Olivia Newton-John (#94); Fooled Around and Fell in Love by Elvin Bishop (#96); Strange Magic by Electric Light Orchestra (#97); Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again by Barry Manilow (#98); I Want to Stay with You by Gallagher and Lyle (#99); and Keep on Walking by Gino Vannelli (#100).

Died on this date
Georg August Zinn, 74. West German politician. Mr. Zinn, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), was a member of the Bundestag from 1949-1951 and Minister President of Hesse from 1950-1969. He was President of the Bundesrat in 1953-1954 and 1964-1965.

30 years ago
1986

Hit parade
Edmonton's Top 17 (CHED)
1 Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)--Glass Tiger
2 Kiss--Prince and the Revolution
3 Secret Lovers--Atlantic Starr
4 Nikita--Elton John
5 How Will I Know--Whitney Houston
6 These Dreams--Heart
7 R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.--John Cougar Mellencamp
8 Sara--Starship
9 This Could Be the Night--Loverboy
10 Eurasian Eyes--Corey Hart
11 Sanctify Yourself--Simple Minds
12 What You Need--INXS
13 Manic Monday--Bangles
14 Let's Go All the Way--Sly Fox
15 Feel it Again--Honeymoon Suite
16 West End Girls--Pet Shop Boys
17 People See Through You--Bruce Cockburn

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CITV
Tonight’s episode: Take My Life...Please!, starring Tim Thomerson and Xander Berkeley; Devil’s Alphabet, starring Ben Cross and Hywel Bennett; The Library, starring Frances Conroy

Defense
The United States Senate voted 53-47 to approve $100 million in aid for the Contras in Nicaragua who were opposing the Sandanista government of President Daniel Ortega. $25 million would go to the Contras immediately, and $75 million would be held for 90 days while diplomats sought a settlement.

Crime
A car bomb exploded at Russell Street Police Headquarters in Melbourne, injuring 21 people and fatally injuring Constable Angela Taylor, 21, who died from her injuries on April 20, 1986.

Politics and government
Adlai Stevenson III, who had been nominated on March 18 as the Democratic candidate for Governor of Illinois in the fall election, said that he would seek to run as an independent rather than be associated with the Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor and secretary of state, both of whom were supporters of conspiracy theorist Lyndon LaRouche.

Disasters
Augustine Volcano, rising 4,025 feet above sea level in Cook Inlet in Alaska, 175 miles southwest of Anchorage, erupted for the first time in 10 years. The spreading ash forced cancellation of flights into and out of Anchorage International Airport and posed breathing problems for residents of towns along Kenai Peninsula to the east.

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Joyride--Roxette (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Aldo Ray, 64. U.S. actor. Mr. Ray, born Aldo DaRe, was usually cast in "tough guy" roles, because of his gravelly voice and husky build, but he occasionally played other kinds of characters. His movies included Battle Cry (1955); We're No Angels (1955); Men in War (1957); The Naked and the Dead (1958); God's Little Acre (1958); Four Desperate Men (1959); and The Green Berets (1968). Mr. Ray's career declined in later years, and he became good friends with the notoriously awful director and writer Ed Wood.

Ralph Bates, 51. U.K. actor. Mr. Bates starred in the television comedy series Dear John (1986-1987) and appeared in several horror movies made by Hammer Studios, including Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970). He died of pancreatic cancer.

War
Iran denied that it was aiding Iraqi rebels, including the Kurds, who were reported to be gaining ground in the northern part of Iraq. U.S. President George Bush said he would adopt a "wait and see" attitude toward internal revolts in Iraq and that he thought the regime of dictator Saddam Hussein would fall without U.S. intervention.

Politics and government
Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa tabled the previous day’s Belanger-Campeau Commission report, which recommended legislation providing for a referendum on Quebec sovereignty by October 1992. Mr. Bourassa made it clear that his government would make the final decision on how to proceed, whether it be toward sovereignty or federalism.

Hockey
Coach Scotty Bowman and former Toronto Maple Leaf' captain George Armstrong were elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Mr. Bowman led the Montreal Canadiens to five Stanley Cup championships in the 1970s, while Mr. Armstrong led the Maple Leafs to four Stanley Cup championships in the 1960s. Mr. Bowman subsequently led the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings to Stanley Cup championships in the 1990s.

20 years ago
1996

Crime
Former law student Yigal Amir was convicted of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and was sentenced to life in prison. Mr. Amir had shot Mr. Rabin to death on November 4, 1995 in Tel Aviv in protest against Mr. Rabin's peace initiative, especially the signing of the Oslo Accords with Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat.

Politics and government
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia announced her resignation, effective March 30, after repeated protests an non-cooperation campaigns after the February 15 election, which was alleged to be rigged. She was succeeded on an interim basis by Muhammad Habibur Rahman.

Health
The European Commission announced a worldwide ban on the export of British beef products because of mad-cow disease.

Economics and finance
The Quebec budget presented by Revenue Minister Roger Bertrand included spending cuts on hospitals, school boards, and bureaucrats, and proposed that wealthy seniors pay for their own drugs.

Horse racing
Cigar won the $4-million Dubai Silver Cup, posting his 14th straight win.



Hockey
NHL
Vancouver 2 @ Toronto 6

Larry Murphy scored a goal and an assist for the Toronto Maple Leafs in their victory over the Canucks at Maple Leaf Gardens, giving him 1,001 career points. Mr. Murphy joined Paul Coffey, Ray Bourque and Denis Potvin to become the fourth defenceman in NHL history to reach the milestone.

10 years ago
2006

Died on this date
Lyn Nofziger, 81. U.S. journalist and political adviser. Mr. Nofziger was a reporter with Copley News Service before getting involved with Republican Party politics, serving as Ronald Reagan's press secretary when Mr. Reagan was Governor of California in the late 1960s, and serving in the administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon from the late 1960s through the early 1970s. He returned to aid Mr. Reagan's campaign for the Republican Party presidential nomination in 1976, and Mr. Reagan's presidential campaign in 1980.

Dan Curtis, 78. U.S. television producer and director. Mr. Curtis, born Daniel Cherkoss, was best known for made-for-television horror movies, and the horror series Dark Shadows (1966-1971). He also produced the mini-series The Winds of War (1983) and War and Remembrance (1988).