March 6, 2016

210 years ago
1806

Born on this date
Elizabeth Barrett Browning. U.K. poetess. Mrs. Browning achieved popularity from the 1820s through the 1840s; her collection Poems (1844) attracted the attention of writer Robert Browning. The pair met and married in 1845, and moved to Italy in 1846. Mrs. Browning suffered from poor health for most of her life, and in later years suffered from lung problems, which eventually led to her death on June 29, 1861 at the age of 55. Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allan Poe were among those influenced by Mrs. Browning's works, the best-known of which include Sonnet 43 ("How Do I Love Thee?") (1845) and Aurora Leigh (1856).

180 years ago
1836

Died on this date
Davy Crockett, 49. U.S. soldier and politician. Mr. Crockett, "King of the Wild Frontier," represented Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives from 1827-1831 and 1833-1835. He was killed in the defense of the Alamo at San Antonio, Texas.

Jim Bowie, 40 (?); James Bonham, 29; William B. Travis, 26. U.S. soldiers. Messrs. Bowie, Bonham, and Travis were leaders in the Texas Revolution, and were killed in the defense of the Alamo.

War
The Alamo at San Antonio, Texas fell to Mexican forces under the command of General Santa Anna after 11 days of resistance.

125 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Lidia Quaranta. Italian actress. Miss Quaranta appeared in more than 70 movies, but was best known for her starring role in Cabiria (1914). She died of pneumonia on March 5, 1928, the day before her 37th birthday.

120 years ago
1896

Born on this date
William Fechteler. U.S. military officer. Admiral Fechteler joined the U.S. Navy in 1916, and served in both World Wars. He succeeded the late Admiral Forrest Sherman as U.S. Chief of Naval Operations in 1951, and in 1953 traded positions with Admiral Robert Carney, becoming Commander in Chief, Allied Forces, Southern Europe, serving at the command's headquarters in Naples until his retirement in July 1956. Adm. Fecheteler died on July 4, 1967 at the age of 71.

110 years ago
1906

Politics and government
A motion to allow women to vote in Edmonton civic elections wass defeated after Mayor Gus May changed his vote.

Hockey
Stanley Cup challenge
Smiths Falls 5 @ Ottawa Silver Seven 6 (1st game of 2-game, total goals series)

The Silver Seven were the defending champions.

100 years ago
1916

Born on this date
Virginia Gregg. U.S. actress. Miss Gregg appeared in character roles in numerous radio and television programs, s well as movies, from the 1940s to the 1980s. She died of lung cancer on September 15, 1986 at the age of 70.

75 years ago
1941

Died on this date
Gutzon Borglum, 73. U.S. sculptor. Mr. Borglum was best known for designing the sculpture of four American presidents at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota. The work was unfinished at the time of Mr. Borglum's death from surgical complications, but was completed under the supervision of his son Lincoln.

Diplomacy
Regent Prince Paul of Yugoslavia called a conference to decide the country's course, which the government said would be to try to compromise with the Axis. U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull asked the Italian government to close its consulates in Detroit and Newark for national policy reasons.

Americana
The U.S. National Refugee Service estimated that about 130,000 European refugees were in the United States.

Protest
5,000 members of the Congress of Industrial Organizations attended an anti-war rally in New York City, where the Lend-Lease bill was denounced as "imperialistic."

Academia
William Canning, a history instructor at City College of New York, testifed before the Rapp-Coudert state legislative committee that 40-50 faculty members were present or former members of the Communist Party.

Law
A new law promulgated by the Vichy regime in France stipulated that Roman Catholic Church properties confiscated by the government at the time of the separation of church and state would be restored by 1943.

Transportation
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to establish a committee to probe civil airline crashes, which had killed 55 people in the last eight months.

Labour
The U.S. National Industrial Conference Board estimated the numboer of unemployed in January at 7,664,000, up more than 700,000 from December 1940.

Boxing
Lou Transparenti (27-17) won a 10-round unanimous decision over world bantamweight champion Lou Salica (52-5-12) in a non-title bout at Baltimore Arena.

Baseball
New York Yankees' center fielder Joe Dimaggio ended his holdout, signing his 1941 contract for $35,000, $2,500 more than he'd made in 1940, when he had wonn his second straight batting title.

70 years ago
1946

Diplomacy
The Spanish regime of Generalissimo Francisco Franco issued regulations barring all French nationals from Spanish possessions, and suspending mail, telegraphic communications, and trade between the countries.

The U.S.S.R. sent messages to the U.K. and U.S. demanding the Turkish Kars-Ardahan area as the price of a defense treaty with Turkey.

The Iranian War Ministry charged that Iranian forces had been stopped by U.S.S.R. forces 60 miles east of Tehran as they moved to occupy towns which the Soviets had promised to evacuate.

Politics and government
Nationalist leader Ho Chi Minh signed a tentative agreement with France which recognized the Democratic Republic of Vietnam as "a free state...forming part of the Indochinese Federation of the French Union."

The Japanese government published a new constitution, approved by Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan General Douglas MacArthur, which renounced war, prohibited maintenance of an army, navy, or air force, subjected the Emperor to constitutional checks, and established a "Bill of Rights."

Defense
The U.S. Army Air Forces disclosed plans for tactical air games in Alaska, and revealed that the aricraft carrier Midway was en route to the Davis Strait to participate in Operation Frostbite, a test of planes and armaments in subfreezing temperatures.

American reaction to former U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech the previous day varied: U.S. Representative Eugene Cox (Democrat--Georgia) agreed that the U.S.S.R. was seeking to "communize the world," but Senators Claude Pepper (Democrat--Florida), Harvey Kilgore (Democrat--West Virginia), and Glen Taylor (Democrat--Idaho) claimed that Mr. Churchill's proposal for an Anglo-American alliance would "cut the throat of the United Nations."

Transportation
The Atlantic Traffic Conference of the International Air Transport Association, meeting in New York, set Atlantic fares at about 10.4c per passenger mile.

Labour
Nearly 23,000 coal miners in Chile went on strike against coal companies and the government, demanding "fulfillment of their economic aspirations" and a diplomatic break with Spain.

The city of Detroit asked for U.S. President Harry Truman's personal intervention in the strike of the Congress of Industrial Organizations United Auto Workers against General Motors. The strike had lasted for almost four months.

60 years ago
1956

Boxing
Sonny Liston (14-1) won a unanimous 10-round decision over Marty Marshall (22-11-2) in a heavyweight bout at Pittsburgh Gardens. Mr. Marshall, who had handed Mr. Liston his only loss two years earlier, was a late substitute for Harold Johnson, who had injured his shoulder while training for the bout.

50 years ago
1966

Died on this date
Iris Calderhead, 77. U.S. suffragist. Miss Calderhead was an English teacher who was an organizer in the National Woman's Party, advocating for women's suffrage in the United States until it was granted in 1920. Miss Calderhead advocated for women's suffrage within the League of Nations in the early 1930s.

Track and field
Bob Seagren, a sophomore at Glendale City College in California, became the first athlete to pole-vault 17 or more feet indoors when he soared 17 feet 1/4 inch with a fiberglass pole at the U.S. Amateur Athletic Union championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The height bettered the 16' 10" indoor mark of John Pennel, his college roommate.

40 years ago
1976

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Sandokan--Oliver Onions (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): Love Hurts--Nazareth (3rd week at #1)

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

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Love Machine (Part 1)--The Miracles

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Love Machine (Part 1)--The Miracles
2 All by Myself--Eric Carmen
3 Theme from S.W.A.T.--Rhythm Heritage
4 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover--Paul Simon
5 Take it to the Limit--The Eagles
6 Lonely Night (Angel Face)--Captain and Tennille
7 Dream Weaver--Gary Wright
8 December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)--The Four Seasons
9 Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)--Bee Gees
10 Love Hurts--Nazareth

Singles entering the chart were Shannon by Henry Gross (#75); Fooled Around and Fell in Love by Elvin Bishop (#76); Strange Magic by Electric Light Orchestra (#77); Livin' for the Weekend by the O'Jays (#82); Mozambique by Bob Dylan (#83); Misty Blue by Dorothy Moore (#88); Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win) by Fleetwood Mac (#93); Let's Groove (Part 1) by Archie Bell and the Drells (#99); and Happy Music by the Blackbyrds (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Squeeze Box--The Who
2 Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)--Bee Gees
3 All by Myself--Eric Carmen
4 Love Hurts--Nazareth
5 Love to Love You Baby--Donna Summer
6 Loving You Baby--Wednesday
7 Money Honey--Bay City Rollers
8 Wow--Andre Gagnon
9 December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)--The Four Seasons
10 Baby Face--Wing and a Prayer Fife and Drum Corps

Singles entering the chart were Deep Purple by Donny and Marie Osmond (#92); Cupid by Tony Orlando and Dawn (#93); We'll Show Them All by R. Dean Taylor (#94); Only Love is Real by Carole King (#95); Back Seat Driver by Bond (#96); Just You and I by Melissa Manchester (#97); Queen of Clubs by K.C. and the Sunshine Band (#98); Late Night Lovin' Man by Hammersmith (#99); and Feelin' Kinda Lucky Tonight by Ray Materick (#100).

Died on this date
Maxie Rosenbloom, 68. U.S. boxer and actor. "Slapsy Maxie" was world light heavyweight champion from 1932-1934, compiling a professional record of 222-42-31-2. He became a character actor after the end of his boxing career, and was a regular member of the cast of the radio comedy series Duffy's Tavern (1941-1951).

30 years ago
1986

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CITV
Tonight’s episode: Profile in Silver, starring Lane Smith; Button Button, starring Mare Winningham and Brad Davis

Died on this date
Georgia O'Keeffe, 98. U.S. artist. Miss O'Keeffe, the "Mother of American Modernism," was known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes.

Space
The Soviet probe Vega 1 came within 5,600 miles of the nucleus of Halley’s Comet. The comet was making its closest approach to Earth in 75 years.

Politics and government
The 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union concluded with more personnel changes reflecting the influence of general secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. More than 1/3 of the 307-member Central Committee was changed. Lev Zaikov, supervisor of the U.S.S.R.’s military-industrial complex, became the 12th member of the Politburo. Five new party secretaries--the individuals who implement policies approved by the Politburo--were named. They included Anatoly Dobrynin, who had been U.S.S.R. Ambassador to the U.S.A. for 24 years; it was assumed that he would now have a major role in carrying our foreign policy. The other new secretaries included Aleksandra Biryukova, the first woman in 25 years to rise so high in the leadership ranks.

Defense
U.S. Senator Nancy Kassebaum (Republican--Kansas) said that the issue of aiding the Contras in Nicaragua who were opposing that country’s Sandanista government was not "a simple choice between good freedom fighters and evil Marxists." U.S. President Ronald Reagan suggested that some members of Congress were being duped by Communists.

Crime
The second report of the U.S. President’s Commission on Organized Crime charged that the Teamsters Union was the union most controlled by organized crime. Two former Teamsters’ presidents, Jimmy Hoffa and Roy Williams, were said to be "direct instruments of organized crime." The report also said that organized crime had great influence over the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union; the Laborers’ International Union of North America; and the International Longshoremen’s Association. The commission said that entire segments of some industries, including construction, meat processing, trucking, garbage collection, and waterfront trade, were under the control of organized crime.

Terrorism
A commission appointed by Philadelphia mayor Wilson Goode to investigate the May 1985 fatal bombing by police of the headquarters of the terrorist group MOVE concluded that Mr. Goode had been "grossly negligent." The barricaded radicals were in the midst of an armed confrontation when a bomb dropped down the chimney of their headquarters building exploded and started a fire, killing 11 people--including 5 children--and destroyed 61 homes in the neighbourhood. The investigators found the planned attack "reckless" and "ill-conceived," and the amount of explosives used excessive. They also found the fire commissioner and former police commissioner primarily responsible for the deaths, and called for a grand jury investigation. The panel said that Mr. Goode had erred in not participating actively in the preparation, review, and oversight of the planned attack.

Health
A study published in the March 6 issue of New England Journal of Medicine found that moderate exercise could significantly diminish the risk of death from all causes. The study followed 16,936 male Harvard University alumni from 1962-1978 and found that those who expended 2,000 calories a week in walking, climbing stairs, and sports had death rates that were ¼ -1/3 lower than those who were more sedentary. The researchers found that exercise could partly counter the damaging effects of cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, and a hereditary tendency toward early death. College athletes who later became sedentary had higher death rates than men who maintained moderate activity through life.

Disasters
Sally Ride, the first American woman to go into space and a member of the U.S. presidential panel investigating the January 28 explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, said that she was "not ready to fly again."

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Crazy--Seal (4th week at #1)

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight’s episode: Road Trip

War
U.S. President George Bush, in an address to Congress, said that the allies, in achieving victory in the Gulf War, had passed the first test under the new world order.

Hockey
NHL
Edmonton 1 @ Minnesota 5

20 years ago
1996

Economics and finance
Canadian Finance Minister Paul Martin delivered a budget that continued the defict-fighting strategies of the previous budget, but did not put a bigger bite on the average Canadian.

The German government reported that the jobless rate was 11.1% in February, the highest rate since World War II.

10 years ago
2006

Died on this date
King Floyd, 61. U.S. singer. King Floyd III was best known for his single Groove Me, which reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart in 1970, and #41 in the United Kingdom. He died of complications from a stroke and diabetes.

Kirby Puckett, 45. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Puckett played center field with the Minnesota twins from 1984-1995, batting .318 with 207 home runs and 1,085 runs batted in in 1,783 games. He played in 10 All-Star Games, won 6 Gold Gloves, led the American League in batting percentage in 1989 and in RBIs in 1994, and helped the Twins win the World Series in 1987 and 1991. Mr. Puckett's career ended suddenly during spring training in 1996 when he was stricken with glaucoma in his right eye. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001, his first year of eligibility. Mr. Puckett was popular with fans, but revelations about his private life in his later years tarnished his reputation. Mr. Puckett died eight days before his 46th birthday, several days after suffering a severe stroke.

Dana Reeve, 44. U.S. actress, singer, and activist. Mrs. Reeve, born Dana Morosini, appeared in various television programs, but was best known as the wife of actor Christopher Reeve. When Mr. Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down in an equestrian accident in 1995, Mrs. Reeve joined her husband in activism on behalf of people with disabilities, and continued to do so after his death in October 2004. Mrs. Reeve developed lung cancer despite being a non-smoker, and died 11 days before her 45th birthday.