March 8, 2016

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Linda Woodhams!

180 years ago
1836

Transportation
The New Brunswick & Canada Railroad Company was chartered, running from St. Andrews, New Brunswick across northern Maine to Québec. A boundary dispute with the United States delayed construction.

175 years ago
1841

Born on this date
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. U.S. jurist. Mr. Holmes was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902-1932. Many of Justice Holmes' opinions were dissents, but he remains one of the most frequently cited legal scholars in history. Justice Holmes rejected the idea of "natural law," or God as the source of law, in favour of the idea that law is whatever judges say it is. Justice Holmes, therefore, was and is popular among "progressives." He died on March 6, 1935, two days before his 94th birthday.

140 years ago
1876

Winnipegana
Winnipeg City Hall opened; it was the city's first building to serve as a municipal office.

125 years ago
1891

Died on this date
Antonio Ciseri, 69. Swiss-born Italian artist. Mr. Ciseri moved to Florence in 1833. He was a painter of religious subjects; his works included The Transport of Christ to the Sepulcher (1864-1870) and Ecce Homo (1871).

110 years ago
1906

Hockey
Stanley Cup challenge
Smiths Falls 2 @ Ottawa Silver Seven 8 (Ottawa won 2-game, total goals series 14-7)

This was the Silver Seven's second recent successful defense of the Cup, after defeating Queen's University just over a week earlier.

100 years ago
1916

War
A British force unsuccessfully attempted to relieve the siege of Kut (present-day Iraq) in the Battle of Dujaila.

90 years ago
1926

At the movies
The Black Pirate, produced by and starring Douglas Fairbanks, opened in theatres.



80 years ago
1936

Auto racing
Daytona Beach and Road Course in Florida held its first oval stock car race.

75 years ago
1941

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Frenesi--Artie Shaw and His Orchestra (12th week at #1)

Died on this date
Sherwood Anderson, 64. U.S. author. Mr. Anderson, a native of Camden, Ohio, wrote about Midwestern life in such works as the short story collection Winesburg, Ohio (1919) and the novel Dark Laughter (1925). He died of peritonitis while on a cruise after accidentally swallowing a toothpick.

War
London underwent its heaviest Nazi bombing in weeks, suffering great damage and many casualties. The Greek government spurned any armistice with the Axis. Turkish sources said that Turkey may not fight if Germany attacked Greece.

Defense
Yugoslavia was reported to have reached agreement with Germany on a non-aggression pact.

The United States Senate voted 60-31 to pass the Lend-Lease bill, after voting 56-33 to defeat the Walsh amendment to prohibit the transfer of any U.S. Navy ships without congressional authorization.

Weather
The worst snowstorm in the United States in six years swept the eastern states from Virginia north, depositing 11.6 inches of snow in New York in 24 hours and 17 inches in other areas.

Labour
American Federation of Labor President William Green appealed to AFL members to vote for the expulsion of three locals charged with undemocratic practices.

70 years ago
1946

War
Former Nazi Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, on trial at Nuremberg for war crimes, began his defense by claiming that he loved peace, befriended Jews, and regarded Allied airmen as brother fliers.

Diplomacy
Dr. Chaim Weizmann, President of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, presented the Zionist case before the Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry, urging the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine.

Defense
Greek Foreign Minister Constantine Rendis asked the world powers to help Greece protect its frontiers against Bulgaria, Albania, and Italy.

The United States Army barred Communists and personnel judged "subversive or disaffected" from sensitive assignments, including radar, cryptography, and atomic research.

Politics and government
The U.S.S.R. rejected an American request that the Bulgarian cabinet include two ministers "who would really represent the opposition parties."

Scandal
The government of Venezuela confiscated the fortune of Julio Medina Angarita for misusing public funds while his brother had been President.

Religion
In a letter to U.S.S.R. dictator Josef Stalin, the Uniate Church Assembly of the Western Ukraine announced its decision to abolish the 1596 Brest Union with the Vatican and return to the Russian Orthodox Church. The letter thanked Mr. Stalin for "reuniting" the Ukrainians.

Technology
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University revealed the development of an infrared "eye" known as a super-conducting bolometer which could "see" 10-15 miles in the dark.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Office of Price Administration authorized increases in cotton textile prices, some as high as 15%.

Labour
The 65-day strike of 17,500 Westinghouse Electric workers in New York and New Jersey ended with an agreement on a pay raise of 18.2%.

60 years ago
1956

Hit parade
#1 single in France (IFOP): Chanson pour l'Auvergnat--Georges Brassens (2nd week at #1)

50 years ago
1966

On television tonight
The Fugitive, starring David Janssen, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Ill Wind, with guest stars John McIntire, Jeanette Nolan, Tim McIntire, and Bonnie Beecher

Terrorism
A bomb planted by Irish Republican Army terrorists destroyed Nelson's Pillar in Dublin.

40 years ago
1976

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Convoy--C.W. McCall (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun--Masato Shimon (10th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Hoy Tengo Ganas de Ti--Miguel Gallardo (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Moviestar--Harpo (4th week at #1)

Canadiana
Shelley Lynn Homick, representing Windsor, Ontario, was named Miss Teen Canada 1976. The pageant took place in Toronto, and was televised on CTV.

30 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Adesso Tu--Eros Ramazzotti (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Burning Heart--Survivor

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going--Billy Ocean (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Chain Reaction--Diana Ross (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going--Billy Ocean (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Kyrie--Mr. Mister (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Kyrie--Mr. Mister (2nd week at #1)
2 Sara--Starship
3 How Will I Know--Whitney Houston
4 These Dreams--Heart
5 Silent Running--Mike & the Mechanics
6 Life in a Northern Town--The Dream Academy
7 Secret Lovers-Atlantic Starr
8 The Sweetest Taboo-Sade
9 When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going--Billy Ocean
10 King for a Day--Thompson Twins

Singles entering the chart were I Do What I Do...(Theme for 9½ Weeks) (#68); Bad Boy by Miami Sound Machine (#76); If You Leave by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (#83); I Can't Wait by Nu Shooz (#84); Feel it Again by Honeymoon Suite (#85); and Great Gosh A’Mighty! (It's a Matter of Time) by Little Richard (#86). I Do What I Do...(Theme for 9½ Weeks) was from the movie 9½ Weeks (1986). Great Gosh A’Mighty! (It's a Matter of Time), written by Little Richard and Billy Preston, was the theme song from the movie Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986).

Canada’s Top 10 (RPM)
1 Kyrie--Mr. Mister
2 How Will I Know--Whitney Houston
3 Conga--Miami Sound Machine
4 When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going--Billy Ocean
5 Living in America--James Brown
6 Sara--Starship
7 That’s What Friends are For--Dionne and Friends (with Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder)
8 Life in a Northern Town--The Dream Academy
9 Rock Me Amadeus--Falco
10 I Miss You--Klymaxx

Singles entering the chart were Harlem Shuffle by the Rolling Stones (#49); I Can’t Wait by Stevie Nicks (#73); I Think it’s Love by Jermaine Jackson (#78); American Storm by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band (#81); Overjoyed by Stevie Wonder (#83); West End Girls by Pet Shop Boys (#88); Hounds of Love by Kate Bush (#91); and Up and Down by Opus (#96).

Space
A Japanese vehicle came within 94,000 miles of Halley’s Comet.

Disasters
John Young, chief of NASA’s astronaut office--in a memo to NASA that was made public--charged that astronauts had been exposed to many potentially "catastrophic" hazards because of pressures to maintain a tight launching schedule. The memo was written in the midst of a presidential commission investigating the January 28 explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, that had killed all seven astronauts aboard.

Hockey
NHL
Boston 3 @ Montreal 8

25 years ago
1991

Politics and government
Newfoundland Premier Clyde Wells suggested giving Québec a limited constitutional veto, but not recognizing Québec as a distinct society, calling it a lesser status.

Law
The British Columbia Supreme Court ruled in Delgamuukw et al v The Queen that according to treaties, the Gitksan did not have Aboriginal title to their land, but they did have the right to use it for subsistence. The case clarified the clause of the treaties setting aside Crown land for the use and benefit of First Nations people.

War
U.S. troops began arriving home from the Gulf War.

Health
The number of deaths from a cholera epidemic that had struck Peru since January stood at 55,000.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate in February was 6.5%, the highest in four years. The number of payroll jobs had declined by 184,000 in February.

20 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Spaceman--Babylon Zoo (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): How Deep is Your Love--Take That (2nd week at #1)

At the movies
Fargo, one of the most overrated movies of the 1990s, opened in theatres.



Died on this date
Jack Churchill, 89. U.K. military officer. Lieutenant-Colonel Churchill, no relation to Sir Winston, was nicknamed "Mad Jack," in part because he fought throughout the Second World War armed with a longbow, bagpipes, and a basket-hilted Scottish broadsword. During the Battle of France in 1940, Lt.-Col. Churchill became the only British soldier known to have killed an enemy with a longbow and arrow during World War II.