March 9, 2016

220 years ago
1796

Married on this date
French military leader Napoléon Bonaparte and widow Joséphine de Beauharnais were married in a civil ceremony.

175 years ago
1841

Law
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in United States v. The Amistad that the 35 surviving slaves aboard the Spanish ship Amistad, who had ended up in the United States after revolting against their captors, were free.

125 years ago
1891

Born on this date
José P. Laurel. 3rd President of the Philippines, 1943-1945. Mr. Laurel, a member of the Nacionalista Party, held various offices from the 1920s through the 1950s. He was President of the Second Philippine Republic, a Japanese puppet state during World War II. Mr. Laurel died on November 6, 1959 at the age of 68.

110 years ago
1906

Labour
Miners at the Galt Coal Mine in Lethbridge, Alberta began a strike that lasted until December 2, 1906.

War
Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa led nearly 500 Mexican raiders in an attack against the border town of Columbus, New Mexico.

90 years ago
1926

Died on this date
Mikao Usui, 60. Japanese spiritual leader. Mr. Usui, a Buddhist monk, founded Reiki, a healing technique in which the healer places hands on the person to be healed; the palms then transfer "universal energy" to the one being healed. Mr. Ususi died of a stroke.

80 years ago
1936

Theatre
Idiot's Delight, written by Robert E. Sherwood, directed by Bretaigne Windust, and starring Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne, Sydney Greenstreet, and Francis Compton, opened for a tryout at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. before opening on Broadway 15 days later.

75 years ago
1941

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on NBC
Tonight’s episode: The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place

This was the last episode of the season.

War
The Japanese government announced that Japanese forces had withdrawn from the entire south coast of the Chinese province of Kwangtung, having achieved their objective. The Vichy French regime announced that a peace conference in Tokyo had reached a full accord on the Indochina-Thailand frontier dispute.

Defense
The Vichy regime said that France would defend her African colonies alone and in conformity with armistice agreements with Germany.

Diplomacy
The British government of Prime Minister Winston Churchill again rejected former U.S. President Herbert Hoover's plan to feed Belgians, saying it would only "prolong the war."

Politics and government
Chinese Nationalists reported that Communists had requested more political power; Premier Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek accused the Communists of fomenting disunion.

Paul Porter, Arthur C. McDowell, and Leonard Woodcock resigned from the U.S. Socialist Party's national executive committee in protest against party leader Norman Thomas's opposition to Lend-Lease.

Academia
33 members of the faculties of City College of New York and Brooklyn College who were accused of Communism denounced the legislative Rapp-Coudert inquiry as unfair and part of a drive to "plunge" the United States into "the imperialist war."

Skiing
Toni Matt won the U.S. national combined championship at Aspen, Colorado.

70 years ago
1946

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Personality--Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers with Paul Weston and His Orchestra (Best Seller--1st week at #1); Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief--Betty Hutton with Paul Weston and His Orchestra (Airplay--1st week at #1); Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!--Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra with Vaughn Monroe and the Norton Sisters (Juke Box--5th week at #1); Oh! What it Seemed to Be--Frankie Carle and His Orchestra with Marjorie Hughes (Honor Roll of Hits--1st week at #1)

Theatre
Truckline Cafe, written by Maxwell Anderson, directed by Harold Clurman, and co-produced by Mr. Clurman and Elia Kazan, closed at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway in New York City after just 13 performances. The cast included Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Kevin McCarthy, and Virginia Gilmore.

War
Three dozen Dutch battalions arrived in batavia to relieve British and Indian troops fighting against Indonesian nationalists.

Defense
The Chinese government in Chungking reported that Soviet troops were evacuating Mukden, turning over their garrison duties to Chinese Nationalist forces.

Politics and government
Pro-Soviet Finnish Prime Minister Juho Paasikivi was elected President of Finland by Parliament.

U.S. Representative Hatton Summers (Democrat--Texas) announced that he would not seek re-election after 33 years in Congress.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Harry Truman told the 34-nation International Monetary Conference in Wilmington Island, Georgia that the Bretton Woods Agreement was the cornerstone of a sound new economic world.

Technology
Western Union Telegraph Company revealed the development of the "concentrated arc lamp," which would be used for optical devices, photography, and medical research.

Disasters
33 people were killed and hundreds injured in a crush of fans attempting to enter Burnden park in Bolton, England for a football match between the home Bolton Wanderers and Stoke City.





Tennis
Robert Grant III defeated Robert Gerry, Jr. to win the U.S. national amateur court title.

60 years ago
1956

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Memories are Made of This--Dean Martin (4th week at #1)

At the movies
Come Next Spring, directed by R.G. Springsteen, and starring Ann Sheridan, Steve Cochran, Walter Brennan, Sherry Jackson, and Richard Eyer, opened in theatres.



World events
British authorities ordered the deportation of Greek Cypriot leader Archbishop Makarios from Cyprus in the hope of restoring law and order to the island. Archbishop Makarios was deported to the Seychelle Islands.

Protest
Soviet forces suppressed mass demonstrations in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, reacting to U.S.S.R. leader Nikita Khrushchev's de-Stalinization policy.

50 years ago
1966

Died on this date
Aaron Robinson, 50. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Robinson was a catcher with the New York Yankees (1943, 1945-1947); Chicago White Sox (1948); Detroit Tigers (1949-1951); and Boston Red Sox (1951), batting .260 with 61 home runs and 272 runs batted in in 610 games. He was with the Yankees when they won the World Series in 1947 and started the season as their regular catcher, but was gradually replaced by Yogi Berra. Mr. Robinson died of testicular cancer.

40 years ago
1976

On television tonight
Family, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Pilot: The Best Years

As tht title indicates, this was the pilot episode of the series, and the first to be broadcast.

Disasters
A line supporting a cable car snapped, killing 42 people, including children, in the Dolomite mountains in northern Italy.

30 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: West End Girls--Pet Shop Boys (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Jeanny--Falco (8th week at #1)

Space
The Soviet probe Vega 2 got within 5,125 miles of the nucleus of Halley’s Comet. Like Vega 1, which had come within 5,600 miles on March 6, the vehicle was damaged by dust particles and by chunks of debris as large as a fist.

Disasters
NASA announced that the crew cabin of the U.S. space shuttle Challenger, which had exploded shortly after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 28 and killed all seven astronauts aboard, had been found in 100 feet of water.

Curling
The Ed Lukowich rink, representing Alberta, scored a point in the 10th end to defeat Russ Howard's Ontario rink 4-3 in the final of the Labatt Brier at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium in Kitchener, Ontario. Mr. Lukowich had previously won the Brier in 1978.

Hockey
NHL
New Jersey 3 @ Buffalo 4

Gilbert Perreault of the Sabres scored his 500th career goal in their victory over the Devils at War Memorial Auditorium.

25 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): I've Been Thinking About You--Londonbeat (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Se Stiamo Insieme--Riccardo Cocciante

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Sadeness Part I--Enigma (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Take No Crap--Cut 'N' Move

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Wicked Game--Chris Isaak (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Wind of Change--Scorpions

#1 single in the U.K. (CIN): Should I Stay or Should I Go--The Clash

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Crazy--Seal (3rd week at #1)
2 Liefde Voor Muziek--Raymond v/h Groenewoud
3 Because I Love You (The Postman Song)--Stevie B.
4 Knockin' Boots--Candyman
5 The Grease Megamix--John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
6 Do the Bartman--The Simpsons
7 3 A.M. Eternal (Live at the S.S.L.)--The KLF
8 Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C&C Music Factory
9 Wicked Game--Chris Isaak
10 (I Wanna Give You) Devotion--Nomad featuring Mc Mikee Freedom

Singles entering the chart were G.L.A.D. by Kim Appleby (#30); Ik Wil Vannacht Bij Je Slapen by Clouseau (#31); Joyride by Roxette (#32); Games - The Kids Get Hard Mix by NKOTB (#34); Mea Culpa Part II by Enigma (#35); Secret Love by the Bee Gees (#37); and Dance the Night Away/My Heart the Beat by D-Shake (#39).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Someday--Mariah Carey
2 One More Try--Timmy -T-
3 All the Man that I Need--Whitney Houston
4 Where Does My Heart Beat Now--Celine Dion
5 Show Me the Way--Styx
6 All This Time--Sting
7 Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams
8 This House--Tracie Spencer
9 Coming Out of the Dark--Gloria Estefan
10 Wicked Game--Chris Isaak

Singles entering the chart were The Star Spangled Banner by Whitney Houston (#32); Give Peace a Chance by the Peace Choir (#54); Written All Over Your Face by the Rude Boys (#60); I Touch Myself by Divinyls (#78); Call it Rock n' Roll by Great White (#79); More than Ever by Nelson (#81); Don't Treat Me Bad by Firehouse (#86); Highwire by the Rolling Stones (#94); Oooh This I Need by Elisa Fiorillo (#97); and Baby's Coming Back by Jellyfish (#98).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 One More Try--Timmy -T-
2 Someday--Mariah Carey
3 All the Man that I Need--Whitney Houston
4 Where Does My Heart Beat Now--Celine Dion
5 All This Time--Sting
6 Show Me the Way--Styx
7 Coming Out of the Dark--Gloria Estefan
8 Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams
9 The First Time--Surface
10 This House--Tracie Spencer

Singles entering the chart were Here We Go by C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams and Zelma Davis (#69); Highwire by the Rolling Stones (#76); More Than Ever by Nelson (#78); In Your Arms by Little Caesar (#82); Baby’s Coming Back by Jellyfish (#83); Temple of Love by Harriet (#86); Deep, Deep Trouble by the Simpsons (#87); Made Up My Mind by Safire (#88); I Touch Myself by Divinyls (#89); and Alice Everyday by Book of Love (#90).

Canada’s Top 10 (RPM)
1 All This Time--Sting
2 Someday--Mariah Carey
3 All the Man that I Need--Whitney Houston
4 Show Me the Way--Styx
5 Wicked Game--Chris Isaak
6 Waiting for Love--Alias
7 Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams
8 How Long Can a Man Be Strong--The Jeff Healey Band
9 Coming Out of the Dark--Gloria Estefan
10 Don’t Hold Back Your Love--Daryl Hall John Oates

Singles entering the chart were Trust Yourself by Blue Rodeo (#39); Joyride by Roxette (#46); Little Bones by the Tragically Hip (#59); Mercy Mercy Me/I Want You by Robert Palmer (#72); State of the World by Janet Jackson (#76); Easier to Walk Away by Elton John (#77); Take it All by the Outfield (#82); Always Twenty-One by Myles Hunter (#83); Good Texan by the Vaughan Brothers (#88); and Tears in the River by the Bookroom (#99).

Died on this date
Jim Hardin, 47. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Hardin played with the Baltimore Orioles (1967-1971); New York Yankess (1971); and Atlanta Braves (1972), compiling a record of 43-32 with an earned run average of 3.18 in 164 games. His best season was 1968, when he was 18-13 with a 2.51 ERA. Mr. Hardin batted just .103 with 3 home runs and 17 runs batted in, but his second major league home run was a game-winning homer in the bottom of the 9th inning in 1969. Arm troubles shorted Mr. Hardin's career. He became a pilot, and was killed, along wit his two passengers, in a plane crash in Key West, Florida when a propeller failed; it was reported that Mr. Hardin steered the plane to make sure to avoid coming down on a field where children were playing baseball.

World events
The final draft of the treaty designed to preserve the Soviet Union was published. It proposed to transform the nation into a "democratic state, formed as a result of a voluntary union of equal republics," from which any republic could secede. Russian President Boris Yeltsin urged democratic forces to "declare war on the leadership...which has led us into a quagmire."

Protest
At least 30,000 people, mostly university students and young workers, took to the streets of Belgrade in an effort to oust the Serbian government of President Slobodan Milosevic, who ruled through the Serbian Socialist (formerly Communist) Party. Two people were killed in clashes with security forces, and police began to make arrests.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, meeting with Kuwaiti officials, obtained promises that the emirate would move toward a democracy.

Politics and government
The Quebec Liberal Party adopted the Allaire report, calling for the government of Canada to relinquish broad powers to the province, as its platform. The platform, which outraged many pro-federalist members of the party, was adopted by a large majority of the 2,500 delegates present.

20 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): Boombastic--Shaggy (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT): Con te partirò--Andrea Bocelli (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Wallonia (Ultratop 40): Spaceman--Babylon Zoo

#1 single in France (SNEP): Spaceman--Babylon Zoo

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Per spoor (Kedeng kedeng)--Guus Meeuwis & Vagant (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): How Deep Is Your Love--Take That

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 One Sweet Day--Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men (15th week at #1)
2 Sittin' Up in My Room--Brandy
3 Not Gon' Cry--Mary J. Blige
4 Nobody Knows--The Tony Rich Project
5 Missing--Everything But the Girl
6 Be My Lover--La Bouche
7 One of Us--Joan Osborne
8 Wonderwall--Oasis
9 Follow You Down/Til I Hear it from You--Gin Blossoms
10 Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)--R. Kelly featuring Ronald Isley

Singles entering the chart were Doin' It by LL Cool J (#28); Closer to Free by BoDeans (#35); Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion (#36); Peaches by the Presidents of the United States of America (#47); Do You Want To/Can't Hang by Xscape featuring MC Lyte (#63); 1,2,3,4 (Sumpin' New) by Coolio (#68); Only Happy When it Rains by Garbage (#74); Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check/Everything Remains Raw by Busta Rhymes (#86); and Physical Funk by Domino (#93). Closer to Free was the theme for the television series Party of Five (1994-2000). Because You Loved Me was from the movie Up Close & Personal (1996).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Not Gon' Cry--Mary J. Blige
2 Sittin' Up in My Room--Brandy
3 Missing--Everything But the Girl
4 One Sweet Day--Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
5 Nobody Knows--The Tony Rich Project
6 Be My Lover--La Bouche
7 Exhale (Shoop Shoop)--Whitney Houston
8 Til I Hear it from You/Follow You Down--Gin Blossoms
9 Wonderwall--Oasis
10 Jesus to a Child--George Michael

Singles entering the chart were Where Do U Want Me to Put It by Solo (#53); Lucky Love by Ace of Base (#60); Ain't No Playa Like... by Rappin’ 4-Tay (#66); Doin' It by LL Cool J (#67); and A Thin Line Between Love and Hate by H-Town (#83).

Died on this date
George Burns, 100. U.S. comedian and actor. Mr. Burns, born Nathan Birnbaum, and his wife Gracie Allen were a popular comedy team on radio and television from the 1930s through the 1950s. Miss Allen died in 1964, and Mr. Burns carried on as an individual performer. His Academy Award winning supporting performance in The Sunshine Boys (1975) opened a new career for him in movies. Mr. Burns starred in the movie Oh, God! (1977) and its sequels, and remained a popular entertainer until his death. Mr. Burns booked the London Palladium for his 100th birthday many years in advance; although he lived long enough, he was too ill to make the date, and died exactly seven weeks after reaching the century mark. This blogger saw Mr. Burns in concert at the O'Keefe Centre in Toronto on June 21, 1992.

Music
This blogger was in attendance with enjoyable female company to see the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra perform at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Violinist Young Uck Kim was the guest soloist, and the concert closed with Finlandia by Jean Sibelius.

World events
The last of five Serb suburbs in Bosnia were handed over to the Muslim-Croat federation; only 7,000 of an estimated 70,000 Serbs remained in the area. Many of the abandoned homes were looted and burned.

Hockey
NHL
Calgary 3 @ Toronto 4

10 years ago
2006

Died on this date
John Profumo, 91. U.K. politician. Mr. Profumo, a Conservative, was a member of the House of Commons from 1940-1945 and 1950-1963. He was Secretary of State for War in the cabinet of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan from 1960 until it was revealed that he had had an affair with Chritsine Keeler, a 19-year-old call girl. Mr. Profumo initially denied the affair, and then resigned from politics when it turned out that he had lied to the House. He spent his later years quietly doing charitable work.

Tom Fox, 54. U.S. peace activist. Mr. Fox, a Quaker, was affiliated with Christian Peacemaker Teams, and was in Iraq when he and three other CPT activists were kidnapped. He was tortured and murdered, and his body was found on a garbage heap in Baghdad.

Laura Stoica, 38. Romanian singer and actress. Miss Stoica was a popular recording star in Romania from the early 1990s until her death, with her fiance, in a car accident.