March 1, 2017

1,700 years ago
317

Politics and government
Crispus and Constantine II, sons of Roman Emperor Constantine I, and Licinius Iunior, son of Emperor Licinius, were made Caesares.

1,525 years ago
492

Died on this date
Felix III. Roman Catholic Pope, 483-492. Pope Felix succeeded Simplicius. Felix repudiated the Henoticon--a deed of union originating with Patriarch Acacius of Constantinople and published by Emperor Zeno with the view of allaying the strife between the Miaphysite Christians and Chalcedonian Christians--and excommunicated rivals Peter the Fuller and Peter Mongus. The excommunication of Mr. Mongus resulted in a schism between East and West that was not healed until 519. Felix III was succeeded as Pope by Gelasius I.

375 years ago
1642

Americana
Georgeana, Massachusetts (now known as York, Maine), became the first incorporated city in the United States.

325 years ago
1692

Society
Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and a slave woman named Tituba were the first people to be interrogated by authorities in Salem, Massachusetts on accusations of practicing witchcraft.

225 years ago
1792

Died on this date
Leopold II, 44. Holy Roman Emperor, 1790-1792. Leopold II, born Peter Leopold Josef Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard, was a son of Emperor Franz I, and a brother of Marie Antoinette, the queen of King Louis XVI of France; Leopold succeeded his elder brother Joseph II as Emperor. Emperor Leopold II was preoccupied by events in France, while also facing pressure from the United Kingdom and Russia. He died suddenly in Vienna--some claimed that he was poisoned or otherwise secretly murdered--and was succeeded by his son Franz II.

220 years ago
1797

Died on this date
Juan Manuel Olivares, 32. Venezuelan musician and composer. Mr. Olivares was a church organist and teacher in Caracas who wrote vocal works and chamber music. His Dúo de violines is the only work of chamber music composed in colonial Venezuela which is preserved in its entirety.

150 years ago
1867

Americana
Nebraska entered the Union as the 37th state; Lancaster, Nebraska was renamed Lincoln, and became the state capital.

125 years ago
1892

Born on this date
Billy Coutu. Canadian hockey player. Mr. Coutu, a native of North Bay, Ontario, was a defenceman with the Montreal Canadiens (1916-20, 1921-26); Hamilton Tigers (1920-21); and Boston Bruins (1926-27), scoring 54 points on 33 goals and 21 assists in 244 regular season games and 2 goals and 2 assists in 36 playoff games. He as a member of Stanley Cup championship team in 1924. At the end of the fourth and final game of the Stanley Cup finals in 1927, Mr. Coutu--with the apparent encouragement of coach Art Ross--began a bench-clearing brawl by attacking referee Jerry LaFlamme and linesman Billy Bell. National Hockey League President Frank Calder suspended Mr. Coutu from the league for life, but the suspension was lifted in 1929 in order to let Mr. Coutu play in minor professional leagues. His NHL suspension was lifted in 1932, but he never played another NHL game. Mr. Coutu died on February 25, 1977, four days before his 85th birthday.

100 years ago
1917

Born on this date
Robert Lowell. U.S. poet. Mr. Lowell, a native of Boston, wrote poems about New England, mixing personal confessions into his work. He won Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry in 1947 and 1974, and was Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1947-1948. Mr. Lowell suffered from manic depression for many years, and died of a heart attack on September 12, 1977 at the age of 60.

Diplomacy
The Zimmermann Telegram--in which Germany pledged to ensure the return of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona to Mexico if Mexico declared war on the United States--was reprinted in newspapers across the United States after the U.S. government released its unencrypted text.

75 years ago
1942

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Giant Rat of Sumatra

War
Japanese forces landed on Java--the main island of the Dutch East Indies--at Merak and Banten Bay (Banten), Eretan Wetan (Indramayu) and Kragan (Rembang).

70 years ago
1947

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Managua, Nicaragua--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra

At the movies
Backlash, directed by Eugene Forde, and starring Jean Rogers, Richard Travis, Larry Blake, John Eldridge, and Leonard Strong, opened in theatres.



Economics and finance
The International Monetary Fund began operations.

60 years ago
1957

Hit parade
#1 single in France (IFOP): Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Será, Será)--Doris Day (8th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Young Love--Tab Hunter (2nd week at #1)

50 years ago
1967

Hit parade
Australia's Top 10 (Go-Set)
1 Snoopy vs. the Red Baron--The Royal Guardsmen (2nd week at #1)
2 I'm a Believer--The Monkees
3 Georgy Girl--The Seekers
4 Green, Green Grass of Home--Tom Jones
5 When Will I Be Loved?/Kiss Me Now--Johnny Young
6 Words of Love/Dancing in the Street--The Mamas and the Papas
7 Happy Jack--The Who
8 Coalman--Ronnie Burns
9 In the Country--Cliff Richard
10 Gimme Some Lovin'--The Spencer Davis Group

Singles entering the chart were There Won't Be Many Coming Home by Roy Orbison (#24); Colour My World by Petula Clark (#28); Indescribably Blue/Fools Fall in Love by Elvis Presley (#34); and I've Been a Bad Bad Boy by Paul Jones (#38).

Music
The Beatles were in studio two at Abbey Road in London, where they began recording the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

Politics and government
Oscar Diego Gestido was inaugurated as President of Uruguay; he was the country's first permanent chief executive in 15 years, replacing the nine-man National Council.

The United States House of Representatives voted 307-116 to exclude Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (Democrat--New York), following its inquiry into his behaviour. Rev. Powell had been a Congressman since 1945, and chairman of the Education and Labor Committee from 1961 until January 1967, when the House Democratic Caucus had stripped him of the position.

40 years ago
1977

On the radio
CBS Radio Mystery Theater
Tonight's episode: The Hound of the Baskervilles, starring Kevin McCarthy and Court Benson

This was CBSRMT's first adaptation of a Sherlock Holmes story.

On television tonight
Family, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Taking Chances: Part 1

Economics and finance
The cost of mailing a letter in Canada increased from 10c to 12c. The cost had increased from 8c to 10c on September 1, 1976.

Hockey
WHA
Winnipeg 1 @ Calgary 6

The new Minnesota Fighting Saints were scheduled to play the Cowboys at the Corral, but the Fighting Saints had folded on January 20, prompting an adjustment to the remainder of the World Hockey Association schedule.

30 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Word Up--Cameo

#1 single in Switzerland: Reality--Richard Sanderson (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France: On se retrouvera--Francis Lalanne

25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Remember the Time--Michael Jackson

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Justified & Ancient--The KLF (featuring Tammy Wynette) (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me--George Michael/Elton John (6th week at #1)

Politics and government
A two-day referendum in Bosnia and Herzegovina concluded with a declaration of independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The Dobbie-Beaudoin committee tabled its report to the Canadian House of Commons, calling for “co-operative federalism” that would give the provinces more powers; entrench natives’ inherent right to self-government; recognize Quebec as a distinct society; and reform the Senate, although falling short of a “triple-E” (equal, elected, effective) concept.

Scandal
United States Senator Brock Adams (Democrat—Washington), who had been in public life for three decades, announced that he was dropping his campaign for re-election to the Senate. The announcement came hours after the Seattle Times published an article in which eight unidentified women accused Mr. Adams of mistreating them sexually. One of the women had accused Sen. Adams of drugging and raping her.

Hockey
NHL
Vancouver 11 Calgary 0

20 years ago
1997

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Discothèque--U2 (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Barrel of a Gun--Depeche Mode (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Con te partirò--Andrea Bocelli

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Don't Speak--No Doubt (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Wallonia (Ultratop 40): Un-Break My Heart--Toni Braxton (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Don't Speak--No Doubt (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Chart Information Network): Don't Speak--No Doubt (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Wannabe--Spice Girls (2nd week at #1)

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 3 San Jose 2

10 years ago
2007

Disasters
Tornadoes broke out across the southern United States, killing at least 20 people, including eight at Enterprise High School in Enterprise, Alabama.