March 19, 2017

330 years ago
1687

Died on this date
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, 43. French explorer. Sieur de La Salle explored the North American regions of the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Mississippi River. He was murdered by one of his own men, Pierre Duhaut.

150 years ago
1867

Canadiana
The British Columbia Legislative Council passed an act enabling the province to enter Confederation.

125 years ago
1892

Born on this date
Mexican Joe Rivers. U.S. boxer. Mr. Rivers, born Jose Ybarra, was a lightweight who posted a record of 39-24-13-1 in a professional career lasting from 1908-1924. On July 4, 1912, he fought world lightweight champion Ad Wolgast for the title at Vernon Arena in Mr. Rivers' hometown of Vernon, California. At the beginning of the 13th round, each knocked the other down simultaneously, with Mr. Wolgast lying on top of Mr. Rivers. Referee Jack Welsh helped Mr. Wolgast to his feet and declared him the winner in one of the most controversial rulings in boxing history. Mr. Rivers died on June 26, 1957 at the age of 65.

James Van Fleet. U.S. military officer. General Van Fleet served in both world wars, and commanded the U.S. Eighth Army and United Nations forces in the Korean War from 1951-1953. He won 16 decorations, and was praised by U.S. President Harry Truman as "the greatest general we have ever had..." General Van Fleet died on September 23, 1992 at the age of 100.

100 years ago
1917

Born on this date
Dinu Lipatti. Romanian musician and composer. Mr. Lipatti was a concert pianist who began performing as a child and composing in his teens. His career was interrupted by World War II, which eventually led him to flee to Geneva, and later by Hodgkin's disease, which led to his death on December 2, 1950 at the age of 33. Mr. Lipatti's compositions consisted mainly of works for piano.

Labour
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the eight-hour work day for railroads.

80 years ago
1937

Albertana
Alberta's first state funeral took place in Edmonton for Lieutenant-Governor Philip Primrose, who had died two days earlier at the age of 72. The service took place at First Presbyterian Church, and Mr. Primrose was laid to rest in Edmonton Cemetery. Mr. Primrose, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta to die in office, was succeeded by John Bowen on March 23.

War
The Canadian House of Commons passed a bill banning Canadian enlistment in the Spanish Civil War.

75 years ago
1942

Died on this date
C. Hart Merriam, 86. U.S. naturalist. Clinton Hart Merriam was a physician, ornithologist, mammalogist, entomologist, zoologist, and ethnographer whose numerous accomplishments included being a founding member of the National Geographic Society in 1888.

70 years ago
1947

At the movies
My Favorite Brunette, starring Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Peter Lorre, and Lon Chaney, Jr., opened in theatres.

40 years ago
1977

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Furia--Mal (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Living Next Door to Alice--Smokie (6th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (Veronica Top 40): Don't Cry for Me Argentina--Julie Covington (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland: Chanson D'Amour--The Manhattan Transfer

#1 single in the U.K (BMRB): Chanson D'Amour--The Manhattan Transfer (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Love Theme from "A Star is Born" (Evergreen)--Barbra Streisand (3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Love Theme from "A Star is Born" (Evergreen)--Barbra Streisand (3rd week at #1)
2 Torn Between Two Lovers--Mary MacGregor
3 Rich Girl--Daryl Hall and John Oates
4 Dancing Queen--ABBA
5 Don't Give Up on Us--David Soul
6 Don't Leave Me this Way--Thelma Houston
7 Carry On Wayward Son--Kansas
8 The Things We Do for Love--10 C.C.
9 I Like Dreamin'--Kenny Nolan
10 Year of the Cat--Al Stewart

Singles entering the chart were Can't Stop Dancin' by Captain and Tennille (#73); Tie Your Mother Down by Queen (#76); Whodunit by Tavares (#82); Cherry Baby by Starz (#83); Hello Stranger by Yvonne Elliman (#88); Brooklyn by Cody Jameson (#89); Love in 'C' Minor (Part 1) by Cerrone (#92); Your Own Special Way by Genesis (#94); Deeply by Anson Williams (#96); (Theme from) Charlie's Angels by Henry Mancini and his Orchestra (#98); Lonely Boy by Andrew Gold (#99); and Theme from Rocky (Gonna Fly Now) by Rhythm Heritage (#100). (Theme from) Charlie's Angels was a version of the theme from the television series. Theme from Rocky (Gonna Fly Now) was a version of the theme from the movie.

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Love Theme from "A Star is Born" (Evergreen)--Barbra Streisand (2nd week at #1)
2 Fly Like an Eagle--Steve Miller Band
3 Year of the Cat--Al Stewart
4 Dancing Queen--ABBA
5 I Like Dreamin'--Kenny Nolan
6 The Things We Do for Love--10 C.C.
7 Night Moves--Bob Seger
8 Carry On Wayward Son--Kansas
9 Boogie Child--Bee Gees
10 Rich Girl--Daryl Hall and John Oates

Singles entering the chart were Disco Lucy (I Love Lucy Theme) by the Wilton Place Street Band (#85); Hotel California by the Eagles (#86); Couldn't Get it Right by Climax Blues Band (#87); I'm Your Boogie Man by K.C. and the Sunshine Band (#88); Fancy Dancer by the Commodores (#89); Phantom Writer by Gary Wright (#90); Lido Shuffle by Boz Scaggs (#91); I Wanna Get Next to You by Rose Royce (#92); Your Love by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. (#93); Heard it in a Love Song by the Marshall Tucker Band (#97); Calling Dr. Love by Kiss (#99); and Reaching for the World by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes (#100).

Died on this date
William L. Laurence, 89. Lithuanian-born U.S. journalist. Mr. Laurence, born Leib Wolf Siew, emigrated to the United States in 1905. He began working for the New York World in 1926, and joined The New York Times in 1930, specializing in science reporting. Mr. Laurence co-founded the National Association of Science Writers in 1934; he and four other reporters shared the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for Reporting for their coverage of the 1936 Harvard Tercenary Conference of Arts and Sciences. Mr. Laurence was the official historian of the Manhattan Project, and was the only journalist to witness the Trinity test and the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in 1945; his coverage of these activities earned him the 1946 Pulitzer Prize for Reporting. Because of his status with the Manhattan Project, Mr. Laurence, who coined the term "Atomic Age," has been accused of covering up the dangers of radiation from atomic bomb blasts.

Buck Shaw, 77. U.S. football player and coach. Lawrence Timothy Shaw was a tackle and kicker at Creighton University (1918) and the University of Notre Dame (1919-1921), making the All-American team in his final season. He was an assistant coach at North Carolina State University (1924); University of Nevada (1925-1928); and Santa Clara University (1929-1935), taking over as head coach at Santa Clara (1936-1942)--leading the team to Sugar Bowl victories in each of his first two seasons--and the University of California (1945). Mr. Shaw was the first head coach of the San Francisco 49ers of the All-America Football Conference, leading the team through 1954, four years after the team joined the National Football League. His teams were high-scoring and entertaining, but finished second to the Cleveland Browns in all four AAFC seasons. Mr. Shaw was head coach at the United States Air Force Academy from 1956-1957, and took over as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1958-1960. He retired from football after leading the Eagles to the 1960 NFL championship. The new football stadium at Santa Clara Stadium was named in Mr. Shaw's honour in 1962, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of fame in 1972. Mr. Shaw died nine days before his 78th birthday.

Hockey
NHL
Atlanta 4 @ Toronto 5

Bob Neely's goal with 4:38 remaining in the game climaxed a 5-goal comeback as the Maple Leafs overcame a 4-0 deficit to defeat the Flames at Maple Leaf Gardens in the national Hockey Night in Canada telecast on CBC. Darryl Sittler scored 2 goals for Toronto, while John Gould scored twice for Atlanta.

Baseball
The Chicago Cubs opened up a 16-1 lead after 3½ innings, and held on to beat the Seattle Mariners 18-10 in a spring training game before 1,144 fans at Tempe Devil Stadium in Tempe Arizona, the spring home of the first-year expansion Mariners.



30 years ago
1987

Died on this date
Louis de Broglie, 94. French physicist. Dr. de Broglie won the 1929 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his discovery of the wave nature of electrons." He made major contributions to quantum theory.

Scandal
Televangelist and Assemblies of God minister Jim Bakker revealed to the Charlotte Observer that “treacherous former friends” had betrayed him into a sexual encounter in a Clearwater, Florida hotel in 1980 with Jessica Hahn, then 21 years of age. Mr. Bakker said he then “succumbed” to paying blackmail to Miss Hahn to protect his family and ministry.

Hockey
NHL
Calgary 5 Edmonton 4

25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Tears In Heaven--Eric Clapton

Diplomacy
Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs Barbara McDougall announced that despite the lifting of sanctions against South Africa by the European Union and the United States, Commonwealth countries, including Canada, would not lift sanctions until blacks achieved real political power.

Politics and government
Former U.S. Senator Paul Tsongas announced that he was withdrawing from the race for the 1992 Democratic party nomination for President of the United States, since he lacked the money to compete in the upcoming New York primary.

Britannica
A statement from Buckingham Palace revealed that the Duke and Duchess of York--Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson--would separate.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the nation’s trade deficit had narrowed to $5.77 billion in January.

20 years ago
1997

Died on this date
Willem de Kooning, 92. Dutch-born U.S. artist. Mr. de Kooning was an abstract expressionist painter who was a member of the New York School.

Michael de Guzman. Filipino geologist. Mr. de Guzman was employed by Calgary, Alberta-based Bre-X Minerals Ltd., which had recently announced the discovery of gold near Busang, Borneo. He reportedly jumped to hs death, or was pushed, from a helicopter near Busang. What remained of the body identified as Mr. de Guzman was found four days later, partially devoured by wild boars. Shortly thereafter, that the Busang ore samples had been salted with gold dust; Mr. de Guzman received some of the blame, and Bre-X collapsed into bankruptcy before the end of the year.

10 years ago
2007

Died on this date
Calvert DeForest, 85. U.S. actor. Mr. DeForest, a relative of radio pioneer Lee de Forest, was best know for playing the comic character Larry "Bud" Melman on the television talk show Late Night with David Letterman (1982-1993). The National Broadcasting Corporation claimed the character's name as its intellectual property, so when Mr. Letterman moved to the Columbia Broadcasting System to host Late Show with David Letterman, Mr. DeForest played the same character, but under his real name (1993-2002).