March 9, 2017

175 years ago
1842

Opera
Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi, with libretto by Temistocle Solera, received its premiere perfoemance at Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

Economics and finance
The first documented discovery of gold in California occurred at Rancho San Francisco, six years before the California Gold Rush.

125 years ago
1892

Born on this date
Vita Sackville-West. U.K. writer. Victoria Sackville-West, the wife of diplomat Sir Harold Nicolson, wrote novels, poetry, and non-fiction, and was awarded the Hawthornden Prize for Imaginative Literature for The Land (1927) and Collected Poems (1933). She died on June 2, 1962 at the age of 70.

75 years ago
1942

War
The Dutch East Indies, represented by KNIL Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Hein Ter Poorten, unconditionally surrendered to Japanese forces in Kalijati, Subang, West Java, and the Japanese completed their Dutch East Indies campaign.

70 years ago
1947

Died on this date
Carrie Chapman Catt, 88. U.S. activist. Mrs. Catt was one of the most prominent suffragettes of the early 20th century; she was president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and was the founder of the League of Women Voters and the International Alliance of Women. Mrs. Catt died of a heart attack.

60 years ago
1957

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Singing the Blues--Guy Mitchell

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Cindy, Oh Cindy--Wolfgang Sauer

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Young Love--Tab Hunter (3rd week at #1)

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Young Love--Tab Hunter (Best Seller--2nd week at #1; Disc Jockey--4th week at #1; Top 100--4th week at #1); Too Much/Playing for Keeps--Elvis Presley (Jukebox--1st week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Young Love--Tab Hunter
--Sonny James
2 Marianne--Terry Gilkyson and the Easy Riders
--The Hilltoppers
3 Too Much--Elvis Presley
4 Don't Forbid Me--Pat Boone
5 Butterfly--Charlie Gracie
--Andy Williams
6 Banana Boat (Day-O)--Harry Belafonte
7 Teen-Age Crush--Tommy Sands
8 Round and Round--Perry Como
9 Who Needs You--The Four Lads
10 Love is Strange--Mickey and Sylvia

Singles entering the chart were I'm Walkin' by Fats Domino (#17); Why Baby Why (#34)/I'm Waiting Just for You (#41) by Pat Boone; Sittin' in the Balcony, with versions by Eddie Cochran, and Johnny Dee (#38); Just Because by Lloyd Price (#40); Chantez-Chantez by Dinah Shore (#46); A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold) by Patti Page (#49); and Mi Casa, Su Casa (My House is Your House) by Perry Como (#50). Mi Casa, Su Casa (My House is Your House) was the B-side of Round and Round.

Disasters
The 8.6 Mw Andreanof Islands earthquake shook the Aleutian Islands with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), causing $5 million in damage from ground movement and a destructive tsunami that affected Hawaii, where two people were killed in a plane crash while documenting its arrival.

50 years ago
1967

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Release Me (And Let Me Love Again)--Engelbert Humperdinck (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
Dragnet 1967, starring Jack Webb and Harry Morgan, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Candy Store Robberies



Music
The Beatles were in studio two at Abbey Road in London, where they began recording the song Getting Better.

Education
Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere called for major changes in the country's educational system. Primary schools would be required to grow some of their own food and to prepare pupils for agricultural and local work.

Disasters
All 26 people aboard both planes were killed when Trans World Airlines Flight 553, a Douglas DC-9-15, crashed in a field in Concord Township, Ohio en route from Pittsburgh to Dayton, following a mid-air collision with a Beechcraft Baron.

Boxing
Jerry Quarry (22-3-1) won a 10-round unanimous decision over Brian London (35-15) in their heavyweight bout at Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.



40 years ago
1977

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Chanson D'Amour--The Manhattan Transfer

Terrorism
12 Hanafi Muslim gunmen seized three buildings in Washington, D.C.--the District Building; B'nai B'rith headquarters; and the Islamic Center of Washington--beginning a 39-hour standoff. One of the terrorists' demands was that the U.S. premiere screening of the movie Mohammad, Messenger of God (1976) be cancelled.

Diplomacy
Delegates from 59 Arab and African nations and the Palestine Liberation Organization concluded a three day summit in Cairo, their first such conference.

Politics and government
The United States Senate confirmed Paul Warnke as chief U.S. arms negotiator in Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) with the U.S.S.R.

Health
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it would propose a ban on the use of saccharin in foods and beverages. The decision was based on findings of a Canadian government-sponsored study that found that large amounts of saccharin fed to laboratory rats caused malignant bladder tumours.

30 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): I Want to Wake Up with You--Boris Gardiner

Died on this date
Zeke Bonura, 78. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Bonura was a first baseman with the Chicago White Sox (1934-1937); Washington Nationals (1938, 1940); New York Giants (1939); and Chicago Cubs (1940), batting .307 with 119 home runs and 704 runs batted in in 917 games. He led American League first basemen in fielding percentage three times, but was considered a poor fielder because of his "ole" plays, where he would reportedly just wave at balls going by instead of fielding them. Mr. Bonura organized baseball activity while posted to Algeria with the U.S. Army during World War II.

Bobby Locke, 69. S.A. golfer. Mr. Locke won the British Open in 1949, 1950, 1952, and 1957, as well as the Canadian Open in 1947 and the South African Open nine times from 1937-1955.

Business
Chrysler Corporation agreed to buy American Motors Corporation, purchasing 46% from the French company Renault and the rest directly from AMC, at an estimated cost of $1.5 billion, subject to approval of the Renault and AMC boards of directors, AMC shareholders, and the governments of the U.S.A., Canada, and France. In 1986 AMC had less than 1% of the overall U.S. market.

Boxing
Former world heavyweight champion George Foreman (46-2), in his first fight after a 10-year retirement, scored a technical knockout of Steve Zouski (25-12) at 2:47 of the 4th round at Arco Arena in Sacramento. Mr. Foreman, who had held the title from 1973-1974, had retired after losing a 12-round decision to Jimmy Young on March 17, 1977. He decided to come out of retirement to make money to pay for the college education of his children.

25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Gigolo--Hausmylly (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Menachem Begin, 78. Prime Minister of Israel, 1977-1983. Mr. Begin, an activist with the Israeli terrorist organization Irgun in the 1940s, shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat as a result of the signing of the Camp David accord between Israel and Egypt.

Politics and government
U.S. Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa withdrew from the race for the 1992 Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States.

20 years ago
1997

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): Don't Speak--No Doubt (5th week at #1)

#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Lovefool--The Cardigans (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): When I Die--No Mercy (4th week at #1)

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

Died on this date
Notorious B.I.G., 24. U.S. rapper. Mr. B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace, was a ghetto thug known for his albums Ready to Die (1994) and Life After Death (1997). The latter ironically-titled album was released 16 days after his death in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles.

Space
Observers in China, Mongolia and eastern Siberia were treated to a rare double feature as an eclipse permitted Comet Hale-Bopp to be seen during the day.

Auto racing
David Coulthard of the United Kingdom won the Australian Grand Prix, the season-opening race on the Formula One circuit. Michael Schumacher of Germany finished second, and Mika Häkkinen of Finland finished third. Jacques Villeneuve of Canada, who started on the pole, was knocked out of the race with Britons Johnny Herbert and Eddie Irvine in a crash on the first lap. Jean Alesi of France was forced to retire from the race in embarrassment after 34 laps when he ignored repeated orders from his crew to pit and continued to drive for 5 more laps before running out of fuel on the track.



10 years ago
2007

Died on this date
Glen Harmon, 86. Canadian hockey player. Mr. Harmon, a native of Holland, Manitoba, was a defenceman with the Montreal Canadiens (1942-51), scoring 146 points on 50 goals and 96 assists in 452 regular season games and 5 goals and 10 assists in 53 playoff games. He was a member of Stanley Cup championship teams in 1944 and 1946, and made the National Hockey League's second All-Star team in 1944-45 and 1948-49.

Brad Delp, 55. U.S. musician. Mr. Delp was the lead singer and guitarist with the rock bands Boston in the 1970s and '80s, and RTZ in the 90s. He committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning.