March 2, 2018

520 years ago
1498

Exploration
Vasco da Gama's fleet visited the island of Mozambique.

225 years ago
1793

Born on this date
Sam Houston. 1st President of the Republic of Texas, 1836-1838; 3rd President of the Republic of Texas, 1841-1844; Governor of Tennessee, 1827-1829; Governor of Texas, 1859-1861. Mr. Houston was one of the key figures who helped to bring Texas into the United States, and the city of Houston is named after him. He died on July 26, 1863 at the age of 70.

140 years ago
1878

Politics and government
Conservative Premier of Québec Charles-Eugene Boucher de Boucherville was dismissed from office by Lieutenant-Governor Luc Letellier de St-Just for keeping financial dealings secret. Liberal Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière was asked to form a new government.

90 years ago
1928

Music
Paul Whiteman and his Concert Orchestra were at Liederkranz Hall in New York, where they recorded A Study in Blue.

Curling
Gordon Hudson's Winnipeg Strathcona's became the first Manitoba rink to win the MacDonald Brier Championship.

80 years ago
1938

Died on this date
Ben Harney, 65. U.S. musician. Mr. Harney billed himself as the "Father of Ragtime," performing and composing ragtime works in a career spanning 40 years. Whether or not Mr. Harney was the originator of ragtime music, he seems to have been the first to write ragtime compositions on paper. In addition to playing the piano, Mr. Harney sang, and danced in blackface. He died of a heart attack four days before his 66th birthday.

75 years ago
1943

At the movies
The Human Comedy, produced and directed by Clarence Brown, and starring Mickey Rooney and Frank Morgan, opened in theatres.

War
U.K. Royal Air Force planes subjected Berlin to its heaviest raid yet, dropping 900 tons of bombs on the city in 30 minutes. Soviet troops claimed the capture of localities of the Kuban area of the Caucasus, while German forces claimed successes in the Izyum area of Ukraine. American troops retook Sbeitla, and their advance patrols entered Feriana in central Tunisia, while British forces continued to repulse German assaults in northern Tunisia. U.S. bombers dispersed a 14-ship Japanese convoy in the Bismarck Sea bound from New Britain for Lae, New Guinea. Japanese troops in China captured Tachupa and Mengting in western Yunan Province, while Chinese forces retook Fengsin in Kiangsi Province.

Economics and finance
Canadian Finance Minister J.l. Ilsley submitted his 1943-44 budget to the House of Commons, announcing a pay-as-you-go tax plan to go into effect on April 1, 1943.

Acting U.S. Secretary of State Sumner Welles and Chilean Ambassador to the United States Rodolfo Michels signed a Lend-Lease agreement in Washington.

70 years ago
1948

Died on this date
Abraham Brill, 73. Austro-Hungarian born U.S. psychiatrist. Dr. Brill, who moved to America when he was 15, was the first psychoanalyst to practice in the United States, and the first to translate Sigmund Freud's works into English. Dr. Brill founded the New York Psychoanalytic Society (or Institute) in 1911, and later helped to found the American Psychoanalytic Association.

Diplomacy
U.S. delegate Warren Austin and U.S.S.R. delegate Andrei Gromyko informed the United Nations Security Council that their governments favoured the partition of Palestine, but disliked forcing the plan on the Arabs.

Politics and government
Christian Democrat Hermann Puender, Mayor of Cologne, was elected head of the Executive Committee, the highest organ of the German bizonal administration in Frankfurt.

Law
The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee passed an anti-lynching measure, bringing Southern warnings that the Republican Party-dominated Congress had lost its first chance to "make friends with the South."

Scandal
Christine Johnston asked a circuit court in Cullman, Alabama to declare Alabama Governor Jim Folsom her common-law husband and father of her 22-month-old son, charging that Gov. Folsom had broken a promise to marry her.

Labour
The New York State Congress of Industrial Organizations executive board approved the creation of a statewide political action committee to oppose the third-party U.S. presidential candidacy of former U.S. Vice President Henry Wallace.

60 years ago
1958

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Return of the Hero, starring Jacques Bergerac, Susan Kohner, Marcel Dalio, and Vladimir Sokoloff

Exploration
Vivian Fuchs and his U.K.-N.Z. party, accompanied near the end of the trip by Sir Edmund Hillary, reached Scott Base on McMurdo Sound to complete the first overland crossing of Antarctica.

Politics and government
Greek Prime Minister Constantine Karamanlis resigned, following the defection of government supporters protesting his introduction of an election law designed to reduce the Greek Chamber of Deputies from 300 to 250 seats and introduce proportional representation.

United Arab Republic President Gamal Nasser and Crown Prince Saif al-Islam Mohammed al-Badr of Yemen announced in Cairo that Yemen would federate with the U.A.R. but retain its absolutist monarchy under the Iman Ahmed.

General Miguel Ysidoras Fuentes took office to begin a six-year term as President of Guatemala.

50 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)--John Fred and his Playboy Band

#1 single in France: Nights in White Satin--The Moody Blues (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): La tramontana--Antoine

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)--John Fred and his Playboy Band (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)--Manfred Mann

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Love is Blue (L'Amour est Bleu)--Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra (4th week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Words--The Bee Gees
2 Mien Waar Is M'n Feestneus?--Toon
3 The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)--Manfred Mann
4 Nights in White Satin--The Moody Blues
5 The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde--Georgie Fame
6 It's the End--The Buffoons
7 Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)--John Fred and his Playboy Band
8 Bend Me, Shape Me--The American Breed
9 Green Tambourine--The Lemon Pipers
10 Pictures of Matchstick Men--The Status Quo

Singles entering the chart were Sunshine of Your Love by Cream (#33); Monterey by Eric Burdon & the Animals (#35); De Kat Van Ome Willem by Wim Sonneveld with Hetty Blok, Leen Jongewaard, De Jonkies, and the Orchestra of Harry Bannink (#38); I Thank You by Sam & Dave (#39); and The Legend of Xanadu by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich (#40).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Love is Blue (L'Amour est Bleu)--Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra (4th week at #1)
2 I Wish it Would Rain--The Temptations
3 Spooky--The Classics IV
4 (Theme From) Valley of the Dolls--Dionne Warwick
5 Simon Says--1910 Fruitgum Company
6 (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay--Otis Redding
7 I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite--Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart
8 Green Tambourine--The Lemon Pipers
9 Walk Away Renee--Four Tops
10 Bottle of Wine--The Fireballs

Singles entering the chart were (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone by Aretha Franklin (#35); Young Girl by the Union Gap (#48); Green Light by the American Breed (#61); Cry Like a Baby by the Box Tops (#62); Sound Asleep by the Turtles (#72); Security by Etta James (#75); The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo) by Manfred Mann (#77); Scarborough Fair (/Canticle) by Simon and Garfunkel (#81); The Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp by O.C. Smith (#91); Something I'll Remember by Sandy Posey (#93); I Need You by the Rationals (#96); Can't Find the Time by Orpheus (#98); (Mama Come Quick, And Bring Your) Lickin' Stick by George Torrence and the Naturals (#99); and (You Can’t Let the Boy Overpower) The Man in You by Chuck Jackson (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 I Can Take or Leave Your Loving--Herman's Hermits
2 Love is Blue (L'Amour est Bleu)--Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra
3 Spooky--The Classics IV
4 We Can Fly--The Cowsills
5 Words--The Bee Gees
6 Bottle of Wine--The Fireballs
7 Simon Says--1910 Fruitgum Company
8 Zabadak!--Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich
9 (Theme From) Valley of the Dolls--Dionne Warwick
10 Walk Away Renee--Four Tops

Singles entering the chart were A Question of Temperature by Balloon Farm (#63); If You Can Want by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (#64); La-La - Means I Love You by the Delfonics (#73); Jealous Love by Wilson Pickett (#75); Will You Love Me Tomorrow by the 4 Seasons (#80); The Radio Song by the Parade (#82); The Unicorn by the Irish Rovers (#89); The Ten Commandments of Love by Peaches and Herb (#90); Little Green Apples by Roger Miller (#91); L. David Sloane by Michele Lee (#94); Sister Marie by Nilsson (#95); Burning Spear by Soulful Strings (#96); Sookie Sookie by Steppenwolf (#97); Looking for a Fox by Clarence Carter (#99); and Young Girl by the Union Gap (#100).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Words--The Bee Gees
2 (Theme From) Valley of the Dolls--Dionne Warwick
3 Everything that Touches You--The Association
4 (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay--Otis Redding
5 Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition was In)--The First Edition
6 Walk Away Renee--Four Tops
7 The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde--Georgie Fame
8 Nobody But Me--The Human Beinz
9 Love is Blue (L'Amour est Bleu)--Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra
10 Simon Says--1910 Fruitgum Company

Singles entering the chart were Bottle of Wine by the Fireballs (#23); Carpet Man by the 5th Dimension (#26); Too Much Talk by Paul Revere and the Raiders (#28); (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone by Aretha Franklin (#29); and The End of Our Road by Gladys Knight & the Pips (#30).

Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 Itchycoo Park--Small Faces
2 Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition was In)--The First Edition
3 Love is Blue (L'Amour est Bleu)--Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra
4 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly--Hugo Montenegro, his Orchestra and Chorus
5 My, What a Shame--Dino, Desi and Billy
6 Simon Says--1910 Fruitgum Company
7 Words--The Bee Gees
8 Green Tambourine--The Lemon Pipers
9 Bottle of Wine--The Fireballs
10 Bend Me, Shape Me--The American Breed
Pick hit of the week: Too Much Talk--Paul Revere and the Raiders

Space
The U.S.S.R. launched Zond 4, a probe intended to visit the Moon. It was successfully launched outward after first parking in Earth orbit, but malfunctioned, and was deliberately blown up off the coast of Guinea.

Law
The national board of the American Civil Liberties Union, reversing a position they had taken in January, voted 26-20 to defend people accused of counselling individuals to evade the military draft.

40 years ago
1978

On television tonight
James at 16, starring Lance Kerwin, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Champions

Class of '65, starring Tony Bill, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Class Renegade

Space
Soyuz 28, with the crew of Aleksei Gubarov (Commander) and Vladimír Remek (Research Cosmonaut), lifted off from Baikonur Cosomodrome in Kazakhstan to begin an eight-day mission. Mr. Remek, a Czechoslovak military pilot, became the first person from outside the U.S.S.R. or U.S.A. to go into space.

Politics and government
U.S. President Jimmy Carter asked Congress to approve his plan to revise the federal civil service system to allow more flexibility in rewarding merit and penalizing incompetence. He proposed replacing the Civil Service Commission with an office of personnel management and a merit system protection board.

Crime
Extortionists stole the coffin of Charlie Chaplin, who had died on December 25, 1977 at the age of 88, from a Swiss cemetery. Police recovered the body in a cornfield on May 17, and arrested a Pole and a Bulgarian. Apparently nobody told the criminals that they stood a better chance of obtaining ransom from kidnapping a live person than a dead man.

30 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Allt som jag känner--Tone Norum & Tommy Nilsson (3rd week at #1)

War
For the first time, Iraqi missiles struck the holy city of Qom in Iran.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who was in Brussels to attend a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit, met with Secretary of State George Shultz, who had just visited Jordan in an attempt to get the Middle East peace process restarted.

Politics and government
Televangelist Pat Robertson won the Republican party primary in Alaska in the 1988 contest for the nomination for President of the United States.

Law
The United States House of Representatives overrode President Ronald Reagan's veto and voted 315-98 in favour of a bill outlawing discrimination based on sex, race, age, or physical disability in any program in an institution whether or not that program received federal funding. Schools and agencies of state and local governments were covered, as were corporations and private organizations if they provided certain services.

Economics and finance
The United States State Department advised American banks not to disburse funds to Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega.

25 years ago
1993

War
Serbian nationalist forces captured the Muslim community of Cserka in eastern Bosnia after an airdrop of relief supplies from the U.S.A. arrived too late.

Television
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed proceedings to be televised for the first time, starting with a hearing on taxation.

Hockey
NHL
Pittsburgh Penguins' centre Mario Lemieux, who had announced in January that he was taking time off from hockey to receive radiation treatments for Hodgkin's disease, returned to action, scoring a goal and an assist in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The game began a streak for Mr. Lemieux in which he scored 30 goals and 26 assists in 20 games.

20 years ago
1998

Disappeared on this date
Suzanne Lyall, 19. U.S. student. Miss Lyall, an undergraduate at State University of New York in Albany, disappeared shortly after ending her shift at Babbage's game store in the Crossgates Mall in the suburb of Guilderland, New York, and hasn't been seen since.

Space
Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.

Politics and government
Former Québec Premier Daniel Johnson, Jr. resigned as leader of the Québec Liberal Party, which he had led since January 1994; he was succeeded by Jean Charest.

10 years ago
2008

Died on this date
Jeff Healey, 41. Canadian musician. Mr. Healey, a native of Toronto, lost his eyesight to cancer as an infant, but became a skilled musician at a young age, becoming a jazz and blues-rock guitarist and singer. The Jeff Healey Band achieved success in Canada and the United States from the late 1980s to the mid-'90s, with the single Angel Eyes (1989) being a major hit in both countries. This blogger saw the band in concert in Edmonton in July 1989; I thought it was too loud, but the performance was good, and Mr. Healey exhibited a good sense of humour. Mr. Healey had a large collection of jazz records, which he played on a radio show that he hosted during the 1990s. Mr. Healey's cancer returned in the mid-2000s, finally taking his life, 23 days before his 42nd birthday and nine days before the release of his album Mess of Blues.

Politics and government
Unity Party candidate Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin's hand-picked successor, scored a crushing victory in the Russian presidential election, taking 71.2% of the vote to 18.0% for Communist Party candidate Gennady Zyuganov and 9.5% for Liberal Democratic Party candidate Vladimir Zhirinovsky.