March 11, 2019

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Tim Sproule and Aurora B.G.!

370 years ago
1649

War
The Frondeurs and the French signed the Peace of Rueil, ending the opening episodes of France's civil war.

140 years ago
1879

Japanica
Under orders from the Meiji Japanese government, Shō Tai formally abdicated his position of King of Ryūkyū, ending the 450-year Ryukyu Kingdom.

170 years ago
1849

Canadiana
Guelph, Canada West was incorporated as a city.

120 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Frederik IX. King of Denmark, 1947-1972. Frederik IX acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Christian X, after having acted as regent from 1942-1943 when King Christian was temporarily incapacitated. King Frederik's reign saw the modernization of Denmark from an agricultural to a welfare state. He died on January 14, 1972 at the age of 72, several days after taking ill with flu-like symptoms and then suffering cardiac arrest. Frederik IX was succeeded by his daughter Princess Margrethe, who became Queen Margrethe II.

75 years ago
1944

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Bésame Mucho (Kiss Me Much)--Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra with Bob Eberly and Kitty Kallen (Best Seller--2nd week at #1); Shoo-Shoo Baby--The Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and his Orchestra (Jukebox--9th week at #1)

Died on this date
Hendrik Willem van Loon, 62. Dutch-born U.S. historian. Mr. van Loon, a native of Rotterdam, moved to the United States at the age of 20. He wrote many history books aimed at young readers; his best-known work was The Story of Mankind (1921).

War
Sources in Ankara reported that Romania was regrouping its army for a desperate defense against the Soviets; that the evacuation of Bucharest was under way; and that efforts to reach Soviet diplomats in Ankara to arrange a peace settlement had been fruitless. The Soviet Red Army established a new bridgehead in Ukraine on the west bank of the lower Dnieper River by capturing Berislav, 40 miles northeast of the river seaport of Kherson. American troops turned back an assault by 3,000 Japanese troops on Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville. British and Indian troops took Buthedaung in western Burma and gained control of both ends of the east-west Maungdaw-Buthedaung road.

Politics and government
The Minnesota state legislature adopted a bill permitting absentee voting by members of the U.S. armed services.

Economics and finance
U.S. Senator Patrick McCarren (Democrat--Nevada), chairman of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee investigating the alcoholic beverage industry, said that he would ask the War Production Board to permit manufacture of beverage alcohol for a limited time "to prevent a return to bootleg conditions."

Labour
A U.S. National War Labour Board panel directed members of the American Federation of Musicians to resume recording for subsidiaries of RCA and CBS, rejecting the AFM charge that phonograph records and radio broadcasts had caused unemployment among musicians.

Track and field
Gil Dodds set a world indoor record in the mile at the Knights of Columbus Games in New York City, covering the distance in 4:07.3.

The University of Michigan won the Big Ten university indoor championships in Chicago with 75 1/4 points. The University of Illinois finished second and Purdue University third.

70 years ago
1949

On television tonight
Your Show Time, hosted and narrated by Arthur Shields, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Real Thing, starring John Archer, Marjorie Lord, Selena Royle, and Dan Seymour

Died on this date
Anastasios Charalambis, 86. Prime Minister of Greece, 1922. Lieutenant General Charalambis served in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and the Balkan Wars. He was Prime Minister for one day--September 16, 1922--while interim Prime Minister Sotirios Krokidas had yet to be sworn in, and remained afterward as Minister for Military Affairs until the cabinet resigned on November 14, 1922.

Henri Giraud, 70. French military officer and politician. Général d'Armée Giraud served in both world wars and escaped from German prison camps in both wars. After escaping from Dresden during World War II, he returned to France, where he was loyal to the Vichy government but refused to cooperate with the Germans. Général Giraud secretly cooperated with the Allies, and assumed command of French troops in North Africa after the December 24, 1942 assassination of Admiral François Darlan. Général Giraud eventually had a falling-out with Free French leader Général Charles de Gaulle, and retired in 1944. As a member of the Republican Party of Liberty, Général Giraud was elected to the French Constituent Assembly in 1946, remained a member of the War Council, and helped to draft the constitution of the Fourth Republic.

Eric McNair, 39. U.S. baseball player. Mr. McNair was a utility infielder with the Philadelphia Athletics (1929-1935, 1942); Boston Red Sox (1936-1938); Chicago White Sox (1939-1940); and Detroit Tigers (1941-1942), batting .274 with 82 home runs and 633 runs batted in in 1,251 games. The Athletics won the American League pennant in each of his first three seasons and World Series championships in the first two; he played in the 1930 and 1931 World Series, batting 0 for 3 with a run in 3 games. Mr. McNair's wife died in childbirth in 1937, and he never recovered from the tragedy. He was managing the Savannah Indians of the Class A South Atlantic League in 1948 when he had to resign because of heart problems, and he died of a heart attack, 32 days before his 40th birthday.

Radio
CBS announced the acquisition of NBC's George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, beginning in the fall of 1949.

War
Israel and Transjordan signed a cease-fire agreement in Rhodes.

Defense
Representatives of Canada, U.S.A., U.K., France, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, and Luxembourg completed negotiations in Washington on a North Atlantic security pact. Italian Prime Minister Alcide de Gasperi announced that his cabinet favoured Italian participation in the alliance.

Politics and government
The Argentine Constituent Assembly, boycotted by the opposition Radical Party, unanimously passed a new constitution which permitted President Juan Peron to succeed himself and greatly enlarged his cabinet.

Crime
The California State Commission on Organized Crime charged that New York gambler Frank Costello headed a national "slot machine racket" that netted $2 billion per year and spent extensively to bribe public officials.

Oil
Financier James Menhall announced an agreement with the Syrian government on a $100-million concession in Syria.

Labour
United Mine Workers of America President John L. Lewis ordered 400,000 eastern coal miners to stop work for two weeks to protest the alleged incompetence of Director of Mines James Boyd.

60 years ago
1959

Theatre
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, directed by Lloyd Richards, and starring Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, and Ivan Dixon, opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway in New York. It was the first play produced on Broadway to have been written by a Negro woman or directed by Negro.

Died on this date
Lester Dent, 54. U.S. author. Mr. Dent wrote pulp fiction, and was the creator and main author of the Doc Savage series of novels, under the house name Kenneth Robeson. He died a month after suffering a heart attack.

Chester Lane, 53. U.S. lawyer and bureaucrat. Mr. Dent served as U.S. Lend-Lease Administrator, and represented former U.S. State Department official and convicted perjurer Alger Hiss in 1952.

Americana
The U.S. Senate approved and sent to the House of Representatives a bill admitting Hawaii to statehood.

Diplomacy
Soviet and East German leaders pledged joint action to conclude a German peace treaty and to liquidate the Berlin occupation "as soon as possible."

Defense
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, defending the goal of an 879,000-man Army against critics calling for greater U.S. troop commitments in Europe, said that a European buildup was unnecessary because "we are certainly not going to fight a ground war in Europe."

Politics and government
Southern Rhodesian Justice Minister Reginald Knight introduced an Unlawful Organizations Bill, designed to ban all leftist and African political activity.

50 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells

War
Egypt and Israel resumed artillery fire at each other's forces across the Suez Canal. Israel reported that one of its soldiers had been killed, bringing the total to 5 since March 8.

Four American airmen who had been captured by the Viet Cong a month earlier and turned over to Cambodia were freed. Upon their arrival in Bangkok, Thailand, the men confirmed that they had been taken prisoner after their observation plane was shot down near the Cambodian-Vietnamese border.

Politics and government
Rafael Caldera was inaugurated as the 43rd President of Venezuela, marking the first peaceful transfer of power following an election.

Transportation
Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables Warren Townsend and Peter Benjamin set out on a final 500-mile, 26-day round trip by dog team from Old Crow, Yukon carrying mail and medical supplies across the Yukon and Northwest Territories. Snowmobiles and aircraft were rapidly replacing dog teams.

40 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Fire--Pointer Sisters

#1 single in Switzerland: Y.M.C.A.--Village People (8th week at #1)

Diplomacy
The Israeli cabinet approved newly revised language in the U.S.-proposed Middle East peace treaty. United States Secretary of State Cyrus Vance arrived in Jerusalem to resume negotiations.

Terrorism
Colombia's military arrested 1,000 people in a crackdown against terrorists. Opponents protested that the government was violating human rights by illegal detentions and the use of torture in interrogating prisoners.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 4 @ Pittsburgh 0

Rocky Saganiuk scored his first NHL goal and added two assists as the Maple Leafs blanked the Penguins at Pittsburgh Civic Arena, with Mike Palmateer recording the shutout in goal for Toronto.

Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings scored his 50th goal of the season, in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

30 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Esatto--Francesco Salvi (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): You Got It--Roy Orbison (4th week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Pour toi Arménie--Charles Aznavour and various artists (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Too Many Broken Hearts--Jason Donovan

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Belfast Child (EP track)--Simple Minds
2 Anything for You--Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
3 Buffalo Stance--Neneh Cherry
4 Wild Thing--Tone Lōc
5 She Drives Me Crazy--Fine Young Cannibals
6 We Cheer You Up (Join the Pin-Up Club)--Barbarella
7 My Prerogative--Bobby Brown
8 You Got It--Roy Orbison
9 Leave Me Alone--Michael Jackson
10 Baby Don't Forget My Number--Milli Vanilli

Singles entering the chart were Alles Kan Een Mens Gelukkig Maken by René Froger & Het Goede Doel (#12); Straight Up by Paula Abdul (#28); Get on the Dance Floor by Rob Base & D.J. E-Z Rock (#29); Wait! by Dr. Robert & Kym Mazelle (#30); Take it to the Street by Novo Band (#31); and Celebrate the World by Womack & Womack (#33).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Lost in Your Eyes--Debbie Gibson (2nd week at #1)
2 The Living Years--Mike + the Mechanics
3 You Got It (The Right Stuff)--New Kids on the Block
4 Roni--Bobby Brown
5 Paradise City--Guns 'N' Roses
6 Surrender to Me--Ann Wilson and Robin Zander
7 Girl You Know it's True--Milli Vanilli
8 The Lover in Me--Sheena Easton
9 My Heart Can't Tell You No--Rod Stewart
10 Straight Up--Paula Abdul

Singles entering the chart were After All by Cher and Peter Cetera (#59); Forever Your Girl by Paula Abdul (#68); Cult of Personality by Living Colour (#77); Run to Paradise by the Choirboys (#89); and Dear God by Midge Ure (#95). After All was from the movie Chances Are (1989).

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Lost in Your Eyes--Debbie Gibson (3rd week at #1)
2 The Living Years--Mike + the Mechanics
3 Roni--Bobby Brown
4 You Got It (The Right Stuff)--New Kids on the Block
5 Paradise City--Guns 'N' Roses
6 The Lover in Me--Sheena Easton
7 Eternal Flame--Bangles
8 Straight Up--Paula Abdul
9 My Heart Can't Tell You No--Rod Stewart
10 Girl You Know it's True--Milli Vanilli

Singles entering the chart were I'll Be There for You by Bon Jovi (#52); After All by Cher and Peter Cetera (#57); Cult of Personality by Living Colour (#63); Forever Your Girl by Paula Abdul (#70); Where are You Now? by Jimmy Harnen with Synch (#75); Iko Iko by the Belle Stars (#78); Let the River Run by Carly Simon (#84); and Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler (#86).

Died on this date
John J. McCloy, 93. U.S. lawyer, banker, and political adviser. Mr. McCloy, a Wall Street lawyer in New York City, served as Assistant U.S. Secretary of War during World War II, and was largely responsible for President Franklin D. Roosevelt's decision to intern Japanese-Americans. He created the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency. Mr. McCloy's postwar activities included serving as president of the World Bank from 1947-1949; serving as chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations from 1954-1970; and serving on the Warren Commission in 1963-1964, investigating the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, with Special Distinction, by U.S. President Lyndon Johnson on December 6, 1963.

James Kee, 71. U.S. politician. Mr. Kee, a Democrat, represented West Virginia's 5th District in the United States House of Representatives from 1965-1973, becoming the third member of his family in succession to hold the seat. His father John Kee had represented the district from 1933-1951; he died in office, and his wife Elizabeth, the mother of John, then held the seat from 1951-1965, when she retired.

Politics and government
Syrian President Hafez al-Assad restructured his government, apparently, in part, as a result of disagreements with his brother, whom he had made a vice president.

Oil
Mobil Corporation, the U.S.A.'s second-largest oil company, announced that it had agreed to buy Superior Oil Company for $5.7 billion.

Skiing
Vreni Schneider of Switzerland ended the season by winning the women's slalom at Shigakogen, Japan, giving her 14 World Cup victories for the season, a record that still stands. Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden won 13 Cup races in 1977-78, the most ever by a man.

Hockey
CIAU
Canada West Finals
Calgary 4 @ Alberta 2 (Best-of-three series tied 1-1)

25 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Return to Innocence--Enigma

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Without You--Mariah Carey (4th week at #1)

Politics and government
Christian Democratic party leader Eduardo Frei was sworn in as President of Chile, pledging to help the poor.

Lucas Mangope, President of the South African "homeland" of Bophuthatswana, agreed to participate in South Africa's first universal-suffrage election, scheduled for late April. On March 7, Mr. Mangope had said that Bophuthatswana would refuse to participate in the election, and his government had collapsed on March 10.

20 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Camille Laurin, 76. Canadian politician. Dr. Laurin, a native of Charlemagne, Quebec, was a psychiatrist who worked in Boston and Paris before returning to Quebec, where he was one of the major early figures of the Quebec sovereignty movement. He joined the Parti Québécois, and represented the riding of Bourget in the Quebec National Assembly from 1970-1973, 1976-1985, and 1994-1998. Dr. Laurin was the father of the province's outrageous and restrictive Bill 101, restricting the use of the English language. He died after a long battle with cancer.

Economics and finance
Infosys became the first Indian company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

10 years ago
2009

Crime
Tim Kretschmer, 17, who had graduated from Albertville-Realschule in Winnenden, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, returned to the school and began a shooting spree, which he continued at a car dealership in Wendlingen, resulting in 15 people dead and 9 wounded before Mr. Kretschmer fatally shot himself.