March 2, 2019

1,010 years ago
1009

Died on this date
Mokjong, 28. King of Korea, 997-1009. Mokjong was the seventh ruler of the Goryeo dynasty. His mother plotted to overthrow him and he was deposed by General Gang Jo and sent into exile in Chungju, but was murdered before he got there. Mokjong was succeeded on the throne by Hyeonjong.

400 years ago
1619

Died on this date
Anne of Denmark, 44. Queen consort of Scotland (1589-1619); Queen consort of England and Ireland (1603-1619). Anne, the second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, was married at the age of 15 to King James VI of Scotland in 1589, who became King James I of England and Ireland in 1603. She showed an independent streak and was a patron of the arts, but marital discord developed, and the royal couple rarely lived together after 1607. Queen Anne was increasingly afflicted with poor health from 1612 on, and died of dropsy.

250 years ago
1769

Born on this date
DeWitt Clinton. U.S. politician. Mr. Clinton, a Democratic-Republican, was a nephew of U.S. Vice President George Clinton, and represented New York in the United States Senate (1802-1803) before serving as Mayor of New York City (1803-1807, 1808-1810, 1811-1815), Lieutenant Governor of New York (1811-1813), and Governor of New York (1817-1822, 1825-1828). He was the Federalist Party candidate for President of the United States in 1812, losing to incumbent James Madison. As Governor, Mr. Clinton presided over the construction of the Erie Canal, and influence the improvement of infrastructure throughout the United States. Mr. Clinton died suddenly in office on February 11, 1828, 19 days before his 59th birthday.

240 years ago
1779

Born on this date
Joel Poinsett. U.S. politician and diplomat. Dr. Poinsett was a physician who served as U.S. Consul in General to Chile and Argentina (1810-1814) before serving in the South Carolina House of Representatives (1817-1819), and representing the state's 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives (1821-1825). Dr. Poinsett served as U.S. Minister to Mexico (1825-1829) and was Secretary of War (1837-1841) in the administration of President Martin Van Buren. Dr. Poinsett was also an amateur botanist, and while in Mexico discovered a flower that was named the poinsettia in his honour. He died of tuberculosis, hastened by pneumonia, on December 12, 1851 at the age of 72.

200 years ago
1819

Americana
Arkansaw Territory (later Arkansas) was organized.

190 years ago
1829

Born on this date
Carl Schurz. Prussian-born U.S. politician and diplomat. Mr. Schurz participated in the 1848 revolution and then fled to Switzerland, England, France, and eventuall emigrated to the United States in 1852. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Spain from July-December 1861. A Republican, Mr. Schurz became the first German-born member of the United States Senate, representing Missouri from 1869-1875; he became disenchanted with the Republican Party and formed the Liberal Republican Party in 1870, and was defeated in his bid for re-election in 1874. Mr. Schurz served as Secretary of the Interior in the administration of President Rutherford B. Hayes from 1877-1881. He died on May 14, 1906 at the age of 77.

Disasters
The Saint John, New Brunswick almshouse was destroyed by fire.

160 years ago
1859

Born on this date
Sholem Aleichem. Ukrainian-born U.S. author. Mr. Aleichem, whose real name was Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich, was best known for writing--in Yiddish--the stories that inspired the musical play and movie Fiddler on the Roof. He died from tuberculosis and diabetes on May 13, 1916 at the age of 57.

Abominations
The two-day Great Slave Auction, the largest such auction in United States history, began at Ten Broeck Race Course, near Savannah, Georgia. Slaveholder Pierce Butler sold 429 Negro slaves and raised $303,850 in an attempt to pay his gambling debts.

120 years ago
1899

Environment
U.S. President William McKinley signed legislation creating Mount Rainier National Park in central Washington.

110 years ago
1909

Born on this date
Mel Ott. U.S. baseball player and manager. Mr. Ott played right field with the New York Giants from 1926-1947, batting .304 with 511 home runs and 1,860 runs batted in in 2,730 games. He led or co-led the National League in home runs six times; led the Giants in home runs for 18 straight years (1928-1945); and was the NL career leader in homers at the time of his retirement. Mr. Ott was known for his "foot in the bucket" batting style of lifting his forward (right) foot prior to swinging. He managed the Giants from 1942-1948, compiling a record of 464-530, and then managed the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League in 1951-1952 (184-164). Mr. Ott was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951. He was a colour commentator on radio broadcasts of Detroit Tigers games from 1956-1958. Mr. Ott and his wife were seriously injured in a car accident in November 1958, and he died a week or so later, on November 21, at the age of 49.

100 years ago
1919

Born on this date
Tamara Toumanova. Russian-born U.S. ballerina and actress. Miss Toumanova, born Tamara Vladimirovna Khassidovitch, began her public career in ballet at the age of 10 as a guest performer with the Paris Opera Ballet. She joined Les Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo in 1931 at the age of 12, and spent the rest of her career there. She appeared in several movies, including Days of Glory (1944); Invitation to the Dance (1956); Torn Curtain (1966); and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970). Miss Toumanova died on May 29, 1996 at the age of 77.

Jennifer Jones. U.S. actress. Miss Jones, born Phyllis Isley, won the Academy Award for The Song of Bernadette (1943), her first starring role. She also received Oscar nominations for her supporting performance in Since You Went Away (1944), and her starring performances in Love Letters (1945); Duel in the Sun (1946); and Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955). Miss Jones was married to actor Robert Walker from 1939-1945, but began an affair with producer David O. Selznick in 1944, and was married to him from 1949 until his death in 1965. Miss Jones suffered from emotional problems for many years, and became a mental health advocate. She died on December 17, 2009 at the age of 90.

Politics and government
The first Communist International met in Moscow.

Communications
Boeing pilot Edward Hubbard and his passenger, company president Bill Boeing, left Seattle with the first sack of airmail, a sack of 80 letters, for Vancouver, British Columbia. They landed their float plane at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club on March 3, and returned with a sack of mail for Seattle, completing North America's first international airmail flight.

90 years ago
1929

World events
Troops loyal to warlord Zhang Zongchang mutinied against Chinese government forces in Peking (Beijing), but the revolt was quickly suppressed.

80 years ago
1939

Died on this date
Howard Carter, 64. U.K. archaeologist. Mr. Carter began working in Egypt at the age of 17, and was Chief Inspector of the Egyptian Antiquities Service from 1899-1905. He was best known for discovering the tomb of King Tutankhamun in November 1922. Mr. Carter died of Hodgkin's disease.

Religion
Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli was elected Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, taking the name Pius XII. He succeeded Pius XI.

75 years ago
1944

Movies
The Academy Awards for 1943 were presented at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Casablanca was named Best Picture, and its director, Michael Curtiz, also won. Other winners included Paul Lukas as Best Actor (Watch on the Rhine); Jennifer Jones as Best Actress (The Song of Bernadette); Charles Coburn as Best Supporting Actor (The More the Merrier); and Katina Paxinou as Best Supporting Actress (For Whom the Bell Tolls).

War
Soviet forces drove to within 24 miles of Latvia with the capture of Soshikhino. Allied troops in west Africa continued to drive southward in the kaladan Valley of western Burma and were about 40 miles north of Akyab. The U.S. reported that Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell had complained of the failure to launch a full-scale attack against Japanese forces in Burma. U.S. Navy planes bombed targets on Paramushiro and Shimushu Islands in the Kuriles. U.S. Senator Mon Wallgren (Democrat--Washington) told the Senate's Truman Committee that Liberty ships had developed defects in such numbers that it was unsafe to use them as troop or hospital ships. The U.S. Army announced plans to expand its training program for boys aged 17, who were not affected in the recent curtailment of the program. U.S. Navy Secretary Frank Knox said that a national service act was needed to maintain war production schedules.

Diplomacy
Acting Argentine President Edelmiro Farrell said that his country's foreign policy would not be modified and that he would work closely with other American nations.

Economics and finance
U.S. Lend-Lease aid to Turkey was halted because of Turkey's unwillingness to enter the war or give the Allies air bases for use in the Mediterranean.

Oil
55 oil companies of the U.S. Petroleum Industry War council approved a resolution assailing the proposed Arabian oil project of the Petroleum Reserves Corporation as a postwar rather than a war enterprise.

Labour
Sidney Alderman, attorney for 10 U.S. railroads dealing with the Fair Employment Practices Commission, told a House of Representatives Committee that the railroads had no intention of following an FEPC order to hire more Negroes.

Crime
New York Governor Thomas Dewey granted another stay of execution to Louis (Lepke) Buchalter and two others convicted of murder, shortly before they were to die in Sing Sing prison's electric chair.

70 years ago
1949

Died on this date
Sarojini Naidu, 70. Indian poet and politician. Mrs. Naidu wrote poetry on various subjects, but was better known as an activist in the cause of Indian independence. She was President of the Indian National Congress party from 1925 and the first Governor of the United Provinces from August 15, 1948 until her death, 17 days after her 70th birthday.

Canadiana
The British House of Commons passed a bill authorizing Newfoundland's entry into Confederation with Canada.

Literature
Seeds of Confession by Thomas Merton was published by New Directions.

Aviation
Captain James Gallagher landed his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and 1 minute.

Academia
The Illinois House of Representatives voted to investigate alleged Communist influences among the students of Roosevelt University and the University of Chicago.

The American Association of School Administrators ended a five-day regional conference in St. Louis after urging the construction of 2,500 two-year colleges throughout the United States to provide some higher education for all high school graduates.

Economics and finance
The Romanian government completed the confiscation of large private landholdings.

The U.S. Federal Reserve Board eased its curbs on installment credit, following a January drop in installment sales.

60 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Mariquilla--José Luís y su Guitarra (3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Stagger Lee--Lloyd Price (4th week at #1)
2 Donna--Ritchie Valens
3 Charlie Brown--The Coasters
4 16 Candles--The Crests
5 Petite Fleur (Little Flower)--Chris Barber's Jazz Band
6 I Cried a Tear--LaVerne Baker
7 Venus--Frankie Avalon
8 Peter Gunn--Ray Anthony and his Orchestra
9 The All American Boy--Bill Parsons
10 Alvin's Harmonica--David Seville and the Chipmunks

Singles entering the chart were No Other Arms, No Other Lips by the Chordettes (#70); Where were You (On Our Wedding Day)? by Lloyd Price (#72); If I Didn't Care by Connie Francis (#75); No Other Arms, No Other Lips by the Four Aces (#87); It's Late by Ricky Nelson (#91); The Morning Side of the Mountain by Tommy Edwards (#93); The Search by Dean Reed (#96); City Lights by Ivory Joe Hunter (#98); and The Answer to a Maiden's Prayer by June Valli (#100). It's Late was the other side of Never Be Anyone Else But You, charting at #41.

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKWX)
1 The All American Boy--Bill Parsons (4th week at #1)
2 Goodbye Baby--Jack Scott
3 Petite Fleur (Little Flower)--Chris Barber's Jazz Band
4 Peter Gunn--Ray Anthony and his Orchestra
5 The Lonely One--Duane Eddy and the Rebels
6 I've Had It--The Bell Notes
7 Charlie Brown--The Coasters
8 Stagger Lee--Lloyd Price
9 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters
10 Gotta Travel On--Billy Grammer

Singles entering the chart were Never Be Anyone Else But You/It's Late by Ricky Nelson (#30); The Morning Side of the Mountain by Tommy Edwards (#32, charting with its other side, Please Mr. Sun); Where were You (On Our Wedding Day)? by Lloyd Price (#41); Pink Shoe Laces by Dodie Stevens (#44); If I Didn't Care by Connie Francis (#46); No Other Arms, No Other Lips by the Chordettes (#52); Heavenly Lover by Teresa Brewer (#53); Come Softly to Me by the Fleetwoods (#56); Pretty Girls Everywhere by Eugene Church (#57); and Everybody Likes to Cha Cha Cha by Sam Cooke (#60).

Music
Miles Davis was at Columbia Records' 30th Street Studio in New York City, where he began recording the album Kind of Blue.

Space
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration reported that no signals were being received from Discoverer 1, the satellite launched toward the South Pole two days earlier. The satellite failed to achieve polar orbit, and was believed to have landed somewhere near the South Pole.

World events
Authorities in Nyasaland declared a state of emergency and imposed a nighttime curfew in Blantyre and Limbe, following the banning of the African National Congress and the deportation of its president, Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda.

A revolutionary tribunal in Santiago de Cuba acquitted 43 of 45 Air Force men accused of bombing and strafing Cuban towns in the last days of the regime of ousted President Fulgencio Batista.

Diplomacy
Iran formally denounced articles of the 1921 Soviet-Iranian treaty giving Soviet troops the right to enter Iran.

Economics and finance
The President's Committee on World Economic Practices advised U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to set up an "Office of Private Participation" in the State Department to encourage greater use of private business in countering the Soviet bloc's economic offensive.

50 years ago
1969

War
31 Soviet soldiers were reported killed in a clash between thousands of Russian and Chinese soldiers on the Ussuri River (Manchurian) border 250 miles north of Vladivostok. Each country accused the other of a border violation. It was believed to be the first time that either government had reported such an armed incident.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Richard Nixon met Allied negotiating team members at the Vietnam peace talks in Paris. He then returned to Washington, and said that he sensed a "new trust on the part of Europeans in themselves" as well as in the United States and in the future.

Aviation
The supersonic airliner Concorde, piloted by Andre Turcat, with a co-pilot and two engineers, made a "faultless" maiden flight from Toulouse, reaching a top speed of 300 miles per hour, and returning after 27 minutes.

Politics and government
In Chilean parliamentary elections, the Christian Democratic Party retained its plurality in the Senate and won a plurality in the Chamber of Deputies, but lost its majority in the lower house. The Christian Democrats took 23 of 50 Senate seats, followed by the Communists with 9 seats. In the Chamber of Deputies, the Christian Democrats won 56 of 150 seats, a decline of 26 from the most recent election in 1965. The right-wing National Party rose to second place, increasing their total from 9 seats to 33. The Radical Party won 24 seats, and the Communists 22. Political observers saw the results as a rebuff to the reform policies of President Eduardo Frei Montalva's Christian Democratic Party, and a harbinger of a move to the right in the 1970 presidential elections.

Voting began for the first of four successive Sundays in South Vietnam for councils in nearly 3,500 villages and chiefs in 2,882 hamlets. They were the first such elections since 1956.

Television
The Federal Communications Commission notified ABC, CBS, and NBC that it had found their coverage of the 1968 Democratic National Convention to be fair. The study followed complaints over TV handling of the leading issues at the convention, as well as the rioting and alleged police brutality.

Disasters
A drag racer going 180 miles per hour at a track in Covington, Georgia spun off an outlaw track into a crowd of spectators, killing 11 and injuring 50.

Golf
Tom Shaw won the Doral Open in Miami, Florida, with a first-prize purse of $30,000.

Hockey
NHL
Pittsburgh 0 @ Boston 4

Phil Esposito scored 2 goals in the Bruins' shutout of the Penguins at Boston Garden, becoming the first National Hockey League player to score 100 or more points in a season. He finished the season with 126 points to win the Art Ross Trophy.

40 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Y.M.C.A.--Village People (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Heart of Glass--Blondie

#1 single in France (IFOP): Born to Be Alive--Patrick Hernandez

Died on this date
Dale Alexander, 75. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Alexander, nicknamed "Moose," was a first baseman with the Detroit Tigers (1929-1932) and Boston Red Sox (1932-1933), batting .331 with 61 home runs and 459 runs batted in in 662 games. He won the American League batting title in 1932, batting .367--.372 after being traded to the Red Sox. On May 30, 1933, Mr. Alexander injured his left knee in a game in Philadelphia. He was being given diathermy treatment--involving the use of an electric heat lamp--in the dressing room, when the Red Sox got a rally going, and trainer Doc Woods rushed out to see what was going on, leaving Mr. Alexander under the lamp. He suffered severe burns to his left leg, and gangrene set in, but amputation was averted. However, Mr. Alexander was unable to run well enough after the accident to stay in the major leagues, and he spent the rest of his career in the minor leagues. He played 1,759 games in 15 seasons in the minor leagues (1923-1928, 1934-1942), batting .334 with 160 homers. Mr. Alexander was a playing manager from 1936-1942, and a non-playing manager in the minors from 1946-1950. He worked as a scout with the New York/San Francisco Giants and Milwaukee Braves in the 1950s and '60s. Mr. Alexander died after a nine-year battle with prostate cancer.

War
Insurgents launched a raid on the Ugandan town of Tororo, resulting in a mutiny of its garrison and the fall of Tororo to the insurgents and mutineers.

Politics and government
Scottish voters approved a referendum on limited self-rule by a slim margin, but short of the absolute majority required for passage; a similar home rule referendum was defeated in Wales.

Disasters
20,000 residents of the Edmonton neighbourhoods of Mill Woods and Kaskitayo were evacuated when a propane gas leak caused a series of explosions in the sewers. The first explosion was that of a glass delivery truck driving through the area. The driver, Peter Clark, was rescued by a passerby (recuerby?) and survived, but with horrible burns. The residents began moving back home the next day.

30 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Finnish Singles Chart): Bring Me Edelweiss--Edelweiss

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Leave Me Alone--Michael Jackson

Politics and government
The United States Senate began debate on the nomination of former U.S. Senator John Tower to be Secretary of Defense in the administration of President George Bush. The Senate Armed Services Committee had voted 11-9 to reject the nomination of Mr. Tower, largely because of concerns about his drinking.

Environment
Environmental ministers representing the 12 European Community nations agreed to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by 2000.

25 years ago
1994

Politics and government
The government of Mexico reached a tentative agreement with the Zapatista National Liberation Army, which had launched an insurrection in January. The draft agreement did not contain the commitment to democratic reform that the Zapatistas were seeking, but assurances were given that a congressional session would be sought for the purpose of codifying the reforms. Under the draft accord, public works projects would bring employment to the Mayan Indians of the state of Chiapas; laws would be approved to protect the Indians from discrimination; and the government would track the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on Chiapas. The agreement would be presented to the supporters of the Zapatista for approval.

20 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Dusty Springfield, 59. U.K. singer. Miss Springfield, born Mary O'Brien, was a member of the folk group the Springfields, who reached the top 20 with Silver Threads and Golden Needles in 1962. She then had a string of hits on her own from 1964-1969, including I Only Want to Be With You (#12 U.S., 1964); Wishin' and Hopin' (#6 U.S., 1964); You Don't Have to Say You Love Me (#4 U.S., 1966); and Son-of-a Preacher Man (#10 U.S., 1968-1969). Cliff Richard referred to her as "The White Negress" because of her soulful singing. Miss Springfield returned to prominence in 1988-1989, singing with Pet Shop Boys on the hit singles What Have I Done to Deserve This and Nothing Has Been Proved. She was a lesbian, drunk, and drug addict, and died of breast cancer.

Politics and government
The opening of the session of the Quebec National Assembly was marked by two firsts in the history of Quebec parliamentarianism. For the first time, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Jean-Pierre Charbonneau (Parti Québécois--Borduas), was elected by secret ballot. The result of the parliamentary reform proposed two years earlier by Mr. Charbonneau himself, this way of proceeding would, according to him, ensure the "impartiality" of the office. Prior to that, the Speaker was appointed following an agreement between the party leaders. Mr. Charbonneau had held the office since 1996. The other first of this session was the election of a Deputy Speaker from the ranks of the Opposition. It was Michel Bissonnet, the Liberal member for Jeanne-Mance.

In New Hampshire, Pat Buchanan announced that he would be running for U.S. President in 2000. Mr. Buchanan reiterated his opposition to trade laws that sent American jobs overseas.

Texas Governor George W. Bush announced that would set up a committee to explore a run for President of the United States in 2000. Public opinion polls showed Mr. Bush with a wide lead among potential candidates for the 2000 Republican nomination.

Scandal
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police raided the home of British Columbia Premier Glen Clark as part of their investigation into possible improprieties in the application for a casino license by one of his neighbours.

10 years ago
2009

Died on this date
João Bernardo Vieira, 69. Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau, 1978-1980; President of Guinea-Bissau, 1980-1999, 2005-2009. Mr. Vieira, a member of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) and later an independent politician, described himself as "God's gift to Guinea-Bissau." He was Prime Minister when he overthrew the government of President Luís Cabral in a bloodless military coup. Mr. Vieira came out on the losing end of a civil war and a vote of the National People's Assembly in 1999, going into exile in Portugal and being expelled from the PAIGC. He returned to Guinea-Bissau in 2005 and won a run-off election for President as an independent candidate. Mr. Vieira was killed by soldiers the day after the death of Army Chief of Staff Batista Tagme Na Waie, a rival of his who had been killed by a bomb blast. National People's Assembly President Raimundo Pereira was named acting President of Guinea-Bissau the next day.