March 24, 2019

1,210 years ago
809

Died on this date
Harun al-Rashid, 53-56. Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, 786-809. Harun al-Rashid, the son of Caliph Al-Mahdi, ruled during the peak of the Islamic Golden Age. He established the Bayt al-Hikma ("House of Wisdom") library in Baghdad, and made Baghdad a centre of knowledge, culture and trade. He took ill and died soon after a revolt forced him to flee to Khorasan; his will divided the empire between his two sons.

375 years ago
1644

Died on this date
Cecilia Renata, 32. Queen consort of Poland, 1637-1644. Cecilia Renata, a daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II, was married by proxy to King Władysław IV in 1637, and advocated for the House of Habsburg. They had three children, the last of whom was a daughter who was stillborn on March 23, 1644. Queen Cecilia Renata died the next day from an infection, likely related to the childbirth.

225 years ago
1794

War
In Kraków, Tadeusz Kościuszko announced a general uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia, and assumed the powers of the Commander- in-Chief of all of the Polish forces.

190 years ago
1829

Politics and government
The Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, allowing Catholics to serve in Parliament.

150 years ago
1869

War
The last of Ngāti Ruanui Māori chief Riwha Titokowaru's forces surrendered to the New Zealand government, ending his uprising.

110 years ago
1909

Born on this date
Clyde Barrow. U.S. criminal. Mr. Barrow was a career criminal who met Bonnie Parker in 1930. Bonnie and Clyde became notorious for a series of bank robberies from 1932-1934, ending when they were ambushed and fatally gunned down by police on a rural road in Bienville Parish, Louisiana on May 23, 1934. Mr. Barrow was 25 at the time of his death.

Died on this date
John Millington Synge, 37. U.K. author, poet, and playwright. Mr. Synge, a native of Ireland, wrote mainly about working class Roman Catholics in rural Ireland. He was best known for his play The Playboy of the Western World (1907). Mr. Synge died of Hodgkin's disease, 23 days before his 38th birthday.

100 years ago
1919

Born on this date
Robert Heilbroner. U.S. economist and historian. Dr. Heilbroner was best known for his book The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers (1953, and several revisions through 1999). He died on January 4, 2005 at the age of 85.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti. U.S. poet and publisher. Dr. Ferlinghetti established the City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco in 1953, which publishes as wells as sells books. Dr. Ferlinghetti attracted national attention by publishing Howl and Other Poems (1956) by Allen Ginsberg, which was ruled in court to be not obscene. Dr. Ferlinghetti was known for publishing the works of Beat poets, but rejects the label of Beat poet for himself; his best known book is the collection A Coney Island of the Mind (1958).

World events
Former Austrian Emperor Charles I and his family left Austria for exile in Switzerland, escorted by Lieutenant Colonel Edward Lisle Strutt, commander of the small British guard detachment at Eckartsau.

Disasters
A terrible fire burned down the Sohmer Park amusement park at the corner of Panet and Notre-Dame East in Montreal. The amphitheater, the restaurant, the kiosk and all the other buildings were destroyed by the flames, with losses amounting to nearly $ 100,000. Sohmer Park opened in 1889, originally as a zoo before being transformed into a place of public amusement, hosting boxing, wrestling, political assemblies, concerts, or popular gatherings for summer or winter activities.

Hockey
Stanley Cup
Finals
Montreal 2 @ Seattle 7 (Seattle led best-of-five series 2-1)

Frank Foyston scored 4 goals to lead the Metropolitans over the Canadiens at Seattle Ice Arena in a game played under Pacific Coast Hockey Association rules. Mr. Foyston now had 8 goals in the series.

90 years ago
1929

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Toronto 0 @ New York Rangers 1 (New York led best-of-three series 1-0)

75 years ago
1944

War
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said that the Allied invasion of Europe would occur "soon." In an event later dramatized in the movie The Great Escape (1963), 76 Allied prisoners of war began breaking out of the German camp Stalag Luft III. German troops massacred 335 Italian civilians in Rome, and regained one-fourth of the ruins of Cassino and were now strongly entrenched on the western side of the Italian town. Soviet troops reached the Dniester River at Zaleshchiki, on the Bukovina border in southwestern Ukraine. The Colombian government press office reported that Colombia had interned 150 Japanese and German nationals and said that others would be taken into custody. U.S. Selective Service Director Lewis Hershey ordered state directors to call all deferred registrants under the age of 26 for pre-induction physical examinations.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appealed to the people of Germany and Nazi-subjugated nations to aid Jews and other victims of persecution to escape, and asked free nations to open their borders to the refugees.

Law
The United States Senate passed and sent to the House of Representatives the "GI Bill," an omnibus measure providing for hospitalization, education, vocational training, unemployment benefits, and loans for war veterans.

The U.S. Senate passed the independent officers appropriations bill, with drastic reductions to executive agencies, and sent it to conference.

70 years ago
1949

Movies
The Academy Awards for 1948 were presented at the Academy Theater in Hollywood. The winners included: Picture--Hamlet; Director--John Huston (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre); Actor--Laurence Olivier (Hamlet); Actress--Jane Wyman (Johnny Belinda); Supporting Actor--Walter Huston (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre); and Supporting Actress--Claire Trevor (Key Largo).

World events
A series of five espionage trials in Munich ended with 17 defendants convicted of spying for Czechoslovakia and Poland.

Politics and government
Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky succeeded Nikolai Bulganin as U.S.S.R. Defense Minister. Mr. Bulganin remained as Deputy Premier and a member of the Communist Party Politburo.

Medicine
Dr. Selman Waksman reported in Science that neomycin, a new antibiotic, was as effective as streptomycin in treating tuberculosis.

Economics and finance
The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly voted to defeat the veterans' pension bill sponsored by Rep. John Rankin (Democrat--Mississippi).

Labour
The U.S. House of Representatives Labor Committee approved the bill sponsored by the administration of President Harry Truman that was intended to replace the Taft-Hartley Act.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Toronto 3 @ Boston 2 (Toronto led best-of-seven series 2-0)
Montreal 4 @ Detroit 3 (OT) (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)

Gerry Plamondon's third goal of the game, at 2:59 of the 1st overtime period, gave the Canadiens their win over the Red Wings at Olympia Stadium.

60 years ago
1959

On television tonight
Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Vision, starring Bruce Gordon, Pernell Roberts, and H.M. Wynant



Defense
Iraq formally withdrew from membership in the Baghdad Pact.

Terrorism
Cyprus Governor Sir Hugh Foot said that an amnesty would be granted to all Cypriots imprisoned for terrorist offenses, and to Greek and Turkish Cypriot terrorists still at large.

World events
Hong Kong sources reported that Communist Chinese Chairman Mao Tse-tung (Zedong) had swum the Yellow River near Wuhan seven times, presumably to answer doubts about his health.

Society
U.K. Colonial Secretary Alan Lennox-Boyd appointed a commission to investigate racial unrest in Nyasaland.

Environment
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Chairman John McCone denied that his agency had suppressed information on fallout from nuclear weapons tests.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Toronto 1 @ Boston 5 (Boston led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Chicago 2 @ Montreal 4 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 1-0)

50 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Blue Light Yokohama--Ayumi Ishida (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Las Flechas Del Amor (Little Arrows)--Karina (2nd week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Dizzy--Tommy Roe
2 Traces--Classics IV
3 Time of the Season--The Zombies
4 Indian Giver--1910 Fruitgum Co.
5 Proud Mary--Creedence Clearwater Revival
6 Things I'd Like to Say--The New Colony Six
7 This Girl's in Love with You--Dionne Warwick
8 Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon--Paul Revere and the Raiders
9 This Magic Moment--Jay and the Americans
10 Galveston--Glen Campbell

Singles entering the chart were It's Your Thing by the Isley Brothers (#72); Sweet Cherry Wine by Tommy James and the Shondells (#74); Where Do You Go To (My Lovely) by Peter Sarstedt (#76); It's Only Love by B.J. Thomas (#78); Don't Touch Me by Bettye Swann (#80); Mini-Skirt Minnie by Wilson Pickett (#84); Is it Something You've Got by Tyrone Davis (#86); Time is Tight by Booker T. & the M.G.'s (#88); I Still Love You by Jackie Wilson (#90); Sing a Simple Song by Sly & the Family Stone (#91); Ice Cream Song by the Dynamics (#92); The Chokin' Kind by Joe Simon (#93); Mercy by Ohio Express (#94); July You're a Woman by Pat Boone (#95); Zazueira by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass (#96); There Never was a Time by Jeannie C. Riley (#97); Idaho by the 4 Seasons (#98); In the Still of the Night by Paul Anka (#99); and Soul Pride (Part 1) by James Brown (#100).

On television tonight
Then Came Bronson, starring Michael Parks, Bonnie Bedelia, and Akim Tamiroff, on NBC

This made-for-television movie served as a pilot for the series, and was released in Europe as a theatrical film in 1970.



War
Egyptian and Israeli forces resumed artillery fire at each other across the Suez Canal.

Diplomacy
Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau began a two-day visit with U.S. President Richard Nixon in Washington. The two leaders discussed the anti-ballistic missile system; the North Atlantic Treaty organization; world problems; Canadian-American differences over wheat and oil; and student unrest and racial issues.

Politics and government
Bahjat Talhouni resigned as Prime Minister of Jordan; King Hussein appointed Foreign Minister Abdel Monem Rifai as his successor.

Economics and finance
Three weeks after the Bank of Canada raised its prime rate, eight of the nation's chartered banks followed suit by raising their prime lending rate from 7% to 7.5%. They also announced that as of April 1, interest paid on savings accounts would increase from 5.25% to 5.5%.

Statistics released revealed that textiles were the second-largest industry in Quebec. Textile mills provided 53,000 jobs, or about 60% of all jobs in this sector in Canada. In addition, the textile produced $900 million annually. In Quebec, the industry was divided into three branches: 1) synthetic and artificial textiles 2) yarns and fabrics 3) woolen fabrics.

Boxing
Jerry Quarry (31-2-4) won a 12-round unanimous decision over Buster Mathis (29-2) in a heavyweight bout at Madison Square Garden in New York. Mr. Mathis didn't fight again until November 1971.

40 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): Too Much Heaven--Bee Gees (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Tragedy--Bee Gees

#1 single in Ireland: I Will Survive--Gloria Gaynor (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): I Will Survive--Gloria Gaynor (2nd week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Fire!--Pointer Sisters (3rd week at #1)
2 Lay Your Love on Me--Racey
3 Chiquitita--ABBA
4 Tragedy--Bee Gees
5 Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)--The Jacksons
6 The Runner--The Three Degrees
7 Ruthless Queen--Kayak
8 The Wild Places--Duncan Browne
9 Heart of Glass--Blondie
10 Mama Leone--Bino

Singles entering the chart were Lucky Number by Lene Lovich (#17); In the Navy by Village People (#19); Don't You Write Her Off by McGuinn, Clark & Hillman (#29); I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor (#30); Can You Feel the Force by Real Thing (#32); and Hop, Skip and Jump by Chalawa (#33).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Tragedy--Bee Gees
2 I Will Survive--Gloria Gaynor
3 What a Fool Believes--The Doobie Brothers
4 Heaven Knows--Donna Summer with Brooklyn Dreams
5 Shake Your Groove Thing--Peaches & Herb
6 Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?--Rod Stewart
7 Sultans of Swing--Dire Straits
8 Fire--Pointer Sisters
9 What You Won't Do for Love--Bobby Caldwell
10 A Little More Love--Olivia Newton-John

Singles entering the chart were Bridge Over Troubled Water by Linda Clifford (#77); Just When I Needed You Most by Randy Vanwarmer (#81); Feelin' Satisfied by Boston (#83); Crazy Love by the Allman Brothers Band (#84); I Need Your Help Barry Manilow by Ray Stevens (#85); The Logical Song by Supertramp (#86); California Dreamin' by America (#88); Love Takes Time by Orleans (#89); and Saturday Night, Sunday Morning by Thelma Houston (#90).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Tragedy--Bee Gees (2nd week at #1)
2 Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?--Rod Stewart
3 What a Fool Believes--The Doobie Brothers
4 I Will Survive--Gloria Gaynor
5 Shake Your Groove Thing--Peaches & Herb
6 Heaven Knows--Donna Summer with Brooklyn Dreams
7 Sultans of Swing--Dire Straits
8 Fire--Pointer Sisters
9 Every Time I Think of You--The Babys
10 What You Won't Do for Love--Bobby Caldwell

Singles entering the chart were Bridge Over Troubled Water by Linda Clifford (#83); Love Takes Time by Orleans (#84); Feelin' Satisfied by Boston (#85); Crazy Love by the Allman Brothers Band (#86); I Need Your Help Barry Manilow by Ray Stevens (#87); Take it Back by the J. Geils Band (#88); California Dreamin' by America (#89); Good Times Roll by the Cars (#90); Saturday Night, Sunday Morning by Thelma Houston (#95); It Must Be Love by Alton McClain and Destiny (#96); Love and Desire (Part 1) by Arpeggio (#97); I Never Said I Love You by Orsa Lia (#98); Hot Number by Foxy (#99); and Walkin' the Fence by Couchois (#100).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Tragedy--Bee Gees
2 Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?--Rod Stewart
3 Heaven Knows--Donna Summer with Brooklyn Dreams
4 I Will Survive--Gloria Gaynor
5 A Little More Love--Olivia Newton-John
6 I Just Fall in Love Again--Anne Murray
7 Rasputin--Boney M.
8 The Gambler--Kenny Rogers
9 Don't Cry Out Loud--Melissa Manchester
10 No Tell Lover--Chicago

Singles entering the chart were Keep on Dancin' by Gary's Gang (#83); Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) by the Jacksons (#89); Rubber Biscuit by the Blues Brothers (#91); Watch Out for Lucy by Eric Clapton and his Band (#93); Happiness by the Pointer Sisters (#94); It Hurts So Bad by Kim Carnes (#95); Love is the Answer by England Dan and John Ford Coley (#97); Elena by the Marc Tanner Band (#98); Can You Read My Mind by Maureen McGovern (#99); and Hard Times for Lovers by Judy Collins (#100).

Hockey
NHL
Washington 1 @ Montreal 3
Chicago 3 @ Toronto 3

30 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart--Marc Almond featuring Gene Pitney (4th week at #1)

Weather
It was warm enough in Edmonton for this blogger to wear shorts outside.

Environment
The U.S. tanker Exxon Valdez spilled 240,000 barrels (38,000 cubic metres) of petroleum after running aground in Prince William Sound in Alaska. It was the worst oil spill in American history. See also here.

Defense
U.S. President George Bush and leaders of the U.S. Congress from both the Democratic and Republican parties signed an agreement on continued aid to the Contras who were opposing the Sandanista regime in Nicaragua. Under the accord, which would have to be approved by both houses, the Contras would receive $4.5 million per month for food, clothing, shelter, and medical supplies through February 1990, by which time the Sandanista government had promised to hold elections. The aid would end if the Contras initiated military action prior to the scheduled elections.

25 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Look Who's Talking--Dr. Alban (4th week at #1)

War
Somalia's most powerful clan leaders, Mohammed Farah Aidid and Ali Mahdi, signed a peace agreement in Nairobi, Kenya that called for a cease-fire in Somalia's civil war, and repudiated violence.

20 years ago
1999

On television tonight
It's Like, You Know..., on ABC
Tonight's episode: Welcome to L.A., Part 1

This was the first episode of a situation comedy that was promoted as a Los Angeles equivalent to the New York-set Seinfeld. Among the cast were Chris Eigeman (co-star of Whit Stillman's movies Metropolitan (1990); Barcelona (1994); and The Last Days of Disco (1998)) and Jennifer Grey (co-star of Dirty Dancing (1987)). The show had some funny situations, but the characters didn't have the appeal of those in Seinfeld.

Died on this date
Birdie Tebbetts, 86. U.S. baseball player and manager. George Robert Tebbetts was a catcher with the Detroit Tigers (1936-1942, 1946-1947); Boston Red Sox (1947-1950); and Cleveland Indians (1951-1952), batting .270 with 38 home runs and 469 runs batted in in 1,162 games. He was regarded as an outstanding defensive catcher, probably the best in the American League in the late 1940s. Mr. Tebbetts managed the Indianapolis Indians of the American Association in 1953, and then managed the Cincinnati Redlegs (1954-1958); Milwaukee Braves (1961-1962); and Cleveland Indians (1963-1966), compiling a record of 748-705. He then served as a scout from 1968-1997 with the New York Mets; New York Yankees; Baltimore Orioles; and Florida Marlins.

War
North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces launched attacks on targets in Yugoslavia after Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic refused to sign a peace agreement regarding the future of the rebellious province of Kosovo. Targets in Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo were hit. Cruise missiles were fired from U.S. and British ships and submarines in the Adriatic Sea and from American B-52 bombers; other NATO warplanes attacked from bases in Italy. The participation of four German jets marked the first combat by German aircraft since the end of World War II. The United States reported that three Yugoslav MiG jets were shot down during the first night. U.S. President Bill Clinton said in an address that NATO sought to stop the Serbian offensive against civilians in Kosovo and to damage the Serbian military. Targets included radar and missile sites and command and communication centres. Russian President Boris Yeltsin denounced the attacks, and both Russia and China criticized the NATO offensive at the UN Security Council the next day.

Politics and government
The day after the assassination of Vice President Luis Maria Argaña, Paraguay's lower house of Congress voted to begin impeachment proceedings against President Raul Cubas Grau immediately for his defiance of a Supreme Court order to return Gen. Lino Cesar Oviedo to prison for planning a coup against then-President Juan Carlos Wasmosy in 1996. Six people were killed in riots calling for Mr. Cubas's ouster.

Rev. Jesse Jackson announced that he would not make a third attempt for the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination in 2000.

Law
An appellate committee of Great Britain's Law Lords ruled that the 1998 arrest of former Chilean President General Augusto Pinochet in England had been legal. The majority agreed that the international convention against torture applied to former heads of state.The issue of extradition to Spain remained unresolved.

Disasters
A Belgian truck carrying margarine and flour caught fire inside the Mont Blanc Tunnel; the resulting inferno killed 38 people.

10 years ago
2009

Died on this date
George Kell, 86. U.S. baseball player and broadcaster. Mr. Kell played third base with the Philadelphia Athletics (1943-1946); Detroit Tigers (1946-1952); Boston Red Sox (1952-1954); Chicago White Sox (1954-1956); and Baltimore Orioles (1956-1957), batting .306 with 78 home runs and 870 runs batted in in 1,795 games. He won the American League batting title in 1949, hitting .3429 to edge Boston's Ted Williams, who hit .3427. Mr. Kell led the AL in hits and doubles in both 1950 and 1951. He led AL third basemen in fielding percentage seven times, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983. Mr. Kell broadcast major league games on television for CBS (1958) and the Tigers (1959-1963, 1965-1996). He died in his sleep.

Gábor Ocskay, 33. Hungarian hockey player. Mr. Ocskay was a centre with Alba Volán Székesfehérvár from 1993 until his death, and was named Hungarian Player of the Year in 1994, 1995, and 2006. He died of a heart attack three days after helping his team win its 10th Hungarian championship. Mr. Ocskay was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 2016.

Business
Petro-Canada and Suncor announced a friendly merger, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals. The new company would be Canada's largest oil-and-gas company and the last widely held Canadian integrated oil company on the Toronto Stock Exchange.