February 22, 2021

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Laura Pereverzoff-Ong!

910 years ago
1111

Died on this date
Ruggero Borsa, 39-41 (?). Duke of Apulia and Calabria, 1085-1111. Ruggero was the son of Robert Guiscard, the conqueror of southern Italy and Sicily, and succeeded him as the effective ruler of southern Italy. Ruggero lost some territory to his half-brother Bohemund of Taranto, but mounted a successful siege of Capua in 1098. He was succeeded by his son William II.

650 years ago
1371

Died on this date
David II, 46. King of Scots, 1329-1371. David II acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Robert I, becoming the last male and monarch of the House of Bruce. Military defeat at the hands of English troops in the Battle of Halidon Hill led to his exile in France from 1333-1341, but he was able to return when his forces eventually gained the upper hand. King David invaded England in 1746, but his forces lost, and he was imprisoned for more than a decade, finally returning to Scotland in a ransom deal in 1357. He continued secret negotiations with King Edward III of England well into the 1360s until the ransom deal was resolved satisfactorily. David II's kingdom became stronger in his later years, and he died unexpectedly, at the height of his power. David II left no children, and was succeeded by his nephew Robert II, who began the Stuart dynasty.

370 years ago
1651

Disasters
The first storm tide of St. Peter's Flood struck the Frisian coast, drowning 15,000 people.

140 years ago
1881

Born on this date
Joseph B. Ely. U.S. politician. Mr. Ely, a Democrat, was Governor of Massachusetts (1931-1935), and initiated public works in order to relieve unemployment during the Depression. He supported 1928 Democratic Party U.S. presidential nominee Al Smith's candidacy for the nomination against Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, and opposed the New Deal economic policies of the latter after he became President in 1933. Internal squabbles within the Democratic Party in Massachusetts led Mr. Ely to decline to run for re-election in 1934. He joined the American Liberty League that year, and supported Republican Party candidate Alf Landon's presidential campaign in 1936. Mr. Ely died on June 13, 1956 at the age of 75.

100 years ago
1921

Born on this date
Giulietta Masina. Italian actress. Miss Masina was the wife of director Federico Fellini, and starred in films of his such as The White Sheik (1952); La Strada (1954); Il Bidone (The Swindle) (1955); and Nights of Cabiria (1957). She died on March 23, 1994, 29 days after her 73rd birthday.

Jean-Bédel Bokassa. 2nd President of the Central African Republic, 1966-1976; Emperor of Central Africa, 1976-1979. Captain Bokassa took power in a military coup on January 1, 1966, overthrowing the government of President David Dacko. Mr. Bokassa ruled as a dictator, changing the name of the country to Central African Empire, and declaring himself to be Emperor Bokassa I on December 4, 1976. He was deposed in a French-backed coup on September 20, 1979, Mr. Dacko was reinstated as President, and the country reverted to its former name. Mr. Bokassa was exiled to France but returned to the Central African Republic in 1986, and was tried for treason and murder. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, later commuted to life in solitary confinement. Mr. Bokassa was freed in 1993, and lived in last years in the capital city of Bangui, dying on November 3, 1996 at the age of 75.

World events
After Russian forces under Baron Roman von Ungern-Sternberg drove the Chinese out, the Bogd Khan was reinstalled as Emperor of Mongolia.

80 years ago
1941

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Frenesi--Artie Shaw and his Orchestra (10th week at #1)

War
The German ships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau sank five ships in the North Atlantic Ocean. The British Admiralty announced that 150,000 square miles of the mid-Mediterranean Sea had been mined.

Diplomacy
A Vichy report said that France had rejected a Japanese-sponsored proposal whereby Thailand would receive approximately one-third of Laos and Cambodia.

U.S. Minister to Bulgaria George Earle was involved in a cafe fight with a German army major.

Defense
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover asked the House of Representatives for about $970,000 to pay for 700 additional special agents to protect the defense program against spies and saboteurs. R. Medina Ramirez, acting President of the Nationalist Party in Puerto Rico, was indicted in San Juan on a charge of obstructing registration for the draft.

Education
The U.S. National Manufacturers Association-sponsored survey that declared that a "substantial proportion" of social science textbooks were critical of the American form of government and free enterprise was assailed by a committee of 10 social scientists who saw a "censorship threat inherent" in the investigation.

Track and field
Greg Rice won the three-mile run at the U.S. Amateur Athletic Union championships in New York, setting a world indoor record of 13 minutes 51 seconds.

75 years ago
1946

At the movies
Little Giant, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, opened in theatres.



House of Horrors, starring Rondo Hatton, Martin Kosleck, and Robert Lowery, opened in theatres in New York City.



War
At the Nuremberg trial of accused Nazi war criminals, the Soviet prosecution introduced evidence that Russian civilians shipped to Germany in 1942 had been sold at $4-$6 per head for slave labour. Norwegian novelist Knut Hamsun, 86, who had been charged with treason for his support of Germany during World War II, was committed to a hospital in Grimstad because of "mental deficiencies" due to old age.

Diplomacy
Argentine presidential candidate Juan Peron issued a 127-page "Blue and White Book" accusing U.S. embassy officials of espionage, and denying charges of Argentine collaboration with Germany during World War II.

Protest
British authorities imposed a 9 P.M. curfew in Bombay as rioting and looting continued for the second day.

Religion
Monsignor Maurice Roy was appointed Roman Catholic Archbishop of Trois-Rivières, Quebec, succeeding Mgr. Alfred-Odilon Comtois.

70 years ago
1951

Movies
The British Film Academy named All About Eve the best picture of 1950 and The Blue Lamp the best British picture.

Diplomacy
Western Allied high commissioners n Berlin endorsed West Germany's demand for a voice in big four talks affecting Germany.

Defense
The U.S. Air Force and Atomic Energy Commission announced the completion of the first phase in the program to produce an atomic plane.

General Carl Spaatz, retired U.S. Air Force chief of staff, told the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees that the United States needed nearly three times its present air strength (250 air groups) for safety from Soviet attack.

60 years ago
1961

On television tonight
The United States Steel Hour, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon, directed by Fielder Cook, and starring Cliff Robertson and Mona Freeman

This adaptation of Daniel Keyes' short story Flowers for Algernon was remade in 1968 as the theatrical film Charly, with Mr. Robertson reprising his role and winning the Academy Award for Best Actor.



Died on this date
Nick LaRocca, 71. U.S. musician and composer. Mr. LaRocca was a jazz trumpeter and cornetist who led the Original Dixieland Jazz Band from 1917-1927. The band made the first jazz recordings in 1917; shortly thereafter, they recorded Mr. LaRocca's composition Tiger Rag, which went on to become one of the most recorded jazz tunes in history. Mr. LaRocca reorganized the ODJB in 1936 for a successful tour and recordings, but the band broke up again in 1937. He attracted criticism in the 1950s when he claimed to be "The Creator of Jazz," among other disputed claims.

Space
The United States launched two satellites from a single rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, but the satellites failed to separate in orbit as planned. The satellites were the 250-pound Transit 3B, designed to aid development of a global navigational satellite system, and the 57-pound LOFTI-1, designed to measure intensity of very low-frequency signals through the ionosphere. The satellites were to have gone into separate near-circular orbits 500 miles up, but they remained joined and went into an elliptical orbit ranging from 117-511 miles above Earth. Both radio transmitters operated, but the quality of the data received was hurt by the elliptical orbit.

Diplomacy
U.S.S.R. Premier Nikita Khrushchev sent messages to Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the leaders of 66 other governments, calling for the formation of an all-African commission to take over the United Nations’ role in the Congo and restore that country’s independence. He repeated his demand that UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold be replaced by a three-man secretariat, and attacked Mr. Hammarskjold as the "chief assassin" of recently-deposed and deceased Congolese Premier Patrice Lumumba. Mr. Khrushchev said that his proposed commission would be "in full contact" with what he described as the "country’s legitimate government," headed by Antoine Gizenga, former deputy to Mr. Lumumba. The Soviet leader demanded the arrest and trial of Major General Joseph Mobutu, Congolese army commander, and Moise Tshombe, President of the secessionist Congolese province of Katanga, for the murder of Mr. Lumumba. Meanwhile, Joseph Ileo, newly installed as Congo’s Premier by President Joseph Kasavubu, warned that his regime would use force if necessary to hinder the United Nations plan to bar civil war in the Congo.

50 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): My Sweet Lord--George Harrison (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Hanayome--Norihiko Hashida & Climax (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Candida--Dawn

Died on this date
Frédéric Mariotti, 87. French actor. Mr. Mariotti appeared in almost 100 movies from 1917-1951; his films included Mare Nostrum (1926) and The Night of Decision (1931).

40 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): The Tide is High--Blondie (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Some Broken Hearts Never Mend--Telly Savalas (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Andy High, 83. U.S. baseball infielder. Mr. High, one of three brothers who played in the major leagues, spent 13 seasons in the National League with the Brooklyn Robins (1922-1925); Boston Braves (1925-1927); St. Louis Cardinals (1928-1931); Cincinnati Reds (1932-1933); and Philadelphia Phillies (1934). He batted .284 with 44 home runs and 482 runs batted in in 1,314 career games. Mr. High played in three World Series with the Cardinals (1928; 1930; 1931), batting .294 in 9 games. After being just a part-time player in 1931, he played 4 games in the World Series, batting .267, as the Cardinals upset the defending champion Philadelphia Athletics.

Diplomacy
West German spokesmen said there was a possibility that they might become involved in an attempt to bring the warring factions in El Salvador together for negotiations in Bonn.

Religion
Pope John Paul II continued his east Asian tour with a mass for indigenous people in Baguio City, Philippines before returning to Manila, whence he departed for Guam.

Hockey
NHL
Montreal 4 @ Buffalo 2

30 years ago
1991

War
U.S. President George Bush gave Iraq an ultimatum to withdraw from Kuwait by 12 noon the following day or face a full-scale ground war. Mr. Bush also denounced Iraq for setting fire to Kuwaiti oil installations. Hundreds were aflame, and black smoke covered up to half of Kuwait and parts of neighbouring countries.

World events
Two weeks of crisis talks by the presidents of Yugoslavia’s republics concluded with a failure to reach a consensus on the future of Yugoslavia.

Politics and government
In an attempt to end a wave of pro-democracy protests, Albanian President Ramiz Alia dismissed Premier Adil Carcani and appointed a new government. In a nationally-televised address two days earlier, Mr. Alia explained that he had decided to create a new government and a new presidential council for the sake of "peace and democracy." The new 19-member cabinet, composed entirely of members of the ruling Albanian Workers’ (Communist) Party, was to remain in office until the national elections set for March 31. Fatos Nano, a reform-minded economist, succeeded Mr. Carcani, who had been in office since 1982, as Premier.

25 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Spaceman--Babylon Zoo (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Spaceman--Babylon Zoo (4th week at #1)

Politics and government
Brian Tobin led the Liberal Party to victory in the Newfoundland provincial election, capturing 37 of 48 seats in the House of Assembly, increasing the majority previously enjoyed by Clyde Wells. Glen Clark was sworn in as Premier of British Columbia, replacing the retiring Mike Harcourt. Mr. Clark, the former Employment and Investment Minister, had been elected as leader of B.C.'s New Democratic Party on February 18.

Diplomacy
Turkey recalled her ambassador from Greece in a dispute between the countries over an island in the Aegean Sea. Greece rejected American efforts to mediate the dispute.

Society
Police in South Africa escorted 16 black children to a white school after the Supreme Court had ordered that the school be integrated.

20 years ago
2001

World events
The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution establishing a pullback and withdrawal of all foreign and rebel troops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Crime
A three-judge panel of the international tribunal trying accused war criminals at The Hague convicted three former Bosnian Serb soldiers of raping and torturing Muslim women during the Balkan wars of the 1990s. The verdict marked the first time that rape had been defined as a crime against humanity. Two of the three men were also convicted of sexual slavery for keeping women and girls, some as young as 12, for up to eight months--the first time that an international court had condemned this particular crime. The crimes occurred after Serbs had seized the Bosnian town of Foca in 1992. Hundreds of women in the vicinity were thought to have been raped, and 16 testified against the men at their trial. The convicted men received sentences of 12-28 years in prison.

Defense
At his first news conference as President of the United States, George W. Bush said that he was concerned about evidence that China was assisting in the building of Iraq's radar systems.



10 years ago
2011

Protest
Tens of thousands of people in Bahrain marched in protest against the deaths of seven victims killed by police and army forces during previous protests.

Disasters
New Zealand's second-deadliest earthquake struck Christchurch, killing 185 people.