March 17, 2021

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Natalya!

790 years ago
1231

Born on this date
Shijō. Emperor of Japan, 1232-1242. Shijō, born Mitsuhito-shinnō, acceded to the throne upon the abdication of his father Go-Horikawa. Emperor Shijō's maternal relatives Kujō Michiie and Saionji Kintsune acted as de facto rulers of Japan during Shijō's reign, which ended with his death in an accident at the age of 10 on February 10, 1242. He was succeeded on the throne by his second cousin Go-Saga.

280 years ago
1741

Died on this date
Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, 69. French poet and playwright. Mr. Rousseau was more successful as a poet than as a playwright, but was best known for his cynical epigrams, which were directed at those in his literary circle. He was prosecuted for defamation of character in 1712, failed to appear in court, and was condemned to perpetual exile, dying in Brussels, 20 days before his 70th birthday.

180 years ago
1841

Economics and finance
U.S. President William Henry Harrison scheduled a special session of Congress for May 31, 1841 to deal with the nation’s continuing financial distress.

160 years ago
1861

Italiana
The Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed.

140 years ago
1881

Born on this date
Walter Rudolf Hess. Swiss physiologist. Dr. Hess shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1949 with Egas Moiz for mapping the areas of the brain involved in the control of internal organs. He died on August 12, 1973 at the age of 92.

130 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Ross McLarty. Australian politician. Sir Ross was the son of a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council, and represented Murray-Wellington in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly (1930-1962) as a member of the Nationalist and then the Liberal Party, holding several cabinet posts as well as the office of Premier of Western Australia (1947-1953). He resigned his seat in March 1962 because of poor health, and died on December 22, 1962 at the age of 71.

Disasters
The British liner SS Utopia collided with the battleship HMS Anson in the Bay of Gibraltar and sank, killing 562 of the 880 passengers on board.

120 years ago
1901

Born on this date
Alfred Newman. U.S. composer and conductor. Mr. Newman conducted on Broadway before moving to Hollywood and becoming one of the most famous and most-honoured composers in the history of film music. He was nominated for 45 Academy Awards, winning 9. Mr. Newman's brothers Emil and Lionel were also film composers, as were Alfred's sons David and Thomas, nephew Randy Newman, and grandnephew Joey Newman. Mr. Newman's daughter Maria is a classical composer who has written collaborative scores for vintage silent films, and his granddaughter Jaclyn Newman Dorn is a cinematic music editor. Alfred Newman died of emphysema on February 17, 1970, a month before his 70th birthday, and shortly after completing his score for Airport (1970).

100 years ago
1921

Born on this date
Meir Amit. Israeli military officer and politician. Major General Amit, born Meir Slutsky, fought for the Haganah during the Arab-Israeli War in 1948; he rose through the ranks, becoming head of Israeli Defense Force Intelligence in 1961 and Director of the intelligence agency Mossad (1963-1968). He achieved great success in infiltrating the government of Syria and the military of Egypt. Maj. Gen. Amit was elected to the Knesset in 1977 as a member of the Democratic Movement for Change, and served as Minister of Communications and Minister of Transportation (1977-1978) in the government of Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Maj. Gen. Amit lost his seat in the 1981 general election, and later served as chairman of Israel's Center for Special Studies. He died on July 17, 2009 at the age of 88.

Politics and government
The Second Polish Republic adopted the March Constitution.

80 years ago
1941

Died on this date
Marguerite Nichols, 49. U.S. actress. Miss Nichols appeared in 21 silent movies from 1915-1918. She was married to producer Hal Roach from 1915 until her death from pneumonia.

War
British colonial troops captured Jijiga, Ethiopia, while the United Kingdom announced that British troops had recaptured the port of Berbera in British Somaliland, which had been taken by Italian forces on August 19, 1940. No. 6 Air Observer School of the British Commonwealth Air Training program, in Saskatchewan, was opened to New Zealand students.

Diplomacy
Prince Regent Paul of Yugoslavia received an ultimatum from German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler to join the Tripartite Pact or face occupation.

Defense
Republican Party members of the U.S. House of Representatives, in a three-hour conference, decided to abandon opposition to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's $7-billion Lend-Lease appropriations bill. U.S. Office of Production Management Director General William Knudsen said that defense production must rise 60% to handle the Lend-Lease program. The Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies urged that U.S. Navy ships be used to convoy goods to the United Kingdom, and recommended that American volunteers be permitted to join Allied armies.

Art
The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. was officially opened by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Society
The National Committee for Planned Parenthood, sponsored by the Birth Control Federation of America, began a nationwide campaign in the United States to have birth control included in state and national public health programs.

Academia
The New York Board of Higher Education voted to make membership in a Communist, Fascist, or Nazi group sufficient cause for dismissal of faculty members in any city college.

75 years ago
1946

Died on this date
Dai Li, 48. Chinese military officer. Lieutenant General Dai Li, born Dai Chunfeng, was the head of Nationalist leader Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's militray intelligence service. He was killed in a plane crash that was possibly arranged by Kang Sheng, his Communist counterpart.

Radio
The George Foster Peabody Awards were presented to Edgar Bergen and Arch Oboler (drama); America's Town Meeting of the Air (education); CBS (news); and Paul White.

Defense
The London Observer reported that 75% of the Soviet occupation forces in eastern Europe had been replaced by a small Soviet military police force and that the rest of the troops were to leave soon.

The U.S. Navy cancelled plans for a Mediterranean cruise by the 8th Fleet at the request of the State Department, which explained that the cruise might be construed as anti-Soviet.

Agriculture
The Combined Food Board submitted a report to the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration stating that the world food supply was down 40% from pre-World War II years and that the grain crisis would continue into 1947.

Politics and government
The Wisconsin Progressive Party voted to rejoin the Republican Party.

Economics and finance
A U.S. Federal Reserve Board report said that production was now above the level of any previous peacetime period.

Disasters
Seven people were killed as tornadoes swept Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia.

Track and field
Gunder Haegg and Arne Andersson of Sweden, the world's fastest milers, were ruled to be professionals and were barred for life from amateur competition by the Swedish Athletic Association.

70 years ago
1951

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): The Thing--Phil Harris; Les Welch (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): If--Perry Como (Best Seller--2nd week at #1; Disc Jockey--3rd week at #1); The Tennessee Waltz--Patti Page (Jukebox--11th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Be My Love--Mario Lanza (3rd week at #1)
2 If--Perry Como
3 You’re Just in Love--Perry Como
4 My Heart Cries for You--Guy Mitchell
--Dinah Shore
--Vic Damone
--Jimmy Wakely
5 The Tennessee Waltz--Patti Page
--Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
--Les Paul and Mary Ford
--Jo Stafford
6 Would I Love You (Love You, Love You)--Patti Page
7 The Roving Kind--Guy Mitchell
--The Weavers
8 So Long (It’s Been Good to Know You)--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra and the Weavers
9 A Penny a Kiss--Tony Martin and Dinah Shore
10 Mockin’ Bird Hill--Les Paul and Mary Ford
--Patti Page

Singles entering the chart were Sparrow in the Tree Top (#23), with versions by Guy Mitchell; and Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters; and Tonda Wonda Hoy (#33), with versions by Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra; and Dean Martin.

War
United Nations Secretary-General Trygve Lie sounded out major UN delegations, including those of the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R., on the possibility of a cease-fire in Korea.

Defense
Reports from London said that the British Supply Ministry had begun production of an atomic bomb and would seek permission to test it in Nevada within a year.

Oil
The Iranian Senate overwhelmingly approved a lower house plan for nationalization of the country's oil industry.

Hockey
IIHF World Championships @ Paris
Group A
Finland (1-5) 3 U.K. (1-4-1) 6
Switzerland (4-1-1) 5 U.S.A. (1-4-1) 1
Canada (6-0) 5 Sweden (4-1-1) 1

The Lethbridge Maple Leafs, representing Canada, defeated Sweden to conclude the championships with a perfect record. The Swedes were awarded second place over the Swiss because of a better goal differential.

60 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Walk Right Back--The Everly Brothers (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Susanna M. Salter, 101. U.S. politician. Mrs. Salter, a member of the became the first woman to be elected a mayor in the United States, when a group of men opposed to women in politics entered her as a candidate for Mayor of Argonia, Kansas in 1887, and she won, helped by the support of the Women's Christian Temperance Union. She served a one-year term (1887-1888), declined to seek re-election, and retired from politics. Mrs. Salter and her husband moved to Oklahoma in 1893; she died 15 days after her 101st birthday.

50 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Another Day--Paul McCartney

Politics and government
A minority Labour Party government led by Trygve Bratteli took office in Norway, succeeding the Centre Party government of Prime Minister Per Borten.

Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s New Congress Party unanimously re-elected her as party leader, and Indian President V.V. Giri asked her to form a new cabinet.

Economics and finance U.S. President Richard Nixon signed a bill providing for a 10% increase in social security benefits.

Boxing
Jose Roberto Chirino (19-4-4) knocked down Nino Benvenuti (82-6-3) twice and won a 10-round majority decision over the former world middleweight champion in Bologna, Italy.

40 years ago
1981

Died on this date
Paul "Daffy" Dean, 68. U.S. baseball pitcher. The younger brother of St. Louis Cardinals' ace Dizzy Dean, Paul won 19 games to Dizzy's 30 as the Cardinals won the National League pennant in 1934, Daffy's rookie year in the major leagues. Each brother won 2 games in the World Series as the Cardinals defeated the Detroit Tigers in 7 games. Paul won 19 games again in 1935, but injured his arm, and never pitched effectively in the majors again. He was with the Cardinals through 1939, the New York Giants in 1940-1941, and the St. Louis Browns briefly in 1943. Paul Dean compiled a career record of 50 wins and 34 losses in the major leagues and was 76-58 in the minors. He died of a heart attack.

30 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Unchained Melody--The Righteous Brothers (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Crazy--Seal (2nd week at #1)

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Hello Afrika--Dr. Alban featuring Leila K.
2 Unchained Melody--The Righteous Brothers
3 Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C & C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams
4 Kränk di net--Jazz Gitti & her Disco Killers
5 Fantasy--Black Box
6 Crazy--Seal
7 3 A.M. Eternal (Live at the S.S.L.)--The KLF
8 To Love Somebody--Jimmy Somerville
9 Sister Soul & Mr. Beat--Beat 4 Feet featuring Kim Cooper
10 Keep on Running--Milli Vanilli

Singles entering the chart were Secret Love by the Bee Gees (#17); Joyride by Roxette (#25); and The Grease Megamix by John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John (#28).

World events
With only 9 of 15 republics participating in a referendum, 77% of 105 million voters reportedly voted in favour of a treaty to preserve the Soviet Union. In an apparent boost for Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Russian voters approved direct election of their president.

Politics and government
The government of Kuwait announced that parliamentary elections would be held in six months to a year.

25 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Mysterious Girl--Peter Andre featuring Bubbler Ranx

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Lemon Tree--Fool's Garden

#1 single in Switzerland: Children--Robert Miles (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Scotland (OCC): Children--Robert Miles (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
René Clément, 82. French movie director and screenwriter. Mr. Clément's movies included Jeux interdits (Forbidden Games) (1952); Plein soleil (Purple Noon) (1960); and Paris brûle-t-il? (Is Paris Burning?) (1966). He died the day before his 83rd birthday.

Lisl Handl, aka Poldi Dur, 78. Austrian-born U.S. actress. Miss Handl, a native of Vienna, was a dancer and appeared in minor roles in several Austrian films before emigrating to the United States in 1937 and adopting her stage name. She appeared in several anti-Nazi propaganda movies, including They Came to Blow Up America (1943); Margin for Error (1943); and The Hitler Gang (1944).

Terry Stafford, 54. U.S. singer. Mr. Stafford was best known for his single Suspicion, which reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1964. He had slight success as a country singer and songwriter in the 1970s, and died of liver failure.

Hockey
NHL
Vancouver 2 @ Toronto 4

Mike Gartner scored his 30th and 31st goals of the season to help the Maple Leafs defeat the Canucks at Maple Leaf Gardens, extending his NHL record of 30 goal seasons to 15.

10 years ago
2011

Died on this date
Michael Gough, 94. Malaysian-born U.K. actor. Mr. Gough was a character actor who appeared in plays and in more than 150 movies and television programs in Britain and the United States. He won a Tony Award for his starring performance in Bedroom Farce (1979), and won a BAFTA television award in 1957. Mr. Gough appeared in Hammer Films horror movies from 1958 through the 1970s, and played Alfred Pennyworth in four Batman movies (1989-1997). He died of pneumonia.

Ferlin Husky, 85. U.S. musician. Mr. Husky was a country singer and guitarist who had numerous hits from 1953-1975. His biggest hits were Gone (1957), which reached #1 on the Billboard Country and Western chart, and #4 on the pop chart, and Wings of a Dove (1960), which reached #1 on the C&W chart and #12 on the Hot 100 pop chart. Mr. Husky was also known for creating the hayseed comic character Simon Crum, and had bit parts in various movies and television programs. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010, and died of congestive heart failure.

War
The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1973, authorizing military intervention in Libya to protect civilians.