March 9, 2021

320 years ago
1701

War
Safavid troops retreated from Basra in what is now Iraq, ending a three-year occupation.

225 years ago
1796

Married on this date
French military leader Napoléon Bonaparte and widow Joséphine de Beauharnais were married in a civil ceremony.

210 years ago
1811

War
Paraguayan forces commanded by Colonel Manuel Atanasio Cabañas defeated General Manuel Belgrano's United Provinces of the Río de la Plata forces in the Battle of Tacuarí in southern Paraguay.

180 years ago
1841

Law
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in United States v. The Amistad that the 35 surviving slaves aboard the Spanish ship Amistad, who had ended up in the United States after revolting against their captors, were free.

170 years ago
1851

Died on this date
Hans Christian Ørsted, 73. Danish physicist and chemist. Dr. Ørsted was credited with the discovery of aluminum, and discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields, which was the first connection found between electricity and magnetism. Ørsted's law and the oersted (Oe) magnetic field unit are named in his honour.

140 years ago
1881

Born on this date
Ernest Bevin. U.K. labour leader and politician. Mr. Bevin, a member of the Labour Party, was General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union (1927-1945) and represented Wandsworth Central (1940-1950) and Woolwich East (1950-1951) in the House of Commons. He was Minister of Labour and National Service (1940-1945) in the wartime coalition government of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Clement Attlee. Mr. Bevin succeeded in maximizing British labour supply in his first cabinet post, while his time as Foreign Secretary was characterized by the independence of India and Pakistan; the end of the British mandate in Palestine; opposition to Communism; and aiding in the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Due to failing health he resigned on March 9, 1951, his 70th birthday, and accepted the appointment as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, but died shortly thereafter, on April 14, 1951.

Politics and government
Lawrence Clarke of Battleford, Northwest Territories became the first member elected to the North-West Council, from the Electoral District of Lorne. 130 years ago
1891

Born on this date
José P. Laurel. 3rd President of the Philippines, 1943-1945. Mr. Laurel, a member of the Nacionalista Party, held various offices from the 1920s through the 1950s. He was President of the Second Philippine Republic, a Japanese puppet state during World War II. Mr. Laurel died on November 6, 1959 at the age of 68.

110 years ago
1901

Politics and government
Naturalized Japanese Canadians won the right to vote as they successfully appealed the British Columbia Elections Act that denied the vote to citizens of Asiatic origin.

100 years ago
1921

Born on this date
Carl Betz. U.S. actor. Mr. Betz was known for his roles in the television series The Donna Reed Show (1958-1966) and Judd for the Defense (1967-1969), winning an Emmy Award for his work on the latter series. He died of lung cancer on January 18, 1978 at the age of 56.

90 years ago
1931

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Richard Gordon and Leigh Lovell, on NBC
Tonight’s episode: The Five Orange Pips

80 years ago
1941

On the radio

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on NBC
Tonight’s episode: The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place

This was the last episode of the season.

War
The Japanese government announced that Japanese forces had withdrawn from the entire south coast of the Chinese province of Kwangtung, having achieved their objective. The Vichy French regime announced that a peace conference in Tokyo had reached a full accord on the Indochina-Thailand frontier dispute.

Defense
The Vichy regime said that France would defend her African colonies alone and in conformity with armistice agreements with Germany.

Diplomacy
The British government of Prime Minister Winston Churchill again rejected former U.S. President Herbert Hoover's plan to feed Belgians, saying it would only "prolong the war."

Politics and government
Chinese Nationalists reported that Communists had requested more political power; Premier Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek accused the Communists of fomenting disunion.

Paul Porter, Arthur C. McDowell, and Leonard Woodcock resigned from the U.S. Socialist Party's national executive committee in protest against party leader Norman Thomas's opposition to Lend-Lease.

Academia
33 members of the faculties of City College of New York and Brooklyn College who were accused of Communism denounced the legislative Rapp-Coudert inquiry as unfair and part of a drive to "plunge" the United States into "the imperialist war."

Skiing
Toni Matt won the U.S. national combined championship at Aspen, Colorado.

75 years ago
1946

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Personality--Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers with Paul Weston and His Orchestra (Best Seller--1st week at #1); Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief--Betty Hutton with Paul Weston and His Orchestra (Airplay--1st week at #1); Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!--Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra with Vaughn Monroe and the Norton Sisters (Juke Box--5th week at #1); Oh! What it Seemed to Be--Frankie Carle and His Orchestra with Marjorie Hughes (Honor Roll of Hits--1st week at #1)

Theatre
Truckline Cafe, written by Maxwell Anderson, directed by Harold Clurman, and co-produced by Mr. Clurman and Elia Kazan, closed at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway in New York City after just 13 performances. The cast included Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Kevin McCarthy, and Virginia Gilmore.

War
Three dozen Dutch battalions arrived in batavia to relieve British and Indian troops fighting against Indonesian nationalists.

Defense
The Chinese government in Chungking reported that Soviet troops were evacuating Mukden, turning over their garrison duties to Chinese Nationalist forces.

Politics and government
Pro-Soviet Finnish Prime Minister Juho Paasikivi was elected President of Finland by Parliament.

U.S. Representative Hatton Summers (Democrat--Texas) announced that he would not seek re-election after 33 years in Congress.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Harry Truman told the 34-nation International Monetary Conference in Wilmington Island, Georgia that the Bretton Woods Agreement was the cornerstone of a sound new economic world.

Technology
Western Union Telegraph Company revealed the development of the "concentrated arc lamp," which would be used for optical devices, photography, and medical research.

Disasters
33 people were killed and hundreds injured in a crush of fans attempting to enter Burnden park in Bolton, England for a football match between the home Bolton Wanderers and Stoke City.





Tennis
Robert Grant III defeated Robert Gerry, Jr. to win the U.S. national amateur court title.

70 years ago
1951

On the radio
Hear it Now, hosted by Edward R. Murrow, on CBS

Tonight's program included a biography of a labour union.

World events
El Salvador was placed under a state of siege after the Interior Ministry reported the discovery of a Communist plot to overthrow the government of President Oscar Osorio.

Terrorism
The Iranian group Fadayan Islam threatened to kill Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi and other top officials if the assassin of Prime Minister Alia Razmara ws not freed in three days.

Politics and government
British Prime Minister Clement Attlee appointed Herbert Morrison, leader of the Labour Party's moderate faction, as Foreign Secretary, following the resignation of Ernest Bevin for reasons of health.

The Australian Supreme Court invalidated a law banning the Communist Party.

Defense
The U.S. Senate passed and sent to the House of Representatives the Universal Military Training and Service bill, providing for the drafting of 18-year-olds but limiting U.S. military strength to four million men.

Health
Duke University reported that cancer--primarily leukemia--had become the second-leading cause of death among children.

Business
The Canadian House of Commons approved the incorporation of TransCanada Pipelines to build 3,000 miles of natural gas pipeline from Alberta to Québec.

Boxing
Rex Layne (30-1-2) scored a technical knockout of Bob Satterfield (27-11-1) at 2:56 of the 8th round of a heavyweight bout at Madison Square Garden in New York.



60 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade): Wonderland by Night--Bert Kaempfert and his Orchestra (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Walk Right Back/Ebony Eyes--The Everly Brothers (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
The Untouchables, starring Robert Stack, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Antidote

Space
The U.S.S.R. launched Sputnik 9. The 5-ton satellite, carrying a 13-pound dog, guinea pigs, mice, insects , and seed, went into Earth orbit and returned to the Soviet Union the same day. Soviet reporters said the animals, which had been observed by television during the flight, were in good condition. The Soviet government hailed the flight as a major step in the Soviet man-in-space program, and U.S. space experts said the U.S.S.R. was "about ready to put a man up now."

50 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Kvällstoppen): My Sweet Lord--George Harrison (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Butterfly--Danyel Gérard (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date Cyril VI, 68. Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria, 1959-1971. Cyril VI, born Azer Youssef Atta in Egypt, became a monk in 1927, and succeeded Joseph II, becoming the only Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria in the 20th century who wasn't first a bishop/Metropolitan. He died after a short illness, and was succeeded by Shenouda III. Cyril VI was canonized as a saint by the Coptic Orthodox Church in 2013.

Disasters
The British tanker Ocean Bridge, standing by off the west coast of Spain to aid the stricken tanker British Comet, was ravaged by an explosion touched off by a mysterious fire, and the British Comet, in turn, picked up 49 of the Ocean Bridge’s 50 crewmen, leaving the captain missing.

40 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Counting the Beat--The Swingers (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Machikado Twilight--Chanels

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): What's in a Kiss--Gilbert O'Sullivan (4th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Fade to Grey--Visage

Terrorism
The Pakistani jetliner that had been hijacked by Pakistani political dissidents to Kabul, Afghanistan on March 2 was flown to Damascus, with 116 passengers and 7 crew members still aboard; one more hostage was released.

Crime
John Lange, known as the M5 Rapist, was sentenced to life in prison in England on 12 counts of rape and concurrent six-year sentences on each of four counts of attempted rape.

Environment
U.S. government specialists said that there was hope that the cleanup of the disabled nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, which had suffered an accident in 1979, could be made with very little risk to workers, but would take until at least 1988.

Labour
450 Polish farmers met in Poznan in the first national congress of their still-unrecognized union.

30 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): I've Been Thinking About You--Londonbeat (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Se Stiamo Insieme--Riccardo Cocciante

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Sadeness Part I--Enigma (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Take No Crap--Cut 'N' Move

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Wicked Game--Chris Isaak (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Wind of Change--Scorpions

#1 single in the U.K. (CIN): Should I Stay or Should I Go--The Clash

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Crazy--Seal (3rd week at #1)
2 Liefde Voor Muziek--Raymond v/h Groenewoud
3 Because I Love You (The Postman Song)--Stevie B.
4 Knockin' Boots--Candyman
5 The Grease Megamix--John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
6 Do the Bartman--The Simpsons
7 3 A.M. Eternal (Live at the S.S.L.)--The KLF
8 Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C&C Music Factory
9 Wicked Game--Chris Isaak
10 (I Wanna Give You) Devotion--Nomad featuring Mc Mikee Freedom

Singles entering the chart were G.L.A.D. by Kim Appleby (#30); Ik Wil Vannacht Bij Je Slapen by Clouseau (#31); Joyride by Roxette (#32); Games - The Kids Get Hard Mix by NKOTB (#34); Mea Culpa Part II by Enigma (#35); Secret Love by the Bee Gees (#37); and Dance the Night Away/My Heart the Beat by D-Shake (#39).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Someday--Mariah Carey
2 One More Try--Timmy -T-
3 All the Man that I Need--Whitney Houston
4 Where Does My Heart Beat Now--Celine Dion
5 Show Me the Way--Styx
6 All This Time--Sting
7 Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams
8 This House--Tracie Spencer
9 Coming Out of the Dark--Gloria Estefan
10 Wicked Game--Chris Isaak

Singles entering the chart were The Star Spangled Banner by Whitney Houston (#32); Give Peace a Chance by the Peace Choir (#54); Written All Over Your Face by the Rude Boys (#60); I Touch Myself by Divinyls (#78); Call it Rock n' Roll by Great White (#79); More than Ever by Nelson (#81); Don't Treat Me Bad by Firehouse (#86); Highwire by the Rolling Stones (#94); Oooh This I Need by Elisa Fiorillo (#97); and Baby's Coming Back by Jellyfish (#98).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 One More Try--Timmy -T-
2 Someday--Mariah Carey
3 All the Man that I Need--Whitney Houston
4 Where Does My Heart Beat Now--Celine Dion
5 All This Time--Sting
6 Show Me the Way--Styx
7 Coming Out of the Dark--Gloria Estefan
8 Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams
9 The First Time--Surface
10 This House--Tracie Spencer

Singles entering the chart were Here We Go by C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams and Zelma Davis (#69); Highwire by the Rolling Stones (#76); More Than Ever by Nelson (#78); In Your Arms by Little Caesar (#82); Baby’s Coming Back by Jellyfish (#83); Temple of Love by Harriet (#86); Deep, Deep Trouble by the Simpsons (#87); Made Up My Mind by Safire (#88); I Touch Myself by Divinyls (#89); and Alice Everyday by Book of Love (#90).

Canada’s Top 10 (RPM)
1 All This Time--Sting
2 Someday--Mariah Carey
3 All the Man that I Need--Whitney Houston
4 Show Me the Way--Styx
5 Wicked Game--Chris Isaak
6 Waiting for Love--Alias
7 Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)--C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams
8 How Long Can a Man Be Strong--The Jeff Healey Band
9 Coming Out of the Dark--Gloria Estefan
10 Don’t Hold Back Your Love--Daryl Hall John Oates

Singles entering the chart were Trust Yourself by Blue Rodeo (#39); Joyride by Roxette (#46); Little Bones by the Tragically Hip (#59); Mercy Mercy Me/I Want You by Robert Palmer (#72); State of the World by Janet Jackson (#76); Easier to Walk Away by Elton John (#77); Take it All by the Outfield (#82); Always Twenty-One by Myles Hunter (#83); Good Texan by the Vaughan Brothers (#88); and Tears in the River by the Bookroom (#99).

Died on this date
Jim Hardin, 47. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Hardin played with the Baltimore Orioles (1967-1971); New York Yankess (1971); and Atlanta Braves (1972), compiling a record of 43-32 with an earned run average of 3.18 in 164 games. His best season was 1968, when he was 18-13 with a 2.51 ERA. Mr. Hardin batted just .103 with 3 home runs and 17 runs batted in, but his second major league home run was a game-winning homer in the bottom of the 9th inning in 1969. Arm troubles shorted Mr. Hardin's career. He became a pilot, and was killed, along wit his two passengers, in a plane crash in Key West, Florida when a propeller failed; it was reported that Mr. Hardin steered the plane to make sure to avoid coming down on a field where children were playing baseball.

World events
The final draft of the treaty designed to preserve the Soviet Union was published. It proposed to transform the nation into a "democratic state, formed as a result of a voluntary union of equal republics," from which any republic could secede. Russian President Boris Yeltsin urged democratic forces to "declare war on the leadership...which has led us into a quagmire."

Protest
At least 30,000 people, mostly university students and young workers, took to the streets of Belgrade in an effort to oust the Serbian government of President Slobodan Milosevic, who ruled through the Serbian Socialist (formerly Communist) Party. Two people were killed in clashes with security forces, and police began to make arrests.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, meeting with Kuwaiti officials, obtained promises that the emirate would move toward a democracy.

Politics and government
The Quebec Liberal Party adopted the Allaire report, calling for the government of Canada to relinquish broad powers to the province, as its platform. The platform, which outraged many pro-federalist members of the party, was adopted by a large majority of the 2,500 delegates present.

25 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): Boombastic--Shaggy (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT): Con te partirò--Andrea Bocelli (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Wallonia (Ultratop 40): Spaceman--Babylon Zoo

#1 single in France (SNEP): Spaceman--Babylon Zoo

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Per spoor (Kedeng kedeng)--Guus Meeuwis & Vagant (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): How Deep Is Your Love--Take That

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 One Sweet Day--Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men (15th week at #1)
2 Sittin' Up in My Room--Brandy
3 Not Gon' Cry--Mary J. Blige
4 Nobody Knows--The Tony Rich Project
5 Missing--Everything But the Girl
6 Be My Lover--La Bouche
7 One of Us--Joan Osborne
8 Wonderwall--Oasis
9 Follow You Down/Til I Hear it from You--Gin Blossoms
10 Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)--R. Kelly featuring Ronald Isley

Singles entering the chart were Doin' It by LL Cool J (#28); Closer to Free by BoDeans (#35); Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion (#36); Peaches by the Presidents of the United States of America (#47); Do You Want To/Can't Hang by Xscape featuring MC Lyte (#63); 1,2,3,4 (Sumpin' New) by Coolio (#68); Only Happy When it Rains by Garbage (#74); Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check/Everything Remains Raw by Busta Rhymes (#86); and Physical Funk by Domino (#93). Closer to Free was the theme for the television series Party of Five (1994-2000). Because You Loved Me was from the movie Up Close & Personal (1996).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Not Gon' Cry--Mary J. Blige
2 Sittin' Up in My Room--Brandy
3 Missing--Everything But the Girl
4 One Sweet Day--Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
5 Nobody Knows--The Tony Rich Project
6 Be My Lover--La Bouche
7 Exhale (Shoop Shoop)--Whitney Houston
8 Til I Hear it from You/Follow You Down--Gin Blossoms
9 Wonderwall--Oasis
10 Jesus to a Child--George Michael

Singles entering the chart were Where Do U Want Me to Put It by Solo (#53); Lucky Love by Ace of Base (#60); Ain't No Playa Like... by Rappin’ 4-Tay (#66); Doin' It by LL Cool J (#67); and A Thin Line Between Love and Hate by H-Town (#83).

Died on this date
George Burns, 100. U.S. comedian and actor. Mr. Burns, born Nathan Birnbaum, and his wife Gracie Allen were a popular comedy team on radio and television from the 1930s through the 1950s. Miss Allen died in 1964, and Mr. Burns carried on as an individual performer. His Academy Award winning supporting performance in The Sunshine Boys (1975) opened a new career for him in movies. Mr. Burns starred in the movie Oh, God! (1977) and its sequels, and remained a popular entertainer until his death. Mr. Burns booked the London Palladium for his 100th birthday many years in advance; although he lived long enough, he was too ill to make the date, and died exactly seven weeks after reaching the century mark. This blogger saw Mr. Burns in concert at the O'Keefe Centre in Toronto on June 21, 1992.

Music
This blogger was in attendance with enjoyable female company to see the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra perform at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Violinist Young Uck Kim was the guest soloist, and the concert closed with Finlandia by Jean Sibelius.

World events
The last of five Serb suburbs in Bosnia were handed over to the Muslim-Croat federation; only 7,000 of an estimated 70,000 Serbs remained in the area. Many of the abandoned homes were looted and burned.

Hockey
NHL
Calgary 3 @ Toronto 4

20 years ago
2001

War
Albanian rebels in Macedonia killed a policeman and trapped a convoy that included two senior government leaders. The incident occurred a few miles from where U.S. peacekeeping troops had just forced some of the rebels from a town on the Macedonia-Kosovo border.

10 years ago
2011

Died on this date
David Broder, 81. U.S. journalist. Mr. Broder worked for several newspapers before settling in Washington, D.C. and working as a reporter with the Congressional Quarterly (1955-1960) and as a political reporter and columnist with the Washington Star (1960-1965) and Washington Post (1965-2011). His long career and even-handed reporting earned him a reputation as the "dean" of the Washington press corps. Mr. Broder received numerous honours, including the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. He was also known for his frequent appearances on television panel shows, most notably Meet the Press; he appeared on that program more than 400 times, more by far than anyone else. Mr. Broder died from complications of diabetes.

Space
The U.S. space shuttle Discovery, carrying a six-member crew commanded by Steven Lindsey, landed at Cape Canaveral, Florida to complete mission STS-133, the 39th and final flight for Discovery.