March 10, 2008

160 years ago
1848

War
The United States Senate voted 38-14 to ratify the Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo, intended to end hostilities in the Mexican-American War, which had begun in 1846. The treaty still awaited ratification by the Mexican legislature and Senate.

Politics and government
A week after the Canadian government of Premier Henry Sherwood and Deputy Premier Denis-Benjamin Papineau had been defeated on a vote of non-confidence, Governor Lord Elgin asked Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine to form a government.

100 years ago
1908

Hockey
Stanley Cup
Winnipeg Maple Leafs 5 @ Montreal Wanderers 11 (First game of 2-game total goals challenge series)

90 years ago
1918

At the movies
My Four Years in Germany, starring Halbert Brown as James W. Gerard and based on Mr. Gerard's memoir of his time as U.S. Ambassador to Germany, received its premiere screening in New York City. It was the first film to be produced by the four Warner Brothers.

80 years ago
1928

Politics and government
U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signed the alien property bill, which called for an expenditure of about $50 million by the U.S. Treasury to cover the value of alien property seized when war was declared on Germany in 1917. Included in this property were many ocean liners (among them the Leviathan), and wireless stations and patents held by German nationals in the United States.

Disasters
A landslide on Brazil's Mount Serrat destroyed part of the city of Santos and killed nearly 100 people.

50 were killed in a fire in a copper mine near Teziutlan, Mexico.

70 years ago
1938

Movies
The Academy Awards for 1937 were presented at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. The winners included: Picture--The Life of Emile Zola; Director--Leo McCarey (The Awful Truth); Actor--Spencer Tracy (Captains Courageous); Actress--Luise Rainer (The Good Earth); Supporting Actor--Joseph Schildkraut (The Life of Emile Zola); Supporting Actress--Alice Brady (In Old Chicago).

World events
German Chancellor Adolf Hitler announced that he would not accept the results of the referendum on Austrian independence scheduled for March 13, declaring that the vote would be subject to major fraud. The referendum had been announced the day before by Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg in a desperate attempt to maintain his country's independence. The German Ministry of Propaganda issued press releases stating that riots had broken out in Austria and that large parts of the Austrian population were calling for German troops to restore order. Mr. Schuschnigg immediately responded publicly that reports of riots were false.

20 years ago
1988

Died on this date
Glenn Cunningham, 78. U.S. runner. A native of Elkhart, Kansas, Mr. Cunningham suffered severe burns to his legs (and had the toes of his left foot amputated) at the age of 8 in a schoolhouse fire which killed his brother Floyd. Doctors recommended amputating his legs, but Glenn's mother wouldn't allow it. Doctors predicted he would never walk normally again; it was two years until he took his first steps, but he eventually proved the doctors wrong. Mr. Cunningham graduated from the University of Kansas, where he won two national collegiate titles and eight Amateur Athletic Union crowns, five of them in the outdoor one mile and 1,500 metres. He acquired the nicknames Kansas Flyer, Elkhart Express, and Iron Horse of Kansas. Mr. Cunningham was national collegiate and AAU champion in 1932, and placed fourth in the 1,500 metres at the Olympics in Los Angeles. In 1933 he received the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. Also that year, his hometown of Elkhart honoured him with Glenn Cunningham Day after he returned from Europe, having won 11 straight races. On June 16, 1934, Mr. Cunningham ran the mile in 4:06.8, a world record that stood for three years. He won three straight Big Six indoor titles from 1932-1934. Mr. Cunningham made his second Olympic appearance at Berlin in 1936. He beat the world record in the final of the 1,500 metres, but Jack Lovelock of New Zealand was even faster, and Mr. Cunningham had to settle for the silver medal. Two weeks later, on August 20, Mr. Cunningham ran the 800 metres in 1:49.7, a world record that stood for 11 months. In 1938, on an oversized indoor track at Dartmouth College, he set a world record time of 4:04.4. Mr. Cunningham retired from running in 1940 after the Olympics were cancelled. In World War II he entered the Navy and established physical training programs at the Great Lakes and San Diego training stations. He later became a rancher and devoted his time to youth. Glenn Cunningham was elected to the United States Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1974. Many consider him the greatest U.S. miler ever.

Andy Gibb, 30. U.K.-born Australian singer. Andy was the younger brother of Barry, Robin and Maurice of the Bee Gees, and duelled with them for supremacy of the singles charts from 1977-1979, before a cocaine addiction derailed his career. Mr. Gibb's first hit, Words and Music, hit Sydney's top 5 in 1976. This success led to a contract with RSO, the same label his brothers recorded for. His first single, I Just Want to Be Your Everything, topped the U.S. chart for 4 weeks in the summer of 1977. The follow-up, (Love Is) Thicker Than Water, spent 2 weeks at #1 in March 1978. The next single, Shadow Dancing, was #1 for 7 weeks, making Mr. Gibb the first male solo performer to have three straight singles hit #1 on the Billboard (TM) Hot 100. Mr. Gibb had three subsequent U.S. top 10 hit singles: An Everlasting Love (#5, 1978); (Our Love) Don't Throw it All Away (#9, 1978-79); and Desire (#4, 1980). His first five RSO singles each sold over one million copies, with Shadow Dancing earning a platinum record award for sales of over two million. His albums Flowing Rivers and Shadow Dancing were also million-sellers. Mr. Gibb's duet with Olivia Newton-John, I Can't Help It, hit #12 on the U.S. chart in 1980. Time is Time (1980-81) hit #15, while Me (Without You) stopped at #40 in April 1981. A romantic relationship with actress Victoria Principal produced a duet, All I Have to Do is Dream, which stalled at #51 on the U.S. chart. It was Mr. Gibb's last single release. By this time he was using cocaine heavily, and was considered unreliable, although he did co-host the syndicated television show Solid Gold for a time. Mr. Gibb went to the Betty Ford Center for treatment of his addiction. The treatment was apparently successful, but Mr. Gibb was never able to recapture his success; he performed in small clubs and made a few television appearances. He made a few demo recordings with his brothers, at least one of which was posthumously released on an album in 1991. Five days after celebrating his 30th birthday in London, where he was recording, Mr. Gibb checked into hospital complaining of chest pains. He succumbed to myocarditis (heart inflammation); the years of cocaine abuse had seriously weakened his heart.

Pham Hung, 75. Prime Minister of Vietnam. Mr. Hung joined the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930, was sentenced to death by French authorities, had his sentence commuted, and was freed in 1945 when Communist forces took power in Hanoi. He loyally served the Communist cause in the war for independence against the French, and as an apparatchik with the government of North Vietnam and the united Vietnam until becoming Prime Minister in June 1987. He died of a heart attack.

War
Turkish Prime Minister Turgut Ozal said that he had arranged a truce between Iran and Iraq, to take effect on March 11.

10 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Lloyd Bridges, 85. U.S. actor. Mr. Bridges appeared in many movies and television shows, but is probably best remembered as the star of the syndicated series Sea Hunt, which ran from 1958-1961. Among his many movies were supporting roles in The Sound of Fury (aka Try and Get Me (1948)) and High Noon (1952). Later generations enjoyed Mr. Bridges' performances in Airplane! (1980) and the Hot Shots! movies in the 1990s. Seinfeld viewers will remember him as the personal trainer Izzy Mandelbaum in two episodes from 1997. Mr. Bridges's sons Beau and Jeff have also had successful acting careers.

Politics and government
Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet resigned as commander-in-chief of the armed forces in order to be sworn in as senator for life.