Sunday 22 March 2009

March 22, 2009

550 years ago
1459


Born on this date
Maximilian I
. Holy Roman Emperor, 1493-1519. Maximilian I was the son of Emperor Frederick III, and co-reigned with his father from 1483-1493, reigning alone after his father's death in 1493. Emperor Maximilian I extended the influence of the House of Habsburg; engaged in wars against Italy and France; took measures against Jews; and eventually instituted imperial reforms. He died on January 12, 1519 at the age of 59, was succeeded by Charles V.

270 years ago
1739


War
Persian troops led by Nadir Shah occupied Delhi in India and sacked the city, stealing the jewels of the Peacock Throne, and killing 20,000-30,000 Indians.

180 years ago
1829


Diplomacy
In the London Protocol, the three protecting powers (United Kingdom, France and Russia) established the borders of Greece.

175 years ago
1834


Economics and finance
The Central Bank of New Brunswick was chartered.

160 years ago
1849


War
Austrian forces defeated Piedmontese forces in the Battle of Novara.

Protest
A Tory mob in Toronto demonstrated against the passage of the Rebellion Losses Bill, burning politicians Robert Baldwin, William Lyon Mackenzie, and Edward Blake in effigy.

125 years ago
1884


Born on this date
Arthur Vandenberg
. U.S. politician. Mr. Vandenberg, a Republican, represented Michigan in the U.S. Senate from 1928 until his death, and was known as the Republican Party's leader in the field of foreign policy. He was an isolationist before December 7, 1941, but changed his mind after the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and has been credited with changing the Republicans from isolationism to internationalism. Sen. Vandenberg served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (1947-1949), and supported President Harry Truman's Cold War policies. He unsuccessfully campaigned for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination in 1940 and 1948, and died of cancer on April 18, 1951, 27 days after his 67th birthday.

100 years ago
1909


Born on this date
Gabrielle Roy
. Canadian authoress. Miss Roy, a native of St. Boniface, Manitoba, won the Governor General's Award for Fiction three times. She first won the award for her novel Bonheur d'occasion (1945), translated into English as The Tin Flute (1947), which has been credited as helping lay the foundation for Quebec's Quiet Revolution in the 1960s. Miss Roy died on July 13, 1983 at the age of 74.

Politics and government
Premier Alexander Rutherford led his Liberal Party to a second consecutive majority in the Alberta provincial election. The Liberals took 36 of 41 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Conservative Party, led by Albert Robertson, was second with 2 seats, including a victory by future Canadian Prime Minister R.B. Bennett in Calgary. Mr. Robertson lost his seat in High River to Liberal candidate Louis Roberts. Socialist candidate Charles O'Brien was elected in Rocky Mountain; independent Liberal Archibald Mclean was elected in Lethbridge District; and independent candidate Edward Michener, father of future Canadian Governor General Roland Michener, was elected in Red Deer, where he had served as Mayor from 1904-1906.

90 years ago
1919


Hockey
Stanley Cup
Finals
Montreal 4 @ Seattle 2 (Best-of-five series tied 1-1)

Newsy Lalonde scored the game's first 4 goals as the Canadiens withstood a late rally to defeat the Metropolitans at Seattle Ice Arena in a game played under National Hockey League rules. Bobby Rowe broke up Georges Vezina's bid for a shutout with 8:57 remaining in regulation time, and Frank Foyston scored just 8 seconds later to close the scoring.

80 years ago
1929


Crime
A U.S. Coast Guard vessel sank the Canadian schooner I'm Alone, carrying 2,800 cases of liquor, in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. Captain John Randell and his crew were taken to New Orleans as prisoners for violating U.S. prohibition laws; manufacture of liquor was still legal in Canada.

75 years ago
1934

Hockey

Herbie Lewis scored 1:33 into overtime to give the Detroit Red Wings a 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Stanley Cup semi-final playoff action at Maple Leaf Gardens.

70 years ago
1939


World events
The Lithuanian government accepted the March 20 ultimatum presented to Lithuanian Foreign Minister Juozas Urbšys by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, and ceded the Klaipėda Region (also known as the Memel Territory) to Germany in the face of a threat of a German military invasion. Germany had been forced to give up the territory after World War I.

60 years ago
1949


On the radio
The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Elliott Lewis, on MBS

At the movies
Apenas un delincuente (Hardly a Criminal), directed by Hugo Fregonese, and starring Sebastian Chiola, Tito Alonso, and Jorge Salcedo, received its premiere screening in Buenos Aires.



Politics and government
North Carolina Governor W. Scott Kerr appointed University of North Carolina President Frank Porter Graham to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death on March 6 of J. Melville Broughton (Democrat).

Defense
The U.S. House of Representatives passed and sent to the Senate a bill authorizing an increase in Air Force strength to 70 groups with 502,000 men.

Crime
General Lucius Clay of the U.S. military government in Germany ruled that Ilse Koch could not be retried by a U.S. court for war crimes, but could still be tried under German law.

Economics and finance
Canadian Finance Minister Douglas Abbott submitted the 1949-50 budget to Parliament, proposing a $368.8-million reduction in income and other taxes.

Labour
The U.S. National Labor Relations Board ruled that lists of "unfair employers" maintained by the American Federation of Labor Building and Construction Trades Council were illegal.

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

Max McNab scored at 4:52 of the third overtime period to give the Red Wings their win over the Canadiens at Olympia Stadium.

50 years ago
1959


Hit parade
#1 single in France (IFOP): La marche des gosses--Annie Cordy (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Avon Emeralds, starring Roger Moore and Hazel Court

Diplomacy
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.K. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, and other officials ended three meetings at Mr. Eisenhower's Camp David, Maryland retreat after reportedly agreeing on basic Western policies regarding an East-West summit on Germany.

Defense
Air Chief Marshal Sir Thomas Pike, Royal Air Force Fighter Command chief, was named chief of the British Air Staff.

Politics and government
The Senegalese Progressive Union, led by Leopold Senghor, won all 80 seats in the parliament in the Senegalese general election. The SPU took 83.0% of the vote, with the Senegalese Solidarity Party second with 12.1% of the vote, followed by the African Regroupment Party--Senegal at 4.9%.

Arriving for a three-day visit to eastern Algeria, French Prime Minister Michel Debre reiterated that there would never be "a separation of France and Algeria."

Labour
Teamsters union President James Hoffa said that his union opposed American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations proposals for a shorter work week, and would concentrate on seeking higher pay.

40 years ago
1969


Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da/While My Guitar Gently Weeps--The Beatles (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells

#1 single in France: Casatchok--Dimitri Dourakine and his Orchestra (12th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Ma che freddo fa--Nada (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da--The Beatles (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Lonely Woods of Upton--Sean Dunphy (8th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?--Peter Sarstedt (3rd week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Why--The Cats
2 First of May--The Bee Gees
3 Atlantis--Donovan
4 Spooky's Day Off--Swinging Soul Machine
5 Baby Won't You Leave Me Alone--The Web (with John L. Watson)
6 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells
7 Ring of Fire--Eric Burdon and the Animals
8 Love is Love--Barry Ryan
9 Don Juan--Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich
10 Sorry Suzanne--The Hollies

Singles entering the chart were Where Do You Go To (My Lovely) by Peter Sarstedt (#18); De Chinees Doet Veel Meer Met Vlees by De Butlers (#27); I Can Hear Music by the Beach Boys (#31); Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#35); Good Times (Better Times) by Cliff Richard (#37); and Games People Play by Joe South (#40).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Dizzy--Tommy Roe (2nd week at #1)
2 Proud Mary--Creedence Clearwater Revival
3 Traces--Classics IV
4 Build Me Up Buttercup--The Foundations
5 Indian Giver--1910 Fruitgum Co.
6 Time of the Season--The Zombies
7 This Girl's in Love with You--Dionne Warwick
8 Everyday People--Sly & the Family Stone
9 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells
10 Run Away Child, Running Wild--The Temptations

Singles entering the chart were Memories by Elvis Presley (#67); The Chokin' Kind by Joe Simon (#71); Is it Something You've Got by Tyrone Davis (#81); First of May by the Bee Gees (#82); It's Only Love by B.J. Thomas (#84); In the Still of the Night by Paul Anka (#85); Sweet Cherry Wine by Tommy James and the Shondells (#86); Ice Cream Song by the Dynamics (#87); Foolish Fool by Dee Dee Warwick (#96); and Born Again by Sam & Dave (#97).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Dizzy--Tommy Roe (2nd week at #1)
2 Proud Mary--Creedence Clearwater Revival
3 Traces--Classics IV
4 Time of the Season--The Zombies
5 Indian Giver--1910 Fruitgum Co.
6 Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)--The 5th Dimension
7 Build Me Up Buttercup--The Foundations
8 Run Away Child, Running Wild--The Temptations
9 This Girl's in Love with You--Dionne Warwick
10 The Weight--Aretha Franklin

Singles entering the chart were First of May by the Bee Gees (#53); It's Only Love by B.J. Thomas (#62); Is it Something You've Got by Tyrone Davis (#65); Mini-Skirt Minnie by Wilson Pickett (#67); Apricot Brandy by Rhinoceros (#69); Time is Tight by Booker T. & the M.G.'s (#71); Sweet Cherry Wine by Tommy James and the Shondells (#75); Hair by the Cowsills (#77); Don't Touch Me by Bettye Swan (#80); Mercy by Ohio Express (#86); Idaho by the 4 Seasons (#87); My Way by Frank Sinatra (#89); In the Still of the Night by Paul Anka (#90); Zazueira by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass (#92); Where Do You Go To (My Lovely) by Peter Sarstedt (#93); There Never was a Time by Jeannie C. Riley (#94); Born Again by Sam & Dave (#96); The Bird Has Flown by Deep Purple (#99); and Soul Pride (Part 1) by James Brown (#100).

Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 Dizzy--Tommy Roe (2nd week at #1)
2 Build Me Up Buttercup--The Foundations
3 Things I'd Like to Say--The New Colony Six
4 Indian Giver--1910 Fruitgum Co.
5 Proud Mary--Creedence Clearwater Revival
6 Something's Happening--Herman's Hermits
7 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells
8 Johnny One Time--Brenda Lee
9 Bears--Quicksilver Messenger Service
10 Condition Red--The Goodees
Pick hit of the week: Rock Me--Steppenwolf

Americana
U.S. President Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon visited former President Harry Truman and former First Lady Bess Truman at the Trumans' home in Independence, Missouri. The two couples then went to the Truman Library and Museum, where Mr. Truman stood expressionless while Mr. Nixon played The Missouri Waltz on a concert grand piano. The former President disliked the tune, but told Mrs. Truman that he hadn't heard clearly what the current President had played.

Hockey
NHL
New York 1 @ Montreal 3



30 years ago
1979


On television tonight
Family, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Diversions

Died on this date
Ben Lyon, 78
. U.S. actor. Mr. Lyon was a leading man in movies in the 1920s and '30s, and was best known for his starring roles in Flaming Youth (1923) and Hell's Angels (1930). He moved to England in the early 1940s, and enjoyed a successful career there in radio and television. Mr. Lyon died of a heart attack while travelling aboard the cruise ship Queen Elizabeth 2.

Richard Sykes, 58. U.K. diplomat. Sir Richard, a career diplomat, was British Ambassador to the Netherlands. He and his valet, Karel Straub, were shot in the head by members of the provisional Irish Republican Army as they left the ambassador's residence in The Hague for the short trip to the embassy.

War
The United States pledged to continue surveillance flights over the Sinai peninsula--begun secretly in 1974 at Israeli and Egyptian request--for three years to verify both sides' compliance with the Middle East peace treaty.

Politics and government
In the United States, the White House announced that Rear Admiral Rowland G. Freeman III would succeed Jay Solomon as head of the scandal-plagued General Services Administration.

Hockey
NHL
The National Hockey League voted to absorb four World Hockey Association teams: Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Québec Nordiques, and New England Whalers. The merger marked the end of the WHA, founded in 1971.

New York Islanders 5 Montreal 3

25 years ago
1984


Died on this date
Jane Gray
. Canadian broadcaster. Ms. Gray, Canada's first female broadcaster, began her career in 1924 at radio station CJGC (now CFPL) in London by hosting Canada's first advice program.

Abominations
Teachers at the McMartin preschool in Manhattan Beach, California were charged with satanic ritual abuse of the children in the school. The charges resulted in the longest and costliest criminal trial in American history, and were dropped in 1990 as completely unfounded. The case was one of the first and most prominent examples of the "Satanic panic" that was popular in evangelical Christian circles in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Crime
The second of two trials that had been held concurrently in Fall River, Massachusetts of six men charged in connection with the gang rape of a woman in a bar in New Bedford, Mass. in 1983 concluded. The trials resulted in the convictions of the four of the accused on charges of aggravated rape and the acquittals of two others who had been charged with complicity. The accused, two of whom spoke no English, were Portuguese immigrants, as was the victim. Crowds as large as 10,000, mostly of Portuguese descent, marched in Fall River and New Bedford to protest the convictions.

Weather
It was a beautiful day in Edmonton, hitting 52 F.

20 years ago
1989


Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Like a Prayer--Madonna

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Did I Tell You--Jerry Williams (5th week at #1)

Politics and government
Thomas Rideout was sworn in as Premier of Newfoundland, replacing the retiring Brian Peckford as head of the province's Progressive Conservative government.

Hockey
NHL
Buffalo Sabres' goalie Clint Malarchuk suffered a near-fatal injury during a game when his carotid artery was accidentally slashed by the skate of Steve Tuttle of the St. Louis Blues.

Football
NFL
Pete Rozelle, who had been Commissioner of the National Football League since 1960, announced that he would retire as soon as a replacement could be found.

10 years ago
1999


Died on this date
David Strickland, 29
. U.S. actor. Mr. Strickland played reporter Todd Stities in the television comedy series Suddenly Susan (1996-1999). He was a drug user who concluded a weekend of partying in Las Vegas by hanging himself with a bed sheet in his motel room.

Labour
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Jean Chretien brought in back-to-work legislation to force 14,000 striking federal employees back to work; rotating pickets were crippling grain exports and delaying tax returns.

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