March 24, 2014

370 years ago
1644

Died on this date
Cecilia Renata, 32. Queen consort of Poland, 1637-1644. Cecilia Renata, a daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II, was married by proxy to King Władysław IV in 1637, and advocated for the House of Habsburg. They had three children, the last of whom was a daughter who was stillborn on March 23, 1644. Queen Cecilia Renata died the next day from an infection, likely related to the childbirth.

220 years ago
1794

War
In Kraków, Tadeusz Kościuszko announced a general uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia, and assumed the powers of the Commander- in-Chief of all of the Polish forces.

160 years ago
1854

Society
Slavery was abolished in Venezuela.

140 years ago
1874

Born on this date
Luigi Einaudi. 2nd President of Italy, 1948-1955. Professor Einaudi was an economist who was named a Senator in the Kingdom of Italy in 1919, and opposed the country's subsequent Fascist regime. He was Governor of the Bank of Italy (1945-1948), and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance (1947-1948) before serving a term as President. Prof. Einaudi became the first Italian President to appoint a Prime Minister who didn't already have majority support in Parliament, naming Giuseppe Pella to the office after Alcide de Gasperi and Attilio Piccioni had failed to obtain parliamentiary support. Prof. Einaudi finished his term as President in 1955, after which he was made a Life Senator. He died on October 30, 1961 at the age of 87.

80 years ago
1934

Politics and government
The United States Congress passed the Tydings–McDuffie Act, allowing the Philippines to become a self-governing commonwealth.

70 years ago
1944

War
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said that the Allied invasion of Europe would occur "soon." In an event later dramatized in the movie The Great Escape (1963), 76 Allied prisoners of war began breaking out of the German camp Stalag Luft III. German troops massacred 335 Italian civilians in Rome, and regained one-fourth of the ruins of Cassino and were now strongly entrenched on the western side of the Italian town. Soviet troops reached the Dniester River at Zaleshchiki, on the Bukovina border in southwestern Ukraine. The Colombian government press office reported that Colombia had interned 150 Japanese and German nationals and said that others would be taken into custody. U.S. Selective Service Director Lewis Hershey ordered state directors to call all deferred registrants under the age of 26 for pre-induction physical examinations.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appealed to the people of Germany and Nazi-subjugated nations to aid Jews and other victims of persecution to escape, and asked free nations to open their borders to the refugees.

Law
The United States Senate passed and sent to the House of Representatives the "GI Bill," an omnibus measure providing for hospitalization, education, vocational training, unemployment benefits, and loans for war veterans.

The U.S. Senate passed the independent officers appropriations bill, with drastic reductions to executive agencies, and sent it to conference.

60 years ago
1954

Boxing
Charley Norkus (23-11) won a 10-round unanimous decision over Danny Nardico (48-12-4) in a heavyweight bout before 4,059 fans at Miami Beach Auditroium in Miami Beach, Florida. It was the first fight for both since Mr. Norkus had scored a 9th-round technical knockout over Mr. Nardico on January 20, 1954, a bout that included eight knockdowns.



50 years ago
1964

On television tonight
The Fugitive, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Somebody to Remember, with guest stars Gilbert Roland, Madlyn Rhue, and Alan Baxter

Canadiana
Prince Edward Island adopted its own provincial flag.

40 years ago
1974

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger arrived in Moscow to begin several days of talks with Soviet leaders, hoping to achieve a "conceptual breakthrough" that would lead to a U.S.S.R.-U.S.A. agreement on strategic arms limitations.

Curling
Air Canada Silver Broom @ Allmend Eisstadion, Bern, Switzerland
Final
Bud Somerville's United States rink defeated the Swedish rink of Jan Ullstrom 11-4 to win the world men's championship. It was the second world championship for Mr. Somerville and the first for the United States since Mr. Somverville's win over Canada's Terry Braunstein in the 1965 Scotch Cup final.

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Ci Sarà--Albano Carrisi; Romina Power (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT Top 30): When The Lady Smiles--Golden Earring

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Love Is a Battlefield--Pat Benatar (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): 99 Red Balloons--Nena (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: Hello--Lionel Richie

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Jump--Van Halen (5th week at #1)

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Girls Just Want to Have Fun--Cyndi Lauper (2nd week at #1)
2 Somebody's Watching Me--Rockwell
3 Footloose--Kenny Loggins
4 99 Luftballons--Nena
5 Jump--Van Halen
6 I Want a New Drug--Huey Lewis and the News
7 Here Comes the Rain Again--Eurythmics
8 Thriller--Michael Jackson
9 Automatic--Pointer Sisters
10 New Moon on Monday--Duran Duran

Singles entering the chart were The Longest Time by Billy Joel (#66); Breakdance by Irene Cara (#84); Catch Me I'm Falling by Real Life (#85); Love Me in a Special Way by DeBarge (#87); Hunters of the Night by Mr. Mister (#89); and It's My Life by Talk Talk (#90).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Jump--Van Halen (2nd week at #1)
2 99 Red Balloons--Nena
3 Girls Just Want to Have Fun--Cyndi Lauper
4 Thriller--Michael Jackson
5 Karma Chameleon--Culture Club
6 I Want a New Drug--Huey Lewis and the News
7 Here Comes the Rain Again--Eurythmics
8 Somebody's Watching Me--Rockwell
9 Red Red Wine--UB40
10 Rebel Yell--Billy Idol

Singles entering the chart were Hello by Lionel Richie (#42); You Might Think by the Cars (#44); Love Somebody by Rick Springfield (#45); They Don't Know by Tracey Ullman (#46); Sunshine Reggae by Laid Back (#48); and Never Never by Assembly (#50).

Died on this date
Sam Jaffe, 93. U.S. actor. Mr. Jaffe was a character actor in movies such as Lost Horizon (1937); Gunga Din (1939); The Asphalt Jungle (1950)--for which he was nominated for an Academy Award; and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). He was blacklisted by Hollywood in the 1950s because of alleged Communist sympathies, but made a comeback with a supporting performance in Ben-Hur (1959). Mr. Jaffe was perhaps best known for playing the character Dr. David Zorba in the television series Ben Casey (1961-1965).

Weather
It hit 52 F in Edmonton, the most beautiful day of the year so far.

Hockey
NHL
Chicago 3 @ Toronto 7
St. Louis 7 @ Edmonton 1

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart--Marc Almond featuring Gene Pitney (4th week at #1)

Environment
The U.S. tanker Exxon Valdez spilled 240,000 barrels (38,000 cubic metres) of petroleum after running aground in Prince William Sound in Alaska. It was the worst oil spill in American history. See also here.

Defense
U.S. President George Bush and leaders of the U.S. Congress from both the Democratic and Republican parties signed an agreement on continued aid to the Contras who were opposing the Sandanista regime in Nicaragua. Under the accord, which would have to be approved by both houses, the Contras would receive $4.5 million per month for food, clothing, shelter, and medical supplies through February 1990, by which time the Sandanista government had promised to hold elections. The aid would end if the Contras initiated military action prior to the scheduled elections.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Look Who's Talking--Dr. Alban (4th week at #1)

War
Somalia's most powerful clan leaders, Mohammed Farah Aidid and Ali Mahdi, signed a peace agreement in Nairobi, Kenya that called for a cease-fire in Somalia's civil war, and repudiated violence.

10 years ago
2004

Health
In an effort to stem the spread of the avian flu virus, Health Canada ordered the culling of 275,000 chickens and turkeys on 10 large farms in British Columbia. Once completed, the cull killed 365,000 birds, about 10% of the province's poultry population.

Politics and government
The United Progressive Party, led by Baldwin Spencer, won the Antigua and Barbudan general election, defeating the incumbent Antigua Labour Party, led by Lester Bird, who had been Prime Minister for 10 years, since replacing his father Sir Vere Bird. The ALP under the Birds had controlled Parliament for 48 of the previous 53 years.

Business
The European Commission fined Microsoft Corporation $603 million and ordered the software company to stop bundling its products, such as Windows Media Player, with its operating system.