March 26, 2018

150 years ago
1868

Born on this date
Fuad I. Sultan of Egypt, 1917-1922; King of Egypt, 1922-1936. Fuad I succeeded his elder brother Hussein Kamel on the throne, and changed his title from Sultan to King in 1922, after the United Kingdom recognized Egypt's independence. He died on April 28, 1936 at the age of 68, and was succeeded as King by his son Farouk.

130 years ago
1888

Died on this date
Barghash bin Said, 51 (?). Sultan of Zanzibar, 1870-1888. Barghash has been credited with being the last sultan of Zanzibar to rule the island independent of European control. He lost a power struggle with his brother Majid bin Said, the first Sultan of Zanzibar, and spent two years in exile in Bombay. He returned to succeed his brother, becoming the second Sultan of Zanzibar after Majid's death. Barghash was succeeded on the throne by his younger brother Khalifah bin Said, whom Barghhash had imprisoned in 1870 for allegedly trying to overthrow him.

125 years ago
1893

Born on this date
Palmiro Togliatti. Italian politician. Mr. Togliatti was General Secretary of the Italian Communist Party from 1926-1934 and 1938 until his death at the age of 71 on August 21, 1964. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1948 until his death, and was Minister of Justice from 1945-1946.

James B. Conant. U.S. chemist, academic, and diplomat. Dr. Conant was a professor of chemistry at Harvard University before serving as the university's President from 1933-1953. He implemented numerous reforms, including the abolition of class rankings and athletic scholarships, and an "up or out" tenure policy. Dr. Conant served as chairman of the National Defense Research Committee during World War II, and was an adviser on atomic energy in the late 1940s. He was U.S. High Commissioner for Germany from 1953-1955, and U.S. Ambassador to West Germany from 1955-1957. Dr. Conant died on February 11, 1978 at the age of 84 after a series of strokes.

110 years ago
1908

Born on this date
Franz Stangl. Austrian war criminal. SS-Hauptsturmführer Stangl was a federal policeman who joined the Austrian Nazi Party in 1931 and joined the Schutzstaffel (SS) in May 1938. He was involved with the Nazis' T-4 euthanasia program during Wolrd War II, and was commandant of the extermination camps of Sobibor (April-August 1942) and Treblinka (September 1942-August 1943) in Nazi-occupied Poland. SS-Hauptsturmführer Stangl helped to organize the campaign against Yugoslav partisans and Jews in Trieste from August 1943 until early 1945, when he returned to Vienna because of illness. He was imprisoned by U.S. authorities after the war because of his suspected involvement with T-4, but escaped through a "ratline" to Syria, and then to Brazil, where he lived with his wife and children and worked with Volkswagen do Brasil, under his own name. SS-Hauptsturmführer Stangl was tracked down by Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal and was finally arrested in 1967; he was extradited to West Germany, and convicted in December 1970 of the mass murder of a million people. He was six months into the maximum sentence of life imprisonment in Düsseldorf when he died of heart failure on June 28, 1971 at the age of 63, 19 hours after completing 70 hours of interviews with journalist Gitta Sereni, which concluded with him finally admitting his guilt.

Law
Prince Edward Island became the only province or state in North America where it was illegal to drive a car, as the Legislative Assembly passed a law to ban all automobiles from its roads; driving a car became punishable by jail, and it was illegal to import cars to the island. The ban was lifted on August 29, 1919.

100 years ago
1918

Died on this date
César Cui, 83. Russian military officer and composer. Engineer-General Cui was a teacher of fortifications, but is best remembered as a composer of operas, art songs, works for piano, and chamber music. He was one of The Five, with Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Alexander Borodin, who were dedicated to creating a distinctly Russian kind of music.

Hockey
Stanley Cup
Finals
Vancouver 3 @ Toronto 6 (Toronto led best-of-five series 2-1)

90 years ago
1928

Crime
At Lowden, Iowa, Great War veteran Lambert H. Meier, 32, who had been fired as postmaster because of a small shortage in his accounts, shot and killed his wife and three children and then himself (it would have been more newsworthy if he had shot himself and then killed his wife and children).

Bombs were exploded in the homes of United States Senator Charles S. Deneen (in the Englewood district of Chicago) and Circuit Judge John A. Swanson (on Crandon Avenue). Judge Swanson was the candidate for State’s Attorney from the Deneen organization.

Franciana
The Charlemagne Tower at Tours collapsed.

80 years ago
1938

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Chicago 3 @ Montreal 2 (OT)

Paul Thompson scored 11:49 into overtime to give the Black Hawks the win over the Canadiens at the Montreal Forum.

75 years ago
1943

Died on this date
Ben Lindsey, 73. U.S. judge and social activist. Mr. Lindsey was a juvenile court judge in Denver in the early 1900s, and pioneered the juvenile court system. He advocated other social reforms, but was ousted from the bench in 1927 after 28 years of service, after co-authoring The Companionate Marriage (1927), in which he argued that a couple should be able to live in a childless trial relationship for a year before deciding if they were suitable for each other. Mr. Lindsey moved to California, and was elected to the California Superior Court in 1931.

War
British troops in Tunisia made slight gains against the Mareth Line, while U.S. forces repulsed German attacks in the Garsa and Maknassy sectors. A U.S. Navy light surface force drove off a Japanese flotilla composed of four cruisers, four destroyers, and two cargo ships west of Attu Island.

Politics and government
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the amalgamation of Commodity Credit Corporation, Extension Service, and Food Distribution and Production Administration into an "Administration of Food Production and Distribution" within the Agriculture Department.

Track and field
Gregory Rice broke his own world record in the 2-mile run, with a time of 8 minutes 51 seconds at a track meet in Cleveland.

70 years ago
1948

Died on this date
Jacob Klatzkin, 65. Belarus-born Swiss philosopher. Dr. Klatzkin was editor of 10 of the 15 volumes of the German Encyclopedia Judaica.

War
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a one-year, $463-million aid appropriation for the Chinese Nationalist government, but refused to authorize the use of U.S. combat troops in China.

Politics and government
The North Korean People's Committee announced plans for a conference in Pyongyang to include all Korean political groups opposed to separate United Nations-sponsored elections in the U.S. zone.

U.S.S.R. officials indicated that their recent withdrawal from the Allied Control Council in Berlin was not permanent.

The Indian state of West Bengal outlawed the Communist Party and began arresting leftist political suspects.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr. and his brother Elliott, sons of late U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, issued statements urging a Democratic Party draft of U.S. Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower as the party's 1948 candidate for President of the United States.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Harry Truman tightened restrictions on the sale of aircraft to Eastern Europe, adding pleasure and commercial planes to the list of war goods requiring State Department export licenses.

Disasters
Storms and tornadoes in eight Midwestern U.S. states caused 23 deaths.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
New York 2 @ Detroit 5 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 2-0)

60 years ago
1958

Movies
The Academy Awards for 1957 were presented at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. The winners included: Picture--The Bridge on the River Kwai; Director--David Lean (The Bridge on the River Kwai); Actor--Alec Guinness (The Bridge on the River Kwai); Actress--Joanne Woodward (The Three Faces of Eve); Supporting Actor--Red Buttons (Sayonara); Supporting Actress--Miyoshi Umeki (Sayonara).

Space
The United States Army launched the satellite Explorer 3 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

War
Indonesian Army forces drove Sumatran rebels from Taluk. The Indonesian Navy announced that sea approaches to the insurgent capital of Pedang had been mined as part of a blockade of the city.

Defense
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced that the United States would invite foreign scientists, including some from Communist countries, to observe U.S. nuclear tests in the Pacific Ocean scheduled for April. He indicated that the U.S. would consider a "reliable" agreement on cessation of nuclear weapons tests without insisting on a parallel agreement for control of fissionable-materials production.

World events
Paris police rounded up 6,000 Muslims, detaining 250 as suspected Algerian terrorists.

Politics and government
The Iraqi Parliament approved constitutional amendments granting political rights to women with a primary education, and authorizing King Faisal to form a union with other Arab countries.

The African Regroupment Party (Parti du Regroupement Africain (PRA)) was launched at a meeting in Paris.

Basketball
NBA
Eastern Division Finals
Boston 97 @ Philadelphia 112 (Boston led best-of-seven series 3-1)

50 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Lady Madonna--The Beatles

On television tonight
The Invaders, starring Roy Thinnes, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Inquisition

This was the 43rd and final episode of the series.



Basketball
NBA
Western Division Semi-Finals
St. Louis 109 @ San Francisco 124 (San Francisco led best-of-seven series 2-1)

ABA
Eastern Division Semi-Finals
Kentucky 100 @ Minnesota 95 (Best-of-five series tied 1-1)

Indiana 108 @ Pittsburgh 121 (Pittsburgh led best-of-five series 2-0)

Western Division Semi-Finals
Dallas 116 @ Houston 103 (Dallas won best-of-five series 3-0)

Denver 104 @ New Orleans 130 (New Orleans led best-of-five series 1-0)

40 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Stayin' Alive--Bee Gees

Diplomacy
Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia called on the United States and Great Britain to convene a meeting with the patriotic front guerillas and to support the Anglo-American plan for majority rule in Rhodesia.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young concluded a five-day visit to southern Africa.

Protest
About 7,000 rioters destroyed the control tower of the new international airport at Narita, 44 miles east of Tokyo. Since the beginning of construction in 1971, the site had been the scene of frequent demonstrations by farmers whose land had been expropriated and environmentalists concerned about noise and air pollution. The latest protest was led by radicals intending to damage the government politically.

Golf
Hubert Green won the Heritage Classic in Hilton Head, South Carolina with a score of 277. First prize money was $45,000.

Hockey
CHL
Fort Worth 2 Tulsa 2

WCHL
Portland 3 @ Calgary 3

This blogger was in attendance as Wayne Babych scored late in the 3rd period to give the Winter Hawks their tie against the Wranglers at the Stampede Corral.

30 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: Perdere l'Amore--Massimo Ranieri (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): (I've Had) The Time of My Life--Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes (8th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car--Billy Ocean

#1 single in France (SNEP): Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You--Glenn Medeiros (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Drop the Boy--Bros

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Don't Turn Around--Aswad

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Don't Turn Around--Aswad

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Man in the Mirror--Michael Jackson

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Man in the Mirror--Michael Jackson
2 Never Gonna Give You Up--Rick Astley
3 Father Figure--George Michael
4 Endless Summer Nights--Richard Marx
5 Out of the Blue--Debbie Gibson
6 Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car--Billy Ocean
7 I Get Weak--Belinda Carlisle
8 I Want Her--Keith Sweat
9 Just Like Paradise--David Lee Roth
10 Rocket 2 U--The Jets

Singles entering the chart were Always on My Mind by Pet Shop Boys (#76) and Breakaway by Big Pig (#89).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Never Gonna Give You Up--Rick Astley (2nd week at #1)
2 Father Figure--George Michael
3 Pump Up the Volume--M/A/R/R/S
4 She's Like the Wind--Patrick Swayze (featuring Wendy Fraser)
5 Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car--Billy Ocean
6 I Get Weak--Belinda Carlisle
7 Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart)--Sway
8 Just Like Paradise--David Lee Roth
9 Endless Summer Nights--Richard Marx
10 Man in the Mirror--Michael Jackson

Singles entering the chart were She's Having a Baby by Dave Wakeling (#74); That's When I Need You by the Jitters (#79); I Wanna Be a Flintstone by Screaming Blue Messiahs (#95); Girlfriend by Pebbles (#88); Shattered Dreams by Johnny Hates Jazz (#93); The Language of Love by Tu (#95); Prove Your Love by Taylor Dayne (#96); and Mama Likes to Rock and Roll by Terry Kelly (#97). She's Having a Baby was the title song of the movie.

Politics and government
In the race for the 1988 Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States, Rev. Jesse Jackson scored an upset victory in the Michigan caucuses, taking 55% of the vote to 28% for Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. Mr. Jackson’s victory was the first ever by a Negro presidential candidate in a major industrial state. Missouri Congressman Dick Gephardt, whose criticism of foreign automobile manufacturers had been expected to boost his support in Michigan, polled just 13% of the vote.

25 years ago
1993

Hockey
NHL
Los Angeles 4 Edmonton 1

20 years ago
1998

Abominations
52 people, including 32 children under the age of 2, were killed by 15 men with axes and knives at Oued Bouaïcha in the municipality of Bouiret Lahdab, Algeria.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Bill Clinton, speaking in Cape Town, said that the United States had a "profound stake" in South Africa’s new democracy.

Edmontonia
Capitol Square, at 10065 Jasper Avenue, closed its doors after 22 ½ years as a movie theatre complex, in order to be converted to office space. After the old Capitol Theatre had been closed in November 1972 and subsequently torn down, Capitol Square was erected in its place and opened on Friday, October 10, 1975 as Edmonton’s first downtown movie multiplex. The movies that played at the opening were: Rollerball; Death Race 2000; Love and Death; and Three Days of the Condor. The movies that played there on Thursday, March 26, 1998 were: L.A. Confidential; The Wedding Singer; Dark City; Hush; Wag the Dog; and Eve’s Bayou. Capitol Square operated as a second-run theatre (with discount prices) toward the end, but apparently didn’t draw enough moviegoers to keep going. I went to Eve’s Bayou just a couple of days before closing (I liked to go on $2 Tuesdays), and though I didn’t see many people there, I saw no indication that the place was about to shut down.