March 1, 2010

690 years ago
1320

Died on this date
Buyantu Khan, 34. Emperor of China and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, 1311-1320. Buyantu Khan, born Ayurbarwada, acceded to the throne upon the sudden death of his brother Külüg Khan, becoming the fourth emperor of the Yuan dynasty. Buyantu Khan implemented political and legal reforms based on Confucian principles; he was succeeded on the throne by his son Gegeen Khan.

590 years ago
1420

Abominations
Pope Martin V issued a Bull inviting all "Christians" to unite in a crusade against the Wycliffites, Hussites, and other "heretics."

390 years ago
1620

Died on this date
Thomas Campion, 53. English poet and composer. Dr. Campion, a physician by trade, wrote collections of poems, over 100 lute songs, and masques for dancing, as well as an authoritative treatise on counterpoint. He died, possibly of plague, 18 days after his 53rd birthday.

310 years ago
1700

Europeana
Sweden introduced its own Swedish calendar, in an attempt to gradually merge into the Gregorian calendar.

210 years ago
1790

Americana
The U.S. Congress authorized the first census of the United States.

190 years ago
1810

Born on this date
Frederic Chopin. Polish-born composer. Both Poland and France, where Mr. Chopin spent much of his life, claim one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era as their own. His most famous works include Polonaise No. 6 in A Flat Major (Heroic); Preludes; Nocturnes Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor; and Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major. He died on October 17, 1849 at the age of 39, probably of pericarditis aggravated by tuberculosis.

175 years ago
1835

Born on this date
Philip Fysh. U.K.-born Australian politician. Sir Philip, a native of England, emigrated to Australia in 1859 and became a successful merchant. A member of the Protectionist Party, he served several terms in the Tasmanian Legislative Council and Tasmanian House of Assembly from 1866-1899, holding several cabinet posts and serving as Premier of Tasmania (1877-1878, 1887-1892). Sir Philip supported federation of the Australian colonies, and after that took effect in 1901, he represented Tasmania (1901-1903) and Denison (1903-1910) in the Australian House of Representatives, serving as Postmaster-General (1903-1904). Sir Philip died on December 20, 1919 at the age of 84.

130 years ago
1880

Born on this date
Lytton Strachey. U.K. writer. Mr. Strachey was a sodomite who was a founding member of the Bloomsbury Group of English writers, artists, and intellectuals. He contributed book and theatre reviews to The Spectator from 1904-1914, but was best known for his irreverent biographies Eminent Victorians (1918) and Queen Victoria (1921). Mr. Strachey died of stomach cancer on January 21, 1932 at the age of 51.

125 years ago
1885

Born on this date
Lionel Atwill. U.K.-born U.S. actor. Mr. Atwill had a distinguished career on stage, but is best remembered for his appearances in horror and mystery movies, including Doctor X (1932); Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933); Murders in the Zoo (1933); Son of Frankenstein (1939); The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939); and Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942). He died of lung cancer and pneumonia on April 22, 1946 at the age of 65.

110 years ago
1900

Politics and government
Simon-Napoléon Parent, first elected in 1894, was re-elected to his fourth term as Mayor of Québec City. A Liberal, he also represented Saint-Sauveur in the Québec Legislative Assembly, and took office as Premier of Québec nine months later, while still serving as Mayor.

Weather
A snowstorm began in Montreal that left 46 centimetres on this day, and 9 centimetres on March 2, interrupting tram traffic and electrical service, with traffic limited to St. Catherine Street. The city received 118 centimetres for the entire month of March.

100 years ago
1910

Born on this date
David Niven. U.K. actor. Mr. Niven won the Academy Award for Best Actor for Separate Tables (1958). His other movies included The Prisoner of Zenda (1937); The Dawn Patrol (1938); Wuthering Heights (1939); Raffles (1939); A Matter of Life and Death (1946); The Moon is Blue (1953); Around the World in 80 Days (1956); The Pink Panther (1963); and Casino Royale (1967). Mr. Niven died in Switzerland on July 29, 1983 at the age of 73, after a three-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Archer Martin. U.K. chemist. Mr. Martin shared the 1952 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with R.M.S. Synge "for their invention of partition chromatography." Mr. Martin died on July 28, 2002 at the age of 92, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Disasters
The worst avalanche in United States history buried a Great Northern Railway train in northeastern King County, Washington, killing 96 people.

90 years ago
1920

Died on this date
John H. Bankhead, 77. U.S. politician. Mr. Bankhead, a Democrat, was involved in state politics in Alabama before representing the state's 6th District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1887-1907 and representing Alabama in the U.S. Senate from 1907 until his death.

70 years ago
1940

At the movies
Charlie Chan in Panama, starring Sidney Toler, Victor Sen Yung, Jean Rogers, and Lionel Atwill, opened in theatres.



Died on this date
A.H. Tammsaare, 62. Estonian author. Anton Hansen Tammsaare was a novelist who was best known for the pentalogy Tõde ja õigus (Truth and Justice) (1926-1933), which has been called "The Estonian Novel." He was hospitalized in 1939 for stomach problems, and died of a heart attack.

Literature
Richard Wright's novel Native Son was published.

War
German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler issued secret orders for the occupation of Denmark and Norway. Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced plans for a sevenfold increase in his country's air force. British planes scattered propaganda leaflets over Germany as far east as Berlin. Soviet troops in Finland made headway toward Viborg, reaching the city's outskirts. The Chinese government in Chungking launched a sweeping evacuation program for the city in anticipation of Japanese air raids.

Diplomacy
U.S. Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles met in Berlin with German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop.

In Patna, India, leaders of the Indian Congress threatened a campaign of civil disobedience as the next step toward complete independence from the United Kingdom.

Law
The American Bar Association committee on the Bill of Rights appealed to the public to oppose all illegal methods of suppressing civil rights.

Environment
The United States House of Representatives passed and sent to the Senate the Water Pollution Control Act, setting forth a plan for prevention of pollution of navigable waterways.

60 years ago
1950

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Ben Wright and Eric Snowden, on ABC
Tonight’s episode: Death in the Limelight

The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Jackson Beck, on ABC

At the movies
Borderline, directed by William A. Seiter, and starring Fred MacMurray, Claire Trevor, and Raymond Burr, opened in theatres.



Died on this date
Alfred Korzybski, 70. Polish-born U.S. philosopher and engineer. Mr. Korzybski moved to Canada and then the United States during Wold War I, eventually becoming an American citizen in 1940. He developed a field of self-improvement called general semantics, arguing that human knowledge of the world was limited both by the human nervous system and the languages humans ha developed, and thus no one could have direct access to reality. Mr. Korzybski was known for saying, "The map is not the territory."

Crime
German-born Klaus Fuchs, regarded as one of Britain’s top atomic scientists, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for espionage on behalf of the U.S.S.R.

Politics and government
Chiang Kai-shek reclaimed the Chinese Nationalist presidency from Li Tsung-jen, who was in New York, convalescing after an operation. Chiang had the backing of the Kuomintang Central Committee and the National Yuan of Taiwan.

Defense
The U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee issued a report on the previous year's armed forces unification hearings, urging that civilian leaders rather than military planners fix the nation's nuclear policy.

Science
The U.S. House of Representatives approved the establishment of a National Science Foundation to promote health, prosperity, and defense.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in France (IFOP): T'aimer follement--Johnny Hallyday (3rd week at #1)

On television tonight
Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, hosted by John Newland, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Mask, starring Wesley Lau, Luis Van Rooten, and Stephen Bekassy



40 years ago
1970

Music
The Association performed at the Felt Forum in New York City in a benefit for Coalition Venture.



Politics and government
The Socialist Party, led by Bruno Kreisky, fell just short of a majority in the Austrian general election, winning 81 of 165 seats in the National Council. The People’s Party, led by Josef Klaus, won 79 seats, and the Freedom Party, led by Friedrich Peter, took 5. Mr. Kreisky ended up taking office as Chancellor.

The Guatemalan general election resulted in Carlos Arana Osorio, presidential candidate of the Movimiento de Liberación Nacional (National Liberation Movement) (MLN) leading with 43.35% of the vote to 34.91% for Partido Revolucionario (Revolutionary Party) (PR) candidate Mario Fuentes Pieruccini and 21.74% for Democracia Cristiana Guatemalteca (Guatemalan Christian Democracy) (DCG) candidate Jorge Lucas Caballeros. Because no candidate won a majority of the vote, the election was thrown to Congress. A National Liberation Movement-Institutional Democratic Party alliance took 32 of 51 seats in Congress, with the Revolutionary Party taking 15 seats, and Guatemalan Christian Democracy winning the remaining 4 seats.

Canadiana
Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Anne visited Ottawa and Vancouver, prior to embarking on a tour of the South Pacific.

Diplomacy
French President Georges Pompidou continued his visit to the United States with a visit to New York.

30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): My Sharona--The Knack

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Que Sera Mi Vida--Gibson Brothers

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Atomic--Blondie

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Atomic--Blondie

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd
2 I Have a Dream--ABBA
3 The Ballad of Lucy Jordan--Marianne Faithfull
4 Sun of Jamaica--Goombay Dance Band
5 Confusion--Electric Light Orchestra
6 Rapper's Delight--Sugarhill Gang
7 Tusk--Fleetwood Mac
8 Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles
9 Lucifer--The Alan Parsons Project
10 Bobby Brown--Frank Zappa

Singles entering the chart were Rapper's Delight; Bahama Mama by Boney M. (#12); Sweet September by Tony Christie (#13); and It's a Real Good Feeling by Peter Kent (#20).

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Crying--Don McLean (2nd week at #1)
2 Do That to Me One More Time--Captain & Tennille
3 Que Sera Mi Vida--Gibson Brothers
4 An Englishman in New York--Godley & Creme
5 Rapper's Delight--Sugarhill Gang
6 Save Me--Queen
7 Nederland, Die Heeft De Bal--André Van Duin & Het Nederlands Elftal
8 I Hear You Now--Jon and Vangelis
9 Pearlydumm--BZN
10 Rap-O Clap-O--Joe Bataan

Singles entering the chart were With You I'm Born Again by Billy Preston & Syreeta (#22); Are You Ready by Billy Ocean (#29); Desire by Andy Gibb (#32); And the Beat Goes On by the Whispers (#35); Fire of Love by Earth & Fire (#36); and Let'Go Rock and Roll by KC and the Sunshine Band (#37).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen (2nd week at #1)
2 Yes, I'm Ready--Teri DeSario with K.C.
3 Do That to Me One More Time--Captain & Tennille
4 Longer--Dan Fogelberg
5 Desire--Andy Gibb
6 On the Radio--Donna Summer
7 Cruisin'--Smokey Robinson
8 Rock with You--Michael Jackson
9 Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl--Spinners
10 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd

Singles entering the chart were Hold on to My Love by Jimmy Ruffin (#63); Any Way You Want It by Journey (#75); Outside My Window by Stevie Wonder (#77); Baby Don't Go by Karla Bonoff (#80); and Only a Lonely Heart Sees by Felix Cavaliere (#85).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen (2nd week at #1)
2 Longer--Dan Fogelberg
3 Yes, I'm Ready--Teri DeSario with K.C.
4 Cruisin'--Smokey Robinson
5 On the Radio--Donna Summer
6 Rock With You--Michael Jackson
7 Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl--Spinners
8 Desire--Andy Gibb
9 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
10 Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)--Pink Floyd

Singles entering the chart were Hold on to My Love by Jimmy Ruffin (#69); Keep the Fire by Kenny Loggins (#82); Any Way You Want It by Journey (#83); Girl with the Hungry Eyes by Jefferson Starship (#87); Only a Lonely Heart Sees by Felix Cavaliere (#97); Baby Don't Go by Karla Bonoff (#99); and This is My Country, Thank You, Canada by Shelley Looney (#100).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 Yes, I'm Ready--Teri DeSario with K.C.
2 On the Radio--Donna Summer
3 Longer--Dan Fogelberg
4 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
5 Desire--Andy Gibb
6 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
7 September Morn--Neil Diamond
8 Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl--Spinners
9 Rock With You--Michael Jackson
10 Romeo's Tune--Steve Forbert

Singles entering the chart were Hold on to My Love by Jimmy Ruffin (#71); Any Way You Want It by Journey (#78); Carrie by Cliff Richard (#86); You are My Heaven by Roberta Flack with Donny Hathaway (#87); Love on the Phone by Suzanne Fellini (#88); Loving You with My Eyes by Starland Vocal Band (#93); Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll, Pt. 1 by Vaughan Mason and Crew (#95); What I Wouldn't Do (For the Love of You) by Angela Bofill (#98); Autograph by John Denver (#99); and Wondering Where the Lions Are by Bruce Cockburn (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen (2nd week at #1)
2 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
3 Rock with You--Michael Jackson
4 Please Don't Go--KC & the Sunshine Band
5 Do That to Me One More Time--Captain & Tennille
6 Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles
7 Ladies Night--Kool & The Gang
8 We Don't Talk Anymore--Cliff Richard
9 This is It--Kenny Loggins
10 Why Me--Styx

Singles entering the chart were Give it All You Got by Chuck Mangione (#83); I Can't Tell You Why by the Eagles (#84); Holiday by Nazareth (#85); White Hot by Red Rider (#92); Hidin' from Love by Bryan Adams (#95); You're So Square by Uranus (#98); Fire Lake by Bob Seger (#99); and Come Back by J. Geils Band (#100).

Radio
The Vancouver station CJAZ, billed as Canada's first all-jazz station, began broadcasting at 92.1 on the FM dial.

War
In the first major Soviet military move against Afghan rebels, Soviet and Afghan troops, backed by at least 50 helicopter gunships and 200 tanks, attacked rebel strongholds in the eastern province of Kunar. The offensive came during early spring in the area, which melted the heavy cover of snow in the valleys of the mountainous region.

Diplomacy
The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to call on Israel to dismantle its settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Chief U.S. delegate Donald McHenry said that he had been told by Secretary of State Cyrus Vance to vote for the resolution if one particularly objectionable paragraph--paragraph 7, which implied criticism of Israel’s administration of the holy places in Jerusalem--and the language on dismantling the settlements had been deleted. Paragraph 7 was deleted, and Mr. McHenry suggested to Mr. Vance that he could deal with the other issue by making a statement about the language on dismantling the settlements. Believing that the resolution was in conformity with U.S. policy since the two issues had been dealt with, Mr. Vance advised President Jimmy Carter that it conformed to U.S. policy, and Mr. Carter authorized the vote without reading the text of the proposed resolution itself. Mr. McHenry voted for the resolution and read a statement that described the call for dismantling the existing settlements as "impractical." It was said that the U.S. had wanted to send Israel a signal of American unhappiness over Israel’s decision on February 10 to allow Jews to settle in the West Bank city of Hebron. Israel and Egypt were negotiating autonomy for Arabs on the West Bank when Israel made the decision to allow the Jewish settlement.

Politics and government
Former U.S. President Gerald Ford declared that former California Governor Ronald Reagan, the leading contender for the Republican party presidential nomination for 1980, could not win the election. Mr. Ford invited the party to ask him to run for president again, but the party did not respond.

Curling
Canadian Women’s Championship
Final
Saskatchewan 6 Nova Scotia 5

Hockey
NHL
Vancouver 5 Edmonton 2

25 years ago
1985

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): You're My Heart, You're My Soul--Modern Talking

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): I Want To Know What Love Is--Foreigner (6th week at #1)

At the movies
The Purple Rose of Cairo, written and directed by Woody Allen, and starring Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, and Danny Aiello, opened in theatres in New York City, Los Angeles, and Toronto.



Hockey
NHL
Los Angeles 5 Edmonton 4

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Nothing Compares 2 U--Sinéad O'Connor (6th week at #1)

Edmonton's Top 10 (CFRN)
1 Opposites Attract--Paula Abdul (Duet with the Wild Pair)
2 Dangerous--Roxette
3 Two to Make it Right--Seduction
4 Let Your Backbone Slide--Maestro Fresh-Wes
5 Back to Life--Soul II Soul
6 All or Nothing--Milli Vanilli
7 Get Up (Before the Night is Over)--Technotronic
8 I Go to Extremes--Billy Joel
9 Principal's Office--Young MC
10 Escapade--Janet Jackson

Weather
It was 66 F. in Edmonton, warm enough for this blogger to wear shorts.

Crime
The United States Secret Service raided the offices of Steve Jackson Games, Inc. in Austin, Texas, seizing, among other things, the master copy of GURPS Cyberpunk, a genre toolkit for cyberpunk games, written by Loyd Blankenship, an employee of the company. The Secret Service believed that Mr. Blankenship had illegally accessed Bell South systems, and uploaded a document possibly affecting 9-1-1 systems onto Steve Jackson Games' public bulletin board system. The Secret Service also believed that GURPS Cyberpunk would help others commit computer crimes. Steve Jackson Games sued the Secret Service for damages arising from lost revenue, and helped to found the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Law
The new Official Secrets Act went into effect in the U.K., making it an offense for any member, or former member, of the security services to disclose official information about their work. It was also an offense for a journalist to repeat any such disclosures.

Football
NFL
Agreeing to television deals that eventually furnished the league about $3.3 billion over the next four years ($30 million a team each year), the National Football League added two wild-card teams to its playoff format, introducing another round of playoff games and extending the season from the first week of September to the last week of January.

10 years ago
2000

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright announced that the administration of President Bill Clinton would certify that Colombia and Mexico were cooperating in the fight against illegal drugs. Congress had required the administration to list cooperating countries each year, with those failing to meet the test subject to economic sanctions. In Colombia, cocaine production was increasing, but the U.S. hoped that $1.3 billion in U.S. aid would help reduce drug trafficking. Afghanistan and Myanmar, described by Mrs. Albright as "headquarters for the heroin business," were the only countries denied full certification.

Scandal
After an extensive internal investigation, the Los Angeles Police Department issued a report concluding that members of a police unit in a district west of downtown often behaved in ways that resembled the gangs they were targeting. The investigation had been kicked off by the confession of Rafael Perez, a former member of the Rampart unit, who had been sentenced to jail for stealing cocaine held as evidence and who described how police officers allegedly assaulted and framed innocent people. Discoveries of misconduct had by then cost 20 officers their jobs and caused about 40 convictions to be overturned.

Oddities
A woman in Mozambique gave birth to a girl in a treetop, where she had lived for four days above raging flood waters that had forced about 1 million people from their homes.