March 27th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

On this day in 196 BCE, Ptolemy V ascended to the throne of Egypt. In 1309 on this day, Pope Clement V excommunicated Venice and its entire population. On this day in 1329, Pope John XXII issued his 'In Agro Dominico' condemning some writings of Meister Eckhart as heretical. In 1668 on this day, English King Charles II gave Bombay to the East India Company. The modern shoestring (string and shoe holes) was invented in England on this day in 1790. The United States Government established a permanent navy and authorized the building of six frigates on this day in 1794. On this day in 1863 during the American Civil War, Confederate President Jefferson Davis called on this day to be a day of fasting & prayer. American President Andrew Johnson vetoed the civil rights bill on this day in 1866, although it still later passed and became the 14th amendment to the Constitution. The first international rugby game was played on this day in 1871, with Scotland defeating England, 1-0. On this day in 1900, the British Parliament passed the War Loan Act, which provided 35 million pounds to the cause of the Boer War in South Africa. This day in 1906 marked the founding of the Alpine Club of Canada in Winnipeg, Manitoba. A fire during a barn-dance in Ököritófülpös, Hungary, killed 312 people on this day in 1910. In 1912 on this day, the first Japanese cherry trees were planted along the Potomac in Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. The first successful blood transfusion took place on this day in 1914 in Brussels, Belgium. On this day in 1918, Bessarabia was annexed by Romania. Canada formally recognized the USSR (Soviet Union) on this day in 1924. In 1933 on this day, Japan left League of Nations in protest of the Lytton Commission's report condemning Japanese occupation of Manchuria. This was a busy day in 1945 during World War II. On this day in 1945 during the latter stages of World War II, General Dwight Eisenhower declared German defenses on the Western Front broken. The Germans launched the last of their V-2 missiles on this day in 1945, in a last-ditch effort to deploy their remaining V-2 missiles against the Allies. They launched their long-range rockets from their only remaining launch site, in the Netherlands. Almost 200 civilians in England and Belgium were added to the V-2 casualty toll as a result. Iwo Jima was occupied on this day in 1945, after 22,000 Japanese & 6,000 US troops had been killed in the fighting. Also on this day in 1945, the US 20th Army Corps captured Wiesbaden. Finally on this day in 1945 during World War II, Operation Starvation, the aerial mining of Japan's ports and waterways commenced. Nikita Khrushchev rose to the ranks to become the Soviet Premier as well as First Secretary of the Communist Party on this day in 1958. On this day in 1964, a 9.2 magnitude earthquake hit 80 miles east of Anchorage, Alaska, killing 117 people and producing a 50-foot tsunami that traveled over 8,000 miles. Also known as the Great Alaska Earthquake or the Good Friday Earthquake, it is the largest recorded earthquake in the history of North America to date, and the second largest recorded earthquake in world history. In 1965 on this day, South Vietnamese forces conducted combat operations in Cambodia. There were antiwar demonstrations opposing the conflict in Vietnam in the United States, Europe & Australia on this day in 1966. In 1970 on this day, Ringo released his first solo album "Sentimental Journey" just days before the Beatles would officially break up. On this day in 1980, Mount St Helens became active after 123 years of being a dormant volcano. Jiang Zemin was appointed President of the People's Republic of China on this day in 1993. Martin Luther King's son met with James Earl Ray, the man accused of killing his famous father, on this day in 1997. On this day in 1998, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of the drug Viagra, an oral medication that treats impotence. On this day in 2006, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights held its 62nd and final meeting.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• On this day in 196 BCE, Ptolemy V ascended to the throne of Egypt.

• In 1309 on this day, Pope Clement V excommunicated Venice and its entire population.

• On this day in 1329, Pope John XXII issued his 'In Agro Dominico' condemning some writings of Meister Eckhart as heretical.

1513 - Spaniard Juan Ponce de Leon discovers Florida

1599 - Robert Devereux becomes lt-general of Ireland

1613 - The first English child born in Canada at Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland to Nicholas Guy.

1625 - Charles I, King Of England, Scotland & Ireland, ascends English throne

1642 - The sixth Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Joseph takes office.

• In 1668 on this day, English King Charles II gave Bombay to the East India Company.

1708 - English pretender to the throne James III flees to Dunkerk

1709 - Dike at Hardinxveld breaks (Alblasserwaard flooded)

1713 - Spain losses Menorca & Gibraltar

1721 - France & Spain sign Treaty of Madrid

1782 - Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

• The modern shoestring (string and shoe holes) was invented in England on this day in 1790. 

• The United States Government established a permanent navy and authorized the building of six frigates on this day in 1794.

1794 - Denmark and Sweden form a neutrality compact.

1802 - Treaty of Amiens-French Revolutionary War ends

King Charles IIKing Charles II 1808 - Joseph Haydns oratorio "Die Schopfung" premieres in Vienna

1814 - Battle at Horseshoe Bend: General Andrew Jackson defeats the Red Sticks, part of the Creek Indian tribe near Dadeville, Alabama

1836 - 1st Mormon temple dedicated (Kirtland Ohio)

1841 - 1st US steam fire engine tested, NYC

1848 - John Parker Paynard originates medicated adhesive plaster

1849 - Joseph Couch patents steam-powered percussion rock drill

1855 - Abraham Gesner patents kerosene

1860 - M L Byrn patents "covered gimlet screw with a 'T' handle" (corkscrew)

• On this day in 1863 during the American Civil War, Confederate President Jefferson Davis called on this day to be a day of fasting & prayer.

1865 - Siege of Spanish Fort, AL-captured by Federals

1866 - Andrew Rankin patents the urinal

•  American President Andrew Johnson vetoed the civil rights bill on this day in 1866, although it still later passed and became the 14th amendment to the Constitution. 

1868 - The Lake Ontario Shore Railroad Company is organized in Oswego, New York.

• The first international rugby game was played on this day in 1871, with Scotland defeating England, 1-0.

1879 - Longest championship fight (136 rounds)

US President & General Andrew JacksonUS President & General Andrew Jackson 1881 - Rioting takes place in Basingstoke in protest against the daily vociferous promotion of rigid Temperance by the Salvation Army.

1884 - 1st long-distance telephone call, Boston-NY

1890 - A tornado strikes Louisville, Kentucky, killing 76 and injuring 200.

The Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, South Africa.

• On this day in 1900, the British Parliament passed the War Loan Act, which provided 35 million pounds to the cause of the Boer War in South Africa.

• This day in 1906 marked the founding of the Alpine Club of Canada in Winnipeg, Manitoba

• A fire during a barn-dance in Ököritófülpös, Hungary, killed 312 people on this day in 1910. 

•  In 1912 on this day, the first Japanese cherry trees were planted along the Potomac in Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. Helen Taft, wife of President William Taft, and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, plant two Yoshina cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac River, near the Jefferson Memorial. The event was held in celebration of a gift, by the Japanese government, of 3,020 cherry trees to the U.S. government.    The planting of Japanese cherry trees along the Potomac was first proposed by socialite Eliza Scidmore, who raised money for the endeavor. Helen Taft had lived in Japan while her husband was president of the Philippine Commission, and knowing the beauty of cherry blossoms she embraced Scidmore's idea. After learning of the first lady's interest, the Japanese consul in New York suggested making a gift of the trees to the U.S. government from the city of Tokyo.    In January 1910, 2,000 Japanese cherry trees arrived in Washington from Japan but had fallen prey to disease during the journey. In response, a private Japanese citizen donated the funds to transport a new batch of trees, and 3,020 specimens were taken from the famous collection on the bank of the Arakawa River in Adachi Ward, a suburb of Tokyo. In March 1912, the trees arrived in Washington, and on March 27 the first two trees were planted along the Potomac River's Tidal Basin in a formal ceremony. The rest of the trees were then planted along the basin, in East Potomac Park, and on the White House grounds.    The blossoming trees proved immediately popular with visitors to Washington's Mall area, and in 1934 city commissioners sponsored a three-day celebration of the late March blossoming of the trees, which grew into the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. After World War II, cuttings from Washington's cherry trees were sent back to Japan to restore the Tokyo collection that was decimated by American bombing attacks during the war.

•  The first successful blood transfusion took place on this day in 1914 in Brussels, Belgium.

• On this day in 1918, Bessarabia was annexed by Romania.  On March 27, 1918, in the wake of Russia's withdrawal from World War I and its acceptance of the humiliating peace terms set by the Central Powers at Brest-Litovsk, the Balkan republic of Romania annexes Bessarabia, a strategically important area of land located on its eastern border and bounded on the south by the Danube River and the mouth of the Black Sea.    Ruled by Ottoman Turks from the 16th century, Bessarabia (which today corresponds to the republic of Moldova and part of Ukraine) was annexed by the Russians in 1812 as a result of the Russo-Turkish War. The collapse of the Russian empire and the triumph of Bolshevism in 1917 inspired new stirrings of nationalism in Bessarabia, particularly among its large populations of Romanians and Ukrainians.    Despite its historical alliance with the Central Powers, especially Austria-Hungary, Romania had entered World War I on the side of the Allies in August 1916 with the hope of winning Transylvania, then part of Hungary, and expanding its strength in the Balkans. Within six months, however, Austro-German and Bulgarian forces had crushed Romania, effectively overrunning most of the country and ending its participation in the war by early 1917. (It signed a treaty with the Central Powers on May 7, 1918.) With the fall of the Russian empire, however, Romania saw its chance to reestablish its claims over Bessarabia.    For its part, Ukraine saw the end of czarist Russia as an opportunity. Immediately following the overthrow of the czar in February 1917, Ukraine set up a provisional government and proclaimed itself a republic within the structure of a federated Russia. In January 1918, it declared its complete independence. The Ukrainian government immediately sought control of Bessarabia, or at least its northernmost and southernmost sections, where the majority of the population was Ukrainian.    In January 1918, Romania sent troops to Bessarabia; on March 27, after Russia formally exited the war in early March at Brest-Litovsk, it annexed the region. Ukraine's national council strongly protested, urging self-determination for the Ukrainian population of Bessarabia. Over the next year, however, turmoil and ultimately civil war in Ukraine made taking any decisive action impossible. On November 10, a day before the armistice ending World War I was signed—and with an Allied victory assured—Romania reentered the war, occupying Transylvania.    At the Versailles peace conference in 1919, the Romanian delegation, headed by Prime Minister Ion Bratianu, included Bessarabia in a long list of territorial demands that also included the former Austro-Hungarian properties of Transylvania and the Bukovina and Banat regions, all of which they claimed were historically and ethnically Romanian. Though the Supreme Council at Versailles—made up of the leaders of Britain, France, the U.S., Italy and Japan—found Romania's demands excessive, they eventually gave in on most counts, including cession of Bessarabia. Thus, in the post-war period, Romania's size and population nearly doubled, making it by far the greatest winner of territory to come out of World War I.    Neither the new Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) nor its member republic, Ukraine—which fell to the Bolsheviks in 1919—accepted Romanian control of Bessarabia. During World War II, Bessarabia was occupied by Soviet troops in June 1940, retaken by Romania a year later, and then reoccupied by the Soviets in 1944. After the war ended, the majority of Bessarabia was joined to the soviet republic of Moldavia; the northernmost area and the coastal strip to the south along the Black Sea became part of Ukraine. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldavia changed its name to Moldova and, along with Ukraine, joined the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), an association of 12 former republics of the USSR.

1920 - Hermann Muller becomes German chancellor (SPD)

• Canada formally recognized the USSR (Soviet Union) on this day in 1924.

1924 - New French government of Poincaré begins

1928 - KGB-AM in San Diego CA begins radio transmissions

1928 - US Ladies Figure Skating championship won by Maribel Vinson

1928 - US Mens Figure Skating championship won by Roger Turner

1929 - US Ladies Figure Skating championship won by Maribel Vinson

1929 - US Mens Figure Skating championship won by Roger Turner

1930 - 1st US radio broadcast from a ship at sea

Comedian/Actor/Filmaker Charlie ChaplinComedian/Actor/Filmaker Charlie Chaplin 1931 - Charlie Chaplin receives France's distinguished Legion of Honor

1931 - John McGraw says night baseball will not catch on

1932 - De Bataven soccer team forms in Gendt

1933 - Farm Credit Administration (US) authorized

• In 1933 on this day, Japan left League of Nations in protest of the Lytton Commission's report condemning Japanese occupation of Manchuria. 

1933 - Polythene discovered by Reginald Gibson & Eric William Fawcett

1936 - WOS-AM in Jefferson City Missouri goes off the air

1937 - Feyenoord-stadium official opens in Rotterdam

1938 - The Battle of Taierzhuang takes place.

1939 - 1st NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: U of Oregon beats OH State 46-33

1940 - Himmler orders building of Auschwitz concentration camp, at Katowice

1941 - Britain leases defense bases in Trinidad to US for 99 years

1941 - Hitler signs Directive 27 (assault on Yugoslavia)

1941 - Yugoslavian coup gets rid of pro-German Prince Paul

1942 - -28] Allies raid German submarine base in St Nazaire

Dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf HitlerDictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler 1942 - Japan forces Java to use "Tokyo time" 1½ hour forward

1942 - Joe Louis KOs Abe Simon in 6 to retain heavyweight boxing title (NYC)

1943 - Assassination attempt on Van de Peat at Amsterdams census bureau

1943 - Blue Ribbon Town (with Groucho Marx) 1st heard on CBS Radio

1943 - US begins assault on Fondouk-pass, Tunisia

1944 - 1,000 Jews leave Drancy France for Auschwitz Concentration Camp

1944 - 2,000 Jews are murdered in Kaunas Lithuania

1944 - 40 Jewish policemen in Riga Latvia ghetto are shot by the gestapo

1944 - Children's Aktion-Nazis collect all the Jewish children of Lovno

1945 - 7th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Oklahoma State beats NYU 49-44

1945 - British premier Churchill sails to eastern banks of Rhine

1945 - DePaul beats Bowling Green for NIT title

1945 - Ella Fitzgerald & Delta Rhythm Boys record "It's Only a Paper Moon"

General Dwight Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States

• On this day in 1945 during the latter stages of World War II, General Dwight Eisenhower declared German defenses on the Western Front broken.

• The Germans launched the last of their V-2 missiles on this day in 1945, in a last-ditch effort to deploy their remaining V-2 missiles against the Allies. They launched their long-range rockets from their only remaining launch site, in the Netherlands. Almost 200 civilians in England and Belgium were added to the V-2 casualty toll as a result.    German scientists had been working on the development of a long-range missile since the 1930s. In October 3, 1942, victory was achieved with the successful trial launch of the V-2, a 12-ton rocket capable of carrying a one-ton warhead. The missile, fired from Peenemunde, an island off Germany's Baltic coast, traveled 118 miles in that first test.    The brainchild of rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, the V-2 was unique in several ways. First, it was virtually impossible to intercept. Upon launching, the missile rises six miles vertically; it then proceeds on an arced course, cutting off its own fuel according to the range desired. The missile then tips over and falls on its target at a speed of almost 4,000 mph. It hits with such force that the missile burrows itself into the ground several feet before exploding. The V-2 had the potential of flying a distance of 200 miles, and the launch pads were portable, making them impossible to detect before firing.    The first launches as part of an offensive occurred on September 6, 1944, when two missiles were fired at Paris. On September 8, two more were fired at England, which would be followed by over 1,100 more during the next six months. On March 27, 1945, taking advantage of their one remaining V-2 launch site, near The Hague, the Germans fired their V-2s for the last time. At 7 a.m., London awoke to a blast-one of the bombs had landed on a block of flats at Valance Road, killing 134 people. Twenty-seven Belgian civilians were killed in Antwerp when another of the rockets landed there. And that afternoon, one more V-2 landed in Kent, England, causing the very last British civilian casualty of the war.    By the end of the war, more than 2,700 Brits had died because of the rocket attacks, as well as another 4,483 deaths in Belgium. After the war, both the United States and the Soviet Union captured samples of the rockets for reproduction. Having proved so extraordinarily deadly during the war, the V-2 became the precursor of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) of the postwar era.

•  Iwo Jima was occupied on this day in 1945, after 22,000 Japanese & 6,000 US troops had been killed in the fighting.

•  Also on this day in 1945, the US 20th Army Corps captured Wiesbaden.

• Finally on this day in 1945 during World War II, Operation Starvation, the aerial mining of Japan's ports and waterways coimmenced.

1948 - The Second Congress of the Workers Party of North Korea is convened.

1950 - Jazz pianist, Erroll Garner's solo concert (Cleve OH)

1950 - Netherlands recognizes People's Republic of China

1950 - WHAS TV channel 11 in Louisville, KY (CBS) begins broadcasting

1951 - 13th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kentucky beats Kansas 68-58

1951 - Frank Sinatra recorded "I'm a Fool to Want You"

1952 - Failed assassination attempt of German Chancellor Adenauer

1952 - Sun Records of Memphis begins releasing records

1953 - 21 die in a train crash in Conneaut Ohio

1955 - 9th Tony Awards: Desperate Hours & Pajama Game win

1955 - Steve McQueen makes his network TV debut (Goodyear Playhouse)

1955 - WPRI TV channel 12 in Providence, RI (ABC) begins broadcasting

1956 - French commandos land in Algeria

Singer/Actor Frank SinatraSinger/Actor Frank Sinatra 1956 - US seizes US communist newspaper "Daily Worker"

1957 - 29th Academy Awards - "Around World in 80 Days," Bergman, Brynner win

1958 - CBS Labs announce new stereophonic records

1958 - Havana Hilton opens

The flag of the USSR (Soviet Union)

• Nikita Khrushchev rose to the ranks to become the Soviet Premier as well as First Secretary of the Communist Party on this day in 1958. On March 27, 1958, Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev replaces Nicolay Bulganin as Soviet premier, becoming the first leader since Joseph Stalin to simultaneously hold the USSR's two top offices.    Khrushchev, born into a Ukrainian peasant family in 1894, worked as a mine mechanic before joining the Soviet Communist Party in 1918. In 1929, he went to Moscow and steadily rose in the party ranks and in 1938 was made first secretary of the Ukrainian Communist Party. He became a close associate of Joseph Stalin, the authoritarian leader of the Soviet Union since 1924. In 1953, Stalin died, and Khrushchev grappled with Stalin's chosen successor, Georgy Malenkov, for the position of first secretary of the Communist Party. Khrushchev won the power struggle, and Malenkov was made premier, a more ceremonial post. In 1955, Malenkov was replaced by Bulganin, Khrushchev's hand-picked nominee.    In 1956, Khrushchev denounced Stalin and his totalitarian policies at the 20th Party Congress, leading to a "thaw" in the USSR that saw the release of millions of political prisoners. Almost immediately, the new atmosphere of freedom led to anti-Soviet uprisings in Poland and Hungary. Khrushchev flew to Poland and negotiated a diplomatic solution, but the Hungarian rebellion was crushed by Warsaw Pact troops and tanks.    Khruschev's program of de-Stalinization was opposed by some hard-liners in the Communist Party, and in June 1957 he was nearly ousted from his position as first secretary. After a brief struggle, he secured the removal of Malenkov and the other top party members who had opposed him and in 1958 prepared to take on the post of premier. On March 27, 1958, the Supreme Soviet--the Soviet legislature--voted unanimously to make First Secretary Khrushchev also Soviet premier, thus formally recognizing him as the undisputed leader of the USSR.    In foreign affairs, Premier Khrushchev's stated policy was one of "peaceful coexistence" with the West. He said, "we offer the capitalist countries peaceful competition" and gave the Soviet Union an early lead in the space race by launching the first Soviet satellites and cosmonauts. A visit to the United States by Khrushchev in 1959 was hailed as a new high in U.S.-Soviet relations, but superpower relations would hit dangerous new lows in the early 1960s.    In 1960, Khrushchev walked out of a long-awaited four-powers summit over the U-2 affair, and in 1961 he authorized construction of the Berlin Wall as a drastic solution to the East German question. Then, in October 1962, the United States and the USSR came close to nuclear war over the USSR's placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba. After 13 tense days, the Cuban Missile Crisis came to an end when Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the offensive weapons in exchange for a secret U.S. pledge not to invade Cuba.    The humiliating resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis, an agricultural crisis at home, and the deterioration of Soviet-Chinese relations over Khrushchev's moderate policies all led to growing opposition to Khrushchev in the party ranks. On October 14, 1964, Leonid Brezhnev, Khrushchev's protege and deputy, organized a successful coup against him, and Khrushchev abruptly stepped down as first secretary and premier. He retired to obscurity outside Moscow and lived there until his death in 1971.  

1960 - Wiffi Smith wins LPGA Royal Crown Golf Open

1961 - Black demonstrators in Charleston staged ride-ins on street cars

1961 - Belgium government of Eyskens resigns

1961 - Failed assassination attempt on King Saif al-Islam Achmad of Yemen

1962 - Ann Jellicoe's "Knack," premieres in London

1962 - Archbishop Rummel ends race segregation in New Orlean Catholic school

1962 - Jacques Plante ties record winning 6th NHL Vezina trophy

1963 - Beeching axe: Dr. Richard Beeching issues a report calling for huge cuts to the United Kingdom's rail network.

1964 - 1st true Pirate Radio station, Radio Caroline (England)

1964 - Earthquake strikes Alaska, 8.4 on Richter scale, 118 die

• On this day in 1964, a 9.2 magnitude earthquake hit 80 miles east of Anchorage, Alaska, killing 117 people and producing a 50-foot tsunami that traveled over 8,000 miles. Also known as the Great Alaska Earthquake or the Good Friday Earthquake, it is the largest recorded earthquake in the history of North America to date, and the second largest recorded earthquake in world history.

 1964 - Great Train Robbers sentenced to a total of 307 years behind bars

1964 - UN troops arrive on Cyprus

• In 1965 on this day, South Vietnamese forces conducted combat operations in Cambodia.  Following several days of consultations with the Cambodian government, South Vietnamese troops, supported by artillery and air strikes, launch their first major military operation into Cambodia. The South Vietnamese encountered a 300-man Viet Cong force in the Kandal province and reported killing 53 communist soldiers. Two teams of U.S. helicopter gunships took part in the action. Three South Vietnamese soldiers were killed and seven wounded.

• There were antiwar demonstrations opposing the conflict in Vietnam in the United States, Europe & Australia on this day in 1966. 

1968 - Japanese Trade & Cultural Center (Japan Center) dedicated in SF

1968 - Suharto succeeds Sukarno as president of Indonesia

1969 - Black Academy of Arts & Letters forms in Boston

1969 - Launch of Mariner 7, flies 2,190-mi above southern Mars

  

This picture was taken, and recently cropped, by me. Taken from the Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band show in Worcester, Massachusetts, June 11, 2016

• In 1970 on this day, Ringo released his first solo album "Sentimental Journey" just days before the Beatles would officially break up.

1970 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1971 - 33rd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: UCLA beats Villanova 68-62 UCLA wins their 5th consecutive NCAA basketball title

1972 - Adolph Rupp retires after 42 years of coaching U of Kentucky

1972 - Venera 8 launched to Venus

1973 - Dennis Amiss out for 99 v Pakistan, 3rd 99 in Test Cricket

1973 - Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead) stopped for speeding & LSD possession

Actor Marlon BrandoActor Marlon Brando 1973 - 45th Academy Awards - "Godfather," Marlon Brando & Liza Minnelli win Marlon Brando turns down Oscar for best actor in support of Indians

1976 - Delta States beat Immaculata, 69-64, for AIWA basketball title

1976 - Washington DC underground Metro opens

1977 - 583 die in aviation's worst disaster KLM-Pan Am 747 crash on Tenerife

1978 - Rutles "All You Need is Cash" is shown on British TV

1979 - Supreme Court rules, 8-1, cops can't randomly stop cars

1980 - "Happy New Year" opens at Morosco Theater NYC for 17 performances

1980 - "Reggae" opens at Biltmore Theater NYC for 21 performances

1980 - Elevator in Vaal Reef S Afr gold mine crash 1900m down (23 die)

• On this day in 1980, Mount St Helens became active after 123 years of being a dormant volcano.

1980 - The Norwegian oil platform Alexander Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212.

1981 - John Lennon single "Watching the Wheels" released posthumously in UK

1982 - "Best Little Whorehouse..." closes at 46th St NYC after 1577 perfs

1982 - Imran takes 14-116 for cricket match v Sri Lanka at Lahore

1982 - Randy Holt sets Wash Cap record of 34 penalty minutes

1983 - 13th Easter Seal Telethon

1983 - Larry Holmes beats Lucien Rodriguez in 12 for heavyweight boxing title

1983 - Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs," premieres in NYC

Composer Andrew Lloyd WebberComposer Andrew Lloyd Webber 1984 - Andrew Lloyd Webber/Richard Stilgoe's "Starlight Express," premieres

1985 - Billy Dee Williams receives a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

1986 - Disney-MGM Studio Tour ground breaking

1987 - President Habre's troops reconquer Faya Largeau Chad

1989 - Delhi beat Bengal by innings & 210 to win Cricket's Ranji Trophy

1990 - Bus accidentally touches high voltage wire in Karagpur India; 21 die

1990 - NSW beat Queensland by 345 runs to win Sheffield Shield Final

1990 - The United States begins broadcasting TV Martí to Cuba in an effort to bridge the information blackout imposed by the Castro regime.

Actor Billy Dee WilliamsActor Billy Dee Williams 1991 - NCAA bans U of Minn football team from postseason play in 1992

1991 - New Kid Donnie Wahlberg, arrested on arson charges in Kentucky

1991 - Scotty Bowman & Neil Armstrong elected to NHL Hall of Fame

1992 - Bruce Springsteen releases "Human Touch" & "Lucky Town"

• Jiang Zemin was appointed President of the People's Republic of China on this day in 1993.

1994 - Church in Piedmont Alabama collapses in tornado, 19 killed

1994 - The Eurofighter takes its first flight in Manching, Germany.

• Martin Luther King's son met with James Earl Ray, the man accused of killing his famous father, on this day in 1997. 

• On this day in 1998, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of the drug Viagra, an oral medication that treats impotence.    Sildenafil, the chemical name for Viagra, is an artificial compound that was originally synthesized and studied to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) and angina pectoris (a form of cardiovascular disease). Chemists at the Pfizer pharmaceutical company found, however, that while the drug had little effect on angina, it could induce penile erections, typically within 30 to 60 minutes. Seeing the economic opportunity in such a biochemical effect, Pfizer decided to market the drug for impotence. Sildenafil was patented in 1996, and a mere two years later–a stunningly short time compared to other drugs–it was approved by the FDA for use in treating "erectile dysfunction," the new clinical name for impotence. Though unconfirmed, it is believed the drug was invented by Peter Dunn and Albert Wood.    Viagra's massive success was practically instantaneous. In the first year alone, the $8-$10 pills yielded about a billion dollars in sales. Viagra's impact on the pharmaceutical and medical industries, as well as on the public consciousness, was also enormous. Though available by prescription only, Viagra was marketed on television, famously touted by ex-presidential candidate Bob Dole, then in his mid-70s. Such direct-to-consumer marketing was practically unprecedented for prescription drugs (now, sales and marketing account for approximately 30 percent of the pharmaceutical industry's costs, in some cases more than research and development). The drug was also offered over the internet–customers needed only to fill out an "online consultation" to receive samples.    An estimated 30 million men in the United States suffer from erectile dysfunction and a wave of new Viagra competitors, among them Cialis (tadalafil) and Levitra (vardenafil), has blown open the market. Drug companies are now not just targeting older men like Dole, but men in their 30s and 40s, too. As with many drugs, the long-term effects of Viagra on men's health are still unclear (Viagra does carry warnings for those who suffer from heart trouble), but its popularity shows no signs of slowing. To date, over 20 million Americans have tried it, and that number is sure to increase as the baby boomer population continues to age.

2000 - Phillips explosion of 2000 kills 1 and injures 71 in Pasadena, Texas.

2002 - Passover Massacre: A suicide bomber kills 29 people in Netanya, Israel.

2004 - HMS Scylla, a decommissioned Leander frigate, is sunk as an artificial reef off Cornwall, the first of its kind in Europe.

Flag of the United Nations

• On this day in 2006, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights held its 62nd and final meeting.

2009 - Situ Gintung, an artificial lake in Indonesia, fails killing at least 99 people.

2013 - 12 people are killed in the Philippines after a mini-tornado causes a boat to capsize

2134 - 32nd recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet

1794 - The U.S. Congress authorized the creation of the U.S. Navy.   1802 - The Treaty of Amiens was signed ending the French Revolutionary War.   1836 - In Goliad, TX, about 350 Texan prisoners, including their commander James Fannin, were executed under orders from Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna. An estimated 30 Texans escaped execution.   1836 - The first Mormon temple was dedicated in Kirtland, OH.   1841 - The first steam fire engine was tested in New York City.   1860 - The corkscrew was patented by M.L. Byrn.   1866 - U.S. President Andrew Johnson vetoed the civil rights bill, which later became the 14th amendment.   1884 - The first long-distance telephone call was made from Boston to New York.   1899 - The first international radio transmission between England and France was achieved by the Italian inventor G. Marconi.   1900 - The London Parliament passed the War Loan Act that gave 35 million pounds to the Boer War cause in South Africa.   1900 - The Russian army mobilized 250,000 troops for active duty.   1901 - Filipino rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by the U.S.   1904 - Mary Jarris "Mother" Jones was ordered by Colorado state authorities to leave the state. She was accused of stirring up striking coal miners.   1907 - French troops occupied Oudja, Morocco, as a punitive action for the murder of French Dr. Muchamp.   1912 - The first cherry blossom trees were planted in Washington, DC. The trees were a gift from Japan.   1917 - The Seattle Metropolitans, of the Pacific Coast League of Canada, defeated the Montreal Canadiens and became the first U.S. hockey team to win the Stanley Cup.   1931 - Actor Charlie Chaplin received France’s Legion of Honor decoration.   1933 - About 55,000 people staged a protest against Hitler in New York City.   1933 - In the U.S., the Farm Credit Administration was authorized.   1941 - Tokeo Yoshikawa arrived in Oahu, HI, and began spying for Japan on the U.S. Fleet at Pearl Harbor.   1942 - The British raided the Nazi submarine base at St. Nazaire, France.   1946 - Four-month long strikes at both General Electric and General Motors ended with a wage increase.   1952 - The U.S. Eighth Army reached the 38th parallel in Korea, the original dividing line between the two Koreas.   1955 - Steve McQueen made his network TV debut on "Goodyear Playhouse."   1958 - Nikita Khrushchev became the chairman of the Soviet Council of Ministers in addition to First Secretary of the Communist Party.   1958 - The U.S. announced a plan to explore space near the moon.   1976 - Washington, DC, opened its subway system.   1985 - Billy Dee Williams received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.   1988 - The U.S. Senate ratified the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.   1989 - The U.S. anti-missile satellite failed the first test in space.   1993 - In China, Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin was appointed President.   1997 - Russian workers, nearly 2 million, held a nationwide strike to protest unpaid wages.   1997 - In Australia, Governor-General William Deane signed a bill to overturn a 1996 Northern Territory act to legalize assisted suicides. The 1996 act was the first in the world to permit assisted suicides.   1998 - In the U.S., the FDA approved the prescription drug Viagra. It was the first pill for male impotence.   1998 - Top civilian aircraft makers in France, Spain, Germany and Britain agreed to create single European aerospace and defense company.   2004 - NASA successfully launched an unpiloted X-43A jet that hit Mach 7 (about 5,000 mph).   2007 - NFL owners voted to make instant replay a permanent officiating tool.



1794 Congress authorizes the construction of six frigates, including the Constitution (Old Ironsides), for the U.S. Navy. 1866 President Andrew Johnson vetoed a civil rights bill which later became the 14th amendment. 1884 The first long-distance telephone call was made, between Boston and New York. 1917 The Seattle Metropolitans became the first U.S. hockey team to win the Stanley Cup. 1958 Nikita Khrushchev became Soviet premier and first secretary of the Communist Party. 1964 A 9.2 magnitude earthquake hit 80 miles east of Anchorage, Alaska, killing 117 and producing a 50-foot tsunami that traveled over 8,000 miles. 

1977 Pan American and KLM Boeing 747s collided on a runway in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands. The 542 people killed is the highest ever for an aviation disaster. 2001 A federal judge ruled that the University of Michigan’s affirmative action policy was invalid, a ruling that later would be reversed in an appeal.


The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/mar27.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

Robert Reich Provides Some Recommendations on Correcting What Is Wrong With the American Political System

Admittedly, I have been posting a lot of stuff from Robert Reich in recent months. But he feels like one of the startlingly few voices of reason among the American political wilderness these days.

So it seemed appropriate to share this video, where Reich gives a list of 10 ways in which Americans can unrig their political system.

Take a look:

Top 10 Ways to Unrig the System | Robert Reich

Canada’s New Leader is Sad About Recently Lost Friendship With the United States

As an American, the first time that I remember feeling truly ashamed of the United States was during the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. It was an ugly time, and anger and paranoia prevailed. Anyone who opposed the inevitable war in Iraq (I knew that war was inevitable, even though supporters of Bush and the war apparently were unsure) was systematically labelled terrorist sympathizers and - that old classic used by the intolerant towards anyone who disagrees with them - unAmerican. President Bush outright declared that "you are either with us or against us."

Much of what people are acting so horrified with now under Trump first saw the light of day under George W. Bush. To me, the Project for the New American Century was pretty much the Project 2025 of its day. Like Trump, Bush seemed to joke about things which made opposition uncomfortable, such as how it would be easier if the United States was a dictatorship, provided that he was the dictator. Before Trump officially made English the official language of the country, Bush did it first. The PATRIOT Act empowered rather stunning levels of increased government surveillance and control over the population, even allowing government officials access to files which would have allowed them to see what people were taking out from their local library. Because we all know that the first place that real terrorists and evildoers flock to when they are trying to devise something horrific and truly evil is the local library, right? The proposed but thankfully never passed PATRIOT Act II would have gone even farther, giving government the ability to strip people of their American citizenship if they criticized the government too much. Of course, it was impossible to know what was too much criticism, or what criticisms were viable, and which could or would be deemed grounds for being stripped of one's American citizenship, and perhaps becoming a nonperson.

Still, as bad as Bush seemed, and as intent as his administration appeared to be when it came to eroding civil liberties, they seem almost like lightweights compared to Trump, who is far more blatant in his disregard towards Constitutional rights. After all, just a few years ago, he suggested that parts of the Constitution might need to be suspended. Somehow, this was not an automatic disqualifier for Americans, which was really alarming. Also not a disqualifier was the January 6th insurrection, which felt to me like an attempted (but failed) coup. Trump has multiple times mused about being "president for life" and going beyond serving a second term. And he is currently repeatedly suggesting that a president's power is basically unlimited and total. To that end, he has stripped away some power from Congress (with Democrats hardly issuing a peep in protest) and so far, completely ignoring the judicial branch. Plus, he has shown his admiration for dictators before, such as being envious of the total respect that North Korea's leader allegedly gets in his country, or the more obvious signs of seeming adoration which he holds for Putin in Russia. In addition, he seems to be hungry for expanding his country's borders, much like some of the most famous dictators have been. So it sure feels like we have entered the territory of the United States at least resembling a dictatorship, even though it is still relatively light for the moment. But since we are heading in that direction, a far more hardline and unbending dictatorship might not be too far away. 

One of the places which Trump seems absolutely intent on making part of his United States is Canada. He has systematically and relentlessly attacked the status of Canada as an independent nation in it's own right. Never mind that the United States and Canada have had some of the friendliest relations of any two modern nations in history, with the longest undefended border in the world. Never mind that they rely heavily on each other as trading partners. Trump has made it clear that he sees Canada merely as an extension of the United States, or as the "51st state." 

Obviously, this does not sit too well with Canadians. According to a recent poll, about 77% of Canadians - obviously an overwhelming majority - strongly oppose joining the United States, and believe that it would be a very bad idea. Only 15% of Canadians support joining the United States. Almost surprisingly, a strong number of Americans (42% of those polled) oppose Canada joining the United States, while a minority (36%) support it.

So all of this has clearly created friction between the two countries. Sadly, it is completely unnecessary, and entirely the creation of Trump and his expansionist mindset. These tensions between the two countries really did not exist as little as little as five months ago. 

I have said before, and will say again, that this is a time when the United States should be looking more than ever to strengthen traditional alliances and friendships. After all, China is rising as a global superpower, and the BRICS economic alliance of nations is outright challenging America's traditional worldwide economic dominance and supremacy. Yet instead of trying to strengthen these friendships, we are antagonizing our allies, particularly in western Europe and Canada. 

Maybe this is not the best strategy. Whatever Trump may feel about his transparent expansionist desires, it seems unlikely that the Panama Canal, Gaza, Greenland or Canada will soon join the United States. First of all, militarily taking them over is illegal and will have ramifications. Secondly, the overwhelming majority of Canadians and Greenlanders polled recently stand firmly opposed to joining the United States. In Greenland, they even created alternative MAGA hats, with these standing for "Make America Go Away." 

Not exactly a ringing endorsement, is it?

Plus, a vast majority of Canadians polled were opposed to it, as mentioned earlier. And while I have not yet seen polls among Panamanians and Palestinians, it sure stands to reason that the opposition to American expansionism would be even stronger in those two countries. 

The new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney seems saddened by this deterioration of relations between the two countries. This is particularly true because, as he points out, these newfound tensions are completely unnecessary, and were not really an issue less than half a year ago. Here is what he recently said while visiting Gander, the town that took in and welcomed thousands of Americans during the September 11th attacks:

“In this crisis caused by the U.S. president and those who are enabling him, we lament a friendship lost,” Carney said. “In Gander Canadians did extraordinary things for Americans when they needed it. Now, we need to do extraordinary things for ourselves.”

We Americans should remember this. Again, Canadians are our friends. This is the country which we likely can relate to the most, culturally and politically. Relations between the two nations have been solid for a very long time now. They embraced us and helped us in our hour of need, and never have really given us a problem. Only Americans blinded by Trump's propaganda cannot see that Canadians have justifications for being angry right now. And many Canadians seem to go out of their way to say that it is not the United States that they are angry with, but Trump, specifically. After all, he is the one who created these present sources of tension between the two nations. 

Personally, I think that Americans who so blindly support Trump as to quickly jump on board with his expansionist dreams and attempts at empire building (for now, mostly imaginary) need to check themselves. It hardly seems like we should need to tell people these days that taking over lands where something like 4/5's of the people are opposed to joining you is unnecessarily hostile. Also, this is not business or real estate, where hostile takeovers of the sort which Trump is used to are the norm. We are talking about world politics here, and there will be ramifications if Trump's United States decides to go rogue and indeed do hostile military takeovers of previously friendly countries. 

Prime Minister Carney will now be busy with an important - even a crucial - election in his country for the next few weeks. Certainly, the likely central issue in that election will be relations with Trump's United States, given the unfortunate news headlines which the Trump White House has provided. Indeed, Carney is correct: it is Trump's fault that there are any real tensions between the two nations at all. They are completely unnecessary.

This is a good time for us remember that having friends is a good thing. No reason to throw it all away, simply because one power hungry wanna be dictator is currently in power in the White House. 

Below are the links to news articles from which I obtained some of the specific information used in the above blog journal entry, and from which I obtained the quote which was used. Also at the bottom is a special article on Gander as a reminder of how the people in that town were unexpectedly overwhelmed by thousands of Americans stranded there during the September 11th attacks, yet how the people of that town nonetheless bent over backwards to help those Americans feel welcome: 

Binational poll: Most Canadians and many Americans oppose Canada joining the U.S. by David Montgomery Senior data journalist, January 31, 2025:

https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/51505-most-canadians-many-americans-oppose-canada-joining-us

Canada’s leader laments lost friendship with US in town that sheltered stranded Americans after 9/11 By  Rob Gillies, March 24, 2025: 

https://apnews.com/article/canada-election-prime-minister-carney-gander-911-attacks-7b755af05c6e87fce52bfacd59dcd75f

20 Years Later: The Little Town in Newfoundland That Welcomed Nearly 7,000 Strangers on 9/11 by Rachel Chang,  Published on September 11, 2021:

As captured in the Broadway musical "Come From Away," the Canadian community of Gander welcomed in nearly 7,000 strangers in the midst of America's darkest days.  

https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/newfoundland-labrador-9-11-anniversary

March 26th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

On this day in 1027, Conrad II was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XIX.  In 1147 on this day, the Jewish community in Cologne fasted to commemorate anti-Jewish violence. On this day in 1150, the Tichborne family of Hampshire, England, started the tradition of giving a Gallon of flour to each resident to keep a deathbed promise. In 1484 on this day, William Caxton printed his translation of Aesop's Fables. In 1793 on this day during the French Revolution, there was a pro-royalist uprising in the Vendée region of France. Napolean captured Jaffa, Palestine, in 1799. In 1824 on this day was the first performance of Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis". Composer Ludwig van Beethoven died at the age 56 in Vienna, Austria, on this day in 1827. On this day in 1830, the Book of Mormon was published in Palmyra, New York. The Paris Commune was founded on this day in 1871. F. Scott Fitzgerald's first novel, "This Side of Paradise," was published on this day in 1920, immediately launching 23-year-old F. Scott Fitzgerald to fame and fortune. The first "Eichmann transport" to Auschwitz & Birkenau Camps came on this day in 1942. The Salk Polio vaccine, which was developed by Jonas Salk, was announced on this day in 1953. It proved to be a groundbreaking medical advancement which played a central role in eradicating polio worldwide. There was a massive antiwar demonstration in Washington on this day in 1969. On this day in 1979, the Camp David peace treaty between Israel & Egypt was signed with a ceremony at the White House, with American President Jimmy Carter presiding, which marked what appeared to be the first major breakthrough for peace in the Middle East. In 1989 on this day was held the first free elections in USSR.  Boris Yeltsin won the presidential election with 190 million votes cast. On this day in 1997, following an anonymous tip, 39 Heaven's Gate cult members were found dead of mass suicide at a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, an exclusive suburb of San Diego, California. 

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• On this day in 1027, Conrad II was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XIX.  

• In 1147 on this day, the Jewish community in Cologne fasted to commemorate anti-Jewish violence

• On this day in 1150, the Tichborne family of Hampshire, England, started the tradition of giving a Gallon of flour to each resident to keep a deathbed promise.

• In 1484 on this day, William Caxton printed his translation of Aesop's Fables.

1526 - King Francois I returns Spanish captivity to France

1534 - Lubeck accept free Dutch ships into East Sea

1552 - Guru Amar Das becomes the Third Sikh Guru.

1636 - University of Utrecht opening ceremony

1668 - England takes control of Bombay India

1692 - King Maximilian installed as land guardian of South Netherlands

1780 - 1st British Sunday newspaper appears (Brit Gazette & Sunday Monitor)

1790 - Congress passes Naturalization Act, requires 2-year residency

• In 1793 on this day during the French Revolution, there was a pro-royalist uprising in the Vendée region of France.

French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte

• Napolean captured Jaffa, Palestine, in 1799.

1804 - Congress orders removal of Indians east of Mississippi to Louisiana

1804 - Territory of Orleans organizes in Louisiana Purchase

1808 - Charles IV of Spain abdicates in favor of his son, Ferdinand VII.

1812 - Earthquake destroys 90% of Caracas Venezuela; about 20,000 die

1821 - Franz Grillparzer's "Das Goldene Vliess," premieres in Vienna

Bust of iconic German composer and musician Ludwig van Beethoven

• In 1824 on this day was the first performance of Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis"

• Composer Ludwig van Beethoven died at the age 56 in Vienna, Austria, on this day in 1827. 

• On this day in 1830, the Book of Mormon was published in Palmyra, New York.

1839 - 1st Henley Royal Regatta

1845 - Joseph Francis, NYC, patents a corrugated sheet-iron lifeboat

1845 - Patent awarded for adhesive medicated plaster, precusor of bandaid

1852 - Decree regarding streets of Paris passed

1856 - NSW's 1st 1st-class game, v Victoria at Melbourne NSW won

1859 - 1st sighting of Vulcan, a planet thought to orbit inside Mercury

1862 - Battle of La Glorieta Pass, NM Terr (Apache Canyon, Pigeon's Ranch)

1863 - Voters in West Virginia approve gradual emancipation of slaves

A picture of a book by Stewart Edwards about the Paris Commune, with the cover photo showing the barricades of the revolutionary movement.

•  The Paris Commune was founded on this day in 1871.

1872 - 7.8 earthquake shakes Owens Valley, California

1872 - Thomas J Martin patents fire extinguisher

1878 - Hastings College of Law founded

1878 - Sabi Game Reserve, world's 1st official designated game reserve, opens

1881 - Thessaly is freed and becomes part of Greece again.

1885 - Eastman Film Co manufactures 1st commercial motion picture film

1885 - Louis Riel's forces defeat Canadian forces at Duck Lake, Sask

1886 - 1st cremation in England

1889 - Bernard Tancred carries bat for 26* out of 47! South Africa v England

1889 - Johnny Briggs took 15-26 (7-17 & 8-11) v South Africa at Newlands

1889 - South Africa all out 47, then follow-on all out 43 v England

1895 - King Alfonso plants pine sapling in Madrid, starts Spain's Arbor Day

1900 - 1st edition The (Free) People (Neth, probably Amsterdam)

1903 - American Hotel opens in Amsterdam

1909 - August Strindberg's "Bjalb-jarle-ti," premieres in Stockholm

1910 - US forbid immigration to criminals, anarchists, paupers & the sick

1910 - William H Lewis appointed asst attorney general of US

1913 - Bulgaria captures Adrianople, ending the 1st Balkan War

1913 - Dayton, Ohio almost destroyed when Scioto, Miami, & Muskingum River reach flood stage simultaneously

1915 - Stanley Cup: Vancouver Millionaires (PCHA) sweep Ottawa Senators

1916 - Birdman of Alcatraz receives solitary

1917 - Stanley Cup: Seattle Metropolitans (PCHA) beat Montreal Canadiens (NHL), 3 games to 1 - Seattle is 1st US team to win Stanley Cup

• F. Scott Fitzgerald's first novel, "This Side of Paradise," was published on this day in 1920, immediately launching 23-year-old F. Scott Fitzgerald to fame and fortune.    Fitzgerald, named for his ancestor Francis Scott Key, author of "The Star Spangled Banner," was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, to a once well-to-do family that had descended in wealth and influence. With the funding of a well-off aunt, Fitzgerald was sent to boarding school in New Jersey in 1911 and attended Princeton University two years later. Although Fitzgerald engaged actively in theater, arts, and other campus activity, his financial background was considerably poorer than those of his classmates, and his outsider status, whether real or imaginary, left a sting. He left Princeton after three years and joined the army during World War I.    While in the military, he was stationed in Montgomery, Alabama, where he developed a romance with the privileged, pampered Zelda Sayre, daughter of a State Supreme Court justice. Like the heroine of The Great Gatsby, she rejected the young man, fearing he would not be able to support her, and like Gatsby, Fitzgerald vowed to win her back. He moved to New York, rewrote a novel about Princeton he had started in college, and promptly became the youngest author ever published by Scribner's. His fame and fortune secure for the moment, he convinced Zelda to marry him, and the two began a whirlwind life of glamorous parties and extravagant living in New York.    Unfortunately, the Fitzgeralds lived far beyond their means and soon found themselves deeply in debt. They moved to Europe, hoping to cut back on expenses, where they befriended other expatriate writers, including Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein. While in Europe, Fitzgerald finished his masterpiece The Great Gatsby (1925).    Unfortunately, the Fitzgeralds failed to cut back on their extravagant ways. Although Fitzgerald published dozens of short stories-178 in his lifetime, for which he was amply paid-the couple's debts mounted. Fitzgerald plunged into alcoholism, and his wife became increasingly unstable. In 1930, she suffered the first of several breakdowns and was institutionalized. She spent the rest of her life in a sanitarium. Fitzgerald's next novel, Tender Is the Night, failed to resonate with the American public, and Fitzgerald's fortune's plummeted. In 1937, he moved to Hollywood to try screenwriting. He fell in love with a Hollywood gossip columnist, stopped drinking, and began renewed literary efforts but died of a heart attack in 1940, at the age of 44.

1923 - Stanley Cup: Ott Senators beat Vanc Millionaires (PCHA), 3 games to 1

1924 - Premiere of Bernard Shaw's "Saint Joan," in London

1926 - ACD de Graeff appointed gov-gen of Dutch East-Indies

1926 - The 1st lip-reading tournament held in America

1927 - Alfred Hugenberg purchases German film company UFA

1927 - Gaumont-British Film Corporation forms

1930 - Congress appropriates $50,000 for Inter-American highway

1931 - Iraq & Trans-Jordan sign peace treaty

1931 - Leo Bentley bowls 3 consecutive perfect games in Lorain, Ohio

1931 - New Delhi replaces Calcutta as capital of British-Indies

1934 - Driving tests introduced in Britain

1935 - "RvJ" Mitchell & Mjr Sorley discuss armament of Spitfire

1936 - 1st parliamentary debate on NZ radio

1936 - 200" telescope lens shipped, Corning Glass Works, NY-Cal Tech

1936 - Mary Joyce ends a 1,000 mile trip by dog in Alaska

1937 - Joe DiMaggio takes Ty Cobb's advice & replace his 40 with 36 oz bat

1937 - Spinach growers of Crystal City, Tx, erect statue of Popeye

1937 - William H Hastie becomes 1st black federal judge (Virgin Islands)

1938 - NBC radio performance of Howard Hanson's 3rd Symphony

Nobel Laureate Author Ernest HemingwayNobel Laureate Author Ernest Hemingway 1940 - Ernest Hemingway & Benjamin Glazer premiere in NYC

• The first "Eichmann transport" to Auschwitz & Birkenau Camps came on this day in 1942.

1942 - 1st 700 Jews from Polish Lvov-district reach concentration camp Belzec

1942 - 20 tons of gelignite in a stone quarry at Easton Pa, kills 21

1942 - German offensive in North-Africa under Col-general Rommel

1943 - 1st woman to receive air medal (US army nurse Elsie S Ott)

1943 - Battle of Komandorski Islands, Pacific Ocean

1943 - Elsie S Ott becomes 1st woman awarded US Air Force Medal

1944 - 705 British bombers attack Essen

1945 - British premier Churchill looks over at the Rhine (near Ginsberg)

1945 - De Paul wins NIT basketball championship, George Mikan scores 34

1945 - Generals Eisenhower/Bradley/Patton attack at Remagen the Rhine

1945 - Japanese resistance ends on Iwo Jima

1945 - Kamikaze attack on US battle fleet near Kerama Retto

1945 - US 7th Army crosses Rhine at Worms

US General George S. PattonUS General George S. Patton 1945 - Venray soccer team forms

1949 - 11th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kentucky beats Oklahoma State 46-36

1951 - Patty Berg wins LPGA Sandhills Women's Golf Open

1951 - USAF flag approved

1952 - 14th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kansas beats St Johns 80-63

1952 - F Durrenmatt's "Die Ehe des Herrn Mississippi," premieres in Munich

1953 - Dr Jonas Salk announces vaccine to prevent polio[myelitis]

• The Salk Polio vaccine, which was developed by Jonas Salk, was announced on this day in 1953. It proved to be a groundbreaking medical advancement which played a central role in eradicating polio worldwide. 

1954 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island

1955 - "Ballad of Davy Crockett," becomes the #1 record in US

1956 - Medic Alert Foundation forms

1956 - Red Buttons debuts on TV in Studio One

1958 - 30th Academy Awards-"Bridge over River Kwai," Woodward & Guinness win

1958 - Army launches 3rd successful US satellite, Explorer III

1958 - US Army launched America's third successful satellite, "Explorer III"

1958 - The African Regroupment Party (PRA) is launched at a meeting in Paris.

1959 - Test debut for Mushtaq Mohammad v WI age 15 yrs 124 days

1960 - Iraq executes 30 after attack on Pres Kassem

1960 - Orioles-Reds series for Havana, is moved to Miami

1960 - USC captures NCAA swimming title

1961 - Louise Suggs wins LPGA Golden Circle of Golf Festival

1962 - Supreme Court backs 1-man-1-vote apportionment of seats in state leg

1964 - "Funny Girl" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 1,348 performances

1965 - A truck loses control down Moosic Street, Scranton, Pennsylvania, killing the driver. This accident later inspired the 1974 Harry Chapin song, "30,000 Pounds of Bananas."

1967 - 21st Tony Awards: Homecoming & Cabaret win

1967 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Venice Ladies' Golf Open

1967 - Pope Paul VI publishes encyclical Populorum progressio

• There was a massive antiwar demonstration in Washington on this day in 1969.  A group called Women Strike for Peace demonstrate in Washington, D.C., in the first large antiwar demonstration since President Richard Nixon's inauguration in January. The antiwar movement had initially given Nixon a chance to make good on his campaign promises to end the war in Vietnam. However, it became increasingly clear that Nixon had no quick solution. As the fighting dragged on, antiwar sentiment against the president and his handling of the war mounted steadily during his term in office.

1969 - Marcus Welby MD, a TV movie is shown on ABC-TV

1969 - Nuclear reactor Dodewaard Neth goes into use

1969 - Soviet weather satellite Meteor 1 launched

1970 - "Minnie's Boys" opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 80 performances

1970 - 500th nuclear explosion announced by the US since 1945

1970 - Golden Gate Park Conservatory made city landmark

1970 - Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul & Mary) plead guilty to "taking immoral liberties" with a 14 year old girl

1971 - "Benny Hill Show" tops TV ratings

1971 - "Cannon" with William Conrad premieres on CBS-TV

1971 - Bangladesh (East Pakistan) declares its independence

1972 - "Only Fools Are Sad" closes at Edison Theater NYC after 144 perfs

1972 - Betsy Cullen wins LPGA Sears Women's World Golf Classic

1972 - LA Lakers broke NBA record by winning 69 of 82 games (69-13)

1973 - 35th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: UCLA beats Memphis 81-76

1973 - Soap "Young & Restless" premieres

1973 - Susan Shaw, is 1st woman in 171 years in London's Stock exchange

1973 - UCLA wins their 7th straight NCAA basketball title

Boxing Champ George ForemanBoxing Champ George Foreman 1974 - George Foreman TKOs Ken Norton in 2 for heavyweight boxing title in Caracas, Venezuela

1974 - Romanian communist party names party leader Ceausescu president

1975 - "Tommy" premieres in London

1975 - Washington Capitals play record NHL 37th road game without a win & NHL record of 17 straight loses

1975 - The Biological Weapons Convention enters into force.

1976 - AL approves purchase of Toronto franchise by LaBatt Brewing for $7M

1976 - Wings release "Wings at the Speed of Sound" album

1976 - Queen Elizabeth II sent out the first royal email, from the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment.

1977 - Elvis Costello releases his 1st record "Less Than Zero"

1977 - Focus on the Family is founded by Dr. James Dobson

1979 - 41st NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Mich State beats Indiana St 75-64

American President Jimmy Carter

• On this day in 1979, the Camp David peace treaty between Israel & Egypt was signed with a ceremony at the White House, with American President Jimmy Carter presiding, which marked what appeared to be the first major breakthrough for peace in the Middle East.  In a ceremony at the White House, Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin sign a historic peace agreement, ending three decades of hostilities between Egypt and Israel and establishing diplomatic and commercial ties.    Less than two years earlier, in an unprecedented move for an Arab leader, Sadat traveled to Jerusalem, Israel, to seek a permanent peace settlement with Egypt's Jewish neighbor after decades of conflict. Sadat's visit, in which he met with Begin and spoke before Israel's parliament, was met with outrage in most of the Arab world. Despite criticism from Egypt's regional allies, Sadat continued to pursue peace with Begin, and in September 1978 the two leaders met again in the United States, where they negotiated an agreement with U.S. President Jimmy Carter at Camp David, Maryland. The Camp David Accords, the first peace agreement between the state of Israel and one of its Arab neighbors, laid the groundwork for diplomatic and commercial relations. Seven months later, a formal peace treaty was signed.    For their achievement, Sadat and Begin were jointly awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize for Peace. Sadat's peace efforts were not so highly acclaimed in the Arab world--Egypt was suspended from the Arab League, and on October 6, 1981, Muslim extremists assassinated Sadat in Cairo. Nevertheless, the peace process continued without Sadat, and in 1982 Egypt formally established diplomatic relations with Israel.  

1979 - Michigan State Spartans snaps Indiana State's 33-game win streak

1979 - Padres & Giants announce plans to play exhibition series in Tokyo but Giant players reject it

1980 - Bombay gets its 1st rock concert in 10 years (The Police)

Queen of the United Kingdom Elizabeth IIQueen of the United Kingdom Elizabeth II 1981 - Police & Albanian demonstrators battle in Kosovo Yugoslavia

1981 - Soyuz T-4 lands

1982 - Ground-breaking in Washington, DC for Vietnam Veterans Memorial

1982 - Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder release "Ebony & Ivory" in the UK

1982 - Soap opera "Capitol" premieres

1983 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1986 - Geffen records signs Guns & Roses

1987 - August Wilson's "Fences," premieres in NYC

1987 - Hyderabad beat Delhi on 1st innings to win Ranji Trophy

1987 - NASA launches Fltsatcom-6, it failed to reach orbit

1987 - Natl Fed of High School adopts college 3 point shot (21 feet)

1988 - Janet B Evans swims 1500m freestyle female world record (15:52.10)

The flag of the USSR (Soviet Union)

• In 1989 on this day was held the first free elections in USSR.  Boris Yeltsin won the presidential election with 190 million votes cast.

1989 - Allison Finney wins LPGA Standard Register Turquoise Golf Classic

1990 - 62nd Academy Awards - "Driving Miss Daisy," D Day-Lewis, J Tandy win

Russian President Boris YeltsinRussian President Boris Yeltsin 1991 - Fuel pipe explodes under 58th street & Lexington Ave, NYC

1991 - Marc Camoletti's "Don't Dress for Dinner," premieres in London

1991 - Orlando Thunder beats San Antonio Riders in their 1st WLAF game 35-34

1991 - Victoria beat NSW by 7 wickets to win Sheffield Shield Final

1992 - Mike Tyson sentenced to 10 years in rape of Desiree Washington

1992 - NHL NY Rangers clinch 1st NHL regular season championship in 50 years

1994 - Bonnie Blair skates world record 500 m ladies (38.99 sec)

1994 - Gunda Niemann skates world record 5 km ladies (7:03.26)

1994 - Gunda Niemann skates un-official world record 10 km ladies (14:22.60)

1994 - Yuka Sato of Japan wins world figure skating championship in Tokyo

1995 - "Defending the Caveman," opens at Helen Hayes Theater NYC for 671 perf

1995 - "Moliere Comedies" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 56 perfs

1995 - 15th Golden Raspberry Awards: Color of Night wins

1995 - 24th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Nanci Bowen

1995 - Mashonaland beat Mashonaland U-24 by 165 runs to win Logan Cup

Heavyweight Boxing Champion Mike TysonHeavyweight Boxing Champion Mike Tyson 1995 - The Schengen Treaty goes into effect.

1996 - Last day of 1st-class cricket for Allan Border (Qld v Vic)

1996 - The International Monetary Fund approves a $10.2 billion loan for Russia.

1997 - "Annie," opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC

1997 - NHL announce Might Ducks & Vancouver Canucks to open 1998 in Japan

1997 - Thirty-nine bodies found in the Heaven's Gate cult suicides.

• On this day in 1997, following an anonymous tip, 39 Heaven's Gate cult members were found dead of mass suicide at a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, an exclusive suburb of San Diego, California. The deceased--21 women and 18 men of varying ages--were all found lying peaceably in matching dark clothes and Nike sneakers and had no noticeable signs of blood or trauma. It was later revealed that the men and women were members of the "Heaven's Gate" religious cult, whose leaders preached that suicide would allow them to leave their bodily "containers" and enter an alien spacecraft hidden behind the Hale-Bopp comet.    The cult was led by Marshall Applewhite, a music professor who, after surviving a near-death experience in 1972, was recruited into the cult by one of his nurses, Bonnie Lu Nettles. In 1975, Applewhite and Nettles persuaded a group of 20 people from Oregon to abandon their families and possessions and move to eastern Colorado, where they promised that an extraterrestrial spacecraft would take them to the "kingdom of heaven." Nettles, who called herself "Ti," and Applewhite, who took the name of "Do," explained that human bodies were merely containers that could be abandoned in favor of a higher physical existence. As the spacecraft never arrived, membership in Heaven's Gate diminished, and in 1985 Bonnie Lu Nettles, Applewhite's "sexless partner," died.    During the early 1990s, the cult resurfaced as Applewhite began recruiting new members. Soon after the 1995 discovery of the comet Hale-Bopp, the Heaven's Gate members became convinced that an alien spacecraft was on its way to earth, hidden from human detection behind the comet. In October 1996, Applewhite rented a large home in Rancho Santa Fe, explaining to the owner that his group was made up of Christian-based angels. Applewhite advocated sexual abstinence, and several male cult members followed his example by undergoing castration operations.    In 1997, as part of its 4,000-year orbit of the sun, the comet Hale-Bopp passed near Earth in one of the most impressive astronomical events of the 20th century. In late March 1997, as Hale-Bopp reached its closest distance to Earth, Applewhite and 38 of his followers drank a lethal mixture of phenobarbital and vodka and then lay down to die, hoping to leave their bodily containers, enter the alien spacecraft, and pass through Heaven's Gate into a higher existence. 

1998 - Oued Bouaicha massacre in Algeria; 52 people killed with axes and knives, 32 of them babies under the age of 2.

1999 - The "Melissa worm" infects Microsoft word processing and e-mail systems around the world.

1999 - A jury in Michigan finds Dr. Jack Kevorkian guilty of second-degree murder for administering a lethal injection to a terminally ill man.

2000 - 72nd Academy Awards - "American Beauty," Kevin Spacey & Hilary Swank win

• 2005 - The Taiwanese government calls on 1 million Taiwanese to demonstrate in Taipei, in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of the People's Republic of China. Around 200,000 to 300,000 attend the walk.

2006 - In Scotland, the prohibition of smoking in all substantially enclosed public places comes into force.

2006 - The military junta ruling Burma officially named Naypyidaw, a new city in Mandalay Division, as the new capital. Yangon had formerly been the nation's capital.

2012 - Macky Sall elected as President of Senegal

2012 - Canadian Film maker, James Cameron, becomes the first person to visit Challenger Deep, the deepest point on Earth in over 50 years

1026 - Conrad II was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XIX.   1799 - Napoleon captured Jaffa Palestine.   1780 - The British Gazette and Sunday Monitor was published for the first time. It was the first Sunday newspaper in Britain.   1793 - The Holy Roman Emperor formally declared war on France.   1804 - The U.S. Congress ordered the removal of Indians east of the Mississippi to Louisiana.   1804 - The Louisiana Purchase was divided into the District of Louisiana and the Territory of Orleans.   1854 - Charles III, duke of Parma, was attacked by an assassin. He died the next day.   1871 - The Paris Commune was formally set up.   1878 - Hastings College of Law was founded.   1885 - Eastman Kodak (Eastman Dry Plate and Film Co.) produced the first commercial motion picture film in Rochester, NY.   1898 - In South Africa, the world's first game reserve, the Sabi Game reserve, was designated.   1909 - Russian troops invaded Persia to support Muhammad Ali as shah in place of the constitutional government.   1910 - The U.S. Congress passed an amendment to the 1907 Immigration Act that barred criminals, paupers, anarchists and carriers of disease from settling in the U.S.   1913 - During the Balkan War, the Bulgarians took Adrianople.   1917 - At the start of the battle of Gaza, the British cavalry withdrew when 17,000 Turks blocked their advance.   1937 - Spinach growers in Crystal City, TX, erected a statue of Popeye.   1938 - Herman Goering warned all Jews to leave Austria.   1942 - The Germans began sending Jews to Auschwitz in Poland.   1945 - The battle of Iwo Jima ended.   1945 - In the Aleutians, the battle of Komandorski began when the Japanese attempted to reinforce a garrison at Kiska and were intercepted by a U.S. naval force.   1951 - The U.S. Air Force flag was approved. The flag included the coat of arms, 13 white stars and the Air Force seal on a blue background.   1953 - Dr. Jonas Salk announced a new vaccine that would prevent poliomyelitis.   1956 - Red Buttons made his debut as a television actor in "Studio One" on CBS television.   1958 - The U.S. Army launched America's third successful satellite, Explorer III.   1962 - The U.S. Supreme Court supported the 1-man-1-vote apportionment of seats in the State Legislature.   1969 - The TV movie "Marcus Welby" was seen on ABC-TV. It was later turned into a series.   1971 - Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared East Pakistan to be the independent republic of Bangladesh.   1971 - "Cannon" premiered on CBS-TV as a movie. It was turned into a series later in the year.   1972 - The Los Angeles Lakers broke a National Basketball Association (NBA) record by winning 69 of their 82 games.   1973 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat took over the premiership and said "the stage of total confrontation (with Israel) has become inevitable."   1973 - Women were allowed on the floor of the London Stock Exchange for the first time.   1979 - The Camp David treaty was signed by Israel and Egypt that ended the 31-year state of war between the countries.   1981 - In Great Britain, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) gained official recognition.   1982 - Ground breaking ceremonies were held in Washington, DC, for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.   1983 - The U.S. performed a nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site.   1989 - The first free elections took place in the Soviet Union. Boris Yeltsin was elected.   1991 - The presidents of Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay signed an agreement that established the Southern Cone Common Market, a free-trade zone, by January 1, 1995.   1992 - In Indianapolis, heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was found guilty of rape. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison. He only served three.   1995 - Seven of the 15 European Union states abolished border controls.   1996 - The International Monetary Fund approved a $10.2 billion loan for Russia to help the country transform its economy.   1997 - The 39 bodies of Heaven's Gate members are found in a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, CA. The group had committed suicide thinking that they would be picked up by a spaceship following behind the comet Hale-Bopp.   1998 - In the U.S., the Federal government endorses new HIV test that yields instant results.   1998 - Unisys Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp. pay a $3.15 million fine for selling spare parts at inflated prices to the U.S. federal government.   1999 - The macro virus "Melissa" was reported for the first.   1999 - In Michigan, Dr. Jack Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder for giving a terminally ill man a lethal injection and putting it all on videotape on September 17, 1998 for "60 Minutes."   2000 - The Seattle Kingdome was imploded to make room for a new football arena.   2000 - In Russia, acting President Vladimir Putin was elected president outright. He won a sufficient number of votes to avoid a runoff election.   2007 - The design for the "Forever Stamp" was unveiled by the U.S. Postal Service.



1827 Composer Ludwig van Beethoven died at age 56 in Vienna, Austria. 1945 The battle of Iwo Jima ended; about 22,000 Japanese troops were killed or captured in the fighting and more than 4,500 U.S. troops were killed. 1971 East Pakistan proclaimed its independence, taking the name Bangladesh. 1979 In a ceremony at the White House, President Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Begin of Israel signed a peace treaty ending 30 years of war between the two countries. 1982 Groundbreaking ceremonies for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial took place in Washington, DC. 2000 Vladimir Putin was elected president of Russia.


The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/mar26.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory