Under Sunday, March 5, the book of history records, among other things:
493: The Germanic general Odoaker, who had deposed the last western Roman emperor Romulus Augustulus, capitulated in Ravenna (“Battle of the Ravens”) before Theodoric, the king of the Ostrogoths, and was murdered by him.
1798: French troops occupy Bern.
1818: Rossini’s opera “Moses in Egypt” premieres at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.
1848: The “Heidelberg Assembly” prepares the convening of the German National Assembly.
1903: Turkey concludes a contract with a German-led consortium for the construction of the Baghdad railway.
1913: A major fire in the Egyptian capital Cairo destroys more than 250 houses; many people die.
1918: German troops occupy the Finnish Åland archipelago (Ahvenanmaa).
1918: A preliminary peace between Romania and the Central Powers is signed in Buftea.
1933: In a speech in Villach, Federal Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss resolutely rejected parliamentarism and emphasized his government’s determination to govern without a National Council.
1933: In the last German Reichstag elections involving several parties, Hitler’s NSDAP received 43.9 percent of the votes and 288 out of 648 MPs. Political opponents were massively intimidated and put under pressure by the Nazis during the election campaign.
1933: Federico García Lorca’s drama “Blood Wedding” premieres in Madrid.
1943: The German film production company “Ufa” is releasing the film “Münchhausen” by Josef Báky with Hans Albers in the leading role.
1948: At the Allied negotiations on Austria at the level of the deputy foreign ministers in London, the Western powers accepted the Soviet proposals regarding former German property as a basis for discussion, but opposed Moscow’s claims.
1948: A majority of the Finnish parties reject the assistance pact offered by the Soviet Union and are in favor of a friendly alliance without a military character.
1948: The British House of Commons passes an extensive package of social legislation that regulates, among other things, health care.
1953: Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin dies in Moscow at the age of 73. He had been General Secretary of the Communist Party since 1922, after the elimination of opponents within the party he was the sole ruler and from 1941 he was also the official head of government.
1958: The nuclear-powered submarine “Skate”, built in the USA, reaches Portland in England after eight days and eleven hours of diving from the USA.
1963: The latest urban special vehicle, a “toilet van”, will be presented for the first time at the opening of the Vienna Spring Fair. It is a seven-seat “toilet bus” that can be used as a mobile lavatory for larger outdoor events. The capacity of the containers is enough for 350 “sessions”. Operation is also possible without a duct connection.
1978: The Chinese government under Prime Minister Hua Guofeng describes the Soviet Union as the “most dangerous source of a new world war” and proclaims that China and the USA “have a great deal in common on some important international issues”.
1988: In Britain, the Liberals join forces with the breakaway Social Democrats to form the SLD (Social and Liberal Democrats).
2003: The World Anti-Doping Code is passed in Copenhagen. The document, which harmonises regulations on testing, procedures and sanctions, is being developed under the leadership of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
2013: Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez succumbs to cancer after a year and a half battle and dies at the age of 58. The government announces new elections within 30 days and appoints Vice President Nicolás Maduro as interim head of state.
birthdays: Rex Harrison, British actor (1908-1990); Angela Salloker, East. Actress (1913-2006); James Tobin, US economist (1918-2002); Roger Bordier, French writer (1923-2015); Walter Kasper, German Catholic theologian; President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity 2001-2010 (1933); Thomas Prinzhorn, Austria politician (1943); Eddy Grant, Guyan.-Brit. rock and reggae musician (1948); Andrew Roy “Andy” Gibb, British pop musician (1958-1988); Thomas Hermanns, German Entertainer (1963).
days of death: Hippolyte Taine, French philosopher and historian (1828-1893); Josef Wissarionovich Stalin (actually Dschugashvili), Soviet statesman georg. origin (1879-1953); Sergei Prokofiev, Russian composer (1891-1953); Elisabeth Furtwängler, widow of conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler (1910-2013); Hans-Christian Blech, German actor (1915-1993); Dieter Pfaff, German actor (1947-2013); Hugo Chávez, Venezuela. President (1954-2013).
name days: Dietmar, Theophil, John, Joseph, Friedrich, Ruperta, Gerda, Olivia, Amadeus, Zdenko, Ingmar.