The following events occurred in March 1977:
March 1, 1977 (Tuesday) The crash of a Yemen Airlines flight killed all 19 people on board. Shortly after taking off from Aden with a destination of Sayun, the Douglas DC-3 airplane plunged into the Indian Ocean. India's unpopular Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was booed and jeered by tens of thousands of government workers as she spoke at a campaign rally in New Delhi, and thousands walked out. The Indian press noted that no Prime Minister of India had ever been booed in the capital. Mrs. Gandhi had been making a 20-minute speech to defend her 1975 proclamation of a state of emergency, as well as to justify her government's programs for family planning by sterilization and the demolition of slum housing occupied by impoverished residents."Tens of Thousands Jeer Indira Gandhi at Rally", Los Angeles Times, March 2, 1977, p.I-9 East Germany doubled the toll for a car to cross from West Berlin into East Berlin in order to discourage visits, raising the cost from 10 West German marks to 20 (equivalent to an increase from $4.20 to $8.40)."The World", Los Angeles Times, March 2, 1977, p.I-2 With only three more states necessary for the proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to become part of the U.S. Constitution, the North Carolina state senate rejected the resolution. Although the vote in favor was 26 to 24, a two-thirds majority of at least 34 votes was required."N. Carolina Senate Kills ERA Despite Calls by Carters", Los Angeles Times, March 2, 1977, p.I-13 On March 15, the state senate of Missouri, which had rejected the ERA in 1975, had only a 12 to 22 vote in favor."Missouri Rejects ERA", Los Angeles Times, March 16, 1977, p. I-15 The Bank of America began the replacement of its BankAmericard credit cards to Visa cards, initially with both names on the card, starting with all cards with cards with an expiration date of March 1977."BankAmericard to become Visa", The Courier-Journal (Louisville KY), December 16, 1976, p. B 10 The Police, a rock trio made up of vocalist and bassist Sting (Gordon Sumner), guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland, gave its first public performance, a 10-minute set at the Alexandria Club in Newport, WalesIan Copeland, Wild Thing: The Backstage, On The Road, In The Studio, Off The Charts Memoirs Of Ian Copeland (Simon & Schuster, 1995) Born: Rens Blom, Dutch pole vaulter and 2005 world champion; in Munstergeleen Died: Alioune Dramé, 49, Planning Minister for the African nation of Guinea until his arrest in 1976, died from a slow execution by starvation, after being accused of attempting to overthrow President Sékou Touré.Alsény René Gomez, La Guinée peut-elle être changée? ("Can Guinea Be Changed?") (Editions L'Harmattan, 2010) p.94
March 2, 1977 (Wednesday)
By decree of President Muammar Gaddafi, the Declaration on the Establishment of the Authority of the People changed the official name of the North African nation of Libya to the "Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya", and assigned rule to a five-man secretariat leading the new General People's Congress. With Gaddafi as its Secretary General, the Secretariat included as members Prime Minister Abdessalam Jalloud and former Interior Minister Khwalidi Hemadi."The World", Los Angeles Times, March 3, 1977, p.I-2 The U.S. House of Representatives adopted a Code of Ethics for the first time.Los Angeles Times, April 2, 1977, p.I-1 The U.S. Government's Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building opened in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at 200 N.W. 5th Street. The Murrah Building would be destroyed by two American terrorists on April 19, 1995, in a bombing that would kill 168 people. Boston comedy club owner Jay Leno made his national television debut as a stand-up comedian, appearing on The Tonight Show. Leno was the guest of Johnny Carson, whom he would succeed as host 15 years later. Born: Chris Martin, British rock musician and lead vocalist for the band Coldplay; in Exeter, Devonshire Died: Eugénie Brazier, 81, French chef who had earned a total of six Michelin stars for her La Mère Brazier restaurants
March 3, 1977 (Thursday) The crash of an Italian Air Force C-130 plane killed all 44 people on board as it was transporting 38 cadets from the Italian Naval Academy on a training flight. Shortly after takeoff from San Giusto Airport in Pisa, the transport plane struck the side of the Monte Serra at and caught fire. Born: Ronan Keating, Irish pop music singer; in Dublin Died: Brian Faulkner, 56, the last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland within the UK, was killed when he was thrown from a horse while he was hunting. His death came less than 24 days after his February 7 receipt of a life peerage as The Lord Faulkner of Downpatrick and his elevation to the House of Lords. Percy Marmont, 93, English film actor known as the star of the 1925 film Lord Jim
March 4, 1977 (Friday) A 7.5 magnitude earthquake in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania killed 1,578 people and injured 11,221. Striking at 9:22 p.m. local time, the earthquake shook buildings as far away as Rome and Moscow."Quake Rocks Romania; Toll Feared High— Temblor Registers 7.2 and Shakes Buildings From Russia to Italy", Los Angeles Times, March 5, 1977, p.I-1 The epicenter was identified as a spot beneath Mount Vrancei about northeast of Bucharest, where 32 buildings were leveled (including 882 apartment units)."Toll in Romania Quake at 2,000", by Murray Seeger, Los Angeles Times, March 6, 1977, p.I-1 In the Bulgarian town of Svishtov, on the Romanian border, 120 people were killed. The House of Assembly in the white-minority ruled African nation of Rhodesia voted, 44 to 22, to approve Prime Minister Ian Smith's partial reform of racial segregation laws that barred the nation's 6.4 million black residents from the same privileges available to its 272,000 white people."Rhodesia House OKs Race Reform— Bill Will Ease Color Bar, Open Up Some Lands", Los Angeles Times, March 5, 1977, p.I-1 Born: Nacho Figueras, Argentine polo star and male model; in Veinticinco de Mayo, Buenos Aires Province Ana Guevara, Mexican track and field athlete, 2003 world champion in the women's 400m race, later a member of the Mexican Senate; in Nogales, Sonora Died: William J. Bryan Jr., 52, American hypnotherapist Andrés Caicedo, 25, Colombian novelist who attained posthumous fame for ¡Que viva la música!, committed suicide with an overdose of secobarbital on the same day of the book's publication. Timmy Everett, 38, American stage and film actor and dancer known for The Music Man, died of a heart attack. Lutz von Krosigk, 89, Finance Minister of Germany's Nazi government from 1932 to 1945, and the Third Reich's last Chancellor as Leitenden Minister (Leading Minister) for president Karl Doenitz after the death of Adolf Hitler. Convicted of war crimes, von Krosigk served six years of a 10-year sentence.
March 5, 1977 (Saturday) "Ask President Carter", the first and only radio show allowing ordinary residents across the U.S. to call the President of the United States, was broadcast live on the CBS Radio Network."Dial 900-242-1611 To 'Ask President Carter'", by Barbara Holsopple, Pittsburgh Press, March 3, 1977, p.C-14 With CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite serving as moderator, U.S. President Jimmy Carter spoke with 42 people who had been able to get through to the White House after calling a special "900" number paid for by CBS."Millions Dial, 42 Get Through", by John H. Averill and Don Irwin, Los Angeles Times, March 6, 1977, p.I-1 Japan became only the third nation to place a satellite into geosynchronous orbit, after easing the spacecraft (launched from Tanega Shima on February 23) into position over Indonesia. The launch marked the 10th satellite put into orbit by Japan."Japan Puts Satellite Into Stationary Orbit", Los Angeles Times, March 6, 1977, p.IA-3 Born: Adler Volmar, U.S. and Haitian judo athlete; in Miami Died: Tom Pryce, 27, the only Welsh racecar driver to win a Formula One race, was killed along with a race official while racing in the South African Grand Prix in Midrand."Lauda Wins S. Africa Race; Crash Kills Two", Los Angeles Times, March 6, 1977, p.III-5
March 6, 1977 (Sunday) Voters in the U.S. territory of the Northern Mariana Islands overwhelmingly approved the proposed constitution to establish the Northern Marianas as a self-governing Commonwealth within the United States. With a 58.5% turnout of the 6,500 registered voters, the result was 3,557 for and 258 against."Nördliche Marianen, 6. März 1977 : Verfassung", Database and Search Engine for Direct Democracy The constitution would come into effect on January 9, 1978. The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee revealed that U.S. military leaders had considered using the atomic bomb in 1953 during the Korean War, releasing a transcript of closed-door testimony to the Committee made by U.S. Army General Omar N. Bradley on February 10, 1953. General Bradley had told the Committee members, "We have discussed many times the use of the atomic bomb, tactically," but added, "Of course, you know there are no strategic targets worth mentioning in Korea. We have looked... and it is rather hard to find a target at this time that we think is sufficiently remunerative as a target for the expending out of the stockpile.""U.S. Considered Using A-Bomb in Korea, Senate Papers Reveal", Los Angeles Times, March 7, 1977, p.I-5
March 7, 1977 (Monday) Voting was held in Pakistan for all 216 seats of the Qomi Assembly. Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won almost 60% of the vote and 155 seats, while the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) of Abdul Wali Khan finished a distant second with 36 seats."Bhutto's Pakistan Party Apparently Wins Landslide Victory; 8 Killed Election Day", by Sharon Rosenhause, Los Angeles Times, March 8, 1977, p.I-4 By royal decree, King Juan Carlos I of Spain legalized gambling casinos for the first time in more than 50 years, acting as part of a plan to bring tourism to the Kingdom as it moved towards democracy. The King wrote in the decree that the 1924 ban on all games of chance (except for two state-operated lotteries and for soccer pools) had failed to stop gambling."The World", Los Angeles Times, March 8, 1977, p.I-2 Queen Elizabeth II of New Zealand announced that had appointed former Prime Minister Sir Keith Holyoake to serve as Governor-General of New Zealand, with authority to act on her behalf in the United Kingdom's Queen in her capacity as the monarch of New Zealand. The Queen was in New Zealand as part of a tour of the British Commonwealth's Asian nations during the 25th anniversary of her accession to the throne. He succeeded Governor-General Denis Blundell on October 26, 1977. Born: Ronan O'Gara, Irish rugby union player with 128 appearances in 14 seasons for the Ireland national team; to Irish parents in San Diego, California in the U.S. Died: Bernie Bierman, 82, U.S. college football coach who led the University of Minnesota to five national championships; Bierman's Minnesota Gophers teams are recognized by the NCAA as champions for 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940 and 1941, with the Gophers becoming the first Associated Press poll #1 at the end of the 1936 season, and the AP sports writers' favorite again in 1940 and 1941."Bernie Bierman, Ex-Minnesota Coach, Dies", Los Angeles Times, March 9, 1977, p.III-1
March 8, 1977 (Tuesday)