Milestones: March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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HELD BOTH TOP POSTS — NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV, WHO AT THE TIME WAS ALREADY SOVIET FIRST SECRETARY, RECEIVED A UNANIMOUS VOTE FROM THAT NATION’S LEGISLATURE, on March 27, 1958, to become Soviet Premier. The Supreme Soviet voted for Krushchev to replace Nicolay Bulganin. Krushchev thus became the first leader since Joseph Stalin to hold the USSR’s two top offices concurrently. Born in 1894 to a Ukrainian peasant family, Khrushchev joined the Soviet Communist Party in 1918. Eleven years later, he went to Moscow and began his political ascension, first through the Soviet Communist Party and then becoming the first secretary of the Ukrainian Communist Party. Although at that time Khrushchev was a close associate of Soviet authoritarian Joseph Stalin, within three years of taking power he denounced both Stalin and his totalitarian policies at the 20th Party Congress.

Krushchev’s speech led to a thaw in the U.S.S.R. His later foreign affairs policy was one of “peaceful coexistence,” even though that stance would be tested during the Kennedy administration in two incidents involving Cuba: the failed CIA-led Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961 and 18 months later, the Cuban Missile Crisis.

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ALASKA’S MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE — THE STRONGEST EARTHQUAKE IN AMERICAN HISTORY, MEASURING 9.2 ON THE RICHTER SCALE, ERUPTED IN ALASKA on March 27, 1964, causing a deadly tsunami. The quake’s epicenter was about 12 miles north of Prince William Sound (which borders the Chugach National Forest) in southern Alaska. The three-minute quake affected about 300,000 square miles of U.S., Canadian and international territory, with Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, sustaining the most property damage, particularly in the downtown area. The tidal wave measured more than 100 feet at points, destroying towns along the Gulf of Alaska and killing people in an area that stretched as far as Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast.

The total death count was estimated at 131, and total property damage was estimated in excess of $400 million. President Lyndon B. Johnson declared Alaska — which had become a state just five years earlier — an official disaster area.

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CHERRY TREES — WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT MAY HAVE HAD THE DISTINCTION OF SERVING BOTH AS U.S. PRESIDENT AND CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES, but his wife Helen also distinguished herself. As first Lady, Helen Taft on March 27, 1912, planted two Yoshino cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac River, joining forces for this occasion with Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador. The ceremonial planting commemorated the Japanese government’s larger gift of 3,020 cherry trees to the United States. Making this possible was Eliza Scidmore, a socialite and author of books on Japan and Alaska, who proposed the idea and helped to underwrite it. Helen Taft was also familiar with Japan and its culture, having resided there during the time her husband was president of the Philippine Commission. She loved cherry trees and welcomed Skidmore’s idea. The Japanese consul in New York learned of Mrs. Taft’s passion for the trees and also furthered the idea of their being presented as a gift from the city of Tokyo. The planting took place in early spring, and the blossoming trees were an immediate hit with people visiting the Washington Mall. Later, in 1934, the city sponsored a three-day celebration that expanded into the annual Cherry Blossom Festival.

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden has its own connection with Japan, which in 1915 built the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. The landscape designer was Takeo Shiota. The Tokyo government in 1980 gifted the BBG with a 500-year-old Shogun lantern. Two years later, the BBG held its first Sakura Matsuri celebration.

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‘MARCH MADNESS’ — THE FIRST-EVER NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT TOOK PLACE on March 27, 1939, with the University of Oregon defeating Ohio State University 46–33 to win the first-ever March Madness. While only eight teams were invited to play in the men’s tournament during the first 12 years of its existence, the number of participants expanded to 65 teams by 2001 and again, to 68 teams a decade later.

March Madness frenzy also extended to gambling, with sports enthusiasts and once-yearly bettors. By 2025, college basketball and the Super Bowl were the two most popular sports events on which to place bets.

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REPURPOSED MEDICINE — VIAGRA GOT APPROVED ON MARCH 27, 1998. THE U.S. FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION APPROVED USE of this oral medication which had originally been developed to treat hypertension and angina. However, it was an unexpected – and rather pleasant – side effect that led to Viagra’s phenomenal marketing: the drug caused penile erections in men within an hour of dosing. In fact, Viagra proved much more effective in aiding arousal than it did in treating angina. Pfizer quickly pivoted and began marketing Viagra for impotence. The drug name Sildenafil was patented in 1996, and the FDA expedited its approval in treating “erectile dysfunction” (the new term for impotence). Immediately successful, Viagra, at a cost of about $10 per pill, generated $1 billion in revenue, boosting both the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

Viagra had another unprecedented success for a drug that was available only by prescription: direct marketing to the consumer via television and other media. U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate Bob Dole, then in his 70s, praised Viagra for helping his own intimate life. It must have worked; he lived beyond his 98th birthday.

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ICONIC LAMPPOST SCENE — THE HIT ROMANTIC COMEDY MUSICAL “SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN” MADE its film premiere on March 27, 1952. This film, starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor, was set during the period when Hollywood shifted from silent movies to the “talkies,” The film produced the beloved songs “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Good Morning” and “Make ’Em Laugh.” The scene with Gene Kelly dancing to the street lamppost in itself became iconic. “Singin’ in the Rain” garnered only two Oscar nominations, yet it remains one of America’s best musicals.

Also in the cast were Rita Moreno and Cyd Charisse, who would be Gene Kelly’s love interest as Fiona Campbell two years later in the 1954 musical fantasy film, “Brigadoon.” Charisse had overcome polio as a child to study ballet and became one of Hollywood’s most beloved dancers.

See previous milestones, here.