Moments in Time: London drug squad
The History Channel
On March 13, 1836, Texan Gen. Sam Houston begins a series of strategic retreats to buy time to train his ill-prepared army, which consisted of 374 poorly equipped men. A month later, his newly trained army won a stunning victory against Mexico's Santa Anna.
On March 10, 1902, the U.S. Court of Appeals rules that despite his claims, Thomas Edison did not invent the movie camera. It did admit that Edison invented the sprocket system that moved perforated film through the camera.
On March 8, 1917, the February Revolution begins when riots and strikes over the scarcity of food erupt in Petrograd. A week later, centuries of czarist rule in Russia ended with the abdication of Nicholas II. Vladimir Lenin returned home and took control of the Russian Revolution.
On March 11, 1942, U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur abandons the island of Corregidor under orders from President Franklin Roosevelt. Left behind were 90,000 American and Filipino troops, who would soon succumb to the Japanese offensive. Only one-third of those left behind survived to see MacAuthur's return in January 1945.
On March 12, 1969, the London drug squad appears at house of Beatle George Harrison and his wife Pattie Boyd with a warrant and drug-sniffing canines. Sgt. Pilcher, the man behind the raid, was convicted of planting drugs in other cases and went to jail in 1972.
On March 9, 1979, Major League Baseball teams are ordered by the MLB commissioner to allow equal access to all reporters. The order came after Sports Illustrated reporter Melissa Ludtke's successful lawsuit for refusing her access to clubhouses at Yankee Stadium during the 1977 World Series.
On March 7, 1988, representatives of the Writers Guild of America called a strike for all the union's members. The five-month walkout was estimated to cost Hollywood some $500 million, as many viewers began watching cable channels.
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