On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 1999, the world population was approximately 6,089,006,339 people[†]
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of March 10, 1999, covering March 12, 1999.
TLC
Eminem
Lauryn Hill
The Roots
Britney Spears
Dixie Chicks
Shania Twain
Various Artists
Cher
The Offspring
1999Yehudi Menuhin, American-Swiss violinist and conductor (born 1916)[†]
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. He played the Soil Stradivarius, considered one of the finest violins made by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari.
1999Bidu Sayão, Brazilian-American soprano (born 1902)[†]
Balduína "Bidú" de Oliveira Sayão was a Brazilian opera soprano. One of Brazil's celebrated musicians, Sayão was a leading artist of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1937 to 1952.
1999Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO.[†]
The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republics in Central and Eastern Europe in May 1955, during the Cold War. The term "Warsaw Pact" commonly refers to both the treaty itself and its resultant military alliance, the Warsaw Pact Organisation (WPO). The Warsaw Pact was the military complement to the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon), the economic organization for the Eastern Bloc states.
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Harvey Araton Sports of The Times column on Stephon Marbury, Brooklyn native and emerging NBA star who was acquired by New Jersey Nets from Minnesota Timberwolves in three-team trade; photo (M)
In the 1970's, in concert tours and recordings, the pianist Peter Serkin, below, exhibited his mastery of the work of Messiaen. But for nearly 15 years after that, Mr. Serkin played no Messiaen, pursuing other musical interests.
New York Yankee officials remain certain that Manager Joe Torre, who has prostate cancer, will return to dugout eventually; estimates of his absence range from three weeks to three months; Coach Don Zimmer says he will try to manage team as Torre would (M)
Having to consume the $40 million buckets of toxic popcorn Hollywood churns out month after month can throw a film critic into a state of hand-wringing despair. Why, why, why? Why has an industry with the potential to enrich our lives sunk into a soul-deadening wasteland of cartoonish violence and adolescent pranks? The answer, of course, has something to do with commercial calculation and least-common-denominator marketing. That leaves the questions: Where can you go to find a cinematic semblance of flesh-and-blood people with complicated emotions and bodies that perspire, instead of pose, when they make love? Where can you find movies with characters who think as well as act, movies that capture a recognizable sense of life's texture, the feeling of here and now? Heaven knows America's independent films are trying to fill the gap, and some are succeeding.
UAL Corp reportedly narrows hunt for new chief executive to James E Goodwin, currently UAL president, and Louis R Hughes, General Motors Corp executive who was passed over as heir apparent there in October; board must decide between airline industry insider, Goodwin, and Hughes, outsider with similar background to UAL's current chief executive, Gerald Greenwald, who retires in July; interest in serach is high because UAL is country's largest employee-owned company; unions together have veto power over who can be named chief executive; Greenwald's chosen successor, John A Edwardson, resigned after unions made clear they would veto his appointment to top post; photos (M)
Starr Spokeman Quits Charles G. Bakaly 3d resigned as Kenneth W. Starr asked the Justice Department to look into leaks of information from his office. Page A20.
Allegations of racial discrimination by New Jersey state troopers have given Gov Christine Todd Whitman administration critics opening to question qualifications of Atty Gen Peter G Verniero and Whitman's wisdom in pushing forward with his nomination to State Supreme Court; Verniero oversees state police; they are subject of four state and Federal inquiries into allegations that troopers use race-based profiles to stop black and Hispanic motorists on state highways; his photo (M)
Dow Jones industrial average pushes within 65 points of 10,000 mark before losing quarter of its gains for day to close at 9,897.44; Standard & Poor's 500 index rises 10.84 points or eight-tenths of percent, to 1,297.68, and Nasdaq index edges up 6.25 points, almost three-tenths of percent, to 2,412.25; recent rally has widened to include stocks other than technology shares; graphs; chart (M)
Bankers Trust Co pleads guilty to Federal criminal charges that senior officers and employees illegally diverted $19.1 million in unclaimed checks and other credits owed to customers into the bank's own books to enhance its financial performance; bank agrees to pay $60 million fine to Federal Government; Bankers Trust also says it will pay fine of $3.5 million to New York State for illegal scheme; Federal prosecutors say that between 1994 and 1996, high-ranking bank officials, including a managing director, and a senior managing director, created 'slush fund' with unclaimed money; prosecutors say money was used to supplement income or offset expenses 'as needed' at end of financial reporting periods, falsely enhancing bank's financial results for period; bank officials say 13 officers and employees had resigned or been dismissed in connection with investigation, but bank refuses to identify them; Federal banking officials in New York say they could not remember last time a bank had admitted to this type of criminal activity (M)
Federal Government, in last-minute effort to strengthen what it believes is weakening case against John A Gotti, has brought back veteran prosecutor Andrew C McCarthy from private practice to take charge of racketeering trial of accused Mafia leader; prosecutors and defense lawyers say they cannot recall another major organized-crime case in New York City region in which fresh prosecutor had been given such prominent role before trial; Gotti photo (M)
Carl Fischer Inc, venerable sheet-music company, will close its Manhattan store on March 13; it has occupied Cooper Square store since 1923; pres Sandy Feldstein says company's printing operation will move to Long Island City and its distribution arm, including unsold inventory from store, to Paoli, Pa; says company's office will remain in Manhattan, where it began 127 years ago; photo (M)
St John's beats Samford, 69-43, in first round South Regional NCAA basketball tournament; Indiana beats George Washington, 108-88; photo (M)