Wednesday, January 29, 1997
Today's events
The foreign ministers of Italy, Britain, France, German, Spain and Turkey meet for talks on Turkey's relations with Europe.
The Planetary Society holds a meeting in California on the prospect of using robots to explore Mars.
The Commonwealth of Independent States summit opens in Moscow.
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On the horizon
On Thursday, January 30, the World Economic Forum holds its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
On Friday, January 31, the verdict is expected in a Bonn court on whether 21 Jewish former slave laborers should get compensation for their unpaid work in Nazi forced labor camps during WW II.
Saturday, February 1, is the last day of official campaigning for national and provincial elections in Pakistan.
On Sunday, February 2, the Missionaries of Charity religious order announces a possible successor to the ailing Mother Teresa.
On Monday, February 3, an international congress on education opens in Havana, Cuba.
On Tuesday, February 4, President Clinton delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress.
On Wednesday, February 5, NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana is expected to visit Turkey.
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On this day
In 1635, the Academie Francaise, one of the most famous literary societies in Europe, was founded.
In 1730, Peter II, czar of Russia (1727-30), died of smallpox on the day set for his wedding.
In 1843, William McKinley, 25th U.S. president (1897-1901), was born; he was assassinated in 1901.
In 1853, Napoleon III married Eugenie de Montijo at the Tuileries Palace in Paris.
In 1861, Kansas became the 34th U.S. state.
In 1888, Edward Lear, English landscape painter and writer of nonsense verse, died.
In 1891, Hawaii proclaimed as its queen Liliuokalani, renowned for her song "Aloha Oe."
In 1896, the U.S. physician Emile Grubbe became the first to use radiation treatment for breast cancer.
In 1899, Alfred Sisley, the English painter and one of the creators of French Impressionism, died.
In 1900, the American Baseball League was founded in Chicago.
In 1916, the first bombings of Paris by German zeppelins took place.
In 1963, the U.S. poet Robert Frost died. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry four times, he was invited to read a poem at the 1961 inauguration of President John Kennedy.
In 1980, Jimmy Durante, the U.S. comedian, actor and singer, died. One of America's best loved clowns, his beaked nose earned him the nickname "The Schnozz."
In 1996, Venice's opera house, fatefully named La Fenice or "The Phoenix," was destroyed by fire for the second time in its history.
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Newslink
The Planetary Society holds a meeting today on the exploration of Mars by robotic craft. It's a subject the group should be well versed since it is the largest organization on the planet dedicated to the exploration of the solar system and the search for other life in the universe. Visit the Planetary Society's Web site to learn about its efforts to expand the world we live in.
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Holidays and more
Nepal celebrates Martyrs Memorial Day.
Actor John Forsythe is 79.
Author Germaine Greer is 58.
Actress Ann Jillian is 46.
Actress Claudine Longet is 55.
Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis is 37.
Actor Victor Mature is 84.
Actress Bobbie Phillips is 29.
Actress Katharine Ross is 54.
Actor Tom Selleck is 52.
Talk-show hostess Oprah Winfrey is 43.
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Sources: Reuters,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan
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