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Monday, March 17, 1997

  • Today's Events
  • On Horizon
  • On This Day
  • Newslink
  • Holidays & more
  • Almanac archive
  • "I'm just one kneecap away from the presidency."

    -- Vice President Al Gore





    Today's Events


  • Irish Prime Minister John Bruton visits the United States.

  • The first session of the 1997 Serbian parliament opens in Belgrade. The agenda includes the Yugoslav-Bosnian Serb agreement.

  • The Tokyo District Court will hold the third trial session of Yasuo Hamanaka, former chief copper trader for Sumitomo Corp., on fraud charges in a multi-billion dollar trading scandal.

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    On the horizon


  • On Tuesday, March 18, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton visits South Africa.

  • On Wednesday, March 19, U.S. President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin arrive in Helsinki, Finland, for their Thursday summit.

  • On Thursday, March 20, the Angolan government and former National Union for the Total Independence of Angola rebels inaugurate the new national unity government.

  • On Friday, March 21, President Clinton pays a one-day visit to Denmark.

  • On Saturday, March 22, an auction of Beatles paraphernalia is scheduled at the Tokyo Auction House.

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    On this day


  • In 45 BC, Julius Caesar defeated the Pompeians at the battle of Munda in Spain. The Pompeians, led by two sons of Pompey the Great, lost over 30,000 men.

  • In 1337, Edward III created the Duchy of Cornwall for his eldest son, Edward, who was later made Prince of Wales.

  • In 1776, having seized Dorchester Heights, George Washington forced the British under William Howe to evacuate Boston.

  • In 1860, in New Zealand, the second Maori war broke out.

  • In 1861, a new united kingdom of Italy was proclaimed by parliament with Victor Emmanuel II as king.

  • In 1912, Lawrence Oates, an English explorer with Scott's expedition to the Antarctic, left the tent on his 32nd birthday, saying "I am just going outside, and may be some time." He never returned.

  • In 1929, in Spain, the University of Madrid was closed by the government after student protests and rioting.

  • In 1939, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain accused Adolf Hitler of breaking his word, after German troops crossed the Czech frontier.

  • In 1944, Allied bombing on Austria began with a raid by over 200 planes on targets in Vienna.

  • In 1948, the Brussels Treaty, a 50-year alliance between Britain, France and the Benelux countries, was signed to provide for military cooperation in the event of an attack.

  • In 1958, the second U.S. satellite to orbit the Earth, Vanguard I, was launched from Cape Canaveral.

  • In 1960, the second United Nations conference on the Law of the Sea opened in Geneva, attended by 88 states. It ended on April 26 without agreement.

  • In 1963, on Bali, the volcano Mount Agung erupted, killing at least 11,000 people.

  • In 1968, violent demonstrations against the Vietnam war erupted outside the American embassy in London. Over 300 arrests were made and 90 policemen injured.

  • In 1968, a central bank governors' meeting in Washington agreed on a two-tier gold system.

  • In 1969, Golda Meir was sworn in as prime minister of Israel.

  • In 1978, the oil tanker Amoco Cadiz ran aground off the coast of Brittany, spilling 220,000 tons of oil.

  • In 1982, Zimbabwean Prime Minister Robert Mugabe ordered the writing of a new constitution to replace that drawn up at the Lancaster House conference in London.

  • In 1995, President Haydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan survived a coup attempt when troops crushed a revolt by an elite police unit led by Deputy Interior Minister Rovshan Javadov.

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    Newslink


    It's St. Patrick's Day! What better way to celebrate than surfing the Irishness of the Web while sipping some green beer and eating corn beef and cabbage? Check out all the festivities on the St.Patrick's Day Web site. Or check out Paddy Net, a community scattered around the globe but united in cyberspace. Or how about joining in on the celebration at the Virtual Irish Pub? Enjoy!


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    Holidays and more


  • Today is Canberra Day in Australia.

  • It's St. Patrick's Day in Canada, Ireland, Montserrat, Great Britain and the United States.

  • Actor Patrick Duffy is 48.

  • Actor Rob Lowe is 33.

  • Actress Mercedes McCambridge is 79.

  • Actor Kurt Russell is 46.

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    Sources: Associated Press,
    Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan



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