Wednesday, April 30, 1997
Today's events
French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette is scheduled to
visit Washington, D.C.
German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel is scheduled to make an
official visit to Romania.
Colombia's former M-19 guerrilla group, now a political
party, is scheduled to hold its annual meeting.
Hong Kong's new Western Harbor Tunnel is scheduled to be
opened by Chief Secretary Anson Chan. The tunnel is the third
from Hong Kong Island to the mainland, and is part of the new
infrastructure links to the future airport at Chek Lap Kok.
A replica of the ship in which John Cabot discovered
Newfoundland leaves Bristol, England, exactly 500 years to
the day after his departure.
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On the horizon
On Thursday, May 1, British general elections are held, as
well as English local elections.
On Friday, May 2, the National Rifle Association opens its
annual convention in Seattle.
On Saturday, May 3, Ireland is scheduled to host its 1997
Eurovision Song Contest.
On Sunday, May 4, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
is scheduled to visit a guerrilla demobilization camp in
Guatemala City as part of the ongoing peace process there.
On Monday, May 5, the World Health Organization is scheduled
to issue its annual report.
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On this day
In 311, Galerius Valerius Maximianus issued an edict under
which Christians were legally recognized in the Roman Empire.
In 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as America's first
president.
In 1803, France agreed to sell Louisiana to America, the
formal handover taking place in December, and on this day in
1812 it joined the United States as the 18th state.
In 1815, the central provinces were designated as the Kingdom
of Poland, under Alexander of Russia.
In 1900, American railroad engineer Casey Jones died saving
passengers as the Cannonball Express was about to crash.
In 1934, under a new constitution in Austria, a dictatorship
was set up under Engelbert Dollfuss.
In 1945, Adolf Hitler and his wife, Eva Braun, committed
suicide
in his underground bunker in Berlin; Russian troops
penetrated
Berlin, capturing the Reichstag and other government
buildings.
In 1973, President Nixon made a television statement on
Watergate accepting responsibility for the bugging that took
place at the Washington apartment complex in 1972.
In 1974, Nixon handed over partial transcripts of tape
recordings
to the impeachment inquiry.
In 1975, in South Vietnam, President Minh announced an
unconditional surrender to the Vietcong, ending the 20th
Century's longest conflict.
In 1980, in London, armed gunmen seized the Iranian Embassy
demanding the release of political prisoners in Iran. The
siege
lasted six days.
In 1981, in Poland, the Central Committee of the Communist
Party endorsed its Chairman Stanislav Kania's program of
reforms.
In 1982, Alvaro Magana was chosen to succeed Jose Napoleon
Duarte as president of El Salvador.
In 1989, 500,000 people attended a papal Mass in Madagascar
where
Pope John Paul II beatified Victoire Rasoamanarivo, a 19th
century Madagascar woman.
In 1990, American hostage Frank Reed was freed in Lebanon
after nearly four years in the hands of pro-Iranian
kidnappers.
In 1991, Maj.-Gen. Justin Lekhanya, Lesotho's military
strongman, was ousted in an army coup.
In 1992, NATO appointed U.S. Gen. John Shalikashvili as the
new commander of its forces in Europe.
In 1992, mutinous soldiers in Sierra Leone overthrew
President
Joseph Momoh in a coup.
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Newslink
The countdown is on for the July 1 handover of Hong Kong back
to China. To find out more about the situation, check out the
Hong Kong 1997 Web
site.
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Holidays and more
Today is the Queen's Birthday in the Netherlands and Aruba.
It's Coronation Day in the Netherlands Antilles.
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands is 59.
Actress Jill Clayburgh is 53.
Actor Gary Collins is 59.
Actor Perry King is 49.
Actress Cloris Leachman is 67.
Singer Willie Nelson is 64.
Actor Burt Young is 57.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan
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