Thursday, May 1, 1997
Today's events
British general elections are held, as well as English local elections.
It's International Labor Day at the United Nations.
Winnie Mandela is scheduled to speak at May Day celebrations at Brussels Free University.
Inner Mongolia marks its 50th anniversary as an autonomous region of China.
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On the horizon
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.
On Tuesday, May 6, German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel is scheduled to visit Egypt.
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On this day
In 1707, Scotland and England were joined together under the
name of Great Britain.
In 1851, Queen Victoria opened the first Great Exhibition in
the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London.
In 1873, David Livingstone, Scottish missionary and explorer,
was found dead at Chitambo, now in Zambia.
In 1898, in the Battle of Manila Bay in the Spanish-American
War, U.S. forces destroyed the Spanish fleet and blockaded the bay for three months before capturing Manila itself.
In 1915, the liner Lusitania left New York on the same day the German Embassy took out advertisements warning anyone traveling on ships carrying a British flag that they did so at their own risk. It was sunk six days later.
In 1925, Cyprus officially became a British colony. It had
been leased to Britain by Turkey in 1878 and was annexed to the British Empire in 1914.
In 1931, the 102-story Empire State Building in New York, at
the time the world's tallest building, was officially opened.
In 1945, Hamburg radio officially announced that Hitler had
died in Berlin; German HQ in Italy formally agreed to an unconditional surrender.
In 1960, the Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 plane
piloted by Gary Powers. He was jailed for spying before being
exchanged in an East-West spy swap in February 1962.
In 1961, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declared the country a
socialist nation and abolished elections.
In 1963, Sir Winston Churchill announced his retirement from
the House of Commons at the next election.
In 1971, in America, the federal-government sponsored Amtrak rail passenger service took over operation of most passenger trains.
In 1978, Naomi Uemura, a Japanese explorer, became the first
man to reach the North Pole alone.
In 1982, in Poland, 50,000 supporters of "Solidarity"
demonstrated in Warsaw against military rule.
In 1990, Chinese troops began withdrawing from the Tibetan
capital of Lhasa as martial law was lifted.
In 1991, Colonel Elias Ramaema was sworn in as the military
ruler Of Lesotho.
In 1992, Turkmenistan announced it would switch to a
Latin-based Turkish alphabet from the Cyrillic script.
In 1993, President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ruling party won the
most seats in united Yemen's first general elections.
In 1993, Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa died of
injuries sustained in a bomb blast during a May Day procession.
In 1995, Croatia recaptured the rebel Serb enclave of Western
Slavonia it had lost in 1991.
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Newslink
It's been 66 years since the 102-story Empire State Building in New York officially opened. At the time, it was the tallest building in the word. Want to see how it was done? Click here.
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Holidays and more
It's Labor Day throughout much of the world.
Today is International Labor Day in Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, the Russia Federation, Slovak Republic and Yugoslavia.
Today is May Day in Albania, Bangladesh, Dominica, Estonia, Ghana, Gibraltar, India, Iceland, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and the Union of Myanmar.
Sportscaster Harry Caray is 78.
Jockey Steve Cauthen is 37.
Singer Judy Collins is 58.
Singer Rita Coolidge is 52.
Actor Glenn Ford is 81.
Entertainer Jack Paar is 79.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan
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