Sunday, May 4, 1997
Today's events
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.
Mali holds the first round of presidential elections. The second round takes place May 18.
Wives of African leaders gather in Abuja, Nigeria, to promote peace on the continent.
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On the horizon
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.
On Wednesday, May 7, the 50th Cannes international film festival opens in France.
On Thursday, May 8, U.S. President Bill Clinton and U.S.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright attend a regional summit in Costa Rica.
On Friday, May 9, America's first ambassador to Vietnam, Douglas "Pete" Peterson, takes up his post.
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On this day
In 1471, the Yorkists defeated the Lancastrians at the Battle of Tewkesbury in the Wars of the Roses.
In 1493, Pope Alexander VI, a Spaniard, decreed that all new lands discovered west of the Azores were Spanish.
In 1780, the first Derby horse race was run at Epsom in England over a distance of one and a half miles.
In 1839, the Cunard shipping line was founded by Samuel Cunard of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
In 1926, the first General Strike in British history began. It was called by the Trades Union Congress and troops were called in to man essential services.
In 1932, Al Capone, "Public Enemy Number One," began his prison sentence for tax evasion after several appeals failed.
In 1938, Dr. Douglas Hyde became the first president of Ireland under its new constitution.
In 1942, the battle of the Coral Sea started in World War II, when naval and air battles began off the Solomon Islands.
In 1945, Field Marshall Montgomery announced that all enemy
forces in the Netherlands, North West Germany and Denmark had
surrendered unconditionally; the U.S. 7th Army captured Hitler's country retreat of Berchtesgaden.
In 1970, National Guards shot four students dead and wounded 11 at Kent State University, after demonstrations against the Vietnam war.
In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became Britain's first female prime minister with a majority of 43 seats in the House of Commons.
In 1989, Col. Oliver North was found guilty in the investigations in the Iran-Contra affair.
In 1992, about 70,000 Thais protested against the appointment of Suchinda Kraprayoon, an unelected general, as prime minister.
In 1994, Israel and the PLO, overcoming a dramatic last-minute hitch, signed a historic agreement giving Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip their first measure of freedom since the 1967 Middle East war.
In 1996, a 13-year era of Socialist rule ended in Spain when conservative leader Jose Maria Aznar was appointed prime minister.
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Newslink
Today the Jewish state of Israel holds its official annual remembrance of the millions who died in the Holocaust. Recently dedicated in Washington, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is part of America's attempt to remember this tragic chapter in world history. Visit the USHMM Web site to make a connection with a past not easily forgotten.
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Holidays and more
Israel observes Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Moldova observes Remembrance of the Dead in Prayer Day.
Namibia celebrates Cassinga Day.
Tonga celebrates the birthday of H.R.H. Crown Prince Tupouto'a.
Singer Nickolas Ashford is 55.
Actor Howard Da Silva is 88.
Musician Maynard Ferguson is 69.
Singer Jackie Jackson is 46.
Opera singer Roberta Peters is 67.
Musician Randy Travis is 38.
Pundit George F. Will is 56.
Singer Tammy Wynette is 55.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan
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