Friday, May 23, 1997
Today's events
Presidential elections are to be held in Iran to elect a successor to President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
A statewide referendum on Slovakia's membership in NATO and on direct elections of the Slovak President is to be held.
The official campaign period ends for Indonesia's general elections, to be held on May 29.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin meets Japan's Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda in Moscow to discuss bilateral relations and the June summit of G7 industrialized nations and Russia.
Members of Britain's Free Medical Marijuana Foundation hand out free samples of cannabis outside Department of Health in London.
The NAIA Baseball World Series opens in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Florida Folk Festival opens at Stephen Foster State Park in White Springs.
|
On the horizon
On Saturday, May 24, Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is
scheduled to visit Dhaka.
On Sunday, May 25, the first round of French elections are
scheduled to begin.
On Monday, May 26, a preliminary hearing begins at the U.N.
Tribunal for former Yugoslavia of the appeal by Drazen
Erdemovic against a 10-year jail sentence for crimes against
humanity.
On Tuesday, May 27, the 9th annual National Geography Bee is
scheduled to begin in Washington.
On Wednesday, May 28, NATO foreign ministers meet in Lisbon.
|
On this day
In 1430, Joan of Arc was captured at Compiegne and handed over to the British.
In 1498, Girolamo Savonarola, the Italian religious and political reformer, was hanged and burnt at the stake.
In 1526, Pope Clement VII formed the League of Cognac, an offensive against the Emperor Charles V.
In 1533, the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer declared Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon void, and his marriage to Anne Boleyn in January legal -- infuriating the Vatican.
In 1618, the Defenestration of Prague took place, a Bohemian revolt against the Habsburg Emperor, beginning the Thirty Years War.
In 1788, South Carolina became the eighth state of the Union.
In 1797, during a financial crisis, a cartoon by James Gilray appeared depicting the Bank of England as a haggard old woman. This is generally thought to be the origin of the bank's nickname "The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street."
In 1873, the North West Mounted Police were formed in Canada, later to become the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
In 1901, Gaetano Brecci, the assassin of King Umberto of Italy, committed suicide.
In 1915, having been neutral, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary.
In 1934, Bonnie (Parker) and Clyde (Barrow), notorious American outlaws, robbers and murderers, were killed in a shootout with police.
In 1944, British and U.S. forces launched a massive offensive from the beach-head at Anzio, Italy.
In 1945, Heinrich Himmler, the German Nazi leader and Chief of Police, committed suicide a day after being captured; also, Winston Churchill resigned, bringing to an end Britain's wartime coalition.
In 1949, the German Federal Republic formally came into existence with Bonn as the capital, after the signing of the constitution.
In 1960, Adolf Eichmann, Nazi leader wanted for war atrocities, was found and captured by Israeli agents in Argentina.
In 1971, the body of the Israeli consul-general in Istanbul, Ephraim Elrom, was found six days after being kidnapped by Turkish terrorists.
In 1983, the South African Air Force bombed Maputo, Mozambique following a car bomb explosion in Pretoria.
In 1992, Judge Giovanni Falcone, a top Italian anti-Mafia prosecutor, was assassinated. A one-ton bomb exploded as his three-car motorcade was passing.
|
Newslink
The Florida Folk Festival at Stephen Foster State Park in White Springs opens today as an ongoing celebration of Florida's diverse cultural heritage. Visit the Florida Folklife Web site for a look at something Florida has to offer other than beaches and condominiums.
|
Holidays and more
Jamaica celebrates Labor Day.
Architect Max Abramovitz is 89.
Actress Barbara Barrie is 66.
Singer Rosemary Clooney is 69.
Actress Joan Collins is 64.
Former boxer Marvin Hagler is 43.
Inventor Robert Moog is 63.
Musician Artie Shaw is 87.
|
Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan
|