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Saturday, May 24, 1997

  • Today's Events
  • On Horizon
  • On This Day
  • Newslink
  • Holidays & more
  • Almanac archive
  • "Deep in my heart, I believe that no punishment the Air Force renders will ever compare to the public humiliation I have suffered, the loss of my trust, and the loss of my innocence."

    -- 1st Lt. Kelly Flinn





    Today's events


  • Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is scheduled to visit Dhaka.

  • Pakistan's President Farooq Leghari visits United Arab Emirates.

  • Taiwan activists plan a mass anti-government protest in Taipei to urge the immediate resignation of Premier Lien Chan over perceived law and order decline.

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    On the horizon


  • 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 Thursday, May 29, Indonesia holds general elections.

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    On this day


  • In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish founder of modern astronomy, died.

  • In 1544, William Gilbert, distinguished British scientist and pioneer of magnetism, was born.

  • In 1686,Gabriel Fahrenheit, inventor of the temperature scale that bears his name, was born.

  • In 1819, Princess Alexandrina Victoria was born at Kensington Palace in London, the only daughter of the Duke of Kent. As Queen Victoria she reigned for 63 years, from 1837 until her death in 1901.

  • In 1822, Antonio Jose de Sucre defeated the Spanish royalists at the battle of Pichincha, securing the independence of Quito, later to become Ecuador.

  • In 1844, Samuel Morse transmitted the world's first telegraph message to his associate 40 miles away. The message was "What hath God wrought?"

  • In 1856, the Pottawatomie Massacre took place in Kansas. A pro-slavery settlement in Franklin County was attacked by an anti-slavery group led by John Brown.

  • In 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was opened, linking Manhattan to Brooklyn, N.Y.

  • In 1920, French President Paul Deschanel fell from a train and was found later wandering along the track in his pyjamas.

  • In 1928, William Trevor, Irish novelist notably of "The Old Boys," was born.

  • In 1930, Amy Johnson landed her Gypsy Moth plane Jason at Darwin in Northern Australia, the first woman to fly solo from England.

  • In 1935, the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 in major league baseball's first night game.

  • In 1941, the British cruiser HMS Hood was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck, killing over 1,300.

  • In 1941, Bob Dylan, U.S. singer, was born as Robert Zimmerman. He took his stage name from the poet Dylan Thomas, who he admired.

  • In 1959, John Foster Dulles, U.S. Secretary of State, died.

  • In 1962, Malcolm Scott Carpenter completed the second U.S. manned orbital space flight, when Aurora 7 splashed down after three trips around the Earth.

  • In 1964, more than 300 people died during a riot at a soccer match in Peru after the referee disallowed a goal for the home side. This is the worst confirmed death toll at a soccer match.

  • In 1968, in the continuing student and labor unrest in France, President De Gaulle proposed a referendum and rioting students set fire to the Paris bourse.

  • In 1974, Duke Ellington, U.S. jazz pianist, composer and bandleader, died.

  • In 1976, the British and French Concordes made their first commercial flights from London and Paris respectively to Washington Dulles International Airport in just under four hours.

  • In 1977, Soviet President Nikolai Podgorny was dropped from the ruling Politburo.

  • In 1981, President Jaime Roldos Aguilera of Ecuador and seven others were killed in a terrorist-directed air crash.

  • In 1982, in the Iran-Iraq war, Iranian troops recaptured Khorramshahr after it had been occupied by Iraq for 20 months.

  • In 1984, Iranian warplanes attacked the Liberian-registered tanker Chemical Venture off the coast of Saudi Arabia.

  • In 1992, Conservative Thomas Klestil won the Austrian presidential election, succeeding Kurt Waldheim.

  • In 1993, Eritrea achieved independence from Ethiopia after a 30-year civil war.

  • In 1993, violent demonstrations broke out in Tibet against Chinese rule.

  • In 1994, About 270 Muslims performing the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia were killed in a stampede.

  • In 1995, former prime minister Harold Wilson, before Tony Blair the last Labor Party leader to win a British general election, died in his sleep after a long illness. He was 79.

  • In 1996, Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani signed a peace agreement with one-time arch-foe and former prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in Kabul.

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    Newslink


    It took nearly 14 years and $16 million to build, but the long-awaited Brooklyn Bridge spanning the East River opened on this day 114 years ago. For a look at the difficult process of planning and building the bridge, check out this Brooklyn Bridge site.


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    Holidays and more


  • Today is Commonwealth Day in Belize.

  • It is Bermuda Day in Bermuda.

  • It is Education Day in Bulgaria.

  • It is Independence Day in Ecuador.

  • Actor Gary Burghoff is 63.

  • ASPCA Director and writer Roger Caras is 69.

  • Actor Tommy Chong is 59.

  • Basketball player Joe Dumars III is 34.

  • Singer Bob Dylan is 56.

  • Actor Alfred Molina is 44.

  • Puppeteer Frank Oz is 53.

  • Actress Priscilla Presley is 52.

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



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