Saturday, May 24, 1997
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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