Monday, May 26, 1997
Today's events
A preliminary hearing is scheduled to begin at the United Nations Tribunal for former Yugoslavia of the appeal by Drazen Erdemovic against a 10-year jail sentence for crimes against humanity.
President Bill Clinton is expected to lay a Memorial Day wreath at Tomb of Unknowns.
The Tuskegee Airmen Monument is scheduled to be unveiled in Walterboro, South Carolina.
A rain-delayed Indianapolis 500 is scheduled to start in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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On the horizon
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.
On Friday, May 30, presidential and parliamentary
elections are scheduled to be held in Liberia.
On Saturday, May 31, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is scheduled to visit Sarajevo for talks with political leaders.
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On this day
In 1521, the Edict of Worms outlawed Martin Luther and his
followers, following his Papal excommunication in April.
In 1659, Aurangzeb formally ascended the Mogul throne.
In 1798, during the Irish Rebellion the British killed about
500 Irish insurgents at the Battle of Tara.
In 1805, Napoleon was crowned king of Italy in Milan
cathedral.
In 1834, the Portuguese Civil war ended with the capitulation
of the pretender, Dom Miguel
In 1865, the last Confederate resistance of the American Civil
War ended when Gen. Kirby Smith surrendered at New Orleans. The
Confederates had already signed a surrender on April 9.
In 1868, Irish nationalist Michael Barrett was hanged for a
bomb attack at Clerkenwell, London -- the last public execution
in England.
In 1868, U.S. President Andrew Johnson was finally acquitted
of impeachment charges of "high crimes and misdemeanors."
In 1879, the British and Afghans signed the Treaty of Gandamak
giving the British control of the Khyber Pass.
In 1923, the first Le Mans 24-hour motor race was run.
In 1940, Operation Dynamo began to evacuate defeated Allied
troops from Dunkirk.
In 1942, Anglo-Soviet Treaty signed in London, providing for
full collaboration during and after the Second World War.
In 1948, the Nationalist Party took power in South African
elections, beating the United Party by 70 seats to 65.
In 1966, British Guiana became an independent member of the
Commonwealth, changing its name to Guyana.
In 1971, the Soviet Union's answer to Concorde, the TU-144,
made its first appearance in the West at the Paris Air Show.
In 1979, Finnish President Urho Kekkonen appointed a new
coalition government with Mauno Koivisto as prime minister.
In 1982, in the Falklands war, the British container ship
Atlantic Conveyor and destroyer Coventry were both hit, killing
33.
In 1985, over 30 died when explosions destroyed two tankers
off the coast of Gibraltar.
In 1991, Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected president of Georgia.
In 1991, an Austrian Lauda-Air Boeing 767 crashed after a
stopover in Bangkok, killing 223.
In 1993, the Pakistan supreme court re-instated Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif and parliament after they had been dissolved by
President Ghulam Ishaq Khan.
In 1996, Albania's opposition parties pulled out of the
election on polling day because of "terror" and manipulation
of the poll by the ruling Democratic Party.
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Newslink
Today is Memorial Day, also known as Decoration Day, in which memorial tributes are paid to the dead. In honor of those who died in battle, President Bill Clinton will place a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery. To find out more about this historic resting place, click here.
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Holidays and more
Today is Whit Monday in the Bahamas.
It's a local holiday in Bolivia.
Today is Independence Restoration Day in Georgia.
It's a Spring Bank Holiday in Gibraltar and Great Britain.
Today is Memorial Day in the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
It's National Heroes Day in Turks and Caicos Islands.
Today is Africa Freedom Day observance in Zambia.
It's a Public Holiday in Zimbabwe.
Actor James Arness is 74.
Actress Genie Francis is 35.
Singer Peggy Lee is 77.
Sportscaster Brent Musburger is 58.
Singer Stevie Nicks is 49.
Actor Philip Michael Thomas is 48.
Singer Hank Williams Jr. is 48.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan
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