Thursday, July 31, 1997
Today's events
A Beirut court is scheduled to issue a verdict in the case of five Japanese Red Army guerrillas charged with forgery and other offenses carrying maximum sentences of 10 years in prison.
The International Salvage Union is scheduled to hold its annual general meeting in Gothenburg, Sweden, to discuss emergency responses and marine pollution.
The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee continues its hearings on alleged campaign-finance abuses.
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On the horizon
On Friday, August 1, Lima, Peru's, Latin American film
festival opens.
On Saturday, August 2, the World Gold Council holds a seminar
on Gold Banking in New Delhi.
On Sunday, August 3, the annual induction ceremony at
Baseball's Hall of Fame is scheduled to take place in
Cooperstown, New York.
On Monday, August 4, Los Angeles is scheduled to play San
Diego in the annual Baseball Hall of Fame game in
Cooperstown, New York.
On Tuesday, August 5, Franjo Tudjman is scheduled to be sworn in as Croatian President for another five-year term.
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On this day
In 1498, Christopher Columbus, on his third voyage to the New
World, discovered an island which he named Trinidad.
In 1602, Charles, Duc de Biron, was executed for conspiring
against Henri IV of France.
In 1812, a year after declaring independence, Venezuela fell
to the Spanish and its leader Francisco de Miranda was arrested.
In 1910, Dr. Hawley Crippen, British murderer, was arrested on a ship off Canada. Although disguised, the Captain recognized him and radioed Scotland Yard. This was the first arrest effected by radio.
In 1919, the Weimar Constitution was adopted in post-war
Germany, establishing a republic. Parliament, which kept the old name of Reichstag, moved to Weimar to avoid association with the Kaiser.
In 1926, Afghanistan and the Soviet Union signed a mutual
non-aggression pact.
In 1941, Herman Goering gave a written directive to police
chief Reinhard Heydrich to draft a plan for the elimination of European Jews, the "final solution."
In 1945, Pierre Laval, prime minister of Vichy France, was
captured by the allies in Austria after trying to flee around
Europe.
In 1954, Mount Godwin-Austen (K2) in the Himalayas was first
climbed by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio.
In 1962, an agreement was reached in principle to expand the
Malaya Federation into a wider state called Malaysia.
In 1964, the U.S. lunar probe Ranger 7 transmitted the first
close-up photographs of the moon back to earth.
In 1969, Pope Paul VI visited Uganda, the first time a pontiff had visited Africa.
In 1971, on the second day of their moon landing, Apollo 15
astronauts David Scott and James Irwin went for the first ever drive on the moon in their Lunar Roving Vehicle or "moon
buggy."
In 1975, former U.S. Teamsters Union President James Hoffa was reported missing. It was believed he had been abducted the previous day and subsequently murdered. He was declared
"presumed dead" on December 8, 1982.
In 1991, at the end of a two-day summit, Presidents Bush and
Gorbachev signed the START treaty cutting their nuclear
arsenals.
In 1994, the Security Council authorized the use of force in
Haiti, clearing the way for a U.S.-led invasion of the country to restore exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power.
In 1995, in a move that took both Hollywood and Wall Street by surprise, the Walt Disney Co. said it would pay $19 billion for Capital Cities/ABC Inc., creating a new leviathan in the entertainment and media industry.
In 1996, a group of African leaders agreed to impose full
economic sanctions on Burundi after a Tutsi military coup.
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Newslink
Check out NASA's backyard in the Observatorium, an all-purpose information bin, created especially for kids. Click here for the wonders to begin.
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Holidays and more
Today is Cup Match in Bermuda.
It's St. Ignatius Loyola in Spain.
Actress Geraldine Chaplin is 53.
Economist Milton Friedman is 85.
Actor Don Murray is 68.
Actor Wesley Snipes is 35.
Former Governor of Massachusetts William F. Weld is 52.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan
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