Friday, September 19, 1997
Today's events
President Clinton's 17 year-old daughter Chelsea flies 3,000 miles to northern California to take up her $28,000-a-year place at Stanford University to work towards her goal of becoming a cardiologist.
European and Asian finance ministers meet under the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) framework in Bangkok, Thailand.
A new anti-smoking law takes effect in Taipei, Taiwan, with fines administered for smoking in public areas.
Czech President Vaclav Havel visits the Middle East, including Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian autonomous territories.
Former Russian security chief Alexander Lebed holds a news conference at the National Press Club of Japan in Tokyo.
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On the horizon
On Saturday, September 20, Czech President Vaclav Havel is scheduled to visit Jordan.
On Sunday, September 21, Serbia is scheduled to hold presidential elections.
On Monday, September 22, President Clinton is scheduled to address the 52nd session of the United Nations General Assembly.
On Tuesday, September 23, the first NATO accession talks are expected to be held with the Czech Republic.
On Wednesday, September 24, the four-day World PC Expo '97 opens in Chiba, Japan.
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On this day
In 1356, an English army led by The Black Prince, son of
Edward III, defeated King John II of France in the Battle of
Poitiers at the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years War.
On the same day in 1370, the Black Prince captured and sacked
Limoges.
In 1799, a combined Russian and British army under the Duke of
York was defeated and forced to withdraw by the French under
Vandamme at the battle of Bergen-op-Zoom.
In 1870, the Prussians began a siege of Paris in the Franco-Prussian War.
In 1876 , the first carpet sweeper was patented by inventor
Melville Bissell, of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In 1888, the world's first beauty contest took place at Spa in
Belgium. The first prize was awarded to Bertha Soucaret, an
18-year-old Creole from Guadeloupe.
In 1893, New Zealand became the first country to grant all of its
women the right to vote.
In 1928, "Steamboat Willie," the first animated cartoon
talking picture starring Mickey Mouse, was shown at the Colony
Theatre in New York.
In 1939, Soviet troops reached the Hungarian frontier and
occupied the Polish city of Vilna.
In 1941, the German army captured Kiev after a 45-day battle.
On the same day in Iran, British troops occupied Tehran.
In 1945, William Joyce, who broadcast Nazi propaganda to
Britain during the war as Lord Haw Haw, was sentenced to death
by a British court for treason. He was later hanged.
In 1955, encircled by revolutionary forces, President Juan
Peron of Argentina resigned and fled into exile.
In 1957, the first underground nuclear tests began in Nevada.
In 1961, Jamaica voted in a referendum to secede from the West
Indies Federation.
In 1983, the Caribbean islands of St. Kitts-Nevis became an
independent state.
In 1985, up to 12,000 people were estimated to have been
killed and 40,000 people injured when an earthquake hit Mexico
City and the adjoining region.
In 1989, a French UTA DC-10 airliner crashed in the Sahara
desert on a flight from Brazzaville to Paris, killing all 171 on
board. Airline officials suspected the disaster was caused by a
bomb.
In 1991, the newly independent republic of Byelorussia changed
its name to Belarus.
In 1994, thousands of U.S. troops swept ashore in Haiti,
launching an intervention aimed at restoring democracy.
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Newslink
Chelsea Clinton leaves the White House and heads off to Stanford to begin her freshmen year of college. Visit the unofficial Chelsea Clinton fan club for loads of information about the first daughter.
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Holidays and more
It's Armed Forces Day in Chile.
St. Kitts-Nevis celebrate Independence Day.
Baseball player Jim Abbott is 30.
Actor Jeremy Irons is 49.
Journalist Joan Lunden is 46.
Actress Twiggy is 48.
Actor Adam West is 69.
Singer Paul Williams is 57.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan
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