Monday, October 13, 1997
Today's events
A Czech delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Karel Kovanda, is scheduled to visit NATO for the third round of talks on accession to the alliance.
The International Court of Justice is scheduled to open hearings on dispute between Libya, Britain and United States over bombing of an airliner above Lockerbie in Scotland.
A Greenpeace Captain is scheduled to hold a news conference in Tokyo on the effects of global warning in polar regions.
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On the horizon
On Tuesday, October 14, the Booker Prize for literature is announced in London.
On Wednesday, October 15, the winner of the 1997 Physics and Chemistry Nobel Prize is announced at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
On Thursday, October 16, a mass wedding involving both Christians and Muslims takes place in Cairo, Egypt.
On Friday, October 17, Sao Paulo, Brazil's, 21st International Film Exhibition begins with over 150 films to be screened.
On Saturday, October 18, the "Fairy Queen," India's oldest steam locomotive, is scheduled to leave for Alwar in Rajasthan.
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On this day
In 54, Roman emperor Claudius I died after eating poisoned
mushrooms given to him by his wife, the Empress Agrippina.
In 1307, in Paris, Philip IV of France had the Knights
Templars arrested on charges of heresy and had their property
seized.
In 1792, the cornerstone of the U.S. president's official
residence, The White House in Washington, DC., was laid by
George Washington.
In 1812, British forces under Sir Isaac Brock defeated the
Americans at the Battle of Queenston Heights, Ontario, helping
to put an end to the U.S. attempt to invade Canada. Brock was
killed in the battle.
In 1815, Joachim Murat, cavalry leader who was one of
Napoleon's most famous marshals and became king of Naples from
1808, was captured and shot after trying to re-capture Naples.
In 1860, the first aerial photograph in the United States
was taken. "Boston as the Eagle and the Wild Goose sees it"
was taken from a balloon 1,200 feet above the city.
In 1884, Greenwich was established as the universal time
meridian of longitude from which standard times throughout the
world are calculated.
In 1923, the Turkish Grand National Assembly declared Ankara -
formerly Angora - the capital of Turkey.
In 1943, Italy declared war on its former Axis partner Germany and the allied nations accepted the active cooperation of Italy.
In 1962, drama critics applauded the opening in New York of
Edward Albee's first full-length play, "Who's Afraid of
Virginia Woolf."
In 1964, three Soviet cosmonauts manning the world's first
multi-seat spacecraft, Voshkod, landed safely after a 24-hour
journey.
In 1972, a Soviet Ilyushin-62 crashed near Moscow airport,
killing all 176 on board in what, at the time, was the worst
disaster in civilian aviation history.
In 1977, a Lufthansa airliner flying from Majorca was
hijacked over the Mediterranean by four Palestinian terrorists
in support of their allies in the Baader-Meinhof group. After
the pilot was killed German commandos successfully stormed the
plane on October 17.
In 1988, the Shroud of Turin, revered by many Christians as Christ's burial cloth, was shown by carbon-dating tests to be a fake from the Middle Ages.
In 1990, Lebanon's General Michel Aoun surrendered to
Syrian-backed President Elias Hrawi -- his two years of defiance
ended in minutes by a Syrian air raid.
In 1990, the plaintive echoes of Slavonic chant drifted across
Red Square as the first Russian Orthodox service for more than
70 years was held in St. Basil's Cathedral, next to the Kremlin.
In 1994, Northern Ireland's Loyalist terror groups announced a
cease-fire to match that from the Irish Republican Army.
In 1995, Austrian deputies dissolved parliament as a prelude
to a snap general election following the collapse of the
coalition government. It was the shortest-lived parliament in
the history of Austria's postwar Second Republic.
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Newslink
The final countdown for the launch of the Cassini space probe is under way after legal efforts to stop the controversial mission failed. To find out more about the mission from NASA's point of view, click here. For an alternate view, visit the Stop Cassini Web Site by clicking here.
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Holidays and more
Today is Discovery Day in the Bahamas.
It's Columbus Day in Belize, Colombia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the United States.
Today is the Anniversary of the Assassination of the Leader Rwagasore in Burundi.
It's Thanksgiving in Canada.
Today is Fiji Day in Fiji.
It's a Day of Race observance in Guatemala. Day of the Race
Today is White Sunday Holiday in Western Samoa.
Actress Melinda Dillon is 58.
Singer Sammy Hagar is 48.
Actress Marie Osmond is 38.
Actress Kelly Preston is 35.
Singer/songwriter Paul Simon is 56.
Former Prime Minister of England Margaret Thatcher is 72.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan
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