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Wednesday, October 15, 1997

  • Today's Events
  • On Horizon
  • On This Day
  • Newslink
  • Holidays & more
  • Almanac archive
  • "We are here today to try and get in front of this El Niño ... so that we can decrease the chances that homes will be destroyed or lives lost,"

    -- Vice President Al Gore





    Today's events


  • ASEAN economic ministers are scheduled to meet in Kuala Lumpur.

  • NATO Secretary General Javier Solana is expected to give a lecture on NATO enlargement and the implications for international community, in Tokyo.

  • Hong Kong's Premier Tung Chee-hwa is scheduled to visit Tokyo.

  • Philippines' President Fidel Ramos is scheduled to visit Burma.

  • The winner of the 1997 Physics and Chemistry Nobel Prize is scheduled to be announced in Stockholm.

  • German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel is scheduled to visit Sofia, Bulgaria.

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    On the horizon


  • On Thursday, October 16, a mass wedding involving both Christians and Muslims is scheduled to take place in Cairo, Egypt.

  • On Friday, October 17, Sao Paulo, Brazil's, 21st International Film Exhibition is scheduled to begin 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.

  • On Sunday, October 19, U.S. drug czar Barry McCaffrey is scheduled to visit Bogota, Colombia.

  • On Monday, October 20, European Commission President Jacques Santer is expected to meet with Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa in Brussels.

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    On this day


  • In 1080, Henry VI of Germany was defeated by Rudolf of Rheinfelden at the Elster River but Rudolf received a mortal wound in the battle.

  • In 1581, commissioned by Catherine De Medici, the "Ballet Comique de la Reine" was staged in Paris. A spectacle of dancing, this is often considered to be the first major ballet.

  • In 1582, in Italy and Spain, this day became the first day of the Gregorian Calendar after it was adopted by Pope Gregory XIII. Ten days would be eliminated thus October 5 1582 became October 15.

  • In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte landed on the Island of St. Helena, where he had been sent into exile by the British after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

  • In 1917, World War I's most famous spy, Mata Hari, was executed by firing squad at Vincennes Barracks, outside Paris.

  • In 1928, the German airship Graf Zeppelin completed its journey across the Atlantic from Friedrichshafen to Lakehurst, New Jersey.

  • In 1945, Pierre Laval was executed for betraying his country during World War II. As premier of Vichy France (1942-1944), he pursued a policy of collaboration with Nazi Germany.

  • In 1946, Hermann Goering, Nazi leader and one of Hitler's most loyal supporters, committed suicide in his prison cell just before he was due to be executed.

  • In 1964, Nikita Khrushchev was deposed as First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, and replaced by Leonid Brezhnev with Alexei Kosygin becoming prime minister.

  • In 1969, Somali President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was assassinated.

  • In 1970, Anwar Sadat was elected president of Egypt, succeeding Gamel Abdel Nasser.

  • In 1978, electoral college confirms General Joao Baptista Figueiredo as Brazil's new president.

  • In 1987, Queen Elizabeth accepted the end of more than a century of British sovereignty over Fiji, expressing sadness at the military takeover of power in the South Pacific nation.

  • In 1990, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev won the Nobel Prize for Peace.

  • In 1993, African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela and South African President F.W. de Klerk were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work to end apartheid and lay the foundations for a democratic South Africa.

  • In 1994, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide stepped back on to Haitian soil to a joyous welcome, ending three years of exile that began when he was deposed in 1991.

  • In 1995, millions of Iraqis voted "Yes" for Saddam Hussein as president in a referendum. Foreign observers in Iraq as guests of the government said the referendum seemed free and fair to them.

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    Newslink


    Is the World Wide Web not quite as globally friendly for you? If you're feeling a bit lost or overwhelmed, or just want some clear information about the Internet, check out the Encyclopedia Britannica Internet Guide, a Web navigation service that classifies, rates, and reviews more than 65,000 Web sites.


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    Holidays and more


  • Burkina Faso celebrates its National Holiday.

  • It's Cayenne Festival in French Guiana.

  • Sri Lanka greets Vap Full Moon Poya Day.

  • Actor Victor Banerjee is 51.

  • Economist and author John Kenneth Galbraith is 89.

  • Former auto executive Lee Iacocca is 73.

  • Musician Tito Jackson is 44.

  • Actress Linda Lavin is 58.

  • Director Penny Marshall is 55.

  • Sportscaster and Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer is 52.

  • Author Mario Puzo is 77.

  • Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, is 38.

  • Historian and author Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. is 80.

  • Tennis player Roscoe Tanner is 46.

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    Sources: Associated Press,
    Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan



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