Wednesday, October 15, 1997
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
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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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