Tuesday, October 28, 1997
Today's events
Britain's Prince Charles and son Prince Harry are scheduled to leave for a week-long visit to Swaziland, Lesotho and South Africa.
Sudanese peace talks, which stalled three years ago, are to
resume in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar is to visit Tokyo for talks with Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and other government officials.
Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro is scheduled to visit
Bulgaria.
Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio is to visit the
Netherlands.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin is scheduled to take a
sightseeing tour of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, in his first visit to the U.S.
Closing statements are to begin in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the murder trial of British au pair Louise Woodward.
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On the horizon
On Wednesday, October 29, Swiss banks will publish the second list of thousands of dormant accounts opened right before World War II in an effort to locate the rightful owners.
On Thursday, October 30, Ireland holds a presidential election.
On Friday, October 31, U.S. first lady Hillary Clinton expected to deliver an inaugural lecture at the University of Belfast for a chair honoring Joyce McCartan, a voluntary worker she met in Belfast in 1995.
On Saturday, November 1, the scheduled opening in Medellin, Colombia, of a three-day meeting on eating disorders sponsored by group known as Compulsive Eaters Anonymous.
On Sunday, November 2, Boston University's Center for Millennial Studies is scheduled to hold a conference on the millennium, with a focus on religion.
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On this day
In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered Cuba and claimed it
in the name of Spain.
In 1628, after being besieged for months, the Huguenots at La
Rochelle capitulated to troops of the French crown under
Cardinal Richelieu.
In 1636, Harvard College was founded at Cambridge,
Massachusetts.
In 1746, the Peruvian cities of Lima and Callao were
demolished by an earthquake, killing at least 18,000.
In 1870, in the Franco-Prussian War, Strasbourg surrendered to Prussian forces.
In 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France designed by Auguste Bartholdi, was dedicated by President Grover Cleveland.
In 1891, an earthquake struck the Niphon Islands in Japan,
killing 10,000 people and leaving at least 300,000 homeless.
In 1918, the Czechoslovak state came into being when the
Prague national committee took over land upon the dissolution of Austria-Hungary. The Republic was declared in November 1918 under President Masaryk.
In 1919, the Volstead Prohibition Act was passed by the U.S.
Congress which prohibited the sale of drink containing more than one half of one percent of alcohol.
In 1922, Fascist blackshirts began a march on Rome from Naples which led two days later to the formation of a government led by Benito Mussolini.
In 1940, Italian forces under Mussolini crossed into Greece
from Albania in an attempt to occupy the country.
In 1956, the primate of Poland, Cardinal Wyszynski, was
released following the election of the new politburo under M.
Gomulka. He had been imprisoned since September 1953.
In 1958, Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, Patriarch of
Venice, was elected Pope and took the title John XXIII.
In 1962, the Cuban missile crisis effectively ended when
Soviet leader Khrushchev announced that its missiles would be
dismantled and returned to the USSR. President Kennedy
immediately replied that the U.S. would lift its blockade of
Cuba.
In 1971, by a vote of 356-244, the British House of Commons
voted in favor of joining the European Economic Community.
In 1981, a Soviet Whiskey-class submarine armed with nuclear
weapons ran aground in Swedish waters. The vessel was released
on November 6 after protests to the USSR.
In 1982, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, led by Felipe
Gonzalez, won a landslide victory in a general election.
In 1995, 289 people died and 270 were injured when a crowded
underground railway train caught fire between the Ulduz and
Narimanov underground stations in Azerbaijan's capital Baku.
In 1996, the people of Malta rejected European Union
membership in an upset election victory by the Labor Party; its
leader, Alfred Sant, was sworn in as prime minister.
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Newslink
After a tumultuous day in the stock markets, you can get a humorous take on numbers by finding out what your phone number spells.
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Holidays and more
Cook Islands celebrates Gospel Day.
Cuba marks the Disappearance of Camilo Cienfuegos.
It's Greek National Day in Cyprus.
The Czech Republic celebrates National Day.
It's Sukkot in Israel.
Actress Jane Alexander is 58.
Musician Charlie Daniels is 61.
Actor Dennis Franz is 53.
Actress Jami Gertz is 32.
Singer Telma Hopkins is 49.
Sportscaster and athlete Bruce Jenner is 48.
Former baseball commissioner Bowie Kent Kuhn is 71.
Actress Annie Potts is 45.
Actress Julia Roberts is 30.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan
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