Friday, October 31, 1997
Today's events
Britain's Prince Charles leaves Lesotho for a six-day visit to South Africa.
An official panel in Berne presents recommendations on how the proceeds of Swiss government gold sales should be distributed by a proposed humanitarian fund.
U.S. first lady Hillary Clinton delivers a lecture at the University of Belfast for a chair honoring Joyce McCartan, a volunteer she met in Belfast in 1995.
Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, hold news conference in Caracas, Venezuela, on their views on the forthcoming Seventh Ibero-American presidential summit
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On the horizon
On Saturday, November 1, a three-day meeting on eating disorders opens in Medellin, Colombia. The event is sponsored by a 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.
On Monday, November 3, Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash Denktash is expected to meet with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in New York to discuss the long-standing division of Cyprus.
On Tuesday, November 4, U.S. voters select the governors of the states of New Jersey and Virginia, and mayors of the two largest cities, New York and Los Angeles.
On Wednesday, November 5, French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl are expected to hold a "working meeting" to discuss issues including European matters and the Middle East.
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On this day
In 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 theses, an attack on
various ecclesiastical abuses, on the door of Wittenberg Palace, marking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation in Germany.
In 1848, after the third uprising against the government in
Vienna, Field Marshal Alfred Windischgraetz took over the city and forced its surrender.
In 1864, Nevada was admitted to the union as the 36th state of the United States.
In 1888, John Boyd Dunlop took out a patent for his pneumatic
bicycle tire.
In 1914, Russian troops under General Russki pushed the
Germans under Hindenburg back to their original positions, ending the battle of the Vistula River. The Germans lost at least 42,000 men.
In 1917, in the third battle of Gaza, Australians and New
Zealanders captured Beersheba from the Turks.
In 1918, Count Istvan Tisza, Hungarian premier until his
resignation in 1917, was assassinated by disaffected soldiers
after being held responsible for the country's plight in World War I.
In 1940, the Battle of Britain, the struggle between Germany
and Britain over air control of the English Channel, was
officially designated to have ended.
In 1952, the United States exploded the first hydrogen bomb at the Elugelab Atoll in the Eniwetok Proving Grounds in the
Pacific Marshall Islands.
In 1956, Britain and France bombed Egyptian airfields during
the Suez crisis.
In 1961, Russia's de-Stalinization program reached a climax
when his body was removed from the mausoleum in Red Square and re-buried.
In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson ordered a complete cessation of American bombing of North Vietnam.
In 1974, Britain, France and the U.S. vetoed a motion at the
U.N. to expel South Africa.
In 1984, Indira Gandhi, the Indian prime minister, was
assassinated by three Sikh members of her bodyguard while she
was walking in the garden of her New Delhi home.
In 1995, a Nigerian military-appointed court sentenced Ogoni
minority rights leader Ken Saro-Wiwa and three others to death for murder.
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Newslink
Dare to be scared! Check out a Halloween extravaganza on the Web that is not just for kids Recipes, songs, poems and more are the order of the day at the Tricks and Treats site.
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Holidays and more
It's Reformation Day in Germany and Slovenia.
Guatemala holds All Saints Day observances.
Taiwan marks the birthday of President Chiang Kai-Shek.
It's Halloween in the United States.
Astronaut Michael Collins is 66.
Actress Dale Evans is 85.
Actress Deidre Hall is 49.
Baseball player Fred McGriff is 34.
Musician Larry Mullen is 36.
Actor Dermot Mulroney is 34.
TV personality Jane Pauley is 47.
Journalist Dan Rather is 66.
Actor David Ogden Stiers is 55.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan
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