Thursday, December 4, 1997
Today's events
The English National Ballet will
hold a special performance of "The Nutcracker" dedicated to
patron Diana, Princess of Wales.
The United States and Romania hold talks on an open skies
treaty in Bucharest.
European Union justice, home affairs and health ministers meet in Brussels.
|
On the horizon
On Friday, December 5, the 5th China International
Environmental Protection Exhibition and Conference is set to
begin in Beijing.
On Saturday, December 6, about 50 heads of state are expected
to attend the Organization
of the Islamic Conference summit in Tehran.
On Sunday, December 7, the Eleventh International Conference
on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Africa opens.
On Monday. December 8, amnesty hearings resume into the death
in detention of black consciousness activist Steve Biko in
South Africa.
On Tuesday, December 9, the Steering Board of Bosnia's Peace Implementation
Council meets in Germany.
|
On this day
In 963, Holy Roman Emperor Otto deposed Pope John XII for
dishonorable conduct and for plotting an armed conspiracy; Leo
VIII succeeded as pope.
In 1154, Nicolas Breakspear, the first and only Englishman to
be elected pope, was crowned as Adrian IV.
In 1214, William the Lion, king of Scotland, died and was
succeeded by his son Alexander II.
In 1334, John XXII, pope from 1316, died. The second Avignon
pope, he improved church administration and upheld papal
authority against Emperor Louis IV.
In 1642, Cardinal de Richelieu, French statesman, died. He was
chief minister to King Louis XIII of France and, from 1629,
first minister and actual ruler of France.
In 1791, Britain's Observer, the oldest Sunday
newspaper in the world, was first published.
In 1816, James Monroe was elected fifth president of the
United States; he was the first president who had been a
senator.
In 1829, Britain abolished the practice of "suttee" in India
-- the widow burning herself to death on her husband's funeral
pyre.
In 1851, two days after a coup d'etat in France, Louis
Napoleon used troops to put down a rebellion after bloody
rioting.
In 1918, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was
proclaimed, with Alexander I as prince regent.
In 1943, Prime Minister Churchill, President Roosevelt and
President Inonu of Turkey met at the second Cairo Conference.
In 1943, Bolivia declared war on the Axis countries.
In 1947, Tennessee Williams' play "A Streetcar Named Desire"
premiered in New York.
In 1965, the U.S. launched Gemini VII into space for a link-up
with Gemini VI.
In 1972, Honduran President Ramon Cruz was overthrown in an
army coup led by General Oswaldo Lopez Arellano.
In 1977, in Malaysia, 100 people were killed when a plane
hijacked by the Japanese Red Army crashed near Singapore.
In 1977, Jean Bedel Bokassa crowned himself emperor of the
Central African Empire.
In 1980, Portuguese Prime Minister Francisco Sa Carneiro was
killed in an air crash in Lisbon.
In 1990, President Hossain Mohammad Ershad of Bangladesh
resigned after eight years in power.
In 1991, journalist Terry Anderson, the last American and
longest-held Western hostage in Lebanon, was freed by his
Islamic Jihad (Holy War) captors after being held for 2,454
days. He was kidnapped on March 16, 1985.
In 1992, President George Bush ordered about 28,000 U.S.
troops to Somalia to block warring Somali gangs from
intercepting food shipments.
In 1993, the Angolan government and its UNITA guerrilla foes
formally adopted terms for a truce to end a conflict killing an
estimated 1,000 people a day.
In 1993, the Hubble Space Telescope was secured aboard the
shuttle Endeavor in preparation for a series of outside repairs
by spacewalking astronauts.
In 1995, an advance team of NATO troops landed in Sarajevo to
enforce a peace accord ending four years of war in former
Yugoslavia.
In 1995, a Boeing 737 Cameroon airliner crashed into a swamp
as it attempted to land near Douala, killing 72 passengers and
crew.
In 1996, NASA's first Mars rover was launched from Cape
Canaveral; it landed successfully on July 4, 1997.
|
Newslink
The English National Ballet will
hold a special performance today of "The Nutcracker" dedicated to
patron Princess Diana. For details on the performance and a close look at the corps, check here.
|
Holidays and more
It is King Tupou I Day in Tonga.
Model Tyra Banks is 24.
Actor Jeff Bridges is 48.
Tennis player Stan Smith is 51.
Actress Marisa Tomei is 33.
Actress Patricia Wettig is 46.
|
Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan
|