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Thursday, January 8, 1998
Today's events
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The International Winter Consumer Electronics Show opens in
Las Vegas.
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On the horizon
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On Friday, January 9, British Prime Minister Tony Blair is
to arrive in Tokyo for a state visit, the first such trip by
a British leader in four years.
On Saturday, January 10, Harvard's JFK School of Government
holds a Russian investment symposium with top figures from
IMF, Russian government and global corporations.
On Sunday, January 11, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien
visits Mexico.
On Monday, January 12, the European Parliament holds a
plenary session.
On Tuesday, January 13, a hearing is scheduled in Washington
on whether Microsoft is in contempt of court in its
antitrust lawsuit.
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On this day
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In 1297, in Monaco, Franceschino Grimaldi, disguised as a
monk, sneaked into the Genoese-controlled fortress, let in
his own soldiers, and established the Grimaldi dynasty.
In 1642, Galileo Galilei, mathematician, astronomer,
physicist and developer of the astronomical telescope, died.
In 1713, Arcangelo Corelli, Italian composer and violinist,
died. His concerti grossi, published posthumously, greatly
influenced J.S. Bach.
In 1798, the 11th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,
modifying the power of the Supreme Court, was ratified.
In 1815, the Americans defeated the British in the battle of
New Orleans.
In 1825, Eli Whitney, U.S. inventor of the cotton gin, died.
In 1918, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson presented his "14
Points" to Congress, a peace plan aimed at a new world order
after World War One.
In 1926, Abdul Aziz ibn Saud became King of the Hejaz, which
he announced would henceforth be called Saudi Arabia.
In 1935, U.S. singer Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo,
Mississippi.
In 1941, Robert Baden-Powell, English soldier and founder of
the Boy Scouts, died; he won fame as the defender of
Mafeking in the Boer War in South Africa and founded the
Scouts in 1908.
In 1959, Charles de Gaulle became first president of
France's Fifth Republic; he took office for a second term on
this day in 1966.
In 1966, the Polish government imposed a foreign travel ban
on the Catholic primate, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski.
In 1967, U.S. and South Vietnamese troops launched Operation
Cedar Falls, a major operation against Communist troops in
the Mekong Delta.
In 1971, Sir Geoffrey Jackson, British ambassador in
Uruguay, was kidnapped by Tupamaros guerrillas; he was held
captive until September.
In 1973, U.S. negotiator Henry Kissinger and North Vietnam's
Le Duc Tho resumed talks in Paris on ending the Vietnam War.
In 1976, Chou En-Lai, long-time Chinese Communist leader,
died aged 78.
In 1979, the French tanker Betelgeuse exploded at the Gulf
Oil terminal at Bantry in Ireland, killing 50 people.
In 1982, Spain agreed to end its blockade of Gibraltar in
return for talks on the British colony's future.
In 1987, the Dow Jones industrial average topped the 2,000 mark for the first time.
In 1989, 44 people were killed when a British Midland Boeing
737-400 airliner with 126 passengers and crew crashed on to
the M1 motorway in central England.
In 1991, Pan Am, one of the oldest U.S. airlines and a
pioneer of transatlantic and Pacific routes, sought
bankruptcy protection, a victim of federal deregulation.
In 1992, Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina declared their own
republic in protest at a decision by Bosnia's Croats and
Muslims to seek EC recognition.
In 1995, guns fell silent across Sri Lanka's northeast
region for the first time in four years at the start of a
two-week truce between the government and Tamil separatist
rebels.
In 1995, Carlos Monzon, Argentina's greatest boxing
champion, died in a car accident.
In 1996, a Zairian cargo plane crashed into a crowded market
in the center of the capital Kinshasa, killing 350 people.
In 1996, former French president Francois Mitterrand died of
cancer at 79.
In 1996, Karoly Grosz, Hungary's former communist leader who
became known as the Hungarian Gorbachev for unleashing
reforms which destroyed the system he believed in, died at
65.
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Newslink
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Well bless my soul, it's the King's birthday! Pay your
respects at Elvis
Presley Online, chockful of trivia, history and photos. Check out that jumpsuit!
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Holidays and more
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It is Davenport Cup Day in Australia.
It is 10th of Tevet Fast in Israel.
Moldova celebrates Christmas today.
Musician David Bowie is 51.
Russian pianist Vladimir Feltsman is 46.
Actress Yvette Mimieux is 57.
CBS newsman Charles Osgood is 65.
Comedian Soupy Sales is 68.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan
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