Thursday, February 12, 1998
Today's events
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The European Union Rio Group meets in Panama.
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On the horizon
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On Friday, February 13, the U.S.-Latin America Resort and
Tourism Development Conference ends.
On Saturday, February 14, Cupid sharpens his bow. Will you
find your true love on this Valentine's Day?
On Sunday, February 15, Somali factions are tentatively
scheduled to meet at a national reconciliation conference.
On Monday, February 16, is the scheduled deadline for
decision in Microsoft Corp. case involving whether temporary
workers should receive benefits.
On Tuesday, February 17, the trial of Jonathan Norman, charged with stalking director Steven Spielberg, is scheduled to start in Santa Monica, California.
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On this day
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In 1429, the French were defeated by the English at the Battle of the Herrings (or Rouvray).
In 1554, Lady Jane Grey, queen of England for nine days in
1553, was executed for high treason.
In 1733, led by English philanthropist James Edward
Oglethorpe, the first Georgia colonists arrived at Savannah.
In 1768, Francis II was born in Florence; he was the last Holy Roman Emperor and also ruled as emperor of Austria.
In 1804, German philosopher Immanuel Kant died; his works
included "Critique of Pure Reason," "Critique of Practical
Reason" and "Critique of Judgement."
In 1818, Chile's independence from Spain was proclaimed in
Santiago.
In 1832, the Galapagos Islands were incorporated as part of
Ecuador.
In 1851, Edward Hargraves discovered gold at Summerhill Creek in New South Wales, triggering the Australian gold rush.
In 1894, Hans von Bulow, German pianist and conductor, died;
in 1864 he became director of the music school at Munich.
In 1895, China surrendered at the Battle of Weihaiwei, ending the Sino-Japanese War.
In 1899, Germany bought the Pacific islands of Marianas,
Caroline and Pelew from Spain.
In 1912, the Manchu dynasty under Pu Yi abdicated in China and a provisional republic was established under Sun Yat-sen.
In 1922, Indian Nationalist Mohandas Gandhi's campaign of
civil disobedience was suspended amid a rising tide of violence.
In 1924, Tutankhamen's sarcophagus was opened to reveal his
coffin, 15 months after the tomb was first discovered.
In 1929, Lillie Langtry (Emilie Charlotte Le Breton), actress and King Edward VII's mistress, died.
In 1950, the European Broadcasting Union was founded.
In 1953, the Soviet Union broke off diplomatic relations with Israel after a bomb exploded at the Soviet legation in Tel Aviv.
In 1961, an interplanetary space station aimed at Venus was
launched from the Soviet Union.
In 1961, Patrice Lumumba, Congo's first prime minister, was
reported to have been murdered by Katangan separatists. The
exact date and circumstances of his death were never discovered.
In 1973, the first group of U.S. prisoners of war were freed
from North Vietnam.
In 1979, in Rhodesia, 59 people died when an Air Rhodesia
civilian plane was shot down by Nationalist guerrillas.
In 1980, former West German chancellor Willy Brandt delivered his report to the U.N. secretary-general on the need for the reshaping of the relationship between rich and poor countries.
In 1986, the Channel Tunnel treaty between Britain and France was signed.
In 1990, Carmen Lawrence became premier of Western Australia, the first woman premier of an Australian state.
In 1992, thousands of people celebrated as Mongolia's new
non-communist constitution took effect.
In 1993, ex-President Moussa Traore of Mali and three senior
army officers were sentenced to death after a court found them guilty of mass murder in 1991.
In 1994, lawyers for U.S. figure skater Tonya Harding and the U.S. Olympic Committee agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by the skater, allowing her to skate at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.
In 1994, two thieves stole one of the world's most famous
paintings, "The Scream" by Edvard Munch, in Oslo.
In 1994, at least 14 political parties registered for South
Africa's April elections.
In 1996, Yasser Arafat took office as the first Palestinian
president.
In 1997, Hwang Jang-yop, a senior adviser to North Korean
president Kim Jong-il, defected to Seoul's Beijing embassy.
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Newslink
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If you were a pre-teen girl anytime in the last decade or so, it's almost a certainty that you've read Judy Blume. Who could forget "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" or "Blubber"? Take a trip back to puberty with the officialJudy Blume site.
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Holidays and more
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Today is Burgsonndeg in Luxembourg.
Actress Maud Adams is 53.
Actor Joe Don Baker is 62.
Author Judy Blume is 60.
Actor Cliff De Young is 51.
Sportscaster Joe Garagiola is 72.
Comedian Arsenio Hall is 43.
Actress Joanna Kerns is 45.
Film director Franco Zeffirelli is 75.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1998, J.P. Morgan
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