Friday, April 3, 1998
Today's events
People Against Racism is to hold its first annual
conference on the elimination of what it deems racist mascots.
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On the horizon
On Saturday, April 4, Memphis, Tennessee, holds all-day events commemorating the 30th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination.
On Sunday, April 5, most of the United States returns to daylight-saving time.
On Monday, April 6, the National Association of Broadcasters meets in Las Vegas.
On Tuesday, April 7, a special election for Sonny Bono's congressional
seat will be held. His widow, Mary Bono, and actor Ralph Waite are the announced candidates.
On Wednesday, April 8, the final episode of the NBC sitcom "Seinfeld" will be filmed in Los Angeles.
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On this day
In 1189, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and Pope Clement III resolved their
disagreements and signed the Peace of Strasbourg.
In 1245, Philip III, king of France, was born. He became king in 1270. Also known as Philip the Bold, he enlarged the power of the monarchy.
In 1367, Henry IV, first king of England from the House of
Lancaster, was born; king from 1399, his reign was marked by many
uprisings from home and abroad.
In 1559, Philip II of Spain and Henry II of France signed the
Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis in France, ending almost 60 years of
war.
In 1682, Bartolome Esteban Murillo, Spanish painter, died.
Best known for his religious works, notably "The Two
Trinities."
In 1721, Sir Robert Walpole was appointed first lord of the
treasury and chancellor of the exchequer, effectively Britain's
first prime minister.
In 1783, Washington Irving was born. Known as "first American man of letters," he wrote many tales and stories including "Rip Van Winkle" and the "Legend
of Sleepy Hollow."
In 1860, the first Pony Express with the U.S. mail left both
St Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California, simultaneously.
The Western-bound post arrived a day and a half before the
Eastern-bound.
In 1866, James Barry Munnik Hertzog, Afrikaans nationalist and
politician, was born in Cape Colony. Prime minister from 1924 to 1939,
he lost office at the start of the World War II after advocating a policy of neutrality.
In 1881, Alcide de Gasperi, Italian statesman, was born; he became
prime minister of Italy in 1945 and led the nation into a
successful post-war reconstruction.
In 1882, after more than 15 years of robbing banks, outlaw
Jesse James was shot in the back at St Joseph, Missouri, by
Robert Ford, one of his own gang.
In 1897, Johannes Brahms, German composer and pianist, died.
In 1913, English suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst was found
guilty of encouraging supporters to arson and sentenced to three
years in prison.
In 1922, the new Central Committee in Russia appointed
Joseph Stalin as General Secretary of the Communist Party.
In 1924, Marlon Brando, U.S. film actor, was born; known for his
method style of acting, his films included "On the Waterfront"
and "The Godfather," for which he won Oscars.
In 1924, Doris Day, U.S film actress and singer, was born as Doris
von Kappelhoff. Best known for her roles in "Calamity Jane,"
"Young at Heart," and "The Pajama Game."
In 1930, Ras Tafari was proclaimed Emperor Haile Selassie of
Ethiopia.
In 1930, Helmut Kohl, German politician and statesman, was born;
he became chancellor of Germany in 1982.
In 1933, the first flight over the peak of Mount Everest in
the Himalayas was made by four Britons in two Westland biplanes.
In 1941, the British evacuated Benghazi in the face of the
German advance in World War II.
In 1943, Conrad Veidt, German born actor of stage and screen,
died. Best known for his roles in the films "The Cabinet of Dr
Caligari" and "Casablanca."
In 1948, U.S. President Truman signed the Marshall plan, which allocated $6 billion in overseas economic aid.
In 1949, Transjordan signed an armistice with the newly
founded state of Israel.
In 1950, Kurt Weill, German composer, died; best known for his
"Threepenny Opera" and for his collaboration with actress and
singer Lotte Lenya, whom he married in 1926.
In 1975, Russia's Anatoly Karpov was proclaimed world chess
champion after American Bobby Fischer refused to defend his
title.
In 1982 - The U.N. Security Council voted 10-1 in favor of
Resolution 502 demanding withdrawal of Argentine forces from the
Falkland Islands.
In 1986, Peter Pears, British operatic tenor, died. He was a
collaborator with composer Benjamin Britten and first
interpreter of many of Britten's works, notably "Peter
Grimes."
In 1991, British novelist Graham Greene died aged 86 in
Switzerland.
In 1991, the Security Council approved a Gulf cease-fire
resolution stripping Iraq of weapons of mass destruction,
impounding part of its oil revenues to pay reparations and
paving the way for the withdrawal of U.S. occupation troops.
In 1994, minority Croats in Sarajevo celebrated the Bosnian
capital's first Easter at peace since 1991, cramming into the
main Roman Catholic cathedral to pray for the new calm to last.
In 1996, a plane carrying U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown
crashed in Croatia, killing all 29 passengers and six crew members aboard.
In 1997, Zaki Badr, an Egyptian interior minister who won
notoriety in the late 1980s for his blunt speech and brutal
approach to the Islamist opposition, died.
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Newslink
The traditional art of Japanese paper-folding is as complicated as it is beautiful. Try your hand at origami.
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Holidays and more
Actor Alec Baldwin ("Mercury Rising") is 40.
Actor Marlon Brando ("The Godfather") is 74.
Actress Doris Day ("The Doris Day Show") is 74.
German Chancellor Helmut Kohl is 68.
Actress Marsha Mason ("The Goodbye Girl") is 56.
Comedian Eddie Murphy ("The Nutty Professor") is 37.
Singer Wayne Newton ("Danke Schoen") is 56.
Singer Tony Orlando ("Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree") is 54.
Actor David Hyde Pierce ("Frasier") is 39.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1998, J.P. Morgan
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