Friday, May 22, 1998
Today's events
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Voter referendums on the Northern Ireland peace agreement will be held in Belfast and Dublin.
The EXPO '98 World Fair opens in Lisbon, Portugal.
U.S. President Bill Clinton is scheduled to address the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
DisneylandÕs new Tomorrowland debuts in Anaheim, California.
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On the horizon
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On Saturday, May 23, Pope John Paul II visits Turin.
On Sunday, May 24, the Indianapolis 500 will be held.
Monday, May 25, is Memorial Day in the United States.
On Tuesday, May 26, a trial will be held for members of the Montana Freemen.
On Wednesday, May 27, Michael Fortier will be sentenced for his role in the April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City bombing.
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On this day
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In 1455, the opening battle in England's 30-year War of the Roses took place at St. Albans, when the Lancastrians defeated the Yorkists.
In 1629, the Peace of Luebeck was signed, ending hostilities between the Holy Roman Empire and Denmark.
In 1761, the first life insurance policy in the United States was issued, in Philadelphia.
In 1897, the Blackwall Tunnel under the River Thames was opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
In 1908, in the U.S. the Wright Brothers patented their flying machine.
In 1915, the worst train disaster in Britain took place when a troop train collided with a passenger train at Gretna Green, Scotland, killing 227.
In 1939, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini signed a "Pact of Steel" committing Germany and Italy to a military alliance.
In 1943, the Third Communist International, known as COMINTERM, was dissolved by the Soviet Union in a gesture to the West.
In 1945, U.S. troops captured Yonabaro on Okinawa island, Japan.
In 1967, fire at the Brussels department store "L'Innovation" killed more than 320 people.
In 1969, the Apollo 10 lunar module Snoopy came within 9.4 miles of the moon's surface.
In 1972, President Nixon arrived in Moscow on a week's visit -- the first U.S. president to visit the Soviet Union.
In 1972, Ceylon became a republic within the Commonwealth under the name of Sri Lanka.
In 1979, in Canada, the 11-year premiership of Pierre Trudeau ended when the Liberal Party were defeated in a general election by the Progressive Conservative Party led by Joe Clark.
In 1981, in Britain, Peter Sutcliffe (the Yorkshire Ripper) was jailed for life after being convicted of 13 counts of murder.
In 1989, Soviet authorities announced curbs on the number of staff at the British embassy and other institutions in Moscow, from 375 to 205.
In 1990, former Marxist South Yemen and conservative North Yemen merged into one state.
In 1994, Rwandan rebels seized the key government army barracks in Kigali, removing the biggest obstacle in their drive to capture the capital.
In 1996, Japan settled lawsuits which brought to an end the mercury poisoning case called Minamata, named after the village where hundreds died between 1953-60 by eating mercury-tainted seafood.
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Newslink
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The 1998 World's Fair opens today in Lisbon, Portugal. Take a virtual tour here.
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Notable
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Actor Richard Benjamin ("Goodbye Columbus") is 60.
Model Naomi Campbell is 28.
Actor Frank Converse ("Movin' On") is 60.
Actress Barbara Parkins ("Peyton Place") is 55.
Actor Michael Sarrazin ("The Flim Flam Man") is 58.
Actress Susan Strasberg ("The Marriage") is 60.
Actor Paul Winfield ("Presumed Innocent") is 58.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1998, J.P. Morgan
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