Thursday, May 15, 1997
Today's events
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The U.S. Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to
launch on a mission to the Russian Mir space station.
Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop is scheduled to kick off a new
initiative against obesity. He is expected to also announce the results
of a landmark survey on diet and obesity.
Today is the deadline for public debate on the Russian-Belarussian union charter.
Chairman and Chief Executive of News Corp Ltd. Rupert Murdoch
is scheduled to deliver a speech on "Mass Communication in the
21 Century" on the final day of the International
Federation of the Periodical Press World Congress in Tokyo.
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On the horizon
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On Friday, May 16, Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari follows up a visit to
South Africa with a stop in Tanzania.
On Saturday, May 17, Hong Kong's governor is scheduled to visit London to
brief Britain's Labour government on the pre-handover situation.
On Sunday, May 18, the Hong Kong pro-democracy and pro-dissident movement
stages a kite-flying event in remembrance of the crushed Chinese
pro-democracy movement.
On Monday, May 19, Attorney General Janet Reno is scheduled to deliver the
commencement address at Boston College.
On Tuesday, May 20, the National Football League spring meeting is scheduled to be held
in San Diego.
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On this day
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In 1004, Henry II, the last Saxon ruler of Germany, was
crowned king of Lombardy following the defeat of Arduin of
Ivrea. The city of Pavia rioted at the news.
In 1567, Mary, Queen of Scots married James Hepburn, Earl of
Bothwell, at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh just three months
after the death of her former husband King Henry who was
assassinated.
In 1718, James Puckle, a London lawyer, patented the world's
first machine gun.
In 1800, King George III survived a second assassination
attempt when James Hadfield fired a shot during a performance at
the Drury Lane Theater, London.
In 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi with 1,000 volunteers
heavily defeated the superior Neapolitan army under General
Landi at the Battle of Calatafimi.
In 1916, in Italy, Asiago fell when Austrian troops under von
Hotzendorf attacked the Italian front along the Trentino.
In 1918, the world's first airmail postal service began
between New York, Philadelphia and Washington, using planes
supplied by the U.S. War Department.
In 1934, Karlis Ulmanis seized dictatorial power in a coup
d'etat in Latvia.
In 1936, Amy Johnson arrived in Croydon, England, after a
record-breaking return flight from South Africa taking just four
days and 16 hours.
In 1940, nylon stockings went on sale for the first time in
the United States.
In 1940, the Dutch army surrendered to Nazi Germany.
In 1941, Britain's first jet-propelled aircraft, the
Gloster-Whittle E.28/39, flew for the first time.
In 1955, the Vienna Treaty, signed by Britain, France, the
United States and the USSR, restored Austria's independence.
In 1957, Britain dropped its first hydrogen bomb on Christmas
Island in the Pacific.
In 1972, Alabama Gov. George Wallace was shot and crippled
in an assassination attempt as he campaigned in Maryland for the
U.S. presidency.
In 1988, Moscow began the withdrawal of its estimated 115,000
troops in Afghanistan by pulling a unit out of Jalalabad.
In 1990, "Portrait of Doctor Gachet" by Vincent Van Gogh
sold for $82.5 million at Christies in New York smashing the
world record of $53.9 million.
In 1992, Opposition Popular Front forces in Azerbaijan swept
President Ayaz Mutalibov from power only a day after parliament
reinstated him.
In 1993, French police rescued six schoolgirls and a teacher
after a 46-hour hostage drama at a Paris suburban school.
In 1995, China conducted an underground nuclear test just days
after it had agreed to an extension of the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty.
In 1996, right-wing leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee became India's
first Hindu nationalist prime minister after his Bharatiya
Janata Party emerged as the largest single party in a hung
parliament.
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Newslink
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Want to know where new diseases throughout the world are emerging? For the latest information, click here.
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Holidays and more
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Today is Buddha Jayanti in Nepal.
It's Independence Day in Paraguay.
Today is St. Isidro Day in Spain.
Singer Anna Marie Alberghetti is 61.
Former baseball player George Brett is 44.
Filmmaker David Cronenberg is 54.
Actor Lee Horsley is 42.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan
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