Monday, March 23, 1998
Today's events
Comedian Billy Crystal hosts the 70th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
U.S. President Bill Clinton is scheduled to arrive in Accra, Ghana on the first leg of his African tour.
Pope John Paul II celebrates an open-air Mass in Abuja, Nigeria, on the last day of his visit to the country.
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On the horizon
On Tuesday, March 24, the National Book Critics Circle Award winners are scheduled to be announced in New York.
On Wednesday, March 25, Judge Richard Matsch is scheduled to hold a hearing on sentencing guidelines in the Terry Nichols case.
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On this day
In 1324, Louis IV, emperor of Germany, was excommunicated by Pope John XXII.
In 1534, Pope Clement declared the marriage between Henry VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon was still valid. The marriage was dissolved in Britain the previous year and Henry had married Anne Boleyn.
In 1765, the British parliament passed the Stamp Act, imposing duties on the American colonies.
In 1775, speaking in favor of taking up arms against the British, Patrick Henry told the Virginia Convention "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
In 1801, Paul I, Czar of Russia, was assassinated and succeeded by Alexander I.
In 1849, after the Austrians had been victorious at Novara, Charles Albert of Sardinia abdicated in favor of Victor Emmanuel II.
In 1918, the giant German gun, "Big Bertha," shelled Paris from 75 miles away.
In 1919, Benito Mussolini founded his own party in Italy, the Fasci di Combattimento.
In 1925, Tennessee banned the teaching of evolution in schools. Teacher John Scopes ignored the ban and was prosecuted later in what became known as "The Monkey Trial."
In 1933, the German parliament passed the Enabling Bill, giving Adolf Hitler and the Nazis the dictatorial powers they had been seeking.
In 1956, under its new constitution Pakistan became an Islamic republic, with Maj. Gen. Iskander Mirza as first provisional president.
In 1966, the Archbishop of Canterbury met the Pope in Rome, the first meeting between the heads of the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches for 400 years.
In 1967, a military coup took place in Sierra Leone following disputed elections. On the same day in 1971, an attempt to oust the country's leader Siaka Stevens was thwarted.
In 1970, South Africa was banned from the Davis Cup tennis tournament because of its apartheid policies.
In 1971, Argentine President Roberto Levingston was deposed in a bloodless coup.
In 1981, British great train robber Ronald Biggs was taken into custody in Barbados after his abduction from Brazil.
In 1982, a military coup in Guatemala deposed the president and installed a junta led by Lt. Gen. Efrain Rios Montt.
In 1983, Dr. Barney Clark died 112 days after being the first person to receive an artificial heart.
In 1983, U.S. President Ronald Reagan announced plans for a new space-based defense system, later known as "Star Wars."
In 1994, Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexico's ruling party presidential candidate, was assassinated in the northern city of Tijuana.
In 1994, all 75 people on board a Russian Airbus were killed when the plane crashed in Siberia.
In 1996, Lee Teng-hui was sworn in as Taiwan's first democratically elected President.
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Newslink
It's that time again. The 70th Academy Awards will be presented tonight. If you can't make it to the Shrine Auditorium, the official Oscars Web site offers a complete list of past winners, and the background on this year's nominees.
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Holidays and more
Albania observes Nevruz Day
Colombia observes St. Joseph's Day
New Zealand celebrates Otago's Provincial Anniversary
Pakistan celebrates Pakistan Day
Physician and former British track star Roger Bannister is 69.
Singer Chaka Khan is 45.
Basketball player Jason Kidd is 25.
Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa is 88.
Former basketball player Moses Malone is is 44.
Actress Amanda Plummer is 41.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1998, J.P. Morgan
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