CNN logo
CNN nav bar
 
COMMUNITY 
Message Boards 
Chat 
Feedback 

SITE SOURCES 
Contents 
Help! 
Search 
CNN Networks 

SPECIALS 
Quick News 
Almanac 
Video Vault 
News Quiz 



Pathfinder/Warner Bros


Barnes and Noble



Almanac Main banner

Saturday, May 16, 1998

  • Today's Events
  • On Horizon
  • On This Day
  • Newslink
  • Notable
  • Almanac archive
  • "The master is gone but his voice will live forever."

    -- Singer Tony Bennett on Frank Sinatra





    Today's events


  • It's the running of the Preakness, the second in horseracing's Triple Crown.

  • rule


    On the horizon


  • On Sunday, May 17, the National Basketball Association draft lottery takes place.

  • On Monday, May 18, the Socialist International annual meeting will be held in Norway.

  • On Tuesday, May 19, the National Geography Bee finals will be held in Washington.

  • On Wednesday, May 20, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan will unveil a redesigned $20 bill.

  • On Thursday, May 21, the Sons of Italy Foundation will honor the late Frank Sinatra at its 10th annual gala.

  • rule


    On this day


  • In 1568, Mary, Queen of Scots, fled to England after her defeat at Langsides, Glasgow.

  • In 1703, Charles Perrault, French author and writer of children's fairy tales including "Sleeping Beauty" and "Little Red Riding Hood," died.

  • In 1763, Samuel Johnson, British writer and lexicographer, met his future biographer and traveling companion James Boswell for the first time in Tom Davie's bookshop in London.

  • In 1770, at Versailles, the French Dauphin (who would become Louis XVI) married Marie Antoinette, daughter of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.

  • In 1811, in the Peninsular War, the French under Marshal Nicolas Soult were held by an allied force of 46,000 at the battle of Albuhera.

  • In 1868, in the United States, the Senate voted on one count in the impeachment proceedings of President Andrew Johnson. The vote fell one short of the two-thirds majority needed to take action. On May 26, further charges similarly failed and he was acquitted.

  • In 1881, the first electric tram went into public service in Germany, near Berlin.

  • In 1888, Emile Berliner gave the first demonstration of flat disc recording and reproduction before the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

  • In 1929, in Hollywood, the first Academy Awards, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, went to actress Janet Gaynor and actor Emil Jannings. The best film was "Wings." The awards were named Oscars in 1931.

  • In 1943, in World War II, British Lancaster aircraft succeeded in bombing the Mohne and the Eder dams in Germany's industrial Ruhr basin using a bouncing bomb.

  • In 1963, U.S. astronaut Gordon Cooper in his Mercury-Atlas craft splashed down near Midway in the Pacific after orbiting the Earth 22 times in a mission lasting just over 34 hours -- the longest American space mission so far.

  • In 1967, French President Charles De Gaulle spoke of "formidable obstacles" in Britain's application to join the EEC, a virtual veto.

  • In 1969, the Russian spacecraft Venus 5 landed on the planet Venus.

  • In 1974, Helmut Schmidt was sworn in as new chancellor of West Germany, after the resignation of Willy Brandt.

  • In 1975, Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei became the first woman to climb Everest.

  • In 1986, the members of the military junta which lead Argentina to defeat in the 1982 Falklands war with Britain were sentenced to between eight and 14 years imprisonment and stripped of their rank. Former President Leopold Galtieri was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.

  • In 1989, a car bomb in Beirut killed the religious leader of Lebanon's Sunni Muslims, Sheikh Hassan Khaled, and at least 21 others. The Grand Mufti of the Republic was 68.

  • In 1989, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping met in Beijing in the first Sino-Soviet summit in 30 years, formally ending the feud between the two countries.

  • In 1990, Sammy Davis Jr, American entertainer, died of throat cancer.

  • In 1990, Jim Henson, the man who created the Muppets and took Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and an ever-complaining Oscar the Grouch to international stardom, died.

  • In 1990, Hungarian Prime Minister-designate Jozsef Antall named a center-right coalition Cabinet after 40 years of Communist rule.

  • In 1991, Queen Elizabeth, on a tour of the United States, became the first monarch to address Congress.

  • In 1993, Suleyman Demirel was sworn in as Turkey's ninth president, succeeding Turgut Ozal, who died on April 17.

  • In 1995, Lola Flores, fiery Spanish dancer and singer, died. She made many films but was best known for her flamenco movements and passionate songs.

  • In 1996, Romano Prodi, leader of the victorious Olive Tree alliance in the Italian elections, was asked to form the new government.

  • In 1997, Zaire President Mobutu Sese Seko left Kinshasa and said he was giving up executive powers but keeping the title of president.

  • In 1997, director Giuseppe De Santis, one of the fathers of postwar Italian cinema and perhaps best known for his 1949 film "Riso Amaro" (Bitter Rice), died.

  • rule


    Newslink


    Frank Sinatra -- singer, actor, legend -- had a lasting impact on millions around the world.


    rule


    Notable


  • It is Election Day in the Dominican Republic.

  • Filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci ("The Last Emperor") is 57.

  • Actor Erik Estrada ("CHiPS") is 49.

  • Actress Isabelle Huppert ("Violette") is 43.

  • Comedian Jerry Lewis is 73.

  • Actress Kate Nelligan ("Eye of the Needle") is 47.

  • rule


    Sources: Associated Press,
    Chase's Calendar of Events 1998, J.P. Morgan

    Message Boards Sound off on our
    message boards & chat


    Back to the top

    © 1998 Cable News Network, Inc.
    A Time Warner Company
    All Rights Reserved.

    Terms under which this service is provided to you.
    Read our privacy guidelines.