Wednesday, July 9, 1997
Ecuadorian President Fabian Alarcon meets Colombian President
Ernesto Samper on their border to discuss strained bilateral
On the horizon
On Thursday, July 10, the International Congress on
Environmental Law opens at the
University of Chile in Santiago.
On Friday, July 11, President Bill Clinton is scheduled to
make the first U.S. presidential
visit to Romania in 20 years.
On Saturday, July 12, the Orange Order is scheduled to march
across Northern Ireland to
commemorate victory in Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
On Sunday, July 13, the Great Circus Parade is scheduled in
On Monday, July 14, a U.N. war crimes tribunal sentences
Bosnian Serb Dusan Tadic who was convicted of war crimes in May.
On this day
In 1386, in the Swiss-Swabian wars, Leopold III and his
6,000-strong Austrian army was defeated by a force of only
1,600 Swiss pikemen at the battle of Sempach in a display of
In 1441, Jan van Eyck, Flemish artist who was famous for his
painting of the altarpiece in the cathedral in Ghent, died.
In 1686, League of Augsburg was formed with the alliance of
the Holy Roman Emperor, Spain, Sweden and Saxony against the
French king Louis XIV.
In 1755, in the Seven Years War, a force of British and
Virginians under General Braddock were heavily defeated by a
combined French and Indian attack at the Monogahela River
near Fort Duquesne. Braddock himself died in the battle.
In 1810, Holland was annexed by Napoleon after Louis
Napoleon, his brother, abdicated from the throne.
In 1816, Argentina's independence from Spain was declared at
the Congress of Tucuman.
In 1850, Zachary Taylor, U.S. soldier famous for his battles
against the Mexicans, died. He was 12th U.S. President
In 1877, the first Wimbledon tennis championships were held.
In 1879, Italian modernist composer Ottorino Respighi, was
born; he was best known for his songs and descriptive
symphonic works "Pini di Roma" and "Fontane di Roma."
In 1915, in World War One, South African forces under Louis
Botha forced the surrender of German forces in South West
In 1916, Edward Heath, British politician and statesman, was
born; he was prime minister from 1970-74 and took Britain
into the then European Economic Community.
In 1922, Johnny Weissmuller, swimmer and later film actor
playing "Tarzan," became the first man to swim 100 meters in
under a minute when he clocked 58.6 seconds on this day.
In 1932, King Camp Gillette, U.S. inventor and manufacturer
of the safety razor, died.
In 1944, after fierce bombing raids and a month of fighting,
the British and the Canadians finally captured most of the
town of Caen in France.
In 1960, in a speech, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev warned
the United States against intervention in Cuba and said
Soviet forces would support the Cuban people.
In 1990, leaders of the world's seven largest industrial
nations began an economic summit in Houston with a call by
U.S. President George Bush to create "a new world of
In 1993, British scientists using DNA genetic fingerprinting
tests, identified the bones of the Russian Tsar Nicholas II
and members of his family.
In 1996, thousands of flag-waving children gave Nelson
Mandela a hero's welcome to Britain, cheering and chanting
his name as the South African president's state visit was
launched in a blaze of royal pomp and ceremony.
In 1996, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his
first visit to Washington to outline his views linking peace
in the Middle East to Israel's security needs.
Four years ago, DNA testing finally identified the bones of
the last Russian emperor. For a look into the life of Tsar
Nicholas II, click here.
Holidays and more
Today is Independence Day in Argentina.
It's Youth Day in Morocco.
Actor Brian Dennehy is 59.
Actor James Hampton is 61.
Actor Tom Hanks is 41.
Actress Kelly McGillis is 40.
Actor Richard Roundtree is 55.
Actor Fred Savage is 21.
Former football star O.J. Simpson is 50.
Actor Jimmy Smits is 39.
Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan