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From: Mary Minnich< >
Subject: [FOLKLORE] Today in History - Jan. 1st
Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2000 07:05:48 -0500


Today is Saturday, January first, the first day of 2000.
There are 365 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:
On January first, 1863, President Lincoln signed the Emancipation
Proclamation, declaring that slaves in rebel states were free.

On this date:
In 1892, the Ellis Island Immigrant Station in New York formally
opened.

In 1898, Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island were
consolidated into New York City.

In 1901, the Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed.

In 1953, country singer Hank Williams Senior, 29, died of a drug and
alcohol overdose while en route to a concert date in Canton, Ohio.

In 1958, treaties establishing the European Economic Community went
into effect.

In 1959, Fidel Castro led Cuban revolutionaries to victory over
Fulgencio Batista.

In 1979, the United States and China held celebrations in Washington
and Beijing to mark the establishment of diplomatic relations between
the two countries.

In 1984, the break-up of AT&T took place as the telecommunications
giant was divested of its 22 Bell System companies under terms of an
antitrust agreement.

In 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two new countries, the
Czech Republic and Slovakia.

In 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect.

Ten years ago: David Dinkins was sworn in as New York City's first
black mayor.

Five years ago: A cease-fire supposed to last four months began in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Sweden, Finland and Austria joined the European
Union. Fernando Henrique Cardoso took office as Brazil's 37th
president.

One year ago: The euro, the new single currency of eleven European
countries, officially came into existence with the start of the New
Year. Cuban President Fidel Castro, marking the 40th anniversary of
his rise to power, portrayed his socialist nation as a defender of
humanity against rapacious capitalism.

Today's Birthdays:
Author J.D. Salinger is 81.
Senator Ernest Hollings (Democrat, South Carolina) is 78.
Actor Frank Langella is 60.
Rock singer-musician Country Joe McDonald is 58.
Writer-comedian Don Novello is 57.
Country singer Steve Ripley (The Tractors) is 50.
Rapper Grandmaster Flash is 42.
Actress Ren Woods is 42.
Actress Dedee Pfeiffer is 36.
Actor Verne Troyer ("Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me") is 31.
Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson ("Boogie Nights"; "Magnolia") is
30.

Thought for Today:

"To most of us the future seems unsure. But then it always has been;
and we who have seen great changes must have great hopes."
-- John Masefield, English poet (1878-1967).




TODAY IN HISTORY ARCHIVES: JAN - JUN | JULY - DEC

(Copyright 1999 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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