Sunday, March 29, 1998
Today's events
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A concert kicks off weeklong events marking the 30th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee.
The University of Tennessee women's basketball team seeks its third straight national title against Louisiana Tech.
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On the horizon
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On Monday, March 30, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether discrimination against HIV-positive people violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
On Tuesday, March 31, Major League Baseball season opens.
Wednesday, April 1, is April Fool's Day.
On Thursday, April 2, the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland opens a new exhibit -- the "Ultimate Jukebox."
On Friday, April 3, People Against Racism is to hold its first annual conference on the elimination of what it deems racist mascots.
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On this day
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In 1461, the bloodiest battle of the English Wars of the Roses took place at Towton, near York. Some 36,000 Yorkists defeated 40,000 Lancastrians and secured the English throne for Yorkist Edward IV.
In 1788, Charles Wesley, writer of more than 5,500 hymns and, with his brother John, the founder of Methodism, died.
In 1790, John Tyler, the first U.S. vice president to succeed to the presidency, born. He became 10th president on the death of incumbent William Henry Harrison.
In 1792, Gustav III of Sweden died a few days after being shot by conspirators at the Stockholm opera house. Giuseppe Verdi based his opera "Un Ballo in Maschera" on the incident.
In 1798, the Helvetic Republic, a government set up by the French directory in Switzerland from the ten Cantons, was proclaimed.
In 1809, in Sweden, Gustavus IV was forced to abdicate after a number of military defeats against Denmark. He was succeeded by Charles XIII.
In 1867, the British North America Act established the Dominion of Canada comprising Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
In 1871, in London, Queen Victoria opened the Royal Albert Hall in memory of her late consort Prince Albert.
In 1879, "Evgeny Onegin," or "Eugene Onegin," best known opera by Russian composer Tchaikovsky, received its first performance at the Maliy Theater in Moscow.
In 1891, Georges Seurat, French impressionist painter, died. He was primarily responsible for the development of Pointillism, where the whole picture is made up of tiny rectangles of pure color.
In 1899, Lavrenti Pavlovich Beria, chief of the Soviet secret police, born. His attempt to seize power after Stalin's death in 1953 was foiled and he was executed just months later.
In 1901, the first elections in Australia started when Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia voted for members of the first Australian parliament.
In 1912, English Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott died as his expedition attempted to return after reaching the South Pole.
In 1936, Nazi propaganda claimed that 99 percent of the German population voted for official Nazi candidates in elections.
In 1959, Barthelemy Boganda, first president of the Central African Republic, was killed in a plane crash.
In 1961, the U.S. constitution was amended to give residents of the District of Columbia the right to vote in presidential elections.
In 1963, Britain granted the right to any territory to secede from the Central African Federation.
In 1974, the first close-up pictures of the planet Mercury were taken by the U.S. spacecraft Mariner 10.
In 1980, Annunzio Paolo Mantovani, Anglo-Italian conductor and arranger, died. Created the "Mantovani sound" that made him a highly successful recording artist and concert attraction.
In 1982, Carl Orff, German composer of the famed "Carmina Burana," died.
In 1987, a referendum in Haiti showed overwhelming support for a new constitution.
In 1992, Paul Henreid, suave Austrian-born actor of stage and screen who played alongside Bogart and Bergman in "Casablanca," died.
In 1994, Guatemala's government and leftist rebels signed a breakthrough human rights accord that boosted hopes of ending 33 years of civil war.
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Newslink
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The city of Memphis, Tennessee, begins a painful pilgrimage into its past today, remembering the final days of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the most influential champion of civil rights slain here 30 years ago this week. For more, visit Pilgrimage to Memphis.
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Holidays and more
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Central African Republic marks the 39th anniversary of President Barthelemy Boganda's death.
It's Icaka New Year in Indonesia.
NFL great Earl Campbell is 43.
Actor Bud Cort ("Harold and Maude") is 48.
Actor Eric Idle ("Monty Python's Flying Circus") is 55.
Former British Prime Minister John Major is 55.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1998, J.P. Morgan
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