1998

Today in History 11/13 (Vietnam Veterans Memorial)

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An Army veteran stops to salute his fallen comrades on Memorial Day at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, in 2015 (© J. David Ake/AP )(1982) Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, DC
Thousands of Vietnam War veterans march to the site and contemplate a wall of black granite sunk into the ground and etched with names of the more than 58,000 of their comrades killed in the war. Maya Lin’s stark design will prove controversial, but ‘The Wall’ will have a lasting impact.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a 2-acre U.S. national memorial in Washington D.C. It honors service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War, service members who died in service in Vietnam/South East Asia, and those service members who were unaccounted for during the war.
Website: www.nps.gov/vive
Address: 5 Henry Bacon Dr NW, Washington, DC 20050
Phone: (202) 426-6841
Established: Nov 13, 1982
Area: 86,111 sq feet
Annual visitors: 5.60 million (2015)

Names of Vietnam veterans at Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
One panel of ‘The Wall’, displaying some of the names of fallen U.S. service members from the Vietnam War.
wiki/Vietnam_Veterans_Memorial
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(1982) Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, DC.
Also on this day,

1956 | Bus segregation overturned as US Supreme Court rules racial segregation on buses illegal
In Browder v. Gayle, the Supreme Court strikes down Alabama laws requiring racial segregation on public buses. The high court rules these laws violate the 14h Amendment, which provides for equal protection under the law. The Montgomery Bus Boycott will end soon after the decision.
1974 | Union activist Karen Silkwood dies in suspicious car crash
Karen Silkwood, a technician at a Kerr-McGee nuclear facility in Crescent, Oklahoma, dies in a one-car crash on her way to meet a journalist to reportedly show him documents that reveal safety issues at the plant. The documents, however, will not be in the car when her body is found.
1998 | President Bill Clinton settles sexual harassment lawsuit
President Clinton agrees to pay Paula Jones, an ex-Arkansas state worker, $850,000 to drop her lawsuit claiming that he exposed himself to her in a hotel room in 1991. The settlement follows a series of appeals and denials that included an argument before the US Supreme Court.

Today in History 11/13/17

Paula Jones leaves a Little Rock, Arkansas, office after depositions in her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Bill Clinton in 1998 (© Reuters)(1998) President Bill Clinton settles sexual harassment lawsuit
President Clinton agrees to pay Paula Jones, an ex-Arkansas state worker, $850,000 to drop her lawsuit claiming that he exposed himself to her in a hotel room in 1991. The settlement follows a series of appeals and denials that included an argument before the US Supreme Court.
Paula Corbin Jones is a former Arkansas state employee who sued U.S. President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment. The Paula Jones case precipitated Clinton's impeachment in the House of Representatives and the subsequent acquittal by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Charges of perjury and obstruction of justice were brought against Clinton. Eventually, the court dismissed the Paula Jones harassment lawsuit, before trial, on the grounds that Jones failed to demonstrate any damages. However, while the dismissal was on appeal, Clinton entered into an out-of-court settlement by agreeing to pay Jones $850,000.
Born: Sep 17, 1966 (age 51) · Lonoke, AR
Height: 5' 3" (1.59 m)
Spouse: Steven Mark McFadden (m. 2001) · Stephen Jones (m. 1991 - 1999)
Children: Preston Jones (Son) · Stephen Jones (Son)
Movies: The Hunting of the President · The Clinton Chronicles
Siblings: Charlotte Corbin Brown (Sister) · Lydia Corbin Cathey (Sister)
Highlights
  • 1991: Paula Jones married Stephen Jones on December 01, 1991; their marriage lasted 8 years till June 01, 1999.

  • 1994: Jones filed a sexual harassment suit against Clinton on May 6, 1994, two days before the three-year statute of limitations, and sought $750,000 in damages.

  • 1997: In December 1997, Jones reduced the damages sought in her suit against Clinton to $525,000 and agreed to remove Clinton's co-defendant and former bodyguard, Danny Ferguson, from the suit.

  • 1998: On April 2, 1998, before the case could reach trial, Judge Wright granted President Clinton's motion for dismissal, ruling that Jones could not show that she had suffered any damages.

  • 1999: The Paula Jones case precipitated Clinton's impeachment in the House of Representatives and the subsequent acquittal by the Senate on February 12, 1999.

  • 1999: In April 1999, Judge Wright found Clinton in civil contempt of court for misleading testimony in the Jones case.

wiki/Paula_Jones
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Today in History 01/26/18

President Bill Clinton denying improper behavior with Monica Lewinsky during a press conference on Jan. 26, 1998 (© Harry Hamburg/NY Daily News via Getty Images)(1998) Clinton “did not have sexual relations” with Lewinsky
Under fire from accusations he had an affair with a White House intern, President Bill Clinton issues a strong denial during a televised press conference. Just seven months later he will admit involvement.
Monica LewinskyThe Clinton–Lewinsky scandal was an American political sex scandal that involved 49-year-old President Bill Clinton and 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The sexual relationship took place between 1995 and 1997 and came to light in 1998. Clinton ended a televised speech with the statement that he “did not have sexual relations” with Lewinsky. Further investigation led to charges of perjury and to the impeachment of President Clinton in 1998 by the U.S. House of Representatives. He was subsequently acquitted on all impeachment charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in a 21-day Senate trial. Clinton was held in civil contempt of court by Judge Susan Webber Wright for giving misleading testimony in the Paula Jones case regarding Lewinsky and was also fined $90,000 by Wright. His license to practice law was suspended in Arkansas for five years; shortly thereafter, he was disbarred from presenting cases in front of the United States Supreme Court.
Date: Jan 17, 1998


Response to the Lewinsky Allegations (January 26, 1998) Bill Clinton
wiki/Lewinsky_scandal
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Today in History 12/19/17

President Clinton addresses Democratic lawmakers after the House of Representatives voted to impeach him, December 19, 1998 (© Doug Mills/AP)(1998) US President Bill Clinton is impeached
The House of Representatives votes to remove President Clinton from office over charges relating to his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Clinton is just the second US president to be impeached, following Andrew Johnson in 1868. The Senate, however, will vote to acquit Clinton, and he will finish out his second term in office.
The impeachment process of Bill Clinton was initiated by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998, against Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, on two charges, one of perjury and one of obstruction of justice. These charges stemmed from a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Clinton by Paula Jones. Clinton was subsequently acquitted of these charges by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Two other impeachment articles – a second perjury charge and a charge of abuse of power – failed in the House.
Start date: Dec 19, 1998
End date: Feb 12, 1999

Congressional Record
Congressional Record from February 12, 1999, showing the end of Clinton’s impeachment trial

wiki/Impeachment_of_Bill_Clinton
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Today in History 11/13/17

Paula Jones leaves a Little Rock, Arkansas, office after depositions in her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Bill Clinton in 1998 (© Reuters)(1998) President Bill Clinton settles sexual harassment lawsuit
President Clinton agrees to pay Paula Jones, an ex-Arkansas state worker, $850,000 to drop her lawsuit claiming that he exposed himself to her in a hotel room in 1991. The settlement follows a series of appeals and denials that included an argument before the US Supreme Court.
Paula Corbin Jones is a former Arkansas state employee who sued U.S. President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment. The Paula Jones case precipitated Clinton’s impeachment in the House of Representatives and the subsequent acquittal by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Charges of perjury and obstruction of justice were brought against Clinton. Eventually, the court dismissed the Paula Jones harassment lawsuit, before trial, on the grounds that Jones failed to demonstrate any damages. However, while the dismissal was on appeal, Clinton entered into an out-of-court settlement by agreeing to pay Jones $850,000.
Born: Sep 17, 1966 (age 51) · Lonoke, AR
Height: 5′ 3″ (1.59 m)
Spouse: Steven Mark McFadden (m. 2001) · Stephen Jones (m. 1991 – 1999)
Children: Preston Jones (Son) · Stephen Jones (Son)
Movies: The Hunting of the President · The Clinton Chronicles
Siblings: Charlotte Corbin Brown (Sister) · Lydia Corbin Cathey (Sister)
Highlights
  • 1991: Paula Jones married Stephen Jones on December 01, 1991; their marriage lasted 8 years till June 01, 1999.

  • 1994: Jones filed a sexual harassment suit against Clinton on May 6, 1994, two days before the three-year statute of limitations, and sought $750,000 in damages.

  • 1997: In December 1997, Jones reduced the damages sought in her suit against Clinton to $525,000 and agreed to remove Clinton’s co-defendant and former bodyguard, Danny Ferguson, from the suit.

  • 1998: On April 2, 1998, before the case could reach trial, Judge Wright granted President Clinton’s motion for dismissal, ruling that Jones could not show that she had suffered any damages.

  • 1999: The Paula Jones case precipitated Clinton’s impeachment in the House of Representatives and the subsequent acquittal by the Senate on February 12, 1999.

  • 1999: In April 1999, Judge Wright found Clinton in civil contempt of court for misleading testimony in the Jones case.

wiki/Paula_Jones
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Today in History 05/26/17

Execution of a woman accused of witchcraft in America, circa 1695 (© MPI/Getty Images)(1647) Alse Young is the first American executed for witchcraft
Forty-five years before the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials, the first American colonist accused of witchcraft, Alse Young, is executed in the town square of Hartford, Connecticut. More executions will follow, as witchcraft would remain a capital crime in Connecticut until 1750.
Alse Young of Windsor, Connecticut — sometimes Achsah Young or Alice Young — was the first recorded instance of execution for witchcraft in the thirteen American colonies. Very little is recorded of Alse Young; her existence is only known through her reputation as a witch. She is believed to have been the wife of John Young, who bought a small parcel of land in Windsor in 1641, sold it in 1649, and then disappeared from the town records. She had a daughter, Alice Young Beamon, who would be accused of witchcraft in nearby Springfield, Massachusetts, some 30 years later. Like many similar cases of witchcraft, Alse Young was a woman without a son when the accusation was lodged, which implied that she would be eligible to receive through inheritance her husband’s estate.
Born: 1600
Died: May 26, 1647 · Hartford, CT
Romance: John Young
Parents: Achsah Young (Father)
Children: Alice Beamon (Young) (Daughter)

wiki/Alse_Young
Bram Stoker, author of 'Dracula' (© Hulton Archive/Getty Images)(1897) Tale of a toothy Transylvanian arrives at booksellers
Irish author Bram Stoker’s novel of Gothic horror, ‘Dracula,’ is published in London. Readers are hooked by the bloodthirsty tale, and the story makes an ideal yarn for invasion literature fans, but the count’s allure will really take flight decades later with the advent of cinema.
Dracula is an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. It marks the initial appearance of the famous literary figure Count Dracula, establishing many modern notions of vampire lore. The novel tells the story of Dracula’s attempt to move from Transylvania to England so that he may find new blood and spread the undead curse, and of the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing.
Authors: Bram Stoker · Tim Wynne-Jones
First published: May 26, 1897
Number of pages: 239
Characters: Count Dracula · Abraham Van Helsing · Lucy Westenra · Jonathan Harker · Renfield · Quincey Morris · Dr. Joan Seward · Arthur Holmwood
Adaptations: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) · Dracula Untold (2014) · Dracula (1931) · Nosferatu (1922) · Horror of Dracula (1958) · Dracula 2000 (2000) · Dracula 3D (2012) · Dracula (1979) · Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) · Dracula (2006) · Count Dracula (1970) · Dracula’s Daughter (1936) · Count Dracula (1977) · Dracula · Blacula (1972)
Genres: Gothic fiction · Horror

wiki/Dracula
Evel Knievel attempts to straighten his front tire just before crashing on May 26, 1975 at Wembley Stadium in London. (© Express/Getty Images)(1975) Evel Knievel crashes at Wembley
Before a crowd of 70,000, daredevil Evel Knievel attempts to jump his motorcycle over 13 buses at London’s Wembley Stadium. As he lands, he’s thrown onto the concrete, sustaining multiple serious injuries. Hobbling back up onto the launch ramp, Knievel tells the crowd, ‘I will never, ever, ever jump again. I’m through.’ Six months later, he will indeed jump again.

Robert Craig “Evel” Knievel Jr. (October 17, 1938 – November 30, 2007) was an American stunt performer. Over the course of his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps; in 1974, he failed an attempted canyon jump across Snake River Canyon in the Skycycle X-2, a steam-powered rocket.

Knievel was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. He died of pulmonary disease in Clearwater, Florida in 2007, aged 69.

After the Snake River jump, Knievel returned to motorcycle jumping with ABC’s Wide World of Sports televising several jumps. On May 26, 1975, in front of 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium in London, Knievel crashed while trying to land a jump over 13 redundant single-deck AEC Merlin buses (the term “London Buses” used in earlier publicity had led to the belief that the attempt was to be made over the higher and more traditional AEC Routemaster double-decker type).

After the crash, despite breaking his pelvis, Knievel addressed the audience and announced his retirement by stating, “Ladies and gentlemen of this wonderful country, I’ve got to tell you that you are the last people in the world who will ever see me jump. Because I will never, ever, ever jump again. I’m through.” Near shock and not yielding to Frank Gifford’s (of ABC’s Wide World of Sports) plea to use a stretcher, Knievel walked off the Wembley pitch stating, “I came in walking, I went out walking!”


wiki/Eval_Kneavel
National Sorry Day in 2007 (© Jacky Ghossein/The Sydney Morning Herald/Fairfax Media/Getty Images)(1998) Australia holds its first National Sorry Day
Australia observes National Sorry Day, a remembrance of government wrongs committed towards indigenous peoples. Especially important is recognition of ‘The Stolen Generations’ policies that took Aboriginal children from their parents and adopted them out to white Australian families.
National Sorry Day is an annual event that has been held in Australia on 26 May, since 1998, to remember and commemorate the mistreatment of the country’s Indigenous population. During the 20th century, Australian governments’ policies resulted in a “Stolen Generation” – described by John Torpey as “Aboriginal children separated, often forcibly, from their families in the interest of turning them into white Australians”.
wiki/National_Sorry_Day
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