| Friday, August 11, 2006 |
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King Hussein of Jordan Source |
Spotlight: Hussein ibn Talal was proclaimed king of Jordan after his father had been declared mentally unfit, on this date in 1952. He was 16 years old. Hussein took the throne after his grandfather, Abdullah I, modern Jordan's first king, was assassinated by a Palestinian extremist during a visit to Jerusalem. Hussein fostered a moderate pro-Western policy in his kingdom. In 1994, under his reign, a peace treaty was signed between Jordan and Israel, declaring a state of non-belligerency. King Hussein died in 1999 of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Quote: "I have a simple philosophy about life and death. How easily it comes and how easily it can end! What man can afford to waste time? ...The only thing that matters is the work that one has accomplished." Today's News:
- code-red alert: for US passengers to UK; long lines at airports (story); see list of items banned from British planes
- China: hit by strongest typhoon in 50 years (story)
- postpartum depression: can strike fathers as well (story)
Google Book Search : will scan University of California books (story)- Kate Moss: supermodel is back and bigger than ever (story)
Today's History:
- Alcatraz: island prison in San Francisco Bay received its first civilian inmates (1934)
- Watts riots: civil disturbances in Los Angeles left 34 dead (1965)
- Mall of America: opened in Bloomington, Minnesota — largest in the US, most visited in the world (1992)
Today's Birthdays:
- Alex Haley: author of Roots (1921-1992)
- Jerry Falwell: Moral Majority founder (73)
- Steve Wozniak: cofounder of Apple Computers (56)
- Carolyn Murphy: Sports Illustrated 2005 swimsuit issue cover girl (31)
