CNN Interactive - Almanac

-- Jack Thompson, sheriff of Cherokee County, North Carolina, discussing the search in the Appalachian Mountains for Eric Rudolph, wanted in connection with a January woman's clinic bombing in Alabama

A hearing will be held in White Plains, New York, for John A. "Junior" Gotti, 34. He's accused of robbery, extortion, loan-sharking, gambling and fraud.
Descendants of the U.S. Colored Troops and Sailors organization arrive in Washington for three days of events around the unveiling of the African-American Civil War Memorial.

On Thursday, July 16, Syrian President Hafez Assad visits France.
On Friday, July 17, U.S. President Bill Clinton is tentatively scheduled to visit Little Rock, Arkansas.
On Saturday, July 18, the official ceremony to unveil the African-American Civil War Memorial is to be held in Washington.
On Sunday, July 19, the 1998 Goodwill Games begin in New York.
On Monday, July 20, Burundi peace talks are scheduled to resume to Tanzania.

NEWSLINK:		NOTABLE:
It happened on this day in 1869. Margarine, that marvel of food science, was patented in France. Learn all about the butter substitute with Margarine on the Web.		Actor Willie Aames ("Eight Is Enough") is 38. Model Kim Alexis is 38. Actress Lolita Davidovitch ("Cobb") is 37. Former football player and actor Alex Karras ("Webster") is 63. Actor Ken Kercheval ("Dallas") is 63. Singer Linda Ronstadt ("Heart Like a Wheel") is 52. Actor Jan-Michael Vincent ("The Winds of War") is 54. Actor and director Forest Whitaker ("Phenomenon") is 37.

In 1857, during the Indian Mutiny, a massacre took place at Cawnpore, a frontier station. British troops and families were killed and their bodies thrown into a well.
In 1869, margarine was patented in France by Hippolyte Mege Mouries.
In 1881, William Bonney, known as "Billy The Kid," was shot dead by Sheriff Pat Garrett in New Mexico while trying to escape. Doubts surfaced about the identity of the person shot, and one story has it the real outlaw changed his name to Bushy Bill Roberts and survived until 1950.
In 1918, the second Battle of the Marne started when Gen. Ludendorff launched an all-out offensive in a last-ditch attempt to overwhelm the allies.
In 1945, Muroran, a steel center in Japan, was shelled by the U.S. Third Fleet in the closing stages of World War II.
In 1953, John Christie, murderer of at least six women at Ten Rillington Place in London, was hanged.
In 1960, France agreed to grant independence to Gabon.
In 1964, Anastas Mikoyan succeeded Leonid Brezhnev as president of the Soviet Union.
In 1965, the Mariner IV spacecraft launched in November 1964 sent back the first close-up pictures of Mars.
In 1968, the first direct air services between the United States and the Soviet Union began between New York and Moscow, operated by Aeroflot and Pan American.
In 1974, in Cyprus, President Makarios was overthrown in a coup led by Greek officers in the National Guard. Nikos Sampson, a former EOKA leader, was appointed president.
In 1983, six people died and 48 were injured when Armenian terrorists bombed a Turkish Airlines desk at Orly Airport in Paris.
In 1991, Western troops completed their pullout from Kurdish refugee havens in northern Iraq.
In 1994, European Union leaders picked Luxembourg Prime Minister Jacques Santer to head the European Commission, replacing Jacques Delors.
In 1997, Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace was shot and killed outside his mansion in Miami Beach.