April 20 » U.S. President William McKinley signed a joint resolution to Congress for declaration of war against Spain, beginning the Spanish–American War.
June 17 » The United States Navy Hospital Corps is established.
July 7 » US President William McKinley signs the Newlands Resolution annexing Hawaii as a territory of the United States.
August 25 » Seven hundred Greek civilians, 17 British guards and the British Consul of Crete are killed by a Turkish mob in Heraklion, Greece.
October 14 » The steam ship SSMohegan sinks near the Lizard peninsula, Cornwall, killing 106.
October 18 » The United States takes possession of Puerto Rico from Spain.
Christening day July 31, 1898
The temperature on July 31, 1898 was about 15.5 °C. The airpressure was 77 cm mercury. The atmospheric humidity was 77%. Source: KNMI
February 23 » Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing J'Accuse…!, a letter accusing the French government of antisemitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus.
July 3 » A Spanish squadron, led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, is defeated by an American squadron under William T. Sampson in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.
July 8 » The death of crime boss Soapy Smith, killed in the Shootout on Juneau Wharf, releases Skagway, Alaska from his iron grip.
August 24 » Count Muravyov, Foreign Minister of Russia presents a rescript that convoked the First Hague Peace Conference.
October 18 » The United States takes possession of Puerto Rico from Spain.
December 18 » Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat sets the first officially recognized land speed record of 39.245mph (63.159km/h) in a Jeantaud electric car.
Day of death May 15, 1980
The temperature on May 15, 1980 was between 5.5 °C and 18.7 °C and averaged 12.7 °C. There was 14.6 hours of sunshine (93%). The partly clouded was. The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the northeast. Source: KNMI
In The Netherlands , there was from Monday, December 19, 1977 to Friday, September 11, 1981 the cabinet Van Agt I, with Mr. A.A.M. van Agt (CDA/KVP) as prime minister.
February 23 » Iran hostage crisis: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.
March 14 » LOT Flight 7 crashes during final approach near Warsaw, Poland, killing 87 people, including a 14-man American boxing team.
March 18 » A Vostok-2M rocket at Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 43 explodes during a fueling operation, killing 48 people.
October 29 » Demonstration flight of a secretly modified C-130 for an Iran hostage crisis rescue attempt ends in crash landing at Eglin Air Force Base's Duke Field, Florida leading to cancellation of Operation Credible Sport.
November 20 » Lake Peigneur drains into an underlying salt deposit. A misplaced Texaco oil probe had been drilled into the Diamond Crystal Salt Mine, causing water to flow down into the mine, eroding the edges of the hole.
November 23 » The 6.9 Mw Irpinia earthquake shakes southern Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 2,483–4,900, and injuring 7,700–8,934.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Gert Esterhuizen, "Family tree Eric Esterhuizen", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-eric-esterhuizen/I13887.php : accessed January 23, 2026), "Sarel Petrus PRETORIUS (1898-1980)".
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