On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 1999, the world population was approximately 6,089,006,339 people[†]
1999Tom Hartley, English cricketer[†]
Tom William Hartley is an English cricketer who plays for Lancashire and the England national team. In 2024, on his Test Cricket debut against India he took nine wickets, two in the first innings, seven in the second.
1999Ella Langley, American singer-songwriter[†]
Elizabeth Camille Langley, known professionally as Ella Langley, is an American country music singer-songwriter from Hope Hull, Alabama signed to Sony Music Nashville and Columbia Records. Her debut album Hungover was released on August 2, 2024. This album includes her breakthrough number-one hit "You Look Like You Love Me" with Riley Green.
1999Joe Adcock, American baseball player and manager (born 1927)[†]
Joseph Wilbur Adcock was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1950 to 1966, most prominently as a member of the Milwaukee Braves teams that won two consecutive National League pennants and the 1957 World Series.
1999Steve Chiasson, Canadian-American ice hockey player (born 1967)[†]
Steven Joseph Chiasson was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman with the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings, Calgary Flames, Hartford Whalers and Carolina Hurricanes.
1999Godfrey Evans, English cricketer (born 1920)[†]
Thomas Godfrey Evans was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England. Described by Wisden as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test match appearances between 1946 and 1959 and a total of 1066 in all first-class matches. En route he was the first wicket keeper to reach 200 Test dismissals and the first Englishman to reach both 1000 runs and 100 dismissals and 2000 runs and 200 dismissals in Test cricket. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1951.
1999The southwestern portion of Oklahoma City is devastated by an F5 tornado, killing forty-five people, injuring 665, and causing $1 billion in damage. The tornado is one of 66 from the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. This tornado also produces the highest wind speed ever recorded, measured at 484 ± 32 kilometres per hour (301 ± 20 mph). In meteorology, the term "May 3" is synonymous with the F5 tornado.[†]
Oklahoma City, officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, its population ranks 20th among United States cities and 8th in the Southern United States. The population grew following the 2010 Census and reached 681,054 in the 2020 United States census. The Oklahoma City metropolitan area had a population of 1,396,445, and the Oklahoma City–Shawnee Combined Statistical Area had a population of 1,469,124, making it Oklahoma's largest municipality and metropolitan area by population.
1999Infiltration of Pakistani soldiers on Indian side results in the Kargil War.[†]
The Kargil War, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Ladakh, then part of the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referred to as Operation Vijay, which was the codename of the Indian military operation in the region. The Indian Air Force acted jointly with the Indian Army to flush out the Pakistan Army and paramilitary troops from vacated Indian positions along the LoC, in what was designated as Operation Safed Sagar.
Pittsburgh Penguins defeat New Jersey Devils, 3-2, to tie NHL opening round playoff series, 3-3; photo (M)
Ensemble Studio Theater's marathon of new one-act plays begins May 5; photo; Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium starts May 5 in Brussels; more than 2,100 contemporary artists from 200 galleries representing 24 countries and 20 American cities go on display in Art 1999 Chicago at Navy Pier; Cleveland Orchestra makes its only New York appearance on May 5, led by Pierre Boulez; photos (M)
Article on New York State Gov George E Pataki embarking on campaign to establish himself as leading national influence on his party, shaping Republican Party's platform and earning consideration as top-tier candidate for national office; three months after Pataki began offering his views of world beyond Albany with series of speeches throughout country, Republican politicians and strategists say he remains largely New York State figure, respected for his accomplishments in that state but still not considered among leading forces in his party (M)
John Tierney The Big City column describes his being selected juror for minor drug case in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan; discusses moral dilemma involved in deciding guilt or innocence in case in which severity of minimum sentence in drug cases in state clearly outweighs relatively minor offense (M)
Women, who are traditionally expected to veil faces and sumbit to male elders in India, are challenging centuries-old feudal hierarchies in epic social experiment being played out in more than 500,000 northern villages, special Report, A Woman's Place; almost million women have been elected to village governing councils since India adopted constitutional amendment in 1993 that sets aside third of all council seats and village chiefs' positions for women, and percentage of them for women from lowest rungs of caste system; even though third of new women council members are just rubber stamps for husbands, two-thirds are engaged in learning ropes and exercising power; photos; map (L)
Pat Kingsley, founder of PMK agency, ranks as doyenne of Hollywood publicity and extraordinarily potent force in movie industry; manipulates and cajoles magazine editors and television executives, and often demands outright that for profiles of her clients they use preferred interviewers as well as glossy photographers; Tom Goldstein, dean of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, says Kinglsey has changed rules, and not to benefit of journalism as field and consumers of journalism; says favorable coverage seems to be traded; photo (M)
Anna Kisselgoff reviews first full-evening production of Swan Lake at New York City Ballet; photo (M)
State regulators move to curb marketing pitches of nonprofit organizations, which took in half-billion dollars in 1998 by lending names to endorsements of medical devices and health-related products; fueling concern are decisions by respected charities, such as American Heart Assn and American Cancer Society, to lend names for logos and ads for drugs and medical devices; regulators fear public may mistakenly assume that organizations, as experts in given diseases, are backing certain products over others; want them to provide more disclosure, and for ads to state whether they are being paid for use of names and whether arrangements are exclusive; charities say joint campaigns get message out to more people than companies could do on their own; photos (M)
Arrest in London Bombings A British engineer was charged in three bombing attacks aimed at minority group members, and two victims were identified. Page A3. Last Victim Found in Lake Divers found the 13th victim of a tourist boat accident on a lake in Hot Springs, Ark., while investigators struggled to determine why the craft sank. Page A16.
Year 2000 problem gives new life to debate about whether computer programmers should be required to obtain professional certification; it could become legal as well as ethical question if, as expected, computer problems lead to widespread lawsuits; just how much programmers and their managers should be faulted for Y2K is one of questions being raised about profession that usually labors in obscurity but plays increasingly vital role in society; Paul A Strassmann, former chief information officer for Defense Dept and Xerox Corp, says there will no longer be unconstrained trust in what information technologists can deliver; some experts disagree, saying millennium bug is testament to how well programmers did their job, writing software that has lasted far longer than anticipated; photo (M)
Campaign to elect president of Patrolmen's Benevolent Assn is revealing deep divisions within leadership of union that has long served as defender of New York City police officers, even as many officers look to organization for help in reviving force's flagging morale; dissension is apparently widespread, from vitriol of stump speeches to gaping disagreements among candidates about how union should deal with Police Dept and public; in station house appearances and campaign attack advertisements, four candidates often degrade each other with relish of professional politicians, and two have even sued union; incumbent president James Savage, who took office in December, is facing tough opposition from union's recording secretary James Higgins, Manhattan North trustee Edward Mahoney and Brooklyn delegate Patrick Lynch; has until May 21 to convince membership that recent initiatives on his part are evidence of strong hand that will steer union away from rocks; impetus for reform stems in part from two-year-old Federal investigation that has produced no indictments but led to page after page of unfavorable publicity; though investigation appears dormant, three of union's lawyers were convicted in 1998 of racketeering in kickback scheme involving different police union; photos (M)
The Hollywood Reporter seeks to surpass Daily Variety as most influential trade paper for Hollywood's film and television industry; Variety has dominated daily agenda of industry for years, but competition has intensified since Hollywood Reporter handed over top editor's job to Anita M Busch, aggressive former top reporter at Variety; Peter Bart, Variety's editor in chief, discounts importance of Hollywood Reporter's recent exclusives; it is too early to assess impact of Busch on circulation or advertising; constituency for trade papers say she has already sharpened the competition by nature of her reputation and personality; photos (M)