This Day in History (1974): Dhahran luncheon for a royal guest

From the April 10, 1974, edition of The Arabian Sun

HRH Amir Nayif ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, Saudi Arabia’s Vice Minister of the Interior, paid an official visit to the Eastern Province last week to inspect current projects being carried out by the municipalities of the area.

Touring al-Khobar, Damman, Saihat, Qatif, Tarut, Safwa, Rahimah, Jubail, and al-Hasa, His Royal Highness surveyed new construction and development schemes, noting their influence on the standard of public services.

On Wednesday, April 3, a luncheon at the Dhahran Dining Hall was given to honor the royal visitor.

The head table had among its dignitaries Shaykh Mohammed al-Fayiz, Deputy Minister for Labor, HH Amir ‘Abd al-Muhsin ibn Jiluwi, Amir of the Eastern Province, and Majed Elass, Aramco Vice President of Public Affairs.

Also on this date

2019 – Scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope project announce the first ever image of a black hole, which was located in the center of the M87 galaxy

1998 – The Good Friday Agreement is signed in Northern Ireland

1972 – Tombs containing bamboo slips, among them Sun Tzu's Art of War and Sun Bin's lost military treatise, are accidentally discovered by construction workers in Shandong

1970 – Paul McCartney announces that he is leaving The Beatles for personal and professional reasons

1925 – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is first published in New York City, by Charles Scribner's Sons

1916 – The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA) is created in New York City

1912 – RMS Titanic sets sail from Southampton, England on her maiden and only voyage

1896 – 1896 Summer Olympics: The Olympic marathon is run ending with the victory of Greek athlete Spyridon Louis

1875 – India: Arya Samaj is founded in Mumbai by Swami Dayananda Saraswati to propagate his goal of social reform

1865 – American Civil War: A day after his surrender to Union forces, Confederate General Robert E. Lee addresses his troops for the last time

1864 – Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg is proclaimed emperor of Mexico during the French intervention in Mexico

1815 – The Mount Tambora volcano begins a three-month-long eruption, lasting until July 15. The eruption ultimately kills 71,000 people and affects Earth's climate for the next two years

1407 – Deshin Shekpa, 5th Karmapa Lama visits the Ming dynasty capital at Nanjing and is awarded the title "Great Treasure Prince of Dharma"

837 – Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles)

48 BC – Battle of Dyrrhachium: Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey near the city of Dyrrachium (in what is now Albania)