70 years ago, on Tuesday, May 9, 1950, at 6 pm two hundred journalists crowded the embellished Salon d’Horloge hall of Quai d’Orsay in anticipation of a hastily announced foreign ministerial press conference.
Thirty years ago, on Wednesday, May 2, 1990, the first freely elected parliament was formed after the change of regime. In addition to the elected members, twenty-four guests of honour from the six parliamentary parties and a further 180 guests, as well as nearly seven hundred journalists, attended the ceremony. Otto Habsburg was also among the guests of honour.
Otto von Habsburg had great interest in collecting stamps. Even in his old age he set aside the envelopes addressed to him, which now fill four boxes in the Otto von Habsburg Foundation’s document collection. It is known from his correspondence and reports that this hobby was shared among his family members as well. While categorizing his correspondence, we found a letter in which its author requests information on his valuable collection.
The Spanish flu, also known as the 1918 flu pandemic, was the first worldwide epidemic in history, wiping out about 3 to 5 percent of the world’s population. 98 years ago Charles IV, the father of Otto von Habsburg and the last Hungarian king, was among those who lost his life battling the disease.
