Anniversaries and commemorations come and go daily. Most of us, even the best historians, miss most occasions. If we think of history as events then we are faced with a continually showering in the grains of sand. Nevertheless, we do pick out certain patterns in the remembrance of historical dates. The blog here reminds us of some dates where the local, state, national, and global perspectives entwine.
On 17, Wednesday April 1844, James Scarlett Abinger, English judge, died (b. 1769)
On 17, Tuesday April 1894, Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet politician, born (d. 1971)
On 17, Monday April 1944, J. T. Hearne, English cricketer, died (b. 1867)
On 17, Friday April 1959, Sean Bean, British actor, born
On 17, Friday April 1959, Cecil Cunningham, American actress, died (b. 1888)
On 17, Thursday April 1969, Abu Hussain Sarkar, Bengali politician, died (b. 1894)
On 17, Tuesday April 1979, Schoolchildren in the Central African Republic are arrested (and around 100 killed) for protesting against compulsory school uniforms. An African judicial commission later determines that Emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa “almost certainly” took part in the massacre.
On 17, Tuesday April 1979, Sung Si-kyung, South Korean pop/ballad singer, born
On 17, Tuesday April 1979, Chuck Osborne, American basketball player with Syracuse Nationals, died (b. 1939)
On 17, Monday April 1989, Poland, Solidarity is once again legalised and allowed to participate in semi-free elections on June 4.
On 17, Monday April 1989, Beau Knapp, American actor, born
On 17, Monday April 1989, Javed Mohammed, Trinidadian footballer, born
On 17, Sunday April 1994, Roger Wolcott Sperry, American neurobiologist, died (b. 1913)
On 17, Saturday April 1999, A nail bomb, the first of three planted by David Copeland over a fortnight, explodes in the middle of a busy market in Brixton, South London.
On 17, Thursday April 2014, Mike Baird becomes Premier of New South Wales following the resignation of Barry O’Farrell.
On 17, Thursday April 2014, Gabriel García Márquez, Colombian Nobel writer, died (b. 1927)
On 17, Thursday April 2014, Raul Bragança Neto, 8th Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe, died (b. 1946)
Other On This Day days in history
Neville Buch
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