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 2, Monday December 1844, Eustachy Erazm Sanguszko, Polish military leader, died (b. 1768)
On 2, Tuesday December 1919, Norma Miller, American dancer
On 2, Tuesday December 1919, Henry C. Frick, American industrialist, died (b. 1849)
On 2, Tuesday December 1919, Evelyn Wood, British field marshal and Victoria Cross recipient, died (b. 1838)
On 2, Saturday December 1944, Cathy Lee Crosby, American actress (That’s Incredible!)
On 2, Saturday December 1944, Ibrahim Rugova, 1st President of Kosovo, born (d. 2006)
On 2, Saturday December 1944, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Italian poet, editor and art theorist, founder of the Futurist movement, died (b. 1876)
On 2, Saturday December 1944, Josef Lhévinne, Soviet pianist, died (b. 1874)
On 2, Wednesday December 1959, Malpasset Dam in southern France collapses and water flows over the town of Fréjus, killing 412.
On 2, Wednesday December 1959, Hans Kristian Amundsen, Norwegian newspaper editor and politician, born (d. 2018)
On 2, Wednesday December 1959, Giuseppe Zucca, Italian screenwriter, died (b. 1887)
On 2, Tuesday December 1969, The Boeing 747 jumbo jet makes its first passenger flight. It carries 191 people, most of them reporters and photographers, from Seattle, to New York City.
On 2, Sunday December 1979, Sabina Babayeva, Azerbaijani singer, born
On 2, Sunday December 1979, Yvonne Catterfeld, German singer, born
On 2, Sunday December 1979, Helen Fraser, British suffragist, feminist and educationalist, died (b. 1881)
On 2, Saturday December 1989, The Queensland state election, 1989 is held. After 32 years in power, 19 of those under Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, the National Party government is voted out of office in Queensland amid widespread allegations of corruption & is replaced by the Australian Labor Party. led by Wayne Goss. The Labor Party wins 54 seats with 50.3% of the vote. The Nationals retain 26 seats with 24.1% of the vote while the Liberal Party wins only 9 seats with 21.1% of the vote.
On 2, Saturday December 1989, The Solar Maximum Mission scientific research satellite, launched in 1980, crashes back to earth.
On 2, Saturday December 1989, V. P. Singh takes office as Prime Minister of India.
On 2, Saturday December 1989, In the Republic of China legislative election, the Kuomintang suffers its worst election setback in forty years, winning only 53% of the popular vote.
On 2, Saturday December 1989, The Second Malayan Emergency concludes with a peace agreement. The Malayan Communist Party disbands and Chin Peng remains in exile in Thailand until his death in 2013.
On 2, Saturday December 1989, Cassie Steele, Canadian actress and singer, born
On 2, Saturday December 1989, Robert Turbin, American football player, born
On 2, Saturday December 1989, Ray Morehart, American baseball player, died (b. 1899)
On 2, Friday December 1994, The Australian government agrees to pay reparations to aborigines who were displaced during the nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s.
On 2, Friday December 1994, The Australian government agrees to pay reparations to indigenous Australians who were displaced during the nuclear tests at Maralinga in the 1950s and 1960s.
On 2, Thursday December 1999, Payne Haas, rugby league player, born
On 2, Thursday December 1999, Joey Adams, American comedian, died (b. 1911)
On 2, Thursday December 1999, Charlie Byrd, American jazz musician and classical guitarist, died (b. 1925)
On 2, Tuesday December 2014, Maurice Saxby, 89, academic and author, died
On 2, Tuesday December 2014, Jeff Truman, 57, screenwriter and actor, died
On 2, Tuesday December 2014, Jean Béliveau, Canadian ice hockey player, died (b. 1931)

Other On This Day days in history

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Neville Buch

Professional Historian at Professional Historians Association (Queensland) Inc.

Neville Buch (Pronounced Book) Ph.D. is a certified member of the Professional Historians Association (Queensland). Since 2010 he has operated a sole trade business in history consultancy. He was a Q ANZAC 100 Fellow 2014-2015 at the State Library of Queensland. Dr Buch was the PHA (Qld) e-Bulletin, the monthly state association’s electronic publication, and was a member of its Management Committee. He is the Managing Director of the Brisbane Southside History Network.

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