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.
What Time is It? It is flow of a sandstorm that will on each day compress somewhere into a structure – sandstone, selected and only remembered in the longue durée.
On 26 February 1870, In New York City, the first pneumatic subway is opened, Beach Pneumatic Transit.
On 26 February 1870, The German Commerzbank is founded in Hamburg.
On Friday, 26 February 1960, A New York-bound Alitalia airliner crashes into a cemetery at Shannon, Ireland, shortly after takeoff, killing 34 of the 52 persons on board.
On Thursday, 26 February 1970, Chevrolet releases the second generation Camaro.
On Monday, 26 February 1990, The Sandinistas are defeated in the Nicaraguan elections, with Violeta Chamorro elected as the new president of Nicaragua (the first elected woman president in the Americas), replacing Daniel Ortega.
On Monday, 26 February 1990, The USSR agrees to withdraw all 73,500 troops from Czechoslovakia by July, 1991.
On Sunday, 26 February 1995, The United Kingdom’s oldest investment banking firm, Barings Bank, collapses after securities broker Nick Leeson loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
On Thursday, 26 February 2015, Qantas posts a half year net profit of $203 million in massive turnaround for the airline. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce (executive) cites the repeal of the carbon tax as the main contributing factor.
Images Citations in Composite: ID 17208541 © Anhong | Dreamstime.com; ID 35001957 © DiversityStudio1 | Dreamstime.com; ID 156394527 © Gerd Zahn | Dreamstime.com
Neville Buch
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