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 Sunday, 5 September 1920, Presidential elections begin in Mexico.
On Wednesday, 5 September 1945, Iva Toguri D’Aquino, a Japanese American suspected of being wartime radio propagandist “Tokyo Rose”, is arrested in Yokohama.
On Wednesday, 5 September 1945, The Russian code clerk Igor Gouzenko comes forward with numerous documents implicating the Soviet Union in many spy rings in North America: both in the United States and in Canada.
On Monday, 5 September 1960, 1960 Summer Olympic Games: Muhammad Ali (at this time Cassius Clay) wins the gold medal in light-heavyweight boxing.
On Monday, 5 September 1960, The Congolese president, Joseph Kasa-Vubu, dismisses Patrice Lumumba’s entire government and also places Lumumba under house arrest.
On Monday, 5 September 1960, Poet Léopold Sédar Senghor is the first elected President of Senegal.
On Saturday, 5 September 1970, Vietnam War 1970, Operation Jefferson Glenn: The United States 101st Airborne Division and the South Vietnamese 1st Infantry Division initiate a new operation in Thua Thien Province (the operation ends in October 1971).
On Saturday, 5 September 1970, Formula One driver Jochen Rindt is killed in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix. He becomes World Driving Champion anyhow, first to earn the honor posthumously.
On Friday, 5 September 1980, The Gotthard Road Tunnel opens in Switzerland as the world’s longest highway tunnel at 10.14 miles (16.32 km), stretching from Göschenen to Airolo beneath the Gotthard Pass.
On Wednesday, 5 September 1990, The Queensland Government hands down its first budget under Premier Wayne Goss, which sets out a plan for increased spending on education, the police, aged care and the environment.
On Wednesday, 5 September 1990, Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Army soldiers massacre 158 civilians.
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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