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.
| 8 February 1896 | Alfred Percival Bullen born, circus proprietor (died 1974) |
| Tuesday, 8 February 1921 | Nexhmije Hoxha born, widow of Albanian communist leader Enver Hoxha |
| Tuesday, 8 February 1921 | Betsy Jochum born, American female baseball player |
| Tuesday, 8 February 1921 | Lana Turner born, American actress (d. 1995) |
| Tuesday, 8 February 1921 | George Formby Snr died, English entertainer (b. 1876) |
| Tuesday, 8 February 1921 | Peter Kropotkin died, Russian anarchist (b. 1842) |
| Friday, 8 February 1946 | Bob Collins born, politician |
| Friday, 8 February 1946 | Felix Hoffmann died, German chemist (b. 1868) |
| Friday, 8 February 1946 | Miles Mander died, British actor (b. 1888) |
| Wednesday, 8 February 1961 | Vince Neil born, American singer |
| Monday, 8 February 1971 | A new stock market index called the Nasdaq Composite debuts. |
| Monday, 8 February 1971 | Charles Walter Simpson died, English painter (b. 1885) |
| Sunday, 8 February 1981 | A murdered woman’s decapitated body (Kim Barry) is found near Kiama on a ledge under the Jamberoo Lockout. |
| Sunday, 8 February 1981 | 20 fans of Olympiacos and one fan of AEK Athens die, while 54 are injured, after a stampede at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, possibly because Gate 7 does not open immediately after the end of the game. |
| Sunday, 8 February 1981 | Ralf Little born, English actor |
| Friday, 8 February 1991 | In a move to distance himself from the beleaguered Gray, Ray Groom resigns as Tasmanian Deputy Leader, citing fundamental disagreements with his leader. Peter Hodgman replaces him. |
| Friday, 8 February 1991 | Nam Woo-hyun born, South Korean singer born, dancer born, and actor |
| Thursday, 8 February 1996 | Queensland Premier Wayne Goss declares the Labor leadership open, but is re-elected unopposed. |
| Thursday, 8 February 1996 | Kenedy born, Brazilian footballer |
| Tuesday, 8 February 2011 | Cesare Rubini died, Italian basketball player and coach (b. 1923) |
| Monday, 8 February 2016 | Philip Ruddock announces he will leave Federal Parliament. The Federal Government gives him the job of Australia’s first Special Envoy for Human Rights. |
| Monday, 8 February 2016 | Ratings agency Moody’s downgrades Western Australia’s credit rating from AA1 to AA2, citing rising debt and deficit as the reasons. |
Images Citations in Composite: ID 17208541 © Anhong | Dreamstime.com; ID 35001957 © DiversityStudio1 | Dreamstime.com; ID 156394527 © Gerd Zahn | Dreamstime.com
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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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