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 3 February 1870, The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing African-Americans the right to vote, is passed.
On Saturday, 3 February 1945, WWII: Battle of Manila: United States forces enter the outskirts of Manila to capture it from the Japanese Imperial Army, starting the battle. On February 4, U.S. Army forces liberate Santo Tomas Internment Camp in the city.
On Saturday, 3 February 1945, The Soviet Union agrees to enter the Pacific War against Japan once hostilities against Germany are concluded.
On Wednesday, 3 February 1960, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Harold Macmillan makes the Wind of Change speech to the South African Parliament in Cape Town (although he had first made the speech, to little publicity, in Accra, Gold Coast — now Ghana — on January 10).
On Friday, 3 February 1995, A 4-day blockade of Parliament House, Canberra by 300 trucks and 2,500 timber workers and supporters ends as Prime Minister Paul Keating partially backs down on his January 27 decision to freeze logging in 509 old-growth coupes.
On Wednesday, 3 February 2010, Following extensive public criticism, the South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson announces that controversial new electoral legislation will be repealed after the South Australian state election to be held on 20 March 2010. The new legislation requires anyone responding online to a political report during an election period to provide their full name and postcode, with the information to be retained by the publisher for six months.
On Wednesday, 3 February 2010, The sculpture L’Homme qui marche I by Alberto Giacometti sells in London for £65 million (US$103.7 million), setting a new world record for a work of art sold at auction.
On Tuesday, 3 February 2015, Adam Giles refuses to resign as Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, and eventually negotiates to remain as leader, with Willem Westra van Holthe as his deputy.
On Tuesday, 3 February 2015, The Reserve Bank of Australia cuts the official cash rate for the first time since August 2013 by one quarter of a per cent to 2.25 per cent—an historic low—in an attempt to stimulate the economy amid concerns over a sharp fall in oil prices, rising unemployment and low consumer confidence.
On Tuesday, 3 February 2015, Two electrical contractors die and two are badly burned in a Perth shopping centre explosion.
Images Citations in Composite: ID 17208541 © Anhong | Dreamstime.com; ID 35001957 © DiversityStudio1 | Dreamstime.com; ID 156394527 © Gerd Zahn | Dreamstime.com
Neville Buch