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 Saturday, 24 April 1920, Polish–Soviet War: Polish and anti-Soviet Ukrainian troops attack the Red Army, in Soviet Ukraine.
On Tuesday, 24 April 1945, Retreating German troops destroy all the bridges over the Adige in Verona, including the historic Ponte di Castelvecchio and Ponte Pietra.
On Friday, 24 April 1970, China’s first satellite (Dong Fang Hong 1) is launched into orbit using a Long March-1 Rocket (CZ-1).
On Thursday, 24 April 1980, Pennsylvania Lottery Scandal: the Pennsylvania Lottery is rigged by six men including the host of the live TV drawing, Nick Perry.
On Thursday, 24 April 1980, Operation Eagle Claw, a commando mission in Iran to rescue American embassy hostages, is aborted after mechanical problems ground the rescue helicopters. Eight United States troops are killed in a mid-air collision during the failed operation.
On Tuesday, 24 April 1990, Cold War: West Germany and East Germany agree to merge currency and economies on July 1.
On Tuesday, 24 April 1990, STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched aboard Space Shuttle Discovery.
On Tuesday, 24 April 1990, President of Zaire Mobutu Sese Seko lifts a 20-year ban on opposition parties.
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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