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 20 April 1845, Ramón Castilla becomes president of Peru.
On 20 April 1870, A second state flag of New South Wales is adopted, similar to the current flag of Victoria: a crown above the Southern Cross.
On Tuesday, 20 April 1920, [start date] Australia competes at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, winning one bronze and two silver medals. It is the first time Australia has competed at the Olympics separately from New Zealand; the two nations had previously competed as a combined Australasia team.
On Tuesday, 20 April 1920, Mexican Revolution: Álvaro Obregón announces (in Chilpancingo) that he intends to fight against the rule of Venustiano Carranza.
On Tuesday, 20 April 1920, The 1920 Summer Olympics open in Antwerp, Belgium. The Olympic symbols of five interlocking rings and the associated flag are first displayed at the games.
On Friday, 20 April 1945, WWII: On his 56th birthday Adolf Hitler leaves his Führerbunker to decorate a group of Hitler Youth soldiers in Berlin. It will be his last trip to the surface from his underground bunker.
On Tuesday, 20 April 2010, The 5.2 Mw Kalgoorlie-Boulder earthquake shook Western Australia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of V (Moderate), damaging buildings and injuring two.
On Tuesday, 20 April 2010, The Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers. The resulting Horizon oil spill, one of the largest in history, spreads for several months, damaging the waters and the United States coastline, and prompting international debate and doubt about the practice and procedures of offshore drilling.
Images Citations in Composite: ID 17208541 © Anhong | Dreamstime.com; ID 35001957 © DiversityStudio1 | Dreamstime.com; ID 156394527 © Gerd Zahn | Dreamstime.com
Neville Buch