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 30 March 1845, Due to different transition dates to the Gregorian calendar, Finland (then part of the Russian Empire) is the only place in the world to have Easter day on this particular Sunday.
On 30 March 1870, The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, giving black Americans the right to vote, is ratified.
On 30 March 1870, Reconstruction: Texas is readmitted to the Union.
On 30 March 1895, Rudolf Diesel patents the Diesel engine in Germany.
On Friday, 30 March 1945, WWII: The Red Army pushes most of the Axis forces out of Hungary into Austria.
On Friday, 30 March 1945, Alger Hiss is congratulated in Moscow for his part in bringing positions of Western powers and the Soviet Union closer to each other at the Yalta Conference.
On Friday, 30 March 1945, The Japanese battleship Yamato explodes after persistent attacks from U.S. aircraft during the Battle of Okinawa, 7 April 1945.
On Friday, 30 March 1990, First day of the Australian Track & Field Championships for the 1989–1990 season, which are held at the Olympic Park in Melbourne, Victoria. The men’s 10,000 metres event was conducted at Canberra on 24 February 1990.
On Friday, 30 March 1990, Singing Revolution: After its first free elections on March 18, the Estonian SSR declares the Soviet rule to have been illegal since 1940 and declares a transition period for full independence.
Images Citations in Composite: ID 17208541 © Anhong | Dreamstime.com; ID 35001957 © DiversityStudio1 | Dreamstime.com; ID 156394527 © Gerd Zahn | Dreamstime.com
Neville Buch