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 10 October 1845, In Annapolis, Maryland, the Naval School (later renamed the United States Naval Academy) opens with fifty midshipmen and seven professors.
On Sunday, 10 October 1920, Carinthian Plebiscite: A large part of Carinthia Province votes to become part of Austria, rather than Yugoslavia.
On Wednesday, 10 October 1945, The Nazi Party is officially dissolved by the Allied Powers.
On Saturday, 10 October 1970, Fiji becomes independent.
On Saturday, 10 October 1970, October Crisis: In Montreal, a national crisis hits Canada when Quebec Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte becomes the second statesman kidnapped by members of the FLQ terrorist group.
On Friday, 10 October 1980, The 7.1 Mw El Asnam earthquake shakes northern Algeria with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 2,633–5,000 and injuring 8,369–9,000.
On Friday, 10 October 1980, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher delivers her famous “The lady’s not for turning” speech.
On Tuesday, 10 October 2000, It is revealed that Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith has incurred almost $50,000 on a taxpayer-funded Telecard for a service he says he hasn’t used for years, but which he admits he gave to his son.
On Sunday, 10 October 2010, Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife win the 2010 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 ahead of Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden teammates Jamie Whincup and Steve Owen. It was Lowndes’ fifth victory at Bathurst and Skaife’s sixth, and the first team 1–2 finish since 1984.
On Sunday, 10 October 2010, died Dame Joan Sutherland, 83, opera singer (died in Switzerland)
On Sunday, 10 October 2010, The Netherlands Antilles are dissolved, with the islands being split up and given a new constitutional status.
On Saturday, 10 October 2015, A series of suicide bombings kills at least 100 people at a peace rally in Ankara, Turkey, and injures more than 400 others.
Images Citations in Composite: ID 17208541 © Anhong | Dreamstime.com; ID 35001957 © DiversityStudio1 | Dreamstime.com; ID 156394527 © Gerd Zahn | Dreamstime.com
Neville Buch