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 Sunday, 21 November 1920, Irish War of Independence: Bloody Sunday: The Irish Republican Army, on the instructions of Michael Collins, shoot dead the “Cairo gang”, 14 British undercover agents in Dublin, most in their homes. Later that day in retaliation, the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary open fire on a crowd at a Gaelic Athletic Association Football match in Croke Park, killing 13 spectators and 1 player, and wounding 60. Three men are shot this night in Dublin Castle “while trying to escape”.
On Saturday, 21 November 1970, Australian Senate election, 1970: The Liberal/Country Coalition Government led by Prime Minister John Gorton and the Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam each ended up with 26 seats; both suffering a swing against them. The Democratic Labor Party won an additional seat and held the balance of power in the Senate. To date, this was the last occasion where a Senate election was held without an accompanying House Of Representatives election.
On Saturday, 21 November 1970, Syrian Prime Minister Hafez al-Assad forms a new government but retains the post of defense minister.
On Saturday, 21 November 1970, In Ethiopia, the Eritrean Liberation Front kills an Ethiopian general.
On Saturday, 21 November 1970, Vietnam War 1970. Operation Ivory Coast: A joint Air Force and Army team raids the Sơn Tây prison camp in an attempt to free American POWs thought to be held there (no Americans are killed, but the prisoners have already moved to another camp; all U.S. POWs are moved to a handful of central prison complexes as a result of this raid).
On Saturday, 21 November 1970, Australian Senate election, 1970: The Liberal/Country Coalition Government led by Prime Minister John Gorton and the Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam each ended up with 26 seats; both suffering a swing against them. The Democratic Labor Party won an additional seat and held the balance of power in the Senate. To date, this was the last occasion where a Senate election was held without an accompanying House of Representatives election.
On Friday, 21 November 1980, A fire at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip kills 85 people.
On Friday, 21 November 1980, A record number of viewers at this date (for an entertainment program) tune into the U.S. soap opera Dallas to learn who shot lead character J. R. Ewing. The “Who shot J.R.?” event is an international obsession.
On Wednesday, 21 November 1990, The Queensland state caucus amends the Criminal Code and the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1978–1989 to decriminalise consensual sexual activity between adult males in private.
On Wednesday, 21 November 1990, Agreement for decriminalization of homosexual acts between consenting adults in Queensland, Australia.
On Wednesday, 21 November 1990, Charter of Paris for a New Europe signed.
On Tuesday, 21 November 1995, The Dayton Agreement to end the Bosnian War is reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio (signed December 14).
On Sunday, 21 November 2010, Eurozone countries agree to a rescue package for the Republic of Ireland from the European Financial Stability Facility in response to the country’s financial crisis.
On Saturday, 21 November 2015, Two Australians are among seven dead in a helicopter crash at Fox Glacier in New Zealand.
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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