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 Monday, 26 September 1960, The leading candidates for President of the United States, Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy, make the first televised debate.
On Saturday, 26 September 1970, Carlton defeats Collingwood by 10 points in the VFL Grand Final. In other Australian rules football leagues Clarence defeated New Norfolk in the TFL, Sturt defeated Glenelg in the SANFL and it was South Fremantle defeating Perth in the WANFL.
On Saturday, 26 September 1970, John Farrington wins his second men’s national marathon title, clocking 2:15:27 in Werribee.
On Saturday, 26 September 1970, The Laguna Fire starts in San Diego County, burning 175,425 acres (709.92 km2).
On Friday, 26 September 1980, The Lonie Report in Victoria recommends the closure of half the suburban rail lines, all country passenger rail lines and a number of tram routes. It also recommends huge freeway expansion. The report is controversial and protests cause its recommendations to be moderated.
On Friday, 26 September 1980, Oktoberfest bombing: 13 people are killed and 211 injured in a right-wing terror attack in Munich (West Germany).
On Friday, 26 September 1980, The Mariel boatlift officially ends.
On Tuesday, 26 September 1995, The trial against former Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, who is accused of Mafia connections, begins.
On Tuesday, 26 September 2000, The Greek ferry Express Samina sinks off the coast of the island of Paros; 80 out of a total of over 500 passengers perish in one of Greece’s worst sea disasters.
Images Citations in Composite: ID 17208541 © Anhong | Dreamstime.com; ID 35001957 © DiversityStudio1 | Dreamstime.com; ID 156394527 © Gerd Zahn | Dreamstime.com
Neville Buch