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 Thursday, 16 August 1945, Polish–Soviet treaty establishes boundaries between the two countries.
On Tuesday, 16 August 1960, Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at an altitude of about 102,800 feet (31,333 meters). Kittinger sets world records for: high-altitude jump; free-fall by falling 16.0 miles (25.7 kilometers) before opening his parachute; and the fastest speed attained by a human being without mechanical or chemical assistance, about 982 k.p.h (614 m.p.h.). (Kittinger survives more or less uninjured, and he is still alive in Florida as of 2013. Felix Baumgartner breaks his record in 2012.)
On Tuesday, 16 August 1960, The Mediterranean island of Cyprus receives its independence from the United Kingdom.
On Wednesday, 16 August 1995, New South Wales Premier Bob Carr concedes that his pre-election promise to lift the tolls on the M4 and M5 tollways in western Sydney would be abandoned as being impossibly expensive.
On Wednesday, 16 August 1995, Bermudans reject independence in a referendum.
On Sunday, 16 August 2015, Netball: The Australian Netball Diamonds win the 2015 Netball World Cup held in Sydney, defeating New Zealand 58–55.
Images Citations in Composite: ID 17208541 © Anhong | Dreamstime.com; ID 35001957 © DiversityStudio1 | Dreamstime.com; ID 156394527 © Gerd Zahn | Dreamstime.com
Neville Buch