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 9 February 1870, The U.S. Army Weather Bureau (within the Army Signal Corps) is created.
On 9 February 1895, Mintonette, later known as volleyball, is created by William G. Morgan at Holyoke, Massachusetts.
On Monday, 9 February 1920, The Svalbard Treaty, signed by members of the League of Nations in Paris, recognises the sovereignty of Norway over the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard (at this time called Spitzbergen), while giving the other signatories economic rights in the islands.
On Friday, 9 February 1945, Walter Ulbricht becomes leader of the German Communists in Moscow.
On Friday, 9 February 1945, WWII: “Black Friday”: A force of Allied Bristol Beaufighter aircraft suffers heavy casualties in an unsuccessful attack on German destroyer Z33 and escorting vessels sheltering in Førde Fjord, Norway.
On Tuesday, 9 February 1960, Adolph Coors III, the chairman of the board of the Coors Brewing Company, is kidnapped in the United States, and his captors demand a ransom of $500,000. Coors is later found murdered, and Joseph Corbett, Jr. is indicted for the crime.
On Tuesday, 9 February 1960, Joanne Woodward receives the first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
On Wednesday, 9 February 2000, A 15–year–old Aboriginal boy, who was imprisoned for 28 days for stealing stationery, commits suicide in a Northern Territory prison, sparking controversy about the mandatory sentencing laws of the Territory and neighboring Western Australia.
On Wednesday, 9 February 2000, Torrential rains in Africa lead to the worst flooding in Mozambique in 50 years, which lasts until March and kills 800 people.
On Monday, 9 February 2015, A motion to bring about a leadership spill in the Liberal Party of Australia is defeated 61 votes to 39.
On Monday, 9 February 2015, Surfer Tadashi Nakahara dies after a great white shark attack near Ballina, New South Wales and there are 13 other non-fatal attacks, predominantly in northern New South Wales.
Images Citations in Composite: ID 17208541 © Anhong | Dreamstime.com; ID 35001957 © DiversityStudio1 | Dreamstime.com; ID 156394527 © Gerd Zahn | Dreamstime.com
Neville Buch