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.
| 4 February 1871 | Friedrich Ebert born, President of Germany (d. 1925) |
| 4 February 1896 | The International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers is established in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. |
| 4 February 1896 | Friedrich Hund born, German physicist (d. 1997) |
| Friday, 4 February 1921 | Betty Friedan born, American feminist (d. 2006) |
| Saturday, 4 February 1961 | The Portuguese Colonial War begins in Angola. |
| Thursday, 4 February 1971 | In Britain, Rolls-Royce goes bankrupt and is nationalised. |
| Thursday, 4 February 1971 | Rob Corddry born, American actor and comedian |
| Thursday, 4 February 1971 | Fatmir Limaj born, Albanian politician |
| Thursday, 4 February 1971 | Brock Chisholm died, Canadian physician, 1st Director-General of World Health Organization (b. 1896) |
| Thursday, 4 February 1971 | Charles Lahr died, German-born anarchist died, London bookseller and publisher (b. 1885) |
| Wednesday, 4 February 1981 | Gro Harlem Brundtland becomes Prime Minister of Norway. |
| Wednesday, 4 February 1981 | Matchstik born, American rapper born, singer and songwriter |
| Wednesday, 4 February 1981 | Mario Camerini died, Italian film director and screenwriter (b. 1895) |
| Sunday, 4 February 1996 | Tevita Pangai Junior born, rugby league player |
| Sunday, 4 February 1996 | The 6.6 Mw earthquake near Lijiang in South-west China kills up to 322 people, injures 17,000, and leaves 300,000 homeless. |
| Sunday, 4 February 2001 | Iannis Xenakis died, Greek composer (b. 1922) |
| Friday, 4 February 2011 | [4–5 February] Severe thunderstorms related to Tropical Cyclone Anthony affect much of Victoria. Flash flooding affected many places across the state including Mildura in the state’s north west and the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The town of Koo Wee Rup was evacuated when the Bunyip River reached a height of 7.2 metres (24 ft). |
| Friday, 4 February 2011 | Martial Célestin died, 1st Prime Minister of Haiti (b. 1913) |
| Thursday, 4 February 2016 | Victorian Transport Minister Jacinta Allan announces a temporary, stable V/Line service interim plan which sets out exactly which services will run as trains, and which will be replaced by coaches for the next five weeks. |
| Thursday, 4 February 2016 | Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison refers to anxious Coalition MPs in marginal seats as “bedwetters” over their concerns over a Goods and Services Tax increase. |
| Thursday, 4 February 2016 | At least 28 people fall ill from a Salmonella outbreak in salad greens. |
| Thursday, 4 February 2016 | Sonia Borg died, screenwriter |
| Thursday, 4 February 2016 | Edgar Mitchell died, American astronaut (b. 1930) |
| Thursday, 4 February 2016 | Maurice White died, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941) |
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Images Citations in Composite: ID 17208541 © Anhong | Dreamstime.com; ID 35001957 © DiversityStudio1 | Dreamstime.com; ID 156394527 © Gerd Zahn | Dreamstime.com
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Neville Buch
Professional Historian at Professional Historians Association (Queensland) Inc.
Neville Buch (Pronounced Book) Ph.D. is a certified member of the Professional Historians Association (Queensland). Since 2010 he has operated a sole trade business in history consultancy. He was a Q ANZAC 100 Fellow 2014-2015 at the State Library of Queensland. Dr Buch was the PHA (Qld) e-Bulletin, the monthly state association’s electronic publication, and was a member of its Management Committee. He is the Managing Director of the Brisbane Southside History Network.