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 31 March 1870, Thomas Mundy Peterson is the first African-American to vote in an election.
On Tuesday, 31 March 1970, NASA’s Explorer 1, the first American satellite and Explorer program spacecraft, reenters Earth’s atmosphere after 12 years in orbit.
On Tuesday, 31 March 1970, Japan Airlines Flight 351, carrying 131 passengers and 7 crew from Tokyo to Fukuoka, is hijacked by Japanese Red Army members. All passengers are eventually freed.
On Monday, 31 March 1980, Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad operates its final train.
On Saturday, 31 March 1990, “The Second Battle of Trafalgar”: A massive anti-poll tax demonstration in Trafalgar Square, London, turns into a riot; 471 people are injured, and 341 are arrested.
On Friday, 31 March 1995, The Super League war begins. Lightning raids begin across the country to sign players on vastly inflated contracts. The Kerry Packer backed ARL responds by signing 50 players onto equally inflated contracts on 2 April.
On Friday, 31 March 1995, TAROM Flight 371 from Bucharest to Brussels crashes shortly after take off killing all 60 people on board.
On Wednesday, 31 March 2010, The Queensland Government, the City of Gold Coast council and Australian Commonwealth Games Association officially launch the Gold Coast’s bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
On Tuesday, 31 March 2015, died Betty Churcher, 84, director of the National Gallery of Australia (1990–1997)
Images Citations in Composite: ID 17208541 © Anhong | Dreamstime.com; ID 35001957 © DiversityStudio1 | Dreamstime.com; ID 156394527 © Gerd Zahn | Dreamstime.com
Neville Buch