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 Wednesday, 7 January 1920, died Edmund Barton (born 1849), first Prime Minister of Australia
On Wednesday, 7 January 1920, The forces of Russian White Admiral Alexander Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk; the Great Siberian Ice March ensues.
On Wednesday, 7 January 1920, The New York State Assembly refuses to seat five duly elected Socialist assemblymen.
On Sunday, 7 January 1945, WWII: British General Bernard Montgomery holds a press conference at Zonhoven describing his role at the Battle of the Bulge.
On Wednesday, 7 January 1970, The U.S. seismic survey vessel Polaris catches fire at Port Adelaide, causing $750,000 worth of damage.
On Wednesday, 7 January 1970, Federal Opposition Leader Gough Whitlam announces in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea that a New Guinean would be appointed as Administrator of the Territory immediately if Labor won the next election.
On Wednesday, 7 January 1970, The Australian Wheatgrowers’ Federation recommends a national wheat quota reduction for the 1970-71 season.
On Monday, 7 January 1980, U.S. President Jimmy Carter authorizes legislation giving $1.5 billion in loans to bail out the Chrysler Corporation.
On Sunday, 7 January 1990, The Pisa tower closed.
On Sunday, 7 January 1990, The Leaning Tower of Pisa is closed to the public because of safety concerns.
On Friday, 7 January 2000, Alleged Nazi war criminal Konrad Kalejs returns to Australia, arriving at Tullamarine Airport, Melbourne, and met by a barrage of protesters.
On Thursday, 7 January 2010, The Queensland Government activates disaster relief funding for communities in central and southwest Queensland isolated by floods.
On Wednesday, 7 January 2015, died Rod Taylor, 84, actor (The Time Machine, The Birds, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Inglourious Basterds; died in Los Angeles)
On Wednesday, 7 January 2015, Two gunmen belonging to Al-Qaeda’s Yemen branch kill 12 people and injure 11 more at the Paris headquarters of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, prompting an anti-terrorism demonstration attended by over a million people and more than 40 world leaders.
Images Citations in Composite: ID 17208541 © Anhong | Dreamstime.com; ID 35001957 © DiversityStudio1 | Dreamstime.com; ID 156394527 © Gerd Zahn | Dreamstime.com
Neville Buch