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.
On 23, Saturday June 1894, The International Olympic Committee is founded at the Sorbonne, Paris, at the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin.
On 23, Saturday June 1894, King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (afterwards The Duke of Windsor), born (d. 1972)
On 23, Saturday June 1894, Harold Barrowclough, New Zealand general, lawyer and chief justice, born (d. 1972)
On 23, Saturday June 1894, Alfred Kinsey, American sexologist, born (d. 1956)
On 23, Saturday June 1894, Marietta Alboni, Italian opera singer, died (b. 1826)
On 23, Saturday June 1894, Władysław Czartoryski, Polish political activist and art collector, died (b. 1828)
On 23, Monday June 1919, Estonian and Latvian Wars of Independence: Battle of Cēsis: The Estonian army defeats the pro-German Baltische Landeswehr in northern Latvia, forcing it to retreat towards Riga; the event has been celebrated as Victory Day in Estonia ever since.
On 23, Monday June 1919, R. C. Pitts, American basketball player, born (d. 2011)
On 23, Monday June 1919, Mohamed Boudiaf, 4th President of Algeria, born (d. 1992)
On 23, Monday June 1919, Hermann Gmeiner, Austrian educator, born (d. 1986)
On 23, Friday June 1944, Silvestre Bello III, Filipino businessman and lawyer, born
On 23, Friday June 1944, Gan Ee Kiang, Malaysian pharmacologist, born
On 23, Tuesday June 1959, Seán Lemass becomes the third Taoiseach of Ireland.
On 23, Tuesday June 1959, Convicted Manhattan Project spy Klaus Fuchs is released after only nine years in a British prison and allowed to emigrate to Dresden, East Germany where he resumes a scientific career.
On 23, Tuesday June 1959, Marc Larose, Seychellois sprinter, born
On 23, Tuesday June 1959, Mariella Valentini, Italian actress, born
On 23, Tuesday June 1959, Steve Joughin, Manx road racing cyclist, born
On 23, Tuesday June 1959, Cesare Maria De Vecchi, Italian soldier, died (b. 1884)
On 23, Tuesday June 1959, Maria Gorczyńska, Polish actress, died (b. 1899)
On 23, Tuesday June 1959, Boris Vian, French writer, poet, singer, and musician, died (b. 1920)
On 23, Monday June 1969, Warren E. Burger is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States by retiring Chief Justice Earl Warren.
On 23, Monday June 1969, Martin Klebba, American actor, born
On 23, Monday June 1969, Noa, Israeli singer, born
On 23, Monday June 1969, Fernanda Ribeiro, Portuguese long-distance runner, born
On 23, Saturday June 1979, New South Wales Premier Neville Wran opens the Eastern Suburbs six-station railway line which runs from Sydney city to Bondi Junction. The railway line has been a source of continuing controversy since work on it began. In 1976, Neville Wran referred to the project as probably “the most monumental financial scandal” in the state’s history.
On 23, Saturday June 1979, Sydney: New South Wales Premier Neville Wran officially opens the Eastern Suburbs Railway. It operates as a shuttle between Central & Bondi Junction until full integration with the Illawarra Line in 1980.
On 23, Saturday June 1979, Marilyn Agliotti, Dutch field hockey player, born
On 23, Saturday June 1979, LaDainian Tomlinson, American football player, born
On 23, Saturday June 1979, Cremilda de Oliveira, Portuguese actress, died (b. 1887)
On 23, Friday June 1989, Vacancies caused by the departure to federal politics of New South Wales MPs Laurie Brereton, Laurie Ferguson and Janice Crosio see Labor retain the seats of Heffron, Granville and Smithfield.
On 23, Friday June 1989, Lauren Bennett, British singer, dancer, painter, photographer and model, born
On 23, Friday June 1989, Werner Best, German Nazi official, died (b. 1903)
On 23, Friday June 1989, Prince Vasili Alexandrovich of Russia, died (b. 1907)
On 23, Thursday June 1994, The International Olympic Committee celebrates its first centennial.
On 23, Wednesday June 1999, Semisi Otukolo, Tongan footballer, born
On 23, Wednesday June 1999, Linton Maina, German footballer, born
On 23, Wednesday June 1999, Buster Merryfield, British actor, died (b. 1920)
On 23, Monday June 2014, Steve Viksten, American voice actor and television writer, died (b. 1960)
Other On This Day days in history
Neville Buch