Did you know that it was on this day in 1287 St. Lucia’s flood takes place as the Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses, killing over 50,000 people? Or that it was on this day in 1900 in the field of Quantum Mechanics, Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law?
And on this day in 1903 the Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1911 (100 years ago today) Roald Amundsen‘s team, comprising himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, becomes the first to reach the South Pole, in 1939 during the Winter War, the Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations for invading Finland and in 1946 the United Nations General Assembly votes to establish its headquarters in New York City.
It was also on this day in 1971 over 200 of East Pakistan’s (now Bangladesh) intellectuals are massacred by the Pakistani Army and their local allies, in 1981 during the eternal Arab-Israeli conflict, Israel‘s Knesset passes The Golan Heights Law, extending Israeli law to the area of the Golan Heights, in 1999 torrential rains cause flash floods in Vargas, Venezuela, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the state’s infrastructure and in 2008 President George W. Bush makes his fourth and final (planned) trip to Iraq as president and is almost struck by two shoes thrown at him by Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi during a news conference in Baghdad.
Some birthdays to remember on this day are Nostradamus, French astrologer (1503-1566), Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer and alchemist (1546-1601), Spike Jones, American comedian and musician (1911-1965) and Michael Owen, English footballer (1979). It was also on this day George Washington, First President of the United States (1732-1799) passed away.
If you need a reason to raise a glass of bubbly on this day, I would seriously recommend joining in the celebration of Monkey Day, or perhaps the less obvious celebrations of Day of the Martyred Intellectuals (Bangladesh) or Alabama Day (Alabama) are more to your taste?
For more information about historic events on this day, please go here.
Feel free to tell me what you think of this post. Comments are always welcome!