This Day In History

January 30, 2012

January 30th 1948: Gandhi assassinated

On this day in 1948, Indian pacifist and leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist. Gandhi was famous for his non-violent struggle for Indian independence, instead using mass civil disobedience to secure India’s independence, which was secured in 1947. Gandhi is referred to as ‘Mahatma’ (meaning ‘Great Soul’) and ‘Bapu’ (‘father’) in India, as he is remembered as the ‘Father of the Nation’. He was shot at point-blank range whilst walking to a platform to address a prayer meeting by Godse, a Hindu nationalist who felt Gandhi was sympathetic to Muslims and held him responsible for weakening India by insisting on payment to Pakistan. Gandhi was mourned nationally, and is still revered today and considered a martyr. Supposedly, his last words were “Oh God”

January 29, 2012

January 29th 1845: ‘The Raven’ by Edgar Allan Poe is published

On this day in 1845, the narrative poem ‘The Raven’ by American writer Edgar Allan Poe was published in the New York Evening Mirror. The poem made Poe popular and famous. It tells the mysterious tale of a talking raven visiting a distraught lover and tracing his descent into madness. The raven perches on a bust of Pallas and distresses the man by repeating the word “Nevermore”.
The last lines are as follows:

“And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted – nevermore!”

(read the full poem here)

January 28, 2012

January 28th 1986: Challenger Disaster

On this day in 1986, the US space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds into its 10th flight, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members. The craft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean due to technical malfunction. The crew compartment and various fragments were recovered from the ocean floor, and several of the crew are known to have survived the initial breakup and died upon impact with the ocean surface. The tragedy occurred the same day President Ronald Reagan was due to give his annual State of the Union, but he postponed the speech and instead gave a national address on the Challenger disaster. Reagan quoted the poem ‘High Flight’ by John Gillespie Magee Jr:

“We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and ‘slipped the surly bonds of Earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.’”

11:51am | URL: http://tumblr.com/ZJdebwFVs6-_

(Notes: 11)

Filed under: american history challenger challenger disaster history history of america on this day in history this day in history today in history todayinhistory us history space shuttle space exploration reagan ronald reagan president reagan

January 27, 2012

January 27th 1945: Liberation of Auschwitz

On this day in 1945, the Soviet Red Army liberated the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Auschwitz was a network of concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany, and was used as the place of the “final solution of the Jewish question in Europe”. Jews and other groups were sent to the camps from 1942 onwards, where many were sent to their death in the gas chambers. Most of those who escaped the gas chambers died of starvation, disease, and execution by the Nazi guards. It is estimated that around 1.3 million people died there.

The Nazis had begun the evacuation of the camp on January 17th as the Red Army drew near. Around 7,500 remained in the camp and were liberated by the 322nd Rifle Division of the Red Army on January 27th.

Today, the site of the Auschwitz camp serves as a museum to remember the victims, and attracts thousands every year who come to pay their respects. This day is commemorated around the world as Holocaust Remembrance Day in order to remember the millions who lost their lives to the brutality of the Nazi regime under Adolf Hitler.

January 26, 2012

January 26th 1788: The ‘First Fleet’ arrives in Australia

On this day in 1788, the British ‘First Fleet’ (led by Captain Arthur Phillip) sails into Port Jackson (now Sydney Harbour), Australia. Here they established Sydney, which was the first permanent European settlement in Australia. The ‘First Fleet’ carried convicts and settlers from England, and established a penal colony in Sydney. The ‘New South Wales’ region of Australia had been discovered by Captain James Cook in 1770.

On 7th February, the now Governor Phillip addressed the first settlers, and proclaimed:
“How grand is the prospect which lies before this youthful nation!”

This day is now commemorated as Australia Day

January 25, 2012

January 25th 1533: Henry VIII secretly marries Anne Boleyn

On this day in 1533, King Henry VIII of England secretly married his second wife Anne Boleyn. She failed to produce a male heir, and so he had her executed in 1536

10:32am | URL: http://tumblr.com/ZJdebwFOrhQX

(Notes: 12)

Filed under: history todayinhistory henry viii anne boleyn king henry viii

January 24, 2012

January 24th 1984: The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale

On this day in 1984, the first Apple Macintosh PC went on sale. It was introduced by Apple’s then-chairman Steve Jobs, and was the first commercially successful PC with a mouse and interactive, graphical interface. The computer went on sale for $2,495 and sold well, reaching 70,000 on May 3rd 1984. It was first introduced by the famous ‘1984’ advert by Ridley Scott, which aired on January 22nd. (Watch it here)

Apple’s influence and sales decreased in the 1990s, as the PC market became dominated by Windows software. However, Apple saw a resurgence with the 1998 iMac and the 2001 iPod. Apple now dominate the digital music business, with their wide range of iPods and the iPhone, and the iMac model continues.

January 23, 2012

January 23rd 1556: The Shaanxi earthquake

On this day in 1556 the deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hits Shaanxi province, China. The earthquake is believed to have claimed around 830,000 lives. It occured during the Ming Dynasty under the rule of the Jiajing Emperor and thus is referred to as the Jiajing Great Earthquake. More than 97 counties in the provinces surrounding Shaanxi were affected. An 840km wide area was completely destroyed by the disaster, and around 60% of the population of some counties were killed. Modern estimates place the earthquake’s magnitude at around 8. Whilst this is not the highest magnitude in history, the Shaanxi earthquake was still the deadliest earthquake and third deadliest natural disaster in history. Aftershocks continued for half a year.

January 22, 2012

January 22nd 1924: Ramsay MacDonald becomes the first Labour Prime Minister of the UK

On this day in 1924 Ramsay MacDonald became the first ever Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. MacDonald came to power in 1924, having earned public respect for his opposition to the First World War. His first government had a minority in the Houses of Parliament and thus relied on support of the other left-wing party: the Liberals. His government lasted nine months, but was defeated in the 1924 General Election. MacDonald returned to power in 1929, and thus faced the challenges of the Great Depression. His party was divided over the issue, and in 1931 MacDonald formed a National Government, with a majority of Conservative MPs. Therefore MacDonald was expelled from the Labour Party for his ‘betrayal’.

MacDonald stepped down in 1935, thus ending the first period of Labour governance, and died in 1937. Since MacDonald, the Labour Party have established themselves as a major party in the UK. Its Prime Ministers have included Clement Attlee, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

January 21, 2012

January 21st 1793: Louis XVI of France executed

On this day in 1793, the King of France Louis XVI was executed by guillotine in ‘Revolution Square’ in Paris. His execution was a turning point of the French Revolution. After the fall of the monarchy on 10th August 1792, Louis was imprisoned and charged with high treason by the National Convention and sentenced to death. His wife Marie Antoinette was executed on 16th October the same year.

Whilst he had been a loved King, his opposition to the National Assembly (the transitional assembly from the King’s old Estates-General) and attempt to escape from France in 1791 sealed his fate. He had undermined his own credibility as monarch and public opinion turned against him. A Republic was claimed in September 1792.

Accounts vary of the day of the King’s execution, with the priest Father Edgeworth saying the King proclaimed:

“I die innocent of all the crimes laid to my charge; I Pardon those who have occasioned my death; and I pray to God that the blood you are going to shed may never be visited on France.”

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