June 18: On This Day in World History … briefly
Interesting historic snippets and facts taken from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London.
1037: Persian philosopher and physician Avicenna dies, leaving an encyclopedia of philosophy, Ashrifa (The Recovery) and the Canon of Medicine, which had become a valued source of knowledge throughout the Middle East and Europe.
1155: A thousand die in riots as the English-born Pope Hadrian crowns Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in Rome.
1583: The first life insurance policy is issued in London.
1867: Despite universal appeals for mercy, Emperor Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph was executed by firing squad in Mexico. Born in Vienna, the brother of the Emperor Francis Joseph and Archduke of Austria, he accepted the crown in 1864. The position was created by France following its invasion of Mexico in 1863. Financially and politically he was wholly dependent on France and Mexico opposed him from the start. He further antagonised the country of Mexico by his outrageous extravagance and the inefficiency of his corrupt, intrigue-ridden administration. In October 1866, Maximilian fled the country with the intention of abdicating. Persuaded to return, he was soon arrested and court-marshalled.
1902: Death of Samuel Butler, British novelist who wrote ‘Erewhon’ and the autobiographical ‘The Way of all Flesh’.
1928: First woman to fly the Atlantic
Thirty year-old Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly the Atlantic when the tri-motor ‘Friendship’, in which she was a passenger, landed at Burny Port. Miss Earhart, daughter of a railroad attorney and graduate of Columbia University, was employed as a settlement worker in Boston. Aviation was a passionate hobby with her and was a very accomplished pilot. A plucky girl, Miss Earhart hoped to make a solo flight across the Atlantic herself one day.
1928: Roald Amendsen, Norwegian explorer who reached the South Pole ahead of Captain Scott, dies in a plane crash while trying to rescue another explorer.
1936: Death of Maxim Gorky, Russian novelist and dramatist who became the first president of the Soviet Writers Forum.
1979: Elated Carter turns SALT to SWALK
The climactic signing of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks took place at last at the magnificent State Hall of the Imperial Hofburg Palace in Vienna. President Jimmy Carter and President Ilyich Brezhnev shook hands, sat down, signed the documents and rose again. Then suddenly an elated Jimmy Carter threw pomp and protocol to the winds. Taking a quick step towards the ‘Old Contemptible’, he threw his arms around his granite shoulders and kissed him Russian-style on both cheeks. Brezhnev was totally taken aback, while the American Press Corps present responded with a gasp of stunned delight.
1977: Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten is attacked with razors in a North London pub.
2000: At Dover, 58 Chinese immigrants are found suffocated in the back of a lorry while trying to enter Britain illegally.
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