July 26: On This Day in World History … briefly
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the first woman elected President of Argentina, claims that women of her generation owe a debt to Eva for 'her example of passion and combativeness'.
1952: Argentina cries for ‘Evita’
Eva Perón, the wife of the president of Argentina Juan Perón died in Beunos Aires at the age of 33 after a long battle with cervical cancer. A former actress, Señora Perón wielded enormous influence in public affairs. One of her main achievements was to win the vote for Argentinian women.
‘Evita’, as she became known to Argentina’s 18-million population, was proclaimed ‘the spiritual chief of the state’ by congress and stated that ‘for the rest of history, July 26 will be a day of national mourning for Argentina.’
After a hysterectomy, Eva’s cervical cancer had metastasized and returned rapidly. She was the first Argentine to undergo chemotherapy – a novel treatment at that time. She became emaciated, weighing only 36kg by June 1952.
Eva died at 8.25 pm on 26 July and radio broadcasts throughout the country were interrupted with the announcement that ‘the Press Secretary’s Office of the Presidency of the Nation fulfills its very sad duty to inform the people of the Republic that at 20.25 hours, Mrs Eva Perón, Spiritual Leader of the Nation, died.’ Ordinary activities ceased, movies were stopped and patrons were asked to leave restaurants
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
To receive our FREE email newsletter, click HERE
