Today
is Wednesday February 10, 2015 the 42st day and 7th week of 2015, there
are 323 days and 45 weeks left in the year. Highlights of world
history on this day
1990 Nelson Mandela released from prison
Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, was released from prison after 27 years on February 11, 1990.
In 1944, Mandela, a lawyer, joined the African National Congress (ANC), the oldest black political organization in South Africa, where he became a leader of Johannesburg’s youth wing of the ANC. In 1952, he became deputy national president of the ANC, advocating nonviolent resistance to apartheid--South Africa’s institutionalized system of white supremacy and racial segregation. However, after the massacre of peaceful black demonstrators at Sharpeville in 1960, Nelson helped organize a paramilitary branch of the ANC to engage in guerrilla warfare against the white minority government.
In 1961, he was arrested for treason, and although acquitted he was arrested again in 1962 for illegally leaving the country. Convicted and sentenced to five years at Robben Island Prison, he was put on trial again in 1964 on charges of sabotage. In June 1964, he was convicted along with several other ANC leaders and sentenced to life in prison.
Mandela spent the first 18 of his 27 years in jail at the brutal Robben Island Prison. Confined to a small cell without a bed or plumbing, he was forced to do hard labour in a quarry. He could write and receive a letter once every six months, and once a year he was allowed to meet with a visitor for 30 minutes. However, Mandela’s resolve remained unbroken, and while remaining the symbolic leader of the anti-apartheid movement, he led a movement of civil disobedience at the prison that coerced South African officials into drastically improving conditions on Robben Island. He was later moved to another location, where he lived under house arrest.
In 1989, F.W. de Klerk became South African president and set about dismantling apartheid. De Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC, suspended executions, and in February 1990 ordered the release of Nelson Mandela.
Mandela subsequently led the ANC in its negotiations with the minority government for an end to apartheid and the establishment of a multiracial government.
1916 Birth control pioneer arrested
Emma Goldman, a crusader for women’s rights and social justice, was arrested in New York City for lecturing and distributing materials about birth control. She was accused of violating the Comstock Act of 1873, which made it a federal offense to disseminate contraceptive devices and information through the mail or across state lines. In addition to advocating for women’s reproductive rights, Goldman, who was later convicted and spent time in jail, was a champion of numerous controversial causes and ideas, including anarchism, free speech and atheism. Nicknamed “Red Emma,” the forward-thinking Goldman was arrested multiple times for her activist activities.
Goldman was born into a poor Jewish family in Russia in 1869. She fled her homeland as a teenager in 1885 and ended up in Rochester, New York. There she was employed at a factory and became involved in the labour movement, protesting poor working conditions and advocating for unions and an eight-hour workday. She was influenced by the Haymarket Riot in Chicago in 1886, in which a rally organized by anarchist workers turned into a violent confrontation with police. The anarchists were later convicted and four were hanged. Goldman later relocated to New York City, where she joined the anarchist movement and was romantically linked to anarchist and fellow Russian Alexander Berkman.
1952 Avalanches plague central Europe
On this day in 1952, a series of deadly avalanches began across central Europe.
A storm stalled over the middle of Europe the first week of February 1952, dumping a couple of feet of snow in parts of France, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. In many places, activity came to a standstill. Thousands of people and their shovels were recruited in German towns to make the streets passable. In France, several people died when their roofs collapsed under the weight of the accumulated snow.
The worst of the 10-day snowstorm was felt in Austria, where avalanches took a deadly toll. At a ski resort in Melkoede, 50 people were sleeping in the early morning hours of February 11 when a huge mass of snow suddenly crashed down the mountain above them. Twenty people, almost all German tourists, were killed at the resort and another 10 were seriously injured. In Switzerland and Austria, authorities issued warnings about potential avalanches and some villages were evacuated.
Unfortunately, the following day brought more damaging avalanches. In Isenthal, Switzerland, hundreds of cattle and several barns were buried by snow. In Leutasche, Austria, a 12-year-old child was rescued by people who risked their lives digging while another avalanche was poised to fall. Seven of the child’s family members were killed.
Overall, it is estimated that 78 people died across Europe from the snowstorm and resulting avalanches.
1970 The world’s fourth space power
From the Kagoshima Space Centre on the east coast of Japan’s Ohsumi Peninsula, Ohsumi, Japan’s first satellite was successfully launched into an orbit around Earth. The achievement made Japan the world’s fourth space power, after the Soviet Union in 1957, the United States in 1958, and France in 1965.
Two months after Japan’s launching of Ohsumi, China became the world’s fifth space power when it successfully launched Mao 1 into space. The satellite, named after Mao Zedong, the leader of communist China, orbited Earth broadcasting the Chinese patriotic song The East Is Red once a minute.
1990 Underdog Buster Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson
In a major upset, Buster Douglas defeated Mike Tyson, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, in 10 rounds at a boxing match in Tokyo, Japan.
James “Buster” Douglas began boxing professionally in the 1980s and was considered a talented fighter, but it was believed he lacked the motivation to become a champion. By contrast, Tyson had become the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history when he defeated Trevor Berbick by knockout in 1986, when he was just 20 years old.
Nicknamed “Iron Mike,” Tyson intimidated other boxers with his fast, powerful punches. Going into the February 11, 1990, match with Buster Douglas, Tyson seemed invincible and was considered a 42-1 favourite to win. However, from the start, Douglas managed to dominate the fight. He was said to have been motivated by the pain of his mother’s death several weeks before the match. (Daily Times)
1990 Nelson Mandela released from prison
Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, was released from prison after 27 years on February 11, 1990.
In 1944, Mandela, a lawyer, joined the African National Congress (ANC), the oldest black political organization in South Africa, where he became a leader of Johannesburg’s youth wing of the ANC. In 1952, he became deputy national president of the ANC, advocating nonviolent resistance to apartheid--South Africa’s institutionalized system of white supremacy and racial segregation. However, after the massacre of peaceful black demonstrators at Sharpeville in 1960, Nelson helped organize a paramilitary branch of the ANC to engage in guerrilla warfare against the white minority government.
In 1961, he was arrested for treason, and although acquitted he was arrested again in 1962 for illegally leaving the country. Convicted and sentenced to five years at Robben Island Prison, he was put on trial again in 1964 on charges of sabotage. In June 1964, he was convicted along with several other ANC leaders and sentenced to life in prison.
Mandela spent the first 18 of his 27 years in jail at the brutal Robben Island Prison. Confined to a small cell without a bed or plumbing, he was forced to do hard labour in a quarry. He could write and receive a letter once every six months, and once a year he was allowed to meet with a visitor for 30 minutes. However, Mandela’s resolve remained unbroken, and while remaining the symbolic leader of the anti-apartheid movement, he led a movement of civil disobedience at the prison that coerced South African officials into drastically improving conditions on Robben Island. He was later moved to another location, where he lived under house arrest.
In 1989, F.W. de Klerk became South African president and set about dismantling apartheid. De Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC, suspended executions, and in February 1990 ordered the release of Nelson Mandela.
Mandela subsequently led the ANC in its negotiations with the minority government for an end to apartheid and the establishment of a multiracial government.
1916 Birth control pioneer arrested
Emma Goldman, a crusader for women’s rights and social justice, was arrested in New York City for lecturing and distributing materials about birth control. She was accused of violating the Comstock Act of 1873, which made it a federal offense to disseminate contraceptive devices and information through the mail or across state lines. In addition to advocating for women’s reproductive rights, Goldman, who was later convicted and spent time in jail, was a champion of numerous controversial causes and ideas, including anarchism, free speech and atheism. Nicknamed “Red Emma,” the forward-thinking Goldman was arrested multiple times for her activist activities.
Goldman was born into a poor Jewish family in Russia in 1869. She fled her homeland as a teenager in 1885 and ended up in Rochester, New York. There she was employed at a factory and became involved in the labour movement, protesting poor working conditions and advocating for unions and an eight-hour workday. She was influenced by the Haymarket Riot in Chicago in 1886, in which a rally organized by anarchist workers turned into a violent confrontation with police. The anarchists were later convicted and four were hanged. Goldman later relocated to New York City, where she joined the anarchist movement and was romantically linked to anarchist and fellow Russian Alexander Berkman.
1952 Avalanches plague central Europe
On this day in 1952, a series of deadly avalanches began across central Europe.
A storm stalled over the middle of Europe the first week of February 1952, dumping a couple of feet of snow in parts of France, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. In many places, activity came to a standstill. Thousands of people and their shovels were recruited in German towns to make the streets passable. In France, several people died when their roofs collapsed under the weight of the accumulated snow.
The worst of the 10-day snowstorm was felt in Austria, where avalanches took a deadly toll. At a ski resort in Melkoede, 50 people were sleeping in the early morning hours of February 11 when a huge mass of snow suddenly crashed down the mountain above them. Twenty people, almost all German tourists, were killed at the resort and another 10 were seriously injured. In Switzerland and Austria, authorities issued warnings about potential avalanches and some villages were evacuated.
Unfortunately, the following day brought more damaging avalanches. In Isenthal, Switzerland, hundreds of cattle and several barns were buried by snow. In Leutasche, Austria, a 12-year-old child was rescued by people who risked their lives digging while another avalanche was poised to fall. Seven of the child’s family members were killed.
Overall, it is estimated that 78 people died across Europe from the snowstorm and resulting avalanches.
1970 The world’s fourth space power
From the Kagoshima Space Centre on the east coast of Japan’s Ohsumi Peninsula, Ohsumi, Japan’s first satellite was successfully launched into an orbit around Earth. The achievement made Japan the world’s fourth space power, after the Soviet Union in 1957, the United States in 1958, and France in 1965.
Two months after Japan’s launching of Ohsumi, China became the world’s fifth space power when it successfully launched Mao 1 into space. The satellite, named after Mao Zedong, the leader of communist China, orbited Earth broadcasting the Chinese patriotic song The East Is Red once a minute.
1990 Underdog Buster Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson
In a major upset, Buster Douglas defeated Mike Tyson, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, in 10 rounds at a boxing match in Tokyo, Japan.
James “Buster” Douglas began boxing professionally in the 1980s and was considered a talented fighter, but it was believed he lacked the motivation to become a champion. By contrast, Tyson had become the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history when he defeated Trevor Berbick by knockout in 1986, when he was just 20 years old.
Nicknamed “Iron Mike,” Tyson intimidated other boxers with his fast, powerful punches. Going into the February 11, 1990, match with Buster Douglas, Tyson seemed invincible and was considered a 42-1 favourite to win. However, from the start, Douglas managed to dominate the fight. He was said to have been motivated by the pain of his mother’s death several weeks before the match. (Daily Times)
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