Blue Thursday saw massive panic in stock markets.
The first Parliament of Australia opened.
Lizzie van Zyl whose emaciated body would become the symbol of British concentration camp atrocities, died at age seven
Last edition:
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Saturday, May 9, 2026
Monday, May 4, 2026
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Wednesday, March 24, 1976. Passing of Field Marshal Montgomery.
Bernard Law Montgomery died at age 88.
Of Scots Irish descent, he was born in Kennington, England to a Church of Ireland cleric and grew up principally in Australia when his father was appointed Bishop of Tasmania. He was commissioned an Army officer in 1908. He became a British Field Marshall during World War Two and is justifiably famous. He was deputy commander of NATO until 1958, when he retired at age 70.
Isabel Peron was deposed.
Last edition:
Tuesday, March 16, 1976. Wilson resigns at the point where Trump should have.
Monday, January 5, 2026
Monday, January 5, 1976. South African Television, sort of.
Television was introduced in South Africa.
Yes, that late.
The first shows were The World at War, which was truly excellent, followed by an episode of The Bob Newhart Show, which also was. South African TV was initially limited to five hours in the evening from 7 p.m. to midnight, with half of the programming in English and half in Afrikaans..
Would that such limitations applied everywhere today.
The scourge of no fault divorce was introduced to Australia.
Last edition:
Thursday, January 1, 1976. Venezuela nationalizes its oil industry.
Thursday, January 1, 2026
Thursday, January 1, 1976. Venezuela nationalizes its oil industry.
It was the start of the Bicentennial year in the United States in which the country would celebrate its 200th year of independence. It was a big deal, full of celebrations and commemorations. It was particularly notable if you were in school at the time, which I was (junior high).
Venezuela nationalized its oil industry, putting all of it, including foreign interests, in its state oil company.
Donald Trump has recently been complaining about this.
A lot of nations have done this over time, and its often been upsetting to US oil interests at the time, but the concept of nationalizing petroleum interests to some degree is not irrational, and while I haven't had the chance to post on it yet, quite frankly nationalization of undeveloped petroleum resources in the US is something that is at least worth talking about, even though it will never occur.
A Lebanese airliner exploded over Saudi Arabia from a bomb in the cargo hold. All 81 people were killed in an act of terrorism for which the responsible party has never been determined, although Omani terrorists are suspected by some forces. Apparently the bomb was set to have gone off while the plane was empty and on the ground, but things went awry.
The Australian Defence Force came into being, giving the Australian military a unified command.
Last edition:
Sunday, December 28, 1975. Conflict in the Third Cod War.
Labels: 1970s, 1975, Argentina, boats and ships, Cod Wars, Dirty War, fishing, football, Icelandic Coast Guard, North Sea, Royal Navy, Sports, Third Cod War
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Tuesday, November 11, 1975. Angola independent and at war.
Angola, a Portuguese colony for 500 years, became independent. A civil war for control of the country was already raging.
Australia was in political turmoil.
November 11, 1975: The Australian Constitutional Crisis
It was Veterans' Day.
Last edition:
Monday, November 10, 1975. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
Sunday, September 2, 1945. Japan signs the Instrument of Surrender.
This Day in History: V-J Day effectively ends World War II
The Australian Minister of Defence announced that the South-West Pacific Command had come to an end.
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed by Ho Chi Minh.
The British government ended wartime censorship.
Last edition:
Saturday, September 1, 1945. Truman addresses the nation.
Friday, August 15, 2025
Wednesday, August 15, 1945. VP Day.
US Federal employees received a two day holiday.
August 15
Today is Victory over Japan Day
VJ Day Crowd in Times Squire, New York City, August 14, 1945.
1945 The Allies proclaimed V-J Day, one day after Japan agreed to surrender unconditionally. Hirohito's surrender message is broadcast to the Japanese people. Japanese aircraft raid TF 38, 12 hours after Hirohito's surrender order. Soviet aircraft sink 860 ton frigate Kenju off Hokkaido; last Japanese warship lost during World War II.A two-day holiday is proclaimed for all federal employees. In New York, Mayor La Guardia pays tribute to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the deceased president, in a radio broadcast. US Task Force 38 launches massive air strikes on the Tokyo area, encountering numerous Japanese fighters but the aircraft are recalled upon receipt of the surrender announcement. Vice-Admiral Ugaki, commanding Kamikaze operations, leads a final mission but the 7 dive-bombers are shot down off Tokyo before they can reach Okinawa. South Korea was liberated after nearly 40 years of Japanese colonial rule. US gasoline rationing ends.
Wait a minute. I thought you said yesterday was VJ Day?
I did. Actually there's some dispute on whether the 14th, when Truman read the news and when Hirohito actually stated Japan would surrender, or today, the following day, is VJ, or VP Day. I actually would have supported today being the more widely supported one, but not everyone does. FWIW,
15 August is the official V-J Day for the United Kingdom,. 2 September.for the US.
VP stood for Victory in the Pacific.
It was still a pretty tense day in the war zone.
Hirohito's surrender was broadcast by Japanese radio.
This was the first time most Japanese had heard their Emperor speak, and as it was delivered in classical Japanese, which most Japanese did not speak, it was difficult to understand.
US Task Force 38 launched massive air strikes on the Tokyo area which was heavily resisted, but the attack was recalled when the surrender announcement was learned of.
Vice-Admiral Ugaki, commanding Kamikaze operations, leads a final mission but all seven dive-bombers are shot down off Tokyo before they can reach Okinawa
The Battle of Baoying began in central Jiangsu, China as part of the Chinese Civil War. Chiang Kai-shek, meanwhile, made a radio broadcast noting China's fight with Japan since 1937.
Chu Teh, the Commander in Chief of the Chinese Communist army, warns the Allies that the Communists expect a share in the Japanese surrender and postwar settlement, a bold statement considering the general sit on their butt attitude of the Chinese Communist forces during the war.
The Nationalist Chinese and the Soviet Union signed a Treaty of Friendship returning Manchuria to China. Chinese Communists were excluded.
The Soviets received Port Arthur.
Philippe Pétain was sentenced to death for treason, but Charles de Gaulle gave him a reprieve on account of his age.
Gen. Korechika Anami, Japanese War Minister, committed suicide at age 58.
Celebrations broke out in Australia.
Last edition:
Sunday, July 13, 2025
Friday, July 13, 1945. Japan seeks a way out.
US patrol on Luzon, July 13, 1945.
After a flurry of cables from Japan, Japan's Ambassador to the Soviet Union Naotake Sato met with Molotov in a peace feeler through the still neutral Soviet Union.
The Berlin municipal council confiscated all property held by members of the Nazi Party.
The U.S. took responsibility for the sinking of the Japanese hospital ship Awa Maru on April 1, but cited it as an error, which it was.
Gen. Eisenhower issued a farewell message to the AEF.
World War Two American internment camps were shutting down.
Today in World War II History—July 13, 1940 & 1945: 80 Years Ago—July 13, 1945: US War Relocation Authority announces all but one internment camp for Japanese-Americans (Tule Lake) are to close by December 15.
Ben Chifley was chosen as Australian Prime Minister
.webp)
Last edition:
Tuesday, July 8, 2025
Monday, July 9, 1945. Dutch land at Balikpapan.
Dutch troops landed north of Balikpapan, completing the encirclement of the bay.
Chinese troops captured the Tanchuk airbase.
The Brazilian cruiser Bahia accidentally sank itself by hitting itself during antiaircraft firing exercises. 294 men were killed.
Charles de Gaulle proposed a national referendum to decide the system of government in France.
A crowd of 30,000 gathered in Perth for the funeral procession of John Curtin to Karrakatta Cemetery.
A total solar eclipse was visible across parts of the northern hemisphere, including parts of North America.
Life magazine featured a model in a bikini, something that various magazines had been doing a lot of in 1945.
Last edition:
Sunday, July 8, 1945. The Camp Salina Massacre.
Labels: 1940s, 1945, 1970, 1970s, Army, Australian Army, boats and ships, Borneo, Crime, Dutch Navy, Prisoners of War, South China Sea, U.S. Navy, Utah
Friday, July 4, 2025
Thursday, July 5, 1945. Elections in the UK.
The United Kingdom held a general election.
The Polish Provisional Government of National Unity was recognized by Britain and the United States..
Australian Prime Minister John Curtin died and Frank Forde took his place.
Gen. Spaatz was announced as the air commander for Operation Downfall.
"Patrols of 29 Bn., 18th Brigade move cautiously into the village area of Penadjam, Balikpapen, Borneo, under sniper fire. 5 July, 1945. Photographer: Lt. Novak. Photo Source: U.S. National Archives. Digitized by Signal Corps Archive.
Last edition:
Tuesday, July 1, 2025
Wednesday, July 1, 1925. The Kuomintang proclaimed a new national government for the Republic of China.
The Kuomintang proclaimed a new national government for the Republic of China.
Ford Australia produced its first Model T.
Last edition:
Sunday, June 28, 1925. Executing the Kurdish rebels.
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Thursday, June 12, 1975. Searching for the meaning of Vietnam.
The New York Review of Books ran an issue on The Meaning of Vietnam.
The disaster of no fault divorce spread to Australia with the Family Law Act 1975.
Last edition:
Wednesday, June 11, 1975. North Sea Oil. Reeducation. Gas Tax Rejection. MKUltra.
Labels: 1970s, 1975, Army of the Republic of Vietnam, Central Intelligence Agency, Gerald Ford, MKUltra, North Sea, Petroleum, The Cold War, United Kingdom, Vietnam, Vietnam War
Friday, April 25, 2025
Friday April 25, 1975. White Christmas.
The U.S. Embassy in Saigon decided that to signal "Evacuation Day" for Americans, the Defense Attaché Office (DAO) radio station would broadcast the phrase "the temperature is 105 degrees and rising" followed by playing Bing Crosby's recording of the song "White Christmas".
The last Australians, including their ambassador, were evacuated by the RAAF.
91.7% of eligible Portuguese voters turned out for the first multiparty election in the country in nearly fifty years. The Socialist Party won 116 of the 250 seats, Social Democrats won 81 and the Portuguese Communist Party 30 seats.
There had been real fears the Communist Party would win.
The Liga Comunista 23 de Septiembre raided a branch of the Banco de Comercio at Villa Coapa, Mexico City, killing six police who were guarding the bank. They killed two more policemen and two bystanders in their escape.
Last edition
Thursday, April 24, 1975. Wings of Freedom
Labels: 1970s, 1975, Aircraft, Colorado, homosexuality, law, Saigon Vietnam, South Vietnam, Sweden, Terrorism, The Fall of Saigon, Vietnam, Vietnam War, West Germany
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