“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (George Santayana). Without history, we cannot grow from our mistakes, leaving us to follow the same path others have already been down. Although this week is average, and just another boring week for most, many significant things have happened in the history of the world.
October 31
Although Halloween overshadows most other events, there are a few with significance. In 1941, Mount Rushmore was completed. After 14 years of work from over 400 stone workers, the carvings of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt were complete. 1984 took a much darker turn as former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was gunned down by her own bodyguards for military action taken at the Golden Temple.
November 1
In 1991, the University of Iowa was the target of a shooting. A student there by the name of Gang Lu killed five people on campus and then committed suicide. In 1986, a major fire started in a storehouse in an industrial district of Switzerland. The fire led to the destruction of many materials, including dye, and other hazardous materials. Although many of these things were destroyed, the water used to halt the fire caused runoff, and what wasn’t destroyed was introduced into the environment, causing the Rhine River to turn red, killing many fish.
November 2
In 1982, the unemployment rate in the United States reached 7.4%, making the economy a concern. The jobs that had been being created were typically lower paying as well. In Pakistan, Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud was killed during a drone strike in 2013. Four others were reported dead as well.
November 3
In 1979, the Greensboro Massacre occurred, leaving five dead and many others injured. A march against the Klu Klux Klan had been held, and the protesters were gunned down. Only six of the forty Klu Klux Klan members and Nazi affiliates involved were brought to trial, though none of them were convicted. In 1957, the Russian Aircraft, Sputnik 2, launched a dog into orbit, making it the first animal in space.
November 4
In 1970, a feral child named Genie was at a children’s hospital in Los Angeles. The first thirteen years of Genie’s life were spent in a bedroom or another enclosed space. Her parents had kept her home, and refused to let her out. Her father also refused to let her speak.The movie Mocking Bird Don’t Sing was based on her tragic story. In 2011, an earthquake caused a rock burst, and eight miners died during the event. The fifty that were trapped were rescued the next day.
The Snapper 