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India became a republic under Nehru (1950), Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz (1945), Janet Travell became the first female presidential physician (1961), the Rum Rebellion occurred in Australia (1808), a whale exploded in Taiwan (2004), Franco captured Barcelona (1939), St. Petersburg was renamed Leningrad (1924), Brazil was discovered by Vicente Yanez Pinzon (1500), African American troops were allowed to serve in the Union Army (1863), and Maria von Trapp was born (1905).
India declared itself a republic. (1950) India became a democratic republic under Jawaharlal Nehru, the protégé of Mohandas Gandhi. Gandhi had campaigned for Indian freedom and democracy for over 30 years before he was assassinated in 1948. His legacy was clearly influential in transforming India into a republic.
Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz. (1945) The taking of Auschwitz was one of the first times Allied troops saw the atrocities committed in the concentration camps. Soviet troops found more than 7,000 starvation survivors and warehouses filled with hundreds of thousands of items of clothing and personal items that had yet to be burned.
The first female presidential doctor was named. (1961) US President Kennedy appointed Janet Travell as her personal physician, making her the first female presidential physician. She was later found to have prescribed more than five painkillers for the president at once, as well as a variety of sleep aids and orthopedic shoes.
The Rum Rebellion of 1808 took place. (1808) Australia had only been established as a penal colony two decades earlier, before this first and only successful armed rebellion in Australia occurred. William Bligh, known for mutiny on HMS Bounty, was overthrown by rival military officers, who ruled Australia under martial law before a new governor arrived from England.
A whale exploded in Taiwan. (2004) A decomposing sperm whale exploded during transportation in Tainan City, Taiwan. The whale was about to be moved to a laboratory for study when a critical buildup of gas caused it to explode, covering people and shop windows in Tainan city with offal. Although rotting whales are routinely blown up with dynamite to clear beaches, it is thought to be the first time a whale has blown up in a city.
General Franco captured Barcelona. (1939) The capture of Barcelona was an important point in the Spanish Civil War. Three months later, Franco would capture Madrid, killing over 1 million people and ending the war.
St. Petersburg became Leningrad. (1924) The city’s name was changed in the hysteria following Lenin’s death just three days earlier. It remained called Leningrad until the fall of the USSR in 1991, when it reverted to its old name of St. Petersburg.
Brazil has been discovered. (1500) Vicente Yanez Pinzon, a former member of Christopher Columbus’ expeditions, was the first European to set foot in Brazil. Despite the discovery, no settlements were made in Brazil until 30 years later.
The Union Army has begun allowing African American troops to serve. (1863) John Albion Andrew, the governor of Massachusetts, received permission on this day to begin recruiting African-American troops for a Union militia. He was the force behind the creation of the famous 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, one of the busiest units in the Civil War, which was also the first official African American Army unit in the United States.
Maria von Trapp is born. (1905) Von Trapp was a singer in Austria before fleeing to America. Her story later became famous in the movie The Sound of Music.
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