Remembering the historical happening son this day, September 8
One of the most influential figures in art, Italian Renaissance sculptor Michelangelo's most famous work is the Statue of David.
Image: File
1504 Michelangelo’s statue, David is unveiled.
1886 Digging for gold in the Witwatersrand is authorised, accelerating the influx of people to the area as many from around the world come to seek their fortune. The city of Johannesburg is established a month later, and after 10 years, the city had a population of over 100 000 people – a third of which are foreigners.
1886 English officer Siegfried Sassoon is born. Decorated for bravery, which was often near suicidal, he earns the nickname, ‘Mad Jack’. He goes on to become one of the leading poets of World War I with his antiwar poems.
1923 In heavy fog, nine US Navy destroyers run aground on Devil’s Jaws – a particularly treacherous stretch of coast, near Santa Barbara, California. Seven of the ships are complete loses and 23 sailors die. Earlier that day, the mail ship SS Cuba ran aground nearby. Some attributed these groundings in the Santa Barbara Channel to unusual currents caused by the great Tokyo earthquake a week before.
1941 Nazi forces sever the last road to Leningrad, initiating the 872-day siege of the city, the deadliest ever with nearly a million people shelled and starved to death.
1987 Margaret Mary Smith dies in Grahamstown. She illustrated the book, Sea Fishes of Southern Africa, one of the most comprehensive books on fishes in the world.
2020 Europe’s biggest migrant camp burns down on the Greek island of Lesbos, leaving 13 00 refugees without shelter.
2020 Two former Myanmar soldiers testify they were ordered to rape and kill Muslim Rohingya villagers.
2022 Australian Stephanie Gilmore wins her eighth world surfing title at Lower Trestles, California, making her the most successful women’s champion in history.
2022 Queen Elizabeth II, 96, dies after 70 years on the throne – the longest of any English monarch.
2024 Pope Francis celebrates mass in the remote jungle town of Vanimo in Papua New Guinea. The pontiff brought eight suitcases, each weighing 30kg, containing food, medicine, toys and primary goods, as well as containers for the food which otherwise would risk rapid deterioration in the tropical climate.
DAILY NEWS