About This Blog
An alternative "On This Day", On This Deity aims to bring light to and celebrate Culture Heroes, Outsider Icons, Beloved Immortals and Revolutionary Events in history.
April
1st April 1939 The End of the Spanish Civil War
Seventy-two years ago on this day, Generalissimo Francisco Franco broadcast his final radio communiqué of the Spanish Civil War: “Today, after having disarmed and captured the Red Army, the Nationalist troops have secured their final military objective. The war is … Continue reading
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2nd April 1917 the First Elected Female Politician Assumes Office
Ninety-four years ago today, the first woman elected to any national legislature in a Western democracy took her seat for the first time in the U.S. House of Representatives. And Sisters, our first-ever political representative didn’t let us down. Three … Continue reading
3rd April 2000 the Death of Terence McKenna
Today we pay tribute to Terence McKenna, the psychedelic voyager and Mesoamerican paladin, who died eleven years ago on this day. Unfortunately, this must for the moment remain a holding entry as our preferred author is currently unavailable – and … Continue reading
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4th April 1968 the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Today we commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. – the inspirational leader, moral arbiter and emblematic martyr of the U.S. civil rights movement. A prophet who led America out of its Jim Crow darkness, this devout Baptist preacher – known throughout the … Continue reading
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5th April 1992 the Siege of Sarajevo
On April 5th 1992 units of the Yugoslav People’s Army on orders from Serbian leader, Slobodan Milosevic, in combination with Bosnian-Serb militia groups, took up positions in the hills surrounding the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo. From there they opened fire on … Continue reading
Posted in Atrocities, World Events 2 Comments
6th April 1994 the Rwandan Genocide Begins
Seventeen years ago today on 6th April 1994, the plane carrying Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana was shot down by surface-to-air missiles as it approached Kigali Airport. All on board were killed. The responsibility for the downing of the plane remains … Continue reading
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7th April 1969 “The Birth of the Internet”
Today we wish a very happy 42nd birthday to the internet. In truth, pinning down an exact date for the birth of the internet isn’t really possible, but Wired magazine suggests today’s as good a day as any to celebrate; … Continue reading
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8th April 2010 the Death of Malcolm McLaren
Today we pay tribute to that uproarious lord of mischief, Malcolm McLaren, who popped his clogs one year ago today. What more can be said of this tiresome entrepreneurial maverick haberdasher who practiced his trade in the dying embers of … Continue reading
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9th April 1865 Robert E. Lee Surrenders
One hundred and forty-six years ago today, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to the Union’s Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. In the parlour of the home of Wilmer and Virginia McLean in the town … Continue reading
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10th April 1919 the Death of Emiliano Zapata
Today we lament the death of the great Mexican revolutionary, natural anarchist and prophet – Emiliano Zapata – tragically betrayed and ambushed ninety-two years ago by federal forces after an heroic 9-year struggle to bring self-reliance and autonomy to his … Continue reading
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11th April 1979 the End of Idi Amin’s Reign of Terror
Thirty-two years ago today, Idi Amin was deposed as president of Uganda after his attempt to annex part of Tanzania spectacularly backfired. Following a counterattack by the Tanzania People’s Defence Force, the former stooge of Imperial Britain who had in 1971 … Continue reading
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12th April 1989 the Revolutionary Suicide of Abbie Hoffman
Today we commemorate everyone’s favourite Groucho Marxist – the radical activist, Abbie Hoffman. Co-founder of the Yippies and author of Steal This Book and Revolution for the Hell of It, Hoffman was one of the most colourful and iconic figures … Continue reading
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13th March 1873 the Colfax Massacre
One hundred and eighty-three years ago today, a brutal massacre occurred in Colfax, Louisiana that remains shockingly little-known considering the magnitude of the violence – it is one of the largest incidents of race-related mass murder in America’s non-combatant history … Continue reading
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14th April 1964 the Death of Rachel Carson
Today we commemorate one of the twentieth century’s greatest revolutionary heroines – the mother of the environmental movement, Rachel Carson. Passionate naturalist, brilliant biologist, fearless crusader and gifted writer of extraordinary command, this outwardly demure and unassuming woman took on … Continue reading
15th April 1865 the Death of Abraham Lincoln
Seven score and six years ago today, at 7.22am on 15th April 1865, Abraham Lincoln died – nine hours after an assassin’s bullet entered the back of his head. This self-educated, rough-hewn lawyer from Illinois with virtually no administrative or … Continue reading
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16th April
No great action has thus far occurred on this day that warrants an On This Deity entry. Instead, here’s something to think about: “Personally I’m in favor of democracy, which means that the central institutions in the society have to be … Continue reading
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17th April 1975 Pol Pot Declares Year Zero
Thirty-six years ago today, Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge captured Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh and declared revolutionary Year Zero. After five years of bloody civil war, the conquering Communist guerrillas were welcomed as heroes by a relieved population desperate for peace … Continue reading
Posted in Atrocities, Tyrants, World Events 1 Comment
18th April 1955 the Death of Albert Einstein
On the 18th of April 1955 Albert Einstein died in Princeton Hospital, New Jersey. He was 76 years old. One of the chief architects of the modern era, there are few other individuals whose impact on human culture has been … Continue reading
19th April 1824 the Death of Lord Byron
Yes, he was “mad, bad and dangerous to know” – flamboyant, dynamic and notorious for his scandalous love affairs and aristocratic excesses. A proto-rock star, he was the most famous literary figure of his day – capturing the imagination of Europe … Continue reading
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20th April 1911 the Lynching of Will Porter
Between 1882 and 1968, 4,743 lynchings occurred in the United States. And that only accounts for those that were recorded. Behind every one of these 4,743 extrajudicial “mob rules” executions, there is indubitably a sick and tragic story – … Continue reading
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21st April 1792 the Execution of Tiradentes
Two hundred and nineteen years ago today, Joaquim Jose da Silva Xavier – better known as Tiradentes – was hanged in Rio de Janeiro. His body was then chopped into pieces, which were displayed along the road between Rio and … Continue reading
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22 April Earth Day
Earth Day was first observed 41 years ago. Across America thousands of local events were organised, and the decentralised method was as inspiring as the new awakening to environmental issues. Initiator Gaylord Nelson said, ‘all we need to do to … Continue reading
Posted in World Events 1 Comment
23rd April 1968 the Columbia University Student Protest
It was the spring of 1968, the “year that rocked the world”. In America, the anti-Vietnam movement was intensifying, stirred by the Tet Offensive and My Lai Massacre. The women’s rights movement was mobilising. And Black Power and the Black … Continue reading
Posted in Dissent, Heroes, Heroines, Revolution, World Events 2 Comments
24th April 1915 the Armenian Genocide
Today we lament the beginning of the infamous Armenian Genocide in which 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of Turkey’s Ottoman regime. Force-marched to their deaths across stifling tundra, countless thousands driven en masse into subterranean caves at the … Continue reading
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25th April 1974 the Carnation Revolution
At twenty minutes past midnight on 25th April 1974, Lisbon night owls heard the unthinkable coming through their radios. “Sines, Vila Morena” was a well-known anthem to young people and intellectuals, but with lyrics extolling the virtues of brotherhood and … Continue reading
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26th April 1937 Guernica
Seventy-four years ago today it was market day in Guernica, a small town in northern Spain considered to be the spiritual capital of Basque culture. In late afternoon, without warning or provocation, Luftwaffe aircraft swooped down over Guernica. Wave after wave bombarded the … Continue reading
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27th April 1882 the Death of Ralph Waldo Emerson
He’s been called the “prophet of his generation,” “America’s Plato,” “the Sage of Concord” and “the single most influential figure in American literary history”. Today we celebrate a true colossus – Ralph Waldo Emerson – who died one hundred and twenty-nine … Continue reading
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28th April 1945 the Execution of Mussolini
Sixty-six years ago today, Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was summarily executed by communist partisans and his body brutalised, violated and hung up for public display in Milan’s Piazzo Loreto – as ignominious a death as any of those Caesars … Continue reading
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29th April 1916 the Easter Rising
On the 29th April 1916 poet, teacher and revolutionary, Pádraig Pearse, issued the following statement from a beseiged building on Dublin’s Moore Street, In order to prevent the further slaughter of Dublin citizens, and in the hope of saving the … Continue reading
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30th April 1945 the Suicide of Adolf Hitler
Today we celebrate with arms outstretched in utterly ecstatic glee the bizarre Berlin suicide sixty-six years ago of that Cosmic Herostratus, World Garbage Mouth and Nihilistic Ruiner of All Things Adolf Hitler, who took his own life with poison even … Continue reading
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