Born on this day
Wednesday, November 13, 1850. : Novelist and poet, Robert Louis Stevenson, is born.
Robert Louis Stevenson was born on 13 November 1850, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Originally studying law, he never practised and instead devoted himself to writing. One of the most well-read adventure writers of the eighteenth century, he is best known for novels such as ‘Kidnapped’, ‘Treasure Island’ and ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. He was also a poet, and published ‘A Child’s Garden of Verses’ in 1885.
Stevenson suffered from tuberculosis for much of his life. Seeking a climate more favourable to his health, he and his family settled in Western Samoa in 1889. The natives regarded him with affection, and called him Tusitala, meaning “teller of tales”. Stevenson died in Samoa on 3 December 1894.
Australian History
Thursday, November 13, 2003. : Queensland adopts maroon as its official state colour.
The colour “maroon” has long been associated with the state of Queensland because of its connection to sport in Queensland. In particular, maroon, together with gold, represents rugby league club the Brisbane Broncos.
On 13 November 2003, Queensland formally adopted the colour maroon as its official state colour. The announcement was made by the Governor in Council, and a specific shade of maroon was selected. The colour can be viewed on the Queensland Government’s website, under “Flags, Emblems and Icons”.
World History
Thursday, November 13, 1862. : Lewis Carroll begins writing ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a work of children’s fiction by British mathematician and author Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. The story of a bored girl named Alice, who had amazing adventures after she fell through a rabbit-hole, was made up by Carroll as he rowed up the Thames River with three young girls, Lorina, Alice and Edith Liddell. Alice, aged 10, asked Carroll to write down the story: Carroll began writing down the story on 13 November 1862, entitling it “Alice’s Adventures Under Ground”.
A longer version of the story was later published under the title of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. A sequel was published in 1871 as “Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There”. In 1886 a facsimile of Alice’s Adventures under Ground, the original manuscript Dodgson gave Alice, was also published.
World History
Friday, November 13, 1970. : Half a million people are killed as a devastating cyclone hits East Pakistan.
The area once known as East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) lies in the Ganges Delta, a densely populated, low-lying region of the Indian sub-continent. Typically experiencing a humid, warm rainy monsoon from June to October, the area is often hit by tropical cyclones that form in the warm waters of the Bay of Bengal.
On the night of 12 November 1970, a tropical cyclone in the Bay of Bengal approached the coast of East Pakistan. In the early hours of November 13, winds exceeding 190 km/h, combined with an exceptionally high tide of 5 to 6 metres, drove a tidal surge into the region, carrying ocean water many kilometres inland. Widespread flooding drowned many people in their homes before they even knew the cyclone had hit. The official death toll was posted at 150,000, with 100,000 people missing, but later estimates put the figure closer to 500,000. Some researchers have reason to believe the death toll was nearly one million. The West Pakistani government failed to respond quickly to the crisis: this proved the catalyst to political turmoil which resulted in independence for Bangladesh in 1971.
World History
Wednesday, November 13, 1985. : 23,000 are killed after a volcanic eruption in Colombia.
Nevado del Ruiz is the northernmost historically active volcano in South America. With an elevation of 5,321m, the volcano is capped by snow and ice. Around mid-year of 1985, rumblings began in the volcano, increasing in intensity, but residents of Armero, lying in a valley beneath the shadow of the volcano some 90km from Colombia’s capital city of Bogota, were told there was no danger. During the afternoon of 13 November 1985, the volcano emitted a burst of ash. Residents of Armero were ordered to evacuate, but the order was abandoned when the volcano quietened down again early in the evening.
At around 9pm local time, Nevado del Ruiz erupted. Pyroclastic flows consisting of hot gas, ash and rock melted ice and snow at the summit, forming lahars up to 50m thick that rushed down several river valleys at speeds of up to 50km per hour. Some of these lahars, which are mixtures of rock, mud, water and other debris, travelled more than 100 kilometres. Armero was buried under at least 8 metres of ash, mud and debris. Around 23,000 people in the city were killed. Armero has not been excavated. After the 1985 eruption, the government declared the site of the buried city to be “holy ground”. Nevado del Ruiz remained active for several more years, erupting again in 1991 and 1992.