Born on this day
Thursday, March 23, 1769. : The developer of the geologic map, William Smith, is born.
William Smith was born on 23 March 1769 in Churchill, Oxfordshire. Initially a surveyor’s assistant, it was while working for Somersetshire Coal Canal that he noticed strata (layers of rock of similar composition) were arranged in a predictable pattern, and that the various strata could always be found in the same relative positions. Further, each particular stratum could be identified by the fossils it contained, and the same succession of fossil groups from older to younger rocks could be found in many parts of England.
From this, Smith extrapolated that strata and their characteristics were consistent throughout the country. By continually taking samples and mapping the locations of the various strata, he produced the first large-scale geological map, of the area around Bath, Somerset, in 1799. A geological map is a special-purpose map made for the purpose of showing subsurface geological features. In 1815 Smith published the first geological map of any country, covering the whole of England and Wales.
Australian History
Wednesday, March 23, 1887. : 81 men and boys are killed in Australia’s first major mining disaster, at Old Bulli Mine.
Mount Kembla is located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales. It was first observed in 1770 by explorer James Cook who described it as ‘a round hill’ with a top resembling a hat. The nearby area was settled in 1817 by George Molle, Lieutenant-Governor of the New South Wales colony under Governor Lachlan Macquarie’s administration.
Oil-bearing shale was first discovered in the Mount Kembla region in 1849, leading to the establishment of several mines in the area. In 1862, the Bulli Mine Company opened a mine on the Illawarra Range escarpment, west of the Illawarra coastal plain, transporting the coal by rail from the colliery to Bulli Jetty at Sandon Point. This mine was also the location of Australia’s first major mining disaster.
Safety issues had been a concern for some time at the Old Bulli mine. Miners who spoke up about safety were victimised by mine management, so few were willing to voice their fears. On 23 March 1887, a gas explosion detonated in the Hill End section of the Old Bulli Colliery. 81 men and boys were killed when a lamp ignited methane gas, creating a series of rolling coal dust explosions. An inquiry into the disaster laid the blame on both mine management and the workers for their casual attitude towards safety. Specifically, the jury’s verdict stated that “… the gas explosion … was brought about by the disregard of the Bulli Colliery Special Rules and Coal Mines Act, in allowing men to work when gas existed”.
A memorial obelisk listing the names of those who died was built in Park Road, Bulli, adjacent to the railway line, but the lessons from this disaster were not heeded. The mine reopened within a year. Just over 15 years later, another mine disaster in the Illawarra, at the Mount Kembla colliery, resulted in the deaths of 96 workers.
World History
Saturday, March 23, 1743. : King George II sparks the tradition of standing during the performance of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s oratorio ‘Messiah’.
Georg Friedrich Händel (his name was later anglicised to George Frideric Handel) was a prolific composer. During his composing career, he wrote around fifty operas, twenty-three oratorios, much church music and numerous outstanding instrumental pieces, such as the organ concerti, the Opus 6 Concerti Grossi, the Water Music, and the Fireworks Music.
Handel’s best-known work is probably the oratorio, “Messiah”, written within a 24-day period, and completed on 14 September 1741. An oratorio is a large musical composition for orchestra, vocal soloists and chorus, telling a sacred story without costumes, scenery, or acting. “Messiah” is the story of the prophecy of the coming Messiah as told in the Old Testament, and the life and death of Jesus, set to texts from the King James Bible. Originally conceived as an Easter oratorio, it has become popular to perform it at Christmas, particularly as it contains the powerful “Hallelujah” chorus.
During the London premiere of “Messiah” on 23 March 1743, King George II rose to his feet during the Hallelujah chorus and remained standing until its end. Thus began the tradition that still endures today, of the audience standing during the performance of the Hallelujah chorus.
World History
Monday, March 23, 1903. : The earliest version of the board game ‘Monopoly’ is developed.
The popular board game ‘Monopoly’ is named after the economic concept of monopoly, the domination of a market by a single seller. The game was developed by Charles B Darrow, but the concept was actually based on a game by Lizzie J Magie, a Quaker from Virginia. Magie’s invention was called the Landlord Game, and was designed to promote her political agenda by demonstrating how rents enrich property owners and impoverish tenants. Magie applied for the patent on her game on 23 March 1903, and received her patent in January of the following year. The properties on Magie’s board were for rent only, not acquisition. Otherwise, the game was played much like the Monopoly of today.
Darrow developed his own version of the game and patented it in 1935. The current form of ‘Monopoly’ was released on 5 November 1935. It was immediately popular as, during the Depression, people enjoyed the concept of a game in which players could make their fortune, accumulate large sums of money and send other players into financial ruin.
World History
Thursday, March 23, 1950. : Today is World Meteorological Day.
23 March is World Meteorological Day. Every year, World Meteorological Day is celebrated to commemorate the establishment of the Convention of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on 23 March 1950. WMO, the headquarters of which are at Geneva, is an intergovernmental organisation with a membership of 187 Member States and Territories. It became the specialised agency of the United Nations for meteorology, operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences, and originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was founded in 1873. The purpose of WMO is to promote international cooperation between meteorological stations around the world, standardise meteorological observations, further develop research and training, and extend the application of meteorological findings to different fields.