Born on this day
Tuesday, August 15, 1769. : Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, is born.
Napoléon Bonaparte was born Napoleone Buonaparte in Ajaccio, Corsica, on 15 August 1769. His father, Carlo Buonaparte, was an attorney and Corsica’s representative to the court of Louis XVI of France in 1778, so Napoleon later adopted a more French form of his name. He began his military career at the age of 16, and rapidly advanced through the ranks. Famed for being an excellent military strategist, he deposed the French Directory in 1799 and proclaimed himself First Consul of France. His military forays into Europe were highly successful, and by 1807 he ruled territory stretching from Portugal to Italy and north to the river Elbe. Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France on 2 December 1804, at Notre-Dame Cathedral.
Despite Napoleon’s military successes, he failed in his aim to conquer the rest of Europe. He was defeated in Moscow in 1812 in a move which nearly destroyed his empire, and his 1815 loss to the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo resulted in his exile to the island of St Helena, where he died in 1821. However, his codification of laws, the Napoleonic Code, remains the foundation of French civil law.
Born on this day
Tuesday, August 15, 1950. : Princess Anne, second child of Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II, is born.
Before her coronation in 1956, Queen Elizabeth II had two children. As Princess Elizabeth, she gave birth to Charles, first in line to the throne, then Princess Anne. Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise, official title Princess Anne of Edinburgh, was born at 11:50am on 15 August 1950. The birth was celebrated with the firing of the Royal Salute at 3:30pm in Hyde Park, by the King’s Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery.
Australian History
Saturday, August 15, 1885. : Broken Hill in far west New South Wales is declared a town.
Broken Hill is a mining city in far western New South Wales, located in the Barrier Range. Because of its proximity to the South Australian border, the city and surrounding area go by Australian Central Standard Time which is the time zone used in South Australia and the Northern Territory, rather than the Australian Eastern Standard Time followed by the eastern states (outside of daylight saving). The city is well-known for its mining history, and for being the birthplace of the Broken Hill Proprietary Company.
Surveyor-General of New South Wales, Sir Thomas Mitchell, was the first known European in the area, journeying through in 1841. However, it was in 1844 that explorer Charles Sturt discovered the series of hills and high ground that he named Stanley’s Barrier Range, after Lord Stanley, the British Colonial Secretary of the time – and because they formed a barrier to his explorations. Sturt noted a gap in the range, now known as the Barrier Range, which he referred to as a “broken hill”.
Boundary rider Charles Rasp found silver ore, initially believing it to be tin, on the broken hill in 1883. On the advice of George McCulloch, manager of the Mount Gipps station which employed him, Rasp and six associates formed a Syndicate of Seven to establish the Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) and pegged the entire ridge. In January 1885, the syndicate located a rich silver, lead and zinc lode 7 kilometres long and 220 metres wide, assuring the success of suture settlement. Broken Hill was declared a town on 15 August 1885.
Australian History
Monday, August 15, 1904. : Dalgety is named as the site of the future Federal Capital Territory of Australia.
Prior to 1901, Australia was made up of six self-governing colonies; New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania. These colonies were ultimately under British rule from the time the First Fleet landed, in 1788, until 1901. Numerous politicians and influential Australians through the years pushed for federation of the colonies, and self-government. On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies was achieved and the Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed. With the establishment of a new nation came the need to build a federal capital.
Rivalry between Australia’s two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, meant that neither should become the nation’s capital. Section 125 of the Constitution of Australia provided that:
“The seat of Government of the Commonwealth shall be determined by the Parliament, and shall be within territory which shall have been granted to or acquired by the Commonwealth, and shall be vested in and belong to the Commonwealth, and shall be in the State of New South Wales, and be distant not less than one hundred miles from Sydney.
Such territory shall contain an area of not less than one hundred square miles, and such portion thereof as shall consist of Crown lands shall be granted to the Commonwealth without any payment therefore. The Parliament shall sit at Melbourne until it meets at the seat of Government.”
Numerous sites were evaluated by members of Parliament. The site for the national capital could not be on the coast, as this could cause it to be susceptible to enemy bombardment. The necessity for a naval port was satisfied by the acquisition of federal land at Jervis Bay. The climate needed to be “bracing”, to ensure clear minds for political decision-making. There could be no established urban development or industry already, and access to sufficient water was a necessity. It needed to be in an elevated position, preferably surrounded by picturesque mountains.
Locations raised for consideration were Albury, Armidale, Bathurst, Bombala, Dalgety, Delegate, Goulburn, Lake George, Lyndhurst, Orange, Queanbeyan, Tumut, Wagga Wagga and Yass. On 15 August 1904, the Seat of Government Act named Dalgety as the site of Australia’s future Federal Capital Territory. However, there were concerns that Dalgety was too far from Sydney and too close to the Victorian border. Therefore, in 1908, the former Limestone Plains region of Yass–Canberra superseded Dalgety as the site for the federal capital.
Australian History
Wednesday, August 15, 1945. : Australian Prime Minister Ben Chifley announces the end of the war against Japan, on what is now known as VP Day (Victory in the Pacific) in Australia.
On 14 August 1945, Japan accepted the Allied demand for unconditional surrender following the devastating atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On this day, Emperor Hirohito accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, also known as the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender. On 15 August 1945, Australian Prime Minister Ben Chifley officially announced the end of the war against Japan. August 15 has subsequently been commemorated as “Victory in the Pacific” or “VP Day” since then.
Japan’s formal surrender took place two and a half weeks later, on 2 September, when Japanese envoys boarded the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay and officially signed the surrender document. Under the Potsdam Declaration, to this day Japan’s sovereignty remains confined to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, along with some minor islands determined by the allies.
VP Day is also known as VJ (Victory over Japan) Day in other countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States and New Zealand. The day is still observed with respect by veterans and members of the Defence forces.
Australian History
Thursday, August 15, 1985. : The opal is made the state gemstone of South Australia.
Opal is a precious stone which shows a variety of iridescent colours from reds, pinks and purples to yellows, greens and blues. The brilliant colours are produced by the diffraction of light through microscopic spheres within the opal which split the white light into all the colours of the spectrum. Along with diamond, emerald, ruby and sapphire, opal is one of the most valuable gemstones.
Opal was first discovered in Australia in 1849 near Angaston, South Australia, by German geologist Johannes Menge. Australia now produces around 97% of the world’s opal. It is mined mainly in the Quilpie-Yowah region of western Queensland and Lightning Ridge in north-west New South Wales, as well as significant fields in South Australia. The fields at Coober Pedy, Mintabie and Andamooka in the central north of the state produce around 80% of the Earth’s total production. Because of South Australia’s rich opal fields, the opal was adopted as the state gemstone on 25 August 1985. It is also Australia’s national gemstone.
World History
Wednesday, August 15, 1663. : A huge fireball descends over the town of Robozero, Russia, ascends again, then reappears once more.
Robozero is a small Russian village about 1120km from St Petersburg. The story of the huge fireball that descended over Robozero is documented by a monastery monk. Around midday on 15 August 1663, a huge ball of fire estimated to be 45m wide, with two beams of fire shooting out from the front, descended out of the perfectly clear sky and hovered over the village lake.
The fireball was noisy and emitted blue smoke. It disappeared for an hour, then returned to the same place, where it stayed for another hour and a half, lighting up the entire lake to its full depth of about 9m, and causing severe burns to some fishermen. Fish tried to escape the unusual phenomenon by throwing themselves up on dry land. An unusual rust deposit coated the lake for quite a few weeks afterwards, and fish caught there glowed and displayed burn marks.
World History
Wednesday, August 15, 1945. : Allied nations celebrate Victory over Japan (VJ) Day.
In the closing days of World War II, Japan had been delivered an ultimatum to surrender on 28 July 1945, but had refused to do so. Because of this, the USA felt its only recourse was to hit hard at the heart of Japanese armament production by dropping atomic bombs on two major cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Following the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese Emperor conceded that continued fighting would only destroy what was left of Japan, and quite possibly lead to the annihilation of the human race. The Japanese surrendered on 14 August 1945, and the announcement was made the following day. Thus, 15 August 1945 marked VJ Day, the end of World War II. The Japanese Government agreed to comply in full with the Potsdam declaration which demanded the unconditional surrender of Japan. The end of WWII was celebrated with two-day holidays in the USA, UK and Australia.
In Australia, VJ Day has always been known as VP Day, for Victory in the Pacific, despite some myths suggesting the name was changed from Victory over Japan.