Born on this day

Tuesday, October 3, 1916. :   Inventor of the portable defibrillator, James F Pantridge, is born.

James Francis “Frank” Pantridge was born on 3 October 1916, in Hillsborough, Ireland. He was educated at Queen’s University in Belfast, graduating in medicine in 1939, and became a physician and cardiologist. He served in the British Army during WWII, became a prisoner of war and spent much time working on the infamous Burma railway. After the war, he returned to a life of academia, and studied further under cardiologist F N Wilson.

After returning to Northern Ireland in 1950, he was appointed as cardiac consultant to the Royal Victoria Hospital and professor at Queen’s University, where he established a specialist cardiology unit. Together with his colleague Dr John Geddes, he introduced modern cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for the early treatment of heart attack. Further study led Frank Pantridge to the realisation that death occurred within the first hour for 60% of pre-middle-aged males who died from heart attack, and of these, 90% suffered ventricular fibrillation. To facilitate the earliest possible treatment, Pantridge equipped an ambulance with a portable defibrillator. It achieved a 50% long-term patient survival rate. The first automated external defibrillators (AEDs) became available in 1979, and have since contributed significantly to improved chances of survival from heart attack.

Australian Explorers

Sunday, October 3, 1824. :   Explorers Hume and Hovell set out to explore between Sydney and Western Port.

Hamilton Hume was an Australian-born settler with excellent bush skills. He was interested in exploring south of the known Sydney area in order to open up new areas of land, but could not gain Government support for his proposed venture. William Hovell was an English immigrant with little bush experience, a former ship’s captain who was keen to assist Hume’s expedition financially, and accompany him. The expedition was set up, and Hume and Hovell departed Hume’s father’s farm at Appin, southwest of Sydney, on 3 October 1824.

Although the two men argued for most of their journey, and even for many years after their return, the expedition was successful in many ways. Hume and Hovell were the first to discover the “Hume River”, though it was later renamed by Sturt as the Murray River. They were the first white men to see the Australian Alps. Much good grazing and pastureland was also found.

There was one major mistake, however. Hovell, as navigator, managed to incorrectly calculate their position when they thought they had reached Westernport on the southern coast. They were in fact at Corio Bay in Port Phillip, where the city of Geelong now stands. As a result of their reports of excellent farmland when they returned to Sydney, a party was sent to settle the Westernport area in 1826, only to find poor water and soil quality. The Port Phillip settlement was abandoned, and not resumed for another ten years. Nonetheless, Hume and Hovell’s expedition still opened up vast tracts of valuable land.

Australian History

Thursday, October 3, 1935. :   The Australian/New Zealand dessert, the pavlova, is named after ballerina Anna Pavlova.

The pavlova is a traditional Australian dessert consisting of a base made of a meringue crust topped with whipped cream and fresh fruits such as kiwi fruit, passionfruit and strawberries.

There is some dispute as to whether the pavlova was actually created in Australia or New Zealand. Meringue cakes, very similar to modern-day pavlovas, were evident throughout much of Europe around 100 years before pavlova was said to be created. The Australian legend states that the pavlova was created by Herbert Sachse, the chef of the Hotel Esplanade in Perth, Western Australia, on 3 October 1935. It is said to have been given the name “Pavlova” by Harry Naire from the Perth hotel, in honour of the visiting Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova. Naire is alleged to have stated that the raised sides of the dessert reminded him of a tutu.

New Zealand may have a greater claim to the pavlova, however. Recipes for pavlova appeared in a magazine and a cookery book from 1929 and 1933, whilst extra notes from a biographer state that it was invented in 1926 after Anna Pavlova’s visit. What is clear is that, while the dessert may have been invented in New Zealand, it was undisputedly named in Australia.

Australian History

Saturday, October 3, 1953. :   Britain tests its first atomic bomb at a group of uninhabited islands off Western Australia.

The Montebello islands are a group of islands about 140 kilometres off the Pilbara coast of North West Australia. As well as the two main islands, Hermite Island and Trimouille Island, there are about 170 other islands in the archipelago, of which another 30 or so are named. Prior to World War II, much pearl fishing was conducted off the islands.

On 3 October 1952, the Montebello islands became the site for testing of the first British atomic bomb. “Operation Hurricane” was conducted 350 metres off the coast of Trimouille Island for the purpose of testing the effects of a bomb smuggled inside a ship – a great concern at the time. The plutonium implosion bomb was exploded inside the hull of HMS Plym, a 1,370-ton River class frigate, which was anchored in 12 m of water. The resulting explosion left a saucer-shaped crater on the seabed 6 metres deep and 300 metres across.

World History

Thursday, October 3, 1935. :   Italian troops invade the African nation of Abyssinia (now Ethiopia).

In 1934, Abyssinia (Ethiopia) was still one of the few independent states in a European-dominated Africa. Countries such as Britain and France had conquered smaller nations in the “Scramble for Africa” the previous century. In 1896, Italy had attempted to expand in eastern Africa by adding Abyssinia to her conquests (which included Eritrea and Somaliland), but the Italians were heavily defeated by the Abyssinians at the Battle of Adowa. Italy bided her time.

In 1928, Italy signed a treaty of friendship with Abyssinian leader Haile Selassie, but Italy was already secretly planning to invade the African nation. In December 1934, a dispute at the Wal Wal oasis along the border between Abyssinia and Italian Somaliland gave Italian dictator Benito Mussolini an excuse to respond with aggression. Italian troops stationed in Somaliland and Eritrea were instructed to attack Abyssinia, and the invasion occurred on 3 October 1935. Overwhelmed by the use of tanks and mustard gas, the Abyssinians stood little chance. The capital, Addis Ababa, fell in May 1936 and Haile Selassie was removed from the throne and replaced by the king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel.

Selassie’s request for European help was largely ignored. It was not until after World War II, and the defeat of Italy, that he was returned to power.

World History

Saturday, October 3, 1942. :   Nazi Germany initiates the Space Age, launching the first rocket to reach outer space.

The Space Age is generally regarded as commencing with the launch of the first artificial satellite by the Soviet Union in 1957. In reality, the Space Age began over a decade earlier, with the development of a military test facility by Nazi Germany, which saw the launch of the very first rocket into outer space.

In 1936, Nazi Germany began building a technological facility at Peenemünde in the northeast of the German Baltic island of Usedom. Construction was largely undertaken by foreign workers, prisoners of war, inmates of concentration camps and slave labour. The Peenemünde Military Test Site, considered to be the world’s first large-scale research facility, was responsible for the development of the rocket which became known as the “wonder weapon”, under the direction of physicist Wernher von Braun. Originally called the Aggregat 4 rocket (A4), Nazi propaganda referred to the rocket as “Vergeltungswaffe 2”, translated as ‘Vengeance Weapon 2‘. It was later renamed the V-2.

The first rocket was launched on 3 October 1942. This was the first ballistic missile to reach outer space, travelling 90 km into the atmosphere, and signified the first major step in the Space Age. Capable of transporting explosives, the rocket achieved four times the speed of sound. It is now regarded as the prototype for all modern military and civilian booster rockets. The V-2 was used for assaults on Allied targets in Belgium, Britain and France from September 1944 onwards. Although it was directly responsible for the deaths of thousands, even more workers were killed during its development, with figures suggesting up to 20 000 people died during its production and testing.

After World War II ended, von Braun and around 500 of his best scientists were surrendered to the USA, which sought to recruit engineers from the facility to help develop space technology. The technology which von Braun developed led to his design of the Saturn rocket boosters which were eventually employed to put the first man on the Moon. The former test site in Germany is now the location of the Peenemünde Historical Technical Museum which, in 2002, was awarded the Coventry Cross of Nails for its contribution to reconciliation and world peace.

World History

Wednesday, October 3, 1990. :   West Germany and East Germany are reunified for the first time since 1949.

Following Germany’s defeat in World War II, Germany was split into two separately controlled countries. West Germany, also known as the Federal Republic of Germany, was proclaimed on 23 May 1949 with Bonn as its capital. As a liberal parliamentary republic and part of NATO, the country maintained good relations with the Western Allies. East Germany, or the German Democratic Republic, was proclaimed in East Berlin on 7 October 1949. It adopted a socialist republic, and remained allied with the communist powers, being occupied by Soviet forces. The Berlin Wall, which divided the original capital of Germany into east and west-controlled sectors, was constructed in 1961.

The Soviet powers began to dwindle in the late 1980s, and the Communist Party in East Germany began to lose its grip on power. In 1989 the Berlin Wall started to crumble, and was completely dismantled shortly afterwards. On 18 March 1990, the first and only free elections in the history of the GDR were held, producing a government whose major mandate was to negotiate an end to itself and its state. The German “Einigungsvertrag” (Unification Treaty) was signed on 31 August 1990 by representatives of West Germany and East Germany. German reunification took place on 3 October 1990, when the areas of the former German Democratic Republic, also known as East Germany, were incorporated into The Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany.