On This Day In History: Easter Edition (2016-2020)
By Shantleen Kaur Dhanoa
On this Day in History: Easter Edition (2020-2016)
Unlike Christmas, Easter lacks a specific date as it relies on a lunar calendar. This changes the date Easter is celebrated every year, leading to some very interesting coincidences with other anniversaries.
This article is part two in a series discussing historical events falling on Easter dates during the last 25 years (using the Gregorian calendar).
Easter Sunday 2020: 12 April
Coinciding Event: 416th Anniversary of the First Union Flag (1606)
The first version of the Union Jack (the British flag) was officially adopted by England and Scotland on this day in 1606, when King James I (of a unified Scotland and England) ordered this flag to be used on English and Scottish ships. The original Union Jack design is the same as the current version of the flag, but the white cross lacks the interior red stripes as seen in modern versions of the flag. The modern version of the Union Jack would be adopted by Great Britain (after the inclusion of Wales and, most recently, Ireland) in 1801.
Even after most of Ireland separated from the UK and became the Republic of Ireland during the 1920s, the red cross on the Union Jack remains.
Easter Sunday 2019: 21 April
Coinciding Event: German "Flying Ace" Manfred von Richthofen is killed in action (1918)
Manfred von Richthofen (born May 2nd, 1892) is perhaps the most famous early fighter pilot and the most successful fighter pilot of World War I (1914-1918), being one of Germany’s most feared and revered World War I veterans. In more recent times, Manfred von Richthofen is known for his role as Snoopy the Flying Ace's unseen archnemesis in the Peanuts newspaper comic, the Peanuts animated films and various musical settings based on the comics. He was also known by his nickname "Der Rote Kampf Flieger," which is the German name of his autobiography. Manfred is more famously known, however, as "The Red Baron," especially after the Great War.
The German noble flew a bright red Fokker triplane and was said to have won 80 aerial battles from September 17th 1916 to April 20th1918. A day after his latest victory against the Rhodesian David G. Lewis, Baron on Richthofen was chasing a Sopwith Camel piloted by Wilfred Reid May, a Canadian. He and his "Flying Circus" were ambushing several British and Allied planes during a dogfight (a form of aerial combat at short range) over the French countryside.
Whilst pursuing Wilfred Reid May, the Canadian, the Red Baron was shot in the chest by either fellow Canadian fighter pilot Arthur Brown (according to the British Royal Air Force) or by Australian soldier Cedric Popkin, who was operating an anti-aircraft machine gun at the time. Cedric Popkin is now officially considered the Red Baron's killer.
Manfred von Richthofen quickly died of his wounds before his plane crashed. He was just shy of his 26th birthday. Several Allied soldiers grabbed scraps of what remained of the Red Baron's plane. The Red Baron was given a full military funeral, by Australians! He was originally buried in Bertagnole Cemetery, France. Over the next few decades, his remains were moved to other cemeteries around Europe, before his remains were finally returned to his relatives in 1975:
1. The Fricourt German War Cemetery in France (1920-1925).
2. The Invalids' Cemetery in Berlin, Germany (1925-1975).
3. The Richthofen family's grave at the South Cemetery in Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany (since 1975).
Easter Sunday 2018: 1 April (April Fool's Day)
Coinciding Event: American singer Marvin Gaye Jr. is murdered by his father (1984)
Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (born April 2nd, 1939) was an African American tenor singer, musician, and record producer. Just one day before his 45th birthday, Marvin Gaye Jr. was shot by his father Marvin Pentz Gay Sr. (a Pentecostal minister and faith healer) during an argument. Marvin Sr. accused his wife Alberta of misplacing an insurance letter, before arguing with his already estranged son, shooting him twice. The younger Marvin died, while his father turned himself in, citing self-defence as the primary reason for shooting his own son.
Marvin Gay Sr. was sent to Los Angeles County Jail for committing first-degree murder, which was later reduced to "voluntary manslaughter" after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. His already estranged wife eventually bailed him out during his first sentence. The Gays divorced after 49 years of marriage. When his crime was reduced to "voluntary manslaughter," Marvin Gay Sr. was banned from owning firearms and drinking alcohol for the rest of his life.
Several news outlets quickly broke the news that Marvin Gaye Jr. was murdered by his father. As a celebrity was murdered on April Fool's Day, several people (including the victim's friends) initially thought that the murder never really happened. His family had to confirm that their son was murdered. Marvin Gay Sr. quickly regretted his actions towards his family and died of pneumonia 14 years after the murder, aged 84. Marvin Gay Sr. had spent his final years at a nursing home in Culver City, California, USA.
Easter Sunday 2017: 16 April
Coinciding Event: American aviator Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly across the English Channel (1912)
36-year-old American journalist, screenwriter and pioneering aviator Harriet Quimby flew from Dover, England to Calais, France in a Blériot 50 monoplane. Her flight lasted for 59 minutes. This historic flight made her the first woman to fly across the English Channel. Quimby also became the first American woman to obtain a pilot's license, on August 1st 1911.
Sadly, Quimby's aviation career did not last long. On July 1st 1912, Quimby entered the Third Annual Boston Aviation Meet with her new Blériot monoplane, which had two seats. The event's organizer, William Willard, was Quimby's passenger. During Quimby's thousand foot (300 metres) flight, the plane flipped over. Both Quimby and Willard were ejected from the plane and fell to their deaths.
This also makes Harriet Quimby one of the first women to die in a plane accident! French balloonist Sophie Blanchard was the first woman to be killed in any kind of aviation accident (July 6th 1819), and pilot Julia Clark was the first American woman to be killed in any aviation incident (June 17th 1912). British Algerian pilot Denise Moore was the first woman to be killed in a plane accident (July 21st 1911)
Easter Sunday 2016: 27 March
Coinciding Event: Suicide bombing in a Lahore park targets Pakistani Christians and kills 75 people (2016)
Pakistan gained independence from both the United Kingdom and India during the late 1940s. The country is an Islamic Republic, with 96.5% of the population identifying as Muslim. Christianity, practiced by roughly 1% of the population, is the third largest religion in Pakistan, following Hinduism and Islam. Pakistani Christians have been subject to discriminative practices including Christian churches getting vandalized or destroyed, as well as restrictive freedom of religion laws. Pakistan's blasphemy laws have been accused of mainly appealing to Muslims more than people practicing minority religions. Christians, and other religious minorities in Pakistan, have also been targets of kidnapping and forced conversions to Islam. In Pakistan, there is a religious apartheid affecting non-Muslims. Pakistan's Constitution states only Muslims can become President or Prime Minister, and the Federal Shariat Court can only have Muslim judges.
On Easter Sunday 2016, a suicide bombing perpetrated by a member of the terrorist group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar took place in the Garden of Iqbal, a park in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Seventy-five people were murdered, with 29 of these fatalities being children. Over 340 survivors were injured in the bombing. Despite the lack of Easter celebrations in the park, the suicide bombing (which took place at the park's entrance) was still carried out. While the main target of the suicide bombing was Christians, it's very likely that Muslims and Hindus were also caught in the blast. Several witnesses and survivors also remembered the blast being deafening and destructive. The tragedy demonstrates the importance of tolerating different religions.