History March 28th – April 3rd: Historical Quotes for Each Day

There is always much to learn from quotes and their historical significance. Read on for a collection of quotes and general history from March 28th – April 3rd.

March 28, 845

“I think Vikings have always been popular, haven’t they? I remember being a kid and being in second grade reading a book about this Viking warrior.”

– Cullen Bunn

Paris was besieged by Viking raiders on March 18, 845. The Viking fleet consisted of 120 ships and at least 4,000 men led by a Norse chieftain named Ragnar. They had sailed up the Seine throughout March and already defeated half of the Frankish army. As such, King Charles the Bald had little choice but to pay a ransom of 7,000 French Livres (2,570kg of silver and gold worth several million dollars today) for the Vikings to withdraw. Some identify the Viking leader as legendary saga character Ragnar Lodbrok but this assertion remains disputed among historians.

March 29, 1951

“I believe your conduct in putting into the hands of the Russians the A-bomb years before our best scientists predicted Russia would perfect the bomb has already caused, in my opinion, the Communist aggression in Korea, with the resultant casualties exceeding 50,000 and who knows but that millions more of innocent people may pay the price of your treason. Indeed, by your betrayal you undoubtedly have altered the course of history to the disadvantage of our country.”

– Judge Irving Kaufman

On March 29, 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of espionage and sentenced to death. The couple was accused of providing top-secret information to the Soviet Union about nuclear weapons, jet engines, and radar. Their execution in 1953 made them the first American civilians to be executed for espionage and the first to suffer the penalty during peacetime. For many years their guilt was questioned and some people felt they were victims of Cold War paranoia. However, after the fall of the Soviet Union, details of Julius’s role as a courier and recruiter for the Soviets were declassified.

March 30, 1959

“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.”

– Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama fled to India on March 30, 1959, to escape from China during the Tibetan uprising. He was granted political asylum and established the Government of Tibet in Exile in Dharamshala, India. With China still controlling Tibet, the Dalai Lama continues to live in India to this day while remaining the most important spiritual leader of Tibet. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and US Congressional Gold Medal in 2006 for his work maintaining Tibetan culture and peacefully pursuing the autonomy of Tibet.

March 31, 1889

“My tower will be the tallest edifice ever erected by man. Will it not also be grandiose in its way? And why would something admirable in Egypt become hideous and ridiculous in Paris?”

– Gustave Eiffel comparing his tower to the Egyptian pyramids

The Eiffel Tower officially opened on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France on March 31, 1889. The iconic wrought-iron lattice tower was built as the entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair and has become one of the most recognizable structures in the world! However, Gustave Eiffel’s design was heavily criticized at first with many believing it was impossible to build. Prior to the Eiffel Tower, no structure had ever been constructed past a height of 200 m. So, its 300 m height was truly incredible allowing it to remain the world’s tallest man-made structure for 41 years until New York City’s Chrysler Building surpassed it in 1930. Today, the Eiffel Tower is the world’s most-visited paid monument and Europe’s highest publicly-accessible observation deck.

April 1, 2020

One year ago, on April 1, 2020, the first live dinosaur clone was created at a research lab in New Mexico. April Fools!

“Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see the world hath more fools in it than ever.”

– Charles Lamb

April Fool’s Day is an annual custom on April 1st consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. The pranks are typically revealed by yelling “April Fools!” at the recipient. The custom of having a day to play harmless pranks on neighbors and friends is relatively common throughout the world. In France and Italy, the day is called “April fish” instead of fools and many Spanish-speaking countries celebrate a similar day in late December called “Día de los Santos Inocentes” (Holy Innocents Day). The origins of April Fool’s Day are not well known but some speculate it’s associated with Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales where a Chauntecleer is tricked by a fox on “Syn March bigan thritty dayes and two.” Which readers took to mean March 32nd i.e., April 1.

April 2, 1932

“Dear Sir! Have 50.000$ redy 25 000$ in 20$ bills 15000$ in 10$ bills and 10000$ in 5$ bills After 2–4 days we will inform you were to deliver the mony. We warn you for making anyding public or for notify the Police the child is in gut care. Indication for all letters are Singnature and 3 hohls.”

– Ransom note, Lindbergh kidnapping

A $50,000 ransom was paid by Charles Lindbergh on April 2, 1932. His and Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s 20-month-old son, Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr., had been kidnapped from the upper floor of their home a month earlier on March 1^st. Unfortunately, their son wasn’t returned after paying the ransom and his corpse was eventually discovered by the side of the road not far from their house on May 12^th. Bruno Richard Hauptmann was arrested in 1934 with over $14,000 of the ransom money in his garage and was executed for the crime on April 3, 1936. Still, many alternative theories exist about the Lindbergh kidnapping and widespread interest in the case has led it to be called the “crime of the century”.

April 3, 2016

“The cat’s out of the bag, so now we have to deal with the aftermath.”

– Jürgen Mossack

On April 3, 2016, the Panama Papers were leaked by an anonymous whistleblower concerned about income inequality. The 11.5 million leaked documents (2.6TB of data) revealed details on nearly 215,000 offshore shell companies set up by Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. While not all offshore businesses are illegal, reporters found widespread evidence of tax evasion, fraud, and violations of international sanctions. Many of the world’s elite, including 12 current or former world leaders, were named in the Panama Papers leading Edward Snowden to call it the “biggest leak in the history of data journalism.” The scandal also forms the basis of the movie The Laundromat, which I found quite interesting!

In case you missed last week’s quotes, see History March 21st – 27th.

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