jenny cares 

This day in history: 16 April 

AUSTRALIAN HISTORY

1914 - The South Australian town of Hummock's Hill is proclaimed Whyalla.
Captain Matthew Flinders, while navigating Spencer Gulf in 1802, noted a small hillock which was to become known as Hummock Hill, now the easternmost point of the city. The township of Hummock Hill developed as a community from 1901, being renamed Whyalla in 1914. The BHP Company (now OneSteel) had a major influence on the town's development. Whyalla is the third largest city in South Australia, with a population of about 23,000. See map above. [more] [Whyalla Lion's Club]

WORLD HISTORY

1551 - SWEATING SICKNESS:
The last outbreak of the deadly 'sweating sickness' occurs in England. Pictured at left is Henry Brandon 2nd Duke of Suffolk. He died, along with his younger brother Charles, of the sweating sickness in 1551. The miniature was painted in 1541 by Hans Holbein the Younger.
The disease was characterised by violent inflammation, as seen in acute stomach cramps, headache, muscle pain, lethargy and extensive foul-smelling perspiration. Some suspect it was caused by a hantavirus. The discovery of the factors involved reads like a dramatic detective story.
[Dartmouth Medicine] [more]

1947 - TEXAS CITY DISASTER
- a result of 2 ships containing ammonium nitrate exploding in the city's port... 600 killed. Population of about 18,000, the city was sustained by chemicals and oil industry
[more]

2007 - VIRGINIA TECH
became the scene of America's worst mass shooting up to that date- 32 killed. The killer, Cho Seung, grew up in Northern Virginia, had permanent residence status, and was a fourth-year English major at Virginia Tech. [NY Times]