What is it about mid-April (April 15-20) that seems to lend itself to tragic events, from Wednesday evening’s deadly fertilizer plant blast in Texas to mass bombings and shootings?
On Wednesday evening, the West Fertilizer Company, about 20 miles north of Waco, exploded with a deadly fury that many witnesses in the area compared to the Oklahoma City bombing. The Texas plant made materials (ammonium nitrate) similar to those used in the Oklahoma City attack.
The blast in Texas occurred just days after Monday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon. Oddly, there was a similar incident that occurred 10 days after the September 11 attacks in 2001 when an explosion rocked an ammonium nitrate plant in Toulouse, France, killing 31 and injuring 2,000. Coincidence?
Although no connection was ever made between the 9/11 attacks and the explosion at the ammonium nitrate plant in France, it’s often been said that “history repeats itself.” While the nation and the cities of West, Texas, and Boston, Massachusetts, struggle to find answers and regain composure after these recent tragedies, another phenomenon rears its head—mid-April (15-20) appears to be linked historically to tragedy.
Undoubtedly both the Boston Marathon bombings (April 15) and Texas fertilizer plant explosion (April 17) will go down in history as tragic events to remember. April 15 now joins September 11 and December 7 as a “day of infamy” in U.S. history. But looking more deeply into history, they appear to be the tip of the iceberg in regards to mid-April tragic events.
On April 15, 1912, at 2:27 am, the RMS Titanic sank off the coast of Newfoundland, killing more than 1,500 people. The sinking of the Titanic remains one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in modern history.
On April 16, 1947, a massive explosion and fire fueled by 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate (three hundred times more powerful than the Oklahoma City bombing) killed at least 600 and injured thousands of people in Texas City, Texas. Known as the Texas City Disaster, it remains the nation’s deadliest industrial incident.
April 16 is also a day of infamy for another reason. On April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho shot 32 students and faculty to death at Virginia Tech University before committing suicide. The Virginia Tech Massacre remains the deadliest shooting incident by a single gunman in U.S. history.
Although April 17 is not associated directly with any mass shootings or disasters, April 17, 1961, remains an infamous day all the same. On that date, 1,400 Cuban paramilitaries, financed and trained by the CIA, attempted to overthrow Fidel Castro at the Bay of Pigs. Their failure resulted in the strengthening of Castro and led to his proclaiming his intention to adopt socialism, bolstering his ties with the Soviet Union. That series of events eventually led to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
Mother Nature also has a predilection for mid-April. April 17, 2011, saw the end of a three-day historic tornado outbreak across the southern U.S. That outbreak still ranks as one of the largest in U.S. history, with 178 confirmed tornadoes over three days in 16 states, killing dozens of people and injuring hundreds more.
But tornado outbreaks in mid-April aren’t the only natural disasters to make history. One of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history occurred at 5:12 am on April 18, 1906, when a magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook San Francisco. The earthquake flattened 80 percent of the city of San Francisco, killed approximately 3,000 people, and sparked fires that burned throughout the city for several days. The resulting death toll from both the earthquake and subsequent fires remains the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California’s history.
More recently, a suicide bomber killed 63 people at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, on April 18, 1983. At the time, it was the deadliest attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission, and is considered the beginning of anti-U.S. attacks by Islamist militants.
As destructive a day as April 18 has been, April 19 is one of infamy. On April 19, 1993, the Branch Davidian Compound outside Waco, Texas, burned to the ground after a 50-day standoff with government officials. Seventy-six men, women and children were killed, including the Branch’s leader, David Koresh.
As horrific as the Waco event was, April 19 will always be remembered for the Oklahoma City bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995. Just after 9 a.m. Central time, a truck containing ammonium nitrate was detonated in front of the building, killing 168 people, including 19 children, and injuring another 680. Timothy McVeigh was arrested and eventually executed for the bombing.
April 20 holds a special place in history for several reasons. On April 20, 1889, Adolf Hitler was born. Hitler would be responsible for the mass murders of more than six million Jews along with millions of others during World War II. His birthdate would also serve as “inspiration” for another heinous act committed on April 20, 1999. On that date, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, both seniors at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, entered the school and opened fire. In the ensuing massacre, 12 students and one teacher lay dead, with two dozen others injured. Both Harris and Klebold committed suicide.
Finally, three years ago on April 20, 2010, the worst oil spill in U.S. history occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. Known as the Deepwater Horizon incident, an explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on April 20 killed 11 workers and started an oil spill that lasted for months, devastating the Gulf and Gulf Coast.
Maybe it’s all just coincidence, or maybe there’s more to it. Whatever the reason, mid-April seems forever linked to tragedy.
http://www.gcnlive.com/wp/2013/04/19/mid-april-tragedies-history-repeats/
Share this post...
