1336 Rousillion (FR), Tourism: Francesco Petrarch climbed Mont Ventoux for the pleasure of the view from atop. That such travel might be recreation was novel. Once there he contemplated nature. He then wrote about the experience; he is sometimes called the first tourist. Many Tour de France riders have climbed Mont Ventoux while contemplating human frailty.
1890 Sydney, Literature: Banjo Paterson published ‘The Man from Snowy River.’ See the sun-baked ten dollar bill below. He also authored ‘Waltzing Matilda,’ which should be the national anthem instead of the snooze that is. Paterson seldom set foot outside Sydney but extolled the life of the bush.
1929 Karachi (India), Aviation: Two RAF officers completed the first non-stop flight from Cranwell Base in Lincolnshire taking just under 51 hours, covering 4,130 miles in a Long-Range Monoplane. It is slightly longer than Charles Lindberg’s route from New York City to Paris of the same time.
1939 Canberra, Politics: Robert Menzies became Prime Minister, and when he resigned in 1966 he was Australia’s long-serving prime minister.
1994 Pretoria (ZA), Politics: A free and multi-racial vote elected Nelson Mandela president of the Republic of South Africa.
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