September 2, 2020
Day 246 of 366

 

September 2nd is the 246th day of the year. It is Independence Day in several locales today. The first is Transnistria (also known as Transdniestria, Pridnestrovie, or officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic), a breakaway state in a narrow strip of land between the river Dniester and the Ukrainian border that is internationally recognized as part of Moldova. The second is Artsakh (officially the Republic of Artsakh), a breakaway state in the South Caucasus that is internationally recognized as a part of Azerbaijan. The independence of those two republics is not officially recognized. The third locale is Vietnam, which commemorated President Hồ Chí Minh reading the Declarations of independence of Vietnam at Ba Đình Square in Hanoi, which separated them from Japan and France in 1945.

 

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Blueberry Popsicle Day.

 

Historical items of note:

• In 1666, the Great Fire of London broke out and burned for three days. The fire destroyed 10,000 buildings, including Old St Paul’s Cathedral.
• In 1752, Great Britain, along with its overseas possessions, adopted the Gregorian calendar.
• In 1789, the United States Department of the Treasury was founded.
• In 1912, Arthur Rose Eldred was awarded the first Eagle Scout award of the Boy Scouts of America.
• In 1932, Arnold Greenberg, the co-founder of Snapple, was born.
• In 1948, educator and astronaut Christa McAuliffe was born.
• In 1951, actor and producer Mark Harmon was born.
• In 1963, CBS Evening News became the first half-hour weeknight news broadcast on American network television when the show is lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes.
• In 1964, Lebanese-Canadian actor, singer, and producer Keanu Reeves was born.
• In 1966, Mexican-American actress, director, and producer Salma Hayek was born.
• In 1970, NASA announced the cancellation of two Apollo missions to the Moon: Apollo 15 (which was used by a later mission) and Apollo 19.
• In 2001, the adult-oriented television block Adult Swim debuted on Cartoon Network.
• In 2012, the decades-long ban on veiled female news presenters was lifted from State television in Egypt.

 

In 1945, the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed by Japan and the major warring powers aboard the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay, thus ending World War II.

It is known as Victory over Japan Day, V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, and V-P Day. It is celebrated around the world, both on August 15th (the initial date of surrender) and September 2nd (the official declaration of surrender).

Since the 1960s, it has been suggested September 2nd be declared as an international holiday to be called World Peace Day. However, when this holiday came to be first celebrated beginning in 1981, it was designated as September 21st, the day the General Assembly of the United Nations begins its deliberations each year.

 

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.