#TodayInHistory – April 5

April 5 – Some Important Events on this day

1242 👉🏼 Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod defeats Teutonic Knights in the Battle of the Ice.
He was the Prince of Novgorod, Grand Prince of Kiev and Grand Prince of Vladimir during some of the most trying times in the city’s history. He rose to legendary status on account of his military victories over the German and Swedish invaders.

1722 👉🏼 Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen discovers Easter Island

1815 👉🏼 Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies, has its first violent eruption after several centuries of dormancy.
The eruption of Mount Tambora was the largest eruption ever witnessed. Its Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) was 7, the only known eruption on that scale since the eruption of Lake Taupo in about 180 AD. The eruption blew 150 cubic km into the atmosphere, killing 10,000 people initially. The eruptions’ column was so high it reached the stratosphere at an altitude of more than 43 kilometres.
The effects were felt worldwide, 1816 was “the year without a summer”. Crops failed across Asia and up to 90,000 people probably died of famine. It was the second-coldest year in the Northern Hemisphere since 1400 and parts of North America experienced frost and snow in June and July.

1818 👉🏼 In the Battle of Maipú, Chile’s independence movement – led by Bernardo O’Higgins and José de San Martín – win a decisive victory over Spain, leaving 2,000 Spaniards and 1,000 Chilean patriots dead.
1874 👉🏼 Birkenhead Park, the first civic public park, opens in Birkenhead, England, designed by Joseph Paxton
1879 👉🏼 Chile declares war on Bolivia and Peru, starting the War of the Pacific.
1923 👉🏼 Firestone Tire and Rubber Company starts producing inflatable tires

1943 👉🏼 Chinese steward Poon Lim is found off the coast of Brazil by a Brazilian fisherman family after being adrift 133 days, after British ship SS Benlomond torpedoed by german U-boat.
Chinese sailor Poon was working as a steward aboard the British ship the SS Ben Lomond when it was sunk with the loss of all lives except his own. After a few hours in the water he found a little raft with some food and a flashlight which initially kept him alive.
Although aircraft and ships did spot Poon Lim, he was wasn’t picked up and survived his ordeal was catching fish and even sharks before drifting to the coast of Brazil where he was saved by fishermen.