How has your week been? Perhaps it has been entirely forgettable, far too long, rather interesting, or perhaps it has been monumental, even fantastical. However this week has gone for you, it’s nearly over and a new one is on its way; so it tends to go, week after week resigned to the past… becoming yet another historical notation. Before hanging our hats on this week, let’s reflect on how each of its constituent days has gone down in other historical notations.

January 30^th ~ 1948

This particular Friday in history, 75 years now gone, is defined by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, better known as simply Gandhi, being assassinated. Gandhi was a revolutionary person; a true political and spiritual master from India whose teachings and personal actions were internationally prolific. According to History, Gandhi’s political involvement was numerous, versatile, and bountiful. His concern was focused on fighting – explicitly in a non-violent manner – injustice and was equally focused on advocacy for Indian rights which were hardly existent in South Africa and in British territories where he, like millions of others, was affected. After a truly historical life of virtue and humanistic effort that inspired other non-violent figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, appropriately referred to as Mahatma, meaning “the great soul,” was shot and killed in New Delhi by an extremist on Friday, January 30^th, 1948.

January 31^st ~ 1950

Tuesdays can be tough. And this Tuesday in 1950 was especially so for many people worldwide when then-president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, announced his administration’s support for the development of something estimated to be hundreds – yes, hundreds – of times stronger than the already unimaginably powerful and deadly atomic bomb that was used in World War II… The hydrogen bomb. This “superbomb,” as referred to as in Truman’s announcement, was created in an expedited way in large part because of the pronounced “race” for superpower between, most notably, the United States of America and the Soviet Union. This type of thermonuclear weapon lived up to its theoretical power indeed! When tested, the hydrogen bomb left behind not only an entire incinerated island, but a mile-wide crater. What’s more, the hallmark mushroom cloud left as evidence of such powerful explosions reached a staggering 120,000 feet into the stratosphere and had a seemingly impossible 60-mile-wide diameter.

Enjoying this walk down memory lane? Stay tuned for part two of this week in history which will cover the latter three days leading into a much-needed weekend.