On #ThisDayInHistory in 1909, #California became the second state with a #eugenics #sterilization law, letting it castrate men & remove the ovaries of criminals, the "feeble-minded", and those with "sexual perversions" until 1979. The US #eugenicist movement inspired the #Nazis.

A #strike at #Amazon in Minnesota happened in 2020 on #ThisDayInHistory in support of fired worker Faiza Osman, who stayed home with children due to the #COVID19pandemic. The company had said that was okay, then fired her, and #JobAction by 50+ Somali workers got her reinstated.

Playwright & poet #WilliamShakespeare was baptized on #ThisDayInHistory in 1564 in his birthplace of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. We do not know his birth date. The Bard remains the most influential author in English and a young Liam was fascinated with his oeuvre.

On #ThisDayInHistory, in 121, the #Roman emperor #MarcusAurelius was born. In our present climate, I see people falling into the trap of adopting an ideological enemy's ways of thinking, and this is a mistake. You cannot defeat injustice with more injustice. Always remember that.

The #ChernobylNuclearDisaster in #Ukraine remains the worst #nuclear accident and most expensive disaster in history. It began on #ThisDayInHistory in 1986. Official lies about the danger contributed to the fall of the #SovietUnion. Cities of #Pripyat & #Chernobyl remain empty.

On #ThisDayInHistory in 1937, the #Nazi #CondorLegion, working for #Franco's #parafascist faction in the #SpanishCivilWar, bombed & destroyed the #Basque town #Gernika/#Guernica. Stuka dive-bombers nearly erased it in a horrific assault meant to test German preparedness for war.

Facing major protests of the #CedarRevolution (aka #IndependenceIntifada) and international pressure, the #AssadRégime of #Syria withdrew from #Lebanon on #ThisDayInHistory in 2005. It had occupied the country since 1976, when it intervened in force during the #LebaneseCivilWar.

A #1954GenevaConference began #ThisDayInHistory, with the ambitious goal of peace in Korea and former French Indochina. It failed entirely. Partition of Vietnam was linked to 1956 elections to pick a government, but the US helped South Vietnam defy them, starting the #VietnamWar.

The #AprilRevolution concluded on #ThisDayInHistory in 1960 when the dictatorship in #SouthKorea was toppled and ruler #SyngmanRhee resigned. But the new democratic state was overthrown in 1961, and it was not until 1987 that democracy returned following fresh strikes & protests.