The temperature on April 1, 1895 was about 4.3 °C. There was 0.2 mm of rain. The airpressure was 75 cm mercury. The atmospheric humidity was 90%. Source: KNMI
January 12 » The National Trust is founded in the United Kingdom.
May 7 » In Saint Petersburg, Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society his invention, the Popov lightning detector—a primitive radio receiver. In some parts of the former Soviet Union the anniversary of this day is celebrated as Radio Day.
June 20 » The Kiel Canal, crossing the base of the Jutland peninsula and the busiest artificial waterway in the world, is officially opened.
June 27 » The inaugural run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Royal Blue from Washington, D.C., to New York City, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.
June 28 » The United States Court of Private Land Claims rules James Reavis’s claim to Barony of Arizona is "wholly fictitious and fraudulent."
August 31 » German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his navigable balloon.
Day of death May 21, 1962
The temperature on May 21, 1962 was between 7.0 °C and 13.4 °C and averaged 10.7 °C. There was 4.5 mm of rain during 3.5 hours. There was -0.1 hours of sunshine (0%). The heavily clouded was. The average windspeed was 4 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the south-southwest. Source: KNMI
July 23 » Telstar relays the first publicly transmitted, live trans-Atlantic television program, featuring Walter Cronkite.
July 23 » The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos is signed.
August 5 » Apartheid: Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.
September 25 » The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria is formally proclaimed. Ferhat Abbas is elected President of the provisional government.
October 14 » The Cuban Missile Crisis begins when an American reconnaissance aircraft takes photographs of Soviet ballistic missiles being installed in Cuba.
November 24 » Cold War: The West Berlin branch of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany forms a separate party, the Socialist Unity Party of West Berlin.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Hendrik Dreyer, "Dreyer Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/dreyer-tree/I19607.php : accessed January 26, 2026), "Thomas Frederick van Niekerk (1895-1962)".
Copy warning
Genealogical publications are copyright protected. Although data is often retrieved from public archives, the searching, interpreting, collecting, selecting and sorting of the data results in a unique product. Copyright protected work may not simply be copied or republished.
Please stick to the following rules
Request permission to copy data or at least inform the author, chances are that the author gives permission, often the contact also leads to more exchange of data.
Do not use this data until you have checked it, preferably at the source (the archives).
State from whom you have copied the data and ideally also his/her original source.