The temperature on December 19, 1938 was between -15.0 °C and -10.4 °C and averaged -13.4 °C. There was 6.5 hours of sunshine (84%). The average windspeed was 4 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the east-northeast. Source: KNMI
February 11 » BBC Television produces the world's first ever science fiction television programme, an adaptation of a section of the Karel Čapek play R.U.R., that coined the term "robot".
March 3 » Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.
June 23 » The Civil Aeronautics Act is signed into law, forming the Civil Aeronautics Authority in the United States.
July 3 » World speed record for a steam locomotive is set in England, by the Mallard, which reaches a speed of 125.88 miles per hour (202.58km/h).
October 5 » In Nazi Germany, Jews' passports are invalidated.
November 14 » The Lions Gate Bridge, connecting Vancouver to the North Shore region, opens to traffic.
Day of death February 29, 2004
The temperature on February 29, 2004 was between -5.8 °C and 4.5 °C and averaged -0.3 °C. There was 8.7 hours of sunshine (81%). The almost cloudless was. The average windspeed was 2 Bft (weak wind) and was prevailing from the northeast. Source: KNMI
In The Netherlands , there was from Tuesday, May 27, 2003 to Friday, July 7, 2006 the cabinet Balkenende II, with Mr.dr. J.P. Balkenende (CDA) as prime minister.
January 8 » The RMSQueen Mary 2, then the largest ocean liner ever built, is christened by her namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
January 21 » NASA's MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Earth on February 6.
August 1 » A supermarket fire kills 396 people and injures 500 others in Asunción, Paraguay.
September 3 » Beslan school siege results in over 330 fatalities, including 186 children.
November 8 » Iraq War: More than 10,000 U.S. troops and a small number of Iraqi army units participate in a siege on the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.
November 11 » The Palestine Liberation Organization confirms the death of Yasser Arafat from unidentified causes. Mahmoud Abbas is elected chairman of the PLO minutes later.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Eva Drenth, "Family tree Diverse", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-drenth/I34708.php : accessed January 25, 2026), "Bernardus Martinus "Ben" van Mechelen (1938-2004)".
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