The temperature on December 13, 1909 was between -1.3 °C and 4.0 °C and averaged 1.7 °C. There was 4.4 hours of sunshine (56%). The average windspeed was 4 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the east-northeast. Source: KNMI
January 23 » RMSRepublic, a passenger ship of the White Star Line, becomes the first ship to use the CQD distress signal after colliding with another ship, the SS Florida, off the Massachusetts coastline, an event that kills six people. The Republic sinks the next day.
February 12 » New Zealand's worst maritime disaster of the 20th century happens when the SSPenguin, an inter-island ferry, sinks and explodes at the entrance to Wellington Harbour.
June 26 » The Science Museum in London comes into existence as an independent entity.
August 30 » Burgess Shale fossils are discovered by Charles Doolittle Walcott.
September 7 » Eugène Lefebvre crashes a new French-built Wright biplane during a test flight at Juvisy, south of Paris, becoming the first aviator in the world to lose his life in a powered heavier-than-air craft.
December 4 » The Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club, the oldest surviving professional hockey franchise in the world, is founded as a charter member of the National Hockey Association.
Day of marriage August 9, 1947
The temperature on August 9, 1947 was between 8.3 °C and 20.0 °C and averaged 15.2 °C. There was 1.2 hours of sunshine (8%). The average windspeed was 2 Bft (weak wind) and was prevailing from the northeast. Source: KNMI
February 28 » February 28 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of an estimated 30,000 civilians.
March 29 » Malagasy Uprising against French colonial rule in Madagascar.
April 1 » The only mutiny in the history of the Royal New Zealand Navy begins.
April 28 » Thor Heyerdahl and five crew mates set out from Peru on the Kon-Tiki to demonstrate that Peruvian natives could have settled Polynesia.
August 15 » India gains Independence from British rule after near 190 years of British company and crown rule, and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.
December 30 » Cold War: King Michael I of Romania is forced to abdicate by the Soviet Union-backed Communist government of Romania.
Day of death March 15, 1975
The temperature on March 15, 1975 was between 2.4 °C and 6.1 °C and averaged 4.4 °C. There was 8.6 mm of rain during 14.5 hours. The almost completely overcast was. The average windspeed was 2 Bft (weak wind) and was prevailing from the north. Source: KNMI
In The Netherlands , there was from Friday, May 11, 1973 to Monday, December 19, 1977 the cabinet Den Uyl, with Drs. J.M. den Uyl (PvdA) as prime minister.
January 5 » The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra, killing twelve people.
February 13 » Fire at One World Trade Center (North Tower) of the World Trade Center in New York.
April 21 » Vietnam War: President of South Vietnam Nguyễn Văn Thiệu flees Saigon, as Xuân Lộc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls.
April 29 » Vietnam War: Operation Frequent Wind: The U.S. begins to evacuate U.S. citizens from Saigon before an expected North Vietnamese takeover. U.S. involvement in the war comes to an end.
June 5 » The Suez Canal opens for the first time since the Six-Day War.
December 26 » Tu-144, the world's first commercial supersonic aircraft, surpassing Mach2, went into service.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Gert Esterhuizen, "Family tree Eric Esterhuizen", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-eric-esterhuizen/I10779.php : accessed January 4, 2026), "Hendrik Johannes van Niekerk (1909-1975)".
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