Today in History: December 13

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

On this day in Bahamian history, Bahamian sports legend Kenneth Andre Ian Rodgers died in Nassau in 1994. He was 70.

Rodgers was the first Bahamian to play in Major League Baseball (MLB), spending ten seasons in the majors for the New York/San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates.

In 1966 the Andre Rodgers National Stadium was constructed at the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre in New Providence. In 2006 the stadium was demolished to construct the new Thomas A. Robinson Stadium and in 2014 ground was broken for the new Andre Rodgers National Baseball Stadium.

Also, on this day is 2018, 34 recruits completed fire training at the Royal Bahamas Police Force College in Freeport, making them the first fire squad to pass out in over a decade.

At the ceremony, which saw drill performances by the recruits, was then National Security Minister Marvin Dames and former Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson.

The D Squad, which consisted of 28 men and six women, underwent six months of rigorous training in firefighting, and fire/arson investigative training.

The Commandant Award for highest academic excellence went to recruit Constable 4123 Danielle Hutchinson, and the Baton of Honour for best overall performance in all modules of training went to Recruit Constable 4132 Carlos Smith.

Then a year later, the Department of Archives bid farewell to its 2019 retirees Chief Archivist Sherriley Strachan, and Chief Superintendent Hazel Storr-Rolle, during a Ministry of Education Christmas party, then Minister Jeff Lloyd and other senior government officials thanked and congratulated the women for their dedicated service to country.

And in world history on this day in 1949, Israel declared Jerusalem as its capital.

In 1996, the United Nations Security Council made official its selection of Kofi Annan of Ghana as U.N. Secretary-General to succeed Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

Then in 2002, the Pope accepted the resignation of Boston Cardinal Bernard Law, who was under pressure to quit over a scandal involving sexual abuse by clergy.

In 2003 U.S. troops found former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in a hole in the ground behind a shepherd’s hut near his hometown.