Today’s ephemeris: national holidays, events marking the history of Haiti, proverbs… the online agency June 7 brings you a memory refresher.
August 15, 1820: Fire in Port-au-Prince
The fire that broke out at noon in the oratory of a lady who was celebrating the feast of the Assumption, and who lived at the corner of the Grand Rue and the rue Bonne Foi, did not take long to spread, aided by a west wind. “Half of the rue Bonne Foi and the rue des Miracles [fut] devastated. Nearly 300 houses disappeared in the flames.”
August 15, 1820: Henri Christophe suffers apoplexy
During a religious ceremony in the parish church of Limonade, King Henry I suffered a stroke which paralyzed an entire part of his body.
August 15, 1911: General Cincinnatus Leconte became President of Haiti by vote of the National Assembly:
Leading the larger of the two factions that sparked the insurrection that would eventually lead to the ouster of President Antoine Simon (December 17, 1908 – August 2, 1911), General Cincinnatus Leconte, who had received a triumphant welcome in Port-au-Prince ten days earlier, defeated his rival Anténor Firmin. Firmin had returned from exile and hoped to seek the reins of executive power.
August 15, 1913: inauguration of the Dessalines barracks:
Started under Cincinnatus Leconte, this building, at its inauguration, became the most imposing in the country. “The main building measures 121 meters long and the wing 70 meters.”
August 15, 1934: The last visible American units leave Haiti: A departure that officially ended the American occupation that lasted 19 years.
August 15, 1969: expulsion of ten priests of the Order of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans) and a layman
The ten priests accused of subversive activities were: Antoine Adrien, Yves Dejean, Ernst Verdieu, Paul Jean-Claude, Max Dominique, Paddy Poux, William Smarth, Paul Dejean, Pierre Dejean and the layman, Pierre Cauvin.
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Elionor Devallon takes over the reins of the Social Assistance Fund (CAS)
