Lots of important things have happened in the past on the 30th of January, my birthday. Here is a small selection:
- 1649: King Charles I of England is beheaded for high treason, leading to a brief period where England became a republic under Oliver Cromwell.
- 1661: Two years after his death, Oliver Cromwell is ritually executed; his body was exhumed and his head placed on a spike at Westminster Hall.
- 1835: The first assassination attempt on a U.S. President occurs when Richard Lawrence tries to shoot Andrew Jackson. Both of Lawrence’s pistols misfired.
- 1862: The USS Monitor, the first American ironclad warship, is launched during the Civil War.
- 1933: Adolf Hitler is sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, marking the beginning of the Third Reich.
- 1945: The Wilhelm Gustloff, a German transport ship, is sunk by a Soviet submarine. With over 9,000 casualties, it remains the deadliest maritime disaster in history.
- 1948: Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated by a Hindu extremist in New Delhi; that actually is on the same day and year as my birthday..
- 1968: The Tet Offensive begins during the Vietnam War as North Vietnamese forces launch a massive surprise attack across South Vietnam.
- 1972: “Bloody Sunday” occurs in Northern Ireland; British paratroopers open fire on civil rights protesters, killing 14 people.
- 2020: The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the COVID-19 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
- And, of course, most important of all: TODAY, January 30, 2026, is the official global theatrical flop of the documentary “MELANIA.”
What is my wish on this day?
I’m glad you asked!
My wish would be that all of us obtain the ability to learn from history.
It’s a big wish, I know. It would include things like preventing or getting rid of Trump and all similar politicians who fill their pockets while mistreating lage sections of their citizens and creating global disasters. It would mean heeding the warnings of scientists on issues like golbal warming or prevention and treatment of diseases. It would mean not killing other humans because of their colour, belief or nationality. It would mean using our emapthy and intelligence instead of our primitive instincts and cruel selfishness.
I know, it’s asking a lot – but it’s my birthday!
10 Responses to Today is my birthday – and yes, I do have a wish
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Dear Edzard,
Wishing you all the best for your birthday, and many happy returns!
And even though I can’t make your wish come true (like many here, I’m also appalled at the shortsightedness(*), stupidity and greed of lots of people), I’m sure that you are making a difference in the world.
At the very least, you keep working on improving people’s health and well-being, by combating beliefs and practices that harm them. Because if history shows us one thing, it is that well-educated people tend to have healthier and better lives than those who choose blind belief over knowledge.
*: The kind that glasses unfortunately won’t fix.
Many thanks, Richard
VERY MANY HAPPY RETURNS!
Your efforts on behalf of us all deserves the Noble Peace Prize!
Carry on caring!
Richard
Sometimes acting as a ‘Consultant Charlatan and Specialist in the Care of the Gullible’ when exposing scams, frauds and crooks.
how kind!
Please try to join the Nobel committee.
Have a very happy birthday Edzard. I will forever remember that introductory dinner with you at the Royal Society of Medicine. Was it really some 20 years ago? Since then we have shared a lot of fun and frustration!
… and a few successes as well!
Thanks Les
Happy birthday!
Your wish resonates deeply — perhaps because it captures, in one sentence, what your work has always stood for: the hope that reason, evidence and empathy might one day outweigh noise, opportunism and historical amnesia.
For many of us, your voice has been a steady reminder that intellectual integrity is not an abstract virtue but a daily practice — sometimes uncomfortable, often unpopular, but always necessary.
Thank you for continuing to show what it means to learn from history rather than repeat it. May the year ahead bring you health, clarity, and the satisfaction of knowing that your work still inspires countless people to think a little more critically and act a little more humanely.
Thanks, Udo – you are very kind.
Have as happy a birthday as you can in this increasingly mad world of ours which seems to be moving backwards. Thank you for illuminating us all with your determination and ability. You have done us all a great service.
Happy Birthday Edzard. I find your blog and posts beacons of sanity in this new post- truth world we find ourselves inhabiting. Many happy returns. And thank you.