A Grieving Mother Addresses the Nation

Today is Martyr’s Day, the day that, 72 years ago, Myanmar independence hero General Aun San was gunned down. The mastermind behind his death remains unnamed.

On this day in 1975, a strong earthquake shook the country’s major tourist attraction, killing 2 and damaging hundreds of centuries-old pagodas.

On this day in 1971, Ma Nan Soe and Ma Nan San were successfully separated at a Yangon hospital, marking a milestone in the history of Myanmar’s medical profession.

Fifty-seven years ago today, Ne Win issued a bloody crackdown on Rangoon student protests. The next day, he dynamited the Students’ Union building.

On this day in 1993, Daw M Yaw Nam was awarded the ICRC’s Florence Nightingale Medal in recognition of her courage in treating hundreds of combatants and refugees in Shan State. She

On this day in 1954, a team of Karen National Defense Organization rebels hijacked a Union of Burma Airways Dakota DC-3—the nation’s first airplane hijacking.

On this day in 1888, one of Myanmar’s first independence heroes, Bo Min Yaung—an ancestor of State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi—was put to death after leading a revolt.

Eighty-eight years ago today, the Burmese-language Thuriya newspaper published a photograph that stirred the nation and rippled to the halls of the British Parliament.

On June 6, 1947, with independence on the horizon, Gen. Aung San set out to make a major economic plan for the reconstruction of the country—which was destined to fail.

On this day 89 years ago, Dobama Asiayone, or the We Burmans Association, was founded by Rangoon University instructor Thakhin Ba Thaung.