January: In 2012 the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground

In addition, this month we remember the events of ‘Bloody Sunday’ in Northern Ireland in 1972 and the irruption of the supporters of Donald Trump on the Capitol in 2021.

And where is the captain?

Near Giglio Island, the 300-meter long cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground after colliding with a large rock, a January 13, 2012. As it moved through the Tyrrhenian Sea, with 4,229 people on board, a huge crash was heard and then the power went out. The objectionable note was carried out by the captain of the cruise, Francesco Schettino, who left the ship when many of its passengers and crew were waiting to be evacuated. The shipwreck caused the death of 32 people.

Tragic sunday

The historical political differences between the Catholic inhabitants and the authorities of Northern Ireland, whose government is ruled by the United Kingdom, derived that January 30, 1972 in an unfortunate episode: 13 protesters killed by the bullets of the British intervention forces. El Comercio titled: “Shooting in Londonderry left twelve dead.” Then one more victim would be confirmed. It was only in 2010 that the British Government admitted its responsibility.

Assault on the Capitol

Trump supporters just didn’t like losing. The January 6, 2021, decided that taking over the Capitol was a “reasonable” demonstration of their discontent over Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election. The mob, stirred up in previous days by the incumbent president of the United States, invaded the headquarters of Congress, precisely during the day in which both houses were to certify the victory of the Democratic candidate. The police took more than three hours to evict the invaders.

Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol. (Photo: AP Agency)

Other events in January

January 3: Philip V, King of France, dies. (1322)

January 5: The Italian writer Umberto Eco, author of “Foucault’s Pendulum”, among other works, is born. (1932)

January 7th: A treaty is signed between the British and the Irish that divides Ireland into two states. (1922)

January the 8th: British physicist Stephen Hawking is born, who despite suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, became a genius of astrophysics. (1942)

12th of January: Cyrus Vance, American politician and Secretary of State during the Jimmy Carter government, dies. (2002)

January 15: The French playwright Moliere, creator of “El avaro” and “Tartufo” is born. (1622)

January 22: The politician and former president of Chile Eduardo Frei Montalva dies. (1982)

Eduardo Frei Montalva, former president of Chile. (Photo: Reuters Agency)

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