1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,640 Speaker 1: Hey y'all, Eve's here. Today's episode contains not just one, 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: but two nuggets of history. Consider it a double feature. 3 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: Enjoy the show. Greetings everyone, Welcome to this day in 4 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 1: history class, where we learn a smidgen of history every day. 5 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:29,920 Speaker 1: The day was April fifteenth, ninety nine. Who y'all Bong, 6 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:34,560 Speaker 1: who was the Chinese Communist Party General secretary for several years, died, 7 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 1: who had become a symbol of democratic reform, and people 8 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: gathered in Beijing's tien Onemun Square to mourn his death 9 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 1: and to support his ideas of democracy and freedom. Soon 10 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: the pro democracy demonstrations spread to other Chinese cities, but 11 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: by mid May, Premier Le Pong had declared martial law 12 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:00,040 Speaker 1: and the People's Liberation Army would end up wounding and 13 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 1: killing thousands of civilians. Leaders around the world denounced the 14 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:09,040 Speaker 1: Chinese government's attacked, but economic and political reforms were put 15 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:13,039 Speaker 1: on hold and protesters and activists were persecuted for their actions. 16 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 1: In the wake of Chairman Mao Sadong's death, Dong Shaoping 17 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 1: became paramount leader of China in nineteen He launched a 18 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 1: series of market economy reforms and installed Who Yao Bong 19 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 1: as head of the Communist Party and jail Suit Young 20 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,760 Speaker 1: as the premier. Over the next decade, the public was 21 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: generally happy with the economic growth and liberalization that was 22 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:42,200 Speaker 1: happening in China, as many citizens prospered, but on the 23 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 1: other hand, inflation skyrocketed and corruption and nepotism were rampant 24 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: among government officials. Privatization created a larger gap in wealth distribution, 25 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 1: which many people thought was unfair. Plus, there weren't enough 26 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: graduates to fill the new industry and estimate jobs that 27 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:04,040 Speaker 1: opened up through the reforms, and graduates faced a limited 28 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 1: job market, also affected by nepotism. Students and intellectuals became 29 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:13,960 Speaker 1: more active politically. A divide emerged between political leaders who 30 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:17,799 Speaker 1: wanted to keep instituting reforms and those who wanted more 31 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: government control. In nineteen eighty six, students around China protested 32 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: how slowly reform was happening. They called for human rights 33 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 1: and democracy, among other political reforms. Many leaders saw this 34 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,520 Speaker 1: as a flight to China's one party system and socialist 35 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: ideology and condemned the protests. Who Yabog, who had led 36 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:44,079 Speaker 1: the reformers side, was seen as having too much sympathy 37 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: for the protesters and was forced to resign as general 38 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: secretary in January nineteen eighty seven. The Chinese Communist Party 39 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: dismissed protesters demands as bourgeois liberalism, but students and intellectuals 40 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: continued to support reform and who so when who died 41 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 1: of a heart attack. On April fifteenth, ninety nine, protesters 42 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:12,080 Speaker 1: quickly began gathering in Beijing, jian, Shanghai, Nanjing, chang Do, 43 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: and other cities. They spoke out against issues like inflation 44 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:21,119 Speaker 1: and salaries and called for greater individual freedoms. There were 45 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: sit ins and riots. Protesters issued demands for the government, 46 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:30,919 Speaker 1: including calls for democracy, the abolishment of press censorship, and 47 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: more transparency on leaders incomes. Demonstrations escalated, and a state 48 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: run newspaper and sinsed protesters even further by running an 49 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: editorial accusing them of rejecting the Communist Party and government. 50 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 1: On May thirteen, just before Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was 51 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: set to visit China, more than a hundred students began 52 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 1: a hunger strike in Tiananmun Square, advocating for political reforms 53 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: and protesting government's refusal to negotiate. The strike earned the 54 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 1: sympathy of people around China. Less than a week later, 55 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 1: a rally at the square brought in more than a 56 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:16,320 Speaker 1: million people. General Secretary Jo Young a moderate acts for 57 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 1: compromise and an end to the demonstrations, but other leaders 58 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 1: feared an uprising and favored using force to stop the protests. 59 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 1: Premier Le Pong imposed martial law in Beijing, and on 60 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:34,040 Speaker 1: May twentie troops moved into the city. The protesters continued 61 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:38,840 Speaker 1: to lead demonstrations in Tianamun Square, and Western reporters captured 62 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: news footage of the events, but China's leaders were planning 63 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: and offensive. On June one, China shut down live news 64 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:51,920 Speaker 1: telecasts and prohibited reporters from photographing or recording the protests. 65 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:56,760 Speaker 1: At about one am on June four, People's Liberation Army 66 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: troops heavily armed with tanks and rifles into Beijing, advancing 67 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:05,479 Speaker 1: to Tiana and muns Square. People tried to block them, 68 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 1: but soldiers opened fire on the demonstrators. Indiscriminate killings continued 69 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 1: throughout the day as some protesters fled and some fought back. 70 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:20,719 Speaker 1: Several soldiers were killed and many were wounded. Similar attacks 71 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: happened in other Chinese cities, but in Shanghai and agreement 72 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: was reached peacefully. It's estimated that as many as ten 73 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 1: thousand people were arrested and more than three hundred were killed, 74 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 1: but there is no official count. After the Tiana Mun 75 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 1: Square massacre, the government cracked down on protesters, charging many 76 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:45,000 Speaker 1: with crimes and executing them. Some of the pro democracy 77 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: activists went into exile. Countries that had been watching the 78 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: events unfold pronounced their disgust and the US impost economic 79 00:05:53,839 --> 00:06:01,159 Speaker 1: sanctions and arms embargoes against China for their human rights violations. Today, 80 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: China suppressed his mention of the massacre in media, prohibits 81 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 1: the public commemoration of the massacre, and doesn't include it 82 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:12,359 Speaker 1: in school curricula. Still, Chinese citizens have spoken out on 83 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 1: the subject, and people in Hong Kong commemorate the incident. 84 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:19,719 Speaker 1: The last known person in prison for participating in the 85 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 1: protests was said to be released in but I couldn't 86 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 1: find any updates on whether he actually was. I'm Eves 87 00:06:28,839 --> 00:06:31,159 Speaker 1: Jeff Coo and hopefully you know a little more about 88 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:35,159 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. You can follow us 89 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at t D I HC 90 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:59,360 Speaker 1: podcast tune in tomorrow for another Day in History. Hello, 91 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:02,919 Speaker 1: I'm Eaves, and welcome to this Day in History. Class 92 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:05,680 Speaker 1: of podcasts that proves no day is a slow day 93 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: in history. The day was April fifteenth, nineteen seventy. The 94 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 1: crew of Apollo thirteen set a world record for the 95 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,000 Speaker 1: farthest humans have ever been from the surface of the Earth. 96 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: Apollo thirteen was the seventh crude mission in the Apollo 97 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:33,560 Speaker 1: space program. The first crude mission to the Moon was 98 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 1: Apollo eight, which was in flight from December twenty one 99 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:41,480 Speaker 1: to December nineteen sixty eight. Apollo eight orbited the Moon 100 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:45,840 Speaker 1: and was crewed by Bill Anders, Frank Borman, and Jim Lovell. 101 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:49,920 Speaker 1: In July of the next year, Apollo eleven became the 102 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:54,120 Speaker 1: first mission to land on the Moon. Just four months later, 103 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 1: Apollo twelve also landed on the Moon. Apollo thirteen was 104 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:01,240 Speaker 1: supposed to be the third Polo mission to land on 105 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:05,080 Speaker 1: the Moon. It launched on April eleventh, nineteen seventy, from 106 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:08,840 Speaker 1: the Kennedy Space Center. Jim Level was the commander, John 107 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:13,440 Speaker 1: Swigert Jr. Was the Command module pilot, and Fred Hayes Jr. 108 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 1: Was the Lunar module pilot. The plan was for them 109 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 1: to explore the Frau Moro region of the Moon, but 110 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 1: a couple of days into the mission, when Apollo thirteen 111 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 1: was two hundred thousand miles away from Earth, the activation 112 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:28,960 Speaker 1: of a fan and one of the service modules to 113 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:32,880 Speaker 1: oxygen tanks caused a short circuit and an explosion in 114 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:37,640 Speaker 1: the tank. The other tank was damaged. Just seconds after 115 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:41,960 Speaker 1: the explosion, Swigert reported, Okay, Houston, we've had a problem 116 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:45,839 Speaker 1: here with level repeating, Houston, we've had a problem. When 117 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:51,839 Speaker 1: prompted pressure in the damaged oxygen tank dropped to zero, Odyssey, 118 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:56,840 Speaker 1: the spacecraft's commanding service module was leaking oxygen. The accident 119 00:08:56,920 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: also knocked out two of the service modules three fuel sets. 120 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 1: The fuel cells were vital and generating electrical power and 121 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 1: providing drinking water and oxygen for breathing, but the fuel 122 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:12,280 Speaker 1: cells needed oxygen to operate. The crew needed to preserve 123 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 1: consumables like electricity and oxygen so they could have a 124 00:09:15,679 --> 00:09:18,920 Speaker 1: successful re entry and splash down when the mission was over, 125 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:22,719 Speaker 1: so they moved to the lunar module known as Aquarius. 126 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,840 Speaker 1: The lunar module was designed to support only two people 127 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 1: for two days, but in this instance it would have 128 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:34,280 Speaker 1: to support three people for four days. Swigger shut down 129 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:36,600 Speaker 1: Odyssey to conserve power for the end of the mission, 130 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:40,000 Speaker 1: while Haze and Level worked to boot up Aquarius, which 131 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:43,880 Speaker 1: would be used as a lifeboat. The lunar landing was canceled, 132 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,760 Speaker 1: and the goal now was looping around the Moon and 133 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:50,520 Speaker 1: getting the crew safely back to Earth. Because power had 134 00:09:50,559 --> 00:09:53,720 Speaker 1: to be preserved on Aquarius as well, the crew drank 135 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:57,440 Speaker 1: little water and ration power. Cabin temperatures dropped to just 136 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:01,560 Speaker 1: above freezing. Even though the mission would not land on 137 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:04,280 Speaker 1: the Moon, the crew still set a world record on 138 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:08,839 Speaker 1: Apollo thirteen. On April fift the crew reached the far 139 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:11,640 Speaker 1: side of the Moon at one and fifty eight miles 140 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:15,280 Speaker 1: or two hundred and fifty four kilometers above the lunar surface. 141 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:18,120 Speaker 1: That put them at about two hundred and forty nine 142 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:23,560 Speaker 1: thousand miles away from Earth's surface. On April seventeen, the 143 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:26,600 Speaker 1: command module was powered up again and the service module 144 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:30,640 Speaker 1: was jettisoned. An hour before re entry, the lunar module 145 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: was also jettisoned. The crew soon landed in the Pacific 146 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:39,960 Speaker 1: Ocean near Samoa. Several months after the mission, NASA announced 147 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:43,560 Speaker 1: that Apollo spacecraft would be changed to quote enhance their 148 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: potential use in an emergency mode. Later Apollo service modules 149 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:52,160 Speaker 1: included additional emergency battery power and a third oxygen tank. 150 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:56,040 Speaker 1: I'm each Jeffcote, and hopefully you know a little more 151 00:10:56,040 --> 00:11:00,120 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. If you to 152 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: send us a note or leave a comment, or give 153 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:05,280 Speaker 1: us any suggestions for future episodes, you can do so 154 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:09,479 Speaker 1: on social media at t d i h C Podcast. 155 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 1: You can also send us that note via email at 156 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:16,440 Speaker 1: this Day at I heeart media dot com. Thanks again 157 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:18,640 Speaker 1: for listening to the podcast and we'll see you tomorrow. 158 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:29,480 Speaker 1: For more podcasts for my Heart Radio, visit the i 159 00:11:29,559 --> 00:11:32,200 Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 160 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:33,000 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.