19 July 1947 Today in 1947, Bogyoke Aung San, ‘the father of modern day Myanmar’ and a committed parliamentary socialist, was shot dead by paramilitaries under orders of Burma’s former prime minister, U Saw, who had recently received weapons supplied by British army officers. Aung San, who, at just 32 years old, was the acting prime…
15 January 1886 On 15 January 1886, Colonel Willoughby Hooper, the Provost Marshal at Mandalay in Burma, ordered the extrajudicial execution of five suspect rebels. According to a E.K. Moylan, The Times Mandalay correspondent, the Colonel then used their killing and other similar shootings to practice his photography skills. ‘The Provost Marshal,’ the correspondent explained, ‘is an…
BRITISH TROOPS LOOT BURMA’S ROYAL PALACE AT MANDALAY [ 28 November 1885 ] After leading British troops into Mandalay, the Royal capital of Burma, General Prendergast immediately organized the methodical looting of the Royal Palace, although some drunken soldiers decided instead to burn down the Royal Treasury with its priceless collection of gold-bound palm-leaf manuscripts…
BURMESE COLONIAL POLICE SHOOT DEAD PROTESTING VILLAGERS [ 18 May 1946 ] Today in 1946, Burmese colonial police shot dead five protesters in the town of Tantabin, near Rangoon. Most of the demonstrators were villagers. They had been demanding a delay on the repayment on loans due to food shortages and the release of 65…
