By Richard T. Cartwright, PE, CHMM, (IHMM, AHMP and APICS) Fellow.
Richard died April 21, 2025; honoring the work he did with hazmat history is one small way to keep his memory alive.
The saying, “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it” is more than a cliché. It is a reminder that we must constantly be learning from the past. Here’s a look back at major historical events that happened today in the world of hazardous materials.
June 5, 2026
World Environment Day is celebrated around the world every year on June 5 to raise global awareness of the need to take positive environmental action. It is organized by the United Nations Environment Programme, and is when the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment began. The first World Environment Day was in 1973. Each year a different city hosts World Environment Day with a different theme and commemorates it with an international exposition.
June 5, 1981
An epidemic disease, later known as AIDS, was first described by Dr. Michael Gottlieb in a U.S. Centers for Disease Control newsletter. At that time, many medical professionals refused to acknowledge the AIDS crisis. Despite that, Gottlieb pursued early immune deficiency cases and urged that his findings be published. He was one of the first researchers to test the AZT drug on AIDS patients.
June 5, 1953
A fireworks warehouse and factory exploded in Houston, Texas, where four people died. Over 400,000 pounds of fireworks exploded inside the factory, injuring 73 workers. The explosion was attributed to the general manager hammering nails into a display.
June 5, 1878
James Dewar, English scientist, first exhibited liquid air at a temperature of -192ºC in London. An air sample in the room was liquefied in full view of the audience. The sample remained liquified for some time while enclosed in a vacuum jacket.
June 5, 1760
Johan Gadolin, Finnish chemist, was born. He discovered the element Yttrium, which was the first of a family of 15 rare earth elements called the lanthanides. While analyzing a new black mineral from Ytterby, Sweden, he isolated from it the rare earth mineral, Yttria. This was an important step toward identifying the remaining undiscovered elements on the Periodic Table. Over the next century, Yttria was found to contain the oxides of nine new rare earth elements.
Historical hazardous materials management events are posted 365 days a year at this LinkedIn discussion group.
