 "Edvard Munch’s Scream is one of the most famous paintings. The theft from the National Gallery in Oslo shocked one and all. Illustration: Santan")
February 12, 1994, was the day when shockwaves spread across the world when “The Scream”, the iconic painting by Edvard Munch was stolen. This is not all; several other historical events also took place across the world on this day.
In 2019, Mexican drug lord “El Chapo” Guzmán was convicted in New York of running an industrial-scale drug smuggling operation. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole with an additional 30 years for his role in leading Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel.
On this day in 2002, Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic went to trial on charges of war crimes committed in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo.
In our ongoing series History Today , we revisit important events that took place on this day, eventually shaping the world.
Here is all that happened on this day over the years.
Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” stolen
With just a van and 50 seconds, two men brazenly stole one of the most famous paintings ever created. It was exactly 31 years ago on this day that “The Scream” by Edvard Munch was stolen from where it was housed in the National Gallery in Oslo, Norway.
In the early hours of February 12, 1994, when the city of Oslo prepared to welcome the Winter Olympics, two men, William Aasheim and an accomplice, pulled up in front of the National Gallery in a van. Leaving the engine running, they set a ladder against the gallery’s side.
Aasheim climbed the ladder to the second-floor window and climbed inside after smashing the glass. Once inside he snipped the wire that held the painting in place and using the ladder as a conveyor belt stole the famous painting. The thief left a postcard in place of the painting that read: “Thanks for the poor security.”
That’s how one of the most recognisable paintings was stolen.
This robbery led the Norwegian Police to launch a major investigation. “The Scream” was recovered later in May 1994 undamaged, after a sting operation involving Scotland Yard and the Getty Museum. Several people were arrested, including a Norwegian art thief, but due to legal issues, some were later released.
“The Scream” was stolen once again in 2004 along with another Munch painting, “Madonna”, this time from the Munch Museum in Oslo. Both artworks were recovered in 2006.
“El Chapo” convicted in New York
Mexican drug mafia Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was convicted in the United States for running an industrial-scale drug smuggling operation in 2012.
According to CNN, the notorious drug lord, dressed in a grey suit and dark tie, spoke for 10 minutes in court before the sentence was handed down. “There was no justice here,” he said in Spanish, referring to a report that one juror had spoken about misconduct by some other jurors, reported CNN.
A New York courthouse sentenced Guzman to life imprisonment without parole plus three decades for his involvement in leading the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico. A life sentence was mandatory, but US prosecutors asked for an additional 30 years to be added to his punishment. Guzman was also ordered to pay $12.6 billion.
During the trial, witnesses testified that Guzmán not only ordered but also personally participated in the torture and murder of perceived cartel enemies, reported CNN.
He was sentenced to Colorado’s Supermax prison, one of the most highly secured prisons in the country. “No one has ever escaped,” defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman told CNN’s New Day. “It’s absolutely impossible. It’s not even an issue.”
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic went on trial
On this day in 2002, former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic went on trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of genocide and war crimes in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo.
The prosecution charged Milošević with masterminding brutal campaigns for a “Greater Serbia,” responsible for the deaths of more than 200,000 people, including the 8,000 Bosniak men and boys killed in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. He rejected legal counsel, arguing the trial was a politically motivated conspiracy by Western nations.
The prolonged trial of Slobodan Milosevic, who acted as his own attorney for much of the proceedings, ended without a verdict. The “Butcher of the Balkans” died in his prison cell on March 11, 2006, at the age of 64, apparently of a heart attack.
This Day, That Year
The last emperor of China Puyi was abdicated on this day in 1912.
On this day in 1851, gold was discovered in New South Wales leading to Australia’s first gold rush.
British naturalist Charles Darwin was born in 1809.