This Day in History

[GordMay]

August 19

1812 ~ OLD IRONSIDES EARNS ITS NAME

During the War of 1812, the U.S. Navy frigate Constitution defeats the British
frigate Guerriýre in a furious engagement off the coast of Nova Scotia.
Witnesses claimed that the British shot merely bounced off the Constitution's
sides, as if the ship were made of iron rather than wood. By the war's end, "Old
Ironsides" destroyed or captured seven more British ships. The success of the
USS Constitution against the supposedly invincible Royal Navy provided a
tremendous boost in morale for the young American republic.The Constitution was
one of six frigates that Congress requested be built in 1794 to help protect
American merchant fleets from attacks by Barbary pirates and harassment by
British and French forces. It was constructed in Boston, and the bolts fastening
its timbers and copper sheathing were provided by the industrialist and patriot
Paul Revere. Launched on October 21, 1797, the Constitution was 204 feet long,
displaced 2,200 tons, and was rated as a 44-gun frigate (although it often
carried as many as 50 guns).In July 1798 it was put to sea with a crew of 450
and cruised the West Indies, protecting U.S. shipping from French privateers. In
1803, President Thomas Jefferson ordered the American warship to the
Mediterranean to fight Barbary pirates off the coast of Tripoli. The vessel
performed commendably during the conflict, and in 1805 a peace treaty with
Tripoli was signed on the Constitution's deck.When war broke out with Britain in
June 1812, the Constitution was commanded by Isaac Hull, who served as
lieutenant on the ship during the Tripolitan War. Scarcely a month later, on
July 16, the Constitution encountered a squadron of five British ships off Egg
Harbor, New Jersey. Finding itself surrounded, the Constitution was preparing to
escape when suddenly the wind died. With both sides dead in the water and just
out of gunnery range, a legendary slow-speed chase ensued. For 36 hours, the
Constitution's crew kept their ship just ahead of the British by towing the
frigate with rowboats and by tossing the ship's anchor ahead of the ship and
then reeling it in. At dawn on July 18, a breeze sprang, and the Constitution
was far enough ahead of its pursuers to escape by sail.One month later, on
August 19, the Constitution caught the British warship Guerriýre alone about 600
miles east of Boston. After considerable maneuvering, the Constitution delivered
its first broadside, and for 20 minutes the American and British vessels
bombarded each other in close and violent action. The British man-of-war was
de-masted and rendered a wreck while the Constitution escaped with only minimal
damage. The unexpected victory of Old Ironsides against a British frigate helped
unite America behind the war effort and made Commander Hull a national hero. The
Constitution went on to defeat or capture seven more British ships in the War of
1812 and ran the British blockade of Boston twice.After the war, Old Ironsides
served as the flagship of the navy's Mediterranean squadron and in 1828 was laid
up in Boston. Two years later, the navy considered scrapping the Constitution,
which had become unseaworthy, leading to an outcry of public support for
preserving the famous warship. The navy refurbished the Constitution, and it
went on to serve as the flagship of the Mediterranean, Pacific, and Home
squadrons. In 1844, the frigate left New York City on a global journey that
included visits to numerous international ports as a goodwill agent of the
United States. In the early 1850s, it served as flagship of the African Squadron
and patrolled the West African coast looking for slave traders.In 1855, the
Constitution retired from active military service, but the famous vessel
continued to serve the United States, first as a training ship and later as a
touring national landmark. Since 1934, it has been based at the Charlestown Navy
Yard in Boston. Over the years, Old Ironsides has enjoyed a number of
restorations, the most recent of which was completed in 1997, allowing it to
sail for the first time in 116 years. Today, the Constitution is the world's
oldest commissioned warship afloat.

[GordMay]

August 27

1883 ~ Krakatau explodes (36,000 die)

The most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history occurs on Krakatau, a small, uninhabited island located west of Sumatra in Indonesia.

Volcanic activity began on Krakatau on May 20, and on August 26 Krakatau began to erupt violently. The next day, four giant explosions occurred, the third of which blew away the northern two-thirds of the island and caused 120-foot tidal waves that killed 36,000 people on the nearby islands of Java and Sumatra. The explosions could be heard more than 2,000 miles away in Australia, and ash was propelled to a height of 50 miles. Fine dust from the explosion drifted around the earth, causing spectacular sunsets and forming an atmospheric veil that lowered world temperatures by a degree.

In addition to Krakatau, which is still active, Indonesia has another 130 active volcanoes, the most of any country in the world.

[GordMay]

October 9

1967 - Ernesto "Che" Guevara executed in Bolivia

Dr. Ernesto "Che" Guevara (Born May 14, 1928 - Died October 9, 1967) was a Latin American revolutionary and guerilla war theorist. Born in Argentina, and trained as a medical doctor he became politically active during Peron's dicatorship of that country. In 1953 he went to Guatemala to serve in Jacobo Arbenz Guzman's short-lived reign. After Guzman's U.S. led overthrow in 1954, Che met Fidel Castro and in 1956 he served in Castro's army providing important strategic leadership up until the taking of Havana by Castro's forces on New Year's day, 1959. After the communist takeover of Cuba, Che served in several capacities, including that of Minister of Industry (1961-1965).

In 1965 he left Cuba and went underground to train guerilla forces in Bolivia. In October, 1967, Bolivian government forces captured Che and his guerrilla forces near Santa Cruz. Che was executed shortly after his capture.

CIA Debriefing: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB5/che15_1.htm
CIA Debriefing of Félix Rodríguez, June 3, 1975 When Che Guevara was executed in La Higuera, one CIA official was present, a Cuban-American operative named Félix Rodríguez. Rodríguez, who used the codename "Félix Ramos" in Bolivia and posed as a Bolivian military officer, was secretly debriefed on his role by the CIA's office of the Inspector General in June, 1975. (At the time the CIA was the focus of a major Congressional investigation into its assassination operations against foreign leaders).
In this debriefing,discovered in a declassified file marked 'Félix Rodríguez' by journalist David Corn, Rodríguez recounts the details of his mission to Bolivia where the CIA sent him, and another Cuban-American agent, Gustavo Villoldo, to assist the capture of Guevara and destruction of his guerrilla band.
Rodríguez and Villoldo became part of a CIA task force in Bolivia that included the case officer for the operation, "Jim", another Cuban American, Mario Osiris Riveron, and two agents in charge of communications in Santa Clara. Rodríguez emerged as the most important member of the group; after a lengthy interrogation of one captured guerrilla, he was instrumental in focusing the efforts to the 2nd Ranger Battalion focus on the Villagrande region where he believed Guevara's rebels were operating.
Although he apparently was under CIA instructions to "do everything possible to keep him alive," Rodríguez transmitted the order to execute Guevara from the Bolivian High Command to the soldiers at La Higueras (he also directed them not to shoot Guevara in the face so that his wounds would appear to be combat-related), and personally informed Che that he would be killed. After the execution, Rodríguez took Che's Rolex watch, often proudly showing it to reporters during the ensuing years.

Che wrote several books about the strategic use of guerilla warfare including Guerilla Warfare, 1961, Guerilla Warfare: A Method, 1966, and Message to the Tricontinental, 1967 and more ...
Goto:
http://www.che-lives.com/home/module...tegories&cid=1

More Che Documents: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB5/

[GordMay]

October 18

1469 ~ Ferdinand and Isabella Marry
Ferdinand of Aragon marries Isabella of Castile in Valladolid, thus beginning a cooperative reign that would unite all the dominions of Spain and elevate the nation to a dominant world power. Ferdinand & Isabella sponsored Columbus’ 1492 (& subsequent) voyages, leading to the European discovery of the Americas

1898 ~ U.S. Takes Control of Puerto Rico
Only one year after Spain granted Puerto Rico self-rule, American troops raise the U.S. flag over the Caribbean nation, formalizing U.S. authority over the island's one million inhabitants.

[GordMay]

November 28

1520 ~ Magellan reaches the Pacific

After sailing through the dangerous straits below South America that now bear his name, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan enters the Pacific Ocean with three ships, becoming the first European explorer to reach the Pacific from the Atlantic.

On September 20, 1519, Magellan set sail from Spain in an effort to find a western sea route to the rich Spice Islands of Indonesia. In command of five ships and 270 men, Magellan sailed to West Africa and then to Brazil, where he searched the South American coast for a strait that would take him to the Pacific. He searched the Río de la Plata, a large estuary south of Brazil, for a way through; failing, he continued south along the coast of Patagonia. At the end of March 1520, the expedition set up winter quarters at Port St. Julian. On Easter day at midnight, the Spanish captains mutinied against their Portuguese captain, but Magellan crushed the revolt, executing one of the captains and leaving another ashore when his ship left St. Julian in August.

On October 21, he finally discovered the strait he had been seeking. The Strait of Magellan, as it became known, is located near the tip of South America, separating Tierra del Fuego and the continental mainland. Only three ships entered the passage; one had been wrecked and another deserted. It took 38 days to navigate the treacherous strait, and when ocean was sighted at the other end Magellan wept with joy. His fleet accomplished the westward crossing of the ocean in 99 days, crossing waters so strangely calm that the ocean was named "Pacific," from the Latin word pacificus, meaning "tranquil." By the end, the men were out of food and chewed the leather parts of their gear to keep themselves alive. On March 6, 1521, the expedition landed at the island of Guam.

Ten days later, they dropped anchor at the Philippine island of Cebú--they were only about 400 miles from the Spice Islands. Magellan met with the chief of Cebú, who after converting to Christianity persuaded the Europeans to assist him in conquering a rival tribe on the neighboring island of Mactan. In fighting on April 27, Magellan was hit by a poisoned arrow and left to die by his retreating comrades.

After Magellan's death, the survivors, in two ships, sailed on to the Moluccas and loaded the hulls with spice. One ship attempted, unsuccessfully, to return across the Pacific. The other ship, the Vittoria, continued west under the command of Basque navigator Juan Sebastián de Elcano. The vessel sailed across the Indian Ocean, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived at the Spanish port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda on September 6, 1522, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the globe.

[delmarrey]

The water is wide, I can’t swim over

And nei - ther have I wings to fly

Give me a boat that can carry two

An both shall row, my love and I

Well love is gentle, and love is kind


The sweetest flower when first it’s new

But love grows old, and waxes cold

And fades away, Like morning dew


There is a ship, and she sails the sea

She’s loaded deep, as deep can be


But not as deep as the love I’m in

I know not how, I sink or swim
..........................................._/)

Powerful, Delmarrey. Never heard that one before.

[GordMay]

December 4

1872 The mystery of the Mary Celeste

The Dei Gratia, a small British brig under Captain David Morehouse, spots the Mary Celeste, an American vessel, sailing erratically but at full sail near the Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was seaworthy, its stores and supplies were untouched, but not a soul was onboard.

On November 7, the brigantine Mary Celeste sailed from New York harbor for Genoa, Italy, carrying Captain Benjamin S. Briggs, his wife and two-year-old daughter, a crew of eight, and a cargo of some 1,700 barrels of crude alcohol. After the Dei Gratia sighted the vessel on December 4, Captain Morehouse and his men boarded the ship to find it abandoned, with its sails slightly damaged, several feet of water in the hold, and the lifeboat and navigational instruments missing. However, the ship was in good order, the cargo intact, and reserves of food and water remained on board.

The last entry in the captain's log shows that the Mary Celeste had been nine days and 500 miles away from where the ship was found by the Dei Gratia. Apparently, the Mary Celeste had been drifting toward Genoa on her intended course for 11 days with no one at the wheel to guide her. Captain Briggs, his family, and the crew of the vessel were never found, and the reason for the abandonment of the Mary Celeste has never been determined.

[sv_makai]

Clive Cussler and his book Sea Hunters provides a great read on the Mary Celeste .
His organization NUMA actually went out and followed up on the history of the boat and discovered the final resting place after it 15 minutes fame.

Neat stuff and a great read.

[GordMay]

December 6 , 1917 ~ Mont Blanc Explodes - Halifax Devastated

Thursday, December 6, 1917, dawned bright and clear in Halifax. World War I raged in Europe, and the port city was busy with the movement of war ships carrying troops, relief supplies and munitions.

Around eight that morning, the Belgian relief ship Imo left its mooring in Bedford Basin and headed for open sea. At about the same time, the French ship Mont Blanc was heading up the harbour to moor, awaiting a convoy to accompany her across the Atlantic. A convoy was essential; this small, barely seaworthy vessel was carrying a full cargo of explosives. Stored in the holds, or simply stacked on deck, were 35 tons of benzol, 300 rounds of ammunition, 10 tons of gun cotton, 2,300 tons of picric acid (used in explosives), and 400,000 pounds of TNT.

The Imo, a much larger and faster ship than the Mont Blanc, passed into the Narrows. She was travelling fast, and too close to Dartmouth when the Mont Blanc first spotted her. The Mont Blanc, not flying the regulation red flag to indicate she was carrying explosives, signalled that she was in her correct channel; the Imo, however, signalled that she was intending to bear even further to port, closer to Dartmouth and further into the Mont Blanc's channel. The Mont Blanc signalled again that she was still intending to pass to starboard; she was by this time very close to the Dartmouth shore and travelling "dead slow."

The Imo, however, did not swing towards Halifax, as the Mont Blanc expected; she signalled instead that she was maintaining her course. The Mont Blanc, perhaps wrongly, saw only one course open -- to swing to port, towards Halifax, across the bows of the Imo, and thus pass starboard to starboard.

Perhaps the ships might have passed without incident, but the Imo signalled "full speed astern." So did the Mont Blanc, but it was too late. Reversing her engines caused the Imo's bow to swing right, and it struck the Mont Blanc -- missing the TNT, but striking the picric acid stored directly beneath the drums of benzol on deck. The impact cut a wedge in the Mont Blanc's side, and struck deadly sparks.

The crew of the Mont Blanc, aware of their cargo, immediately took to the lifeboats, screaming warnings that no one heeded. They rowed for Dartmouth, leaving the now furiously burning ship to drift towards Halifax, propelled in that direction by the Imo's impact.

The Mont Blanc drifted by a Halifax pier, brushing it and setting it ablaze. Members of the Halifax Fire Department responded quickly, and were positioning their engine up to the nearest hydrant when the Mont Blanc disintegrated in a blinding white flash, creating the biggest man-made explosion before the nuclear age. It was 9:05am.

Over 1,900 people were killed immediately; within a year the figure had climbed well over 2,000. Around 9,000 more were injured, many permanently; 325 acres, almost all of north-end Halifax, were destroyed.

Much of what was not immediately levelled burned to the ground, aided by winter stockpiles of coal in cellars. As for the Mont Blanc, all 3,000 tons of her were shattered into little pieces that were blasted far and wide. The barrel of one of her cannons landed three and a half miles away; part of her anchor shank, weighing over half a ton, flew two miles in the opposite direction. Windows shattered 50 miles away, and the shock wave was even felt in Sydney, Cape Breton, 270 miles to the north-east.

There were about 20 minutes between the collision and the explosion at 9:05. It was enough time for spectators, including many children, to run to the waterfront to watch the ship burning, thus coming into close range. It was enough time for others to gather at windows, and thus an exceptionally large number of people were injured by flying glass -- 1,000 unfortunate survivors sustained eye damage.

Not surprisingly, hospitals were unable to cope with so many wounded. There was also a desperate need for housing, and the misery was compounded by the blizzard that struck the city the following day, dumping 16 inches of snow over the ruins and their sooty, oily covering.

With astounding speed, relief efforts were set in motion. Money poured in from as far away as China and New Zealand. The Canadian government gave $18 million, the British government almost $5 million, but most Haligonians remember the generosity of the state of Massachusetts, which donated $750,000 in money and goods and gave unstintingly in volunteer assistance through the Massachusetts-Halifax Relief Committee. To this day, Halifax sends an annual Christmas tree* to the city of Boston in gratitude.

Gradually, Halifax was put back together, though nothing could compensate for lost lives. Within two months over 1,500 victims had been buried, some unidentified; the remaining victims were discovered only in the spring as excavation was made easier. A relief committee was set up to provide clothing, money and furniture, and this committee existed for almost 59 years. There are still a few survivors of the blast receiving pensions from the Relief Committee's fund.

Three thousand houses were repaired in the first seven weeks; in January, temporary apartments were being constructed at the rate of one every hour. Rebuilding continued apace, and a few months later, construction started on 328 houses in the area bordered by Young, Agricola, Duffus and Gottingen Streets. The houses were built from cement blocks known as hydrostones, and (with a design unusually forward-thinking for the time) had gardens with trees in front, and modern plumbing and electricity. This area, still known as the Hydrostone, is considered one of the more attractive and desirable parts of Halifax in which to live.

On Dec. 6, 1992, the Halifax Fire Department erected a monument in front of Station 6 (corner of Lady Hammond Road and Robie Street), in honour of the nine members who died attempting to fight the fire on the Mont Blanc.

Seventy-seven years later, there are few survivors left to tell their stories. But Halifax has not forgotten, and every Dec. 6 at 9am there is a service by the Memorial Bells at Fort Needham, close to where the Mont Blanc exploded.

* Though, this year, the 'Political Correctness Police' of Boston decided to re-christen (pun intended) it as a “Holiday Tree”.

A moving exhibit on the Explosion, "Halifax Wrecked," can be seen at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Lower Water Street. Maritime Museum of the Atlantic - Halifax Explosion: http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/AtoZ/HalExpl.html

See also:
History by the minute: http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?id=10203
Mysteries of Canada: http://www.mysteriesofcanada.com/Nov...ia/halifax.htm

[GordMay]

December 13

1577 ~ Drake sets out

English seaman Francis Drake sets out from Plymouth, England, with five ships and 164 men on a mission to raid Spanish holdings on the Pacific coast of the New World and explore the Pacific Ocean. Three years later, Drake's return to Plymouth marked the first circumnavigation of the earth by a British explorer.

After crossing the Atlantic, Drake abandoned two of his ships in South America and then sailed into the Straits of Magellan with the remaining three. A series of devastating storms besieged his expedition in the treacherous straits, wrecking one ship and forcing another to return to England. Only The Golden Hind reached the Pacific Ocean, but Drake continued undaunted up the western coast of South America, raiding Spanish settlements and capturing a rich Spanish treasure ship.

Drake then continued up the western coast of North America, searching for a possible northeast passage back to the Atlantic. Reaching as far north as present-day Washington before turning back, Drake paused near San Francisco Bay in June 1579 to repair his ship and prepare for a journey across the Pacific. Calling the land "Nova Albion," Drake claimed the territory for Queen Elizabeth I.

In July, the expedition set off across the Pacific, visiting several islands before rounding Africa's Cape of Good Hope and returning to the Atlantic Ocean. On September 26, 1580, The Golden Hind returned to Plymouth, England, bearing treasure, spice, and valuable information about the world's great oceans. Drake was the first captain to sail his own ship all the way around the world--the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan had sailed three-fourths of the way around the globe earlier in the century but had been killed in the Philippines, leaving the Basque navigator Juan Sebastián de Elcano to complete the journey.

In 1581, Queen Elizabeth I knighted Drake, the son of a tenant farmer, during a visit to his ship. The most renowned of the Elizabethan seamen, Sir Francis Drake later played a crucial role in the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

1642 ~ Tasman discovers New Zealand

Dutch navigator Abel Tasman becomes the first European explorer to sight the South Pacific island group now known as New Zealand. In his sole attempt to land, several of Tasman's crew were killed by warriors from a South Island tribe, who interpreted the Europeans' exchange of trumpet signals as a prelude to battle. A few weeks earlier, Tasman had discovered Tasmania, off the southeast coast of Australia. Tasman had named the island Van Diemen's Land, but, like the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia, it was later renamed Tasmania in the explorer's honor.

New Zealand, named after the Dutch province of Zeeland, did not attract much additional European attention until the late 18th century, when English explorer Captain James Cook traveled through the area and wrote detailed accounts of the islands. Whalers, missionaries, and traders followed, and in 1840 Britain formally annexed the islands and established New Zealand's first permanent European settlement at Wellington.

[Alan Wheeler]

And yet he totaly missed Australia.
What I would like to know is, what were these early explorers actually looking for? I mean, were they just randomly zigzaging around the Pacific and accidentaly bumped into land along the way, or had they heard rumours of lands in certain locations. And if rumours existed, then who was here before the discoverer. I mean, NZ is small. It is thin and not all that long. Leaving Tasmania, only a degree or two difference in direction would have meant totaly missing the country of NZ. If it was an accidental find, he should have bought a Lotto ticket.
And another interesting thought. If he had have found Oz, then he may never have found NZ. If he didn't find NZ, then Whalers may never have ventured down here. If whalers never ventured down here, then Cook would never have heard a rumour of the land of the long white cloud and went off in search of a land. Thus NZ may never have been found till many many years later and history may be very different here. Interesting thought eh!.

[delmarrey]

Why wasn't "the Basque navigator Juan Sebastián de Elcano" and the remaining crew concidered to be the first to circumnavigate the globe vs Magellon, concidering Magellon never made it?

It's funny how some people get credit for something they never complete. Like Chirstopher Columbus. Here in Seattle we celebrate Lief Erikson Day.

[BC Mike]

Why do the Europeans get credit for discovering places like NZ.
The Maoris were already there. They went there because they had a pretty good idea it was there, and they did it quite a while B4 any Europeans. The first European settlement in NZ was at Paihia and Russell in the Bay of Islands not Wellington. Auckland anniversary is 31 January and the Treaty of Waitangi is 06 February 1940. Will check to see if the show up in TDIH.
Michael

[Alan Wheeler]

Errr Mike Mate. 1940??!!??