Maritime History

[GordMay]

December 22

1990 ~ Lech Walesa sworn in as president of Poland

1849 ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky reprieved
More: Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Free Online Library

1810 ~ British frigate HMS “Minotaur” sinks
The first “Minotaur” was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line launched in 1793. She fought at the battles of the Nile and Trafalgar and was wrecked in 1810 off Texel.
More: HMS Minotaur (1793 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

1596 ~ Ferryboat “Meuniers” crashes in Paris (150 die) unconfirmed

[GordMay]

December 23

1986 ~ Rutan and Yeager complete 1st around-the-world flight without refueling
More: Rutan Voyager

1983 ~ “Science” publishes TTAPS report on nuclear winter
Nuclear Winter is a meteorological theory estimating the global climatic consequences of a nuclear war (or a natural disaster such as a major asteroid impact) that injects large amounts or dust or water vapor into the atmosphere. Nuclear winter models predict prolonged and worldwide cooling and darkening caused by the blockage of sunlight.
The term nuclear winter was first defined and used by American astronomer Carl Sagan and his group of colleagues in their 1983 article “Nuclear Winter: Global Consequences of Multiple Nuclear Explosions” (later referred to as the TTAPS-article, from the initials of the authors' family names - R.P. Turco, O.B. Toon, T.P. Ackerman, J.B. Pollack, and Carl Sagan). This article was the first one to take into consideration not only the direct damage, but also the indirect effects of a nuclear war.
More: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=003...2-0&origin=ads

1972 ~ Miracle in the Andes (16 plane crash survivors rescued after 70 days),
In 1972, a group of rugby players, their friends and families left on an airplane for Chile from Uruguay. The plane crashed into the snow-covered Andes Mountains killing thirteen of the forty-five passengers onboard the aircraft. Many of the passengers died over the weeks from crash-related injuries. Without any provisions, those left alive resorted to cannibalizing the dead. Those who refused to eat the human flesh died of starvation. After seventy days in the mountains, sixteen survivors were rescued.

1972 ~ Earthquake strikes Managua
The 6.2-magnitude Nicaraguan earthquake kills more than 10,000 people and leaves 250,000 homeless.

1968 ~ Crew of U.S. spy ship “Pueblo” released by North Korea
The crew and captain of the U.S. intelligence gathering ship USS “Pueblo” are released, after 11 months imprisonment by the government of North Korea. The ship, and its 83-man crew, was seized by North Korean warships on January 23 and charged with intruding into North Korean waters.
Captain Lloyd Bucher signed a document confessing that the ship was spying on North Korea. With this propaganda victory in hand, the North Koreans released the prisoners and also returned the body of one crewman who died in captivity.

[GordMay]

December 24

1953 ~ Flood sweeps away Wellington to Auckland express train
In a highly unusual chain of events, a volcanic eruption in New Zealand causes a flood that sweeps away a train filled with passengers on this day in 1953. More than 150 people lost their lives in this improbable disaster.
More: Tangiwai 1953 - New Zealand Disasters - Kids - Christchurch City Libraries

1948 ~ Your correspondent born

1851 ~ US Library of Congress catches fire
A devastating fire at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroys about two-thirds of its 55,000 volumes, including most of Thomas Jefferson's personal library.

1814 ~ Treaty of Ghent ends War of 1912 - OOPS that's 1812

1524 ~ Vasco da Gama dies in Cochin, India

[Sailorny]

1814 ~ Treaty of Ghent ends War of 1912

Thats what I call Visionaries Happy birthday Gord

[GordMay]

December 25

1996 ~ Jimmy Buffett departs on a cruise that inspires “A Pirate Looks at Fifty”
More: http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/b...tt-pirate.html

1976 ~ Egyptian Liner SS “Patria sinks” in Red Sea (100 die)

1974 ~ Cyclone Tracy virtually destroys Darwin Australia
Official reports say 65 people were killed, including 16 at sea,, 145 seriously injured and 500 received minor injuries, 70 per cent of the city's houses were destroyed, or suffered severe structural damage.
At the time of the cyclone, Darwin’s population was estimated at about 48,000. With essential services all severed, together with the risk of disease, and with food and shelter at a premium, over 35,000 were evacuated.
More: Cyclone Tracy Information

1941 ~ British surrender Hong Kong

[GordMay]

December 26

2004 ~ Tsunami wreaks havoc on Southeast Asia (250,000 die)

1972 ~ Harry Truman (33rd U.S. President) dies

1963 ~ Beatles release "I Want To Hold Your Hand"/"I Saw Her Standing There"

1943 ~ British sink German battle cruiser “Scharnhorst”
The “Scharnhorst”, a 31,000-ton battle cruiser,was surprised by the British battleship Duke of York. After several hours of hunt and battle, the Scharnhorst was sunk at 19:45 in the battle of the North Cape at 72̊16́ North and 28̊41́. East. Approximately 2,000 German sailors and crew drowned, and only 36 survived.
The wreck of the Scharnhorst was found (2000) 66 miles north-northeast of North Cape. It lies some 290 meters deep, upside down and heavily damaged.
More:
The Battle-Cruiser Scharnhorst

1893 ~ Chairman Mao Zedong born

1837 ~ USN Admiral George Dewey born

1825 ~ Erie Canal opens

[delmarrey]

And today President Henery Ford dies at 93 the 38th President and the only President to be assigned to office of President rather then elected. As well, the only Vice President assigned to office.

[GordMay]

Thanks for the heads up, Delmarrey.

2006 ~ Gerald R. Ford dies at 93
Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. was the 38th President (1974–1977) and 40th Vice President of the United States (1973–1974). He was also the longest-lived United States president, having surpassed Ronald Reagan's record on November 12, 2006.
Mrs. Betty Ford issued the following statement from her home in Rancho Mirage, California:
"My family joins me in informing you that Gerald R. Ford - our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather - has passed away at 93 years of age. His was a life full of love for God, family, and country."
More: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum

April 7, 1947 ~ Henry Ford dies at 83
Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, died at 11:40 on July 7, 1947.

[GordMay]

December 27

1979 ~ Soviet troops invade Afghanistan
In an attempt to stabilize the turbulent political situation in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union sends 75,000 troops to enforce the installation of Babrak Karmal as the new leader of the nation. The new government and the imposing Soviet presence, however, had little success in putting down antigovernment rebels. Thus began nearly 10 years of an agonizing, destructive, and ultimately fruitless Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.

1968 ~ Apollo 8 returns to Earth
More: Apollo 8

1939 ~ Earthquake (magnitude 8) in Turkey (about 50,000 die)

1831 ~ HMS “Beagle” departs England
British naturalist Charles Darwin sets out from Plymouth, England, aboard the HMS Beagle on a five-year surveying expedition of the southern Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

[GordMay]

December 28

1908 ~ Messina, Italy struck by Richter 7.5 earthquake (over 80,000 die)
On December 28, 1908, at approximately 5:20am, Europe's most powerful earthquake shook southern Italy. Centered in the Messina Strait, which separates Sicily from Calabria, the quake's magnitude equaled a 7.5 by today's Richter scale. Moments after the quake's first jolt, a devastating tsunami formed, causing forty-foot waves to crash down on dozens of coastal cities (Messina in Sicily, and Reggio di Calabria on the Italian mainland, et al).
More:
The Messina Earthquake
Biggest Tsunami Countdown #4

[Amgine]

• 1612 - Galileo records observation of Neptune, but mistakenly considers it a fixed star. Neptune was not discovered as a planet until 1846.
• 1867 - U.S.A. claims Midway Island, first territory annexed outside Continental limits.
• 1902 - Trans-Pacific cable links Hawaii to U.S.A. mainland.
• 1980 - Mexico terminated fishing agreements with U.S.A.

Births

• 1655 - Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, First Lord of the British Admiralty (d. 1698)
• 1898 - Carl-Gustaf Rossby, Swedish meteorologist first described atmospheric movements in terms of fluid mechanics. (d. 1957)

Deaths

• 1673 - Joan Blaeu, Dutch cartographer/publisher
• 1793 - Louis Earl of Bylandt, Dutch admiral

[GordMay]

December 29

1983 ~ US announced withdrawal from UNESCO
The United States formally withdrew from UNESCO in 1984, protesting the organization's "excessive politicization, long-term lack of budgetary restraint, and poor management."
More: The United States of America And UNESCO: Building Knowledge, Bridging Cultures


1890 ~ US 7th Cavalry massacre captive Sioux at Wounded Knee, SD
In the tragic final chapter of America's long war against the Plains Indians, the U.S. Cavalry kills 146 Sioux Indians (including 44 women and 18 children) at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Some historians speculate that the soldiers of Custer's old 7th Cavalry were deliberately taking revenge for the regiment's defeat at Little Bighorn in 1876.
More: Massacre At Wounded Knee, 1890
And: The Massacre

1837 ~ Canadian militia destroy US steamboat “Caroline” (1 dies)
An insurrection was taking place in Canada. The rebels were recruiting foreign fighters from the States, and they were smuggling arms across the Niagara River in an American boat, the Caroline. One night, when she was docked on the New York side, the British crossed over, burnt her and sent her over the Falls.More: Early Canada Historical Narratives -- THE CAROLINE

1170 ~ Thomas Beckett (Thomas à Becket) assassinated
More: The Murder of Thomas Becket, 1170

[GordMay]

December 30

2006 ~ New CF historian announced
Thanks to Amgine, who will assume duties as unofficial CruisersForum historian, continuing the Maritime History chronicles in 2007.

1884 ~ Tojo Hideki born
More: Hideki Tojo

1879 ~ Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance," premieres

1862 ~ U.S.S. “Monitor” abandoned in storm off Cape Hatteras, NC
Just nine months earlier, the “Monitor” had been part of a revolution in naval warfare, when the ironclad dueled to a standstill with the C.S.S. “Virginia” (“Merrimack”) off Hampton Roads, Virginia, in one of the most famous naval battles in history - the first time two ironclads faced each other in a naval engagement.
More: USN Ships--USS Monitor (1862) -- Loss of the Ship, 31 December 1862
And: The USS Monitor Center | The Mariners' Museum

[GordMay]

December 31

1999 ~ Panama Canal ceded to Panamanian control
In accordancewith the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, the U.S. officially hands over control of the Panama Canal to Panama. Since the ss “Arcon” transited on August 15, 1914, over 920,000 ships have transited the 50 mile canal.

1991 ~ U.S.S.R. disbands

1961 ~ “Marshall Plan” expires after distributing more than $12 billion
Would have been George Marshall’s 81st birthday.
More: THE MARSHALL PLAN (1947)

1958 ~ Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar flees Cuba
On New Year's Eve 1958, dictator Fulgencio Batista left Cuba before the break of dawn, with one hundred and eighty of his closest associates, having amassed a fortune of as much as to $300 million. Batista lived the rest of his life in splendor in Spain and in Portugal. He died on August 6, 1973 in Marbella, Spain.

1911 ~ Marie Curie receives her 2nd Nobel Prize
The 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Marie Curie (née Sklodowska), "in recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, by the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element".
Together with her husband Pierre, she was awarded half of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903, for their study into the spontaneous radiation discovered by Becquerel, who was awarded the other half of the Prize.

1880 ~ General George C. Marshall born
George Catlett Marshall (December 31, 1880-October 16, 1959), America's foremost soldier during World War II, served as chief of staff from 1939 to 1945, building and directing the largest army in history. A diplomat, he acted as secretary of state from 1947 to 1949, formulating the “Marshall Plan”, an unprecedented program of economic and military aid to foreign nations.

1879 ~ Edison gives 1st public demonstration of his incandescent lamp

1862 ~ Union ironclad ship "Monitor" sinks

1600 ~ Charter granted to the (British) East India Company
More: The East India Company
and: The British East India Company — the Company that Owned a Nation (or Two)

[Amgine]

I hope I can be as regular as Gord! And way, way too many maritime things happened on 1 January...