Maritime History

[GordMay]

July 24, 1915 ~ Hundreds drown as “Eastland” capsizes at dock
On the morning of July 24, 1915, the lake passenger steamer “Eastland” cast off from the Chicago River dock at the Clark Street Bridge with 2,572 people aboard.
Immediately the ship listed away from the dock, righted herself, listed again and slowly rolled over on her side and settled on the mud of the river bottom.
Some of those on board, all Western Electric Company employees and their families, were able to jump into the water and swim ashore, but 844 excursionists lost their lives before rescuers reached them, making the Eastland disaster by far the worst in the city's history in terms of loss of life.
More info, Goto: http://www.eastlanddisaster.org/disaster.htm

[GordMay]

July 25

1956 ~ The “Andrea Doria” and the “Stockholm” collide
Fifty-one passengers and crew were killed in the collision, 45 miles south of Nantucket Island, which ripped a great hole in the broad side of the Italian vessel. Miraculously, all 1,660 survivors on the Andrea Doria were rescued from the severely listing ship before it sunk late the next morning.

1898 ~ U.S. Invades Puerto Rico
The Spanish-American war took place between April 25 – August 12, 1898, in the Caribbean and Pacific, resulting in the Treaty of Paris: (Cuba declared independent (1902), Spain cedes the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico to the United States for $20 million).

[Boracay]

Can't we have nice history?

[GordMay]

July 26

1983 ~ “A Little Good News”

Lyrics by by Charles Black, Rory Bourke, and Thomas Rocco - Artist: Anne Murray

I rolled out this morning
Kids had the mornin' news show on
Bryant Gumbel was talkin' 'bout the fighting in Lebanon
Some senator was squawkin' 'bout the bad economy
It's gonna get worse you see, we need a change in policy

There's a local paper rolled up in a rubber band
One more sad story's one more than I can stand
Just once how I'd like to see the headline say
"Not much to print today, can't find nothin' bad to say", because

Nobody robbed a liquor store on the lower part of town
Nobody OD'ed, nobody burned a single buildin' down
Nobody fired a shot in anger, nobody had to die in vain
We sure could use a little good news today

I'll come home this evenin'
I'll bet that the news will be the same
Somebody takes a hostage, somebody steals a plane
How I wanna hear the anchor man talk about a county fair
And how we cleaned up the air, how everybody learned to care
Whoa, tell me

Nobody was assassinated in the whole Third World today
And in the streets of Ireland, all the children had to do was play
And everybody loves everybody in the good old USA
We sure could use a little good news today

Nobody robbed a liquor store on the lower part of town
Nobody OD'ed, nobody burned a single buildin' down
Nobody fired a shot in anger, nobody had to die in vain
We sure could use a little good news today

1953 ~ “Movimiento 26 de Julio” (Cuba’s 26th of July Movement)
Fidel Castro began his revolt against Fulgencio Batista with an unsuccessful attack on the Moncada army barracks in Santiago, eastern Cuba.
On December 2, 1956, 82 men landed in Cuba, having sailed in the boat Granma from Tuxpan, Veracruz, , ready to organize and lead a revolution. The early signs were not good for the movement. They landed in broad daylight and were attacked by the Cuban Air Force. Most of those who landed died after being fired upon by the Cuban Air Force. The landing party was split into two and wandered lost for two days, most of their supplies abandoned where they landed. Of the 82 who sailed aboard the Granma, only 12 eventually regrouped in the Sierra Maestra mountain range. There they encountered the Cuban Army. This was the opening phase of the war of the Cuban Revolution, which continued for the next two years. It ended in January 1959 after Batista fled Cuba.

1788 ~ Sydney, Australia settled by British colonists
1758 ~ British battle fleet under gen James Wolfe conquerors Louisbourg
1499 ~ Alonso dhe Ojeda discovers Island of Curacao

[GordMay]

July 28

1926 ~ Panama Canal Treaty (U.S. and Panama)
American and Panamanian delegates negotiated a treaty designed to protect the Panama Canal in time of war. The treaty provided that Panama would consider itself at war when the U.S. became a belligerent and permitted peacetime American military maneuvers on Panamanian territory. The treaty raised a great storm of protest in Panama over the violation of national sovereignty. In January of 1927, the Panamanian Assembly refused to ratify the Panama Canal Treaty of 1926 with the U.S. because the agreement violated Panamanian sovereignty. The Panamanian government moved the issue to the League of Nations for consideration, but the League took no action.

1922 ~ Jacques Piccard born
Jan 23/60 - bathyscaph Trieste dives to 37,800 feet at a position 11 degrees 19.7'N, 142 degrees 12'E (Marianas Trench), with U.S.N Lieutenant Don Walsh of San Diego and Swiss scientist Jacques Piccard aboard.
Goto: http://www.bathyscaphtrieste.com/

1609 ~ Admiral George Somers settles in Bermuda

1588 ~ Spanish Armada sails against England

[GordMay]

July 29

1588 ~ Spanish Armada Driven Off
Off the coast of Gravelines, France, Spain's so-called "Invincible Armada" is
defeated by an English naval force under the command of Lord Charles Howard and
Sir Francis Drake. After eight hours of furious fighting, a change in wind
direction prompted the Spanish to break off from the battle and retreat toward
the North Sea. Its hopes of invasion crushed, the remnants of the Spanish Armada
began a long and difficult journey back to Spain. The English pursued the Spanish as far north as the Firth of Forth, as the Spanish sailed around the north of Scotland and down the Atlantic. Of the 130 ships that embarked on the voyage only 60 or so returned home with most of the losses on the trip home, during which thousands of soldiers perished.

1967 ~ Rocket causes deadly fire on USN aircraft carrier “Forrestal” (134 dead)

1945 ~ Japanese sink the cruiser USS “Indianapolis”(883 dead)
There were 1,196 crewmen onboard the Indianapolis; over 350 died upon impact of the torpedo or went down with the ship. More than 800 fell into the Pacific. Of those, approximately 50 died that first night in the water from injuries suffered in the torpedo explosion; the remaining seamen were left to flounder in the Pacific, fend off sharks, drink sea water (which drove some insane), and wait to be rescued. Because there was no time for a distress signal before the Indianapolis went down, it was 84 hours before help arrived. The “Indianapolis” was returning from delivery (July 26) of the Atom Bomb to Tinian Island, northeast of Guam.

[hellosailor]

Gord-
"1588 ~ Spanish Armada Driven Off
Off the coast of Gravelines, France, Spain's so-called "Invincible Armada" is defeated by an English naval force "
Now now, that's only a half truth. The Armada was pretty heavily damaged by storms and there's real question of who would have won if the wx had gone differently, as I recall.
In Napolean's words, a good general makes his own luck. You're not going to tell me that Brit was a Druid and a conjurer and he conjurer up the storm as well, are you?<G>

[GordMay]

Well, perhaps this wording might suffer from “the winner writes the history” syndrome, but Spain’s planned invasion (of England) was thwarted. Essentially, this represents a “victory” for the English.
Certainlt, weather played a significant role in the events - including first allowing the Armada to regroup & escape northward, and later punishing them off the coast of Scotland.
Of course Hellosailor is right - a (roughly) 100 word treatment will not describe all the subtleties of a complex series of engagements.
It’s a fascinating tale.

[GordMay]

July 30

1984 ~ Tanker “Alvenus” spills 2.8 million gallons of oil at Cameron La.
1980 ~ Vanuatu (New Hebrides) gains independence from Britain and France.
1870 ~ Staten Island ferry "Westfield" burns, killing 100.
1844 ~ New York Yacht Club organized.

1715 ~ Spanish gold and silver fleet disappears off St. Lucie, Florida.
Spanish salvage operations recovered much of the treasure in the following years, but the remaining riches rested on the ocean floor until its discovery in the 1960's by Kip Wagner et al.
“Pieces of Eight, Recovering the Riches f a Lost Spanish Treasure Fleet” ~ by Kip Wagner as told to L.B. Taylor, Jr.

[GordMay]

July 31

1976 ~ Seychelles Independence Day
1962 ~ Federation of Malaysia formed
1876 ~ U.S.C.G. officers' training school established at New Bedford, Mass.
1498 ~ Christopher Columbus re-discovers* island of Trinidad (on his third voyage)
* When Trinidad was explored by Columbus in 1498, it was already inhabited (for over a 1,000 years) by the Arawaks (Amerindians from South America).
See also: http://www.pantrinbago.com/Amerinidian1.htm.

[GordMay]

August 1

2006 ~ Fidel Castro undergoes (intestinal) surgery, provisionally relinquishes power to Bro’ Raul
More:
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/am...1/cuba.castro/
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/01/us.cuba/


1972 ~ G.W. Bush is suspended from flying with the Air National Guard

1958 ~ U.S. atomic sub USS “Nautilus” 1st dives under North Pole

1943 ~ PT-109 sinks, Lt. John F. Kennedy instrumental in saving crew

1909 ~ British SS Waratah disappears on Sydney to London (300 die)
More info, Goto: http://www.numa.net/expeditions/waratah1.html
and: http://www.numa.net/press/011701.html

1838 ~ Emancipation* of British slaves on Bahamas

1834 ~ Slavery abolished* through out the British Empire

*Emancipation Day is widely celebrated throughout the English-speaking Caribbean or British West Indies on the first Monday in August. (Aug. 7, this year)

1498 ~ Columbus lands on mainland South America (Peninsula of Paria, Isla Santa)
More on Columbus (Cristobal Colon): http://www.nndb.com/people/033/000045895/

[GordMay]

August 2

1964 ~ North Vietnam fires on a U.S. destroyer in Gulf of Tonkin
The official story was that North Vietnamese torpedo boats launched an "unprovoked attack" against a U.S. destroyer on "routine patrol" in the Tonkin Gulf on Aug. 2 — and that North Vietnamese PT boats followed up with a "deliberate attack" on a pair of U.S. ships two days later. Following the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, Lyndon Johnson, who was up for re-election that year, launched retaliatory strikes and went on national television on August 4, 1964. On August 7, 1964, US Congress passed a joint resolution that gave US President Johnson approval (without a formal declaration of war) "To take all necessary steps, including the use of armed force, to assist any member or protocol state of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty requesting assistance in defense of its freedom." The Resolution was repealed in May of 1970, and replaced with the War Powers Resolution of 1973*, which remains in place today.
* limits the power of the President of the United States to wage war without the approval of Congress.

1934 ~ Hitler’s “Thousand Year Reich” begins
With the death of German President Paul von Hindenburg, Chancellor Adolf Hitler becomes absolute dictator of Germany under the title of Führer, or "Leader." The Third Reich lasts 11 years.

1917 ~ Mutiny breaks out on German battleship “Prinzregent Luitpold”

1876 ~ Wild Bill Hickok murdered
Shot from behind by Jack McCall, while playing poker in the No. 10 Saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota. Apparently, he held a pair of Aces and a pair of 8's, a combination that has since been known as the “Dead Man's Hand”.

1865 ~ Trans Atlantic Cable being laid by SS “Great Eastern” snaps and is lost
1835 ~ Elisha Grey born (inventor of the Telephone ?)
1798 ~ British under Adm Horatio Nelson beat French at Battle of Nile
1610 ~ Henry Hudson enters, you guessed it, the Hudson Bay

1002 ~ Abu Amir Mohammed ibn Abd allah ibn Mohammed ibn Abi Amir dies at 64
The fourth Caliph of Islam and the last of the Patriarchal caliphs: Goto: http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ISLAM/UMAY.HTM

[hellosailor]

Gord!
"1964 ~ North Vietnam fires on a U.S. destroyer in Gulf of Tonkin
The official story was that "
How can you post that that way? Even the USN has finally conceded that the entire incident was a FABRICATION used by LBJ the exact same way that Bush found "conclusive' evidence of WMD's in Iraq.
It is nice to say "the official story" but unless this is a mythology thread, it is CRITICAL to say the US conjured up the entire story, and NV in fact did not commit any attack, much less one in international waters.

[GordMay]

Since receiving several irate PM’s, concerning editorial bias in my earlier “History” thread; I’ve tried to eliminate any editorial opinion.
Our “facts” may be someone else’s “dammed lies”.
Since this thread is merely a light fluff piece, I don’t believe complete accuracy & full disclosure are worth offending anyone’s sensibilities.
Perhaps I should avoid any subject that could possibly engender controversy - in which case, there goes my writing career (I’m a “godless, pinko pervert, commie sympathizer” type).

For more info, Goto:

President Johnson's Message to Congress August 5, 1964 :
”Last night I announced to the American people that the North Vietnamese regime had conducted further deliberate attacks against U.S. naval vessels operating in international waters, and I had therefore directed air action against gunboats and supporting facilities used in these hostile operations ...
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/tonkin-g.htm

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (H.J. RES 1145 August 7, 1964):
”Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression ...”
http://www.luminet.net/~tgort/tonkin.htm

From the US NAVAL INSTITUTE
The Secret Side of the Tonkin Gulf Incident:
http://www.usni.org/navalhistory/Art.../NHandrade.htm

From the DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY - NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
USS Maddox (DD-731), 1944-1972 – Actions in the Gulf of Tonkin, August 1964:
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/s...-m/dd731-k.htm

From The National Security Archive:
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB132/
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB132/tapes.htm

[hellosailor]

Gord, the real nail in the coffin comes from a link on one of the GWU/NS archive links that you supplied. It is:
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/...ss20051201.htm
and it succunctly states:
"Washington, D.C., 1 December 2005 - The largest U.S. intelligence agency, the National Security Agency, today declassified over 140 formerly top secret documents -- histories, chronologies, signals intelligence [SIGINT] reports, and oral history interviews -- on the August 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident. Included in the release is a controversial article by Agency historian Robert J. Hanyok on SIGINT and the Tonkin Gulf which confirms what historians have long argued: that there was no second attack on U.S. ships in Tonkin on August 4, 1964."

Simply put, the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, as pitched by LBJ to the world, never happened.

(For those who don't want to pursue the links, the first incident was a shore-based attack on PT boats, the famous second incident supposedly was an attack on a US destroyer in international waters.)

Did LBJ misread his intelligence briefings? Perhaps. Perhaps not, since everyone on that destroyer *knew* they had not been attacked. And none of them went public with that news.

Great research, Gord.