Uriel Sebree (1848–1922) was a career officer in the United States
Navy. He entered the Naval Academy during the Civil War and served
until 1910, retiring as a rear admiral. He is best remembered for his
two expeditions into the Arctic and for serving as the second acting
governor of American Samoa. He was also commander-in-chief of the
Pacific Fleet. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1867,
Sebree was posted to a number of vessels before being assigned to a
rescue mission to find the remaining crew of the missing Polaris in the
Navy's first mission to the Arctic. This attempt was only a partial
success—the Polaris crew was rescued by a Scottish ship rather than the
US Navy—but this led to Sebree's selection eleven years later for a
second expedition to the Arctic. That mission to rescue Adolphus Greely
and the survivors of the Lady Franklin Bay expedition was a success.
Sebree was subsequently appointed as the second acting governor of
American Samoa. He served in this position for only a year before
returning to the United States. In 1907, he was promoted to rear
admiral and given command of the Pathfinder Expedition around the South
American coast before being appointed commander of the 2nd Division of
the Pacific Fleet and then commander-in-chief of the entire fleet. He
retired in 1910 and died in Coronado, California in 1922. Two
geographical features in Alaska—Sebree Peak and Sebree Island—are named
for Admiral Sebree.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uriel_Sebree>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1603:
After Queen Elizabeth I died at Richmond Palace, King James VI of
Scotland acceded to the throne of England, Wales and Ireland, becoming
James I of England and unifying the crowns of the four kingdoms for
the first time.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_I_of_England>
1882:
German physician Robert Koch announced the discovery of Mycobacterium
tuberculosis, a bacterium that causes tuberculosis.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/tuberculosis>
1944:
World War II: Captured Allied soldiers began "the Great Escape",
breaking out of the German prison camp Stalag Luft III.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag_Luft_III>
1976:
Military leaders in Argentina led by Jorge Rafael Videla deposed
President Isabel Perón in a coup d'état, established a military junta
known as the National Reorganization Process, and began state-sponsored
violence against dissidents known as the Dirty War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_War>
1989:
The tanker Exxon Valdez spilled more than 10 million U.S. gallons of
oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska, causing one of the most
devastating man-made environmental disasters at sea.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
nidify (v):
To make a nest
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nidify>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Follow the voice of your heart, even if it leads you off the path of
timid souls. Do not become hard and embittered, even if life tortures
you at times. There is only one thing that counts: to live one's life
well and happily...
--Wilhelm Reich
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich>