The Baltimore Steam Packet Company was an American steamship line from
1840 to 1962, providing overnight steamboat service on the Chesapeake
Bay, primarily between Baltimore, Maryland, and Norfolk, Virginia.
Called a "packet" for the mail packets carried on government mail
contracts, the term in the 19th century came to mean a steamer line
operating on a regular, fixed daily schedule between two or more
cities. By the time the venerable packet line ceased operation in 1962
after 122 years of existence, it was the last surviving overnight
steamship passenger service in the United States. In addition to
regularly calling on Baltimore and Norfolk, the Baltimore Steam Packet
Company also provided freight, passenger and vehicle transport to
Washington, D.C., Old Point Comfort, and Richmond, Virginia, at various
times during its history.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Steam_Packet_Company>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1776:
British forces led by William Howe defeated the American Continental
Army under George Washington at the Battle of Long Island in Brooklyn,
New York, the largest battle of the American Revolutionary War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Long_Island>
1896:
The Anglo-Zanzibar War set the record for the shortest war in recorded
history when Zanzibar surrendered less than an hour after the conflict
broke out, with British forces destroying the Sultan's Palace and Harem
.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Zanzibar_War>
1964:
In the wake of a failed attempt to augment his personal power, South
Vietnamese junta leader Nguyen Khanh entered into a triumvirate
power-sharing arrangement with rival generals Tran Thien Khiem and
Duong Van Minh, who had been involved in plots to unseat Khanh.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tran_Thien_Khiem>
1991:
Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Moldova declared its independence
during the aftermath of the failure of the Soviet coup d'état attempt.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldova>
2003:
The planet Mars made its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000
years: 55,758,006 kilometres (34,646,419 mi).
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars>
2006:
Comair Flight 5191 crashed while inadvertently attempting to take off
from a shorter runaway at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky,
killing 49 of the 50 people on board, and causing the Federal Aviation
Administration to modify rules regarding air traffic controllers.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comair_Flight_5191>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
best (v):
To beat in a contest; to surpass in skill or achievement
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/best>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end. For all those
whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures,
the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.
--Ted Kennedy
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ted_Kennedy>