The Shackleton–Rowett Expedition (1921–22) was Sir Ernest Shackleton's last Antarctic project, and the final episode in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. The venture, with vaguely defined geographic and scientific objectives, was financed by John Quiller Rowett, and is otherwise known as the Quest Expedition after its ship Quest, a converted Norwegian sealer. Shackleton had originally intended to go to the Arctic and explore the Beaufort Sea, but abandoned this plan when the Canadian government withheld financial support. Shortly after Quest's arrival at South Georgia, Shackleton died of a heart attack, aged 47. The expedition continued under the leadership of Frank Wild, with a three-month cruise to the eastern Antarctic, but the shortcomings of Quest as a polar vessel kept it from proceeding further than longitude 20°E, or from penetrating southward through the pack ice. After returning to South Georgia, Wild hoped for a second, more productive season in the ice, and took the ship to Cape Town for a refit, where he found a message from Rowett ordering them home. The expedition ended quietly, with limited achievements.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shackleton%E2%80%93Rowett_Expedition
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1081:
The Komnenian dynasty came to full power when Alexios I Komnenos was crowned Byzantine Emperor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexios_I_Komnenos
1614:
Native American Pocahontas married English colonist John Rolfe in Virginia, and was christened Rebecca. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocahontas
1936:
Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: An F5 tornado hit Tupelo, Mississippi, killing at least 216 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_Tupelo%E2%80%93Gainesville_tornado_outbreak
1998:
Japan's Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, linking Awaji Island and Kobe, opened to traffic, becoming the longest suspension bridge in the world to date with a main span length of 1,991 metres (6,532 ft). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akashi_Kaiky%C5%8D_Bridge
2009:
The North Korean satellite Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 was launched from the Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground and passed over Japan, sparking concerns by other nations that it may have been a trial run of technology that could be used to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwangmy%C5%8Fngs%C5%8Fng-2
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
smell a rat: (idiomatic) To sense something suspicious. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/smell_a_rat
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
My whole life has largely been one of surprises. I believe that any man's life will be filled with constant, unexpected encouragements of this kind if he makes up his mind to do his level best each day of his life — that is, tries to make each day reach as nearly as possible the high-water mark of pure, unselfish, useful living. --Booker T. Washington https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington