Henry Wrigley (1892–1987) was an air vice marshal in the Royal
Australian Air Force (RAAF). A pioneering flyer and aviation scholar, he
piloted the first trans-Australia flight from Melbourne to Darwin in
1919, and afterwards laid the groundwork for the RAAF's air power
doctrine. During World War I, he joined the Australian Flying Corps and
saw combat with No. 3 Squadron on the Western Front, earning the
Distinguished Flying Cross; he later commanded the unit and published a
history of its wartime exploits. He was awarded the Air Force Cross for
his 1919 cross-country flight. He was a founding member of the RAAF in
1921. In 1936, he was promoted to group captain and took command of RAAF
Station Laverton. Raised to air commodore soon after the outbreak of
World War II, he became Air Member for Personnel in November 1940. He
was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire the next
year. He served as Air Officer Commanding RAAF Overseas Headquarters,
London, from 1942 until his retirement from the military in 1946. His
writings on air power were collected and published posthumously as The
Decisive Factor in 1990.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Wrigley>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
321:
Emperor Constantine I decreed that Sunday, the day honoring the
sun god Sol Invictus (disc pictured), would be the Roman day of rest.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Invictus>
1277:
Étienne Tempier, Bishop of Paris, promulgated a condemnation
of 219 philosophical and theological propositions that were being
discussed at the University of Paris.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condemnations_of_1210%E2%80%931277>
1850:
In support of the Compromise of 1850, United States Senator
Daniel Webster gave his "Seventh of March" speech, which was so
unpopular among his constituency he was forced to resign.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Webster>
1900:
The German ocean liner SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse became the
first ship to send a wireless telegraph message to an onshore receiver.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Kaiser_Wilhelm_der_Grosse>
1968:
Vietnam War: The United States and South Vietnam began
Operation Truong Cong Dinh to sweep the area surrounding the Mekong
Delta town of Mỹ Tho to root out Viet Cong forces in the area.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Truong_Cong_Dinh>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
at one blast:
At once, at the same moment in time.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/at_one_blast>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
What is history … without politics? A guide who walks on and on
with no one following to learn the road, so that his every step is
wasted; just as politics without history is like a man who walks along
without a guide.
--Alessandro Manzoni
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alessandro_Manzoni>