Ernest Joyce (c. 1875 – 1940) was a Royal Naval seaman and Antarctic
explorer who served under both Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton
in the early years of the 20th century. Joyce entered the navy as a boy
seaman in 1891; his Antarctic experiences began in 1901 when he joined
Scott's Discovery Expedition. In 1907 Shackleton recruited him to take
charge of dogs and sledges on the Nimrod Expedition, a role he performed
with distinction. Thus Shackleton employed him in a similar capacity in
1914, as a member of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition's Ross Sea
party. Despite Joyce's acknowledged heroism during that expedition, it
ended his exploring career, although he made attempts to join other
expeditions. An abrasive and sometimes truculent character, his
effectiveness in the field was nonetheless widely acknowledged. He was
awarded a lifesaving Albert Medal and a Polar Medal with four bars, but
Joyce made no significant material gains from his exploits, living out
his post-Antarctic life in humble circumstances before dying suddenly in
1940.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Joyce>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1910:
Aviator Eugene Burton Ely performed the first takeoff from a
ship, flying from a makeshift deck on the USS Birmingham in the U.S.
state of Virginia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Burton_Ely>
1941:
Second World War: After suffering torpedo damage the previous
day, the British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal sank as she was being
towed to Gibraltar for repairs.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Ark_Royal_(91)>
1970:
Southern Airways Flight 932, chartered by the Marshall
University football team, crashed into a hill near Ceredo, West
Virginia, U.S., killing all 75 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Airways_Flight_932>
1995:
As a result of budget conflicts between President Bill Clinton
and the United States Congress led by Newt Gingrich, the federal
government was forced to shut down non-essential services.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_government_shutdowns_of_1995%E2%80%931996>
2003:
Astronomers Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L.
Rabinowitz discovered the trans-Neptunian object 90377 Sedna.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/90377_Sedna>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
blowhard:
(Canada, US, derogatory) A person who talks too much or too loudly,
especially in a boastful or self-important manner.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blowhard>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Killing innocent people by surprise is not called "a thousand
points of light." But, as frightening as terrorism is, it's the weapon
of losers. The minute somebody sets off a suicide bomb, you can be sure
that person doesn't have "career prospects." And no matter how
horrendous a terrorist attack is, it's still conducted by losers.
--P. J. O'Rourke
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._J._O%27Rourke>