Norman Selfe (1839–1911) was an Australian engineer, naval architect, inventor, urban planner and outspoken advocate of technical education. After immigrating to Sydney with his family from England as a boy he became an apprentice engineer, following his father's trade. Selfe designed many bridges, docks, boats, and much precision machinery for the city. He also introduced new refrigeration, hydraulic, electrical and transport systems. For these achievements he received international acclaim during his lifetime. Decades before the Sydney Harbour Bridge was built, the city came close to building a Selfe-designed steel cantilever bridge across the harbour after he won the second public competition for a bridge design. Selfe was commemorated in his lifetime by the name of the Sydney suburb of Normanhurst. He was energetically involved in organisations such as the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts and the Australian Historical Society, and fought consistently for the establishment of an independent system of technical education. He was acknowledged upon his death as one of the best-known people in, and greatest individual influences upon, the city of Sydney.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Selfe
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1783:
Iceland's Laki craters began an eight-month eruption, triggering major famine and massive fluorine poisoning. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki
1856:
Descendants of Tahitians and the HMS Bounty mutineers settled on Norfolk Island, an abandoned British penal colony. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norfolk_Island
1959:
The U.S. Navy submarine USS Barbero fired a Regulus cruise missile (example pictured), equipped with US Post Office Department containers, in an attempt to deliver mail via rocket. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_mail
1982:
Falklands War: The Argentine Air Force attacked British transport ships as they were unloading their supplies off Bluff Cove in the Falkland Islands, killing 56 British servicemen and wounding 150 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluff_Cove_Air_Attacks
2007:
A major storm in New South Wales, Australia, beached the bulk carrier ship MV Pasha Bulker. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Pasha_Bulker
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
oneironaut: A person who explores dream worlds, usually associated with lucid dreaming. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/oneironaut
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end. --Scott Adams https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Scott_Adams