SS Mauna Loa was a steam-powered cargo ship of the Matson Navigation
Company that was sunk in the Bombing of Darwin in February 1942. Built
in 1919 for the United States Shipping Board, she was christened West
Conob and renamed Golden Eagle in 1928, sailing for a variety of owners.
In 1934, she was taken over by the Matson Navigation Company for service
between Hawaii and the U.S. mainland and renamed Mauna Loa. Shortly
before the United States' entry into World War II, Mauna Loa was
chartered by the United States Department of War to carry supplies to
the Philippines. The ship was part of an aborted attempt to reinforce
Allied forces under attack by the Japanese on Timor in mid-
February 1942. After the return of her convoy to Darwin, Northern
Territory, Mauna Loa was one of eight ships sunk in Darwin Harbour in
the first Japanese bombing attack on the Australian mainland on
19 February. The remains of her wreck and her cargo are a dive site in
the harbor.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Mauna_Loa>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1674:
Charles II of England signed the Treaty of Westminster to end
the Third Anglo-Dutch War, confirming English and Dutch sovereignty over
New Netherland and Surinam, respectively.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Anglo-Dutch_War>
1811:
Peninsular War: Outnumbered French forces under Édouard
Mortier routed and nearly destroyed Spanish troops at the Battle of the
Gebora near Badajoz, Spain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Gebora>
1910:
Old Trafford, a football stadium in Greater Manchester,
England, hosted its inaugural match, between Manchester United and
Liverpool.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Trafford>
2011:
Items from the Belitung shipwreck, the largest single
collection of Tang-dynasty artefacts found in one location, were first
exhibited in Singapore.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belitung_shipwreck>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
rainmaker:
1. Someone or something that causes or attempts to cause rain to fall.
2. An African or Native American medicine man who seeks to induce rain
through performing rituals.
3. A person who seeks to induce rainfall through scientific methods,
such as cloud seeding.
4. (originally Canada, US, figuratively, informal) A person having the
ability to generate business, raise funds, or otherwise engineer success
for a company, organization, etc.
5. (baseball, informal) A batted ball that is hit very high into the
air.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rainmaker>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Love is always before you. Love it.
--André Breton
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Breton>