SS Minnesotan was a cargo ship built in 1912 for the American-Hawaiian
Steamship Company. During World War I, she was known as
USAT Minnesotan in service for the U.S. Army and USS Minnesotan
(ID-4545) in service for the U.S. Navy. She was built as one of eight
sister ships, and employed in inter-coastal service via the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec and the Panama Canal. In World War I, Minnesotan carried
cargo and animals to France from September 1917. After the Armistice,
she returned over 8,000 American troops. In 1919, Minnesotan resumed
inter-coastal cargo service. During World War II, the ship was
requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration and initially sailed
between New York and Caribbean ports. In the latter half of 1943,
Minnesotan sailed between Indian Ocean ports, and the following year
between ports in New York and the United Kingdom, before returning to
the Caribbean. In 1949, Minnesotan was sold to Italian owners, who
renamed her Maria Luisa R. She was scrapped in 1952 at Bari.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Minnesotan>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1783:
Laki, a volcanic fissure in Iceland, began an eight-month
eruption, triggering a major famine and causing massive fluoride
poisoning.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki>
1941:
World War II: The Allies commenced the Syria–Lebanon campaign
against Vichy French possessions in the Levant.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria%E2%80%93Lebanon_campaign>
1953:
An F5 tornado struck Flint and Beecher, Michigan, causing 116
fatalities, 844 injuries and $19 million in damage during a larger
tornado outbreak sequence.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint%E2%80%93Worcester_tornado_outbreak_sequence>
2008:
A Japanese man drove a truck into a crowd of pedestrians in
Akihabara, Tokyo, and proceeded to stab at least 12 people before being
apprehended (police activity pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara_massacre>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
polynya:
(hydrology, oceanography) A naturally formed area of open water
surrounded by sea ice, especially in the Arctic.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/polynya>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The world is big … May it please the One who perchance Is to
expand the human heart to life's full measure.
--Marguerite Yourcenar
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marguerite_Yourcenar>