Lawrence Weathers (1890–1918) was an Australian recipient of the
Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in battle that could be
awarded to a member of the Australian armed forces at the time. He
enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in early 1916, and joined the
43rd Battalion. His unit deployed to the Western Front in France and
Belgium in late December. Weathers took part in the Battle of Messines
in June 1917, and was wounded. Rejoining his unit in December, Weathers
fought during the German Spring Offensive, but was gassed in May and did
not return to his unit until the following month. He participated in the
Battle of Hamel in July, the Battle of Amiens in August, and the Battle
of Mont Saint-Quentin in September. At Mont Saint-Quentin, he was
recommended for the award of the Victoria Cross based on his actions on
2 September. He was mortally wounded by a shell on 29 September during
the Battle of St Quentin Canal, never having been aware that he was to
receive the Victoria Cross.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Weathers>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1870:
Franco-Prussian War: Prussian forces captured Napoleon III in
Sedan, France; the Second French Empire collapsed within days.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sedan>
1912:
Arthur Rose Eldred became the first person to attain the rank
of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Scout_%28Boy_Scouts_of_America%29>
1985:
Hurricane Elena, an unpredictable and damaging tropical cyclone
that affected eastern and central portions of the United States Gulf
Coast, made landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi, as a Category 3 major
hurricane.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Elena>
2011:
Bad weather caused a Chilean Air Force plane to crash in the
Pacific Ocean, killing all 21 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Chilean_Air_Force_C-212_crash>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
inthronize:
(obsolete) To enthrone.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/inthronize>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
What sin is to the moralist and crime to the jurist so to the
scientific man is ignorance. On our plane knowledge and ignorance are
the immemorial adversaries.
--Frederick Soddy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Frederick_Soddy>