The voyage of the James Caird was a small-boat journey undertaken by Sir
Ernest Shackleton and five companions from Elephant Island in the South
Shetland Islands to South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean, a
distance of 800 nautical miles (1,500 km; 920 mi). In October 1915,
Endurance, the ship of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of
1914–17, had been crushed by pack ice and sunk in the Weddell Sea,
leaving the 27-man expedition stranded thousands of miles from safety.
In April 1916, when the floe on which they were camped broke up, the
party made its way in the ship's three lifeboats to the uninhabited
Elephant Island. Shackleton decided that the best chance for rescue
would be for a crew of six to sail a lifeboat to South Georgia; the
James Caird was deemed the most likely of the lifeboats to survive the
journey. After overcoming a series of dangers, including a near
capsizing, the boat reached South Georgia after 16 days. Shackleton was
then able to organise the relief of the Elephant Island party, and to
return his men home without loss of life. The James Caird's voyage is
regarded as one of the greatest small-boat journeys ever accomplished.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
28 BC:
The first recorded observation of a sunspot was made by Han
Dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_technology_of_the_Han_dynasty#Astronomical_observations>
1833:
Lê Văn Khôi broke out of prison to start a revolt against
Vietnamese Emperor Minh Mạng, primarily to avenge the desecration of
the grave of his adopted father Lê Văn Duyệt, former viceroy of the
southern part of Vietnam.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%AA_V%C4%83n_Kh%C3%B4i_revolt>
1924:
J. Edgar Hoover became the director of the Bureau of
Investigation, which would later become the U.S. Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Edgar_Hoover>
1940:
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned and
formally recommended Winston Churchill as his successor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Chamberlain>
1997:
A 7.3 Mw earthquake struck Iran's Khorasan Province, killing
1,567, injuring over 2,300, leaving 50,000 homeless, and damaging or
destroying over 15,000 homes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Qayen_earthquake>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
cymotrichous:
(anthropology) Having wavy hair.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cymotrichous>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Our Yes towards life from the very beginning carries within
it the Divine No which breaks forth from the antithesis and points away
from what now was the thesis to the original and final synthesis. The No
is not the last and highest truth, but the call from home which comes in
answer to our asking for God in the world.
--Karl Barth
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Barth>