The last voyage of the Karluk, flagship of the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913–16, ended in a disaster which led to the deaths of almost half the ship's complement. In August 1913 the ship became trapped by ice in the Arctic Ocean. The expedition's leader, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, then left with a hunting party; while he was away the ship began to drift, preventing his return. When after many weeks the ship was crushed by ice and sunk, its captain, Robert Bartlett, led the 25 crew and expedition personnel across the sea ice to Wrangel Island, 80 miles (130 km) away. In the dangerous conditions, eight men were lost on the march. From the island Bartlett and an Inuk companion set out for the Siberian coast to seek help; they eventually reached Alaska, but weather conditions delayed the organisation of a rescue. On Wrangel Island the stranded party were short of food and troubled by internal dissent; before their rescue in September 1914 three more of the party had died. Some of the voyage's survivors were critical of Stefansson for leaving the ship, although he escaped official censure. Bartlett was hailed as a hero by the public and by his former Karluk shipmates.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_voyage_of_the_Karluk

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1146:

French abbot Bernard of Clairvaux preached a sermon to a crowd at Vézelay, with King Louis VII in attendance, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_of_Clairvaux

1492:

The Catholic Monarchs of Spain issued the Alhambra Decree, ordering all Jews to convert to Christianity or be expelled from the country. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra_Decree

1889:

The Eiffel Tower was inaugurated in Paris, becoming a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower

1942:

Second World War: Because of a mutiny by Indian soldiers against their British officers, Japanese troops captured Christmas Island without any resistance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Christmas_Island

1995:

American singer-songwriter, Selena, known as "The Queen of Tejano music", was murdered in Corpus Christi, Texas, by the president of her fan club, Yolanda Saldívar. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Selena

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

wry: 1. Turned away, contorted (of the face or body). 2. Dryly humorous; sardonic or ironic. 3. Twisted, bent, crooked. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wry

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I tell you this, that you will have found out the truth of the last tree and the top-most cloud before the truth about me. You will understand the sea, and I shall be still a riddle; you shall know what the stars are, and not know what I am. Since the beginning of the world all men have hunted me like a wolf — kings and sages, and poets and lawgivers, all the churches, and all the philosophies. But I have never been caught yet, and the skies will fall in the time I turn to bay. I have given them a good run for their money, and I will now. in The Man Who Was Thursday by   --G. K. Chesterton https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton