Australian Hospital Ship Centaur was attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine off North Stradbroke Island, Queensland, Australia, on 14 May 1943, killing the majority of those on board. She had been launched in 1924 as a combination passenger liner/freighter, operating between Western Australia and Singapore. Following her early-1943 conversion to a hospital ship, Centaur served as a medical transport between New Guinea and Australia. Before dawn on 14 May 1943, while on her second voyage, Centaur was torpedoed. Of the 332 medical personnel and civilian crew aboard, 268 died, including 11 of the 12 nurses. The 64 survivors were not discovered until 36 hours later. The incident resulted in public outrage, as attacking a hospital ship was considered a war crime under the 1907 Hague Convention. Despite this, it was not until the 1970s that the identity of the attacking submarine, I-177, became public. The reason for the attack is unknown, although there are claims that the ship may have been in breach of the international conventions that should have protected her. The wreck was found in 2009, although the incorrect identification of another wreck as Centaur stood from 1995 to 2003.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1264:

Second Barons' War: King Henry III was defeated at the Battle of Lewes and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort the de facto ruler of England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_of_Lewes

1607:

An expedition led by Edward Maria Wingfield, Christopher Newport, and John Smith established Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in North America. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamestown,_Virginia

1796:

English physician Edward Jenner began testing cowpox as a vaccine against smallpox. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Jenner

1913:

The New York State Legislature accepted the charter for the Rockefeller Foundation, which at one point was the world's wealthiest charitable foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_Foundation

1948:

David Ben-Gurion publicly read the Israeli Declaration of Independence at the present-day Independence Hall in Tel Aviv, officially establishing a new Jewish state in parts of the former British Mandate of Palestine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_Declaration_of_Independence

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

sumptuous: Magnificent, splendid, extremely good. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sumptuous

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Remember, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware: Anger, fear, aggression — the dark side, are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.   --Star Wars Episode VI : Return of the Jedi https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Episode_VI:_Return_of_the_Jedi