The steamer SS Princess Alice sank on 3 September 1878 after a collision with the collier vessel SS Bywell Castle on the River Thames. Between 600 and 700 people died, all from the paddle steamer, in the greatest loss of life of any British inland waterway shipping accident. Princess Alice was owned by the London Steamboat Co and captained by William R. H. Grinstead. The collision occurred in an area where 75 million imperial gallons (340,000 m3) of London's raw sewage had just been released. The steamer broke into three parts, and many of her passengers drowned in the heavily polluted waters. The jury in the coroner's inquest put more of the blame on the collier; the inquiry run by the Board of Trade found that Princess Alice had not followed the right path and was culpable. In the aftermath of the sinking, changes were made to the release and treatment of sewage. The Marine Police Force were provided with steam launches, after the rowing boats used up to that point had proved insufficient.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1411:

The Treaty of Selymbria was concluded between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman prince Musa Çelebi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Selymbria

1901:

For the first time, the flag of Australia flew from the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Australia

1987:

In a military coup d'état in Burundi, Pierre Buyoya deposed the incumbent president Jean-Baptiste Bagaza while he was abroad in Canada. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Bagaza

2017:

North Korea conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test at Punggye-ri, causing a magnitude-6.3 earthquake. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_North_Korean_nuclear_test

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

grawlix: 1. A series of images or symbols used in speech bubbles in comic strips to indicate one or more swear words. 2. An image resembling an illegible scribble used for this purpose. 3. A string of typographical symbols (such as "@#$%&!") used for this purpose. 4. A series of violence-related images (such as bombs, daggers, and skulls) used for this purpose. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/grawlix

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

True art, springing fresh from Nature, must have in it, to live, much of the glance of an eye, much of the sound of a voice, much of the life of a life. … Nature is strong, generous, comprehensive, fecund, subtile … in growth and decadence she continually sets forth the drama of man's life. … thro' the rotating seasons, thro' the procession of the years, thro' the march of the centuries, permeating all, sustaining all, there murmurs the still, small voice of a power that holds us in the hollow of its hand.   --Louis Sullivan https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Louis_Sullivan