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>
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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>
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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>
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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>
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