Ernest Joyce (c. 1875 – 1940) was a Royal Naval seaman and Antarctic explorer who served under both Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton in the early years of the 20th century. Joyce entered the navy as a boy seaman in 1891; his Antarctic experiences began in 1901 when he joined Scott's Discovery Expedition. In 1907 Shackleton recruited him to take charge of dogs and sledges on the Nimrod Expedition, a role he performed with distinction. Thus Shackleton employed him in a similar capacity in 1914, as a member of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition's Ross Sea party. Despite Joyce's acknowledged heroism during that expedition, it ended his exploring career, although he made attempts to join other expeditions. An abrasive and sometimes truculent character, his effectiveness in the field was nonetheless widely acknowledged. He was awarded a lifesaving Albert Medal and a Polar Medal with four bars, but Joyce made no significant material gains from his exploits, living out his post-Antarctic life in humble circumstances before dying suddenly in 1940.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1910:

Aviator Eugene Burton Ely performed the first takeoff from a ship, flying from a makeshift deck on the USS Birmingham in the U.S. state of Virginia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Burton_Ely

1941:

Second World War: After suffering torpedo damage the previous day, the British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal sank as she was being towed to Gibraltar for repairs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Ark_Royal_(91)

1970:

Southern Airways Flight 932, chartered by the Marshall University football team, crashed into a hill near Ceredo, West Virginia, U.S., killing all 75 people on board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Airways_Flight_932

1995:

As a result of budget conflicts between President Bill Clinton and the United States Congress led by Newt Gingrich, the federal government was forced to shut down non-essential services. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_government_shutdowns_of_1995%E2%80%931996

2003:

Astronomers Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz discovered the trans-Neptunian object 90377 Sedna. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/90377_Sedna

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

blowhard: (Canada, US, derogatory) A person who talks too much or too loudly, especially in a boastful or self-important manner. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blowhard

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Killing innocent people by surprise is not called "a thousand points of light." But, as frightening as terrorism is, it's the weapon of losers. The minute somebody sets off a suicide bomb, you can be sure that person doesn't have "career prospects." And no matter how horrendous a terrorist attack is, it's still conducted by losers.   --P. J. O'Rourke https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._J._O%27Rourke