Aeneas Mackintosh (1879–1916) was a British Antarctic explorer who commanded the Ross Sea party within Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–17. The party's mission was to support Shackleton's proposed transcontinental march by laying supply depots along the latter stages of the march's intended route. Confusing orders meant Mackintosh was uncertain of the timing of Shackleton's proposed march. Matters worsened when the Ross Sea party's ship, SY Aurora, was swept from its moorings during a gale, taking away much of the party's supplies and equipment. Despite these setbacks and further practical difficulties, Mackintosh's stranded party managed to carry out its depot-laying task to the full. Having reached safety, he and a companion lost their lives while attempting to return to the expedition's base camp by walking across unstable sea ice. Shackleton later commended the work of Mackintosh and his comrades, and equated the sacrifice of their lives to those given in the trenches during the First World War. However, his competence and leadership skills have been questioned by some polar historians.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeneas_Mackintosh
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1757:
British Royal Navy Admiral John Byng was court-martialled and executed by firing squad when he failed to "do his utmost" during the Battle of Minorca at the start of the Seven Years' War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Byng
1885:
The Mikado, Gilbert and Sullivan's most frequently performed Savoy opera, debuted at the Savoy Theatre in London. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mikado
1910:
Oil prospectors in Kern County, California, drilled into a pressurized oil deposit, resulting in the largest accidental oil spill in history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakeview_Gusher
1945:
The British Royal Air Force first used the Grand Slam, a 22,000 lb (9.98 t) earthquake bomb, on a strategic railroad viaduct in Bielefeld, Germany. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_(bomb)
1988:
China defeated Vietnam in a naval battle as the former attempted to establish oceanographic observation posts on the Spratly Islands. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_South_Reef_Skirmish
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
annis Domini: (of multiple years or of a date range) Taking place a specifed number of years following the assumed birth of Jesus Christ. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/annis_Domini
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Sweet and gentle and sensitive man With an obsessive nature and deep fascination For numbers And a complete infatuation with the calculation Of π. --Kate Bush https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kate_Bush
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