Robert Hues (1553–1632) was an English mathematician and geographer who made observations of the variations of the compass off the coast of Newfoundland. He either went there on a fishing trip, or joined a 1585 voyage to Virginia arranged by Walter Raleigh and led by Richard Grenville which passed Newfoundland on the return journey to England. Between 1586 and 1588, Hues travelled with Thomas Cavendish on a circumnavigation of the globe, taking the opportunity to measure latitudes. In 1589, Hues went on the Earl of Cumberland's raiding expedition to the Azores to capture Spanish galleons. Beginning in August 1591, Hues travelled with Cavendish again, intending to complete another circumnavigation of the globe. During the voyage, Hues made astronomical observations while in the South Atlantic, and also observed the variation of the compass there and at the Equator. Cavendish died on the journey, and Hues returned to England in 1593. In 1594, Hues published his discoveries in the Latin work Tractatus de globis et eorum usu (Treatise on Globes and their Use) which was written to explain the use of globes that had been made and published by Emery Molyneux in late 1592 or early 1593, and to encourage English sailors to use practical astronomical navigation. Hues' work subsequently went into at least 12 other printings in Dutch, English, French and Latin.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1745:

King George's War: British colonial forces led by William Pepperrell captured the French stronghold at Fortress Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island after a six-week siege. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortress_of_Louisbourg

1815:

Napoleonic Wars: French forces under Napoléon defeated Blücher's larger Prussian army in the Battle of Ligny, while French Marshal Michel Ney earned a strategic victory against the Anglo-Dutch army in the Battle of Quatre Bras. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ligny

1904:

Irish author James Joyce began his relationship with Nora Barnacle, and subsequently used the date to set the actions for his 1922 novel Ulysses. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Joyce

1960:

The thriller/horror film Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on a novel of the same name by Robert Bloch, was released. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho_%281960_film%29

1963:

Aboard Vostok 6, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

palliate (v): 1. To lessen the severity of; to extenuate. 2. To cause to seem less serious. 3. To relieve the symptoms of; to ameliorate http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/palliate

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals to discovery. --James Joyce http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Joyce