The Ross Sea party was a component of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1914–17. Its task was to lay a series of supply depots across the Great Ice Barrier from the Ross Sea to the Beardmore Glacier, along the polar route established by earlier Antarctic expeditions. The expedition's main party, under Shackleton, was to land on the opposite, Weddell Sea coast of Antarctica, and to march across the continent via the South Pole to the Ross Sea. As the main party would be unable to carry sufficient fuel and supplies for the whole distance, their survival depended on the Ross Sea party's depots, which would cover the final quarter of their journey. Shackleton set sail from London in his ship Endurance, bound for the Weddell Sea, in August 1914. Meanwhile, the Ross Sea party personnel gathered in Australia, prior to departure for the Ross Sea in the second expedition ship, SY Aurora. After their arrival the inexperienced party struggled to master the art of Antarctic travel, in the process losing most of their sledge dogs. A greater misfortune occurred when, at the onset of the southern winter, Aurora was torn from its moorings during a severe storm and was unable to return, leaving the shore party stranded.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1459:

Yorkist forces led by Richard Neville defeated Lancastrian troops at the Battle of Blore Heath in Staffordshire, England, the first major battle of the Wars of the Roses. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blore_Heath

1803:

Maratha troops were beaten by British forces at the Battle of Assaye, one of the decisive battles of the Second Anglo-Maratha War. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Assaye

1846:

Using mathematical predictions by French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier, German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle became the first person to observe Neptune and recognise it as a hitherto unknown planet . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_of_Neptune

1868:

Ramón Emeterio Betances led the Grito de Lares, a revolt against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram%C3%B3n_Emeterio_Betances

1952:

In one of the first political uses of television to appeal directly to the populace, Republican vice presidential candidate Richard Nixon delivered the "Checkers speech", denying he received illegal campaign contributions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkers_speech

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

thalweg (n): (geology, geography) The line that connects the lowest points in a valley or river channel, and thus the line of fastest flow along a river’s course http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/thalweg

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

If a little knowledge is dangerous, where is the man who has so much as to be out of danger? --Thomas Huxley http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Huxley