The drift of the Antarctic exploration vessel SY Aurora was a 312-day ordeal during the Ross Sea section of Ernest Shackleton's expedition between 1914 and 1917. It began when the ship broke loose from its anchorage in McMurdo Sound during a gale. Caught in heavy pack ice, Aurora was carried into open waters with eighteen men aboard, leaving ten men stranded ashore with meagre provisions. With first officer Joseph Stenhouse in command, the ship suffered severe damage, including the loss of its rudder and anchors. It was finally freed from the ice in March 1916 after it had drifted north of the Antarctic Circle. It was able to reach New Zealand for repairs and resupply before returning to Antarctica to rescue the surviving members of the shore party. Stenhouse was removed from command by the organisers of the Ross Sea party relief expedition, but was later appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his service aboard the ship.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SY_Aurora%27s_drift

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

835:

In the Sweet Dew incident, Emperor Wenzong of the Tang dynasty conspired to kill the powerful eunuchs of the Tang court, but the plot was foiled. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Dew_incident

1918:

British women were able to vote for the first time during the 1918 United Kingdom general election. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_United_Kingdom_general_election

1948:

American physicists Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann were awarded a patent for their cathode-ray tube amusement device, the first interactive electronic game. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathode-ray_tube_amusement_device

2008:

During a press conference in Baghdad, Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush, yelling that "this is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_shoeing_incident

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

defervesce: 1. (intransitive, medicine) To experience an abatement or resolution of fever. 2. (intransitive, figuratively) To become less agitated; to cool down. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/defervesce

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

As a country, we have been through this too many times. Whether it is an elementary school in Newtown, or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago, these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods and these children are our children. And we’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics. This evening, Michelle and I will do what I know every parent in America will do, which is hug our children a little tighter, and we’ll tell them that we love them, and we’ll remind each other how deeply we love one another. But there are families in Connecticut who cannot do that tonight, and they need all of us right now. In the hard days to come, that community needs us to be at our best as Americans, and I will do everything in my power as president to help, because while nothing can fill the space of a lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those in need, to remind them that we are there for them, that we are praying for them, that the love they felt for those they lost endures not just in their memories, but also in ours.May God bless the memory of the victims and, in the words of Scripture, heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.   --Barack Obama https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Barack_Obama