Sir Richard Williams (1890–1980) is regarded as the "father" of the Royal Australian Air Force. He was the first military pilot trained in Australia, and commanded fighter units in World War I. A proponent of independent air power, Williams played a leading role in the establishment of the RAAF and became its first and longest-serving Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). Born into a working class family, he was an Army Lieutenant when he learned to fly in 1914. As a pilot with the Australian Flying Corps in World War I, Williams commanded No. 1 Squadron and later 40th Wing RAF, earning the Distinguished Service Order. Afterwards he campaigned for an Australian Air Force separate from the Army and Navy, and this came into being on 31 March 1921. The fledgling RAAF faced challenges to its existence for the next decade, and Williams was credited with maintaining its independence. However an adverse report on flying safety saw him dismissed as CAS prior to World War II. Despite promotion to Air Marshal in 1940, he never again commanded the RAAF. After the war he was forcibly retired and took up the position of Director-General of Civil Aviation. He was knighted shortly before his retirement in 1955.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Williams_%28RAAF_officer%29

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1146:

French abbot Bernard of Clairvaux made a sermon to a crowd at Vézelay, with King Louis VII in attendance, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_of_Clairvaux

1822:

Greek War of Independence: Ottoman troops began the massacre of over 20,000 Greeks on the island of Chios. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chios_Massacre

1854:

U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry and the Tokugawa shogunate signed the Convention of Kanagawa, forcing the opening of Japanese ports to American trade. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_of_Kanagawa

1910:

The six English towns of Burslem, Tunstall, Stoke-upon-Trent, Hanley, Fenton and Longton, amalgamated to form a single county borough. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_of_Stoke-on-Trent

1942:

World War II: Because of a mutiny by Indian soldiers against their British officers, Japanese troops captured Christmas Island without any resistance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Christmas_Island

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

even Homer nods (proverb): Not even the most vigilant and expert are immune from erring http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/even_Homer_nods

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

History will judge societies and governments — and their institutions — not by how big they are or how well they serve the rich and the powerful, but by how effectively they respond to the needs of the poor and the helpless. --Cesar Chavez http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cesar_Chavez