Benjamin Jackson (January 2, 1835 – August 20, 1915) was a Canadian sailor and farmer who was a decorated veteran of the American Civil War. He began his career as a commercial seaman at the age of 16 and started a farm in his mid-twenties. During the American Civil War, he served for a year in the Union Navy and was deployed in the Union blockade of the Confederate coastline. As a gun captain aboard USS Richmond, Jackson served in the Battle of Mobile Bay. He disarmed multiple naval mines and once picked up a live shell and threw it from the deck of the Richmond. Jackson likely earned an enlistment bounty, as well as prize money by capturing multiple blockade runners. He developed bronchitis, suffered a serious hand injury, and eventually received a Civil War Campaign Medal. After the war, he lived the rest of his life in Lockhartville, Nova Scotia. He retired from commercial sailing in 1875 but continued managing his farm. Jackson's grave remained unmarked until 2010, when a headstone was erected.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Jackson_%28sailor%29

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1920:

Under the leadership of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, U.S. Department of Justice agents launched a series of raids against radical leftists and anarchists in more than 30 cities and towns across 23 states. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmer_Raids

1991:

Sharon Pratt Dixon was sworn in as the mayor of Washington, D.C., becoming the first African-American woman to hold the position. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharon_Pratt

2004:

The Stardust space probe flew by the comet Wild 2 and collected particle samples from its coma, which were later returned to Earth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/81P/Wild

2016:

Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia, was executed by the Saudi government along with 46 other people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_of_Nimr_al-Nimr

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

odour of sanctity: 1. (chiefly Christianity, especially Middle Ages) A sweet smell, usually likened to those of flowers, said to be emitted by the bodies of saints during their life, or especially at or after death. 2. (figurative) 3. A person's reputation for, or state of, holiness. 4. (chiefly humorous or ironic) A (supposed) general aura of goodness or virtue. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/odour_of_sanctity

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

My crime is that I have never labored to make myself popular — I admit that much — and I have paid too little attention to fools who are old enough to be senile but young enough to have power.   --Isaac Asimov https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov