William Bostock (5 February 1892 – 28 April 1968) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). During World War II he led RAAF Command, the Air Force's main operational formation, earning the Distinguished Service Order and the American Medal of Freedom. A veteran of World War I, Bostock first saw combat at Gallipoli, then as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps on the Western Front, where he earned the Belgian Croix de guerre. In the 1930s he served as Director of Training, commanding officer of No. 3 Squadron, and Director of Operations, becoming Deputy Chief of the Air Staff in 1939. Appointed Air Officer Commanding RAAF Command in 1942, he feuded with Chief of the Air Staff George Jones over control of the Air Force in the South West Pacific Area. Following his retirement from the RAAF in 1946, he became a journalist and later a Federal Member of Parliament.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bostock

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1869:

Prospectors in Moliagul, Victoria, Australia, discovered the largest alluvial gold nugget ever found, known as the "Welcome Stranger" (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_Stranger

1917:

The U.S. Congress overrode President Woodrow Wilson's veto to pass the Immigration Act of 1917, establishing new restrictions on immigrants, including the wholesale ban of people from much of Asia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Act_of_1917

1941:

Second World War: British and Free French forces began the Battle of Keren to capture the strategic town of Keren in Italian Eritrea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Keren

2009:

The United States Navy guided missile cruiser Port Royal ran aground on a coral reef off the island of Oahu. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_USS_Port_Royal_grounding

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

who would have thunk it: (colloquial, sometimes sarcastic) A rhetorical question used to express incredulity: who would have guessed it?; who would have thought that would happen? https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/who_would_have_thunk_it

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The sound of tireless voices is the price we pay for the right to hear the music of our own opinions. But there is also, it seems to me, a moment at which democracy must prove its capacity to act. Every man has a right to be heard; but no man has the right to strangle democracy with a single set of vocal chords.   --Adlai Stevenson II https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Adlai_Stevenson_II