James Rowland (1 November 1922 – 27 May 1999) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), serving as Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) from 1975 to 1979. He later held office as Governor of New South Wales from 1981 to 1989, and was Chancellor of the University of Sydney from 1990 to 1991. After joining the RAAF in 1942, he was posted to Britain as a Pathfinder bomber pilot in the air war over Europe, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was forced to bail out over Germany following a collision with another Allied aircraft in 1945, and was imprisoned. After repatriation and demobilisation, Rowland finished an aeronautical engineering degree and rejoined the RAAF. He became a test pilot, serving with and later commanding the Aircraft Research and Development Unit in the 1950s, and also a senior engineering officer, being closely involved in the delivery to Australia of the Dassault Mirage III supersonic fighter in the 1960s. He served as Air Member for Technical Services from 1972 until 1975, when he was elevated to air marshal and CAS, the first engineer to hold the position. He was knighted in 1977 and appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1987.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Rowland_(RAAF_officer)

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1141:

The Anarchy: Matilda's brief reign as the first female ruler of England ended when Stephen of Blois regained the throne. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen,_King_of_England

1611:

The first recorded performance of William Shakespeare's play The Tempest was held at the Palace of Whitehall in London, exactly seven years after the first certainly known performance of his tragedy Othello was held in the same building. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Othello

1876:

The Colony of New Zealand dissolved its nine provinces and replaced them with 63 counties. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_New_Zealand

1941:

American photographer Ansel Adams shot Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, one of his most famous photographs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonrise,_Hernandez,_New_Mexico

1956:

The Indian states Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka were formally created under the States Reorganisation Act. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnataka

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

rood screen: (architecture, Christianity) A carved screen that separated the chancel and nave in a medieval church; it originally carried a large crucifix. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rood_screen

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The collective name for the ripe fruits of religion in a character is Saintliness. The saintly character is the character for which spiritual emotions are the habitual centre of the personal energy; and there is a certain composite photograph of universal saintliness, the same in all religions, of which the features can easily be traced.   --William James https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_James