Interesting tidbits: 1574 – Discovery of the Juan Fernández Islands off Chile. The Juan Fernández is composed of three main volcanic islands; Robinson Crusoe Island, Alejandro Selkirk Island and Santa Clara Island, the first two being formerly called Más a Tierra and Más Afuera respectively. The islands are mainly known for having been the home to the marooned sailor Alexander Selkirk for four years, which inspired the novel Robinson Crusoe. 1718 – Off the coast of North Carolina, British pirate Edward Teach (best known as Blackbeard) is killed in battle with a boarding party led by Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard. Teach operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American colonies. Although little is known about his early life, he was likely born in Bristol, England. He may have been a sailor on privateer ships during Queen Annes War before settling on the Bahamian island of New Providence. Teach captured a French merchant vessel, renamed her Queen Annes Revenge, and equipped her with 40 guns. He became a renowned pirate, his cognomen derived from his thick black beard and fearsome appearance. He was reported to have tied lit fuses under his hat to frighten his enemies. He formed an alliance of pirates and blockaded the port of Charleston, South Carolina. After successfully ransoming its inhabitants, he ran Queen Annes Revenge aground on a sandbar near Beaufort, North Carolina. He accepted a royal pardon, but was soon back at sea and attracted the attention of Alexander Spotswood, the Governor of Virginia. Spotswood arranged for a party of soldiers and sailors to capture the pirate, which they did on 22 November 1718. During a ferocious battle, Teach and several of his crew were killed by a small force of sailors led by Lieutenant Robert Maynard. 1809 - Peregrine Williamson of Baltimore patents a steel pen 1906 - International Radio Telecommunications Com adopts SOS as new call for help. 1927 - The first snowmobile patent granted to Carl Eliason (Sayner Wisc). 1931 - Ferde Grofes Grand Canyon Suite premieres. 1935 – The China Clipper, the first transpacific mail and passenger service, takes off from Alameda, California for its first commercial flight. It reached its destination, Manila, a week later. The China Clipper (NC14716) was the first of three Martin M-130 four-engine flying boats built for Pan American Airways and was used to inaugurate the first commercial transpacific air service from San Francisco to Manila in November, 1935. On November 22, 1935 it took off from Alameda, California in an attempt to deliver the first airmail cargo across the Pacific Ocean. Although its inaugural flight plan called for the China Clipper to fly over the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge (still under construction at the time), upon take-off the pilot realized the plane would not clear the structure, and was forced to narrowly fly under instead. On November 29, the airplane reached its destination, Manila, after traveling via Honolulu, Midway Island, Wake Island, and Guam, and delivered over 110,000 pieces of mail. The crew for this flight included Edwin C. Musick as Pilot and Fred Noonan as Navigator. Musick was Chief Pilot for Pan American World Airways and pioneered many of Pan Ams transoceanic routes. Because of his exploits with Pan American, Musick was one of the best known pilots of the 1930s, even making the cover of Time Magazine. Also that year, he received the Harmon Trophy. At one point during the 1930s, Musick held more flying records than any other pilot. At the time of his death, Captain Musick had reportedly flown about two million transocean miles in airline service. Musick and his crew of six died in the crash of the S-42 Samoan Clipper near Pago Pago, American Samoa, on a cargo and survey flight to Auckland, New Zealand. About one hour after take-off the aircraft reportedly experienced an engine oil leak and Musick turned back toward Pago Pago. After the crew reported they were dumping fuel in preparation for a precautionary landing, an explosion tore the aircraft apart in flight. Floating wreckage from the plane was later found about 14 miles northwest of Pago Pago by the U. S. naval seaplane tender Avocet. The bodies of the seven crewmen were not recovered. Fred Noonan was an American flight navigator, sea captain and aviation pioneer who first charted many commercial airline routes across the Pacific Ocean during the 1930s. He was last seen in Lae, New Guinea, on July 2, 1937, and disappeared with Amelia Earhart somewhere over the Central Pacific Ocean during the last leg of their attempted round-the-world flight. Todays birthday crew: 1898 – Wiley Post, famed American aviator during the period known as the Golden Age of Aviation, the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Also known for his work in high altitude flying, Post helped develop one of the first pressure suits and discovered the jet stream. On August 15, 1935, Post and American humorist Will Rogers were killed when Posts aircraft crashed on takeoff from a lagoon near Point Barrow in the Territory of Alaska. 1925 – Jerrie Mock, the first woman to fly solo around the world, which she did in a Cessna 180. The trip ended April 17, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio, and took 29 days, 21 stopovers and almost 22,860 miles. She was subsequently awarded the Louis Blériot medal from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in 1965. In 1970 she published the story of her round-the-world flight in the book Three-Eight Charlie a reference to the call sign of the plane Mock used to fly around the world. 1940 – Terry Gilliam, American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed several films, including Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), The Fisher King (1991), 12 Monkeys (1995), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009). The only Python not born in Britain, he became a naturalised British citizen in 1968. In 2006, he formally renounced his American citizenship. 1940 – Roy Thomas, American comic book writer and editor and Stan Lees first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E. Howards character and helped launch a sword and sorcery trend in comics. Thomas is also known for his championing of Golden Age comic-book heroes — particularly the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America — and for lengthy writing stints on Marvels X-Men and Avengers, and DC Comics All-Star Squadron, among other titles. Thomas was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2011. 1988 – Jamie Campbell Bower, English actor, singer, and former model. Bower is best known for his role as Anthony Hope in Tim Burtons Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, his role as Caius in The Twilight Saga, his role as King Arthur in the Starz original series Camelot and as the young Gellert Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1. Happy birthday guys!
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 12:24:13 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015