most rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth
navies. In the 17th century, a midshipman was a rating for an
experienced seaman, and the word derives from the area aboard a ship,
amidships, where he worked or was berthed. Beginning in the 18th
century, a commissioned officer candidate was rated as a midshipman, and
the seaman rating began to slowly die out. By the Napoleonic era
(1793–1815), a midshipman (pictured) was an apprentice officer who had
previously served at least three years as a volunteer, officer's servant
or able seaman, and was roughly equivalent to a present day petty
officer in rank and responsibilities. After serving at least three years
as a midshipman, he was eligible to take the examination for lieutenant.
Midshipmen in the US Navy were trained and served similarly to those in
the Royal Navy, although a midshipman was a warrant officer rank until
1912. During the 19th century, changes in naval officer training in the
Royal Navy and the US Navy replaced apprenticeship aboard ships with
schooling in a naval college, and "midshipman" began to mean an officer
cadet.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midshipman>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
618:
Li Yuan became Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries
of the Tang Dynasty in China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_Dynasty>
1053:
Humphrey of Hauteville led the armies of the Normans in the
Battle of Civitate against the combined forces of Pope Leo IX and the
Holy Roman Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Civitate>
1858:
Charles Darwin received a manuscript by fellow naturalist
Alfred Russel Wallace on natural selection, which prompted Darwin to
publish his theory of evolution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Russel_Wallace>
1983:
Aboard Space Shuttle Challenger, astronaut Sally Ride became
the first American woman in space.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Ride>
1994:
The Troubles: Members of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force
attacked a crowded bar in Loughinisland, Northern Ireland, with assault
rifles, killing six.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loughinisland_massacre>
2012:
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was appointed crown prince of
Saudi Arabia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman_bin_Abdulaziz_Al_Saud>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
chiaroscuro:
An artistic technique developed during the Renaissance, referring to the
use of exaggerated light contrasts in order to create the illusion of
volume.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chiaroscuro>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A plot is about things that happen. A story is about people who
behave. To admire a story you must be willing to listen to the people
and observe them.
--Roger Ebert
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roger_Ebert>
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