Launched in 1782 at Dover, Speedy initially served off the British
coast. Transferred to the Mediterranean after the outbreak of the French
Revolutionary Wars, she spent the rest of her career there, winning fame
for herself in various engagements and often against heavy odds. Her
first commander in the Mediterranean, Charles Cunningham, served with
distinction with several squadrons, assisting in the capture of several
war prizes. His successor, George Cockburn, impressed his superiors with
his dogged devotion to duty. Speedy's next commander, George Eyre, lost
her to a superior French force on 9 June 1794. She was soon retaken,
and re-entered service under Hugh Downman, who captured a number of
privateers between 1795 and 1799. His successor, Jahleel Brenton, fought
a number of actions against Spanish forces off Gibraltar. Her last
captain, Lord Cochrane, forced the surrender of a much larger Spanish
warship, the Gamo. Speedy was finally captured by a powerful French
squadron in 1801 and donated to the Papal Navy by Napoleon the following
year. She spent five years with them under the name San Pietro, and was
broken up in 1807.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Speedy_(1782)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1613:
The original Globe Theatre in London burned to the ground after
a cannon employed for special effects misfired during a performance of
William Shakespeare's Henry VIII and ignited the theatre's roof.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Theatre>
1776:
The first privateer battle of the American Revolutionary War
was fought at the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet near Cape May, New Jersey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Turtle_Gut_Inlet>
1967:
Actress Jayne Mansfield, her boyfriend Sam Brody, and their
driver were killed in a car accident outside of New Orleans, while her
children Miklós, Zoltán, and Mariska Hargitay escaped with only minor
injuries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayne_Mansfield>
1974:
Isabel Perón was sworn in as the first female President of
Argentina, replacing her ill husband Juan Perón, who died two days
later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_Mart%C3%ADnez_de_Per%C3%B3n>
2007:
Apple Inc. released the first generation iPhone, which
revolutionized the smartphone industry and made the company one of the
world's most valuable publicly traded companies.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
enterolith:
A mineral concretion in the intestinal tract.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enterolith>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
To be a man is to be responsible: to be ashamed of miseries you
did not cause; to be proud of your comrades' victories; to be aware,
when setting one stone, that you are building a world.
--Antoine de Saint Exupéry
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint_Exup%C3%A9ry>
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