was born in England and came to Sydney when he was a year old, returning
to England for his education. In 1900 he went back to Australia and
enlisted in the Militia, before acquiring cattle stations in New South
Wales and Queensland. He was also a partner in the family shipping firm.
Becoming in 1911 the first Australian to qualify for a Royal Aero Club
flying certificate, Watt joined the French Foreign Legion as a pilot on
the outbreak of World War I. He transferred to the Australian Flying
Corps (AFC) in 1916, quickly progressing to become commanding officer of
No. 2 Squadron on the Western Front. By February 1918, he had been
promoted to lieutenant colonel and taken command of the AFC's 1st
Training Wing in England. A recipient of France's Legion of Honour and
Croix de Guerre, Watt was appointed an Officer of the Order of the
British Empire in 1919. He left the military to pursue business
interests in Australia. In 1921, he drowned at Bilgola Beach, New South
Wales. He is commemorated by the Oswald Watt Gold Medal for outstanding
achievement in Australian aviation, and the Oswald Watt Fund at the
University of Sydney.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_Watt>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1620:
The Mayflower Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth,
Massachusetts, establishing the Plymouth Colony.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony>
1879:
A Doll's House, a controversial play by Henrik Ibsen that
challenged 19th century marriage norms, premiered at the Royal Theatre
in Copenhagen, Denmark.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Doll%27s_House>
1919:
After serving two years in prison for encouraging people to
resist military conscription, anarchist Emma Goldman was deported from
the United States to Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Goldman>
1923:
Nepal and the United Kingdom signed a treaty, the first to
define the international status of Nepal as an independent and a
sovereign nation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal%E2%80%93Britain_Treaty_of_1923>
1988:
A total of 270 people were killed when a bomb on board Pan Am
Flight 103 exploded while the plane was in flight over Lockerbie,
Scotland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_103>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
solstitial:
1. Pertaining to a solstice: a solstitial point, the solstitial meridian
plane, avenues with a solstitial orientation.
2. Occurring on a solstice: the solstitial half-moon, a solstitial event.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/solstitial>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Finally we shall place the Sun himself at the center of the
Universe. All this is suggested by the systematic procession of events
and the harmony of the whole Universe, if only we face the facts, as
they say, "with both eyes open."
--Nicolaus Copernicus
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nicolaus_Copernicus>
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