first manned meteorological station in Antarctic territory, discovered
new land east of the Weddell Sea, and returned with a trove of
biological and geological specimens aboard the Scotia (pictured). It was
led by William Speirs Bruce, then Britain's most experienced polar
scientist, who had spent most of the 1890s on expeditions to the
Antarctic and Arctic regions. After his application to add a second ship
to Robert Falcon Scott's Discovery Expedition had been dismissed as
"mischievous rivalry" by the president of the Royal Geographical
Society, he used private sponsors to fund an independent expedition.
Bruce never received formal recognition from the British Government for
his work, and never again led an Antarctic expedition, although he made
regular Arctic trips. The expedition's members were denied the
prestigious Polar Medal despite vigorous lobbying. His focus on serious
scientific exploration rather than territorial discoveries was out of
fashion with his times, and his achievements soon faded from public
awareness, unlike those of the polar adventurers Scott, Shackleton and
Amundsen. The expedition's Orcadas weather station has been in
continuous operation since 1903 on Laurie Island in the South Orkneys.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_National_Antarctic_Expedition>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1771:
Dene men, acting as guides to Samuel Hearne on his exploration
of the Coppermine River in present-day Nunavut, Canada, massacred a
group of about 20 Copper Inuit.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Falls_Massacre>
1863:
The New Zealand Wars resumed as British forces in New Zealand
led by General Duncan Cameron began their Invasion of the Waikato.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_the_Waikato>
1945:
Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Harry S. Truman (all
three pictured), leaders of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and
the United States respectively, met in Potsdam to decide what should be
done with post-war Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potsdam_Conference>
1973:
Mohammed Zahir Shah, the last King of Afghanistan, was ousted
in a coup by his cousin Mohammed Daoud Khan while in Italy undergoing
eye surgery.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Zahir_Shah>
2009:
Two suicide bombers detonated themselves at two separate hotels
in Jakarta, Indonesia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Jakarta_bombings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
disconsolate:
1. Cheerless, dreary.
2. Seemingly beyond consolation; inconsolable.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disconsolate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Blessed is He Who made constellations in the skies, and placed
therein a Lamp and a Moon giving light; And it is He Who made the Night
and the Day to follow each other: for such as have the will to celebrate
His praises or to show their gratitude. And the servants of (Allah) Most
Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the
ignorant address them, they say, "Peace!"
--Qur'an
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Qur%27an>
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