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Drake, an English buccaneer and navigator, set out in 1577 with five ships to raid Spanish holdings on the Pacific coast of the New World. After abandoning two ships, he navigated the Straits of Magellan with the remaining three, becoming the first Englishman to do so.
Another ship was destroyed in a storm, and a fourth returned to England, but Drake continued alone up the coast of South America, crossed the Pacific, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived in England in 1580. How was he rewarded? More...
Historic Trivia - Beerbohm
THE CAT WHO UPSTAGED BRITAIN'S FINEST THESPIANS
For centuries no self-respecting English theatre - at least, none that wished to be free of vermin - could do without a cat. But besides hunting mice, these felines came to serve other functions. Actors considered them good luck charms, and their calming presence cured many a bout of stage fright. They grew so useful that even the most egotistical performers overlooked the fact that the cats occasionally wandered onstage during productions, upstaging their human associates.
No modern theatre cat served as ably, as famously, or as long as Beerbohm, who handled vermin suppression duties at the Gielgud Theatre (formerly the Globe) in London's West End from the 1970s to the early 1990s. The regal-looking tabby often picked certain actors to fawn over, and he wandered onto the boards at least once during the run of every show. Named after British stage veteran Herbert Beerbohm Tree, he worked in showbusiness for twenty years before retiring to Kent to live with the company's carpenter. He died in March 1995 - a sad passing that was honoured with a front-page obituary in the theatre newspaper The Stage. His portrait still hangs in the Gielgud.
Source: 100 Cats Who Changed Civilization: History's Most Influential Felines
Sir Francis Drake Begins Circumnavigation of the Globe
Drake, an English buccaneer and navigator, set out in 1577 with five ships to raid Spanish holdings on the Pacific coast of the New World. After abandoning two ships, he navigated the Straits of Magellan with the remaining three, becoming the first Englishman to do so.
Another ship was destroyed in a storm, and a fourth returned to England, but Drake continued alone up the coast of South America, crossed the Pacific, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived in England in 1580. How was he rewarded? More...
- 2003 - Saddam Hussein Captured
Saddam Hussein, the fifth president of Iraq, was found hiding in a camouflaged hole in the ground and was captured by American forces near Tikrit, Iraq. The military operation that led to his capture was called Operation Red Dawn. He was subsequently handed over to the interim Iraqi government. After a trial where he was found guilty of crimes against humanity, he was executed 3 years after his capture in December 2006. - 2001 - Attack on Indian parliament
The Indian parliament, the Sansad, was attacked by terrorists. 15 people, including the terrorists were killed during the attack. - 1972 - Last human landing on the Moon
Apollo 17 was the last mission of the United States' Apollo lunar landing program. It was also the sixth and the last time humans landed on the Moon. - 1795 - Meteorite crashes into Wold Newton in Yorkshire, England.
Major Edward Topham owned the land where the meteorite crashed. He exhibited it later, and today it is in the Natural History Museum in London. - 1642 - First European to Reach New Zealand
Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer and merchant, reached the coast of South Island in New Zealand, and named it Staten Landt. Tasman was also the first European in recorded history to step foot on Tasmania, an island state in Australia. Tasman claimed the island for the Dutch crown. It is named after him as well.
Historic Trivia - BeerbohmTHE CAT WHO UPSTAGED BRITAIN'S FINEST THESPIANS
For centuries no self-respecting English theatre - at least, none that wished to be free of vermin - could do without a cat. But besides hunting mice, these felines came to serve other functions. Actors considered them good luck charms, and their calming presence cured many a bout of stage fright. They grew so useful that even the most egotistical performers overlooked the fact that the cats occasionally wandered onstage during productions, upstaging their human associates.
No modern theatre cat served as ably, as famously, or as long as Beerbohm, who handled vermin suppression duties at the Gielgud Theatre (formerly the Globe) in London's West End from the 1970s to the early 1990s. The regal-looking tabby often picked certain actors to fawn over, and he wandered onto the boards at least once during the run of every show. Named after British stage veteran Herbert Beerbohm Tree, he worked in showbusiness for twenty years before retiring to Kent to live with the company's carpenter. He died in March 1995 - a sad passing that was honoured with a front-page obituary in the theatre newspaper The Stage. His portrait still hangs in the Gielgud.
Source: 100 Cats Who Changed Civilization: History's Most Influential Felines
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