Major Mike | Today in History 12/27 (Darwin Sets Sail)

Charles Darwin circa 1854 (© Maull & Fox/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

(1831) Charles Darwin departs England aboard the HMS Beagle

Delayed by weather, the Beagle finally sets sail with a 22-year-old Charles Darwin on board, setting out on what will be a five-year journey to explore the far reaches of the southern Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Darwin’s extensive notes during the expedition will later be published as a popular travelogue.

HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, one of more than 100 ships of this class. The vessel, constructed at a cost of £7,803, was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames. In July of that year she took part in a fleet review celebrating the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom, and for that occasion is said to have been the first ship to sail completely under the old London Bridge. There was no immediate need for Beagle so she “lay in ordinary”, moored afloat but without masts or rigging. She was then adapted as a survey barque and took part in three survey expeditions.

Keel laid: Jun 1818
Launched: May 11, 1820
Beam: 24′ 6″
Draught: 12′ 6″
Length: 90′ 4″

Longitudinal section of HMS Beagle as of 1832
wiki/HMS_Beagle

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(1831) Charles Darwin departs England aboard the HMS Beagle.
Also on this day,

1932 | Radio City Music Hall opens in New York City

The huge Art Deco theater is the anchor for John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s 12-acre complex, the Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan. Tonight’s opening is a lavish stage show featuring dance by Martha Graham and vaudeville acts by Ray Bolger and others. It will be the top tourist destination in New York for years to come.

1945 | World Bank and International Monetary Fund created

First conceived at the Bretton Woods Conference in July 1944, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund are formally created to help Europe rebuild after World War II. Over time, their focus will shift to providing loans to address poverty.

1985 | Gorilla expert Dian Fossey is found murdered in Rwanda

The author of the bestselling book ‘Gorillas in the Mist’ is found hacked to death at her isolated research station. Fossey was considered the leading expert on the endangered mountain gorilla, but the reclusive zoologist had made enemies in her campaigns against poachers and wildlife tourism.

Today in History ^12/27/17

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim in 2014 (© Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

(1945) The World Bank and International Monetary Fund are created

First conceived at the Bretton Woods Conference in July 1944, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund are formally created to help Europe rebuild after World War II. Over time, their focus will shift to providing loans to address poverty.

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to countries of the world for capital programs. It comprises two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the International Development Association. The World Bank is a component of the World Bank Group.

Website: www.worldbank.org
Founded: 1944
Headquarters: Washington, D.C., IL
CEO: Kristalina Georgieva (Since 2017)
Founders: John Maynard Keynes · Harry Dexter White
Subsidiaries: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development · International Development Association · Energy Sector Management Assistance Program · World Bank office, Chennai
Phone number: +1 2024731000

The World Bank Group headquarters bldg. in Washington, D.C.; Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox.