1788

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Today in History 01/18/17

Painting of First Fleet of British Navy ships which took convicts to Botany Bay, where they established the first European settlement in Australia in 1788 (© Hulton Archive/Getty Images)(1788) Convict-laden fleet arrives in Botany Bay, Australia
Having sailed 250 days from England, the First Fleet arrives on the shores of Australia, 15,000 miles away from home. Around 1,300 people, including 736 deported criminals, begin European colonization of the continent.
The First Fleet is the name given to the 11 ships that left England on 13 May 1787 to found the penal colony that became the first European settlement in Australia. The Fleet consisted of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports, carrying between 1,000 and 1,500 convicts, marines, seamen, civil officers and free people, and a vast quantity of stores. From England, the Fleet sailed southwest to Rio de Janeiro, then east to Cape Town and via the Great Southern Ocean to Botany Bay, arriving over the period 18 to 20 January 1788, taking 250 to 252 days from departure to final arrival.
wiki/First_Fleet
Robert F. Scott Expedition party to the South Pole seen in this 1912 photo not long before they died on their way back from their trek. (From left) Dr E. A. Wilson, Lt. H. R, Bowers, Capt. Robert Falcon Scott, Petty Officer Taff Evans, and Capt. L. E.G. Oates. (© AP)(1912) Explorer Scott reaches already-conquered South Pole
Britain’s Robert Scott and his team reach the South Pole only to discover that Norway’s Roald Amundsen had been there a month earlier, winning their undeclared race to discover the southernmost point on the globe. Exceptionally bad weather will imperil Scott’s return, and the entire party will perish.
Captain Robert Falcon Scott CVO RN was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–1904, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–1913. On the first expedition, he set a new southern record by marching to latitude 82°S and discovered the Polar Plateau, on which the South Pole is located. During the second venture, Scott led a party of five which reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912, four weeks after Roald Amundsen’s Norwegian expedition. On their return journey, Scott’s party discovered plant fossils, proving Antarctica was once forested and joined to other continents. A planned meeting with supporting dog teams from the base camp failed, despite Scott’s written instructions, and at a distance of 150 miles from their base camp and 11 miles from the next depot, Scott and his companions perished.
wiki/Robert_Falcon_Scott
Self confessed Boston Strangler, Albert DeSalvo, is seen entering Middlesex County Court in Cambridge, Mass., on Jan. 16, 1967 (© AP)(1967) The ‘Boston Strangler’ sentenced to life in prison
Albert DeSalvo confesses to killing 13 women in a crime spree that terrorized Boston, but due to lack of physical evidence he’s convicted of assaults and robberies and given a life term.
The Boston Strangler is a name given to the murderer of 13 women in the Boston area, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, in the early 1960s. The crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo based on his confession, details revealed in court during a separate case, and DNA evidence linking him to the last murder victim. Since then, parties investigating the crimes have suggested that the murders were committed by more than one person.
Born: Sep 03, 1931 · Chelsea, MA
Died: Nov 26, 1973 · Walpole, MA
Highlights
  • 1962: Anna E. Slesers, 55, sexually assaulted with unknown object and strangled with the belt on her bathrobe; found on June 14, 1962 in her third-floor apartment at 77 Gainsborough St., Back Bay, Boston

  • 1962: Ida Irga, 75, sexually assaulted and strangled; found on August 19, 1962 in her apartment at 7 Grove Street, Beacon Hill, Boston

  • 1962: Jane Sullivan, 67, sexually assaulted and strangled with her nylon stockings; found on August 21, 1962 in her home at 435 Columbia Road, Dorchester, Boston

  • 1962: Sophie Clark, 20, sexually assaulted and strangled with her nylon stockings; found on December 5, 1962 in her apartment at 315 Huntington Ave., Back Bay, Boston

  • 1962: Patricia Bissette, 23, strangled with her nylon stockings; found on December 31, 1962 in her home at 515 Park Drive, Back Bay, Boston

  • 1963: In 1963, two investigative reporters for the Record American, Jean Cole and Loretta McLaughlin, wrote a four-part series about the killer, dubbing him “The Boston Strangler.”

wiki/Boston_Strangler
Several thousand people turn out for a march and a rally to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Day in Seattle on Jan. 17, 1994 (© Dave Weaver/AP)(1993) First Martin Luther King, Jr. Day marked in all states
For the first time, every state in the US observes the federal holiday, signed into law by President Reagan a decade earlier, celebrating the civil rights leader’s birthday.
Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and activist who was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs.
Lived: Jan 15, 1929 – Apr 04, 1968 (age 39)
Height: 5′ 7″ (1.69 m)
Spouse: Coretta Scott King (m. 1953 – 1968)
Children: Martin Luther King III (Son) · Yolanda King (Daughter) · Dexter Scott King (Son) · Bernice King (Daughter)
Education: Morehouse College (1944 – 1948) · Crozer Theological Seminary (1948 – 1951) · Boston University (1951 – 1955) · Washington High School Senior Academy
Parents: Martin Luther King Sr. (Father) · Alberta Williams King (Mother)

wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.
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