An updated repost — a look back at the twin miracles on the Hudson from thirteen years ago yesterday. On January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 made an emergency water landing in the Hudson River. If the plane’s pilots, … Continue reading
Category Archives: History
We recently posted about an announcement that an additional £35m is being committed for continued repairs to the HMS Victory, specifically to replace rotting planking and frames and to complete the rerigging of the ship. As it has been 256 … Continue reading
One hundred years ago today, on January 12, 1922, Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, HMS Victory was moved to Drydock No. 2 in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard for restoration and preservation. In honor of the anniversary, it was announced … Continue reading
Last February, archaeologists in Cape Cod recovered six skeletons from the ruins of the Whydah, a British pirate ship that sank during a 1717 storm with 146 men—and a trove of treasure—on board. A team led by Barry Clifford, who discovered … Continue reading
Congratulations to Commander Billie J. Farrell who will be the 77th commanding officer and the first woman in the 224-year ship’s history to command the USS Constitution. She will assume command of the ship, known as Old Ironsides, during a … Continue reading
Sir Ernest Shackleton died 100 years ago yesterday, on January 5, 1922, of a heart attack on South Georgia on an expedition to map the still uncharted coastal regions of Antarctica. He was only 47 when he died. Now, two … Continue reading
Tonight, many will watch in person, online, or on television, as a jeweled ball drops in Times Square in New York City at exactly midnight to mark the arrival of the New Year, 2022. In past years, the crowd in … Continue reading
An interesting article from the New York Times — In 2019, a team of researchers confirmed that a wooden wreck resting in the murky waters of the Mobile River in Alabama was the schooner Clotilda, the last known ship to … Continue reading
On June 21, 1898, HMS Albion sat on the launching ways at the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company at Blackwall. The launching that would soon end in tragedy was also one of the first disasters to be captured on film. … Continue reading
The three-volume The Principall Navigations, Voiages, Traffiques and Discoueries of the English Nation, written by Richard Hakluyt in 1599, and published bound as two books, were only expected to sell for between £3,000 and £5,000. Instead, they sold at an … Continue reading
On this, the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, I thought that it might be interesting to look one year forward to gauge how the US responded to the attack. On December 7, 1942, American shipyards launched … Continue reading
Happy Thanksgiving to those on this side of the pond and below the 49th parallel. (The Canadians celebrated the holiday in October.) Here is an updated repost of a story I think is well worth retelling. Until the Civil War, … Continue reading
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetary commemorated its 100th year anniversary last Thursday. On November 9, 1921, the cruiser USS Olympia arrived at the Washington Navy Yard on the Anacostia River, carrying the casket of an … Continue reading
Between 1865-80, four forts were built in the Solent to protect Portsmouth and its harbor from sea attack and bombardment. Locally known as “Palmerston’s Follies” after the Prime Minister of the time, they were built in response to an invasion … Continue reading
“Have you heard of a ship called the good Reuben James?” (If you do, it may be from the Woodie Guthrie song.) The destroyer USS Reuben James was sunk by a German torpedo while on convoy duty 80 years ago … Continue reading