Today In History; December 4

THE MYSTERY OF THE MARY CELESTE

The Dei Gratia, a small British brig under Captain David Morehouse, spots the Mary Celeste, an American vessel, sailing erratically but at full sail near the Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was seaworthy, its stores and supplies were untouched, but not a soul was onboard.

On November 7, the brigantine Mary Celeste sailed from New York harbor for Genoa, Italy, carrying Captain Benjamin S. Briggs, his wife and two-year-old daughter, a crew of eight, and a cargo of some 1,700 barrels of crude alcohol. After the Dei Gratia sighted the vessel on December 4, Captain Morehouse and his men boarded the ship to find it abandoned, with its sails slightly damaged, several feet of water in the hold, and the lifeboat and navigational instruments missing. However, the ship was in good order, the cargo intact, and reserves of food and water remained on board.

The last entry in the captain’s log shows that the Mary Celeste had been nine days and 500 miles away from where the ship was found by the Dei Gratia. Apparently, the Mary Celeste had been drifting toward Genoa on her intended course for 11 days with no one at the wheel to guide her. Captain Briggs, his family, and the crew of the vessel were never found, and the reason for the abandonment of the Mary Celeste has never been determined.

Other Memorable Or Interesting Things That Happened On December 4:

1110 – Syrian harbor city Saida (Sidon) surrenders to Crusaders;

1154 – Pope Hadrain IV elected Pope; the only Englishman to become pontiff;

1259 – Treaty of Paris between English King Henry III & French King Louis IX;

1619 – English settlers from Bristol arrived at Berkeley Hundred, present day Charles City County Virginia, where they held a service thanking God for their safe arrival. (Some suggest this was the true 1st Thanksgiving in America ahead of the Pilgrim’s arrival in Massachusetts);

1780 – George Washington’s 2nd cousin once removed, Col. William Washington, corners loyalist Col. Rowland Rugeley & his followers near Camden, South Carolina after nearly a year of brutal conflict;

1783 – Future President George Washington summons his military officers to Fraunces Tavern in New York City to announce the resignation of his commission;

1816 – James Monroe of Virginia elected the 5th President of the United States;

1867 – Former Minnesota farmer Oliver Hudson Kelley founds the Grange which became a powerful political force among western farmers;

1917 – “Shell Shock” term 1st used during WWI by medical doctor Charles Myers;

1918 – President Woodrow Wilson departs on 1st presidential trip to Europe where he went to France to head the American delegation to a peace conference seeking an end to WWI;

1928 – “Dapper Dan” Hogan, a St. Paul Minnesota mob boss is killed by a car bomb;

1942 – In Warsaw, a group of Polish Christians put their lives at risk to help Jews following the German invasion;

1942 – U.S. bombers strike Italian mainland for 1st time in WWII;

1945 – Senate approves U.S. participation in United Nations;

1952 – Heavy smog hovers over London England; it persists for 4 days leading to the deaths of at least 4,000;

1966 – Viet Cong penetrates 13-mile defense perimeter at Saigon’s Tan Son Nhut airport & shells the field for 4 hours before being driven off by U.S. & South Vietnamese forces;

1967 – Army-Navy mobile riverine force & South Vietnamese forces engage communist forces in the Mekong Delta killing 235 of 300 member Viet Cong battalion;

1976 – Liz Taylor weds John Warner; her 7th marriage;

1978 – Dianne Feinstein named 1st female mayor of San Francisco to replace assassinated George Moscone;

1982 – China adopts its constitution;

1983 – U.S. fighter jets strike anti-aircraft positions in Lebanon;

1984 – 5 day hi-jack drama begins as 4 armed men force an airline to land in Tehran where they killed American passenger Charles Hegna;

1990 – Iraq announces it will release 3,300 Soviet hostages;

1991 – Terry Anderson, an American journalist, is released after being held hostage by Islamic militants in Lebanon after 2,454 days in captivity;

1991 – Pan American World Airways ceases operations;

2009 – Amanda Knox is convicted of murder in Italy; the court overturned her conviction in October 2011;

2011 – 45,000 citizens in Koblenz Germany wait to return home while bomb squads diffuse WWII bombs hidden under the Rhine river for nearly 65 years.

Today’s Happy Thought:

The really happy man is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Today’s Scientific Thought:

Science & religion are not at odds, science is just too young to understand !

Today’s Quirky Thought:

If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you actually done ?

Today’s Child’s Love Advice:

Love is what makes you smile when your tired !

Today’s Funny Child’s Advice:

Never try to Baptize a cat !!!

Today’s Faithful Thought:

“Sometimes God allows what He hates to accomplish what He loves.”  – Joni Eareckson Tada

Today’s – Did You Know:

Ever heard the phrase “God willing and the creek don’t rise”? It was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. He was a politician and Indian diplomat. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the president to return to Washington. In his response, he was said to write, “God wiling and the Creek don’t rise.” Because he capitalized the work “Creek”, it is deduced that he was referring to the Creek Indian tribe and not a body of water.

Today’s Funny Picture:

Today’s Inspirational Picture:

Until Tomorrow – God Bless To All !!!