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1940 French front was presented to attacks. The Germans completed occupation of Verdun; they also took Dijon, Metz, Dieuze and Sarrebourg. Their bombing of Rennes killed 4,500 persons.

The ex-Cunard cruise vessel, Lancastria, carrying over 5,000 British troops back to England from France, was sunk by German torpedoes with loss of 2,500 lives, off St. Nazaire.

Soviet Russia began military occupation and political reorganization of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. It was charged that the three nations had violated their mutual assistance pacts with the Soviet Government by making a secret pact among themselves. June 21. Negotiations for peace between France and Germany were begun in Compiegne Forest. The Maginot Line was turned over to the German forces under the terms of the armistice. France broke off diplomatic relations with Britain on July 5 and on July 9 the Parliament at Vichy voted itself out of existence.

June 29. President Roosevelt signed a bill of Congress requiring all aliens in the U. S. to submit to registration and fingerprinting. July 9. The Duke of Windsor was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Bahama Islands. His post as liaison officer between the French and British in France ended with the collapse of France. He and the Duchess escaped first to Spain and then to Portugal.

July 17. The Democratic National Convention, in Chicago, renominated President Roosevelt for a third term.

July 30. Earthquakes in the central plateau of Anatolia shook down 14 villages, killing more than 1,000 persons.

July 31. A steel gasoline motor passenger car and a 2-engine 73-car freight train collided head-on near Akron, Ohio, on the Pennsylvania Railroad; 43 persons were killed. Aug. 17. The Duke of Windsor became Gov. Gen. of the Bahamas.

Aug. 20. Leon Trotsky (Leba Bronstein), 63,
exiled Russian ex-War Minister, was beaten
on the head, in his gun-guarded villa on the
outskirts of Mexico City. His skull was
broken and he died Aug. 21. His assailant
who had been known as Frank Jackson told
the police his name was Jaegues Mornard
van den Dreschd, 36, a journalist, born in
Teheran, Persia (Iran) of Belgian parents.
The body of Trotsky was cremated on
Aug. 27.

Aug. 31. Crash near Lovettsville, Va., of an
airplane bound from Washington for Pitts-
burgh in a thunderstorm, killed U. S.
Senator Ernest Lundeen, 62, of Minnesota,
20 other passengers, and the crew of
four, including Margaret Carson, hostess.
and seven other women. The plane, a
Pennsylvania Central Air liner, was pro-
ceeding with the rain falling heavily and a
thick fog obscuring visibility.
Sept. 11. The Norwegian Parliament in Oslo
declared King Haakon no longer able to
function, but decided to postpone until after
the war the question of whether he would
be allowed to return to his country. By the
decision the Norwegian Government in Lon-
don, where King Haakon also took refuge
after his country was occupied by the Ger-
man Army, is considered to have resigned
and a new government is named.
Sept. 22. Japanese troops from their Canton
army attacked Dong Dang on the French
Indo-China border, 120 miles north of
Hanoi. The next day they attacked French
troops at Langson in French Indo-China,
with artillery and bombing planes. Mean-
time an agreement had been reached at
Hanoi, 82 miles distant, allowing "limited"
Japanese forces to enter the country.
Sept. 27. Germany, Italy and Japan signed in
Berlin a 10-year pact to "assist one an-
other with all political, economic and mili-
tary means when one of the three contract-
ing powers is attacked by a power at pres-
ent not involved in the European war or in
the Chinese-Japanese conflict."
Oct. 3. In London, ex-Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain resigned as Lord President of
the Council. In the Cabinet shakeup that
followed, Prime Minister Winston Churchill
enlarged the so-called Inner War Cabinet to
eight Members, three of whom are now
Members of the Labor Party. Chamberlain

1940

quit the next day as leader of the Conserverative Party.

Oct. 8. The New York State Court of Appeals sustained the conviction on lottery charges (Feb. 25, 1939) of James J. Hines, a former Tammany district leader. A conspiracy charge a misdemeanor-was dismissed, but all 12 felony counts, on which Hines was sentenced, to 4 to 8 years, were affirmed. He entered Sing Sing prison Oct. 14.

Oct. 21. The New York World's Fair came to its end.

Oct, 27. Greece was invaded by Italian warplanes, across the Albanian border and were reported over Athens. Greece rejected a three-hour ultimatum from Italy and rallied her forces. Premier Metaxas and King George urged the nation to independence. Oct. 29. The first United States peacetime compulsory military service was inaugurated when Secretary of War Stimson, blindfolded, drew from a glass bowl, in the War Department Auditorium in Washington, the number 158-first of 16,313,240 cards for young men who had registered under the Selective Service and Training Act.

Nov. 4. A United Air Lines plane with ten persons aboard, bound from San Francisco for New York, crashed into Bountiful Peak of the Wasatch Range, at an elevation of 7,000 ft., in a snowstorm 13 miles northeast of Salt Lake City.

Nov. 5. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected for a third term as President of the United States. No other holder of that office ever was chosen for more than two of the constitutional 4-year periods.

Nov. 7. Built last July, the concrete roadway of the $6,400,000 suspension bridge over the Narrows at Tacoma, Wash., was broken to pieces by a 42-mile-an-hour wind and fell 190 feet into Puget Sound, carrying with it part of the centre 2,800-foot span with its web-girdered stiffening trusses. Two trucks and an auto went down with the span, but the four occupants escaped by crawling up to the towers.

Nov. 10. In Rumania, an arthquake, with its center in the Province of Moldavia, killed 388 persons and damaged many buildings in the city of Bucharest. Hundreds were made homeless in the central area of the country. Nov. 15. The $58,000,000 Manhattan-Queens Midtown Vehicular tunnel, N. Y. City, was opened to traffic. It provides a route between the central shopping districts of Man.hattan to the Midtown Highway in Long Island City and the connecting highway between Queens and Brooklyn.

Nov. 16. In New York City, the Communist party of the United States voted to dissolve all affiliation with the Communist International and all other foreign organizations. Nov. 18. John L. Lewis resigned the presidency of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (C. I. O.) which he founded in 1935. Nov. 20. Hungary joined the Axis; Rumania went in on Nov. 23; Slovakia on Nov. 24. Nov. 27. In the military prison at Jihlava, Rumania, 64 former officials of exiled King Carol were shot to death by members of the Iron Guard, in revenge for the assassination, in November, 1938, of the Iron Guard founder, Cornelius Zelea Codreanu, and 13 of his followers. Among the 64 killed were ex-Premier Gen. George Argeseanu; Nicholas Steranescu, head of the Surete Generale and army intelligence under Carol: Michael Morusoy, one-time head of Carol's secret police; Victor Iamandi, Minister of Justice at the time Codreanu was sentenced to prison; General Ion Bengliu, former chief of gendarmerie: Colonels Vasile Zeclu and Dinulescue, who commanded the squad that executed Codreanu; and Gabriel Marinescu. ex-president of the Bucharest police. ExPremier Nicholas and Virgil Madgearu were slain elsewhere. There were other killings, some estimates being as high as 2,000. Nov. 30.

Lorraine was annexed to the Reich. Dec. 14. Pierre Laval was dismissed by Marshal Petain as Vice Premier.

At the close of 1940 the war was still in full progress. with air raids in Europe and Africa, and submarine attacks on ships and ports of all belligerents.

(For later dates see War Chronology, also General Chronology, in this Almanac.)

Memorable Dates in the United States Southwest

Source: United States Department of the Interior

of New Mexico.

1610-(Traditional exact date not known) Pedro de Peralto, successor to Onate, founded Sante Fe, New Mexico.

1680

1532-33-Traditional date when Europeans first | 1607-Onate resigned his commission as Governor beheld the White Sands of Alamogordo, part of The which now are perpetually protected as White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. Spaniard, Cabezade Vaca, and his slave, Esteban, and two other Spaniards were the Europeans in question. 1539-Fray Marcos de Niza, accompanied by Esteban, the slave, reached the present State of Arizona; crossed the mountain into New Mexico, and beheld from afar one of the Seven Cities of Cibola-the Zuni village of Hawikuh. Its ruins still may be seen, some 60 miles south of Gallup. 1540-(February 23) Coronado left Compostela, in the Mexican state of Jaliseo, on his famous expedition into our present Southwest. 1541 Coronado spent the winter of 1540 and 1541, with his Conquistadores, in camp at village of Tiguex, near present New Mexican town of Bernalillo.

1582-Snake dance-a religious ceremony-first witnessed by a member of the white race, Don Antonio de Espejo, at Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico. 1598-Onate's expedition, first notable one since Coronado's entrada in 1540, entered Southwest. 1605-(Traditional date) Onate left his autograph on Inscription Rock, now part of El Morro, New Mexico.

Outbreak of Pueblo Rebellion, one of the most serious Indian uprisings ever visited upon the Spaniards in the Southwest. 1684-Jesuits, under Father Eusebio Kino, valiant pioneer-priest, explorer, colonizer and first to establish cattle ranches in the Southwest, began his life-work among the Indians in Sonora, Mexico, and Southern Arizona. 1687-Padre Kino founded his first mission "In the Senora de los North" (Arizona)-"Nuestra Dolores"-the headquarters from which during the next 24 years he established and administered his famous chain of missions in the Southwest. Tumacacori National Monument, Arizona, perpetuates his memory. Vargas reconquered 1695-Don Diego de Mexico-"at his own expense." 1711-Death of Padre Kino, marking end of an and colonization epoch in the important Christianization of the Southwest. settlement post, 1752-Tubac, Arizona, established as a military Arizona.

Major Train Wrecks in

1876-Dec. 29-Ashtabula, Ohio, 84.
1887-Aug. 10-Chatsworth, Ill., 81.
1888-Oct. 10-Mud Run, Pa., 55.
1904-Aug. 7-Eden, Col., 96.
1906-Mar. 16-Florence, Col., 35.

Dec. 30-Washington, D. C., 53.
1907-Jan. 2-Volland, Kan., 33.
Jan. 19-Fowler, Ind., 29.
Feb. 16-New York City, 22.
Mar. 23-Colton, Calif., 26.
July 20-Salem, Mich., 33.
Sept. 15-Canaan, N. H., 24.

1910 Mar. 1-Wellington, Wash., 96.
Mar. 21-Green Mountain, Iowa, 55.
1911-Aug. 25-Canandaigua, N. Y., 27.
1912-July 4 Corning, N. Y., 40.
1913 Sept. 2-Wallingford, Conn., 21.

first non-ecclesiastical

the United States

Oct. 19-Bucatunna, Miss., 23.
1914 - Aug. 5-Tipton Ford, Mo., 40.
1916-Mar. 29-Amherst, Ohio, 28.
1917-Feb. 27-Penn, Pa., 20.

Dec. 20-Louisville, Ky., 41.
1918-June 22-Ivanhoe, Ind., 68.

July 9-Nashville, Tenn., 115.

1919-Jan. 12-South Byron, N. Y., 21.
1921-Feb. 27-Porter, Ind., 37.
1922-Aug.

6-Sulphur Springs, Mo., 40.
1923-Sept. 27-Casper, Wyo., 37.
1925-June 17-Hackettstown, N. J., 50.
1926-Dec. 23-Rockmont, Ga., 20.
1938-June 19-Miles City, Mont., 46.
1939-Aug. 13-Carlin, Nev., 24.
1940-April 19-Little Falls, N. Y., 30.
1940-July 31-Cuyahoga Falls, O., 43.

Tornadoes in U. S., Loss of Life, Property Damage

Source: United States Weather Bureau

of life

New

Property losses

in

Number

Property
Total loss

Year

reported

losses

Year

Number
reported

Total loss
of life

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[blocks in formation]
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1917.

121

508

15,007,700

1931.

94

36

3,215,400

1918.

81

134

7,631,200

1932.

152

394

8,988,525

1919.

65

205

6,861,500

1933.

260

362

16,190,640

1920.

87

498

15,205,000

1934.

147

47

4,424,950

1921.

106

202

5,406,300 1935.

182

70

4,732,930

1922.

108

133

6,630,000 1936.

159

552

26,228,550

1923.

100

109

2,958,750 1937.

148

29

3,155,875

1924.

130

376

26,120,850 1938

220

183

8.796,257

1925.

119

794

24.023,900

1939.

154

87

5.891,930

1926.

111

144

4,318,950

1940

126

65

5,973,820

1927.

164

540

43,445,650 Total

3,512

6,153

283,294,277

1928.

203

92

13,235,600

Average.

140

246

11,331,771

1929.

197

274

10,049,400

World Fairs-Dates, Attendance

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Days

City

Yr. Opened

[blocks in formation]

26 St. Louis.

13 San Francisco.

San Diego.
Gothenburg.

1904 187
1915

19,695,855 1,240

1288

18,871,957 635

1915-6 730

3,747,916 1,400

1923 146

4,250,000

75

Paris.

1855 200

5,162,330

24 Wembly

London.

1862 171

6,211,103

16 Paris

Paris.

1867 1210

10,000,000

35 Philadelphia.

[blocks in formation]

London..

1871 143

1,142,000

16 Chicago.

1933-4 329

Vienna

1873

186

7,254,687

60 San Francisco. 1939

254

Philadelphia.

1876

159

9,857,628

Paris..

1878

194

16.032.725

450 San Francisco. 1940
105 Tot. 2 yrs...

128

[blocks in formation]

6,408,289 1,500

*38,626,546

10,496,203 400

6,545,576 400

17,041,779

Paris.

1889

185.

28,149,000

230 New York.

1939

185

25,817,265 1,216%

Chicago

1893

179

27,529,400

686 New York.

1940

155

19.115,269 1,216

Paris...

1900

39,000,000

270

Tot. 2 yrs..

44,932,534

Of this number, 22,320,456 attended in 1933: 16,306,090 in 1934.

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Chief Political Assassinations Since 1865

Source: Various Official Accounts

1865-April 14. Abraham Lincoln, President of the

United States, in Washington; died April 15. 1870-Dec. 28. Prim, Marshal of Spain. 1872-Feb. 8. Earl of Mayo, Gov.-Gen. of India. 1876-June 4. Abdul Aziz, Sultan of Turkey. 1881-March 13. Alexander II, of Russia. -July 2. James A. Garfield, President of the United States, in Washington; died Sept. 19; Guiteau hanged, June 30, 1882.

1893-Oct. 28. Carter H. Harrison, Sr., Mayor of Chicago.

1894-June 24. Marie Francois Sadi-Carnot, President of France.

1895-July 25. Stanislaus Stambouloff, Premier of
Bulgaria.

1896-May 1. Nasr-ed-Din, Shah of Persia.
1897-Aug. 8. Canovas Del Castillo, Prime Min-
ister of Spain.

-Aug. 25. Juan Idiarte Borda, President of Uru-
guay.

1898-Feb. 18. Jose Maria Reyna Barrios, Presi-
dent of Guatemala.

-Sept. 10. Empress Elizabeth of Austria.
1899 July 26. General Ulisses Heureuax, President
of the Dominican Republic.

1900-Jan. 30. William Goebel, Governor of Ken-
tucky.

-July 29. Humbert, King of Italy.

1901-Sept. 6. William McKinley, President of the

1923-May 10. Vaslov Vorovsky, Soviet Russia's
Minister at Rome, by M. A. Contradi, ex-Russian
Army officer, Lausanne.

-June 4. Cardinal Soldevilla y Romera. Arch-
bishop of Saragossa, near that city. in Spain.
-June 29. Gen. J. C. Gomez, 1st Vice-President
of Venezuela, killed in bed, in Caracas.
-July 20. Gen. Francisco "Pancho" Villa, ex-
rebel leader, in Parral, Mexico.
1924-June 10. Giacomo Matteotti, moderate So-
cialist leader in Italian Parliament, kidnapped
near Rome, slain body found. Aug. 15.
1925-Feb. 13. Prof. Nicola Mileff, Bulgarian
Minister-Designate to the United States, anti-
agrarian, in Sofia. This was followed by the
slaying of Communist Deputies Strachimiroff and
Stoyanoff on Feb. 16 and March 6.

-April 16. 200 were killed by the explosion of
bombs in the Cathedral of Sveti Kral, in Sofia,
at the funeral of Gen. Georghieff. The dead
included Police Prefect Kissoff, Mayor Paskaleff.
ex-War Minister Davidoff; Gens. Naidenoff,
Nezrezoff, Loloff, Ziatereff and Popoff; Dept.
Prefect Medelecheff.

1926-May 25. Gen. Simon Petlura, ex-Pres. of
Ukrainian Repub., in Paris by a compatriot.
1927-June 7. Peter Lazarevitch Voikoff, Soviet
Russian Minister to Poland, at Warsaw, by a
19-yr. Russian monarchist.

United States, in Buffalo; died Sept. 14. Leon-July 10. Kevin O'Higgins, Vice-President of the
Czolgosz executed, Oct. 29.

1903-June 11. Alexander, King of Serbia, and his wife, Queen Draga by army officers, in the palace, Belgrade.

1904-June 16, Bobrikoff, Gov. Gen. of Finland. 1905-Feb. 17. Sergius, Grand Duke of Russia. -Dec. 30. Ex-Governor Frank Steunenberg, Idaho. 1908-Feb. 1. Carlos, King of Portugal, and Louis Philippe, Crown Prince.

1909-Oct. 26. Prince Ito, of Japan.

1911-Sept. 14. Peter Stolypin, Premier of Russia. -Nov. 19. Ramon Caceres, President of the Dominican Republic.

1912 Nov. 12. Jose Canalejas, Prime Minister of Spain.

1913-Jan. 23. Nazim Pasha, Turkish Minister of

war.

-Feb.

of

23. Francisco I. Madero, President
Mexico, and Jose Pino Suarez, the Vice-President.
--March 18. George, King of Greece.
1914-June 28. Archduke Francis Ferdinand of
Austria-Hungary and his wife, Countess Sophie
Chotek, Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo,
Bosnia (later part of Yugoslavia), by Gavrillo
Princip.

-July 31. Jean L. Jaures, French Socialist leader.
1915 July 28. Guillaume Sam, President of Hayti.
1918-July 5. Gen. Count von Mirbach, German
Ambassador to Russia, in Moscow.

-July 16. Czar of Russia and family, in Ekaterinburg: at Perm, July 12, the Czar's brother, Grand Duke Michael Alexander.

-July 31. German Field Marshal von Eichhorn, in the Ukraine.

-Oct. 21. Count Karl Sturgkh, Austrian Premier,
in Vienna.

-Nov. Count Stephen Tisza, ex-Pres. Hung. Privy
Council, in Budapest.

-Dec. 14. Sidonio Paes, President of Portugal.
1919-Feb. 20. Habibullah Khan, Ameer of Afghan-
istan, in Laghman.

-Feb. 21. Kurk Eisner, Bavarian Premier, in
Munich; April 12, War Minister Neuring, in
Dresden, Saxony; Oct. 8, Hugo Haase, Pres. Ger.
Soc. Party, in Berlin.

1920 May 20. Gen. Venustiano Carranza, Presi-
dent of Mexico, in Tiaxcaltenago.
1921-March 8. Dato, Premier of Spain, at Madrid.
Aug. 26. Mathias Erzberger, ex-German Vice-
Chancellor, near Offenberg, Baden.

-Oct. 19. Portuguese Premier Antonio Granjo,
Ex-Pres. Machado dos Santos, and two other
high officials, Lisbon.

-Nov. 4. Ta Kashi Hara, Japanese Premier, in
Tokio, by Korean youth."

1922-June 22. Field Marshal Sir Henry H. Wilson,
by two Irishmen in London.
-June 24. Dr. Walter Rathenau, German Foreign
Minister, by two German youths, in Berlin.
-Aug. 22. Gen. Michael Collins, Irish Free State
Premier, by rebels, near Bandon, County Cork.
-Dec. 16. Gabriel Narutowicz. first President of
the Polish Republic; by Capt. Niewadomski, an
artist, in Warsaw.

Irish Free State, near Dublin.

1928-May 20. Gen. Luis Mens, ex-President of
Nicaragua, in Ponelova, by a countryman.
-June 20. Stephan Raditch, leader of Croatian
Peasant Party, Paul Raditch, his nephew; and
Dr. George Basaritchik.

-July 17. Ex-President and President-elect. Gen.
Alvaro Obregon of Mexico in San Angel_near
Mexico City. The assassin, Jose de Leon Torol,
artist, was executed on Feb. 9, 1929.
1930-June 7. Dr. Albert von Baligand, German
Minister to Portugal, Lisbon.

-Nov. 14. Premier Hamaguchi, Tokio.
1932-May 6. Paul Doumer, President of the
French Republic, by Paul Gargolov, a Russian
exile, Paris.

May 16. Ki Inukai, 77, Japanese Premier, Tokio. 1933-On Feb. 15, in Miami, Fla., Joseph Zangara, anarchist, born in Italy, shot at President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, but a woman seized his arm, and the bullet fatally wounded Mayor Anton J. Cermak, of Chicago, who died March 6. Several others nearby were shot. Zangara pleaded guilty, was found sane, and was electrocuted on March 20, 1933.

-April 30.

Luis M. Sanchez Cerro, president of Peru, shot to death in Lima by Abelardo Hurtado de Mendoza, who was killed by guards. -June 6. Assis Khan, 56, elder brother of King Nadir of Afghanistan, shot to death in Berlin by an Afghan student

-Nov. 8. Nadir Shah, King of Afghanistan, killed
in Kabul by Abdul Khalliq, a student, who was
executed on Dec. 16.

-Dec. 29. Ion G. Duca, Premier of Roumania, in
Sinai. by a student.

1934-July 25, in Vienna, Engelbert Dollfuss,
Chancellor of Austria, by Nazis, who invaded the
chancellery, put the Cabinet to flight, proclaimed
the end of the regime, and began a revolt there
and in Carinthia and Styria provinces. Otto
Planetta, who was tried and convicted as the
actual slayer, was hanged.

-Oct. 9, in Marseilles, King Alexander I of Yugo-
slavia, and French Foreign Minister Jean Louis
Barthou, by Vlada Chernozensky, a Bulgarian of
Macedonian birth.

-Dec. 1, Sergei Mironovich Kirov, of the Com-
munist Political Bureau, friend of Stalin in
Lenigrad, by Leonid V. Nikolaev, a former
Soviet official. He and 13 others were tried and
shot.

1935--Sept. 8. U. S. Senator Huey P. Long, shot
in Baton Rouge, La., by Dr. Carl Austin Weiss,
who was slain by Long's body guards. The
Senator died on Sept. 10.
1936-Feb. 26, Finance Minister Kore Kiyo
Takahashi, 82; Admiral Makoto Saito, 78,
ex-Premier; Admiral Sonoku Suzuki, Grand
Chamberlain; and Gen. Jotaro Watanabe, 58, in
Tokio: slain by army officers and men in a
mutiny.

1940-Aug. 20, Leon Trotsky (Lev Bronstein), 63,
exiled Russian war minister, by Frank Jackson
(Jacques M. van den Dreschd), near Mexico City.

The Record of Polar Explorations

Source: National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C., Gilbert Grosvenor, LL.D. (President) ARCTIC EXPLORATION (*Represents new records)

[blocks in formation]

1912 90°

Great Britain.

(Nov. 29)

90° 76-79° 58 8.

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Rr-Adm. R. E. Byrd, U.S.N. by airplane
Lincoln Ellsworth. by airplane... (Nov. 3-Dec. 5)

In January and February, 1840, Charles Wilkes, commander of America's first naval exploring expedition, sighted the Antarctic continent and then followed its coastline for a distance of more than

1,500 miles. Though not the earliest to glimpse land in the South Polar region, he was the first definitely to announce the existence of an Antarctic continent, according to Daniel C. Haskell, bibliographer of the New York Public Library, whose account of the expedition appears in a bulletin of that institution.

The Squadron" says Haskell sailed from Norfolk, Va., Aug. 18, 1838, and headed first for the Madeira and Cape Verde Islands, then recrossed the Atlantic to Rio de Janeiro, worked its way down the east coast of South America, around

1929 1935

RECENT POLAR

Soviet Arctic-The ice-breaker, Sedoff, ice bound since October 23, 1937, reported on Aug. 29, 1939, that it had drifted to latitude 86° 39' North and longitude 47° 55', the farthest north ever reached by boat. This is about 250 miles from the North Pole. Under the leadership of Capt. K. S. Badigan, the crew of the Sedoff has made scientific observations concerning meteorology, oceanography, etc. The Sedoff was extricated by an ice breaker on Jan. 13, 1940.

Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, U.S.N., returned to Antarctica early in 1939, by direction of the government and discovered and charted 900 miles of unknown coastline, by the combined use of his ship, the Bear, and an airplane. He found that the magnetic South Pole had shifted to the west. The coastline he explored consisted of a plateau about 3,000 feet high extending for perhaps 1,100 miles. He left 33 men at West Base, near Little

Cape Horn, and up the west coast, arriving at Callao, Peru, in the early summer of 1839.

"The great achievement of the voyage was, of course, the expedition into the Antarctic in the Wales, the last wek in December, Wilkes spent winter of 1839-40. Leaving Sydney, New South the months of January and February, 1840, following the coastline of Antarctica until he had convinced himself that what he had discovered was in fact the Antarctic continent. The squadron reached New York in June, 1842, having been gone 3 years and 10 months and sailed a distance of 87,780 miles.

The land which Palmer saw in 1820 is now supposed to have been the Antarctic Continent. The late Dr. Frederick A. Cook claimed to have discovered the North Pole on April 21, 1908.

EXPEDITIONS

America, and 26 at East Base, 1,200 miles away, in Palmer Land. They continued charting of the coast.

Ellsworth Antarctic-In his ship the Wyatt Earp. which he had used for three previous Antarctic expeditions, Lincoln Ellsworth sailed from Capetown, October 29, 1938, and three months later reached the edge of the Antarctic Continent at Princess Elizabeth Land. On January 11, 1939, Ellsworth claimed 77,000 square miles of Antarctic Territory for the United States as a result of a flight over an area which he named this "American Highland."

German Antarctic-A German Antarctic Expedition, led by Capt. Ritscher, on March 9, 1939, claimed for the Reich 231,660 square miles of territory in Crown Princess Maerta Land, which had previously been claimed by Norway.

Notable Marine Disasters Since 1833

(Figures show lives lost. For lack of space, only more serious disasters, mainly in American waters or in American commerce, are noted)

1833-May 11. Ship Lady of the Lake, England to Quebec, hit by iceberg: 215. -Aug. 30. Ship Amphitrite, bound for Australia with British women convicts, wrecked off Boulogne, France: 128.

1836-Nov. 21. American ship Bristol, England to New York, wrecked off Far Rockaway, N. Y.; 77. 1837-Jan. 2. American bark Mexico, England to New York, wrecked on Hempstead Beach, near Point Lockout, N. Y.; 62.

-Feb. 16. British ship Jane and Margaret, England to New York, lost near Isle of Man; 200. -May 9. Steamer Sherrod burned on Mississippi River; 175.

-Oct. 9. Steamboat Home, New York to Charleston, wrecked off Ocracoke; 100. -Oct. 29. Steamboat Monmouth sunk in collision on Mississippi River; 234.

1838-April 25. Steamboat Moselle blown up on Ohio River, near Cincinnati, Ohio; 100. -June 14. Steamboat Pulaski, Savannah to Baltimofe, blew up off North Carolina; 140. -June 16. Steamboat Washington burned on Lake Erie; 50.

-Nov. 25. Steamboat Gen. Brown, blew up on Mississippi River, at Helena, Ark.: 60. 1840 Jan. 13. Steamboat Lexington, New York to Stonington, burned off Eaton's Neck, L.I.: 140. --Aug. 9. Brig Florence, Rotterdam to New York, foundered off Newfoundland; 60.

1841-Feb. 19. Ship Governor Fenner, England to New York, sunk in collision off Holyhead, England; 122.

-March 11. Steamer President, New York to Liverpool, with 136 persons on board: never heard from. -April 19. American ship William Browne, England to Philadelphia, sunk by iceberg: 70. -Aug. 9. Steamer Erie burned on Lake Erie: 175. 1844-Feb. 28. Steamers De Soto and Buckeye collide on Mississippi, Buckeye sinks; 60. -Oct. 23. Steamer Lucy Walker explodes three boilers at New Albany, Ind.; 50.

1846-Feb. 12. Steamer Tweed lost off Yucatan; 60. 1847-April 28. Emigrant ship Exmouth, Londonderry to Quebec: 200.

-Nov. 19. Steamers Talisman and Tempest in collision on Ohio River; 100.

grounded on Long Beach, N. Y.; 311.

-May 10. Troopship Lady Nugent, from Madras. foundered in a storm; 400.

Sept. 27. Steamer Arctic, from Liverpool, sunk in collision in fog, 40 miles off Cape Race, N. F.: 350.

Sept. 29. U. S. sloop of war, Albany, sailed from Aspinwall (now Colon), Panama, for New York. never heard from; 193.

-Nov. 13. American-owned immigrant ship, New Era, from Bremen for New York, wrecked on No. Jersey coast, 15 miles below Sandy Hook; over 300.

-Nov. 13-16. Eleven British Army transpor wrecked, 6 disabled: steamship Prince sunk in storm, Black Sea; 500.

1855-May 1. Emigrant ship John wrecked of Falmouth; 200.

1856-Jan. 30. Chilian warship Cazador wrecked 314.

-Sept. 23. Steamer Pacific, Collins Line, vanished at sea; 288.

Sept. 24. Steamer Niagara, burned on Lake Michigan; 60.

-Nov. 2. Steamer Lyonnals sunk off Nantucket in collision; 260.

1857-Feb. 26. Steamer Tempest, Anchor Line 150 on board; never heard from.

May 31. Steamer Louisiana, burned near Galveston, Tex.; 55.

-June 26. Steamer Montreal, Quebec to Montreal. burned; 250.

-Aug. 20. Ship Dunbar wrecked near Sydney. Australia; 120,

-Sept. 12. Steamer Central America, Havana to New York, sunk; 400.

1858-June 13. Steamboat Pennsylvania exploded on Mississippi River, near Memphis; 160. -Sept. 13. Steamer Austria, Hamburg to New York, burned in midocean; 471.

1859-April 27. American ship Pomona, Liverpool to New York, wrecked; 400.

-Oct. 25. Steamer Royal Charter wrecked on the Anglesea coast; 446.

1860-Feb. 19. Steamer Ondine, sunk in collision with Heroine, at Biddefork; 60.

Feb. 19. American ship. Luna wrecked off Barfleur; 100.

19. Steamer Hungaria wrecked near Cape Sable, N. S.; 205.

-Nov. 21. Immigrant (Holland) Steamer Phoenix-Feb. burned on Lake Michigan; 240.

-Dec. 20. British steam frigate Avenger, wrecked off north coast of Africa; 200.

1848 Aug. 24. American emigrant ship Ocean Monarch, from Liverpool, burned off Carnarvonshire, North Wales; 200.

1849-Nov. 15. Steamer Louisiana explodes at New Orleans; 60.

-Nov. 16. Emigrant ship Caleb Grimshaw burned: at sea; 60.

1850-March 30. Steamer Royal Adelaide wrecked

off Margate; 400.

--June 17. Steamer Griffith burned on Lake Erie: 300.

- Nov. 12.

Emigrant ship Edmund, Limerick to New York, wrecked off coast of Ireland; 100. 1852-Jan. 24. Steamer Amazon burned off Scilly Islands; 100.

-Feb. 26. Troopship Birkenhead, Queenstown to Cape of Good Hope, wrecked; 454.

-July 27. Steamboat Henry Clay, burned on Hudson River; 70.

-Aug. 20. Steamer Atlantic sunk by collision on Lake Erie; 250.

1853-Feb. 15. Steamship Queen Victoria, wrecked near Dublin; 67.

-Feb. 16. The Independence burned off coast Lower California; 140.

-May 3. Immigrant ship William and Mary, sunk at Bahamas; 170.

-Sept. 29. Emigrant ship Annie Jane wrecked off coast of Scotland; 348.

-Dec. 24. Steamer San Francisco, bound for
California with 700 passengers, including 500 of
Third Reg. U. S. Artillery, foundered at sea; 240.
-Dec. 30. Ship Staffordshire, Liverpool for
Boston, grounded near Seal Island; 178.
1854-Jan. 20. Emigrant ship Tayleur wrecked off
Lambay: 380.

-Jan. 28. Steamer Georgia, burned at New
Orleans; 60.

-March. Steamer City of Glasgow, Liverpool to
Philadelphia, with 450 passengers, never heard
from.
-April 15. Steamer Secretary blew up in San
Pablo, Cal. Bay; 50.

-April, 16. Ship Powhatan, Havre to New York,

1860- June 24. Steamer Ben W. Lewis, blew up at Cairo, Ill.; 50.

-Sept. 8. Steamer Lady Elgin sunk by collision on Lake Michigan; 300.

1863-Feb. 7. British steamer Orpheus wrecked off coast of New Zealand; 190.

-April 27. Steamer Anglo-Saxon wrecked in fog off Cape Race, N. F.; 237. 1864-Nov. 4. British steamship Racehorse, wrecked off Chefoo, China; 99.

1865-April 27. Steamboat Sultana with exchanged Union prisoners of war aboard, destroyed on Mississippi River, 7 miles above Memphis, by boiler explosion; 1,450.

-Aug. 24. Emigrant ship Eagle Speed foundered near Calcutta; 265.

1866 Jan. 11. Steamer London foundered in Bay of Biscay; 220.

-Jan. 30. Steamer Missouri, boilers exploded on Ohio River; 100.

-Jan. 30. Steamer Miami, boilers exploded on Mississippi River; 150.

-May. Steamer Gen. Grant, wrecked off New Zealand; 87.

-Oct. 3. Steamer Evening Star, New York to New Orleans, foundered; 250.

1867-Oct. 29. Royal mail steamers Rhone and Wye and about fifty vessels driven ashore and wrecked at St. Thomas, West Indies, by a hurricane; 1,000.

1868-March 18. Steamboat Magnolia, blew up on Ohio River; 80.

-April 9. Steamer Sea Bird burned on Lake Michigan; 100.

April 17. Anchor liner United Kingdom, vanished at sea; 80.

-Dec. 4. Steamboats United States and America. burned on Ohio River, near Warsaw, Ill.; 72. 1869 Oct. 27. Steamer Stonewall burned below Cairo, Ill.; 200.

1870 Jan. 24. American ship Oneida sunk in collision off Yokohama; 115.

-Jan. 28, Inman Line steamer City of Boston, New York (Jan. 28) to Liverpool, vanished at sea; 177.

-Sept. 7. British warship, Captain, foundered off

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