Whaling Disaster Of 1871
The Whaling Disaster of 1871 was an incident off the northern Alaskan coast in which a fleet of 33 American whaling ships were trapped in the Arctic ice in late 1871 and subsequently abandoned. It dealt a serious blow to the American whaling industry, already in decline. The 1871 whaling season In late June 1871, forty whaleships passed north through Bering Strait, hunting bowhead whales. In mid-June the surviving crew of the whaleship ''Japan'' out of Melbourne, Victoria, which had been wrecked the previous year, were rescued and distributed among the fleet. Lewis Kennedy, seaman, of the ''Japan'' died on board the ''Henry Taber.'' By August the vessels had passed as far as Point Belcher, near Wainwright, Alaska, before a stationary high, parked over northeast Siberia, reversed the normal wind pattern and pushed the pack ice toward the Alaskan coast. Seven ships were able to escape to the south, but 33 others were trapped. Within two weeks the pack had tightened around the ve ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1871 Whaling Disaster
Events January–March * January 3 – Franco-Prussian War – Battle of Bapaume: Prussians win a strategic victory. * January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the south German states, aside from Austria, unite into a single nation state, known as the German Empire. The King of Prussia is declared the first German Emperor as Wilhelm I of Germany, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. Constitution of the German Confederation (1871), Constitution of the German Confederation comes into effect. It abolishes all restrictions on Jewish marriage, choice of occupation, place of residence, and property ownership, but exclusion from government employment and discrimination in social relations remain in effect. * January 21 – Giuseppe Garibaldi's group of French and Italian volunteer troops, in support of the French Third Republic, win a battle against the Prussians in the Battle of Dijon (1870), Bat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world; it has buildings in every style of English architecture since late Anglo-Saxon. Oxford's industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing, information technology and science. History The history of Oxford in England dates back to its original settlement in the Saxon period. Originally of strategic significance due to its controlling location on the upper reaches of the River Thames at its junction with the River Cherwell, the town grew in national importance during the early Norman period, and in the late 12th century became home to the fledgling University of Oxford. The city was besieged during The Anarchy in 1142. The university rose to domina ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sperm Oil
Sperm oil is a waxy liquid obtained from sperm whales. It is a clear, yellowish liquid with a very faint odor. Sperm oil has a different composition from common whale oil, obtained from rendered blubber. Although it is traditionally called an "oil", it is technically a liquid wax. It is composed of wax esters with a small proportion of triglycerides, an ester of an unsaturated fatty acid, and a branched-chain fatty alcohol. ransmission Digest, Volume 26, No. 2, October 2006, "The Science of Synthetic Sperm Whale Oil"/ref> It is a natural antioxidant and heat-transfer agent. In the late-18th and early-19th centuries, sperm oil was prized as an illuminant for its bright, odorless flame and as a lubricant for its low viscosity and stability. It was supplanted in the late 19th century by less expensive alternatives such as kerosene and petroleum-based lubricants. With the 1987 international ban on whaling, sperm oil is no longer legally sold. The oil from bottlenose whales was som ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mate (naval Officer)
A mate is a deck naval officer aboard a merchant vessel, such as the chief mate (first mate), second mate, or third mate. Between 1800 and 1890 "mate" was also the naval rank now known as sub-lieutenant—master. One of the mates is always the watch keeping officer, unless the master takes that responsibility. Each mate also has other duties, such as making the passage planning, overseeing loading and unloading and personnel management. The United States Navy had the rank of mate from the mid-1800s until the early 20th century. Mates in the US Navy were junior warrant officers, originally known as masters mates, who assisted a ship's sailing master. From 1912 to 1931, mate was a commissioned rank within the Royal Navy, for ratings who were selected for a commission through the Mate Scheme. Commissioned mates ranked with sub-lieutenants. In 1931, the scheme was renamed to the Upper Yardman Scheme, and those who selected under it were promoted to sub-lieutenant instead. Se ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chief Officer
A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the ship's cargo and deck crew. The actual title used will vary by ship's employment, by type of ship, by nationality, and by trade: for instance, ''chief mate'' is not usually used in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, although ''chief officer'' and ''first mate'' are; on passenger ships, the first officer may be a separate position from that of the chief officer that is junior to the latter. The chief mate answers to the Sea captain, captain for the safety and security of the ship. Responsibilities include the crew's welfare and training in areas such as safety, firefighting, search and rescue. Senior on board Operations Manager The Chief Mate, who is the Second-in-command, second in command of the vessel, is often equated, in corpor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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