Day Tripping: May 13

Penal Colonies, Protests, and Push Offs

Finding Homes

A fleet of eleven ships set sail from Portsmouth, England in 1787. They were carrying 750 passengers, all prisoners convicted of crimes in Britain, to a land that was discovered by James Cook during his voyage aboard the HMS Endeavour seven years previous. The journey led by Captain Arthur Phillip took eight months to traverse 24,000 kilometres of ocean and reach Botany Bay on New South Wales.

In response to the growing problem of overrun prisons and rampant petty crime by impoverished citizens during the Industrial revolution, Australia was born out of the need to displace the growing numbers. After finding human habitat unsuitable at Botany Bay, Captain Phillip moved his ships North about 12 km to a harbour he named Sydney.

Losing Control

The anger in Latin America over the United States’ policies during the Cold War came to a head in 1958 when then Vice President Richard Nixon visited Venezuela. Nixon’s goodwill visit very nearly ended in disaster when his motorcade was attacked in Caracas. Windows were smashed and almost overturned while Secret Service agents wrestled inside to protect the Vice President.

The motorcade managed to narrowly escape further damage, and the Vice President’s stay was cut short for obvious reasons. The United States increased its efforts to restore relations with Latin America, and the appearance of Fidel Castro in Cuba one year later was an enormous wake-up call to American interests in the region.

Leaving Orbit

After 146 days on the International Space Station with the first-ever music video recorded in space on his notch belt, Chris Hadfield hopped into a Soyuz spacecraft with fellow astronaut Tom Marshburn and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko for the return home to Earth.

The crew expanded the space experience beyond expectations, and they returned to a hero’s welcome in Kazakhstan a day later. As Canada’s first space station commander, he instantly became a national icon having schools named in his honour.

Musical Milestones

Jerry Lee Lewis was granted a divorce from his second wife, Jane Mitchum in 1958. It came six months after the performer married his thirteen-year-old cousin, Myra Gale Brown.

Narratives

In his first speech as Prime Minister of England, Winston Churchill states, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”.

Remembrance

Gary Cooper learned his craft through the silent era and became one of Hollywood’s most beloved stars. He died of cancer at the age of sixty in 1961. Every major star of the times attended his funeral.

Notable Births

1939 — Harvey Keitel is a favourite character actor from Scorsese’s best.

1950 — Six decades of greatness and counting, Stevie Wonder

1964 — Comedian and TV host Stephen Colbert

K. Barrett Katie Wallace Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, PhD. Terry Trueman Dr Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster Nora Thewriteyard David Perlmutter Joe Luca Noah Levy

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