March 4... March Forth!
1394: Infante Henry of Portugal, Duke of Viseu, was born in Porto. Better known as Henry the Navigator, he was the third child of King John I of Portugal, founder of the Aviz dynasty, and of Philippa of Lancaster, the sister of King Henry IV of England.
Henry would become s an important figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and the Age of Discoveries in total. He was responsible for the early development of Portuguese exploration and maritime trade with other continents.
1493: The first voyage of Christopher Columbus: As Columbus returns to Europe from his voyage, to (what is now) The Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean, a storm forces him to shelter in Lisbon, where he anchored his ship 'Niña' next to the King's harbour patrol ship on 4th March 1493 in After spending more than one week in Portugal, he set sail for Spain. He crossed the bar of Saltes and entered the harbour of Palos on 15th March 1493.
A present-day replica of Columbus' ship, 'Niña'.
1519: Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes arrives off the coast of Yucatan peninsula, Mexico where he will learn of the Aztec civilization, its wealth and its ruler, Montezuma. Cortés made a peaceful stop at Cozumel, received Gerónimo de Aguilar, and continued on to Tabasco and Veracruz, for the conquest of Mexico, Montejo being one of his captains.
1665: English King Charles II declares war on the Netherlands marking the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The first encounter between the nations would be at sea on 13 June, with the Battle of Lowestoft.
1675: John Flamsteed, FRS, was appointed by royal warrant "The King's Astronomical Observator" - the first English Astronomer Royal, with an allowance of £100 a year. In June 1675, another royal warrant provided for the founding of the Royal Greenwich Observatory, and Flamsteed laid the foundation stone in August. In time, he would catalogue over 3000 stars.
John Flamsteed, FRS (1646 – 1719).
1890: The 1.5 mile Forth Railway Bridge in Scotland, the world’s first major steel bridge is formally completed when HRH Edward Prince of Wales tapped into place a ‘golden’ rivet.
In the First World War returning British sailors would time their departures or returns to the base at Rosyth by asking when they would pass under the bridge. This practice continued at least up to the 1990's.
The Forth Rail Bridge seen from the promenade in South Queensferry.
1918: The U.S.S. 'Cyclops' (AC-4), one of four Proteus-class colliers built several years before WW1, departs from Barbados and is never seen again. The loss of the ship and 306 crew and passengers without a trace within the area known as the Bermuda Triangle some time after 4th March 1918 remains the single largest loss of life in U.S. Naval history not directly involving combat.
The Naval History & Heritage Command has stated she "probably sank in an unexpected storm" but the cause is unknown.
U.S.S. 'Cyclops' on the Hudson River, 1911
1941: Codenamed 'Operation Claymore', British Commandos with a Royal Engineers Section and 52 men from the Royal Norwegian Navy landed on the Lofoten Islands in Norway. Supported by the 6th Destroyer Flotilla and two troop transports of the Royal Navy, the force made an unopposed landing and generally met no opposition, as they systematically destroyed the fish oil factories and some 800,000 imperial gallons of oil and glycerine which was being used in the German war industry.
Perhaps the most significant outcome of the raid, however, was the capture of a set of rotor wheels for an Enigma cypher machine and its code books from the German armed trawler Krebs. This enabled German naval codes to be read at Bletchley Park, providing the intelligence needed to allow allied convoys to avoid U-boat concentrations.
The view of the burning oil tanks, as seen from H.M.S. Legion, 4th March 1941.
1943: The Battle of the Bismarck Sea (March 2nd - March 4th) comes to an end in the South West Pacific
1960: The 4,310-ton French freighter 'La Coubre', carrying 76 tons of Belgian munitions, exploded at 15:10hrs while it was being unloaded in Havana harbor, Cuba. The death toll was between 75 and 100 people with more than 200 people injured.
The explosion is often attributed to the CIA who wished to overthrow the new government of Fidel Castro. The relevant files in the USA are currently sealed under a 150-year embargo.
1970: While French Daphné-class submarine 'Eurydice' (S644) was diving in calm seas off Cape Camarat in the Mediterranean, 35 miles east of Toulon, a geophysical laboratory picked up the shock waves of an underwater explosion. French and Italian search teams found an oil slick and a few bits of debris, including a parts tag that bore the name Eurydice. The cause of the explosion was never determined. All 57 crew were lost.
'Daphné class submarine Flore', sister-ship of the 'Eurydice'
1999: Clean-up crews work on the beaches in Waldport, Oregon, after the unexpected arrival of the bow section of the dry-bulk freighter 'New Carissa', whilst officials draw up new plans to tow the leaking bow out to sea again, for scuttling.
Meanwhile, the stern section remains stuck on the beach at North Bend, near Coos Bay Habour, approximately 80-miles South from Waldport.
Coming to a beach near you soon?! - Clean-up crews working on the beach
near the bow of the 'New Carissa', at Waldport, Oregon.