June 21st...
533: A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarius sails in 500 transports escorted by 92 war vessels (dromons) manned by 20,000 seamen from Constantinople to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily.
The fleet carries 10,000 infantry, about half Byzantine and half foederati, and 5,000 cavalry, consisting of 3,000 Byzantine horseman, 1,000 foreign allies (Huns and Heruli) and 1,500 of Belisarius' retainers (bucellarii).
1521: Magellan's Voyage around the World (1519-1522): The casualties suffered in the Philippines, including the death of Magellan on 27th April 1521, had left the expedition with too few men to sail all three of the remaining ships - consequently, they abandoned and burned 'Concepción'. The fleet, reduced to the 'Trinidad' and 'Victoria', fled westward to Palawan where they remained for several weeks.
Leaving the the island on 21st June, they were guided towards Brunei, Borneo by Moro pilots who could navigate the shallow seas. They anchored off the Brunei breakwater for 35 days, where Pigafetta, an Italian from Vicenza, recorded the splendour of Rajah Siripada's court (gold, two pearls the size of hens' eggs, etc.). In addition, Brunei boasted tame elephants and an armament of 62 cannons, more than 5 times the armament of Magellan's ships.
1631: Admiral of New England, John Smith, died in London, aged 51. An English soldier, explorer, author and associate of Pocahontas, Smith was was considered to have played an important part in the establishment of the first permanent English settlement in North America. He was a leader of the Virginia Colony (based at Jamestown) between September 1608 and August 1609, and led an exploration along the rivers of Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay. He was the first English explorer to map the Chesapeake Bay area and New England.
Smith is buried in the church of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, the largest parish church in the City of London, where there is a handsome window designed by Francis Skeat and installed in 1968.
John Smith (c.January 1580 - 21st June 1631).
1652: Inigo Jones, aged 78, died at Somerset House, London, and was subsequently buried with his parents at St Benet Paul's Wharf, the Welsh church of the City of London. Inigo Jones was the first significant British architect of the early modern period, and the first to employ Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmetry in his buildings.
Appointed Surveyor-General of the King’s Works, Jones built the Queen's House at Greenwich, the first strictly classical building in England, employing ideas found in the architecture of Palladio and ancient Rome. Queen's House is Jones' earliest surviving work, and now forms part of the National Maritime Museum.
Inigo Jones, (15th July 1573 - 21st June 1652), and the Queen's House, Greenwich, England.
1749: Halifax, Nova Scotia is founded by Edward Cornwallis. Arriving with 1,176 settlers aboard 13 transports and a sloop of war, the outpost was named in honour of George Montague-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, who was the President of the British Board of Trade. Halifax was ideal for a military base, with the vast Halifax Harbour, among the largest natural harbours in the world, which could be well protected with several strategically placed batteries.
1781: Robert Napier is born in Dumbarton at the height of the Industrial Revolution, to James and Jean Napier. James was of a line of esteemed bell-wrights, blacksmiths, and engineers with a brother who served as blacksmith for the Duke of Argyll at Inveraray Castle. Robert would develop an interest in the family business, and go on to become an engineer of some repute, often being called "The Father of Clyde Shipbuilding."
1854: The first Victoria Cross was won for an action by Charles Davis Lucas on board H.M.S. 'Hecla', during the bombardment of Bomarsund (a fort in the Åland Islands off Finland) by 'Hecla' and two other British ships.
When fire was returned from the fort, a live artillery shell landed on 'Hecla's upper deck - its fuse still hissing. All hands were ordered to fling themselves flat on the deck, but with great presence of mind, Charles Davis Lucas ran forward and hurled the shell overboard, where it exploded before hitting the water. Thanks to Lucas's action no one on board was killed or seriously wounded by the shell, and accordingly he was immediately promoted to lieutenant by his CO.
Lucas received his Victoria Cross at an investiture in 1857.
British bombardment of the fortress Bomarsund (Aland Islands) during the Crimean war. Drawing from 1854.
1911: The first in a new class of superliners, R.M.S. 'Olympic' completes her maiden voyage, reaching New York on 21st June. The maiden voyage of the largest ship in the world attracted considerable worldwide attention from the press and public. Following her arrival in New York, 'Olympic' was opened up to the public and received over 8,000 visitors.
R.M.S. 'Olympic' arrives in New York. Note the slight damage to her lower hull after clipping the pier.
1915: As the inbound transatlantic passenger steamship 'Cameronia' reached the mouth of the River Mersey, she came under attack from a U-Boat. Captain Kinnaird turned the 'Cameronia' to ram the U-Boat which was forced to dive and then broke off her attack.
SS 'Cameronia'
1919: Admiral Ludwig von Reuter scuttles the German fleet at the Royal Navy's base at Scapa Flow, Orkney. After the end of the First World War, the High Seas Fleet was interned there (under the terms of the Armistice) whilst negotiations took place over the fate of the ships. Fearing that all of the ships would be seized and divided amongst the allied powers, the German commander decided to scuttle the fleet. 52 of the 74 interned vessels sank. Many of the wrecks were salvaged over the next few years and were towed away for scrapping. Those that remain are popular diving sites.
A tug alongside scuttled German destroyer G.102 at Scapa Flow.
1936: First flight of the Handley Page Hampden - Designed to the same specification as the Vickers Wellington (Air Ministry Specification B.9/32) for a twin-engined day bomber. One prototype HP.52 (Serial K4240) was ordered which first flew on 21st June 1936. The first production batch of 180 Mk I Hampdens was built to a production Spec. 30/36 with the first aircraft flying on 24th May 1938. Lady Katharine Mary Montagu Douglas Scott, Viscountess Hampden, christened the first flight at Radlett aerodrome in 1938
A Handley Page Hampden Mk.I, of No. 455 Sqdn RAAF based at Leuchars, Scotland, May 1942.
1942: During the evening of 21st June, Japanese submarine I-25 followed a fleet of fishing vessels to avoid minefields near the mouth of the Columbia River, in Oregon, thus enabling her to fire seventeen 5.5-inch shells at Battery Russell, a small coastal army installation within Fort Stevens - making it the only military installation in the continental United States to receive hostile fire during World War II.
The attack caused no damage to the fort itself, with the backstop for the baseball field and some power and telephone lines being the only targets struck.
2008: MV 'Princess of the Stars', a ferry owned by Filipino shipping company Sulpicio Lines, capsized and sank after being struck by Typhoon Fengshen, off the coast of San Fernando, Romblon, in the Philippines. The ship had sailed believing that it was large enough to contend with the conditions in the periphery of the storm, however when the storm unexpectedly changed course later that day, the ferry was overwhelmed by the conditions and sank.
First reports of the tragedy confirmed that the ferry had a hole in the hull and was partially submerged, and that several bodies had been found nearby. Later reports revealed that the hole in the hull was actually the ship's bow thruster. Also, that of an estimated 860 on board at the time of the accident, there was less than 60 survivors.
The recovery operation around 'Princess of the Stars', August 2008.