On this Day in History

I thought it would be fun to find out what happened on this day in history so here goes...



On the 21st of May, 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.  Charles Lindbergh was the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1927, five years earlier.  Amelia Earhart was the first to second his feat, as well as the first woman.  She attempted a flight around the world in 1937.  Approximately five weeks after her journey began, her plane disappeared somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, and no one knows what became of her.

On the 21st of May, 1996, an overcrowded ferry capsized on Lake Victoria in Africa.  Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake, and connects the countries of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.  The ferry was licensed to carry 430, there was at least double that on board.  There were 443 people on board in the first and second class, but no one knows exactly how many were in the 3rd class area.  It is estimated that between 500 and 800 people were killed, and only 114 people survived.

On the 21st of May, 1840, New Zealand was officially made part of the British empire.  New Zealand had been discovered and explored by both Abel Tasman and James Cook.  James Cook claimed the
land for Britain, but it wasn't until 1840 when the appointed governor, William Hobson, received enough signatures on the treaty between the British and the Maori chiefs to officially make New Zealand a part of the British sovereignty.

On the 21st of May, 1848, Edmund Kennedy landed at Rockingham Bay ready to explore Northern Queensland.  Edmund was a young explorer, who had been sent out from Sydney to explore the northern parts of Australia.  He planned to start his journey north of Townsville and make his way along the coast to Cape York to meet up again with his ship, Ariel.   However, he met with hostile Aborigines along the way and died at the end of their spears.

On the 21st of May, 1804, Lewis and Clarke set out for their famous journey with Sacajawea, their Indian guide.  Their goal was to find a practical and relatively safe way across to the Western half of the USA for commerce and trade.  The underlying purpose was to claim the land before the British did.  Their journey didn't end until September, 1806.






On the 21st of May, 1881, Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross.  She first came across the Red Cross in Sweden, where she was taking a holiday from nursing duties.  S
he decided to found a Red Cross in America to assist with the aftermath of the Civil War.  The Red Cross grew phenomenally during the World Wars, as well as the Influenza epedemic and the depression which followed World War 1.  Today, the American Red Cross is one of the largest volunteer organisations in the world, with networks in 187 countries.





On the 21st of May, 2015, God's mercies were new again this morning, just as they are every morning since the start of time to the end of the time.  Great is His faithfulness.