Wednesday, July 20, 2005

 

Spotlight: Treasure hunters found the remains of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha twenty years ago today. The ship sank off the coast of Key West, Florida, in 1622 when it was blown off course by a hurricane. Only five of the 265 members of the crew and passengers survived. Mel Fisher, the treasure hunter who found the ship, went through years of litigation to establish ownership of the items retrieved. The Atocha contained over $400 million in coins and silver ingots.

Quote: "There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy's life that he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure." – Mark Twain, in Tom Sawyer

Word of the day: salvage: the rescue of a ship, its crew, or items from a shipwreck or fire; in maritime law, salvage also refers to compensation made to someone who makes the rescue even though not legally bound to do so. (© )

Today's News:

• stormy weather: hurricane threatens Mexico and south Texas while typhoon slams into China (story)
• Acura Integra: is the most stolen car in the US (story)
• Kentucky: leads the US in unhealthiness (story)

Today's History:

• British Columbia: became sixth Canadian province (1871)
• Sirimavo Bandaranaike: became the world's first female prime minister, of Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) (1960)
• moon landing: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin take "one giant leap for mankind" (1969)

Today's Birthdays:

• Petrarch: Italian poet, one of the fathers of the Renaissance (1304-1374)
• Sir Edmund Hillary: the first, together with his Sherpa guide, Tensing Norgay, to reach the summit of Mount Everest (86)
• Carlos Santana: musician (58)