Born on this day

Thursday, December 17, 1778. :   Humphry Davy, inventor of the Davy miner’s safety lamp and discoverer of numerous elements, is born.

British chemist and inventor Humphry Davy was born at Penzance in Cornwall on 17 December 1778. Davy is known for discovering the alkali metals of potassium and sodium, and the alkaline earth metals of calcium, barium, magnesium, potassium and strontium.

The son of a talented woodcarver and educated at Penzance grammar school, Davy was interested in history, literature and science from a young age. He showed a remarkable memory and eagerness to read and learn. At age twenty, Davy joined the ‘Pneumatic Institution’ at Bristol, an institution established to investigate the medical powers of factitious airs and gases. Davy superintended the various experiments, discovering more about gases and elements. He also helped develop the field of electrolysis, i.e., the separation of chemically bonded elements and compounds by passing an electric current through them, using a battery to split up common compounds.

Of major importance was Davy’s invention of the miner’s safety lamp. Mining explosions were frequently caused by firedamp or methane which was often ignited by the open flames of the lamps used by coal miners. He pioneered a method of using an iron gauze to enclose a lamp’s flame, and so prevent the methane burning inside the lamp from passing out to the general atmosphere. Whilst his design had flaws of its own, the concept was taken up by other inventors who perfected it. The Davy safety lamp greatly reduced the number of mining accidents.

Davy’s experiments required the regular inhalation of various gases, a fact which took its toll on his health. He died in Switzerland in 1829, aged just 51. He is commemorated by a statue in his hometown of Penzance.

Australian Explorers

Wednesday, December 17, 1845. :   After a gruelling journey of 4827km, Leichhardt reaches Port Essington in Australia’s north.

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt was born on 23 October 1813, in Trebatsch, Prussia, which is now Brandenburg, Germany. Passionate about the natural sciences, he came to Australia in 1842, where he promptly undertook to explore the continent and gather botanical and geological specimens.

On 1 October 1844, Leichhardt commenced his first expedition, leaving from Jimbour Station on the Darling Downs to find a new route to the tiny military outpost of Port Essington in the north, not far from where Darwin now stands. Leichhardt was not a good bushman, lacked skills of organising his party, and often became lost. One man was killed by aborigines on the marathon expedition, and numerous horses and supplies were lost. Leichhardt reluctantly discarded his extensive collection of botanical specimens, as there were too many to carry. His journey of nearly 5,000km took fourteen months, which was so much longer than expected that a friend of Leichhardt’s composed a funeral dirge for him, expecting to never see him again. Leichhardt arrived at Port Essington on 17 December 1845.

Australian History

Tuesday, December 17, 1918. :   Protestors march on Government House in the Northern Territory in an event later described as the Darwin Rebellion.

The city of Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory. Located on Australia’s far north-western coastline, the settlement was founded when the first white settlers arrived at Darwin Harbour in 1869, several years after control of the Northern Territory was relinquished from New South Wales to South Australia. It was originally named Palmerston after the Prime Minister of Britain, Lord Palmerston, Henry Temple. When South Australia handed control of its northern half to the Commonwealth of Australia in 1911, the town adopted the name Darwin.

In the second decade of the twentieth century, Darwin was a turbulent place. The town was already suffering from the stresses brought about by World War I. When the Northern Territory was handed over to Commonwealth control, it left the people of the Northern Territory with diminished political representation, and Commonwealth interest in the far north was reduced with the advent of war. The introduction of the White Australia Policy after Federation had also led to unrest as it restricted access for migrants of non-European background, meaning that white Australians had to be given first preference in employment. This allowed unions much greater bargaining power, leading to more industrial disputes. When industrial action caused the partial closure of Vestey’s Meatworks, hundreds were left unemployed. In a further blow, nationalisation of Darwin’s hotels in 1915 led to a 30% increase in the price of beer by 1918.

The first Administrator, or Commonwealth representative, of the Northern Territory was Dr John Gilruth, a Scottish-born veterinary scientist. Although his official title was “His Excellency”, he quickly earned the ignominious name of “His Obstinacy”. Known for his autocratic, rather than diplomatic, style of administration, he was the subject of numerous complaints. Harold Nelson, organiser of the Darwin branch of the North Australian Workers’ Union, had enough influence to wage industrial war against Gilruth, who found himself without sufficient political support to enact effective policies for the region. He was forced to make unpopular decisions, which ultimately led to his demise as Administrator.

On 17 December 1918, a group led by Nelson began marching from Vestey’s Meatworks, garnering support along the way. By the time they reached Government House, where they confronted Gilruth to demand his resignation as Administrator, they had gained hundreds more – close to two-thirds of Darwin’s entire population. The protestors swarmed the grounds where they burnt an effigy of Gilruth in an event now referred to as the Darwin Rebellion. For the following two months, Gilruth and his family were protected by the Royal Navy, unable to leave the house. Gilruth was subsequently recalled by the Federal Government and, in the dead of night on 20 February 1919, he and his family were taken from Government House to board the HMAS Encounter, leaving Darwin permanently.

Although the Federal Government appointed a Royal Commission on Northern Territory Administration in November 1919, only minor recommendations in administration were made by the Commissioner. In 1922, the instigator of the protest, Harold Nelson, became the first representative for the Territory. However, the Darwin Rebellion did not achieve improved conditions for the militant unionists. Industrial action continued, and many workers left Darwin to find stable employment elsewhere.

Australian History

Sunday, December 17, 1967. :   Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt goes missing whilst swimming at Portsea, Victoria.

Harold Edward Holt was born in Sydney on 5 August 1908. After studying law at the University of Melbourne, he practised as a solicitor before being elected to Federal Parliament in 1936. After a thirty-year career in politics, he became Prime Minister following the retirement of Sir Robert Menzies in January 1966. Holt’s time as Prime Minister was noted for his gradual dismantling of the controversial White Australia policy which had restricted access for migrants of non-European background. Another major change under the Holt government were two significant changes in the Australian Constitution: power was given to the Federal Parliament to legislate on behalf of the Indigenous people, and the discriminatory clause under which Indigenous people were not counted in the census was removed.

On 17 December 1967, just one week before the Holt family were due to leave for their Christmas break at Portsea on the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne, Holt went swimming at Cheviot Beach at Point Nepean, not far from Portsea. After plunging into the notoriously rough surf, Holt disappeared. He was never seen again, and theories as to his fate have abounded since then. These theories include that he committed suicide, faked his own death to run away with his mistress, or that he was a Chinese spy. Despite an extensive search, neither his body nor any trace of his clothes was ever found. He was officially presumed dead on 19 December 1967.

World History

Saturday, December 17, 1538. :   King Henry VIII is excommunicated from the Catholic Church, paving the way for him to establish a new Christian denomination.

Henry VIII was born on 28 June 1491 at the Palace of Placentia at Greenwich, England. He was the third child of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. In 1494, he was created Duke of York. He was subsequently appointed Earl Marshal of England and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, though still a child. His elder brother Arthur and Catherine of Aragon married in 1501, but his brother died of an infection very soon afterwards. At the age of eleven, Henry, Duke of York, found himself heir-apparent to the Throne. Soon thereafter, he was created Prince of Wales.

Henry VIII ascended the throne in 1509 after the death of his father Henry VII. He married Catherine of Aragon about nine weeks after his accession, on 11 June 1509, at Greenwich. Queen Catherine suffered numerous failed pregnancies until she gave birth to a daughter in 1516. Henry sought to divorce Catherine over her inability to produce a male heir, but the Pope refused permission: Henry divorced her anyway. He pronounced himself Head of a new Protestant denomination known as the Church of England and took the power for himself. Henry VIII became notorious for his many wives, eventually marrying Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr.

On 17 December 1538, Henry VIII was formally excommunicated from the Roman Catholic church by Pope Paul III. There remains some dispute over who excommunicated the king and when, as other sources suggest he was excommunicated by Pope Clement VII in 1533, following his marriage to Anne Boleyn. Either way, the act of excommunication contributed to the Protestant Reformation.

World History

Thursday, December 17, 1903. :   The Wright brothers make the first sustained, controlled flights in a powered aircraft.

Wilbur Wright was born in 1867 and his brother Orville in 1871. The brothers are credited with being the first to build a flying machine, although debate continues as to whether they really were the first. It is true, however, that the Wrights were first to design and build a flying craft that could be controlled whilst in the air.

On 17 December 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first sustained, controlled flights in a powered aircraft. Their flight lasted 12 seconds, and continued for 120 feet. Their achievement, however, was largely ignored by most American newspapers. The headlines in the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, the only newspaper to capture the story, read “Flying Machine Flies 3 Miles in Teeth of High Wind over Sand Hills and Waves at Kitty Hawk on Carolina Coast”.