FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the world’s first operational nuclear-powered submarine and the first submarine to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole on 3 August 1958. Her initial commanding officer was Eugene “Dennis” Wilkinson, a widely respected naval officer who set the stage for many of the protocols of today’s Nuclear Navy of the US, and who had a storied career during military service and afterwards.
Sharing a name with Captain Nemo‘s fictional submarine in Jules Verne‘s classic 1870 science fiction novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and the USS Nautilus (SS-168) that served with distinction in World War II, the new nuclear-powered Nautilus was authorized in 1951. Construction began in 1952, and the boat was launched in January 1954, sponsored by Mamie Eisenhower, First Lady of the United States, wife of 34th President Dwight D. Eisenhower; it was commissioned the following September into the United States Navy. Nautilus was delivered to the Navy in 1955.
Because her nuclear propulsion allowed her to remain submerged far longer than diesel-electric submarines, she broke many records in her first years of operation and traveled to locations previously beyond the limits of submarines. In operation, she revealed a number of limitations in her design and construction. This information was used to improve subsequent submarines.
Nautilus was decommissioned in 1980 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982. The submarine has been preserved as a museum ship at the Submarine Force Library and Museum in Groton, Connecticut, where the vessel receives around 250,000 visitors per year.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
My compost pile smells terrible, even in winter. What can I do to get rid of the odor?
If your compost is a little, um, fragrant, you have what’s called an anaerobic condition, which is decomposition without oxygen. To eliminate the odor, you need to do two things. First, turn the compost to get more air in there. Second, add material with a high carbon content, such as shredded newspaper, sawdust, twigs, or even wood chips.
Advice of the Day
If you trip while going upstairs, money is coming your way.
Home Hint of the Day
If the wooden handle on a hammer or ax is loose, immerse the head in a bucket of cold water overnight. In the morning, dry the head to prevent rust, then soak it for 12 hours in a solution of half turpentine and half boiled linseed oil.
Word of the Day
Biddy
A name used in calling a hen or chicken. An Irish serving woman or girl.
Puzzle of the Day
What wig cannot a barber make?
An earwig
Born
- Ethan Allen (patriot) – 1738
- John Fitch (inventor) – 1743
- Thomas Stonewall” Jackson” (Confederate Army general) – 1824
- Christian Dior (fashion designer) – 1905
- Jack Nicklaus (golfer) – 1940
- Plácido Domingo (tenor) – 1941
- Billy Ocean (singer) – 1950
- Robby Benson (actor) – 1956
- Geena Davis (actress) – 1956
- Hakeem Olajuwon (basketball player) – 1963
- Jacob Smith (actor) – 1990
Died
- Calixa Lavallée (composer) – 1891
- George Orwell (author) – 1950
- Cecil B. DeMille (director) – 1959
- James Beard (chef & food writer) – 1985
- Jack Lord (actor) – 1998
- Peggy Lee (singer) – 2002
- Terry Jones (member of the Monty Python comedy troupe) – 2020
Events
- First American novel, The Power of Sympathy, published in Boston.– 1789
- Louis XVI of France was beheaded– 1793
- New York City’s Sullivan Ordinance made it illegal for women to smoke in public places– 1908
- Kiwanis International founded– 1915
- Song Over the Rainbow, by Arlen and Harburg, copyrighted– 1939
- First commercial extraction of magnesium from seawater began, in Freeport, Texas– 1941
- U.S.S. Nautilus, world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, was launched– 1954
- President Jimmy Carter issued a pardon for Vietnam War draft evaders– 1977
- Pittsburgh Steelers won their third Super Bowl– 1979
- Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame– 1987
Weather
- Sacramento, California, had a high of only 19 degrees F– 1854
- Deadly avalanche occurred at Twin Lakes in Colorado– 1962
- Caesars Head, South Carolina, experienced a cold temperature of -19 degrees F– 1985
- As much as 3.5 inches of snow fell in Tokyo, Japan– 2006
- A 3-day, 81-tornado outbreak in the Southeast United States began– 2017
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