No mercy for yacht race Atlantic mariner
HIS family describe lone sailor Donald Crowhurst as the modern Ancient Mariner, drifting aimlessy in solitary confusion on the high seas.
Today In History
Burly US geologist found Saudis’black gold
HE left his family’s farm in Oregon aged 12 to haul logs in California in 1910, but Max Steineke arrived in Saudi Arabia in 1934 and changed the course of modern history.
Battle of Bismarck Sea a disaster for Japanese
The Japanese gambled on a desperate attempt to reinforce their troops in New Guinea, but they hadn’t counted on the Allied response
Thieves held Chaplin’s body for ransom
IT could have been the plot of a particularly dark comedy, but there was nothing funny when two men stole the body of great silent era film star Charlie Chaplin
More Stories
Crime didn’t pay for the men who robbed the bookies
FORTY years ago six men led by the charismatic Raymond Bennett (left) committed what looked like the perfect crime — the Great Bookie Robbery — but the gang soon self destructed.
Double dissolution gamble backfired on pre-war PM
AS we head toward the first double dissolution election in nearly 30 years, it is interesting to see the parallels with Australia’s first such election called by pre-war PM Joseph Cook (left) back in 1914.
The good, Bard and ugly side of theatre in Australia
EARLY colonial Australia embraced all things Shakespeare, including tours by actors such as Sir Laurence Olivier (left). This weekend is the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare and the NSW State Library is hosting a series of events.
First Aussie women battled to swim to Olympic glory
HAVING overcome swimming club objections to compete in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, there was one obstacle Australian female swimming pioneers Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie could not surmount. The 4x100m relay.
Lasting legacy of the famous losers
SOME of the worst competitors in sporting history have given us some of the best stories. Just ask England’s Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards (left) whose lack of talent didn’t prevent him competing at the Calgary Winter Olympics in 1988.
Loss and suffering gave Charlotte Bronte an authentic voice
IT is 200 years after her birth, but Charlotte Bronte — the eldest Bronte sister to reach adulthood — is still remembered for her first novel Jane Eyre published in 1847.
It was the Gest of times, it was the worst of times
IT was almost 10 years since their divorce, but headlines announcing David Gest’s death in a London hotel yesterday at age 62, still emphasised his identity as Liza Minnelli’s ex-husband.
Liverpool lad was our first WWII VC hero
LIVERPOOL lad Corporal John Edmondson died at Tobruk in Libya 75 years ago today, earning Australia’s first Victoria Cross awarded for service in World War II.
Five PMs who owed it to Western Sydney
IT’S been home to some of the country’s best and brightest in sport, academia and music but Western Sydney has proved itself as a breeding ground for prime ministers, sending five to The Lodge since Federation.
Lewers nurtured art dynasty in an Emu Plains farmhouse
THE Lewers family is a true Australian art dynasty, as a new exhibition of their work will soon show.
Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/today-in-history/page/84