1534 Jacques Cartier sailed into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in search of a Northwest Passage to Asia on behalf of King Francis I of France. His explorations initiated French claims to Canada. He made two subsequent voyages to Quebec. He bears no relation to the watch-maker.
1549 The Book of Common Prayer was adopted by the Church of England, being the first prayer book written in English, and became the textbook for generations of learners as well as worshippers.
1891 Banker Paul Gaugin arrived in Pepeete, Tahiti to be a painter. Mario Vargas Llosha’s novel offers great insight into the painting and the man.
1915 Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigned in protest at President Woodrow Wilson’s handling of relations with Germany in the hope of arresting the drift of the administration into war. His example may have delayed it. A biography of this great commoner is discussed elsewhere on this blog.
1928 Charles Kingsford Smith landed in Brisbane, having flown across the Pacific Ocean from Oakland California via Suva in Fiji in nine days with three others in the crew.
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