A hypothetical sea route across the north of the American continent to connect the Atlantic with the Pacific oceans.
north-west passage
Fact of the Day
In the 1330s a number of English knights went to war with France with eye patches covering an eye, having made a chivalrous pledge to their ladies that they wouldn't open one of their eyes until victory was achieved. Most of them died as a result.
Quote of the Day
"When they tell me I'm too old to do something, I attempt it immediately.
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~ Pablo Picasso
On This Day
43 BCE The assassination of Cicero, requested by Marc Antony. When his head was delivered to Anthony, his wife, Fulvia, spat on it and jabbed hairpins into his tongue.
1732 The Theatre Royal, now known as the Covent Garden Opera House, opened with a performance of the Beggar's Opera.
1787 Delaware became the first state of the modern United States.
1817 Rear-Admiral William Bligh died. He had been captain of HMS Bounty during the mutiny.
1941 The Japanese launched a surprise attack on the American naval base a Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, killing 2,403.
1982 Charles Brooks Jr became the first person to be executed by lethal injection, with a huge dose of 'truth serum'
