Bytes: ON THESE DAYS

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Hello Byters.

An explanation for not having posted Bytes items for the last few days - I have been down the coast for my son's wedding, where Kate and I were staying did not have internet access for my laptop.

So today's post is a little different, starting with the heading.

To maintain continuity of 'On This Day', I am posting the current one and the earlier two that were missed.

This is in lieu of the other Bytes items.

Hope you find them interesting.

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March 22, 1896:

First modern marathon win

On this day in 1896, Charilaos Vasilakos of Greece won the first modern marathon in 3:18 at the Panhellenic Games. (I ran marathons when I was a lot younger, best time 3:15). The main purpose of the games was to select the team that would compete in the first Modern Olympic Games later the same year. He won the race.

Vasilakos was one of seventeen athletes who started the Olympic marathon on 10 April 1896. He finished in second place, behind Spiridon Louis, with a time of 3:06:03 as one of only nine finishers. Both races were on 40-kilometre courses rather than the now-standard 42.195 kilometres.

Charilaos Vasilakos in training for the marathon race of the 1896 Athens Olympic Games, on the road from Marathon, Greece.

Spyridon Louis

By the way:

The 1906 London Olympic Games were the longest in history, spanning from April to October. They introduced the practice of awarding gold, silver, and bronze medals and required athletes to compete as part of national teams for the first time. It also set the standard distance of a marathon at 42.2k (26 miles 385 yards), the additional 385 yards being so that the race could finish in front of the Royal box. Before that a marathon was any distance considered lengthy.

22-year-old Dorando Pietri was leading the marathon but collapsed multiple times just yards from the finish line. Each time, he was helped to his feet, and he ultimately crossed the finish line to the cheers of nearly 100,000 spectators at White City Stadium. Despite his first-place finish, Pietri was disqualified for receiving outside assistance, and the American runner Johnny Hayes was declared the winner.

Dorando Petri at the finish line 1906 marathon

See film of the finish by clicking on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6xU6DiRKCg

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March 23, 1881:

Boers & Britain sign peace accord, ending the First Boer war

The First Boer War was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 between the British Empire and Boers of the Transvaal (as the South African Republic was known while under British administration). The war resulted in a Boer victory and eventual independence of the South African Republic. The war is also known as the First Anglo–Boer War, the Transvaal War or the Transvaal Rebellion.

The Boers, sometimes called Afrikaners, were the direct descendants of Dutch travelers who had begun settling in Southern Africa around the late 1600s and early 1700s. As Britain expanded the Cape colonies further and further into the interior of Southern Africa, so did the English language and culture begin to dominate the Cape. Not only did this rapid social change in culture and politics cause a great deal of unease among the Boers, but it also incited rebellion from the Boers. In the mid-1830s, the Boers embarked on an exodus (i.e. the Great Trek) into the South African tribal territories and founded two republics around the Vaal River and the Orange River: the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State, respectively. These two republics were eventually recognised by the Brits.

That changed when, in the mid-1860s, large deposits of natural treasures, such as gold and diamonds, were discovered in the lands of Southern Africa. These discoveries sparked the desire of the British to conquer the territories in those zones. This was unwilling to be agreed by the Boers who declared independence from Britain. The Boers had no army, instead they were made of militia men who organised themselves into units called commandos. Those units were then placed under an elected officer. The Boers were more determined than the Brits, more proficient with their weapons and knew the country. The Brit redcoats made them easy targets.

The First Anglo-Boer War featured four main battles and many sieges. The battles occurred at Laing’s Nek, Schinus Hoogte, Laingsnek, and Majuba.

A collage of major battles in the First Boer War which are Majuba, Laings Nek, and Elandsfontein.

Clockwise from left: Aftermath of the Battle of Elandsfontein, The Boers' method of fighting" in The Illustrated London News; British Cavalry charges during the Battle of Laing's Nek"; British in action during the Battle of Majuba

All in all, about 400 British soldiers perished during the First Boer War. An additional 400 or so British troops sustained varying degree of injuries. On the other hand, the Boers lost less than 30 men, with slightly over 50 wounded.

On March 6, 1881, Sir Evelyn Wood of Britain signed and agreed to a truce to all hostilities with the Boers. On March 23, 1881, at O’Neil’s Cottage, South African leader Paul Kruger and Wood signed a peace treaty, officially ending the war.

Under the peace treaty (i.e. The Pretoria Convention), the British agreed to withdraw its forces from Boer territory and grant Boer full self-governance in the Transvaal under Britain’s suzerainty. In exchange, the Boers were required to accept British monarch’s nominal authority and dominance over African issues, native territories, and international ties.

Peace talks between Paul Kruger and Sir Evelyn Wood in O'Neil's Cottage near Amajuba Hill. Western side panel of the Kruger statue on Church square, Pretoria.

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March 24, 1989:

Exxon Valdex oil spill.

On this day in 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground, spilling some 11 million gallons (41 million litres) of oil into Prince William Sound in Alaska and creating the largest oil spill in U.S. history up to that time.

The Exxon Valdez spill is the second largest in U.S. waters, after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in terms of volume of oil released. Prince William Sound's remote location, accessible only by helicopter, plane, or boat, made government and industry response efforts difficult and made existing response plans especially hard to implement. The region is a habitat for salmon, sea otters, seals, and seabirds. The oil, extracted from the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field, eventually affected 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of coastline, of which 200 miles (320 km) were heavily or moderately oiled.

This disaster resulted in International Maritime Organization introducing comprehensive marine pollution prevention rules (MARPOL) through various conventions. The rules were ratified by member countries and.

Both long-term and short-term effects of the oil spill have been studied. Immediate effects include the deaths of between 100,000 and 250,000 seabirds, at least 2,800 sea otters, approximately 12 river otters, 300 harbor seals, 247 bald eagles, and 22 orcas, and an unknown number of salmon and herring.

Nine years after the disaster, evidence of negative oil spill effects on marine birds was found in the following species: cormorants, goldeneyes, mergansers, murres and pigeon guillemots.

On March 24, 2014, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the spill, NOAA scientists reported that some species seem to have recovered, with the sea otter the latest creature to return to pre-spill numbers. Scientists who have monitored the spill area for the last 25 years report that concern remains for one of two pods of local orca whales, with fears that one pod may eventually die out. Federal scientists estimate that between 16,000 and 21,000 US gallons (61 to 79 m3) of oil remains on beaches in Prince William Sound and up to 450 miles (725 km) away.

The Exxon Baton Rouge (smaller ship on left) attempts to offload crude oil from the Exxon Valdez after it ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska.