- 1947. Jackie Robinson, the first African American to break the baseball color bar, played his first game in Major League Baseball. Robinson’s courage and dignity in the face of unrelenting hostility are legendary.
- 1923. The drug insulin, discovered by Dr Frederick Banting, is first made available to the public. Insulin is the only means to hold diabetes at bay. The only other strategy to prolong life is starvation, which can stave off death for up to two years. By contrast, insulin allows diabetics to lead a normal life. Banting and his colleagues donated insulin for the public good.
- 1912. The world’s first ‘unsinkable’ ship, the passenger liner R.M.S. Titanic, strikes an iceberg in the North Sea on her maiden voyage and sinks within 3 hours. At least 1,500 passengers and crew are killed. There are 732 survivors.
- 1800. James Ross discovers (reaches) the North Magnetic Pole. I’d guess that the Ross Strait is named after him.
Dr. Frederick Banting:
