Today's Birthday
William Bligh
1754–1817 British admiral.
He is chiefly remembered for the mutiny (1789) on his ship, the Bounty, but he had a long and notable career. He was sailing master on Capt. James Cook's last voyage (1776–79). Later he was a commander in the French wars, then (1805–8) governor of New South Wales, where he was briefly imprisoned (1808) by army mutineers in the so-called Rum Rebellion. Bligh was made a rear admiral in 1811 and a vice admiral in 1814. A brave and able officer, he was handicapped in dealing with men by his difficult temper.
Bibliography:
See J. Barrow, The Mutiny of the Bounty (1989); S. McKinney, A True Account of Mutiny Aboard His Majesty's Ship Bounty (1989).
Who2. Copyright © 1998-2006 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved.
Also Born on September 09
- Luigi Galvani
physician (1737)
- Joseph Leidy
scientist (1823)
- Leo Tolstoy
Russian novelist and philosopher (1828)
- Otis Redding
singer, songwriter (1941)
- Michael Keaton
actor (1951)
- Hugh Grant
actor (1960)
- Adam Sandler
comedian, musician, actor (1966)
