Tuesday 16 January 1912 ought to have been the happiest day of Robert Falcon Scott\u2019s life. After years of preparations, his British expedition team were only a few miles from the south pole, and on the brink of one of the greatest achievements in the history of exploration. And then \u2013 disaster.<\/p>\n
Scott\u2019s journal entry that night captured his dreadful disappointment. \u201cThe worst has happened, or nearly the worst,\u201d he wrote. Not long after they had set off in the morning, one of his men had spotted a mysterious \u2018black speck\u2019 in the distance. \u201cWe marched on, and found that it was a black flag tied to a sledge bearer; near by the remains of a camp; sledge tracks and ski tracks going and coming and the clear trace of dogs\u2019 paws \u2013 many dogs. This told us the whole story. The Norwegians have forestalled us and are first at the pole.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not even Scott\u2019s habitual\u00a0sang-froid<\/em>\u00a0could mask his shock that the rival Norwegian team, led by Roald Amundsen, had got there first.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a terrible disappointment,\u201d he wrote, \u201cand I am very sorry for my loyal companions. Many thoughts come and much discussion have we had. Tomorrow we must march on to the pole and then hasten home with all the speed we can compass. All the day dreams must go; it will be a wearisome return.\u201d<\/p>\n Few of the team slept much that night, and the next day they pressed on to the pole anyway. \u201cGreat God! this is an awful place,\u201d Scott wrote. \u201cWell, it is something to have got here\u2026 Now for the run home and a desperate struggle. I wonder if we can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n A North Sea stormtide devastated the North Frisian island of Strand and destroyed the seaport of Rungholt.<\/p>\n After arriving in the New World for the first time in the previous October, Christopher Columbus set sail with his remaining two ships, the Nina and the Pinta, from Hispaniola on his return voyage to Spain.<\/p>\n After a retreat through northern Spain Sir John Moore\u2019s expeditionary force fights off its French pursuers at Corunna and is evacuated by the Navy. Moore is mortally wounded and buried in the town\u2019s ramparts.<\/p>\n Birth in New York of singer Ethel Merman, star of a string of Broadway musicals including Anything Goes, Annie Get Your Gun<\/em> and Gypsy<\/em>.<\/p>\n Northern Ireland civil rights campaigner and former Westminster MP Bernadette McAliskey was shot and wounded by gunmen who broke into her home at Coalisland, County Tyrone. Her husband, Michael, was also shot.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> The people of Tehran rejoice as the Shah leaves the imperial palace for the last time<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n For the people of Tehran, Friday 16 January 1979 was a bitterly cold day, snow whipping through the Iranian capital. Across the city, black smoke drifted from bonfires lit by gangs of youths, who had been on the streets for days. In the gardens of the imperial palace, the trees shivered in the wind.<\/p>\n After ruling with an iron fist for almost four decades, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi had run out of options. Following months of strikes and demonstrations, protest had turned to revolution; by the end of 1978, he had lost the politicians, the army and the streets.<\/p>\n Late that morning, after pausing silently beside the marble bust of his late father, the Shah left for Tehran airport.<\/p>\n \u201cI am feeling tired and need a rest,\u201d the Shah told his waiting officials. A few miles away, the city had erupted with a savage joy, crowds burning portraits of the Shah, statues falling, street names being ripped down. But at the airport there was only the snow and the wind.<\/p>\n Beneath his 707, the Shah paused to say goodbye to his generals, all of whom were crying. As one bent to kiss his hand, the Shah looked away, his expression a terrible mask of embarrassment and grief. Nobody said a word, except for the Shah, who told the commander of his guards: \u201cDo whatever you consider necessary. I hope people are not killed.\u201d Then he walked stiffly up the steps.<\/p>\n Only after the flight had left Iranian airspace did the last Shah of Iran \u2013 bound for a life in exile \u2013 finally break down in tears. A matter of days later, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini would return to Tehran from exile in France to head an Islamic Republic. | Read more about the history of Iran<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Browse more On this day in history<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> By Dominic Sandbrook Published: Sunday, 16 January 2022 at 12:00 am 16 January 1912: Scott\u2019s Antarctic dreams are dashed Disaster hits the explorer\u2019s race to the south pole Tuesday 16 January 1912 ought to have been the happiest day of Robert Falcon Scott\u2019s life. After years of preparations, his British expedition team were only a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":8811,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2022\/01\/16-january-on-this-day-in-history.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2022\/01\/16-january-on-this-day-in-history-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2022\/01\/16-january-on-this-day-in-history-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2022\/01\/16-january-on-this-day-in-history.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2022\/01\/16-january-on-this-day-in-history.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2022\/01\/16-january-on-this-day-in-history.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2022\/01\/16-january-on-this-day-in-history.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Dominic Sandbrook Published: Sunday, 16 January 2022 at 12:00 am 16 January 1912: Scott\u2019s Antarctic dreams are dashed Disaster hits the explorer\u2019s race to the south pole Tuesday 16 January 1912 ought to have been the happiest day of Robert Falcon Scott\u2019s life. After years of preparations, his British expedition team were only a…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/8810"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Julian Humphrys rounds up smaller anniversaries<\/h4>\n
16 January 1362<\/h6>\n
16 January 1493\u00a0<\/h6>\n
16 January 1809<\/h6>\n
16 January 1908<\/h6>\n
16 January 1981<\/h6>\n
16 January 1979: The last Shah flees Iran<\/h3>\n
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