Today in History: August 11

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – On this day in Bahamian history – in 1882 the SS Blenheim while on route route from London to Nassau was wrecked off James Point, Eleuthera.

The 1163-ton vessel was 225 feet long with a 31-foot beam and 17 foot draft. All passengers on board were rescued however the remains of the ship were not located.

Then seven years later in 1899, the category 4 Great Bahamas Hurricane affected our islands from the 11th to the 13th of August that year.

It was the longest lived Atlantic hurricane on record and the third longest lived tropical cyclone globally.

It was also listed as one of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes in recorded history with an estimated 3,800 deaths, 352 of them in The Bahamas. The storm peaked at 150 mph and caused a devastating blow to properties, vegetation and animal life.

Then in 1906, Sir Milo Boughton Butler was born in Nassau, to George and Francis Butler.

We went deeper into his legacy as the first Bahamian Governor General in the August 1st edition of today in history available now at Ournews.bs.

And finally in 2022, the nurses unions signed an industrial agreement that union and health officials labelled a first step towards keeping nurses in the country. This as many nurses were taking jobs abroad for a better way of life.

Numerous incentives included stipends and a housing initiative.