Today in History

December 05, 1872
Nautical Mystery
The brigantine Mary Celeste, which left New York City for Genoa, Italy on November 7, 1872, is was found floating 400 miles east of the Azores on December 5, 1872, abandoned by its 10 passengers. The crew's possessions are still on board, as is the cargo and a hefty food supply, with no signs of foul play. What happened to the passengers becomes one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in nautical history. Books and movies speculate everything from mutiny to fear of an explosion on board, pirates to sea monsters. Documentarian Anne MacGregor, over a century later, pieces together another scenario: The ship was thrown off course by an inaccurate chronometer and rough weather, and unable to assess how much seawater was in the ship's hull because of a broken pump, the captain, finally within sight of the Azores, must have issued an order to abandon ship.



Today's Feature History Article

Abandoned Ship: the Mary Celeste

What really happened aboard the Mary Celeste? More than a century after her crew went missing, a scenario is emerging




 



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