Los Angeles Herald – December 20, 1915 – Joseph Conrad told an interesting tale of commanding a sailing ship between Adelaide and the Cape. On his ship were two young college men who perpetually talked of books and authorship. Finally Conrad, who listened intently. confessed that he had with him the manuscript of a story he was trying to write. The younger men were Interested, and finally hold in their hands one-half of the manuscript of Almayer’s Folly. Such was the encouragement they gave the Polish captain that from that time on the most brilliant living writer of descriptive English took literature as a serious profession. One of these college men who hailed Conrad was John Galsworthy.

Joseph Conrad – After a sea-faring career in the French and British merchant marines, Conrad began his own literary career in 1895. A writer of complex skill and striking insight, but above all of an intensely personal vision, he has been increasingly regarded as one of the greatest English novelists. JOSEPH CONRAD: Full-Rigged Ship

John Galsworthy – was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include The Forsyte Saga (1906–1921) and its sequels, A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1932.

* Noteworthy

1606 – The Virginia Company loads three ships with settlers and sets sail to establish Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.

1832 – HMS Clio under the command of Captain Onslow arrives at Port Egmont under orders to take possession of the Falkland Islands

1946 – The popular Christmas film It’s a Wonderful Life is first released in New York City.

1971 – The international aid organization Doctors Without Borders is founded by Bernard Kouchner and a group of journalists in Paris, France.

1987 – In the worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).