FYI July 19, 2019

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On This Day

1545 – The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth; in 1982 the wreck is salvaged in one of the most complex and expensive projects in the history of maritime archaeology.
The Mary Rose is a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. She served for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany, then was substantially rebuilt in 1536. She saw her last action on 19 July 1545. She led the attack on the galleys of a French invasion fleet, but she sank in the Solent, the straits north of the Isle of Wight.

The wreck of the Mary Rose was discovered in 1971 and was raised on 11 October 1982 by the Mary Rose Trust in one of the most complex and expensive maritime salvage projects in history. The surviving section of the ship and thousands of recovered artefacts are of immeasurable value as a Tudor-era time capsule. The excavation and raising of the Mary Rose was a milestone in the field of maritime archaeology, comparable in complexity and cost to the raising of the Swedish 17th-century warship Vasa in 1961.

The finds include weapons, sailing equipment, naval supplies, and a wide array of objects used by the crew. Many of the artefacts are unique to the Mary Rose and have provided insights into topics ranging from naval warfare to the history of musical instruments. The remains of the hull have been on display at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard since the mid-1980s while undergoing restoration. An extensive collection of well-preserved artefacts is on display at the Mary Rose Museum, built to display the remains of the ship and its artefacts.

The Mary Rose was one of the largest ships in the English navy through more than three decades of intermittent war, and she was one of the earliest examples of a purpose-built sailing warship. She was armed with new types of heavy guns that could fire through the recently invented gun-ports. She was substantially rebuilt in 1536 and was also one of the earliest ships that could fire a broadside, although the line of battle tactics had not yet been developed. Several theories have sought to explain the demise of the Mary Rose, based on historical records, knowledge of 16th-century shipbuilding, and modern experiments. The precise cause of her sinking is still unclear because of conflicting testimonies and a lack of conclusive physical evidence.

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Born On This Day

1970 – Bill Chen, American poker player and software designer
William “Bill” Chen (born 1970 in Williamsburg, Virginia) is an American quantitative analyst, poker player, and software designer.

Biography
Chen holds a Ph.D. in mathematics (1999) from the University of California, Berkeley. He was an undergraduate at Washington University in St. Louis triple-majoring in Physics, Math, and Computer Science, and was also a research intern in Washington University’s Computer Science SURA Program where he co-wrote a technical report inventing an Argument Game. He heads the Statistical arbitrage department at Susquehanna International Group.

Poker career
At the 2006 World Series of Poker Chen won two events, a $3,000 limit Texas hold ’em event with a prize of $343,618, and a $2,500 no limit hold ’em short-handed event with a prize of $442,511. Prior to these events Chen’s largest tournament win was for $41,600 at a no limit hold ’em event at the Bicycle Casino’s Legends of Poker in 2000.[2]

Chen has been a longtime participant[3] in the rec.gambling.poker newsgroup and its B.A.R.G.E offshoot. He has also been a member of Team PokerStars.[4]

With Jerrod Ankenman, Chen coauthored The Mathematics of Poker, an introduction to quantitative techniques and game theory as applied to poker.

In February 2009, he appeared on Poker After Dark’s “Brilliant Minds” week, finishing in 5th place after his A♦ 3♦ lost to Jimmy Warren’s A♠ A♥ after Chen pushed all-in on a flop of A♣ 3♣ Q♦.

As of 2017, his total live tournament winnings exceed $1,900,000.[2] His 38 cashes at the WSOP account for over $1,725,000 of those winnings.[1]

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