Read this excerpt from “President Ronald Reagan's Address to the Nation” following the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle. There's a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard a ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and an historian later said, “He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it.” Well, today we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.

According to President Reagan, the Challenger crew members

were great historians like Sir Francis Drake.
were committed explorers like Sir Francis Drake.
explored the ocean frontiers like Sir Francis Drake.
dedicated their lives to the sea like Sir Francis Drake.