[ London Times ]
This newspaper, most correctly known simply as The Times, began publication in 1785 and continues to this day.
On December 27, 1864, The Times carried a brief note regarding the disappearance of a ship, the Floating Light, off the coast of Wales. The ship was carrying bales of cotton (worth more than $2.6 million US in 2020) when it foundered, and the insurers were unable to determine precisely where the ship went down. All they could find were random bales of cotton drifting ashorte — and the ship's Newfoundland:
Bales of cotton have been found in the bay between Old Castle Head and Lydstep Point, and a Newfoundland dog, which has been identified as belong to the Floating Light, has been found alive in the vicinity of Carmarthen Bay. . . . — There cannot be much doubt as to the fate of the crew, a nd it is somewhat remarkable that none of the bodies have yet been cast up. — Globe.