Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) was an American writer. In a career spanning
over 50 years, he published fourteen novels and three short story
collections; further works were published after his death. Born and
raised in Indianapolis, Vonnegut enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943.
Deployed to Europe to fight in World War II, he was captured by the
Germans and interned in Dresden, where he survived the Allied bombing of
the city in a slaughterhouse. Vonnegut published his first novel, Player
Piano, in 1952. Two of his novels, The Sirens of Titan (1959) and Cat's
Cradle (1963), were nominated for the Hugo Award. Slaughterhouse-Five
(1969), a best-seller that resonated with its readers for its anti-war
sentiment amidst the ongoing Vietnam War, thrust Vonnegut into fame as
an important contemporary writer and a dark humor commentator on
American society. Numerous scholarly works have examined Vonnegut's
writing and humor.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1809:
Napoleonic Wars: A hastily assembled Royal Navy fleet launched
an assault against the main strength of the French Atlantic Fleet; an
incomplete victory led to political turmoil in Britain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Basque_Roads>
1951:
U.S. president Harry S. Truman relieved General of the Army
Douglas MacArthur of his commands for making public statements about the
Korean War that contradicted the administration's policies.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relief_of_Douglas_MacArthur>
1973:
On the Art of the Cinema, a treatise on film propaganda in
support of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea written by the future
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, was published.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Art_of_the_Cinema>
2001:
In a FIFA World Cup qualifying match, Australia defeated
American Samoa 31–0, the largest margin of victory recorded in
international football.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_31%E2%80%930_American_Samoa>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
Promethean:
1. Of or pertaining to Prometheus, a demigod in Greek mythology who
created mortals from clay and stole fire from Zeus to give to them, for
which Zeus punished him by chaining him to a rock and having an eagle
feed on his liver which grew back each night; he was later rescued by
Heracles.
2. Boldly creative, inventive, or original; skilful, talented; also,
recklessly daring; audacious.
3. Of a Romantic literary hero: defying traditional moral categories;
rebelling against a larger order; persecuted but dauntless.
4. (rare) Of or pertaining to the promethea silkmoth (Callosamia
promethea).
5. One with the qualities of Prometheus, or who acts in a Promethean
manner (audaciously, creatively, etc.).
6. (also attributive, historical) A kind of lucifer match consisting of
a glass tube containing sulfuric acid coated on the outside with a
flammable mixture of potassium chlorate and sugar and wrapped in paper
rolls; the match was lit by crushing the tube with pliers, causing the
acid to react with and ignite the flammable components. This type of
match was superseded by the friction match which was lit by rubbing
against a rough surface.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Promethean>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
There is a sort of mythology that grows up about what happened,
which is different from what really did happen.
--Peter Higgs
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_Higgs>
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