Prince Alfred (1780–1782) was the fourteenth child and the ninth and
youngest son of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland and his
queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Alfred was baptised by
Frederick Cornwallis, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Great Council
Chamber at St James's Palace on 21 October 1780. His godparents were
his elder siblings George, Prince of Wales; Prince Frederick; and
Charlotte, Princess Royal. Alfred was a delicate child. He suffered from
"eruptions" on his face and, throughout his life, a cough. In 1782,
Alfred became unwell and died after his inoculation against the smallpox
virus. Although the household did not go into mourning (it was not
prescribed for royal children under seven), his parents took the loss
harshly. Alfred's early death, along with that of his brother Prince
Octavius six months later, deeply distressed the royal family. In his
later bouts of madness, King George imagined conversations with both of
his youngest sons.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Alfred_of_Great_Britain>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1886:
The wedding of Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom took place
in the White House, the only time a U.S. president used that building
for the ceremony.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Cleveland>
1953:
Queen Elizabeth II was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_of_Elizabeth_II>
1967:
Benno Ohnesorg, a German university student, was killed in West
Berlin while protesting the visit of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran;
the anarchist militant 2 June Movement was later named after the
incident.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_June_Movement>
1983:
After an emergency landing due to an in-flight fire, 23
passengers aboard Air Canada Flight 797 were killed when a flashover
occurred as the aircraft's doors opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Canada_Flight_797>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
spaghetti:
1. (countable, uncountable) A type of pasta made in the shape of long
thin strings.
2. (by extension, countable, uncountable) A dish that has spaghetti
(sense 1) as a main part of it, such as spaghetti bolognese.
3. (by extension, countable) Denoting Italianness.
4. (derogatory, informal) An Italian person.
5. (film) Short for spaghetti western (“a motion picture depicting a
story of cowboys and desperadoes set in the American Old West, but
produced by an Italian-based company and filmed in Europe, notably in
Italy”).
6. (by extension, uncountable, informal, often attributively) Something
physically resembling spaghetti (sense 1) in appearance or consistency,
or in being tangled.
7. (electrical engineering) Electrical insulating tubing or electrical
wiring.
8. (road transport) Roads forming a complex junction, especially one
with multiple levels on a motorway.
9. (uncountable, figuratively, informal) Something confusing or
intricate.
10. (programming, derogatory, informal) Short for spaghetti code
(“unstructured or poorly structured program source code, especially code
with many GOTO statements or their equivalent”).
11. (transitive)
12. (humorous) To serve (someone) spaghetti (noun sense 1).
13. To cause (someone or something) to become, or appear to become,
longer and thinner; to stretch.
14. To cause (something) to become tangled.
15. (intransitive)
16. (humorous) To eat spaghetti (noun sense 1).
17. To become, or appear to become, longer and thinner.
18. To become tangled.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spaghetti>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Is your heart far away, Or with mine beating? When false things
are brought low, And swift things have grown slow, Feigning like froth
shall go, Faith be for aye.
--Thomas Hardy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Hardy>
Show replies by date