Four Iowa class battleships were built in the early 1940s in the
United States. Two others were laid down but were scrapped prior to
completion. Built with cost as no object, the Iowas are arguably the
finest battleships ever built. The Iowa-class was preceded by the
South Dakota class, and would have been succeeded by the Montana class
if the Montanas had not been cancelled prior to construction. The
design of the Iowa class was based upon that of the South Dakota class
but with more powerful engines, larger guns and an additional 200 feet
(60 m) of length for improved seakeeping. The Iowa class was the last
battleship line built by the United States, as naval power had shifted
to being primarily aircraft carrier based. These ships were launched
during the Second World War, and all of them saw action throughout the
20th century. All four of the completed ships were recommissioned in
the 1980s, only to be decommissioned in the 1990s after the Cold War
ended.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_class_battleship
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
406:
The Vandals, Alans and Suebians crossed the Rhine River to begin an
invasion of Gaul.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaul)
1600:
The British East India Company (flag pictured) was founded by a Royal
Charter of Queen Elizabeth I.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_East_India_Company)
1963:
The Central African Federation officially collapsed, which eventually
became Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_of_Rhodesia_and_Nyasaland)
1972:
Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash en route to deliver aid to
earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Clemente)
1999:
Boris Yeltsin, the first democratically elected President of Russia,
resigned and named Vladimir Putin as Acting President.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Yeltsin)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
For auld lang syne, my jo, For auld lang syne, We'll tak' a cup o'
kindness yet,For auld lang syne! -- "Auld Lang Syne" by Robert Burns
--
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/w%3AAuld_Lang_Syne)
Imagism was a movement in early 20th-century Anglo-American poetry
that favoured precision of imagery, and clear, sharp language. The
Imagists rejected the sentiment and artifice typical of much Romantic
and Victorian poetry. This was in contrast to their contemporaries,
the Georgian poets, who were by and large content to work within that
tradition. Group publication of work under the Imagist name in
magazines and in four anthologies appearing between 1914 and 1917
featured writing by many of the most significant figures in Modernist
poetry in English, as well as a number of other Modernist figures who
were to be prominent in fields other than poetry. Based in London, the
Imagists were drawn from Britain, Ireland and the United States and,
somewhat unusually for the time, featured a number of women writers
amongst their major figures. Historically, Imagism is also significant
because it was the first organised Modernist English-language literary
movement or group. At the time Imagism emerged Longfellow and Tennyson
were considered the paragons for poetry, and the public valued the
sometimes moralising tone of their writings. In contrast to this,
Imagism called for a return to what were seen as more Classical
values, such as directness of presentation and economy of language, as
well as a willingness to experiment with non-traditional verse forms.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagism
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1853:
Gadsden Purchase: The United States bought 30,000 square miles of land
south of the Gila River and west of the Rio Grande from Mexico for 10
million U.S. dollars.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_Purchase)
1880:
Paul Kruger became the President of the Transvaal Republic.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kruger)
1927:
The Ginza Line, the oldest subway line in Asia, opened in Tokyo,
Japan.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Metro_Ginza_Line)
1947:
King Michael was forced to abdicate as Romania became a People's
Republic.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Romania)
1965:
Ferdinand Marcos became President of the Philippines.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Marcos)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
If you can keep your head when all about youAre losing theirs and
blaming it on you,If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,But
make allowance for their doubting too;If you can wait and not be tired
by waiting,Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,Or being hated,
don't give way to hating,And yet don't look too good, nor talk too
wise . . . If you can fill the unforgiving minuteWith sixty seconds'
worth of distance run,Yours is the Earth and everything that's in
it,And — which is more — you'll be a Man, my son! -- Rudyard
Kipling --
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rudyard_Kipling)
The blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on a
pentatonic scale as well as a characteristic twelve-bar chord
progression. The form evolved in the United States in the communities
of former African slaves from spirituals, praise songs, field hollers,
shouts, and chants. The use of blue notes and the prominence of
call-and-response patterns in the music and lyrics are indicative of
the blues' West African pedigree. The blues has been a major influence
on later American and Western popular music, finding expression in
ragtime, jazz, big band, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and country
music, as well as conventional pop songs and even modern classical
music. The phrase the blues is a synonym for having a fit of the blue
devils, meaning low spirits, depression and sadness.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1170:
Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas à Becket (pictured) was slain in his
own cathedral on orders from Henry II of England.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_%C3%A0_Becket)
1845:
The Republic of Texas was annexed by the United States, becoming the
state of Texas.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas)
1890:
The United States Army killed over 400 members of the Great Sioux
Nation at the Wounded Knee Massacre.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre)
1911:
Sun Yat-sen was elected the first President of the Republic of China.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Yat-sen)
1937:
The Irish Free State was replaced by a new state called Ireland when a
new constitution was adopted.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"If I am shot at, I want no man to be in the way of the bullet." --
Andrew Johnson
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Andrew_Johnson)
The fauna of Australia comprises a huge variety of unique animals;
some 83% of mammals, 89% of reptiles, 90% of fish and insects and 93%
of amphibians that inhabit the continent are endemic. This high level
of endemism can be attributed to the continent's long geological
isolation, tectonic stability, and the effects of an unusual pattern
of climate change on the soil and flora over geological time. A unique
feature of Australia's fauna is the relative scarcity of native
placental mammals. Consequently the marsupials, a group of mammals
that raise their young in a pouch including the macropods, possums and
dasyuromorphs, mostly fill the ecological niches that are occupied by
placental mammals elsewhere in the world. Australia is home to two of
the five extant egg-laying monotremes, and has numerous venomous
species, which include the Platypus, spiders, scorpions, octopuses,
jellyfish, molluscs, stonefish, stingrays. Uniquely, Australia has
more venomous than non-venomous species of snakes.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauna_of_Australia
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1831:
Aboard HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin left Plymouth, England on what
became an historic expedition to South America.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Beagle)
1904:
Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, a stage play by J. M.
Barrie, premiered in London.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pan)
1918:
A public speech by famed Polish pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski
(pictured) in Pozna? sparked the Greater Poland Uprising against
Germany.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignacy_Jan_Paderewski)
1945:
International ratification of the Bretton Woods Agreement, leading to
the establishment of the International Monetary Fund and International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bretton_Woods_system)
1949:
Queen Juliana of the Netherlands signed the papers that relinquished
sovereignty of most of Dutch East Indies, now known as Indonesia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"Except for the people who were there that one day they discovered the
polio vaccine, being part of history is rarely a good idea. History is
one war after another with a bunch of murders and natural disasters in
between." -- Sarah Vowell
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sarah_Vowell)
Richard O'Connor was a British Army general who commanded the Western
Desert Force (WDF) in the early years of World War II. O'Connor was
the field commander for Operation Compass, in which he and the WDF
completely destroyed a much larger Italian army. This victory nearly
drove the Axis from Africa entirely, and led Adolf Hitler to send the
Deutsches Afrikakorps under Erwin Rommel, to try and reverse the
situation. O'Connor was later captured and spent over two years in an
Italian prisoner of war camp for senior officers. He made a number of
escape attempts with General Sir Philip Neame and Lieutenant General
Sir Adrian Carton De Wiart, and was eventually successful. O'Connor
commanded VIII Corps in Normandy in 1944 and later during Operation
Market Garden. In 1945 he was general officer in command, Eastern
Command in India, and then headed the North West Army in the closing
days of British rule in the subcontinent. He held the highest level of
knighthood in four different orders of chivalry.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_O%27Connor
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1790:
French Revolution: Louis XVI of France gave his royal assent to the
Civil Constitution of the Clergy.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Constitution_of_the_Clergy)
1898:
Pierre and Marie Curie (pictured) announced the discovery of a new
element, later to be named radium.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Sklodowska-Curie)
1966:
The first Kwanzaa was celebrated by Maulana Karenga, a professor at
CSU Long Beach
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa)
1991:
The Supreme Soviet officially dissolved itself and the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Soviet)
2004:
An earthquake in the Indian Ocean generated a tsunami that killed
upwards of 200,000 people, mostly in Indonesia.
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"It is not the facts which guide the conduct of men, but their
opinions about facts; which may be entirely wrong. We can only make
them right by discussion." -- Norman Angell
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Norman_Angell)
Ido is a constructed language, purposely created to be easier to learn
than any other natural language, and ideally to become a universal
second language that would be used by all when conversing with people
from a different linguistic background. This is much in the same way
that English is often used as a lingua franca at present in various
international gatherings, but Ido was made to be grammatically
regular, phonetic, and as the first language of none, to favour no one
who might otherwise have an advantage in expression with his or her
native language. Ido was developed in the early 1900s, and retains a
small following today, primarily in Europe. It is largely based on
Esperanto, created by L. L. Zamenhof. Ido first appeared in 1907 as a
result of a desire to reform perceived flaws in Esperanto that its
supporters believed to be a hindrance in its propagation as an
easy-to-learn second language. Ido uses the twenty-six Latin letters
used in the English alphabet with no diacritics. While still being
completely grammatically regular, Ido resembles Romance languages in
appearance and is sometimes mistaken for Italian or Spanish at first
glance.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ido
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
800:
Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, a title that had been out of
use in the West since the abdication of Romulus Augustulus in 476.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne)
1776:
George Washington and his army crossed the Delaware River to launch a
surprise attack on Hessian mercenaries at the Battle of Trenton.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington%27s_crossing_of_the_Delaware)
1868:
The Republic of Ezo was founded in Hokkaido by rebels loyal to the
deposed Tokugawa shogunate. In the first elections ever held in Japan,
they elected Admiral Enomoto Takeaki as their President.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ezo)
1991:
Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as president of the Soviet Union.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very
simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for
Christmas to do that?" -- Bob Hope
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bob_Hope)
Sicilian Baroque is the distinctive form of Baroque architecture that
took hold on the large island of Sicily off the southern Italian coast
in the 17th and 18th centuries. The style is recognisable not just by
its typical Baroque curves and flourishes, but by its grinning masks
and putti and a particular flamboyance that has given Sicily a unique
architectural identity. The Sicilian Baroque style came to fruition
during a major surge of rebuilding following a massive earthquake in
1693. Previously, the Baroque style had been used on the island in a
naive and parochial manner, having evolved from hybrid native
architecture rather than being derived from the great Baroque
architects of Rome. After the earthquake, local architects, many of
them trained in Rome, were given plentiful opportunities to recreate
the more sophisticated Baroque architecture that had become popular in
mainland Italy. Around 1730, Sicilian architects had developed a
confidence in their use of the Baroque style. Their particular
interpretation of this style led to its evolving further into a
personalised and highly localised art form on the island. From the
1780s onwards, the style was gradually replaced by the
newly-fashionable neoclassicism.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Baroque
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1777:
Christmas Island, the oldest atoll in the world, was discovered by
Captain James Cook.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiritimati)
1865:
Confederate veterans founded the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist
group.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan)
1906:
Reginald Fessenden (pictured) transmitted the first radio broadcast.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Fessenden)
1914:
British and German soldiers interrupted World War I to celebrate
Christmas, beginning the Christmas truce.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce)
1974:
Cyclone Tracy destroyed most of Darwin, Australia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Tracy)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the houseNot a
creature was stirring, not even a mouse;The stockings were hung by the
chimney with care,In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. --
"A Visit from St. Nicholas" --
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/w%3AA_Visit_from_St._Nicholas)
The early life of Joseph Smith, Jr. covers the period from his birth
to the end of 1827, when Smith claimed to have located a set of Golden
Plates engraved with ancient Christian scriptures, buried in a hill
near his home in Manchester, New York. Joseph Smith, Jr. was the
principal founder and leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, which
includes such denominations as The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints and the Community of Christ. This early period of
Smith's life is significant within Mormonism because it represents the
time when Smith first claimed to act as a prophet, and when he claimed
to obtain the Golden Plates, purportedly the source material for the
Book of Mormon. During this period, Smith was influenced by numerous
religious and cultural trends in early United States history. Chief
among these trends, the nation at the time was undergoing a cultural
reaction against the secularism of the Age of Enlightenment, called
the Second Great Awakening.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_life_of_Joseph_Smith%2C_Jr.
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1823:
A Visit From St. Nicholas, attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, was
first published.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Visit_From_St._Nicholas)
1947:
The transistor, invented by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William
Shockley, was first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/transistor)
1954:
The first successful human organ transplant: Drs. Joseph Murray and J.
Hartwell Harrison transplanted a kidney to a patient from his twin
brother.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/organ_transplant)
1972:
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris made the Immaculate
Reception of the football passed "to" him by quarterback Terry
Bradshaw near the end of a playoff game.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Reception)
1990:
The Republic of Slovenia voted to secede from the Socialist Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Slovenia)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for
the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon
him, I realized there had to be another way . . . out of that a new
holiday was born . . . a Festivus for the rest of us!" -- Jerry
Stiller as "Frank Costanza" in Festivus.
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/w%3AJerry_Stiller)
Captain Marvel was the most popular superhero of the 1940s, with his
Captain Marvel Adventures series selling more copies than Superman and
other competing superhero books. He was also the first superhero to be
adapted into film in 1941 (The Adventures of Captain Marvel). Because
of a decline in the popularity of superheroes and a copyright
infringement suit from DC Comics alleging similarities between Captain
Marvel and Superman, Fawcett ceased publishing Captain Marvel and
Marvel Family comics in 1953. They later licensed the Marvel Family
characters to DC in 1972 and ceded the rights to them outright in
1980. Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family have been integrated into
the "DC Universe", and DC has attempted a few revivals. However,
Captain Marvel has not found widespread appeal with new generations,
although a 1970s Shazam! live action television series featuring the
character was very popular. Due to the fact that Marvel Comics
trademarked their Captain Marvel comic book during the interim between
the original Captain Marvel's Fawcett years and DC years, DC Comics
has to promote and market their Captain Marvel/Marvel Family
properties under the title Shazam!.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Marvel_%28DC_Comics%29
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1864:
American Civil War: Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's March to
the Sea ended with the capture of Savannah, Georgia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman%27s_March_to_the_Sea)
1885:
Ito Hirobumi, a samurai from Choshu, became the first Prime Minister
of Japan.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ito_Hirobumi)
1989:
Romanian Revolution: After a week of bloody demonstrations, Ion
Iliescu took over as President of Romania, ending the Communist
dictatorship of Nicolae CeauÅŸescu .
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Iliescu)
2001:
Burhanuddin Rabbani of the Northern Alliance handed over power in
Afghanistan to the interim government headed by Hamid Karzai
(pictured).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamid_Karzai)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"My own experience and development deepen every day my conviction that
our moral progress may be measured by the degree in which we
sympathize with individual suffering and individual joy." -- George
Eliot
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Eliot)
Chennai, also known as Madras, is the capital of the state of Tamil
Nadu and is India's fourth largest metropolitan city. It is located on
the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. With an estimated
population of 6.90 million, the 367-year-old city is the 31st largest
metropolitan area in the world. The city is a large commercial and
industrial centre, and is known for its cultural heritage and temple
architecture. The city is the automobile capital of India, with around
forty percent of the automobile industry having a base there. The 12
kilometre long Marina Beach forms the city's east coast and is one of
the longest beaches in the world. The city is also known for its sport
venues and hosts India's only ATP tennis event, the Chennai Open.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
69:
Vespasian (pictured) became the fourth Roman Emperor in the Year of
the Four Emperors.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_of_the_Four_Emperors)
1913:
Arthur Wynne published the first crossword puzzle in the New York
World.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/crossword)
1937:
The animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, based on
the fairy tale Snow White by the Brothers Grimm, premiered to a widely
receptive audience.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_and_the_Seven_Dwarfs_%281937_film%29)
1979:
The Lancaster House Agreement was signed, effectively ending the white
rule in Rhodesia under Ian Smith.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancaster_House_Agreement)
1988:
Pan Am Flight 103: A terrorist bomb exploded and destroyed a Boeing
747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270, including 11 on the ground.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_103)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he
bounces when he hits bottom." -- George S. Patton
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_S._Patton)