Jogaila was a Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland. He ruled in
Lithuania from 1377, at first with his uncle, Kęstutis. In 1386, he
converted to Christianity, was baptized as Władysław, married the
eleven-year-old Queen Jadwiga of Poland, and was crowned Polish king
as Władysław Jagiełło. His reign in Poland lasted a further
forty-eight years and laid the foundation for the centuries long
Polish-Lithuanian union. He gave his name to the Jagiellon branch of
the Gediminids dynasty which ruled both states until 1572, and became
one of the most influential dynasties in medieval Europe. Jogaila was
the last pagan ruler of medieval Lithuania. He held the title Didysis
Kunigaikštis. As King of Poland, he pursued a policy of close
alliances with Lithuania against the Teutonic Order. The allied
victory at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, followed by the First Peace
of Toruń, secured the Polish and Lithuanian borders and marked the
emergence of the Polish-Lithuanian alliance as a major European force.
The reign of Władysław II Jagiełło extended Polish frontiers and is
often considered the beginning of Poland's "Golden Age".
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jogaila
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1786:
Peter Leopold Joseph, Grand Duke of Tuscany, promulgated a penal
reform that made his country the first sovereign state to abolish the
death penalty.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor)
1853:
Russian battleships led by Pavel Nakhimov destroyed an Ottoman fleet
of frigates at the Battle of Sinop in Sinop, Turkey, precipitating the
Crimean War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_War)
1936:
The Crystal Palace, built for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in
London, was destroyed by fire.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crystal_Palace)
1939:
The Winter War broke out as the Soviet Red Army invaded Finland and
quickly advanced to the Mannerheim Line, an action judged as illegal
by the League of Nations.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_War)
2005:
John Sentamu was enthroned as Archbishop of York, becoming the first
member of an ethnic minority to serve as an archbishop in the Church
of England.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sentamu)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
insinuate: Make a way for or introduce something by subtle, crafty or
artful means.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/insinuate)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
The truth is, when all is said and done, one does not teach a subject,
one teaches a student how to learn it. -- Jacques Barzun
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jacques_Barzun)
A Vindication of the Rights of Men is a 1790 political pamphlet,
written by the eighteenth-century British feminist Mary
Wollstonecraft, which attacks aristocracy and advocates republicanism.
Wollstonecraft's was the first response in a pamphlet war sparked by
the publication of Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in
France, a defence of constitutional monarchy, aristocracy, and the
Church of England. Wollstonecraft not only attacked hereditary
privilege but also the rhetoric that Burke used to defend it. Most of
Burke's detractors deplored what they viewed as his theatrical pity
for Marie Antoinette but Wollstonecraft was unique in her attack on
Burke's gendered language. By redefining the sublime and the
beautiful, terms first established by Burke himself in A Philosophical
Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful
(1756), she undermined his rhetoric as well as his argument.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Vindication_of_the_Rights_of_Men
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1854:
The Eureka Flag was flown for the first time during the Eureka
Stockade rebellion in Australia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_Flag)
1877:
Thomas Edison demonstrated the phonograph, his invention for
recording and replaying sound, for the first time.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/phonograph)
1890:
The Diet of Japan, Japan's bicameral legislature modelled after both
the German Reichstag and the British Westminster system, first met
after the Meiji Constitution went into effect.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_of_Japan)
1929:
American explorer Richard Evelyn Byrd and three others completed the
first flight over the South Pole.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Evelyn_Byrd)
1947:
The United Nations General Assembly voted to approve the Partition
Plan for Palestine, a plan to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict in the
British Mandate of Palestine by separating the territory into Jewish
and Arab states.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly_Resolution_181)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
precipitate: To make something happen suddenly and quickly; hasten.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/precipitate)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
All that is not eternal is eternally out of date. -- C. S. Lewis
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis)
The Red Barn Murder was a notorious murder committed in Suffolk,
England in 1827. A young woman, Maria Marten, was shot dead by her
lover, William Corder, the son of the local squire. The two had
arranged to meet at the Red Barn, a local landmark, before eloping to
Ipswich in order to be married. Maria was never heard from again.
Corder fled the scene and although he sent Marten's family letters
claiming she was in good health, her body was later discovered buried
in the barn after her stepmother claimed to have dreamt about the
murder. Corder was tracked down in London, where he had married and
started a new life. He was brought back to Suffolk, and, after a
well-publicised trial, found guilty of murder. He was hanged in Bury
St. Edmunds in 1828; the execution was watched by a huge crowd. The
story provoked numerous articles in the newspapers, and songs and
plays. The village where the crime had taken place became a tourist
attraction and the barn was stripped by souvenir hunters. The plays
and ballads remained popular throughout the next century and continue
to be performed today.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Barn_Murder
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1644:
John Milton published Areopagitica, arguing for the right to free
speech and against publication censorship during the English Civil
War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areopagitica)
1867:
The Manchester Martyrs were hanged in Manchester, England for their
rescue of two Irish nationalists, who played important roles in the
failed Fenian Rising, from jail.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Martyrs)
1963:
The BBC television series Doctor Who premiered with William Hartnell
in the titular role.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who)
1971:
The People's Republic of China was given China's permanent seat on
the United Nations Security Council.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_and_the_United_Nations)
1985:
Omar Rezaq and two others from the Abu Nidal terrorist group
hijacked EgyptAir Flight 648 over the Mediterranean Sea.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Nidal)
2003:
Rose Revolution: Eduard Shevardnadze resigned as President of
Georgia following weeks of mass protests over disputed election
results.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Shevardnadze)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
kismet: Fate; a predetermined or unavoidable destiny.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kismet)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
There's only us, there's only this. Forget regret, or life is yours to
miss. No other road, no other way, no day but today. I can't control
my destiny. I trust my soul. My only goal is just to be. There's only
now, there's only here. Give in to love, or live in fear. No other
path, no other way. No day but today. -- Jonathan Larson in "Another
Day" from Rent
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jonathan_Larson)
Francium is a chemical element that has the symbol Fr and atomic
number 87. It has the lowest known electronegativity and is the second
rarest naturally occurring element on Earth (after astatine)<!-- Cf
and others occur naturally in supernovae; Universe-wide abundance is
difficult to ascertain -->. Francium is a highly radioactive metal
that decays into astatine, radium, and radon. As an alkali metal, it
has one valence electron. Marguerite Perey discovered francium in
1939. Francium was the last element discovered in nature, rather than
synthesized. Outside the laboratory, francium is extremely rare, with
trace amounts found in uranium and thorium ores, where the isotope
francium-223 is continually formed and continually decays. Perhaps an
ounce (30 g) exists at any given time throughout the Earth's crust;
the other isotopes are entirely synthetic. The largest amount ever
collected of any isotope was a cluster of 10,000 atoms (of
francium-210) created as an ultracold gas at Stony Brook in 1996.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francium
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1869:
The Cutty Sark, one of the last sailing clippers ever to be built,
was launched at Dumbarton in Scotland.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutty_Sark)
1967:
The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution
242 in the aftermath of the Six-Day War between Israel and Egypt,
Jordan, and Syria.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_242)
1975:
Two days after the death of Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was
declared King of Spain according to the law of succession promulgated
by Franco.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_I_of_Spain)
2005:
Angela Merkel assumed office as the first female Chancellor of
Germany.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Merkel)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
extraneous: Not belonging to, or dependent upon, a thing; not
essential or intrinsic; foreign.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nickel_and_dime)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
This is life to come, — Which martyred men have made more glorious For
us who strive to follow. May I reach That purest heaven, — be to other
souls The cup of strength in some great agony, Enkindle generous
ardor, feed pure love, Beget the smiles that have no cruelty, Be the
sweet presence of a good diffused, And in diffusion ever more intense!
So shall I join the choir invisible Whose music is the gladness of the
world. -- George Eliot
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Eliot)
World Trade Center is a building in New York City located across
from the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. The name 7 World
Trade Center has referred to two buildings: the original structure,
developed in 1984, and the current structure. The original building
was destroyed in the September 11 attacks and replaced with the new
7 World Trade Center, which opened in 2006. Both buildings were
developed by Larry Silverstein who holds a ground lease for the site
from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The original
7 World Trade Center was 47 stories tall, clad in red exterior
masonry, and occupied a trapezoid-shaped footprint. On September 11,
2001, the building was heavily damaged by debris when the adjacent
twin towers collapsed. Its structural integrity was further
compromised by fires which burned throughout the afternoon. The
original 7 World Trade Center collapsed at 5:20 p.m. on September 11
due to the combined effect of structural and fire damage. The new
7 World Trade Center construction began in 2002 and was completed in
2006. It is 52 stories tall and situated above a power substation. It
was built on a smaller footprint than the original to allow Greenwich
Street to be restored from TriBeCa through the World Trade Center site
and south to Battery Park.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_World_Trade_Center
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1272:
Edward I (statue pictured) became King of England, succeeding his
father Henry III who died five days earlier.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_I_of_England)
1783:
Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes made
the first successful untethered flight by humans in a hot air balloon,
which was constructed by the Montgolfier brothers.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hot_air_balloon)
1920:
Irish War of Independence: On Bloody Sunday in Dublin, the Irish
Republican Army killed more than a dozen British intelligence officers
known as the Cairo Gang, and the Auxiliaries of the Royal Irish
Constabulary opened fire on players and spectators at a Gaelic
football match in Croke Park.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_%281920%29)
1962:
The Sino-Indian War ended after the Chinese People's Liberation Army
declared a unilateral ceasefire and withdrew to the prewar Line of
Actual Control, returning all the territory they had captured during
the conflict.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Indian_War)
1977:
God Defend New Zealand became New Zealand's second national anthem,
on equal standing with God Save the Queen, which had been the
traditional one since 1840.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Defend_New_Zealand)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
nickel and dime: (US) To quibble over trifling amounts of money.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nickel_and_dime)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
It requires twenty years for a man to rise from the vegetable state in
which he is within his mother's womb, and from the pure animal state
which is the lot of his early childhood, to the state when the
maturity of reason begins to appear. It has required thirty centuries
to learn a little about his structure. It would need eternity to learn
something about his soul. It takes an instant to kill him. -- Voltaire
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Voltaire)
Sophie Blanchard was a French aeronaut. The widow of ballooning
pioneer Jean-Pierre Blanchard, she was the first woman to work as a
professional balloonist. Though nervous on the ground, she was a
fearless aeronaut and after her husband's death she continued
ballooning, making more than 60 ascents. Known throughout Europe for
her ballooning exploits, she entertained Napoleon Bonaparte, who
promoted her to the role of "Aeronaut of the Official Festivals",
replacing André-Jacques Garnerin. On the restoration of the monarchy
in 1814 she performed for Louis XVIII, who named her "Official
Aeronaut of the Restoration". Ballooning was a risky business for the
pioneers. Blanchard lost consciousness on a couple of occasions,
endured freezing temperatures and almost drowned when her balloon
crashed in a marsh. In 1819 she became the first woman to be killed in
an aviation accident when, during an exhibition in the Tivoli Gardens
in Paris, she launched fireworks that ignited the gas in her balloon.
Her craft crashed on the roof of a house and she fell to her death.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Blanchard
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1493:
Christopher Columbus became the first European to land on Puerto
Rico, an island he named San Juan Bautista after John the Baptist.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico)
1816:
The University of Warsaw, currently the largest university in
Poland, was established as The Royal University of Warsaw after Warsaw
was separated from Kraków, the oldest and most influential Polish
academic centre.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Warsaw)
1863:
American Civil War: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered the
Gettysburg Address (Lincoln's "Hay Draft" pictured) at the dedication
of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It is
one of the most quoted speeches in United States history.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address)
1942:
World War II: The Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney and the
German auxiliary cruiser HSK Kormoran destroyed each other off the
coast of Western Australia in the Indian Ocean.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_between_HMAS_Sydney_and_HSK_Kormoran)
1969:
Playing for Santos against Vasco da Gama at Estádio do Maracanã in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian football player Pelé scored his 1000th goal
on a penalty kick.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pel%C3%A9)
1999:
Shenzhou 1, China's first unmanned test flight of the Shenzhou
spacecraft, was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in
Alxa League, Inner Mongolia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenzhou_1)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
prurient: Uneasy with desire; having a lascivious anxiety or
propensity.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prurient)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
It is the high privilege and sacred duty of those now
living to educate their successors and fit them, by intelligence and
virtue, for the inheritance which awaits them. In this beneficent work
sections and races should be forgotten and partisanship should be
unknown. -- James A. Garfield
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_A._Garfield)
Lung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the
lung. This may lead to metastasis, invasion of adjacent tissue and
infiltration beyond the lungs. Lung cancer, the most common cause of
cancer-related death in men and the second most common in women, is
responsible for 1.3 million deaths worldwide annually. The most common
symptoms are shortness of breath, coughing (including coughing up
blood), and weight loss. The main types of lung cancer are small cell
lung carcinoma and non-small cell lung carcinoma. This distinction is
important because the treatment varies; non-small cell lung carcinoma
(NSCLC) is sometimes treated with surgery, while small cell lung
carcinoma (SCLC) usually responds better to chemotherapy. The most
common cause of lung cancer is exposure to tobacco smoke. The
occurrence of lung cancer in non-smokers, who account for fewer than
10% of cases, appears to be due to a combination of genetic factors.
Radon gas, asbestos, and air pollution may also contribute to lung
cancer. Treatment and prognosis depend upon the histological type of
cancer, the stage (degree of spread), and the patient's performance
status. Possible treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, and
radiotherapy. With treatment, the five-year survival rate is 14%.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lung_cancer
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1307:
William Tell, a legendary marksman in Switzerland, is said to have
successfully shot an apple on the head of his son with a single bolt
from his crossbow.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tell)
1626:
St. Peter's Basilica, one of four major basilicas of Rome, was
consecrated on the anniversary of that of the previous church in 326.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter%27s_Basilica)
1905:
Prince Carl of Denmark became Haakon VII, the first King of Norway
after the personal union between Sweden and Norway was dissolved.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haakon_VII_of_Norway)
1928:
Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie, the first completely post-produced
synchronized sound animated cartoon, was released.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamboat_Willie)
1985:
Calvin and Hobbes, a comic strip by Bill Watterson featuring
six-year old Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes, was first published.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_and_Hobbes)
1987:
An underground fire kills 31 people at London's busiest underground
station at King's Cross St Pancras.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Cross_fire)
1991:
Croatian War of Independence: Republic of Serbian Krajina forces
captured the Croatian city of Vukovar, ending an 87-day siege.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vukovar)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
prurient: Uneasy with desire; having a lascivious anxiety or
propensity.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prurient)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Whatever the scientists may come up with, writers and artists will
continue to portray altered mental states, simply because few aspects
of our nature fascinate people so much. The so-called mad person will
always represent a possible future for every member of the audience —
who knows when such a malady may strike? -- Margaret Atwood
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Margaret_Atwood)
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United
States of America. With 3,579,212 residents in 2006, it is the 28th
most populous and 20th-largest state by land area. Its name is derived
from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning "red people", and its
capital and largest city is Oklahoma City. Formed from Indian
Territory on November 16, 1907, it was the 46th state to enter the
union. A major producer of natural gas, oil and food, Oklahoma relies
on an economic base of aviation, energy, telecommunications, and
biotechnology. It has one of the fastest growing economies in the
nation, leading states in gross domestic product growth and ranking
third in per capita income growth. With small mountain ranges,
prairie, and eastern forests, most of Oklahoma lies in the Great
Plains and the U.S. Interior Highlands—a region especially prone to
severe weather. Part of the Bible Belt, widespread beliefs in
evangelical Christianity make Oklahoma one of the most conservative
states, though its voter registration in the Democratic Party exceeds
the Republican Party.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1384:
Though she was only a ten-year old girl, Jadwiga was crowned "King
of Poland".
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jadwiga_of_Poland)
1532:
Sapa Inca Atahualpa was captured by Conquistador Francisco Pizarro
at the Battle of Cajamarca in Cajamarca, Peru.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cajamarca)
1805:
War of the Third Coalition: At the Battle of Schöngrabern, Russian
forces under Pyotr Bagration delayed the pursuit by French troops
under Joachim Murat.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sch%C3%B6ngrabern)
1885:
After a five-day trial following the North-West Rebellion, Louis
Riel, Canadian rebel leader of the Métis and "Father of Manitoba", was
executed by hanging for high treason.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Riel)
1979:
The first line of Bucharest Metro, the M1 Line, opened from Timpuri
Noi to Semănătoarea in Bucharest, Romania.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucharest_Metro)
2002:
The first case of the respiratory disease Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS) was recorded in Guangdong, China.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
repudiate: To reject the truth or validity of something.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/repudiate)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
[ The wikiquote has been temporarily disabled due to ]
[ technical problems. We hope to have it reinstated shortly. ]
Michael Jordan is a retired American professional basketball player.
Widely considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time,
he became one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his
generation and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA (National
Basketball Association) around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.
Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984 and quickly emerged as
one of the stars of the league. His leaping ability, illustrated by
performing slam dunks from the foul line at Slam Dunk Contests, earned
him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness." Jordan's individual
accolades and accomplishments include five NBA MVP (Most Valuable
Player) awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine
All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game
appearances and three All-Star MVPs, ten scoring titles, three steals
titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player
of the Year Award. He holds the NBA record for highest career regular
season scoring average with 30.1 points per game, as well as averaging
a record 33.4 points per game in the playoffs. In 1999, he was named
the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and
was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press's list of athletes of
the century.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1002:
St. Brice's Day massacre: King Ethelred II ordered the massacre of
all Danes in England.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethelred_the_Unready)
1642:
First English Civil War: The Royalist army engaged the much larger
Parliamentarian army at the Battle of Turnham Green near Turnham
Green, Middlesex.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Turnham_Green)
1954:
Great Britain defeated France at the Parc des Princes in Paris to
win the first Rugby League World Cup.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_League_World_Cup)
1970:
The Bhola tropical cyclone hit the densely populated Ganges Delta in
East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), killing an estimated 500,000 people.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970_Bhola_cyclone)
1982:
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Constitution Gardens in Washington,
D.C. was dedicated.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Veterans_Memorial)
1985:
The volcano Nevado del Ruiz erupted, causing a volcanic mudslide
that buried Armero, Colombia and killed approximately 23,000 people.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevado_del_Ruiz)
2000:
Joseph Estrada became the first President of the Philippines to be
impeached after he was accused of taking a sum of 400 million pesos in
bribes from illegal gambling sources.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Estrada)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
deleterious: Harmful or hurtful to physical, mental, or moral health.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deleterious)
The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal took place November 12 – November 15,
1942, and was the decisive battle in a series of naval battles that
took place between Allied (primarily U.S.) and Japanese forces during
the months-long Guadalcanal campaign in the Solomon Islands. The
battle consisted of a sequence of combined air and sea engagements
spread over four days, most of them in the vicinity of Guadalcanal.
All of the engagements were directly related to a single effort by the
Japanese to reinforce their land forces on Guadalcanal, and are all
therefore considered to be different parts of the same battle. In two
extremely destructive nighttime surface warship engagements, both
adversaries lost numerous ships. Also, U.S. daytime air attacks over
several days sank or damaged several Japanese warships and transport
ships. The sum of these engagements was that the U.S. was successful
in turning back Japan's last major attempt to dislodge Allied forces
from their positions on Guadalcanal and nearby Tulagi. Thus, the
battle resulted in a significant strategic victory for the U.S. and
its allies.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Battle_of_Guadalcanal
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1028:
Future Byzantine empress Zoe married Romanus Argyrus according to
the wishes of the dying Constantine VIII.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoe_%28empress%29)
1893:
Mortimer Durand, Foreign Secretary of British India, and Abdur
Rahman Khan, Amir of Afghanistan, signed the Durand Line Agreement,
establishing what is now the international border between Afghanistan
and modern-day Pakistan.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durand_Line)
1927:
Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party, leaving Joseph
Stalin in undisputed control of the Soviet Union.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky)
1936:
The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, connecting San Francisco and
Oakland, California across San Francisco Bay, opened to traffic.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco-Oakland_Bay_Bridge)
1970:
The Oregon Highway Division attempted to destroy a rotting beached
sperm whale near Florence, Oregon with explosives, leading to the
exploding whale incident.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/exploding_whale)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
taciturn: Silent; temperamentally untalkative; disinclined to speak.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/taciturn)
The Bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family, Felidae. With
twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to
northern Mexico, including much of the continental United States. The
Bobcat is an adaptable predator that inhabits wooded areas, as well as
semi-desert, urban edge, and swampland environments. It persists in
much of its original range and populations are healthy. With a gray to
brown coat, whiskered face, and black-tufted ears, the Bobcat
resembles the other species of the mid-sized Lynx genus. It is smaller
than the Canadian Lynx, with whom it shares parts of its range, but
about twice as large as the domestic cat. It has distinctive black
bars on its forelegs and a black-tipped, stubby tail, from which it
derives its name. Though the Bobcat prefers rabbits and hares, it will
hunt anything from insects and small rodents to deer. Prey selection
depends on location and habitat, season, and abundance. Like most
cats, the Bobcat is territorial and largely solitary, although there
is some overlap in home ranges. It uses several methods to mark its
territorial boundaries, including claw marks and deposits of urine or
feces. The Bobcat breeds from winter into the spring and has a
gestation period of about two months. The Bobcat has been subject to
extensive hunting by humans, both for sport and fur, but its
population has proven resilient. The elusive predator has featured in
Native American mythology and the folklore of European settlers.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobcat
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1880:
Australian bank robber and bushranger Ned Kelly was hanged in
Melbourne.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Kelly)
1918:
Germany and the Allies signed an armistice treaty in a railway
carriage in France's Compiègne Forest (delegations pictured), ending
World War I on the Western Front.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_with_Germany_%28Compi%C3%A8gne%29)
1965:
Ian Smith, Premier of the British Crown Colony of Southern Rhodesia,
issued the Unilateral Declaration of Independence, a move that the
British government and the United Nations condemned as illegal.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unilateral_Declaration_of_Independence_%28Rhod…)
1975:
The Australian constitutional crisis came to a head as Prime
Minister Gough Whitlam was dismissed from office by Governor-General
Sir John Kerr.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_Australian_constitutional_crisis)
2004:
Mahmoud Abbas was elected Chairman of the Palestine Liberation
Organization after Yasser Arafat died from an unknown illness.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
apotheosis: Glorification, sometimes to a divine level; deification;
crediting a person with god-like power.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/apotheosis)
The rings of Jupiter are a system of planetary rings around the planet
Jupiter. The Jovian ring system was the third ring system to be
discovered in the Solar System after those of Saturn and Uranus. It
was first observed in 1979 by the Voyager 1 spaceprobe and thoroughly
investigated in the 1990s by the Galileo orbiter. It has also been
observed by the Hubble Space Telescope and from the ground for the
past 25 years. Ground-based observations of the rings require the
largest available telescopes. The Jovian ring system is faint and
consists mainly of dust It comprises four main components: a thick
inner torus of particles known as the 'halo ring'; a relatively
bright, razor-thin 'main ring'; and two wide, thick and faint outer
'gossamer rings', named for the moons of whose material they are
composed: Amalthea and Thebe. The main and halo rings consist of dust
ejected by high-velocity impacts from the moons Metis, Adrastea and
other unobserved parent bodies. High-resolution images obtained in
February and March 2007 by the New Horizons spacecraft revealed a rich
fine structure in the main ring. The age of the ring system is not
known but it may have existed since the formation of Jupiter.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Jupiter
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1444:
The Ottoman Empire under Sultan Murad II defeated the Polish and
Hungarian armies under Władysław III of Poland and John Hunyadi at the
Battle of Varna near Varna, Bulgaria in the final battle of the
Crusade of Varna.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Varna)
1871:
"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" – Journalist and explorer Henry Morton
Stanley located missing missionary and explorer David Livingstone in
Ujiji, near Lake Tanganyika in present-day Tanzania.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Morton_Stanley)
1928:
Hirohito was crowned the 124th Emperor of Japan.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirohito)
1969:
The children's television series Sesame Street debuted on the
National Educational Television network in the United States.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesame_Street)
1995:
Playwright and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others
from the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People were executed
by the Nigerian military government.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Saro-Wiwa)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
vouchsafe: To condescendingly grant a right, benefit, outcome, etc.;
to deign to acknowledge.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vouchsafe)
The Webley Revolver was, in various marks, the standard issue service
pistol for the armed forces of the United Kingdom, the British Empire,
and the Commonwealth from 1887 until 1963. The Webley is a top-break
revolver with automatic extraction; breaking the revolver open for
reloading also operates the extractor, removing the spent cartridges
from the cylinder. The Webley Mk I service revolver was adopted in
1887, but it was a later version—the Mk IV—which rose to prominence
during the Boer War of 1899–1902. The Mk VI, introduced in 1915 during
World War I, is perhaps the best-known model. Webley service revolvers
are among the most powerful top-break revolvers ever produced, firing
the .455 Webley cartridge. Although the .455 calibre Webley is no
longer in military service, the .38/200 Webley Mk IV variant is still
sporadically in use as a police sidearm in a number of countries.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webley_Revolver
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1519:
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire: Spanish conquistador Hernán
Cortés entered Tenochtitlan where Aztec tlatoani Moctezuma II welcomed
him with great pomp as would befit a returning god.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_the_Aztec_Empire)
1520:
Stockholm Bloodbath: Following a successful invasion of Sweden by
Danish forces under Christian II of Denmark, scores of Swedish leaders
were executed despite Christian's promise of general amnesty.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_Bloodbath)
1895:
German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen produced and detected
electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range that is known today as
X-rays.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Conrad_R%C3%B6ntgen)
1923:
Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and other members of the Kampfbund
started the Beer Hall Putsch, a failed attempt to seize power in
Germany.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_Hall_Putsch)
1987:
A Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb exploded during a
Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, killing
at least eleven people and injuring sixty-three others.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day_bombing)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
grandiloquent: Of a person, their language or writing: overly wordy,
pompous, flowery, or elaborate.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/grandiloquent)
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation
of Kazakhstan is a 2006 Academy Award-nominated mockumentary comedy
film directed by Larry Charles. It stars the British comedian Sacha
Baron Cohen in the title role of Borat Sagdiyev, a fictitious Kazakh
journalist, traveling through the United States recording real-life
interactions with Americans. It is the second film built around one of
Cohen's characters from Da Ali G Show, following Ali G Indahouse,
which also featured a cameo by Borat. It was a critical and commercial
success, despite an initially limited release in the United States.
Cohen won the 2007 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor: Musical or
Comedy as Borat while the film was nominated for Best Motion Picture
in the same category. Controversy surrounded the film even before its
release. It has been criticised for having a protagonist who is sexist
and antisemitic (although Cohen is Jewish himself), and some who have
appeared in the film have criticised and even sued its creators. All
Arab countries, except for Lebanon, banned it, and the Russian
government successfully discouraged cinemas there from showing it.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borat%3A_Cultural_Learnings_of_America_for_Mak…
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1665:
The London Gazette, the oldest surviving English newspaper, was
first published as the Oxford Gazette.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Gazette)
1811:
American forces led by Indiana Territory Governor William Henry
Harrison defeated the forces of Shawnee leader Tecumseh's growing
American Indian confederation at the Battle of Tippecanoe near
present-day Battle Ground, Indiana.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tippecanoe)
1885:
Construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the first
transcontinental railroad across Canada, concluded with financier and
politician Sir Donald Smith driving in the "last spike" in
Craigellachie, British Columbia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Pacific_Railway)
1917:
Vladimir Lenin led a Bolshevik insurrection against the Provisional
Government of Alexander Kerensky, starting the Bolshevik Revolution,
the second phase of the overall Russian Revolution.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Revolution_%281917%29)
1987:
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali deposed and replaced Habib Bourguiba as
President of Tunisia, declaring him medically unfit for the duties of
the office.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zine_El_Abidine_Ben_Ali)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
grandiloquent: Of a person, their language or writing: overly wordy,
pompous, flowery, or elaborate.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/grandiloquent)
Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines
music, vocal performance, mime, dance, and acrobatics. It arose in the
late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the
mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty
court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of
China. Major performance troupes are based in Beijing and Tianjin in
the north, and Shanghai in the south. The art form is also enjoyed in
Taiwan, and has spread to other countries such as the United States
and Japan. Beijing opera features four main types of performers.
Performing troupes often have several of each variety, as well as
numerous secondary and tertiary performers. With their elaborate and
colorful costumes, performers are the only focal points on Beijing
opera's characteristically sparse stage. They utilize the skills of
speech, song, dance, and combat in movements that are symbolic and
suggestive, rather than realistic. Above all else, the skill of
performers is evaluated according to the beauty of their movements.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_opera
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1860:
Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican Party candidate to win
the U.S. presidential election.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election%2C_1860)
1935:
Before the Institute of Radio Engineers in New York, American
electrical engineer and inventor Edwin Howard Armstrong presented his
study on using frequency modulation for radio broadcasting.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/frequency_modulation)
1962:
The United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 1761,
condemning South Africa's apartheid policies.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_South_Africa_in_the_apartheid_era)
1975:
Demonstrators in Morocco began the Green March to Spanish Sahara,
calling for the "return of the Moroccan Sahara."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_March)
1999:
Although opinion polls had clearly suggested that the majority of
the electorate favoured republicanism, the Australian republic
referendum was defeated, keeping the British monarch as the country's
head of state.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_republic_referendum%2C_1999)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
autochthonous: Native to the place where found; indigenous.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/autochthonous)
GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video
games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and has
been owned by CNET Networks since May 2003. The site has a large
database of video game information and has been called a place where
readers "can get almost any information" regarding game strategies.
The systems covered range from the 8-bit Atari platform to the
consoles of today, including computer games. The FAQs, cheat codes,
reviews, game saves, and credits are submitted by volunteer gamers,
and contributions are reviewed by the site's two editors, Jeff Veasey
and Allen Tyner. The site hosts a large and active message board
community. Every game listed on the site has a board for discussion or
gameplay help. Many of the boards are shared between GameFAQs and
GameSpot, another CNET website. The site also features a daily opinion
poll and related tournament contests. GameFAQs.com is one of the 200
highest-trafficked websites according to Alexa.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GameFAQs
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1605:
The Gunpowder Plot: Thomas Knyvet arrested explosives expert Guy
Fawkes and foiled Robert Catesby's plot to destroy the Houses of
Parliament in London during the State Opening.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpowder_Plot)
1688:
Glorious Revolution: Protestant Prince William of Orange landed at
Brixham in Devon, on his way to depose his father-in-law King James
II, the last Catholic monarch of England.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glorious_Revolution)
1838:
The collapse of the Federal Republic of Central America began with
Nicaragua seceding from the union.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Republic_of_Central_America)
1872:
American Suffragette Susan B. Anthony voted in the U.S. presidential
election for the first time in Rochester, New York. She was later
fined US$100 for her participation, which she never paid, and the
government never pursued her for nonpayment.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_B._Anthony)
1917:
St. Tikhon of Moscow was elected Patriarch of Moscow and of the
Russian Orthodox Church.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikhon_of_Moscow)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
autochthonous: Native to the place where found; indigenous.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/autochthonous)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Remember, remember, the 5th of November
The Gunpowder Treason and plot;
I know of no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot. -- Traditional rhyme for Guy Fawkes Night
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes)
The arrest and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, then president of South
Vietnam, marked the culmination of a successful coup d'état led by
General Duong Van Minh in November 1963. On the morning of November 2,
1963, Diem and his adviser and younger brother Ngo Dinh Nhu were
arrested after the Army of the Republic of Vietnam had been successful
in a bloody overnight siege on Gia Long Palace in Saigon. The coup was
the end result of nine years of autocratic and nepotistic family rule
in South Vietnam. Discontent with the Diem regime had been simmering
below the surface, and exploded with mass Buddhist protests against
long running religious discrimination after the government shooting of
protesters who defied a ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag.
However, when rebel forces entered the palace, the brothers were not
present, as they had escaped the previous night to a loyalist shelter
in Cholon. The brothers had kept in communication with the rebels
through a direct link from the shelter to the palace, and misled them
into believing that they were still in the palace. Soon after, the Ngo
brothers agreed to surrender and were promised safe exile; after being
arrested, they were instead executed in the back of an armoured
personnel carrier by ARVN officers on the journey back to military
headquarters at Tan Son Nhut Air Base.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrest_and_assassination_of_Ngo_Dinh_Diem
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1795:
French Revolution: Under the terms of a new constitution that was
ratified during the aftermath of the Reign of Terror and the
subsequent Thermidorian Reaction, the Directory succeeded the National
Convention as the executive government of France.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Directory)
1917:
British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour issued the Balfour
Declaration, proclaiming British support for the establishment of a
Jewish homeland in Palestine.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration_of_1917)
1936:
BBC Television Service launched the world's first regular, public,
high-definition television service.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_One)
1947:
American industrialist and aviator Howard Hughes flew Spruce Goose,
the largest flying boat ever built, on its maiden flight from the
coast of Long Beach, California, USA.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_H-4_Hercules)
2000:
Expedition 1: American astronaut William Shepherd and Russian
cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko became the first resident
crew to arrive at the International Space Station.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
tmesis: (prosody) The insertion of one or more words between the
components of a compound word.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tmesis)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
By the theory of our Government majorities rule, but this right is not
an arbitrary or unlimited one. It is a right to be exercised in
subordination to the Constitution and in conformity to it. One great
object of the Constitution was to restrain majorities from oppressing
minorities or encroaching upon their just rights. Minorities have a
right to appeal to the Constitution as a shield against such
oppression. -- James K. Polk
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_K._Polk