The Battle of Tory Island was a naval action of the French
Revolutionary Wars, fought on 12 October 1798 between French and
British squadrons off the northwest coast of Donegal in Ireland. The
last action of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the Battle of Tory Island
ended the final attempt by the French Navy to land substantial numbers
of soldiers in Ireland during the war. In May 1798 the Society of
United Irishmen, led by Theobald Wolfe Tone, precipitated an uprising
against British rule in Ireland. At the urging of the rebels a small
French force under General Humbert was landed at Killala, but by early
September both this expedition and the rebellion had been defeated.
Unaware of the defeat, on 16 September the French despatched
reinforcements. However, having missed one invasion force, the Royal
Navy was on alert for another, and when the squadron carrying the
reinforcements left Brest they were soon spotted. After a long chase,
the French were brought to battle in a bay off Donegal close to Tory
Island. During the action the outnumbered French attempted to escape,
but were run down and defeated piecemeal, with the British capturing
four ships and scattering the survivors. Over the next two weeks,
British frigate patrols scoured the passage back to Brest, capturing
three more ships. Of the ten ships in the original French squadron,
only two frigates and a schooner reached safety. British losses in the
campaign were minimal. The battle marked the last attempt by the French
Navy to launch an invasion of any part of the British Isles.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tory_Island>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1872:
HMS Challenger , commanded by Captain George Nares, sailed from
Portsmouth, England, on a scientific expedition that eventually made
many discoveries that laid the foundation of oceanography.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenger_expedition>
1883:
The Royal Canadian Regiment and The Royal Canadian Dragoons, the oldest
regular regiments of the Canadian Army, were both formed.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Royal_Canadian_Regiment>
1937:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length cel-animated
feature in film history, premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los
Angeles.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_and_the_Seven_Dwarfs_%281937_film%29>
1979:
The Lancaster House Agreement was signed, ending biracial rule in
Zimbabwe Rhodesia following negotiations between representatives of the
Rhodesian government and the Patriotic Front.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancaster_House_Agreement>
1988:
A total of 270 people were killed when a bomb on board Pan Am Flight
103 exploded while the plane was in flight over Lockerbie, Scotland,
launching an eventual three-year joint investigation by Britain's
Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and the United States' Federal
Bureau of Investigation.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investigation_into_the_bombing_of_Pan_Am_Fligh…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
frowst (v):
To enjoy a warm, stuffy room
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/frowst>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are no days in life so memorable as those which vibrated to some
stroke of the imagination.
--F. Scott Fitzgerald
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/F._Scott_Fitzgerald>
The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S.
state of Pennsylvania and is in downtown Harrisburg. The current
capitol was designed in 1902, in a Beaux-Arts style with Renaissance
themes throughout. The capitol houses the chambers for the Pennsylvania
General Assembly, made up of the House of Representatives and the
Senate, and the Harrisburg chambers for the Supreme Court of
Pennsylvania, as well as the offices of the Governor and the Lieutenant
Governor. It is also the central building of the Pennsylvania State
Capitol Complex, which includes state government buildings in
Harrisburg and throughout the rest of the state. The seat of government
for the state was originally in Philadelphia, then moved to Lancaster
in 1799 and finally to Harrisburg in 1812. The current capitol, known
as the Huston Capitol, is the third state capitol building to be in
Harrisburg. The first, the Hills Capitol, was destroyed in 1897 by a
fire and the second, the Cobb Capitol, was left unfinished when funding
was discontinued in 1899. Joseph Miller Huston designed the current
capitol, dedicated in 1906. The capitol is often referred to as a
"palace of art" because of its many sculptures, murals and
stained-glass windows.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_State_Capitol>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1860:
South Carolina became the first of eleven slave states to secede from
the United States, leading to the eventual creation of the Confederate
States of America and later the American Civil War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America>
1917:
The Cheka , the first Soviet secret police, was established by a decree
issued by Vladimir Lenin.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheka>
1951:
Experimental Breeder Reactor I near Arco, Idaho, USA, became the
world's first electricity-generating nuclear power plant when it
produced sufficient electricity to illuminate four 200-watt light
bulbs.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experimental_Breeder_Reactor_I>
1973:
Spanish Prime Minister Luis Carrero Blanco was assassinated by a bomb
planted by members of the Basque nationalist and separatist
organisation ETA.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Carrero_Blanco>
1989:
American forces invaded Panama to overthrow the government of Manuel
Noriega.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_invasion_of_Panama>
1999:
Portugal transferred sovereignty of Macau to the People's Republic of
China.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
stertorously (adv):
With heavy breathing, as if snoring; in a stertorous manner
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stertorously>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that
there are as few as there are any other great artists. It might even be
the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.
--John Steinbeck
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck>
Mary of Teck (1867–1953) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the
British Dominions and Empress of India as the consort of King-Emperor
George V. At the age of 24 she was betrothed to Prince Albert Victor,
Duke of Clarence and Avondale, the heir to the British throne, but six
weeks after the engagement was announced he unexpectedly died of
pneumonia. The following year she became engaged to the new heir,
Albert Victor's brother, George. As his queen consort from 1910, she
supported her husband through World War I, his ill-health, and major
political changes arising from the aftermath of the war and the rise of
socialism and nationalism. After George's death in 1936, her eldest son
Edward became King-Emperor, but to her dismay he abdicated the same
year in order to marry twice-divorced American socialite Mrs. Wallis
Simpson. She supported her second son, Albert, who succeeded to the
throne as George VI, until his death in 1952. She died the following
year, at the beginning of the reign of her granddaughter, Elizabeth II.
Queen Mary was known for setting the tone of the British Royal Family,
as a model of regal formality and propriety, especially during state
occasions.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Teck>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1154:
Henry II was crowned King of England in London's Westminster Abbey.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_England>
1843:
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens , a novella about the miser
Ebenezer Scrooge and his conversion after being visited by three
Christmas ghosts, was first published.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol>
1920:
Constantine I returned as King of the Hellenes after the death of his
son Alexander I and a plebiscite.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_I_of_Greece>
1984:
The People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom signed the
Sino-British Joint Declaration, agreeing to the transfer of sovereignty
of Hong Kong to China on 1 July 1997.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-British_Joint_Declaration>
1997:
The film Titanic was released, eventually becoming the highest-grossing
film of all time with a worldwide total of over US$1.8 billion.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_%281997_film%29>
1998:
The U.S. House of Representatives passed articles of impeachment
against President Bill Clinton over the Lewinsky scandal.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Bill_Clinton>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
contiguous (adj):
1. Connected; touching; abutting.
2. Adjacent; neighbouring.
3. Connecting without a break
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/contiguous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
After the final no there comes a yes
And on that yes the future world depends.
--Wallace Stevens
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wallace_Stevens>
Martin Bucer (1491–1551) was a Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg
who influenced Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines and
practices. Although originally a member of the Dominican Order, after
meeting and being influenced by Martin Luther in 1518 he arranged for
his monastic vows to be annulled. He then began to work for the
Reformation, with the support of Franz von Sickingen. Bucer's efforts
to reform the church in Wissembourg resulted in his excommunication
from the Roman Catholic Church, and he was forced to flee to
Strasbourg. There he joined a team of reformers which included Matthew
Zell, Wolfgang Capito, and Caspar Hedio. He acted as a mediator between
the two leading reformers, Martin Luther and Huldrych Zwingli, who
differed on the doctrine of the eucharist. In 1548, Bucer was
persuaded, under duress, to sign the Augsburg Interim, which imposed
certain forms of Catholic worship. However, he continued to promote
reforms until the city of Strasbourg accepted the Interim, and forced
him to leave. In 1549, Bucer was exiled to England, where, under the
guidance of Thomas Cranmer, he was able to influence the second
revision of the Book of Common Prayer. He is remembered as an early
pioneer of ecumenism, and many Protestant denominations have claimed
him as one of their own.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Bucer>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1271:
Mongol ruler Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty in present-day
Mongolia and China.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_Dynasty>
1892:
The first performance of the fairy tale-ballet The Nutcracker, composed
by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and based on the story by E. T. A.
Hoffmann, was held at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg,
Russia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nutcracker>
1912:
The Piltdown Man: At a meeting of the Geological Society of London,
amateur British archaeologist Charles Dawson claimed that he had been
given a fragment of a skull that was discovered at a gravel pit near
Uckfield, East Sussex, England, which later turned out to be a forgery.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piltdown_Man>
1966:
Epimetheus , one of the moons of Saturn, was discovered, but was
mistaken as Janus. It took 12 years to determine that they are two
distinct objects sharing the same orbit.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epimetheus_%28moon%29>
1972:
Vietnam War: A few days after peace talks collapsed, the United States
began Operation Linebacker II against North Vietnam, the largest heavy
bomber strikes launched by the U.S. Air Force since the end of World
War II.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Linebacker_II>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
poltroon (n):
An ignoble or arrant coward; a dastard; a mean-spirited wretch
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/poltroon>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to
raise the sons of earth,
Born to give us second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new born King!"
--Charles Wesley
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Wesley>
Homer Simpson, voiced by Dan Castellaneta (pictured), is a fictional
main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. Homer is
the boorish father of the Simpson family and as the family's provider,
he works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. With his wife, Marge,
he has three children: Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Homer embodies several
American working class stereotypes: he is crude, overweight,
incompetent, clumsy, lazy and ignorant; however, he is also fiercely
devoted to his family. Homer was created and designed by cartoonist
Matt Groening and first appeared on television, along with the rest of
his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19,
1987. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three years, the
Simpson family got their own series on Fox, which debuted December 17,
1989. Homer is one of the most influential fictional characters on
television and has inspired an entire line of merchandise. His
catchphrase, the annoyed grunt "d'oh!", has been included in several
dictionaries. Castellaneta has won four Primetime Emmy Awards for
Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and a special achievement Annie
Award for voicing Homer. In 2000, Homer, along with the rest of his
family, was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer_Simpson>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
920:
Romanos I became co-Byzantine Emperor with the underage Constantine
VII.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanos_I>
1819:
The Republic of Gran Colombia in South America was established, with
Simón Bolívar as its first president.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Colombia>
1862:
American Civil War: Union General Ulysses S. Grant issued General Order
No. 11, expelling Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Order_No._11_%281862%29>
1903:
In Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, USA, Orville and Wilbur Wright aboard
the Wright Flyer conducted the first successful flight of a powered
fixed-wing aircraft.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers>
1918:
Protesting government policies concerning political representation,
unemployment and taxation, about 1,000 demonstrators marched on
Government House in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, where they
burnt an effigy of the Administrator of the Northern Territory John
Gilruth and demanded his resignation.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_Rebellion>
1944:
Nazi German troops under Joachim Peiper killed unarmed prisoners of
war, captured during the Battle of the Bulge, with machine guns near
Malmedy, Belgium.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malmedy_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
don't look a gift horse in the mouth (proverb):
A phrase referring to unappreciatively questioning of a gift or handout
too closely
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/don%27t_look_a_gift_horse_in_the_mouth>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
''Alas for maiden, alas for Judge,
For rich repiner and household drudge!
God pity them both! and pity
us all,
Who vainly the dreams of youth recall;
For of all sad words of
tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: "It might have been!"
--John Greenleaf Whittier
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Greenleaf_Whittier>
The magnetosphere of Jupiter is the cavity created in the solar wind by
the planet's immensely strong magnetic field. Extending up to seven
million kilometers in the Sun's direction and almost to the orbit of
Saturn in the opposite direction, Jupiter's magnetosphere is the
largest and most powerful of any planetary magnetosphere in the Solar
System, and by volume the largest known continuous structure in the
Solar System after the heliosphere. Wider and flatter than the Earth's
magnetosphere, Jupiter's is stronger by an order of magnitude, while
its magnetic moment is roughly 18,000 times larger. The existence of
Jupiter's magnetic field was first inferred from observations of radio
emissions at the end of 1950s and was directly observed by the Pioneer
10 spacecraft in 1973. Jupiter's internal magnetic field is generated
by electrical currents flowing in the planet's outer core, which is
composed of metallic hydrogen. Volcanic eruptions on Jupiter's moon Io
eject large amounts of sulfur dioxide gas into space, forming a large
torus around the planet. Jupiter's magnetic field forces the torus to
rotate with the same angular velocity and direction as the planet's
rotation. The torus in turn loads the magnetic field with plasma, in
the process stretching it into a pancake-like structure called a
magnetodisk. In effect, Jupiter's magnetosphere is shaped by Io's
plasma and its own rotation, rather than by the solar wind like Earth's
magnetosphere.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetosphere_of_Jupiter>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1467:
Troops under Stephen III of Moldavia defeated the forces of Matthias
Corvinus of Hungary in present-day Baia, Romania.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Baia>
1791:
The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution,
collectively known as the United States Bill of Rights, were ratified.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights>
1864:
American Civil War: Union troops essentially destroyed the Army of
Tennessee, one of the largest Confederate forces, at the Battle of
Nashville.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Nashville>
1942:
World War II: The Americans engaged Imperial Japanese forces at the
Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse in the
hills near the Matanikau River area on Guadalcanal during the
Guadalcanal Campaign.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mount_Austen%2C_the_Galloping_Horse%…>
1964:
The six-month long Canadian Great Flag Debate effectively ended when
the Canadian House of Commons voted to replace the de facto national
flag of Canada, the Canadian Red Ensign, with an official one designed
by historian George Stanley, the Maple Leaf Flag .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Canada>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pensive (adj):
1. Having the appearance of deep, often melancholic thinking.
2. Looking thoughtful, especially from sadness
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pensive>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It appears that mind, as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is
to some extent inherent in every atom. The universe as a whole is also
weird, with laws of nature that make it hospitable to the growth of
mind. I do not make any clear distinction between mind and God. God is
what mind becomes when it has passed beyond the scale of our
comprehension.
--Freeman Dyson
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Freeman_Dyson>
Eric Bana (born 1968) is an Australian film and television actor. He
began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal
before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper (2000). After
a decade of roles in Australian TV shows and films, Bana gained
Hollywood's attention by playing the role of American Delta Force
Sergeant Norm 'Hoot' Hooten in Black Hawk Down (2001), the lead role as
Bruce Banner in the Ang Lee directed film Hulk (2003), Prince Hector in
the movie Troy, and the main villain Nero in the science-fiction film
Star Trek (2009). An accomplished dramatic actor and comedian, he
received Australia's highest film and television awards for his
performances in Chopper, Full Frontal and Romulus, My Father. Bana
performs predominantly in leading roles in a variety of low-budget and
major studio films, ranging from romantic comedies and drama to science
fiction and action thrillers.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Bana>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1819:
Alabama was admitted as the 22nd U.S. state, after the statehood of
present-day Northern Alabama was delayed for several years by the lack
of a coastline until Mobile was captured from Spain during the War of
1812.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama>
1836:
The Toledo War, the mostly bloodless boundary dispute between the U.S.
state of Ohio and the adjoining Territory of Michigan, unofficially
ended with a resolution passed by the controversial "Frostbitten
Convention."
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo_War>
1896:
Glasgow Subway , the third oldest below-ground metro system in the
world after the London Underground and the Budapest Metro, began
operations in Glasgow, Scotland.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_Subway>
1900:
German physicist Max Planck presented a theoretical derivation of his
black-body radiation law, suggesting that electromagnetic energy could
only be emitted in quantized form.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Planck>
1995:
The Dayton Agreement was signed in Paris to end the Bosnian War,
establishing, among others, a new structure of government and political
divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayton_Agreement>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ascribe (v):
To attribute; to impute; to refer, as to a cause
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ascribe>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The Art of Peace is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying
of evil desires and all falsehood within. On occasion the Voice of
Peace resounds like thunder, jolting human beings out of their stupor.
--Morihei Ueshiba
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Morihei_Ueshiba>
The Michael Brown Okinawa assault incident arose from an attempted
indecent assault by U.S. Marine Corps Major Michael Brown on a Filipina
bartender, Victoria Nakamine, in Okinawa, Japan on November 2, 2002.
The case received extensive attention in the Japanese media, especially
on Okinawa, and the crime sparked a public debate over the U.S.
military presence in Japan, the fairness of the Japanese legal system,
and the practices of the Japanese police. The case involved the Treaty
of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan
and the U.S.–Japan Status of Forces Agreement, the Status of Forces
Agreement between Japan and the United States. On July 8, 2004, after a
19-month trial, Brown was convicted by a Japanese court of attempted
indecent assault and destruction of private property and received a
one-year suspended prison sentence. Based on this incident and others
involving crimes committed by U.S. military personnel in Japan, both
countries entered into negotiations aimed at modifying the SOFA in July
2003; however, no changes were made.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Brown_Okinawa_assault_incident>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1769:
Dartmouth College in present-day Hanover, New Hampshire, USA was
established by a Royal Charter from British King George III and became
the last university founded in the Thirteen Colonies before the
American Revolution.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dartmouth_College>
1862:
American Civil War: Union forces under Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside
suffered severe casualties against entrenched Confederate defenders at
the Battle of Fredericksburg in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fredericksburg>
1937:
Second Sino-Japanese War: Japanese forces captured Nanjing in China and
then began to commit numerous atrocities over the next several weeks,
such as looting, rape and the execution of prisoners of war and
civilians.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Nanking>
1981:
Prime Minister Wojciech Jaruzelski declared martial law in Poland,
suspended Solidarity and imprisoned many union leaders.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wojciech_Jaruzelski>
2003:
Post-invasion Iraq: During Operation Red Dawn, American forces found
former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein hiding in a spider hole and
captured him.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Red_Dawn>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tussock (n):
A tuft or clump of green grass or similar verdure, forming a small
hillock
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tussock>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Mark this well, you proud men of action: You are nothing but the
unwitting agents of the men of thought who often, in quiet
self-effacement, mark out most exactly all your doings in advance.
--Heinrich Heine
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Heinrich_Heine>
Planescape: Torment is a computer role-playing game (RPG) developed for
Windows by Black Isle Studios (lead designer Chris Avellone pictured)
and released on December 12, 1999 by Interplay Entertainment. It takes
place in Planescape, a Dungeons & Dragons fantasy campaign setting. The
game is primarily story-driven; combat is given less prominence than in
most contemporary RPGs. The protagonist is an immortal who has lost his
name, lived many lives, and forgotten them. The game focuses on his
journey to reclaim his memories of these previous lives. The game was
not a significant commercial success but received widespread critical
praise for its immersive dialog, the dark Planescape setting, and the
protagonist's unique persona, which shirked many characteristics of
traditional RPGs. It was considered by many video game journalists to
be the best RPG of 1999, and as a cult classic continues to receive
attention long after its release.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planescape%3A_Torment>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1897:
Belo Horizonte, the first planned city of Brazil, was inaugurated as
Cidade de Minas.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belo_Horizonte>
1901:
Guglielmo Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic radio signal, from
Poldhu Wireless Station in Cornwall, England to Signal Hill in St.
John's, Newfoundland.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guglielmo_Marconi>
1915:
President Yuan Shikai of the Republic of China reinstated the monarchy
and declared himself Emperor.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_Shikai>
1941:
At a meeting with the highest ranking officials of the Nazi party in
the Reich Chancellery, Adolf Hitler declared the imminent destruction
of the Jewish race.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reich_Chancellery_meeting_of_12_December_1941>
1964:
Jomo Kenyatta became the first President of the Republic of Kenya.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jomo_Kenyatta>
2000:
The U.S. Supreme Court delivered its controversial 5–4 decision in Bush
v. Gore, ordering the election recount of the ballots cast in Florida
for the 2000 presidential election to stop, which effectively ended the
election in favor of George W. Bush .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_v._Gore>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ideogram (n):
A symbol which represents the idea of something without indicating the
sequence of sounds used to pronounce it
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ideogram>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Klaatu barada nikto!
--w:Patricia Neal
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/w%3APatricia_Neal>
Bramall Hall is a Tudor mansion in Bramhall, within the Metropolitan
Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Dating to Saxon
times, the manor of Bramall was first described in the Domesday Book in
1086. It was first held by the Masseys, then from the late 14th century
by the Davenports, a wealthy family and a significant landowner in the
north-west of England. The Davenports built the present house, and
remained lords of the manor for about 500 years before selling the
house to the Nevill family. It was subsequently purchased by John Henry
Davies, and then acquired by the local council. Bramall Hall is owned
by the Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, who describe it as "the
most prestigious and historically significant building in the
Conservation Area". It is a timber-framed manor house surrounded by
70 acres (28 ha) of landscaped parkland featuring lakes, woodland, and
gardens; its oak timber framing was originally infilled by wattle and
daub. The oldest parts of the house date from the 14th century, with
later additions from the 16th and 19th centuries. The house and grounds
are open to the public, and the house functions as a museum where
special events are held throughout the year.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bramall_Hall>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1789:
The North Carolina General Assembly chartered the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, currently the oldest public university in the
United States and the only one to award degrees in the 18th century.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_North_Carolina_at_Chapel_Hill>
1886:
Dial Square, a football club from Woolwich, London that would
eventually become known as Arsenal F.C., played their first match,
winning 6–0 against Eastern Wanderers on an open field in the Isle of
Dogs.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Arsenal_F.C._%281886%E2%80%931966%29>
1936:
Facing increased opposition to his plans to marry twice-divorced
American socialite Wallis Simpson, Edward VIII abdicated the throne,
becoming the only British monarch to voluntarily do so.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VIII_abdication_crisis>
1946:
The United Nations General Assembly created UNICEF, originally to help
provide emergency food and health care to children in countries that
had been devastated by World War II.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNICEF>
2006:
The International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the
Holocaust opened in Tehran "to provide an appropriate scientific
atmosphere for scholars to offer their opinions in freedom about a
historical issue", but was criticised worldwide as a "meeting of
Holocaust deniers".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Conference_to_Review_the_Global_…>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
undownable (adj):
1. Undeniably important; describing that which cannot be played down or
ignored.
2. Invincible; describing that which cannot be brought down or
overcome
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/undownable>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The belief that there is only one truth and that oneself is in
possession of it, seems to me the deepest root of all that is evil in
the world.
--Max Born
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Max_Born>