Glacier National Park, located in the American state of Montana, was
designated a national park on May 11, 1910. It borders the Canadian
provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The park encompasses over
1,000,000 acres (4,047 km2) and includes parts of two mountain ranges
(sub-ranges of the Rocky Mountains), over 130 named lakes, more than
1,000 different species of plants and hundreds of species of animals.
This vast pristine ecosystem is the centerpiece of what has been
referred to as the "Crown of the Continent Ecosystem", a region of
protected land encompassing 16,000 square miles (41,440 km2). The
mountains of Glacier National Park began forming 170 million years ago
when ancient rocks were forced eastward up and over much younger rock
strata. Known as the Lewis Overthrust, these sedimentary rocks are
considered to have some of the finest fossilized examples of extremely
early life found anywhere on Earth. Of the estimated 150 glaciers which
existed in the park in the mid 1800s, only 25 remained by 2010. Glacier
National Park borders Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada—the two
parks are known as the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, and
were designated as the world's first International Peace Park in 1932.
Both parks were designated by the United Nations as Biosphere Reserves
in 1976, and in 1995 as World Heritage sites.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacier_National_Park_%28U.S.%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1745:
War of the Austrian Succession: French forces defeated the
Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian "Pragmatic Army" at the Battle of Fontenoy in
the Austrian Netherlands in present day Belgium.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fontenoy>
1792:
Merchant sea captain Robert Gray first entered the Columbia River,
becoming the first recorded European to navigate the largest river
flowing into the Pacific Ocean from North America.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Gray%27s_Columbia_River_expedition>
1812:
In the lobby of the British House of Commons, Spencer Perceval became
the first, and to date only, British Prime Minister to be assassinated.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_Perceval>
1858:
Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory
and admitted as the thirty-second U.S. state.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota>
1946:
The United Malays National Organisation, today Malaysia's largest
political party, was founded, originally to oppose the constitutional
framework of the Malayan Union.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Malays_National_Organisation>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
neither (determ):
Not one of two; not either
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/neither>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are all kinds of interesting questions that come from a knowledge
of science, which only adds to the excitement and mystery and awe of a
flower. It only adds. I don't understand how it subtracts.
--Richard Feynman
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman>
Neville Chamberlain (1869–1940) was a British politician who served as
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940.
Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in
particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding
the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany. When Adolf
Hitler continued his aggression, Britain declared war on Germany on 3
September 1939, and Chamberlain led Britain through the first eight
months of the Second World War. His premiership was dominated by the
question of policy towards the increasingly aggressive Germany, and his
actions at Munich were widely popular among Britons. Chamberlain
resigned the premiership on 10 May 1940, after the failed Allied
incursion into Norway as he believed a government supported by all
parties was essential, and the Labour and Liberal parties would not
join a government headed by him. He was succeeded by Winston Churchill
but remained very well regarded in Parliament, especially among
Conservatives. Chamberlain's reputation remains controversial among
historians, with the initial high regard for him being entirely eroded
by books such as Guilty Men, published in his lifetime, which blamed
Chamberlain and his associates for the Munich accord and for allegedly
failing to prepare the country for war.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Chamberlain>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1503:
Christopher Columbus and his crew became the first Europeans to visit
the Cayman Islands, naming them Las Tortugas after the numerous sea
turtles there.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cayman_Islands>
1775:
American Revolutionary War: A small force of American Patriots led by
Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold captured, without significant
injury or incident, the small British garrison at Fort Ticonderoga in
New York.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Fort_Ticonderoga>
1824:
The National Gallery in London opened to the public, in the former
townhouse of the collector John Julius Angerstein.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Gallery>
1857:
The Sepoy Rebellion began as a mutiny of sepoys against the Company
rule in India by the British East India Company.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Rebellion_of_1857>
1924:
J. Edgar Hoover became the first director of the U.S. Federal Bureau
of Investigation.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Edgar_Hoover>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
evoke (v):
To cause the manifestation of something (emotion, picture, etc.) in
someone's mind or imagination
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/evoke>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Seeing a woman's child is like seeing a woman naked, in the way it
changes how her face looks to you, how her face becomes less the whole
story.
--John Crowley
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Crowley>
Jason Voorhees is a fictional character from the Friday the 13th series
of slasher films. He first appeared in Friday the 13th (1980), as the
son of cook-turned-murderer Mrs. Voorhees, and was portrayed by Ari
Lehman. Created by Victor Miller, with contributions by Ron Kurz, Sean
S. Cunningham, and Tom Savini, Jason has primarily been an antagonist
in the films, whether by stalking and killing the characters, or acting
as a psychological threat to the lead character. Since Lehman's
portrayal, the character has been represented by numerous actors and
stuntmen, sometimes by more than one at a time. Kane Hodder is the most
well known of the stuntmen to portray Jason Voorhees, having played the
character in four consecutive films. The character's physical
appearance has gone through many transformations, with various special
makeup effects artists making their mark on the character's design.
Filmmakers have given Jason superhuman strength, regenerative powers,
and near invulnerability. He has been seen as a sympathetic character,
whose motivation for killing has been cited as driven by the immoral
actions of his victims. Jason Voorhees is a highly referenced character
in popular culture and his signature hockey mask is a widely recognized
image.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Voorhees>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
328:
Athanasius became the Patriarch of Alexandria.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athanasius_of_Alexandria>
1671:
Irish-born Colonel Thomas Blood was caught trying to steal the English
Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Blood>
1901:
The first Parliament of Australia opened in the Royal Exhibition
Building in Melbourne, exactly 26 years (1927) before it moved to
Canberra's Provisional Parliament House, and exactly 87 years (1988)
before it moved into the current, over AU$1.1 billion Parliament House
.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_Australia>
1964:
Ngo Dinh Can, former de facto ruler of central Vietnam under his
brother, President of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem, was executed by the
military junta who took over power after the 1963 South Vietnamese
coup.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngo_Dinh_Can>
2004:
Akhmad Kadyrov, the first President of the Chechen Republic, and about
30 others were killed by a bomb during a World War II memorial victory
parade in Grozny.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhmad_Kadyrov>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
theosophic (adj):
Of or pertaining to a philosophy that holds that all religions have a
portion of the truth
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/theosophic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story,
and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the
volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.
--J. M. Barrie
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._M._Barrie>
The 2009 Giro d'Italia was the 92nd running of the Giro d'Italia, one
of professional cycling's Grand Tours; the race also marked the
centennial of the first Giro d'Italia. It began in Lido di Venezia on 9
May, and concluded after 21 stages in Rome on the 31st. Denis Menchov
(pictured), representing the Rabobank team, was the winner of the race.
After having taken the race lead with his victory in a long and
difficult individual time trial midway through the race, Menchov
defended it against eventual runner-up Danilo Di Luca by staying with
Di Luca in the race's last stages. Di Luca, riding for LPR
Brakes-Farnese Vini, won the points classification in addition to
finishing second overall, but tested positive for the banned blood
booster continuous erythropoietin receptor activator twice during the
race and stands to have those results removed.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Giro_d%27Italia>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1794:
The Reign of Terror: Branded a traitor, French chemist and economist
Antoine Lavoisier, a former royal tax collector with the Ferme
Générale, was tried, convicted, and guillotined on the same day.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Lavoisier>
1886:
In Atlanta, American pharmacist John Pemberton first sold his
carbonated beverage Coca-Cola as a patent medicine, claiming that it
cured a number of diseases.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola>
1945:
Most armed forces under German control ceased active operations by
23:01 CET after the German Instrument of Surrender was formally
ratified, marking the end of World War II in Europe.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Instrument_of_Surrender>
1963:
In Huế, South Vietnam, soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
opened fire into a crowd of Buddhists protesting against a government
ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Vesākha, killing nine and
sparking the Buddhist crisis.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hue_Phat_Dan_shootings>
1984:
The Soviet Union announced the boycott of the Summer Olympics in Los
Angeles, citing security concerns and stated that "chauvinistic
sentiments and an anti-Soviet hysteria [were] being whipped up in the
United States".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Summer_Olympics_boycott>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
overshorten (v):
To shorten too much; to make excessively or inappropriately short
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/overshorten>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I want to break out — to leave this cycle of infection and death. I
want to be taken in love: so taken that you and I, and death, and life,
will be gathered inseparable, into the radiance of what we would
become...
--Thomas Pynchon
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon>
The 1937 Social Credit backbenchers' revolt took place from March to
June 1937 in Alberta, Canada. It was a rebellion against Premier
William Aberhart by a group of backbench members of the Legislative
Assembly (MLAs) from his Social Credit League. The dissidents were
unhappy with Aberhart's failure to provide Albertans with C$25 monthly
dividends through social credit as he had promised before his
1935 election. When the government's 1937 budget made no move to
implement the dividends, many MLAs revolted openly and threatened to
defeat the government in a confidence vote. The revolt took place in a
period of turmoil for Aberhart and his government: besides the
dissident backbenchers, half of the cabinet resigned or was fired over
a period of less than a year. Aberhart also faced criticism for
planning to attend the coronation of George VI at the province's
expense and for stifling a recall attempt against him by the voters of
his constituency. After a stormy debate in which the survival of the
government was called into question, a compromise was reached whereby
Aberhart's government relinquished considerable power to a committee of
backbenchers. This committee, dominated by insurgents, recruited two
British social credit experts to come to Alberta and advise on the
implementation of social credit. Among the experts' first moves was to
require a loyalty pledge from Social Credit MLAs. Almost all signed,
thus ending the crisis.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937_Social_Credit_backbenchers%27_revolt>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1272:
The first session of the Second Council of Lyon was held to discuss,
among others, the pledge by Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos
to end the Great Schism and reunite the Eastern church with the West.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Council_of_Lyon>
1895:
Alexander Stepanovich Popov presented his radio receiver, refined as a
lightning detector, to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Stepanovich_Popov>
1915:
World War I: The German submarine Unterseeboot 20 torpedoed and sank
the ocean liner RMS Lusitania , killing 1,198 on board.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Lusitania>
1920:
Polish–Soviet War: During the Kiev Offensive, Polish troops, with the
help of a symbolic Ukrainian force, captured Kiev, only to be driven
out by the Soviet Red Army counter-offensive a month later.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiev_Offensive_%281920%29>
1960:
Cold War: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announced that his country
was holding American pilot Francis Gary Powers, whose U-2 spy plane was
shot down over the Soviet Union six days earlier.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U-2_incident>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
deicide (n):
1. The killing of a god or goddess.
2. The killer of a god or goddess
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deicide>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The very essence of democracy is the absolute faith that while people
must cooperate, the first function of democracy, its peculiar gift, is
to develop each individual into everything that he might be. But I
submit to you that when in each man the dream of personal greatness
dies, democracy loses the real source of its future strength.
--Edwin H. Land
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edwin_H._Land>
George V (1865–1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British
Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through World War I
until his death in 1936. He was the first British monarch of the House
of Windsor, which he created from the British branch of the German
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. From the age of twelve George served in
the Royal Navy, but upon the unexpected death of his elder brother,
Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, he became heir to
the throne and married his brother's fiancée, Mary of Teck. Although
they occasionally toured the British Empire, George preferred to stay
at home with his stamp collection and lived what later biographers
would consider a dull life because of its conventionality. George
became King-Emperor in 1910 on the death of his father, King
Edward VII. During World War I he relinquished all German titles and
styles on behalf of his relatives who were British subjects, and
changed the name of the royal house from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to
Windsor. During his reign, the Statute of Westminster separated the
crown so that George ruled the dominions as separate kingdoms,
preparing the way for the future development of the Commonwealth of
Nations. His reign also witnessed the rise of socialism, communism,
fascism, Irish republicanism, and the first Labour ministry.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_V_of_the_United_Kingdom>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1863:
American Civil War: The Army of Northern Virginia, led by Robert E. Lee
and Stonewall Jackson, scored a Confederate victory at the Battle of
Chancellorsville near Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chancellorsville>
1882:
The United States Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act,
implementing a ban on Chinese immigration to the United States that
eventually lasted for over 60 years until the 1943 Magnuson Act.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Exclusion_Act>
1937:
The German zeppelin Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed while
trying to land at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, killing
over 30 people on board.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ_129_Hindenburg>
1994:
The Channel Tunnel, a 50.5-kilometre (31.4 mi) undersea rail tunnel
beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover connecting
Folkestone, Kent, England to Coquelles, France, officially opened.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Tunnel>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
umpteenth (num):
(informal) Occurring in a relatively large but unspecified position in
a sequence
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/umpteenth>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When true simplicity is gain'd
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our
delight
'Till by turning, turning we come round right.
--Joseph Brackett
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_Brackett>
The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band that formed in London in
1975. They are responsible for initiating the punk movement in the
United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock
musicians. Although their initial career lasted just two-and-a-half
years and produced only four singles and one studio album, Never Mind
the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, they are regarded as one of the
most influential acts in the history of popular music. The Sex Pistols
originally comprised vocalist Johnny Rotten, guitarist Steve Jones,
drummer Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock. Matlock was replaced by Sid
Vicious in early 1977. Under the management of impresario Malcolm
McLaren, the band created controversies which captivated Britain. Their
concerts repeatedly faced difficulties with organisers and authorities,
and public appearances often ended in mayhem. Their 1977 single "God
Save the Queen", attacking Britons' social conformity and deference to
the crown, precipitated the "last and greatest outbreak of pop-based
moral pandemonium". In January 1978, at the end of a turbulent US tour,
Rotten left the band and announced its breakup. Over the next several
months, the three other band members recorded songs for McLaren's film
version of the Sex Pistols' story, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle.
Vicious died of a heroin overdose in February 1979. In 1996, Rotten,
Jones, Cook and Matlock reunited for the Filthy Lucre Tour; since 2002,
they have staged further reunion shows and tours.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_Pistols>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
553:
The Second Council of Constantinople, considered by many Christian
churches to have been the fifth Christian Ecumenical Council, began to
discuss the topics of Nestorianism and Origenism, among others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Council_of_Constantinople>
1789:
The Estates-General convened in Versailles to discuss a financial
crisis in France, triggering a series of events that led to the French
Revolution.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estates-General_of_1789>
1891:
New York City's Carnegie Hall, built by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie,
officially opened with a concert conducted by Russian composer Pyotr
Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Hall>
1949:
Ten European countries signed the Treaty of London, creating the
Council of Europe , today one of the oldest international organisations
working for European integration.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Europe>
1994:
Armenia and Azerbaijan signed the Bishkek Protocol, a provisional
ceasefire treaty to end hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh War, with
both sides agreeing, among others, to grant a wide-ranging autonomy to
the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagorno-Karabakh_War>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
bogus (adj):
1. Counterfeit or fake; not genuine.
2. Undesirable or harmful.
3. Incorrect, useless, or broken
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bogus>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Is it an excellence in your love that it can love only the
extraordinary, the rare? If it were love’s merit to love the
extraordinary, then God would be — if I dare say so — perplexed, for to
Him the extraordinary does not exist at all. The merit of being able to
love only the extraordinary is therefore more like an accusation, not
against the extraordinary nor against love, but against the love which
can love only the extraordinary. Perfection in the object is not
perfection in the love. Erotic love is determined by the object;
friendship is determined by the object; only love of one’s neighbor is
determined by love. Therefore genuine love is recognizable by this,
that its object is without any of the more definite qualifications of
difference, which means that this love is recognizable only by love.
--Søren Kierkegaard
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaard>
Birds are winged, bipedal, endothermic (warm-blooded), egg-laying,
vertebrate animals. There are around 10,000 living species, making them
the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across
the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size
from the 5 cm (2 in) Bee Hummingbird to the 3 m (10 ft) Ostrich. The
fossil record indicates that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs
during the Jurassic period, around 150–200 Ma (million years ago). Some
birds, especially corvids and parrots, are among the most intelligent
animal species; a number of bird species have been observed
manufacturing and using tools, and many social species exhibit cultural
transmission of knowledge across generations. Birds are social; they
communicate using visual signals and through calls and songs, and
participate in social behaviours including cooperative breeding and
hunting, flocking, and mobbing of predators. About 120–130 species have
become extinct as a result of human activity since the 17th century,
and hundreds more before then. Currently about 1,200 species of birds
are threatened with extinction by human activities, though efforts are
underway to protect them.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1493:
Pope Alexander VI issued the papal bull Inter caetera, establishing a
line of demarcation dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter_caetera>
1886:
An unknown assailant threw a bomb into a crowd of police, turning a
peaceful labor rally in Chicago into the Haymarket massacre, resulting
in the deaths of seven police officers and many bystanders.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_affair>
1919:
The May Fourth Movement began in China with large-scale student
demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, Peking against the Paris Peace
Conference and Japan's Twenty-One Demands.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Fourth_Movement>
1942:
World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy engaged Allied naval forces at
the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first fleet action in which aircraft
carriers engaged each other, and the first naval battle in history in
which neither side's ships sighted or fired directly upon the other.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea>
1990:
The Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR declared the restoration of
independence of Latvia, stating that the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and
the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 were illegal.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Restoration_of_Independence_of_the_Repu…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
flourish (n):
1. A dramatic gesture, such as the waving of a flag.
2. An ornamentation.
3. (music) A ceremonious passage, such as a
fanfare
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flourish>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Beneficence is godlike, and he who does most good to his fellow-man is
the Master of Masters, and has learned the Art of Arts. Enrich and
embellish the universe as you will, it is only a fit temple for the
heart that loves truth with a supreme love. Inanimate vastness excites
wonder; knowledge kindles admiration, but love enraptures the soul.
Scientific truth is marvellous, but moral truth is divine; and whoever
breathes its air and walks by its light, has found the lost paradise.
For him, a new heaven and a new earth have already been created. His
home is the sanctuary of God, the Holy of Holies.
--Horace Mann
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Horace_Mann>
Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg (1760–1799) was a soldier in the Austrian
service. He achieved the rank of Field Marshal, and died at the Battle
of Stockach. The third son of a cadet branch of the Fürstenberg, at his
birth his chances of inheriting the family title of Fürst zu
Fürstenberg were slight; he was prepared instead for a military career,
and a tutor was hired to teach him the military sciences. He entered
Habsburg military in 1777, at the age of seventeen years, and was a
member of the field army in the short War of the Bavarian Succession.
His career progressed steadily during the Habsburg War with the Ottoman
Empire. During the French Revolutionary Wars, he fought with
distinction again for the First Coalition, particularly at Ketsch and
Frœschwiller. He was stationed at key points to protect the movements
of the Austrian army. With a force of 10,000, he defended the German
Rhineland at Kehl, and reversed a bayonet assault by French troops at
Bellheim; his troops also overran Speyer without any losses. By the end
of the War of the First Coalition, at the age of 35, he had achieved
the rank of Field Marshal. During the War of the Second Coalition, he
fought in the first two battles of the German campaign, at Ostrach, 21
March 1799, and at Battle of Stockach, 25 March 1799. At the latter,
while leading a regiment of grenadiers, he was hit with French case
shot and knocked off his horse. He died shortly afterward.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Aloys_zu_F%C3%BCrstenberg>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1791:
The Polish Constitution of May 3, one of the earliest codified national
constitutions in the world, was adopted by the Sejm.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_May_3%2C_1791>
1815:
Austrian troops led by Frederick Bianchi, Duke of Casalanza defeated
the forces under King Joachim Murat of Naples at the Battle of
Tolentino, the decisive battle of the Neapolitan War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tolentino>
1837:
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the oldest
university in the eastern Mediterranean, was founded.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_and_Kapodistrian_University_of_Athens>
1915:
Canadian physician and Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae wrote In Flanders
Fields, later considered one of the most notable poems written during
World War I.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields>
1920:
Relying on the 11th Soviet Red Army operating in neighboring
Azerbaijan, Bolsheviks attempted to stage a coup d'etat in Georgia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_Georgian_coup_attempt>
1947:
A new Constitution of Japan went into effect, providing for a
parliamentary system of government, guaranteeing certain fundamental
rights, and relegating the Japanese monarchy to a purely ceremonial
role.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Japan>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
rax (v):
1. To stretch after sleep.
2. To stretch, to reach out, to hand
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rax>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose
under heaven.
--Pete Seeger
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pete_Seeger>
Giovanni Villani (c. 1280–1348) was an Italian banker, official,
diplomat, and chronicler from Florence who wrote the Nuova Cronica on
the history of Florence. He was a leading statesman of Florence but
later gained an unsavory reputation and served time in prison due to
the bankruptcy of a trading and banking company he worked for. His
interest and elaboration in economic details, statistical information,
and political and psychological insight signifies him as a more modern
late medieval chronicler of Europe. His Cronica is viewed as the first
introduction of statistics as a positive element in history. However,
historian Kenneth R. Bartlett notes that "his reliance on such elements
as Divine Providence links Villani closely with the medieval vernacular
chronical tradition," that is to say, not linked closely with his
Renaissance-era successors. In recurring themes made implicit through
significant events described in his Cronica, Villani also emphasized
three assumptions about sin and morality that guided historical events,
these being that excess brings disaster, forces of right and wrong are
at constant struggle, and that events are directly related to the will
of God. While continuing work on the Cronica and detailing the enormous
loss of life during the Black Death in 1348, Villani died of the very
same illness. His work on the Cronica was continued by his brother and
nephew. Villani's work has received both praise and criticism from
modern historians.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Villani>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1808:
The people of Madrid rebelled against French occupation of the city,
triggering the Peninsular War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dos_de_Mayo_Uprising>
1829:
Captain Charles Fremantle of the Royal Navy established the Swan River
Colony, the first British settlement on the west coast of Australia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_River_Colony>
1945:
World War II: General Helmuth Weidling, commander of the German troops
in Berlin, surrendered the city to Soviet forces led by Marshal Georgy
Zhukov, ending the Battle of Berlin.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Berlin>
1982:
Falklands War: HMS Conqueror launched three torpedoes and sank ARA
General Belgrano , the only ship ever to have been sunk by a
nuclear-powered submarine.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARA_General_Belgrano>
1986:
Henri Toivonen was killed in an accident while leading the Tour de
Corse rally, resulting in FISA, the sport governing body for motor
racing events, banning the powerful and popular Group B rally cars for
the following season.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Toivonen>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
alacrity (n):
1. Eagerness; liveliness; enthusiasm.
2. Promptness; speed
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/alacrity>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
We are so bound together that no man can labor for himself alone. Each
blow he strikes in his own behalf helps to mold the Universe.
--Jerome K. Jerome
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jerome_K._Jerome>