Design 1047 was a series of plans for a class of Dutch battlecruisers
prior to the Second World War. The ships were intended to counter a
perceived threat posed by Imperial Japanese aggression to the Dutch
colonies in the East Indies. The 1047s were shaped by the need to be
able to fight their way though a fleet composed of heavy and light
cruisers, and smaller destroyers. It was hoped that this capability
would allow the battlecruisers to act as a fleet in being. A
preliminary plan was drawn up without foreign assistance, but as the
Royal Netherlands Navy had not previously designed a modern
capital ship, and the only information available on modern designs came
from public literature and editions of Jane's Fighting Ships, it was
missing many of the post-First World War advances in warship
technology. With assistance from Germany, a new design was formulated
by February 1940. A visit to Italy prompted a rethink of the internal
subdivision, which led to a set of drawings dated 19 April 1940. This
is the last known design produced prior to Germany's invasion and
occupation of the Netherlands. The ships were never constructed.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_1047_battlecruiser>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1012:
After refusing to allow himself to be ransomed for his freedom by his
Viking captors, Alphege was beaten to death by a mob in Greenwich, now
a suburb of London, the first Archbishop of Canterbury to die a violent
death.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86lfheah_of_Canterbury>
1782:
The States-General of the Dutch Republic received John Adams, and the
house he had purchased in the Hague became the first United States
embassy.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_diplomatic_missions_of_the_United_Stat…>
1943:
The Holocaust: Nazi troops entered the Warsaw Ghetto to round up the
remaining Jews, sparking the first mass uprising in Poland against the
Nazi occupation.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Ghetto_Uprising>
1984:
Scottish-born composer Peter Dodds McCormick's "Advance Australia
Fair", a patriotic song that was first performed in 1878, officially
replaced "God Save the Queen" as Australia's national anthem.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_Australia_Fair>
1995:
A car bomb destroyed much of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US, killing 168 people and injuring over 800
others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
skerry (n):
A small rocky island which is covered by the sea at high tide
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/skerry>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I share the belief of many of my contemporaries that the spiritual
crisis pervading all spheres of Western industrial society can be
remedied only by a change in our world view. We shall have to shift
from the materialistic, dualistic belief that people and their
environment are separate, toward a new consciousness of an
all-encompassing reality, which embraces the experiencing ego, a
reality in which people feel their oneness with animate nature and all
of creation.
--Albert Hofmann
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Hofmann%E2%80%8E>
Doolittle is the second studio album from the American alternative rock
band Pixies, released on 18 April 1989 on 4AD. The album's offbeat and
dark subject material, featuring references to surrealism, biblical
violence, torture and death, contrasts with the clean production sound
achieved by the then-newly-hired producer Gil Norton. Doolittle was the
Pixies' first international release, with Elektra Records acting as the
album's distributor in the United States and PolyGram in Canada. Two
tracks were released as singles: "Here Comes Your Man" and "Monkey Gone
to Heaven". Doolittle has continued to sell consistently well in the
years since its release, and in 1995 was certified gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America. The album has been cited as
inspirational by many alternative artists, while numerous music
publications have ranked it as one of the most influential albums ever.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doolittle_%28album%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1506:
Construction of the current St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, to
replace the old St. Peter's Basilica built in the 4th century, began.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter%27s_Basilica>
1775:
American Revolutionary War: Colonists Paul Revere, William Dawes, and
Samuel Prescott began a "midnight ride" to warn of the residents of
Boston and Lexington about the impending arrival of British troops.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Revere>
1906:
A major earthquake and resulting fires devastated San Francisco ,
killing at least 3,000 people and leaving more than half of the city's
population homeless.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1906_San_Francisco_earthquake>
1947:
In one of the largest non-nuclear single explosive detonations in
history, the Royal Navy set off 6,800 tonnes of surplus ammunition in
an unsuccessful attempt to destroy the island of Heligoland, Germany.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heligoland>
1996:
Israeli forces shelled Qana, Lebanon, during Operation Grapes of Wrath,
killing over 100 civilians and injuring over 110 others at a UN
compound.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_shelling_of_Qana>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
primal scene (n):
<span class="qualifier-brac">(</span><span
class="qualifier-content">psychoanalysis</span><span
class="qualifier-brac">)</span> The first time a child sees its parents
copulating
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/primal_scene>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Many a genius has been slow of growth. Oaks that flourish for a
thousand years do not spring up into beauty like a reed.
--George Henry Lewes
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Henry_Lewes>
Thomcord is a seedless table grape variety and a hybrid of the popular
Thompson Seedless or Sultanina grape (a Vitis vinifera variety) and
Concord grape (a Vitis labrusca variety). Thomcord was developed in
1983 by Californian grape breeders working for the Agricultural
Research Service (ARS), an agency of the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA), as part of a test to better understand a new
seedless grape breeding procedure. Its aromatic, "labrusca" flavor is
similar to that of Concord, but mellowed by the mild, sweet taste from
Thompson Seedless. Thomcord grows well in hot, dry climates, ripens
between late July and mid-August, and is tolerant to powdery mildew. It
is a productive variety, yielding an average of 15.1 kg (33 lb) of
grapes per vine. The plant is not restricted for propagation and
distribution. Virus-free propagation material is available from the
Foundation Plant Services (FPS) at the University of California, Davis,
and its genetic material is archived at the National Plant Germplasm
System. After 17 years of testing, it was declared ready for use in
2003. It is expected to appear in supermarkets, possibly as a specialty
item.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomcord>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1080:
On the death of his brother Harald III, Canute IV, who later would be
the first Dane to be canonized, became King of Denmark.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canute_IV_of_Denmark>
1907:
Construction started on the first ship in the Minas Geraes class,
making Brazil the third country in the world to build a dreadnought
battleship and sparking a South American naval arms race.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minas_Geraes-class_battleship>
1961:
Armed Cuban exiles backed by the CIA invaded Cuba, landing in the Bay
of Pigs, with the aim of overthrowing the Cuban government under Fidel
Castro.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Pigs_Invasion>
1975:
The Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot captured Phnom Penh, ending the
Cambodian Civil War, and established Democratic Kampuchea.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_Civil_War>
1984:
British police officer Yvonne Fletcher was shot and killed while on
duty during a protest outside the Libyan embassy in London's St James's
Square, resulting in an eleven-day police siege of the building, and
causing a breakdown of diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom
and Libya.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Yvonne_Fletcher>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Paphian (adj):
Pertaining to love or sexual desire, especially when illicit
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Paphian>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The Anarchists never have claimed that liberty will bring perfection;
they simply say that its results are vastly preferable to those that
follow authority.
--Benjamin Tucker
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Tucker>
Me and Juliet is a musical comedy by Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar
Hammerstein II (lyrics and book), their sixth stage collaboration. The
work tells a story of romance backstage at a long-running musical:
assistant stage manager Larry woos chorus girl Jeanie behind the back
of her electrician boyfriend, Bob. Me and Juliet premiered in 1953 and
was not a success, closing after a year on Broadway. The show received
no Tony Award nominations. When Me and Juliet began tryout performances
in Cleveland, the duo realized that the show had problems with the plot
and staging. Extensive revisions during the remaining Cleveland and
Boston tryouts failed to cure the difficulties with the plot, which the
critics considered weak and uninteresting. The show was met with
less-than-favorable reviews, though Jo Mielziner's staging won praise
from audience and critics. The show closed once it had exhausted its
advance sales. With the exception of a short run in Chicago, there was
no national tour, and the show is almost never seen—a small-scale
production was presented by London's Finborough Theatre in 2010.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_and_Juliet>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1818:
The United States Senate ratified the Rush–Bagot Treaty, which laid the
basis for demilitarized boundary between the U.S. and British North
America.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush%E2%80%93Bagot_Treaty>
1919:
Polish–Soviet War: The Polish army launched the Vilna offensive to
capture Vilnius in modern Lithuania.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilna_offensive>
1947:
American financier and presidential adviser Bernard Baruch first
described the post-World War II tensions between the Soviet Union and
the United States as a "cold war".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War>
2001:
India and Bangladesh began a five-day conflict over their disputed
border, which ended in stalemate.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Indian%E2%80%93Bangladeshi_border_conflict>
2007:
In one of the deadliest shooting incidents in United States history, a
gunman killed 32 people and wounded over 20 more before committing
suicide at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in
Blacksburg, Virginia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
moliminous (adj):
Requiring a lot of effort; laborious
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/moliminous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take
seriously.
--Peter Ustinov
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_Ustinov>
Hurricane Isabel was the costliest and deadliest hurricane in the 2003
Atlantic hurricane season. The ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, and
second major hurricane of the season, Isabel formed from a tropical
wave on September 6 in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. It moved
northwestward, and within an environment of light wind shear and warm
waters it steadily strengthened to reach peak winds of 165 mph
(265 km/h) on September 11. After fluctuating in intensity for four
days, Isabel gradually weakened and made landfall on the Outer Banks of
North Carolina with winds of 105 mph (165 km/h) on September 18. It
quickly weakened over land and became extratropical over western
Pennsylvania the next day. Moderate to severe damage extended up the
Atlantic coastline and as far inland as West Virginia. Roughly six
million people were left without electric service in the eastern United
States from the strong winds of Isabel. Rainfall from the storm
extended from South Carolina to Maine, and westward to Michigan.
Throughout the path of Isabel, damage totaled about $3.6 billion
(2003 USD, $4.3 billion 2011 USD). 16 deaths in seven states were
directly related to the hurricane, with 35 deaths in six states and one
province indirectly related to the hurricane.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Isabel>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1738:
Serse, an opera by Baroque composer George Frideric Handel loosely
based on Xerxes I of Persia, premiered in London.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serse>
1912:
The passenger liner RMS Titanic sank about two hours and forty minutes
after colliding with an iceberg, killing over 1,500 people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic>
1947:
Jackie Robinson, the first African American to break the baseball color
line, played his first game in Major League Baseball.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Robinson>
1955:
American restauranteur Ray Kroc opened the ninth McDonald's franchise
in Des Plaines, Illinois, an occasion considered to be the founding of
the present corporation.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s>
1995:
At a GATT ministerial meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, representatives of
124 countries and the European Communities signed an agreement to
establish the World Trade Organization.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gewgaw (n):
A showy trifle, a toy
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gewgaw>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Any one who in discussion relies upon authority uses, not his
understanding, but rather his memory. Good culture is born of a good
disposition; and since the cause is more to be praised than the effect,
I will rather praise a good disposition without culture, than good
culture without the disposition.
--Leonardo da Vinci
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci>
Pedro Álvares Cabral (c. 1467 – c. 1520) was a Portuguese noble,
military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the discoverer
of Brazil. Cabral conducted the first substantial exploration of the
northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. He was
appointed to head an expedition to India in 1500, following Vasco da
Gama's newly opened route around Africa. His fleet of 13 ships sailed
far into the western Atlantic Ocean, perhaps intentionally, where he
made landfall on what he initially assumed to be a large island. As the
new land was within the Portuguese sphere according to the Treaty of
Tordesillas, Cabral claimed it for the Portuguese Crown. He explored
the coast, realizing that the large land mass was likely a continent,
and dispatched a ship to notify King Manuel I of the new territory. The
continent was South America, and the land he had claimed for Portugal
later came to be known as Brazil. Cabral was later passed over,
possibly as a result of a quarrel with Manuel I, when a new fleet was
assembled to establish a more robust presence in India. Having lost
favor with the King, he retired to a private life of which few records
survive. His accomplishments slipped into obscurity for more than 300
years. Historians have long argued whether Cabral was Brazil's
discoverer, and whether the discovery was accidental or intentional.
Nevertheless, although he was overshadowed by contemporary explorers,
Cabral today is regarded as a major figure of the Age of Discovery.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_%C3%81lvares_Cabral>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
966:
After his marriage to the Christian Dobrawa of Bohemia, the pagan ruler
of the Polans, Mieszko I, converted to Christianity, an event
considered to be the founding of the Polish state.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Poland_during_the_Piast_dynasty>
1471:
Wars of the Roses: The Yorkists under Edward IV defeated the
Lancastrians near the town of Barnet, killing Richard Neville, Earl of
Warwick.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Barnet>
1865:
Actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth fatally shot U.S.
President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Abraham_Lincoln>
1999:
A storm dropped an estimated 500,000 tonnes of hailstones in Sydney
and along the east coast of New South Wales, causing about A$2.3
billion in damages, the costliest natural disaster in Australian
insurance history.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Sydney_hailstorm>
2007:
In Ankara, Turkey, the first of the Republic Protests took place, when
hundreds of thousands of people protested against the possible
presidential candidacy of incumbent Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_Protests>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
moue (n):
A pout
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/moue>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have read that the secret of gallantry is to accept the pleasures of
life leisurely, and its inconveniences with a shrug; as well as that,
among other requisites, the gallant person will always consider the
world with a smile of toleration, and his own doings with a smile of
honest amusement, and Heaven with a smile which is not distrustful —
being thoroughly persuaded that God is kindlier than the genteel would
regard as rational.
--James Branch Cabell
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Branch_Cabell>
Populous: The Beginning is a strategy and god game. It is the third
title in the Populous video game series, developed by Bullfrog
Productions. The PC version of the game was released November 30, 1998;
a PlayStation version was developed and released on April 2, 1999, and
later emulated on the PlayStation Network. Unlike earlier games in the
series, which cast the player in the role of a god influencing loyal
followers, The Beginning took a radical departure from the earlier
games and placed the player in the role of a shaman, who directly leads
her tribe against opponents. Throughout the twenty-five missions of the
campaign, the player directs their tribe across a solar system,
dominating enemies and tapping new sources of magic, with the ultimate
goal of the shaman attaining godhood herself. Populous: The Beginning
was the first entry in the series to use true 3D graphics; Bullfrog
waited four years to develop the sequel to Populous II so that the
graphics technology could catch up to their vision for a new and
different game in the series. Populous: The Beginning plays very
different from earlier titles, and was welcomed to mixed reviews.
Reviewers positively noted the excellent graphics; complaints were
directed at the artificial intelligence and the inability of the game
to decide between being a real time strategy title or god game.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Populous%3A_The_Beginning>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1710:
The Statute of Anne, the first fully-fledged law regulating copyright,
entered into force in Great Britain.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Anne>
1815:
Mount Tambora in Indonesia began one of the most violent volcanic
eruptions in recorded history, killing at least 71,000 people, and
affecting worldwide temperatures for the next two years.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Tambora>
1868:
A British military expedition to Abyssinia culminated in a rout of
Ethiopians and the later suicide of Emperor Tewodros II.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1868_Expedition_to_Abyssinia>
1941:
World War II: The Independent State of Croatia was established, with
Ustaše leader Ante Pavelić as head of the puppet government of the
Axis powers.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ante_Paveli%C4%87>
2010:
A Tupolev Tu-154M aircraft carrying President of Poland Lech Kaczyński
and other Polish officials crashed while attempting to land in heavy
fog at Smolensk-North air base near Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 on
board.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Polish_Air_Force_Tu-154_crash>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
turtle (v):
1. To flip over onto the back or top; to turn upside down.
2. To turn and swim upside down.
3. To hunt in the water
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/turtle>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It was the wise all-seeing soul
Who counselled neither war nor peace:
"Only be thou thyself that
goal
In which the wars of time shall cease."
--George William Russell
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_William_Russell>
Pithole is a ghost town in Cornplanter Township, Venango County, in the
U.S. state of Pennsylvania, about 6 miles (9.7 km) from Oil Creek State
Park and the Drake Well Museum, site of the world's first commercial
oil well. Pithole's sudden growth and equally rapid decline, as well as
its status as a "proving ground" of sorts for the burgeoning petroleum
industry, made it one of the most famous of oil boomtowns. Oil strikes
at nearby wells in January 1865 prompted a large influx of people to
the area that would become Pithole, most of whom were land speculators.
The town was laid out in May 1865, and by December was incorporated
with an approximate population of 20,000. At its peak, Pithole had at
least 54 hotels, 3 churches, the third largest post office in
Pennsylvania, a newspaper, a theater, a railroad, the world's first
pipeline and a red-light district "the likes of Dodge City's." By 1866,
economic growth and oil production in Pithole had slowed. Oil strikes
around other nearby communities and numerous fires drove residents away
from Pithole and, by 1877, the borough was unincorporated. The site was
cleared of overgrowth and was donated to the Pennsylvania Historical
and Museum Commission in 1961. Pithole was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pithole%2C_Pennsylvania>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1865:
With their supply trains destroyed by Union troops one day earlier,
Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General
Ulysses S. Grant at the McLean House near the Appomattox Court House in
Virginia, effectively ending the American Civil War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Appomattox_Court_House>
1917:
World War I: The Canadian Corps began the first wave of attacks at the
Battle of Vimy Ridge in Vimy, France.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge>
1948:
Fighters from the Irgun and Lehi Zionist paramilitary groups attacked
Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, killing over 100.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_Yassin_massacre>
1969:
The "Chicago Eight" pleaded not guilty to federal charges of conspiracy
to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago,
Illinois, US.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Seven>
1999:
President of Niger Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara was shot to death by
soldiers in Niamey.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Bar%C3%A9_Ma%C3%AFnassara>
2003:
Invasion of Iraq: Coalition forces captured Baghdad and the statue of
Saddam Hussein in Firdos Square was toppled .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firdos_Square_statue_destruction>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
eddy (n):
A current of air or water running back, or in an opposite direction to,
the main current
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/eddy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All their life was spent not in laws, statutes, or rules, but according
to their own free will and pleasure. They rose out of their beds when
they thought good: they did eat, drink, labour, sleep, when they had a
mind to it, and were disposed for it. None did awake them, none did
offer to constrain them to eat, drink, nor to do any other thing; for
so had Gargantua established it. In all their rule, and strictest tie
of their order, there was but this one clause to be observed,
DO WHAT THOU WILT.
Because men that are free, well-born, well-bred,
and conversant in honest companies, have naturally an instinct and spur
that prompteth them unto virtuous actions, and withdraws them from
vice, which is called honour.
--François Rabelais
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Rabelais>
The Pit and the Pendulum is a 1961 horror film directed by Roger
Corman, starring Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, John Kerr, and Luana
Anders. The screenplay by Richard Matheson was based on Edgar Allan
Poe's short story of the same name. Set in 16th century Spain, the
story is about a young Englishman who visits a forbidding castle to
investigate his sister's mysterious death. After a series of horrific
revelations, apparently ghostly appearances and violent deaths, the
young man becomes strapped to the titular torture device by his lunatic
brother-in-law during the film's climactic sequence. The film was the
second title in the popular series of Poe-based movies released by
American International Pictures, the first having been Corman's House
of Usher released the previous year. A critical and box office hit,
Pit's commercial success convinced AIP and Corman to continue adapting
Poe stories for another six films, five of them starring Price. Film
critic Tim Lucas and writer Ernesto Gastaldi have both noted the film's
strong influence on numerous subsequent Italian thrillers. Stephen King
has described one of Pit's major shock sequences as being among the
most important moments in the post-1960 horror film.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pit_and_the_Pendulum_%281961_film%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
217:
Roman Emperor Caracalla was assassinated at a roadside near Harran and
succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect Macrinus.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracalla>
1904:
British occultist and writer Aleister Crowley began transcribing The
Book of the Law, a Holy Book in Thelema.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_the_Law>
1968:
BOAC Flight 712 suffered an engine fire shortly after take off from
London Heathrow Airport, leading to deaths of five people on board,
including flight attendant Barbara Jane Harrison, who was later awarded
a posthumous George Cross for her heroism during the accident.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOAC_Flight_712>
1992:
American tennis player Arthur Ashe announced that he had contracted HIV
from blood transfusions; he would spend the remainder of his life as an
AIDS activist.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Ashe>
2008:
On board Soyuz TMA-12, Yi So-Yeon became the first Korean, and second
Asian woman to go into space.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_So-Yeon>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
vindictive (adj):
Having or showing a strong or unreasoning desire for revenge
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vindictive>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
You can do a lot with diplomacy, but with diplomacy backed up by force
you can get a lot more done.
--Kofi Annan
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kofi_Annan>
Phan Dinh Phung (1847–1896) was a Vietnamese revolutionary who led
rebel armies against French colonial forces in Vietnam. He was the most
prominent of the Confucian court scholars involved in anti-French
military campaigns in the 19th century and was cited after his death by
20th-century nationalists as a national hero. Born into a family of
mandarins, Phan quickly rose through the ranks under Emperor Tu Duc,
gaining a reputation for his integrity and uncompromising stance
against corruption. Upon Tu Duc's death, the regent Ton That Thuyet
disregarded Tu Duc's will of succession, and three emperors were
deposed and killed in just over a year. Along with Thuyet, Phan
organised rebel armies as part of the Can Vuong movement, which sought
to expel the French. This campaign continued for three years until
1888, when the French captured Ham Nghi and exiled him to Algeria. Phan
and his military assistant Cao Thang continued their guerrilla
campaign, building a network of spies, bases and small weapons
factories. However, Cao Thang was killed in a campaign in late 1893.
The decade-long campaign eventually wore Phan down, and he died from
dysentery as the French surrounded his forces.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phan_Dinh_Phung>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1348:
King Charles of Bohemia issued a Golden Bull to establish Charles
University in Prague, the first university in Central Europe.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_University_in_Prague>
1862:
American Civil War: Union forces defeated Confederates at the Battle of
Shiloh in Hardin County, Tennessee.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shiloh>
1896:
An Arctic expedition led by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen reached
86°13.6'N, almost three degrees beyond the previous Farthest North
mark.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fridtjof_Nansen>
1940:
Educator Booker T. Washington became the first African American to be
featured on a U.S. postage stamp .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington>
1995:
First Chechen War: Russian paramilitary troops begin a massacre of at
least 250 civilians in Samashki, Chechnya.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samashki_massacre>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
infelicitous (adj):
1. Unhappy or unfortunate.
2. Inappropriate or awkward; not well said, expressed, or done
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/infelicitous>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are seasons, in human affairs, of inward and outward revolution,
when new depths seem to be broken up in the soul, when new wants are
unfolded in multitudes, and a new and undefined good is thirsted for.
There are periods when...to dare, is the highest wisdom.
--William Ellery Channing
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Ellery_Channing>