The Flowing Hair dollar was the first dollar coin issued by the United
States federal government. Minted in 1794 and 1795, the size and weight
of the coin were based on the Spanish dollar, which was popular in
trade throughout the Americas. In 1791, following a study by Alexander
Hamilton, Congress passed a joint resolution calling for the
establishment of a national mint. Later that year, in his third State
of the Union address, President George Washington urged Congress to
provide for a mint, which was officially authorized by the Coinage Act
of 1792. Despite the authorization, silver and gold coins were not
struck until 1794. The Flowing Hair dollar, designed by Robert Scot,
was initially produced in 1794, and again in 1795. In October 1795 the
design was replaced by the Draped Bust dollar. In May 2010, a specimen
striking from the 1794 production was sold in a private sale for $7.85
million, the highest selling price of any coin in history.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowing_Hair_dollar>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1471:
Wars of the Roses: Yorkist Edward IV defeated a Lancastrian army in the
Battle of Tewkesbury.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tewkesbury>
1814:
Ferdinand VII abolished the Spanish Constitution of 1812, returning
Spain to absolutism.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Constitution_of_1812>
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>
1970:
The Ohio National Guard opened fire at Kent State University students
protesting the United States invasion of Cambodia, killing four and
injuring nine.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings>
1979:
Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom, following the defeat of James Callaghan's incumbent Labour
government in the previous day's general election.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
vestiary (adj):
Pertaining to clothing; sartorial
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vestiary>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If any man seeks for greatness, let him forget greatness and ask for
truth, and he will find both.
--Horace Mann
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Horace_Mann>
Shadow the Hedgehog is a 2005 video game developed by Sega Studio USA,
the former United States division of Sega's Sonic Team. Featuring the
titular fictional character Shadow the Hedgehog from Sega's Sonic the
Hedgehog series, Shadow the Hedgehog is the third game (and the last in
the Sonic series) developed by Sega Studio USA. Following the trend of
recent Sonic games such as Sonic Adventure and Sonic Heroes, Shadow the
Hedgehog is a 3D platform game. Most levels have three possible
missions—"Hero", "Dark", or "Normal"—that the player may choose to
complete; some levels have only two (which mostly are only "Hero" and
"Dark"). The missions completed determine the game's plot, a feature
referenced by the game's tagline, "Hero or villain? You decide." The
plot centers on the attempt of Shadow, a creation of Doctor Eggman's
grandfather Gerald Robotnik, to learn about his past after suffering
from amnesia. To defeat enemies encountered, Shadow can use various
weapons and special attacks. Shadow the Hedgehog was created for the
Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox video game consoles. It
received mixed to negative reviews; critics criticized its unwelcome
"dark" theme, particularly the addition of guns and other weapons, but
praised its replay value.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_the_Hedgehog_%28video_game%29>
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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>
1939:
Subhas Chandra Bose formed the All India Forward Bloc of the Indian
National Congress in opposition to Gandhi's tactics of nonviolence.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_India_Forward_Bloc>
1942:
World War II: Japanese forces began invading Tulagi and nearby islands
in the Solomon Islands, enabling them to threaten and interdict the
supply and communication routes between the United States and Australia
and New Zealand.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Tulagi_%28May_1942%29>
1951:
The Royal Festival Hall, the first post-war building to become listed
Grade I, opened as the venue for the Festival of Britain.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Festival_Hall>
1963:
Police in Birmingham, Alabama, US, used high-pressure water hoses and
dogs on civil rights protesters, bringing intense scrutiny on racial
segregation in the South.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_campaign>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
open relationship (n):
A romantic relationship in which both parties are considered free to
pursue additional relationships with other people
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/open_relationship>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the
enemy until it is ripe for execution.
Nothing is of greater importance in time of war than in knowing how
to make the best use of a fair opportunity when it is offered.
--Niccolò Machiavelli
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Niccol%C3%B2_Machiavelli>
1
0
May 2: Brabham
by English Wikipedia Article of the Day
02 May '11
02 May '11
Brabham was a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing
team. Founded in 1960 by driver Jack Brabham and designer Ron Tauranac,
the team won four drivers' and two constructors' world championships in
its 30-year Formula One history. Jack Brabham's 1966 drivers'
championship remains the only victory by a car bearing the driver's own
name. In the 1960s, Brabham was the world's largest manufacturer of
open wheel racing cars for sale to customer teams, and had built more
than 500 cars by 1970. During this period, teams using Brabham cars won
championships in Formula Two and Formula Three and competed in the
Indianapolis 500. British businessman Bernie Ecclestone owned Brabham
between 1972 and 1988. Under his ownership, Brabham introduced
innovations such as the "fan car", in-race refuelling, carbon brakes,
and hydropneumatic suspension, and was the first team to win a drivers'
championship with a turbocharged car. Ecclestone sold the team in 1988.
Its final owner was the Middlebridge Group, a Japanese engineering
firm. Midway through the 1992 season, the team collapsed financially as
Middlebridge was unable to meet loan repayments. In 2009 an
unsuccessful attempt was made by a German organisation to enter the
2010 Formula One season using the Brabham name.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brabham>
_______________________________
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>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
neonism (n):
A newly-coined word or phrase; a neologism
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/neonism>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Before abstraction everything is one, but one like chaos; after
abstraction everything is united again, but this union is a free
binding of autonomous, self-determined beings. Out of a mob a society
has developed, chaos has been transformed into a manifold world.
--Novalis
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Novalis>
Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of
Chicago in Illinois, US. It is a prominent civic center near the city's
Lake Michigan shoreline that covers a 24.5-acre (9.9 ha) section of
northwestern Grant Park. The area was previously occupied by parkland,
Illinois Central rail yards and parking lots. The park, which is
bounded by Michigan Avenue, Randolph Street, Columbus Drive and East
Monroe Drive, features a variety of public art. As of 2009, Millennium
Park trailed only Navy Pier as a Chicago tourist attraction. Planning
of the park began in October 1997. Construction began in October 1998,
and Millennium Park was opened in a ceremony on July 16, 2004, four
years behind schedule. The three-day opening celebrations were attended
by some 300,000 people and included an inaugural concert by the Grant
Park Orchestra and Chorus. The park has received awards for its
accessibility and green design. Millennium Park has free admission, and
features the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Cloud Gate, the Crown Fountain, the
Lurie Garden and other attractions. The park is connected by the BP
Pedestrian Bridge and the Nichols Bridgeway to other parts of Grant
Park. Millennium Park is considered to be the city's most important
project since the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, and it far
exceeded its originally proposed budget of $150 million.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Park>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
880:
The Nea Ekklesia church in Constantinople was consecrated, and would go
on to set the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nea_Ekklesia>
1707:
Under the terms of the Acts of Union, the Kingdoms of England and
Scotland merged to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, a single kingdom
encompassing the entire island of Great Britain with a single
parliament and government based in Westminster.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Great_Britain>
1753:
Carl Linnaeus published his Species Plantarum, which, with his earlier
work Systema Naturae, is considered the beginning of modern botanical
nomenclature.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Linnaeus>
1865:
Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina signed a treaty creating an alliance
against Paraguay in the War of the Triple Alliance.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_the_Triple_Alliance>
1947:
Italian separatist Salvatore Giuliano and his gang fired into a crowd
of May Day marchers near Piana degli Albanesi, Sicily, killing 11 and
wounding 33.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portella_della_Ginestra_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ukase (n):
An arbitrary authoritarian command; a decree
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ukase>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Nature does nothing without purpose or uselessly.
--Joseph Addison
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_Addison>