75px|Henry Cornelius Burnett
Henry Cornelius Burnett (1825–1866) was a U.S. representative from
the state of Kentucky and a Confederate States senator. He represented
Kentucky's 1st congressional district during the lead-up to the Civil
War. This district contained the entire Jackson Purchase region of the
state, which was more sympathetic to the Confederate cause than any
other area of Kentucky. Burnett promised the voters of his district
that he would have President Abraham Lincoln arraigned for treason.
Besides championing the Southern cause in Congress, Burnett also worked
within Kentucky to bolster the state's support of the Confederacy. He
presided over a sovereignty convention in Russellville in 1861 that
formed a Confederate government for the state. The delegates to this
convention chose Burnett to travel to Richmond, Virginia to secure
Kentucky's admission to the Confederacy. Burnett also raised a
Confederate regiment at Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and briefly served in
the Confederate States Army. Burnett's actions were deemed treasonable
by his colleagues in Congress, and he was expelled from the House in
1861. After the war, he was indicted for treason, but was never tried.
He returned to the practice of law, but died of cholera in 1866 at the
age of 40. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1843:
Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná , became the de facto
first prime minister of the Empire of Brazil.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hon%C3%B3rio_Hermeto_Carneiro_Le%C3%A3o%2C_Mar…>
1942:
The Holocaust: SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich and other senior
Nazi officials met at the Wannsee Conference in the Berlin suburb of
Wannsee to discuss implementation of the "Final Solution to the Jewish
Question".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wannsee_Conference>
1969:
Bengali student activist Amanullah Asaduzzaman was shot and killed by
East Pakistani police, one of the casus belli that led to the
Bangladesh Liberation War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanullah_Asaduzzaman>
1990:
The Soviet Red Army violently cracked down on Azeri pro-independence
demonstrations in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_January>
2007:
A three-man team, using only skis and kites, completed a 1,093-mile
(1,759 km) trek to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility for the
first time since 1958, and for the first time ever without mechanical
assistance.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pole_of_inaccessibility>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
devil-may-care (adj):
Carefree or recklessly irresponsible
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/devil-may-care>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place
where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our
founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our
democracy, tonight is your answer. ... It's the answer spoken by young
and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white,
Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not
disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never
been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and
blue states.
We are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the
answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be
cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their
hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a
better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on
this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to
America.
--Barack Obama
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Barack_Obama>
100px|Nick Drake's grave in Tanworth-in-Arden
Nick Drake (1948–1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician,
best known for his sombre guitar-based songs. He failed to find a wide
audience during his lifetime, but now ranks among the most influential
English singer-songwriters of the last 50 years. Drake released his
debut album, Five Leaves Left, in 1969. None of his first three albums
sold more than 5,000 copies on their initial release. Drake suffered
from depression and insomnia throughout his life, and these topics were
often reflected in his lyrics. On completion of his third album, 1972's
Pink Moon, he withdrew from both live performance and recording,
retreating to his parents' home in rural Warwickshire. He died from an
overdose of amitriptyline in 1974 (grave pictured). Drake was credited
as an influence by numerous artists during the 1980s, including The
Dream Academy, who in 1985 reached the UK and US charts with "Life in a
Northern Town", a song written for and dedicated to him. By the early
1990s, Drake represented a certain type of "doomed romantic" musician
in the UK music press. In 2000, Volkswagen featured the title track
from Pink Moon in a television advertisement, and within a month Drake
had sold more records than he had in the previous 30 years. (more...)
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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Drake>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1607:
San Agustin Church in Manila, the oldest church in the Philippines,
was completed.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Agustin_Church%2C_Manila>
1764:
English radical and politician John Wilkes was expelled from the
British Parliament and declared an outlaw for seditious libel.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wilkes>
1917:
Approximately 50 tons of TNT exploded at a munitions factory in
Silvertown in West Ham, present-day Greater London, killing over 70
people and injuring over 400 others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvertown_explosion>
1983:
The Nazi SS officer Klaus Barbie was arrested in Bolivia, 32 years
after having fled to Argentina with the help of the US Army US Army
Counterintelligence Corps.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Barbie>
2006:
In the deadliest aviation accident in Slovak history, an Antonov An-24
aircraft operated by the Slovak Air Force crashed in northern Hungary,
killing 42 of the 43 people on board.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Slovak_Air_Force_Antonov_An-24_crash>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gnocchi (n):
Italian pasta-like dumplings made of potato or semolina
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gnocchi>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I cannot consent to place in the control of others one who cannot
control himself.
--Robert E. Lee
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_E._Lee>
100px|Nick Drake's grave in Tanworth-in-Arden
Nick Drake (1948–1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician,
best known for his sombre guitar-based songs. He failed to find a wide
audience during his lifetime, but now ranks among the most influential
English singer-songwriters of the last 50 years. Drake released his
debut album, Five Leaves Left, in 1969. None of his first three albums
sold more than 5,000 copies on their initial release. Drake suffered
from depression and insomnia throughout his life, and these topics were
often reflected in his lyrics. On completion of his third album, 1972's
Pink Moon, he withdrew from both live performance and recording,
retreating to his parents' home in rural Warwickshire. He died from an
overdose of amitriptyline in 1974 (grave pictured). Drake was credited
as an influence by numerous artists during the 1980s, including The
Dream Academy, who in 1985 reached the UK and US charts with "Life in a
Northern Town", a song written for and dedicated to him. By the early
1990s, Drake represented a certain type of "doomed romantic" musician
in the UK music press. In 2000, Volkswagen featured the title track
from Pink Moon in a television advertisement, and within a month Drake
had sold more records than he had in the previous 30 years. (more...)
Recently featured: Mauna Kea – Press Gang – Diffuse panbronchiolitis
Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Drake>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1126:
Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty of China abdicated the throne in
favour of his son Qinzong.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Huizong_of_Song>
1884:
Welsh physician William Price was arrested for attempting to cremate
his deceased infant son; he was acquitted in the subsequent trial,
which led to the legalisation of cremation in the United Kingdom.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Price_%28physician%29>
1919:
World War I: The Paris Peace Conference opened in Versailles, France,
to set the peace terms for the Central Powers.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Peace_Conference%2C_1919>
1943:
World War II: As part of Operation Iskra, the Soviet Red Army broke the
Siege of Leningrad, opening a narrow land corridor to the city.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Iskra>
1958:
African Canadian Willie O'Ree of the Boston Bruins played his first
game in the National Hockey League, breaking the colour barrier in
professional ice hockey.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_O%27Ree>
1990:
In a sting operation conducted by the FBI, Mayor of Washington, D.C.,
Marion Barry was arrested for possession of crack cocaine.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Barry>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
chiasmus (n):
An inversion of the relationship between the elements of phrases
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chiasmus>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
"Elohim," the name for the creative power in Genesis, is a female
plural, a fact that generations of learned rabbis and Christian
theologians have all explained as merely grammatical convention. The
King James and most other Bibles translate it as "God," but if you take
the grammar literally, it seems to mean "goddesses." Al Shaddai, god of
battles, appears later, and YHWH, mispronounced Jehovah, later still.
--Robert Anton Wilson
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Anton_Wilson>
120px|Mauna Kea from Mauna Loa Observatory
Mauna Kea is a volcano on the island of Hawaii. Standing 4,205 m
(13,796 ft) above sea level, its peak is the highest point in the state
of Hawaii. However, much of the mountain is under water; when measured
from its oceanic base, Mauna Kea is over 10,000 m (33,000 ft)
tall—significantly taller than Mount Everest. In Hawaiian mythology,
the peaks of the island of Hawaii are sacred, and Mauna Kea is the most
sacred of all. Mauna Kea can be ecologically divided into three
sections: an alpine climate at its summit, a Sophora
chrysophylla–Myoporum sandwicense forest on its flanks, and an Acacia
koa–Metrosideros polymorpha forest, now mostly cleared by the former
sugar industry, at its base. With its high altitude, dry environment,
and stable airflow, Mauna Kea's summit is one of the best sites in the
world for astronomical observation, and one of the most controversial.
The Mauna Kea Observatories are used for scientific research across the
electromagnetic spectrum from visible light to radio, and comprise the
largest such facility in the world. Their construction on a "sacred
landscape", replete with endangered species, ongoing cultural
practices, and viewplanes used in the traditional Hawaiian measurement
of time, continues to be a topic of intense debate and protest.
(more...)
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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauna_Kea>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1524:
Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano set sail westward from Madeira
to find a sea route to the Pacific Ocean.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_da_Verrazzano>
1893:
The Citizens' Committee of Public Safety led by Lorrin A. Thurston
overthrew the government of Queen Liliʻuokalani of the Kingdom of
Hawaii.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overthrow_of_the_Kingdom_of_Hawaii>
1966:
A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress collided with a KC-135
Stratotanker during aerial refueling over the Mediterranean Sea,
dropping three hydrogen bombs on land near Palomares, Spain, and a
fourth one into the sea.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_Palomares_B-52_crash>
1989:
Patrick Purdy opened fire with an assault rifle on an elementary school
in Stockton, California, killing 5 and wounding 30 others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_School_massacre>
2010:
The first spate of violence between Muslims and Christians began in
Jos, Nigeria, and would end in more than 200 deaths.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Jos_riots>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
chicken-hearted (adj):
Not brave; lacking courage; cowardly
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chicken-hearted>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I think all the heretics I have known have been virtuous men. They have
the virtue of fortitude or they would not venture to own their heresy;
and they cannot afford to be deficient in any of the other virtues, as
that would give advantage to their many enemies; and they have not like
orthodox sinners, such a number of friends to excuse or justify them.
Do not, however mistake me. It is not to my good friend's heresy that I
impute his honesty. On the contrary, 'tis his honesty that has brought
upon him the character of heretic.
--Benjamin Franklin
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin>
Press Gang is a British children's television comedy-drama consisting
of forty-three episodes across five series that were broadcast from
1989 to 1993. It was produced by Richmond Film & Television for
Central, and screened on the ITV network in its regular weekday
afternoon children's strand, Children's ITV, typically in a 4:45 pm
slot (days varied over the course of the run). Aimed at older children
and teenagers, the programme was based on the activities of a
children's newspaper, the Junior Gazette, produced by pupils from the
local comprehensive school. In later series it was depicted as a
commercial venture. The show interspersed comedic elements with the
dramatic. As well as addressing interpersonal relationships
(particularly in the Lynda-Spike story arc), the show tackled issues
such as solvent abuse, child abuse and firearms control. Written by
ex-teacher Steven Moffat, more than half the episodes were directed by
Bob Spiers, a noted British comedy director who had previously worked
on classics such as Fawlty Towers. Critical reception was very
positive, particularly for the quality of the writing, and the series
has attracted a cult following with a wide age range. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
27 BC:
Gaius Octavianus was given the title Augustus by the Roman Senate when
he became the first Roman emperor.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus>
1780:
American Revolutionary War: The British Royal Navy gained their first
major naval victory over its European enemies in the war when they
defeated a Spanish squadron in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_St._Vincent_%281780%29>
1938:
Benny Goodman's concert at New York City's Carnegie Hall was
instrumental in establishing jazz as a legitimate form of music.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Goodman>
1969:
Student Jan Palach set himself on fire in Wenceslas Square in Prague to
protest the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia one year earlier.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Palach>
2008:
Five days after proposing lyrics for the wordless La Marcha Real, the
Spanish national anthem, the Spanish Olympic Committee withdrew the
proposal due to widespread criticism.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcha_Real>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Lethean (adj):
1. (chiefly poetic, Greek mythology) of or relating to the river Lethe.
2. (by extension) of or relating to death or forgetfulness
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Lethean>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We are told we must choose — the old or the new. In fact, we must
choose both. What is a life if not a series of negotiations between the
old and the new? It seems to me that one should always be seeking to
talk oneself out of these stark oppositions.
--Susan Sontag
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Susan_Sontag>
120px|High resolution computed tomography (HRCT) images of the lower
chest in a 16 year-old boy with diffuse panbronchiolitis
Diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) is an inflammatory lung disease of
unknown cause. It is a severe, progressive form of bronchiolitis, an
inflammatory condition of the bronchioles (small air passages in the
lungs). DPB causes severe inflammation and nodule-like lesions of
terminal bronchioles, chronic sinusitis, and intense coughing with
large amounts of sputum production. The disease is believed to occur
when there is susceptibility, or a lack of immune system resistance, to
DPB-causing bacteria or viruses, caused by several genes that are found
predominantly in individuals of East Asian descent. DPB occurs more
often in males, and usually begins around age 40. It was recognized as
a distinct new disease in the early 1960s, and was formally named
"diffuse panbronchiolitis" in 1969. If left untreated, DPB progresses
to bronchiectasis, an irreversible lung condition that involves
enlargement of the bronchioles, and pooling of mucus in the bronchiolar
passages. The eventual result of untreated DPB can lead to respiratory
failure and heart problems. Daily treatment of DPB with macrolide
antibiotics such as erythromycin eases symptoms and increases survival
time, but the disease has no known cure. (more...)
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Compsognathus
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1759:
The British Museum in London, today containing one of the largest and
most comprehensive collections in the world, opened to the public in
Montagu House, Bloomsbury.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Museum>
1919:
A large molasses tank in Boston, Massachusetts, burst and a wave of
molasses rushed through the streets , killing 21 people and injuring
150 others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Molasses_Disaster>
1937:
Spanish Civil War: Nationalists and Republican both withdrew after
suffering heavy losses, ending the Second Battle of the Corunna Road.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_the_Corunna_Road>
1975:
Portugal signed the Alvor Agreement with UNITA, the MPLA, and the FNLA,
ending the Angolan War of Independence.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvor_Agreement>
1993:
Salvatore "The Beast" Riina, one of the most powerful members of the
Sicilian Mafia, was arrested after three decades as a fugitive.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvatore_Riina>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
penny farthing (v):
A type of bicycle popular in the 19th century, with the front wheel far
larger than the rear one
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/penny_farthing>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Those whose conduct gives room for talk
Are always the first to attack their neighbors.
--Molière
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Moli%C3%A8re>
120px|Queen Victoria holding a Privy Council meeting
The Privy Council is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in
the United Kingdom. Its membership is mostly made up of senior
politicians who are (or have been) members of either the House of
Commons or the House of Lords. The Privy Council, the modern-day
successor to the Privy Council of England, was formerly a powerful
institution, but its policy decisions are now exclusively in the hands
of one of its committees, the Cabinet. The Council formally advises the
Sovereign on the exercise of the Royal Prerogative, and together they
issue executive instruments known as Orders in Council, which among
other things are used to make Regulations. The Council by itself also
has a delegated authority to issue Orders of Council, which are mostly
used to regulate certain public institutions. It advises the Sovereign
on the issuing of Royal Charters, which are used to grant special
status to incorporated bodies, and city or borough status to local
authorities. (more...)
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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privy_Council_of_the_United_Kingdom>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1814:
Sweden and Denmark–Norway signed the Treaty of Kiel, whereby
Frederick VI of Denmark, a loser in the Napoleonic Wars, ceded Norway
to Sweden in return for the Swedish holdings in Pomerania.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Kiel>
1900:
Giacomo Puccini's opera Tosca, based on the play La Tosca by French
dramatist Victorien Sardou, premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tosca>
1957:
Kripalu Maharaj became the fifth Jagadguru, the supreme spiritual
leader of Hinduism.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagadguru_Kripalu_Maharaj>
1960:
The Reserve Bank of Australia , the country's central bank and
banknote-issuing authority, was established.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserve_Bank_of_Australia>
1967:
The counterculture Human Be-In was held in San Francisco's Golden Gate
Park, launching the Summer of Love.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Be-In>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
restitution (n):
1. (law) A process of compensation for losses.
2. A return or restoration to a previous condition or position
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/restitution>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
To relate oneself in the spirit of reverence for life to the multiform
manifestations of the will-to-live which together constitute the world
is ethical mysticism. All profound world-view is mysticism, the essence
of which is just this: that out of my unsophisticated and naïve
existence in the world there comes, as a result of thought about self
and the world, spiritual self-devotion to the mysterious infinite Will
which is continuously manifested in the universe.
--Albert Schweitzer
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Schweitzer>
100px|Art Ross
Art Ross (1886–1964) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman and
executive from 1905 until 1954. Regarded as one of the best defenders
of his era by his peers, he was one of the first to skate with the puck
up the ice rather than pass it to a forward. He won the Stanley Cup
twice in a playing career that lasted thirteen seasons; in January 1907
with the Kenora Thistles and 1908 with the Montreal Wanderers. In 1911
he led one of the first organized player strikes over increased pay.
When the Wanderers' home arena burned down in January 1918, the team
ceased operations and Ross retired as a player. After several years as
an on-ice official, he was named head coach of the Hamilton Tigers for
one season. When the Boston Bruins were formed in 1924, Ross was hired
as the first coach and general manager of the team. He would go on to
coach the team on four separate occasions until 1945 and stayed as
general manager until his retirement in 1954. Ross helped the Bruins
finish first place in the league ten times and to win the Stanley Cup
three times; Ross personally coached the team to one of those
victories. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1797:
French Revolutionary Wars: A naval battle off the coast of Brittany
between two British frigates and a French ship of the line ended with
over 900 deaths when the latter ran aground.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_13_January_1797>
1842:
First Anglo-Afghan War: William Brydon, an assistant surgeon in the
British Army, arrived at Jalalabad, Afghanistan, the sole European
survivor of the massacre of over 4,500 military personnel and over
10,000 civilian camp followers retreating from Kabul, excluding a few
prisoners released later.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Brydon>
1967:
General Gnassingbé Eyadéma seized power in Togo after a coup d'état,
ruling as head of state until his death in February 2005.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnassingb%C3%A9_Eyad%C3%A9ma>
1968:
American singer Johnny Cash recorded his landmark album At Folsom
Prison live at the Folsom State Prison in Folsom, California.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_Folsom_Prison>
2001:
The first of two large earthquakes struck El Salvador, killing at least
944 people and destroying over 100,000 homes.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_El_Salvador_earthquakes>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
transitory (adj):
Lasting only a short time; temporary
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/transitory>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Ill can he rule the great, that cannot reach the small.
--Edmund Spenser
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Spenser>
Mathew Charles Lamb (1948–1976) was a Canadian spree killer. Seventeen
days after his release from jail in June 1966, Lamb took a shotgun from
his uncle's house and went on a shooting spree around his home-town of
Windsor, Ontario, killing two strangers and wounding two more. He was
found not guilty by reason of insanity in January 1967, and so avoided
Canada's mandatory death penalty for capital murder, but was committed
for an indefinite time in psychiatric care. He displayed a profound
recovery over the course of six years at Penetanguishene Mental Health
Centre's maximum security Oak Ridge unit. The Executive Council of
Ontario released Lamb in early 1973 on the condition that he spend a
year under the supervision of Dr Elliot Barker, his long-time
psychiatrist at Oak Ridge. With Barker's encouragement, Lamb
volunteered for the Rhodesian Security Forces in late 1973. He served
with distinction in the Rhodesian Light Infantry and Special Air
Service until he was killed in action on 7 November 1976, soon after
his promotion to lance-corporal. He received what Newsweek called "a
hero's funeral" in the Rhodesian capital, Salisbury, before his ashes
were returned to Windsor. (more...)
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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathew_Charles_Lamb>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1693:
An intensity XI earthquake, the most powerful in Italian history,
struck the island of Sicily.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1693_Sicily_earthquake>
1879:
British forces under Lord Chelmsford invaded Zululand without
authorisation by the British Government, opening the Anglo-Zulu War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Zulu_War>
1923:
Troops from France and Belgium invaded the Ruhr Area to force the
German Weimar Republic to pay its reparations in the aftermath of World
War I.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Ruhr>
1946:
Enver Hoxha, First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania,
declared the People's Republic of Albania with himself as head of
state.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enver_Hoxha>
1986:
The Gateway Bridge in Brisbane, Australia, at the time the longest
prestressed concrete free-cantilever bridge in the world, opened.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Leo_Hielscher_Bridges>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
petiole (n):
1. (botany) The stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem.
2. (entomology) A narrow or constricted segment of the body of an
insect. Used especially to refer to the metasomal segment of
Hymenoptera such as wasps
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/petiole>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We are closer to God when we are asking questions than when we think we
have the answers.
--Abraham Joshua Heschel
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abraham_Joshua_Heschel>
100px|Brad Pitt at the 2008 premier of Burn After Reading
Brad Pitt (born 1963) is an American actor and film producer. Pitt
has received two Academy Award nominations and five Golden Globe Award
nominations, winning one. Described as one of the world's most
attractive men, Pitt's first leading roles in big-budget productions
came with A River Runs Through It (1992) and Interview with the Vampire
(1994). He was cast opposite Anthony Hopkins in the 1994 drama Legends
of the Fall, which earned him his first Golden Globe nomination. In
1995 he gave critically acclaimed performances in the crime thriller
Seven and the science fiction film 12 Monkeys, the latter securing him
a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and an Academy Award
nomination. Four years later, in 1999, Pitt starred in the cult hit
Fight Club. He then starred in the major international hit as Rusty
Ryan in Ocean's Eleven (2001) and its sequels, Ocean's Twelve (2004)
and Ocean's Thirteen (2007). His greatest commercial successes have
been Troy (2004) and Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005). Following a high-profile
relationship with actress Gwyneth Paltrow, Pitt was married to actress
Jennifer Aniston for five years. Pitt lives with actress Angelina Jolie
in a relationship that has generated wide publicity. (more...)
Recently featured: The Green Child – Elvis Presley – The
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Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Pitt>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1475:
Moldavian–Ottoman Wars: Moldavian forces under Stephen the Great
defeated an Ottoman attack led by Hadân Suleiman Pasha, the Beylerbeyi
of Rumelia, near Vaslui in present-day Romania.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vaslui>
1901:
The first great gusher of the Texas Oil Boom was discovered in the
Spindletop oil field near Beaumont, Texas, US.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spindletop>
1927:
The science fiction film Metropolis, which is inscribed in UNESCO's
Memory of the World Register, was released in Germany.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_%28film%29>
1929:
The Adventures of Tintin, a series of popular comic books created by
Belgian artist Hergé, first appeared in a children's supplement to the
Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Tintin>
2003:
After Chicago police detective Jon Burge was discovered to have forced
confessions from more than 200 suspects, Governor of Illinois George
Ryan commuted the death sentences of 167 prisoners and pardoned four
more.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Burge>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
open book (n):
1. Something of which salient aspects are obvious or easily
interpreted.
2. A person who through naivete responds candidly to questions or
openly displays their emotions or intentions
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/open_book>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence
and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the
certainty of corruption by authority. There is no worse heresy than
that the office sanctifies the holder of it.
--John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Dalberg-Acton%2C_1st_Baron_Acton>