Madagascar is an island country in the Indian Ocean, off the
southeastern coast of Africa. The nation comprises the island of
Madagascar as well as numerous smaller peripheral islands. Madagascar
split from India around 88 million years ago, allowing plants and
animals on the island to evolve to a biodiversity hotspot; over
90 percent of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island
is among the last major land masses to be reached by humans; its first
settlers arrived on outrigger canoes from Borneo around 2350 years ago,
followed over 1000 years later by migrants from East Africa. The
Malagasy people are often divided into eighteen or more sub-groups of
which the largest are the Merina of the central highlands. At the turn
of the 19th century, most of the island's numerous kingdoms were united
under Merina rulers as the Kingdom of Madagascar. The monarchy collapsed
in 1897 when the island was absorbed into the French colonial empire,
from which the island regained independence in 1960. Since 1992 the
nation has officially been governed as a constitutional democracy from
its capital at Antananarivo. However, in a popular uprising in 2009 the
last elected president Marc Ravalomanana was made to resign and
presidential power was transferred to Andry Rajoelina in a move widely
viewed by the international community as a coup d'état.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1492:
Members of the first voyage of Christopher Columbus reported
the sighting of unknown light on their way to Guanahani.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1492_light_sighting>
1797:
French Revolutionary Wars: The Royal Navy captured eleven Dutch
Navy ships without any losses in the Battle of Camperdown.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Camperdown>
1809:
American explorer Meriwether Lewis died along the Natchez Trace
in Tennessee in an apparent suicide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meriwether_Lewis>
1950:
A field-sequential color system developed by Hungarian-American
engineer Peter Goldmark became the first color television system to be
adopted for commercial use, but it was abandoned only a year later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field-sequential_color_system>
1987:
Sri Lankan Civil War: The Indian Peace Keeping Force began
Operation Pawan to take control of Jaffna from the Tamil Tigers in order
to enforce their disarmament as a part of the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Pawan>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
microcosm:
1. A smaller system which is representative of or analogous to a larger
one.
2. A small natural ecosystem; an artificial ecosystem set up as an
experimental model.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/microcosm>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green
earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are
available now.
--Thich Nhat Hanh
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thich_Nhat_Hanh>
Allegro is a musical by Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar
Hammerstein II (book and lyrics), their third collaboration for the
stage, which premiered on Broadway on October 10, 1947. After the
immense successes of the first two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals,
Oklahoma! and Carousel, the pair sought a subject for their next play.
Hammerstein had long contemplated a serious work that would deal with
the problems of an ordinary man in the fast-moving modern world. Rodgers
and he sought to create a work that would be as innovative as their
first two stage musicals. To that end, they created a play with a large
cast, including a Greek chorus. After a disastrous tryout in New Haven,
Connecticut, the musical opened on Broadway to a large advance sale of
tickets and very mixed reviews. The Broadway run, directed by Agnes de
Mille, ended after nine months; it had no West End production and has
rarely been revived.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegro_(musical)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1780:
One of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes on record struck the
Caribbean Sea, killing at least 22,000 people over the next several
days.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hurricane_of_1780>
1911:
The Xinhai Revolution began with the Wuchang Uprising, marking
the beginning of the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment
of the Republic of China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuchang_Uprising>
1933:
In the first proven act of air sabotage in the history of
commercial aviation, a United Airlines Boeing 247 exploded in mid-air
near Chesterton, Indiana, US, killing all seven people aboard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1933_United_Airlines_Boeing_247_mid-air_explo…>
1964:
The opening ceremony of the 1964 Summer Olympics took place in
Tokyo, the first to be telecast live internationally via satellite.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_Summer_Olympics>
1982:
Maximilian Kolbe (pictured), who had volunteered to die in
place of a stranger in the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz in
Poland, was canonized by the Catholic Church.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Kolbe>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
beefcake:
1. (informal) Imagery of one or more muscular, well-built men.
2. (informal) A muscular, well-built, desirable man.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/beefcake>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of
leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of
non-essentials.
--Lin Yutang
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lin_Yutang>
Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in
1990, the group's line-up currently includes drummer Danny Carey,
guitarist Adam Jones, vocalist Maynard James Keenan, and bassist Justin
Chancellor. Tool has won three Grammy Awards, performed worldwide tours,
and produced albums that have topped the charts in several countries.
The band emerged with a heavy metal sound on their first studio album,
Undertow (1993), and became a dominant force in the alternative metal
movement with the release of their second album, Ænima, in 1996. Their
efforts to unify musical experimentation, visual arts, and a message of
personal evolution continued with Lateralus (2001) and the most recent
album, 10,000 Days (2006), gaining the band critical acclaim and
commercial success around the world. Their long-awaited fifth album is
in production. The band is generally described as a style-transcending
act and part of progressive rock and art rock. The relationship between
the band and today's music industry is ambivalent, at times marked by
censorship and the band members' insistence on privacy.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tool_(band)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1701:
The Collegiate School of Connecticut, later renamed Yale
University, was chartered in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, US.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale_University>
1831:
Ioannis Kapodistrias, the Greek head of state, was assassinated
in Nafplion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ioannis_Kapodistrias>
1942:
World War II: American forces defeated the Japanese at the
Third Battle of the Matanikau in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, avenging
the Japanese victory a couple of weeks earlier.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actions_along_the_Matanikau>
1986:
The Phantom of the Opera, a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber
currently the longest-running Broadway show in history, opened in
London's West End.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phantom_of_the_Opera_(1986_musical)>
2006:
North Korea conducted a nuclear test, reportedly near Kilchu,
with an explosive force of less than one kiloton, that was unanimously
condemned and denounced by many countries and the United Nations
Security Council.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_North_Korean_nuclear_test>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
understudy:
1. To study or know a role, so as to be able to replace its normal
performer if required.
2. To act as an understudy (to, for someone).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/understudy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Christ said, "The Kingdom of Heaven is within you." And the Indians say
that and the Zen people say that. We're all God. I'm not a god or the
God, but we're all God and we're all potentially divine — and
potentially evil. We all have everything within us and the Kingdom of
Heaven is nigh and within us, and if you look hard enough you'll see it.
--John Lennon
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Lennon>
Little Butte Creek is a 17-mile (27 km) long tributary of the Rogue
River located in the U.S. state of Oregon. Its drainage basin consists
of approximately 354 square miles (917 km2) of Jackson County and
another 19 square miles (49 km2) of Klamath County. The north fork of
the creek begins at Fish Lake, while the south fork begins near Brown
Mountain. The two forks flow generally west until they meet near Lake
Creek. The main stem then flows through the communities of Brownsboro,
Eagle Point, and White City, finally emptying into the Rogue River about
3 miles (5 km) west of Eagle Point. Little Butte Creek's watershed was
originally settled by the Takelma, and possibly the Shasta tribes of
Native Americans. In the Rogue River Wars of the 1850s, most of the
Native Americans were either killed or forced onto Indian reservations.
On October 8, 1855, Major J. A. Lupton gathered 35 men from Jacksonville
and attacked the Rogue River Indians near the mouth of Little Butte
Creek, killing about 30 of them. Lupton was also killed, and eleven of
his men were injured.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Butte_Creek_(Rogue_River)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1862:
American Civil War: The Battle of Perryville, one of the
bloodiest battles of the war, was fought in the Chaplin Hills west of
Perryville, Kentucky.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Perryville>
1904:
The Canadian cities of Edmonton, Alberta, and Prince Albert,
Saskatchewan, were both incorporated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Albert,_Saskatchewan>
1932:
The Indian Air Force was founded as an auxiliary air force of
the Indian Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Air_Force>
1952:
Three trains collided (wreckage pictured) at Harrow &
Wealdstone station in London killing 112 people and injuring 340.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrow_and_Wealdstone_rail_crash>
1998:
Gardermoen Airport, the main domestic hub and international
airport for Norway, opened as Oslo Airport, Fornebu, closed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo_Airport,_Fornebu>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
choreography:
1. The art of creating, arranging and recording the dance movements of a
ballet, etc.
2. The representation of these movements by a series of symbols.
3. The notation used to construct this record.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/choreography>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The person who takes the banal and ordinary and illuminates it in a new
way can terrify. We do not want our ideas changed. We feel threatened by
such demands. "I already know the important things!" we say. Then
Changer comes and throws our old ideas away. in
--Chapterhouse : Dune
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dune#Chapterhouse:_Dune_.281985.29>
The exact nature of Sino-Tibetan relations during the Ming Dynasty
(1368–1644) of China is unclear. Analysis of the relationship is
further complicated by modern political conflicts and the application of
Westphalian sovereignty to a time when the concept did not exist. Some
Mainland Chinese scholars assert that the Ming Dynasty had unquestioned
sovereignty over Tibet, citing the Ming court's issuing of various
titles to Tibetan leaders, Tibetans' full acceptance of these titles,
and a renewal process for successors of these titles that involved
traveling to the Ming capital. Scholars within China also argue that
Tibet has been an integral part of China since the 13th century, thus a
part of the Ming Empire. But most scholars outside China say that the
relationship was one of suzerainty, that Ming titles were only nominal,
that Tibet remained an independent region outside Ming control, and that
it simply paid tribute until the reign of Jiajing (1521–1566), who
ceased relations with Tibet.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibet_during_the_Ming_Dynasty>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1777:
American Revolutionary War: The British suffered a decisive
defeat at the Second Battle of Saratoga, generally regarded as a turning
point in the war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Saratoga>
1849:
American writer Edgar Allan Poe died under mysterious
circumstances at Washington Medical College four days after being found
on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland, in a delirious and incoherent
state.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Edgar_Allan_Poe>
1944:
The Holocaust: When members of the Sonderkommando—Jewish work
units in Auschwitz—learned that they were due to be murdered, they
staged a revolt, managing to kill more than 70 SS men before being
massacred themselves.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonderkommando>
1976:
Hua Guofeng succeeded Mao Zedong as Chairman of the Communist
Party of China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hua_Guofeng>
2006:
Russian journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya
was assassinated in the elevator of her apartment block in central
Moscow.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Anna_Politkovskaya>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
croggy:
A ride on the handlebars or crossbar of a bicycle.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/croggy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Can you live without answers? All of you, ask that of yourself. Can you
live without answers? Because if you cannot, then most assuredly you
will invent your own answers and they will comfort you. And all those
who do not share your view will by their very existence strike fear and
hatred into your heart. What god blesses this?
--Steven Erikson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steven_Erikson>
Fertilisation of Orchids, written by Charles Darwin (pictured) and
published on 15 May 1862, explores the evolutionary interactions between
insects and the orchids they pollinate, which Darwin had mentioned in
his previous book, On the Origin of Species. Field studies and practical
scientific investigations that were initially a recreation for
Darwin—a relief from the drudgery of writing—developed into
enjoyable and challenging experiments assisted by his family, friends,
and correspondents worldwide. The book was his first detailed
demonstration of the power of natural selection, showing how the
benefits of cross-fertilisation lead to complex ecological relationships
and the coevolution of orchids and insects, with cumulative small
variations resulting in beautiful and complex functional forms that
natural theology had attributed to a grand designer. It explained the
puzzle of Catasetum, which was thought to have different species of
flowers on the same plant, and produced the testable prediction that the
long nectary of Angraecum sesquipedale meant that there must be a moth
with an equally long proboscis.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertilisation_of_Orchids>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1777:
American Revolutionary War: British forces under the command of
General Sir Henry Clinton captured Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery, and
then dismantled the Hudson River Chain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Forts_Clinton_and_Montgomery>
1910:
Eleftherios Venizelos was elected Prime Minister of Greece for
the first of his seven non-consecutive terms.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleftherios_Venizelos>
1927:
The first successful feature sound film The Jazz Singer,
starring Al Jolson, was released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jazz_Singer>
2000:
Denouncing corruption in the administration of Argentine
President Fernando de la Rúa and in the Senate, Vice President Carlos
Álvarez resigned from his office.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_%C3%81lvarez_(politician)>
2002:
Al Qaeda bombed the oil tanker Limburg, causing 90,000 barrels
(14,000 m3) of oil to leak into the Gulf of Aden.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritime_Jewel>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
wizened:
Withered; lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wizened>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Learn to control ego. Humans hold their dogmas and biases too tightly,
and we only think that our opponents are dogmatic! But we all need
criticism. Criticism is the only known antidote to error.
--David Brin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Brin>
The Appaloosa is a horse breed best known for its colorful leopard-
spotted coat pattern. It includes a wide range of body types because of
the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. The
color pattern of the Appaloosa is of great interest to those who study
equine coat color genetics, as it and several other physical
characteristics are linked to the leopard complex mutation (LP). Artwork
depicting prehistoric horses with leopard spotting existed in cave
paintings. The Nez Perce people of the United States Pacific Northwest
developed the original American breed. It is best known as a stock horse
used in a number of western riding disciplines, but is also a versatile
breed with representatives seen in many other types of equestrian
activity. The Nez Perce lost most of their horses after the Nez Perce
War in 1877. A small number of dedicated breeders preserved the
Appaloosa as a distinct breed until the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) was
formed as the breed registry in 1938.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appaloosa>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1910:
The Portuguese Republican Party organised a coup d'etat,
deposed the constitutional monarchy and implanted a republican regime in
Portugal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_October_1910_revolution>
1930:
The British airship R101 crashed in France en route to India on
its maiden voyage, killing 48 passengers and crew.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R101>
1962:
Dr. No, the first in the James Bond film series, was released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._No_(film)>
1970:
Members of the Front de Libération du Québec kidnapped
British diplomat James Cross, sparking the October Crisis in Montreal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Crisis>
1975:
Dirty War: The guerrilla group Montoneros carried out Operation
Primicia, a terrorist attack in which they hijacked an Aerolíneas
Argentinas flight, captured the Formosa International Airport, and
attacked a military regiment.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Primicia>
1986:
The British newspaper The Sunday Times published a story by
Mordechai Vanunu, a former nuclear technician, revealing details of
Israel's nuclear capability.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordechai_Vanunu>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
amber:
1. Translucent fossilized tree resin, generally yellow or orange but
sometimes blue, often used as jewelry.
2. (in British English) The middle light in a set of three traffic lights,
between the red and the green lights.
3. (in biology, biochemistry and genetics) The RNA codon UAG, which stops
the third stage of protein production, translation.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/amber>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Periods of history when values undergo a fundamental shift are certainly
not unprecedented. … The distinguishing features of such transitional
periods are a mixing and blending of cultures and a plurality or
parallelism of intellectual and spiritual worlds. These are periods when
all consistent value systems collapse, when cultures distant in time and
space are discovered or rediscovered. They are periods when there is a
tendency to quote, to imitate, and to amplify, rather than to state with
authority or integrate. New meaning is gradually born from the
encounter, or the intersection, of many different elements. … an
amalgamation of cultures is taking place. I see it as proof that
something is happening, something is being born, that we are in a phase
when one age is succeeding another, when everything is possible.
--Václav Havel
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/V%C3%A1clav_Havel>
Hurricane Guillermo was the sixth strongest Pacific hurricane on record,
attaining peak winds of 160 mph (260 km/h). Forming out of a tropical
wave on July 30, 1997, roughly 345 mi (555 km) south of Salina Cruz,
Mexico, Guillermo tracked in a steady west-northwestward direction while
intensifying. The system reached hurricane status by August 1 before
undergoing rapid intensification the following day. At the end of this
phase, the storm attained its peak intensity as a powerful Category 5
hurricane. The storm began to weaken during the afternoon of August 5
and was downgraded to a tropical storm on August 8. On August 15, the
storm reached an unusually high latitude of 41.8°N before transitioning
into an extratropical cyclone. The remnants persisted for more than a
week as they tracked towards the northeast and later south and east
before being absorbed by a larger extratropical system off the coast of
California on August 24. Throughout Guillermo's extensive track, the
storm never threatened any major landmass. However, owing to its extreme
intensity, it produced large swells across the Pacific Ocean, affecting
areas from Hawaii to coastal Mexico. Along the American Pacific coast,
three people drowned because of high waves, two in Baja California and
one in California.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Guillermo_(1997)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1910:
Manuel II (pictured), the last King of Portugal, fled to
Gibraltar when a revolution erupted in Lisbon and the Portuguese First
Republic was proclaimed the next day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_October_1910_revolution>
1918:
An ammunition plant in Sayreville, New Jersey, US, exploded
killing over 100 people and destroying more than 300 buildings.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._A._Gillespie_Company_Shell_Loading_Plant_e…>
1941:
Willie Gillis, one of Norman Rockwell's trademark characters,
debuted on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Gillis>
1958:
The new constitution establishing the French Fifth Republic,
France's current political regime, was introduced.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Fifth_Republic>
2010:
The dam holding a waste reservoir in western Hungary collapsed,
freeing 1 million cubic metres (1,300,000 cu yd) of red mud, which
flooded nearby communities and killed at least nine people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajka_alumina_plant_accident>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
catloaf:
The loaflike form of a domestic cat sitting with paws tucked underneath
the body.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/catloaf>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
For honest merit to succeed amid the tricks and intrigues which are now
so lamentably common, I know is difficult; but the honor of success is
increased by the obstacles which are to be surmounted. Let me triumph as
a man or not at all.
--Rutherford B. Hayes
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rutherford_B._Hayes>
"Say Say Say" is a pop song written and performed by Paul McCartney and
Michael Jackson. The track was produced by George Martin for McCartney's
fifth solo album, Pipes of Peace (1983). The song was recorded during
the production of McCartney's 1982 Tug of War album. After its release
in October 1983, "Say Say Say" became Jackson's seventh top-ten hit in a
year. It was a number one hit in the United States, Norway, Sweden and
several other countries, reached number two in the United Kingdom, and
peaked within the top ten in more than 20 countries, including
Australia, Austria, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
Certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, the
song was promoted with a music video directed by Bob Giraldi. The
video – filmed in Santa Ynez Valley, California – features cameo
appearances by Linda McCartney and La Toya Jackson. The short film
centers around two con artists called "Mac and Jack" (played by
McCartney and Jackson), and is credited for the introduction of dialogue
and storyline to music videos.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Say_Say_Say>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1918:
World War I: Following his armed forces' defeat to the Allied
Powers, Bulgarian Tsar Ferdinand I abdicated in favor of his son
Boris III.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_III_of_Bulgaria>
1935:
Italian forces under General Emilio De Bono invaded Abyssinia
during the opening stages of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Bono%27s_invasion_of_Abyssinia>
1957:
A California Superior Court judge ruled that Allen Ginsburg's
"Howl" was not obscene, and it went on to become the most popular
American poem to the present day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howl>
1981:
The hunger strike by Irish Republican Army prisoners at the
Maze jail in Belfast ended after seven months and 10 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Irish_hunger_strike>
1990:
East and West Germany officially joined to form the first fully
sovereign united German state since the end of World War II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reunification>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
unitive:
Causing or characterized by unity or union.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unitive>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Don't ever make the mistake with people like me thinking we are looking
for heroes. There aren't any and if there were, they would be killed
immediately. I'm never surprised by bad behaviour. I expect it.
--Gore Vidal
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gore_Vidal>
The Battle of Bicocca was fought on April 27, 1522, during the Italian
War of 1521–26. A combined French and Venetian force under Odet de
Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, was decisively defeated by a Spanish-Imperial
and Papal army under the overall command of Prospero Colonna. Lautrec
then withdrew from Lombardy, leaving the Duchy of Milan in Imperial
hands. Having been driven from Milan by an Imperial advance in late
1521, Lautrec had regrouped, attempting to strike at Colonna's lines of
communication. When the Swiss mercenaries in French service did not
receive their pay, however, they demanded an immediate battle, and
Lautrec was forced to attack Colonna's fortified position in the park of
the Arcimboldi Villa Bicocca, north of Milan. The Swiss pikemen advanced
over open fields under heavy artillery fire to assault the Imperial
positions, but were halted at a sunken road backed by earthworks. Having
suffered massive casualties from the fire of Spanish arquebusiers, the
Swiss retreated. Unwilling to fight further, they marched off to their
cantons a few days later, and Lautrec retreated into Venetian territory
with the remnants of his army.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bicocca>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1263:
Scottish–Norwegian War: The armies of Norway and Scotland
fought at the Battle of Largs, an inconclusive engagement near the
present-day town of Largs in North Ayrshire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Largs>
1928:
Spanish priest Josemaría Escrivá founded Opus Dei (logo
pictured), a worldwide organization of the Catholic Church which teaches
that everyone can be a saint.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opus_Dei>
1937:
Under the orders of President Rafael Trujillo, Dominican troops
began mass killings of approximately 20,000 Haitians living in the
Dominican Republic.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsley_Massacre>
1992:
In response to a prison riot, military police stormed the
Carandiru Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil, killing at least 100
prisoners.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carandiru_massacre>
2009:
The Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland was
approved at the second attempt, permitting the state to ratify the
European Union's Treaty of Lisbon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-eighth_Amendment_of_the_Constitution_o…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
splurge:
1. To gush, to flow or move in a rush.
2. To spend (usually money) lavishly or extravagantly.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/splurge>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Everything is complicated; if that were not so, life and poetry and
everything else would be a bore.
--Wallace Stevens
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wallace_Stevens>