Yogo sapphires are a variety of corundum found only in Yogo Gulch,
Montana, part of the Little Belt Mountains in Judith Basin County, on
land once inhabited by the Piegan Blackfeet people. Yogos are typically
cornflower blue in color, a result of trace amounts of iron and
titanium. Many gemologists consider them among the finest sapphires in
the world. They have high uniform clarity and maintain their brilliance
under artificial light. Because Yogo sapphires occur within a vertically
dipping resistive igneous dike, mining efforts have been sporadic and
rarely profitable. It is estimated that at least 28,000,000 carats
(5,600 kg) of Yogos are still in the ground. The Smithsonian
Institution first reported on Yogos in the museum's annual report on
June 30, 1899. Jewelry containing Yogos was given to First Ladies
Florence Harding and Bess Truman; in addition, many gems were sold in
Europe. Today, several Yogo sapphires are part of the Smithsonian
Institution's gem collection. In 1969, the sapphire was co-designated
along with the agate as Montana's state gemstones.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogo_sapphire>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1859:
French acrobat Charles Blondin crossed Niagara Gorge on a
tightrope, turning him into one of the world's most famous tightrope
walkers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Blondin>
1908:
A massive explosion occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska
River in what is now Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, knocking over 80 million
trees (sample pictured) over 2,150 square kilometres (830 sq mi).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event>
1922:
The United States and the Dominican Republic signed an
agreement that ended the former's occupation of the latter two years
later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_occupation_of_the_Dominican_Rep…>
1972:
The International Time Bureau added the first leap second to
the Coordinated Universal Time time scale.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_second>
2009 - Schoolgirl Bahia Bakari was the sole survivor when Yemenia Flight
626 crashed into the Indian Ocean killing 152 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemenia_Flight_626>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
miserabilist:
One who is unhappy, or extols being miserable as a virtue; a philosopher
of pessimism.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/miserabilist>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I see myself as a huge fiery comet, a shooting star. Everyone stops,
points up and gasps "Oh look at that!" Then — whoosh, and I'm gone...
and they'll never see anything like it ever again ... and they won't be
able to forget me — ever.
--Jim Morrison
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jim_Morrison>
Olivia Shakespear (1863–1938) was a British novelist, playwright, and
patron of the arts. She wrote six books that are described as "marriage
problem" novels. Her works sold poorly, sometimes only a few hundred
copies. Her last novel, Uncle Hilary, is considered her best. She wrote
two plays in collaboration with Florence Farr. In 1894 her literary
interests led to a friendship with William Butler Yeats that became
physically intimate in 1896. Following their consummation he declared
that they "had many days of happiness" to come, but the affair ended in
1897. They nevertheless remained lifelong friends and corresponded
frequently. Yeats went on to marry Georgie Hyde-Lees, Olivia's step-
niece and her daughter Dorothy's best friend. Olivia began hosting a
weekly salon frequented by Ezra Pound and other modernist writers and
artists in 1909, and became influential in London literary society.
Dorothy Shakespear married Pound in 1914, despite the less-than-
enthusiastic blessing of her parents. After their marriage, Pound would
use funds received from Olivia to support T. S. Eliot and James Joyce.
When Dorothy gave birth to a son, Omar Pound, in France in 1926, Olivia
assumed guardianship of the boy. He lived with Olivia until her death on
3 October 1938.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivia_Shakespear>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1613:
The original Globe Theatre in London burned to the ground after
a cannon employed for special effects misfired during a performance of
William Shakespeare's Henry VIII and ignited the theatre's roof.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Theatre>
1659:
Russo-Polish War: The hetman of Ukraine Ivan Vyhovsky and his
allies defeated the armies of Russian Tsardom led by Aleksey Trubetskoy
at the Battle of Konotop in the present-day Sumy Oblast of Ukraine.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Konotop>
1864:
Canada's worst railway accident took place when a passenger
train fell through an open swing bridge into the Richelieu River near
present-day Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St-Hilaire_train_disaster>
1974:
Russian dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defected from the Soviet
Union while on tour with the Bolshoi Ballet in Toronto.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Baryshnikov>
2002:
North and South Korean patrol boats clashed along a disputed
maritime boundary near Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Yeonpyeong>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
enterolith:
A mineral concretion in the intestinal tract.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enterolith>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is another of the miraculous things about mankind that there is no
pain nor passion that does not radiate to the ends of the earth. Let a
man in a garret but burn with enough intensity and he will set fire to
the world.
--Antoine de Saint Exupéry
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint_Exup%C3%A9ry>
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's relations with the Belyayev circle, which
lasted from 1887 until Tchaikovsky's death, influenced all of their
music and briefly helped shape the next generation of Russian composers.
This group was named after timber merchant Mitrofan Belyayev, an
influential music patron and publisher. By 1887, Tchaikovsky was firmly
established as one of the leading composers in Russia. A favorite of
Tsar Alexander III, he was widely regarded as a national treasure. As a
result of the time Tchaikovsky spent with the Belyayev circle's leading
composers—Alexander Glazunov, Anatoly Lyadov and Nikolai Rimsky-
Korsakov—the somewhat fraught relationship he had previously endured
with The Five would eventually meld into something more harmonious. Over
the long term, though, Tchaikovsky's influence over the Belyayev
composers was not as great as his influence on The Five. They continued
writing overall in a style more akin to Rimsky-Korsakov than to
Tchaikovsky, falling back stylistically on their predecessors instead of
developing their own individual voices. Even Glazunov backed away from
echoing Tchaikovsky strongly in his mature work, instead amalgamating
nationalistic and cosmopolitan styles in an eclectic approach. The
Belyayev composers also spread the nationalist musical aesthetic to
Russia on the whole and were themselves an influence on composers well
into the Soviet era.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky_and_the_Belyayev_cir…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1776:
American Revolutionary War: South Carolina militia repelled a
British attack on Charleston.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sullivan%27s_Island>
1895:
The United States Court of Private Land Claims ruled that the
title claimed by James Reavis to 18,600 sq mi (48,000 km2) in present-
day Arizona and New Mexico was "wholly fictitious and fraudulent".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Reavis>
1942:
World War II: The German Wehrmacht launched Case Blue, a
strategic summer offensive intended to knock the Soviet Union out of the
war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_Blue>
1956:
Workers demanding better conditions held massive protests in
Poznań, Poland, but were violently repressed by the following day by
400 tanks and 10,000 soldiers of the People's Army of Poland and the
Internal Security Corps.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pozna%C5%84_1956_protests>
1989:
President of Serbia Slobodan Milošević gave a speech in which
he described the possibility of "armed battles" in the future of
Serbia's national development.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazimestan_speech>
2009:
Honduran president Manuel Zelaya was ousted by local military
forces following his attempt to hold a referendum to change the Honduran
constitution so he could serve a second term.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Honduran_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
röck döts:
(informal, humorous) Heavy metal umlauts; umlauts over letters in the
name of a heavy metal band (as in "Motörhead", "Queensrÿche" and
"Mötley Crüe"), added gratuitously for mere stylistic effect.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/r%C3%B6ck_d%C3%B6ts>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Nature never deceives us; it is we who deceive ourselves.
--Jean-Jacques Rousseau
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau>
Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in
Rochester, Kent, South East England. The 12th-century keep or stone
tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best
preserved in England or France. Located along the River Medway and
Watling Street, Rochester was a strategically important royal castle.
The first castle at Rochester was founded in the aftermath of the Norman
Conquest. During the Rebellion of 1088, the castle first saw military
action; the city and castle were besieged after Bishop Odo made
Rochester a headquarters for the rebellion. After the garrison
capitulated, this first castle was abandoned. It saw further action
during the First Barons' War (1215–1217), the Second Barons' War
(1264–1267), and the Peasants' Revolt (1381). The castle was opened to
the public in the 1870s as a park. At various points during the 19th and
20th centuries repairs were carried out. The castle is protected as a
Grade I listed building and Scheduled Monument. Today the ruins are in
the guardianship of English Heritage and open to the public.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester_Castle>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
678:
Saint Agatho (pictured), who later convened the Third Council of
Constantinople to condemn monothelitism as heretical, began his reign as
Pope.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Agatho>
1571:
Elizabeth I of England issued a royal charter establishing
Jesus College, the first Protestant college at the University of Oxford.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_College,_Oxford>
1899:
A. E. J. Collins scored 628 runs not out, the highest-ever
recorded score in cricket.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._E._J._Collins>
1986:
In Nicaragua v. United States, the International Court of
Justice ruled that the United States had violated international law by
supporting the Contras in their rebellion against the Nicaraguan
government
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaragua_v._United_States>
1989:
The International Labour Organization Convention 169, a major
binding international convention concerning indigenous peoples, and a
forerunner of the 2007 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
was adopted.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_and_Tribal_Peoples_Convention,_1989>
2008:
President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe was overwhelmingly re-
elected after his opponent Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew a week earlier,
citing violence against his party's supporters.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimbabwean_presidential_election,_2008>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
philander:
To make love to women; to play the male flirt.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/philander>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented
cages.
--Jacques Deval
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jacques_Deval>
The first season of Homicide: Life on the Street, an American police
procedural drama television series, originally aired in the United
States on NBC between January 31 and March 31, 1993. Created by Paul
Attanasio and adapted from the 1991 non-fiction book Homicide: A Year on
the Killing Streets by David Simon (pictured), Homicide: Life on the
Street followed the fictional detectives of the Baltimore Police
Department homicide unit and the murder cases they investigate. The
first season was broadcast Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST, with the exception
of the series premiere, which aired immediately after Super Bowl XXVII.
The season introduced regular cast members Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty,
Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, Wendy Hughes, Clark Johnson, Yaphet
Kotto, Melissa Leo, Jon Polito and Kyle Secor. Most of the primary
characters were based on real-life Baltimore detectives from Simon's
book, including Gary D'Addario, Terrence McLarney, Harry Edgerton,
Donald Worden and Jay Landsman. Many of the season story arcs were also
adapted from the book, most notably the 1988 Baltimore slaying of 11
-year-old Latonya Kim Wallace, which was the basis for the murder case
of Adena Watson in Homicide. The first season received consistently
positive reviews, with several commentators declaring it one of the best
shows on television at the time. However, the Nielsen ratings declined
throughout the season, which Homicide producers attributed to a poor
time-slot and heavy competition from the ABC comedies Home Improvement
and Coach. The ratings led NBC executives to demand changes to the show
before renewing Homicide for a second season.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homicide:_Life_on_the_Street_(season_1)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1910:
The Firebird, the first major work by Russian composer Igor
Stravinsky (pictured), was premiered in Paris.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Firebird>
1940:
Second World War – The evacuation of nearly 200,000 Allied
soldiers from French ports was completed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ariel>
1950:
The Korean War began with North Korean forces launching a pre-
dawn raid over the 38th parallel into South Korea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War>
1960:
Two cryptographers working for the United States National
Security Agency left for vacation to Mexico, and from there defected to
the Soviet Union.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_and_Mitchell_defection>
1967:
More than 400 million people viewed Our World, the first live,
international satellite television production.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_World_(TV_special)>
2006:
Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was kidnapped in a cross-border
raid from the Gaza Strip on the crossing Kerem Shalom, and was held
hostage by Hamas until 2011.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilad_Shalit>
2009:
Singer Michael Jackson died after suffering cardiac arrest at
his Los Angeles home, which authorities later declared a homicide caused
by the combination of drugs in his body.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Michael_Jackson>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
flense:
To strip the blubber or skin from, as from a whale, seal, etc.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flense>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that
went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.
--George Orwell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell>
Francis Walsingham (c.1532–1590) was principal secretary to Queen
Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death, and is
popularly remembered as her "spymaster". A committed Protestant, during
the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary I of England he joined other
expatriates in exile in Switzerland and northern Italy until Mary's
death and the accession of her Protestant half-sister, Elizabeth.
Walsingham rose from relative obscurity to become one of the small
coterie who directed the Elizabethan state, overseeing foreign, domestic
and religious policy. He served as English ambassador to France in the
early 1570s, and witnessed the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. As
principal secretary, he was a supporter of exploration, colonization,
the plantation of Ireland, and the use of England's maritime power. He
worked to bring Scotland and England together. Overall, his foreign
policy demonstrated a new understanding of the role of England as a
maritime, Protestant power in an increasingly global economy. He oversaw
operations that penetrated the heart of Spanish military preparation,
gathered intelligence from across Europe, disrupted a range of plots
against Elizabeth, and secured the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Walsingham>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1622:
Dutch–Portuguese War: An outnumbered Portuguese force
repelled a Dutch attack in the Battle of Macau, the only major military
engagement that was fought between two European powers on the Chinese
mainland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Macau>
1812:
Napoleonic Wars: The French Grande Armée under Napoleon
crossed the Neman River, marking the start of their invasion of Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_invasion_of_Russia>
1932:
A group of military and civilians engineered a bloodless coup
in Siam, ending the absolute rule of the Chakri Dynasty.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siamese_revolution_of_1932>
1981:
The Humber Bridge opened, connecting the East Riding of
Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire in England, at the time the longest
single-span suspension bridge.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humber_Bridge>
1982:
British Airways Flight 9 flew into a cloud of volcanic ash
thrown up by the eruption of Indonesia's Mount Galunggung, resulting in
the failure of all four of its engines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_9>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
dead tree edition:
(idiomatic, pejorative, humorous) Paper version of a publication that
can be found online.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dead_tree_edition>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The very pure spirit does not bother about the regard of others or human
respect, but communes inwardly with God, alone and in solitude as to all
forms, and with delightful tranquility, for the knowledge of God is
received in divine silence.
--John of the Cross
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_of_the_Cross>
Nansen's Fram expedition was an 1893–1896 attempt by the Norwegian
explorer Fridtjof Nansen to reach the geographical North Pole by
harnessing the natural east–west current of the Arctic Ocean. In the
face of much discouragement from other polar explorers Nansen took his
ship Fram to the New Siberian Islands in the eastern Arctic Ocean, froze
her into the pack ice, and waited for the drift to carry her towards the
pole. Impatient with the slow speed and erratic character of the drift,
after 18 months Nansen and a chosen companion, Hjalmar Johansen, left
the ship with a team of dogs and sledges and made for the pole. They did
not reach it, but they achieved a record Farthest North latitude before
a long retreat to Franz Josef Land. Meanwhile Fram continued to drift
westward, finally emerging in the North Atlantic Ocean. The ship was
rarely threatened during her long imprisonment, and emerged unscathed
after three years. The scientific observations carried out during this
period contributed significantly to the new discipline of oceanography,
which subsequently became the main focus of Nansen's scientific work.
Fram's drift and Nansen's sledge journey proved conclusively that there
were no significant land masses between the Eurasian continents and the
North Pole, and confirmed the general character of the north polar
region as a deep, ice-covered sea.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nansen%27s_Fram_expedition>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1858:
Edgardo Mortara, a six-year-old Jewish boy, was seized by papal
authorities and taken to be raised as a Roman Catholic, sparking an
international controversy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgardo_Mortara>
1894:
Led by French historian Pierre de Coubertin, an international
congress at the Sorbonne in Paris founded the International Olympic
Committee to reinstate the ancient Olympic Games.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_de_Coubertin>
1946:
Canada's largest onshore earthquake, measuring 7.3 Mw, struck
Vancouver Island, but only caused two casualties since there were no
heavily populated areas near its epicenter.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1946_Vancouver_Island_earthquake>
1972:
Title IX of the United States Civil Rights Act of 1964 was
amended (primary author Patsy Mink pictured) to prohibit sexual
discrimination in any educational program receiving federal funds, which
allowed for huge growth in women's sports for student athletes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_IX>
1985:
A bomb attributed to the Sikh separatist group Babbar Khalsa
destroyed Air India Flight 182 above the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 329
on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_India_Flight_182>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
unbeknownst:
(followed by to) Without the knowledge of.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unbeknownst>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) This is what I wanna be Suddenly I see
(Suddenly I see) Why the hell it means so much to me.
--KT Tunstall
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/KT_Tunstall>
Petrified Forest National Park is a United States national park in
Navajo and Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. The park's
headquarters are about 26 miles (42 km) east of Holbrook along
Interstate 40 (I-40), which parallels a railroad line, the Puerco River,
and historic U.S. Route 66, all crossing the park roughly east–west.
Named for its large deposits of petrified wood, the park covers about
146 square miles (380 km2), encompassing semi-desert shrub steppe as
well as highly eroded and colorful badlands. The site, the northern part
of which extends into the Painted Desert, was declared a National
Monument in 1906 and a national park in 1962. About 600,000 people visit
the park each year and take part in activities including sightseeing,
photography, hiking, and backpacking. The Petrified Forest is known for
its fossils, especially fallen trees that lived in the Late Triassic,
about 225 million years ago. The sediments containing the fossil logs
are part of the widespread and colorful Chinle Formation, from which the
Painted Desert gets its name.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrified_Forest_National_Park>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1633:
Galileo Galilei was forced to recant his heliocentric view of
the Solar System by the Roman Inquisition, after which, as legend has
it, he muttered under his breath, "And yet it moves".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_affair>
1807:
The British warship HMS Leopard pursued and attacked the
American frigate USS Chesapeake in the belief that the latter had
deserters from the Royal Navy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake%E2%80%93Leopard_Affair>
1911:
George V and Mary of Teck (both pictured) were crowned King and
Queen of the United Kingdom at Westminster Abbey in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Teck>
1937:
Camille Chautemps became Prime Minister of France for the third
time, in the second Popular Front ministry.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camille_Chautemps>
2002:
An earthquake measuring 6.5 Mw struck a region of northwestern
Iran, killing at least 261 people and injuring 1,300 others, and
eventually causing widespread public anger due to the slow official
response.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Bou%27in-Zahra_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
avocation:
1. A hobby or recreational or leisure pursuit.
2. Pursuits; duties; affairs which occupy one's time; usual employment;
vocation.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/avocation>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We see what we are told that we see. Repetition and pride are the keys
to this. To hear and to see Even an obvious lie Again And again and
again May be to say it, Almost by reflex Then to defend it Because we
have said it And at last to embrace it Because we've defended it.
--Octavia Butler
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Octavia_Butler>
Dan Leno (1860–1904) was a leading English music hall comedian and
musical theatre actor during the late Victorian era. He was perhaps best
known, aside from his music hall act, for his dame roles in the annual
pantomimes that were popular at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane from
1888 to 1904. As a youth, he was famous for his clog dancing, and in his
teen years, he became the star of his family's act. As a solo artist, he
became increasingly popular during the late 1880s and 1890s, when he was
one of the highest-paid comedians in the world. He developed a music
hall act of talking about life's mundane subjects, mixed with comic
songs and surreal observations, and created a host of mostly working-
class characters to illustrate his stories. In 1901, still at the peak
of his career, he performed his "Huntsman" sketch for Edward VII at
Sandringham. The monarch was so impressed that Leno became publicly
known as "the king's jester". Leno continued to appear in musical
comedies and his own music hall routines until 1902, although he
suffered increasingly from alcoholism. This, together with his long
association with dame and low comedy roles, prevented him from being
taken seriously as a dramatic actor. He suffered a mental breakdown in
early 1903 and was committed to a mental asylum, but was discharged
later that year. After one more show, his health declined, and he died
aged 43.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Leno>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
217 BC:
Second Punic War: The Carthaginians under Hannibal executed
one of the largest military ambushes in history when they overwhelmingly
defeated the Romans.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lake_Trasimene>
1898:
In a bloodless event during the Spanish–American War, the
United States captured Guam from Spain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Guam>
1919:
Admiral Ludwig von Reuter scuttled the German High Seas Fleet
in Scapa Flow to prevent the ships from being seized and divided amongst
the Allied Powers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuttling_of_the_German_fleet_in_Scapa_Flow>
1948:
The Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine, the world's
first stored-program computer, ran its first computer program.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Small-Scale_Experimental_Machine>
1963:
Italian cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini was elected as Pope
Paul VI (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Paul_VI>
1964:
Three civil rights workers were lynched by members of the Ku
Klux Klan near Philadelphia, Mississippi, US.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_civil_rights_workers_murders>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
angst:
1. A feeling of acute but vague anxiety or apprehension often accompanied
by depression, especially philosophical anxiety.
2. More commonly, painful sadness or emotional turmoil, as teen angst.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/angst>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's
inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Reinhold_Niebuhr>
The Javan rhinoceros is a member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of
five extant rhinoceroses. Its horn is usually less than 25 cm
(10 inches), smaller than those of the other rhino species. Once the
most widespread of Asian rhinoceroses, the Javan rhinoceros ranged from
the islands of Java and Sumatra, throughout Southeast Asia, and into
India and China. The species is critically endangered, with only one
known population in the wild, and no individuals in captivity. It is
possibly the rarest large mammal on earth, with a population of as few
as 40 in Ujung Kulon National Park on Java in Indonesia. The decline of
the Javan rhinoceros is attributed to poaching, primarily for their
horns, which are highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine. The
Javan rhino can live approximately 30–45 years in the wild. It
historically inhabited lowland rain forest, wet grasslands and large
floodplains. The Javan rhino is mostly solitary, except for courtship
and offspring-rearing, though groups may occasionally congregate near
wallows and salt licks. Aside from humans, adults have no predators in
their range. Scientists and conservationists rarely study the animals
directly due to their extreme rarity and the danger of interfering with
such an endangered species. Researchers rely on camera traps and fecal
samples to gauge health and behavior. Consequently, the Javan rhino is
the least studied of all rhino species.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javan_rhinoceros>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1789:
French Revolution: Meeting on a tennis court near the Palace of
Versailles, members of France's Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath,
pledging not to separate until a new constitution was established.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_Court_Oath>
1862:
Barbu Catargiu, the first Prime Minister of Romania, was
assassinated after denying people the right of assembly to commemorate
the Revolutions of 1848.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbu_Catargiu>
1895:
The Kiel Canal (pictured), crossing the base of the Jutland
peninsula and the busiest artificial waterway in the world, was
officially opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiel_Canal>
1921:
Workers at the Buckingham and Carnatic Mills in the city of
Chennai, India, began a four-month strike.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1921_Buckingham_and_Carnatic_Mills_Strike>
2009:
During the Iranian election protests, the death of Neda Agha-
Soltan was captured on video and widely distributed on the Internet,
making it "probably the most widely witnessed death in human history".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Neda_Agha-Soltan>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
demagogue:
(pejorative) An orator or leader who gains favor by pandering to or
exciting the passions and prejudices of the audience.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/demagogue>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The well taught philosophic mind To all compassion gives; Casts round
the world an equal eye, And feels for all that lives.
--Anna Letitia Barbauld
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anna_Letitia_Barbauld>