The Cotswold Olimpick Games is an annual public celebration of games and
sports held near Chipping Campden, in the Cotswolds of England. They
probably began in 1612, and have continued on and off since
(1636 depiction shown). They were started by a local lawyer, Robert
Dover, with the approval of King James. Events included horse-racing,
coursing with hounds, running, dancing, sledgehammer throwing, fighting
with swords, and wrestling. By the time of James's death in 1625, many
Puritan landowners had forbidden their workers to attend, and the
outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642 brought the Games to an end.
Revived after the Restoration of 1660, they gradually degenerated into a
drunk and disorderly country festival. They ended again in 1852, when
the common land on which they had been staged was partitioned and
enclosed. Since 1966 the Games have been held each year on the Friday
after Spring Bank Holiday. Events have included the tug of war,
gymkhana, shin-kicking, dwile flonking, motor cycle scrambling, judo,
piano smashing, and morris dancing. The British Olympic Association has
recognised the Cotswold Olimpick Games as "the first stirrings of
Britain's Olympic beginnings".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotswold_Olimpick_Games>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1223:
Mongol invasions: Mongol forces defeated a combined army of
Kiev, Galich, and the Cumans at the Kalchik River in present-day
Ukraine.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Kalka_River>
1669:
Citing poor eyesight, English naval administrator and Member of
Parliament Samuel Pepys recorded his last entry in his diary, one of the
most important primary sources for the English Restoration period.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Pepys>
1935:
A 7.7 Mw earthquake struck Balochistan in the British Raj, now
part of Pakistan, killing anywhere between 30,000 and 60,000 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1935_Balochistan_earthquake>
1981:
An organized mob of police and government-sponsored
paramilitias began burning the public library in Jaffna, Sri Lanka,
destroying over 97,000 items in one of the most violent examples of
ethnic biblioclasm of the 20th century.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_Jaffna_library>
2009:
American physician George Tiller who was nationally known for
being one of the few doctors in the United States to perform late-term
abortions, was shot and killed by Scott Roeder, an anti-abortion
activist.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_George_Tiller>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
omnishambles:
(UK, chiefly politics) A situation that is bad or mismanaged in every
way.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/omnishambles>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Our problem is to become acquainted with our own selves, letting
our personalities loose upon the world for the sheer adventure of their
full development and in the positive hope that they may in their own way
lift the level of humanity.
--Norman Vincent Peale
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Norman_Vincent_Peale>
The 2009 special election for the 20th congressional district of New
York was held to fill the vacancy created when Congresswoman Kirsten
Gillibrand was appointed US senator from New York, replacing Hillary
Clinton, who had been appointed Secretary of State in the Obama
administration. The two major-party candidates were Democrat Scott
Murphy (pictured), a private businessman, and Republican Jim Tedisco,
the minority leader of the New York State Assembly. Early polls favored
Tedisco, but by February the race was considered a toss-up. The
Republican Party considered the election to be a referendum on Obama's
economic policy and injected significant funding into Tedisco's
campaign. Major issues included Obama's stimulus plan, which Murphy
supported while Tedisco eventually opposed. One early vote count had the
candidates tied at 77,225 votes each. Absentee ballots decided the
election; ballots were accepted until April 13. While Tedisco had been
ahead in early counts, by April 23 Murphy had a 401-vote advantage and
Tedisco conceded. Democratic electoral successes in November 2008 and
Murphy's clear support of the stimulus package were credited for his
success.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York%27s_20th_congressional_district_spec…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1431:
Hundred Years' War: Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in
Rouen, France, after being convicted of heresy in a politically
motivated trial.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc>
1854:
The Kansas–Nebraska Act became law, establishing the U.S.
territories of Nebraska and Kansas, repealing the 1820 Missouri
Compromise, and allowing settlers in those territories to determine if
they would permit slavery within their boundaries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas%E2%80%93Nebraska_Act>
1913:
The Treaty of London was signed to deal with territorial
adjustments arising out of the conclusion of the First Balkan War,
declaring, among other things, an independent Albania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_London_(1913)>
1963:
Buddhist crisis: A protest against pro-Catholic discrimination
was held outside South Vietnam's National Assembly, the first open
demonstration against President Ngo Dinh Diem.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_crisis>
1989:
Goddess of Democracy (replica pictured), a ten-metre (33 ft)
high statue made mostly of polystyrene foam and papier-mâché, was
erected by student protestors in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goddess_of_Democracy>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
have Van Gogh's ear for music:
(humorous) To be tone-deaf.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/have_Van_Gogh%27s_ear_for_music>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
What all other men are is of the greatest importance to me.
However independent I may imagine myself to be, however far removed I
may appear from mundane considerations by my social status, I am
enslaved to the misery of the meanest member of society.
--Mikhail Bakunin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mikhail_Bakunin>
The Rite of Spring is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the
Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris
season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company, with choreography
by Vaslav Nijinsky and stage designs and costumes by Nicholas Roerich
(pictured). The ballet caused a near-riot in the audience when first
performed, on 29 May 1913 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in
Paris, but rapidly achieved success as a concert piece and later became
recognised as one of the most influential musical works of the
20th century. The score has many novel features, including experiments
in tonality, metre, rhythm, stress and dissonance. The scenario is the
celebration of spring by various primitive rituals, at the end of which
a sacrificial victim dances herself to death. After its explosive
premiere the ballet was not performed until the 1920s, when Léonide
Massine's rechoreographed version was the first of many innovative
productions directed by the world's leading ballet-masters. Providing
"endless stimulation for performers and listeners" alike, The Rite is
among the most recorded works in the classical repertoire.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rite_of_Spring>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1453:
With the conquest of Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire fell
to the Ottomans.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire>
1852:
Swedish operatic soprano Jenny Lind concluded a widely
successful concert tour of the US under the management of showman P. T.
Barnum.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Lind_tour_of_America,_1850%E2%80%9352>
1900:
N'Djamena, now the capital of Chad, was founded as Fort-Lamy by
French commander Émile Gentil.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%27Djamena>
1953:
New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary and Nepali-Indian Sherpa
mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit
of Mount Everest.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenzing_Norgay>
1982:
Falklands War: Approximately 1,000 Argentine forces
surrendered, ending the Battle of Goose Green.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Goose_Green>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
apothegm:
A short, witty, instructive saying; an aphorism or maxim.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/apothegm>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not
free.
--John F. Kennedy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy>
Percy Fender (1892–1985) was an English cricketer who played 13 Tests
and captained Surrey between 1921 and 1931. An all-rounder, he was a
belligerent middle-order batsman who bowled mainly leg spin and
completed the cricketer's double seven times. In 1914, he was named one
of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year, and in 1920 hit the fastest recorded
first-class century, reaching three figures in 35 minutes (which remains
a record in 2013). In county cricket, he was an effective performer with
bat and ball, and a forceful though occasionally controversial leader;
contemporaries judged him the best captain in England. From 1921, he
played occasionally in Tests for England but was never particularly
successful. Despite press promptings, he was never appointed Test
captain, and his England career was effectively ended by a clash with
the influential Lord Harris in 1924. Further disagreements with the
Surrey committee over his approach and tactics led to his replacement as
county captain in 1932 and the end of his career in 1935. Cartoonists
enjoyed caricaturing his distinctive appearance, but he was also well
known outside cricket for his presence in society.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Fender>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1830:
U.S. President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act
into law, authorizing him to negotiate with Native Americans for their
removal from their ancestral homelands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Removal_Act>
1936:
English mathematician Alan Turing introduced the Turing machine
(model pictured), a basic abstract symbol-manipulating device that can
simulate the logic of any computer algorithm.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing>
1940:
World War II: On the same day that Belgium surrendered to
Germany, Allied forces gained their first major victory on land when
they recaptured Narvik, Norway.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Narvik>
1977:
A fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky,
US, killed 165 patrons.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills_Supper_Club_fire>
2003:
As a result of criticism of his conduct, Peter Hollingworth
resigned from his post as Governor-General of Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Hollingworth>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
crown molding:
(finish carpentry, interior decorating) A molding at the edge of a room
between ceiling and wall.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/crown_molding>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I feel that in my own life anything I have done of possible worth
has happened in spite of my gross, worldly self. I have been no more
than the vessel used to convey ideas above my intellectual capacities.
When people praise passages I have written, more often than not I can
genuinely say, "Did I write that?" I don't think this is due to my
having a bad memory, because I have almost total recall of trivialities.
I see it as evidence of the part the supernatural plays in lives which
would otherwise remain earthbound.
--Patrick White
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Patrick_White>
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is the second studio album by the American
singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on May 27, 1963 by Columbia
Records. Eleven of the thirteen songs on the album are original
compositions by Dylan. The album opens with "Blowin' in the Wind", which
would become one of the anthems of the 1960s, and several other songs
which came to be regarded as amongst Dylan's best compositions and
classics of the 1960s folk scene: "Girl from the North Country",
"Masters of War", "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" and "Don't Think Twice,
It's All Right". Dylan's lyrics embraced stories ripped from the
headlines about civil rights and he articulated anxieties about the fear
of nuclear warfare. Balancing this political material were love songs,
sometimes bitter and accusatory, and material that features surreal
humor. Freewheelin' showcased Dylan's songwriting talent for the first
time, propelling him to national and international fame. The album
reached number 22 in the US (eventually going platinum), and later
became a number 1 hit in the UK. In 2003, the album was ranked number
97 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all
time.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Freewheelin%27_Bob_Dylan>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1199:
John, who would posthumously become known as one of the most
reviled Kings of England, was crowned.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John,_King_of_England>
1703:
Russian Tsar Peter I founded Saint Petersburg after
reconquering the Ingrian land from Sweden during the Great Northern War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Saint_Petersburg>
1919:
The Curtiss NC-4 flying boat arrived in Lisbon, Portugal,
becoming the first fixed-wing aircraft to complete a transatlantic
flight under its own power.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_NC-4>
1967:
Australians overwhelmingly approved two amendments to the
Australian Constitution granting the government the power to make laws
to benefit Indigenous Australians and to count them in the national
census.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_referendum,_1967_(Aboriginals)>
1995:
American actor Christopher Reeve was thrown from his horse,
leaving him a quadriplegic; he later became an activist on behalf of
people with spinal cord injuries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Reeve>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
antaphrodisiac:
Capable of reducing the sex drive.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/antaphrodisiac>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Blessed are the people whose leaders can look destiny in the eye
without flinching but also without attempting to play God.
--Henry Kissinger
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Kissinger>
Heinrich Bär (1913–57) was a German Luftwaffe flying ace in World
War II. He flew more than 1,000 combat missions, and fought in all
major German theatres of the war, including the Western, Eastern and
Mediterranean fronts. He was shot down on 18 occasions and was credited
with 220 aerial victories, around 16 of which were in the
Messerschmitt Me 262, an early jet fighter. Bär joined the Reichswehr
in 1934 and transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1935. Serving first as a
mechanic, then as a pilot on transport aircraft, he was informally
trained as a fighter pilot. He claimed his first aerial victory in
September 1939 on the French border. By the end of the Battle of
Britain, his tally of victories was 17. Transferred to the Eastern front
to participate in Operation Barbarossa, he quickly accumulated further
kills, earning the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and
Swords for 90 aerial victories in February 1942. Hermann Göring's
personal dislike of Bär, coupled with Bär's insubordinate character
and lack of military discipline, deprived him of higher awards. After
the war, Bär continued as an aviator, and was killed in a flying
accident near Braunschweig.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_B%C3%A4r>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
451:
Armenian rebels were defeated by forces of the Sassanid Empire
on the Avarayr Plain in Vaspurakan, but the loss played a major factor
in their being granted religious freedom 33 years later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Avarayr>
1644:
Portuguese Restoration War: Portuguese and Spanish forces both
claimed victory in the Battle of Montijo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Montijo>
1906:
Vauxhall Bridge in London opened, crossing the River Thames
between Vauxhall and Westminster.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vauxhall_Bridge>
1938:
The House Un-American Activities Committee was established to
investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities by people or
organizations suspected of having communist or fascist ties.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Un-American_Activities_Committee>
1991:
Lauda Air Flight 004 experienced an uncommanded thrust reverser
deployment of an engine and broke apart in mid-air, killing all 223
people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauda_Air_Flight_004>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
eyrie:
1. A bird of prey's nest.
2. Any high and remote but commanding place.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/eyrie>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I was frustrated that computer hardware was being improved faster
than computer software. I wanted to invent some software that was
completely different, that would grow and change as it was used.
That’s how wiki came about.
--Ward Cunningham
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ward_Cunningham>
Recently featured: Thescelosaurus – Zong massacre – Richard
Wagner.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wagner>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1895:
The Republic of Formosa was inaugurated in Taiwan, proclaiming
independence from Qing China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Formosa>
1914:
The British parliament passed the Third Home Rule Act,
establishing a devolved government in Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Ireland_Act_1914>
1936:
Employees of the Remington Rand company began an 11-month
strike action, during which time the company executives developed the
notorious "Mohawk Valley formula" to intimidate the strikers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Rand_strike_of_1936%E2%80%931937>
1955:
Englishmen Joe Brown and George Band became the first to climb
Kangchenjunga, the third-highest mountain in the world, but stopped
short of the summit as per a promise given to the Maharaja of Sikkim
that the top would remain inviolate.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangchenjunga>
1961:
During a speech to a joint session of the United States
Congress, U.S. President John F. Kennedy announced his support for the
Apollo space program (insignia pictured), with "the goal, before this
decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to
the Earth".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_program>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
masterly inactivity:
(politics) A policy of deliberate inactivity.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/masterly_inactivity>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. Most persons do
not see the sun. At least they have a very superficial seeing. The sun
illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the
heart of the child. The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward
senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the
spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood. His intercourse with
heaven and earth, becomes part of his daily food.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson>
Thescelosaurus is a genus of small ornithopod dinosaur known from Upper
Cretaceous rocks of western North America. It belonged to the last
dinosaurian fauna of North America before the Cretaceous–Paleogene
extinction event at approximately 66 million years ago, living
alongside dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops. This common
genus was described from a specimen discovered in 1891, but not unpacked
and studied until the 1910s. These circumstances suggested the names of
the genus and type species T. neglectus, which roughly translate to
"godlike, wondrous, or marvelous neglected lizard". Thescelosaurus is
best known from several partial skeletons representing three species: T.
neglectus, T, assiniboiensis, and T. garbanii. One specimen unearthed in
1993 was initially thought to include a preserved heart, but later study
found the object is probably a concretion. Thescelosaurus was a bipedal
animal with a relatively long pointed skull and robust limbs. Typical
individuals measured on the order of 2.5 to 4.0 metres (8.2 to 13 ft)
long. It was probably primarily herbivorous and may have preferred to
live near streams.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thescelosaurus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1738:
At a Moravian meeting in Aldersgate, London, John Wesley
experienced a spiritual rebirth, leading him to launch the Methodist
movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wesley>
1830:
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the first common carrier and
Class I railroad in the United States, opened for scheduled service.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_and_Ohio_Railroad>
1956:
The first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest was held in
Lugano, Switzerland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest_1956>
1960:
Cordón Caulle in the Andes in Chile, began to erupt, less than
two days after the Valdivia earthquake struck the region.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puyehue-Cord%C3%B3n_Caulle>
1991:
The Israel Defense Forces began Operation Solomon, a covert
operation to bring Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Solomon>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
shylock:
(intransitive, US) To lend money at exorbitant rates of interest.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shylock>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Peace is an awareness of reserves from beyond ourselves, so that
our power is not so much in us as through us. Peace is the gift, not of
volitional struggle, but of spiritual hospitality.
--Harry Emerson Fosdick
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Emerson_Fosdick>
The Zong massacre was the killing of approximately 142 enslaved
Africans by the crew of the slave ship Zong in the days following
29 November 1781. The Zong was owned by a Liverpool slave-trading
syndicate that had taken out insurance on the lives of the slaves. When
the ship ran low on water following navigational mistakes, the crew
drowned some of the slaves in the sea. The owners of the Zong made a
claim to their insurers for the loss of the slaves. When the insurers
refused to pay, the resulting court cases held that in some
circumstances the deliberate killing of slaves was legal, and that
insurers could be required to pay for the slaves' deaths. The hearings
brought the massacre to the attention of the anti-slavery campaigner
Granville Sharp, who tried unsuccessfully to have the ship's crew
prosecuted for murder. Reports of the massacre stimulated the nascent
abolitionist movement and became a powerful symbol of the horrors of the
Middle Passage of slaves to the New World. The massacre has also
inspired several works of art and literature, including The Slave Ship
by J. M. W. Turner (pictured).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zong_massacre>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1533:
The Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer annulled
Henry VIII's marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, beginning
of a chain of events that would culminate in the English Reformation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Reformation>
1844:
Siyyid `Alí-Muhammad Shírází proclaimed that he was "the
Báb", after a Shi`a religious concept, marking the beginning of the
Bábí movement, the forerunner of the Bahá'í Faith.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A1bism>
1873:
The North West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police, was established to bring law and order to and
assert Canadian sovereignty over the Northwest Territories.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Canadian_Mounted_Police>
1934:
During a strike against the Electric Auto-Lite company in
Toledo, Ohio, US, a mob of nearly 10,000 began a riot and a five-day
running battle with the Ohio National Guard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-Lite_strike>
2008:
To resolve a 29-year-old territorial dispute, the International
Court of Justice awarded Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca to
Singapore.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedra_Branca_dispute>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
thagomizer:
(anatomy) An arrangement of spikes found on the tails of various
stegosaurs.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/thagomizer>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
the greatest Grace we can aspire to is the strength to see the
wounded walk with the forgotten and pull ourselves from the screaming
blood of our losses to fight on undaunted all the more
--Jewel
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jewel_(singer)>
Richard Wagner (1813–83) was a German composer, theatre director,
polemicist, and conductor primarily known for his operas. His
compositions, particularly those of his later period, are notable for
their complex textures, rich harmonies and orchestration, and the
elaborate use of leitmotifs—musical phrases associated with individual
characters, places, ideas or plot elements. These innovations greatly
influenced the development of classical music; his Tristan und Isolde is
sometimes described as marking the start of modern music. Wagner
revolutionised opera through his synthesis of the poetic, visual,
musical and dramatic arts, first fully realised in his four-opera Ring
cycle. He had his own opera house built at Bayreuth, containing many
novel design features, where his most important stage works continue to
be performed in an annual festival run by his descendants. Wagner's
controversial writings on music, drama and politics have attracted
extensive comment in recent decades, especially where they express
antisemitic sentiments. The effects of his ideas can be traced in many
of the arts throughout the 20th century.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wagner>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1826:
HMS Beagle departed on its first voyage from Plymouth for a
hydrographic survey of the Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego regions of
South America.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Beagle>
1915:
Five trains were involved in a crash near Gretna Green,
Scotland, killing 227 people and injuring 246 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quintinshill_rail_disaster>
1980:
Pac-Man, an arcade game that became an icon of 1980s popular
culture, made its debut in Japan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man>
1990:
The Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of
Yemen merged to become the Republic of Yemen.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemeni_unification>
2003:
Swedish golfer Annika Sörenstam became the first woman to play
in a PGA Tour event in 58 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annika_S%C3%B6renstam>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sangfroid:
Composure, self-possession or imperturbability especially when in a
dangerous situation.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sangfroid>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am not the law, but I represent justice so far as my feeble
powers go.
--Arthur Conan Doyle
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle>