The Norman Cob is a breed of light draft horse that originated in
Normandy in northern France. It has a range of heights and weights due
to selective breeding for a wide range of uses and is known for its
lively, long-striding trot. Colors accepted by the breed registry
include chestnut, bay and seal brown. Norman Cobs are popular for
recreational and competitive driving, and are also used for several
riding disciplines. In its homeland, the Norman Cob was originally used
widely for agriculture, but the advent of mechanization threatened all
French draft breeds, and many breeders turned their production towards
the meat market. Norman Cob breeders instead crossed their horses with
Thoroughbreds to contribute to the Selle Français breed, now France's
national saddle horse. This allowed the Norman Cob to remain a light
draft horse through the decades, while other draft breeds were growing
heavier and slower due to selection for meat. Genetic studies in the
1980s showed the breed suffered from inbreeding and genetic drift. Breed
enthusiasts worked to develop new selection criteria for breeding stock,
and population numbers are now relatively stable.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Cob>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1732:
James Oglethorpe was granted a royal charter for the Province
of Georgia between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Oglethorpe>
1815:
The Congress of Vienna ended, redrawing the political map of
Europe after the defeat of Napoleon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_Vienna>
1863:
American Civil War: In the largest cavalry engagement in U.S.
history, Union and Confederate forces fought to a draw in the Battle of
Brandy Station.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Brandy_Station>
1928:
Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew landed
their Southern Cross aircraft in Brisbane, completing the first ever
trans-Pacific flight from the United States mainland to Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Kingsford_Smith>
1973:
Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths, achieving the
first American Triple Crown victory in a quarter-century, and lowering
the track and world record times for 1½ mile distance races to 2:24.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretariat_(horse)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
caisson:
1. (military) A two-wheeled, horse-drawn military vehicle used to carry
ammunition.
2. (engineering) A watertight retaining structure used in the construction
of bridges.
3. (architecture) A sunken panel used as decoration for a ceiling or a
vault; a coffer.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/caisson>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
This rule I propose, Always have an ace in the hole. Always try
to arrive at Having an ace some place private. Always have an ace in the
hole.
--Cole Porter
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cole_Porter>
Norman Selfe (1839–1911) was an Australian engineer, naval architect,
inventor, urban planner and outspoken advocate of technical education.
After immigrating to Sydney with his family from England as a boy he
became an apprentice engineer, following his father's trade. Selfe
designed many bridges, docks, boats, and much precision machinery for
the city. He also introduced new refrigeration, hydraulic, electrical
and transport systems. For these achievements he received international
acclaim during his lifetime. Decades before the Sydney Harbour Bridge
was built, the city came close to building a Selfe-designed steel
cantilever bridge across the harbour after he won the second public
competition for a bridge design. Selfe was commemorated in his lifetime
by the name of the Sydney suburb of Normanhurst. He was energetically
involved in organisations such as the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts
and the Australian Historical Society, and fought consistently for the
establishment of an independent system of technical education. He was
acknowledged upon his death as one of the best-known people in, and
greatest individual influences upon, the city of Sydney.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Selfe>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1783:
Iceland's Laki craters began an eight-month eruption,
triggering major famine and massive fluorine poisoning.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki>
1856:
Descendants of Tahitians and the HMS Bounty mutineers settled
on Norfolk Island, an abandoned British penal colony.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norfolk_Island>
1959:
The U.S. Navy submarine USS Barbero fired a Regulus cruise
missile (example pictured), equipped with US Post Office Department
containers, in an attempt to deliver mail via rocket.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_mail>
1982:
Falklands War: The Argentine Air Force attacked British
transport ships as they were unloading their supplies off Bluff Cove in
the Falkland Islands, killing 56 British servicemen and wounding 150
others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluff_Cove_Air_Attacks>
2007:
A major storm in New South Wales, Australia, beached the bulk
carrier ship MV Pasha Bulker.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Pasha_Bulker>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
oneironaut:
A person who explores dream worlds, usually associated with lucid
dreaming.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/oneironaut>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness.
Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.
--Scott Adams
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Scott_Adams>
James Garrard (1749–1822) was the second governor of Kentucky from
1796 to 1804 and the last elected to consecutive terms until 1999. A
Revolutionary War veteran, he held several local offices and
unsuccessfully tried to exclude slavery from Kentucky's first
constitution. His 1796 election as governor exposed ambiguity in the
state constitution, prompting another constitutional convention in 1799.
As governor, he opposed the Alien and Sedition Acts, favored passage of
the Kentucky Resolutions, and lobbied for public education, militia and
prison reforms, business subsidies, and legislation favorable to
debtors. He became the first resident of the state's first governor's
mansion when it was completed in 1798. A Democratic-Republican, he
applauded the Louisiana Purchase as a means of dealing with the closure
of the port at New Orleans to U.S. goods. Garrard, a Baptist minister,
was expelled from the church in 1802 when his Secretary of State, Harry
Toulmin, persuaded him to adopt some doctrines of Unitarianism. After
leaving office, he engaged in agricultural and commercial pursuits.
Garrard County, Kentucky, was named in his honor.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Garrard>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1099:
Members of the First Crusade reached Jerusalem and began a
five-week siege of the city against the Fatimids.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(1099)>
1692:
A 7.5 Mw earthquake struck Port Royal, Jamaica, killing about
2,000 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1692_Jamaica_earthquake>
1899:
American Temperance crusader Carrie Nation entered a saloon in
Kiowa, Kansas, and proceeded to destroy all the alcoholic beverages with
rocks.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Nation>
1981:
The Israeli Air Force attacked and disabled the Osirak nuclear
reactor, assuming it was producing plutonium to further an Iraqi nuclear
weapons program.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Opera>
1998:
Three white supremacists murdered African American James Byrd,
Jr., by chaining him behind a pick-up truck and dragging him along an
asphalt road in Jasper, Texas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_James_Byrd,_Jr.>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
trendite:
(slang) A person given to following trends.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/trendite>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The world can only be redeemed through action — movement —
motion. Uncoerced, unbribed, and unbought, humanity will move toward the
light.
--Alice Moore Hubbard
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alice_Moore_Hubbard>
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is a 1993 action-adventure video
game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and
published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. It is the fourth installment in
the Legend of Zelda series, and the first for a handheld game console.
What became Link's Awakening began as a port of the Super Nintendo title
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, developed after-hours by
Nintendo staff. It grew into an original project under the direction of
Takashi Tezuka, with a story and script created by Yoshiaki Koizumi and
Kensuke Tanabe. The protagonist Link begins the game stranded on
Koholint Island, a place guarded by a creature called the Wind Fish.
Link then searches for eight musical instruments that will awaken the
sleeping Wind Fish and allow him to escape. A remake called The Legend
of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX was released for the Game Boy Color in
1998; it features color graphics, compatibility with the Game Boy
Printer, and an exclusive color-based dungeon. Together, the two
versions of the game have sold more than six million units worldwide,
and have appeared on multiple game publications' lists of the best games
of all time.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Link%27s_Awakening>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1813:
War of 1812: The British ambushed an American encampment near
present-day Stoney Creek, Ontario, capturing two senior officers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stoney_Creek>
1882:
The Shewa kingdom made big strides towards gaining supremacy
over the Ethiopian Empire by defeating the Gojjam and gaining control of
territories south of the Gibe River.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Embabo>
1894:
Colorado Governor Davis Hanson Waite ordered his state militia
to protect and support the miners engaged in the Cripple Creek miners'
strike.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cripple_Creek_miners%27_strike_of_1894>
1982:
A war in Lebanon began when Israeli forces invaded southern
Lebanon to root out members of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_Lebanon_War>
2004:
During a joint sitting of both houses of the Indian Parliament,
President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam announced that Tamil was to be made the
first legally recognised classical language of India.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_language>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
enfranchise:
To grant the franchise to an entity, generally meaning to grant the
privilege of voting to a person.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enfranchise>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The hand of the aggressor is stayed by strength — and strength
alone.
--Dwight D. Eisenhower
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dwight_D._Eisenhower>
Stephen Crane (1871–1900) was an American novelist, short story
writer, poet and journalist. Prolific throughout his short life, he
wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples
of American Naturalism and Impressionism. Crane's first novel was the
1893 Bowery tale Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. He won international
acclaim for his 1895 Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage, written
without any battle experience. Late that year he accepted an offer to
cover the Spanish–American War as a war correspondent. As he waited in
Jacksonville, Florida, for passage to Cuba, he met Cora Taylor, the
madam of a brothel, with whom he would have a lasting relationship.
Plagued by financial difficulties and ill health, Crane died of
tuberculosis at the age of 28. Although recognized primarily for The Red
Badge of Courage, Crane is also known for short stories such as "The
Open Boat", "The Blue Hotel", "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky", and The
Monster. His writing made a deep impression on 20th-century writers,
most prominent among them Ernest Hemingway, and is thought to have
inspired the Modernists and the Imagists.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Crane>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
663:
The Daming Palace became the government seat and royal residence
of the Tang empire during Emperor Gaozong's reign.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daming_Palace>
1862:
As the Treaty of Saigon was signed, ceding parts of southern
Vietnam to France, the guerrilla leader Truong Dinh decided to defy
Emperor Tu Duc of Vietnam and fight on against the Europeans.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truong_Dinh>
1947:
At a speech at Harvard University, United States Secretary of
State George Marshall called for economic aid to war-torn Europe,
outlining a recovery program that became known as the Marshall Plan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Marshall>
1963:
The British Secretary of State for War John Profumo admitted he
lied to the House of Commons during enquiries about his involvement in a
sex scandal and resigned.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Profumo>
2009:
After 65 straight days of civil disobedience, at least 31
people were killed in clashes between the National Police and indigenous
people in Peru's Bagua Province.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Peruvian_political_crisis>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
vulgarian:
A vulgar individual, especially one who emphasizes or is oblivious to
their vulgar qualities.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vulgarian>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The reward for living is the living itself.
--Charles Hartshorne
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Hartshorne>
SMS Markgraf was the third battleship of the four-ship König class and
served in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. The battleship
was launched on 4 June 1913 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 1
October 1914, just over two months after the outbreak of war in Europe.
Armed with ten 30.5-centimeter (12.0 in) guns in five twin turrets, she
could steam at a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). Markgraf was
named in honor of the royal family of Baden; the name Markgraf is a rank
of German nobility. She took part in most of the fleet actions during
the war, including the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and Operation Albion,
the conquest of the Gulf of Riga, in late 1917. After Germany's defeat,
Markgraf was one of the ships interned by the Royal Navy in Scapa Flow
while the Allied powers negotiated the final version of the Treaty of
Versailles. On 21 June 1919, days before the treaty was signed, the
commander of the interned fleet ordered the fleet to be scuttled to
ensure that the British would not be able to seize the ships. Unlike
most of the scuttled ships, Markgraf was never raised for scrapping; the
wreck is still sitting on the bottom of the bay.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Markgraf>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1855:
Major Henry C. Wayne departed New York aboard the USS Supply
to procure camels to establish the U.S. Camel Corps.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Camel_Corps>
1913:
Emily Davison, an activist for women's suffrage in the United
Kingdom, was fatally injured when she was trampled by King George V's
horse at the Epsom Derby.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Davison>
1920:
The Kingdom of Hungary lost 72% of its territory and 64% of its
population with the signing of the Treaty of Trianon in Paris.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Trianon>
1944:
A United States Navy task group captured German submarine U-505
(pictured), which survives today as a museum ship at the Museum of
Science and Industry in Chicago.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-505>
1996:
The maiden flight of the Ariane 5 failed, with the rocket self-
destructing 37 seconds after launch because of a malfunction in the
control software—one of the most expensive computer bugs in history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_(spacecraft)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sexton:
A church official who looks after a church and its graveyard and may act
as a gravedigger and bell-ringer.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sexton>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Love the battle between chaos and imagination.
--Robert Fulghum
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Fulghum>
The Huế chemical attacks occurred on June 3, 1963, when soldiers of
the Army of the Republic of Vietnam poured liquid chemicals from tear
gas grenades onto praying Buddhists in Huế, South Vietnam (location of
attacks pictured). The Buddhists were protesting against religious
discrimination by the regime of President Ngo Dinh Diem, a Roman
Catholic. The attacks caused 67 people to be hospitalised for skin
blistering and respiratory ailments, and led the United States to
threaten privately to withdraw support for Diem. The protests were part
of a Buddhist campaign for religious equality after nine people were
killed while defying a ban on flying the Buddhist flag. An inquiry
determined that the chemical used failed to vapourise as it should have
done, exonerating the soldiers from charges that they had used poison or
mustard gas. However, Diem had already been forced to appoint a panel of
three cabinet ministers to meet with Buddhist leaders for negotiations
regarding religious equality. The talks led to the signing of the Joint
Communique, but the policy changes it provided were not implemented and
widespread protests continued, leading to the assassination of Diem in a
military coup.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hu%E1%BA%BF_chemical_attacks>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1658:
Pope Alexander VII appointed François de Laval as vicar
apostolic of New France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_de_Laval>
1781:
American Revolutionary War: Jack Jouett made a "midnight ride"
to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature of coming British
cavalry who had been sent to capture them.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Jouett>
1943:
Off-duty US sailors fought with Mexican American youths in Los
Angeles, spawning the Zoot Suit Riots.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoot_Suit_Riots>
1973:
At the Paris Air Show, a Tupolev Tu-144 broke up in mid-flight
and disintegrated, killing the six members of the crew and eight
bystanders on the ground.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Paris_Air_Show_crash>
1982:
An assassination attempt on Shlomo Argov, the Israeli
ambassador to the United Kingdom, failed; this was later used as
justification for the 1982 Lebanon War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shlomo_Argov>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
guardian angel:
A spirit believed to protect and to guide a particular person.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/guardian_angel>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If the Internet teaches us anything, it is that great value
comes from leaving core resources in a commons, where they're free for
people to build upon as they see fit.
--Lawrence Lessig
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lawrence_Lessig>
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built
by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-
body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The
aircraft features two turbofan engines, a conventional tail, and for
reduced aerodynamic drag, a supercritical wing design. Designed as a
smaller wide-body airliner than preceding aircraft such as the 747, the
767 has a capacity of 181 to 375 persons and a design range of 3,850
to 6,385 nautical miles (7,130 to 11,825 km), depending on variant. The
original 767-200 entered service in 1982, followed by the 767-300 in
1986 and the 767-400ER, an extended-range variant, in 2000. Versions for
freight and military use have also been created. The aircraft was
initially flown on domestic and transcontinental routes, before becoming
the first twin-engined airliner to receive regulatory approval for
extended overseas flights. In 1986, Boeing initiated studies for a
higher-capacity 767, ultimately leading to the development of the 777, a
larger wide-body twinjet. In the 1990s, the 767 became the most
frequently used airliner for transatlantic flights between North America
and Europe.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_767>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1615:
The first Recollect missionaries arrived in Quebec City in New
France (now in Quebec, Canada) from Rouen.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recollects>
1805:
Napoleonic Wars: A Franco-Spanish fleet recaptured Diamond
Rock, an uninhabited island at the entrance to the bay leading to Fort-
de-France, from the British.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Diamond_Rock>
1848:
As part of the Pan-Slavism movement, the Prague Slavic Congress
began in Prague, the first of several times that voices from all Slav
populations of Europe were heard in one place.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Slavic_Congress,_1848>
1910:
Charles Rolls (pictured), co-founder of Rolls-Royce, became the
first man to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by
plane.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Rolls>
1983:
After an emergency landing because of an in-flight fire,
twenty-three passengers aboard Air Canada Flight 797 were killed when a
flashover occurred as the plane's doors opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Canada_Flight_797>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
superannuate:
1. (transitive) To retire or put out of use due to age.
2. (intransitive) To become obsolete or antiquated.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/superannuate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
You can't lead the people if you don't love the people. You can't
save the people, if you don't serve the people.
--Cornel West
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cornel_West>
The Tichborne case, a Victorian legal cause célèbre, concerned the
claim by an individual known as "the Claimant" (pictured) to be the
missing heir to the Tichborne baronetcy and fortune. The real Roger
Tichborne disappeared after a shipwreck in 1854; later, rumours surfaced
that he had survived and made his way to Australia. In 1866 a butcher
called Thomas Castro from Wagga Wagga came forward claiming to be Roger
Tichborne; he travelled to England where, despite his unrefined manners
and bearing, he was accepted by Lady Tichborne as her son. Although
other family members were unconvinced, the Claimant gained considerable
public support. However, by 1871 evidence suggested that Castro was
actually Arthur Orton, a butcher's son from Wapping in London, who had
gone to sea as a boy. A civil case ended with charges of perjury against
him, and in 1874 a criminal court jury decided that he was indeed Orton.
He was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. He was released in 1884; in
1895 he confessed to being Orton, only to recant immediately. He died
destitute in 1898. While most commentators accept that the Claimant was
Orton, for some a slight possibility exists that, after all, he was
Roger Tichborne.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tichborne_case>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1495:
An entry in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland made the first
recorded mention of Scotch whisky (bottle pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_whisky>
1676:
The Swedish warship Kronan, one of the largest ships in the
world of its time, sank at the Battle of Öland with a loss of around
800 men.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_%C3%96land>
1831:
British naval officer and explorer James Clark Ross
successfully led the first expedition to reach the North Magnetic Pole.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Magnetic_Pole>
1916:
Louis Brandeis became the first Jew to be appointed to the
United States Supreme Court.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Brandeis>
1943:
Eight German Junkers Ju 88s shot down British Overseas Airways
Corporation Flight 777 over the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Spain and
France, killing actor Leslie Howard and several other notable
passengers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOAC_Flight_777>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
progeny:
1. (uncountable) Offspring or descendants.
2. (countable) Result of a creative effort.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/progeny>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Beauty cannot be defined by abscissas and ordinates; neither are
circles and ellipses created by their geometrical formulas.
--Carl von Clausewitz
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz>