Tropical Storm Hermine was the eighth tropical cyclone and named storm
of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season. Hermine developed from a
tropical wave that emerged from the west coast of Africa on
September 5. The wave moved westward across the Atlantic Ocean, and on
entering the northwest Caribbean Sea interacted with other weather
systems. The resultant system was declared a tropical depression on
September 17 in the central Gulf of Mexico. The storm meandered north
slowly, and after being upgraded to a tropical storm made landfall on
Louisiana, where it quickly deteriorated into a tropical depression
again on September 20. Before the storm's arrival, residents of Grand
Isle, Louisiana, were evacuated. Rainfall spread from Louisiana through
Georgia, causing isolated flash flooding. In some areas, the storm tide
prolonged the coastal flooding from a tropical cyclone. Gusty winds were
reported. Associated tornadoes in Mississippi damaged mobile homes and
vehicles, and inflicted one injury. While Hermine was a weak storm and
not particularly damaging, its effects combined with those of other
tropical cyclones caused agricultural damage.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Hermine_(1998)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1066:
King Harald III of Norway and Tostig Godwinson, his English
ally, fought and defeated the Northern Earls Edwin and Morcar in the
Battle of Fulford near York, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fulford>
1906:
The ocean liner RMS Mauretania (pictured), the largest and
fastest ship in the world at the time, was launched.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Mauretania_(1906)>
1943:
World War II: Australian troops defeated Imperial Japanese
forces at the Battle of Kaiapit in New Guinea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kaiapit>
2001:
During a televised address to a joint session of the United
States Congress, U.S. President George W. Bush declared a "war on
terror" against Al-Qaeda and other global terrorist groups.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Terror>
2009:
Tadhg Kennelly became the first person to win the top prizes in
both Australian rules football and Gaelic football by winning the All-
Ireland Senior Football Championship Final with Kerry.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_All-Ireland_Senior_Football_Championship…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
anthelmintic:
A drug for the treatment of intestinal worm infestation.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anthelmintic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
After all these years, I am still involved in the process of
self-discovery. It's better to explore life and make mistakes than to
play it safe. Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life.
☥
--Sophia Loren
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sophia_Loren>
Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Andhra
Pradesh. Located along the Musi River, Hyderabad has a population of 6.8
million, making it the fourth-largest city in India. Established in
1591, Hyderabad was ruled by the Qutb Shahis for a century before
falling under Mughal rule. In 1724, Mughal viceroy Asif Jah I created
his own dynasty of nizams by establishing the State of Hyderabad, which
ultimately became a princely state based in the city during British
rule. Relics of Qutb Shahi and Nizam rule remain visible today, with the
Charminar (pictured)—dating from the city's founding—coming to
symbolise Hyderabad. That legacy is also evident in the city's
distinctive cuisine, which includes Hyderabadi biriyani and Hyderabadi
haleem. Hyderabad has historically been known as a pearl and diamond
trading centre. Today, due to the Telugu film industry, it is also the
country's second-largest producer city of motion pictures. The formation
of an infotech special economic zone has attracted firms from around the
world, while the emergence of biotech industries in the 1990s has led to
the title "Genome Valley" alongside the city's traditional status as the
City of Pearls.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyderabad>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
634:
Byzantine-Arab Wars: Rashidun Arabs under Khalid ibn al-Walid
captured Damascus from the Byzantine Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Damascus_(634)>
1863:
The Battle of Chickamauga began in northwestern Georgia and
would end in the most significant Union defeat in the Western Theater of
the American Civil War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chickamauga>
1970:
The first Glastonbury Festival, the largest greenfield festival
in the world, was held at Michael Eavis's farm in Glastonbury, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glastonbury_Festival>
1995:
The Manifesto of "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski (police sketch
pictured) was published in The Washington Post and The New York Times,
almost three months after it was submitted.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski>
2006:
The Royal Thai Army overthrew the elected government of Thai
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra while he was in New York City for a
meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Thai_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
jump down someone's throat:
To criticise with excessive and unexpected harshness.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jump_down_someone%27s_throat>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Fifteen men on the dead man's chest — Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of
rum! Drink and the devil had done for the rest — Yo-ho-ho, and a
bottle of rum!
--Robert Louis Stevenson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Louis_Stevenson>
"Once More, with Feeling" is the only episode of the fantasy television
show Buffy the Vampire Slayer performed as a musical. It was written and
directed by the show's creator, Joss Whedon (pictured), and first aired
in the United States on November 6, 2001. The episode explores changes
in the relationships of the main characters, using the plot device that
a demon compels the people of Sunnydale to break into song at random
moments to express hidden truths. All cast members sang their parts,
although two were given minimal lines by request. It is the most
technically complex episode in the series, as extra voice and dance
training for the cast was interspersed with the production of four other
Buffy episodes. It was Whedon's first attempt at writing music, and
different styles—from 1950s sitcom theme music to rock opera—are
used to express the characters' secrets. The episode was well received
critically upon airing, specifically for containing the humor and wit to
which fans had become accustomed. It is considered one of the most
effective and popular episodes of the series, and—prior to a financial
dispute in 2007—was shown in theaters with the audience invited to
sing along.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_More,_with_Feeling_(Buffy_the_Vampire_Sl…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1809:
The second theatre of the Royal Opera House in London opened
after a fire destroyed the original theatre one year earlier.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Opera_House>
1873:
Panic of 1873: The American bank Jay Cooke & Company declared
bankruptcy, setting off a chain reaction of bank failures.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Cooke_%26_Company>
1889:
Hull House, the United States' most influential settlement
house, opened in Chicago.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hull_House>
1961:
En route to negotiate a ceasefire between Katanga troops and
United Nations forces, the plane carrying UN Secretary-General Dag
Hammarskjöld crashed under mysterious circumstances near Ndola in
Northern Rhodesia, killing him and 15 others on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dag_Hammarskj%C3%B6ld>
1974:
Hurricane Fifi struck Honduras, destroying 182 towns and
villages in the first 24 hours, and ultimately causing over 8,000
deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Fifi%E2%80%93Orlene>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
chirality:
The phenomenon, in chemistry, physics and mathematics, of objects being
unidentical mirror images of each other, like a person's left and right
hands.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chirality>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The time comes in the life of each of us when we realize that
death awaits us as it awaits others, that we will receive at the end
neither preference nor exemption. It is then, in that disturbed moment,
that we know life is an adventure with an ending, not a succession of
bright days that go on forever.
--William March
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_March>
Elizabeth Canning (1734–73) was an English maidservant who claimed to
have been kidnapped and held in a hayloft against her will, and who
ultimately became central to one of the most famous English criminal
mysteries of the 18th century. She disappeared on 1 January 1753,
returning 28 days later, emaciated and in a "deplorable condition", to
her mother's home in the City of London. After Canning was interviewed,
two women, Susannah Wells and Mary Squires, were identified as her
supposed captors and arrested. Local magistrate Henry Fielding
investigated Canning's story, interviewing several witnesses. Wells and
Squires were tried and found guilty; Wells was sentenced to death for
theft. However, the trial judge, Crisp Gascoyne, was unhappy with the
verdict and began his own investigation. Upon being questioned, some
witnesses recanted their earlier testimony, and evidence from others
implied that Squires could not have abducted Canning. Gascoyne had
Canning arrested, and she was found guilty of perjury at a trial in
1754. She was imprisoned for a month and transported for seven years.
She died in British America in 1773, but the mystery surrounding her
disappearance remains unsolved.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Canning>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1859:
Disgruntled with the legal and political structures of the
United States, Joshua Norton distributed letters to various newspapers
in San Francisco, proclaiming himself Emperor Norton.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Norton>
1914:
Andrew Fisher became Prime Minister of Australia for the third
time, beginning a period of reform unmatched in the Commonwealth until
the 1940s.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Fisher>
1939:
World War II: The Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east,
sixteen days after Nazi Germany's attack on that country from the west.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Poland>
1978:
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister
Menachem Begin (both pictured with Jimmy Carter) signed the Camp David
Accords after twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_David_Accords>
2011:
Adbusters, a Canadian anti-consumerist publication, organized a
protest against corporate influence on democracy at Zuccotti Park in New
York City that became known as Occupy Wall Street.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
rapine:
The seizure of someone's property by force; plunder.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rapine>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
What I always wanted to be was a magician… Doing magic, you not
only have to be able to do a trick, you have to have a little story line
to go with it.
--Ken Kesey
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ken_Kesey>
The Simpsons: Hit & Run is an action-adventure video game based on the
animated sitcom The Simpsons. It was released in North America on
September 16, 2003, and in Europe and Japan later in the year. The
story and dialogue were crafted by writers from The Simpsons, with all
character voices supplied by the actual cast. The game follows the
Simpson family and the citizens of Springfield, who witness strange
incidents in town and discover that two aliens are filming a reality
television series about the populace. To make the show more interesting,
the aliens release a new version of the popular soft drink Buzz Cola
into Springfield's water supply, which causes insanity. With help from
Professor Frink, Homer destroys the aliens' spaceship, and Springfield
and its inhabitants are returned to normal. The game received generally
favorable reviews from video game critics. Praise focused on the
interpretation of the Simpsons television series as a video game and its
parodical take on the game Grand Theft Auto III, while criticism mostly
surrounded some aspects of gameplay. The game received the award for
Fave Video Game at the 2004 Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards
and sold three million copies.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons:_Hit_and_Run>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1810:
Miguel Hidalgo, the parish priest in Dolores, Guanajuato,
delivered the Grito de Dolores to his congregation, instigating the
Mexican War of Independence against Spain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grito_de_Dolores>
1941:
Shah Reza Pahlavi of Iran was forced to abdicate in favour of
his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rez%C4%81_Sh%C4%81h>
1959:
Haloid Xerox introduced the Xerox 914, the first modern
photocopier, invented by American physicist Chester Carlson.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Carlson>
1963:
Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo (present-day Sabah), and
Sarawak merged to form Malaysia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia>
1987:
The Montreal Protocol, an international treaty designed to
protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of a number of
substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion, opened for
signature.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Protocol>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
munificence:
The quality of being munificent; generosity.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/munificence>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Carol, every violet has Heaven for a looking-glass! Every little
valley lies Under many-clouded skies; Every little cottage stands Girt
about with boundless lands; Every little glimmering pond Claims the
mighty shores beyond; Shores no seaman ever hailed, Seas no ship has
ever sailed. All the shores when day is done Fade into the setting sun,
So the story tries to teach More than can be told in speech.
--Alfred Noyes
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alfred_Noyes>
The 2005 Sugar Bowl was a American college football bowl game between
the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Auburn Tigers at the Louisiana
Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 3, 2005. Virginia Tech
represented the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) after winning the ACC
football championship. Auburn represented the Southeastern Conference
(SEC), finishing the regular season undefeated. Pre-game media coverage
of the game focused on Auburn being left out of the Bowl Championship
Series national championship game because of its lower ranking in the
BCS poll, a point of controversy for Auburn fans and others. For Auburn,
running backs Carnell Williams (pictured) and Ronnie Brown were
considered among the best at their position; for Tech, senior
quarterback Bryan Randall had had a record-breaking season. Both teams
also had high-ranked defenses and in a defensive struggle, Auburn earned
a 16–13 victory despite a late-game rally by Virginia Tech. In
recognition of his game-winning performance, Auburn quarterback Jason
Campbell was named the game's most valuable player. Several players from
each team were selected in the 2005 NFL Draft and went on to careers in
the National Football League.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Sugar_Bowl>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1440:
French knight Gilles de Rais, one of the earliest known serial
killers, was taken into custody upon an accusation brought against him
by the Bishop of Nantes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_de_Rais>
1831:
The John Bull (pictured), the oldest operable steam locomotive
in the world, ran for the first time in New Jersey on the Camden and
Amboy Railroad.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bull_(locomotive)>
1916:
Tanks, the "secret weapons" of the British Army during the
First World War, were first used in combat at the Battle of the Somme in
Somme, Picardy, France, leading to strategic Allied victory.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Somme>
1944:
American and Australian forces landed on the Japanese-occupied
island of Morotai, starting the Battle of Morotai.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Morotai>
1963:
A bomb planted by members of the Ku Klux Klan exploded in the
16th Street Baptist Church, an African American Baptist church in
Birmingham, Alabama, US, killing four children and injuring at least 22
others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_Street_Baptist_Church_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
rally cap:
(US, baseball) A baseball cap worn inside-out and backwards, or in
another unconventional manner, by players or fans, as a talisman in
order to will a team into a come-from-behind rally late in the game.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rally_cap>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Candor is a proof of both a just frame of mind, and of a good
tone of breeding. It is a quality that belongs, equally to the honest
man and to the gentleman: to the first, as doing to others as we would
ourselves be done by; to the last, as indispensable to the liberality of
the character. By candor we are not to understand trifling and uncalled
for expositions of truth; but a sentiment that proves a conviction of
the necessity of speaking truth, when speaking at all; a contempt for
all designing evasions of our real opinions; and a deep conviction that
he who deceives by necessary implication, deceives willfully. In all the
general concerns, the publick has a right to be treated with candor.
Without this manly and truly republican quality, republican because no
power exists in the country to intimidate any from its exhibition, the
institutions are converted into a stupendous fraud.
--James Fenimore Cooper
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Fenimore_Cooper>
The Hunger Games is a 2008 science fiction novel by the American writer
Suzanne Collins (pictured). It is written in the voice of 16-year-old
Katniss Everdeen, who lives in the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem in
North America. The Capitol, a highly advanced metropolis, exercises
political control over the rest of the nation. The Hunger Games are an
annual event in which one boy and one girl aged 12–18 from each of
the twelve districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to
compete in a televised battle to the death. In writing the novel,
Collins drew upon Greek mythology, Roman gladiatorial games, and
contemporary reality television for thematic content. The novel won many
awards, including the California Young Reader Medal, and was named one
of Publishers Weekly's "Best Books of the Year" in 2008. Since its
release, The Hunger Games has been translated into 26 languages, and
publishing rights have been sold in 38 territories. The novel is the
first in The Hunger Games trilogy, followed by Catching Fire (2009) and
Mockingjay (2010). A film adaptation, directed by Gary Ross and co-
written and co-produced by Collins herself, was released in 2012.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunger_Games>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
81:
Domitian became the last Flavian emperor of Rome, succeeding his
brother Titus.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domitian>
1763:
About 300 Seneca warriors during Pontiac's Rebellion attacked a
British Army detachment, killing 81 soldiers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Devil%27s_Hole>
1926:
The Locarno Treaties establishing post-First World War
territorial settlements were formally ratified by the signatory nations
and came into effect.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locarno_Treaties>
1979:
Afghan President Nur Muhammad Taraki was assassinated upon the
order of Hafizullah Amin, who became the new president.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nur_Muhammad_Taraki>
2008:
All 88 people aboard Aeroflot Flight 821 died when the aircraft
crashed on approach to Perm Airport in Perm Krai, Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflot_Flight_821>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
torrefy:
To subject to intense heat.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/torrefy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The old phrase, "Government of the people, by the people, for the
people", represents a true ideal. It is best for the people as a whole.
It is even more clearly the best for the development of the individual
man and woman. And since in the end, the character and the prosperity of
the nation depend on the character of the individuals that compose it,
the form of government which best promotes individual development is the
best for the people as a whole.
--Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Cecil,_1st_Viscount_Cecil_of_Chelwood>
Otto Becher (1908–77) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian
Navy. After graduating from the Royal Australian Naval College in 1926,
he was posted to a series of staff and training positions prior to
specialising in gunnery. He assisted in the extraction of Allied troops
from the Namsos region of Norway during the Second World War and was
awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Following service in the
Mediterranean theatre, he returned to Australia as officer-in-charge of
the gunnery school at HMAS Cerberus for two years. He was given command
of HMAS Quickmatch in 1944 and earned a Bar to his Distinguished Service
Cross for operations against Japanese forces in the Pacific. After the
war he was posted to the Navy Office and later to the aircraft carrier
HMAS Sydney; in 1951 he was given command of the destroyer HMAS
Warramunga. Warramunga formed part of Australia's contribution to the
United Nations forces engaged in the Korean War; he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order for his role. Promoted to rear admiral in
1959, he served as Flag Officer Commanding Australian Fleet and then as
Flag Officer-in-Charge East Australia Area before retiring in 1966.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Becher>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1759:
Seven Years' War: British forces defeated the French at the
Battle of the Plains of Abraham near Quebec City, New France, though
General James Wolfe was mortally wounded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Plains_of_Abraham>
1814:
War of 1812: Fort McHenry in Baltimore's Inner Harbor was
attacked by British forces during the Battle of Baltimore, later
inspiring Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner", which
later became the national anthem of the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Scott_Key>
1933:
Elizabeth McCombs became the first woman elected to the
Parliament of New Zealand.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_McCombs>
1988:
Hurricane Gilbert reached a minimum pressure of 888 mb
(26.22 inHg) with sustained flight-level winds of 185 mph (295 km/h),
making it the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record at the time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Gilbert>
2008:
Five synchronised bomb blasts took place within a span of few
minutes in Delhi, India, resulting in 30 deaths and 130 injuries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13_September_2008_Delhi_bombings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gooseberry:
1. A fruit closely related to the currant.
2. Any of several other unrelated fruits, such as the Chinese gooseberry
(kiwifruit) or the Indian gooseberry (amla).
3. (British, informal) An unwanted additional person: Robert and Susan were
so in love that nobody could go near them without feeling like a
gooseberry.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gooseberry>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
You will have to know life … If you are to become a writer
you’ll have to stop fooling with words … It would be better to give
up the notion of writing until you are better prepared. Now it’s time
to be living. I don’t want to frighten you, but I would like to make
you understand the import of what you think of attempting. You must not
become a mere peddler of words. The thing to learn is to know what
people are thinking about, not what they say.
--Sherwood Anderson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sherwood_Anderson>
The Middle Ages of European history lasted from the 5th to the 15th
century. It began with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and
barbarian invaders formed new kingdoms. The Franks, under the
Carolingian dynasty, established an empire covering much of Western
Europe; the Carolingian Empire endured until the 9th century. During the
High Middle Ages, which began after AD 1000, the population of Europe
increased as technological and agricultural innovations allowed trade to
flourish and crop yields to increase. Western European Christians
attempted to regain control of the Holy Land in the Crusades.
Intellectual life was marked by scholasticism and the founding of
universities. The philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, the paintings of Giotto,
the poetry of Dante and Chaucer, the travels of Marco Polo, and the
architecture of Gothic cathedrals are among the outstanding achievements
of this period. The Late Middle Ages was marked by famine, plague, and
war; between 1347 and 1350, the Black Death killed about a third of
Europeans. Cultural and technological developments transformed European
society, leading to the early modern period.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1309:
Reconquista: Forces of the Kingdom of Castile captured
Gibraltar from the Emirate of Granada, although they would lose control
of it 24 years later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Siege_of_Gibraltar>
1848:
Switzerland became a federal state with the adoption of a new
constitution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland>
1933:
Hungarian-American physicist Leó Szilárd conceived of the
idea of the nuclear chain reaction while waiting for a traffic light in
Bloomsbury, London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3_Szil%C3%A1rd>
1942:
A U-boat sank RMS Laconia with a torpedo off the coast of West
Africa and attempted to rescue the passengers, which included some 80
civilians, 160 Polish and 268 British soldiers and about 1800 Italian
POWs.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laconia_incident>
1983:
The clandestine group Boricua Popular Army staged a bank
robbery in West Hartford, Connecticut, US, making off with $7 million in
the largest cash theft in U.S. history at the time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boricua_Popular_Army>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
vocable:
1. A word or utterance, especially with reference to its form rather than
its meaning.
2. A syllable or sound without specific meaning, used together with or in
place of actual words in a song.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vocable>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It all goes so fast, and character makes the difference when it's
close.
--Jesse Owens
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jesse_Owens>
Harry McNish (1874–1930) was the carpenter on Sir Ernest Shackleton's
Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914 to 1917. At 40, he was one
of the oldest members of the crew and was regarded as somewhat odd and
unrefined, but was highly respected as a carpenter. He was responsible
for much of the work that ensured the crew's survival after their ship,
the Endurance, was destroyed when it became trapped in pack ice in the
Weddell Sea. He modified the small boat, James Caird, that allowed
Shackleton and five men (including McNish) to make a voyage of hundreds
of miles to fetch help for the rest of the crew. He briefly refused to
follow orders on the crew's long trek pulling the boats across the pack
ice, and, despite his efforts during the journey, was one of only four
of the crew not to receive the Polar Medal. After the expedition he
returned to work in the Merchant Navy and eventually emigrated to New
Zealand, where he worked on the docks in Wellington until ill-health
forced his retirement. He died destitute in the Ohiro Benevolent Home in
Wellington. McNish Island, which lies in the approaches to King Haakon
Bay, South Georgia, was named in his honour.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_McNish>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1775:
American Revolutionary War: Benedict Arnold's expedition
departed from Cambridge, Massachusetts as part of the invasion of
Quebec.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_Arnold%27s_expedition_to_Quebec>
1897:
Gaki Sherocho was captured by the forces of Emperor of Ethiopia
Menelik II, bringing an end to the Kingdom of Kaffa.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kaffa>
1945:
The Japanese-run camp at Batu Lintang, Sarawak, in Borneo was
liberated by the Australian 9th Division, averting the planned massacre
of its 2,000-plus Allied POWs and civilian internees by four days.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batu_Lintang_camp>
1965:
Indo-Pakistani War: Indian infantry captured the town of Burki
near Lahore, Pakistan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Burki>
2001:
Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger airliners for a
series of suicide attacks against targets in New York City and the
Washington, D.C., area.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
in memoriam:
In memory (of); as a memorial.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/in_memoriam>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The magnificent here and now of life in the flesh is ours, and
ours alone, and ours only for a time. We ought to dance with rapture
that we should be alive and in the flesh, and part of the living,
incarnate cosmos. I am part of the sun as my eye is part of me. That I
am part of the earth my feet know perfectly, and my blood is part of the
sea. My soul knows that I am part of the human race, my soul is an
organic part of the great human soul, as my spirit is part of my nation.
In my own very self, I am part of my family. There is nothing of me that
is alone and absolute except my mind, and we shall find that the mind
has no existence by itself, it is only the glitter of the sun on the
surface of the waters.
--D. H. Lawrence
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/D._H._Lawrence>