Highway 401 is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario
stretching 817.9 kilometres (508.2 mi). The portion that passes through
Toronto is the busiest highway in the world, and one of the widest
(18 lanes pictured near Toronto Pearson International Airport). By the
end of 1952, three individual highways were numbered "Highway 401": the
partially completed Toronto Bypass between Weston Road and Highway 11;
Highway 2A between West Hill and Newcastle; and the Scenic Highway
between Gananoque and Brockville. The route was expanded across the
province, and became fully navigable from Windsor to the Quebec border
on November 10, 1964. In 1965 it was designated the Macdonald–Cartier
Freeway, in honour of the Fathers of Confederation, and it became a
freeway for its entire length in 1968. A portion of the highway was
designated the Highway of Heroes in 2007, as the road is travelled by
funeral convoys for fallen Canadian Forces personnel from CFB Trenton to
the coroner's office in Toronto. In 2011 construction began on a
westward extension of Highway 401 that will be known as the Herb Gray
Parkway and extend to Interstate 75 via a new international crossing.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Highway_401>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1202:
The first major action of the Fourth Crusade and the first
attack against a Catholic city by Catholic crusaders, the Siege of Zara,
began in Zadar, Croatia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Zara>
1871:
Journalist and explorer Henry Morton Stanley located missing
missionary and explorer David Livingstone in Ujiji, near Lake Tanganyika
in present-day Tanzania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Livingstone>
1940:
A magnitude 7.7 ML earthquake struck the Vrancea region of
Romania, the country's strongest earthquake in the 20th century.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940_Vrancea_earthquake>
1958:
Merchant Harry Winston donated the Hope Diamond (pictured), the
"most famous diamond in the world", to the Smithsonian Institution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_Diamond>
2006:
Prominent Sri Lankan Tamil politician and human rights lawyer
Nadarajah Raviraj was assassinated in Colombo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadarajah_Raviraj>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
xoanon:
(historical) A wooden statue, used as a cult image in Ancient Greece.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/xoanon>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It's astonishing how much trouble one can get oneself into, if
one works at it. And astonishing how much trouble one can get oneself
out of, if one simply assumes that everything will, somehow or other,
work out for the best.
--The Sandman
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Sandman#The_Wake>
SMS Emden was the second and final member of the Dresden class of light
cruisers built for the Imperial German Navy. Named for the town of
Emden, she was completed in July 1909 at the Imperial Dockyard in
Danzig, and spent most of her career with the German East Asia Squadron,
based in Tsingtao, China. At the outbreak of World War I, Emden captured
a Russian steamer and converted her into the commerce raider Cormoran.
In October 1914, Emden launched a surprise attack on Penang, sinking the
Russian cruiser Zhemchug and the French destroyer Mousquet.
Emden 's commander, Karl von Müller, then took her to raid the
Cocos Islands, where he landed a contingent of sailors to destroy
British facilities. On 9 November 1914, Emden was attacked by the
Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney, a more powerful ship, and seriously
damaged. Müller ran his ship aground to prevent her from sinking. Out
of a crew of 376, 133 were killed in the battle. Most of the survivors
were taken prisoner, though the landing party commandeered an old
schooner and eventually returned to Germany. Emden 's wreck was
quickly destroyed by wave action, but was not broken up for scrap until
the 1950s.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Emden_(1908)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1822:
USS Alligator engaged three piratical schooners off the coast
of Cuba in one of the West Indies anti-piracy operations of the United
States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_9_November_1822>
1914:
First World War: In the Cocos Islands, the Australian light
cruiser HMAS Sydney sank SMS Emden, the last active Central Powers
warship in the Indian Ocean.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cocos>
1938:
Kristallnacht began as SA stormtroopers and civilians destroyed
and ransacked Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues in Germany and
Austria, resulting in at least 90 deaths and the deportation of over
25,000 others to concentration camps.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristallnacht>
1985:
At age 22, Garry Kasparov became the youngest ever undisputed
World Chess Champion by defeating then-champion Anatoly Karpov.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Kasparov>
1989:
East Germany announced the opening of the inner German border
and the Berlin Wall (pictured), marking the symbolic end of the Cold
War, the impending collapse of the Warsaw Pact, and the beginning of the
end of Soviet communism.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_German_border>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
dematerialize:
1. (intransitive) to disappear by becoming immaterial.
2. (transitive) to cause something to disappear by becoming immaterial.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dematerialize>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple
with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held
prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be
true. But our preferences do not determine what's true. We have a
method, and that method helps us to reach not absolute truth, only
asymptotic approaches to the truth — never there, just closer and
closer, always finding vast new oceans of undiscovered possibilities.
Cleverly designed experiments are the key.
--Carl Sagan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan>
Pelicans are a genus of large water birds comprising the family
Pelecanidae. They are characterised by a long beak and large throat
pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped up
contents before swallowing. They have predominantly pale plumage, the
exceptions being the brown and Peruvian pelicans. The bills, pouches and
bare facial skin of all species become brightly coloured before the
breeding season. The eight living pelican species (great white pelican
pictured) have a patchy global distribution, ranging latitudinally from
the tropics to the temperate zone. They frequent inland and coastal
waters where they feed principally on fish, catching them at or near the
water surface. Gregarious birds, they often hunt cooperatively and breed
colonially. Four white-plumaged species tend to nest on the ground, and
four brown or grey-plumaged species nest mainly in trees. The birds have
been persecuted because of their perceived competition with fishers, and
have suffered from habitat destruction, disturbance and environmental
pollution. They have a long history of cultural significance in
mythology, and in Christian and heraldic iconography.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelican>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1576:
The provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands signed the
Pacification of Ghent, to make peace with the rebelling provinces
Holland and Zeeland, and also to form an alliance to drive the occupying
Spanish out of the country.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacification_of_Ghent>
1644:
The Shunzhi Emperor (pictured), the third emperor of the Qing
dynasty, was enthroned in Beijing after the collapse of the Ming dynasty
as the first Qing emperor to rule over China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shunzhi_Emperor>
1861:
American Civil War: The USS San Jacinto stopped the British
mailship Trent and arrested two Confederate envoys en route to Europe,
sparking a major diplomatic crisis between the United Kingdom and the
United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trent_Affair>
1965:
American journalist Dorothy Kilgallen was found dead in her New
York City townhouse, in what was rumored to be a murder because of
information she had regarding controversial stories such as the John F.
Kennedy assassination.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Kilgallen>
1987:
A Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb exploded during a
Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, killing at
least eleven people and injuring sixty-three others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
turlough:
(Ireland) A temporary lake in an area of limestone, filled by rising
groundwater during the rainy winter season.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/turlough>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
God willeth that we endlessly hate the sin and endlessly love
the soul, as God loveth it.
--Julian of Norwich
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julian_of_Norwich>
Bob Windle (born 1944) is a former Australian freestyle swimmer. He won
the 1500 m freestyle and took bronze in the 4 × 100 m freestyle
relay at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and silver and bronze in the
4 × 200 m and 4 × 100 m freestyle relays respectively at the
1968 Summer Olympics. He is the only male swimmer to represent Australia
at the Olympics in all freestyle distances from 100 m to 1500 m.
During his career, Windle set six world records, won six Commonwealth
Games gold medals, and won 19 Australian Championships in all distances
from 220 yd to 1650 yd. He won his first national title in 1961 and
made his international debut at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth
Games. After the 1964 Olympics, Windle enrolled at Indiana University,
and converted to sprint swimming. He competed in the 1966 British Empire
and Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, winning three competitions,
all in world record times. He competed in his second Olympics in Mexico
City in 1968, racing the 100 m and 200 m freestyle and the corresponding
relays. He retired after the games and worked for Allis-Chalmers in the
United States, before being transferred to their Australian division.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Windle>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
680:
The Sixth Ecumenical Council convened in Constantinople to take
a position on the theological positions of monoenergism and
monothelitism.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Council_of_Constantinople>
1619:
Elizabeth Stuart (pictured), a direct ancestor of Elizabeth II
of the United Kingdom, was crowned Queen of Bohemia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Stuart,_Queen_of_Bohemia>
1837:
American abolitionist Elijah Parish Lovejoy was murdered by a
pro-slavery mob in Alton, Illinois, during their attack on his warehouse
to destroy his printing press and abolitionist materials.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_Parish_Lovejoy>
1917:
World War I: British forces captured Gaza when the Ottoman
garrison abandoned the area.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Battle_of_Gaza>
1996:
NASA launched the Mars Global Surveyor from the Kennedy Space
Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Global_Surveyor>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Cassandra:
A person who makes dire predictions, especially those which are not
believed but turn out to be true.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Cassandra>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A character is never the author who created him. It is quite
likely, however, that an author may be all his characters
simultaneously.
--Albert Camus
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Camus>
Carl Hans Lody (1877–1914) was a reserve officer of the Imperial
German Navy who spied in the United Kingdom at the start of the First
World War. While working for a shipping line, he agreed to spy for
German naval intelligence, and was sent to Edinburgh in late August. He
spoke fluent English, and spent a month posing as an American tourist
while reporting on British naval movements and coastal defences. He had
not been given any espionage training and was detected almost
immediately, as he sent his communications in plain English and German
to a known German intelligence address in Sweden. By the end of
September 1914, a rising spy panic in Britain led to foreigners coming
under suspicion; he attempted to go into hiding in Ireland but was
quickly caught. Tried in a public court martial in London, he made no
attempt to deny his guilt, declaring that he had acted out of patriotic
motives. His courage on the witness stand attracted admiration in
Britain and Germany. He was sentenced to death by firing squad and on 6
November 1914 he became the first person in nearly 170 years to be
executed at the Tower of London. Under the Nazi regime, he was acclaimed
as a German national hero.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Hans_Lody>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1789:
Pope Pius VI appointed Father John Carroll as the first
Catholic bishop in the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Carroll_(bishop)>
1856:
Scenes of Clerical Life, the first work by English author
George Eliot (pictured), was submitted for publication.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scenes_of_Clerical_Life>
1939:
As part of their plan to eradicate the Polish intellectual
elite, the Gestapo arrested 184 professors, students and employees of
Jagiellonian University in Kraków.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonderaktion_Krakau>
1944:
The Hanford Atomic Facility in the U.S. state of Washington
produced its first plutonium, and it would go on to create more for
almost the entire American nuclear arsenal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanford_Site>
2004:
A man attempting to commit suicide parked his car on the
railway tracks in Ufton Nervet, Berkshire, England, causing a derailment
that killed seven people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ufton_Nervet_rail_crash>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
isomorphic:
1. (mathematics) Having a one-to-one correspondence.
2. (biology) Having a similar structure or function to something that is
not related genetically or through evolution.
3. Having identical relevant structure.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/isomorphic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what
comes.
--Zig Ziglar
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zig_Ziglar>
Gough Whitlam (1916–2014) was Prime Minister of Australia from 1972
until his controversial dismissal in 1975 by Governor-General Sir John
Kerr. Whitlam was first elected to Parliament in 1952 and became leader
of the Labor Party in 1967. He won the 1972 election, forming the first
Labor government since 1949. His government ended conscription, and
introduced universal health care, free university education, and legal
aid. With the Opposition-controlled Senate obstructing his agenda,
Whitlam called a double dissolution election in 1974 and kept a majority
in the House of Representatives. The Senate, still controlled by the
Opposition, obstructed the passage of government funding bills in 1975.
Whitlam refused to back down, arguing that his elected Government should
not be held to ransom. The deadlock was broken on 11 November, when Kerr
dismissed Whitlam and commissioned Opposition Leader Malcolm Fraser in
his place. Labor lost the subsequent election in a landslide. Whitlam
stepped down as Labor leader after losing the 1977 election, retired
from Parliament in 1978 and later became Ambassador to UNESCO. His
dismissal, and his government's legacy, remain a large part of
Australian political discourse.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gough_Whitlam>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1605:
The arrest of Guy Fawkes (pictured), found during a search of
the Palace of Westminster, foiled Robert Catesby's plot to destroy the
House of Lords and all within it.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpowder_Plot>
1838:
The collapse of the Federal Republic of Central America began
with Nicaragua seceding from the union.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Republic_of_Central_America>
1967:
A train derailed near Hither Green maintenance depot in London,
killing 49 people and injuring 78 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hither_Green_rail_crash>
1984:
Morning Ireland, Ireland's highest rated radio programme, was
broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 for the first time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_Ireland>
2009:
Major Nidal Malik Hasan of the United States Army went on a
shooting rampage at Fort Hood, the worst shooting ever to take place on
an American military base.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Fort_Hood_shooting>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
unit:
1. An organized group comprising people and/or equipment.
2. (sciences) A standard measure of a quantity.
3. (commerce) An item which may be sold singly.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unit>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
T'his darkness will not last forever. There will some day come a
Fifth of November — or another date, it doesn't matter — when fires
will burn in a chain of brightness from Land's End to John O' Groats.
The children will dance and leap about them as they did in the times
before. They will take each other by the hand and watch the rockets
breaking, and afterwards they will go home singing to the houses full of
light…
--P. L. Travers
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._L._Travers>
Bonshō are large bells found in Buddhist temples throughout Japan, used
to summon the monks to prayer and to demarcate periods of time. Rather
than containing a clapper, bonshō (example at Ryōan-ji pictured) are
struck from the outside, using either a hand-held mallet or a beam
suspended on ropes. The bells are usually made from bronze, typically
augmented and ornamented with bosses, raised bands, and inscriptions.
The earliest appearance of these bells in Japan dates to around 600 CE,
although the general design is of much earlier Chinese origin. Their
penetrating and pervasive tone carries over considerable distances,
which led to their use as signals, timekeepers, and alarms. The sound is
thought to have supernatural properties; it is believed, for example,
that it can be heard in the underworld. Their spiritual significance
means that they play an important role in Buddhist ceremonies,
particularly the New Year and Bon festivals. Throughout Japanese history
a number of these bells have become associated with stories and legends,
both fictional, such as the Benkei Bell of Mii-dera, and historical,
such as the bell of Hōkō-ji. In modern times, bonshō have become
symbols of world peace.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonsh%C5%8D>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1847:
Scottish physician James Young Simpson discovered the
anaesthetic qualities of chloroform.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloroform>
1864:
American Civil War: Nathan Bedford Forrest led a cavalry
division in an attack on a Union Army supply base at Johnsonville,
Tennessee, capturing 150 prisoners.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Johnsonville>
1921:
The remains of an unknown soldier were buried with an eternal
flame at the Altare della Patria in Rome.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altare_della_Patria>
1970:
Salvador Allende took office as President of Chile, the first
Marxist to become president of a Latin American country through open
elections.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Allende>
1991:
Former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos was granted a
presidential pardon by Corazon Aquino and allowed to return from exile.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imelda_Marcos>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
mara:
1. (folklore) A nightmare; a spectre or wraith-like creature in
Scandinavian folklore, especially one that causes terrifying visions or
dreams.
2. (Buddhism) A malicious or evil spirit.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mara>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The first priority of humankind in this era is to establish
an effective system of world law that will assure peace with justice
among the peoples of the world.
--Walter Cronkite
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_Cronkite>
The Bivalvia comprise a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that
have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two
hinged parts. Bivalves include clams, oysters, cockles, mussels,
scallops, and numerous other families that live in saltwater or in
freshwater. The majority are filter feeders. Most bivalves bury
themselves in sediment, where they are relatively safe from predation,
though some others lie on the sea floor or attach themselves to rocks or
other hard surfaces. A bivalve's shell (giant clam shell pictured) is
composed of calcium carbonate, and consists of two, usually similar,
parts called valves, which can open and close without becoming
disarticulated. Adult shell sizes of bivalves vary from fractions of a
millimetre to over a metre in length, but the majority of species do not
exceed 10 cm (4 in). Bivalves have long been a part of the diet of
coastal human populations, and pearl oysters are the most common source
of natural pearls. Bivalves first appear in the fossil record more than
500 million years ago. The total number of living species is
approximately 9,200.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bivalvia>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1812:
French invasion of Russia: As Napoleon's Grande Armée began
its retreat, its rear guard was defeated at the Battle of Vyazma.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vyazma>
1838:
The Times of India, the world's largest circulated English-
language daily broadsheet newspaper, was founded as the The Bombay Times
and Journal of Commerce.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Times_of_India>
1954:
The first film featuring the giant monster known as Godzilla,
was released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla>
1969:
U.S. President Richard Nixon made a plea to the "silent
majority", referring to those Americans who did not join in the large
demonstrations against the Vietnam War at the time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_majority>
2007:
Pakistani President and Chief of Army Staff Pervez Musharraf
declared a state of emergency across Pakistan, suspending the Pakistani
Constitution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistani_state_of_emergency,_2007>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
canine:
1. Of, or pertaining to, dogs.
2. Dog-like.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/canine>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Natural work democracy is politically neither "left" nor
"right." It embraces anyone who does vital work; for this reason, its
orientation is only and alone forward. It has no inherent intention of
being against ideologies, including political ideologies. On the other
hand, if it is to function, it will be forced to take a firm stand, on a
factual basis, against any ideology or political party which puts
irrational obstacles in its path. Yet, basically, work democracy is not
"against," as is the rule with politics, but "for"; for the formulation
and solution of concrete tasks.
--Wilhelm Reich
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich>
Roderic Dallas (1891–1918) was an Australian fighter ace of World
War I. His official score of aerial victories (39) is generally
regarded as the second-highest by an Australian, after Robert Little
with 47, but researchers have credited Dallas with totals from 32 to
over 50. He also achieved success as a squadron leader, and was an
influential tactician and test pilot. Like Little, Dallas flew with
British units, rather than the Australian Flying Corps. He travelled to
England at his own expense following the outbreak of war and became a
pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) in August 1915. Initially
flying Caudrons and Nieuport 11s on the Western Front, he was chosen to
test one of the earliest Sopwith Triplanes. This became his favourite
type, and he achieved many victories with it through 1916–17, earning
the Distinguished Service Order, and the Distinguished Service Cross and
Bar. Appointed commanding officer of No. 1 Squadron RNAS in June 1917,
on the establishment of the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918 he took
command of No. 40 Squadron. Flying Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s, he
achieved further victories before being killed in action on patrol in
northern France.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roderic_Dallas>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1889:
The Dakota Territory, an organized incorporated territory of
the United States, was split and became the states of North and South
Dakota.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota>
1932:
The Australian military began a "war against emus", a
flightless native bird blamed for widespread damage to crops in Western
Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War>
1964:
King Saud of Saudi Arabia was deposed by his half-brother
Faisal over concerns of the former's profligacy and his inability to
deal with the socialism of Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saud_of_Saudi_Arabia>
1990:
Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting merged to
form BSkyB, the largest pay-TV broadcaster in the United Kingdom and
Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSkyB>
2004:
Dutch film director Theo van Gogh, whose film Submission was
critical of the treatment of women in Islam, was assassinated by
Mohammed Bouyeri.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theo_van_Gogh_(film_director)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tell it to the marines:
(idiomatic) I do not believe what you said.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tell_it_to_the_marines>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Men may move mountains, but ideas move men.  ䷊
☳☶ ䷋ ☳☶
--Lois McMaster Bujold
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lois_McMaster_Bujold>
Daniel "Doc" Adams (1814–1899) was an American baseball player and
executive who is regarded as an important figure in the sport's early
years. He began his career with the New York Knickerbockers in 1845 and
played for the club into his forties (pictured, center, in 1859).
Researchers have called Adams the creator of the shortstop position, and
as club president six times between 1847 and 1861, Adams advocated rule
changes that resulted in nine-man teams and nine-inning games. When the
National Association of Base Ball Players was formed in 1858, he led the
rules and regulations committee of the new organization. In his role,
Adams ruled that the field's bases should be 90 feet (27 m) apart, the
modern distance, and supported eliminating the "bound rule", which
allowed for balls caught after one bounce to be recorded as outs. Adams'
contributions in creating baseball's rules went largely unrecognized for
decades after his death, but in 1980 a letter about him appeared in The
New York Times and by 1993, researcher John Thorn had written about
Adams' role. His nickname came from his medical work; he later became a
bank president and member of the Connecticut legislature.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Adams>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
996:
Holy Roman Emperor Otto III issued a document containing the
earliest known use of "Osterrîchi", the Old High German name of
Austria.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_Austria>
1611:
The first recorded performance of William Shakespeare's play
The Tempest was held at the Palace of Whitehall in London, exactly seven
years after the first certainly known performance of his tragedy Othello
was held in the same building.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Othello>
1876:
The Colony of New Zealand dissolved its nine provinces and
replaced them with 63 counties.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_New_Zealand>
1950:
Two Puerto Rican nationalists attempted to assassinate U.S.
President Harry S. Truman (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truman_assassination_attempt>
1963:
Lê Quang Tung, loyalist head of the South Vietnam Special
Forces, was executed in a US-backed coup against President Ngô Đình
Diệm following a period of religious unrest.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1963_South_Vietnamese_coup>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
auton:
(science fiction) A machine or robot, usually in the form of a living
being, designed to follow a precise sequence of instructions.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/auton>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Now two punctilious envoys, Thine and Mine, Embroil the earth
about a fancied line; And, dwelling much on right and much on wrong,
Prove how the right is chiefly with the strong. ☳☶ ䷊䷋
☳☶
--Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nicolas_Boileau-Despr%C3%A9aux>