Rani Mukerji (born 1978) is an Indian film actress. Through her
successful Bollywood (Hindi film) acting career, she has become one of
the most high-profile celebrities in India. Mukerji has received seven
Filmfare Awards, and her film roles have been cited as a significant
departure from the traditional portrayal of women in mainstream Hindi
cinema. Mukerji began a full-time career in film with Raja Ki Aayegi
Baraat in 1997 and had her first major success with the 1998 romance
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. In 2002 she was acclaimed for her role in the
relationship drama Saathiya, and by the year 2004 she had established
herself as a leading actress of Bollywood with roles in the romantic
comedy Hum Tum and the dramas Yuva and Veer-Zaara. She achieved further
success for her leading roles in Black (2005) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
(2006). After starring in a series of unsuccessful films, she featured
in the successful thrillers No One Killed Jessica (2011) and Talaash:
The Answer Lies Within (2012). In addition to acting in films, Mukerji
has been actively involved with several humanitarian causes and is vocal
about issues faced by women and children.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rani_Mukerji>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1556:
Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, one of the founders of
Anglicanism, was burnt at the stake in Oxford, England, for heresy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cranmer>
1800:
After being elected as a compromise candidate after several
months of stalemate, Pope Pius VII was crowned in Venice with a
temporary papal tiara made of papier-mâché.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_VII>
1918:
First World War: The German Army opened the Spring Offensive
with Operation Michael, attempting to break through the Allied lines and
to seize ports on the English Channel.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Michael>
1946:
The Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League signed
Kenny Washington, making him the first African American player in the
league since 1933.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Washington_(American_football)>
1980:
Dallas aired its "A House Divided" episode which led to eight
months of international speculation regarding Who shot J.R.?
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_House_Divided_(Dallas)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
itchy trigger finger:
(idiomatic) A tendency to act in haste or without consideration.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/itchy_trigger_finger>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Let us now pledge all our efforts to obtain and consolidate the
benefits of peace. Under its auspices, the protection of the laws and of
the authorities will be sufficient for all the inhabitants of the
Republic. May the people and the government respect the rights of all.
Between individuals, as between nations, peace means respect for the
rights of others.
--Benito Juárez
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benito_Ju%C3%A1rez>
Mike Jackson (born 1944) is a retired British Army officer and one of
its most high-profile generals since the Second World War. Originally
commissioned into the Intelligence Corps in 1963, he transferred to the
Parachute Regiment. On the first of his tours of duty in Northern
Ireland with the regiment, he was present as an adjutant at the events
of Bloody Sunday (1972), when soldiers opened fire on protesters,
killing 13 people. He was assigned to a staff post at the Ministry of
Defence in 1982 before assuming command of the 1st Battalion, The
Parachute Regiment, in 1984. Jackson served his first tour in the
Balkans in 1994, commanding a multi-national division of the
Implementation Force, and was appointed commander of NATO's Allied Rapid
Reaction Corps in 1997. In this role, he controversially refused to obey
an order from American General Wesley Clark (his immediate superior in
the NATO chain of command during the Kosovo War) to block the runways of
Pristina Airport. Upon his return to the UK, Jackson was promoted to
full general and later served as Chief of the General Staff, the
professional head of the British Army, from 2003 to 2006.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Jackson>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1602:
The Dutch East India Company—the first company to issue
stock, one of the first multinational corporations, and possibly the
first megacorporation—was established.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_India_Company>
1815:
After escaping from exile in Elba, Napoleon Bonaparte entered
Paris, officially beginning his "Hundred Days" rule.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Days>
1854:
At a meeting in Ripon, Wisconsin, US, an anti-slavery political
party decided to name itself the Republican Party.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)>
1944:
World War II: Four thousand U.S. Marines made a landing on
Emirau Island in the Bismarck Archipelago to develop an airbase as part
of Operation Cartwheel.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_on_Emirau>
2006:
Cyclone Larry made landfall in Far North Queensland, eventually
causing nearly AU$1 billion in total damage and destroying over 80
percent of Australia's banana crop.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Larry>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
forethoughtful:
Having or full of forethought; provident; proactive; visionary.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/forethoughtful>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The trees are cloth'd with leaves, the fields with grass; The
blossoms blow; the birds on bushes sing; And Nature has accomplish'd all
the Spring. as translated by
--John Dryden
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Dryden>
North Road was a football stadium and cricket field in Newton Heath,
Manchester, England. It was the first home of Manchester United Football
Club, then known as Newton Heath Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Football Club. The club was formed in 1878 at the request of the railway
company's employees at its carriage and wagon works, and the ground
(which was owned by Manchester Cathedral) adjoined the works. Initially
the ground consisted only of the pitch, around which an estimated
12,000 spectators could congregate, and it was often clouded by steam
from passing trains. Players had to get changed at a nearby public
house. The addition of stands in 1891 increased the capacity to about
15,000. The football club signed its first professional players in 1886
and began to break from its sponsoring railway company, but without the
company's financial support it was unable to afford the rent on the
ground and was evicted. In 1893, the club moved to a new ground at Bank
Street, Clayton. The North Road site is now part of the North Manchester
Business Park, having previously been used as playing fields and as the
site of a school.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Road_(football_ground)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1279:
Emperor Bing, the last emperor of the Song Dynasty, died during
the Battle of Yamen, bringing the dynasty to an end after three
centuries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emperors_of_the_Song_Dynasty>
1921:
Irish War of Independence: About 1,300 British troops attempted
to encircle about 100 IRA volunteers at Crossbarry in County Cork.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossbarry_Ambush>
1932:
The Sydney Harbour Bridge (pictured), a major landmark in
Sydney, Australia, and the world's tallest steel arch bridge, was
formally opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Harbour_Bridge>
1954:
American pool (pocket billiards) player Willie Mosconi set a
record of 526 consecutive balls sunk without a miss during an exhibition
of straight pool.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Mosconi>
1987:
American televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as the head of The
PTL Club in the midst of a sex scandal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bakker>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
vaguery:
1. (uncountable) Vagueness, the condition of being vague.
2. (countable) A vagueness, a thing which is vague, an example of
vagueness.
3. (countable, in the plural) An eggcorn for vagaries.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vaguery>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 I am an individual … a circle touching and intersecting my
neighbours at certain points, but nowhere corresponding, nowhere
blending. … But my individuality, however all-sufficient for myself,
is an infinitesimal point, an atom subject in all things to the Law of
Storms called Life. I feel, I know that Fate is. But I cannot know what
is or what is not fated to befall me. Therefore in the pursuit of
perfection as an individual lies my highest, and indeed my only duty,
the "I" being duly blended with the "We." … I am bound to take careful
thought concerning the consequences of every word and deed. When,
however, the Future has become the Past, it would be the merest vanity
for me to grieve or to repent over that which was decreed by universal
Law.
--Richard Francis Burton
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Francis_Burton>
On 4 December 1893, the Shangani Patrol, comprising 34 soldiers of the
British South Africa Company, was annihilated by over 3,000 Matabele
warriors during the First Matabele War, in Rhodesia (modern-day
Zimbabwe). Major Patrick Forbes was attempting to capture the Matabele
King Lobengula. A patrol, headed by Major Allan Wilson (pictured), was
scouting ahead on the north side of the Shangani River. When Wilson's
patrol moved in to capture Lobengula, it was ambushed by Matabele
riflemen and warriors near the king's wagon. Surrounded and outnumbered
about a hundred-fold, the patrol made a last stand as three of its
number rode back to the river for reinforcements – without success as
the Shangani was now in flood and Forbes was also involved in a
skirmish. After fighting to the last cartridge, and killing over ten
times their own number, Wilson and his men were annihilated. The
patrol's members were regarded as national heroes for endeavour in the
face of insurmountable odds. The anniversary of the battle became an
annual public holiday in Rhodesia in 1895, and was an official non-work
day until 1920. A film depicting the episode, Shangani Patrol, was
released in 1970.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shangani_Patrol>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1241:
First Mongol invasion of Poland: Mongols overwhelmed the Polish
armies of Sandomierz and Kraków provinces in the Battle of Chmielnik
and plundered the abandoned city of Kraków.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chmielnik>
1871:
French President Adolphe Thiers ordered the evacuation of Paris
after an uprising broke out as the result of France's defeat in the
Franco-Prussian War, leading to the establishment of the Paris Commune
government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Commune>
1906:
Romanian inventor Traian Vuia became the first person to fly a
heavier-than-air monoplane with an unassisted takeoff.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traian_Vuia>
1970:
United States postal workers began a two-week strike after
Congress raised its own wages by 41% but only raised the wages of postal
workers by 4%.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._postal_strike_of_1970>
1996:
The deadliest fire in Philippine history burned a nightclub in
Quezon City, leaving 162 dead.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_Disco_Club_fire>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tribology:
(physics, engineering) The science and technology of friction,
lubrication, and wear.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tribology>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
From infancy on, we are all spies; the shame is not this but that
the secrets to be discovered are so paltry and few.
--John Updike
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Updike>
The 1941 Atlantic hurricane season was a relatively inactive hurricane
season, with only six known storms. Four of these attained hurricane
status, and three became major hurricanes. The season had an abnormally
late start; the first system formed on September 11, nearly three months
after the official beginning date. The season was also short-lived, as
all six storms developed in rapid succession (paths pictured). On
September 23, three hurricanes existed simultaneously in the Atlantic
basin. In total, the season resulted in about 63 fatalities and over $10
million in damages. The first and last storms of the season were largely
insignificant, although the second, fourth, and fifth storms had
considerable effects. Two hurricanes struck the United States: a major
hurricane that struck Texas and Louisiana in late September, disrupting
the Louisiana Maneuvers, and Hurricane Five, which made two landfalls in
Florida, the first of which was near Miami at Category 2 intensity,
inflicting widespread damage. Another major storm—Hurricane
Four—traversed the Caribbean before striking the Nicaragua–Honduras
border at Category 4 intensity, leaving 47 men dead at sea.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1941_Atlantic_hurricane_season>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1001:
The Song Shi recorded a tributary mission from the Kingdom of
Butuan (Golden Tara pictured) to the Song Dynasty of China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Butuan>
1860:
The First Taranaki War began at Waitara, New Zealand, marking
an important phase of the New Zealand land wars.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Taranaki_War>
1957:
A plane crash on the slope of Mount Manunggal killed Philippine
President Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1957_Cebu_Douglas_C-47_crash>
1973:
Slava Veder took his Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph Burst of
Joy, which came to symbolize the end of United States involvement in the
Vietnam War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burst_of_Joy>
2011:
Libyan Civil War: The United Nations Security Council adopted
Security Council Resolution 1973, authorizing a military intervention to
protect civilians in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_19…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
dudeen:
A short-stemmed Irish pipe made out of clay.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dudeen>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily
by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being
taught mathematical concepts… A graphic representation of data
abstracted from banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable
complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters
and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding…
--William Gibson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Gibson>
Joseph W. Tkach (1927–1995) was an American pastor who was the
appointed successor of Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the Worldwide
Church of God. Tkach was ordained as a minister in the church in 1957,
and became President and Pastor General of the church upon the death of
Armstrong in 1986. Tkach spearheaded a major doctrinal transformation of
the Worldwide Church of God, abandoning Armstrong's unconventional
doctrines and bringing the church into accord with mainstream
evangelical Christianity. Changes included encouraging members to seek
proper medical treatment while retaining faith in God as a healer,
permitting interracial marriage, and allowing work on the Sabbath. The
changes that he implemented stirred much controversy among those who
continued to follow Armstrong's theology. Dissenters labeled the changes
as heresy and many left to form new church organizations. His son,
Joseph Tkach Jr., continued his work and in 1997 the Worldwide Church of
God became a member of the National Association of Evangelicals. Within
the mainstream Christian community, some have hailed Tkach's reforms,
which brought a church from the fringe to orthodoxy, as unprecedented.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_W._Tkach>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
597 BC:
Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II captured Jerusalem and
installed Zedekiah as King of Judah.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zedekiah>
1190:
Around 150 Jews inside York Castle in York, England, committed
mass suicide rather than be killed by a mob.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_Castle>
1926:
American scientist Robert H. Goddard launched the world's first
liquid-fueled rocket, which flew for two-and-a-half seconds before
falling to the ground.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_H._Goddard>
1978:
Former Prime Minister of Italy Aldo Moro was kidnapped in Rome
by Mario Moretti and the Red Brigades.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_of_Aldo_Moro>
2003:
American peace activist Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by
an Israel Defense Forces armored bulldozer in Rafah as she was
protesting the demolition of a house.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Corrie>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
damnify:
(law) To cause injuries or loss to.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/damnify>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Art has a double face, of expression and illusion, just like
science has a double face: the reality of error and the phantom of
truth.
--René Daumal
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Daumal>
The 1st Provisional Marine Brigade was an ad-hoc unit of the United
States Marine Corps (Marine Corps logo pictured) that existed
periodically from 1912 to 1950. Formed for specific operations and not
considered a "permanent" unit, the brigade saw five brief activations
for service over forty years. First created for duty in Cuba following
the Negro Rebellion, it was next activated in 1941 when it was hastily
constructed from the 6th Marine Regiment to garrison Iceland after its
occupation by British troops during World War II. The brigade
participated in the Battle of Guam in the Pacific War, conducting an
amphibious landing on the island and subduing resistance from Japanese
troops. It was activated again in a brief organizational shift after the
war. The brigade was hastily reformed in 1950 for service in the Korean
War. It participated in a counterattack at Masan before reinforcing U.S.
Army units during the Battle of Pusan Perimeter, and at the First and
Second Battles of Naktong Bulge along the Naktong River. It was
deactivated for the last time when it was merged with the 1st Marine
Division.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Provisional_Marine_Brigade>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
44 BC:
Dictator Julius Caesar of the Roman Republic was stabbed to
death by Marcus Junius Brutus and several other Roman senators.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Julius_Caesar>
933:
Franks led by German king Henry I defeated an invading
Hungarian army in the Battle of Riade in northern Thuringia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Riade>
1820:
As part of the Missouri Compromise, the exclave of
Massachusetts known as Maine (map pictured) was given its own U.S.
statehood.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine>
1917:
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia was forced to abdicate in the
February Revolution, ending three centuries of Romanov rule.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_II_of_Russia>
1972:
The Godfather, a gangster film based on the novel of the same
name by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, was released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Godfather>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
enshrine:
1. (transitive) To enclose (a sacred relic etc.) in a shrine or chest.
2. (transitive) To preserve or cherish (something) as though in a shrine;
to preserve or contain, especially with some reverence.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enshrine>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
What comes now? The earth awaits What fierce wonder from the
skies? Thunder, trampling through the night? Morning, with illustrious
eyes? Morning, from the springs of light: Thunder, round Heaven's
opening gates.
--Lionel Johnson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lionel_Johnson>
Aeneas Mackintosh (1879–1916) was a British Antarctic explorer who
commanded the Ross Sea party within Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial
Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–17. The party's mission was to
support Shackleton's proposed transcontinental march by laying supply
depots along the latter stages of the march's intended route. Confusing
orders meant Mackintosh was uncertain of the timing of Shackleton's
proposed march. Matters worsened when the Ross Sea party's ship, SY
Aurora, was swept from its moorings during a gale, taking away much of
the party's supplies and equipment. Despite these setbacks and further
practical difficulties, Mackintosh's stranded party managed to carry out
its depot-laying task to the full. Having reached safety, he and a
companion lost their lives while attempting to return to the
expedition's base camp by walking across unstable sea ice. Shackleton
later commended the work of Mackintosh and his comrades, and equated the
sacrifice of their lives to those given in the trenches during the First
World War. However, his competence and leadership skills have been
questioned by some polar historians.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeneas_Mackintosh>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1757:
British Royal Navy Admiral John Byng was court-martialled and
executed by firing squad when he failed to "do his utmost" during the
Battle of Minorca at the start of the Seven Years' War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Byng>
1885:
The Mikado, Gilbert and Sullivan's most frequently performed
Savoy opera, debuted at the Savoy Theatre in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mikado>
1910:
Oil prospectors in Kern County, California, drilled into a
pressurized oil deposit, resulting in the largest accidental oil spill
in history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakeview_Gusher>
1945:
The British Royal Air Force first used the Grand Slam, a 22,000
lb (9.98 t) earthquake bomb, on a strategic railroad viaduct in
Bielefeld, Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_(bomb)>
1988:
China defeated Vietnam in a naval battle as the former
attempted to establish oceanographic observation posts on the Spratly
Islands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_South_Reef_Skirmish>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
annis Domini:
(of multiple years or of a date range) Taking place a specifed number of
years following the assumed birth of Jesus Christ.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/annis_Domini>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Sweet and gentle and sensitive man With an obsessive nature and
deep fascination For numbers And a complete infatuation with the
calculation Of π.
--Kate Bush
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kate_Bush>
The Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR;) was a railway
company that constructed the deep-level underground railway that is now
the central section of London's Northern line. Established in 1891, the
company became a subsidiary of the Underground Electric Railways Company
of London (UERL) in 1901. Various routes were planned, but a number were
rejected by Parliament. Tunnels under Hampstead Heath were authorised,
despite opposition by local residents who believed the tunnels would
drain the heath of water and train vibrations would cause trees to
collapse. When it opened in 1907, the CCE&HR;'s line served 16 stations
(Tufnell Park pictured) and ran for 7.67 miles (12.34 km) in a pair of
tunnels between its southern terminus at Charing Cross and two northern
termini at Archway and Golders Green. Within a year of opening, it
became apparent to the management and investors that the estimates of
passenger numbers had been over-optimistic and the CCE&HR; struggled
financially for many years despite four extensions and connections to
the City and South London Railway. In 1933 the CCE&HR; and the rest of
the UERL's operations were taken into public ownership.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charing_Cross,_Euston_and_Hampstead_Railway>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
624:
Led by Muhammad, the Muslims of Medina defeated the Quraysh of
Mecca in Badr, present-day Saudi Arabia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Badr>
1697:
Nojpetén, capital of the Itza Maya kingdom, fell to Spanish
conquistadors, the final step in the Spanish conquest of Guatemala.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_Guatemala>
1845:
German composer Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto (1st
movement Allegro molto appassionato featured), one of the most popular
and most frequently performed violin concertos of all time, was first
played in Leipzig.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violin_Concerto_(Mendelssohn)>
1954:
Viet Minh forces under Vo Nguyen Giap unleashed a massive
artillery barrage on the French military to begin the Battle of Dien
Bien Phu, the climactic battle in the First Indochina War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dien_Bien_Phu>
1964:
American Kitty Genovese was murdered, reportedly in view of
neighbors who did nothing to help her (later disproved), prompting
research into the bystander effect.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hamiform:
Curved at the extremity, shaped like a hook.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hamiform>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 The History of Religions is destined to play an important
role in contemporary cultural life. This is not only because an
understanding of exotic and archaic religions will significantly assist
in a cultural dialogue with the representatives of such religions. It is
more especially because ... the history of religions will inevitably
attain to a deeper knowledge of man. It is on the basis of such
knowledge that a new humanism, on a world-wide scale, could develop.
--Mircea Eliade
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mircea_Eliade>
Mitt Romney (born 1947) is an American businessman who was Governor of
Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and the Republican nominee for President
of the United States in the 2012 election. He was raised in Bloomfield
Hills, Michigan, by his parents Lenore and George Romney, and spent two
years in France as a Mormon missionary. He married Ann Davies in 1969,
with whom he has had five children. After studying at Brigham Young and
Harvard universities, he joined the management consultancy Bain &
Company before co-founding the spin-off investment firm Bain Capital. He
unsuccessfully ran as the Republican candidate in the 1994 Massachusetts
election for Senate against Ted Kennedy. He relaunched his political
career after successfully running the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for
the 2002 Winter Olympics. Elected Governor of Massachusetts in 2002, he
helped enact state health care reform legislation, the first of its kind
in America. Romney won the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. He
was the first Mormon to be a major party presidential nominee. Romney
lost to Barack Obama by 332–206 electoral votes and by
51–47 percent of the popular vote.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
538:
Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths, ended his siege of Rome,
leaving the city in the hands of the victorious Roman general,
Belisarius.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Rome_(537%E2%80%9338)>
1864:
American Civil War: The Union Army began the ill-fated Red
River Campaign, in which not a single objective was fully accomplished.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_River_Campaign>
1921:
The Turkish Grand National Assembly adopted the İstiklâl
Marşı as the national anthem, with lyrics written by poet Mehmet Akif
Ersoy and music by Zeki Üngör.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%B0stikl%C3%A2l_Mar%C5%9F%C4%B1>
1930:
Gandhi (pictured with Sarojini Naidu) began the Salt March, a
24-day walk to defy the British tax on salt in colonial India.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_March>
1934:
Supported by the Estonian Army, Konstantin Päts staged a coup
d'état, beginning the Era of Silence.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_P%C3%A4ts>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
zombie out:
(informal) Become like a zombie in being listless, vacant, and
unresponsive.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zombie_out>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
With a mental effort, he grabbed hold of his thoughts and braked
them to a stop. There was something new here, factors he hadn't counted
on. He kept reassuring himself there was an explanation for everything,
once you had your facts straight.
--Harry Harrison
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Harrison>