The Basement Tapes (1975) is an album recorded by Bob Dylan and the Band
(pictured), the sixteenth studio album for Dylan. After the Band (then
known as the Hawks) backed Dylan during his world tour of 1965–66,
four of them moved to be near Dylan in Woodstock, New York, to
collaborate with him on music and film projects. They recorded more than
100 tracks together in 1967, including original compositions,
contemporary covers and traditional material. The world tour had
controversially mixed folk and rock; Dylan's new style moved away from
rock, and from the urban sensibilities and extended narratives of his
most recent albums, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde On Blonde. The new
songs covered a range of genres, with lyrics expressing humor,
alienation, betrayal, and a quest for salvation. Many of the songs
circulated widely in unofficial form before the album's release, and for
some critics, they mounted a major stylistic challenge to rock music in
the late sixties. When released in 1975, the album included sixteen
songs taped by Dylan and the Band in 1967 and eight songs recorded
solely by the Band since then. Critically acclaimed upon release, The
Basement Tapes reached number seven on the Billboard 200 album chart.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Basement_Tapes>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
356 BC:
The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of
the Ancient World, was destroyed in an act of arson by a man named
Herostratus.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Artemis>
1831:
In Brussels, Leopold I was inaugurated as the first King of the
Belgians.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_I_of_Belgium>
1865:
In one of the few recorded instances of a "quick draw" gun duel
in the American Old West, Wild Bill Hickok shot and killed Davis Tutt
over a poker debt.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Bill_Hickok_%E2%80%93_Davis_Tutt_shootout>
1925:
American high school biology teacher John T. Scopes was found
guilty of violating Tennessee's Butler Act by teaching evolution in
class.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopes_Trial>
1995:
The Chinese People's Liberation Army began firing missiles into
the waters north of Taiwan, starting the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Taiwan_Strait_Crisis>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
mither:
1. (intransitive, Northern England) To make an unnecessary fuss, moan,
bother.
2. (transitive) To pester or irritate someone. Usually directed at
children.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mither>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I don't think that God sent us prophets and books to fight about
these books and these prophets. But they were telling us, actually, how
to live together. If we ignore those teachings — whichever faith …
you profess, then I think we'll be finding ourselves in an even deeper
mess.
--Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam)
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens>
Telopea oreades, commonly known as the Gippsland waratah, is a large
shrub or small tree in the family Proteaceae. Native to southeastern
Australia, it is found in wet sclerophyll forest and rainforest on rich
acidic soils high in organic matter. No subspecies are recognised,
though an isolated population hybridises extensively with the Braidwood
waratah (T. mongaensis). Reaching a height of up to 19 metres
(65 ft), T. oreades grows with a single trunk and erect habit. It has
dark green leaves with prominent veins that are 11–28 centimetres
(4.3–11 in) long and 1.5–6 cm (0.6–2.4 in) wide. The red flower
heads, or inflorescences, composed of up to 60 individual flowers,
appear in late spring. In the garden, T. oreades grows in soils with
good drainage and ample moisture in partly shaded or sunny positions.
Several commercially available cultivars that are hybrid forms with
T. speciosissima have been developed. The timber is hard and has been
used for making furniture and tool handles.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telopea_oreades>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1592:
During the first Japanese invasion of Korea, Japanese forces
led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi captured Pyongyang, although they were
ultimately unable to hold it.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_invasions_of_Korea_(1592%E2%80%9398)>
1807:
French brothers Claude and Nicéphore Niépce received a patent
for their Pyréolophore, one of the world's first internal combustion
engines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyr%C3%A9olophore>
1940:
The Arroyo Seco Parkway, one of the first freeways built in the
United States, opened to traffic, connecting downtown Los Angeles with
Pasadena, California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arroyo_Seco_Parkway>
1982:
Members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated two
bombs in Hyde Park and Regent's Park in London, killing eleven people
and wounding over 50 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyde_Park_and_Regent%27s_Park_bombings>
2005:
The Civil Marriage Act received its Royal Assent, legalizing
same-sex marriage in Canada.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Marriage_Act>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
punctilious:
1. Strictly attentive to detail; meticulous or fastidious, particularly to
codes or conventions.
2. Precise or scrupulous; finicky or nitpicky.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/punctilious>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Continued work and application form my soul's nourishment. So
soon as I commenced to rest and relax I should cease to live. … There
is no lighter burden, nor more agreeable, than a pen. Other pleasures
fail us or wound us while they charm, but the pen we take up rejoicing
and lay down with satisfaction, for it has the power to advantage not
only its lord and master, but many others as well, even though they be
far away — sometimes, indeed, though they be not born for thousands of
years to come.
--Petrarch
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Petrarch>
The Coral Island (1858) is a novel written by Scottish author R. M.
Ballantyne. One of the first works of juvenile fiction to feature
exclusively juvenile heroes, the story relates the adventures of three
boys marooned on a South Pacific island, the only survivors of a
shipwreck. A typical Robinsonade – a genre inspired by Daniel Defoe's
Robinson Crusoe – and one of the most popular of its type, the book
first went on sale in late 1857 and has never been out of print. Among
the novel's major themes are 19th-century British imperialism in the
South Pacific, the civilising effect of Christianity, and the importance
of hierarchy and leadership. It was the inspiration for William
Golding's dystopian novel Lord of the Flies (1954), which inverted the
morality of The Coral Island. The novel was considered a classic for
primary school children of the early 20th century in Britain, and in the
United States it was a staple of suggested reading lists for high-school
students. Modern critics consider The Coral Island to feature a dated
imperialist view of the world. It was adapted into a four-part
children's television drama broadcast by ITV in 2000.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Coral_Island>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
998:
Arab–Byzantine wars: After an initial Byzantine victory in the
Battle of Apamea a lone Kurdish rider managed to kill Byzantine
commander Damian Dalassenos, allowing Fatimid troops to turn the tide of
the battle.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Apamea>
1545:
The English warship Mary Rose sank just outside Portsmouth
during the Battle of the Solent; it was not rediscovered until 1971.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Rose>
1848:
The two-day Women's Rights Convention, the first women's rights
and feminist convention held in the United States, opened in Seneca
Falls, New York.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_Falls_Convention>
1947:
Burmese nationalist Aung San and six members of his newly
formed cabinet were assassinated during a cabinet meeting.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aung_San>
1997:
The Provisional Irish Republican Army permanently resumed its
ceasefire to end its 25-year campaign against British rule in Northern
Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_Irish_Republican_Army_campaign_19…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
reliquary:
A container to hold or display religious relics.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/reliquary>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free
and unhampered, but a maze of passages, through which we must seek our
way, lost and confused, now and again checked in a blind alley. But
always, if we have faith, a door will open for us, not perhaps one that
we ourselves would ever have thought of, but one that will ultimately
prove good for us.
--A. J. Cronin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A._J._Cronin>
Red Skelton (1913–1997) was an American entertainer known for his
national radio and television acts. He began developing his comedic and
pantomime skills at age 10 in a traveling medicine show. Over the next
decade he worked on a showboat, in the burlesque circuit, and in
vaudeville. In 1938 he became the host of radio's Avalon Time, and got
his own radio show in 1941, The Raleigh Cigarette Program, which debuted
many of his comedy characters. Though he regularly appeared on radio and
film, Skelton was most eager to work in television. The Red Skelton Show
premiered in 1951, and continued on a variety of networks and under
several names until 1971. Afterwards, he focused on painting, and
probably earned more from sales of lithographs of his works than from
his entire television career. He received many accolades, including two
stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and induction into the Television
and National Radio Halls of Fame.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Skelton>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1290:
Edward I issued an edict expelling all Jews from England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edict_of_Expulsion>
1841:
Pedro II, the last Emperor of Brazil, having reigned in
minority since 1831, was acclaimed, crowned and consecrated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_II_of_Brazil>
1870:
The First Vatican Council declared that the Pope is infallible
when he solemnly declares a dogmatic teaching on faith as being
contained in divine revelation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_infallibility>
1995:
After a long period of dormancy, the Soufrière Hills volcano
began a still-ongoing eruption, devastating the island of Montserrat.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soufri%C3%A8re_Hills>
2005:
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. President George
W. Bush announced the India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement, a
bilateral treaty on civil nuclear cooperation between their two
countries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India%E2%80%93United_States_Civil_Nuclear_Agr…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
disinter:
1. To take out of the grave or tomb; to unbury; to exhume; to dig up.
2. To bring out, as from a grave or hiding place; to bring from obscurity
into view.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disinter>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
No one is born hating another person because of the colour of
his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate,
and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love
comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.
--Nelson Mandela
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela>
The Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (1902–04) established the
first manned meteorological station in Antarctic territory, discovered
new land east of the Weddell Sea, and returned with a trove of
biological and geological specimens aboard the Scotia (pictured). It was
led by William Speirs Bruce, then Britain's most experienced polar
scientist, who had spent most of the 1890s on expeditions to the
Antarctic and Arctic regions. After his application to add a second ship
to Robert Falcon Scott's Discovery Expedition had been dismissed as
"mischievous rivalry" by the president of the Royal Geographical
Society, he used private sponsors to fund an independent expedition.
Bruce never received formal recognition from the British Government for
his work, and never again led an Antarctic expedition, although he made
regular Arctic trips. The expedition's members were denied the
prestigious Polar Medal despite vigorous lobbying. His focus on serious
scientific exploration rather than territorial discoveries was out of
fashion with his times, and his achievements soon faded from public
awareness, unlike those of the polar adventurers Scott, Shackleton and
Amundsen. The expedition's Orcadas weather station has been in
continuous operation since 1903 on Laurie Island in the South Orkneys.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_National_Antarctic_Expedition>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1771:
Dene men, acting as guides to Samuel Hearne on his exploration
of the Coppermine River in present-day Nunavut, Canada, massacred a
group of about 20 Copper Inuit.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Falls_Massacre>
1863:
The New Zealand Wars resumed as British forces in New Zealand
led by General Duncan Cameron began their Invasion of the Waikato.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_the_Waikato>
1945:
Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Harry S. Truman (all
three pictured), leaders of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and
the United States respectively, met in Potsdam to decide what should be
done with post-war Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potsdam_Conference>
1973:
Mohammed Zahir Shah, the last King of Afghanistan, was ousted
in a coup by his cousin Mohammed Daoud Khan while in Italy undergoing
eye surgery.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Zahir_Shah>
2009:
Two suicide bombers detonated themselves at two separate hotels
in Jakarta, Indonesia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Jakarta_bombings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
disconsolate:
1. Cheerless, dreary.
2. Seemingly beyond consolation; inconsolable.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disconsolate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Blessed is He Who made constellations in the skies, and placed
therein a Lamp and a Moon giving light; And it is He Who made the Night
and the Day to follow each other: for such as have the will to celebrate
His praises or to show their gratitude. And the servants of (Allah) Most
Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the
ignorant address them, they say, "Peace!"
--Qur'an
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Qur%27an>
Trinity was the code name given to the first test detonation of a
nuclear weapon. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Los Alamos
Laboratory, took the name from a John Donne poem. It was conducted by
the United States Army on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan
Project on the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range in the Jornada del
Muerto desert. The only structures originally in the vicinity were on
the McDonald Ranch site, which scientists used as a laboratory for
testing bomb components. A base camp was constructed, and there were 425
people present on the weekend of the test. It used a Fat Man bomb of the
same design as the one that would be detonated over Nagasaki. The
complex implosion-type nuclear weapon required a major design effort
from the Los Alamos Laboratory, and testing was required to allay fears
that it would not work. Its detonation (shown on video) produced the
explosive power of about 20 kilotons of TNT (84 terajoules). The test
site is now part of the White Sands Missile Range. It was declared a
National Historic Landmark district in 1965, and listed on the National
Register of Historic Places the following year.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_(nuclear_test)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
622:
The epoch of the Islamic calendar occurred, marking the year
that Muhammad began his Hijra from Mecca to Medina.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_calendar>
1769:
Spanish friar Junípero Serra founded Mission San Diego de
Alcalá, the first Franciscan mission in the Alta California region of
New Spain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Diego_de_Alcal%C3%A1>
1950:
Korean War: A Korean People's Army unit massacred twenty-one
U.S. Army prisoners of war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaplain%E2%80%93Medic_massacre>
1965:
South Vietnamese Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo—an undetected
communist spy—was hunted down and killed after being sentenced to
death in absentia for a February 1965 coup attempt against Nguyễn
Khánh.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ph%E1%BA%A1m_Ng%E1%BB%8Dc_Th%E1%BA%A3o>
2013:
At least 23 students died and dozens more fell ill at a primary
school in the village of Dharmashati Gandaman in the Saran district of
the Indian state of Bihar after eating a Midday Meal contaminated with
pesticide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bihar_school_meal_poisoning_incident>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
quisling:
(pejorative) A traitor who collaborates with the enemy.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/quisling>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed,
a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from
the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita... "Now, I am become Death, the
destroyer of worlds."
--Robert Oppenheimer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Oppenheimer>
Tropical Storm Brenda (tracking map pictured) was the second named storm
of the 1960 Atlantic hurricane season. It developed in the northeastern
Gulf of Mexico on July 28, and became a tropical storm after moving
ashore over the Florida Peninsula. Accelerating northeast along the U.S.
East Coast, it peaked north of Wilmington, North Carolina, as a moderate
storm with winds of 60 mph (97 km/h). After crossing the Mid-Atlantic
States and New England, it dissipated on July 31 over southern Canada.
The storm inflicted moderate damage in Florida, the worst since
Hurricane Easy of 1950, and dropped heavy rainfall as far north as New
York City. Total damage was estimated at $5 million, and at least one
traffic-related death was blamed on the cyclone. Brenda was the last
tropical cyclone to hit the U.S. mainland before the devastating
Hurricane Donna, which killed at least 364 and did close to a billion
dollars in damage (in 1960 dollars).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Brenda_(1960)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1815:
Aboard HMS Bellerophon, Napoleon surrendered to Royal Navy
Captain Frederick Lewis Maitland to finally end the Napoleonic Wars.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Bellerophon_(1786)>
1870:
Manitoba and the Northwest Territories were established
following the transfer of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory
from the Hudson's Bay Company to Canada.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Territories>
1910:
In his book Clinical Psychiatry, Emil Kraepelin gave a name to
Alzheimer's disease, naming it after his colleague Alois Alzheimer.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer%27s_disease>
1983:
Armenian extremist organization ASALA bombed the Turkish
Airlines check-in counter at Orly Airport as part of its campaign for
the recognition of and reparations for the Armenian Genocide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orly_Airport_attack>
2009:
Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 crashed in northwestern Iran,
killing all 168 people aboard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspian_Airlines_Flight_7908>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
effluvium:
A gaseous or vaporous emission, especially a foul-smelling one.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/effluvium>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In every era the attempt must be made anew to wrest tradition
away from a conformism that is about to overpower it. The Messiah comes
not only as the redeemer, he comes as the subduer of Antichrist. Only
that historian will have the gift of fanning the spark of hope in the
past who is firmly convinced that even the dead will not be safe from
the enemy if he wins. And this enemy has not ceased to be victorious.
--Walter Benjamin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_Benjamin>
Pluto is a dwarf planet orbiting the Sun, with about a sixth of the mass
of the Moon and a third of its volume. Like other Kuiper belt objects,
which are generally outside Neptune's orbit, Pluto is primarily rock and
ice. It has an elongated and highly inclined orbit that takes it from
49 astronomical units (7.4 billion km) away from the Sun down to 30,
closer than Neptune. Light from the Sun takes about 5.5 hours to reach
it at its average distance. Since its discovery in 1930, it had been
considered the ninth planet, but the International Astronomical Union
came up with a new definition for planets in 2006 that excluded Pluto
after many other similar icy objects were found, including Chiron and
Eris. Pluto has five known moons: Charon (about half as wide as Pluto),
Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra. On 14 July 2015, a spacecraft is
visiting the dwarf planet and its moons for the first time: the New
Horizons probe is performing a flyby and attempting to take detailed
measurements and images. NASA has invited the general public to suggest
names for surface features that will be discovered on Pluto and Charon.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1223:
Louis VIII became King of France to begin a short three-year
reign.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_VIII_of_France>
1769:
Spanish soldier Gaspar de Portolà led the first European land
expedition to present-day California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portol%C3%A0_expedition>
1865:
A seven-man team made the first ascent of the Matterhorn,
marking the end of the golden age of alpinism.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_ascent_of_the_Matterhorn>
1950:
In an early battle of the Korean War, North Korean troops began
attacking the headquarters of the American 24th Infantry Division in
Taejon, South Korea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Taejon>
1987:
Over 100 mm (3.9 in) of rain fell in a two-and-a-half-hour
period in Montreal, causing severe flooding and over CA$220 million in
damages.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Flood_of_1987>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hapless:
Very unlucky; ill-fated.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hapless>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Ever'body might be just one big soul, Well it looks that a-way
to me. Everywhere that you look, in the day or night, That's where I'm
a-gonna be, Ma, That's where I'm a-gonna be. Wherever little children
are hungry and cry, Wherever people ain't free. Wherever men are
fightin' for their rights, That's where I'm a-gonna be, Ma. That's where
I'm a-gonna be.
--Woody Guthrie
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Woody_Guthrie>
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is a 2001 American computer-animated
science fiction film directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi (pictured), creator
of the Final Fantasy series of role-playing video games. It was the
first photorealistic computer-animated feature film and remains the most
expensive film inspired by a video game of all time. Featuring the
voices of Ming-Na Wen, Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, James Woods,
Ving Rhames, Peri Gilpin and Steve Buscemi, The Spirits Within follows
scientists Aki Ross (Wen) and Doctor Sid (Sutherland) in their efforts
to free a post-apocalyptic Earth from the Phantoms, a mysterious and
deadly alien race. Square Pictures' staff of 200 rendered the film using
some of the most advanced processing capabilities available at the time,
taking about four years to complete it. The film debuted to mixed
critical reception, but was widely praised for the realism of the
computer-animated characters. It greatly exceeded its original budget,
costing $137 million and recovering only $85 million at the box office.
The film has been called a box office bomb and is blamed for the demise
of Square Pictures.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy:_The_Spirits_Within>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1260:
The Livonian Order suffered its greatest defeat in the 13th
century in the Battle of Durbe against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Durbe>
1793:
Charlotte Corday assassinated Jean-Paul Marat, a leader in both
the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, in his bathtub.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Corday>
1941:
The Communist Party of Yugoslavia initiated a general and
popular uprising against Italian occupation forces in Montenegro that
was suppressed within six weeks.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uprising_in_Montenegro>
1977:
Ethiopia and Somalia went to war over the disputed Ogaden
region in eastern Ethiopia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogaden_War>
2011:
Three coordinated bombings across Mumbai, India, killed 26
victims and injured 130 more.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Mumbai_bombings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tardigrade:
Sluggish; moving slowly.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tardigrade>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
"What is too silly to be said may be sung" — well, yes; but
what is too subtle to be said, or too deeply felt, or too revealing or
too mysterious — these things can also be sung and can only be sung.
--Kenneth Clark
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kenneth_Clark>
The 1877 Wimbledon Championship, the world's first lawn tennis
tournament, was held in Wimbledon, London, at the renamed All England
Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. The club had introduced lawn tennis in
1875 to compensate for waning interest in croquet, and was organising a
tennis tournament to raise money for lawn maintenance equipment. The
tournament rules were derived from the first standardised rules of
tennis issued by the Marylebone Cricket Club. The Gentlemen's Singles
competition, the only event of the championship, was contested on grass
courts by 22 players. It was held on 9–19 July in front of a crowd of
about 200 people who paid an entry fee of one shilling. Spencer Gore, a
27-year-old rackets player, became the first Wimbledon champion by
defeating William Marshall in three sets that lasted 48 minutes. He
received 12 guineas in prize money and a silver challenge cup, donated
by the sports magazine The Field. The tournament made a profit of £10.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1877_Wimbledon_Championship>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
927:
Æthelstan, King of England, secured a pledge from
Constantine II of Scotland that the latter would not ally with Viking
kings.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelstan>
1801:
French Revolutionary Wars: A squadron of British Royal Navy
ships of the line defeated a larger squadron of ships from the Spanish
Navy and French Navy in the Gut of Gibraltar.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Algeciras>
1917:
Vigilantes forcibly deported about 1,300 striking mine workers,
their supporters, and innocent bystanders from Bisbee, Arizona, US, to
New Mexico.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisbee_Deportation>
1971:
The Australian Aboriginal Flag, one of the official flags of
Australia, was flown for the first time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Aboriginal_Flag>
2005:
Prince Albert II was enthroned as the current reigning monarch
of Monaco.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_II,_Prince_of_Monaco>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
inveterate:
1. Old; firmly established by long continuance; of long standing;
obstinately deep-rooted; as, an inveterate disease; an inveterate habit.
2. (of a person) Having habits fixed by long continuance; confirmed;
habitual; as, an inveterate idler or smoker.
3. Malignant; virulent; spiteful.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/inveterate>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
There is more recognition now that things are changing, but not
because there is a political move to do it. It is simply a result of the
information being there. Our survival won’t depend on political or
economic systems. It’s going to depend on the courage of the
individual to speak the truth, and to speak it lovingly and not
destructively. It’s saying what you really know and feel is the truth,
in all directions. Our greatest vulnerability lies in the amount of
misinformation and misconditioning of humanity. I’ve found the
educations systems are full of it. You have to examine each word and ask
yourself, "Is that the right word for that?" — the integrity and the
courage of the individual to speak his own truth and not to go along
with the crowd, yet not making others seem ignorant. After a while, if
enough human beings are doing it, then everybody will start going in the
right direction.
--Buckminster Fuller
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller>