The Raid at Cabanatuan was a rescue of Allied prisoners of war (POWs)
and civilians from a Japanese camp near Cabanatuan City in the
Philippines. On January 30, 1945, during World War II, United States
Army Rangers, Alamo Scouts, and Filipino guerrillas (pictured) liberated
more than 500 from the POW camp. Having survived the Battle of Bataan
and the Bataan Death March, followed by years of torture,
malnourishment, and disease, the prisoners feared they would all be
executed when General Douglas MacArthur and his American forces returned
to Luzon. A group of over a hundred Rangers and Scouts from the Sixth
Army and several hundred Filipino guerrillas were sent to rescue the
prisoners. They traveled 30 miles (48 km) behind Japanese lines to
reach the camp. Under the cover of darkness and a distraction by a P-61
Black Widow, the group surprised the Japanese forces in and around the
camp. Hundreds of Japanese troops were killed in the 30-minute
coordinated attack; the Americans suffered minimal casualties. The raid
was depicted in the book Ghost Soldiers and the films Back to Bataan and
The Great Raid.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_at_Cabanatuan>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1578:
Eighty Years' War: Spain won a crushing victory in the Battle
of Gembloux, hastening the disintegration of the unity of the rebel
provinces and bringing an end to the Union of Brussels.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gembloux_(1578)>
1801:
John Marshall became the fourth Chief Justice of the United
States; his court opinions helped lay the basis for American
constitutional law and made the Supreme Court a coequal branch of
government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Marshall>
1900:
Datu Muhammad Salleh, leader of a series of major disturbances
in North Borneo, was shot dead in Tambunan, but his followers did not
give up for five more years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mat_Salleh_Rebellion>
1942:
Second World War: Allied forces retreated from British Malaya
to Singapore, ceding control of the country to Japan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayan_Campaign>
1996:
Japanese amateur astronomer Yuji Hyakutake discovered Comet
Hyakutake, which was one of the closest cometary approaches of the
previous 200 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Hyakutake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
adder stone:
A stone of varying forms and usually glassy with a naturally formed
hole, which is often used as amulet or bead.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/adder_stone>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The cynic says "blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for he shall
not be disappointed." I say "blessed is he who expecteth everything, for
he can't always be disappointed.
--Tallulah Bankhead
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tallulah_Bankhead>
The Romney Literary Society, established on January 30, 1819, as the
Polemic Society of Romney, was the first literary society in what is now
West Virginia, and one of the first in the United States. It was founded
by nine prominent Romney men with the objectives of advancing literature
and science, purchasing and maintaining a library, and improving
educational opportunities. The society debated a range of scientific and
social topics, and often violated its own rules banning religious and
political subjects. The society's library began in 1819 and grew to
contain around 3,000 volumes in 1861. The organization also sought to
establish an institution for "the higher education of the youth of the
community". During the Civil War the contents of the library were
plundered by Union Army forces. The society was reorganized in 1869 and
took a leading role in Romney's civil development. In 1870 the group
built the Literary Hall (pictured) and offered its former campus to the
West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind. The Literary Hall housed
the library and group meetings until their last recorded meeting in
1886.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romney_Literary_Society>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1018:
The German–Polish War ended with the signing of the Peace of
Bautzen between Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, and the Piast ruler of
Poland, Bolesław I.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_of_Bautzen>
1835:
Richard Lawrence became the first person to make an
assassination attempt on a sitting US president when he failed to kill
Andrew Jackson and was subdued by the crowd.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Lawrence_(failed_assassin)>
1930:
Soviet meteorologist Pavel Molchanov launched one of the
world's first radiosondes, a device attached to weather balloons to
measure various atmospheric parameters.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiosonde>
1959:
On the return leg of her maiden voyage, the "unsinkable" Danish
ocean liner Hans Hedtoft struck an iceberg and sank with all 95
passengers and crew lost.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Hans_Hedtoft>
2000:
Kenya Airways Flight 431 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near
Côte d'Ivoire shortly after takeoff, killing 169 on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenya_Airways_Flight_431>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
wash-ball:
(archaic) A ball or cake of substance used for bathing or personal
cleansing, or to produce a lather for shaving; a ball of soap.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wash-ball>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties of
all our citizens, whatever their background. We must remember that any
oppression, any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our
civilization.
--Franklin D. Roosevelt
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt>
The Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) was a species of mammoth that
inhabited the western hemisphere from Costa Rica to the northern United
States during the Pleistocene epoch. It evolved from the steppe mammoth,
which entered North America from Asia about 1.5 million years ago.
Reaching 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulders and 8–10 tonnes
(18,000–22,000 lb) in weight, the Columbian mammoth was one of the
largest species of mammoth. It used its tusks and trunk for manipulating
objects, fighting, and foraging. The species preferred open areas and
fed on sedge, grass, and other plants. Its range may have overlapped
with that of the woolly mammoths, which inhabited the Arctic regions of
Canada. Columbian mammoths coexisted in North America for a few thousand
years with Palaeoamericans, who hunted them for food, used their bones
to make tools, and depicted them in art. Columbian mammoth remains have
been found in association with Clovis culture artefacts. The species
disappeared at the end of the Pleistocene around 11,000 years ago, most
likely as a result of habitat loss caused by climate change, hunting by
humans, or both.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbian_mammoth>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
661:
With the assassination of Ali, the fourth Sunni Rashidun Caliph
and first Shia Imam, the Rashidun Caliphate, the first Arab caliphate
founded after Muhammad's death in 632, effectively ended.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali>
1863:
Indian Wars in North America: The United States Army led by
Patrick Edward Connor massacred Chief Bear Hunter and forces of the
Shoshone at the Bear River Massacre in present-day Franklin County,
Idaho.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_River_Massacre>
1944:
World War II: At least 38 people were killed and about a dozen
injured when the Polish village of Koniuchy (present-day Kaniūkai,
Lithuania) was attacked by Soviet partisan units.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koniuchy_massacre>
1991:
Gulf War: The Battle of Khafji, the first major ground
engagement of the war, as well as its deadliest, began.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Khafji>
2006:
India's Irfan Pathan became the first bowler to take a Test
cricket hat-trick in the opening over of a match.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irfan_Pathan>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
predestination:
1. (theology) The doctrine that everything has been foreordained by a God,
especially that certain people have been elected for salvation, and
sometimes also that others are destined for reprobation.
2. Destiny or fate.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/predestination>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Anarchism is founded on the observation that since few men are
wise enough to rule themselves, even fewer are wise enough to rule
others.
--Edward Abbey
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Abbey>
Shepseskare (Egyptian for "Noble is the Soul of Ra") was an Ancient
Egyptian pharaoh, the fourth or fifth ruler of the Fifth Dynasty
(2494–2345 BC) during the Old Kingdom period. He lived in the mid-25th
century BC, and was probably the owner of an unfinished pyramid platform
in Abusir that was abandoned after a few weeks of work in the earliest
stages of its construction. Very few artefacts are attributable to this
most obscure ruler of the dynasty, and historians disagree on whether he
reigned for a few months or for as long as seven years, between the
reigns of Neferirkare Kakai and Neferefre. Shepseskare's relations to
his predecessor and successor are not known for certain. The
Egyptologist Miroslav Verner, who favours the shorter reign, has
proposed that he was a son of Sahure and a brother to Neferirkare Kakai,
who briefly seized the throne following the premature death of his
predecessor and probable nephew, Neferefre. Shepseskare may himself have
died unexpectedly or he may have lost the throne to another of his
nephews, the future pharaoh Nyuserre Ini.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepseskare>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1547:
Nine-year-old Edward VI became the first Protestant ruler of
England, during whose reign Protestantism was established for the first
time in the country with reforms that included the abolition of clerical
celibacy and the mass.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VI_of_England>
1754:
Horace Walpole coined the word "serendipity" in a letter he
wrote to a friend, saying that he derived the term from the Persian
fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Walpole>
1933:
Choudhry Rahmat Ali published a pamphlet entitled "Now or
Never" in which he called for the creation of a Muslim state in
northwest India that he termed "Pakstan".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_Declaration>
1958:
The Danish toy company Lego Group patented their design of Lego
bricks.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego>
1984:
Tropical Storm Domoina made landfall in southern Mozambique,
causing some of the most severe flooding recorded in the region.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Domoina>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
bathyscaphe:
A self-propelled deep-sea diving submersible for exploring the ocean
depths, consisting of a crew cabin similar to a bathysphere suspended
below a float filled with a buoyant liquid such as petrol.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bathyscaphe>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Everything that divides men, everything that specified, separates
or pens them, is a sin against humanity.
--José Martí
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Mart%C3%AD>
The Maya civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization developed by the
Maya peoples in an area that encompasses southeastern Mexico, all of
Guatemala and Belize, and the western portions of Honduras and El
Salvador. The earliest villages developed before 2000 BC. The first Maya
cities developed around 750 BC, and by 500 BC these cities possessed
monumental architecture. Two hundred years later, the Maya were using
Hieroglyphic writing, the most advanced script in the pre-Columbian
Americas. Only three of their books of history and ritual knowledge are
known for certain to remain. Beginning in the mid third century, the
Classic period saw the Maya civilization develop a large number of city-
states linked by a complex trade network. In the 9th century, there was
a widespread political collapse in the central Maya region. In the 16th
century, the Spanish Empire colonised the region; the last Maya city
fell in 1697. The Maya developed highly sophisticated artforms, complex
calendars, and mathematics that included one of the earliest instances
of the explicit zero in the world. Maya architecture included palaces,
pyramid-temples, and ceremonial ballcourts.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_civilization>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1142:
Despite having saved the Southern Song dynasty from attempts by
the northern Jin dynasty to conquer it, Chinese general Yue Fei was
executed by the Song government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yue_Fei>
1785:
The University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, one of the oldest
public universities in the United States, was founded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Georgia>
1868:
Boshin War: The Battle of Toba–Fushimi, where pro-Imperial
forces defeated those of the Tokugawa shogunate and which was a catalyst
for the Meiji Restoration, began in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Toba%E2%80%93Fushimi>
1974:
The Brisbane River, which runs through the heart of Brisbane,
broke its banks and flooded the surrounding areas (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_Brisbane_flood>
1996:
Mahamane Ousmane, the first democratically elected president of
Niger, was deposed by Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara in a military
coup d'état.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahamane_Ousmane>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
whenwe:
(slang) A former British settler or expatriate who talks nostalgically
about his or her former home in colonial Africa.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/whenwe>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is said that a wise man who stands firm is a statesman, and a
foolish man who stands firm is a catastrophe.
--Hyman G. Rickover
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hyman_G._Rickover>
Mass Effect 2 is an action role-playing video game developed by BioWare
and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for Microsoft Windows
and Xbox 360 on January 26, 2010, and for PlayStation 3 a year later.
This sequel to Mass Effect is set in our galaxy in the 22nd century,
when humanity is threatened by the insectoid Collectors. BioWare
emphasized third-person shooter aspects in the sequel, including limited
ammunition and regenerable health. A variety of downloadable content
packs extend the game with new character outfits and missions. Mass
Effect 2 was a commercial success and received considerable acclaim from
video game publications, including a score of 96 out of 100 for the Xbox
360 version at the review aggregate website Metacritic. Critics praised
the interactive storytelling, characterization, and combat, but some
reviewers expressed concerns about the sequel's simplified gameplay. The
game received numerous year-end awards, including Game of the Year at
the 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards and the 2011 BAFTA Games
Award. It is frequently cited in top-100 lists of video games.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_Effect_2>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1699:
The signing of the Treaty of Karlowitz to conclude the Austro-
Ottoman War marked the end of Ottoman control in much of Central Europe
and the rise of the Habsburg Monarchy as the dominant power in the
region.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Karlowitz>
1856:
Puget Sound War: United States Marines from the USS Decatur
defeated Native American forces after an all-day battle with settlers in
Seattle, Washington.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Seattle_(1856)>
1918:
A group of Red Guards hung a red lantern atop the tower of
Helsinki Workers' Hall to symbolically mark the start of the Finnish
Civil War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_Civil_War>
1966:
The three Beaumont children disappeared from a beach in
Glenelg, South Australia, resulting in one of the country's largest-ever
police investigations.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaumont_children_disappearance>
1991:
Factions led by warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid and his rebel
group, the United Somali Congress, ousted President of Somalia Siad
Barre from office.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siad_Barre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
beyond the black stump:
(Australia, informal, idiomatic) In an extremely isolated place, remote
from populated areas; in the middle of nowhere. Typically used to refer
to outback areas.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/beyond_the_black_stump>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Everybody should fear only one person, and that person should be
himself.
--Philip José Farmer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philip_Jos%C3%A9_Farmer>
The 1804 dollar is one of the rarest and most valuable American coins.
Proof coin sets, including the dollar, were created for use as
diplomatic gifts carried by envoy Edmund Roberts on his trips to Siam
and Muscat. Though the dollars are dated 1804, none were struck until
the 1830s; the earlier date was a mistake based on misunderstood U.S.
Mint records from 1804. Later, Mint officials struck some of the coins
to trade with collectors in exchange for rare coins needed for the
Mint's coin cabinet. In response to numismatic demand, Mint officials
surreptitiously produced several coins, one of which lacked the correct
edge lettering. The coins produced for the diplomatic mission, the
dollar struck without edge lettering and the later examples with
lettering are known as "Class I", "Class II" and "Class III" dollars,
respectively. Altogether, only fifteen specimens are known to exist, and
in 1999, one sold for $4.14 million, the highest price paid for any coin
up to that time. These coins have been frequent targets of
counterfeiting and other deceptions.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1804_dollar>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1554:
Jesuit missionaries José de Anchieta and Manoel da Nóbrega
established a mission at São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga, which
grew to become São Paulo, Brazil.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Paulo>
1890:
American journalist Nellie Bly completed a circumnavigation of
the globe, inspired by Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days, in
a then-record 72 days.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_Bly>
1949:
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences presented the first
Emmy Awards to honor excellence in the American television industry.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmy_Award>
1995:
A team of Norwegian and American scientists launched a Black
Brant XII sounding rocket, which was mistaken for a Trident missile by
Russian forces.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_rocket_incident>
2006:
Three independent observing campaigns announced the discovery
of OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb, a super-Earth extrasolar planet 21,500 ±3,300
light years away from Earth near the center of the Milky Way.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Birds' Wedding:
A custom among the Sorbs (Wends) of Lusatia in Germany, whereby on the
evening of 24 January children put empty plates outside, and on the
morning of 25 January they find pastries, meringues and candy in the
form of birds, which are said to have been left for them by birds
celebrating their wedding.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Birds%27_Wedding>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Once you begin to take yourself seriously as a leader or as a
follower, as a modern or as a conservative, then you become a self-
conscious, biting, and scratching little animal whose work is not of the
slightest value or importance to anybody.
--Virginia Woolf
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Virginia_Woolf>
A Weekend in the City is the second studio album by British indie rock
band Bloc Party. It was recorded at Grouse Lodge Studios in Westmeath,
Ireland, in mid-2006, and was produced by Jacknife Lee. The album was
mixed later that year and released on 24 January 2007, with Wichita
Recordings as its primary label. The band aimed to create an album that
distanced them from conventional guitar band music, incorporating more
electronically processed beats and hiring a string sextet for certain
tracks. Frontman and chief lyricist Kele Okereke (pictured) themed the
lyrics on life in modern cities, including issues such as drug abuse,
sexuality and terrorism, as exemplified respectively on the singles "The
Prayer", "I Still Remember" and "Hunting for Witches". Critical
reception was split on the band's new musical directions and more
forthright lyrics. A Weekend in the City, named by The Guardian as one
of "1000 Albums To Hear Before You Die", was re-released in November
2007 to coincide with Bloc Party's touring schedule. It peaked at number
2 on the UK Album Chart and Irish Album Chart, and at number 12 on the
Billboard 200.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Weekend_in_the_City>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1458:
The 14-year-old Matthias Corvinus was unanimously proclaimed
King of Hungary, after the Estates were persuaded to do so by his uncle
Michael Szilágyi.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Corvinus>
1857:
The University of Calcutta, the first modern university in the
Indian subcontinent, was established.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Calcutta>
1900:
Second Boer War: Boer forces stopped a British attempt to break
the Siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Spion Kop.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Spion_Kop>
1978:
The Soviet nuclear powered satellite Kosmos 954 burned up
during reentry, scattering radioactive debris across Canada's Northwest
Territories.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_954>
1993:
Turkish journalist and writer Uğur Mumcu was assassinated by a
car bomb outside his home in Ankara.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U%C4%9Fur_Mumcu>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
obsidional:
Pertaining to a siege.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/obsidional>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It was part of her discernment to be aware that life is the only
real counselor, that wisdom unfiltered through personal experience does
not become a part of the moral tissues.
--Edith Wharton
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edith_Wharton>
The December 1969 nor'easter was an intense winter storm that most
notably impacted the Northeastern United States and southern Quebec on
December 25–28. The multi-faceted storm system was blamed for at least
20 deaths in the United States and 15 in Canada. After developing over
Texas and spawning several damaging tornadoes in the Deep South, the
cyclone advanced to the Eastern Seaboard, dropping more than 1 ft
(30 cm) of snow as far south as Washington, D.C. The nor'easter
intensified and slowed as it moved into New England, delivering 40
inches (100 cm) of snowfall in some places, with heavy rain near the
coast and a severe ice storm in Vermont and New Hampshire. In Canada,
Montreal received 27.5 in (70 cm) of snow over a period of 60 hours.
Equipment failures and drifts up to 30 ft (9 m) left roadways blocked
for many days throughout the affected region, and some communities
became inaccessible except by snowmobile. The weight of the snow and
ice, combined with gale-force winds, collapsed roofs and brought down
power lines. Ice jams and excessive rainfall created widespread flooding
in eastern New England.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_1969_nor%27easter>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1264:
King Louis IX of France issued the Mise of Amiens, a settlement
between King Henry III of England and barons led by Simon de Montfort
heavily favouring the former, which later led to the Second Barons' War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_of_Amiens>
1795:
War of the First Coalition: In a rare battle between cavalry
and naval ships, a French Hussar regiment captured a Dutch fleet frozen
at anchor between the port of Den Helder and the island of Texel.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_the_Dutch_fleet_at_Den_Helder>
1849:
Elizabeth Blackwell received her M.D. from Geneva Medical
College in New York, making her the first female physician in the United
States and the first openly identified woman to graduate from medical
school.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Blackwell>
1967:
The English new town of Milton Keynes was formed in
Buckinghamshire as an amalgamation of several towns and villages.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Keynes>
2001:
Five people attempted to set themselves on fire in Beijing's
Tiananmen Square, an act that many people later claimed was staged by
the Communist Party of China to frame Falun Gong and thus escalate their
persecution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
psychopomp:
(religion) A spirit, deity, person, etc., who guides the souls of the
dead to the afterlife.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/psychopomp>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I see but one rule: to be clear. If I am not clear, all my world
crumbles to nothing.
--Stendhal
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stendhal>
HMS Agincourt was a British dreadnought built with more turreted heavy
guns (fourteen) and more main turrets (seven) than any other battleship,
before or since. Originally ordered by Brazil during a South American
naval arms race, the ship was purchased from Brazil by the Ottoman
Empire while under construction and renamed Sultan Osman I, after the
empire's founder. When the dreadnought was nearly complete, World War I
broke out. The British Admiralty, fearing an Ottoman–German alliance,
seized the ship for the Royal Navy, together with another Ottoman
dreadnought being built in Britain, the Reşadiye. This act contributed
to the decision of the Ottoman government to join the Central Powers, as
the payments for both ships were complete. The renamed Agincourt joined
the Grand Fleet in the North Sea and, apart from the Battle of Jutland
in 1916, spent most of the war on patrols and exercises. The dreadnought
was put into reserve in 1919 and—after abortive attempts to sell the
ship back to Brazil—was sold for scrap in 1922 to comply with the
Washington Naval Treaty.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Agincourt_(1913)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1506:
The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards (modern soldier
pictured) arrived at the Vatican in Rome to serve as security for the
Pope.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Guard>
1689:
The Convention Parliament convened to justify the overthrow of
James II, the last Roman Catholic king of England, who had vacated the
throne when he fled to France in 1688.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_II_of_England>
1905:
Russian Revolution: Peaceful demonstrators, led by Father
Gapon, a Russian Orthodox priest, were massacred outside the Winter
Palace in St. Petersburg.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_(1905)>
1946:
Iran Crisis: The Republic of Mahabad declared its independence,
seeking autonomy for the Kurds within Iran.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Mahabad>
2006:
Aymaran Evo Morales was inaugurated as President of Bolivia,
the country's first democratically elected, fully Amerindian leader.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evo_Morales>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
come out of the woodwork:
(idiomatic) to appear or emerge unexpectedly or inexplicably, frequently
in large numbers or quantity.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/come_out_of_the_woodwork>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Man, whence is he? Too bad to be the work of a god, too good for
the work of chance.
--Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gotthold_Ephraim_Lessing>