The South Carolina-class battleships, South Carolina and Michigan
(pictured), were built during the first decade of the twentieth century.
They were the first American dreadnoughts, far outstripping older
battleships that relied on smaller fast-firing guns at close range. The
two ships were designed by Rear Admiral Washington L. Capps with a
homogeneous battery of superfiring large guns and relatively thick
armor, both favored by naval theorists. They were smaller than foreign
dreadnoughts because of congressionally mandated limits on displacement
(weight), and the inherent design trade-offs between armament, armor,
and propulsion left them with a top speed of about 18.5 kn (21 mph;
34 km/h). Both ships were soon surpassed by faster battleships and by
ever-larger and stronger super-dreadnoughts, relegating them to serving
with older, obsolete battleships during the First World War. Both ships
were scrapped after the war with the signing of the Washington Naval
Treaty.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Carolina-class_battleship>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1833:
Noongar warrior Yagan, wanted for leading attacks on white
colonists in Western Australia, was killed, becoming a symbol of the
unjust and sometimes brutal treatment of the indigenous peoples of
Australia by colonial settlers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yagan>
1848:
London Waterloo station, Britain's busiest railway station by
passenger usage, was opened by the London and South Western Railway.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Waterloo_station>
1991:
Shortly after takeoff from King Abdulaziz International
Airport, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 caught fire and
crashed, killing all 261 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria_Airways_Flight_2120>
2011:
An explosion at the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base killed 13
people, including the head of the Cyprus Navy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelos_Florakis_Naval_Base_explosion>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
acquis:
1. (international law) The accumulated legislation and decisions of any
international community.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/acquis>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am a member of a party of one, and I live in an age of fear.
--E. B. White
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/E._B._White>
Science-Fiction Plus was a U.S. science fiction magazine published by
Hugo Gernsback for seven issues in 1953, his first involvement in the
genre since 1936, when he sold Wonder Stories. The managing editor, Sam
Moskowitz, published many writers who had been popular before World War
II, such as Raymond Gallun, Eando Binder, and Harry Bates. Combined with
Gernsback's earnest editorials on the educational power of science
fiction, the stories gave the magazine an anachronistic feel. Sales
were initially good, but soon fell. Moskowitz was able to obtain fiction
from some of the better-known writers of the day, including Clifford D.
Simak, Murray Leinster, Robert Bloch, and Philip José Farmer, and some
of their stories were well-received, including "Spacebred Generations",
by Simak, "Strange Compulsion", by Farmer, and "Nightmare Planet", by
Leinster. Science fiction historians consider the magazine a failed
attempt to reproduce the early days of the science fiction pulps.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-Fiction_Plus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1806:
Indian sepoys mutinied against the East India Company at
Vellore Fort, killing at least 100 British troops.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vellore_mutiny>
1940:
The Luftwaffe began attacks on British convoys in the English
Channel to start the Battle of Britain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Britain>
1973:
John Paul Getty III, grandson of American oil magnate J. Paul
Getty, was kidnapped in Rome.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Getty_III>
2011:
The Russian river cruise liner Bulgaria was caught in a storm
in Tatarstan on the Volga River and sank in several minutes, resulting
in 122 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgaria_(ship)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
faze:
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/faze>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If at least, time enough were alloted to me to accomplish my
work, I would not fail to mark it with the seal of Time, the idea of
which imposed itself upon me with so much force to-day, and I would
therein describe men, if need be, as monsters occupying a place in Time
infinitely more important than the restricted one reserved for them in
space, a place, on the contrary, prolonged immeasurably since,
simultaneously touching widely separated years and the distant periods
they have lived through — between which so many days have ranged
themselves — they stand like giants immersed in Time.
--Marcel Proust
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marcel_Proust>
Britomart Redeems Faire Amoret is an oil painting on canvas by English
artist William Etty, first exhibited in 1833. Intended to illustrate the
virtues of honour and chastity, it depicts a scene from Edmund Spenser's
The Faerie Queene in which the female warrior Britomart slays the evil
magician Busirane and frees his captive, the beautiful Amoret. In
Spenser's poem Amoret has been tortured and mutilated by the time of her
rescue, but Etty portrayed her as unharmed. Despite its depiction of an
occult ritual, a violent death, a near-nude woman and strongly implied
sexual torture, Britomart Redeems Faire Amoret was uncontroversial on
its first exhibition in 1833 and was critically well received. In 1958
it was acquired by the Tate Gallery, and it remains in the collection of
Tate Britain.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britomart_Redeems_Faire_Amoret>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1868:
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,
including the Citizenship Clause and the Equal Protection Clause, was
ratified by the minimum required twenty-eight states.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Con…>
1943:
World War II: The Allies began their invasion of Sicily
(American tank pictured), a large scale amphibious and airborne
operation, followed by six weeks of land combat.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_invasion_of_Sicily>
1958:
A 525 m (1,722 ft) high megatsunami, the highest ever
recorded, struck Lituya Bay, Alaska, U.S.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_Lituya_Bay_megatsunami>
2008:
Under the belief that Israel and the United States were
planning to attack its nuclear program, Iran conducted the Great Prophet
III missile test and war games exercise.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Prophet_III>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gramarye:
1. (archaic) Mystical learning; the occult, magic, sorcery.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gramarye>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
As a child I was taught that to tell the truth was often painful.
As an adult I have learned that not to tell the truth is more painful,
and that the fear of telling the truth — whatever the truth may be —
that fear is the most painful sensation of a moral life.
--June Jordan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/June_Jordan>
Percy Grainger (8 July 1882 – 20 February 1961) was an Australian-born
composer, arranger and pianist who played a prominent role in the
revival of interest in British folk music in the early 20th century.
Grainger left Australia in 1895 to study at the Hoch Conservatory in
Frankfurt. Between 1901 and 1914 he was based in London, where he
established himself first as a society pianist and later as a concert
performer, composer and collector of original folk melodies. He met many
of the significant figures in European music, forming friendships with
Frederick Delius and Edvard Grieg, and became a champion of Nordic music
and culture. In 1914, Grainger moved to the United States, where he took
citizenship in 1918. He experimented with music machines that he hoped
would supersede human interpretation. Although much of his work was
experimental and unusual, the piece with which he is most generally
associated is his piano arrangement of the folk-dance tune "Country
Gardens".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Grainger>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1879:
Led by George W. De Long, the ill-fated Jeannette Expedition
departed San Francisco to reach the North Pole by pioneering a route
through the Bering Strait.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeannette_Expedition>
1898:
American con artist and gangster Soapy Smith was killed in
Skagway, Alaska, when an argument with fellow gang members turned into
an unexpected gunfight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shootout_on_Juneau_Wharf>
1962:
Following student protests at Rangoon University, Burmese
General Ne Win ordered the demolition of the school's Students Union
building.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1962_Rangoon_University_protests>
2014:
In response to the kidnapping and murder of Israeli teenagers,
Israel launched a military operation in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Israel%E2%80%93Gaza_conflict>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
chic:
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The thought system that dominates our culture is laced with
selfish values, and relinquishing those values is a lot easier said than
done. The journey to a pure heart can be highly disorienting. For years
we may have worked for power, money and prestige. Now all of a sudden
we’ve learned that those are just the values of a dying world. … The
news isn’t how bad things are. The news is how good they could be. And
our own activity could be part of the unfolding of Heaven on earth.
There is no more powerful motivation than to feel we’re being used in
the creation of a world where love has healed all wounds. We are no
longer ambitious for ourselves, but are rather inspired by the vision of
a healed world. Inspiration rearranges our energies. It sources within
us a new power and direction.
--Marianne Williamson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marianne_Williamson>
The banded stilt (Cladorhynchus leucocephalus) is a nomadic wader of the
stilt and avocet family, Recurvirostridae, native to Australia. It gets
its name from the red-brown breast band found on breeding adults, though
this is mottled or entirely absent in non-breeding adults and juveniles.
Its remaining plumage is pied and the eyes are dark brown. Nestling
banded stilts have white down, unlike any other species of wader.
Breeding is triggered by the filling of inland salt lakes by rainfall,
creating large shallow lakes rich in tiny shrimp on which the birds
feed. Banded stilts migrate to these and assemble in large breeding
colonies. The female lays three to four brown- or black-splotched
whitish eggs on a scrape. The species is not threatened, but it is
subject to predation by silver gulls, black falcons and wedge-tailed
eagles, and is designated as vulnerable under the South Australian
National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banded_stilt>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1834:
In New York City, four nights of rioting against abolitionists
began, fueled by rumors that they were encouraging miscegenation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-abolitionist_riots_(1834)>
1937:
The Peel Commission published a report stating the British
Mandate for Palestine had become unworkable and recommended the
partition of Mandatory Palestine into two states.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peel_Commission>
1963:
The police of Ngô Đình Nhu, brother and chief political
adviser of President of South Vietnam Ngô Đình Diệm, attacked a
group of American journalists who were covering a protest during the
Buddhist crisis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Seven_Day_scuffle>
2005:
Suicide bombers killed 52 people in a series of four explosions
on London's public transport system (emergency responders pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_July_2005_London_bombings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cirque:
1. (dated or literary) Something in the shape of a circle or ring,
such as a Roman circus.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cirque>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There comes a time in the life of every human when he or she must
decide to risk "his life, his fortune, and his sacred honor" on an
outcome dubious. Those who fail the challenge are merely overgrown
children, can never be anything else.
--Stranger in a Strange Land
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land>
Peter Jeffrey (6 July 1913 – 6 April 1997) was a senior officer and
fighter ace in the Royal Australian Air Force. Posted to the Middle East
in July 1940, he saw action with No. 3 Squadron and took command of the
unit the following year, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross for his
energy and fighting skills. He was appointed wing leader of No. 234
Wing RAF in November 1941, and became an ace the same month with his
fifth solo victory. The next month he was awarded the Distinguished
Service Order for his achievements, which included rescuing a fellow
pilot who had crash-landed in the desert. In 1942, Jeffrey was posted to
the South West Pacific, where he helped organise No. 75 Squadron for
the defence of Port Moresby, and No. 76 Squadron prior to the Battle of
Milne Bay. He served two stints in charge of No. 2 Operational Training
Unit in southern Australia before the end of the war, broken by command
of No. 1 (Fighter) Wing in the Northern Territory and Western Australia
during 1943–44, at which time he was promoted to temporary group
captain.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Jeffrey_(RAAF_officer)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1801:
French Revolutionary Wars: A Royal Navy squadron attempted to
eliminate a smaller French Navy squadron at Algeciras before they could
join their Spanish allies.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Algeciras>
1940:
The Story Bridge in Brisbane, the longest cantilever bridge in
Australia, was opened by Sir Leslie Wilson, Governor of Queensland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Story_Bridge>
1978:
A sleeping car train at Taunton, England, caught fire, killing
12 people and causing British Rail to install state-of-the art fire
prevention measures.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taunton_sleeping_car_fire>
2013:
Gunmen attacked a secondary school in Mamudo, Yobe State,
Nigeria, killing at least 42 people, mostly students.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yobe_State_school_shooting>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
behove:
1. (transitive, formal) To be necessary for (someone).
2. (transitive, formal) To be in the best interest of; to benefit.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/behove>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Our identity as a nation — unlike many other nations — is not
determined by geography or ethnicity, by soil or blood. Being an
American involves the embrace of high ideals and civic responsibility.
We become the heirs of Thomas Jefferson by accepting the ideal of human
dignity found in the Declaration of Independence. We become the heirs of
James Madison by understanding the genius and values of the U.S.
Constitution. We become the heirs of Martin Luther King, Jr., by
recognizing one another not by the color of their skin, but by the
content of their character. This means that people of every race,
religion, and ethnicity can be fully and equally American. It means that
bigotry or white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the American
creed. And it means that the very identity of our nation depends on the
passing of civic ideals to the next generation. ... It is the great
advantage of free societies that we creatively adapt to challenges,
without the direction of some central authority. Self-correction is the
secret strength of freedom. We are a nation with a history of resilience
and a genius for renewal. Right now, one of our worst national problems
is a deficit of confidence. But the cause of freedom justifies all our
faith and effort. It still inspires men and women in the darkest corners
of the world, and it will inspire a rising generation. The American
spirit does not say, “We shall manage,” or “We shall make the best
of it.” It says, “We shall overcome.” And that is exactly what we
will do, with the help of God and one another.
--George W. Bush
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_W._Bush>
Simone Russell is a fictional character that appeared from 1999 to 2007
on the American soap opera Passions on NBC. A member of the show's
Russell family, Simone is the daughter of Eve and T. C. and the younger
sister of Whitney. Conceived by the soap's founder and head writer James
E. Reilly, the role was portrayed by three actresses: Lena Cardwell
(1999–2001), Chrystee Pharris (2001–2004), and Cathy Jenéen Doe
(2004–2007). The character's love interest in the early years is Chad
Harris-Crane, but Doe's character comes out as lesbian and pursues a
relationship with Rae Thomas. Passions became the first soap opera to
show two women (Simone and Rae) having sex, and the first to feature an
African-American lesbian. The show won GLAAD's 2006 Outstanding Daily
Drama award for its portrayal of Simone. The representation of lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender topics, and Doe's performance as Simone,
received mixed responses from critics.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simone_Russell>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1594:
The Portuguese governor of Ceylon Pedro Lopes de Sousa began a
failed attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Kandy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_of_Danture>
1775:
The Second Continental Congress of Britain's Thirteen Colonies
adopted the Olive Branch Petition in the hopes of avoiding war with
Great Britain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Branch_Petition>
1937:
The Hormel Foods Corporation introduced Spam, the canned
precooked meat product that would eventually enter into pop culture,
folklore, and urban legend.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_(food)>
1948:
Aneurin Bevan, the Health Minister of the United Kingdom,
launched the National Health Service, one of the major social reforms
following the Second World War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Health_Service>
2012:
The Shard in London was inaugurated as the tallest building in
Europe, with a height of 310 m (1,020 ft), but was surpassed by
Moscow's Mercury City Tower four months later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shard>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
enormity:
1. (countable) An act of extreme evil or wickedness.
2. (uncountable) Great size; enormousness, hugeness, immenseness.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enormity>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Mystery has its own mysteries, and there are gods above gods. We
have ours, they have theirs. That is what’s known as infinity.
--Jean Cocteau
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean_Cocteau>
Hilary (c. 1110 – 1169) was a medieval English Bishop of Chichester.
He served as Dean of the church of Christchurch in Hampshire and as a
clerk for Henry of Blois, who was the Bishop of Winchester and brother
of King Stephen, and probably received both offices through the
influence of Henry. As a papal clerk in Rome, he got to know the future
Pope Adrian IV and the writer John of Salisbury. After Hilary's
unsuccessful nomination to become Archbishop of York, Pope Eugene III
promoted him to the bishopric of Chichester in 1147. Hilary spent many
years in a struggle with Battle Abbey, attempting to assert his right to
oversee it as bishop. He supported King Henry II's position in a
conflict with Thomas Becket, who was then the king's chancellor and
later the Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry appointed Hilary a sheriff,
and employed him as a judge in the royal courts; he was also a papal
judge-delegate, hearing cases referred back to England.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilary_of_Chichester>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1054:
Chinese astronomers recorded the sudden appearance of a "guest
star", later identified as the supernova that created the Crab Nebula.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_Nebula>
1776:
In Philadelphia, the Continental Congress adopted the
Declaration of Independence (signing pictured), announcing that the
thirteen American colonies were no longer a part of the British Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence>
1918:
World War I: An Allied force led by the Australian general John
Monash was victorious in the Battle of Hamel, demonstrating the
effectiveness of combined arms techniques in trench warfare.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hamel>
1943:
The aircraft carrying Władysław Sikorski, Prime Minister of
the Polish government-in-exile, crashed, killing him and fifteen others,
leading to several conspiracy theories.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_Sikorski%27s_death_contro…>
1954:
In what is known as the "The Miracle of Bern", the underdogs
West Germany defeated the favourites Hungary 3–2 to win the FIFA World
Cup.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_FIFA_World_Cup_Final>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
moccasin:
1. A modern shoe with either a low or no heel resembling a traditional
Native American moccasin in that the leather forming the sides of the
shoe is stitched at the top.
2. A light beige colour, like that of a moccasin.
3. Any of several North American snakes of the genus Agkistrodon,
particularly the copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) and the cottonmouth
or water moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/moccasin>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Let us forget the other names of American statesmen, that have
been stamped upon these hills, but still call the loftiest —
WASHINGTON. Mountains are Earth's undecaying monuments. They must stand
while she endures, and never should be consecrated to the mere great men
of their own age and country, but to the mighty ones alone, whose glory
is universal, and whom all time will render illustrious.
--Nathaniel Hawthorne
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Hawthorne>
Vultee Vengeance dive bombers operated in Australian service between
1942 and 1950, and saw combat during World War II. A total of 400 of the
type were ordered for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1942.
Large-scale deliveries commenced in 1943, and 342 arrived before the
order was cancelled. RAAF Vengeance-equipped units entered combat in
mid-1943. The main frontline deployment of the type began in January
1944, but ended after only six weeks as the Vengeance was considered
inferior to other available aircraft. All combat units equipped with
Vengeances were converted to operate heavy bombers. The type remained in
RAAF service for training and support purposes until 1946, and some were
used by the Royal Australian Navy until 1950. While there is consensus
among historians that the Vengeance was obsolete at the time it entered
Australian service, some argue that it proved successful. Others,
including the RAAF's Air Power Development Centre, have judged that the
type was unsuitable.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vultee_Vengeance_in_Australian_service>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
324:
Roman emperor Constantine the Great defeated former colleague
Licinius in the Battle of Adrianople.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Adrianople_(324)>
1754:
French and Indian War: George Washington surrendered Fort
Necessity in Pennsylvania, the only military surrender in his entire
career.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Necessity>
1938:
On the 75th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Gettysburg,
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Eternal Light Peace
Memorial (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Light_Peace_Memorial>
1970:
The Troubles: The British Army imposed the Falls Curfew on
Belfast, Northern Ireland, which resulted in greater Irish republican
resistance.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falls_Curfew>
1988:
United States Navy warship USS Vincennes shot down Iran Air
Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
mythos:
1. A story or set of stories relevant to or having a significant truth or
meaning for a particular culture, religion, society, or other group; a
myth, a mythology.
2. (by extension) A set of assumptions or beliefs about something.
3. (literature) A recurring theme; a motif.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mythos>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All writers in some insane place believe that to write is a holy
chore — that what one wishes to do is speak to one’s time, to make a
difference, to say: "I was here. I was a force for good in some way."
--Harlan Ellison
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harlan_Ellison>
The Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar was an American fifty-cent
piece struck at the San Francisco Mint in 1923, bearing portraits of
former presidents James Monroe and John Quincy Adams. Sculptor Chester
Beach is credited with the design, although the reverse closely
resembles an earlier work by Raphael Beck. The commemorative coin was
issued to raise funds for an exposition in Los Angeles honoring the
100th anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine; the event was organized in
part to generate good press for Hollywood during a time of highly
publicized scandals, including manslaughter charges against film star
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. The exposition was a financial failure. The
coins did not sell well, and the bulk of the mintage of over 270,000 was
released into circulation. Many of the pieces that had been sold at a
premium and saved were spent during the Depression; most surviving coins
show evidence of wear.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monroe_Doctrine_Centennial_half_dollar>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
706:
In China, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang interred the final bodies in
the Qianling Mausoleum, which remained unopened until the 1960s.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qianling_Mausoleum>
1881:
U.S. President James A. Garfield was fatally shot at the
Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station in Washington, D.C.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_James_A._Garfield>
1900:
Finlandia, a tone poem by Jean Sibelius which forms the basis
of one the national songs of Finland, was first performed in Helsinki.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlandia>
1950:
A mentally ill Buddhist monk set fire to the Golden Pavilion at
Kinkaku-ji (restoration pictured), destroying what is now one of the
most popular tourist destinations in Japan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinkaku-ji>
2013:
The International Astronomical Union announced that the fourth
and fifth moons of Pluto would be named Kerberos and Styx respectively.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Styx_(moon)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
self-referential:
1. (specifically) In a literary work: referring to the author or the
author's other works.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/self-referential>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
For the sake of research, the big picture and definitive
conclusions, one would have to transcend time, in which everything
scurries and whirls.
--Wisława Szymborska
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wis%C5%82awa_Szymborska>