William IV (1765–1837) was King of Britain and of Hanover from
26 June 1830 until his death on 20 June 1837. The third son of
George III, William succeeded his elder brother George IV, becoming
the last king and penultimate monarch of Britain's House of Hanover.
William served in the Royal Navy in his youth, and was later nicknamed
the "Sailor King". As his two older brothers died without leaving
legitimate issue, he inherited the throne when he was 64 years old. His
reign saw several reforms: the poor law was updated, child labour
restricted, slavery abolished in nearly all of the British Empire, and
the British electoral system refashioned by the Reform Act 1832.
Although William did not engage in politics during his reign as much as
earlier kings, he was the last British monarch to appoint a prime
minister against the will of Parliament. He granted his German kingdom a
short-lived liberal constitution. William was succeeded by his niece
Victoria in Britain and his brother Ernest Augustus in Hanover.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_IV>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1792:
The French Army achieved its first major victory in the War of
the First Coalition at the Battle of Valmy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Valmy>
1971:
Hurricane Irene (satellite image pictured) moved into the
Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic, making it the first actively tracked
tropical cyclone to do so.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Irene%E2%80%93Olivia>
1977:
A series of celestial phenomena of disputed nature was observed
in the western Soviet Union, Finland and Denmark.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrozavodsk_phenomenon>
2011:
The United States military ended its "don't ask, don't tell"
policy, consequently allowing gay and lesbian people to serve openly.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_ask,_don%27t_tell>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
missing in action:
1. (chiefly military) The designation for a member of an organization
(usually military) with whom contact is lost and whose whereabouts are
not known, but whose death is not confirmed.
2. (by extension) Not present when one is expected to be.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/missing_in_action>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Religious belief, trust, a sense of connection to the universe
— no matter what you call it, there is a spiritual component to strong
families. They see their lives as imbued with purpose, reflected in the
things they do for one another and the community. Small problems provide
a chance to grow; large ones are a lesson in courage. … It takes a
certain type of spiritual grace to see beyond one’s own misery to the
needs of others. Strong families try to live so they can look outward
— and inward — every single day.
--Joyce Brothers
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joyce_Brothers>
M-1 is a north–south state trunkline highway in the Metro Detroit area
of the US state of Michigan. The highway runs from Detroit north-
northwesterly to Pontiac. The Federal Highway Administration has listed
it as the Automotive Heritage Trail, an All-American Road in the
National Scenic Byways Program. Created after Detroit's Great Fire of
1805, the road follows the route of the Saginaw Trail, a Native American
trail that linked Detroit with Pontiac, Flint, and Saginaw. M-1 passes
through several historic districts in Detroit, and runs next to the
Highland Park Ford Plant, home of the original moving assembly line used
to produce Model Ts. Commonly known as Woodward Avenue, the street has
become synonymous with Detroit's cruising culture and automotive
industry. Downtown entertainment venues along Woodward include the Fox
Theatre and the Majestic Theatre. M-1 exits Detroit at 8 Mile Road and
runs through the city's northern suburbs in Oakland County.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-1_%28Michigan_highway%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1846:
French shepherd children Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud
reported a Marian apparition, now known as Our Lady of La Salette
(statue pictured), near La Salette-Fallavaux.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_La_Salette>
1893:
New Zealand became the first country to introduce universal
suffrage following the women's suffrage movement led by Kate Sheppard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_New_Zealand>
1991:
Ötzi, a well-preserved natural mummy of a man dating from
about 3300 BC, was discovered by two German tourists in the Alps.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96tzi>
2011:
Mariano Rivera surpassed Trevor Hoffman to become Major League
Baseball's all-time leader in the number of saves.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariano_Rivera>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
yo-ho-ho:
A cry associated with pirates and seafaring, originally a repetitive
chant intended to synchronize workers performing some collective
physical labour, such as hauling on a rope.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/yo-ho-ho>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We need more humanity, more care, more love. There are those who
expect a political system to produce that; and others who expect the
love to produce the system. My own faith is that the truth of the future
lies between the two and we shall behave humanly and a bit humanely,
stumbling along, haphazardly generous and gallant, foolishly and meanly
wise until the rape of our planet is seen to be the preposterous folly
that it is. For we are a marvel of creation.
--William Golding
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Golding>
Acamptonectes is a genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur, a type of
dolphin-like marine reptile that lived during the Early Cretaceous
around 130 million years ago. The first specimen—a partial adult
skeleton—was discovered in Speeton, England, in 1958, but it was not
formally described until 2012. Acamptonectes had unusual adaptations
that made its trunk rigid, including tightly-fitting bones in the
occiput (back and lower part of the skull) and interlocking vertebral
centra, likely allowing it to swim at high speeds with a tuna-like form
of locomotion. Other distinguishing characteristics include an extremely
slender snout and unique ridges on the basioccipital bone of the
braincase. As an ichthyosaur, Acamptonectes had large eye sockets and a
tail fluke. Its teeth, which were slender and textured with longitudinal
ridges, were probably adapted for impaling prey such as squid and
fleshy fish.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acamptonectes>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1879:
The Blackpool Illuminations (example pictured) in the English
seaside town of Blackpool were switched on for the first time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackpool_Illuminations>
1948:
The Australian cricket team's Invincibles tour of England
concluded; they had played 34 matches, including five Tests, without
defeat.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_cricket_team_in_England_in_1948>
1961:
En route to negotiate a ceasefire between Katanga troops and
United Nations forces, the plane carrying United Nations secretary-
general Dag Hammarskjöld crashed under mysterious circumstances near
Ndola in Northern Rhodesia, resulting in the deaths of Hammarskjöld and
15 others on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dag_Hammarskj%C3%B6ld>
2001:
Five letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to various
media outlets in the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_anthrax_attacks>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Paralympian:
1. (sports) One who competes in the Paralympics.
2. Of or pertaining to a Paralympian (“one who competes in the
Paralympics”).
3. Of or pertaining to the Paralympics; Paralympic.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Paralympian>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When I behold the works of thy hands and consider the course of
thy providence, give me Grace always to remember that thy thoughts are
not my thoughts, nor thy ways my ways. And while it shall please Thee to
continue me in this world where much is to be done and little to be
known, teach me by thy Holy Spirit to withdraw my mind from unprofitable
and dangerous enquiries, from difficulties vainly curious, and doubts
impossible to be solved. Let me rejoice in the light which thou hast
imparted, let me serve thee with active zeal, and humble confidence, and
wait with patient expectation for the time in which the soul which Thou
receivest, shall be satisfied with knowledge.
--Samuel Johnson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson>
Hurricane Humberto was a large and powerful tropical cyclone that caused
extensive wind damage in the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda
during September 2019. It was the eighth named storm and third
hurricane of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season. Humberto formed on
September 13, then paralleled the eastern coastline of Florida until
September 16, when it turned sharply northeastward and became a
hurricane. It reached peak intensity as a Category 3 hurricane on
September 18. After its center passed within 65 miles (100 km) of
Bermuda on September 19, the storm transitioned the next day to a
potent extratropical cyclone. Rip currents killed one person in Florida
and another in North Carolina. In Bermuda, peak surface winds of around
110 mph (180 km/h), with higher gusts, caused widespread damage to
trees, roofs, crops, and power lines. About 600 buildings had roof
damage, and L.F. Wade International Airport and the Bermuda Weather
Service campus suffered property damage.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Humberto_%282019%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1849:
Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in the U.S. state of
Maryland, and later orchestrated the rescues of other slaves via the
Underground Railroad.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Tubman>
1939:
World War II: The Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east,
sixteen days after Nazi Germany's attack on the country from the west.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Poland>
1980:
Solidarity, a Polish trade union, was founded as the first
independent labor union in an Eastern Bloc country.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Solidarity>
2011:
Adbusters, a Canadian anti-consumerist publication, organized a
protest against corporate influence on democracy at Zuccotti Park in New
York City that became known as Occupy Wall Street.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hokum:
1. (countable, uncountable, informal) (An instance of) meaningless
nonsense with an outward appearance of being impressive and legitimate.
2. (countable, uncountable, informal) (An instance of) excessively
contrived, hackneyed, or sentimental material in a film, television
programme, theater production, etc.
3. (countable, informal) A film, television programme, theater
production, etc., containing excessively contrived, hackneyed, or
sentimental material.
4. (uncountable, music) A genre of blues song or music, often
characterized by sexual innuendos or satire.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hokum>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
My dad died, and my grandfather died, and my great-grandfather
died. And the guy before him, I don't know. Probably died.
--Norm Macdonald
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Norm_Macdonald>
The Roman withdrawal from Africa in 255 BC was the attempt by the Roman
Republic to rescue the survivors of their defeated expeditionary force
to Carthaginian Africa (in what is now north-eastern Tunisia) during the
First Punic War. A force of 390 warships fought and defeated 200
Carthaginian vessels off Cape Hermaeum (the modern Cape Bon or Ras ed-
Dar), north of the town of Aspis. The Carthaginians had 114 of their
ships captured, together with their crews, and 16 sunk. Most modern
historians assume there were no Roman losses. The Romans landed in
Aspis – where the Roman survivors of the previous year's invasion
were besieged – sortied, dispersed the besiegers and raided the
surrounding country for food. All then re-embarked and left for Italy.
While returning the Roman fleet encountered a storm off the south-east
corner of Sicily; 384 ships were sunk and more than 100,000 men were
lost.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_withdrawal_from_Africa_%28255_BC%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1961:
Typhoon Nancy, which possibly had the strongest winds ever
measured in a tropical cyclone, made landfall in Muroto, Japan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Nancy_%281961%29>
1975:
The prototype of the Mikoyan MiG-31 (example pictured), one of
the fastest combat jets in the world, made its maiden flight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan_MiG-31>
1979:
Eight people escaped from East Germany to West Germany in a
home-made hot air balloon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_German_balloon_escape>
2013:
A lone gunman fatally shot twelve people and injured three
others at the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command in
Washington, D.C.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Navy_Yard_shooting>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
wantok:
(Melanesia, Papua New Guinea) A close comrade; a person with whom one
has a strong social bond, usually based on a shared language.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wantok>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The fool hath said … The fool hath said And we, who deemed him
wise, We, who believed that Thou wast dead, How should we seek Thine
eyes?How should we seek to Thee for power, Who scorned Thee yesterday?
How should we kneel in this dread hour? Lord, teach us how to pray.
--Alfred Noyes
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alfred_Noyes>
Raymond Pace Alexander (1897–1974) was a civil rights leader, lawyer,
and politician who was the first African-American judge appointed to the
Pennsylvania courts of common pleas. In 1920, he became the first black
graduate of the Wharton School of Business. He married in 1923; in 1927
his wife, Sadie, became the first black woman to earn a law degree from
the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating from Harvard Law School
in 1923, Alexander became one of the leading civil rights attorneys in
Philadelphia. He represented black defendants in high-profile cases,
including the Trenton Six, a group of black men arrested for murder in
Trenton, New Jersey. Alexander also entered politics, unsuccessfully
running for judge multiple times. He finally ran for, and won, a seat on
the Philadelphia City Council in 1951. After serving two terms,
Alexander was appointed as the first black judge to sit on the courts of
common pleas, where he served until his death in 1974.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Pace_Alexander>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1791:
French playwright Olympe de Gouges published the Declaration of
the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, hoping to expose the
failures of the French Revolution in the recognition of gender equality.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_the_Rights_of_Woman_and_of_the…>
1916:
Tanks (example pictured), the "secret weapons" of the British
Army during the First World War, were first used in combat at the Battle
of Flers–Courcelette in France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Flers%E2%80%93Courcelette>
1959:
Nikita Khrushchev began the first state visit by a Soviet
leader to the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_visit_by_Nikita_Khrushchev_to_the_Unite…>
2017:
A homemade bomb partially exploded on an eastbound District
line train at Parsons Green tube station in West London, injuring 30
passengers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsons_Green_train_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
democratic:
1. Pertaining to democracy; constructed upon or in line with the
principle of government chosen by the people.
2. Exhibiting social equality; egalitarian.
3. (US, politics) Alternative letter-case form of Democratic (“of,
pertaining to, or supporting the Democratic Party”)
4. (chiefly in the plural, dated) Synonym of democrat (“a supporter of
democracy; an advocate of democratic politics (originally (historical)
as opposed to the aristocrats in Revolutionary France)”)
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/democratic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The President cannot make clouds to rain and cannot make the corn
to grow, he cannot make business good; although when these things occur,
political parties do claim some credit for the good things that have
happened in this way.
--William Howard Taft
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Howard_Taft>
Keechaka Vadham (The Extermination of Keechaka) is an Indian silent film
produced, directed, filmed and edited by R. Nataraja Mudaliar
(pictured), and released in the late 1910s. No print of it is known to
survive. The first Tamil film and the first film to be made in South
India, it was shot in about five weeks at Mudaliar's production house,
India Film Company. The screenplay by C. Rangavadivelu is based on an
episode from the Virata Parva segment of the Hindu epic Mahabharata,
focusing on Keechaka's attempts to woo Draupadi. The film stars Raju
Mudaliar and Jeevarathnam as the central characters. Keechaka Vadham was
commercially successful and received positive critical feedback. The
film's success prompted the director to make a series of similar
historical films that laid the foundation for the South Indian cinema
industry. His works were an inspiration to other filmmakers, including
Raghupathi Surya Prakasa and J. C. Daniel.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keechaka_Vadham>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1812:
French invasion of Russia: Following the Battle of Borodino
seven days earlier, Napoleon and his Grande Armée captured Moscow, only
to find the city deserted and burning (depicted).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_of_Moscow_%281812%29>
1901:
Theodore Roosevelt became President of the United States at age
42, the youngest person ever to do so, eight days after William McKinley
was fatally wounded in Buffalo, New York.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt>
1954:
In a secret nuclear test, a Soviet Tu-4 bomber dropped a
40-kiloton atomic weapon just north of Totskoye village, exposing some
45,000 soldiers and 10,000 civilians to nuclear fallout.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totskoye_nuclear_exercise>
2019:
Drone attacks on major processing facilities at Abqaiq and
Khurais forced Saudi Arabia to cut more than half of its oil production.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abqaiq%E2%80%93Khurais_attack>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
epicene:
1. (linguistics) Of or relating to a class of Greek and Latin nouns that
may refer to males or females but have a fixed grammatical gender
(feminine, masculine, neuter, etc.).
2. (linguistics) Of or relating to nouns or pronouns in any language
that have a single form for male and female referents.
3. (by extension) Suitable for use regardless of sex; unisex.
4. (biology and figuratively) Of indeterminate sex, whether asexual,
androgynous, hermaphrodite, or intersex.
5. (by extension) Indeterminate; mixed.
6. (by extension, usually derogatory) Of a man: effeminate.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/epicene>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Only what we have wrought into our character during life can we
take away with us.
--Alexander von Humboldt
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_von_Humboldt>
Sonic X-treme was a platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute
from 1994 until its cancellation in 1996. It was intended to be the
first fully 3D Sonic the Hedgehog game and the first original Sonic game
for the Sega Saturn (pictured). The game was conceived as a side-
scrolling platform game for the Sega Genesis to succeed 1994's Sonic &
Knuckles. Development shifted to the 32X and then the Saturn and
Microsoft Windows, and the game was redesigned as a 3D platform game for
the 1996 holiday season. The plan was disrupted by illness, company
politics, and an unfavorable visit by Sega executives. In place of
X-treme, Sega released a port of the Genesis game Sonic 3D Blast, but
did not release an original 3D Sonic platform game until Sonic Adventure
for the Dreamcast in 1998. The cancellation is considered an important
factor in the Saturn's commercial failure, as it left the system with no
original platform game featuring Sega's mascot.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_X-treme>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1814:
War of 1812: Fort McHenry in Baltimore's Inner Harbor was
attacked by British forces during the Battle of Baltimore, inspiring
Francis Scott Key to write "Defence of Fort McHenry", later used as the
lyrics to the United States national anthem.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Scott_Key>
1914:
World War I: The French army repulsed a German assault against
their positions on high ground near the city of Nancy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Grand_Couronn%C3%A9>
1959:
The Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 (model pictured) impacted the
Moon, becoming the first spacecraft to reach another celestial body.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_2>
1971 :
The Attica Prison riot ended when New York Governor Nelson
Rockefeller orders the storming of the prison, in which 38 die by
gunfire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_2>
2008:
Five bomb blasts took place in Delhi, India, killing at least
20 people as part of a series of attacks perpetrated by the Indian
Mujahideen.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Delhi_bombings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cardsharp:
(card games) A professional cheater at card games.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cardsharp>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
You shouldn't model your life about what you think that we think
is cool and what we're wearing and what we're saying and everything. Go
with yourself. Go with yourself.
--Fiona Apple
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fiona_Apple>
Mr. Dooley is a fictional bartender created by American journalist
Finley Peter Dunne, appearing in print between 1893 and 1915, and again
in 1924 and 1926. The bartender's humorous but pointed commentary on
American politics and international affairs first became nationally
popular during the 1898 Spanish–American War. Dunne's essays are in
the form of conversations in an Irish dialect of English between Mr.
Dooley, the owner of a fictional tavern in the Bridgeport area of
Chicago, and one of the bar's patrons. From 1898 onwards, the essays,
and the books collecting them, gained national acclaim. Dunne became a
friend of President Theodore Roosevelt, although the friendship did not
curtail his satire. Beginning around 1905, Dunne had increasing trouble
finding time and inspiration for new pieces, and, except for a brief
resurrection in the mid-1920s, his columns ended in 1915. The columns
originated lasting sayings such as "the Supreme Court follows the
election returns".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Dooley>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1848:
Switzerland became a federal state with the adoption of the
Swiss Federal Constitution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland>
1910:
Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8, one of the largest-scale
choral works in the classical concert repertoire and popularly known as
the "Symphony of a Thousand", was first performed in Munich (1916
performers pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._8_%28Mahler%29>
1952:
Three boys in Flatwoods, West Virginia, U.S., reported seeing a
ten-foot-tall (3 m) monster in the woods while investigating a UFO.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatwoods_monster>
2015:
An explosion involving illegally stored mining detonators in
Petlawad, India, killed 104 people and injured more than 150 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petlawad_explosion>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
connive:
1. (intransitive) Often followed by with: to secretly cooperate with
another person or persons in order to commit a crime or other
wrongdoing; to collude, to conspire.
2. (intransitive, botany, rare) Of parts of a plant: to be converging or
in close contact; to be connivent.
3. (intransitive, obsolete) Often followed by at: to pretend to be
ignorant of something in order to escape blame; to ignore or overlook a
fault deliberately.
4. (intransitive, obsolete) To open and close the eyes rapidly; to wink.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/connive>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is better to die for an idea that will live, than to live for
an idea that will die.
--Steve Biko
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steve_Biko>
United Airlines Flight 93 was a passenger flight that was hijacked by
four al-Qaeda terrorists in 2001 as part of the September 11 attacks.
The hijackers stormed the westbound aircraft's cockpit 46 minutes after
its takeoff from Newark, New Jersey, and diverted it in the direction of
Washington, D.C., the U.S. capital. Several passengers and flight
attendants learned of the other 9/11 suicide attacks from phone calls,
sparking an attempt to retake the plane. During the struggle, the
hijackers deliberately crashed the plane into a field near a reclaimed
strip mine in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania; all 44 people on board
(including the hijackers) were killed. A temporary memorial was built
near the crash site soon after the attacks. The permanent Flight 93
National Memorial was dedicated on September 10, 2011; it has a
concrete and glass visitor center overlooking the crash site.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_93>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1851:
In a fight near Christiana, Pennsylvania, a group of escaped
slaves and free Blacks led by William Parker fought off a federal posse
seeking to arrest and return the escapees to slavery.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiana_Riot>
1893:
Swami Vivekananda gave a speech introducing Hinduism on the
opening day of the first Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_the_World%27s_Religions>
1914:
First World War: The Australian Naval and Military
Expeditionary Force invaded German New Guinea, winning the Battle of
Bita Paka.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bita_Paka>
1981:
Iranian politician Ayatollah Madani and three others were
assassinated by an agent of the MEK who detonated a grenade during
Friday prayers in Tabriz.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir_Asadollah_Madani>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ground zero:
1. Originally, the point on the land or water surface below which a
nuclear bomb detonates in the air; now also the point on such a surface
at or above the detonation.
2. (by extension) The location of any disaster or violent assault.
3. (figuratively) The point at which something begins.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ground_zero>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
On a day when buildings fell, heroes rose: Pentagon employees ran
into smoke-filled corridors to guide their friends to safety.
Firefighters rushed up the stairs of the World Trade Center as the
towers neared collapse. Passengers aboard Flight 93 charged the cockpit
and laid down their lives to spare countless others. One of the worst
days in America's history saw some of the bravest acts in Americans'
history. We'll always honor the heroes of 9/11.
--George W. Bush
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_W._Bush>