The Battle of Inverkeithing was fought on 20 July 1651 between England
and Scotland. As part of the political turmoil of the English Civil War,
an English army under Oliver Cromwell invaded Scotland in July 1650 and
heavily defeated a Scottish army commanded by David Leslie at the Battle
of Dunbar. The Scots withdrew to Stirling, a choke point. For nearly a
year the English failed to storm or bypass Stirling, or to draw the
Scots out into another battle. On 17 July 1651 an English force crossed
the Firth of Forth at its narrowest point in flat-bottomed boats and
landed at North Queensferry. The Scots sent forces to pen the English
in, and the English reinforced their landing. On 20 July the Scots
moved against the English and in a short engagement were routed. The
English seized the deep-water port of Burntisland. Cromwell then shipped
over most of the English army, marched on and captured Perth, the
temporary seat of the Scottish government, cutting off supplies for the
Scottish army.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Inverkeithing>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1867:
The United States Congress established the Indian Peace
Commission to seek peace treaties with a number of Native American
tribes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Peace_Commission>
1917:
The prime minister of Serbia, Nikola Pašić, and the president
of the Yugoslav Committee, Ante Trumbić, signed the Corfu Declaration,
agreeing to seek the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and
Slovenes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corfu_Declaration>
1968:
The first games of the Special Olympics (athletes pictured),
for athletes with intellectual disabilities, were held at Soldier Field
in Chicago.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Olympics>
2001:
The animated film Spirited Away, written and directed by Hayao
Miyazaki, was released, becoming the highest-grossing film in Japanese
history until 2020.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirited_Away>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
out of place:
1. Not in the proper arrangement or situation.
2. Inappropriate for the circumstances.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/out_of_place>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The stories gets passed on and the truth gets passed over. As the
sayin goes. Which I reckon some would take as meanin that the truth cant
compete. But I dont believe that. I think that when the lies are all
told and forgot the truth will be there yet. It dont move about from
place to place and it dont change from time to time. You cant corrupt it
any more than you can salt salt. You cant corrupt it because that's what
it is. It's the thing you're talkin about.
--No Country for Old Men
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/No_Country_for_Old_Men>
Al-Walid I (c. 674 – 715) was the sixth Umayyad caliph, ruling
from October 705 until his death. The eldest son of Caliph Abd al-Malik
(r. 685–705), he continued his father's efforts to centralize
government, impose a more Arabic and Islamic character on the state, and
expand its borders. He heavily depended on al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, his
father's powerful viceroy over the eastern half of the caliphate. During
his reign, armies commissioned by al-Hajjaj conquered Sind and
Transoxiana in the east, while the troops of Musa ibn Nusayr, the
governor of Ifriqiya, conquered the Maghreb and Hispania in the west,
bringing the caliphate to its largest territorial extent. Al-Walid
financed impressive public works, including the Great Mosque of
Damascus, the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and the Prophet's Mosque in
Medina. He was the first caliph to institute programs for social
welfare, and his reign was marked by domestic peace and prosperity.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Walid_I>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1843:
SS Great Britain, the first ocean-going ship with both an iron
hull and a screw propeller, was launched in Bristol, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Great_Britain>
1845:
A fire in Manhattan, New York, destroyed 345 buildings, killed
30 people, and caused at least $5 million in damage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_New_York_City_Fire_of_1845>
1903:
French cyclist Maurice Garin won the first edition of the Tour
de France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1903_Tour_de_France>
2014:
Gunmen perpetrated an armed assault against an Egyptian
military checkpoint in the Libyan Desert, killing 22 soldiers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Farafra_ambush>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
blare:
1. (transitive)
2. Often followed by out: of a device such as a loudspeaker or a radio:
to produce (music, a sound, etc.) loudly and piercingly.
3. (figuratively) To express (ideas, words, etc.) loudly; to proclaim.
4. (intransitive)
5. To make a loud sound, especially like a trumpet.
6. (archaic except Britain, dialectal) To make a lengthy sound, as of a
person crying or an animal bellowing or roaring.
7. A loud sound.
8. (figuratively) Of colour, light, or some other quality: dazzling,
often garish, brilliance.
9. (obsolete except Britain, dialectal) A lengthy sound, as of a person
crying or an animal bellowing or roaring.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blare>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is frequently insufficient to identify the motives that guide
our conduct, or that shape our attitudes and our thinking, just by
observing vaguely that there are various things we want. That often
leaves out too much. In numerous contexts, it is both more precise and
more fully explanatory to say that there is something we care about.
--Harry Frankfurt
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Frankfurt>
The Black Cat was an American fiction magazine launched in 1895 by
Herman Umbstaetter. It published only short stories, and was known for
originality and for promoting new writers. It was quickly successful,
aided by the popularity of "The Mysterious Card", by Cleveland Moffett,
which appeared in an early issue, selling out two print runs. Two of
its best-known contributors were Jack London, whose 1899 story "A
Thousand Deaths" sold just as he was about to give up attempting to
become a writer, and Henry Miller, whose first published works were
several short fiction critiques published in 1919. The magazine's
ownership changed in 1912 and 1919 as its circulation declined, and it
initially ceased publication in 1920. It was revived in 1922 by William
Kane, but in early 1923, with estimated circulation down to only 15,000,
it ceased publication for good. The magazine's icon, a black cat that
appeared on almost every cover (example pictured), was drawn by the
founder's wife, Nelly Umbstaetter.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Cat_%28US_magazine%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1723:
Johann Sebastian Bach directed the first performance of his
cantata Erforsche mich, Gott, und erfahre mein Herz in Leipzig.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erforsche_mich,_Gott,_und_erfahre_mein_Herz,_…>
1863:
American Civil War: Led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the 54th
Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the first African-American
military units in the Union Army, spearheaded an assault on Fort Wagner,
South Carolina.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/54th_Massachusetts_Infantry_Regiment>
1949:
Francisco Javier Arana, the chief of the Guatemalan armed
forces, was killed in a shootout with supporters of President Juan José
Arévalo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Javier_Arana>
2019:
An arson attack at the studio of Kyoto Animation in Japan led
to the deaths of 36 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Animation_arson_attack>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tag team:
1. (professional wrestling) A group of wrestlers who work together as a
team. Only one is in the ring at any given time, and they change places
by "tagging" each other with a gesture like a high five.
2. (by extension) Two or more people acting alternately to accomplish
some task. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tag_team>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
What passed for society was a loud, giddy whirl of thieves and
pretentious hustlers, a dull sideshow full of quacks and clowns and
philistines with gimp mentalities.
--Hunter S. Thompson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hunter_S._Thompson>
David Kelly (14 May 1944 – 17 July 2003) was a Welsh authority on
biological warfare. Appointed to the United Nations Special Commission
in 1991 as a chief weapons inspector in Iraq, he led ten of the
organisation's missions. After the publication of a dossier in 2002,
which stated that Iraq could deploy chemical and biological weapons
within 45 minutes, Kelly had an off-the-record interview with Andrew
Gilligan of the BBC about the claim. Gilligan's reporting stated that
Alastair Campbell, the Downing Street director of communications,
insisted on the 45-minute claim, something which Kelly denied saying.
Kelly appeared before a parliamentary committee on 15 July 2003, and
before another the next day; he was found dead near his home the day
after. Tony Blair, the prime minister, set up an inquiry under Lord
Hutton that concluded that Kelly had killed himself. A review led by
Dominic Grieve between 2010 and 2011 backed the finding. Kelly's death
has been the subject of documentaries and been fictionalised in media
works.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kelly_%28weapons_expert%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1863:
The New Zealand Wars resumed as British forces led by General
Duncan Cameron began the invasion of the Waikato.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_the_Waikato>
1918:
Russian Revolution: Tsar Nicholas II and his family were
murdered by Bolsheviks at Yekaterinburg.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_the_Romanov_family>
1968:
Led by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party
overthrew Iraqi president Abdul Rahman Arif in a bloodless coup.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17_July_Revolution>
2007:
TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overran the runway at Congonhas
Airport in São Paulo, Brazil, killing 199 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TAM_Airlines_Flight_3054>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
war crime:
(criminal law, international law) A punishable offence under
international law for violations of the laws of war by any person or
persons, military or civilian.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/war_crime>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
As an atheist, I believe that all life is unspeakably precious,
because it’s only here for a brief moment, a flare against the dark,
and then it’s gone forever. No afterlives, no second chances, no
backsies. So there can be nothing crueler than the abuse, destruction or
wanton taking of a life.
--J. Michael Straczynski
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._Michael_Straczynski>
Katrina Kaif (born 16 July 1983) is a British actress who works in
Hindi-language films. Born in British Hong Kong, Kaif lived in several
countries before moving to India, where she modelled but had difficulty
finding film roles. Bollywood success came with the romantic comedies
Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya? (2005) and Namastey London (2007). Kaif's
performances in the thriller New York (2009) and the romantic comedy
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011) earned her nominations for the Filmfare
Award for Best Actress. She appeared in the action thrillers Ek Tha
Tiger (2012), Dhoom 3 (2013), and Bang Bang! (2014), all of which rank
among the highest-grossing Indian films. These were followed by a series
of commercial failures, but her portrayal of an alcoholic actress in the
romantic drama Zero (2018) earned her a Zee Cine Award for Best
Supporting Actress. She participates in stage shows and is involved with
her mother's charity, which works in furthering the cause of
underprivileged children in India.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katrina_Kaif>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1790:
President George Washington signed the Residence Act, selecting
a new permanent site along the Potomac River for the capital of the
United States, which later became Washington, D.C.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residence_Act>
1931:
Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie promulgated the nation's
first modern constitution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1931_Constitution_of_Ethiopia>
1983:
A Sikorsky S-61 helicopter operated by British Airways crashed
in thick fog in the Celtic Sea, killing 20 of the 26 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_British_Airways_Sikorsky_S-61_crash>
2013:
At least 23 students died and dozens more fell ill at a primary
school in the Indian state of Bihar after consuming a Midday Meal that
was contaminated with pesticide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bihar_school_meal_poisoning_incident>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
scrumptious:
1. Of food: delectable, delicious.
2. Of a person or thing: excellent, wonderful; also, very aesthetically
pleasing or attractive; good enough to eat.
3. (obsolete, rare)
4. Fastidious, picky.
5. Very small; tiny.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scrumptious>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I remember I asked old Childs if he thought Judas, the one that
betrayed Jesus and all, went to Hell after he committed suicide. Childs
said certainly. That's exactly where I disagreed with him. I said I'd
bet a thousand bucks that Jesus never sent old Judas to Hell. I still
would, too, if I had a thousand bucks. I think any one of the Disciples
would've sent him to Hell and all — and fast, too — but I'll bet
anything Jesus didn't do it.
--The Catcher in the Rye
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye>
"Sweetheart" is a song written by American singer Rainy Davis (pictured)
and Pete Warner, produced with Dorothy Kessler, and originally recorded
by Davis. The lyrics describe a woman's desire for a person with whom to
share a romance. It was released in 1986 by independent record label
SuperTronics as a single from Davis's 1987 album Sweetheart. A
freestyle, hip hop pop, and synth-funk song, it appeared on R&B; and
dance music charts in the US. Mariah Carey recorded a cover version with
rapper Jermaine Dupri for his 1998 debut album, Life in 1472, and her
greatest hits album, #1's. So So Def Recordings and Columbia Records
released it as a single from the former album and promoted it with a
Hype Williams music video. In the US and the UK, the cover charted only
on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 and UK club charts. It
reached the top twenty on the Dutch, German, and Swiss charts. In
reviews, critics focused on Carey's vocal performance, Dupri's rapping
style, and the cover's sexual nature.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweetheart_%28Rainy_Davis_song%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1870:
Manitoba was established as a province of Canada following the
transfer of Rupert's Land from the Hudson's Bay Company.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitoba>
1943:
The all-female Emilia Plater Independent Women's Battalion was
formed in the Soviet Union's First Polish Army.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilia_Plater_Independent_Women%27s_Battalion>
1983:
Sega's first home video game console, the SG-1000, was released
in Japan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SG-1000>
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:
acid test:
1. (figuratively) A rigorous test or appraisal of the quality or worth
of something.
2. (by extension, historical) In the 1960s, a party based around the use
and advocacy of the psychedelic drug LSD (known in slang as "acid").
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/acid_test>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Because he never raises his eyes to the great and the meaningful,
the philistine has taken experience as his gospel. It has become for him
a message about life's commonness. But he has never grasped that there
exists something other than experience, that there are values —
inexperienceable — which we serve.
--Walter Benjamin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_Benjamin>
The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan
from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. It is based on
the DC Comics superhero Batman, played by Christian Bale (pictured), and
is the second installment in The Dark Knight Trilogy and the sequel to
Batman Begins (2005). In the film, Batman, police lieutenant Jim Gordon,
and district attorney Harvey Dent ally to dismantle organized crime in
Gotham City. They are derailed by the Joker, an anarchistic mastermind
played by Heath Ledger. Ledger's posthumous awards included Academy,
BAFTA, and Golden Globe awards for Best Supporting Actor. The ensemble
cast also included Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie
Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman. The film was the fourth-highest-grossing
film ever at the time. It has been assessed as one of the best films
ever made. The Library of Congress selected it for the National Film
Registry in 2020. A sequel, The Dark Knight Rises, concluded the trilogy
in 2012.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Knight>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1902:
The medieval St Mark's Campanile in Venice collapsed, also
demolishing the Loggetta del Sansovino.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mark%27s_Campanile>
1950:
Early in 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:
More than 100 mm (3.9 in) of rain fell in a two-and-a-half-
hour period in parts of Montreal, causing severe flooding.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_flood_of_1987>
2016:
A man deliberately drove a truck into crowds in Nice, France,
resulting in 86 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Nice_truck_attack>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
bastille:
1. (transitive, also figuratively) To confine (someone or something) in,
or as if in, a bastille (noun sense 2.1) or prison; to imprison.
2. Chiefly in French contexts: a bastion (“projecting part of a rampart
or other fortification”) or tower of a castle; also, a fortified tower
or other building; or a small citadel or fortress.
3. (figuratively)
4. A jail or prison, especially one regarded as mistreating its
prisoners.
5. (Britain, derogatory) Synonym of workhouse (“an institution for
homeless poor people funded by the local parish, where the able-bodied
were required to work”)
6. (military, historical) The fortified encampment of an army besieging
a place; also, any of the buildings in such an encampment.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bastille>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Race hatred cannot stop us, this one thing I know Poll tax and
Jim Crow and greed have got to go You're bound to lose You fascists
are bound to lose.
--Woody Guthrie
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Woody_Guthrie>
Margaret Murray (13 July 1863 – 13 November 1963) was an Anglo-Indian
Egyptologist, archaeologist, historian, and folklorist. The first female
archaeology lecturer in the United Kingdom, she worked at University
College London and served as president of the Folklore Society.
Encouraged in her research by the department head Flinders Petrie, she
established a reputation in Egyptology for her excavations of the
Osireion temple and Saqqara cemetery. She taught at the British Museum
and also the Manchester Museum, where she led the unwrapping of one of
the mummies from the Tomb of the Two Brothers. A first-wave feminist,
Murray joined the Women's Social and Political Union. She also focused
her research on the witch-cult hypothesis, a theory that the witch
trials of early modern Christendom were targeted at a pre-Christian
religion devoted to a Horned God; this theory was later discredited, but
it gained widespread attention and provided the basis for Wicca.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Murray>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1643:
English Civil War: Royalist forces defeated the
Parliamentarians at the Battle of Roundway Down near Devizes, Wiltshire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Roundway_Down>
1913:
While on a campaign in Bulgaria, the Romanian Army suffered a
cholera outbreak that led to 1,600 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1913_Romanian_Army_cholera_outbreak>
1973:
Watergate scandal: Under questioning by Senate investigators,
White House deputy chief of staff Alexander Butterfield revealed the
existence of a secret taping system (tape recorder pictured) in the Oval
Office.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixon_White_House_tapes>
2003:
French Directorate-General for External Security personnel
aborted an operation to rescue Colombian politician Íngrid Betancourt
from FARC guerrillas, resulting in a political scandal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Op%C3%A9ration_14_juillet>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
evil eye:
1. A wicked look conveying dislike or envy that in many cultures is
believed to be able to cause bad luck or injury; also, the ability to
cause bad luck or injury through such a look, supposed to be possessed
by some people.
2. (often humorous) A look conveying disapproval, envy, hostility, etc.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/evil_eye>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
No act is of itself either good or bad. Only its place in the
order of things makes it good or bad.
--Milan Kundera
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Milan_Kundera>
The Dance of the Twisted Bull is the nineteenth collection by British
designer Alexander McQueen (pictured), made for the Spring/Summer 2002
season of his fashion house. It was inspired by Spanish culture and art,
especially flamenco and bullfighting. Its sharp tailoring emphasises
femininity and sexuality. It is McQueen's first collection after leaving
Givenchy and the sale of his company to the Gucci Group in 2001. The
runway show was staged during Paris Fashion Week in 2001 at the
headquarters of Stade Français. It was simple compared to previous
shows, and the designs were commercial and intended to drive sales for
his first season under Gucci. The collection's sales were reportedly
strong. Twisted Bull was received mostly positively, especially by
British journalists; American writers were less impressed, particularly
with the dressmaking. Dresses from the collection appeared in
retrospective exhibitions: in the 2011 and 2015 stagings of Alexander
McQueen: Savage Beauty, and in 2022.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dance_of_the_Twisted_Bull>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1918:
An explosion in the ammunition magazine of the Japanese
battleship Kawachi resulted in the deaths of more than 600 officers and
crewmen.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Kawachi>
1963:
Sixteen-year-old Pauline Reade, the first victim of serial
killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, disappeared in Gorton, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors_murders>
1979:
Rowdy fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago stormed the field during
a Major League Baseball promotional event at which a crate of disco
records was blown up.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disco_Demolition_Night>
2006:
Hezbollah forces crossed the Israel–Lebanon border and
attacked Israeli military positions while firing rockets and mortars at
Israeli towns, sparking a five-week war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Hezbollah_cross-border_raid>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
heliotrope:
1. (countable, botany, also figuratively) A plant with flowers which
turn to face and follow the sun, such as (archaic) marigolds and
sunflowers.
2. (specifically) A plant of the genus Heliotropium, especially the
common heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens) which has clusters of
purple flowers with a strong fragrance.
3. With a qualifying word: any of various plants resembling those of the
genus Heliotropium.
4. (uncountable) The fragrance of Heliotropium arborescens flowers, or a
scent resembling this fragrance.
5. (uncountable, color) A light purple or violet colour like that of
Heliotropium arborescens flowers. heliotrope:
6. (countable) An instrument that uses a mirror to reflect sunlight for
purposes such as signalling, or (surveying) triangulation (where the
reflected light is detected by another surveyor positioned some distance
away).
7. (countable, historical) An ancient type of sundial consisting of a
bowl with a perpendicular gnomon mounted in the centre.
8. (countable, uncountable, mineralogy) Synonym of bloodstone (“a green
chalcedony that is sprinkled with red spots or veins of hematite”)
9. Of a light purple or violet colour like that of Heliotropium
arborescens flowers.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/heliotrope>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Do the day's work well and not to bother about tomorrow. You may
say that is not a satisfactory ideal. It is; and there is not one which
the student can carry with him into practice with greater effect. To it
more than anything else I owe whatever success I have had — to this
power of settling down to the day's work and trying to do it well to the
best of my ability, and letting the future take care of itself.
--William Osler
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Osler>
The trade dollar was a United States dollar coin minted to compete with
other large silver coins that were already popular in East Asia. The
idea first came about in the 1860s, when the price of silver began to
decline due to increased mining efforts in the western United States.
The Coinage Act of 1873 made trade dollars legal tender up to five
dollars. The coins were first struck in 1873, and most of the production
was sent to China. Eventually, bullion producers began converting large
amounts of silver into trade dollars, causing the coins to make their
way into American commercial channels. This frustrated payees, as the
coins were traded for less than one dollar each. In response to their
wide distribution in US commerce, the coins were officially demonetized
in 1876, but continued to circulate. Production of business strikes
ended in 1878, though the mintage of proof coins continued until 1883.
The trade dollar was remonetized when the Coinage Act of 1965 was signed
into law.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_dollar_%28United_States_coin%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1405:
Marking the start of Ming China's treasure voyages, an
expeditionary fleet led by Zheng He (depicted) set sail for foreign
regions of the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_treasure_voyages>
1792:
The Belfast Harp Festival, an early event in the Gaelic
revival, began at the Assembly Rooms.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfast_Harp_Festival>
1960:
To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee featuring themes
of racial injustice and the loss of innocence in the Deep South of
America, was published.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird>
1991:
Shortly after taking off from Jeddah, 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>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
suited and booted:
1. (originally South Asia) Dressed smartly, especially in business or
formal wear.
2. (figuratively) Dressed, equipped, or otherwise well prepared for a
certain situation.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/suited_and_booted>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.
They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't
do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to
kill a mockingbird.
--Harper Lee
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harper_Lee>