The Inaccessible Island rail (Laterallus rogersi) is a bird found only
on Inaccessible Island in the South Atlantic Tristan archipelago. This
rail, the smallest extant flightless bird, was described by physician
Percy Lowe in 1923. The adult has brown plumage, a black bill, black
feet, and red eyes. It occupies most habitats on the island, from the
beaches to the central plateau, feeding on a variety of small
invertebrates and some plant matter. Pairs are territorial and
monogamous; both parents incubate the eggs and raise the chicks. The
rail's adaptations to living on a tiny island at high densities include
a low basal metabolic rate, small clutch sizes, and flightlessness.
Unlike many other oceanic islands, Inaccessible Island has remained free
from introduced predators, allowing this species to flourish while many
other flightless rails have gone extinct. The species is nevertheless
considered vulnerable, due to the danger of a single catastrophe wiping
out the small, isolated population.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inaccessible_Island_rail>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1943:
Second World War: The Royal Navy submarine HMS Seraph began
Operation Mincemeat to deceive Germany about the upcoming invasion of
Sicily.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mincemeat>
1963:
A refusal by the Bristol Omnibus Company and the Transport and
General Workers' Union to permit the employment of black bus crews led
to a bus boycott in Bristol, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Bus_Boycott>
1975:
American forces completed a helicopter evacuation (aircraft and
evacuees pictured) of U.S. citizens, South Vietnamese civilians and
others from Saigon, just before North Vietnamese troops captured the
city and ended the Vietnam War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Saigon>
2021:
A crowd crush killed 45 people during the annual pilgrimage to
the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Israel.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Meron_crowd_crush>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tchotchke:
1. A small ornament of minor value; a knick-knack, a trinket.
2. (figurative, dated) Chiefly in Jewish contexts: an attractive girl or
woman.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tchotchke>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If you have a glass full of liquid you can discourse forever
on its qualities, discuss whether it is cold, warm, whether it is really
and truly composed of H-2-O, or even mineral water, or saki. Meditation
is Drinking it.
--Taisen Deshimaru
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Taisen_Deshimaru>
The Battle of Grand Gulf was fought on April 29, 1863, during the
American Civil War. Union Army forces commanded by Ulysses S. Grant had
failed several times to bypass or capture the Confederate-held city of
Vicksburg, Mississippi. Grant decided to move his army south of
Vicksburg, cross the Mississippi River, and then advance on the city. A
Confederate division under John S. Bowen prepared defenses—Forts Wade
and Cobun—at Grand Gulf, Mississippi. To clear the way for a Union
crossing, seven ironclad warships from the Mississippi Squadron of the
Union Navy commanded by Admiral David Dixon Porter bombarded the
Confederate defenses at Grand Gulf. Union fire silenced Fort Wade, but
the overall Confederate position held. Grant decided to cross the river
elsewhere. The next day, Union forces crossed the river at Bruinsburg,
Mississippi. The position at Grand Gulf was abandoned and became a Union
supply point. The Grand Gulf battlefield is preserved in Grand Gulf
Military State Park.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Grand_Gulf>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1903:
A rockslide buried part of the Canadian mining town of Frank
under 110 million tonnes of rock, killing around 70 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Slide>
1944:
Second World War: British agent Nancy Wake parachuted into
Auvergne, France, becoming a liaison between the Special Operations
Executive and the local Maquis group.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Wake>
1968:
The controversial Broadway musical Hair, a product of the
counterculture of the 1960s, opened, with its songs becoming anthems of
the anti-Vietnam War movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_%28musical%29>
2006:
Cyclone Mala made landfall near Thandwe, Myanmar, causing 37
deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Mala>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
attend:
1. Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying
or being present.
2. (transitive) To care for (someone requiring attention); specifically,
of a doctor, nurse, etc.: to provide professional care to (someone).
3. (transitive) To wait on (someone or their instructions) as an
attendant, servant, etc.; also (specifically of a gentleman-in-waiting
or lady-in-waiting to a member of royalty), to accompany (someone) in
order to assist or wait upon them; to escort.
4. (transitive) To be present at (an event or place) in order to take
part in some action or proceedings; also, to regularly go to (an event
or place).
5. (transitive) To take action with respect to (someone, or something
such as a concern, problem, or task); to deal with, to handle.
6. (transitive) Of a (chiefly immaterial) thing: to be consequent to or
present with (someone or something); to accompany.
7. (transitive, archaic or obsolete) To look after (someone or
something); to tend.
8. (intransitive) Followed by to: to look after someone or something.
9. (intransitive) To be ready to wait upon someone or their instructions
as an attendant, servant, etc.; also (followed by on or upon), to
accompany someone in order to assist or wait upon them.
10. (intransitive) Followed by at: to go to and be present at a place
for some purpose; also (obsolete), followed by on: to be present at and
take part in an event.
11. (intransitive) Followed by to: to take action with respect to
someone or something; to deal with.
12. (intransitive) Followed by on or upon: of a (chiefly immaterial)
thing: to be consequent on or present with. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/attend>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When the night's here, I don't do tears Baby, no chance I could
dance, I could dance, I could dance Watch me dance, dance the night
away My heart could be burnin', but you won't see it on my face
Watch me dance, dance the night away I'll still keep the party runnin',
not one hair out of place.
--Dua Lipa
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dua_Lipa>
"Cross Road Blues" is a song written by the American blues artist Robert
Johnson. He sang it as a solo piece with acoustic slide guitar in the
Delta blues style. The lyrics describe Johnson's grief at being unable
to catch a ride at an intersection before the sun sets. Some have
attached a supernatural significance to the song. One of Johnson's two
recorded performances was released in 1937 as a single, heard mainly in
the Mississippi Delta area. The second, which reached a wider audience,
was included on King of the Delta Blues Singers, a compilation album of
some of Johnson's songs released in 1961 during the American folk music
revival. Elmore James recorded a version of the song in 1954, and
another in either 1960 or 1961. In the late 1960s, guitarist Eric
Clapton and his bandmates in the British rock group Cream (pictured)
popularized it as "Crossroads". Their blues rock interpretation became
one of their best-known songs, inspiring many cover versions.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Road_Blues>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1789:
Fletcher Christian, the acting lieutenant on board the Royal
Navy ship Bounty, led a mutiny against the commander William Bligh in
the South Pacific.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutiny_on_the_Bounty>
1923:
The FA Cup final (crowd and police pictured) between Bolton
Wanderers and West Ham United was held on the opening day of the Empire
Stadium in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1923_FA_Cup_final>
1945:
World War II: Benito Mussolini, the deposed fascist dictator
of Italy, was executed by partisans in Giulino.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Benito_Mussolini>
1983:
The West German news magazine Stern published excerpts from the
purported diaries of Adolf Hitler, later revealed to be forgeries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Diaries>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
minimum wage:
(economics) The lowest rate at which an employer must legally pay an
employee, usually expressed as pay per hour.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/minimum_wage>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All fungi are edible … Some fungi are not edible more than
once.
--The Discworld Almanak
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Discworld>
After the Deluge is an oil painting by English artist George Frederic
Watts. Completed in 1891, it shows a scene from the story of Noah's
Flood, in which Noah opens the window of his Ark to see that after 40
days the rain has stopped. The Symbolist painting is a stylised
seascape, dominated by a bright sunburst breaking through clouds. Watts
intended to evoke a monotheistic God in the act of creation, without
depicting the Creator directly. The unfinished painting was exhibited at
a church in Whitechapel in 1886, under the intentionally simplified
title of The Sun. The completed version was shown for the first time at
the New Gallery in 1891 and was admired by Watts's fellow artists. It
influenced many painters who worked in the two decades following.
Between 1902 and 1906 the painting was exhibited around the United
Kingdom. It is now in the collection of the Watts Gallery in Compton,
Guildford, Surrey.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/After_the_Deluge_%28painting%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1650:
Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Covenanter forces defeated the
Royalists at the Battle of Carbisdale near the village of Culrain,
Scotland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Carbisdale>
1945:
World War II: The photograph Raising the Flag on the Three-
Country Cairn was taken after German troops withdrew to Norway at the
end of the Lapland War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_the_Flag_on_the_Three-Country_Cairn>
1965:
Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation: British forces repelled a
surprise Indonesian attack on a base at Plaman Mapu in Sarawak.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Plaman_Mapu>
2005:
The Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger airliner, made
its maiden flight from Toulouse, France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A380>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
floaty:
1. Tending to float on a liquid or to rise in air or a gas; buoyant.
2. (nautical, archaic) Of a ship: having a shallow draft (“the depth
from the waterline to the bottom of a vessel's hull”), and thus drawing
less (that is, floating higher in) water.
3. (figurative)
4. Of music: light and relaxing.
5. Of an object: light and flimsy or soft; specifically, of a dress:
lightweight, so as to rise away from the body when the wearer is moving.
6. Of a person: feeling calm, dreamy, happy, etc., as if floating in the
air.
7. Of speech or writing: overly complicated or elaborate; flowery,
grandiloquent.
8. A particle of food, etc., found floating in liquid.
9. (chiefly US)
10. A lilo (“inflatable air mattress”) or similar object that floats on
water and can be lain or sat on.
11. (swimming) Chiefly in the plural: synonym of armband (“one of a pair
of inflatable plastic bands, normally worn on the upper arms, to help
the wearer (often a child) float in water and learn to swim”)
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/floaty>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
They who in folly or mere greedEnslaved religion, markets,
laws,Borrow our language now and bidUs to speak up in freedom's cause.
--Cecil Day Lewis
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cecil_Day_Lewis>
Into Temptation is an independent drama film written and directed by
Patrick Coyle. It tells the story of a prostitute—played by Kristin
Chenoweth (pictured)—who confesses to a Catholic priest (Jeremy Sisto)
that she plans to kill herself. The priest attempts to find her, and in
doing so involves himself in the darker side of society. Partially
inspired by Coyle's impressions of his father, the film's themes include
temptation, sin, good and evil, redemption, celibacy, and the boundaries
between providing counsel and getting personally involved in events. It
was filmed and set in Coyle's hometown of Minneapolis. Into Temptation
was optioned, but talks fell through due to complications from the 2008
global recession. It officially premiered on April 26, 2009, at the
Newport Beach Film Festival, where Sisto won the "Outstanding
Achievement in Acting" award. The film received generally positive
reviews.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_Temptation_%28film%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1915:
First World War: Britain, France and Russia signed a secret
treaty promising territory to Italy if it joined the war on their side.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_London_%281915%29>
1933:
The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany,
was established.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestapo>
1989:
A tornado struck the Manikganj District of Bangladesh and
killed an estimated 1,300 people, making it the deadliest tornado in
history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daulatpur%E2%80%93Saturia_tornado>
1994:
Just before landing at Nagoya Airport, Japan, the copilot of
China Airlines Flight 140 inadvertently triggered the takeoff/go-around
switch, causing the aircraft to crash and killing 264 of the 271 people
on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Airlines_Flight_140>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
brainchild:
(informal) A creation of one's brain; an original idea or innovation of
a person or group of people, an organization, etc.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brainchild>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If someone is able to show me that what I think or do is not
right, I will happily change, for I seek the truth, by which no one was
ever truly harmed. It is the person who continues in his self-deception
and ignorance who is harmed.
--Marcus Aurelius
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius>
Vance Drummond (1927–1967) was a New Zealand–born Australian pilot
who fought in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Posted to No. 77 Squadron in
Korea, he flew Gloster Meteor jet fighters and earned the US Air Medal
for his combat skills. He was shot down in 1951 and imprisoned for
almost two years. He was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1965 after
leading the Black Diamonds aerobatic team of No. 75 Squadron. Drummond
was promoted to acting wing commander in 1965 and posted to South
Vietnam on staff duties with the US Air Force. He joined their 19th
Tactical Air Support Squadron, operating Cessna Bird Dog aircraft, as a
forward air controller in July 1966. That month he earned the
Distinguished Flying Cross for his part in rescuing a company of
soldiers surrounded by Viet Cong forces. Returning to Australia, he took
command of No. 3 Squadron in February 1967. His Dassault Mirage IIIO
crashed into the sea during a training exercise in May; neither Drummond
nor the aircraft was found.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vance_Drummond>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1915:
First World War: The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
landed at Anzac Cove while British and French troops landed at Cape
Helles to begin the Allied invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula in the
Ottoman Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallipoli_campaign>
1960:
The U.S. Navy submarine Triton completed the first submerged
circumnavigation of the world.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Sandblast>
1983:
The first issue of The Jakarta Post was published in Indonesia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jakarta_Post>
2015:
Nepal was struck by a magnitude-7.8 earthquake, killing more
than 8,000 people, including 22 from avalanches on Mount Everest.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Mount_Everest_avalanches>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
runholder:
(Australia, New Zealand) A person who holds (leases or owns) a run
(“rural landholding for farming”), especially one for raising sheep.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/runholder>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to
attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear
inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far
away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.
--Sun Tzu
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sun_Tzu>
Blair Peach died on 24 April 1979 after an anti-racism demonstration in
Southall, London, England. Peach, a New Zealand teacher and activist
born in 1946, had taken part in an Anti-Nazi League demonstration
against a National Front election meeting in Southall Town Hall. An
investigation by Commander John Cass of the Metropolitan Police Service
concluded that Peach had been fatally hit on the head by an officer of
the service's Special Patrol Group, and that other officers had
obstructed the investigation. Excerpts from a leaked copy of the report
were published in early 1980. In 1988 the Metropolitan Police paid
£75,000 compensation to Peach's family. The full report was not
released to the public until 2009, after a newspaper vendor died from
being struck from behind by a member of the Territorial Support Group,
the Special Patrol Group's successor organisation. An award in Peach's
honour was set up by the National Union of Teachers, and a school in
Southall is named after him.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Blair_Peach>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1916:
Irish republicans led by Patrick Pearse began the Easter Rising
against British rule in Ireland, and proclaimed the Irish Republic an
independent state.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Rising>
1990:
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched aboard STS-31 by Space
Shuttle Discovery.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope>
1993:
The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a truck bomb in
London's financial district in Bishopsgate, killing one person, injuring
forty-four others, and causing damage that cost £350 million to repair.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Bishopsgate_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
slings and arrows:
1. Hardships or adverse circumstances.
2. Harsh criticism or personal attacks.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/slings_and_arrows>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Poetry is more than fantasy and is committed to the obligation of
trying to say something, however obliquely, about the human condition.
Therefore, a poem dealing with history is no more at liberty to violate
what the writer takes to be the spirit of his history than it is at
liberty to violate what he takes to be the nature of the human heart.
What he takes those things to be is, of course, his ultimate gamble.
--Robert Penn Warren
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Penn_Warren>
Stanley Price Weir (23 April 1866 – 14 November 1944) was a public
servant and Australian Army officer. During World War I, he commanded
the 10th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force during the landing
at Anzac Cove and the Gallipoli campaign against the Ottoman Turks, and
during the battles of Pozières and Mouquet Farm in France. Weir
returned to Australia at his own request at the age of 50 in late 1916,
when he was appointed as the first public service commissioner of South
Australia. In 1917 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and
was mentioned in despatches for his performance at Pozières and Mouquet
Farm. On his retirement from the Australian Military Forces in 1921, he
was given an honorary promotion to brigadier general, only the second
officer born in South Australia to reach this rank. Before his
retirement from public service in 1931, Weir was the chairman of both
the Central Board of Health and the Public Relief Board.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Price_Weir>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1945:
World War II: The US Army's 90th Infantry Division liberated
Flossenbürg concentration camp in Germany, freeing 1,500 prisoners.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flossenb%C3%BCrg_concentration_camp>
1976:
The American band the Ramones released their debut album, which
became highly influential on the emerging punk rock movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramones_%28album%29>
1979:
Blair Peach, a British activist, was fatally injured after
being knocked unconscious during an Anti-Nazi League demonstration
against a National Front election meeting in Southall, London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Blair_Peach>
2018:
A man intentionally struck pedestrians with a van on Yonge
Street in Toronto, Canada, leading to 11 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Toronto_van_attack>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva:
(medical genetics) A very rare, disabling genetic disorder of the
connective tissue in which fibrous tissue (including ligaments, muscles,
and tendons) ossifies (“transforms into bone”) when damaged.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fibrodysplasia_ossificans_progressiva>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We are still waging Peloponnesian wars. Our control of the
material world and our positive science have grown fantastically. But
our very achievements turn against us, making politics more random and
wars more bestial.
--George Steiner
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Steiner>
Kathleen Ferrier (22 April 1912 – 8 October 1953) was an English
contralto who achieved an international reputation as a stage, concert
and recording artist. During the Second World War she performed
regularly with the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts.
In 1946 she made her stage debut as Lucretia in the world premiere of
Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, and a year later she appeared
as Orfeo in Christoph Willibald Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice. As a
recitalist, Ferrier's repertoire included works by Bach, Brahms, Mahler
and Elgar. Forming working relationships with the conductors John
Barbirolli and Bruno Walter and the accompanist Gerald Moore, she became
known internationally through her three tours of the United States and
her many visits to continental Europe. She continued to perform and
record after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1951. Among her many
memorials, the Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Scholarship Fund makes annual
awards to aspiring young singers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Ferrier>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1885:
The first meeting of the Colonial Defence Committee, a standing
committee of the British Colonial Office, was held to discuss the
defence of Barbados.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_Defence_Committee>
1918:
The short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic
was established on territory formerly part of the Russian Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcaucasian_Democratic_Federative_Republic>
1951:
Korean War: The Chinese People's Volunteer Army attacked
positions occupied mainly by Australian and Canadian forces, starting
the Battle of Kapyong.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kapyong>
2016:
The Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change,
opened for signature and was signed by 175 parties.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Agreement>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
volcanic winter:
(climatology) A reduction in global temperatures caused by volcanic ash
and droplets of sulfuric acid obscuring the Sun and raising Earth's
albedo (increasing the reflection of solar radiation) after a large,
particularly explosive volcanic eruption.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/volcanic_winter>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If atomic bombs are to be added as new weapons to the arsenals of
a warring world, or to the arsenals of the nations preparing for war,
then the time will come when mankind will curse the names of Los Alamos
and Hiroshima. The people of this world must unite or they will perish.
This war that has ravaged so much of the earth, has written these words.
The atomic bomb has spelled them out for all men to understand. Other
men have spoken them in other times, and of other wars, of other
weapons. They have not prevailed. There are some misled by a false sense
of human history, who hold that they will not prevail today. It is not
for us to believe that. By our minds we are committed, committed to a
world united, before the common peril, in law and in humanity.
--Robert Oppenheimer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Oppenheimer>
The 1984 World Snooker Championship was a ranking professional snooker
tournament that took place between 21 April and 7 May at the Crucible
Theatre in Sheffield, England. The event was organised by the World
Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, and was the eighth
consecutive World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible since
the 1977 event. It featured 94 participants, of which 78 players
competed in a qualifying event held at the Redwood Lodge in Bristol. The
defending champion was English player Steve Davis (pictured), who had
won the title twice previously. He met Jimmy White in the final, which
was played as a best-of-35-frames match. Davis won 18–16, becoming the
first player to retain the title at the Crucible. Rex Williams secured
the championship's highest break, scoring a 138 in the 12th frame of his
first-round loss to White. Eight century breaks were made during the
competition, the fewest since the 1978 event.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_World_Snooker_Championship>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1615:
The Wignacourt Aqueduct in Malta was inaugurated and was used
to carry water to Valletta for about 300 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wignacourt_Aqueduct>
1836:
Forces of the Republic of Texas led by Sam Houston defeated the
Mexican troops of General Antonio López de Santa Anna in the Battle of
San Jacinto, the decisive and final battle of the Texas Revolution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Revolution>
1975:
South Vietnamese president Nguyễn Văn Thiệu resigned on
hearing of the fall of Xuân Lộc, the last battle of the Vietnam War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Xu%C3%A2n_L%E1%BB%99c>
2021:
The Indonesian Navy submarine Nanggala sank with the loss of
all 53 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KRI_Nanggala_%28402%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Rome wasn't built in a day:
(idiomatic) It takes a long time to create something complicated or
impressive.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Rome_wasn%27t_built_in_a_day>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The human being cannot live in a condition of emptiness for very
long: if he is not growing toward something, he does not merely
stagnate; the pent-up potentialities turn into morbidity and despair,
and eventually into destructive activities.
--Rollo May
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rollo_May>