The Battle of Arkansas Post was fought from January 9 to 11, 1863,
along the Arkansas River at Arkansas Post, Arkansas, as part of the
Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. Major General Ulysses S.
Grant of the Union army started to move against Vicksburg in
November 1862. He entrusted William T. Sherman with command of the
riverine movement towards Vicksburg, rather than John A. McClernand,
whom Grant did not trust. Initial advances stalled, and McClernand
arrived and took command in early January 1863. On January 10, 1863,
Union warships bombarded Arkansas Post. At 1:00 pm on January 11,
Union forces again attacked, by land and water. The land attack was
repulsed, but the Confederates agreed to surrender. When Grant learned
of the operation against Arkansas Post, he disapproved, but he was later
convinced of the wisdom of the operation. The siege of Vicksburg ended
with a Confederate surrender on July 4, 1863, a key contribution to the
eventual Union victory.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arkansas_Post>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1739:
The Stono Rebellion, at the time the largest slave rebellion in
the Thirteen Colonies of British America, erupted near Charleston, South
Carolina.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stono_Rebellion>
1969:
Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 collided in mid-air with a Piper
PA-28 Cherokee flown by a student pilot near Fairland, Indiana, killing
all 83 occupants of and destroying both aircraft.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegheny_Airlines_Flight_853>
2001:
Two al-Qaeda attackers assassinated Ahmad Shah Massoud, a
pivotal Afghan resistance leader, two days before the September 11
attacks in the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Ahmad_Shah_Massoud>
2015:
Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning monarch of the United
Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_II>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
uniformity:
1. The quality or state of being uniform.
2. (uncountable) The quality or state of having the same characteristics
or form as other things, and lacking variety; (countable) an instance of
this.
3. (uncountable) Often followed by of: the quality or state of a thing
always having the same characteristics or form; consistency or
regularity in appearance or operation.
4. (uncountable) Often followed by of: especially of one's life: lack of
variety; tedious sameness; monotony.
5. (uncountable, geology) The condition or state described by
uniformitarianism (“the scientific principle that natural laws and
processes operated in the past in the same way and at the same rates
that they operate today, and sometimes in the same way everywhere in the
universe as well”).
6. (uncountable, especially religion) Adherence to or conformity with
one viewpoint, set of observances, etc.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/uniformity>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Nothing is vulgar in itself but that talking and thinking make it
so.
--Cesare Pavese
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cesare_Pavese>
Peter Sellers (8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English
actor and comedian, known for his many film roles, among them Chief
Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther. On stage from early childhood,
he built his skills in Ralph Reader's wartime Gang Show troupe. After
the war, Sellers made his radio debut in ShowTime, and became a regular
on BBC Radio. During the early 1950s, Sellers took part in radio's The
Goon Show. Although the bulk of his film work was comedic, he also
performed in other genres, portraying a wide range of characters even
within the same film. His films include I'm All Right Jack (1959),
Lolita (1962), Dr. Strangelove (1964), What's New Pussycat? (1965),
Casino Royale (1967), Being There (1979) and five films of the Pink
Panther series. Sellers was nominated three times for an Academy Award,
including twice for Best Actor, and won a number of other awards. Turner
Classic Movies called Sellers "one of the most accomplished comic actors
of the late 20th century".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sellers>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1775:
Maltese priests discontented with the Order of Saint John led
an uprising that was suppressed by the Order within a few hours.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_of_the_Priests>
1860:
The paddle steamer Lady Elgin was rammed by a schooner on Lake
Michigan and sank, resulting in the loss of about 300 lives.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS_Lady_Elgin>
1935:
Huey Long, a U.S. senator, was shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
dying two days later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Long>
1995:
Construction began on the Dhammakaya Cetiya, a giant stupa at
the Wat Phra Dhammakaya, a Buddhist temple in Pathum Thani, Thailand.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Wat_Phra_Dhammakaya>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sapient:
1. (formal, dated except poetic) Possessing discernment and wisdom;
learned, wise.
2. (by extension)
3. (derogatory, chiefly ironic) Attempting to appear discerning or wise.
4. (rare) Followed by of: aware or knowledgeable of.
5. (chiefly science fiction) Of a lifeform or species: possessing
intelligence or a high degree of self-awareness.
6. (anthropology) Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Homo sapiens
(modern human beings).
7. (obsolete, rare) Having a (good) flavour or taste; sapid.
8. (archaic except humorous) A wise person; a sage.
9. (by extension, science fiction) An intelligent, self-aware being.
10. (anthropology) A human being of the species Homo sapiens.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sapient>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Caution's a virtue that o'ercharged is vice, And dull content is
poverty of soul. Who shuns offence and holds with neither side, Who
dreads the deep and never dares to swim, Who fears to trip and never
tries to run, May yet in walking stumble.
--John Nichol
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Nichol_%28biographer%29>
HMS Queen Mary was the last battlecruiser built by the Royal Navy
before the First World War. The sole member of her class, Queen Mary was
completed in 1913. She never left the North Sea once the war started,
participating in the Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1914 as part of the
Grand Fleet. Queen Mary unsuccessfully attempted to intercept a German
force that bombarded the North Sea coast of England that December. She
was refitting in early 1915 and missed the Battle of Dogger Bank in
January. Queen Mary was sunk in the largest fleet action of the war, the
Battle of Jutland, in mid-1916. Twice hit by the German battlecruiser
Derfflinger during the early part of the battle, her magazines exploded,
sinking her. The wreck was discovered in 1991 and rests in pieces on the
floor of the North Sea. Her wreck is designated as a protected place
under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 as it is the grave of
1,266 men. (This article is part of a featured topic: Battlecruisers of
the world.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Battlecruisers_of_t…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1916:
World War I: The Supreme War Command was established to oversee
the armed forces of all the Central Powers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_War_Command>
1984:
An explosion on board a Maltese patrol boat that was disposing
of illegal fireworks at sea off Gozo killed seven soldiers and
policemen.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C23_tragedy>
1999:
Three weeks after an earthquake struck northwestern Turkey, a
second earthquake struck Athens, causing Greece and Turkey to initiate
"earthquake diplomacy".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek%E2%80%93Turkish_earthquake_diplomacy>
2011:
Yak-Service Flight 9633, carrying the players and coaching
staff of the ice hockey team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, crashed on take-off
near Yaroslavl, Russia, resulting in the deaths of 44 of the 45 people
on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lokomotiv_Yaroslavl_plane_crash>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
aphantasia:
(pathology, psychology) A condition where one does not possess a
functioning "mind's eye" and cannot visualize imagery.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aphantasia>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Anyone who is passionate about what they do will have a better
chance of connecting with future generations than those who simply
follow transient trends. At least their work will have a distinctive
character, and this is what people respond to, I believe.
--Giorgio Armani
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Giorgio_Armani>
Hurricane Ophelia was a long-lived tropical cyclone, the fifteenth named
storm and the eighth hurricane of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic
hurricane season. Classified as a tropical depression on September 6,
it moved along a looping course, tending north. It reached hurricane
status on September 8, though it repeatedly lost and regained it. The
system reached hurricane strength for the fourth time on September 14,
with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 km/h). Ophelia had
completed a second loop and was moving northwest toward North Carolina.
It mostly remained offshore though its eyewall scraped the coastline for
two days. It degraded to tropical storm strength on September 16 as it
began accelerating northeast. Ophelia traversed Atlantic Canada before
dissipating on September 23 over the Norwegian Sea. With the storm
occurring on the heels of Hurricane Katrina, governments were quick to
prepare shelters. Three people died as the result of the storm, with
another missing.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Ophelia_%282005%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1930:
Argentine president Hipólito Yrigoyen was deposed in a
military coup by José Félix Uriburu.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip%C3%B3lito_Yrigoyen>
1952:
A prototype aircraft crashed at the Farnborough Airshow in
Hampshire, England, killing the pilot and test observer on board, and 29
spectators.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1952_Farnborough_Airshow_crash>
1995:
Cal Ripken Jr. played his 2,131st consecutive Major League
Baseball game, breaking the 56-year-old record set by Lou Gehrig.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal_Ripken_Jr.>
1999:
The Parliament of Singapore relocated from the Old Parliament
House to its current meeting place.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_Singapore>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
canoodle:
1. (transitive)
2. To caress, fondle, or pet (someone); also, to have sexual intercourse
with (someone); to make love with.
3. (figurative) To cajole or persuade (someone).
4. (intransitive) Of a person: to caress, fondle, or pet another person;
of two people: to caress, fondle, or pet each other; also, to have
sexual intercourse; to make love.
5. (originally US, slang) A caress, a cuddle, a hug.
6. A donkey.
7. A foolish lover; also (generally) a fool.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/canoodle>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Steel can be any shape you want if you are skilled enough, and
any shape but the one you want if you are not.
--Robert M. Pirsig
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_M._Pirsig>
Joseph Francis Shea (September 5, 1925 – February 14, 1999) was an
American aerospace engineer and NASA manager. After working for Bell
Labs on the radio inertial guidance system of the Titan I
intercontinental ballistic missile, he was hired by NASA in 1961. As
Deputy Director of NASA's Office of Manned Space Flight, and later as
head of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office, Shea led NASA to decide in
favor of lunar orbit rendezvous and supporting "all up" testing of the
Saturn V rocket. Deeply involved in the investigation of the 1967
Apollo 1 fire, Shea suffered from stress. He was moved to an
alternative position in Washington and left NASA shortly afterwards.
>From 1968 until 1990 he was a senior manager at Raytheon in Lexington,
Massachusetts, then worked as an adjunct professor of aeronautics and
astronautics at MIT. Shea served as a consultant for NASA on the
redesign of the International Space Station in 1993, but resigned due to
health issues.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Francis_Shea>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1774:
In response to the British Parliament's enactment of the so-
called Intolerable Acts, representatives from twelve of the Thirteen
Colonies convened the First Continental Congress at Carpenters' Hall in
Philadelphia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Continental_Congress>
1970:
During the practice session of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza
Circuit, Jochen Rindt was killed and subsequently became motor racing's
only posthumous world champion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jochen_Rindt>
1972:
The Palestinian militant group Black September took hostage
eleven Israeli athletes and coaches at the Olympic Games in Munich, West
Germany; all of the hostages were killed less than 24 hours later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_massacre>
2020:
California wildfires: A pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal
party ignited the El Dorado Fire, burning for 71 days and killing one
firefighter.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Dorado_Fire>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
penury:
1. (uncountable) Extreme need or want; destitution, poverty; (countable)
an instance of this.
2. (countable, now chiefly poetic) Followed by of: a lack of something;
a dearth, a scarcity.
3. (uncountable, obsolete) The quality of being miserly; miserliness,
parsimoniousness, stinginess.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/penury>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The old adage that polite conversation should not include talk of
politics or religion is understandable because both subjects are so
heavily laden with emotion that discussion can quickly turn to shouting.
Blood is shed over politics, religion and the two in combination.
--John Danforth
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Danforth>
A parasitic ant is a type of ant that exploits the social structure of
another ant species for its own survival and reproduction. The most
common types of parasitic ants infiltrate a colony of a closely related
species by using pheromones identical to those of the colony's workers
to avoid conflict and blend in. The parasite lays eggs alongside
existing ones for the host colony's worker ants to raise and nurture.
Other parasitic ants transport the host colony's pupae and larvae back
to the parasite's colony, where the brood will be raised as their own.
The host brood that were transported are unable to differentiate between
the parasites and their own colony, and serve as worker ants for the
parasites. Some parasites have adapted their anatomy to reflect that of
the hosts, allowing them to remain undetected for much of their
lifespans. Parasites usually cause harmful effects to the target colony
and can inhibit the colony's growth and development.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasitic_ant>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1886:
After more than 25 years of fighting against the United States
Army and the armed forces of Mexico, Geronimo of the Chiricahua Apache
surrendered at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geronimo>
1920:
Peasants in and around Križ began a rebellion to protest
economic and conscription policies enacted by the Kingdom of Serbs,
Croats and Slovenes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_Croatian_Peasant_Rebellion>
1957:
Governor Orval Faubus deployed the Arkansas National Guard to
prevent nine African-American students from attending Little Rock
Central High School (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Nine>
2007:
Three terrorists suspected to be part of al-Qaeda were arrested
in Germany after planning attacks on Frankfurt Airport and Ramstein Air
Base.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_bomb_plot_in_Germany>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
enviable:
Arousing or likely to arouse envy.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enviable>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
One does not learn how to die by killing others.
--François-René de Chateaubriand
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois-Ren%C3%A9_de_Chateaubriand>
William Arthur Ganfield (September 3, 1873 – October 18, 1940) was
an American minister, educator, and academic administrator. He was
ordained in 1901 and began his first preaching role later that year in
Green Bay, Wisconsin. He became a professor at Carroll College (now
Carroll University) in 1905 and taught there until he was elected
president of Centre College in 1915. During his six-year term, he helped
Centre's enrollment recover from a lull and grew the school's endowment
past $1 million for the first time, in part by reinstating ties between
the college and the Presbyterian Church. He returned to Carroll as its
president in 1921 and oversaw a strengthening of requirements for
professors and implementing tenure, pensions and a fixed salary for
faculty. Ganfield supported sports at both schools: Centre's football
team won a major upset victory over Harvard in 1921, and Carroll's
football and basketball teams each won multiple league championships
during his term.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Arthur_Ganfield>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1651:
English Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell won the
Battle of Worcester, the final battle of the English Civil War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Worcester>
1777:
American Revolutionary War: The British Army and their Hessian
allies defeated an American militia at the Battle of Cooch's Bridge.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cooch%27s_Bridge>
1936:
The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America was founded in
Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guild_of_Carillonneurs_in_North_America>
2001:
The Troubles: Ulster loyalists resumed a picket outside a
Catholic girls' primary school in the Protestant portion of Ardoyne, in
Belfast, Northern Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Cross_dispute>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
carrel:
1. (architecture, obsolete) Alternative spelling of carol (“a small
closet or enclosure built against the inner side of a window of a
monastery's cloister, to sit in for study”).
2. (by extension) A cubicle or partitioned space for reading or
studying, often in a library. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/carrel>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In the life of each of us … there is a place remote and
islanded, and given to endless regret or secret happiness.
--Sarah Orne Jewett
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sarah_Orne_Jewett>
During its 1905–06 season, New Brompton F.C., an English football
club, competed in the Southern League Division One. The team began the
season on 2 September 1905 in poor form; they failed to score in six of
their first eight league games and, by midseason, they were near the
bottom of the league table. In the new year, the team won three of its
first seven Southern League games, but failed to score in eight of the
final nine league games. New Brompton finished the season in 17th place
out of 18 teams in the division. They also competed in the FA Cup,
reaching the second round. The team played a total of 37 league and cup
matches, winning 8, drawing 9 and losing 20. Bill Marriott was the
club's top goalscorer, with four goals in the Southern League and one in
the FA Cup. Joe Walton (pictured) made the most appearances, playing in
36 of the team's 37 games. The highest attendance recorded at
Priestfield Road was 5,500 for a game against Portsmouth on 27 January
1906.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1905%E2%80%9306_New_Brompton_F.C._season>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1885:
White miners in Rock Springs, Wyoming, attacked Chinese-
American immigrants, killing at least 28 Chinese miners and causing
approximately $150,000 in property damage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Springs_massacre>
1901:
U.S. vice president Theodore Roosevelt first publicly used the
phrase "speak softly and carry a big stick" at the Minnesota State Fair,
describing his philosophy of negotiating peacefully while simultaneously
threatening to use military force.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_stick_ideology>
1945:
On the deck of the U.S. Navy battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay,
representatives from the Empire of Japan and the Allied powers signed
the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, formally ending World War II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Instrument_of_Surrender>
2011:
Bad weather caused a Chilean Air Force aircraft to crash into
the Pacific Ocean, killing all 21 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Chilean_Air_Force_C-212_crash>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hitherto:
1. (formal, also law) Up to this or that time.
2. (chiefly archaic or literary)
3. Up to this place.
4. In speech or writing: up to this point; thus far.
5. (obsolete) Synonym of hereto (“regarding this subject; to achieve
this result; to this end”).
6. (archaic) Existing or occurring before now; former, preceding,
previous.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hitherto>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are some surely whom you like and whom you dislike, for
whom you entertain esteem and for whom you feel contempt? Have you not
thought that you have some duties toward them, that you can aid them in
leading better lives?
--Paul Bourget
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Bourget>
Randy Travis (born 1959) is an American country and gospel music singer
and songwriter. He has recorded more than 20 studio albums and charted
more than 50 singles on Billboard's Hot Country Songs charts, including
16 that reached the number-one position. Travis's commercial success
began in the mid-1980s with the release of his album Storms of Life,
which was certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry
Association of America. His major songs include "On the Other Hand",
"Forever and Ever, Amen", "I Told You So", "Hard Rock Bottom of Your
Heart", and "Three Wooden Crosses". Travis is noted as a key figure in
the neotraditional country movement, a return to more traditional sounds
within the genre following the country pop crossovers of the early
1980s. Since surviving a near-fatal stroke in 2013, which severely
limited his singing and speaking ability, he has released archival
recordings and made limited public appearances.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Travis>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1804:
German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding discovered one of the
largest main-belt asteroids, naming it Juno after the Roman goddess.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_Juno>
1902:
The first science fiction film, titled A Trip to the Moon and
based on From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne, was released in
France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Trip_to_the_Moon>
1937:
The first group of around 172,000 Koreans were deported by
Soviet authorities from the Russian Far East to the Kazakh and Uzbek
SSRs; around 10 to 25 percent died.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_of_Koreans_in_the_Soviet_Union>
2000:
Speakers' Corner, a free speech area in Hong Lim Park in
Singapore, was launched.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speakers%27_Corner,_Singapore>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cannoneer:
(military) An artillery soldier who maintains and operates (historical)
a cannon, or (now) some other piece of heavy artillery.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cannoneer>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are two Births, the one when Light First strikes the new
awak’ned sense;The Other when two Souls unite; And we must count
our life from thence:When you lov’d me, and I lov’d you,Then both of
us were born anew.
-- William Cartwright
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Cartwright_%28dramatist%29>