Frank Matcham (22 November 1854 – 17 May 1920) was an English
theatre architect and designer. Matcham was best known for his work in
London, under Moss Empires, which included the designs of the Hippodrome
(1900), Hackney Empire (1901), Coliseum (1903), Palladium (1910), and
the Victoria Palace (1911). During his 40-year career, he was
responsible for the design and construction of over 90 theatres and the
redesign and refurbishment of a further 80 throughout the United
Kingdom. According to the dramatist Alan Bennett, there was a Matcham
theatre in every corner of the UK. Matcham's use of cantilevers for the
galleries allowed him to discontinue the use of columns, which would
otherwise obstruct the audience's view of the stage. The auditorium
decorations were often mixed with Tudor strap-work, Louis XIV detail,
Anglo-Indian motifs, naval and military insignia, rococo panels,
classical statuary, and baroque columns.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Matcham>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1642:
The Société Notre-Dame de Montréal founded Fort Ville-Marie,
a permanent mission that eventually grew into the Canadian city of
Montreal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal>
1947:
After renegotiating a contract with the makers of her signature
Chanel No. 5 perfume, Coco Chanel received a share of wartime profits
from its sale, making her one of the richest women in the world.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coco_Chanel>
2000:
Following the killing of two English football fans by
Galatasaray supporters in the previous month, British and Turkish
hooligans rioted on the day of the UEFA Cup Final in Copenhagen,
Denmark.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_UEFA_Cup_Final_riots>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
fjord:
A long, narrow, deep inlet between cliffs.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fjord>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The idea of motherland is not a false idea, but it is a little
idea, and one which must remain little. There is only one common good.
There is only one moral duty, only one truth, and every man is the
shining recipient and guardian of it. The present understanding of the
idea of motherland divides all these great ideas, cuts them into pieces,
specializes them within impenetrable circles. We meet as many national
truths as we do nations, and as many national duties, and as many
national interests and rights — and they are antagonistic to each
other.
--Henri Barbusse
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henri_Barbusse>
Juan Davis Bradburn (1787–1842) was a brigadier general in the Mexican
Army. His actions as commandant of the garrison at Anahuac (historical
markers pictured) in Mexican Texas in 1831 and 1832 led to the events
known as the Anahuac Disturbances. Born in the United States, he became
an officer in the Mexican Army in 1821. In 1830, he established a new
military and customs post at Anahuac in Texas. The local settlers
resented Bradburn's efforts to withhold land titles from those who had
dubious ownership, his attempts to enforce previously ignored customs
laws, and his refusal to return fugitive slaves. A large force of
Texians marched on Anahuac to secure the release of arrested settlers
who had been denied protections offered by the United States Bill of
Rights, even though these rights were not guaranteed in Mexico. The
confrontation forced Bradburn's expulsion from Texas and encouraged
further armed action against Mexican soldiers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Davis_Bradburn>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1866:
The United States Congress authorized the minting of the Shield
nickel, the country's first five-cent piece to be made of a
copper–nickel alloy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shield_nickel>
1943:
Second World War: The Royal Air Force's "Dambusters" squadron
embarked on an attack on German dams using bouncing bombs designed by
Barnes Wallis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouncing_bomb>
1960:
American physicist Theodore Maiman operated the first working
laser at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Maiman>
2014:
At least 12 people were killed and 70 others injured when two
bombs exploded in a market in Nairobi, Kenya.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Gikomba_bombings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
terse:
1. (obsolete) Burnished, polished; fine, smooth; neat, spruce.
2. (by extension) Of speech or style: brief, concise, to the point.
3. (by extension) Of manner or speech: abruptly or brusquely short;
curt.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/terse>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If ever I do escape, no one shall reproach me with having broken
or violated my faith, not having given my word to any one, whosoever it
may be.
--Joan of Arc
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc>
Claudio Monteverdi (15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an
Italian composer, string player and maestro di cappella. A composer of
both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of
opera, he is considered a transitional figure between the Renaissance
and the Baroque periods of music history. He was a court musician in
Mantua (c. 1590 – 1613), and then maestro di cappella at St Mark's
Basilica in the Republic of Venice. His surviving music includes nine
books of madrigals, in the tradition of earlier Renaissance
polyphony – but also experimenting with the basso continuo technique,
distinctive of the Baroque – as well as large-scale sacred works,
including the Vespro della Beata Vergine (Vespers for the Blessed
Virgin), and three complete operas. His music enjoyed a rediscovery from
the 1880s onwards, and he is now seen as a significant influence in
European musical history. Seven of his operas have been lost, but his
L'Orfeo (1607) is the earliest opera that is still widely performed.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudio_Monteverdi>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1836:
English astronomer Francis Baily observed Baily's beads
(example pictured), a phenomenon during a solar eclipse in which the
rugged topography of the lunar limb allows sunlight to shine through.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Baily>
1945:
The British Army directed fleeing Croatian soldiers to
surrender to the Yugoslav Partisans, beginning the Bleiburg
repatriations.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleiburg_repatriations>
1970:
Police opened fire during a confrontation with a group of
Jackson State College students, killing two students and injuring twelve
others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_State_killings>
2010:
Upon her return to Sydney three days before her 17th birthday,
Jessica Watson became the youngest person to sail non-stop and
unassisted around the world.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Watson>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
primigravida:
(obstetrics, veterinary medicine) A woman or female animal who is
pregnant for the first time, or who has been pregnant once.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/primigravida>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The Scarecrow was now the ruler of the Emerald City, and although
he was not a Wizard the people were proud of him. "For," they said,
"there is not another city in all the world that is ruled by a stuffed
man." And, so far as they knew, they were quite right.
--L. Frank Baum
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/L._Frank_Baum>
Spalding War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the gardens of
Ayscoughfee Hall in Spalding, Lincolnshire, in eastern England. It was
designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. The proposal originated with Barbara
McLaren; her husband Francis McLaren, the town's member of parliament,
was killed during the war. Lutyens produced a plan for a cross in a
grand memorial cloister surrounding a circular pond. The memorial was to
be built in the hall's formal gardens, which were owned by the local
council. After a public meeting and a vote in 1919, a reduced-scale
version emerged as the preferred option. The memorial consists of a
brick pavilion at the south end of the garden and a Stone of
Remembrance, both at the head of a long reflecting pool (pictured). The
design was not used in any of Lutyens's other war memorials but it
influenced several of his cemeteries on the Western Front. The memorial
was unveiled at a ceremony on 9 June 1922, and is a Grade I listed
building.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spalding_War_Memorial>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1804:
Led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, the Corps of
Discovery left Camp Dubois near present-day Hartford, Illinois, to begin
the first overland expedition to the West Coast of the United States and
back.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_and_Clark_Expedition>
1940:
World War II: The bulk of Dutch forces surrendered to the
German Wehrmacht, ending the Battle of the Netherlands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Netherlands>
1980:
Salvadoran Civil War: Refugees trying to flee El Salvador
across the Sumpul River to Honduras were attacked by both Salvadoran and
Honduran forces, resulting in at least 300 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumpul_River_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
up to something:
(idiomatic) Doing something mischievous or scheming.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/up_to_something>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with
your hands. But like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you
choose them as your guides, and following them you will reach your
destiny.
--Carl Schurz
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Schurz>
"These Are the Voyages..." is the series finale of the American science
fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. The episode, which
first aired on the UPN network on May 13, 2005, is a frame story, where
the 22nd-century events of Star Trek: Enterprise are recreated on a
24th-century holodeck on Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next
Generation. Featuring guest stars Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, and
Jeffrey Combs, the episode has Commander William Riker grappling with
making a difficult admission to his commanding officer about a cover-up.
Riker turns for guidance to the simulated events of the year 2161, when
the crew of Enterprise travels home to Earth for the formation of the
United Federation of Planets and Commander Trip Tucker, played by Connor
Trinneer (pictured), saves the captain's life. UPN and Paramount had
announced in February 2005 that the fourth season would be the show's
last. Reaction to the series finale was negative, although it attracted
3.8 million viewers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/These_Are_the_Voyages...>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1638:
Construction began on the Red Fort (gate pictured) in Delhi,
the main residence of the Mughal emperors, now an iconic symbol of
India.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Fort>
1969:
Sino-Malay race riots began in Kuala Lumpur, leaving at least
190 people dead, with the government declaring a state of emergency and
suspending the Parliament of Malaysia until 1971.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13_May_incident>
2000:
A fireworks factory in Enschede, Netherlands, exploded,
resulting in 23 deaths and approximately €450 million in damage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enschede_fireworks_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
slip-up:
(idiomatic) A (small) error or mistake; a (minor) misstep.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/slip-up>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I charge you — forget the names you bear, forget the words I
speak as soon as they are uttered. Look, rather, upon the Nameless
within yourselves, which arises as I address it. It hearkens not to my
words, but to the reality within me, of which it is part. This is the
atman, which hears me rather than my words. All else is unreal. To
define is to lose. The essence of all things is the Nameless. The
Nameless is unknowable, mightier even than Brahma. Things pass, but the
essence remains. You sit, therefore, in the midst of a dream. Essence
dreams it a dream of form. Forms pass, but the essence remains, dreaming
new dreams. Man names these dreams and thinks to have captured the
essence, not knowing that he invokes the unreal. These stones, these
walls, these bodies you see seated about you are poppies and water and
the sun. They are the dreams of the Nameless. They are fire, if you
like.
--Lord of Light
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lord_of_Light>
The Superliner is a type of bilevel intercity railroad passenger car
used by Amtrak, the national rail passenger carrier in the United
States. The design was based on Budd's Hi-Level vehicles, employed by
the Santa Fe Railway on its El Capitan trains. Pullman-Standard built
284 cars, known as Superliner I (lounge pictured), from 1975 to 1981;
Bombardier Transportation built 195, known as Superliner II, from 1991
to 1996. Car types include coaches, dining cars, lounges, and sleeping
cars. Most passenger spaces are on the upper level, which features a row
of windows on both sides. Boarding is on the lower level; passengers
climb up a center stairwell to access the upper level. The first
Superliner I cars entered service in February 1979, with deliveries
continuing through 1981. Amtrak assigned the cars to both long-distance
and short-distance trains in the Western United States. The first
permanent assignment, in October 1979, was to the Chicago–Seattle
Empire Builder.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superliner_%28railcar%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1846:
The Donner Party, an American pioneer group which became known
for resorting to cannibalism when they became trapped in the Sierra
Nevadas, left Independence, Missouri, for California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donner_Party>
1942:
World War II: Soviet forces under Marshal Semyon Timoshenko
launched a major offensive in eastern Ukraine, but were encircled and
destroyed by German troops two weeks later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Kharkov>
1982:
Juan María Fernández y Krohn attempted to assassinate Pope
John Paul II with a bayonet in Fátima, Portugal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Mar%C3%ADa_Fern%C3%A1ndez_y_Krohn>
1998:
Four students were shot and killed by Indonesian soldiers at
Trisakti University in Jakarta, which led to widespread riots and
eventually the resignation of President Suharto nine days later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trisakti_shootings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
motherhood statement:
(chiefly Canada, US) A vague, feel-good platitude, especially one made
by a politician, that few people would disagree with.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/motherhood_statement>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It may seem a strange principle to enunciate as the very first
requirement in a Hospital that it should do the sick no harm.
--Florence Nightingale
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale>
The Sega Saturn is a 32-bit home video game console developed by Sega.
Released in 1994 in Japan, and 1995 in North America and Europe, the
Saturn is the successor to the Sega Genesis, and Sega's fourth game
console. It has dual-CPU architecture and eight processors, and was
designed around a CPU developed by electronics company Hitachi. Its
games are in CD-ROM format. The system was initially successful in
Japan, but failed to sell large numbers in the United States after a
surprise launch four months before its scheduled release, and an
aggressive price war against Sony's PlayStation. Following the release
of the Nintendo 64 in late 1996, the Saturn rapidly lost market share
in the U.S., and was discontinued in 1998 in the country. The console is
considered a commercial failure, selling just over 9 million units
worldwide, blamed in part due to Sega's failure to release a Sonic the
Hedgehog video game, known in development as Sonic X-treme, for the
system.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Saturn>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1880:
A land dispute between the Southern Pacific Railroad and
settlers in Hanford, California, turned deadly when a gun battle broke
out, leaving seven dead.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mussel_Slough_Tragedy>
1997:
Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov in six games, becoming the
first chess computer to win a match against a world champion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Blue_%28chess_computer%29>
2010:
David Cameron took office as Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats formed the country's
first coalition government since the Second World War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cameron>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
brubru:
Also more fully as brubru shrike: a bird in the bushshrike family found
in sub-Saharan Africa (Nilaus afer).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brubru>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Wop-bop-a-loo-mop alop-bom-bom! Tutti frutti, oh rutti Tutti
frutti, woo! Tutti frutti, oh rutti Tutti frutti, oh rutti Tutti
frutti, oh rutti Awop-bop-a-loo-mop alop-bom-bom!
--Little Richard
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Little_Richard>
Banksia speciosa, the showy banksia, is a large shrub or small tree in
the family Proteaceae. First collected and described by Robert Brown in
the early 19th century, the species occurs on the south coast of Western
Australia between Hopetoun and the Great Australian Bight, growing on
white or grey sand in shrubland. Reaching up to 8 m (26 ft) in height,
it is a single-stemmed plant that has thin leaves with prominent
triangular "teeth" along each margin, which are 20–45 cm
(7.9–17.7 in) long and 2–4 cm (0.8–1.6 in) wide. The prominent
cream-yellow flower spikes appear throughout the year, developing up to
20 follicles each that store seeds until opened by bushfire. Though
widely occurring, the species is highly sensitive to dieback. The
flowers attract nectar- and insect-feeding birds, particularly
honeyeaters. In cultivation, B. speciosa grows well in a sunny location
on well-drained soil in areas with dry summers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksia_speciosa>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1916:
Ernest Shackleton and five companions arrived at South Georgia,
completing a 1,300 km (800 mi) lifeboat voyage (launch pictured) over
16 days to obtain rescue for the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird>
1997:
An earthquake registering 7.3 Mw struck near Qaen, Iran,
killing at least 1,567 and leaving around 50,000 others homeless.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Qayen_earthquake>
2013:
The final component of the spire of One World Trade Center in
New York City was installed, bringing the building, the tallest in the
Western Hemisphere, to a height of 1,776 feet (541 m).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_World_Trade_Center>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
abstract away:
1. (transitive) To generalize concepts or their application by using
abstraction into a more usable form.
2. (transitive, by extension) To ignore, to omit.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/abstract_away>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In choosing a theory, one should pay attention to simplicity in
hypotheses only. Simplicity in computation can be of no weight in the
balance of probabilities. Nature is not embarrassed by difficulties of
analysis. She avoids complication only in means. Nature seems to have
proposed to do much with little: it is a principle that the development
of physics constantly supports by new evidence.
--Augustin-Jean Fresnel
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Augustin-Jean_Fresnel>
USS Oberrender (DE-344) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort
built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named
for Lieutenant Commander Thomas Olin Oberrender, Jr., the engineering
officer of the light cruiser USS Juneau, killed when that ship was
torpedoed and sunk during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Laid down in
November 1943, launched in January 1944, and commissioned almost four
months later, Oberrender commenced convoy escort duty in the Pacific in
late 1944, with an interlude protecting escort carriers during the early
stages of the invasion of Leyte. She was heavily damaged by the
explosion of the ammunition ship USS Mount Hood at Manus and was
repaired there during November. Returning to service in December,
Oberrender served on anti-submarine patrol during the Battle of Okinawa,
during which she was irreparably damaged by a kamikaze attack in early
May 1945. She was decommissioned and sunk as a target late that year.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Oberrender>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1915:
World War I: British forces launched the Battle of Aubers
Ridge, an offensive on the Western Front, as part of the larger Second
Battle of Artois.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Artois>
1960:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it would
approve the use of Searle's Enovid, the first combined oral
contraceptive pill (example pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_oral_contraceptive_pill>
2018:
The Barisan Nasional coalition, which had governed Malaysia
since independence in 1957, was voted out of power.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Malaysian_general_election>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
system:
1. A collection of organized things; a whole composed of relationships
among its members.
2. (derogatory) Preceded by the word the: the mainstream culture,
controlled by the elites or government of a state, or a combination of
them, seen as oppressive to the individual.
3. (computing) A set of hardware and software operating in a computer.
4. (mathematics) A set of equations involving the same variables, which
are to be solved simultaneously.
5. (music) A set of staves linked by a brace that indicate instruments
or sounds that are to be played simultaneously.
6. (physiology) A set of body organs having a particular function.
7. A method or way of organizing or planning.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/system>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
No one knows toward what center human things are going to
gravitate in the near future, and hence the life of the world has become
scandalously provisional. Everything that today is done in public and in
private — even in one's inner conscience — is provisional, the only
exception being certain portions of certain sciences. He will be a wise
man who puts no trust in all that is proclaimed, upheld, essayed, and
lauded at the present day. All that will disappear as quickly as it
came. All of it, from the mania for physical sports (the mania, not the
sports themselves) to political violence; from "new art" to sun-baths at
idiotic fashionable watering-places. Nothing of all that has any roots;
it is all pure invention, in the bad sense of the word, which makes it
equivalent to fickle caprice. It is not a creation based on the solid
substratum of life; it is not a genuine impulse or need. In a word, from
the point of view of life it is false. We are in presence of the
contradiction of a style of living which cultivates sincerity and is at
the same time a fraud. There is truth only in an existence which feels
its acts as irrevocably necessary.
--José Ortega y Gasset
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Ortega_y_Gasset>
The 1974 White House helicopter incident occurred when U.S. Army private
Robert K. Preston stole a Bell UH-1B Iroquois helicopter (a "Huey") from
Tipton Field, Maryland, and, in a major breach of security, landed it on
the South Lawn (pictured) of the White House. Preston had enlisted in
the Army to become a helicopter pilot, but did not graduate from the
helicopter training course. Shortly after midnight on February 17,
1974, he was returning from leave when he took off in a helicopter.
Preston flew towards Washington, D.C., where he hovered close to the
Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument and over the South Lawn of the
White House. He then flew back towards Tipton Field, pursued by two
police Bell 206 JetRanger helicopters. He returned to Washington, and
again hovered over the South Lawn. The Secret Service opened fire;
lightly wounded, Preston landed and was arrested. At his court-martial,
he was sentenced to one year in prison and fined $2400.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_White_House_helicopter_incident>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1902:
An eruption of Mount Pelée destroyed the town of Saint-Pierre,
Martinique, causing around 30,000 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Pel%C3%A9e>
1945:
A parade in Sétif, French Algeria, celebrating the end of
World War II in Europe became a riot and was followed by a massacre
carried out by colonial authorities.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9tif_and_Guelma_massacre>
1970:
Construction workers attacked students and others who were
protesting the Vietnam War in New York City.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Hat_Riot>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
megapolitan:
Of or pertaining to a megapolis (“a very large city or urban complex”).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/megapolitan>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
As is true with respect to other great evils, the measures by
which war might be made altogether impossible for the future may well be
worse than even war itself.
--Friedrich Hayek
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Friedrich_Hayek>