Portrait of Maria Portinari (c. 1470–72) is a small tempera and oil-
on-wood painting by Hans Memling. It portrays Maria Maddalena
Baroncelli, about whom very little is known. Around 14 years old, she is
depicted shortly before her wedding to the Italian banker Tommaso
Portinari, who was an intimate of Charles the Bold and manager of the
Bruges branch of a bank controlled by Lorenzo de' Medici. Maria is
dressed in the height of late 15th-century fashion, with an elaborate
jewel-studded necklace and a long black hennin with a transparent veil.
Her headdress is similar and necklace identical to those in her
depiction in Hugo van der Goes's Portinari Altarpiece (c. 1475), a
painting that may have been partly based on Memling's portrait. The
panel is the right wing of a hinged devotional triptych; the lost center
panel is recorded in 16th-century inventories as a Virgin and Child.
Maria and Tommaso's portraits are hung alongside each other at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Maria_Portinari>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1760:
The chapel of the new Castellania Palace in Valletta, Malta,
was consecrated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castellania_%28Valletta%29>
1859:
Sponsored by Greek businessman Evangelos Zappas, the first
modern revival of the Olympic Games took place in Athens.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zappas_Olympics>
1943:
The Holocaust: Heinrich Himmler ordered that Romanies were to
be put "on the same level as Jews and placed in concentration camps".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_genocide>
1988:
The Soviet Buran spacecraft, a reusable vehicle built in
response to NASA's Space Shuttle program, was launched, unmanned, on its
only flight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_%28spacecraft%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
high roller:
1. (Canada, US, informal, gambling) A gambler who wagers large amounts
of money, usually in a casino.
2. (Canada, US, informal) One who has a lot of money and lives
luxuriously.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/high_roller>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Let none turn over books, or roam the stars in quest of God, who
sees him not in man. Â
--Johann Kaspar Lavater
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Johann_Kaspar_Lavater>
Muhammad I (1195–1273) was the first ruler of the Emirate of Granada,
the last independent Muslim state on the Iberian Peninsula. In the 1230s
he took power in his native Arjona and gained control over Spain's
southern cities, including Granada, AlmerÃa and Málaga. Settling in
Granada, he became the most powerful Muslim leader in the peninsula.
Under attack from Castile, he was forced to become a vassal of Ferdinand
III in 1246. A peace with Castile followed until 1264 when Muhammad
participated in an unsuccessful rebellion of their newly conquered
Muslim subjects. In 1266 his former allies, the Banu Ashqilula, rebelled
against him with help from Castile. This conflict was still unresolved
in 1273 when he died after falling off his horse. The emirate was
finally annexed by Castile in 1492. The Alhambra, a well-preserved
palace and fortress complex that Muhammad initiated, is a World Heritage
site.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_I_of_Granada>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1940:
Second World War: Coventry Cathedral (ruins pictured) and much
of the city centre of Coventry, England, were destroyed by the Luftwaffe
during the Coventry Blitz.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry_Blitz>
1960:
Ruby Bridges and the McDonogh Three became the first black
children to attend an all-white elementary school in Louisiana as part
of the New Orleans school desegregation crisis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans_school_desegregation_crisis>
1975:
With the signing of the Madrid Accords, Spain agreed to
withdraw its presence from the territory of Spanish Sahara.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrid_Accords>
1990:
Germany and Poland signed the German–Polish Border Treaty,
confirming their border at the Oder–Neisse line, which was originally
defined by the Potsdam Agreement in 1945.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German%E2%80%93Polish_Border_Treaty_%281990%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
fruiterer:
(Britain) One who sells fruit.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fruiterer>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 We talk about a secular state in India. It is perhaps not very
easy even to find a good word in Hindi for "secular". Some people think
it means something opposed to religion. That obviously is not correct.
What it means is that it is state which honours all faiths equally and
gives them equal opportunities; that, as a state, it does not allow
itself to be attached to one faith or religion, which then becomes the
state religion. Â
--Jawaharlal Nehru
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jawaharlal_Nehru>
Imleria badia, the bay bolete, is an edible, pored mushroom found in
Europe and North America, growing in coniferous or mixed woods on the
ground or on decaying tree stumps. Both the common and scientific names
refer to the bay-coloured cap, which is almost spherical in young
specimens before broadening and flattening out to 15Â cm (6Â in) or more
in diameter. On the cap's underside are small yellowish pores that
bruise dull blue-grey when injured. The smooth, cylindrical stalk,
measuring 4–9 cm (1.6–3.5 in) long by 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in)
thick, is coloured like the cap, but paler. Regarded as a choice edible
mushroom by some food writers, such as Antonio Carluccio, it is sold in
markets in Europe and central Mexico. The mushroom can bioaccumulate
mercury, cobalt, nickel and other metals; radioactive caesium levels
spiked in specimens collected in Europe following the 1986 Chernobyl
disaster.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imleria_badia>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1841:
Scottish surgeon James Braid observed a demonstration of animal
magnetism, which inspired him to study the subject he eventually called
hypnotism.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Braid_%28surgeon%29>
1940:
Walt Disney's Fantasia, the first commercial film shown in
stereophonic sound, premiered at the Broadway Theatre in New York City.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasia_%281940_film%29>
1985:
The volcano Nevado del Ruiz erupted, causing a volcanic
mudslide that buried the town of Armero, Colombia, and killed
approximately 23,000 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armero_tragedy>
2015:
Terrorist attacks in Paris perpetrated by the Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant killed 130 people and injured 413 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_2015_Paris_attacks>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hydrophobia:
1. (pathology) An aversion to water, as a symptom of rabies; the
disease of rabies itself.
2. (psychology, colloquial) A morbid fear of water; aquaphobia.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hydrophobia>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 To me you can wrap all of Judaism up in one sentence, and that
is, "Do not do unto others...". All I tried to do in my stories was show
that there's some innate goodness in the human condition. And there's
always going to be evil; we should always be fighting evil. Â
--Stan Lee
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stan_Lee>
Archie vs. Predator is a comic book series written by Alex de Campi
(pictured) of Dark Horse Comics and drawn by Fernando Ruiz of Archie
Comics. It features Predator, a deadly alien trophy hunter, who stalks
the clean-cut teenager Archie Andrews and his high school classmates,
until the survivors realize they are being hunted and fight back. A
four-issue limited series was released in the US in 2015 between April
and July, and a hardcover collection went on sale in November. Archie
Comics proposed the idea to Dark Horse, which holds the license to
comics featuring 20th Century Fox's Predator. The series received
positive reviews from critics, who enjoyed the strange matchup and dark
humor. The April issue was the top seller for both publishers, and
garnered an average review rating of 7.9 out of 10 according to the
review aggregator Comic Book Roundup. The series won a Ghastly Award for
Best Limited Series.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_vs._Predator>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1912:
The bodies of Robert Falcon Scott and his companions were
discovered, roughly eight months after their deaths during the ill-fated
British Antarctic Expedition 1910.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Falcon_Scott>
1928:
At least 110 people died after the British ocean liner
SSÂ Vestris was abandoned as it sank in the western Atlantic Ocean.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Vestris>
1940:
World War II: Free French forces captured Gabon from Vichy
France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gabon>
2011:
A blast in Iran's Shahid Modarres missile base led to the death
of 17 members of the Revolutionary Guards, including Hassan Tehrani
Moghaddam, a key figure in Iran's missile program.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_Tehrani_Moghaddam>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
overproof:
Possessing a higher proportion of alcohol than proof spirit.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/overproof>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 The time must come when the imperative necessity for the holding
of a vast, an all-embracing assemblage of men will be universally
realized. The rulers and kings of the earth must needs attend it, and,
participating in its deliberations, must consider such ways and means as
will lay the foundations of the world's Great Peace amongst men. Â
--Bahá'u'lláh
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%27u%27ll%C3%A1h>
Mesopropithecus was a lemur from Madagascar, slightly larger than any of
those alive today, but one of the smallest that are known only from
subfossil remains. This genus of the sloth lemur family
Palaeopropithecidae includes the species M. dolichobrachion, M.
globiceps, and M. pithecoides. All three species were primarily leaf-
eaters, but also ate fruit and seeds. M. globiceps ate more seeds than
M. pithecoides, and an analysis of the teeth of M. dolichobrachion
suggests that it ate even more seeds; it also had distinctly longer
arms. A recently discovered postcranial skeleton shows that
Mesopropithecus had longer forelimbs than hindlimbs—a trait shared by
all sloth lemurs. Remains of M. dolichobrachion have been found only in
the north of the island, M. pithecoides in the south and west, and
M. globiceps in the center. The genus died out after the arrival of
humans on the island, probably through hunting, habitat destruction, or
both.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesopropithecus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1805:
War of the Third Coalition: French, Austrian and Russian units
all suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Dürenstein.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_D%C3%BCrenstein>
1918:
The armistice between the German Empire and the Allies was
signed in a railway carriage in the Forest of Compiègne of France
(signatories pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_of_11_November_1918>
1934:
The Shrine of Remembrance, a memorial to all Australians who
have served in war, opened in Melbourne.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrine_of_Remembrance>
1965:
Rhodesia, led by Prime Minister Ian Smith, unilaterally
declared independence from the United Kingdom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesia%27s_Unilateral_Declaration_of_Indepe…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
elevenses:
(Britain, informal) A short mid-morning break taken around eleven
o'clock for a drink or light snack.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/elevenses>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 All the people of all the nations which had fought in the First
World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of
Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month. It was
during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon
millions of human beings stopped butchering one another. I have talked
to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told
me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the Voice of God.
So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke
clearly to mankind. Â
--Kurt Vonnegut
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut>
Herman Vandenburg Ames (1865–1935) was an American legal historian,
educator, and document preservationist. He was a professor of
constitutional history at the University of Pennsylvania, and the dean
of its graduate school for more than two decades. As a doctoral student
at Harvard, he studied under the historian Albert Bushnell Hart. Like
Hart, Ames spent time in Europe learning German historical methodology;
drawing on his studies at the universities of Heidelberg and Leipzig, he
later helped establish government archives throughout the United States.
His 1897 monograph The Proposed Amendments to the Constitution of the
United States During the First Century of Its History was the first
exhaustive catalog of such amendments. He also authored John C. Calhoun
and the Secession Movement of 1850 and Slavery and the Union
1845–1861, and coauthored The X.Y.Z. Letters. He has been credited
with stimulating his student Ezra Pound's lifelong interest in history.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Vandenburg_Ames>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1898:
White supremacists seized power in Wilmington, North Carolina,
in the only instance of a municipal government being overthrown in
United States history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmington_insurrection_of_1898>
1958:
Merchant Harry Winston donated the Hope Diamond, the "most
famous diamond in the world", to the Smithsonian Institution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_Diamond>
1975:
The United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 3379,
which equated Zionism with racism.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly_Resolution_33…>
2006:
Prominent Sri Lankan Tamil politician and human rights lawyer
Nadarajah Raviraj was assassinated in Colombo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadarajah_Raviraj>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
heresiarch:
(religion) The founder of a heresy, or a major ecclesiastical proponent
of such a heresy.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/heresiarch>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 We all – adults and children, writers and readers – have an
obligation to daydream. We have an obligation to imagine. It is easy to
pretend that nobody can change anything, that we are in a world in which
society is huge and the individual is less than nothing: an atom in a
wall, a grain of rice in a rice field. But the truth is, individuals
change their world over and over, individuals make the future, and they
do it by imagining that things can be different. Â
--Neil Gaiman
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Neil_Gaiman>
Nemegtomaia, a genus of feathered oviraptorid dinosaur, lived in what is
now Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous, about 70Â million years ago.
The first specimen was found in the Nemegt Basin in 1996, and became the
basis of the new genus and species N. barsboldi in 2004, honouring the
palaeontologist Rinchen Barsbold. Two more specimens were found in 2007.
Nemegtomaia is estimated to have been around 2Â m (7Â ft) in length and
to have weighed 40Â kg (88Â lb). It had a deep, narrow, and short skull,
with an arched crest. It was toothless, with a short snout, a parrot-
like beak, and a pair of tooth-like projections on its palate. The first
of its three fingers bore a strong claw. One specimen was found on top
of a fossilised nest of eggs that were probably arranged in a ring, with
streams nearby, judging from stratigraphic data. This individual may
have been protecting its eggs by covering them with its tail and wing
feathers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemegtomaia>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1861:
American Civil War: The USS San Jacinto stopped the British
mailship Trent and arrested two Confederate envoys en route to Europe,
sparking a major diplomatic crisis between the United Kingdom and the
United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trent_Affair>
1940:
The Italian invasion of Greece failed as outnumbered Greek
units repulsed the Italians in the Battle of Elaia–Kalamas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Elaia%E2%80%93Kalamas>
1971:
English rock group Led Zeppelin released their fourth album,
which would go on to be one of the best-selling albums worldwide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led_Zeppelin_IV>
2016:
The Government of India announced the demonetisation of certain
banknotes, causing prolonged cash shortages in the weeks that followed
and significant disruption throughout the economy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Indian_banknote_demonetisation>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
wendigo:
(mythology) A malevolent and violent cannibal spirit found in
Anishinaabe, Ojibwe, and Cree mythology, which is said to inhabit the
body of a living person and possess him or her to commit murder.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wendigo>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a
revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each one
of us? Â
--Dorothy Day
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dorothy_Day>
The municipal election of November 6, 1951, in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, produced the first Democratic victory in the city in more
than a half-century. In the 1940s, Philadelphia had been the last major
American city with nearly all of its political offices occupied by
Republicans. The election was the first held under a reform charter that
had been overwhelmingly approved by voters the previous April. Joseph S.
Clark Jr. (pictured) and his running mate, Richardson Dilworth, were
elected mayor and district attorney; they had been two of the main
movers for the reform. Led by local party chairman James A. Finnegan,
the Democrats also took fourteen of seventeen city council seats and all
of the citywide offices on the ballot. A referendum on consolidating the
city and county governments passed by a wide margin. The election marked
the beginning of Democratic dominance of Philadelphia city politics,
which continues today.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_municipal_election,_1951>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1868:
Red Cloud, a leader of the Oglala Lakota Native American tribe,
signed the second Treaty of Fort Laramie, ending his war and
establishing the Great Sioux Reservation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Fort_Laramie_%281868%29>
1935:
The Hawker Hurricane, the aircraft responsible for 60% of the
Royal Air Force's air victories in the Battle of Britain, made its first
flight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Hurricane>
1939:
As part of their plan to eradicate the Polish intellectual
elite, the Gestapo arrested 184 professors, students and employees of
Jagiellonian University in Kraków.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonderaktion_Krakau>
1995:
Madagascar's Rova of Antananarivo, which served as the royal
palace from the 17th to 19th centuries, was destroyed by fire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rova_of_Antananarivo>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
audient:
Listening, paying attention.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/audient>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 I am an adherent of the ideal of democracy, although I know well
the weaknesses of the democratic form of government. Social equality and
economic protection of the individual have always seemed to me the
important communal aims of the state. Although I am a typical loner in
daily life, my consciousness of belonging to the invisible community of
those who strive for truth, beauty, and justice keeps me from feeling
isolated. Â
--Albert Einstein
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein>