The 1867 U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania, voted on by the state
legislature, was held on January 15, 1867. Simon Cameron was elected to
the Senate for the third time; he had been chosen in 1845 and in 1857.
Cameron and Governor Andrew Curtin each led a faction of Republicans and
had clashed as early as 1855. Cameron tried to block Curtin from the
party nomination for governor in 1860, while Curtin attempted to get
Cameron excluded from Abraham Lincoln's cabinet; each failed. With the
Republicans holding a majority in the 1867 legislature, the battle was
for the party's endorsement, which Thaddeus Stevens and Galusha Grow
also sought. The party caucus chose Cameron, who then defeated incumbent
Edgar Cowan, the Democratic Party nominee. Cowan never again held
office; Curtin later served in Congress as a Democrat. Cameron remained
in the Senate until he resigned in 1877 to allow his son to take the
seat. The Cameron political machine dominated Pennsylvania politics for
a half century.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1867_United_States_Senate_election_in_Pennsyl…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1567:
The siege of Inabayama Castle, the final battle in Oda
Nobunaga's campaign to conquer Mino Province, began; it culminated in a
decisive victory for Nobunaga.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Inabayama_Castle>
1848:
An explosion drove an iron rod through the head of railroad
foreman Phineas Gage; his survival and recovery influenced 19th-century
discussion of psychology and neuroscience.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage>
1919:
The Boston police strike ended after four days of rule by the
state militia, the deaths of nine people, and accusations that striking
officers were "agents of Lenin".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_police_strike>
2005:
A software bug caused a simulated pandemic in the online video
game World of Warcraft, serving as a model for epidemiologists to
understand how human interaction influences disease outbreaks.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrupted_Blood_incident>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
unseat:
1. (transitive)
2. To dislodge or remove (someone) from a seat, especially on horseback.
3. (figurative)
4. To remove (someone) from an office or position, especially a
political one; to dethrone.
5. To cause (something) to be removed or replaced in its role; to
displace, to overturn.
6. To upset the composure of (someone); to astound, to shock, to
unsettle.
7. (intransitive, technical) To come off or out of a seat.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unseat>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 The most important thing each of us can know is our unique gift
and how to use it in the world. Individuality is cherished and nurtured,
because, in order for the whole to flourish, each of us has to be strong
in who we are and carry our gifts with conviction, so they can be shared
with others. Â
--Robin Wall Kimmerer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robin_Wall_Kimmerer>
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the
longest Interstate Highway in the United States at 3,021Â miles
(4,862Â km). It runs from Seattle, Washington, to Boston, Massachusetts,
passing through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, and
Midwest. The highway serves 13 states and has 15 auxiliary routes,
primarily in major cities such as Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, and
Rochester. The route incorporates several toll roads that predate the
Interstate Highway System, including the Ohio Turnpike, New York State
Thruway, and Massachusetts Turnpike. These toll roads opened in the
1950s and were followed by toll-free sections a decade later. The
Midwestern sections of I-90 were fully completed in 1978, and the
majority of the route between Seattle and South Dakota opened by 1987.
The final section, near the western terminus in Seattle, opened on
September 12, 1993; an eastern extension in Boston was completed in
2003 as part of the Big Dig project.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_90>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1846:
The English poets Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett
Browning eloped to Italy, marrying in secret to avoid their disapproving
families.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Barrett_Browning>
1933:
Hungarian-American physicist Leo Szilard conceived of the idea
of the nuclear chain reaction while waiting for a traffic light in
Bloomsbury, London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Szilard>
1948:
The People's Liberation Army launched the Liaoshen campaign,
the first of the three major military campaigns during the late stage of
the Chinese Civil War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liaoshen_campaign>
1995:
Hurricane Ismael formed off the southwest coast of Mexico; it
went on to kill over a hundred people in the country.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Ismael>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pink tea:
1. (countable, US)
2. (historical) A fashionable formal tea party or other social
gathering; specifically, one organized and attended chiefly by women to
discuss matters of suffrage, raise funds for charity, etc.
3. (by extension) Any exclusive social gathering.
4. (figurative, chiefly in the negative, also attributively) Something
(as an event or policy) excessively polite and refined; specifically,
one regarded as ineffective and weak.
5. (uncountable, India, Pakistan) A hot drink from the Indian
subcontinent with a pink colour, made with gunpowder tea, baking soda,
and milk.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pink_tea>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Cancel me not — for what then shall remain? Abscissas some
mantissas, modules, modes, A root or two, a torus and a node: The
inverse of my verse, a null domain. Â
--Stanisław Lem
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_Lem>
The Baker Street robbery was the burglary of safe deposit boxes at the
Baker Street branch of Lloyds Bank in London, England, on the night of
11Â September 1971. A gang tunnelled 40 feet (12Â m) from a rented shop
two doors away to come up through the floor of the vault (diagram
shown). The property stolen was probably worth between £1.25 and
£3 million; only £231,000 was recovered by the police. The burglary
was planned by Anthony Gavin, a career criminal, who was inspired by
"The Red-Headed League", a short story by Arthur Conan Doyle in which
Sherlock Holmes waits in a bank vault to arrest a gang who have
tunnelled in through the floor. Gavin and his colleagues rented a
leather goods shop, and tunnelled during weekends. Police found members
of the gang soon after the break-in; one of the burglars had signed the
lease in his own name, and informers led investigators to Gavin. Many of
the papers relating to the burglary remain under embargo at The National
Archives until January 2071.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_Street_robbery>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1945:
The Japanese-run camp at Batu Lintang, Sarawak, in Borneo was
liberated by the Australian 9th Division, averting the planned massacre
of its 2,000-plus Allied POWs and civilian internees by four days.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batu_Lintang_camp>
1978:
British medical photographer Janet Parker became the last
recorded person to die from smallpox, leading to a debate on whether the
virus should be preserved.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_smallpox_outbreak_in_the_United_Kingdom>
1995:
Mir EO-19, the nineteenth crewed mission to the Russian space
station Mir, returned to Earth after approximately 75 days in space. It
was the first Mir expedition launched on an American Space Shuttle.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir_EO-19>
2001:
Al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger airliners to carry out a
series of terrorist attacks (second attack pictured) against targets in
New York City and the Washington, D.C., area.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
obtrusive:
1. (obsolete) Protruding or sticking out, especially in a way that
obstructs.
2. (figurative)
3. Of a person: overly assertive, bold, or domineering; pushy; also,
ostentatious.
4. Of a thing: noticeable or prominent, especially in a displeasing way.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/obtrusive>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 We are today, as human beings, evolved and cultured far beyond
the taboos which are inherent in our culture. This is a very important
fact to realise. Â
--D. H. Lawrence
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/D._H._Lawrence>
Rotating locomotion in living systems includes both the rolling of
entire organisms, and the use of structures that propel by rotating
relative to a fixed body, such as a wheel or propeller. Though the
former mode is used by varied forms of life, including pangolins and
tumbleweeds, the latter is only known to occur in bacteria using
microscopic, corkscrew-like flagella. While other human technologies,
like wings and lenses, have common natural analogues, multicellular
organisms have apparently never evolved rotating propulsive structures.
Such structures may be infeasible to grow and maintain with biological
processes. Compared with walking or running on limbs, in natural
environments, wheeled propulsion is rarely as energy-efficient,
versatile, or capable of navigating obstacles. This is likely why at
least one historical civilization abandoned wheels. Rolling and wheeled
creatures have appeared in speculative fiction and the legends of many
cultures.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotating_locomotion_in_living_systems>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1779:
American Revolutionary War: Captain William Pickles of the
Continental Navy boarded and captured the British sloop HMSÂ West
Florida at the Battle of Lake Pontchartrain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lake_Pontchartrain>
1945:
Mike the Headless Chicken was decapitated on a farm in
Colorado; he survived another 18 months as part of sideshows before
choking to death.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_the_Headless_Chicken>
1974:
After centuries of Portuguese rule, the country of Guinea-
Bissau was formally recognized as independent.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea-Bissau>
1983:
Typhoon Ellen dissipated after destroying hundreds of homes
across Hong Kong and the Philippines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Ellen_%281983%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
storge:
Natural affection or love, especially of parents for their children.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/storge>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 History, as well as life itself, is complicated; neither life nor
history is an enterprise for those who seek simplicity and consistency.
Â
--Jared Diamond
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jared_Diamond>
The Million Second Quiz is an American game show that was hosted by Ryan
Seacrest (pictured) and broadcast by NBC from September 9 to
September 19, 2013. For one million seconds, contestants attempted to
win trivia matches, and the four top scorers competed in a stepladder
playoff for a top prize of $2,000,000. Stephen Lambert, Eli Holzman, and
David Hurwitz served as executive producers of The Million Second Quiz.
The show helped to promote NBC's lineup for the 2013–14 television
season. NBC broadcast a live prime time show for each night of the
competition (except during Sunday Night Football), including a two-hour
finale. Using a mobile app, viewers could play the game against others
and potentially earn a chance to appear as a contestant during the prime
time episodes. Critics argued that The Million Second Quiz suffered from
a confusing format and a lack of drama. Ratings dropped after the show's
premiere.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Million_Second_Quiz>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1141:
Yelü Dashi, the Liao general who founded the Qara Khitai,
defeated Seljuq and Kara-Khanid forces at the Battle of Qatwan, near
Samarkand in present-day Uzbekistan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qatwan>
1796:
French Revolutionary Wars: A naval engagement between French
and British fleets off the coast of Sumatra ended inconclusively.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_9_September_1796>
1954:
An earthquake registering 6.7Â Mw struck near Chlef, Algeria,
killing over 1,200 people and forcing the government to implement
comprehensive reforms in building codes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_Chlef_earthquake>
1971:
Imagine, the second solo album by John Lennon, was released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagine_%28John_Lennon_album%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
unoften:
(literary except India) Not often; rarely, seldom.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unoften>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 War makes men barbarous because, to take part in it, one must
harden oneself against all regret, all appreciation of delicacy and
sensitive values. One must live as if those values did not exist, and
when the war is over one has lost the resilience to return to those
values. Â
--Cesare Pavese
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cesare_Pavese>
The UEFA Euro 1976 final was the final match of Euro 1976, and was
contested on 20Â June 1976 by Czechoslovakia and West Germany, at
Stadion Crvena Zvezda (pictured), Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Czechoslovakia
initially took the lead 2–0 during the first half, but West Germany
narrowed the gap with a goal before halftime. There was no scoring in
the second half until the final minute of regular time, when West
Germany won a corner, which was headed past Ivo Viktor by Bernd
Hölzenbein at the near post, and the game went into extra time. When
that resulted in no change to the score, the first penalty shoot-out in
a European Championships final ensued. The first seven kicks were
converted, until West Germany's fourth penalty taker, Uli Hoeneß,
struck his shot over the bar. AntonÃn Panenka stepped up to take the
fifth Czechoslovak penalty. Sepp Maier dived while Panenka gently lobbed
the ball straight in the middle of the net to win the shoot-out and
secure Czechoslovakia's first European Championship.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_1976_final>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1642:
First English Civil War: Royalist and Parliamentarian forces
clashed at the Battle of Babylon Hill, after which both sides claimed
victory.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Babylon_Hill>
1822:
Pedro I declared the independence of Brazil from Portugal,
establishing the Empire of Brazil.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_of_Brazil>
1901:
With Beijing occupied by foreign troops from the Eight-Nation
Alliance, Qing China was forced to sign the Boxer Protocol, an unequal
treaty that ended the Boxer Rebellion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Protocol>
1996:
American rapper Tupac Shakur was shot by an unknown assailant
in Las Vegas, dying from his injuries six days later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Tupac_Shakur>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Vulcan salute:
A gesture of greeting consisting of a raised hand with the palm forward
and the thumb extended, and the fingers parted between the middle finger
and ring finger.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Vulcan_salute>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Fly me high through the starry skies Maybe to an astral plane
Cross the highways of fantasy Help me to forget today's pain. Ooh,
dream weaver I believe you can get me through the night Ooh, dream
weaver I believe we can reach the morning light Though the dawn may be
coming soon There still may be some time Fly me away to the bright
side of the moon Meet me on the other side. Â
--Gary Wright
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gary_Wright>
The Marmaduke–Walker duel was fought between John S. Marmaduke
(pictured) and Lucius M. Walker, two generals in the Confederate States
Army, on September 6, 1863, near Little Rock, Arkansas. Tensions had
risen between the two officers during the Battle of Helena on July 4,
1863, when Marmaduke accused Walker of not supporting his force, then
retaliated by not informing Walker of a Confederate retreat. Marmaduke
was later assigned to serve under Walker during a Union advance against
Little Rock. Walker did not support Marmaduke during a retreat after the
Battle of Brownsville. After the Battle of Bayou Meto on August 27,
Marmaduke questioned Walker's courage. A series of notes passed between
the two generals by friends resulted in a duel, during which Walker
received a fatal wound. Marmaduke was arrested, but later released; he
survived the war and later became Governor of Missouri. Union forces
captured Little Rock later in the campaign, after the Battle of Bayou
Fourche.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmaduke%E2%80%93Walker_duel>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1634:
A Swedish–German army was overwhelmingly defeated at the
Battle of Nördlingen, one of the most important battles of the Thirty
Years' War, effectively destroying Swedish power in southern Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_N%C3%B6rdlingen_%281634%29>
1870:
Louisa Swain became the first woman to vote in a general
election in the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisa_Swain>
1955:
State-sponsored attacks against Istanbul's Greek minority,
known as the Istanbul pogrom, killed between 13 and 37 people and
injured more than a thousand others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul_pogrom>
2003:
Mahmoud Abbas resigned as Prime Minister of the Palestinian
National Authority after a power struggle with President Yasser Arafat.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Abbas>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
at odds:
(idiomatic) In disagreement; conflicting.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/at_odds>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Man is not the source of all things, as the subjective idealists
would say. Nor is he the passive observer of all things, as the
objective idealists and materialists would say. The Quality which
creates the world emerges as a relationship between man and his
experience. He is a participant in the creation of all things. The
measure of all things... Â
--Robert M. Pirsig
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_M._Pirsig>
Robert Kaske (1921–1989) was an American professor of medieval
literature who founded the medieval studies program at Cornell
University in Ithaca, New York. He published lengthy interpretations of
Beowulf and of poems and passages by Dante and Chaucer. Kaske
particularly enjoyed solving difficult, puzzling passages in works such
as Pearl, Piers Plowman, the Divine Comedy, The Husband's Message and
The Descent into Hell. In 1975 he was appointed chief editor of the
journal Traditio. Over the course of his career he collected what one
former student termed "most of the awards and honors possible for a
medieval scholar", including fellowships from the National Endowment for
the Humanities and the American Council of Learned Societies, and two
Guggenheim Fellowships. In 1988 Kaske published Medieval Christian
Literary Imagery: A Guide to Interpretation, which colleagues called a
"magisterial work".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kaske>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1816:
Facing rising discontent in France, Louis XVIII was forced to
dissolve the Chambre introuvable, the legislature dominated by Ultra-
royalists.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chambre_introuvable>
1887:
A fire that killed 186 people broke out at the Theatre Royal,
Exeter.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeter_Theatre_Royal_fire>
1964:
Hurricane Cleo dissipated after causing 156 deaths, mainly in
Haiti, and causing roughly US$187Â million in damages across the
Caribbean and southeastern United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Cleo>
1975:
Squeaky Fromme, a devotee of Charles Manson, attempted to
assassinate U.S. president Gerald Ford in Sacramento, California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempted_assassination_of_Gerald_Ford_in_Sac…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
zakat:
(Islam) Almsgiving, one of the five pillars of Islam, in the form of an
annual tax on certain types of property which is then used for
charitable purposes.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zakat>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Faith brings recognition that our quest never leads us to
certainty. We are always uncertain, always in doubt that our way is
God's way. That self-doubt makes it possible to be reconciled to one
another. It is faith that makes the reconciling work of politics
possible. Â
--John Danforth
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Danforth>
The Rhodesia Information Centre (RIC) represented the Rhodesian
government in Australia from 1966 to 1980. As Australia did not
recognise Rhodesia's independence it operated on an unofficial basis.
The centre's activities included lobbying politicians, spreading
propaganda about white minority rule in Rhodesia and advising Australian
businesses on how they could evade the United Nations sanctions that had
been imposed on the country. These activities violated United Nations
Security Council resolutions. The RIC had little impact, with Australian
media coverage of the Rhodesian regime being almost entirely negative
and the government's opposition to white minority rule in Rhodesia
hardening over time. The Australian government made several attempts to
force the centre to close, all of which were unsuccessful. The
Zimbabwean government shut the centre in May 1980 after the end of
white minority rule and later established an official embassy in
Australia.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesia_Information_Centre>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1800:
French Revolutionary Wars: Facing starvation and a death rate
of 100 soldiers per day, the French garrison in Malta surrendered to
British forces, ending a two-year siege.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Malta_%281798%E2%80%931800%29>
1843:
The state wedding of Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies and
Emperor Pedro II of Brazil took place at the Cathedral of Rio de
Janeiro.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa_Cristina_of_the_Two_Sicilies>
1977:
The Golden Dragon massacre took place in Chinatown, San
Francisco, leaving five dead and spurring police to end Chinese gang
violence in the city.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Dragon_massacre>
2010:
A magnitude-7.1 earthquake (damage pictured) struck the
Canterbury Region of New Zealand, causing two deaths and up to
NZ$40Â billion in damages.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Canterbury_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
downtime:
1. The amount of time lost due to forces beyond one's control, such as
the breakdown of machinery or a computer crash.
2. A period of time when work or other activity is less intense or
stops.
3. (chiefly Canada, US) A period of time set aside for relaxation and
rest; leisure time, free time.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/downtime>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Wasted away again in Margaritaville, Searchin' for my lost
shaker of salt. Some people claim that there's a woman to blame, But I
know it's nobody's fault. Â
--Jimmy Buffett
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jimmy_Buffett>