Mother India is a 1957 Hindi epic melodrama film, directed by Mehboob
Khan and starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, and Raaj Kumar. A
remake of Khan's 1940 film Aurat, it is the story of a poverty-stricken
village woman named Radha (Nargis) who struggles to raise her sons
amidst many troubles. Despite her hardship, she sets a goddess-like
moral example of an ideal Hindu Indian woman. In the end, she kills her
criminal son for the greater good. Mother India metaphorically
represents India as a nation in the aftermath of independence, and
alludes to a strong sense of nationalism and nation-building. While some
authors treat Radha as the symbol of women empowerment, others see her
cast in female stereotypes. The film was the most expensive Hindi cinema
production and earned the highest revenue for any Hindi film at that
time. Mother India became a definitive cultural classic and is regarded
one of the best Indian films. It was India's first submission for the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1958, where it made the
shortlist. The film won the Filmfare Best Film Award for 1957, and
Nargis and Khan won the Best Actress and Best Director awards
respectively.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_India>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1491:
Nkuwu Nzinga of the Kingdom of Kongo was baptised as João I
by Portuguese missionaries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo%C3%A3o_I_of_Kongo>
1791:
The Polish Constitution of May 3, the oldest codified national
constitution in Europe, was adopted by the Sejm.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_May_3,_1791>
1913:
Raja Harishchandra (scene pictured), the first full-length
Indian feature film, was released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raja_Harishchandra>
1915:
Canadian physician and Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae wrote "In
Flanders Fields", later considered one of the most notable poems written
during the First World War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields>
1951:
The Royal Festival Hall, the first post-war building to become
listed Grade I, opened as the venue for the Festival of Britain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Festival_Hall>
1963:
Police in Birmingham, Alabama, used high-pressure water hoses
and dogs on civil rights protesters, bringing intense scrutiny on racial
segregation in the Southern US.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_campaign>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
treeness:
1. The essence of what it means to be a tree; the qualities that make a
tree what it is.
2. (genetics) The suitability of an evolutionary tree for representing the
structure of a population; the degree to which a population structure
can be accurately described as a tree of descent, with different
branches evolving independently after they split.
3. (graph theory) The condition of being a tree; acyclicity and
connectedness.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/treeness>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It's up to you whether or not you want to do work with no
contract. I think artists do need to do work with no contract, because
what we're motivated by is not money. We're motivated by a need to
express ourselves and to get our ideas out. That's the motivation. It
turns out that when people like it they frequently will support you if
you give them a means, but this is not a contract.
--Nina Paley
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nina_Paley>
United States v. The Progressive was a 1979 lawsuit against The
Progressive magazine by the United States Department of Energy (DOE). A
temporary injunction was granted against The Progressive to prevent the
publication of an article by activist Howard Morland that purported to
reveal the "secret" of the hydrogen bomb. The case was brought before
Judge Robert W. Warren in the Eastern District of Wisconsin (Federal
courthouse pictured). Though the information had been compiled from
publicly available sources, the DOE claimed that it fell under the "born
secret" clause of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Because of the
sensitive nature of the information, two separate hearings were
conducted, one in public, and the other in camera. The defendants would
not accept security clearances, and so were not present at the in camera
hearings. The article was eventually published after the government
lawyers dropped their case during the appeals process, calling it moot
after other information was independently published. Despite its
indecisive conclusion, law students still study the case, which tested
the limits of the presumption of unconstitutionality attached to prior
restraints.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._The_Progressive>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1611:
Robert Barker, the King's Printer, made the first printing of
the Authorized King James Version of the Bible.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorized_King_James_Version>
1863:
American Civil War: Confederate general Stonewall Jackson was
wounded by friendly fire during the Battle of Chancellorsville, leading
to his death by pneumonia eight days later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chancellorsville>
1969:
The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departed on her
maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_2>
1999:
Mireya Moscoso became the first woman to be elected President
of Panama.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mireya_Moscoso>
2003:
Spurred on by the Indian Union Muslim League, a mob of Indian
Muslims killed eight Hindu Arayan fishermen in Kerala.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marad_massacre>
2008:
The current ongoing Chaitén volcano eruption in Chile, the
first in 9,500 years, began.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chait%C3%A9n_(volcano)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Penrose stairs:
An impossible loop of endlessly ascending and descending stairs, or an
optical illusion appearing to depict such a loop.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Penrose_stairs>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Moral Action is that great and only Experiment, in which all
riddles of the most manifold appearances explain themselves. Whoso
understands it, and in rigid sequence of Thought can lay it open, is
forever master of Nature.
--Novalis
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Novalis>
1
0
May 1: If Day
by English Wikipedia Article of the Day
01 May '13
01 May '13
If Day was a simulated Nazi invasion of the Canadian city of Winnipeg,
Manitoba, and surrounding areas on February 19, 1942, during the Second
World War. It was an elaborate campaign to promote the purchase of
Victory Bonds, loans to the government to allow for increased war
spending, and over C$3 million was collected in Winnipeg on If Day. As
money came in from those selling Victory Bonds, the sections were
"reclaimed" from the Nazi invaders. The event was organized by the
Greater Winnipeg Victory Loan organization, led by prominent Winnipeg
businessman J. D. Perrin. The organizers believed that bringing the war
(or, rather, a simulation thereof) to people's homes would result in a
change of attitude among those not directly affected by the war. The
simulation included 3,500 Canadian Army members, representing all of
Winnipeg's units, making it the largest military exercise in Winnipeg to
that point. If Day included a staged firefight between Canadian troops
and volunteers dressed as German soldiers, the internment of prominent
politicians, the imposition of Nazi rule, and a parade. It was later the
subject of a 2006 documentary, and was included in Guy Maddin's film My
Winnipeg.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_Day>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1776:
The Order of the Illuminati, a secret society, was founded by
Adam Weishaupt and Adolph von Knigge in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illuminati>
1840:
The United Kingdom issued the Penny Black (pictured), the
world's first official adhesive postage stamp.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Black>
1851:
The Great Exhibition, the first ever world's fair, opened in
London's Hyde Park.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Exhibition>
1897:
The Hindu monastic order Sri Ramakrishna Math and Mission was
founded by Swami Vivekananda.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramakrishna_Mission>
1947:
Italian separatist Salvatore Giuliano and his gang fired into a
crowd of May Day marchers near Piana degli Albanesi, Sicily, killing 11
and wounding 33.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portella_della_Ginestra_massacre>
1956:
A doctor in Japan reported an "epidemic of an unknown disease
of the central nervous system", marking the official discovery of
Minamata disease.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamata_disease>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tumpline:
A strap used to carry objects tied to its ends by placing the broadened
or cushioned middle of the strap over the head just behind the forehead.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tumpline>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Gǣð ā Wyrd swā hīo scel! Fate goes ever as it must.
--Beowulf
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Beowulf>
Adrian Boult (1889–1983) was an English conductor, known for
championing British music. His first major post was conductor of the
City of Birmingham Orchestra in 1924. Appointed director of music of the
British Broadcasting Corporation in 1930, he established the BBC
Symphony Orchestra, which was regarded as among the best in Britain
under his chief conductorship. On retirement from the BBC in 1950, he
took up the position of chief conductor of the London Philharmonic
Orchestra and, in what was widely called his "Indian Summer", continued
to conduct it until his retirement in 1978. He gave the first
performance of his friend Gustav Holst's The Planets, and introduced new
works by other British composers including Bliss, Britten, Delius,
Tippett, Vaughan Williams and Walton, as well as foreign composers such
as Bartók, Berg, Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Webern. A modest man who
disliked the limelight, he felt as comfortable in the recording studio
as on the concert platform and made recordings throughout his career,
many of which have remained in the catalogue for three or four decades.
Prominent conductors influenced by him include Colin Davis and Vernon
Handley.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Boult>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
313:
Roman emperor Licinius unified the eastern half of the empire
under his rule.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Licinius>
1803:
The United States purchased France's claim to the Louisiana
Territory (flag raising ceremony pictured) for 78 million francs, or
less than US$0.03 per acre.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase>
1943:
Second World War: The Royal Navy submarine HMS Seraph began
Operation Mincemeat to deceive Germany about the upcoming invasion of
Sicily.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mincemeat>
1948:
Twenty-one countries signed a charter in Bogotá, Colombia,
establishing the Organization of American States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_American_States>
1963:
A boycott was held in Bristol to protest the Bristol Omnibus
Company's refusal to employ Black or Asian bus crews, drawing national
attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Bus_Boycott,_1963>
2004:
The New Yorker magazine posted an article and supporting
pictures online, postdated May 10, detailing accounts of torture and
abuse by American personnel of prisoners held at the Abu Ghraib prison
in Baghdad.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghraib_torture_and_prisoner_abuse>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
capacious:
Having a lot of space inside; roomy.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/capacious>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Anything you don't understand is dangerous until you do
understand it.
--Larry Niven
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Larry_Niven>
Charles Eaton (1895–1979) was a senior officer and pilot in the Royal
Australian Air Force (RAAF), and later a diplomat. Born in London, he
joined the British Army in World War I and saw action on the Western
Front before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. Shot down
in 1918, he was twice captured by German forces, and twice escaped.
Eaton left the military in 1920 and worked in India until moving to
Australia in 1923. Two years later he joined the RAAF, serving initially
as an instructor. Between 1929 and 1931, he was chosen to lead three
expeditions to search for lost aircraft in central Australia, which
earned him national attention and the Air Force Cross. In 1939, Eaton
became commanding officer of No. 12 Squadron at the newly established
RAAF Station Darwin, Northern Territory. Promoted group captain, he was
appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1942. He took
command of No. 79 Wing at Batchelor, Northern Territory, in 1943, and
was mentioned in despatches during operations in the South West Pacific.
Retiring from the RAAF in December 1945, Eaton took up diplomatic posts
in the Dutch East Indies, heading a United Nations commission as Consul-
General during the Indonesian National Revolution. He returned to
Australia in 1950, and became a farmer in later life. Popularly known as
"Moth" Eaton, he is commemorated by several memorials in the Northern
Territory.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Eaton_(RAAF_officer)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1587:
Anglo-Spanish War: In the Bay of Cádiz, Francis Drake led the
first of several naval raids on the Spanish Armada that destroyed so
many ships that Philip II of Spain had to delay his plans to invade
England for over a year.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singeing_the_King_of_Spain%27s_Beard>
1770:
British explorer James Cook and the crew of HMS Endeavour
(replica pictured), the first European ship to land in eastern
Australia, reached the coast of Botany Bay near present-day Sydney.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Endeavour>
1903:
A 30 million cubic-metre landslide buried the town of Frank,
Alberta and killed 70 of the town's 90 residents, making it the
deadliest landslide in Canadian history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Slide>
1910:
The Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the People's
Budget, the first budget in British history with the expressed intent of
redistributing wealth among the British public.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Budget>
1946:
The International Military Tribunal for the Far East convened
and indicted Hideki Tojo and 27 other Japanese leaders for war crimes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Military_Tribunal_for_the_Far_E…>
1968:
The controversial musical Hair, a product of the hippie
counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, opened at the
Biltmore Theatre on Broadway, with its songs becoming anthems of the
anti-Vietnam War movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_(musical)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
anapest:
1. (US, prosody) A metrical foot consisting of three syllables, two short
and one long (e.g the word "velveteen").
2. (US, prosody) A fragment, phrase or line of poetry or verse using this
meter; e.g. “Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the
Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did NOT!” (Dr. Seuss, How
the Grinch Stole Christmas.).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anapest>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is by logic that we prove, but by intuition that we discover.
To know how to criticize is good, to know how to create is better.
--Henri Poincaré
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henri_Poincar%C3%A9>
The 1923 FA Cup Final was a football match between Bolton Wanderers and
West Ham United on 28 April 1923 at the original Wembley Stadium in
London. The showpiece match of English football's primary cup
competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (better known as the
FA Cup), it was the first football match to be played at Wembley
Stadium. The final was preceded by chaotic scenes as vast crowds surged
into the stadium, far exceeding its official capacity of approximately
125,000. A crowd estimated at up to 300,000 gained entrance and the
terraces overflowed, with the result that spectators found their way
into the area around the pitch and even onto the playing area itself.
Mounted policemen, including one on a light-coloured horse (pictured)
which became the defining image of the day, had to be brought in to
clear the crowds from the pitch to allow the match to take place.
Although West Ham started strongly, Bolton proved the dominant team for
most of the match and won 2–0. The pre-match events prompted
discussion in the House of Commons and led to the introduction of a
number of safety measures for future finals. The match is often referred
to as the "White Horse Final" and is commemorated by the White Horse
Bridge at the new Wembley Stadium.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1923_FA_Cup_Final>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1887:
A week after being arrested by the Prussian Secret Police,
Alsatian police inspector Guillaume Schnaebelé was released on order of
German Emperor William I, defusing a possible war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_Schnaebel%C3%A9>
1949:
Former First Lady of the Philippines Aurora Quezon, her
daughter, and ten bystanders were assassinated by the military arm of
the Philippine Communist Party.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_Quezon>
1952:
Japan and the Republic of China signed the Treaty of Taipei to
officially end the Second Sino-Japanese War, seven years after fighting
in that conflict ended due to World War II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Taipei>
1975:
Chief of the South Vietnamese army Cao Van Vien fled the
country as the North Vietnamese closed in on Saigon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cao_Van_Vien>
1994:
Former CIA counter-intelligence officer and analyst Aldrich
Ames pleaded guilty to giving U.S. secrets to the Soviet Union and later
Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldrich_Ames>
2001:
Dennis Tito became the world's first fee-paying space tourist,
riding the Russian Soyuz TM-32 spacecraft to the International Space
Station.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Tito>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
doggedly:
In a way that is stubbornly persistent: Abby marked the International
Day of the Dog with her beloved Jack Russell terrier, despite how he was
doggedly gnawing through her extensive collection of shoes.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/doggedly>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the
idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know
you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through
no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.
--Harper Lee
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harper_Lee>
Russell T Davies (born 1963) is a Welsh television producer and
screenwriter notable for the 2005 revival of the classic British science
fiction series Doctor Who. Born in Swansea, Davies joined the BBC's
children's department on a part-time basis in 1985 and eventually wrote
two series for the network, Dark Season and Century Falls. As a
freelance writer in the mid-1990s, Davies' early scripts explored
concepts of religion and sexuality among various backdrops: Springhill
was a soap drama about a Catholic family in contemporary Liverpool; The
Grand explored society's opinion of contemporary subjects during the
interwar period; and Queer as Folk, his first prolific series, recreated
his experiences in the Manchester gay scene. Works during the 2000s
include Bob & Rose, which portrayed a gay man who fell in love with a
woman, The Second Coming, which focused on the second coming and deicide
of Jesus Christ, and Casanova, an adaptation of the Venetian lover's
complete memoirs. Davies became the executive producer of the revived
Doctor Who series in 2005 and oversaw a surge in popularity that led to
the production of two spin-off series: Torchwood and The Sarah Jane
Adventures.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_T_Davies>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1522:
Italian War of 1521–1526: The combined forces of Spain and
the Papal States defeated a French and Venetian army at the Battle of
Bicocca.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bicocca>
1667:
John Milton, blind and impoverished, sold the copyright of
Paradise Lost for £10.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Milton>
1777:
American Revolutionary War: British Army regulars defeated
Patriot militias in the Battle of Ridgefield, galvanizing resistance in
the Connecticut Colony.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ridgefield>
1810:
Ludwig van Beethoven composed his "Bagatelle No. 25 in A
minor", better known as "Für Elise", one of his most popular
compositions.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%BCr_Elise>
1865:
An explosion destroyed the steamboat SS Sultana (drawing
pictured) on the Mississippi River, killing an estimated 1,800 of the
2,400 passengers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Sultana>
1967:
The Expo 67 world's fair opened in Montreal, with 62 nations
and more than 50 million visitors ultimately attending.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_67>
1993:
Members of the Zambia national football team were killed in a
plane crash en route to play a 1994 World Cup qualifying match against
Senegal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Zambia_national_football_team_air_disast…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
vates:
A poet or bard who is divinely inspired.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vates>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Freedom and justice cannot be parceled out in pieces to suit
political convenience.
--Coretta Scott King
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Coretta_Scott_King>
The Franco-Mongol alliance was an attempted alliance between Frankish
Crusaders and the Mongol Empire against the Muslims, their common enemy.
Contact between Europeans and Mongols began around 1220, and tended to
follow a pattern: the Europeans asked the Mongols to convert to
Christianity, while the Mongols (who had already conquered many
Christian and Muslim nations in their advance across Asia) responded
with demands for submission and tribute (example letter pictured).
European attitudes began to change in the mid-1260s, from perceiving the
Mongols as enemies to be feared, to potential allies against the
Muslims. The Mongols sought to capitalize on this, promising a re-
conquered Jerusalem to the Europeans in return for cooperation. Attempts
to cement an alliance continued through decades of negotiations, without
success. The Mongols invaded Syria several times between 1281 and 1312,
sometimes in attempts at joint operations with Crusader forces, but the
forces were never able to coordinate in any meaningful way. The Mongol
Empire eventually dissolved into civil war, and the Crusaders lost
control of Palestine and Syria to the Egyptian Mamluks.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Mongol_alliance>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1945:
World War II: Both the German and Polish–Soviet sides claimed
victory as major fighting in the Battle of Bautzen ended.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bautzen_(1945)>
1964:
Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania with Julius
Nyerere as its first president.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanzania>
1986:
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Chernobyl, Ukrainian
SSR, suffered a steam explosion, resulting in a fire, a nuclear
meltdown, and the evacuation and resettlement of over 336,000 people
around Europe.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster>
1989:
An editorial was published in the People's Daily denouncing the
growing unrest in Tiananmen Square, which would remain contentious
through the remainder of the protests.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_26_Editorial>
1994:
Just prior to landing at Nagoya International Airport, the co-
pilot of China Airlines Flight 140 inadvertently pushed the wrong
button, causing the plane to crash and killing 264 of the 271 people on
board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Airlines_Flight_140>
2002:
Expelled student Robert Steinhäuser murdered 16 people and
wounded seven others before committing suicide at the Gutenberg-
Gymnasium Erfurt in Erfurt, Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erfurt_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
inside baseball:
1. (US, sports) Technical matters concerning baseball not apparent to
spectators.
2. (US) Matters of interest only to insiders.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/inside_baseball>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
No man — prince, peasant, pope, — has all the light, who says
else is a mountebank. I claim no private lien on truth, only a liberty
to seek it, prove it in debate, and to be wrong a thousand times to
reach a single rightness. It is that liberty they fear. They want us to
be driven to God like sheep, not running to him like lovers, shouting
joy!
--Morris West
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Morris_West>
The military history of Australia during World War II began with
Australia declaring war on Germany on 3 September 1939. By the end of
the war, almost a million Australians had served in the armed forces,
primarily in the European theatre, North African campaign, and the South
West Pacific theatre. In addition, Australia came under direct attack
for the first time in its history. Casualties from enemy action during
the war were 27,073 killed and 23,477 wounded. While most Australian
forces were withdrawn from the Mediterranean following the outbreak of
war in the Pacific, they continued to take part in the air offensive
against Germany. Australian forces played a key role in the Pacific War,
making up the majority of Allied strength in the South West Pacific
throughout much of the fighting there. The military continued offensive
operations against the Japanese until the war ended. The war contributed
to major changes in the nation's economy, military and foreign policy.
It accelerated the process of industrialisation, led to the development
of a larger peacetime military and began the process with which
Australia shifted the focus of its foreign policy from Britain to the
United States.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Australia_during_World_Wa…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1644:
The Ming Dynasty of China fell when the Chongzhen Emperor
committed suicide during a peasant rebellion led by Li Zicheng.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_Dynasty>
1792:
The guillotine (example pictured) was first used to carry out
capital punishment in France, with crowds marvelling at the machine's
speed and precision.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillotine>
1945:
German troops retreated from northern Finland, bringing the
Lapland War to a close.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapland_War>
1953:
"Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids" by molecular biologists
James Watson and Francis Crick was first published in the scientific
journal Nature, describing the discovery of the double helix structure
of DNA.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_Structure_of_Nucleic_Acids:_A_Struc…>
1990:
Violeta Chamorro took office as the President of Nicaragua, the
first woman elected in her own right as a head of state in the Americas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro>
2005:
A commuter train came off its tracks in Amagasaki, Hyōgo,
Japan, and rammed into an apartment building, killing the driver and 106
passengers and injuring 555 others in the Amagasaki rail crash.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amagasaki_rail_crash>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
paint the town red:
To party or celebrate in a rowdy, wild manner, especially in a public
place.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/paint_the_town_red>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Man is one name belonging to every nation upon earth. In them all
is one soul though many tongues. Every country has its own language, yet
the subjects of which the untutored soul speaks are the same everywhere.
--Tertullian
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tertullian>
The state laws governing the control of alcohol beverages in New Jersey
are unique; they are among the most complex in the United States and
contain many peculiarities not found in other states. New Jersey law
grants individual municipalities substantial discretion in creating
ordinances that regulate the sale and consumption of alcoholic
beverages. A small percentage of municipalities in the state are "dry
towns" that do not allow alcoholic beverages to be sold. Other towns
permit alcohol sales 24 hours a day. The history of taverns and alcohol
production in New Jersey dates to its early colonial period. A local
distillery owner was asked by George Washington for his recipe for
"cyder spirits." With the rise of the temperance movement, New Jersey's
alcohol industry suffered; many breweries, wineries and distilleries
either closed or relocated to other states. The legacy of Prohibition
restricted and prevented the industry's recovery until the state
legislature began loosening restrictions starting in 1981. New Jersey's
alcohol industry is experiencing a renaissance, and recently enacted
laws provide new opportunities for the state's wineries and breweries.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_laws_of_New_Jersey>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1547:
Schmalkaldic War: Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, led Imperial
troops to a decisive victory in the Battle of Mühlberg over the
Lutheran Schmalkaldic League of Protestant princes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_M%C3%BChlberg>
1800:
The Library of Congress, the de facto national library of the
United States, was established as part of an act of Congress providing
for the transfer of the nation's capital from Philadelphia to
Washington, D.C.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress>
1913:
The Woolworth Building opened in New York City as the tallest
building in the world at the time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolworth_Building>
1915:
The Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire began with the
arrest and deportation of hundreds of prominent Armenians in
Constantinople.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide>
1933:
Nazi Germany began its persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses by
shutting down the Watch Tower Society office in Magdeburg.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses_in_Nazi_…>
1993:
The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a truck bomb in
London's financial district in Bishopsgate, killing one person, injuring
44 others and causing £1 billion in damages.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Bishopsgate_bombing>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
levant:
To abscond or run away, especially to avoid paying money or debts.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/levant>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
In all things there must be order, but it must of such a kind as
is possible to observe … to see a man burnt for doing as he thought
right, harms the people, for this is a matter of conscience.
--William the Silent
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_the_Silent>