Thomas C. Kinkaid (1888–1972) was an admiral in the United States Navy
during World War II. Born into a naval family, he graduated from the
U.S. Naval Academy in 1908. He saw action during the 1916 occupation of
the Dominican Republic, and in World War I, when he was attached to the
Royal Navy. During World War II, his cruisers defended the aircraft
carriers USS Lexington during the Battle of the Coral Sea and
USS Hornet during the Battle of Midway. He then took command of Task
Force 16, built around the carrier USS Enterprise, during the long and
difficult Solomon Islands campaign. He commanded the North Pacific Force
during operations that regained control of the Aleutian Islands. In
November 1943, he became Commander Allied Naval Forces in the Southwest
Pacific Area, and Commander of the Seventh Fleet, directing U.S. and
Australian forces supporting the New Guinea and the Philippine
campaigns, during which he conducted numerous amphibious operations. He
commanded an Allied fleet during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the last
naval battle between battleships. He continued in service after the war
until his retirement in 1950.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_C._Kinkaid>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1888:
The first of eleven unsolved brutal murders of women committed
in or near the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of
London, occurred.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitechapel_murders>
1936:
Richard Hauptmann was executed in the electric chair for the
kidnapping and murder of the "Lindbergh baby".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Hauptmann>
1948:
An uprising began on Jeju Island, eventually leading to the
deaths of between 14,000 and 30,000 individuals due to fighting between
its various factions, and the violent suppression of the rebellion by
the South Korean army.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeju_Uprising>
1973:
On a New York City street, Motorola researcher Martin Cooper
made the first public call on a handheld mobile phone.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Cooper_(inventor)>
1981:
The Osborne 1 (pictured), the first successful portable
computer, was unveiled at the West Coast Computer Faire in San
Francisco.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_1>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
snail mail:
(retronym) Postal mail, especially as compared to email.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/snail_mail>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Humanity will ever seek but never attain perfection. Let us at
least survive and go on trying.
--Dora Russell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dora_Russell>
Neville Cardus (1888–1975) was an English writer and critic. He became
cricket correspondent of The Manchester Guardian in 1919, and its chief
music critic in 1927, holding both posts until 1940. His contributions
to these two distinct fields in the years before the Second World War
established his reputation as one of the foremost critics of his
generation. He considered music criticism as his principal vocation.
Without any formal musical training, he was initially influenced by
Samuel Langford and Ernest Newman, but developed his own individual
style of criticism—subjective, romantic and personal, in contrast to
the objective analysis practised by Newman. Cardus's opinions and
judgments were often forthright and unsparing, which sometimes caused
friction with leading performers. Nevertheless his personal charm and
gregarious manner enabled him to form lasting friendships in the
cricketing and musical worlds, with among others Newman, Thomas Beecham
and Donald Bradman. Cardus spent the Second World War years in
Australia, where he wrote for The Sydney Morning Herald and gave regular
radio talks. In his last years he became an inspirational figure to
aspiring young writers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Cardus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1513:
Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León reached Florida,
becoming the first European known to do so, purportedly while searching
for the Fountain of Youth in the New World.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Ponce_de_Le%C3%B3n>
1801:
War of the Second Coalition: British forces led by Vice Admiral
Horatio Nelson defeated the Dano-Norwegian fleet at the Battle of
Copenhagen.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Copenhagen>
1885:
North-West Rebellion: Led by Wandering Spirit, young Cree
warriors attacked the village of Frog Lake, North-West Territories (now
in Alberta), where they killed nine settlers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frog_Lake_Massacre>
1973:
The LEXIS computer-assisted legal research service launched as
a continuation of an experiment organized by the Ohio State Bar in 1967.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LexisNexis>
1982:
Argentine special forces invaded the Falkland Islands, sparking
the Falklands War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_invasion_of_the_Falkland_Islands>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
prosopagnosia:
A form of visual agnosia characterised by difficulty with face
recognition despite intact low-level visual processing.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prosopagnosia>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
You see, war is not the answer For only love can conquer hate.
You know we've got to find a way To bring some lovin' here today.
--Marvin Gaye
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marvin_Gaye>
The last voyage of the Karluk, flagship of the Canadian Arctic
Expedition of 1913–16, ended in a disaster which led to the deaths of
almost half the ship's complement. In August 1913 the ship became
trapped by ice in the Arctic Ocean. The expedition's leader, Vilhjalmur
Stefansson, then left with a hunting party; while he was away the ship
began to drift, preventing his return. When after many weeks the ship
was crushed by ice and sunk, its captain, Robert Bartlett, led the
25 crew and expedition personnel across the sea ice to Wrangel Island,
80 miles (130 km) away. In the dangerous conditions, eight men were
lost on the march. From the island Bartlett and an Inuk companion set
out for the Siberian coast to seek help; they eventually reached Alaska,
but weather conditions delayed the organisation of a rescue. On Wrangel
Island the stranded party were short of food and troubled by internal
dissent; before their rescue in September 1914 three more of the party
had died. Some of the voyage's survivors were critical of Stefansson for
leaving the ship, although he escaped official censure. Bartlett was
hailed as a hero by the public and by his former Karluk shipmates.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_voyage_of_the_Karluk>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1146:
French abbot Bernard of Clairvaux preached a sermon to a crowd
at Vézelay, with King Louis VII in attendance, urging the necessity of
a Second Crusade.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_of_Clairvaux>
1492:
The Catholic Monarchs of Spain issued the Alhambra Decree,
ordering all Jews to convert to Christianity or be expelled from the
country.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra_Decree>
1889:
The Eiffel Tower was inaugurated in Paris, becoming a global
icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower>
1942:
Second World War: Because of a mutiny by Indian soldiers
against their British officers, Japanese troops captured Christmas
Island without any resistance.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Christmas_Island>
1995:
American singer-songwriter, Selena, known as "The Queen of
Tejano music", was murdered in Corpus Christi, Texas, by the president
of her fan club, Yolanda Saldívar.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Selena>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
wry:
1. Turned away, contorted (of the face or body).
2. Dryly humorous; sardonic or ironic.
3. Twisted, bent, crooked.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wry>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I tell you this, that you will have found out the truth of the
last tree and the top-most cloud before the truth about me. You will
understand the sea, and I shall be still a riddle; you shall know what
the stars are, and not know what I am. Since the beginning of the world
all men have hunted me like a wolf — kings and sages, and poets and
lawgivers, all the churches, and all the philosophies. But I have never
been caught yet, and the skies will fall in the time I turn to bay. I
have given them a good run for their money, and I will now. in The
Man Who Was Thursday by
--G. K. Chesterton
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton>
Joseph B. Foraker (1846–1917) was the 37th Governor of Ohio from 1886
to 1890 and a Republican United States Senator from 1897 until 1909.
Born in rural Ohio in 1846, Foraker enlisted at age 16 in the Union Army
during the American Civil War. After the war, he was a member of Cornell
University's first graduating class, and became a lawyer. Interesting
himself in politics, he was elected a judge in 1879 and became well
known as a political speaker. Although defeated in his first run for
governor in 1883, he was elected two years later. Foraker lost re-
election in 1889, but was elected senator by the Ohio General Assembly
in 1896. In the Senate, he supported the Spanish-American War and the
annexation of the Philippines and Puerto Rico. He differed with
President Theodore Roosevelt over railroad regulation and political
patronage. They also disagreed over the Brownsville Affair, in which
black soldiers had been accused of terrorizing a Texas town, and
Roosevelt had dismissed the entire battalion. Foraker fought
unsuccessfully for the soldiers' reinstatement, and Roosevelt then
helped defeat Foraker's re-election bid. In 1972, the Army reversed the
dismissals and cleared the soldiers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_B._Foraker>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1282:
Sicilians began to rebel against the rule of the Angevin King
Charles I of Naples, starting the War of the Sicilian Vespers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Vespers>
1822:
The United States merged East Florida and West Florida to
create the Florida Territory.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Territory>
1918:
Bolshevik and Dashnak forces suppressed a Muslim revolt in
Baku, Azerbaijan, resulting up to 30,000 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_Days>
1940:
Second Sino-Japanese War: Wang Jingwei was officially installed
by Japan as head of a puppet state in China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Jingwei>
1950:
Usmar Ismail began filming Darah dan Doa, formally recognised
as the first Indonesian film.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darah_dan_Doa>
1964:
Jeopardy!, the popular American game show created by Merv
Griffin, made its debut on the NBC television network.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeopardy!>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
eat crow:
(chiefly US, idiomatic) To recognize that one has been shown to be
mistaken or outdone, especially by admitting that one has made a
humiliating error.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/eat_crow>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Music will always find its way to us, with or without business,
politics, religion, or any other bullshit attached. Music survives
everything, and like God, it is always present. It needs no help, and
suffers no hindrance.
--Eric Clapton
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eric_Clapton>
The Crucifixion and Last Judgement diptych consists of two small painted
panels attributed to the Early Netherlandish artist Jan van Eyck,
completed c. 1430–40. The left hand Crucifixion wing (part pictured)
shows Christ's followers grieving in the foreground, soldiers and
spectators in the mid-ground and a brutally physical portrayal of three
crucified bodies in the upper-ground, all framed against an azure sky
with a view of Jerusalem in the distance. The right hand Last Judgment
wing contains imagery associated with the resurrection of the dead: a
hellscape at its base, the lost awaiting judgement in the centre-ground,
and a representation of Christ in Majesty flanked by a Great Deësis of
saints, apostles, clergy, virgins and nobility in the upper section. The
diptych is one of the early master-pieces of the Northern Renaissance,
renowned for its unusually complex and detailed iconography. Portions of
the work contain Greek, Latin and Hebrew inscriptions while the original
gilt frames contain excerpts from biblical passages inscribed in Latin
and drawn from the books of Isaiah, Deutoronomy and Revelation. The
panels were acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1933 while
attributed to Jan's brother Hubert.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion_and_Last_Judgement_diptych>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1638:
Swedish settlers founded New Sweden near Delaware Bay, the
first Swedish colony in America.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Sweden>
1871:
The Royal Albert Hall in Albertopolis, London, was officially
opened by Queen Victoria.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Albert_Hall>
1945:
World War II: The German 4th Army was almost completely
destroyed by the Soviet Red Army at the Heiligenbeil Pocket in East
Prussia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heiligenbeil_Pocket>
1973:
Vietnam War: The United States ended Operation Barrel Roll, a
covert bombing campaign in Laos to help stem an increasing tide of
People's Army of Vietnam and Pathet Lao offensives.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Barrel_Roll>
2010:
Islamist Chechen separatists set off two bombs on the Moscow
Metro, killing at least 40 and injuring over 100 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Moscow_Metro_bombings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
otorhinolaryngology:
(medicine) The study of diseases of the ear, nose and throat.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/otorhinolaryngology>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The power of the imagination is a unifying power, hence the force
of metaphor; and the poet is the supreme manipulator of metaphor... the
world needs the unifying power of the imagination. The two things that
give it best are poetry and religion.
--R. S. Thomas
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/R._S._Thomas>
Cold Feet is a British comedy-drama television series that ran from 1998
to 2003. It was created by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 one-
off comedy of the same name. The series, set and largely filmed in
Greater Manchester, follows three couples experiencing the ups-and-downs
of romance. Adam Williams and Rachel Bradley (James Nesbitt, pictured,
and Helen Baxendale) are a new couple who go through dating, marriage
and the birth of a child. Pete and Jenny Gifford (John Thomson and Fay
Ripley) experience parenthood, adultery, separation and divorce. Karen
and David Marsden (Hermione Norris and Robert Bathurst) live an upper-
middle-class lifestyle, but their marriage disintegrates after each has
an affair. The show was a critical and ratings success. Critics analysed
the depiction of social issues, the use of popular music, and the
relevance of the series to contemporary audiences compared to big-budget
BBC costume dramas. The series was a regular nominee at the British
Comedy Awards, the National Television Awards and elsewhere. It has been
broadcast in over 30 countries and has been remade for local audiences
in the United States and European countries.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Feet>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
193:
Praetorian Guards assassinated Roman Emperor Pertinax and sold
the throne in an auction to Didius Julianus.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pertinax>
1802:
German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers discovered
2 Pallas, the second asteroid known to man.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_Pallas>
1933:
A passenger aboard the Imperial Airways biplane City of
Liverpool set a fire on board, causing it to break apart in mid-air and
crash.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1933_Imperial_Airways_Dixmude_crash>
1999:
Serbian police and special forces killed at least 89 Kosovo
Albanians in the village of Izbica, in the Drenica region of central
Kosovo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izbica_massacre>
2003:
Invasion of Iraq: In a friendly fire incident, two members of
the United States Air Force attacked the United Kingdom's Blues and
Royals of the Household Cavalry, killing one and injuring five British
soldiers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/190th_Fighter_Squadron,_Blues_and_Royals_frie…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
lacrimae rerum:
The “tears of things”; the inherent tragedy of existence.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lacrimae_rerum>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We become obsessed with "truth" when discussing statements, just
as we become obsessed with "freedom" when discussing conduct … Like
freedom, truth is a bare minimum or an illusory ideal.
--J. L. Austin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._L._Austin>
"Big Two-Hearted River" is a two-part short story written by American
author Ernest Hemingway (pictured), published in the 1925 Boni &
Liveright edition of In Our Time, the first American volume of
Hemingway's short stories. It features a single protagonist, Hemingway's
recurrent autobiographical character Nick Adams, whose speaking voice is
heard just twice. The story explores the destructive qualities of war
which is countered by the healing and regenerative powers of nature.
When published, critics praised Hemingway's sparse writing style and it
became an important work in his canon. The story is one of Hemingway's
earliest to employ his iceberg theory of writing; a modernist approach
to prose in which the underlying meaning is hinted at, rather than
explicitly stated. "Big Two-Hearted River" is almost exclusively
descriptive and intentionally devoid of plot. Hemingway was influenced
by the visual innovations of Cézanne's paintings and adapted the
painter's idea of presenting background minutiae in lower focus than the
main image. In this story, the small details of a fishing trip are
explored in great depth, while the landscape setting, and most obviously
the swamp, are given cursory attention.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Two-Hearted_River>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1782:
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, a leading
British Whig Party statesman, began his second non-consecutive term as
Prime Minister of Great Britain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Watson-Wentworth,_2nd_Marquess_of_Roc…>
1836:
Texas Revolution: Mexican President Antonio López de Santa
Anna ordered the execution of about 400 Texian prisoners of war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliad_massacre>
1899:
Philippine–American War: Philippine President Emilio
Aguinaldo led the troops himself against the US for the only time in the
war in the Battle of Marilao River.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marilao_River>
1958:
Nikita Khrushchev became Premier of the Soviet Union following
the death of Joseph Stalin.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Khrushchev>
2002:
A suicide bomber killed about 30 Israeli civilians and injured
about 140 others at the Park Hotel in Netanya, triggering Operation
Defensive Shield, a large-scale counter-terrorist Israeli military
incursion into the West Bank, two days later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover_massacre>
2009:
The dam holding Situ Gintung, an artificial lake in Tangerang
District, Indonesia, failed, resulting in floods killing at least 100
people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situ_Gintung>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
fan death:
The urban legend originating in South Korea that if an electric fan is
left running overnight in a closed room it can cause the death of those
inside.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fan_death>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It has become extremely questionable whether, in the flux of
life, it is a genuinely worthwhile intellectual problem to seek to
discover fixed and immutable ideas or absolutes. It is a more worthy
intellectual task perhaps to learn to think dynamically and relationally
rather than statically. ... When the empirical investigator glories in
his refusal to go beyond the specialized observation dictated by the
traditions of his discipline, be they ever so inclusive, he is making a
virtue out of a defense mechanism which insures him against questioning
his presuppositions.
--Karl Mannheim
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Mannheim>
James Bryant Conant (1893–1978) was a chemist, President of Harvard
University, and the first U.S. Ambassador to West Germany. As a Harvard
professor, he was one of the first to explore the relationship between
chemical equilibrium and the reaction rate of chemical processes. He
studied the biochemistry of oxyhemoglobin, helped to elucidate the
structure of chlorophyll, and contributed insights that underlie modern
theories of acid–base chemistry. It was during his presidency of
Harvard (1933–53) that women were first admitted to Harvard Medical
School and Harvard Law School. As chairman of the National Defense
Research Committee during World War II, he oversaw the Manhattan
Project, which developed the first atomic bombs. After the war, he
served on the Joint Research and Development Board that coordinated
defense research, and on the General Advisory Committee of the Atomic
Energy Commission. In his later years at Harvard, he taught the history
and philosophy of science, and wrote about the scientific method. In
1953 he became the U.S. High Commissioner for Germany, overseeing the
restoration of German sovereignty, and then was U.S. Ambassador to West
Germany until 1957.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bryant_Conant>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
590:
Byzantine emperor Maurice proclaimed his son Theodosius as his
co-emperor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodosius_(son_of_Maurice)>
1484:
William Caxton printed the first English translation of Aesop's
Fables.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesop%27s_Fables>
1885:
Feeling that Canada had failed to address the protection of
their rights, the Métis people, led by Louis Riel, began the North-West
Rebellion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-West_Rebellion>
1913:
First Balkan War: After a five-month siege, the Bulgarian
Second Army captured the Ottoman city of Adrianople.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Adrianople_(1913)>
1973:
The first episode of The Young and the Restless was broadcast,
eventually becoming the most watched daytime drama on American
television from 1988 onwards.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Young_and_the_Restless>
1978:
Four days before the scheduled opening of Japan's Narita
International Airport (pictured), a group of protesters destroyed much
of the equipment in the control tower with Molotov cocktails.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narita_International_Airport>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
immolate:
1. To kill as a sacrifice.
2. To destroy, especially by fire.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/immolate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The very scientist who, in the service of the sinful king, was
the brain behind the horror of the labyrinth, quite as readily can serve
the purposes of freedom. But the hero-heart must be at hand. …
Centuries of husbandry, decades of diligent culling, the work of
numerous hearts and hands, have gone into the hackling, sorting, and
spinning of this tightly twisted yarn. Furthermore, we have not even to
risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us
— the labyrinth is thoroughly known. We have only to follow the thread
of the hero path, and where we had thought to find an abomination, we
shall find a god; where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay
ourselves; where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the
center of our own existence. And where we had thought to be alone, we
shall be with all the world.
--Joseph Campbell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_Campbell>
Rakoto Frah (1923–2001) was a flutist and composer of traditional
music of the central highlands of Madagascar. Born to a poor rural
family, he became the most acclaimed 20th-century performer of the
sodina flute, one of the island's oldest traditional instruments. In
1958, he was selected to perform for the visiting French president
Charles de Gaulle, launching his career as a professional musician, and
from 1967 he increasingly participated in international music
competitions and festivals. Following a decline in popularity in the
1970s, Frah's career revived in the mid-1980s and remained strong until
his death. During this period Rakoto Frah recorded ten albums, toured
extensively in Madagascar and overseas, and collaborated with a variety
of artists, placing him among the most famous Malagasy artists within
Madagascar and on the world music scene. Rakoto Frah and his sodina were
printed on the 200 ariary Malagasy banknote in honor of his key role in
revitalizing and internationally popularizing Malagasy music. Despite
the artist's worldwide acclaim, he lived simply and earned little. His
death was widely mourned and marked by a state funeral.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakoto_Frah>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1721:
Johann Sebastian Bach presented Margrave Christian Ludwig of
Brandenburg-Schwedt with six concertos, now commonly called the
Brandenburg concertos.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_concertos>
1869:
The last of Māori leader Titokowaru's forces surrendered to
the New Zealand government, ending his uprising.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titokowaru%27s_War>
1882:
German physician Robert Koch announced the discovery of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a bacterium that causes tuberculosis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis>
1927:
Following the capture of Nanjing by an alliance of Nationalist
and Communist forces, British and American warships bombarded the city
in defence of foreign citizens there.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanking_Incident>
1989:
The tanker Exxon Valdez spilled more than 10 million
US gallons of oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska, causing one of the
most devastating man-made environmental disasters at sea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
siesta:
An afternoon nap, especially the one taken after lunch in some cultures.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/siesta>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Freedom is a mystical truth — Its expressed best in The Brothers
Karamazov, the chapter when the Grand Inquisitor confronted the returned
Christ. The freedom that Christ gave the world was the freedom of being
an individual, in a collectivity, of basing ones life on love, as
distinct from power, of seeking the good of others rather than
nourishing ones own ego. That was liberation. And the Chief Inquisitor,
who speaks for every dictator, every millionaire, every ideologue that's
ever been, says we can't have it. Go away. Stay away.
--Malcolm Muggeridge
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Malcolm_Muggeridge>
Messiah (HWV 56) is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by
George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles
Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. Messiah
was first performed in Dublin in 1742, and received its London premiere
the following year. After an initially modest public reception, the
oratorio gained in popularity, becoming one of the most frequently
performed choral works in Western music. Although its structure
resembles that of opera, it is not in dramatic form, but a reflection on
Jesus Christ as Messiah. Handel begins Part I with prophecies by Isaiah
and others, and moves to the annunciation to the shepherds, the only
"scene" taken from the Gospels. In Part II he concentrates on the
Passion and ends with the Hallelujah Chorus. In Part III he covers the
resurrection of the dead and Christ's glorification in heaven. Handel
wrote Messiah for modest vocal and instrumental forces; after his death,
the work was adapted for performance with much larger orchestras and
choirs. Its orchestration was revised and amplified by (among others)
Mozart. Since the late 20th century, the trend has been towards
authenticity.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah_(Handel)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1888:
Led by William McGregor (pictured), ten football clubs met in
London for the purpose of founding The Football League, the oldest
league competition in world football.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McGregor_(football)>
1908:
American diplomat Durham Stevens, an employee of Japan's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was assassinated in San Francisco by two
Korean immigrants unhappy with his recent support of the increasing
Japanese presence in Korea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham_Stevens>
1940:
Pakistan Movement: During its three-day general session, the
Muslim League drafted the Lahore Resolution, calling for greater
autonomy in British India.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahore_Resolution>
1983:
The initial proposal to develop the Strategic Defense
Initiative, a ground-based and space-based system to protect the United
States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles, was
released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Defense_Initiative>
1991:
The Sierra Leone Civil War began when the Revolutionary United
Front, with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor's National
Patriotic Front of Liberia, invaded Sierra Leone in an attempt to
overthrow Joseph Saidu Momoh.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Civil_War>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
escapade:
A daring or adventurous act; an undertaking which goes against
convention.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/escapade>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I believe that if an individual is not on the path to transcending his
society and seeing in what way it furthers or impedes the development of
human potential, he cannot enter into intimate contact with his
humanity.
--Erich Fromm
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Erich_Fromm>