Hurricane Gustav was a Category 2 hurricane that paralleled the East
Coast of the United States from September 8 to 12 during the 2002
Atlantic hurricane season. It was the seventh named storm and first
hurricane of the season. Initially a subtropical depression north of the
Bahamas, Gustav passed slightly to the east of the Outer Banks of North
Carolina as a tropical storm before moving northeastward and making two
landfalls in Atlantic Canada as a Category 1 hurricane. The storm was
responsible for one death and $100,000 in damage, mostly in North
Carolina. The interaction between Gustav and a non-tropical system
produced strong winds that caused an additional $240,000 (2002 USD) in
damage in New England, but this damage was not directly attributed to
the hurricane. Gustav spent the early part of its life as a subtropical
storm, and was the first such storm to be named from the current lists
by the National Hurricane Center. Previously, subtropical storms were
not given names. The cyclone was also the latest-forming first hurricane
of the season since 1941.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Gustav_(2002)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1755:
French and Indian War: British and French forces and their
respective Indian allies fought to a draw in the Battle of Lake George.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lake_George>
1900:
The Great Galveston Hurricane (damage pictured), one of the
deadliest Atlantic hurricanes with estimated winds of 135 miles per hour
(215 km/h) at landfall, struck Galveston, Texas, US, killing at least
6,000 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900_Galveston_hurricane>
1941:
World War II: German forces severed the last land connection to
Leningrad, beginning a 28-month siege that would result in the deaths of
over 1 million of the city's civilians from starvation, making it one
of the most lethal battles in world history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Leningrad>
1954:
Eight nations signed an agreement to create the Southeast Asia
Treaty Organization, a Southeast Asian version of NATO.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Asia_Treaty_Organization>
1966:
The American science fiction show Star Trek premiered on the
NBC television network, launching a media franchise that has since
created a cult phenomenon and has influenced the design of many current
technologies.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
unstinted:
Not constrained, not restrained, or not confined.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unstinted>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There is no me. I do not exist. There used to be a me but I had it
surgically removed.
--Peter Sellers
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_Sellers>
Pedro I (1798–1834) was the founder and first ruler of the Empire of
Brazil. As King Dom Pedro IV, he reigned over Portugal. Acting as
regent on his father's behalf, he declared the independence of Brazil
from Portugal on 7 September 1822. His acclamation as Brazilian emperor
was followed by a victorious war against Portuguese armies. From the
onset his reign was troubled by a long ideological conflict between him
and a sizable parliamentary faction over the role of the monarch in the
government. Other obstacles arose concurrently. In 1826 he briefly
became king of Portugal before abdicating in favor of his eldest
daughter, Dona Maria II. Her crown was later usurped by Prince Dom
Miguel, Pedro I's younger brother. At the same time the unsuccessful
Cisplatine War against the neighboring United Provinces of South America
led to the secession of a Brazilian province (later to become Uruguay).
Unable to deal with both Brazilian and Portuguese affairs, Pedro I
abdicated on 7 April 1831 and immediately departed for Europe to restore
his daughter to her throne. He invaded Portugal ahead of an army and
defeated his brother, dying soon after of tuberculosis at age 35.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_I_of_Brazil>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1571:
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, was arrested for his
involvement in a plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I and replace her
with Mary, Queen of Scots.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridolfi_plot>
1652:
Chinese peasants on Taiwan began a rebellion against Dutch rule
before being suppressed four days later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guo_Huaiyi_Rebellion>
1776:
American Revolutionary War: Sergeant Ezra Lee made the first
documented attack using a submersible when he piloted the Turtle
(replica pictured) to attempt to attach explosive charges on the hull of
HMS Eagle in New York Harbor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Turtle>
1812:
Napoleonic Wars: The French Grande Armée forced the Russians
to withdraw at the Battle of Borodino.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Borodino>
1986:
Desmond Tutu became the first black person to lead the Church
of the Province of Southern Africa.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
iatrogenesis:
(medicine) Any adverse effect (or complication) resulting from medical
treatment.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/iatrogenesis>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have often wished I had time to cultivate modesty… But I am too busy
thinking about myself.
--Edith Sitwell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edith_Sitwell>
Avery Brundage (1887–1975) was the fifth president of the
International Olympic Committee (IOC), serving from 1952 to 1972.
Brundage attended the University of Illinois to study engineering and
became a track star. In 1912, he competed in the Summer Olympics,
contesting the pentathlon and decathlon; both events were won by Jim
Thorpe. Following his retirement from athletics, Brundage became a
sports administrator, rising rapidly through the ranks in United States
sports groups. As leader of America's Olympic organizations, he fought
zealously against a boycott of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Nazi
Germany. Although Brundage was successful in getting a team to the
Games, its participation was controversial, and has remained so.
Brundage was elected to the IOC that year, and quickly became a major
figure in the Olympic movement. Elected IOC president in 1952, Brundage
fought strongly for amateurism and against commercialization of the
Olympic Games. His final Olympics as president, at Munich in 1972, was
marked by controversy: at the memorial service following the murder of
11 Israeli athletes by terrorists, Brundage decried the politicization
of sports, and refusing to cancel the remainder of the Olympics,
declared "the Games must go on".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avery_Brundage>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1781:
American Revolutionary War: General Benedict Arnold led British
forces to victory in the Battle of Groton Heights.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Groton_Heights>
1930:
Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen was deposed in a
military coup by José Félix Uriburu.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip%C3%B3lito_Yrigoyen>
1946:
United States Secretary of State James F. Byrnes announced that
with regard to postwar Germany, the U.S. would from thereon follow a
policy of economic reconstruction.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restatement_of_Policy_on_Germany>
1952:
A prototype aircraft crashed at the Farnborough Airshow in
Hampshire, England, killing 29 spectators and the two on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1952_Farnborough_Airshow_DH.110_crash>
1966:
South African Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, the "architect
of apartheid", was stabbed to death by Dimitri Tsafendas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrik_Verwoerd>
2000:
The Millennium Summit, a meeting of world leaders to discuss
the role of the United Nations at the turn of the 21st century, opened
in New York City.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Summit>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
munificent:
Very liberal in giving or bestowing; lavish; as a munificent benefactor.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/munificent>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There is no contradiction. There never really can be between the core
terms of monistic philosophies. The One in India has got to be the same
as the One in Greece. If it's not, you've got two. The only
disagreements among the monists concern the attributes of the One, not
the One itself. Since the One is the source of all things and includes
all things in it, it cannot be defined in terms of those things, since
no matter what thing you use to define it, the thing will always
describe something less than the One itself. The One can only be
described allegorically, through the use of analogy, of figures of
imagination and speech.
--Robert M. Pirsig
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_M._Pirsig>
Sebastian Shaw (1905–1994) was an English actor, director, novelist,
playwright and poet. During his 65-year career, Shaw appeared in dozens
of stage performances and more than 40 film and television productions.
Shaw was born and raised in Holt, Norfolk, and made his acting debut at
age eight at a London theatre. He studied acting at Gresham's School and
the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Although he worked primarily on the
London stage, he made his Broadway debut in 1929, when he played one of
the two murderers in Rope's End. He appeared in his first film, Caste,
in 1930 and quickly began to create a name for himself in films. Shaw
was particularly known for his performances in William Shakespeare
productions, which were considered daring and ahead of their time. In
1966, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he remained for a
decade and delivered some of his most acclaimed performances. He also
wrote several poems and a novel, The Christening, in 1975. He is also
known for his brief but important performance in Return of the Jedi, the
original third installment in the Star Wars franchise, in which he
portrayed an unmasked Darth Vader and as Anakin Skywalker's ghost in the
original version of the film.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_Shaw_(actor)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1697:
War of the Grand Alliance: A French warship captured York
Factory, a trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company in present-day
Manitoba, Canada.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hudson%27s_Bay>
1793:
French Revolution: The National Convention began the Reign of
Terror, a ten-month period of systematic repression and mass executions
by guillotine of perceived enemies within the country.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror>
1877:
Oglala Lakota war leader Crazy Horse was fatally wounded after
surrendering while allegedly resisting imprisonment at Camp Robinson in
present-day Nebraska.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Horse>
1927:
Walt Disney's and Ub Iwerks' first popular character Oswald the
Lucky Rabbit made its debut in the animated cartoon Trolley Troubles.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_the_Lucky_Rabbit>
1980:
The St. Gotthard Tunnel (interior pictured) opened in
Switzerland as the world's longest highway tunnel at 24.51 km (15.3
miles) stretching from Goschenen to Airolo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthard_Road_Tunnel>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
canard:
A false or misleading report or story, especially if deliberately so.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/canard>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A very great vision is needed, and the man who has it must follow it as
the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky.
--Crazy Horse
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Crazy_Horse>
The 1740 Batavia massacre was a pogrom against ethnic Chinese in the
port city of Batavia in the Dutch East Indies. The violence inside the
city lasted from 9 to 22 October 1740. Unrest in the Chinese population
had been triggered by government repression and reduced income from
falling sugar prices prior to the massacre. In response, at a meeting of
the Council of the Indies, Governor-General Adriaan Valckenier declared
that any uprising was to be met with deadly force. His resolution took
effect on 7 October after hundreds of ethnic Chinese, many of them
sugar mill workers, killed 50 Dutch soldiers. The Dutch dispatched
troops who confiscated all weapons from the Chinese populace and placed
the Chinese under a curfew. Two days later, after being frightened by
rumours of Chinese atrocities, other Batavian ethnic groups began
burning Chinese houses along Besar Stream and Dutch soldiers launched an
assault using cannons on Chinese homes. The violence soon spread
throughout Batavia, killing more Chinese. Although Valckenier declared
an amnesty on 11 October, gangs of irregulars continued to hunt and
kill Chinese until 22 October, when Valckenier called more forcefully
for a cessation of hostilities. Historians have estimated that at least
10,000 ethnic Chinese were massacred.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1740_Batavia_massacre>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1774:
English explorer James Cook became the first European to sight
the island of New Caledonia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Caledonia>
1812:
War of 1812: A coalition of Native American tribes began the
Siege of Fort Harrison in Terre Haute, Indiana, by setting the fort on
fire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Fort_Harrison>
1912:
The Albanian Revolt of 1912 came to an end when the Ottoman
government agreed to meet the rebels' demands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanian_Revolt_of_1912>
1964:
The Forth Road Bridge crossing the Firth of Forth in Scotland
opened to traffic.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forth_Road_Bridge>
1998:
Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google in Menlo Park,
California, to promote the web search engine that they developed as
Stanford University students.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google>
2007:
Three terrorists suspected to be a part of Al-Qaeda were
arrested in Germany after allegedly planning attacks on both Frankfurt
Airport and Ramstein Air Base.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_bomb_plot_in_Germany>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
snood:
1. A small hairnet or cap worn by women to keep their hair in place.
2. The flap of red skin on the beak of a male turkey.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/snood>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Machines which ape people are tending to encroach on every aspect of
people's lives, and that such machines force people to behave like
machines. The new electronic devices do indeed have the power to force
people to "communicate" with them and with each other on the terms of
the machine. Whatever structurally does not fit the logic of machines is
effectively filtered from a culture dominated by their use. The machine-
like behaviour of people chained to electronics constitutes a
degradation of their well-being and of their dignity which, for most
people in the long run, becomes intolerable. Observations of the
sickening effect of programmed environments show that people in them
become indolent, impotent, narcissistic and apolitical. The political
process breaks down, because people cease to be able to govern
themselves; they demand to be managed.
--Ivan Illich
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ivan_Illich>
Authentic Science Fiction was a British science fiction magazine
published in the 1950s that ran for 85 issues. The magazine was
published by Hamilton and Co., and began in 1951 as a series of novels
appearing every two weeks; by the summer it had become a monthly
magazine, with readers' letters and an editorial page, though fiction
content was still restricted to a single novel. In 1952 short fiction
began to appear alongside the novels, and within two more years it had
completed the transformation into a science fiction magazine. Authentic
published little in the way of important or ground-breaking fiction,
though it did print Charles L. Harness's "The Rose", which later became
well-regarded. The poor rates of pay—£1 per 1,000 words—prevented
the magazine from attracting the best writers. During much of its life
it competed against three other moderately successful British science
fiction magazines, as well as the American science fiction magazine
market. Hamilton folded the magazine in October 1957, because they
needed cash to finance an investment in the UK rights to an American
best-selling novel.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authentic_Science_Fiction>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
590:
Gregory I became pope, the first one to come from a monastic
background.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_I>
1189:
Richard the Lionheart was crowned King of England in
Westminster.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_I_of_England>
1838:
Future American abolitionist Frederick Douglass escaped from
slavery.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Douglass>
1901:
The National Flag of Australia, a Blue Ensign defaced with the
Commonwealth Star and the Southern Cross, flew for the first time atop
the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Australia>
1942:
The Holocaust: In possibly the first Jewish ghetto uprising,
residents of the Łachwa Ghetto in occupied Poland, informed of the
upcoming "liquidation" of the ghetto, unsuccessfully fought against
their Nazi captors.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%81achwa_Ghetto>
2001:
The Troubles: Protestant loyalists began picketing a Catholic
primary school for girls in the Protestant portion of Ardoyne, Belfast,
Northern Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Cross_dispute>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
chirality:
The phenomenon, in chemistry, physics and mathematics, in which an
object differs from its mirror image.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chirality>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The thing that teases the mind over and over for years, and at last gets
itself put down rightly on paper— whether little or great, it belongs
to Literature.
--Sarah Orne Jewett
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sarah_Orne_Jewett>
Augustine of Canterbury (c. first third of the 6th century – 604) was
a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the
year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of
the English Church. Augustine was the prior of a monastery in Rome when
Pope Gregory the Great chose him in 595 to lead a mission, usually known
as the Gregorian mission, to Britain to Christianize King Æthelberht of
the Kingdom of Kent from his native Anglo-Saxon paganism. Before
reaching Kent the missionaries had considered turning back but Gregory
urged them on and, in 597, Augustine landed on the Isle of Thanet and
proceeded to Æthelberht's main town of Canterbury. King Æthelberht
converted to Christianity and allowed the missionaries to preach freely,
giving them land to found a monastery outside the city walls. Augustine
was consecrated as a bishop and converted many of the king's subjects,
including thousands during a mass baptism on Christmas Day in 597. Roman
bishops were established at London and Rochester in 604, and a school
was founded to train Anglo-Saxon priests and missionaries. The
archbishop probably died in 604 and was soon revered as a saint.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Canterbury>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1666:
A large fire began on London's Pudding Lane and burned the city
for three days, destroying St Paul's Cathedral and the homes of 70,000
of the city's 80,000 inhabitants.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_London>
1901:
U.S. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt first uttered the famous
phrase "speak softly and carry a big stick" (cartoon pictured) at the
Minnesota State Fair, describing his philosophy of negotiating
peacefully while simultaneously threatening to use military force.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Stick_ideology>
1946:
The interim government of India, headed by Jawaharlal Nehru,
formed to assist the transition of India from British rule to
independence.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interim_Government_of_India>
1967:
Paddy Roy Bates proclaimed HM Fort Roughs, a former Second
World War Maunsell Sea Fort in the North Sea off the coast of Suffolk,
England, as an independent sovereign state: the Principality of Sealand.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand>
1992:
An estimated magnitude 7.2 earthquake off the coast of the
coast of Nicaragua was the first tsunami earthquake to be captured on
modern broadband seismic networks.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Nicaragua_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
punctilio:
A fine point in exactness of conduct, ceremony or procedure. Strictness
in observance of formalities.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/punctilio>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
As man is so constituted that it is utterly impossible for him to attain
happiness save by seeking the happiness of others, so does it seem to be
of the nature of things that individuals and classes can obtain their
own just rights only by struggling for the rights of others.
--Henry George
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_George>
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written by English poet and
clergyman John Newton (pictured) and published in 1779. Based on
Newton's personal experiences at sea (in the Royal Navy and the slave
trade), it was originally written in 1773 and published in Newton and
Cowper's Olney Hymns in 1779. Although it became relatively obscure in
England, in the United States it was commonly used during the Second
Great Awakening. The original tune, if any, is unknown, but it is now
most commonly sung to the tune "New Britain". It conveys a message that
forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people
commit, and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the
mercy of God. One of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking
world, it has been called "the most famous of all the folk hymns",
having been recorded thousands of times during the 20th century and
becoming emblematic in African American spiritual music.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Grace>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1798:
Irish Rebellion of 1798: Irish rebels, with French assistance,
established the short-lived Republic of Connaught.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Connaught>
1813:
Peninsular War: At the Battle of San Marcial, the Spanish Army
of Galicia under Manuel Alberto Freire turned back Nicolas Soult's last
major offensive against Arthur Wellesley's allied army.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_San_Marcial>
1939:
Nazi forces, posing as Poles, staged an attack against the
German radio station Sender Gleiwitz in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia,
Germany, creating an excuse to invade Poland the next day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleiwitz_incident>
1965:
The Aero Spacelines Super Guppy (pictured), a large, wide-
bodied cargo aircraft used for ferrying outsized cargo components, made
its first flight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Spacelines_Super_Guppy>
1998:
North Korea claimed to have successfully launched
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1, its first satellite, although no objects were ever
tracked in orbit from the launch.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwangmy%C5%8Fngs%C5%8Fng-1>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
kore:
An Ancient Greek statue of a woman, portrayed standing, usually clothed,
painted in bright colours and having an elaborate hairstyle.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kore>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I was never interested in the obvious, or in the details one takes for
granted, and everybody seemed to be addicted to the obvious, being
astonished by it, and forever harping about the details which I had long
ago weighted, measured, and discarded as irrelevant and useless. If you
can measure it, don't. If you can weigh it, it isn't worth the bother.
It isn't what you're after. It isn't going to get it. My wisdom was
visual and as swift as vision. I looked, I saw, I understood, I felt,
"That's that, where do we go from here?"
--William Saroyan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Saroyan>
Simon Bolivar Buckner (1823–1914) was a soldier in the
Mexican–American War and a Confederate lieutenant general in the
American Civil War. He graduated from West Point and taught there for
five years, with an interlude during the Mexican–American War. He left
the army in 1855 to manage real estate he inherited in Chicago. In 1857,
he returned to his native state (Kentucky) and was appointed adjutant
general by Governor Beriah Magoffin. He attempted to enforce Kentucky's
neutrality policy during the early days of the Civil War, but enlisted
in the Confederate Army in September 1861. He was the first Confederate
general to surrender an army, doing so at the Battle of Fort Donelson in
1862. He also participated in Braxton Bragg's failed attempt to invade
Kentucky. On August 30, 1887, he was inaugurated governor of Kentucky.
As governor, he worked to suppress the Hatfield-McCoy feud and the Rowan
County War and ordered an audit that prompted state treasurer James W.
Tate to abscond with $250,000 from the state treasury. He unsuccessfully
sought a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1895 and the U.S. Vice-Presidency in
1896.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_B._Buckner>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1799:
Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland: A squadron of the navy of
the Batavian Republic surrendered to the Royal Navy without a fight near
Wieringen.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlieter_Incident>
1836:
Real estate entrepreneurs John Kirby Allen and Augustus Chapman
Allen founded the city of Houston on land near the banks of Buffalo
Bayou in present-day Texas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston>
1896:
Philippine Revolution: In the Battle of San Juan del Monte, the
first real battle of the war, a Katipunan force temporarily captured a
powder magazine before being beaten back by a Spanish garrison.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_San_Juan_del_Monte>
1942:
Second World War: Erwin Rommel launched the last major Axis
offensive of the Western Desert Campaign, attacking the British Eighth
Army position near El Alamein, Egypt.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Alam_el_Halfa>
1984:
Space Shuttle Discovery took off on its maiden voyage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Discovery>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
leech:
1. (transitive) To apply a leech medicinally, so that it sucks blood from
the patient.
2. (transitive) To drain (resources) without giving back.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/leech>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy, and when
wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of
the change without torture such as you cannot even imagine.
--Mary Shelley
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mary_Shelley>
The history of Michigan State University (MSU) dates to 1855, when the
Michigan Legislature established the Agricultural College of the State
of Michigan. As the first agricultural college in the United States, the
school served as a prototype for future Land Grant institutions under
the Morrill Act. The school's first class graduated in 1861. That same
year, the Michigan Legislature approved a plan to allow the school to
adopt a four-year curriculum and grant degrees comparable to those of
rival University of Michigan. In 1870, the College became co-educational
and expanded its curriculum beyond agriculture into a broad array of
coursework commencing with home economics for women students. The school
established "Farmers' Institutes" as a means of reaching out to the
state's agricultural community; the program gradually became the MSU
Extension Services. After World War II, the college gained admission to
the Big Ten Conference and grew to become one of the largest educational
institutions in the United States. In its centennial year of 1955, the
state officially made the school a university and the current name was
adopted in 1964 after Michigan voters adopted a new constitution.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Michigan_State_University>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1533:
Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire: Conquistador Francisco
Pizarro executed the last independent Inca Emperor Atahualpa in
Cajamarca.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atahualpa>
1786:
Led by Daniel Shays, disgruntled farmers in Western
Massachusetts, US, angered by high tax burdens and disenfranchisement,
started Shays' Rebellion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shays%27_Rebellion>
1831:
Michael Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction, leading
to the formation of Faraday's law of induction.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday%27s_law_of_induction>
1916:
The United States Congress passed the Philippine Autonomy Act,
the first formal and official declaration of the US commitment to grant
independence to the Philippines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones_Law_(Philippines)>
1949:
The Soviet Union successfully conducted its first nuclear
weapons test, exploding the 22-kiloton RDS-1.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RDS-1>
1991:
Italian businessman Libero Grassi was killed by the Sicilian
Mafia after taking a public stand against their extortion demands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libero_Grassi>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
skyclad:
(Wicca) Naked outdoors.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/skyclad>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
An act of goodness is of itself an act of happiness. No reward coming
after the event can compare with the sweet reward that went with it.
--Maurice Maeterlinck
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Maurice_Maeterlinck>