FC Barcelona is a professional football club, based in Barcelona,
Catalonia, Spain. Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English and
Catalan footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of
Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto "Més que un club" (More
than a club). The official Barça anthem is the "Cant del Barça"
written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs. Unlike many other
football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the
world's second richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual
turnover of €398 million. The club holds a long-standing rivalry with
Real Madrid, and matches between the two teams are referred to as "El
Clásico". They are the current European football champions, and have
won 21 La Liga, 25 Copa del Rey, 10 Supercopa de España, 3 Copa Eva
Duarte and 2 Copa de la Liga trophies, and are the record holder for the
latter four competitions. In international club football Barcelona have
won four UEFA Champions League, a record four UEFA Cup Winners' Cup,
four UEFA Super Cup, a record three Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and a record
two FIFA Club World Cup trophies.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futbol_Club_Barcelona>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1745:
War of the Austrian Succession: French forces defeated the
Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian "Pragmatic Army" at the Battle of Fontenoy in the
Austrian Netherlands in present day Belgium.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fontenoy>
1812:
In the lobby of the British House of Commons, Spencer Perceval
became the first, and to date only, British Prime Minister to be
assassinated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_Perceval>
1894:
In response to a 28 percent wage cut, 4,000 Pullman Palace Car
Company workers went on a strike in Illinois, bringing traffic west of
Chicago to a halt.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pullman_Strike>
1910:
Glacier National Park, located in the U.S. state of Montana,
was designated a national park.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacier_National_Park_(U.S.)>
1985:
During an association football match between Bradford City and
Lincoln City in Bradford, England, a flash fire consumed one side of the
Valley Parade stadium, killing 56 attendees.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradford_City_stadium_fire>
1997:
Deep Blue became the first computer to win a match against a
world chess champion, when it defeated Garry Kasparov in six games.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Blue_(chess_computer)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
atheophobia:
Fear or hatred of atheism or atheists.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/atheophobia>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Our imagination is stretched to the utmost, not, as in fiction, to
imagine things which are not really there, but just to comprehend those
things which are there.
--Richard Feynman
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman>
The Qayen earthquake was a major earthquake that struck Northern Iran's
Khorasan Province on May 10, 1997. The largest in the area since 1990,
it measured 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale and was centered
approximately 270 kilometers (170 mi) south of Mashhad on the village
of Ardekul. The third earthquake that year to cause severe damage, it
devastated the Birjand–Qayen region, killing 1,567 and injuring over
2,300. The earthquake—which left 50,000 homeless and damaged or
destroyed over 15,000 homes—was described as the deadliest of 1997 by
the United States Geological Survey. Some 155 aftershocks caused
further destruction and drove away survivors. The earthquake was later
discovered to have been caused by a rupture along a fault that runs
underneath the Iran–Afghanistan border. Damage was eventually
estimated at $100 million, and many countries responded to the
emergency with donations of blankets, tents, clothing, and food. Rescue
teams were also dispatched to assist local volunteers in finding
survivors trapped under the debris. The destruction around the
earthquake's epicenter was, in places, almost total; this has been
attributed to poor construction practices, and imparted momentum to a
growing movement for changes in building codes. With 1 in 3,000 deaths
in Iran attributable to earthquakes, one expert has suggested that a
country-wide rebuilding program would be needed to address the ongoing
public safety concerns.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Qayen_earthquake>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1775:
American Revolutionary War: Delegates from the Thirteen
Colonies met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to convene the Second
Continental Congress, which would serve as the de facto national
government of the future United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Continental_Congress>
1824:
The National Gallery in London opened to the public, in the
former townhouse of the collector John Julius Angerstein.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Gallery>
1833:
Le Van Khoi broke out of prison to start a revolt against
Vietnamese Emperor Minh Mạng, primarily to avenge the desecration of
the grave of his adopted father Lê Văn Duyệt, former viceroy of the
southern part of Vietnam.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%AA_V%C4%83n_Kh%C3%B4i_revolt>
1849:
A personal dispute between actors Edwin Forrest and William
Macready in New York City devolved into a riot that left at least 25
dead and more than 120 injured.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astor_Place_Riot>
1941:
World War II: Nazi leader Rudolf Hess parachuted into Scotland,
claiming to be on a peace mission.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Hess>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cymotrichous:
(anthropology) Having wavy hair.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cymotrichous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The most important of my achievements, if you want to call them that,
was that I successfully introduced mystical ideas into pop culture, …
I wanted to save our culture from the stupidity and the bigotry and the
ignorance that threatened it.
--Donovan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Donovan>
The Cleomenean War was fought by Sparta and its ally, Elis, against the
Achaean League and Macedon. The war ended in a Macedonian and Achaean
victory. In 235 BC, Cleomenes III ascended the throne of Sparta and
began a program of reform aimed at restoring traditional Spartan
discipline while weakening the influence of the ephors. When, in 229 BC,
the ephors sent Cleomenes to seize a town on the border with
Megalopolis, the Achaeans declared war. Cleomenes responded by ravaging
Achaea. At Mount Lycaeum he defeated an army under Aratus of Sicyon, and
then routed a second army near Megalopolis. Meanwhile, in domestic
politics, he ordered the assassination of the ephors. In quick
succession, Cleomenes cleared the cities of Arcadia of their Achaean
garrisons, before crushing another Achaean force at Dyme. Facing Spartan
domination of the League, Aratus was forced to turn to Antigonus III
Doson of Macedon and request that he assist the Achaeans' efforts to
defeat the Spartans. Cleomenes eventually invaded Achaea, seizing
control of both Corinth and Argos. When Antigonus arrived in the
Peloponnese, however, Cleomenes was forced to retreat to Laconia. He
fought the Achaeans and the Macedonians at Sellasia, but the Spartans
were routed. Cleomenes then fled to the court of his ally, Ptolemy III
of Egypt, where he ultimately committed suicide.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleomenean_War>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1671:
Irish-born Colonel Thomas Blood was caught trying to steal the
English Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Blood>
1877:
An 8.5 Ms earthquake struck the northern portion of Chile and
killed 2,541 people, including some as far away as Hawaii and Japan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1877_Iquique_earthquake>
1918:
First World War: Germany repelled Britain's second attempt to
blockade the Belgian port of Ostend.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Ostend_Raid>
1977:
The Hotel Polen in Amsterdam was destroyed by fire, which
resulted in 33 deaths and 21 injuries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Polen_fire>
1992:
An underground methane explosion at the Westray Mine occurred
in Plymouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, killing all 26 coal miners who were
working at the time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westray_Mine>
2004:
Akhmad Kadyrov, the first President of the Chechen Republic,
and about 30 others were killed by a bomb during a World War II
memorial victory parade in Grozny.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhmad_Kadyrov>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
fuzzword:
A term that is deliberately vague or euphemistic in meaning.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fuzzword>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Were art to redeem man, it could do so only by saving him from the
seriousness of life and restoring him to an unexpected boyishness. The
symbol of art is seen again in the magic flute of the Great God Pan
which makes the young goats frisk at the edge of the grove. All modern
art begins to appear comprehensible and in a way great when it is
interpreted as an attempt to instill youthfulness into an ancient world.
--José Ortega y Gasset
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Ortega_y_Gasset>
Richard II (1367–1400) was King of England, a member of the House of
Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377
until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black
Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather,
Edward III. Richard was tall, good-looking and intelligent.
Although probably not insane, as earlier historians believed, he may
have suffered from one or several personality disorders that may have
become more apparent toward the end of his reign. Less of a warrior than
either his father or grandfather, he sought to bring an end to the
Hundred Years' War that Edward III had started. He was a firm believer
in the royal prerogative, which led him to restrain the power of his
nobility and rely on a private retinue for military protection instead.
He also cultivated a courtly atmosphere where the king was an elevated
figure, and art and culture were at the centre, in contrast to the
fraternal, martial court of his grandfather. Richard's posthumous
reputation has to a large extent been shaped by Shakespeare, whose play
Richard II portrays Richard's misrule and Bolingbroke's deposition
as responsible for the 15th-century Wars of the Roses. Most authorities
agree that the way in which he carried his policies out was unacceptable
to the political establishment, and this led to his downfall.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_II_of_England>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1541:
Spanish conquistadors led by Hernando de Soto (pictured) became
the first documented Europeans to reach the Mississippi River.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernando_de_Soto>
1924:
Lithuania signed the Klaipėda Convention with the nations of
the Conference of Ambassadors, taking the Klaipėda Region from East
Prussia and making it into an autonomous region under unconditional
sovereignty of Lithuania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaip%C4%97da_Convention>
1945:
Most armed forces under German control ceased active operations
by 23:01 CET after the German Instrument of Surrender was formally
ratified, marking the end of World War II in Europe.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Instrument_of_Surrender>
1972:
Four members of Black September hijacked Sabena Flight 571 to
demand the release of 315 convicted Palestinian terrorists.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabena_Flight_571_hijacking>
1987:
A British Army Special Air Service unit ambushed a Provisional
Irish Republican Army unit in Loughgall, Northern Ireland, killing eight
IRA members and a civilian.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loughgall_Ambush>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
adversity:
1. (uncountable) The state of adverse conditions; state of misfortune or
calamity.
2. (countable) An event that is adverse; calamity.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/adversity>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
He had decided long ago that no Situation had any objective reality: it
only existed in the minds of those who happened to be in on it at any
specific moment. ‌ The only consolation he drew from the
present chaos was that his theory managed to explain it.
--Thomas Pynchon
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon>
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. is an American Western/science fiction television series created by Jeffrey Boam and Carlton Cuse. It ran for 27 episodes on the Fox network starting in the 1993–94 season. Set in the American West of 1893, the series follows its title character, a Harvard-educated lawyer-turned-bounty hunter hired by a group of wealthy industrialists to track and capture outlaw John Bly and his gang. Bruce Campbell plays Brisco, who is joined by a colorful group of supporting characters, including Julius Carry as fellow bounty hunter Lord Bowler and Christian Clemenson as stick-in-the-mud lawyer Socrates Poole. While ostensibly a Western, the series routinely includes elements of the science fiction and steampunk genres. The series earned high ratings at the beginning of its season, but later episodes failed to attract a substantial number of viewers. Fox canceled the show at the end of its first and only season. In 2006, Warner Home Video released a DVD set containing all 27 episodes, which was anticipated by fans and critics. The series has been remembered fondly by critics, who praise its humor and unique blend of genres.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Brisco_County,_Jr.>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
351:
Jews in the Roman province of Syria Palaestina rebelled against the rule of Constantius Gallus, Caesar of the Eastern Roman Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_revolt_against_Gallus>
1763:
Chief Pontiac (pictured) of the Ottawa Native American tribe led an attempt to seize Fort Detroit and drive out the British settlers, marking the start of Pontiac's War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac%27s_War>
1920:
Polish–Soviet War: During the Kiev Offensive, Polish troops, with the help of a symbolic Ukrainian force, captured Kiev, only to be driven out by the Soviet Red Army counter-offensive a month later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiev_Offensive_(1920)>
1946:
Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita founded the Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation, which later changed its name to Sony.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony>
2009:
Police in Napier, New Zealand, began a 40-hour siege of the home of a former New Zealand Army member who killed several officers during the routine execution of a search warrant.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Napier_shootings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
becastled:
Fortified by or furnished with a castle or castles.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/becastled>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress.
--Joseph Joubert
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_Joubert>
The invasion of Tulagi, on 3–4 May 1942, was part of Operation Mo, the
Empire of Japan's strategy in the South Pacific and South West Pacific
Area in 1942. The plan called for Imperial Japanese Navy troops to
capture Tulagi and nearby islands in the Solomon Islands Protectorate.
The occupation of Tulagi by the Japanese was intended to cover the
flank of and provide reconnaissance support for Japanese forces that
were advancing on Port Moresby in New Guinea, provide greater defensive
depth for the major Japanese base at Rabaul, and serve as a base for
Japanese forces to threaten and interdict the supply and communication
routes between the United States and Australia and New Zealand. Without
the means to capably resist the Japanese offensive in the Solomons, the
British Resident Commissioner and the few Australian troops assigned to
defend Tulagi evacuated just before the Japanese forces arrived on 3
May. Despite considerable losses inflicted by carrier-based American
planes, the Japanese occupied the islands.
Read the rest of this article:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Tulagi_%28May_1942%29>
_______________________________
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>
1915:
The oldest continually operational Royal Air Force station, RAF
Northolt, opened as the home to No. 4 Reserve Aeroplane Squadron.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Northolt>
1920:
Relying on the 11th Soviet Red Army operating in neighboring
Azerbaijan, Bolsheviks attempted to stage a coup d'etat in Georgia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_Georgian_coup_attempt>
1945:
Second World War: German ocean liner Cap Arcona, left to float
defencelessly in the Bay of Lübeck with thousands of prisoners from
various concentration camps on board, was attacked and sunk by RAF
Typhoons.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Cap_Arcona_%281927%29>
1960:
The Off-Broadway musical comedy The Fantasticks made its premiere,
eventually becoming the world's longest-running musical.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fantasticks>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cogitable (adj):
thinkable, conceivable, able to be imagined.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cogitable>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The same energy of character which renders a man a daring villain
would have rendered him useful to society, had that society been well
organized.
--Mary Wollstonecraft
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mary_Wollstonecraft>
Golding Bird (1814–1854) was a British medical doctor and a Fellow of
the Royal College of Physicians. He lectured at Guy's Hospital, and
published a popular textbook on science for medical students. He
developed an interest in chemistry as a child, and through self-study
was advanced enough to deliver lectures to his fellow pupils at
school. He later applied this knowledge to medicine and became a great
authority on urinary deposits. He was the first to describe oxaluria,
a condition which leads to a particular kind of kidney stone. Bird was
innovative in the medical use of electricity, designing much of his
own equipment. He was instrumental in rescuing medical electrotherapy
from quackery and bringing it into the mainstream. He was quick to
adopt new instruments of all kinds; he invented the single-cell
Daniell cell and made important discoveries in electrometallurgy with
it. In 1840 he designed a flexible tube stethoscope, and published the
first description of such an instrument.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golding_Bird>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1194:
King Richard I of England gave the city of Portsmouth its first Royal Charter.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth>
1559:
Scottish clergyman John Knox (pictured) returned to Scotland from
exile to lead the Scottish Reformation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Knox>
1757:
Konbaung forces captured the city of Bago, Burma, to end the
Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konbaung%E2%80%93Hanthawaddy_War>
1982:
Falklands War: HMS Conqueror launched three torpedoes and sank ARA
General Belgrano, the only ship ever to have been sunk by a nuclear
submarine.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARA_General_Belgrano>
1986:
Henri Toivonen was killed in an accident while leading the Tour de
Corse rally, resulting in FISA, the sport governing body for motor
racing events, banning the powerful and popular Group B rally cars for
the following season.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Toivonen>
2011:
Osama bin Laden was shot and killed by U.S. Navy SEALs in a private
residential compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Osama_bin_Laden>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cucumiform:
Shaped like a cucumber; having the form of a cylinder tapered and
rounded at the ends, and possibly curved.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cucumiform>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
True anarchy is the generative element of religion. Out of the
annihilation of every positive element she lifts her gloriously
radiant countenance as the founder of a new world…
--Novalis
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Novalis>
Disintegration is the eighth studio album by English alternative rock
band The Cure, released on 1 May 1989 by Fiction Records. The record
marks a return to the introspective and gloomy gothic rock style the
band had established in the early 1980s. As he neared the age of
thirty, vocalist and guitarist Robert Smith (pictured) felt an
increased pressure to follow up on the group's pop successes with a
more enduring work. This, coupled with a distaste for the group's
new-found popularity, caused Smith to lapse back into the use of
hallucinogenic drugs, the effects of which had a strong influence on
the production of the album. The Cure recorded Disintegration at Hook
End Manor Studios in Reading, Berkshire, with co-producer David M.
Allen from late 1988 to early 1989. In spite of Fiction's fears that
the album would be "commercial suicide", Disintegration became the
band's commercial peak. It charted at number three in the United
Kingdom and at number twelve in the United States, and produced several
hit singles including "Lovesong", which peaked at number two on the
Billboard Hot 100. Disintegration sold over three million copies
worldwide. (Disintegration (The Cure album)
Recently featured: [[Planets beyond Neptune – Rainilaiarivony – SMS
König
Archive – By email – More featured articles...'''
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disintegration_%28The_Cure_album%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1786:
The Marriage of Figaro, an opera buffa composed by Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart, premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marriage_of_Figaro>
1794:
War of the Pyrenees: France regained nearly all the land it lost to
Spain the previous year with its victory in the Battle of Boulou.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Boulou>
1941:
Citizen Kane, a widely acclaimed film by actor and director Orson
Welles , premiered.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Kane>
1956:
A doctor in Japan reported an "epidemic of an unknown disease of the
central nervous system", marking the official discovery of Minamata
disease.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamata_disease>
2009:
Carol Ann Duffy was elected Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, the
first woman, the first Scot, and the first openly bisexual person to
hold the position, as well as the first laureate to be chosen in the
21st century.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Ann_Duffy>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
May-day sweep (n):
One of the brightly-clad chimney sweeps, carrying garlands and a
blackened broom, who participated in May Day parades: "as jocund among
us, as a May-day sweep" (Punch), "with a thing only fit for a May-day
sweep on one’s head" (The Kafir at Home)
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/May-day_sweep>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
88px
I shall endeavor to enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with
morality.
--Joseph Addison
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_Addison>
The search for planets beyond Neptune began following the discovery of
the planet Neptune in 1846, amid considerable speculation that another
planet might exist beyond its orbit. The search began in the mid-19th
century but culminated at the start of the 20th with Percival Lowell's
quest for Planet X. Lowell proposed the Planet X hypothesis to explain
apparent discrepancies in the orbits of the gas giants, particularly
Uranus and Neptune, speculating that the gravity of a large unseen
ninth planet could have perturbed Uranus enough to account for the
irregularities. Clyde Tombaugh's discovery of Pluto in 1930 appeared to
validate Lowell's hypothesis, and Pluto was officially considered the
ninth planet until 2006. In 1978, Pluto was found to be too small for
its gravity to affect the gas giants, resulting in a brief search for a
tenth planet. The search was largely abandoned in the early 1990s, when
a study of measurements made by the Voyager 2 spacecraft found that the
irregularities observed in Uranus's orbit were due to a slight
overestimation of Neptune's mass.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planets_beyond_Neptune>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1006:
SN 1006 , the brightest supernova in recorded history, first appeared
in the constellation Lupus, and was then seen by observers in
Switzerland, Egypt, China, Japan, and possibly North America within the
next day.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SN_1006>
1557:
Arauco War: Spanish forces of the Governor Francisco de Villagra
launched a dawn surprise attack against the Mapuche headed by their
toqui Lautaro in what is now Chile.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mataquito>
1894:
A crowd of workers unemployed due to the Panic of 1893 conducted the
first significant popular protest march on Washington, D.C.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coxey%27s_Army>
1943:
Second World War: The Royal Navy submarine HMS Seraph deposited the
body of a supposed British military intelligence officer with false
documents off the coast of Spain to deceive Germany about the upcoming
invasion of Sicily.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mincemeat>
1975:
North Vietnamese troops captured Saigon shortly after American forces
ended its helicopter evacuation of U.S. citizens, South Vietnamese
civilians and third country nationals from the city, ending the Vietnam
War with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnam.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Saigon>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
consonant (adj):
Characterized by harmony or agreement
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/consonant>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
11px
--Taisen Deshimaru
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Taisen_Deshimaru>
Rainilaiarivony (1828–1896) was the Prime Minister of Madagascar from
1864 to 1895. Named Commander-in-Chief of the Army by King Radama II
upon the death of Queen Ranavalona I in 1861, Rainilaiarivony played a
key role in transforming Madagascar's government from an absolute to a
constitutional monarchy. He was promoted to Prime Minister in 1864 and
remained in power for the next 31 years by marrying three queens in
succession: Rasoherina, Ranavalona II and Ranavalona III. As Prime
Minister, Rainilaiarivony modernized state administration and
legislated the Christianization of the monarchy. His diplomatic and
military acumen preserved Madagascar's sovereignty from colonial
interests until the French capture of the royal palace in September
1895. Although holding him in high esteem, the French colonial
authority deposed the prime minister and exiled him to French Algeria,
where he died less than a year later in August 1896.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainilaiarivony>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1770:
British explorer James Cook and the crew of HMS Endeavour became the
first European ship to land on Australia on the coast of Botany Bay
near present-day Sydney.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Endeavour>
1862:
American Civil War: Union forces under David Farragut captured New
Orleans, securing access into the Mississippi River.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_New_Orleans>
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.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_%28musical%29>
1970:
Vietnam War: The South Vietnamese Army launched incursions into
Cambodia to attack communist jungle bases.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_Campaign>
2011:
A worldwide television audience of 300 million people watched the
wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton at
Westminster Abbey in London.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Prince_William_and_Catherine_Middle…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
bestride (v):
To be astride something, to sit on with legs on either side, especially
to sit on a horse
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bestride>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
144px
--Henri Poincaré
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henri_Poincar%C3%A9>