Philitas of Cos (<abbr title="circa">c.</abbr> 340 – c. 285 BC) was a
scholar and poet during the early Hellenistic period of ancient Greece.
A Greek associated with Alexandria, he flourished in the second half of
the 4th century BC and was appointed tutor to the heir to the throne of
Ptolemaic Egypt. He was thin and frail; Athenaeus later caricatured him
as an academic so consumed by his studies that he wasted away and died.
Philitas was the first major writer who was both a scholar and a poet.
His reputation continued for centuries, based on both his pioneering
study of words and his verse in elegiac meter. His vocabulary
Disorderly Words described the meanings of rare literary words,
including those used by Homer. His poetry, notably his elegiac poem
Demeter, was highly respected by later ancient poets. However, almost
all his work has since been lost.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philitas_of_Cos>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1776:
American Revolutionary War: Ships of the Continental Navy
unsuccessfully attempted to capture the HMS Glasgow near Block Island.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Block_Island>
1793:
French Revolution: The Committee of Public Safety was established, and
would become the de facto executive government during the forthcoming
Reign of Terror.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_of_Public_Safety>
1886:
Vancouver, one of British Columbia's youngest cities, was incorporated.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver>
1941:
World War II: The Axis Powers began both Operation Marita and Directive
n. 25, invading Greece and Yugoslavia, respectively.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Greece>
2009:
A 6.3 Mw earthquake struck the region of Abruzzo in central Italy ,
killing 308 people in injuring more than 1,500 others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_L%27Aquila_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
spallation (n):
1. Fragmentation due to stress or impact.
2. (physics) A nuclear reaction in which a nucleus fragments into many
nucleons
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spallation>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant
land.
Thus the little minutes,
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty
ages
Of eternity.
--Julia Abigail Fletcher Carney
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julia_Abigail_Fletcher_Carney>
Polyozellus is a fungal genus in the family Thelephoraceae, a grouping
of mushrooms known collectively as the leathery earthfans. A monotypic
genus, it contains the single species Polyozellus multiplex, first
described in 1899. The distinctive fruit body of this species comprises
blue- to purple-colored clusters of vase- or spoon-shaped caps with
veiny wrinkles on the undersurface that run down the length of the
stem. Polyozellus has had a varied taxonomic history and has been
reclassified several times at both the family and genus level. The
range of Polyozellus includes North America and eastern Asia, where
P. multiplex may be found growing on the ground in coniferous forests,
usually under spruce and fir trees. It is an edible species, and has
been harvested for commercial purposes. Polyozellus multiplex contains
the bioactive compound polyozellin, shown to have various physiological
properties, including suppressive effects on stomach cancer.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyozellus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1566:
A convenant of nobles in the Habsburg Netherlands presented Governor
Margaret of Parma a petition to suspend the Spanish Inquisition in the
Netherlands.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compromise_of_Nobles>
1722:
Dutch explorer Jakob Roggeveen became the first European to land on
Easter Island.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Island>
1847:
Britain's first civic public park, Birkenhead Park in Birkenhead,
Merseyside, England, opened.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkenhead_Park>
1998:
Japan's Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, linking Awaji Island and Kobe, opened to
traffic, becoming the longest suspension bridge in the world to date
with a main span length of 1,991 metres (6,532 ft).
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akashi_Kaiky%C5%8D_Bridge>
2009:
The North Korean satellite Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 was launched from the
Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground and passed over Japan, sparking
concerns by other nations that it may have been a trial run of
technology that could be used to launch intercontinental ballistic
missiles.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwangmy%C5%8Fngs%C5%8Fng-2>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Paschal Lamb (n):
1. (historical) The lamb eaten at Passover.
2. (figuratively) Jesus Christ, symbolized as a sacrifice.
3.
(heraldry) A lamb depicted with nimbus and bearing a flag
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Paschal_Lamb>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of
management says is possible.
--Colin Powell
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Colin_Powell>
Umbriel is a moon of Uranus discovered together with Ariel on October
24, 1851, by William Lassell. It was named after a character in
Alexander Pope's poem The Rape of the Lock. Umbriel consists mainly of
ice with a substantial fraction of rock, and may be differentiated into
a rocky core and an icy mantle. The surface is the darkest among
Uranian moons, and appears to have been shaped primarily by impacts.
However, the presence of canyons suggests early endogenic processes,
and the moon may have undergone an early endogenically driven
resurfacing event that obliterated its older surface. Covered by
numerous impact craters reaching 210 km (130 mi) in diameter, Umbriel
is the second most heavily cratered satellite of Uranus after Oberon.
The most prominent surface feature on it is a ring of bright material
on the floor of Wunda crater. This moon, like all moons of Uranus,
probably formed from an accretion disk that surrounded the planet just
after its formation. The Uranian system has been studied up close only
once: by the spacecraft Voyager 2 in January 1986. It took several
images of Umbriel, which allowed mapping of about 40% of the moon’s
surface.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbriel_%28moon%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1860:
The Pony Express, a mail service that became the most direct means of
long distance communication to the American West, began operation.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express>
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.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitechapel_murders>
1922:
Joseph Stalin became the first General Secretary of the Communist Party
of the Soviet Union.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin>
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.
<http://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.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Cooper_%28inventor%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
potentate (n):
A powerful leader; a monarch, ruler
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/potentate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do
something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the
something that I can do.
--Edward Everett Hale
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Everett_Hale>
Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas is the third book
of Maya Angelou's six-volume autobiography series. Set between 1949 and
1955, the book largely spans Angelou's twenties. In this volume,
Angelou describes her struggles to support her young son, form
meaningful relationships and forge a successful career in the
entertainment world. The work's 1976 publication was the first time an
African American woman had expanded her life story into a third volume.
Scholar Dolly McPherson called the book "a graphic portrait of the
adult self in bloom", while critic Lyman B. Hagen called it "a journey
of discovery and rebirth". In Swingin' and Singin, Angelou examines
many of the same subjects and themes in her previous autobiographies,
including travel, music, race, conflict, and motherhood. Angelou
depicts the conflict she felt as a single mother, despite her success
as a performer as she travels Europe with the musical Porgy and Bess.
Her depictions of her travels, which take up 40 percent of the book,
have roots in the African American slave narrative.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singin%27_and_Swingin%27_and_Gettin%27_Merry_L…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1513:
Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León set foot on Florida, becoming
the first European known to do so, purportedly while searching for the
Fountain of Youth in the New World.
<http://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
off the coast of Copenhagen.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Copenhagen>
1956:
As the World Turns premiered on American television as the first
half-hour soap opera .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_the_World_Turns>
1973:
The Liberal Movement broke away from the Liberal and Country League in
South Australia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Movement_%28Australia%29>
2002:
Operation Defensive Shield: Approximately 200 Palestinian militants
fled the advancing Israel Defense Forces into the Church of the
Nativity in Bethlehem, starting a month-long standoff.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_the_Church_of_the_Nativity_in_Bethleh…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
antsy (adj):
Restless, apprehensive and fidgety
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/antsy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
My spirit to yours dear brother,
Do not mind because many sounding your name do not understand you,
I do not sound your name, but I understand you,
I specify you with joy O my comrade to salute you, and to salute
those who are with you, before and since, and those to come also,
That we all labor together transmitting the same charge and
succession,
We few equals indifferent of lands, indifferent of times,
We,
enclosers of all continents, all castes, allowers of all theologies,
Compassionaters, perceivers, rapport of men,
We walk silent among
disputes and assertions, but reject not the disputers nor any thing
that is asserted,
We hear the bawling and din, we are reach'd at by divisions,
jealousies, recriminations on every side,
They close peremptorily upon us to surround us, my comrade,
Yet we
walk unheld, free, the whole earth over, journeying up and down till we
make our ineffaceable mark upon time and the diverse eras,
Till we saturate time and eras, that the men and women of races, ages
to come, may prove brethren and lovers as we are.
--Walt Whitman
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman>
Fanny scratching in 18th-century London's Cock Lane was so notorious
that interested bystanders often blocked the street. It became the
focus of a religious controversy between Methodists and orthodox
Anglicans, and was reported on by celebrities of the period such as
Samuel Johnson. Charles Dickens referred to the phenomenon in several
of his books, including Nicholas Nickleby and A Tale of Two Cities, and
other Victorian authors also alluded to it in their work. One
enterprising resident diverted the crowds that gathered in Cock Lane by
allowing them to converse with a ghost he claimed was haunting his
home, to which he charged an entrance fee. Fanny scratching eventually
resulted in several prosecutions, and the pillorying of a father for
encouraging his 11-year-old daughter to take part.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cock_Lane_ghost>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1234:
An Englishman lost the Battle of the Curragh in Ireland, at the same
place where an Australian would lose the 1297 Battle of Stirling Bridge
in Scotland more than 700 years later.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Curragh>
1933:
Wally was found in Eden Park having run 336 times, more than anyone
else in recorded history at the time.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_Hammond>
1969:
The British-born model Hawker Siddeley Harrier was introduced at a
Royal Air Force event, becoming the only one in the 1960s to
successfully perform on a short runway.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Siddeley_Harrier>
1979:
The people of Iran overwhelmingly approved a national referendum to
renovate their government buildings.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Revolution>
2002:
The Netherlands became the first country to approve medical treatments
that provide permanent pain relief from all known human diseases and
disorders.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanasia_in_the_Netherlands>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
foolscap (n):
1. (strictly) Writing paper sheets measuring 13.25 x 16.5 inches
2. (more usually) Such a sheet folded or cut in half, thus
approximately 8 x 13.25 inches
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/foolscap>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
To joke in the face of danger is the supreme politeness, a delicate
refusal to cast oneself as a tragic hero.
--Edmond Rostand
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmond_Rostand>
Sir Richard Williams (1890–1980) is regarded as the "father" of the
Royal Australian Air Force. He was the first military pilot trained in
Australia, and commanded fighter units in World War I. A proponent of
independent air power, Williams played a leading role in the
establishment of the RAAF and became its first and longest-serving
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). Born into a working class family, he was
an Army Lieutenant when he learned to fly in 1914. As a pilot with the
Australian Flying Corps in World War I, Williams commanded No. 1
Squadron and later 40th Wing RAF, earning the Distinguished Service
Order. Afterwards he campaigned for an Australian Air Force separate
from the Army and Navy, and this came into being on 31 March 1921. The
fledgling RAAF faced challenges to its existence for the next decade,
and Williams was credited with maintaining its independence. However an
adverse report on flying safety saw him dismissed as CAS prior to World
War II. Despite promotion to Air Marshal in 1940, he never again
commanded the RAAF. After the war he was forcibly retired and took up
the position of Director-General of Civil Aviation. He was knighted
shortly before his retirement in 1955.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Williams_%28RAAF_officer%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1146:
French abbot Bernard of Clairvaux made a sermon to a crowd at Vézelay,
with King Louis VII in attendance, urging the necessity of a Second
Crusade.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_of_Clairvaux>
1822:
Greek War of Independence: Ottoman troops began the massacre of over
20,000 Greeks on the island of Chios.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chios_Massacre>
1854:
U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry and the Tokugawa shogunate signed
the Convention of Kanagawa, forcing the opening of Japanese ports to
American trade.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_of_Kanagawa>
1910:
The six English towns of Burslem, Tunstall, Stoke-upon-Trent, Hanley,
Fenton and Longton, amalgamated to form a single county borough.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_of_Stoke-on-Trent>
1942:
World War II: Because of a mutiny by Indian soldiers against their
British officers, Japanese troops captured Christmas Island without any
resistance.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Christmas_Island>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
even Homer nods (proverb):
Not even the most vigilant and expert are immune from erring
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/even_Homer_nods>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
History will judge societies and governments — and their institutions —
not by how big they are or how well they serve the rich and the
powerful, but by how effectively they respond to the needs of the poor
and the helpless.
--Cesar Chavez
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cesar_Chavez>
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons is a 1960s British science-fiction
television series created by Gerry Anderson (pictured) and produced by
Century 21 Productions for Associated Television. In keeping with
Anderson's earlier productions such as Thunderbirds, it mixes
marionette puppet characters and scale-model special effects in a
filming technique dubbed "Supermarionation". The plot of the 32-episode
series, set in 2068, centres on an interplanetary war between Earth and
a race of Martians known as the Mysterons. Captain Scarlet, top agent
of Spectrum, an international security organisation, acquires
"retro-metabolism" (a Mysteron healing power that enables him to
recover from normally fatal injuries), making him Earth's
"indestructible" ultimate weapon against the threat from Mars.
Reception to the series has acknowledged a "dark" tone and a large
amount of depicted violence, although the programme has a target
audience of children. A computer-animated reboot series, Gerry
Anderson's New Captain Scarlet, commenced broadcast in 2005.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Scarlet_and_the_Mysterons>
_______________________________
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.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Vespers>
1822:
The United States merged East Florida and West Florida to create the
Florida Territory.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Territory>
1940:
Second Sino-Japanese War: Wang Jingwei was officially installed by
Japan as head of a puppet state in China.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Jingwei>
1972:
Vietnam War: North Vietnamese forces began the Easter Offensive in an
attempt to gain as much territory and destroy as many units of the
South Vietnamese Army as possible.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Offensive>
1981:
Trying to impress actress Jodie Foster, obsessed fan John Hinckley, Jr.
shot and wounded U.S. President Ronald Reagan and three others outside
the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reagan_assassination_attempt>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pepo (n):
1. A kind of fruit possessing a hard rind and producing many seeds in a
single, central, pulpy chamber; a melon, gourd.
2. A plant producing such a fruit
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pepo>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Laughter is wine for the soul – laughter soft, or loud and deep, tinged
through with seriousness. Comedy and tragedy step through life
together, arm in arm, all along, out along, down along lea. A laugh is
a great natural stimulator, a pushful entry into life; and once we can
laugh, we can live. It is the hilarious declaration made by man that
life is worth living.
--Seán O'Casey
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Se%C3%A1n_O%27Casey>
The Battle of Towton was the "largest and bloodiest battle ever fought
on English soil". The engagement took place on 29 March 1461, a Palm
Sunday, near a village of the same name in Yorkshire. It was part of
the series of civil wars—the Wars of the Roses—fought between the
Houses of Lancaster and York. More than 50,000 supporters were mustered
for this battle. The reigning king of England, Henry VI, headed the
Lancastrians, while the Yorkists were led by Edward IV, who had
declared himself king and was using this battle to affirm his claim.
Their armies met on a plateau near Towton amidst a snowstorm. The
Lancastrians, superior in numbers, were lured out of their defensive
positions by the Yorkist archers, who took advantage of the strong wind
to outrange their counterparts and inflict casualties without suffering
any in return. The ensuing melee raged for hours, and the Yorkists
finally gained victory after the arrival of their reinforcements. Many
Lancastrians were killed in their panicked flight from the battlefield,
and the heralds reported a count of 28,000 dead. Henry fled to
Scotland, leaving Edward free to start the Yorkist dynasty.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Towton>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1461:
Yorkist troops defeated Lancastrian forces at the Battle of Towton in
Yorkshire, England, the largest battle in the Wars of the Roses up
until that time with approximately 20,000 casualties.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Towton>
1882:
The Knights of Columbus, the world's largest Catholic fraternal service
organization, was founded by Michael J. McGivney in New Haven,
Connecticut, US.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_Columbus>
1942:
World War II: The British Royal Air Force completed a bombing raid of
Lübeck, the first major success for RAF Bomber Command against a German
city.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_L%C3%BCbeck_in_World_War_II>
1946:
Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, one of Mexico's leading
universities, was founded.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instituto_Tecnol%C3%B3gico_Aut%C3%B3nomo_de_M%…>
1982:
Queen Elizabeth II gave Royal Assent to the Canada Act 1982, which
ended all remaining dependence of Canada on the United Kingdom by a
process known as "patriation".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Act_1982>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
one fell swoop (n):
(idiomatic) One stroke; one action or event with many results
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/one_fell_swoop>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
She is young. Have I the right
Even to name her? Child,
It is not love I offer
Your quick limbs,
your eyes;
Only the barren homage
Of an old man whom time
Crucifies.
--R. S. Thomas
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/R._S._Thomas>
Rhodocene is a chemical compound with the formula Rh(C5H5)2. Each
molecule contains an atom of rhodium bound between two planar systems
of five carbon atoms known as cyclopentadienyl rings in a sandwich
arrangement. It is an organometallic compound as it has covalent
rhodium–carbon bonds. Biomedical researchers have examined the
applications of rhodium compounds and their derivatives in medicine and
reported one potential application for a rhodocene derivative as a
radiopharmaceutical to treat small cancers. Rhodocene derivatives are
also used to synthesise linked metallocenes so that metal–metal
interactions can be studied; potential applications of these
derivatives include molecular electronics and research into the
mechanisms of catalysis. The value of rhodocenes tend to be in the
insights they provide into the bonding and dynamics of novel chemical
systems, rather than their direct use in applications.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodocene>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
193:
Praetorian Guards assassinated Roman Emperor Pertinax and sold the
throne in an auction to Didius Julianus.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pertinax>
1802:
German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovered 2 Pallas,
the second asteroid known to man.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_Pallas>
1942:
World War II: In occupied France, British naval forces successfully
disabled the key port of Saint-Nazaire.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Nazaire_Raid>
1979:
A partial core meltdown of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating
Station near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, US, resulted in the release of
an estimated 43,000 curies (1.59 PBq) of radioactive krypton to the
environment.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island_Nuclear_Generating_Station>
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.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/190th_Fighter_Squadron%2C_Blues_and_Royals_fri…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tenacious (adj):
1. Clinging to an object or surface; adhesive.
2. Unwilling to yield from a point of view; dogged.
3. Holding
together; cohesive
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tenacious>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I perceive the world in fragments. It is somewhat like being on a very
fast train and getting glimpses of things in strange scales as you pass
by. A person can be very, very tiny. And a billboard can make a person
very large. You see the corner of a house or you see a bird fly by, and
it's all fragmented. Somehow, in painting I try to make some logic out
of the world that has been given to me in chaos. I have a very
pretentious idea that I want to make life, I want to make sense out of
it. The fact that I am doomed to failure — that doesn't deter me in the
least.
--Grace Hartigan
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Grace_Hartigan>
Drapier's Letters is the collective name for a series of seven
pamphlets written between 1724 and 1725 by Jonathan Swift to arouse
public opinion in Ireland against the imposition of a privately minted
copper coinage which Swift believed to be of inferior quality. William
Wood was granted a letters patent to mint the coin, and Swift saw the
licensing of the patent as corrupt. In response, Swift represented
Ireland as constitutionally and financially independent in the
Drapier's Letters. Since the subject was politically sensitive, Swift
wrote under the pseudonym M. B. Drapier to hide from retaliation.
Although the letters were condemned by the Irish government, with
prompting from the British government, they were still able to inspire
popular sentiment against Wood and his patent. The popular sentiment
turned into a nationwide boycott, which forced the patent to be
withdrawn; Swift was later honoured for this service to the people of
Ireland. The first complete collection of the Drapier's Letters
appeared in the 1735 George Faulkner edition of the Works of Jonathan
Swift along with an allegorical frontispiece offering praise and thanks
from the Irish people. Today, the Drapier's Letters are an important
part of Swift's political writings, along with Gulliver's Travels
(1726), A Tale of a Tub (1704), and A Modest Proposal (1729).
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drapier%27s_Letters>
_______________________________
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.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Watson-Wentworth%2C_2nd_Marquess_of_Ro…>
1958:
Nikita Khrushchev became Premier of the Soviet Union following the
death of Joseph Stalin.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Khrushchev>
1975:
Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, an oil pipeline
spanning the breadth of the U.S. state of Alaska, began.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction_of_the_Trans-Alaska_Pipeline_Syst…>
1981:
The Solidarity movement in Poland staged a warning strike, the biggest
strike in the history of the Eastern Bloc, in which at least 12 million
Poles walked off their jobs for four hours.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_warning_strike_in_Poland>
2009:
The dam holding Situ Gintung, an artificial lake in Tangerang District,
Indonesia, failed, releasing floods that killed at least 100 people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situ_Gintung>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
bilious (adj):
1. Suffering from real or supposed liver disorder.
2. Of or pertaining to something containing or consisting of bile.
3.
Irritable or bad tempered; irascible
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bilious>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Non-evaluative insight into history does not inevitably lead to
relativism, but rather to relationism. Knowledge, as seen in the light
of the total conception of ideology, is by no means an illusory
experience, for ideology in its relational concept is not at all
identical with illusion. Knowledge arising out of our experience in
actual life situations, though not absolute, is knowledge none the
less.
--Karl Mannheim
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Mannheim>