The Baltimore City College is a public college-preparatory high school
in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. The City College curriculum includes the
International Baccalaureate Programme and emphasizes study in the
classics and liberal arts. Baltimore City College is a magnet school,
and admission to City College is competitive. Applicants from Baltimore
and the surrounding area are evaluated using a combination of grades
and standardized test scores. Established in 1839 as an all-male
institution, City College is the third oldest public high school in the
United States, predated by the English High School of Boston (1829) and
the Central High School of Philadelphia (1836). The school was located
in three different buildings in downtown Baltimore before relocating in
1928 to its current campus at 33rd Street and The Alameda. Following an
extensive renovation of the school's main building in 1978, the school
became coeducational. City College is a National Blue Ribbon School of
Excellence (1999–2000), one of only two public secondary schools in
Baltimore City to receive the award. In the May 2007 Newsweek report on
the top 1200 schools in the US, City College ranked 258.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_City_College>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1794:
The Glorious First of June , the first and largest fleet action of the
naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First
French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars, was fought.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glorious_First_of_June>
1813:
War of 1812: Mortally wounded during a battle against the Royal Navy
frigate HMS Shannon, American naval commander James Lawrence of the USS
Chesapeake ordered his crew "Don't give up the ship!", today a popular
battle cry.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_USS_Chesapeake>
1831:
British naval officer and explorer James Clark Ross successfully led
the first expedition to reach the North Magnetic Pole.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Clark_Ross>
1943:
Eight German Junkers Ju 88s shot down British Overseas Airways
Corporation Flight 777 over the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Spain
and France, killing actor Leslie Howard and several other notable
passengers.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOAC_Flight_777>
2001:
Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal killed King Birendra and several members
of the Shah royal family in a shooting spree at the Narayanhity Royal
Palace in Kathmandu.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepalese_royal_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sinecure (n):
A position that requires no work but still gives an ample payment; a
cushy job
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sinecure>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If the mind is to emerge unscathed from this relentless struggle with
the unforeseen, two qualities are indispensable: first, an intellect
that, even in the darkest hour, retains some glimmerings of the inner
light which leads to truth; and second, the courage to follow this
faint light wherever it may lead.
--Carl von Clausewitz
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz>
Bronwyn Bancroft (born 1958) is an Indigenous Australian artist,
notable for being the first Australian fashion designer invited to show
her work in Paris. Born in Tenterfield, New South Wales, and trained in
Canberra and Sydney, Bancroft worked as a fashion designer, and is an
artist, illustrator, and arts administrator. In 1985 Bancroft
established a shop called Designer Aboriginals, selling fabrics made by
Indigenous artists including herself. She was a founding member of
Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative. Art work by Bancroft is held
by the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of New South
Wales and the Art Gallery of Western Australia. She has provided art
work for over 20 children's books, including Stradbroke Dreaming by
writer and activist Oodgeroo Noonuccal and books by artist and writer
Sally Morgan. She has also received design commissions, including one
for the exterior of a sports centre in Sydney. With a long history of
involvement in community activism and arts administration, Bancroft has
served as a board member for the National Gallery of Australia. Her
painting Prevention of AIDS (1992) was used in a campaign to raise
awareness of HIV/AIDS in Australia. As of 2010, Bancroft sits on the
boards of copyright collection agency Viscopy and Tranby Aboriginal
College, as well as being on the Artists Board at the Museum of
Contemporary Art, Sydney.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronwyn_Bancroft>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1279 BC:
According to estimations believed by most Egyptologists today,
Ramesses II became Pharaoh of Egypt.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramesses%C2%A0II>
1223:
Mongol invasions: Mongol forces defeated a combined army of Kiev,
Galich, and the Cumans on the banks of the Kalchik River in present-day
Ukraine.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Kalka_River>
1669:
Citing poor eyesight, English naval administrator and Member of
Parliament Samuel Pepys recorded his last entry in his diary, one of
the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Pepys>
1889:
The South Fork Dam near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, US, failed, unleashing
a torrent of 18.1 million cubic meters (4.8 billion gallons) of water
that killed over 2,200 people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown_Flood>
1981:
An organized mob of police and government-sponsored paramilitias began
burning the public library in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, destroying over 97,000
unique books and manuscripts in one of the violent examples of ethnic
biblioclasm of 20th Century.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_Jaffna_library>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sans (prep):
Without, lacking
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sans>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Talk not so much ... of the great old masters, who but painted and
chisell’d. Study not only their productions. There is a still higher
school for him who would kindle his fire with coal from the altar of
the loftiest and purest art. It is the school of all grand actions and
grand virtues, of heroism, of the death of patriots and martyrs — of
all the mighty deeds written in the pages of history — deeds of daring,
and enthusiasm, devotion, and fortitude.
--Walt Whitman
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman>
Tōru Takemitsu (1930–1996) was a Japanese composer and writer on
aesthetics and music theory. Though largely self-taught, Takemitsu is
recognised for his skill in the subtle manipulation of instrumental and
orchestral timbre, drawing from a wide range of influences, including
jazz, popular music, avant-garde procedures and traditional Japanese
music, in a harmonic idiom largely derived from the music of Claude
Debussy and Olivier Messiaen. In 1958, he received international
attention for his Requiem for strings which resulted in several
commissions from across the world, and settled his reputation as the
leading Japanese composer of the 20th century. He was the recipient of
numerous awards, commissions and honours; he composed over 100 film
scores and about 130 concert works for ensembles of various sizes and
combinations. He also found time to write a detective novel and
appeared frequently on Japanese television as a celebrity chef. In the
foreword to a selection of Takemitsu's writings in English, conductor
Seiji Ozawa writes: "I am very proud of my friend Tōru Takemitsu. He is
the first Japanese composer to write for a world audience and achieve
international recognition."
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C5%8Dru_Takemitsu>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1431:
Hundred Years' War: Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen,
France, after being convicted of heresy in a politically motivated
trial.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc>
1815:
The East Indiaman ship Arniston was wrecked during a storm at
Waenhuiskrans, near Cape Agulhas, present-day South Africa, with the
loss of 372 lives.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arniston_%28East_Indiaman%29>
1854:
The Kansas–Nebraska Act became law, establishing the U.S. territories
of Nebraska and Kansas, repealing the 1920 Missouri Compromise, and
allowed settlers in those territories to determine if they would allow
slavery within their boundaries.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas%E2%80%93Nebraska_Act>
1963:
Buddhist crisis: A protest against pro-Catholic discrimination was held
outside South Vietnam's National Assembly, the first open demonstration
during the eight-year rule of Ngo Dinh Diem.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_crisis>
1967:
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu announced the establishment of Biafra, a
secessionist state in southeastern Nigeria, an event that sparked the
Nigerian Civil War one week later.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biafra>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
henpeck (v):
(chiefly by a wife) To nag persistently
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/henpeck>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much
happier if it is called "the People's Stick."
--Mikhail Bakunin
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mikhail_Bakunin>
Jesus College Boat Club is a rowing club for members of Jesus College,
Oxford, one of the colleges of the University of Oxford. The club was
formed in 1835, but rowing at the college predates the club's
foundation: a boat from the college was involved in the earliest
recorded races between college crews at Oxford in 1815, when it
competed against a crew from Brasenose College. In the early years of
rowing at Oxford, Jesus was one of the few colleges that participated
in races. A number of college members have rowed for the university
against Cambridge University in the Boat Race and the Women's Boat
Race. Barney Williams, a Canadian rower who studied at the college, won
a silver medal in rowing at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and participated
in the Boat Race in 2005 and 2006. Other students who rowed while at
the college have achieved success in other fields, including John
Sankey, who became Lord Chancellor, and Alwyn Williams, who became
Bishop of Durham. The college boathouse, which is shared with Keble
College's boat club, dates from 1964 and replaced a moored barge used
by spectators and crew-members.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_College_Boat_Club_%28Oxford%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1167:
A 1,600-man force of the Holy Roman Empire led by Christian of Buch and
Rainald of Dassel defeated a 10,000-man Papal States army.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Monte_Porzio>
1453:
Constantinople fell to the besieging Ottoman army led by Sultan Mehmed
II, ending the Byzantine Empire.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Constantinople>
1913:
The Rite of Spring, a ballet with music by Russian composer Igor
Stravinsky, was first performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in
Paris.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rite_of_Spring>
1953:
New Zealand explorer Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer
Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of Mount
Everest .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Hillary>
1985:
A wall at Brussels' Heysel Stadium collapsed under the pressure of
football fans escaping a riot before the European Cup Final between
England's Liverpool F.C. and Italy's Juventus F.C., killing 39 people
and injuring over 600 others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heysel_Stadium_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
life of Riley (n):
An ideal life of carefree prosperity and contentment
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/life_of_Riley>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.
--John F. Kennedy
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy>
1
0
May 28: Iravan
by English Wikipedia Article of the Day
28 May '10
28 May '10
Iravan (Aravan) is a minor character from the Hindu epic of
Mahabharata. The son of Pandava prince Arjuna (one of the main heroes
of the Mahabharata) and the Naga princess Ulupi, Iravan is the central
god of the Kuttantavar cult and plays a major role in the cult of
Draupadi. Both these cults are of South Indian origin, from a region of
the country where he is worshipped as a village deity. The Mahabharata
portrays Iravan as dying a heroic death in the 18-day Kurukshetra War,
the epic's main subject. However, the South Indian cults have a
supplementary tradition of honouring Iravan's self-sacrifice to the
goddess Kali to ensure her favour and the victory of the Pandavas in
the war. The South Indian cults focus on three boons granted to Iravan
by the god Krishna in honour of his sacrifice. Iravan is also a patron
god of the well-known Indian transgender communities called Ali. In
Koovagam, Tamil Nadu, an 18-day festival holds a ceremonial marriage of
Iravan to Alis and male villagers and followed then by their
"widowhood" after ritual re-enactment of Iravan's sacrifice. Iravan is
also known in Indonesia. Independent Javanese traditions present a
dramatic marriage of Iravan to Titisari, daughter of Krishna, and a
death resulting from a case of mistaken identity.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iravan>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1588:
Anglo-Spanish War: The Spanish Armada , with 130 ships and over 30,000
men, set sail from Lisbon for the English Channel in an attempt to
invade England.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Armada>
1644:
English Civil War: Royalist troops allegedly slaughtered up to 1,600
people during their storm and capture of the Town of Bolton.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolton_Massacre>
1892:
Aided by a group of professors from the University of California at
Berkeley and Stanford University, Preservationist John Muir founded the
environmental organization Sierra Club in San Francisco.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir>
1936:
English mathematician Alan Turing submitted his paper "On Computable
Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem" for
publication, introducing the Turing machine, a basic abstract
symbol-manipulating device that can simulate the logic of any computer
algorithm.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing>
1961:
The British newspaper The Observer published English lawyer Peter
Benenson's article The Forgotten Prisoners, starting a letter-writing
campaign that grew and became the human rights organization Amnesty
International.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesty_International>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
vote with one's feet (v):
To express one's preferences through one's actions, by participating in
or voluntarily withdrawing from an activity, group, or process
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vote_with_one%27s_feet>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The time has come when scientific truth must cease to be the property
of the few, when it must be woven into the common life of the world.
--Louis Agassiz
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Louis_Agassiz>
The Jupiter Trojans are a large group of objects that share the orbit
of the planet Jupiter around the Sun. Relative to Jupiter, each Trojan
librates around one of the planet's two Lagrangian points of stability,
L4 and L5, that respectively lie 60° ahead of and behind the planet in
its orbit. Trojan asteroids are distributed in two elongated, curved
regions around these Lagrangian points with an average semi-major axis
of about 5.2 AU. The first Trojan, 588 Achilles, was discovered in 1906
by the German astronomer Max Wolf. A total of 2,909 Jupiter Trojans
have been found as of January 2009. The name "Trojans" derives from the
fact that, by convention, they each are named after a mythological
figure from the Trojan War. The total number of Jupiter Trojans larger
than 1 km is believed to be about 1 million, approximately equal to the
number of asteroids larger than 1 km in the main asteroid belt Like
main belt asteroids, Trojans form families. Jupiter Trojans are dark
bodies with reddish, featureless spectra. No firm evidence of the
presence of water, organic matter or other chemical compounds has been
obtained. The Trojans' densities (as measured by studying binaries or
rotational lightcurves) vary from 0.8 to 2.5 g·cm−3. Trojans are
thought to have been captured into their orbits during the early stages
of the Solar System's formation or slightly later, during the migration
of giant planets.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_Trojan>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1153:
Malcolm IV became King of Scotland at the age of twelve.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_IV_of_Scotland>
1703:
Russian Tsar Peter I founded Saint Petersburg after reconquering the
Ingrian land from Sweden during the Great Northern War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Saint_Petersburg>
1937:
The Golden Gate Bridge , at the time the world's longest suspension
bridge span, connecting the San Francisco to Marin County, California,
opened.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_Bridge>
1942:
Czech resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied Prague ambushed and mortally
wounded Reinhard Heydrich, the chief of Reich Security Main Office and
the Protector of Bohemia and Moravia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Anthropoid>
1995:
Actor Christopher Reeve suffered a cervical spinal injury after being
thrown from his horse during the cross country portion of an eventing
competition held in Culpeper, Virginia, paralyzing him from the neck
down.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Reeve>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
incubus (n):
1. An evil spirit supposed to oppress people while asleep, especially
to have sex with women as they sleep.
2. A feeling of oppression during sleep; night terrors, a
nightmare.
3. Any oppressive thing or person; a burden
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/incubus>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and
realities of the universe about us the less taste we shall have for the
destruction of our race. Wonder and humility are wholesome emotions,
and they do not exist side by side with a lust for destruction.
--Rachel Carson
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rachel_Carson>
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (1650–1722) was a prominent
English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five
monarchs throughout the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Churchill's
role in defeating the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685 helped secure James,
the Duke of York on the throne, yet just three years later he abandoned
his Catholic mentor for the Protestant Dutchman, William of Orange.
Churchill served with distinction in the early years of the Nine Years'
War, but persistent charges of Jacobitism brought about his fall from
office and temporary imprisonment in the Tower. His marriage to Sarah
Jennings – Queen Anne's friend – ensured Marlborough's rise to a
dukedom. Becoming de facto leader of Allied forces during the War of
the Spanish Succession, his victories in battles ensured his place in
history as one of Europe's great generals. But his wife's stormy
relationship with the Queen, and her subsequent dismissal from court,
was central to him being forced from office and into self-imposed
exile. He returned to England and to influence under the House of
Hanover with the accession of George I to the British throne in 1714,
but his health gradually deteriorated, and he died on 16 June 1722
(O.S).
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Churchill%2C_1st_Duke_of_Marlborough>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1828:
Kaspar Hauser , a foundling with suspected ties to the Royal House of
Baden, first appeared in the streets of Nuremberg, Germany.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaspar_Hauser>
1896:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, representing twelve stocks from
various American industries, was first published by journalist Charles
Dow as a stock market index.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dow_Jones_Industrial_Average>
1918:
The Democratic Republic of Georgia was proclaimed following the breakup
of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_Georgia>
1972:
U.S. President Richard Nixon and Soviet Leader Leonid Brezhnev signed
the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in Moscow, concluding the first round
of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Ballistic_Missile_Treaty>
2006:
An earthquake measuring about 6.3 Mw struck near the Indonesian city of
Yogyakarta on the southern side of the island of Java, killing at least
5,700 people, injuring at least 36,000, and leaving at least 1.5
million homeless.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_2006_Java_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
you-know-who (pron):
Person or entity whose name one does not want to mention but which is
known to the person to whom one is speaking
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/you-know-who>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
You have so many things in the background that you're supposed to do,
there's no room left to think. I say, forget all that and ask yourself,
"What's the simplest thing that could possibly work?"
--Ward Cunningham
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ward_Cunningham>
The Victoria Cross is a military decoration of Canada modelled on the
original British Victoria Cross (pictured) – instituted in 1856 by
Queen Victoria – in both intent and appearance, though with several
small changes. Created in 1993, it and the original are the highest
honours in the Canadian honours system, taking precedence over all
other orders, decorations, and medals. It is awarded by either the
Canadian monarch or his or her viceregal representative, the Governor
General of Canada, to any member of the Canadian Forces or allies
serving under or with Canadian military command for extraordinary
valour and devotion to duty while facing a hostile force. Recipients
are entitled to use the post-nominal letters VC (for both English and
French), and also to an annual annuity of C$3,000. The Victoria Cross
can be awarded more than once, but no one has received the Canadian
medal since its inception.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Cross_%28Canada%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1810:
The Primera Junta, the first independent government in Argentina, was
established in an open cabildo in Buenos Aires , marking the end of the
May Revolution.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Revolution>
1926:
Anarchist Sholom Schwartzbard assassinated Symon Petliura, the head of
the Paris-based government-in-exile of the Ukrainian People's Republic.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symon_Petliura>
1946:
Abdullah bin Husayn, Emir of the Emirate of Transjordan, was proclaimed
King of the renamed "Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_I_of_Jordan>
1961:
During a speech to a joint session of the United States Congress, U.S.
President John F. Kennedy announced his support for the Apollo space
program, with "the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on
the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_program>
2009:
North Korea conducted a nuclear test and several other missile tests
that were widely condemned by the international community and led to
sanctions from the United Nations Security Council.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_North_Korean_nuclear_test>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
abjectly (adv):
With great shame, desperately; in an abject fashion
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/abjectly>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
You will hear every day the maxims of a low prudence. You will hear,
that the first duty is to get land and money, place and name. "What is
this Truth you seek? What is this Beauty?" men will ask, with derision.
If, nevertheless, God have called any of you to explore truth and
beauty, be bold, be firm, be true. When you shall say, "As others do,
so will I. I renounce, I am sorry for it, my early visions; I must eat
the good of the land, and let learning and romantic expectations go,
until a more convenient season." — then dies the man in you; then once
more perish the buds of art, and poetry, and science, as they have died
already in a thousand thousand men. The hour of that choice is the
crisis of your history; and see that you hold yourself fast by the
intellect. ... Bend to the persuasion which is flowing to you from
every object in Nature, to be its tongue to the heart of man, and to
show the besotted world how passing fair is wisdom.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson>
"The Beginning of the End" is the fourth season premiere, and
seventy-third episode overall, of the American Broadcasting Company's
serial drama television series Lost. It was aired on ABC in the United
States and CTV in Canada on January 31, 2008. Co-creator/executive
producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Carlton Cuse wrote the
premiere in late July 2007, with most of the episode directed on
location in Oahu, Hawaii, in August and September by executive producer
Jack Bender. With this premiere, Jeff Pinkner no longer serves as an
executive producer and staff writer. The episode was watched by
eighteen million Americans, bringing in the best ratings for Lost in
seventeen episodes. According to Metacritic, "The Beginning of the End"
garnered "universal acclaim". The narrative takes place over ninety
days after the crash of Oceanic Flight 815, on December 23, 2004. The
stranded crash survivors make contact with associates of Naomi Dorrit
(played by Marsha Thomason) on a nearby freighter, but the survivors
divide when they hear that those on the freighter may not be coming to
rescue the survivors. Flashforwards show the post-island lives of Hugo
"Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia) and Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox). They are
lying to the public about their time on the island.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beginning_of_the_End_%28Lost%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1626:
Director-General of New Netherland Peter Minuit bought Manhattan from
Native Americans in exchange for trade goods valued at 60 guilders.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Minuit>
1738:
At a Moravian Church meeting in Aldersgate Street, London, John Wesley
experienced a spiritual rebirth, leading him to launch the Methodist
movement.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wesley>
1930:
English aviatrix Amy Johnson landed in Darwin, Northern Territory,
after flying 11,000 miles, becoming the first woman to successfully fly
from England to Australia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Johnson>
1941:
World War II: The German battleship Bismarck sank the British
battlecruiser HMS Hood in eleven minutes at the Battle of the Denmark
Strait.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Denmark_Strait>
1960:
Cordón Caulle in the Andes of Ranco Province, Chile, began to erupt,
less than two days after the Valdivia earthquake struck the region.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puyehue-Cord%C3%B3n_Caulle>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
egalitarian (adj):
Characterized by social equality and equal rights for all people
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/egalitarian>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove
sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, 'n' how many times must the
cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in
the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
--Bob Dylan
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan>
Margaret Fuller (1810–1850) was a journalist, critic and women's rights
activist. She was the first full-time female book reviewer in
journalism. She became the first editor of the transcendental
publication The Dial in 1840 before joining the staff of the New York
Tribune in 1844. By the time she was in her 30s, Fuller had earned a
reputation as the best-read person in New England, male or female. Her
seminal work, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, was published in 1845
and is considered the first major feminist work in the United States.
Fuller was an advocate of women's rights and, in particular, women's
education and the right to employment. She also encouraged many other
reforms in society, including prison reform and the emancipation of
slaves in the United States. Fuller became involved with the revolution
in Italy and allied herself with Giuseppe Mazzini. She also met
Giovanni Ossoli, with whom she had a child. All three members of the
family died in a shipwreck in 1850. Fuller's body was never recovered.
Shortly after Fuller's death her importance faded; the editors who
prepared her letters to be published, believing her fame would be
short-lived, were not concerned about accuracy and censored or altered
much of her words before publication.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Fuller>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1498:
Girolamo Savonarola of Florence was executed for heresy, uttering
prophecies, sedition, and other crimes.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girolamo_Savonarola>
1533:
The marriage of Henry VIII of England and his first wife Catherine of
Aragon was annulled.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Aragon>
1568:
The Dutch Revolt broke out when rebels led by Louis of Nassau invaded
Friesland at the Battle of Heiligerlee.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Revolt>
1706:
War of the Spanish Succession: Led by the Duke of Marlborough, the
allied forces of England, the Dutch Republic, and Denmark defeated the
Franco-Bavarian army in Ramillies, present-day Belgium.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ramillies>
1934:
American criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were ambushed and
killed by police on a desolate road near their hideout in Bienville
Parish, Louisiana.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie_and_Clyde>
2008:
To resolve a 29-year-old territorial dispute, the International Court
of Justice awarded Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca to
Singapore.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedra_Branca_dispute>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
macaronic (adj):
1. (archaic) Jumbled, mixed.
2. (literature) Written in a hodgepodge mixture of two or more
languages
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/macaronic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Let no one dare to call another mad who is not himself willing to rank
in the same class for every perversion and fault of judgment. Let no
one dare aid in punishing another as criminal who is not willing to
suffer the penalty due to his own offenses.
--Margaret Fuller
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Margaret_Fuller>