An ironclad was a steam-propelled warship in the latter part of the
19th century, protected by iron or steel armor plates. The ironclad was
developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to
explosive or incendiary shells. The first ironclad battleship, La
Gloire, was launched by the French Navy in 1859; she prompted the
British Royal Navy to start building ironclads. After the first clashes
of ironclads took place during the American Civil War, it became clear
that the ironclad had replaced the unarmored ship of the line as the
most powerful warship afloat. This type of ship would come to be very
successful in the American Civil War. Ironclads were designed for
several roles, including as high seas battleships, coastal defense
ships, and long-range cruisers. The rapid evolution of warship design
in the late 19th century transformed the ironclad from a wooden-hulled
vessel which carried sails to supplement its steam engines into the
steel-built, turreted battleships and cruisers familiar in the 20th
century. The rapid pace of change in the ironclad period meant that
many ships were obsolete as soon as they were complete, and that naval
tactics were in a state of flux. Many ironclads were built to make use
of the ram or the torpedo, which a number of naval designers considered
the crucial weapons of naval combat.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironclad_warship>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1204:
Alexios V fled Constantinople as forces under Boniface the Marquess of
Montferrat and Enrico Dandolo the Doge of Venice entered and sacked the
Byzantine capital, effectively ending the Fourth Crusade.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Crusade>
1606:
A royal decree established the Union Flag to symbolise the Union of
the Crowns, merging the designs of the Flag of England and the Flag of
Scotland.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Flag>
1861:
Confederate forces began firing at Fort Sumter in the harbor of
Charleston, South Carolina, starting the American Civil War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Sumter>
1927:
Chinese Civil War: A large-scale purge of communists from the
nationalist Kuomintang began in Shanghai.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_massacre_of_1927>
1961:
Aboard Vostok 3KA-2, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man
to enter outer space, completing one orbit in a time of 108 minutes.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Gagarin>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
jostle (v):
1. To bump into or brush against while in motion.
2. To move through by pushing and shoving.
3. To contend or vie in
order to acquire something
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jostle>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The arts of power and its minions are the same in all countries and in
all ages. It marks its victim; denounces it; and excites the public
odium and the public hatred, to conceal its own abuses and
encroachments.
--Henry Clay
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Clay>
Riven is the sequel to the highly successful computer game Myst.
Developed by Cyan Worlds, it was initially published by Brøderbund.
Riven was distributed on five compact discs and released on October 29,
1997, in North America; it was later released on a single DVD-ROM, with
improved graphics and a fourteen-minute "making-of" video. In addition
to the PC versions, Riven was ported to several other platforms,
including the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. The story of Riven is set
immediately after the events of Myst. Having been rescued from the
machinations of his sons, the explorer Atrus enlists the help of the
faceless player character in freeing his wife from his power-hungry
father, Gehn. Unlike Myst, which took place on several worlds known as
Ages and linked together by special books, Riven is set almost entirely
on the eponymous Age of Riven, a world slowly falling apart due to
Gehn's rule. Development of Riven began soon after Myst became a
success, and spanned more than three years. Riven was praised by
professional reviewers, with the magazine Salon proclaiming that the
game approaches the level of art. The best-selling game of 1997, Riven
sold 1.5Â million copies in one year.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riven>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1713:
The main agreements of the Treaty of Utrecht were signed in the Dutch
city of Utrecht, helping to end the War of the Spanish Succession.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Utrecht>
1814:
The Treaty of Fontainebleau was signed, ending the War of the Sixth
Coalition, and forcing Napoleon to abdicate as ruler of France and
sending him into exile on Elba.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Fontainebleau_%281814%29>
1888:
The Concertgebouw concert hall in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, was
inaugurated.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concertgebouw>
1965:
Almost 50 confirmed tornadoes struck six states in the Midwestern
United States during the Palm Sunday tornado outbreak, killing over 270
people and injuring 1,500 others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Sunday_tornado_outbreak_of_1965>
1979:
Ugandan–Tanzanian War: The Uganda National Liberation Army and
Tanzanian forces captured Kampala, forcing Ugandan President Idi Amin
to flee.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idi_Amin>
2002:
In a coup attempt, members of the Venezuelan military detained
President Hugo Chávez and demanded his resignation.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Venezuelan_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat_attempt>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ogre (n):
1. A type of brutish giant from folk tales that eats human flesh.
2. A brutish man whose behavior resembles that of the mythical ogre
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ogre>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be
free.
--Charles Evans Hughes
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Evans_Hughes>
Motörhead are a British rock band formed in 1975 by bassist, singer and
songwriter Lemmy Kilmister, who has remained the sole constant member.
Usually a power trio, Motörhead had particular success in the early
1980s with several successful singles in the UK Top 40 chart. The
albums Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades, and particularly No Sleep 'til
Hammersmith, cemented Motörhead's reputation as one of Britain's
foremost rock bands. While Motörhead are typically classified as heavy
metal, speed metal or thrash metal (and often regarded as a
foundational influence on the later two styles), Lemmy dislikes such
labels, preferring to describe the band's music simply as "rock n'
roll". Motörhead's approach has remained the same over the band's
career, preferring to play what they enjoy and do best; their
appreciation of early rock and roll is reflected in some of their
occasional cover songs. Motörhead's lyrics typically cover such topics
as war, good versus evil, abuse of power, promiscuous sex, substance
abuse, and "life on the road." The band's distinctive fanged-face logo,
Snaggletooth, with its oversized boars' horns, chains, and spikes, was
created by artist Joe Petagno in 1977 for the cover of the Motörhead
album and has appeared in many variations on covers of ensuing albums.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mot%C3%B6rhead>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1865:
With their supply trains destroyed by Union troops one day earlier,
Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee eventually surrendered to Union
General Ulysses S. Grant at the McLean House near the Appomattox Court
House in Virginia, effectively ending the American Civil War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLean_House>
1917:
World War I: The Canadian Corps began the first wave of attacks at the
Battle of Vimy Ridge in Vimy, France.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge>
1959:
NASA announced the selection of the Mercury Seven , the first
astronauts in Project Mercury.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Mercury>
1967:
The first Boeing 737 took its maiden flight, eventually becoming the
most ordered and produced commercial passenger jet airliner in the
world.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_737>
1989:
An anti-Soviet demonstration in Tbilisi, Georgia, was quashed by the
Soviet army, resulting in 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_9_tragedy>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
yodel (v):
To sing in such a way that the voice fluctuates rapidly between the
normal chest voice and falsetto
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/yodel>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Imagination is the queen of truth, and possibility is one of the
regions of truth. She is positively akin to infinity.
--Charles Baudelaire
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Baudelaire>
Florida Atlantic University is a public, coeducational, research
university located in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The
university has six satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of
Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and in
Fort Pierce at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. Florida
Atlantic serves a seven-county region that has a populace of more than
three million people and spans more than 100Â miles (160Â km) of
Florida's eastern coastline. The university opened its doors in 1964 as
the first public university in southeast Florida and the first
university in the nation to offer only upper-division and graduate
level courses. Although initial enrollment was only 867Â students, this
number increased in 1984 when the university admitted its first
undergraduate students. As of 2008, enrollment has grown to
approximately 27,000Â students representing 139Â countries, 48Â states and
the District of Columbia. In recent years Florida Atlantic has
undertaken an effort to increase its academic and research standings
while also evolving into a more traditional university. Under the
direction of current President Frank T. Brogan, the university has
raised admissions standards, increased research funding, built new
facilities, and established notable partnerships with major research
institutions.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Atlantic_University>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
217:
Roman Emperor Caracalla was assassinated at a roadside near Harran.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracalla>
1093:
Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire, one of the largest
cathedrals in England, was dedicated by Bishop Walkelin.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Cathedral>
1341:
Italian scholar and poet Petrarch took the title poet laureate at a
ceremony in Rome.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrarch>
1886:
British Prime Minister William Gladstone introduced the first Irish
Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Government_Bill_1886>
1904:
British occultist and writer Aleister Crowley began transcribing The
Book of the Law, a Holy Book in Thelema.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_the_Law>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
diminutive (adj):
1. Very small.
2. Serving to diminish
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/diminutive>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Look, look, look to the rainbow
Follow it over the hill and stream
--Yip Harburg
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Yip_Harburg>
The Shackleton–Rowett Expedition was the last Antarctic expedition led
by Sir Ernest Shackleton, and the final episode in the Heroic Age of
Antarctic Exploration. The venture, lasting from 1921 to 1922, financed
by businessman John Quiller Rowett, is
sometimes referred to as the Quest Expedition after its ship, a small
converted Norwegian whaler. Before the expedition's work could properly
begin, Shackleton died aboard ship, just after its arrival at the
sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. The major part of the subsequent
foreshortened expedition was a three-month cruise to the eastern
Antarctic, under the leadership of second-in-command Frank Wild. In
these waters the shortcomings of Quest were soon in evidence: slow
speed, heavy fuel consumption, a tendency to roll in heavy seas, and a
steady leak. The ship was unable to proceed further than longitude
20°E, well short of its easterly target, and its engine's low power was
insufficient for it to penetrate far into the Antarctic ice. Following
several fruitless attempts to break southwards through the pack ice,
Wild returned the ship to South Georgia, after a nostalgic visit to
Elephant Island, where he and 21 others had been stranded during
Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition six years earlier.
Although not greatly regarded in the histories of polar exploration,
the Quest voyage is of historical significance, standing at the very
end of the Heroic Age and the beginning of the "Mechanical Age" that
followed it.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shackleton%E2%80%93Rowett_Expedition>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
529:
Byzantine Emperor Justinian I issued the first draft of the Corpus
Juris Civilis, a first attempt to codify Roman law.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_Juris_Civilis>
1348:
King Charles of Bohemia issued a Golden Bull to establish Charles
University in Prague, the first university in Central Europe.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_University_in_Prague>
1805:
German composer Ludwig van Beethoven premiered his Third Symphony,
sometimes cited as marking the beginning of musical Romanticism and the
end of the Classical Era, at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._3_%28Beethoven%29>
1868:
D'Arcy McGee, a Canadian Father Of Confederation, was assassinated – to
date, the only Canadian political assassination at the federal level.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27Arcy_McGee>
1954:
Cold War: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower introduced the domino
theory, speculating that if one nation in a region came under the
influence of communism, then its surrounding countries would follow in
a domino effect.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/domino_theory>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
integument (n):
1. (biology) An outer protective covering such as the feathers or skin
of an animal, a rind or shell.
2. (botany) The outer tissue layer of an ovule, which develops into
the seed coat
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/integument>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I always work on the theory that the audience will believe you best if
you believe yourself.
--Charlton Heston
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charlton_Heston>
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the 1969 autobiography about the
early years of writer and activist Maya Angelou. The first in a
six-volume series, it is a coming-of-age story that illustrates how
strength of character and a love of literature can help overcome racism
and trauma. In the course of Caged Bird, Maya transforms from a victim
of racism with an inferiority complex into a self-possessed, dignified
young woman capable of responding to racism. Angelou was challenged by
her friend, author James Baldwin, and her editor, Robert Loomis, to
write an autobiography that was also a piece of literature. Because
Angelou uses thematic development and other techniques common to
fiction, reviewers often categorize Caged Bird as autobiographical
fiction, but the prevailing critical view characterizes it as an
autobiography, a genre she attempts to critique, change, and expand.
The book covers topics common to autobiographies written by black
American women in the years following the civil rights movement: a
celebration of black motherhood; a critique of racism; the importance
of family; and the quest for independence, personal dignity, and
self-definition. Caged Bird was nominated for a National Book Award in
1970 and remained on The New York Times paperback bestseller list for
two years. However, the book's graphic depiction of childhood rape,
racism, and sexuality have caused it to be challenged or banned in some
schools and libraries.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Know_Why_the_Caged_Bird_Sings>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1721:
Robert Walpole took office as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of
the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons, essentially becoming
the first British Prime Minister even though the term "Prime Minister"
was not used at the time.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Walpole>
1859:
Bryant's Minstrels premiered the popular American song "Dixie" in New
York City as part of their blackface minstrel show.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_%28song%29>
1949:
Twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty, creating NATO, an
organization that constitutes a system of collective defense whereby
its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by
any external party.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO>
1968:
American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated
on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King%2C_Jr._assassination>
1969:
Surgeons Denton Cooley and Domingo Liotta implanted the first total
artificial heart.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/artificial_heart>
1975:
Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico,
USA, to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
xylograph (n):
1. An engraving in wood, especially one used for printing.
2. A print taken from an engraving in wood
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/xylograph>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All we are saying is give peace a chance.
--John Lennon
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Lennon>
Hare coursing is the pursuit of hares with Greyhounds and other
sighthounds, which chase the hare by sight and not by scent. It is a
competitive sport, in which dogs are tested on their ability to run,
overtake and turn a hare, rather than a form of hunting aiming at the
capture of game. It has a number of variations in its rules around the
world. Informal coursing can be a true form of hunting. It is often
conducted to kill game or vermin, mainly for food, and occasionally as
a form of gambling. Coursing is a long established and almost universal
hunting technique, practiced historically with Greyhounds, other
sighthound breeds, or with lurchers which are crossbred sighthounds,
and working breeds. The sport grew in popularity in the UK and Europe
during the 19th century, but has since experienced a decline due in
part to the introduction of Greyhound racing and betting. In recent
decades some controversy has developed around hare coursing in the UK
and USA, with some viewing it as a cruel bloodsport and others seeing
it as a traditional activity that assists in the conservation of hares
and tests the ability of sighthounds. Since 2002, hare coursing has
been banned in Great Britain but continues elsewhere in the world as a
regulated and judged, competitive sport, especially in the Republic of
Ireland and Spain, as well as in Russia and the Western United States.
Elsewhere, in Eurasia for example, coursing continues as a classic form
of hunting.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare_coursing>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1882:
Jesse James, an outlaw in the American Old West, was shot in the back
and killed for a bounty of US$5,000.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_James>
1895:
The libel trial instigated by Irish author Oscar Wilde began,
eventually resulting in Wilde's arrest, trial and imprisonment on
charges of homosexuality.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Wilde>
1948:
The Marshall Plan , an economic recovery program established by U.S.
Secretary of State George Marshall to assist the post-World War II
re-building of Europe, was signed into law.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan>
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>
1996:
A U.S. Air Force CT-43 crashed into a mountainside while attempting an
instrument approach to Dubrovnik Airport in Dubrovnik, Croatia, killing
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and all the other 34 people on
board.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Croatia_USAF_CT-43_crash>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
coalesce (v):
1. (of separate parts) To join into a single mass or whole.
2. (of a whole) To form from different pieces or elements
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coalesce>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Stretch or contract me, Thy poor debtor;
This is but tuning of my breast,
To make the music better.
Whether I fly with angels, fall with dust,
Thy hands made both, and I am there;
Thy power and love, my love and
trust
Make one place ev'rywhere.
--George Herbert
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Herbert>