Emacs is a text editor with a comprehensive set of features that is
particularly popular with programmers and other technical computer
users. The original Emacs was written in 1976 by Richard Stallman, as
a set of Editor MACroS for the TECO editor. It has evolved from its
dumb terminal origins into something resembling a full blown word
processor sporting a complete graphical user interface. A large
number of extensions are available which can turn Emacs into anything
from a web browser to a tool for writing and compiling computer
programs.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emacs
Today's selected anniversaries:
1830 Belgian Revolution: A provisional government in Brussels
declared the creation of the independent and neutral state
of Belgium, in revolt against the United Kingdom of the
Netherlands.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_Revolution)
1910 Manuel II, the last King of Portugal, fled to Great Britain
when a revolution erupted in Lisbon and his palace was
shelled. A republic was proclaimed the next day.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_II_of_Portugal)
1957 Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite
to orbit the Earth, was launched at 19:12 UTC by a R-7
rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1)
1993 Russian Constitutional Crisis: Tanks bombarded the White
House in Moscow, a government building that housed the
Russian parliament, where demonstrators against President
Boris Yeltsin rallied outside.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_constitutional_crisis_of_1993)
Wikiquote of the day:
"Given the choice between two theories, take the one which is
funnier." ~ "Blore's Razor" (Author unknown)
The History of Greenland, the world's largest island, is the history
of life under extreme Arctic conditions; an ice-cap covers about 84
percent of the island, largely restricting human activity to the coasts.
Greenland was unknown to Europeans until the 10th century, when it
was discovered by Icelandic Vikings. Before this discovery, it had been
inhabited for a long time by Arctic peoples, although the direct ancestors
of the modern Inuit did not arrive until around 1200 CE. The Inuit were the
only people to inhabit the island for several hundred years, but in
remembrance of the Viking settlement, Denmark nonetheless claimed the
territory, and colonized it in the 18th century. During World War II,
Greenland
became effectively detached from Denmark, and more connected to the United
States and Canada. Eventually the colonial status was lifted, and although
Greenland is still a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, it has enjoyed home
rule
since 1979.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Greenland
Today's selected anniversaries:
2333 BC - Dangun, a mythical figure, established the Kingdom of Go-Joseon
(presentday Korea).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dangun)
1283 - David ap Gruffydd the Prince of Wales, the last native ruler of Wales
to resist English domination, was captured by English forces and
subsequently
executed by drawing and quartering.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_ap_Gruffydd)
1935 - Italy invaded Ethiopia, igniting the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Italo-Abyssinian_War)
1990 - German reunification: The five re-established German states
(Bundesländer)
of East Germany formally joined West Germany.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reunification)
1993 - Battle of Mogadishu: Soldiers from Malaysian, Pakistani and U.S.
armed forces attempted to capture Somalian warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid,
as chronicled in a book and then a film entitled "Black Hawk Down".
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mogadishu)
Wikiquote of the day:
"Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried
before." ~ Mae West
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mae_West)
The Battle of Normandy in 1944, codenamed Operation Overlord, was the
invasion of Nazi-occupied Western Europe by the Allies. The Normandy
invasion began with overnight paratrooper and glider landings,
massive air and naval bombardments, and an early-morning amphibious
assault. It continued over more than two months, with campaigns to
establish, expand, and eventually break out of the Allied beachheads.
It concluded with the surrender of Paris and the fall of the Chambois
pocket. Normandy is, to this day, one of the best-known battles of
World War II. In common language, the expression "D-Day" is still
used to refer to June 6, the starting date of the invasion and the
opening day of the battle
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Normandy
Today's selected anniversaries:
331 BC Battle of Arbela: Despite being greatly outnumbered,
Alexander the Great and his Macedonian forces defeated
Darius III of Persia. Alexander was then crowned "King of
Asia" in a magnificent ceremony in Arbela (modern-day
Arbil, Iraq).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gaugamela)
1891 In Stanford, California, Leland Stanford Junior University
officially opened. There were 559 students, and tuition was
free.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University)
1936 Generalissimo Francisco Franco became the head of the
Spanish State, ruling as a dictator till his death in 1975.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Franco)
1958 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
began operations, replacing the National Advisory Committee
for Aeronautics (NACA).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA)
1977 Brazilian football (soccer) star Edson Arantes do
Nascimento, better known as the "Black Pearl" or
Pel�, played his last game as a professional.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pel%E9)
Wikiquote of the day:
"Truth can never be told so as to be understood and not be
believed." ~ William Blake
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Blake)
The Ridge Route was the popular name given to an early 20th-century
road in the United States. The Ridge Route was California's first
highway, linking the Los Angeles Basin with the San Joaquin Valley;
it was particularly used to travel from the city of Los Angeles to
Bakersfield. Its official name was the Castaic-Tejon Route. In 1895,
the State Bureau of Highways was created by Governor James H. Budd
who appointed three highway commissioners: R.C. Irvine of Sacramento,
Marsden Manson of San Francisco and L. Maude of Riverside. Though a
great deal of the route had been daylighted (widened) and paved in
asphalt by the mid-1920s, much of the 1919 concrete pavement remains
intact. In some areas, Model T tire tracks can still be seen, left
decades ago in the still-soft concrete.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridge_Route
Today's selected anniversaries:
1399 The Duke of Lancaster deposed Richard II to become Henry IV
of England, merging the Duchy of Lancaster with the crown.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_IV_of_England)
1980 Ethernet specifications were published by Xerox, working
with Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet)
1982 Cyanide-laced Tylenol killed six people in the Chicago,
Illinois area. Seven were killed in all. The incident is
known as the Tylenol scare.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tylenol)
1991 Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown in
a coup d'�tat and replaced by General Raoul C�dras. A
large-scale exodus of boat people ensued.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean%2dBertrand_Aristide)
1999 Japan's worst nuclear accident took place at a uranium
reprocessing facility near Tokyo, exposing workers and
local residents to very high levels of radiation.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_accident)
Wikiquote of the day:
"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us
with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic
threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as
effects." ~ Herman Melville
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Herman_Melville)
Adoption in Rome was a fairly common procedure, particularly in the
upper senatorial class. The need for a male heir and the expense of
raising children were strong incentives to have at least one son, but
not too many children. Adoption, the obvious solution, also served to
cement ties between the two families, thus fostering and reinforcing
alliances. In the Imperial period, the system also acted as a
mechanism for ensuring a smooth succession, the emperor taking his
chosen successor as his adopted son.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adoption_in_Rome
Today's selected anniversaries:
61 BC In Rome, Pompey the Great celebrated triumphs over pirates
in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and in the war against
king Mithridates VI of Pontus in Asia Minor, with enormous
parades of spoils, prisoners, army and banners depicting
battle scenes. It was also his 45th birthday.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompey)
1829 The first official police force in the world, the
Metropolitan Police of London, also known as the Met or
Scotland Yard, was founded by Sir Robert Peel.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Police_Service)
1941 In Kiev, Ukraine, the Babi Yar massacre began.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babi_Yar)
1972 Sino-Japanese relations: Japan established diplomatic
relations with the People's Republic of China, breaking
official ties with the Republic of China.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Communique_of_the_Government_of_Japan_an…)
Wikiquote of the day:
"Love is the most important thing in the world. It may be important
to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it.
But I think it is only important to love the world, not to despise
it, not for us to hate each other, but to be able to regard the
world and ourselves and all beings with love, admiration and
respect." ~ Hermann Hesse
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hermann_Hesse)
A split infinitive is a phenomenon of the English language when an
adverb or adverbial phrase is inserted between "to" and a verb in its
infinitive form. One famous example is from the science fiction
series Star Trek: "To boldly go where no man has gone before." Here,
the infinitive verb form of "go" is "to go", and the adverb "boldly"
has been inserted, creating a split infinitive. In the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries, some grammatical authorities argued that split
infinitives should not be allowed in English, by an analogy with
Latin, where they are usually impossible. Most authorities from the
last 100 years, however, agree that this rule was mistaken, and
indeed that splitting an infinitive can sometimes reduce ambiguity.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_infinitive
Today's selected anniversaries:
1066 William the Conqueror and his invasion fleet of around 600
ships and an army of 7000 reached England and landed at
Pevensey, Sussex.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Conqueror)
1542 Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the first
European to travel the California coast, landed on what is
now San Diego.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Rodriguez_Cabrillo)
1820 The tomato was publicly proved safe when Robert Johnson ate
a bushel of tomatoes outside a courthouse in Salem,
Massachusetts.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/tomato)
1994 The M/S Estonia, a ferry commuting between Tallinn, Estonia
and Stockholm, Sweden, sank. 852 people drowned or were
frozen to death in the cold water in one of the worst
maritime accidents on the Baltic Sea.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M/S_Estonia)
Wikiquote of the day:
"Those who think they know it all are very annoying to those of us
who do." ~ Anonymous
Yesterday is the name of a song written by Paul McCartney, originally
recorded by The Beatles for their album Help! in 1965. "Yesterday"
was the first official recording by the group which relied upon a
performance by a single member of the band, although the background
accompaniment of a string quartet was added a few days later during
the editing stage. It is a ballad about unrequited love, and differed
greatly from other works by the Beatles, leading the other three
members of the band to veto the song's release as a single in the
United Kingdom. Although solely written by McCartney, due to his
contract with the Beatles the song was credited to both him and John
Lennon as "Lennon/McCartney". According to the Guinness Book of
Records, "Yesterday" has the most cover versions (over three
thousand) of any song yet produced. BMI asserts that it was performed
over seven million times during the 20th century alone.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yesterday_%28song%29
Today's selected anniversaries:
1540 Pope Paul III gave the final approval to the formation of
the Society of Jesus by St. Ignatius of Loyola.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Jesus)
1940 The Tripartite Pact was signed in Berlin by the major Axis
Powers — Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and the Empire of
Japan.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripartite_Pact)
1983 Richard Stallman announced the GNU project to develop a
free Unix-like operating system.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU)
1996 The Taliban drove President Burhanuddin Rabbani out of the
Afghan capital of Kabul, executed former President Mohammad
Najibullah, and established the Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban)
Wikiquote of the day:
"We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to
make us love one another." ~ Jonathan Swift
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jonathan_Swift)
A mixed-breed dog (also called a mutt or mongrel) is a dog that is a
mixture of two or more breeds. Mixed-breed dogs vary in size, shape,
and color, making them hard to classify physically, but some colors
are more common than others. With each generation of mixing, the
offspring move closer to the genetic norm. Dogs that are descended
from many generations of mixes are typically light brown or black and
weigh about 18 kg (40 lbs). The theory of hybrid vigor suggests that
dogs of mixed ancestry will be healthier than their purebred
counterparts. In some cases this might be true, because inbreeding
among purebreds has made some breeds prone to various genetic health
problems. Historically, dog shows and dog sports excluded mixed-breed
dogs from competition. While this tradition is changing, some sports
still remain open only to one breed of dog, such as greyhound racing.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed%2dbreed_dog
Today's selected anniversaries:
1687 The Parthenon in Athens was partially destroyed during an
armed conflict between Venetian and Ottoman forces.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenon)
1907 New Zealand became a dominion within the British Empire.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand)
1957 West Side Story, a musical written by Arthur Laurents,
Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, and produced and
directed by Jerome Robbins, made its debut on Broadway.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Side_Story)
1983 Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov of the Soviet Union
averted a worldwide nuclear war.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov)
Wikiquote of the day:
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it
from religious conviction." ~ Blaise Pascal
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Blaise_Pascal)
Du Fu was a Chinese poet during the Tang Dynasty. Along with Li Po,
he is frequently called the greatest of the Chinese poets. His own
greatest ambition was to help his country by becoming a successful
civil servant, but he proved unable to make the necessary
accommodations. His life, like the country, was devastated by the An
Lushan Rebellion of 755, and the last 15 years of his life were a
time of almost constant unrest. Initially unpopular, his works came
to be hugely influential in both Chinese and Japanese poetry. He has
been called "poet historian" and "poet sage" by Chinese critics,
while the range of his work has allowed him to be introduced to
Western readers as "the Chinese Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Shakespeare,
Milton, Burns, Wordsworth, B�ranger, Hugo or Baudelaire."
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du_Fu
Today's selected anniversaries:
1066 King Harold Godwinson of England and his army defeated a
Norwegian army under King Harald Hardr�de at the Battle of
Stamford Bridge outside the city of York, marking the end
of Viking invasions from Scandinavia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stamford_Bridge)
1789 The Bill of Rights passed the United States Congress
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights)
1890 John Muir's vision succeeds: Yosemite National Park
established in California.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosemite_National_Park)
2003 Magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck just offshore of Hokkaido,
Japan.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_earthquakes)
Wikiquote of the day:
"To do evil that good may come of it is for bunglers in politics as
well as morals." ~ William Penn
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Penn)