The siege of Calais (4 September 1346 – 3 August 1347) marked the
conclusion of the Crécy campaign, during the Edwardian phase of the
Hundred Years' War. On 26 August 1346, an English army under King
Edward III (effigy pictured) inflicted a heavy defeat on a large French
army led by King Philip VI at the Battle of Crécy. A week later they
invested the well-fortified port of Calais, which had a strong garrison
under the command of Jean de Vienne. Edward made several unsuccessful
attempts to breach the walls or to take the town by assault. During the
winter and spring the French were able to run in supplies and
reinforcements by sea, but in late April the English established a
fortification which enabled them to command the entrance to the harbour
and cut off the further flow of supplies. On 3 August Calais
capitulated. The town provided the English with an important strategic
lodgement, and was not recaptured by the French until 1558.
(This article is part of a featured topic: Hundred Years' War,
1345–1347.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Hundred_Years%27_Wa…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1903:
Macedonian rebels in Kruševo proclaimed a republic, which
existed for ten days before Ottoman forces destroyed the town.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kru%C5%A1evo_Republic>
1913:
An agricultural workers' strike in Wheatland degenerated into a
riot, becoming one of the first major farm-labor confrontations in
California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatland_hop_riot>
1940:
World War II: Italian forces began a conquest of British
Somaliland, capturing the region in 16 days.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_invasion_of_British_Somaliland>
1997:
The Sky Tower, the tallest free-standing structure in the
Southern Hemisphere at 328 m (1,076 ft), opened in Auckland, New
Zealand.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Tower_%28Auckland%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
fine-tooth comb:
1. A comb with fine, closely spaced teeth, especially one used for
removing head lice and their nits (eggs) from the hair; a nit comb.
2. (figuratively) A means of making a thorough search.
3. (dated) To comb or go through (hair, an animal's fur, etc.) with a
comb having fine, closely spaced teeth.
4. (figuratively) To search (something or somewhere) meticulously.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fine-tooth_comb>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
My fellow Americans, on Saturday, at my direction, the United
States successfully concluded an airstrike in Kabul, Afghanistan, that
killed the emir of al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri. … People around the
world no longer need to fear the vicious and determined killer. The
United States continues to demonstrate our resolve and our capacity to
defend the American people against those who seek to do us harm. …
After relentlessly seeking Zawahiri for years under Presidents Bush,
Obama, and Trump, our intelligence community located Zawahiri earlier
this year. … After carefully considering the clear and convincing
evidence of his location, I authorized a precision strike that would
remove him from the battlefield once and for all. This mission was
carefully planned and rigorously minimized the risk of harm to other
civilians. And one week ago, after being advised that the conditions
were optimal, I gave the final approval to go get him, and the mission
was a success. None of his family members were hurt, and there were no
civilian casualties.
--Joe Biden
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden>
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie is a 2019 American neo-Western crime
thriller film that serves as a sequel and epilogue to the television
series Breaking Bad. It continues the story of Jesse Pinkman, who
partnered throughout the series with former teacher Walter White to
build a crystal meth empire based in Albuquerque. Series creator Vince
Gilligan wrote, directed, and produced the film; Aaron Paul (pictured)
reprised his role as Jesse Pinkman. Gilligan started considering the
story of El Camino while writing Breaking Bad's series finale. He
approached Paul with the idea several years later, but told few others.
After the script was complete and studio backing was obtained, principal
photography discreetly began in New Mexico. In August 2019, Netflix
released a trailer and unveiled the film's premiere date, surprising
fans and critics alike due to the secrecy surrounding the project. The
film drew positive reviews and won the Critics' Choice Award for Best
Movie Made for Television.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Camino:_A_Breaking_Bad_Movie>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1916:
An explosion, blamed on Austro-Hungarian saboteurs, sank the
Italian dreadnought Leonardo da Vinci.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_battleship_Leonardo_da_Vinci>
1923:
Calvin Coolidge became the 30th president of the United States
after Warren G. Harding suffered a fatal heart attack.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_G._Harding>
1939:
Leo Szilard penned a letter, signed by Albert Einstein and
addressed to U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt, warning that Germany
may develop atomic bombs, leading to the establishment of the Manhattan
Project.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein%E2%80%93Szilard_letter>
1947:
Star Dust, a British South American Airways airliner, crashed
into Mount Tupungato in the Argentine Andes; its wreckage was not found
until 1998.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1947_BSAA_Avro_Lancastrian_Star_Dust_accident>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tonguely:
1. Of or pertaining to the tongue; lingual.
2. Pertaining or relating to languages; lingual, linguistic.
3. (nonstandard, rare) In terms of or with the tongue; lingually.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tonguely>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I played because I enjoyed it — but there's more to it than
that. I played because I was dedicated to being the best. I was part of
a team, and I dedicated myself to making that team the best. To me, one
of the most beautiful things to see is a group of men coordinating their
efforts toward a common goal — alternately subordinating and asserting
themselves to achieve real teamwork in action. I tried to do that — we
all tried to do that — on the Celtics. I think we succeeded. Often, in
my mind's eye, I stood off and watched that effort. I found it beautiful
to watch. It's just as beautiful to watch in things other than sports.
--Bill Russell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bill_Russell>
Shannen Says is an eight-episode American reality television series
broadcast on WE TV in 2012. The show focuses on the preparations for the
wedding of actress Shannen Doherty (pictured) and photographer Kurt
Iswarienko, with help from celebrity-wedding planner David Tutera.
Filmed in Malibu, California, in 2011, Shannen Says was developed by
Doherty and Iswarienko as a way to document the stress a couple
experiences while planning their wedding. It was produced by
RelativityReal and Doherty's production company No Apologies
Productions. To prepare for filming, Doherty watched reality shows by
Tori Spelling and Kim Kardashian. The series was released on the iTunes
Store and Amazon Video, but it was not made available on DVD or Blu-ray.
The show had low viewership and ranked below most other programs when it
premiered, but it had some popularity among women between the ages of 25
and 54. Shannen Says and Doherty received mixed reviews.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannen_Says>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1798:
French Revolutionary Wars: The Battle of the Nile, between a
British fleet commanded by Horatio Nelson and a French fleet under Fran
çois-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers, began at Aboukir Bay off the Egyptian
coast.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Nile>
1971:
The Concert for Bangladesh, a pair of benefit concerts
organised by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar for refugees of the
Bangladesh genocide, took place at Madison Square Garden in New York.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Concert_for_Bangladesh>
1984:
Commercial peat cutters discovered a preserved bog body, now
known as Lindow Man (head pictured), at Lindow Moss in Cheshire,
England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindow_Man>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
double whammy:
1. A series of two events that causes adverse effects; a twofold blow or
setback.
2. (by extension) A series of two events that causes positive effects; a
twofold boon.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/double_whammy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I didn’t know that meeting a Star Trek fan would change my
life. I was told a fan wanted to meet me, and I turned and looked into
the face of Dr. Martin Luther King. I was breathless. He said, "Yes, I'm
the Trekker — I'm a Star Trek fan." And he told me that Star Trek was
one of the only shows that his wife Coretta and he would allow their
little children to stay up and watch. I thanked him — and I told him I
was leaving the show. All the smile came off his face and he said: "You
can’t do that." He said "Don’t you understand that for the first
time, we’re seen as we should be seen? You don’t have a Black role
— you have an equal role." And on I went back to work on Monday
morning. I went to Gene’s office and told him what had happened over
the weekend. And he said, "Welcome home. We have a lot of work to do."
--Nichelle Nichols
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nichelle_Nichols>
The red-headed myzomela (Myzomela erythrocephala) is a bird of the
honeyeater family, Meliphagidae. One of two subspecies,
M. e. erythrocephala, is distributed around the tropical coastline of
Australia; the other, M. e. infuscata, is found mainly around the
southern coastline of New Guinea. The species was described by John
Gould in 1840. Though widely distributed and not threatened, the species
is not abundant within its range. At 12 centimetres (4.7 in), the red-
headed myzomela is a small honeyeater with a short tail and relatively
long down-curved bill. It is sexually dimorphic; the male has a glossy
red head, brown upperparts and paler grey-brown underparts, while the
female has predominantly grey-brown plumage. Little has been documented
on its breeding behaviour. The bird's natural habitat is tropical
mangrove forests. It is very active when feeding in the tree canopy,
darting from flower to flower and gleaning insects off foliage. It calls
constantly as it feeds.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-headed_myzomela>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1966:
The pleasure cruiser MV Darlwyne disappeared off the coast of
Cornwall with the loss of all 31 people aboard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_of_MV_Darlwyne>
1972:
The Troubles: Hours after the British Army's Operation Motorman
brought an end to the autonomous self-declared area of Free Derry in
Northern Ireland, three car bombs exploded in the village of Claudy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudy_bombing>
2000:
Three years after being hit by a mudslide, the Ten Thousand
Buddhas Monastery in Hong Kong fully reopened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Thousand_Buddhas_Monastery>
2012:
The largest power outage in history occurred across 22 Indian
states, affecting more than 620 million people, or about 9 percent of
the world's population.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_India_blackouts>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
yellow jersey:
1. Especially in the Tour de France: the yellow shirt worn by the leader
of a stage of a cycling race, which is then awarded to the cyclist who
wins the race with the fastest overall time.
2. (by extension) A cyclist who wears such a jersey or shirt; hence, the
leader of a stage of a cycling race, or the winner of a cycling race.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/yellow_jersey>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If you could come inside my head and understand what I feel when
I read about a trans woman dying at the hands of a violent man, you'd
find solidarity and kinship. I have a visceral sense of the terror in
which those trans women will have spent their last seconds on earth,
because I too have known moments of blind fear when I realised that the
only thing keeping me alive was the shaky self-restraint of my attacker.
I believe the majority of trans-identified people not only pose zero
threat to others, but are vulnerable for all the reasons I've outlined.
Trans people need and deserve protection. Like women, they're most
likely to be killed by sexual partners. … So I want trans women to be
safe. At the same time, I do not want to make natal girls and women less
safe. When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to
any man who believes or feels he's a woman — and, as I've said, gender
confirmation certificates may now be granted without any need for
surgery or hormones — then you open the door to any and all men who
wish to come inside. That is the simple truth.
--J. K. Rowling
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._K._Rowling>
Marvel Tales and Unusual Stories were two U.S. semi-professional science
fiction magazines published by William L. Crawford, a science fiction
fan who believed that the pulp magazines were too limited in what they
would publish. In 1933, he distributed a flyer for Unusual Stories
(cover pictured), stating that no taboos would prevent the publication
of worthwhile fiction. It included a page from P. Schuyler Miller's
"The Titan", unsellable to professional magazines because of its sexual
content. A partial issue of Unusual Stories was distributed in early
1934, and Crawford launched Marvel Tales in May 1934. Five issues of
Marvel Tales and three of Unusual Stories appeared over two years. They
included Robert E. Howard's "The Garden of Fear", H. P. Lovecraft's
"Celephaïs", and Clifford D. Simak's "The Creator"; the last had
previously been rejected because of its religious theme. By 1936,
Crawford had plans to expand his enterprise, but limited finances meant
that no further issues appeared.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Tales_and_Unusual_Stories>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1930:
Uruguay (captain pictured) defeated Argentina 4–2 at the
Estadio Centenario in Montevideo to win the inaugural FIFA World Cup.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_FIFA_World_Cup>
1950:
At the height of a political crisis known as the royal
question, four workers were shot dead by the Belgian Gendarmerie at a
strike in Grâce-Berleur.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_question>
1975:
American labor-union leader Jimmy Hoffa disappeared after last
being seen outside a restaurant near Detroit.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Hoffa>
1981:
Amid a widespread economic crisis and food shortages in Poland,
up to 50,000 people, mostly women and children, took part in the largest
of nationwide hunger demonstrations in Łódź.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Polish_hunger_demonstrations>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tincture:
1. (transitive)
2. (chiefly in past participle form) To colour or stain (something)
with, or as if with, a dye or pigment.
3. (figuratively, chiefly in past participle form) Followed by with: to
add to or impregnate (something) with (a slight amount of) an abstract
or (obsolete) physical quality; to imbue, to taint, to tinge.
4. (pharmacy) To dissolve (a substance) in ethanol or some other solvent
to produce a medicinal tincture.
5. (intransitive, rare) To have a taint or tinge of some quality. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tincture>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It doesn't hurt me. Do you want to feel how it feels? Do you
want to know that it doesn't hurt me? Do you want to hear about the
deal that I'm making? You, it's you and me. And if I only could, I'd
make a deal with God, And I'd get him to swap our places, Be running
up that road, Be running up that hill, Be running up that building.
--Kate Bush
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kate_Bush>
Apollo 4 was the first flight in the Apollo program and served as an
initial uncrewed test of the Saturn V rocket. The first launch from
Kennedy Space Center, Florida, where the space vehicle was assembled, it
was originally planned to take place early in 1967 but was delayed to
November 9 due to a myriad of issues. These included the need for
additional inspections following the Apollo 1 fire that killed the
first Apollo crew in January 1967. Apollo 4 was an "all-up" test,
meaning that the spacecraft was fully functional on its initial flight,
the first such for NASA. The Apollo 4 command module splashed down just
under nine hours after its launch, having completed all objectives. NASA
deemed the mission a complete success as it proved that the Saturn V
rocket worked, which was important in achieving NASA's overall goal of
landing astronauts on the Moon and bringing them back safely by the end
of the 1960s.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_4>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1818:
French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel submitted a memoir on
the diffraction of light to the Royal Academy of Sciences, providing
strong support for the wave theory of light.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustin-Jean_Fresnel>
1914:
The first shots of World War I were fired by the Austro-
Hungarian river monitor SMS Bodrog on Serbian defences near Belgrade.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_monitor_Sava>
1954:
The first part of J. R. R. Tolkien's high-fantasy novel The
Lord of the Rings was published by Allen & Unwin.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
carnyx:
(music, historical) A bronze wind instrument used by Iron Age Celts (c.
200 B.C.E. – 200 C.E.) as a type of battle trumpet; held vertically when
played, it was shaped like an elongated S with a mouthpiece at the lower
end and a bell (often resembling an animal with an open mouth) at the
upper end.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/carnyx>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Now I understand what you tried to say to me How you suffered for
your sanity How you tried to set them free They would not listen —
They did not know how, Perhaps they'll listen now. For they could not
love you, But still your love was true And when no hope was left in
sight, on that starry starry night You took your life as lovers often
do, But I could have told you, Vincent, This world was never meant for
one as beautiful as you.
--Don McLean
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Don_McLean>
Thalassodromeus was a pterosaur (a flying reptile) that lived in what is
now northeastern Brazil about 100 million years ago, during the Early
Cretaceous. The original skull was discovered in 1983 in the Romualdo
Formation of the Araripe Basin. This genus had one of the largest known
skulls among pterosaurs, around 1.42 metres (4 ft 8 in) long, with one
of the largest cranial crests of any vertebrate in proportion to its
skull. Running from the tip of the upper jaw to beyond the occiput at
the back of the skull, the lightly built crest may have been used for
thermoregulation or in display behaviour. The crest may not have fully
developed until after sexual maturity. Though only the skull is known,
the animal is estimated to have had a wingspan of 4.2 to 4.5 m (14 to
15 ft). The jaws were toothless, with sharp upper and lower edges and
strong musculature. Thalassodromeus may have been able to kill and eat
prey on the ground.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalassodromeus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1911:
The Australasian Antarctic Expedition began with the departure
of SY Aurora from London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australasian_Antarctic_Expedition>
1939:
During the excavation of a 7th-century ship burial at Sutton
Hoo in Suffolk, England, archaeologists discovered a helmet that is
widely associated with King Rædwald of East Anglia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A6dwald_of_East_Anglia>
1940:
At the Salzburg Conference, German dictator Adolf Hitler
demanded the replacement of much of Slovakia's cabinet.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salzburg_Conference>
1995:
Two followers of the Indian mystic Rajneesh were convicted of
conspiring to assassinate Charles Turner, the U.S. attorney for the
District of Oregon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Rajneeshee_assassination_plot>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
lazaretto:
1. (historical)
2. A place reserved for people with infectious diseases (especially
leprosy or plague) to live on a long-term basis.
3. (also figuratively) A building such as a hospital, or occasionally a
ship, used to temporarily isolate sick people to prevent the spread of
infectious diseases; a quarantine.
4. (by extension, nautical) A place at the front of the tweendecks of a
merchant ship where provisions are stored.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lazaretto>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The deep desire to inspire people, to take an active part in the
life of the country … attracts our best people to political life …
We should all do something to right the wrongs that we see and not just
complain about them. We owe that to our country.
--Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Kennedy_Onassis>
The human history of Chincoteague, an island on the Eastern Shore of
Virginia, begins with Native Americans gathering shellfish there.
"Chincoteague" is said to have meant "Beautiful land across the water"
in their language. The local feral population of Chincoteague ponies
likely originated from European settlers using the island in the 17th
century to graze livestock. Seafood resources were systematically
exploited in the early 19th century, and oysters became a major industry
after the Civil War. Chincoteague's relative isolation ended in 1876
when the railroad arrived at Franklin City, across Chincoteague Bay, and
a steamboat service was introduced; a road causeway was completed in
1922. The Chincoteague Fire Department was established in 1925 and took
over the traditional pony penning to raise funds. The 1947 book Misty of
Chincoteague and its 1961 film helped publicize the island. The annual
carnival, pony swim (pictured) and subsequent auction now attract tens
of thousands of visitors.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Chincoteague,_Virginia>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1214:
Philip II of France decisively won the Battle of Bouvines, the
conclusive battle of the 1213–1214 Anglo-French War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bouvines>
1942:
Second World War: Allied forces halted the Axis invasion of
Egypt at the First Battle of El Alamein.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_El_Alamein>
1949:
The de Havilland Comet, the world's first commercial jet
airliner to reach production, made its maiden flight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Comet>
1983:
American musician Madonna released her self-titled debut album,
which set the standard for the genre of dance-pop for decades.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_%28Madonna_album%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
vituperate:
1. (transitive)
2. To criticize (someone or something) in an abusive or harsh manner.
3. To attack (someone or something) with abusive language; to revile, to
vilify.
4. (intransitive) To use abusive or harsh words.
5. Of, characterized by, or relating to abusive or harsh criticism.
6. (rare) Which has been abusively or harshly criticized; also,
deserving harsh criticism.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vituperate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
What a life, you wear it like propriety What a life, you do it
like you really mean it What a life, I watch it like a scary movie
What a life, what a life, what a life.
--Juliana Hatfield
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Juliana_Hatfield>
Barkhale Camp is a causewayed enclosure, a Neolithic archaeological site
on Bignor Hill, on the South Downs of West Sussex, England. English
causewayed enclosures, built from around 3700 BC until at least
3500 BC, are enclosed with ditches interrupted by gaps, or causeways.
They may have been settlements, meeting places, or ritual sites.
Barkhale Camp was identified by John Ryle in 1929 and surveyed the
following year by E. Cecil Curwen, who listed it as a possible
Neolithic site. A small trench was dug in 1930 by Ryle, and more
extensive excavation was undertaken by Veronica Seton-Williams between
1958 and 1961, which found a characteristically Neolithic assemblage of
flints. Peter Leach conducted another excavation in 1978, examining
several mounds and attempting to find the line of the ditch and bank
along the southern boundary. No material suitable for radiocarbon
dating was recovered, but Leach suggested that the site was constructed
in the earlier Neolithic, between 4000 BC and 3300 BC.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barkhale_Camp>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1936:
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial (unveiling pictured),
dedicated to the Canadian Expeditionary Force members killed in the
First World War, was unveiled in Pas-de-Calais, France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_National_Vimy_Memorial>
1953:
The Battle of the Samichon River, the last engagement of the
Korean War, ended only a few hours before the Korean Armistice Agreement
was signed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Samichon_River>
1968:
After coming second to Nguyễn Văn Thiệu in a rigged
presidential election, Trương Đình Dzu was jailed by a South
Vietnamese military court for illicit currency transactions.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C6%B0%C6%A1ng_%C4%90%C3%ACnh_Dzu>
2016:
A former employee carried out a mass stabbing at a care home
for disabled people in Sagamihara, killing 19 people and wounding 26
others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagamihara_stabbings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
soigneur:
(cycle racing) A non-riding member of a racing team whose role is to
provide support (such as massages, supplies, and transportation) for the
cyclists.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/soigneur>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It all depends on how we look at things, and not on how they are
in themselves. The least of things with a meaning is worth more in life
than the greatest of things without it.
--Carl Jung
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Jung>
Edward the Elder (c. 874 – 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from
899 until his death. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his
wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, the Vikings ruled
Northumbria, East Anglia and eastern Mercia, leaving only Wessex and
western Mercia under Anglo-Saxon control. In 910 a Mercian and West
Saxon army inflicted a decisive defeat on an invading Northumbrian army,
ending the threat from the northern Vikings. In the 910s, Edward
conquered Viking-ruled southern England in partnership with his sister
Æthelflæd, who ruled Mercia. By 919 he ruled Wessex, Mercia and East
Anglia, and only Northumbria remained under Viking rule. Edward was
admired by medieval chroniclers, but he was largely ignored by modern
historians until the 1990s, partly because few primary sources for his
reign survive. He is now seen as destroying the power of the Vikings in
southern England while laying the foundations for a south-centred united
English kingdom.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_the_Elder>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1261:
Nicaean–Latin wars: Alexios Strategopoulos led Nicaean forces
to recapture Constantinople, leading to the reestablishment of the
Byzantine Empire and the end of the Latin Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexios_Strategopoulos>
1898:
Spanish–American War: After more than two months of sea-based
bombardment, the United States invaded Puerto Rico.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico_campaign>
1948:
Australia (captain pictured) set a world record for the highest
successful run-chase in Test cricket history during the Fourth Test of
the Ashes series against England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Test,_1948_Ashes_series>
1976:
The orbiting spacecraft Viking 1 took a photograph of an
apparent face on Mars in a classic example of pareidolia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cydonia_%28Mars%29>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
resound:
1. (transitive)
2. To make (sounds), or to speak (words), loudly or reverberatingly.
3. Of a place: to cause (a sound) to reverberate; to echo.
4. To praise or spread the fame of (someone or something) with the voice
or the sound of musical instruments; to celebrate, to extol; also, to
declare (someone) to be a certain thing.
5. (intransitive)
6. Of a place: to reverberate with sound or noise.
7. Of a sound, a voice, etc.: to reverberate; to ring.
8. Especially of a musical instrument: to make a (deep or reverberating)
sound; also, to make sounds continuously.
9. (figuratively)
10. Of an event: to have a major effect in a certain place or time.
11. Of a person, their reputation, etc.: to be much lauded or mentioned.
[...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/resound>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life.
Thus people haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a
new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also
by nursing a fanatical grievance. A mass movement offers them unlimited
opportunities for both.
--Eric Hoffer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eric_Hoffer>