Messiah (HWV 56) is an English-language sacred oratorio composed in
1741 by George Frideric Handel. Its text was compiled by Charles Jennens
from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It covers
episodes related to the Messiah mostly in verses from the Old Testament
and the Book of Revelation. Handel structured the work in three parts,
each in scenes as in Baroque opera. Part I covers prophecies, the birth
of Jesus and his work, Part II focuses on his Passion, while Part III
deals with the resurrection of the dead. Messiah was first performed in
Dublin on 13 April 1742, with a small orchestra of trumpets, oboes,
strings and continuo. After an initially modest reception, the oratorio
became one of the most frequently performed Western choral works, often
adapted to large orchestras and choirs after Handel's death. Mozart
modified the instrumentation in his arrangement Der Messias to a German
text. The famous "Hallelujah" chorus, concluding Part II, is often
performed individually.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah_%28Handel%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1829:
The Roman Catholic Relief Act received royal assent, removing
the most substantial restrictions on Catholics in the United Kingdom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Relief_Act_1829>
1942:
Austrian soldier Anton Schmid was executed for rescuing Jews
from the Ponary massacre in Vilnius.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Schmid>
1956:
The Vietnamese National Army captured Ba Cụt, a military
commander of the religious sect Hòa Hảo, which ran a de facto state
in South Vietnam in opposition to Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_C%E1%BB%A5t>
2009:
Twenty-three people died in a fire at a homeless hostel
(aftermath pictured) in Kamień Pomorski; it was Poland's deadliest fire
since 1980.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamie%C5%84_Pomorski_homeless_hostel_fire>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Department of Redundancy Department:
(humorous) A fictitious department that is cited to draw attention to
needless repetition or excessiveness.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Department_of_Redundancy_Department>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Ukraine is now on the front line of the war — global war — of
freedom against tyranny. The war the free world didn't want to admit
existed. It cannot be ignored any longer. Brave Ukrainians are fighting
like hell and dying right now to remind us not to take liberty for
granted. Putin, like every dictator before him, underestimated the free
will of free people. They deserve every weapon, every resource to win
this war. Because they're fighting for us. Not only for the whole and
free Ukraine. ... This is not chess. This is not a battle between
opposite colors, but of opposite values. Freedom, life and love versus
tyranny, death and hatred. This is not chess. But sometimes things are
black and white. Sometimes you have to fight for what you believe. Or
you lose it. This is not chess. There are no draws, no compromises in
our battle with true evil. It's win or lose. And so we must fight. And
so we must win. Slava Ukraini! Glory to Ukraine. Glory to freedom.
--Garry Kasparov
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Garry_Kasparov>
The Connecticut Tercentenary half dollar is a commemorative fifty-cent
piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1935. The
commemorative coin was designed by Henry Kreis and depicts the Charter
Oak, where according to legend Connecticut's charter was hidden to save
it from confiscation. An eagle appears on the coin's reverse side. The
Connecticut Tercentenary Commission wanted a half dollar issued, with
proceeds from its sale to further its projects. A bill passed through
Congress without dissent and became law on June 21, 1935, when President
Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it, providing for 25,000 half dollars.
Kreis's design was a Public Works Administration project and technically
in violation of the new law, which said the federal government was not
to pay for its design. Nevertheless, the design was approved and the
commission, setting a price of $1 per coin, exhausted the entire issue.
Kreis's design has generally been praised by numismatic writers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_Tercentenary_half_dollar>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1822:
Greek War of Independence: Ottoman troops began a massacre of
tens of thousands of Greeks (depicted) on the island of Chios.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chios_massacre>
1961:
Aboard Vostok 1, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin performed the
first human spaceflight, completing one orbit of Earth in 108 minutes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Gagarin>
1980:
Samuel Doe took control of Liberia in a coup d'etat,
overthrowing President William Tolbert and ending over 130 years of
national democratic presidential succession.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Liberian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat>
2014:
A fire broke out in the hills near Valparaíso, Chile,
eventually destroying at least 2,500 homes and leaving approximately
11,000 people homeless.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_Valpara%C3%ADso>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
push the envelope:
(intransitive, idiomatic, originally aeronautics) To go beyond
established limits; to pioneer.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/push_the_envelope>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are no words for the horror I have seen in Bucha, the ugly
face of Putin's army terrorising people. And I have so much admiration
for our brave Ukrainian friends fighting against this. They are fighting
our war. It is our fight that they are in. Because it is not only
Ukraine fighting for its sovereignty and integrity, but they are also
fighting for the question whether humanity will prevail or whether
heinous devastation will be the result. It is the question whether
democracy will be stronger or if it is autocracy that will dominate. It
is the question whether there is the right of might dominating or
whether it is the rule of law.
--Ursula von der Leyen
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ursula_von_der_Leyen>
The Shadow was an American pulp magazine published by Street & Smith
from 1931 to 1949. Each issue contained a novel about The Shadow, a
mysterious crime-fighting figure who spoke the line "Who knows what evil
lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows" in radio broadcasts of
stories from Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine. For the first
issue, dated April 1931, Walter Gibson wrote the lead novel, The Living
Shadow. Sales were strong, and Street & Smith soon changed it from
quarterly to monthly publication, and then to twice-monthly, with the
lead novels written by Gibson. From 1946 to 1948, the novels were by
Bruce Elliott, who made The Shadow mostly a background figure. Gibson
returned to Street & Smith and resumed writing in 1948, but in 1949 the
firm ended its remaining pulp titles, including The Shadow. The success
of The Shadow made it very influential, and many other single-character
pulps soon appeared, featuring a lead novel in every issue about the
magazine's main character.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shadow_%28magazine%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
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.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Fontainebleau_%281814%29>
1913:
The cricket pavilion at the Nevill Ground was destroyed in an
arson attack (damage pictured) that was attributed to militant
suffragettes as part of a country-wide campaign co-ordinated by the
Women's Social and Political Union.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevill_Ground>
1968:
Rudi Dutschke, the most prominent leader of the German student
movement, survived an assassination attempt, which led to the largest
protests to that date in Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudi_Dutschke>
2002:
In a coup attempt, members of the Venezuelan military detained
President Hugo Chávez and demanded his resignation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Venezuelan_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat_attempt>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
flabbergast:
(transitive) To overwhelm with bewilderment; to amaze, confound, or
stun, especially in a ludicrous manner.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flabbergast>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The War on Ukraine is an unimaginable tragedy ... As a human, and
as an artist, I felt compelled to respond in the most significant way I
could. ... I had always said, that the only time I would ever consider
singing 'IMAGINE' would be if it was the 'End of the World' But also
because his lyrics reflect our collective desire for peace worldwide.
Because within this song, we’re transported to a space, where love and
togetherness become our reality, if but for a moment in time… The
song reflects the light at the end of the tunnel, that we are all hoping
for... As a result of the ongoing murderous violence, millions of
innocent families, have been forced to leave the comfort of their homes,
to seek asylum elsewhere. I’m calling on world leaders and everyone
who believes in the sentiment of IMAGINE, to stand up for refugees
everywhere!
--Julian Lennon
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julian_Lennon>
Sir Robert de Umfraville (c. 1363 – 1437) was a late medieval
English knight who took part in the later stages of the Hundred Years'
War, particularly against Scotland. Much of his career was focused on
defending the border with Scotland, which had seen near-constant warfare
since the late 13th century. He both fought there and participated in
embassies, negotiating treaties as a diplomat. Beginning his career
under Richard II, he probably fought at the 1388 Battle of Otterburn
with Henry "Hotspur" Percy. In 1415, de Umfraville travelled with
Henry V to France, where he may have taken part in the Battle of
Agincourt. He was famed for his prowess in martial arts, and his
successes in the north attracted praise and reward from the kings he
served. On a campaign deep into Scottish territory, he destroyed Peebles
and its market, bringing back so much booty that he was popularly
nicknamed "Robin Mendmarket". He carried out his last mission to
Scotland in March 1436 and died early the next year.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_de_Umfraville>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1858:
Big Ben, the bell in the Palace of Westminster's clock tower in
London, was cast after the original bell cracked during testing.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ben>
1919:
Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata was shot to death
near Ciudad Ayala, Morelos.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emiliano_Zapata>
1963:
The U.S. Navy nuclear submarine USS Thresher (SSN-593) sank
with all hands lost during deep-diving tests in the North Atlantic
Ocean.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Thresher_%28SSN-593%29>
1992:
First Nagorno-Karabakh War: Dozens of Armenian civilians were
massacred in the village of Maraga by Azerbaijani forces.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maraga_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
deem:
1. (transitive, obsolete) To judge, to pass judgment on; to doom, to
sentence.
2. (transitive, obsolete) To adjudge, to decree.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To dispense (justice); to administer (law).
4. (transitive) To hold in belief or estimation; to adjudge as a
conclusion; to regard as being; to evaluate according to one's beliefs;
to account.
5. (transitive, intransitive) To think, judge, or have or hold as an
opinion; to decide or believe on consideration; to suppose.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deem>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The brave people of Ukraine are fighting for their freedom —
and for ours — in the face of unspeakable violence and an unjust
invasion. More than 4 million people, mostly women and children, have
had to flee for their lives — a population nearly the size of Ireland.
World leaders must stand up and stand by Ukranians now ... those who are
fighting and those who have fled ... and stand with refugees everywhere
who have been forced from their homes and their lands.
--U2
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/U2>
Viatkogorgon is a genus of gorgonopsian (a type of therapsid, a group
that includes modern mammals) that lived during the Permian Period in
what is now Russia. The first fossil was named as V. ivachnenkoi after
the paleontologist M. F. Ivakhnenko. It was found at the Kotelnich near
the river Vyatka in 1999. The holotype skeleton (pictured) is one of the
most complete gorgonopsian specimens known and includes some rarely
preserved elements, including gastralia and a sclerotic ring. A larger,
less well preserved specimen has also been assigned to this species. The
smaller specimen is about 80 cm (31 in) long, including the 14 cm
(5.5 in) skull, and may have been a young animal. It was robust with a
dog-like stance, high snout, and very large canine teeth. Gorgonopsians
would have been relatively fast predators, which killed their prey by
delivering slashing bites with their saber-teeth, and this genus may
have been adapted for swimming.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viatkogorgon>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1917:
First World War: The Canadian Corps began the first wave of
attacks at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in Vimy, France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge>
1942:
World War II: Japanese forces defeated Allied troops at the
Battle of Bataan in the Philippines before beginning to forcibly
transfer more than 90,000 prisoners of war to prison camps in the Bataan
Death March.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bataan_Death_March>
1980:
Iraqi philosopher Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister Amina
were executed by the regime of Saddam Hussein.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Baqir_al-Sadr>
1999:
President of Niger Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara was shot dead by
soldiers in Niamey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Bar%C3%A9_Ma%C3%AFnassara>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
grandfather:
1. (transitive, chiefly US, law) To retain existing laws or rules for (a
person or organization previously affected by them).
2. (intransitive, chiefly US, law) To retain existing laws or rules only
for people or organizations previously affected by them, and to apply
new laws or rules to the unaffected people or organizations.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/grandfather>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Russia is not full of terrible people. It’s just that their
leadership has gone so horribly wrong. ... A lot of the world is
reacting in the right way. They are angry and they are frustrated. You
can see and hear the frustration in the leaders of the other world’s
countries. We can see it in the voice of your president, President
Biden. He has let slip a couple of his feelings a couple of times over
there. Other world leaders have done the same. And I think there’s a
groundswell of opinion worldwide. This sort of thing shouldn’t be able
to happen. It shouldn’t be able to be allowed. But we are in a world
where still, here we are, a fifth of the way through the 21st century
and still this obscene situation can happen. The mind boggles.
--David Gilmour
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Gilmour>
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2006 platform game developed by Sonic Team and
published by Sega. It was produced in commemoration of the 15th
anniversary of the Sonic series, and intended as a reboot for the
seventh-generation video game consoles. Players control Sonic, Shadow,
and the new character Silver, who battle Solaris, an ancient evil
pursued by Doctor Eggman. Development was rushed after Sonic co-creator
Yuji Naka (pictured) resigned from the team to form his own company, and
half of the team was diverted to work on the Wii game Sonic and the
Secret Rings. Sonic the Hedgehog was released for the Xbox 360 in
November and for the PlayStation 3 the following month; versions for
Wii and Windows were canceled. Praised in prerelease showings, the game
was a critical failure, described as one of the worst games in the
series. Reviewers criticized its loading times, camera system, story,
stability, and controls. In 2010, Sega delisted the game from retailers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_%282006_video_game%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
876:
Abbasid forces decisively defeated those of Saffarid emir Ya'qub
ibn Laith, forcing the latter to halt his advance into Iraq.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dayr_al-Aqul>
1630:
Kiliaen van Rensselaer purchased land near present-day Albany,
New York, to found the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, which became the most
successful patroonship under the Dutch West India Company.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manor_of_Rensselaerswyck>
1904:
Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan, was renamed Times Square
after the New York Times building.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square>
1942:
World War II: The United States Army Air Forces flew its first
mission from India over the Hump (the eastern end of the Himalayas) to
deliver materiel to China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hump>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
munshi:
1. (South Asia) A clerk or secretary.
2. (South Asia) A language teacher, especially one teaching Hindustani
or Persian.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/munshi>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The United States continues to work methodically to collect, to
preserve, to analyze evidence of atrocities and to make this information
available to the appropriate bodies. We’re supporting a multinational
team of experts that’s assisting a war crimes unit set up by
Ukraine’s prosecutor general, with a view toward eventually pursuing
criminal accountability. These efforts will also ensure that Russia
cannot escape the verdict of history. Just moments ago, as I was coming
into this room, I learned that UN member states had come together once
again to condemn Russia’s aggression and suspend it from the Human
Rights Council. A country that’s perpetrating gross and systematic
violations of human rights should not sit on a body whose job it is to
protect those rights.
--Antony Blinken
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Antony_Blinken>
Pomona College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont,
California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists
who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern
California. In 1925 it became the founding member of the Claremont
Colleges consortium of adjacent, affiliated institutions. A four-year
undergraduate college, it enrolls about 1700 students and offers 48
majors in liberal arts disciplines. Pomona's student body is noted for
its racial, geographic, and socioeconomic diversity. Among the college's
traditions is a reverence for the number 47. Its athletics teams, the
Sagehens, compete jointly with Pitzer College in the SCIAC, a
Division III conference. Pomona has the lowest acceptance rate of any
U.S. liberal arts college. It is considered the most prestigious liberal
arts college in the American West and one of the most prestigious in the
U.S. It is a top producer of fellowship recipients and has prominent
alumni in various fields.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomona_College>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1896:
An Arctic expedition led by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen
reached 86°13.6′N, almost three degrees beyond the previous Farthest
North latitude.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fridtjof_Nansen>
1949:
The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific, based on
Tales of the South Pacific by James Michener, opened on Broadway.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pacific_%28musical%29>
1972:
Communist forces overran the South Vietnamese town of Lộc
Ninh.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Loc_Ninh>
1995:
First Chechen War: Russian paramilitary troops began a massacre
of hundreds of civilians in Samashki, Chechnya.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samashki_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
chivvy:
1. (transitive, Britain) To coerce or hurry along, as by persistent
request.
2. (transitive, Britain) To subject to harassment or verbal abuse.
3. (transitive, Britain) To sneak up on or rapidly approach.
4. (transitive, Britain) To pursue as in a hunt.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chivvy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We have all seen the atrocities that have been committed in Bucha
and other places in Ukraine. This reveals the true nature of President
Putin's war, and the targeting and killing of civilians is a war crime
and therefore, NATO allies are supporting the international efforts to
establish all the facts, to investigate, and to make sure that
perpetrators are punished. ... We have seen no indication that President
Putin has changed his ambition to control the whole of Ukraine and also
to rewrite the international order. So we need to be prepared for the
long haul. We need to support Ukraine, sustain our sanctions, and
strengthen our defences and our deterrence, because this can last for a
long time and we need to be prepared for that.
--Jens Stoltenberg
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jens_Stoltenberg>
The Treaty of Guînes was a draft agreement to end the Hundred Years'
War, negotiated between England and France from 1353 to 1354. War had
broken out in 1337 and was aggravated when the English king claimed the
French throne. After a French defeat at the Battle of Crécy a truce was
agreed in 1347, although it was not fully observed. In 1352 full-scale
fighting broke out again, which went badly for the French. A faction in
favour of peace gained influence in the French king's council,
negotiations were reopened and a peace agreement that exchanged French
land for the English claim to the French throne was agreed. A draft
treaty was formally signed at Guînes on 6 April 1354. The detailed
treaty was supposed to be publicly announced in October, but a new
French council turned against it and the draft was repudiated. In 1360
the Treaty of Brétigny, which largely replicated the Treaty of Guînes,
was agreed. War flared up again in 1369 and the Hundred Years' War
finally ended in 1453, 99 years after the Treaty of Guînes was signed.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Gu%C3%AEnes>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1830:
Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and others formally
organized the Church of Christ, starting the Latter Day Saint movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ_%28Latter_Day_Saints%29>
1994:
The aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana
and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down in Kigali; the
event became the catalyst for the Rwandan genocide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Juv%C3%A9nal_Habyarimana_and…>
2012:
The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad unilaterally
declared the region of Azawad independent from Mali.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azawadi_declaration_of_independence>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Olympian:
1. (not comparable) Of or relating to Mount Olympus, the highest
mountain in Greece; or (Greek mythology) the Greek gods and goddesses
who were believed to live there.
2. (comparable, by extension) Resembling a Greek deity in some way.
3. Celestial, heavenly; also, godlike.
4. Acting in a remote and superior manner; aloof.
5. (historical) Of or relating to the town of Olympia in Elis, Greece.
6. (sports)
7. (historical) Of or relating to the ancient Olympic Games held at
Olympia; Olympic.
8. Of or relating to the modern Olympic Games; Olympic.
9. (Greek mythology) Any of the 12 principal gods and goddesses of the
Greek pantheon (Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus,
Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Demeter, and Hades); (specifically)
preceded by the: Zeus, the supreme ruler of the Greek deities.
10. (figuratively) A person with superior talents or towering
achievements.
11. An inhabitant of the city of Olympia, the capital of Washington,
United States.
12. (sports)
13. (historical) A sportsperson competing in the ancient Olympic Games.
14. A sportsperson competing in the modern Olympic Games.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Olympian>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The war in Ukraine is one of the greatest challenges ever to the
international order and the global peace architecture, founded on the
United Nations Charter. Because of its nature, intensity, and
consequences. We are dealing with the full-fledged invasion, on several
fronts, of one Member State of the United Nations, Ukraine, by another,
the Russian Federation — a Permanent Member of the Security Council
— in violation of the United Nations Charter, and with several aims,
including redrawing the internationally-recognized borders between the
two countries. The war has led to senseless loss of life, massive
devastation in urban centres, and the destruction of civilian
infrastructure. I will never forget the horrifying images of civilians
killed in Bucha. I immediately called for an independent investigation
to guarantee effective accountability.
--António Guterres
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ant%C3%B3nio_Guterres>
Powder House Island (also known as Dynamite Island) is an artificial
island on the lower Detroit River in southeast Michigan, directly
adjacent to the Canada–United States border. It was constructed in the
late 1880s by the Dunbar & Sullivan Company to manufacture and store
explosives during their dredging of the Livingstone Channel, in a
successful attempt to circumvent an 1880 court order forbidding the
company from storing explosives on nearby Fox Island. In 1906, twenty
short tons (18,000 kg) of the island's dynamite exploded after two men
"had been shooting with a revolver" near it. The explosion was clearly
audible from 85 mi (137 km) away. By the 1980s, it was completely
unused; by 2015, the island was owned by the Michigan Department of
Natural Resources, managed by its Wildlife Division as part of the
Pointe Mouillee State Game Area, and accessible to the public for
hunting and camping.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_House_Island>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1614:
Pocahontas, a Native American woman, married English colonist
John Rolfe in the Colony of Virginia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocahontas>
1902:
A spectator stand collapsed during a Scotland–England
football match at Ibrox Park, Govan, killing 25 supporters and injuring
more than 500 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1902_Ibrox_disaster>
1944:
Siegfried Lederer, a Czech Jew, escaped from Auschwitz with the
aid of an SS officer who opposed the Holocaust.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_Lederer%27s_escape_from_Auschwitz>
1986:
The Libyan secret service bombed a discotheque in West Berlin,
resulting in three deaths and 229 others injured.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Berlin_discotheque_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
whelm:
1. (transitive) To bury, to cover; to engulf, to submerge.
2. (transitive, obsolete) To throw (something) over a thing so as to
cover it.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To ruin or destroy.
4. (intransitive) To overcome with emotion; to overwhelm.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/whelm>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The world has already seen many war crimes. At different times.
On different continents. But it is time to do everything possible to
make the war crimes of the Russian military the last manifestation of
such evil on earth.
--Volodymyr Zelenskyy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy>
Martin Rundkvist (born 4 April 1972) is a Swedish archaeologist who
focuses on the Bronze, Iron, and Middle Ages of Scandinavia. He has
excavated various sites in Sweden. In a 2011 book, he identified nine
possible regional power centres in Östergötland, and attempted to
determine where the "Beowulfian mead halls" of the day once stood. Years
later at one of these sites, Aska, he uncovered the foundations of a
large mead hall, and 22 ornate gold figures that may have represented
gods or royals. Rundkvist has also catalogued the finds from Barshalder,
the largest prehistoric cemetery on Sweden's Gotland island; excavated
the boat grave of a Viking; and analysed both the placement of deposited
artefacts in the landscape and the lifestyles of élite Scandinavians
during the Middle Ages. Rundkvist authors the blog Aardvarchaeology,
which the James Randi Educational Foundation termed "the most-read
archaeology blog on the Internet". He is an associate professor at the
University of Łódź in Poland.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Rundkvist>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1873:
The Kennel Club, the world's oldest kennel club, was founded in
the United Kingdom after Sewallis Shirley became frustrated by trying to
organise dog shows without a consistent set of rules.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kennel_Club>
1905:
An earthquake hit the Kangra Valley in India, killing more than
20,000 people and destroying most buildings in Kangra, McLeod Ganj, and
Dharamshala.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1905_Kangra_earthquake>
1949:
Twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty, establishing
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.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO>
1968:
American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was
assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Martin_Luther_King_Jr.>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sensical:
That makes sense; showing internal logic; rational, sensible.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sensical>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
We had thought that invasions of other countries, savage street
fighting and atomic threats were grim memories of a distant past.
However, the icy winds of war, which bring only death, destruction and
hatred in their wake, have swept down powerfully upon the lives of many
people and affected us all. Once again, some potentate, sadly caught up
in anachronistic claims of nationalist interests, is provoking and
fomenting conflicts, whereas ordinary people sense the need to build a
future that, will either be shared, or not be at all. Now in the night
of the war that is fallen upon humanity, please, let us not allow the
dream of peace to fade!
--Pope Francis
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pope_Francis>