Edmund Sharpe (1809–1877) was an English architect, architectural
historian, railway engineer, and sanitary reformer. Sharpe's main focus
was on churches, and he was a pioneer in the use of terracotta as a
structural material in church building, designing what were known as
"pot" churches. He also designed secular buildings, including domestic
properties and schools, and worked on the development of railways in
Northwest England, designing bridges and planning new lines. In 1851 he
resigned from his architectural practice, and in 1856 he moved from
Lancaster, spending the remainder of his career mainly as a railway
engineer. Sharpe was involved in Lancaster's civic affairs. He was an
elected town councillor and served as mayor in 1848–49. Concerned
about the town's poor water supply and sanitation, he championed the
construction of new sewers and a waterworks. Sharpe achieved national
recognition as an architectural historian. He published books of
detailed architectural drawings, wrote a number of articles on
architecture, devised a scheme for the classification of English Gothic
architectural styles, and in 1875 was awarded the Royal Gold Medal of
the Royal Institute of British Architects.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Sharpe>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1892:
William Heffelfinger was paid $525 by the Allegheny Athletic
Association, becoming the first professional American football player on
record.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Heffelfinger>
1912:
The bodies of Robert Falcon Scott and his companions were
discovered, roughly eight months after their deaths during the ill-fated
British Antarctic Expedition 1910.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Falcon_Scott>
1928:
Approximately 111 people, mostly women and children, died after
the British ocean liner SS Vestris was abandoned as it sank in the
western Atlantic Ocean.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Vestris>
1991:
In Dili, East Timor, Indonesian forces opened fire on student
demonstrators protesting the occupation of East Timor, killing at least
250 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz_massacre>
2001:
American Airlines Flight 587 crashed into residential buildings
five minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport in
New York, killing a total of 265 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Airlines_Flight_587>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
hobbledehoy:
An awkward adolescent boy.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hobbledehoy>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for
quite a different reason.
--Joseph McCabe
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_McCabe>