Mr. Dooley is a fictional bartender created by American journalist
Finley Peter Dunne, appearing in print between 1893 and 1915, and again
in 1924 and 1926. The bartender's humorous but pointed commentary on
American politics and international affairs first became popular during
the 1898 Spanish–American War. Dunne's essays are in the form of
conversations in an Irish dialect of English between Mr. Dooley, the
owner of a fictional tavern in the Bridgeport area of Chicago, and one
of the bar's patrons. From 1898 onwards, the essays, and the books
collecting them, gained national acclaim. Dunne became a friend of
President Theodore Roosevelt, although the friendship did not curtail
his satire. Beginning around 1905, Dunne had increasing trouble finding
time and inspiration for new pieces, and, except for a brief
resurrection in the mid-1920s, his columns ended in 1915. Even before
his death in 1936, his work was becoming obscure due in part to his use
of dialect and unusual spellings. The columns originated lasting sayings
such as "the Supreme Court follows the election returns".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Dooley>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1888:
Mary Ann Nichols' body was found on the ground in front of a
gated stable entrance in Buck's Row, London, allegedly the first victim
of the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Ripper>
1897:
Thomas Edison was granted a patent for the Kinetoscope, a
precursor to the movie projector.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetoscope>
1939:
Nazi forces, posing as Poles, staged an attack against the
German radio station Sender Gleiwitz in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia,
Germany, creating an excuse to invade Poland the next day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleiwitz_incident>
1978:
Musa al-Sadr, the Iranian-born Shia cleric and then religious
leader of Lebanon, disappeared in Libya while on an official visit.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musa_al-Sadr>
1986:
Aeroméxico Flight 498 collided with a privately owned Piper
PA-28 Cherokee aircraft over Cerritos, California, killing 67 in the air
and 15 on the ground.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_Cerritos_mid-air_collision>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
slough of despond:
1. A dreary bog or marsh.
2. (figuratively) A state of disheartening hopelessness.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/slough_of_despond>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I don't expect you to understand anything I'm telling you. But I
know you will remember this — that nothing good ever ends. If it did,
there would be no people in the world — no life at all, anywhere. And
the world is full of people and full of wonderful life.
--William Saroyan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Saroyan>