William Cooley (1783–1863) was one of the first American settlers in what is now Broward County, in the US state of Florida. Born in Maryland, he arrived in East Florida as part of a military expedition. He was a farmer in the northern part of the territory before moving south, where he traded with local Indians and continued to farm. He sided with natives in a land dispute against a merchant who had received a large grant from the King of Spain and was evicting them from their lands. Unhappy with the actions of the Spanish, he moved to the New River in 1826, an area removed from their influence. He was a salvager and farmer, cultivating and milling arrowroot. His fortune and influence grew, and he became the first judge in the settlement. His decision in a case involving the murder of a local chief antagonized the natives, who attacked the settlement in revenge in January 1836 during the Second Seminole War, killing his family. Cooley was one of the first city councilors of Tampa, serving three terms.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cooley
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1903:
Macedonian rebels in Kruševo proclaimed a republic, which existed only ten days before Ottoman forces destroyed the town. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kru%C5%A1evo_Republic
1913:
A strike by agricultural workers in Wheatland, California, U.S., degenerated into a riot, one of the first major farm labor confrontations in California. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatland_hop_riot
1929:
Jiddu Krishnamurti, believed to likely be the messianic "World Teacher", shocked the Theosophy movement by dissolving the Order of the Star, the organisation established to support him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Star_in_the_East
1940:
World War II: Italy invaded British Somaliland, capturing the region 16 days later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_conquest_of_British_Somaliland
2007:
Former Deputy Director of the Chilean secret police Raúl Iturriaga was captured after having been on the run following a conviction for kidnapping. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra%C3%BAl_Iturriaga
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
aye-aye: The lemur Daubentonia madagascariensis, a solitary nocturnal quadruped found in Madagascar and remarkable for its long fingers, sharp nails, and rodent-like incisor teeth. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aye-aye
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
What do you mean by faith? Is faith enough for Man? Should he be satisfied with faith alone? Is the attitude of faith, of believing in something for which there can be no more than philosophic proof the true mark of a Christian? --Clifford D. Simak https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Clifford_D._Simak