Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias (1803–80) was an army officer, politician and monarchist of the Empire of Brazil. He fought against Portugal during the Brazilian War for Independence, and thereafter remained loyal to the emperors Dom Pedro I and his son, Dom Pedro II (to whom he became a friend and instructor in swordsmanship and horsemanship). He commanded forces that put down uprisings from 1839 to 1845, including the Balaiada and the War of the Ragamuffins. He led the Brazilian army to victory in the Platine War against the Argentine Confederation and in the Paraguayan War against the Paraguayans. Caxias was promoted to army marshal, the army's highest rank, and was the only person made a duke during the 58-year reign of Pedro II. A member of the Reactionary Party (which became the Conservative Party), he was elected senator in 1846 and served as president (prime minister) of the Council of Ministers three times. Historians have regarded Caxias in a positive light and several have ranked him as the greatest Brazilian military officer. He has been designated as the army's protector, and is regarded as the most important figure in its tradition.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu%C3%ADs_Alves_de_Lima_e_Silva,_Duke_of_Caxias
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1537:
The Honourable Artillery Company, currently the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, was formed by Royal Charter from King Henry VIII. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honourable_Artillery_Company
1609:
Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei demonstrated his first telescope, a device that became known as a terrestrial or spyglass refracting telescope, to Venetian lawmakers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei
1950:
Althea Gibson entered into the U.S. Tennis Championships, becoming the first African-American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Althea_Gibson
1989:
The Voyager 2 spacecraft made its closest approach to Neptune and provided definitive proof of the existence of the planet's rings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Neptune
2001:
American singer Aaliyah and various members of her record company were killed when their overloaded airplane crashed shortly after takeoff from Marsh Harbour Airport in Marsh Harbour, The Bahamas. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaliyah
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
draculin: (organic chemistry) A glycoprotein with anticoagulant properties, found in the saliva of vampire bats. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/draculin
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
How transitory all human structures are, nay how oppressive the best institutions become in the course of a few generations. The plant blossoms, and fades: your fathers have died, and mouldered into dust: your temple is fallen: your tabernacle, the tables of your law, are no more: language itself, that bond of mankind, becomes antiquated: and shall a political constitution, shall a system of government or religion, that can be erected solely on these, endure for ever? --Johann Gottfried Herder https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Johann_Gottfried_Herder