Clarence 13X (1928–1969) was the American founder of the Five-Percent
Nation, a group that split from the Nation of Islam (NOI). After army
service during the Korean War, he served in the NOI as a security
officer, martial arts instructor, and student minister before founding
the new group in 1963. Believing that God could be found within every
black man, he took the name Allah. He and a few assistants retained some
NOI teachings but with novel interpretations, and rejected dress codes
or strict behavioral guidelines—he allowed the consumption of alcohol,
and at times, the use of illegal drugs. Clarence 13X was shot by an
unknown assailant in 1964 but survived the attack. After an incident
several months later in which he and several of his followers vandalized
stores and fought with police, he was arrested and placed in psychiatric
care; doctors said that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia because
he referred to himself as Allah. He was released from custody after a
1966 ruling by the Supreme Court placed limits on confinement without
trial. Although he initially taught his followers to hate white people,
he eventually began to cooperate with white city leaders. He was fatally
shot in June 1969 by an unknown assailant. He has been held in high
regard by Five Percenters, who celebrate his birthday as a holiday.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_13X>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1316:
The forces of the infante Ferdinand of Majorca fought against
those loyal to Princess Matilda of Hainaut in the Battle of Picotin on
the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Picotin>
1876:
Swedish woman Karolina Olsson went to sleep and purportedly
fell into a state of hibernation for the next 32 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karolina_Olsson>
1909:
The sixteen United States Navy battleships of the Great White
Fleet, led by Connecticut (pictured), completed a circumnavigation of
the globe.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Connecticut_(BB-18)>
1995:
The photos taken by the Corona spy satellite program were
declassified under an executive order signed by U.S. President Bill
Clinton.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_(satellite)>
2012:
A train failed to apply its brakes and crashed through a buffer
stop at Once Station in Buenos Aires, resulting in 51 deaths and more
than 700 injuries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Buenos_Aires_rail_disaster>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
fugacious:
Fleeting, fading quickly, transient.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fugacious>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those
which are caused by difference of sentiments in religion appear to be
the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be deprecated.
--George Washington
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Washington>