"Abyssinia, Henry" is the 72nd episode of the M*A*S*H television
series, and the final episode of the series' third season. First aired
on March 18, 1975, and written by Everett Greenbaum and Jim Fritzell,
the highly rated episode was most notable for its shocking and
unexpected ending. The plot of the episode centers on the honorable
discharge and subsequent departure of the 4077th MASH's commander,
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake (played by McLean Stevenson). The highly
controversial ending to the episode, which has since been referenced
and parodied many times, prompted an estimated 1,000-plus letters to
series producers Gene Reynolds and Larry Gelbart, and drew fire from
both CBS and 20th Century Fox. After the production of this episode,
both Stevenson and Wayne Rogers, who played the character of Trapper
John McIntyre, left the series to pursue other interests. These
combined departures and their subsequent replacements signaled the
beginning of a major shift in focus of the M*A*S*H series as a whole.
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1229:
Sixth Crusade: Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II crowned himself King of
Jerusalem, although his wife Yolande had died, leaving their infant son
Conrad as the rightful heir.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_II%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor>
1314:
King Philip IV of France had Jacques de Molay , the last Grand Masters
of the Knights Templar, burned at the stake.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_de_Molay>
1892:
Canadian Governor General Lord Stanley of Preston pledged to donate
what would become the Stanley Cup, today the oldest professional sports
trophy in North America, as an award for Canada's top-ranking amateur
ice hockey club.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Cup>
1906:
Romanian inventor Traian Vuia became the first person to fly a
heavier-than-air craft with an unassisted takeoff.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traian_Vuia>
2005:
As per a court order, the feeding tube of Terri Schiavo, an American
woman who suffered brain damage, was removed at the request of her
husband, fueling a worldwide debate on euthanasia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terri_Schiavo_case>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
tribology (n):
(physics, engineering) The science and technology of friction,
lubrication, and wear
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tribology>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
None will break ranks, though nations trek from progress.
Courage was mine, and I had mystery;
Wisdom was mine, and I had
mastery;
To miss the march of this retreating world
Into vain citadels that are
not walled.
--Wilfred Owen
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilfred_Owen>