The McKinley Birthplace Memorial gold dollar was a commemorative coin
struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1916 and 1917,
designed by Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber, and the reverse by
his assistant, George T. Morgan. As President William McKinley had
appeared on a version of the 1903-dated Louisiana Purchase Exposition
gold dollar, the 1916 release made him the first person to appear on two
issues of U.S. coins. The coins were to benefit the National McKinley
Birthplace Memorial at Niles, Ohio. The issue was originally proposed as
a silver dollar; this was changed when it was realized it would not be
appropriate to honor a president who had supported the gold standard
with such a piece. The coins were poorly promoted, and did not sell
well. Despite an authorized mintage of 100,000, only about 20,000 were
sold, many of these at a reduced price to Texas coin dealer B. Max Mehl.
Another 10,000 pieces were returned to the Mint for melting.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKinley_Birthplace_Memorial_gold_dollar>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1905:
Authorities of the British Raj partitioned the Bengal
Presidency, separating the largely Muslim eastern areas from the largely
Hindu western areas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_Bengal_%281905%29>
1943:
The Holocaust: The Gestapo conducted a raid on the Roman
Ghetto, capturing 1,259 members of the Jewish community, most of whom
were sent to Auschwitz.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_of_the_Ghetto_of_Rome>
1964:
With the success of Project 596 (mushroom cloud pictured),
China became the world's fifth nuclear power.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_596>
1991:
A man drove his vehicle through the window of a Luby's
Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, and opened fire, killing 23 people before
he committed suicide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luby%27s_shooting>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
chicory:
1. (countable, botany) Either of two plants of the Asteraceae family.
2. (chiefly Britain) The common chicory (Cichorium intybus), the source
of Belgian endive, radicchio, and sugarloaf.
3. (chiefly Canada, US) The endive (Cichorium endivia, the source of
escarole and frisée.
4. (uncountable, cooking) A coffee substitute made from the roasted
roots of the common chicory, sometimes used as a cheap adulterant in
real coffee.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chicory>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
These days I see America identified more and more with material
things, less and less with spiritual standards. These days I see America
acting abroad as an arrogant, selfish, greedy nation interested only in
guns and dollars, not in people and their hopes and aspirations. We need
a faith that dedicates us to something bigger and more important than
ourselves or our possessions. Only if we have that faith will we be able
to guide the destiny of nations in this the most critical period of
world history.
--William O. Douglas
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_O._Douglas>