Birchington-on-Sea is a village and seaside resort in north-east Kent,
England, with a population of around 10,000. It faces the North Sea,
east of the Thames Estuary, between Herne Bay and Margate. Its main
beach is Minnis Bay (pictured); three smaller beaches are surrounded by
chalk cliffs, cliff stacks and caves. Roman and prehistoric artefacts
indicate that the area was inhabited before the existence of the
village, and Minnis Bay was once the site of an Iron Age settlement. The
village was first recorded in 1240. Its parish church, All Saints',
dates to the 13th century and its churchyard is the burial place of the
19th-century Pre-Raphaelite artist, Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Quex Park, a
local 19th-century manor house, is home to the Powell-Cotton Museum and
a twelve-bell tower built for change ringing. The museum displays
stuffed exotic animals collected by Major Percy Powell-Cotton on his
travels in Africa, and houses artefacts unearthed in and around
Birchington.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birchington-on-Sea>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1475:
After an invasion by England and the Duchy of Burgundy, France
signed the Treaty of Picquigny with England, freeing Louis XI to deal
with the threat posed by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Picquigny>
1842:
The Treaty of Nanking, an unequal treaty ending the First Opium
War, was signed, forcing the Chinese Qing dynasty to give control of the
island that is now the site of Hong Kong, and other concessions to the
British.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong>
1949:
The Soviet Union successfully conducted its first nuclear
weapons test, exploding the 22-kiloton RDS-1.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RDS-1>
1991:
Italian businessman Libero Grassi was killed by the Sicilian
Mafia after taking a public stand against their extortion demands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libero_Grassi>
2005:
Storm surges of Hurricane Katrina caused multiple breaches in
levees around New Orleans, flooding about 80% of the city and
surrounding areas for weeks.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
skyclad:
(Wicca) Naked outdoors
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/skyclad>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Lies run sprints but the truth runs marathons.
--Michael Jackson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Jackson>