Phan Dinh Phung (1847–1896) was a Vietnamese revolutionary who led rebel armies against French colonial forces in Vietnam. He was the most prominent of the Confucian court scholars involved in anti-French military campaigns in the 19th century and was cited after his death by 20th-century nationalists as a national hero. Born into a family of mandarins, Phan quickly rose through the ranks under Emperor Tu Duc, gaining a reputation for his integrity and uncompromising stance against corruption. Upon Tu Duc's death, the regent Ton That Thuyet disregarded Tu Duc's will of succession, and three emperors were deposed and killed in just over a year. Along with Thuyet, Phan organised rebel armies as part of the Can Vuong movement, which sought to expel the French. This campaign continued for three years until 1888, when the French captured Ham Nghi and exiled him to Algeria. Phan and his military assistant Cao Thang continued their guerrilla campaign, building a network of spies, bases and small weapons factories. However, Cao Thang was killed in a campaign in late 1893. The decade-long campaign eventually wore Phan down, and he died from dysentery as the French surrounded his forces.
Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phan_Dinh_Phung
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1348:
King Charles of Bohemia issued a Golden Bull to establish Charles University in Prague, the first university in Central Europe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_University_in_Prague
1862:
American Civil War: Union forces defeated Confederates at the Battle of Shiloh in Hardin County, Tennessee. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shiloh
1896:
An Arctic expedition led by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen reached 86°13.6'N, almost three degrees beyond the previous Farthest North mark. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fridtjof_Nansen
1940:
Educator Booker T. Washington became the first African American to be featured on a U.S. postage stamp . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington
1995:
First Chechen War: Russian paramilitary troops begin a massacre of at least 250 civilians in Samashki, Chechnya. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samashki_massacre
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
infelicitous (adj): 1. Unhappy or unfortunate. 2. Inappropriate or awkward; not well said, expressed, or done http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/infelicitous
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are seasons, in human affairs, of inward and outward revolution, when new depths seem to be broken up in the soul, when new wants are unfolded in multitudes, and a new and undefined good is thirsted for. There are periods when...to dare, is the highest wisdom. --William Ellery Channing http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Ellery_Channing