Spiro Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. A Republican, Agnew was born in Baltimore to a US-born mother and a Greek immigrant father. He became a lawyer, then held minor political offices before his election in 1962 as Baltimore County Executive. In 1966, he was unexpectedly elected Governor of Maryland, and was a surprise choice as Richard Nixon's running mate at the 1968 Republican National Convention. Initially regarded as a progressive, after his election, Agnew moved to the right, appealing to conservatives who were wary of stances taken by Nixon, and also gained their applause for attacking the news media for bias. He had accepted kickbacks during his time in Maryland, and he was investigated for corruption in 1973. He pleaded no contest to tax evasion and resigned from office. Despite his fall he is regarded as a significant contributor to the Republican Party's move to the right.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiro_Agnew
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1757:
Seven Years' War: Prussian forces led by Frederick the Great defeated the allied armies of France and the Holy Roman/Austrian Empire at the Battle of Rossbach. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rossbach
1925:
Sidney Reilly, a "super-spy" who was one of the inspirations for James Bond, was executed by the Soviet secret police. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Reilly
1950:
Korean War: The 27th British Commonwealth Brigade succeeded in preventing a Chinese break-through at Pakchon in the Battle of Pakchon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pakchon
2013:
The Indian Space Research Organisation launched the Mars Orbiter Mission, the nation's first interplanetary probe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Orbiter_Mission
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
recension: 1. A census, an enumeration, a review, a survey. 2. A critical revision of a text. 3. A text established by critical revision. 4. A family of manuscripts which share similar traits; the variety of a language which is used in such manuscripts. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/recension
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is a mistake to think that the past is dead. Nothing that has ever happened is quite without influence at this moment. The present is merely the past rolled up and concentrated in this second of time. You, too, are your past; often your face is your autobiography; you are what you are because of what you have been; because of your heredity stretching back into forgotten generations; because of every element of environment that has affected you, every man or woman that has met you, every book that you have read, every experience that you have had; all these are accumulated in your memory, your body, your character, your soul. So with a city, a country, and a race; it is its past, and cannot be understood without it. --Will Durant https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Will_Durant