Robert Garran was an Australian lawyer and public servant, an early
leading expert in Australian constitutional law, the first employee of
the Government of Australia and the first Solicitor-General of
Australia. Garran spent thirty-one years as permanent head of the
Attorney-General's Department, providing advice to ten different Prime
Ministers (from Barton to Lyons). He played a significant
behind-the-scenes role in the Australian federation movement, as
adviser to Edmund Barton and chair of the Drafting Committee at the
1897–1898 Constitutional Convention. In addition to his professional
work, Garran was also an important figure in the development of the
city of Canberra during its early years. He founded several important
cultural associations, organised the creation of the Canberra
University College, and later contributed to the establishment of the
Australian National University. Garran published at least eight books
and many journal articles throughout his lifetime, covering such
topics as constitutional law, the history of federalism in Australia,
and German language poetry.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Garran
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1745:
King George's War: British colonial forces led by William Pepperrell
captured the French stronghold at Fortress Louisbourg on Cape Breton
Island after a six-week siege.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortress_Louisbourg)
1846:
Pius IX was elected pope, beginning the longest reign of all popes
(not counting the Apostle St. Peter).
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_IX)
1963:
Aboard Vostok 6, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the
first woman in space.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova)
1976:
Apartheid in South Africa: Police in Soweto opened fire on
schoolchildren protesting against the imposition of Afrikaans as a
medium of instruction in township schools, triggering a series of
nationwide demonstrations, strikes, riots and violence.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soweto)
1999:
Thabo Mbeki was inaugurated President of South Africa.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thabo_Mbeki)
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Wikiquote of the day:
It's no use, says he. Force, hatred, history, all that. That's not
life for men and women, insult and hatred. And everybody knows that
it's the very opposite of that that is really life. -- James Joyce in
Ulysses
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Joyce)