Baron Munchausen is a fictional nobleman created by German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe in his 1785 book Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia. The character is loosely based on a real baron, Hieronymus Karl Friedrich, Freiherr von Münchhausen (1720–1797). Born in Bodenwerder, Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, the real-life Münchhausen fought for the Russian Empire in the Russo-Turkish War of 1735–1739. After retiring in 1760, he became a minor celebrity within German aristocratic circles for telling outrageous tall tales based on his military career. After hearing some of Münchhausen's stories, Raspe adapted them anonymously into literary form, first in German as magazine pieces, and then in English. The fictional Baron's exploits, narrated in the first person, focus on his impossible achievements as a sportsman, soldier, and traveller, for instance riding on a cannonball, fighting a forty-foot crocodile, and travelling to the Moon. The real-life Münchhausen was deeply upset at the development of a fictional character bearing his name, and threatened legal proceedings against the book's publisher. Several concepts and medical conditions have been named after the character, including Munchausen syndrome, the Münchhausen trilemma, and Munchausen numbers.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Munchausen
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1618:
English courtier and explorer Walter Raleigh was executed in London after King James I reinstated a fifteen-year-old death sentence against him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Raleigh
1792:
Lt. William Broughton, a member of Captain George Vancouver's discovery expedition, observed a peak in what is now Oregon, US, and named it Mount Hood after British admiral Samuel Hood. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Hood
1948:
Arab–Israeli War: As the Israel Defense Forces captured the Palestinian Arab village of Safsaf, they massacred at least 52 villagers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safsaf_massacre
1986:
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher opened the last segment of the M25 motorway, one of Britain's busiest motorways. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M25_motorway
1991:
Galileo became the first spacecraft to visit an asteroid when it made a flyby of 951 Gaspra. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/951_Gaspra
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
shoe-leather: Basic, old-fashioned or traditional; specifically (journalism) shoe- leather journalism or shoe-leather reporting: journalism involving walking from place to place observing things and speaking to people, rather than sitting indoors at a desk. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shoe-leather
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
One of my principles is, Thou shall not bully. The only answer is to muscle the bully. I'm very combative that way. --Bill Mauldin https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bill_Mauldin