James Bennett McCreary (July 8, 1838 – October 8, 1918) was an
American politician from Kentucky who served in both houses of Congress
and twice as the state's governor. During the American Civil War, he
fought under Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan. In 1869, he
was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives where he served
until 1875; he was twice chosen Speaker of the House. In 1875, the
Democrats chose McCreary to run for governor, and he defeated Republican
John Marshall Harlan. In 1884, McCreary was elected to the first of six
consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. After two failed
bids for election to the Senate, the legislature elected him in 1902,
but he failed to gain renomination. In 1909, McCreary gained a second
term as governor, defeating Edward C. O'Rear in the general election; he
died in 1918. McCreary County, named in his honor, was formed during his
second term..
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCreary_County,_Kentucky>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1663:
King Charles II of England granted John Clarke the Rhode Island
Royal Charter, described by one historian as "the grandest instrument of
human liberty ever constructed".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Clarke_%28Baptist_minister%29>
1808:
Joseph Bonaparte approved the Bayonne Statute, a royal charter
intended as the basis for his rule as King of Spain during the
Peninsular War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayonne_Statute>
1947:
After news reports of the capture of a "flying disc" by U.S.
Army Air Force personnel in Roswell, New Mexico, the military stated
that what was recovered was debris from an experimental high-altitude
surveillance weather balloon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell_UFO_incident>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
pessimize:
1. (transitive) To take a pessimistic view of; to speak of in a negative
or pessimistic way.
2. (transitive) To make (something) pessimal or the worst; (in a weaker
sense) to make (something, such as a computer program) less efficient.
3. (intransitive) To think like a pessimist; to believe the worst.
4. (intransitive) To become pessimal or the worst.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pessimize>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
A miracle worker is an artist of the soul. There’s no higher
art than living a good life. An artist informs the world of what’s
available behind the masks we all wear. That’s what we’re all here
to do. The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is
because we’re not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic spotlight
isn’t pointed at you; it radiates from within you.
--Marianne Williamson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marianne_Williamson>