Judah Benjamin (1811–1884) was a lawyer and United States Senator from Louisiana, a Cabinet officer of the Confederate States and, after his escape to the United Kingdom at the end of the American Civil War, an English barrister. He was the first person professing the Jewish faith to be elected to the Senate, and the first Jew to hold a cabinet position in North America. After attending Yale, Benjamin moved to New Orleans, where he read law and passed the bar. He rose rapidly both at the bar and in politics, becoming a wealthy slaveowner, and serving in both houses of the Louisiana legislature prior to his election to the Senate in 1852. There, he was an ardent supporter of slavery. When war began, Confederate President Jefferson Davis appointed him Attorney General, and later Secretary of War. Made Secretary of State in 1862, Benjamin unsuccessfully tried to gain recognition of the Confederacy by France and the United Kingdom. When Davis fled from Virginia in early 1865, Benjamin went with him. He escaped to Britain and settled there, becoming a barrister and again rising to the top of his profession before retiring in 1883. He died in Paris the following year.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judah_P._Benjamin
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1835:
European settlers landing on the north banks of the Yarra River in Southeastern Australia founded the city of Melbourne (Parliament House pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne
1896:
Philippine Revolution: In the Battle of San Juan del Monte, the first real battle of the war, a Katipunan force temporarily captured a powder magazine before being beaten back by a Spanish garrison. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_San_Juan_del_Monte
1914:
World War I: The Battle of Tannenberg resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russian Second Army by the German Eighth Army. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tannenberg
1959:
The title of National Hero of Indonesia was first given, the recipient being the writer-cum-politician Abdul Muis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Hero_of_Indonesia
1995:
Bosnian War: NATO began its bombing campaign against the Army of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Deliberate_Force
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
leech: 1. (transitive) To apply a leech medicinally, so that it sucks blood from the patient. 2. (transitive) To drain (resources) without giving back https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/leech
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken. --Warren Buffett https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Warren_Buffett#Disputed