Alexandre Banza (1932–1969) was a Central African military officer and
politician. As commander of the Camp Kassaï military base in 1965,
Banza helped Jean-Bédel Bokassa overthrow the government of President
David Dacko. Bokassa rewarded Banza by appointing him as minister of
state and minister of finance in the new government. In 1967, Bokassa
and his protégé had a major argument over the president's excessive
extravagances. In April 1968, Bokassa removed Banza as minister of
finance. Recognizing Bokassa's attempts to undermine him, Banza made a
number of remarks highly critical of the president's handling of the
government. Bokassa responded by abolishing the minister of state
position. Banza soon decided to stage a coup d'état. One of his
confidants, Jean-Claude Mandaba, contacted the president and informed
him of the date of the coup, 9 April 1969. Hours before he was going to
execute his bid for power, Banza was ambushed by Mandaba and taken
directly to Bokassa. Bokassa nearly beat Banza to death before Mandaba
suggested that Banza be put on trial for appearance's sake. On 12
April, Banza presented his case to a military tribunal, which quickly
sentenced him to death by firing squad. He was reportedly taken to an
open field, where he was executed and buried in an unmarked grave.
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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Banza>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1386:
A special Pontifical High Mass in the Church of the Holy Spirit
commemorated the opening of the doors of Heidelberg University.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidelberg_University>
1775:
American Civil War: In an act of retaliation against ports that
supported Patriot activities in the early stages of the war, the Royal
Navy destroyed what is now Portland, Maine.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_Falmouth>
1967:
The Soviet space probe Venera 4 performed in-place analysis of the
environment of Venus and became the first spacecraft to land on another
planet, although it stopped working before that.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venera_4>
1968:
At the Summer Olympics in Mexico City, American Bob Beamon set a world
record of 8.90 m in the long jump, a mark that stood for 23 years.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Beamon>
1991:
The Supreme Council of Azerbaijan adopted a declaration of independence
from the Soviet Union.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerbaijan>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
stipulate (adj):
(botany; not comparable) Having stipules; that is, having outgrowths
borne on either side of the base of the leafstalk
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stipulate>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme. No great and
enduring volume can ever be written on the flea, though many there be
who have tried it.
--Herman Melville
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Herman_Melville>