Hastings Ismay (1887–1965) was a British soldier and diplomat,
remembered primarily for his role as Winston Churchill's chief military
assistant during World War II and his service as the head of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the 1950s. After serving with
the Camel Corps during World War I, Ismay became an Assistant Secretary
of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Shortly before the outbreak of
World War II, he became the Secretary of the Committee of Imperial
Defence and began planning for the impending war. In May 1940, when
Churchill became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, he selected
Ismay as his chief military assistant and staff officer. In that
capacity, Ismay served as the principal link between Churchill and the
Chiefs of Staff Committee. He also accompanied Churchill to many of the
Allied war conferences. After the war, Ismay remained in the British
Armed Forces and helped reorganise the Ministry of Defence. When
Churchill again became Prime Minister in 1951, he appointed Ismay
Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations. Six months later, Ismay
resigned to become the first Secretary General of NATO. He served as
Secretary General from 1952 to 1957. After retiring from NATO, Ismay
wrote his memoirs, The Memoirs of General Lord Ismay.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastings_Ismay%2C_1st_Baron_Ismay>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1191:
Third Crusade: Forces under Richard I of England defeated Ayyubid
troops under Saladin in Arsuf, present-day Israel.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arsuf>
1812:
Napoleonic Wars: The French Grande Armée forced the Russians to
withdraw at the Battle of Borodino.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Borodino>
1901:
With Peking occupied by foreign troops from the Eight-Nation Alliance,
Qing China was forced to sign the Boxer Protocol, an unequal treaty
ending the Boxer Rebellion.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Protocol>
1940:
World War II: The German Luftwaffe changed their strategy in the Battle
of Britain and began bombing London and other British cities and towns
for over 50 consecutive nights.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blitz>
1979:
The cable television network ESPN made its debut, broadcasting and
producing sports-related programming 24 hours a day.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESPN>
1986:
Desmond Tutu became the first black person to lead the Anglican Church
in South Africa.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
amnicolist (n):
(rare) One who dwells by a river
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/amnicolist>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have written my life in small sketches, a little today, a little
yesterday, as I have thought of it, as I remember all the things from
childhood on through the years, good ones, and unpleasant ones, that is
how they come out and that is how we have to take them.
I look back on my life like a good day's work, it was done and I am
satisfied with it. I was happy and contented, I knew nothing better and
made the best out of what life offered. And life is what we make it,
always has been, always will be.
--Grandma Moses
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Grandma_Moses>