William F. Raynolds (March 17, 1820 – October 18, 1894) was an
explorer, engineer and army officer who served in the Mexican–American
War and the American Civil War. He oversaw the construction of numerous
lighthouses; at least six of them are still standing and in use. During
the occupation of Mexico in 1848, Raynolds led a party that was the
first to summit Pico de Orizaba, the highest mountain in Mexico and
believed at that time to be the highest in North America. In 1859,
Raynolds was placed in charge of the first government-sponsored
expedition into the Yellowstone region. Heavy snowpack prevented the
expedition from reaching the Yellowstone Plateau, forcing them to cross
Union Pass in the Wind River Range. The expedition then entered Jackson
Hole and surveyed the Teton Range, now within Grand Teton National Park.
Raynolds retired from the army in 1884 with the rank of colonel after a
40-year career.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_F._Raynolds>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1776:
American Revolutionary War: The 11‑month Siege of Boston
ended with the evacuation of the city's British garrison.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Boston>
1950:
Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory announced
the synthesis of californium, a radioactive transuranium element.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Californium>
1988:
Eritrean War of Independence: Eritrean People's Liberation
Front troops encircled Ethiopian forces in the Battle of Afabet, gaining
a decisive victory three days later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Afabet>
2000:
Hundreds of followers of the Movement for the Restoration of
the Ten Commandments of God, a Ugandan sect, died in a mass murder
committed by its leaders.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_for_the_Restoration_of_the_Ten_Commandments_of_God>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
clarsach:
(music) A small triangular wire-strung harp of Gaelic origin; a Celtic
harp.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/clarsach>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Be wise; Soar not too high, to fall; but stoop to rise.
--Philip Massinger
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philip_Massinger>