Bill Russell (born 1934) is an American retired professional basketball player, widely considered one of the best in National Basketball Association (NBA) history. Playing center for the Boston Celtics, he was the centerpiece of their dynasty and his shot-blocking and man-to-man defense were major reasons for the team's success. A five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a twelve-time All-Star, he won 11 NBA championships during his 13-year career, and jointly holds the record for the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league. He led the NBA in rebounds four times, and remains second all-time in both total rebounds and rebounds per game. Russell was the first African American player to achieve superstar status in the NBA and the first African American NBA coach. For his accomplishments in the Civil Rights Movement on and off the court, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. Russell is a member of three basketball Halls of Fame (Naismith Memorial, National Collegiate, and FIBA) and the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award is named in his honor. He also won a 1956 Olympics gold medal as captain of the U.S. national basketball team.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Russell
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1818:
On the first anniversary of its victory in the Battle of Chacabuco, Chile formally declared its independence from Spain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_Declaration_of_Independence
1912:
Xinhai Revolution: Puyi, the last Emperor of China, abdicated under a deal brokered by military official and politician Yuan Shikai, formally replacing the Qing Dynasty with a new republic in China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puyi
1947:
French designer Christian Dior unveiled a "New Look" that revolutionized women's dress and reestablished Paris as the center of the fashion world after World War II. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Dior
1974:
Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was arrested and subsequently deported from the Soviet Union for writing The Gulag Archipelago, an exposé of the Soviet forced labour camp system. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn
1994:
Edvard Munch's iconic painting The Scream was stolen from the National Gallery of Norway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scream
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
snappish: Exhibiting irritation or impatience; curt; irascible. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/snappish
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. I can not remember when I did not so think, and feel. --Abraham Lincoln https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln