Maurice Wilder-Neligan (1882–1923) was a British-born Australian
soldier who commanded the 10th Battalion during the latter stages of
World War I. Emigrating to Australia before the war, he enlisted in the
Australian Imperial Force. He was decorated for bravery and commissioned
during the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915. He received a severe head wound
while leading a successful raid on German trenches near Fleurbaix,
France, in early 1916, earning a second decoration for gallantry and the
praise of war historians. In July 1917 he was promoted to lieutenant
colonel and received command of the battalion. He led it during the
Battle of the Menin Road Ridge in September and was made a Companion of
the Order of St Michael and St George in June 1918. He was again
decorated for courage for the capture of the commune of Merris on 29
July. After the war, he worked as a district officer in the Territory of
New Guinea, where he died at the age of 40, probably of complications
from his war wounds.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Wilder-Neligan>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1818:
French physicist Augustin Fresnel submitted his "Memoir on the
Diffraction of Light", providing strong support for the wave theory of
light.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustin-Jean_Fresnel>
1914:
The first shots of World War I were fired by the Austro-
Hungarian river monitor SMS Bodrog upon Serbian defences near Belgrade.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_monitor_Sava>
1958:
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National
Aeronautics and Space Act into law, establishing a new federal non-
military space agency known as NASA.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA>
1981:
An estimated worldwide television audience of 750 million
people watched the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at
St Paul's Cathedral in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Prince_Charles_and_Lady_Diana_Spencer>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
deadfall:
1. (uncountable, Canada, US) Coarse woody debris; deadwood. (countable,
specifically) A fallen tree.
2. (countable, specifically) A fallen tree.
3. (countable, Canada, US, hunting) A kind of trap for large animals,
consisting of a heavy board or log that falls on to the prey.
4. (countable, US, slang) A cheap, rough bar or saloon.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deadfall>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
䷳ KEEPING STILL. Keeping his back still So that he no longer
feels his body. He goes into his courtyard And does not see his
people. No blame. True quiet means keeping still when the time has
come to keep still, and going forward when the time has come to go
forward. In this way rest and movement are in agreement with the
demands of the time, and thus there is light in life
--I Ching
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/I_Ching>