"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written by English poet and
clergyman John Newton (pictured) and published in 1779. Based on
Newton's personal experiences at sea (in the Royal Navy and the slave
trade), it was originally written in 1773 and published in Newton and
Cowper's Olney Hymns in 1779. Although it became relatively obscure in
England, in the United States it was commonly used during the Second
Great Awakening. The original tune, if any, is unknown, but it is now
most commonly sung to the tune "New Britain". It conveys a message that
forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people
commit, and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the
mercy of God. One of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking
world, it has been called "the most famous of all the folk hymns",
having been recorded thousands of times during the 20th century and
becoming emblematic in African American spiritual music.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Grace>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1798:
Irish Rebellion of 1798: Irish rebels, with French assistance,
established the short-lived Republic of Connaught.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Connaught>
1813:
Peninsular War: At the Battle of San Marcial, the Spanish Army
of Galicia under Manuel Alberto Freire turned back Nicolas Soult's last
major offensive against Arthur Wellesley's allied army.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_San_Marcial>
1939:
Nazi forces, posing as Poles, staged an attack against the
German radio station Sender Gleiwitz in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia,
Germany, creating an excuse to invade Poland the next day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleiwitz_incident>
1965:
The Aero Spacelines Super Guppy (pictured), a large, wide-
bodied cargo aircraft used for ferrying outsized cargo components, made
its first flight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Spacelines_Super_Guppy>
1998:
North Korea claimed to have successfully launched
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1, its first satellite, although no objects were ever
tracked in orbit from the launch.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwangmy%C5%8Fngs%C5%8Fng-1>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
kore:
An Ancient Greek statue of a woman, portrayed standing, usually clothed,
painted in bright colours and having an elaborate hairstyle.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kore>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I was never interested in the obvious, or in the details one takes for
granted, and everybody seemed to be addicted to the obvious, being
astonished by it, and forever harping about the details which I had long
ago weighted, measured, and discarded as irrelevant and useless. If you
can measure it, don't. If you can weigh it, it isn't worth the bother.
It isn't what you're after. It isn't going to get it. My wisdom was
visual and as swift as vision. I looked, I saw, I understood, I felt,
"That's that, where do we go from here?"
--William Saroyan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Saroyan>