Buzz Aldrin (born January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut and
fighter pilot. As lunar module pilot on the Apollo 11 mission, he and
Neil Armstrong were the first humans to land on the Moon. A graduate of
West Point and MIT, where he earned a doctorate in astronautics, Aldrin
served as an Air Force fighter pilot during the Korean War, flying 66
combat missions and shooting down two MiGs. He was selected as an
astronaut with NASA's third group in 1963. His first spaceflight was in
1966 on Gemini 12, during which he spent over five hours outside the
spacecraft. He set foot on the Moon on July 21, 1969 (UTC), nine
minutes after Armstrong. He left NASA in 1971 and became commandant of
the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. His autobiographies Return to
Earth and Magnificent Desolation recount his struggles with depression
and alcoholism. He developed the Aldrin cycler, a Mars spacecraft
trajectory, and continues to advocate for space exploration,
particularly a human mission to Mars.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzz_Aldrin>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1945:
World War II: Germany began the evacuation of at least 1.8
million people from East Prussia in anticipation of the advancing Soviet
Red Army, an operation that took nearly two months to complete.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evacuation_of_East_Prussia>
1968:
The Houston Cougars upset the UCLA Bruins in what became known
as the "Game of the Century", ending the Bruins' 47-game winning streak,
and establishing college basketball as a sports commodity on American
television.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_the_Century_%28college_basketball%29>
2018:
A group of Taliban gunmen attacked the Inter-Continental Hotel
in Kabul, Afghanistan, sparking a 12-hour battle that left 42 people
dead and more than 14 others injured.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Inter-Continental_Hotel_Kabul_attack>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
acquit:
1. (transitive) To declare or find innocent or not guilty.
2. (transitive) To discharge (for example, a claim or debt); to clear
off, to pay off; to fulfil.
3. (transitive) Followed by of (and formerly by from): to discharge,
release, or set free from a burden, duty, liability, or obligation, or
from an accusation or charge.
4. (reflexive) To bear or conduct oneself; to perform one's part.
5. (reflexive) To clear oneself.
6. (transitive, archaic) past participle of acquit.
7. (transitive, obsolete) To release, to rescue, to set free.
8. (transitive, obsolete, rare) To pay for; to atone for.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/acquit>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Every single thing in the world that was made by anyone started
with an idea. So to catch one that is powerful enough to fall in love
with, it is one of the most beautiful experiences. It's like being
jolted with electricity and knowledge at the same time.
--David Lynch
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Lynch>