Paul Kruger (10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904) was one of the dominant
political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and
President of the South African Republic from 1883 to 1900. He was the
face of the Boer cause against Britain during the Second Boer War of
1899–1902. As a child in the late 1830s, he took part in the Great
Trek of people migrating east, away from the British Cape Colony. He
witnessed the signing of the Sand River Convention with Britain in 1852
and over the next decade played a prominent role in the forging of the
South African Republic, leading its commandos and resolving disputes
between the rival Boer leaders and factions. After the South African
Republic was annexed by Britain as the Transvaal, he became the leading
figure in the movement to restore its independence, culminating in the
Boers' victory in the First Boer War of 1880–81 and Britain's
recognition of the republic as a fully independent state. During his
presidency, tensions with Britain increased as thousands of
predominantly British settlers arrived with the Witwatersrand Gold Rush.
His portrait is on the Krugerrand, a gold bullion coin still being
produced.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kruger>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1846:
English astronomer William Lassell discovered Triton, the
largest moon of the planet Neptune.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triton_(moon)>
1897:
German chemist Felix Hoffmann discovered an improved way of
synthesizing acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_aspirin>
1911:
The Xinhai Revolution began with the Wuchang Uprising, marking
the beginning of the collapse of the Qing dynasty and the establishment
of the Republic of China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuchang_Uprising>
1967:
The Outer Space Treaty, a treaty that forms the basis of
international space law, entered into force.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty>
1982:
Maximilian Kolbe, who had volunteered to die in place of a
stranger in the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz in Poland, was
canonized by the Catholic Church.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Kolbe>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
oofy:
(Britain, slang, dated) Having lots of oof (money); rich, wealthy.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/oofy>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
When small men begin to cast big shadows, it means that the sun is
about to set.
--Lin Yutang
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lin_Yutang>