The Battle of Cape Ecnomus was a naval battle fought off the coast of
Sicily in 256 BC between the fleets of Carthage and the Roman Republic
during the First Punic War (264–241 BC). The Carthaginian fleet was
commanded by Hanno the Great and Hamilcar; the Roman fleet was led by
the consuls for the year, Marcus Atilius Regulus and Lucius Manlius
Vulso Longus. The Roman fleet of 330 warships sailed with approximately
140,000 men on board. The Romans' plan was to cross to Africa and invade
the Carthaginian homeland, in what is now Tunisia. The Carthaginians
were apparently aware of the Romans' intentions and mustered 350
warships off the south coast of Sicily to intercept them. With a
combined total of about 680 warships carrying up to 290,000 crew and
marines, the battle was possibly the largest naval battle in history by
the number of combatants involved. After a prolonged and confused day of
fighting the Carthaginians were decisively defeated.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_Ecnomus>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1846:
English astronomer William Lassell discovered Triton, the
largest moon of Neptune.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triton_%28moon%29>
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>
1963:
The Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which prohibits all test
detonations of nuclear weapons except for those conducted underground,
came into effect.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partial_Nuclear_Test_Ban_Treaty>
1973:
U.S. vice president Spiro Agnew resigned after being charged
with tax evasion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiro_Agnew>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
nide:
(archaic) A nest of pheasants.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nide>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The need for international solidarity and multilateral
cooperation is more conspicuous than ever. The Norwegian Nobel Committee
has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 to the World Food
Programme for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to
bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting
as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon
of war and conflict.
--Norwegian Nobel Committee
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Norwegian_Nobel_Committee>