George Macaulay (1897–1940) played first-class cricket professionally
for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1920 and 1935. He played in
eight Test matches for England from 1923 to 1933, achieving the rare
feat of taking a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket. One of the
five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1924, he took 1,838 first-class
wickets at an average of 17.64, including four hat-tricks. He was a
leading member of his successful Yorkshire team and a volatile character
who played aggressively. He left a job at a bank to become a
professional cricketer, making his first-class debut aged 23 as a fast
bowler, but he had more success after altering his style to include off
spin. He played fewer Test matches after an unsuccessful match in the
1926 Ashes series. His form slumped following injuries in the late
1920s, but a recovery in the early 1930s led to a recall by England. His
first-class career ended in 1935, although he continued playing club
cricket until the Second World War. A pilot officer in the Royal Air
Force, he died of illness on active service.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Macaulay>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1815:
Michel Ney, Marshal of France, was executed by a firing squad
near Paris' Jardin du Luxembourg for supporting Napoleon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Ney>
1869:
American outlaw Jesse James committed his first confirmed bank
robbery in Gallatin, Missouri.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_James>
1941:
World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy made a surprise attack
on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, intending to neutralize the United States
Pacific Fleet from influencing the war Japan was planning to wage in
Southeast Asia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor>
1975:
The Indonesian military invaded East Timor under the pretext of
anti-colonialism and began a 25-year occupation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_occupation_of_East_Timor>
2005:
Spanish authorities captured Croatian Army general Ante
Gotovina, who was wanted for war crimes committed during the Croatian
War of Independence; he was eventually cleared of all charges.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ante_Gotovina>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
abreast:
1. Side by side and facing forward.
2. (figuratively) Alongside; parallel to.
3. Informed, well-informed, familiar, acquainted.
4. Followed by of or with: up to a certain level or line; equally advanced.
5. (nautical) Side by side; also, opposite; over against; on a line with
the vessel's beam.
6. (obsolete) At the same time; simultaneously.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/abreast>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
We live in an age that makes truth pass for treason, and as I dare
not say anything against it, so the ears of those that are about me will
probably be found too tender to hear it. This my trial and condemnation
do sufficiently evidence.
--Algernon Sydney
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Algernon_Sydney>