Elizabeth II (born 1926) is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms, head of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations, and head of state of the Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories. Her father, George VI, acceded to the throne in 1936 on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII. She began public duties during the Second World War, in which she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. On George VI's death in 1952, she became Head of the Commonwealth and Queen of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon. Her coronation service in 1953 was the first to be televised. Since her accession, the number of her realms has varied as territories gained independence and some realms became republics. In 1947 she married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with whom she has four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward. Her reign of 60 years is the second-longest for a British monarch; only Queen Victoria has reigned longer. Elizabeth's Silver and Golden Jubilees were celebrated in 1977 and 2002; her Diamond Jubilee is being celebrated during 2012.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_II
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1848:
As part of the Pan-Slavism movement, the Prague Slavic Congress began in Prague, one of the few times that voices from all Slav populations of Europe were heard in one place. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Slavic_Congress,_1848
1866:
Fenian raids: The Battle of Ridgeway, the first to be fought only by Canadian troops and led exclusively by Canadian officers, took place in Ontario. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ridgeway
1886:
Grover Cleveland became the only U.S. President to marry in the White House when he wed Frances Folsom (wedding pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Folsom_Cleveland_Preston
1967:
German university student Benno Ohnesorg was killed during a protest in West Berlin against the visit of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, sparking the formation of the militant group Movement 2 June. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_2_June
2010:
A lone gunman went on a shooting spree in Cumbria, England, killing 12 and injuring 11 others before committing suicide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbria_shootings
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
superannuate: 1. (transitive) To retire or put out of use due to age. 2. (intransitive) To become obsolete or antiquated. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/superannuate
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
When Nature gives a gorgeous rose, Or yields the simplest fern, She writes this motto on the leaves, — "To whom it may concern!" And so it is the poet comes And revels in her bowers, And, — though another hold the land, Is owner of the flowers. --John Godfrey Saxe https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Godfrey_Saxe