Userkaf was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Fifth
Dynasty. Before ascending the throne, he may have been a high priest of
Ra. He reigned for seven to eight years in the early 25th century BC,
during the Old Kingdom period. He built a sun temple, known as the
Nekhenre, that mainly functioned as a mortuary temple associated with
the setting sun. Rites performed in the temple were primarily concerned
with Ra's creator function and his role as father of the king. Userkaf
built a pyramid in Saqqara, close to that of Djoser, with a mortuary
temple that was much smaller than those built during the Fourth Dynasty.
Its mortuary complex was lavishly decorated with fine painted reliefs.
Little is known of Userkaf's activities beyond the construction of his
pyramid and sun temple. There may have been a military expedition to
Canaan or the Eastern Desert, and there probably were trade contacts
with the Aegean civilizations.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Userkaf>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1809:
War of the Fifth Coalition: Commanded by Napoleon, Franco-
German forces defeated a reinforced Austrian corps at the Battle of
Abensberg.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Abensberg>
1939:
Billie Holiday recorded the song "Strange Fruit", which later
became an emblem of the civil rights movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Fruit>
1968:
Pierre Trudeau was sworn in as prime minister of Canada,
succeeding Lester B. Pearson.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Trudeau>
2010:
An explosion on Deepwater Horizon, an offshore rig in the Gulf
of Mexico, resulted in the largest marine oil spill in history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
nauplius:
(zoology) A crustacean larva that has three pairs of locomotive organs
(corresponding to antennules, antennae, and mandibles), a median eye,
and little or no segmentation of the body.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nauplius>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
There never was night that had no morn.
--Dinah Craik
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dinah_Craik>