John Edward Brownlee was Premier of Alberta, Canada, from 1925 to 1934 as leader of the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) caucus. After winning the 1926 election, his successes included obtaining control of Alberta's natural resources from the federal government and selling the money-losing railways to help balance the provincial budget. His government's fortunes declined after the 1930 election. Agricultural prices collapsed, throwing many farmers into poverty. He tried to broker deals between farmers and banks, but found neither side eager to compromise. In 1933, Prime Minister R. B. Bennett named Brownlee to the Royal Commission on Banking and Currency as a representative of western interests and unorthodox viewpoints. While Brownlee concurred with the commission's ultimate recommendation for the creation of a central bank, he also made his own recommendations. In 1934 he was sued for the seduction of Vivian MacMillan, a family friend and a secretary in his government's attorney-general's office, who claimed that they had carried on an affair for three years. The jury sided with MacMillan despite Brownlee's denials and, in deference to public outrage, he resigned as premier.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premiership_of_John_Edward_Brownlee
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1859:
Edwin Drake successfully drilled for oil in Titusville, Pennsylvania, US, resulting in the Pennsylvania oil rush and the birth of the modern oil industry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_oil_rush
1896:
The United Kingdom and Zanzibar went to war, with Zanzibar surrendering less than an hour after the conflict broke out. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Zanzibar_War
1922:
Turkish forces re-captured Afyon, the first victory of their counterattack during the Greco-Turkish War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Turkish_War_(1919%E2%80%9322)
1991:
Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Moldova declared its independence during the aftermath of the failure of the Soviet coup d'état attempt. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldova
2003:
The first round of six-party talks to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program opened. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-party_talks
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
anglicism: A word or other feature originating in the English language that has been borrowed by another language. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anglicism
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Poetry is the universal art of the spirit which has become free in itself and which is not tied down for its realization to external sensuous material; instead, it launches out exclusively in the inner space and the inner time of ideas and feelings. --Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Georg_Wilhelm_Friedrich_Hegel