Arthur Sullivan (1896–1937) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross. Born in South Australia, Sullivan enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force during World War I. Sent to the United Kingdom, he completed training after the Armistice came into effect. Wanting to see active service, he sought his discharge and enlisted in the British Army with the North Russia Relief Force, part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. In the early morning of 11 August 1919 he was a member of a rearguard withdrawing across the Sheika River in North Russia. As his platoon crossed the river on a one- plank bridge, it came under intense fire from Bolshevik troops, and four men fell into the river. Sullivan jumped in and rescued all four, one by one; he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions. He was part of the Australian Coronation Contingent in London for the coronation of King George VI in 1937 when he died of head injuries received in a fall.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Sullivan_%28Australian_soldier%29
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1492:
The first papal conclave to be held in the Sistine Chapel elected Roderic Borja as Pope Alexander VI to succeed Innocent VIII. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1492_papal_conclave
1786:
Francis Light founded George Town, the first British settlement in Southeast Asia and the present-day capital of the Malaysian state of Penang. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Town,_Penang
1952:
King Talal of Jordan was forced to abdicate due to health reasons and was succeeded by his eldest son Hussein (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussein_of_Jordan
1973:
At a party in the recreation room of a New York City apartment building, Jamaican musician DJ Kool Herc began rapping during an extended break, laying the foundation for hip-hop music. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Kool_Herc
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
Weimarization: (politics, American spelling, Oxford British English) A state of economic crisis leading to political upheaval and extremism. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Weimarization
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The sign work of the Orient it runneth up and down; The Talmud stalks from right to left, a rabbi in a gown;The Roman rolls from left to right from Maytime unto May; But the gods shake up their symbols in an absent-minded way.Their language runs to circles like the language of the eyes, Emphasised by strange dilations with little panting sighs. --Nathalia Crane https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nathalia_Crane