The 1860 Boden Professor of Sanskrit election at the University of Oxford involved candidates with different approaches to Sanskrit scholarship. One was Monier Williams (pictured), an Oxford-educated Englishman and teacher of Sanskrit to those preparing to work in British India. The other, Max Müller, was a German-born specialist in comparative philology. The election came as Britain debated its role in India following the 1857 rebellion. Williams saw the study of Sanskrit as a tool in the conversion of India to Christianity. Müller saw his work as also valuable for its own sake. Both men battled for the votes of Oxford graduates through manifestos and advertisements, and received newspaper endorsements. Special trains to Oxford were provided on the day of the election, 7 December 1860, for non-residents to cast votes. Williams won by a majority of more than 220 votes. Thereafter, he helped to establish the Indian Institute at Oxford, received a knighthood, and held the chair until his death in 1899.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860_Boden_Professor_of_Sanskrit_election
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1803:
Haitian Revolution: Nearly all the final French ships in Haiti were captured by the Royal Navy when they attempted to evade the Blockade of Saint-Domingue. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockade_of_Saint-Domingue
1907:
At least 362 miners were killed when an explosion destroyed a mine in Monongah, West Virginia, leading to the establishment of the United States Bureau of Mines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monongah_mining_disaster
1941:
The British Secret Intelligence Service established a facility known as "Camp X" in Ontario, Canada, to train covert agents in clandestine operations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_X
2015:
In Venezuela's parliamentary election, the ruling United Socialist Party lost control of the National Assembly for the first time since 1999. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Venezuelan_parliamentary_election
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
picaresque: 1. Of or pertaining to adventurers or rogues. 2. (literature) Characteristic of a genre of Spanish satiric novel dealing with the adventures of a roguish hero. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/picaresque
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
I do believe we've lost something. … I can't get my hand on it, but we're just not quite where we should be, as the greatest democracy in the world. And I don't know how you correct it, but I keep hoping that there will be a change in my lifetime. --Bob Dole https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bob_Dole