Chartwell is an English country house near the town of Westerham, Kent. For over forty years it was the home of Winston Churchill, who lived there until shortly before his death in January 1965. In the 1930s, when Churchill was excluded from political office, Chartwell became the centre of his world. At his dining table, he gathered those who could assist his campaign against German re-armament and the British government's response of appeasement; in his study, he composed speeches and wrote books; in his garden, he built walls, constructed lakes and painted. During the Second World War Chartwell was largely unused, until Churchill lost the 1945 election. In 1953, when he was again Prime Minister, the house became his refuge after a debilitating stroke. From the garden front, the house has extensive views over the Weald of Kent. It was opened to the public by the National Trust in 1966.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartwell
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1941:
The Holocaust: Nazi forces, aided by local collaborators, began the Babi Yar massacre in Kiev, Ukraine, killing over 30,000 Jewish civilians in two days and thousands more in the months that followed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babi_Yar
1954:
Willie Mays of Major League Baseball's New York Giants made one of the most famous defensive plays in baseball history, known as "The Catch". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Catch_%28baseball%29
1963:
The University of East Anglia was founded in Norwich, England, after talk of establishing such a university in the city began as early as the 19th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_East_Anglia
1990:
The Lockheed YF-22, the prototype for the F-22 Raptor, made its first flight. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_YF-22
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
Neptunian: 1. (Roman mythology) Of or pertaining to Neptune, the Roman god of fresh water and the sea, the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon. 2. (by extension, rare) Of or pertaining to water or the sea. 3. (by extension, geology) Formed by the action of water. 4. (by extension, geology, historical) Of, pertaining to, or supporting Neptunism (“a discredited theory that rocks were formed from the crystallisation of minerals in the early Earth's oceans”). [...] 5. (astrology) Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Neptune. 6. (astronomy) Of or pertaining to the planet Neptune. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Neptunian
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The lives of all are in the hands of Him who knows best whether to preserve it or no, and to His will do I resign myself. My character and good name are in my own keeping. Life with disgrace is dreadful. A glorious death is to be envied, and, if anything happens to me recollect death is a debt we must all pay, and whether now or in a few years hence can be but of little consequence. --Horatio Nelson https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Horatio_Nelson