On 15 March 1921, Armenian student Soghomon Tehlirian assassinated Talaat Pasha, a leading Ottoman politician and the main architect of the Armenian genocide, in Berlin. About a million Armenians died in the genocide, including most of Tehlirian's family. He joined a clandestine assassination campaign seeking revenge. Tehlirian's trial (pictured) was held on 2 and 3 June 1921, and the defense strategy was to put Talaat on trial for the Armenian genocide. Several eyewitnesses to the genocide testified, resulting in "one of the most spectacular trials of the twentieth century". Tehlirian claimed he had acted alone, telling a dramatic, but untrue, story of witnessing the deaths of his family members. He argued: "I have killed a man, but I am not a murderer", and the jury acquitted him. International news coverage brought attention to the facts of the Armenian genocide. The coverage inspired Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin to coin the term genocide and help codify it as a crime in international law.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Talaat_Pasha

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1147:

Reconquista: Portuguese troops under King Afonso I captured the city of Santarém from the Almoravids. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conquest_of_Santar%C3%A9m

1875:

John McCloskey, Archbishop of New York, was created the first cardinal from the United States. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCloskey

1972:

The Godfather, a gangster film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and based on the novel of the same name by Mario Puzo, was released. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Godfather

1990:

Iraqi authorities hanged Iranian freelance reporter Farzad Bazoft on charges of spying for Israel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farzad_Bazoft

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

slugabed: (archaic, now chiefly Canada, US) A lazy person who lies in bed after the usual time for getting up; a sluggard. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/slugabed

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Ukraine is on fire. The country is being decimated before the eyes of the world. The impact on civilians is reaching terrifying proportions. Countless innocent people – including women and children – have been killed. After being hit by Russian forces, roads, airports and schools lie in ruins. According to the World Health Organization, at least 24 health facilities have suffered attacks. Hundreds of thousands of people are without water or electricity. With each passing hour, two things are increasingly clear: First — it keeps getting worse. Second — whatever the outcome, this war will have no winners, only losers.   --António Guterres https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ant%C3%B3nio_Guterres