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>
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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>
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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>
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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>
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