Kosta Pećanac (1879–1944) was a Serbian Chetnik commander during both of the Balkan Wars, World War I, and World War II. Pećanac (pictured, second from left) fought on the Serbian side in the Balkan Wars and World War I, joining the Toplica uprising of 1917. After the war he was an important leader of Chetnik veteran associations, known for his strong hostility to the Yugoslav Communist Party, which made him popular with conservatives. As president of the Chetnik Association, he transformed the association during the 1930s into an aggressively partisan Serb political organisation with over half a million members. During World War II, Pećanac collaborated with the German military administration and with their Serbian puppet government in the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia. In July 1942, rival Chetnik leader Draža Mihailović arranged for the Yugoslav government-in-exile to denounce Pećanac as a traitor, and his continuing collaboration with the Germans ruined what remained of the reputation he had developed in the Balkan Wars and World War I. By March 1943, the Germans saw Pećanac's Chetniks as inefficient and unreliable, and disbanded them. He was interned, then killed in May or June 1944 by agents of Mihailović.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosta_Pe%C4%87anac

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

553:

The Second Council of Constantinople, considered by many Christian churches to have been the fifth Christian Ecumenical Council, began to discuss the topics of Nestorianism and Origenism, among others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Council_of_Constantinople

1860:

Led by Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi, the volunteer Expedition of the Thousand set sail from Genoa on a campaign to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedition_of_the_Thousand

1891:

New York City's Carnegie Hall (interior pictured), built by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, officially opened with a concert conducted by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Hall

1940:

World War II: A squad of 250 Norwegian volunteers in Hegra Fortress finally surrendered to a vastly superior Nazi force after a 25-day siege. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hegra_Fortress

1991:

Rioting broke out in Washington, D.C., after a rookie police officer shot a Salvadorean man in the chest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Washington,_D.C._riot

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

Stakhanovite: An extremely productive or hard-working worker, especially in the former USSR, who may earn special rewards; a workaholic. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Stakhanovite

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Contrary to what the politicians and religious leaders would like us to believe, the world won’t be made safer by creating barriers between people. Cries of “They’re evil, let’s get ‘em” or “The infidels must die” sound frightening, but they’re desperately empty of argument and understanding. They’re the rallying cries of prejudice, the call to arms of those who find it easier to hate than admit they might be not be right about everything. Armageddon is not around the corner. This is only what the people of violence want us to believe. The complexity and diversity of the world is the hope for the future.   --Michael Palin https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Palin