Delhi is the second largest metropolis of India, and the fifth largest city in the world by population, with a population greater than 18 million, and a federally-administered union territory. Located on the banks of river Yamuna in northern India, archaeological evidence suggest that Delhi has been continuously inhabited since at least 6th century BC. In 1639, Mughal emperor Shahjahan built a new walled city in Delhi which served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1649 to 1857. A new capital city, New Delhi, was built during the 1920s. When India gained independence from British rule in 1947, New Delhi was declared its capital and seat of government. As such, New Delhi houses important offices of the federal government, including the Parliament of India. Owing to the immigration of people from across the country, Delhi has grown to be a cosmopolitan city. Its rapid development and urbanisation, coupled with the relatively high average income of its population, has transformed the city. Today, Delhi is a major cultural, political, and commercial center of India.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi

_________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1793:

French playwright, journalist and outspoken feminist Olympe de Gouges was guillotined for her revolutionary ideas. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympe_de_Gouges)

1838:

The Times of India, the world's largest circulated English language daily broadsheet newspaper, was founded as the The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Times_of_India)

1848:

A new constitution drafted by Johan Rudolf Thorbecke was proclaimed, severely limiting the powers of the monarchy of the Netherlands. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Rudolf_Thorbecke)

1948:

The Chicago Tribune newspaper published the erroneous headline "Dewey Defeats Truman" shortly after incumbent U.S. President Harry S. Truman upset heavily favored Governor of New York Thomas Dewey in the U.S. presidential election. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1948)

1957:

The Soviet Union launched the Sputnik 2 spacecraft, carrying Laika the Russian space dog as the first living creature from Earth to enter orbit. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika)

_______________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

connote: (v) 1. To signify beyond a literal or principal meaning. 2. To possess an inseparable related condition; to imply as a logical consequence. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/connote)

______________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. --Aleister Crowley (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley)