Muhammad Ali Jinnah (25 December 1876  – 11 September 1948) is honoured as the founder of Pakistan, where his birthday is observed as a national holiday. He served as leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until Pakistan's independence from Great Britain in 1947, and then as the first Governor-General of Pakistan until his death. Jinnah rose to prominence in the Indian National Congress in the first two decades of the 20th century. In these early years of his political career, he advocated Hindu–Muslim unity, helping to shape the 1916 Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the All-India Muslim League. By 1940, he had come to believe that Muslims of the Indian subcontinent should have their own state. As the first leader of Pakistan, he worked to establish the nation's government and policies, and to aid the millions of Muslim migrants who had emigrated from the new nation of India to Pakistan after independence, personally supervising the establishment of refugee camps. Several universities and public buildings in Pakistan bear Jinnah's name.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1100:

Baldwin of Boulogne was crowned as Baldwin I of Jerusalem, the first King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_I_of_Jerusalem

1831:

A Baptist preacher named Samuel Sharpe began an unsuccessful eleven-day slave revolt in Jamaica. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptist_War

1927:

The Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng, a revolutionary socialist political party that sought Vietnamese independence from French colonial rule, was formed in Hanoi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vi%E1%BB%87t_Nam_Qu%E1%BB%91c_D%C3%A2n_%C4%90%E1%BA%A3ng

1989:

Romanian Revolution: Dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena were condemned to death under a wide range of charges and executed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Nicolae_and_Elena_Ceau%C8%99escu

2007:

A tiger at the San Francisco Zoo escaped from its enclosure and attacked three patrons before it was shot and killed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Zoo_tiger_attacks

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

Yuletide: 1. (dated) The period of celebration of a pre-Christian festival associated with the (northern) winter solstice, later absorbed into the festival of Christmas. 2. (dated) The period around Christmas; the Christmas season, Christmastime; specifically, Christmas itself. 3. (Australia, regional) The period of southern winter in the middle of the year, sometimes celebrated in the colder, snowy regions of Australia with allusions to Christmas, which originated as a marketing gimmick. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Yuletide

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The central core of truth is that Christmas turns everything upside down, the upside of heaven come down to earth. The Christmas story puts a new value on every man. He is not a thing to be used, not a chemical accident, not an educated ape. Every man is a V.I.P., because he has divine worth. That was revealed when “Love came down at Christmas.” A scientist said, making a plea for exchange scholarships between nations, “The best way to send an idea is to wrap it up in a person.” That was what happened at Christmas. The idea of divine love was wrapped up in a person. Christmas is good news in a world of bad news. … Christmas brings hope to a dark world.   --Halford E. Luccock https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Halford_E._Luccock