75px|Henry Cornelius Burnett

Henry Cornelius Burnett (1825–1866) was a U.S. representative from the state of Kentucky and a Confederate States senator. He represented Kentucky's 1st congressional district during the lead-up to the Civil War. This district contained the entire Jackson Purchase region of the state, which was more sympathetic to the Confederate cause than any other area of Kentucky. Burnett promised the voters of his district that he would have President Abraham Lincoln arraigned for treason. Besides championing the Southern cause in Congress, Burnett also worked within Kentucky to bolster the state's support of the Confederacy. He presided over a sovereignty convention in Russellville in 1861 that formed a Confederate government for the state. The delegates to this convention chose Burnett to travel to Richmond, Virginia to secure Kentucky's admission to the Confederacy. Burnett also raised a Confederate regiment at Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and briefly served in the Confederate States Army. Burnett's actions were deemed treasonable by his colleagues in Congress, and he was expelled from the House in 1861. After the war, he was indicted for treason, but was never tried. He returned to the practice of law, but died of cholera in 1866 at the age of 40. (more...)

Recently featured: Nick Drake – Mauna Kea – Press Gang

Archive – By email – More featured articles...

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1843:

Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná , became the de facto first prime minister of the Empire of Brazil. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hon%C3%B3rio_Hermeto_Carneiro_Le%C3%A3o%2C_Marquis_of_Paran%C3%A1

1942:

The Holocaust: SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich and other senior Nazi officials met at the Wannsee Conference in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee to discuss implementation of the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wannsee_Conference

1969:

Bengali student activist Amanullah Asaduzzaman was shot and killed by East Pakistani police, one of the casus belli that led to the Bangladesh Liberation War. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanullah_Asaduzzaman

1990:

The Soviet Red Army violently cracked down on Azeri pro-independence demonstrations in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_January

2007:

A three-man team, using only skis and kites, completed a 1,093-mile (1,759 km) trek to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility for the first time since 1958, and for the first time ever without mechanical assistance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pole_of_inaccessibility

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

devil-may-care (adj): Carefree or recklessly irresponsible http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/devil-may-care

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. ... It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

We are, and always will be, the United States of America. It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America. --Barack Obama http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Barack_Obama