Baldwin of Forde (c. 1125 – 1190) was Archbishop of Canterbury between 1185 and 1190. The son of a clergyman, he studied canon law and theology at Bologna and was tutor to Pope Eugene III's nephew before returning to England to serve successive bishops of Exeter. After becoming a Cistercian monk he was named abbot of his monastery, and subsequently elected to the episcopate at Worcester. Before becoming a bishop, he wrote theological works and sermons, some of which have survived. As a bishop Baldwin came to the attention of King Henry II of England, who was so impressed he insisted that Baldwin become archbishop. In that office, Baldwin quarrelled with his cathedral clergy over the founding of a church, which led to the imprisonment of the clergy in their cloister for more than a year. Baldwin spent some time in Wales with Gerald of Wales, preaching and raising money for the Third Crusade. After the coronation of King Richard I of England, the new king sent Baldwin ahead to the Holy Land, where he became embroiled in the politics of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Baldwin died in the Holy Land while participating in the crusade; his long-running dispute with his clergy led one chronicler to characterise Baldwin as more damaging to Christianity than Saladin. (more...)

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1766:

A mutiny by captive Madagascans began at sea on the slave ship Meermin, leading to the ship's destruction, and subsequent rulings in the Dutch East India Company's Council of Justice were a "huge step in the recognition of oppressed people as free-thinking individuals." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meermin_slave_mutiny

1878:

Competition between two merchants in Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory, US, turned into a range war when a member of one faction was murdered by the other. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_County_War

1942:

World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army began the systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among Chinese Singaporeans. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sook_Ching_massacre

1943:

Joseph Goebbels , Hitler's propaganda minister, delivered the Sportpalast speech to motivate the German people when the tide of World War II was turning against Germany. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportpalast_speech

2010:

Rebels attacked the presidential palace in Niamey, Niger, and replaced President Mamadou Tandja with a ruling junta, the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Nigerien_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

commiserate (v): Feel or express compassion or sympathy for (someone or something) http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/commiserate

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The Great Spirit does not toil within the bounds of human time, place, or casualty.

The Great Spirit is superior to these human questionings. It teems with many rich and wandering drives which to our shallow minds seem contradictory; but in the essence of divinity they fraternize and struggle together, faithful comrades-in-arms.

The primordial Spirit branches out, overflows, struggles, fails, succeeds, trains itself. It is the Rose of the Winds. --Nikos Kazantzakis http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nikos_Kazantzakis