Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock. Oldham is surrounded by several smaller towns which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, of which Oldham is the administrative centre. Historically a part of Lancashire, and with little early history to speak of, Oldham rose to prominence during the 19th century as an international centre of textile manufacture. It was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and among the first ever industrialised towns, rapidly becoming "one of the most important centres of cotton and textile industries in England". At its zenith, it was the most productive cotton spinning mill town in the world, spinning more cotton than France and Germany combined. Oldham's textile industry began to fall into decline during the mid-20th century, and its last mill closed in 1998. The demise of textile processing in Oldham depressed the local economy. Today Oldham is a predominantly residential town, and a centre for further education and the performing arts. It is, however, still distinguished architecturally by the surviving cotton mills and other buildings associated with that industry.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldham
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
509 BC:
The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on Capitoline Hill, the most important temple in Ancient Rome, was dedicated. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Jupiter_Optimus_Maximus
1229:
Ögedei Khan (pictured), the third son of Genghis Khan, was proclaimed Khagan of the Mongol Empire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96gedei_Khan
1759:
Seven Years' War: British forces defeated the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham near Quebec City, New France, though General James Wolfe was mortally wounded. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Plains_of_Abraham
1848:
An explosion drove a large iron rod completely through the head of Phineas P. Gage, making him an important early case of brain damage affecting personality and behavior. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage
1964:
South Vietnamese Generals Lam Van Phat and Duong Van Duc staged a coup attempt after junta leader Nguyen Khanh demoted them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_1964_South_Vietnamese_coup_attempt
1987:
A radioactive item was scavenged from an abandoned hospital in Goiânia, Brazil, resulting in four deaths and serious contamination in 249 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goi%C3%A2nia_accident
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
gooseberry: 1. A fruit closely related to the currant. 2. Any of several other unrelated fruits, such as the Chinese gooseberry (kiwifruit) or the Indian gooseberry (amla). 3. (British, informal) An unwanted additional person: Robert and Susan were so in love that nobody could go near them without feeling like a gooseberry. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gooseberry
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The good, the new, comes from exactly that quarter whence it is not looked for, and is always something different from what is expected. Everything new is received with contempt, for it begins in obscurity. It becomes a power unobserved. --Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ludwig_Andreas_Feuerbach
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