Felice Beato (c. 1832 – 1909) was an Italian-British photographer. He was one of the first to take photographs in East Asia and one of the first war photographers. He is noted for his genre works, portraits, and views and panoramas of the architecture and landscapes of Asia and the Mediterranean region. His travels let him create images of countries, people and events that were unfamiliar and remote to most people in Europe and North America. His work provides images of such events as the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the Second Opium War, and represents the first substantial body of photojournalism. Beato was the official photographer of the Nile Expedition led by G. J. Wolseley to Khartoum, Sudan, in relief of General Charles Gordon. Beato influenced other photographers; and his impact in Japan, where he taught and worked with other photographers and artists, was particularly deep and lasting. He pioneered and refined the techniques of hand-colouring photographs and making panoramas.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1885:

The Scottish Cup match between Arbroath and Bon Accord ended 36–0, which is still a world record for an unrigged professional association football match. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbroath_F.C._36%E2%80%930_Bon_Accord_F.C.

1962:

In a speech at Rice Stadium in Houston, U.S. president John F. Kennedy reiterated an aspiration to land a man on the Moon before 1970 (video featured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_choose_to_go_to_the_Moon

2003:

The first public release of Steam, a distribution service for computer games, was made available for download. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_%28service%29

2008:

A Metrolink train collided head-on with a freight train in Los Angeles, California, resulting in 25 deaths and 135 injuries; the Metrolink driver had passed through a red signal, having likely been distracted by text messaging. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chatsworth_train_collision

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

flat-footed: 1. Of an animal: having feet which are naturally flat; (specifically) of a horse: having hoofs with soles close to the ground. 2. (by extension) Of a thing (especially (rail transport) a rail): having a flat base; flat-bottomed. 3. (figurative) 4. Blunt and unsubtle; lacking finesse; clumsy. 5. (US) Unprepared, unready. 6. (originally US, informal, dated) Direct, downright, straightforward; also, holding firmly to and maintaining a decision; standing one's ground. [...] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flat-footed

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Faith as well as science endowed the visible world with properties that eliminated blind, incalculable chance as the author of all events. The war of good and evil present in all religions does not always end, in every faith, with the victory of good, but in every one it establishes a clear order of existence. The sacred as well as the profane rests on that universal order...   --Stanisław Lem https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_Lem