Samuel J. Randall (1828–1890) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania from 1863 to 1890. He was elected to the Philadelphia Common Council in 1852 and then to the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1858. Randall served in a Union cavalry unit in the American Civil War, before winning a seat in the federal House of Representatives in 1862. He was reelected every two years thereafter until his death. Randall became known as a staunch defender of protective tariffs, designed to assist domestic producers of manufactured goods. His defense of smaller, less centralized government raised his profile among House Democrats, and he served as speaker from 1876 until 1881. He was considered a possible nominee for President in 1880 and 1884. He also served as head of the House Appropriations Committee. (This article is part of a featured topic: 1880 United States presidential election.).

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/1880_United_States_presidential_election

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1868:

Mihailo Obrenović, Prince of Serbia, was assassinated in the park of Košutnjak in Belgrade. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihailo_Obrenovi%C4%87

1918:

World War I: Italian torpedo boats sank the Austro-Hungarian dreadnought SMS Szent István off the Dalmatian coast, killing 89 of the crew. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Szent_Istv%C3%A1n

1957:

Led by John Diefenbaker, the Progressive Conservative Party won a plurality of House of Commons seats in the Canadian federal election. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1957_Canadian_federal_election

2008:

War in Afghanistan: A U.S. airstrike resulted in the reported deaths of eleven paramilitary members of the Pakistani Frontier Corps and eight Taliban fighters in Pakistan's tribal areas. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gora_Prai_airstrike

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

fillip: 1. (archaic) The action of holding the tip of a finger against the thumb and then releasing it with a snap; a flick. 2. A smart strike or tap made using this action, or (by extension) by other means. 3. (by extension) Something unimportant, a trifle; also, the brief time it takes to flick one's finger (see noun sense 1); a jiffy. 4. (by extension) Something that excites or stimulates. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fillip

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

For the first time in history, the human species as a whole has gone into politics. Everyone is in the act, and there is no telling what may come of it.   --Saul Bellow https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Saul_Bellow