The Sultanate of Singora was a short-lived port city in southern Thailand and precursor of the present-day town of Songkhla. The city was founded in the early 1600s by Dato Mogol, a Persian Muslim who recognized Siamese suzerainty. From its inception, it was designated a duty-free port and vied with the neighboring Sultanate of Pattani for trade. An important trading center for tin, lead and pepper, Singora flourished during the reign of Doto Mogol's son, Sultan Sulaiman Shah, but was destroyed by Siamese troops in 1680 after decades of conflict. Remains of the city include fourteen forts (example pictured), city walls and the tomb of Sultan Sulaiman Shah. A cannon from Singora bearing the seal of Sultan Sulaiman Shah was captured by Siamese forces. It was seized in the 18th century by Burmese troops and in the 19th century by the British, and is now displayed in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, London. The sultanate's history was documented in accounts, letters and journals written by British and Dutch East India Company traders; its destruction was discussed in books and reports authored by representatives of the French embassies to Siam in the mid- 1680s.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1792:

Royal Navy Captain George Vancouver claimed Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest for Great Britain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puget_Sound

1944:

A United States Navy task group captured German submarine U-505 (pictured), the first warship to be captured by U.S. forces on the high seas since the War of 1812. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-505

1974:

The Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball hosted Ten Cent Beer Night, but had to forfeit the game to the Texas Rangers due to rioting by drunken fans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Cent_Beer_Night

1989:

The People's Liberation Army violently cracked down on the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing, leaving at least 241 dead and 7,000 wounded, and causing widespread international condemnation of the Chinese government. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989

2004:

In Granby, Colorado, US, Marvin Heemeyer went on a rampage with a modified bulldozer over a zoning dispute, destroying several buildings before committing suicide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

sexton: A church official who looks after a church and its graveyard and may act as a gravedigger and bell-ringer. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sexton

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A Beauty Bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air — explode softly — and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth — boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn't go cheap either — not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty- four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination instead of death. A child who touched one wouldn't have his hand blown off.   --Robert Fulghum https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Fulghum