Chinua Achebe (16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the dominant figure of modern African literature. He garnered international attention for his novel Things Fall Apart (1958) and published three further novels in less than ten years. Achebe sought to escape the colonial perspective that framed African literature. He drew from the traditions of the Igbo people, Christianity and the clash of Western and African values. Achebe supported Biafran independence in 1967 and was an ambassador for the movement; during the Nigerian Civil War he appealed to Europe and the Americas for aid. When the Nigerian government retook the region, he involved himself in political parties but became disillusioned by the corruption and elitism he witnessed. He moved to the United States in 1990 after a car crash left him partially disabled. He was a professor of African studies at Brown University until his death in 2013.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1814:

War of the Sixth Coalition: During their march on Paris, Coalition forces defeated Napoleon's French army on the final day of the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arcis-sur-Aube

1918:

First World War: The German Army opened the Spring Offensive with Operation Michael, attempting to break through the Allied lines and to seize ports on the English Channel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Michael

1960:

Police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire on a group of unarmed black demonstrators who were protesting pass laws, killing 69 people and wounding 180 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpeville_massacre

2019:

A major explosion at a chemical plant in Yancheng, China, killed 78 people and injured 640 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Xiangshui_chemical_plant_explosion

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

gelotology: (psychology, physiology) The study of humour and laughter, and its effects on the body. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gelotology

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

A timid person is frightened before a danger, a coward during the time, and a courageous person afterward.   --Jean Paul https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean_Paul